Thanks to Terry M. !!!

Hi There!

A week or two ago, Terry M. and I
had a evening of email chit-chat.

Our topic of conversation?

Her definition of a UFO -
an Un-Finished Object.

If I were to go with MY definition of a UFO,
then I would only have, perhaps only 3 or 4.

A UFO, in MY opinion is a quilt that you
started to work on and stopped...
for whatever reasons, right?

Oh, I have several zip-locked bags
of swapped blocks, on my shelves.

S'far as I'm concerned, these aren't UFO's, right?
I mean, I haven't touched these, eh?

Well.... according to TERRY M'S definition
of a UFO, all these darn swapped blocks
and Siggie Swapped blocks and any other
blocks that I have languishing around....
Well, all of THESE are UFO's!!!



So, I took a few days to mull over HER definition
of a UFO... even discussed this with a good friend,
who... BTW... agreed with me!
(Good friends ALWAYS agree with you! LOL)

Terry, my dear friend...
you KNOW I'm just teasing you, right? *VBG*

Anyhow, I then kind of panicked and took out
my FFF (Fabulous Fall Frolic) swapped blocks
and decided to work on them.

Which is why I've now got
THREE projects on the go....

BTW, in case you haven't figured it out, yet....
the bottom blocks are missing their "strips"
and I still need to make 2 more blocks.

Hope you guys and gals have a GREAT week -
either with or without your UFO's!

LOL

Rosa

After Work, I've Been Hooking!

Hi There!

Okay, as some of you might remember,
last Saturday, I went to our local
rug hooking shop and picked up
a few items.... just to see if I'd like this
new craft project.

My friend Karen and the shop owner both
suggested that I start with a simple and small project.

An 8 inch project and that I should
draw a very simple design.

Well, I decided on a heart.
Easy, right?

Karen told me,
"Gee, that's exactly what I DID for my 1st project, too!!!"

Here's a closeup of my hook.



And here's a closeup of my "heart".

I'm guessing that I've got about
half of it done, so far.

Have NO IDEA how I'm going to finish it off,
but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it..

*grin*

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Daylight Saving Time... Finally Explained!!

Hi There!

Received this in my email box, this evening.

I think it speaks for itself.
*grin*



Have a great week!

Rosa

7 in 4.5 hours!!!

Hi There!

Okay, those of you that say you don't have time to do a Dear Jane BOW (Block Of the Week), I managed to do SEVEN blocks yesterday.... in 4-1/2 hours!

No, I didn't rush about like I was on the Sewing Olympics, but I didn't dilly dally either. I paper pieced these ones and even had the time to remove most of the pieces of papers behind the blocks.

I realized, Thursday evening that I had mis-counted - insert a LONG SIGH here - and that I had to make ELEVEN more blocks, for the "Stripper's Delight" pattern.



Wait a sec - This gets worst.

One of my friends, the week
BEFORE had offered to send me HER
FFF (Fabulous Fall Frolic) swapped blocks,
as she really didn't think she'd ever have
the time to do anything with them
and I had chuckled at her offer and politely told her...
"No, but no thanks!"

(enter the words - STUPID ROSA - here)

LOL

Anyhow, yesterday afternoon, I decided to put my foot to the pedal and zip these babies out! I also found a pattern with small appliquéd leaves, to fit on a 4-1/2 inch block.

Worked on the appliqués yesterday evening and finished off their stems, this afternoon.

I now have 3 more of these darlings to make.

Now, I'll just need to square these up and "frame" them!

This morning, my friend Karen called me up, to accompany her to our one and only hook rug shop... approximately 1/2 an hour from here. Well, after a bit of coaxing, I told her "Yes.", but in my mind, I wasn't going to buy ANYTHING! ... although this lady DOES carry some fabrics, also.

*LONG THEATRICAL SIGH*

Well, I got suckered into my first hook rug project. Needless to say, Karen was jumping up and down with joy! She's a "hooker" and I'm a "quilter" and deep down inside, I had always hoped that I would convert her.
Who knew, eh? I think she had the same feelings, too!

Only her "feelings" won over mine!

LOL

Well, I think those rugs are ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE!!!

Will keep you all posted on my progress....

Headin' downstairs in Sewing Studio to prep that project!

