Last Day to Party Hearty,,,

Hi There!

Well, I didn't yell this from the roof top,
but this spring, I had fallen off the wagon.

Yep.... I regained almost all of those
terrible calories due in part
because I had stopped going to the gym.

When I fell off, this spring,
my friend Elaine "encouraged" me
to start up again.
Silly me, I told her that I would
join back up, in September.

*slapping my forehead*

I didn't realize that she had
such an EXCELLENT memory!

Last Saturday,
I went to one of our shoe stores
and picked up the cute,
PINK shoelaces!!!



Proceeds going to the
Canadian Breast Cancer Society, too!

Hopefully, this new look will
help me exercise!

Anyhow, I'm on vacation
for the next 2 weeks and
whilst the food choice
may be a bit difficult, for now,
I'll be re-signing up for
the gym, tomorrow....

once again.

I'll keep you all posted!

Rosa

LF Bliss ...

Hi There!

I know this is probably a long shot
but maybe someone out there
has one of these or similar
and would like to get rid of it....

Either FREE or close to it.

*grin*


Doesn't have to be white...
Could have scratches or dents in it...
And I would gladly replace the blades,
or whatever they're called, if necessary.

This model is called "Bliss",
but if you've got a similar one....
that cuts strips of wool,
for rug hooking and
you don't want it anymore,
I'll GLADLY pay the shipping,
to have it come live here.

I would surely love to own
one of these babies...

Anyhow, if you've inherited one
from a Great-Great Aunt
and have NO DESIRE to ever rug hook or
you hubby picked one up at a yard sale
and you want to get rid of it....

PLEASE, PRETTY PLEASE
send me an email and
we'll "talk", okay?
*grin*

robich@rogers.com

Tks for following my blog!

Rosa

The Happy Hookers!

Hi There!

Yesterday afternoon, my friend Karen
came over with her wool cutter,
as I don't have one .... yet.
*grin*

Well, I had gathered up my
un-cut wool and Karen
and I had a GREAT time
chit-chatting and "stripping" -
errrr, that would be
"wool stripping" or
cutting strips of wool.

LOL

Here's some of my bundles
of cut wool.



I just wish I had remembered to take
a picture outside, while I was cutting!

Karen and I BOTH commented
on how colorful the strips were.

And for some reason,
unfortunately, these pictures don't do
true justice to the brightness of the wool.

I had asked Gilbert to take a picture
of Karen and I, outside,
on our deck.

During the coldest part of winter,
I will look at this picture and
remember the wonderful time that we had,
on this GORGEOUS day.

Aren't friendships special?

Friends are specially selected and chosen by YOU.
Friends are not an obligatory thing.
YOU actively seek them out.
YOU want to spend special time with them.
And each friend is very unique to YOU.
Each one holds a different spot in YOUR heart.

Thanks Karen!

Had an EXCELLENT time, yesterday!!!!

Rosa

Tech Talk

Hi there!

Well, I've had an iPod (iTouch)
for about a year now and
I absolutely ADORE
my iTouch!

Why, you ask?

1. EMAILS
I can read my emails anywhere and anytime (even in bed), while in the house. I can even read my emails when on a trip... but I DO need a (wireless) internet connection.

2. GAMES
I like to play "BeJeweled 2", in bed. I know it's silly but it helps me fall asleep! *grin*

3. SURF THE WEB
Well, the screen certainly isn't as big as a regular computer but when I need to, I'll go view web pages, when necessary.

4. LISTEN TO MUSIC
I'm not really a music junky, but when I want to listen to music, I plug in my iTouch with my latest earbuds, that I now, couldn't live without... (LOL) and listen to my favorite tunes and podcasts!

5. UTube Videos
When I'm bored, I listen to a few UTubes! Yep, I know! Doesn't take much to entertain me! LOL

And that's about it!

