Happy Friday!

Hi there peeps! We've reached the end of another week! Was it good? Glad it's over? Either way we made it to Friday again! Thursday was  productive, work around the house, some peas, some laundry, some sewing. I feel pretty good about it over all!

Here's the latest from the hummingbirds. I took these on Wedneday after I caught one of them really fluttering it's wings in the nest. You can tell there isn't much room for that kind of action. I wanted to catch them at least one more time before they flew away.

But it looks like they might be there for a few more days. I'll try to catch them again later today or Saturday.  I hope I get to see these fly off.

This looks a little more like it, right? I feel  happy about this one, it works with the other blocks. We're closing in on the end of this project, can't wait to see what Jackie has up her sleeve for setting options. I've really enjoyed seeing everyone's blocks on flickr.

And last but not least, MONDAY I'm on Pat's show on American Patchwork and Quilting radio!!!! It's so exciting and mortifying at the same time! I hope you listen (I think!)

So that's a ton of stuff today! Hope you guys have an awesome weekend!!! xo

Thursday (imaginative, right?)

Good morning! As you can see I've settled back in at the crime scene. We've had some nice cool mornings lately, and if I get up early enough, I don't feel like the day is slipping away if I have a cup of coffee out there. Or two.

I've been busy, but didn't even go into the sewing room yesterday. I don't think I can spin my trip to OSH into a fabulous outing, so I'll spare you that. I guess that's about it. It's slumpy here, but not unhappy, so I can be glad about that. Nothing worse than a case of the grouchies. Hope you're keeping cool or warm where ever you are! xo

June

So hey peeps, how are you? Here's my block for June.. well the first one anyway. Clearly it needs to be made again so it looks like it goes with the rest of the blocks. (Sorry here's your warning, spell check isn't working for me.. continue at your own risk.)

This block looks like it needs googly eyes on those two center gingham squares. And the pink? Where was I going with that? So mooshy you can't even tell it's there. All mediums. I'm a mess lately with these blocks. Where's my blue? The green? No matter what I put in the different spots, nothing seemed right till I was over matched and then it just seemed wrong.

Oh well, like I've said before, it's only fabric. I can remake it. In the meantime not much time spent in the sewing room lately. Don't know what's up with that.   I think I'm in a sewing slump.  I've been busy around the house doing this and that, like vacuuming. And those Black Eyed Peas are taking up more and more of my time. Of course each day I wake up feeling like I'm 100 and that possibly my arms will fall right out of their sockets but I fire up that xbox and go at it another day.

Ok before I forget, here's the list of bloggers for the Free Spirit Christmas in July Block-a-thon! Start collecting your fabrics so you're ready!

July 2th - Heather at Fiberosity
July 5nd - Pat Sloan
July 6th – Melanie at Melanie Dramatic
July 9th - Pam at Pam Kitty Morning
July 11th - Kelsey at Kelsey Creates
July 13th - Katie at Swim Bike Quilt
July 16th - Kim at Persimon Dreams
July 18th - Amanda at Sasikirana
July 20th - Jane at QuiltJane
July 23th - Kristy at St Louis Folk Victorian
July 25th – Kimberly at Fat Quarter Shop
July 27rd - Lee at Freshly Pieced
July 30th - Jennifer at MJ and Co
August 1st – Mishka at Quilting Gallery
August 3rd - Tiffiny at Free Patchwork Quilt Info
August 6th - Tacha at Fat Quarterly
August 8th – Megan at Canoe Ridge Creations
August 10th – Jocelyn at It’s Sew Emma
August 13th – Final Quilt Reveal!

Ok, see you back here!!! Have fun!

Happy Tuesday!

Holy smokes folks! Yesterday afternoon I was looking at flickr and saw that Fiberchick had already uploaded her block! Check it out here! I really like the white she has with the small green dots then the big white dots on green. My own block in PKM is done, but I was too busy to get a picture in the morning, then in the afternoon I was too lazy after a workout with the Black Eyed Peas on my Kinect. Totally love it, but after about 40 minutes I'm just DONE!

