24 hours of non-stop fun, more or less

Elizabeth already broke the story, Monica was in town and had one day to get together, so we stretched that 24 hours out..

We had dinner with Nireko, which was SO DARN FUN. We laughed so hard, ate a ton of food and managed to close the place.

We went on a tour of our favorite spots.. first stop, Thimblecreek! They never fail to disappoint do they, good samples, cute displays and wow, who doesn't love the people. And they're always happy to see us!

Here's Monica and Roxie. They're sharing all the news. Like all the things Monica has in magazines. Roxie is sharing some secrets about their next class schedule!!

Nice display of the Urban Chiks new line 1974. Yes, by the way, I do know the Urban Chiks.

Loved these cool books. I think Elizabeth got one, so she's the one to ask about it. Thimblecreek really goes all out to find the latest and greatest.

Sandy is always busy, but she did stop to cut my pretty pretty fabrics. Which I was lazy about and didn't photograph yet. Lot of pretty Lecien. Thimblecreek has a great collection. Should be on the website soon. Maybe even now!

Ahh Sweet Chickie. She's a doll. Always so cheerful. She makes me feel like a celebrity.

So from there we had lunch at Chevy's and then headed down to the Union City Daiso. Elizabeth is showing her haul. I've been bad, just haven't taken the time to photograph mine. I love Daiso.

Last but not least we stopped at Quilter's Inn. We had a great visit with Jane and Cyndy. No tour is complete with out a stop at our favorite shops you know! And we bought more Lecien. We just can't help ourselves.

The scorching heat didn't even dampen our spirits, but at 110 it sure did give it a good try! Today's cooler weather, 107, made for a hot day of sewing though. The weather is cooling off for the weekend though, so you'll be spared my whining, about that anyway. Now the only whining I'll be doing is why why why Monica lives so darn far away.

Ok peeps, have a happy and safe holiday weekend.

So the other day...

One thing that's hard about all this stunt sewing for Alex is that I can't reveal any of the projects. And there's SEVEN OF THEM. So while I'm wildy busy sewing I have nothing to show for it. But I can show off this pile of fabric we were working with. Pretty, huh? I love batiks.

I only spent about half an hour with her, it's always high energy there, lots going on, phone calls to make and receive. Fabric companies to contact, boxes of fabrics coming TO MY HOUSE. I almost feel like a celebrity. Almost!

Just for grins I took a picture of these laying on the floor! Alex is getting quilts ready for her Silver Star Salute exhibit at Quilt Market this fall. I'm so happy she's being honored. I really really like Alex, not just because she's a celeb and it's fun to hobnob with her, but because she's really a nice person. And you know what, she really really loves quilting, it's not just a job with her.

Ok peoples. Lots of exciting things coming up, I can't wait to share it all with you. Keep cool, the next couple of days are going to be smokin' hot!

Please accept my apologies now.

Every time I drive over to Elizabeth's I drive past this field that has about 7 ginormous bulls in it. They're huge people. HUGE. HUGE! And when I'm driving by, I think to myself, you know Pam, you need to get a picture of those giant bulls and put it on your blog.

And the caption should say, "That's no bull".

So you can see why I need to apologize. Because 1. ridiculous and 2. Pam, it is a bull.

Ok, thank goodness that's out of my system. Everybody have a good day ok?

Good Morning!

So peeps, how was the weekend? I spent most of it in the sewing room! My stunt sewing is going at break neck speed, I'm almost halfway done. Thank goodness for the Law and Order Criminal Intent marathon yesterday. And for my VCR today!

Of course the weekend isn't just for more work, it's for fun too right? We met up with the girl in San Jose for some lunch at Buca di Beppo.

School starts today! Have a great senior year little girl! I'm so proud of you! Ok, back to work!

Lucky Me!

Today I was invited next-door to Alice-Jane's annual back-to-school luncheon. Alice-Jane is a retired school teacher and most of the women invited are teachers, it's the last week of vacation around here. It was pot luck and OH MY GOSH the food was so good.

Alice-Jane has a beautiful lush green backyard with a big deck, room for lots of tables. She has a lovely old oak tree shading the back, and I can see it from the crispy wasteland that's my backyard.

Lots of tables, all with different linens. She has so many lovely old things, family heirlooms . I remember when she had a baby shower at her house and she had a zillion card tables set with different white linens and real silver and luncheon sets and I thought my head would POP OFF over it all. I think the next week I started my collection of luncheon sets. And today Katie was there, she is the baby from the shower, starting college this fall!

The weather is normally pretty darn hot here this time of year, but it was blissfully perfect today. Sunny, blue sky, breeze, very pleasant for outdoor dining.

The table I sat at had these lovely embroidered birds with matching napkins. Geez, teachers read this, look at that sentence. The tablecloth had embroidered birds and there were matching napkins. Good gravy.

The desserts were so pretty I had to get a picture before serving. Bev brought the most amazing lemon cake. I had a whole piece of that. There were brownies, strawberry pie, my orange cake.. well actually my friend Sandy Close's orange cake which is amazing, and those lemon bars that Glenda made.. yum! I admit it, I had a little of everything.