This mini machine is SOOOOO powerful, with a ca-zillion of free and not so free apps (applications) that can be uploaded to your iTouch, to help make your life easier or funner or simply to help you waste time. *grin*

Unfortunately for me - or is that "fortunately"? - I am happy with what I do with my iTouch! But, it's just to tell you that you have the power to do much more, SHOULD you wish...

(image from Roger Communications web page)

Well, Gilbert's been helping me to understand my iTouch and has been drooling over my machine. Yet, he didn't want to get one. He preferred to dream about getting an iPhone, without the "data" plan. When you purchase an iPhone outright, it becomes YOURS! And all's you need to do is put your (old) SIM card from your previous cell phone and all your info is transferred to your new iPhone.

Yesterday evening, he finally broke down and got one!!!

Why did he want an iPhone?

1. CELL PHONE
Gilbert's cell phone provider gave him a "Smart Phone". It's a Blackberry that you're unable to surf the web or retrieve your emails AND it's screen is miniscule ... as well as the keypad! We were calling it the "Stupid" phone! Plus, the iPhone is MUCH slimmer, too!

2. PDA
Gilbert has another gadget, a Hewlett Packard PDA (Portable Device Accessory?). Anyhow, he used this gadget for notes, calculator, address book, etc. etc. etc. And he knew that if he had an iPhone, all this info could be transferred to an iPhone and he wouldn't have to be walking around with THREE electronic devices - cellphone, his PDA and his camera (see item # 3)! And, once again, the iPhone is MUCH slimmer!!!

3. CAMERA
Once again, the iPhone has an INCREDIBLE camera and cam corder! He wouldn't have to bring his camera along!

3 - NEW TECHNOLOGY
As well, my hubby LOVES gadgets..... the newer, the better! Mind you, we also have our budget in the forefront, when we start to even consider purchasing another gadget!

4 - NO DATA PLAN
Our internet provider could have sold an iPhone to Gilbert, but with a "Data" plan. What does that mean? Well, it means that you would be able to surf the net, send text messages, receive emails, along with your cell phone (of course) for a whole BUNCH of money! Here in Canada, we're supposed to have the highest costs, for cell phone packages! Anyhow, Gilbert didn't WANT the Data Plan, as he can surf wireless, inside our home for free and he's never sent a text message and doesn't see the necessity for it. Neither do I, for that matter. *s*

Soooooo, as I wrote earlier, we went out
and bought "outright" an iPhone
and Gilbert's in 8th Heaven!
And I'm just estatic for him too!

*VBG*

Oh, BTW, I started my 2 week vacation
and will be doing my "Journal" thing, again.
If you want to follow my daily activities
and check out my not-written-in-pen Agenda,
you can follow me here:

Rosa's Journal

Hope you all have a wonderful Sunday!!!!

Rosa

Mug Rug Hugs

Hi There!

My friend, Cyn, had sent me this
"Mug Rug", last year.
(the pink and green one)

I use it CONSTANTLY,
in my home office.

I'm always sipping on a
glass of water and this
wonderful "Mug Rug"
absorbs up the water.



Well, please don't click on my picture to see it better, but - yah, I KNOW you'll click on it, anyhow.... LOL - but my "Mug Rug" was REAL dirty and I decided that I needed one at work and a 2nd one, for when my pink and green one's in the laundry..... And then, I figured that Gilbert needed one and my Mom needs one and so does my co-worker!

LOL

And, my wonderful friend, Cyn,
posted the instructions on
how to make these super-duper,
easy-smeasy "Mug Rugs",
with charms... if you wish!

I made 2 of them in about 1/2 an hour!

And HEY, you can slip the bottom part of your wine glass through the woven part and it protects your wine glass and absorbs the spills, too!

Now, if I can just figure out WHY my pink and green Mug Rug is smaller than the 2 that I made...

"Scratching my head"

Anyhow, hope you give these a try!

In fact, they make EXCELLENT little gifties or fund raising items, too!