Oh yah!

After my outting with Karen and once I got home, Gilbert and I headed out to pick up a gift for another friend. Neither one of us had had dinner, so we stopped at Vito's Restaurant. I had shishkababs(SP?) and Gilbert had Penne Zesto.



Can you say "Delicious"?!??!

*VBG*

Anyhow, have a great weekend!
Now I'm REALLY headin' downstairs!

Rosa

Gosh, I'm Smart!!!! LOL

Hi there!

Received this in my email box and I thought I'd share with all of you...

****************************************************

With time, women gain weight because we accumulate so much information and wisdom in our heads that when there is no more room, it distributes out to the rest of our bodies.

So we aren't heavy, we are enormously cultured, educated and happy.

Beginning today, when I look at my butt in the mirror I will think, �Good grief, look how smart I am!�



****************************************************

Have a GREAT weekend!!!!

Rosa

Fall Stripping

Hi There!

Okay, here's my surprise picture!

Remember that FFF (Fabulous Fall Frolic)
Block sway that I was in, a while back?

Well, I decided to size these blocks up
and do something with them...

but what?!?!



When I saw Prairie Moon's
"Stripper's Delight"....
Well, I fell head over heals in love with her pattern!

But I did modify it, a bit. Instead of doing a 4 patch in the center of the blocks, I decided to use up my FFF blocks.

I'm almost finished the "stripping" - talk about easy! LOL

Can't wait to put them on my design wall and figure out which bock goes beside which one.

*VBG*

Rosa

What's a Gal To Do, Eh?

Hi There!

I had an EXTREMELY stressful day at work today and when I got home, I just wanted to drown myself in my fabric stash!

And I'm positive that a lot of you will be able to relate to what I'm about to share with you. *s*

I'm now working on my log cabin with the appliqué'd flowers, handquilting a cute little 30's table mat and I'm in the middle of doing some intense quilting with the polka dot circle quilt - those are my on-going quilt projects.

Soooooo, what do I do?!?!? I start up yet ANOTHER quilt! After the kind of day that I had, I really wasn't into intense machine quilting with those polka dots, the hand quilting quilt was at the office (that's my break time project) and I didn't feel like getting blurry-eyed with the flower appliqués, so I jumped in and started a THIRD quilt project! LOL

The pattern's called "Stripper's Delight" and Prairie Moon Quilts has it on their web site, for FREE!

Besides, with a name like that, who can resist it, eh? LOL

Now, I've added my own little twist to this quilt and I'll be sharing pictures, soon.... but just not yet. *s*

Tomorrow's E and J Day!

Have a great week!

Rosa

Wait for Weight?

Hi there!

Yesterday morning (Saturday),
Gilbert and I left the house to do some
errands and grab a couple Geocaches.

Here's Gilbert, after we found our 1st geocache.

Would you believe that THIS one was only
2 blocks away from our house?!?!?

Incredible, eh?



From there, we went to the Bulk Barn.

You can buy a LOT of dry goods and stuff,
in "bulk". It's one of Gilbert's favorite stores!

Went to a few other places and nabbed one other geocache.

Then, back home and I got into my "Studio"!

Yesterday was (inter)National Quilting Day!

But, before I got into the serious sewing,
I needed to clean up my area, first.

"Before Pic"

"After Pic"

Worked on machine appliqueing
my leaves and then, the flowers,
on my log cabin quilt, until my vision got blurry.

Well, when my vision gets blurry,
from staring at the appliques too long,
I either turn off the sewing machine
or move onto another project.

I decided to work on a new BOM,
that our local Quilt Shop started.

This time around, I just LOVE the colors!

Too bad my camera didn't pick up
these lovely colors...

Oh... and here's a closeup of my
flower appliques...

And one of the quilt, itself.

I still have a few more "flowers" (the pink part)
to applique and the golden centers to do.

Okay, one thing I wanted to mention,
from my previous post was that
a very, very young,
Cat Steven's wrote and sang
"The First Cut is the Deepest".

And THAT'S WHY I made reference to it,
in my previous blog...

I was singing this song, as I was cutting
into my friend Elaine's gorgeous fabrics...

*VBG*

Got an email from my friend Barb, with a lot of cute "thoughts".

Here's one:

"Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty and you get to wear them forever."