But we need to get down to business and talk winners! First up is Gayle, who said "What a fun new quilt! Please add my name into the drawing....." and  second is Junebug who said "Love the dot quilt as I call it! I am here every morning with my coffee cup in hand. But do I comment,seldom! So guilty as charged. Now to have a chance for copy of More Take 5 Quilts you got me commenting.
One more thing I am so in love with your fabric!!!!"

So  Gayle and Junebug, email me your addresses and I'll get your copies of Kathy's new book in the mail!   Thanks to everyone who left a comment and who followed along on all the other blogs.  Ok, back here tomorrow ok?

Blogger's Block of the Month 10- JUNE!

Welcome to Month 10 of the Blogger's Block of the Month! I can't believe my day is finally here! So far there have been a lot of great blocks, and of course as usual, IT'S NOT TOO LATE PEOPLE!

These are the pieces we're working with today! (Ignore that clipped triangle,ok!) But don't worry, you don't have to write everything down, just read along for right now! That's (1) 4 7/8 inch square and (1) 2 7/8 inch purple square cut in half diagonally, (3) 2 7/8 inch green squares cut in half diagonally, (2) 2 7/8 inch squares each of the gold and plum fabrics cut in half diagonally, and (2) 2 1/2 inch squares each of the gray and stripe.

Stitch half square triangles from the purple 2 7/8 inch triangles and the green triangles. Make two of those squares, then stitch the remaining green triangles onto those half square triangle squares as shown here. Make two of those units.

Then stitch those units to the large purple triangle. Make 2 of those.

Next up, make two gold and plum half square triangles.

Then join them together with your remaining squares as shown. Make 2!

You're in the home stretch now, just sew those 4 units together into your block and you're done for another month!

Phew, this is how it all turns out!

Instead of getting out your tablet and writing all this down, click here and print your instructions to go! Be patient, it takes a little bit to download, but it's there! When you're done, upload your photos to the flickr group.

Friday!

Happy Friday! I can't believe we've jetted through another whole week in the blink of an eye! How was it? I managed to get a little bit of a lot of things done, so no good progress photos on anything.

A couple of people have inquired about the hummingbirds so I thought I'd show you an update on them. The picture above was taking on 6/19. You can barely see their little bodies in there.

By the 20th the two birds are much bigger! (and pretty gross looking!) The mother can barely fit on the nest with them, you can see she's just perched practically on the edge of the nest.

She's away from the nest quite a bit, and I can see those beaks poking out, opening and closing, kind of in a baby silent scream. It's weird, I'm not going to lie. At night the mom pushes them down into the nest and settles down covering the top of the nest.

That's the scoop here. Do you have big weekend plans? It's going to be cool here! I'm so happy about it! Happy weekending peeps! xo

!!!NEWSFLASH!!!

Elizabeth has added some PDF patterns to her website, including the pattern for my fun Farmer's Market Bag!

Counting my Blessings

How goes it people? Is it hot where you are? Wednesday was the hottest day this week so far, and now we're on the cool down. That's the nice thing about living in this little valley, the cool air from the Pacific works it's way out between the hills and cools us off between hot spells. It makes for a lovely break, which I truly appreciate.

Speaking of appreciation, Tuesday a much appreciated sweet surprise showed up at my doorstep! Shocked! I wasn't expecting a thing!

The little package revealed this gem, along with a sweet note from Pam. She found this little kitten at an estate sale and thought of me. It's so totally me, I love anything anthropomorphic, and of course it's a sassy kitten! Pam totally 'gets' me.

Pam your sweet gift is so thoughtful and I really appreciate it. I can't tell you how it  made my day!  I am the luckiest person for having a friend like Pam, and all the other sweet people I have met via the blog.   I hope you guys all have a sweet day! xo

More Take 5 Quilts

Good morning people! It's a great day here today.. why you ask?

Because today is my day on the blog hop for Kathy's great book More Take 5 Quilts! I'm particularly lucky, I happened to have had a chance to actually make a quilt for this book. Here's the one I made!