Rosa
P.S. I just realized that I didn't make the corners "round" like she did in her blog, but Gilbert likes his "Mug Rug", so far. Mom will get hers on Saturday or Sunday. *s*

My Pink Quilt

Hi There!

One more UFO that I can claim...
FINISHED!!!!

Here's a close up of Gilbert's INCREDIBLE Long Arm work!

Cute, tiny and little meanderings!



I decided to make a "home made" label, for the back of this quilt.

I had picked up this nice (label) pattern book, last year and this was the first time that I had actually done something in it!

And here's...
"My Pink Quilt"!!!

Don't you just LOVE log cabins?!?!?

Well, I do.
*grin*

And here's a picture of it outside, hanging on the clothesline.

I'm not the best photographer
but I just LOVE this quilt!

It will be going in our local quilt show and then, perhaps I will hand it over to it's recipient...
a family member, who doesn't know that they will be getting this.

*long sigh*

Don't you just get that special feeling, way down in your tummy, when you give away a special quilt? Almost as if you're giving away your first born? But then, along with that special feeling in your tummy, your heart warms up.... knowing that the recipient will surely love their new quilt and will share the same warmth in THEIR heart, as well!

*grin*

Have a great weekend - we're almost there!

Rosa

"A Pineapple from Florida!"

Hi There!

A good friend, from Florida, sent me this mini quilt and told me to do what I wanted to, with it.

So, Gilbert did some small meandering on it and I bound it with another orangish kind of batik.



As I mentioned before, we're trying to dress up our walls, in our long arm room, with LOTS of quilts and color!

My friend did some INCREDIBLE appliqué work, and dressed it up with gold thread, on the pineapple!!

Gilbert did an "echo" around her appliqué and then, did some tiny meandering. I really love the overall effect, on this mini quilt!

Thanks Frummie!

Rosa

"Butts On the Beach" - 2

Hi There!

Okay, while playing around with my paper clamshells, this morning, I thought, "Hmmmm.... what if I fold over the pointy triangle tail end of the clamshell OVER itself.... onto the roundish part? It could look like a G-String bathing suit, eh?!??"

Well, of COURSE I had to color in, quickly, the G-Strings!



Okay, 'cause I didn't know how to arrange them, they got put down in flying geese formation.... Don't really care for that. I think it might be best to put them on the sand, here and there.

Don't you think these look more like "butts" that the other way? (see my previous post)

Well, that's about it... for now.

Monday morning will be here soon enough. And I probably won't get a chance to play with these again, till NEXT weekend.

Rosa

"Butts On the Beach" - 1

Hi There!

Remember that "Pledge Promise"?

Well, here goes....

A certain friend ... *clearing my throat*...
encouraged me? - no.
enticed me? - no, not quite.
tricked me? - no, that's not it.
bullied me? - YAH!!!

THAT'S THE WORD!!!

Anyhow, I got the "Clamshell" collection from Inklingo and really wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do with it. I didn't want to make a whole quilt - mini or not, just with clamshells.

Well, I thought long and hard and finally came up with two ideas. The first one is the one that I will share with you.... especially since I'm not quite sure how this will turn out and I'll be needing some of your feedback.

*grin*

My first one is about some "naked" butts, on the beach.

Sooooo, I went and ordered a package (10 per package) of skin tone fabrics from "Keepsake Quilting" and had it delivered to my holding place, in Calais, Maine, which Gilbert and I picked up, a few weeks ago.



Yesterday morning, I was digging through my limited batik fabrics - no, I don't want any more.... Batiks and I have a Love/Hate relationship. *grin*

Anyhooooo, here's 2 fabrics that I came across!!!!

Soft, brownish sand with built-in clamshells and some water batik!!!

Frummie skyped me yesterday evening and I showed her these 2 fabrics. She said she had some PERFECT batik fabric, for the sky, which she promises to mail to me!

*grin*

Well, this morning, I printed out - on paper - a set of clamshells.... just to play around with them.

I decided that I would print my Inklingo on the RIGHT side of the fabric and appliqué them.