Well, since I've gained all this extra weight, I can tell you that I only have ONE pair of pants left, that fit... for work. I call it my "uniform", even though I work in an office and we don't have "uniforms".

LOL

Anyhow, another friend of mine told me, today that I've encouraged her to loose some weight and to exercise. She didn't wait (or is that weight? LOL) till the 1st of April. She's gotten on the band wagon.. RIGHT NOW - TODAY, EVEN!

Anyhow, anyone else want to join me in my quest to be a slimmer person?

Think about it. I'm starting April 1st and NO, it's NOT an April Fool's joke, either!

*grin*

Have a great week!

Rosa

Cat Stevens' Sings My Song!

Hi there!

In the words and voice of Cat Stevens', I've decided to start using some of my friend's fabrics.

I had pre-cut the strips for this log cabin BEFORE I received her gorgeous fabrics, but I decided to dig into the April Cornell, for the appliquéd flowers and for the border.

*grin*

This morning, I had all my log cabins done. They then had to be squared off and sewn together.

DONE !

Then, I had to cut my "background" fabrics - that's the ivory colored blocks.

Done !

Then, I had to trace my flowers and stems and leaves, on some Wunder Under, cut them out and re-iron them on my background blocks.

Done !

Nope, I haven't added the leaves on the block, yet. And I went and pinned up the outside border fabric.... for your viewing pleasure.

This pattern came from "Anka's Treasures", by Heather Mulder Peterson. Each and every quilt in this book, IMHO, is SOOOOOO adorable and do-able, too!

Rosa

Off to Moncton, again!

Hi There!

Well, Gilbert and I left early this morning, to go to Moncton, for some serious shopping. Moncton's about 1-1/2 hours away from here and we don't go there every weekend.

Moncton has Princess Auto.

"Why do I love going to PA?", you ask.

Well, picture a big hardware and automotive parts store, throw in some gardening stuff and machinery, computer, television, iPod and MP3 accessories, a few children's toys, odds and ends - you never know what they will have in their discount shelves... and you've got Princess Auto!

What's NOT to love, eh?
LOL

And Moncton has a Costco, for now... 'cause my city is almost finished building OUR Costco!

Well, 300 bucks later.... need I say more?!?!?
LOL

And would you believe that I took my nifty little camera with me and never took ONE picture?!?!?

Anyhow, since I HATE to blog without pictures, I thought I'd share with you, one of our home office walls. Gilbert hung up Karen's lovely painted "quilt", this evening. Underneath her quilt, is a picture of Gilbert and I, at our first Geocaching Event. Gilbert even painted the frame in Geocaching colours!

There's our clock, to the right. It used to have a circle of changing neon colours, but the lights burnt and Gilbert unplugged the "light" part.

Underneath that clock, you can see that I have a map of the USA. It helps sometimes when one of my Canadian friends tell me that they might be taking a course in North Dakota and I need to know, in my mind, where that will be. *grin*

Actually, I very often look on this map to see what part of the US you're in. *s*

And you've caught me.

I have a web cam to chat with my friends on Skype and have a small collection of Red Rose Tea ornaments, on that little shelf.

The big black square thing, on the bottom left is part of our tv.



Yesterday evening, I added a "Books From My Library Thing". I had tried to upload a "Shelfari"... I think that's how it's called. Anyhow, it REALLY slowed down my blog site. So, I decided to go with "Books From My Library Thing". I need to add the 2 books that are pre-ordered, thanks to 2 wonderful birthday gifts, from 2 wonderful friends! *grin*

Also, have any of you ever tried "Fiber Scarves"?

I went and bought some "water soluable" web thingies... to try it.

I told Gilbert that I would make myself a bathing suit with this "water soluable" fabric.

He caught on within a few seconds and said,
"Hey, go for it! Should be interesting!"

LOL

Well, that's about it for this Saturday evening.

We had a HUMUNGOUS meal, at Harvey's
and it's now 8h10 p.m and we haven't had supper yet.

Hmmmm...
Supper might be something as simple as nachos and salsa.

Later 'gators!

Rosa

Karen's / Rosa's gifty!!!

Hi There!

I invited my friend Karen here, this afternoon, as I had a surprise for her.