It's made with Annie's Farm Stand from LakeHouse. I like Kathy's designs so much we included some digital quilts in the Pam Kitty Love sales booklet. I think they really show off the fabric, which is what makes them so perfect. Sometimes you have a great fabric you want to show off and you're looking for just that perfect pattern.

One of my favorite quilts in the book is Take 5 Climbs Jacobs Ladder. I couldn't wait to show off one of my favorite whites on this design. Using a print backgrounds is one of the things I love to do, and this pattern is perfect for it. Kathy's patterns are so simple to follow and the results are so fantastic.

It's a great book full of great quilts. You've probably seen some over at Tara's and Carrie's blogs. Tomorrow is some sassy sister's, I don't know that any of us can guess what you'll see then!

It's your lucky day as well! I happen to have two copies of Kathy's More Take 5 Quilts to share! Leave me a comment and I'll draw 2 names  and let you know on Monday!

Excitement!

Good morning! What are you guys up to? Did you listen to Pat Sloan's American Patchwork and Quilting Radio Show yesterday? It was a Super Friends show, first up new friend Jill from Jilily Studios. I met her this past market in Kansas City, she was hanging out with our mutual pal Barbara Jones and any friend of Barb's is a friend of mine.

Next up was Super Friend Nanette. She couldn't have sounded more poised and in control of herself. And I was totally weepy over the kind things she said about me. Lastly was Super Friend Roseann. You know her from a million places, I'll just link to her facebook page. She's most famous there!

I know you think I'm not doing anything but laying around the house. And you wouldn't be too far from the truth! But I did manage to make my May block of the month so I can rest up a couple of days till June's block. Honestly. Here's a block that's cute, I mean yeah, I think it's cute, but it's so far off the original block I don't even recognize it.  Cathy's block is the perfect Jewel Box block. My red pieces are just too bold compared to my yellow and blue pieces.  That being said, I actually think it's ok. I also changed up the center using a solid square.  I guess I should pay more attention to value!

Tomorrow is my day on the blog hop. I hope you're following along. Monday was Tara and today is Carrie. Another pair of Super Friends. I'm just one lucky gal. You might be lucky, so be sure and follow along to take a chance at winning one of Kathy's book!

Busy Busy Week

Hi there friends! How are you and how was your weekend? It was a scorcher here 107 on Saturday! To say 'not cool' is an enormous understatement! We had some fun celebrating dad here, lunching, movies, barbeques! And now we're back to Monday!

Just to tease you a bit, I'm letting you know I'm participating in the Free Spirit Christmas in July Blockathon!Click over and read the announcement, then stay tuned to the Free Spirit blog for more information!

That's not all the fun we're having this week either! Kathy is having a blog hop to celebrate the publication of her new Take 5 Book! You know I wouldn't want to miss taking part in that! Hop over to her blog and find out about today's blogger!

Ok, that's it for today! But stay tuned this week!!!

It's finally Friday!

End of the week peeps! Sometimes they speed by and this week sure feels like that.. how about for you?

Today I'm hoping to get in a visit with Alex. It's been a while since we had a chance to catch up. And what about this weekend? Hope to have a nice Father's Day for Bret. Nothing fancy, just some appreciation for what a great dad he is! Hope you guys have a great weekend. Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!!!

(not so much)Progress Report

Not much progress has been made around here on the sewing front. I spent a lot of time puttering outside cutting back roses, watering, spider hunting.

This quilt goes together in rows of half hexagons, so there is no inset piecing. I love how it looks so far, and if I had a better attention span I'd be farther along. (This is not the final layout, just what I have made right now.) Looking at the calender has reminded me that I need to make my May block for the Blogger's Block of the Month, June's block is almost out! And I'm June! Don't worry though, I'm all ready for my post!

Can you believe it's Thursday already?

Tuesday's Troubles

You might recognize this spot from yesterday, it's right next to the swing where I sit in my pj's enjoying coffee in the morning. It looks pretty peaceful, like oh, sure sit down and have a cool beverage after you water Pam. It's hot, you need a break. Don't worry, nothin' goin' on around here.

Until some water hit the little house and !!BAM!! out popped the fattest black widow spider I have ever seen! HOLY CRAP! THAT IS NOT COOL.  Way. Not. Cool.