Look at this charming presentation. They were every bit as good as they look!

Some of the ladies are blog-reading-sewing-friends as well, Ann, Pat, Judy and Kathy. They would meet up with Alice-Jane, Sharon, Glenda and Joyce to sew at the shop. I sure miss sewing Monday's!

It was a really great day. You know the kind, the feel good all day kind. Hope you guys had a great day too!

Bunny Room

Anne says she has a Bunny Room.

I didn't notice one of these in there!

Backyard Inspiration

After a couple of days of fun, I've been sewing like crazy! I have lots of stunt sewing to do for Alex, plus we're in the zone for pre-market secret sewing! But I'm sure I'll have something to blog about... right?

Ok, peeps, happy back-to-school for all you mom's out there. It's a magical time of year, isn't it?

Matchmaker

Believe it or not, I have been doing some for me sewing. I opened up my Minnie Muu packet and look what I made! Don't know if I'll do anything with the pattern, I just enjoyed making it. So what the heck, I decided to show it here. It's all Lecien, but I added some lights for variety.

You might think I was a pretty good piecer being a celebrity stunt quilter and all, but really, it's hard. I think my half square triangles are good and then I come up on this kind of matching...

and it's a crapshoot whether it matches. This kind of matching (two points facing each other) is my kryptonite. I pin and then I baste and then I pull out the threads.. it's an endless process. Sometimes I get lucky and I can make it work. Sometimes, no amount of pinning and basting gives me the results I'm looking for. So, with each project I try and better my skills from cutting to piecing.. and it's worth it. And when I start to feel too frustrated, I just do the best I can, and that keeps me happy while sewing. It's only fun as along as it stays fun, right? If you're not enjoying it, it's time to walk away. For a while anyway.

Today I met up with Alex about our project list. She's sick poor thing, and just has a few days to kick it before her son's wedding this weekend. Anyway, from across the room we went over our list and made some plans. So it's back to work for me.

Plus as a bonus, Frankie will be home for a few days. School starts up soon and she wants to get in a nice visit chock full of meatloaf and spaghetti dinners while she's here. So the pickin's might be slim around here for a few days. Have a good week!

P.S. Check this out. It's amazing. I mean OH!MY!GOSH! And this.. totally cute. How can there be people who don't like fabric?

Sidetracked

With the help of my big LiteTracer II I'm back in business with my Flight of Fancy. I just kept putting off that center block. Man, complicated. This is my first big applique project. Nothing else I've done has required any kind of precision. And this block was the most challenging of all.

I couldn't have done it without Elizabeth gluing down the bias stems. I'm pretty pleased with my results.

Being a dork though, I managed to get the yellow center of the top flower in upside down and had to pry it out and turn it over. And its not in there very well, so naturally, it will bug me. A lot. Maybe when it's blanket stitched, it will be better. You know, so I can get over it.

How's your week going peoples?

Trouble in Paradise

It's always something around here.

This time, even after carefully prepping the walls, this paint peeled off. Down to the paint before last. What the heck? Thankfully by then end of the day Sunday it was done. Well you know, painted. Done is a whole different story.

Consider it Done

Well the floor and cabinets anyway. Still need some paint in there. But its good.

And I really like how the handles look.

Will this work?

Have a good weekend peeps!

Closing in

I can't wait!

Progress

Over here at PKM headquarters we're taking a brief break to have our bathroom floor installed. This means not only a new floor, but a lot of barking dog action and chaos in general. I'll be back when it's over. And yes, that photo shows that I FINALLY picked out handles and knobs. How long has it been?

Have a good week peeps! xo

Oh so sad

Well it is a little sad, I packed the little bunny into her purse and brought her back home. In her cruel and calculating way, she was extra sweet to make me miss her more. She sat on me for quite a while sleeping and she never did that here, preferring to jump around outside and terrorize me with her little claws. Her menacing little claws. Yeah, bunnies, they seem so sweet...

Anyway, I had a fun day with my girl. My actual girl. We had a nice lunch in Carmel at The Cottage. Then we window shopped a bit. She took me to Findings, a little sewing store. I picked up a piece of linen toweling. They have a nice supply of Moda's discontinued by the yard toweling, with pretty colors.

And hey, look what I see sitting here, Sweet Sandy's book. I love seeing my friends out and about!
I saw this and had to grab a photo for my mural loving friend Jen. She did a whole series of mural photos from her town. I think of her all the time when I see murals, and think to myself you know I could do some mural posts! But then I laugh, I mean come on, I'm way too lazy for that.

And you know it's easy to post pretty things on your blog but it takes real talent to find and share this kind of photo goodness with you people! This house is on a little short cut road we take.. It never fails to crack me up.

So when I got home, Bret had the whole bathroom where Binnie was staying cleaned up. He didn't want me to walk by and feel bad, missing the girl (and also seeing what a state that new bathroom was in.) He's a great husband like that. Still, this morning when I glanced in, I missed seeing her. But then that white tile was so shiny ... well anyway. Have a good weekend peoples!