Sooooo, what do you think, eh?

Imagine the clamshells, in paper, are skin toned (naked) butts?

A kind of nudist beach!

Can you just hear the seagulls, which I will be embroidering here and there??? And possibly add a lighthouse, in the background and maybe a sailboat or two.

Will keep you all posted on when I start this project. Right now, I'm just in the "Process" stage.... and remember? I had pledged to share the process.

*grin*

Rosa

Picnic in Quispamsis

Hi There!

Well, remember last Saturday, Gilbert and I went to all those neat places, including that outdoor quilt show?

Well, on our way back home, we stopped in Quispamsis and had ourselves a picnic!



Okay, Elaine.... PLEASE "No Comments" on the potato chips....

(I'm re-starting my diet Sept. 1st, and Elaine's holding me to my promise, unfortunately. *grin*)

And here's Gilbert.

Don't those clouds remind you of the clouds on "The Simpsons"? Every time I look at this picture, their opening song comes to my head!
*hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, too dooo, dooo, dooo, dooo.*

Okay, I may not be the blogger to hum a song on here, but you all know what I mean...

LOL

Quispamsis has this really neat outdoor bandstand...
I'm guessing it's for shows, during the summer?

We live about 20 minutes away from Quispamsis, in case you're wondering.

What an INCREDIBLE day!!!!

Everything went perfectly....
even Mother Nature cooperated,
with the weather!

Rosa

CONGRATS!!!!

CONGRATULATION, BRIGITTE!!!!

You've just won a cute Halloween wall hanging!!!!

I'll contact you for your snail mail addy, in a bit.

Rosa
P.S. Guess what?!?!??!
Gilbert just offered to Long Arm it for you,
if you wish!!!!

*VBG*

Monthly Houses

Hi There!

Way back in 2003, I believe, I found this free BOM, on the internet.

It was called "Strolling Around the Block", I believe.

I was sooooo green behind the ears, at the time, with respect to quilting, that I'm surprised that I managed to finish this quilt top! I think I even surprised Gilbert!

LOL

Here's July's block:
I decided to add a Canadian theme, rather than the
American one that they had.



Here's June's block.
It's got a tuff of yellow/orange
embroidery floss,
as hay hanging out from the silo.
*grin*

And here's May's block.
It's even got the
"Dancing Around the Maypole" theme,
going on, in it!

And here's April's block.

I especially like the French knots,
in this one.

Well, I finally put the blocks together, two years ago....
DETERMINED to machine quilt this baby!

But then at the time, I realized that with all these buttons and ribbons and doo-dad's, that I would have problems quilting this baby!

And I balked at removing them all these decorations!!!

So, like everyone else, I'm positive, when you come across a part in your quilt that you're not sure or you really, REALLY don't want to do "it".... you put the darn thing away and try to forget about it, right?!??

Well, along came "Bertha", our new Long Arm machine and Gilbert was desperate to practice!

Would you believe that it took me 10 minutes to locate where I hidden this quilt ... and yet, another 5 minutes to snip off ALL the buttons, ribbons and decorations off of this quilt!??!?!

How difficult was that, eh?!?!?

LOL

Gilbert and Bertha, once again, did an INCREDIBLE job quilting this baby... and normally I would have ONCE AGAIN let this quilt languish in a plastic tote 'cause I really, REALLY didn't want to re-sew off all the doo-dads that I had snipped off....

BUT, this quilt will be entered in our local quilt show, in September!

Don't think it will win a prize but we're sure hoping that Gilbert and his Long Arm business will take off!

*grin*

Have a great Sunday!

Rosa

Isabelle's Quilt

Hi There!

Gilbert's daughter's best friend
was having a baby.

She asked us to make a quilt
for her friend....
which we did.

It will be mailed off to Montreal,
tomorrow afternoon.



The fabric comes from my
friend, Elaine....

And I managed to pick up the
appropriate pattern,
at Marden's, in Calais, Maine.