Worst part? I cannot find it now. 

Meanderings

I know you expected to see a bunch of half hexagons today, but I was lazy about getting a photo together. I had a meandering morning of reading blogs, watering my pots out back, and monitoring the temps in the house to know exactly when to shut the windows. I need to get back to the groove of knowing when it all needs doing, so it will take a while to perfect my system again.

It all seems rather bucolic when written out, but it's just me dinking around the house. I've settled into my  summer routine of avoiding the heat. Well, that's my routine while I wait for my strike offs to come. That's right, I can't forget Pam Kitty Love!!!  But it will be a while.  So I need to pace myself.

Yikes, I just heard the buzzer, the dryer is done. You have to get at these things early in the morning or late in the evening here in California. Ok my fair people have a good day!

Monday!

Happy Monday my fair people! How are you? I'm on lock down today, car is being serviced so I'm stuck at home. (not really locked down, there's the pickup to drive) I really want to get started on a project and try and stick to it all day. I mean come on, it's a perfect day, no car and my fav crime fighters should be on tv!

Cut these strips way back before quilt market. I have been wanting to make American Jane's Mini Merry-go-Round since I saw the sample at Quiltique back in March of 2010!

I am just going to take it easy, sew a strip set, cut a set of triangles, make the blocks. Who knows how long it will take. I think I did three over the weekend and it was fun. So what else is up with you guys? Summer is upon us right? Tell me your plans!

Finally Friday

Good morning people! How are you this fine Friday? Took long enough to get here is all I can say.. what a long week.

The pillow is done and you can see it's just ok. It has a bit of a crooked vibe, even though everything measures up. That kind of thing bugs me like crazy. Totally wish I'd put the silhouette more on the bias, I just like that look better. In the true PKM fashion though, I'm over it. It was fun and something to make and now I can move along. Live and learn. What I do love are those cute Go! Baby flowers. They are so cheerful.

So what's on the weekend agenda? I think I'll be working in the yard a bit. The weather is supposed to be nice, although it's creeping back to the high 80's on Sunday. Maybe I'll prep another project to get started on. I'd love some mindless sewing, next week looks to be busy! Have a happy weekend peeps! xo

Yak Yak Yak

Spent some time on the swing yesterday, and it was delightful. Up early, the air is crisp, and it's pretty quiet. Till someone in a neighboring house starts up the gas blower! Holy cow that ruins a moment really fast. Of course as soon as I finished getting my stuff moved back into the house, wouldn't you know it, they stopped. Somedays you just need to go with the flow.

Ran some errands, poked around the yard a bit and then settled down and machine quilted my pillow top. I have the binding on it, still needs the handwork, so not done in time to show you today. It's cute, not as cute as I thought, but then I don't have the pillow in yet. We'll see. It's not ugly. I don't think anyway, and really if it is I can take it. That's the good thing about fabric, it's just fabric. The world won't end if my pillow is not up to standards. I'm sure it's good enough to be scrunched into the corner of the sofa till it's a misshaped lump. Which is what happens to most pillows around here that aren't in protective custody.

Ok, enough blathering.. that binding won't sew itself right?

Another Day

So what are you guys up to? I've been working around the house, doing a lot of small things, you can't tell that there's any progress anywhere. I went out back yesterday and trimmed back my iceberg rose, seems like my roses all bloom at once, then all need pruning. I have to pace myself a little, there's only so much room in the green can. The weather has been pleasant and the rain earlier this week makes everything seem fresh and green. Like my fig tree.. look how beautiful and green the leaves are. And I have figs growing!

I owe these figs to Bret who watered while I was gone. I didn't have any figs last year, so I think he was the lucky charm!

I am continuing on the pillow, and already am filled with regrets. I used my Go! Baby to cut some flowers, leaves and circles for centers. I love the shapes, I used the Rose of Sharon die. I didn't use fusible though just used a little glue to baste the shapes down, and they're kind of a pain to machine blanket stitch.