Today, I would let go of one of my quilts and give it to Karen. Deep down inside, I was worried that she wouldn't like it, worried that she might refuse it... Sad, as I would be letting go of one of my "babies" ... yet EXTREMELY happy to give her this gift.

What a hodge podge of feelings, eh?
*grin*

Well, as you can tell by the picture, Karen was quite pleased!
I had her read the label, on the back of the quilt, and as she realized that it was for HER, her eyes grew bigger and bigger!

*VBG*

And WOW!!!!!!!

Karen, in the meantime, and without knowing that "I" had created a gifty for her...

She TOO had an incredible gifty for me!!!

Karen, the non-quilter, had looked up a quilt pattern on the internet and drew a quilt, on canvas and painted it with markers. She even included the little "quilt" lines on it, too!

And, OF COURSE, it was done in our Geocaching colors!!!!

And here's what she wrote around her painting:

"You don't need coordinates or a fancy-smancy GPS
to find an awesome friend in this
world, but sometimes the GPS helps you find one anyway. :-)
To robich, my awesome friend! - K.J. McLean 2009"

Isn't that the coolest?!??!?

Gilbert and I are off to Moncton, tomorrow....
Shopping expedition!
*grin*

Have a great weekend!

Rosa

UFO #3 (Blues 'N Brights)

Hi There!

Well, I'm not sure if you all remember, but I had started this "blue" crumb quilt in November, I believe.



Took 2 pictures of it, inside my Studio.

One side, is made with a bunch of blue scraps... "crumb block" style, and the OTHER side is made with only BRIGHT colors!

I just LOVE the bright colors with the purple border and lime colors!

Anyhow, it's been washed and is now in the dryer.

Pick me with a fork - I'm DONE!!!
*wipes her 2 hands together*

Rosa

Box #5 - Elaine's Civility

Hi There!

Well, in my 5th and final box, Elaine had put mostly Civil War Fabrics.... Oh but MY GOODNESS, these are gorgeous fabrics!!!



Take a look at these fabrics!

The ones on the left hand side, I had to take a close up picture, to share with you. These fabrics would make a GORGEOUS fall quilt, or even for Halloween!

Then, she had included a BIG piece of cute little flower buds from the "Quest For a Cure" collection and 2 panels from this collection, also. I ADORE panels for placemats and .... don't tell me these panels aren't SCREAMING placemats!?!?!?

Lovely teapots and cute little round tables and Victorian flowers, everywhere?!??

Took a close up, of this cute scene.

Now.... I put these 2 panels up against April Cornell's fabrics.... and they're SPECTACULAR!!!
(be still my heart!!!)

LOL

Well, that's it for the Box Gifty sharing. I have a few UFOs (UnFinished Objects) that I want to get out of the way, first.... but I can assure you that I will probably be BORING YOU ALL TO TEARS, when I start playing with these new fabrics!!!

Tks for letting me play "Show 'N Tell" !!!!

Rosa

Box #4 - This 'n That

Hi There!

Well, isn't this starting to sound like one of those games where the host asks the contestant, "Now, behind all three doors, there's a prize. Which door would you like to pick?"

LOL

In Box #4, there were STILL loads of gorgeous fabrics.... a mixture of this and that, although I did see some that must have been from the same "family" - that's what I've been calling it.
*grin*




And then, this bundle of fabrics.... ALL in Box #4 !

Incredible, eh?

Rosa

Box #3 - Decadent Victorian!!!

Hi There

Well, ALL of the boxes are incredible,
but this one really had my jaw drop!

When I quickly went through them,
yesterday evening, I called up Elaine
and asked her if she was in mourning...

How could she POSSIBLY get rid of all these INCREDIBLE fabrics?!?!??

She appeared to be quite happy, instead of sad.
I was astonished!
Her reply?
"Hey, I was able to walk into my stash closet,
walk around and even VACUUM it!"

In box #3, she sent me
April Cornell's Decadent Victorian - Moda!!!

Once again, I took 2 pictures of the same fabrics.
ALL of these fabrics intermix and match!

UN-BAH-LEE-VAH-BULL!!!!



Here are the greeens.

And the burgundy's and deep plums.

And then, these INCREDIBLE ivories!!!

Elaine... honestly...
these fabrics are almost TOO gorgeous to cut into!