Not that it can't be done, mind you. It's just a bit of a challenge when they want to move a bit or the foot gets caught underneath. Haste makes waste is an old adage for a good reason it looks like!

While out back I checked on the nest while the humming bird was away. Tried to get a photo inside but my stepstool is too short to really get above it. I tipped the nest towards me and can see there are two tiny white eggs in there. Couldn't get a photo to save my life and the poor bird was having a meltdown so I really needed to get back in the house and leave her alone.

Not that I didn't traumatize her further and head back out to get her photo.  I need to get a grip.

Time to tell you who the winners are! Clara from Clover and Violet, MadreKarin and Mamabug... email me your mailing address and I will get your goodies in the mail!!! Ok, very special peoples.. that's it for today!

Jubilee-ish!

So it was a total Jubilee-ish feeling weekend here. Frankie's big box from England arrived and as you can see, we scored some Jubilee tins. Thank goodness I 'eavesdropped' on a twitter conversation between Sarah and Katy and found out that there were tins to be had. Our passion for stuff like this knows no bounds. Thankfully Frankie has a friend, Martin, who was able to score them for us. Thanks Martin! (did you see Nanette's cute Jubliee stuff? Darling.)

Anyway, I got all inspired to make a Jubilee-ish pillow, so I'm getting started on that. When we're involved in all the pre-Quilt Market stuff all I can think about is how much I wish I was just sewing for fun, but now I can't remember what I wanted to make. I'm weird, I know. Anyway yesterday I got out the Go! Baby even. I know! Crazy! I already gave Elizabeth a sneak peek and she thinks it's pretty cute. She could be humoring me, so we'll have to wait and see.

Thanks to everyone who left nice comments on my Aurifil Block of the Month!It was scary but fun to try something outside my comfort zone. I appreciate the opportunity to try new things!

Ok guess I'll get back to work on my pillow. Tell me what's new with you!

Hard to believe it's June already! And with the first week of June comes the Aurifil Block of the Month post! And I'm June! First off let me say I'm so thrilled to be included and in such a wonderful group of designers. You probably saw this group shot over at Pat's blog,it's a picture of all the designers that attended quilt market. What a group!

I love these Aurifil 12 wt. threads. My favorite thing is that they're on a spool and you don't have to separate them. That's the lazy in me. I also love that you can use them in your machine! I used them here for blanket stitching, love the results. I'm currently embroidering a slightly larger version of my design onto a tea towel. I love old linens and I think those lazy daisy flowers look old fashioned. You can count on my project being easy, I'm not as experienced as the rest of the designers!

The colors are so vibrant. They just say summer to me, zinnias, hibiscus, daisies. I hope you give my project a try! Be sure and click over to the Aurifil blog to get the project handout.. not to mention read all about me! Nothing shocking there for you regulars!

When you're done, be sure and add your picture to the flickr group! There are a lot of people stitching up a storm.

What I did on my summer vacation.

Honestly people, my photos from the vacation are pretty sparse but I do have these from my visit to Rosebud's Cottage. As you know, I rode back from Quilt Market to Minnesota with Roseann. Our trip started with a really great tour of the Fabri-Quilt offices and warehouse, you should go check out Roseann's post about it here. 

Anyway we had a total blast driving from Kansas City to Minnesota, stopping along the way at Historic Valley Junction for lunch and some antique shopping. We also drove past the headquarters for Meridith Publishing, which is where our American Patchwork and Quilting comes from!

Tuesday, thinking Roseann hadn't had enough of my company, Linda and I went over to see her and the new shop location. As usual, the store is darling. Here's Roseann showing off a PKM project.

Roseann has a nice selection of PKM. Which leads me to today's bonus feature, a give away! I have three lovely gifts from Roseann's shop. The first is A Skinny Minnie Table Runner kit. Totally cute featuring PKM of course!

Second up is a Wool Strawberry Pincushion Kit and third is the darling Vintage Tomato Pincushion kit, as featured above! Leave me a comment and I'll pick a winner. Be sure and check out Roseann's blog,  and where to really catch her is on Facebook, she's always got something going on there.

Ok everybody, have a nice weekend! xo