What am I to do with them?!?!?

*VBG*

Thank you, my friend..
from the bottom of my heart!

Rosa

Box # 2 - Sparkling Fabs!!!

Hi There!

Okay, my friend Elaine knew that I had made a "Sparkling Jane", with sparkly Christmas fabrics and she put a LOT of gorgeous Christmas (glittery) fabrics, in this box!

I took 2 pictures - with and without the flash,
in hopes that you can see
the gorgeous colors in these fabrics!

She also included 2 pieces of beautiful florals
and added the matching pink and green!

PLUS, a lovely BIG piece of flannel!!!

Incredible, eh?!?!?

Elaine, I'll be taking these to work with me, on Monday....
for what I call "Show and tell".

Thanks, from the bottom of my heart,
Elaine!

Rosa

Box # 1 - Elaine's Dotty!

Hi There!

These are the fabrics that STARTED
this whole thing!

Last week, Elaine had seen a picture
of my polka dot quilt and during
a telephone conversation,
she asked if I'd like to have more
polka dot fabrics.
Apparently, she had collected some
polka dot fabrics and she didn't think
she'd ever get a chance to use them.

Well, seriously.... who can refuse fabric, eh?!??

LOL

Well, I really can't remember if it was in the same conversation or if we spoke again, but she offered to mail me some more fabric!

Did I want it?!?!?!?

Hey YES!!!

LOL

Gilbert and I went to Calais, Maine yesterday and
picked up FIVE boxes of fabric.

Here's what I call Box #1 -
it was the polka dot fabrics.



Here's a side view of these gorgeous fabrics.

Elaine....

My "new" polka dot fabrics are now
intermixed with my other ones and
may perhaps, some day soon,
be used up for yet another
Dear Jane lap quilt....

*VBG*

Tks a bunch, my friend!

Rosa

5 More Gifty Boxes!!!!

Hi There!

Well, as some of you might remember,
I took the first week of March off.

Around here, the first week of March
is called "March Break" and usually applies
to teachers and students.

I started taking this week off, when James -
that's my youngest son - was in school.
And it certainly was well appreciated!!!
Between New Year's Day and Easter,
we don't have ANY long weekends and
that's a LONG stretch, with no time off!

Well, James is now 20 years old,
but I've managed to continue my
little "tradition", thank God!

And, I've also been maintaining my Travel Log.

Yesterday, Gilbert and I went to Calais, Maine (USA).

If you wish to read about it in detail,
go visit my Travel Log and
scroll down to yesterday's date.

The main purpose of my trip was
to pick up FIVE boxes of fabric
that my friend Elaine sent to me!



UN-BAH-LEE-VAH-BULL!!!!

I called her up and told her that
she MUST be in mourning!!!

All these incredible fabrics that she sent along!!!

I'll be sharing pictures of the
contents of each box, in my blogs to come.
*s*

I took a few minutes this morning,
to update my list of quilty projects.
(see on the right hand side of my blog?)

"On-Going Stuff - 2010",
"UFO's",
"Finished - 2010"
and
"Wanna Do's"

I realistically reduced my "Wanna Do" list,
as there's just SOOOO many things I
"Wanna Do".....

Darn! Why do I need to SLEEP!??!?

LOL

Hope you all have a great Saturday!

Rosa

UFO # 2 (Sparkling Jane)

Hi There!

Remember my Christmas Dear Jane?

This quilt was made with a few swapped Christmas DJ blocks
and some "Midget" blocks thrown in, for good measure.

Here's my previous blogs on this quilt.

Well, yesterday I managed to find
an extra half hour, put my FOOT down,
and finished off the label on my
"Sparkling Jane" quilt.

Yep... believe it or not, there's 870 pieces, in total!

Quilt is now put away and
will be mailed off to it's recipient,
towards the end of November.
*grin*

Yep..... *brushing my hands*

Yet another UFO finished!!!

YIPEEEE!!!

BTW, in case you haven't noticed,
without even trying, I lost ONE WHOLE POUND, overnight!!!

But, after having spend one day in Calais,
I can testify that the scale will NOT be friend,
tomorrow morning.
:-(

Oh well, the OFFICIAL Diet Day is
April 1st, anyhow....

Rosa