The fabric and pattern is from
The American Jane series.

Can you see Gilbert's
incredible quilting?!??!?

Honestly, there are 2 quilts that
I'm pretty darn proud of...

This one and "My Pink Quilt"...

I still need to put a label on
My Pink Quilt, take pictures,
and then, I can consider it
FINISHED!

Don't forget - you can click on my pictures to view it in a BIGGER format.

Rosa

Three Yellow Chickies!!!

Hi There!

Okay, this little mini quilt
is now hanging in
"Bertha's" Room -
You know, our Long Arm Room.
*grin*



I braided pearl cotton embroidery floss -
2 strands of blue and 1 of yellow,
attached it to this mini quilt
and made a cute bow.

I'll try and remember to take a pic of it,
hanging up.... tomorrow.

Rosa

Hi There!

I just remembered WHY I don't like to post contests that drag on and on and on and on.... I LOVE to blog too much and yet, I want my "Contest" blog to be the first on my page...

So, I can't blog until AFTER the contest!!!!

Bummer, eh?

Anyhow.... I'll just have to put this on "draft" and, after the contest is finished, polish it off and publish it.

Well, I got into thinking that when you go to a quilt shop, there's usually TONS of quilts on display.... every spare inch has a quilt, on display, right?



Well, I started this one, right after work. It should measure, approximately, 3-1/2 inches wide and possibly 11 inches long. We have a nice little sliver of a wall, that we can hang it up...

This is my "Process Pledge".

I thought that once Gilbert long arm quilts it... with teeny, weeny meandering around the eggs, that I would bind it with a nice yellow fabric ... or would black be better?.... and then, braid some thick pearl cotton embroidery floss, to make a "ribbon" type of holder thingy, at the top.

Okay, I'm having difficulty explaining it, but I know what I mean.

LOL

Will keep you all posted!

Rosa

UPDATE: Blog contest will end at midnight, MY TIME!

I'll draw a name in the morning.

:-)

500th post = A Blog-test

UPDATE !!!!

Contest ends 14th of August 2010,
at midnight !!!!

Hi There!

Who'dah thunk, eh?

Wow - do "I" have a lot to say, eh?!?!?
*pointing at herself*

LOL

Well, last Monday, while in Calais, Maine,
I picked up 2 cute Victorian-type wall panels,
for Halloween.

I'm giving one of these pre-washed panels away.

All's you need to do is tell me that you'd like to win,
or something to that effect.

And, if you mention what kind of fabrics you're collecting....
like polka dots, or civil war, or 30's or whatever -
you might find a little something extra
in your win-package!
*grin*



Here's a close-up of the center
of this panel.

And you even get a cute
label, for the back!

How neat is that, eh?

Contest starts now.
Finishes 14th of August, 2010
at midnight !!!!!!

Good luck!

Rosa

And 3 more DJ blocks...

Hi There!

This afternoon, I managed to finish this week's BOW (Block Of the Week).

D-6 - Challenge



And then, because I was in the mood,
I made 2 more blocks:

F-4 = Old Windmill
(Thanks Rebecca H. !!!)

And here's G-4 = Shutter Bug)
(Thanks Rosemary D.!!!)

And with these last three, I can now proudly announce that I now have 27 DJ blocks!!!

*VBG*

Rosa

Quilts in the Vineyard 2010 - Part "Deux"

Hi There!

Yesterday, one of the places that
we went to was
Gillis of Belleisle Winery,
in New Brunswick.



Our local quilt shop organized a yearly(?)
quilt show - non-judged.

While Gilbert and I were looking
at the gorgeous quilts,
Gilbert spotted a clump of grapes,
on a vine, growing on a post,
in the front of their home.

Neat, eh?
*grin*

Gilbert said this one looked
like a Checker game board.

I, personally, loved the colours!

This one had a LOT of teeny, weeny,
but REALLY teeny, weeny quilt stitches!

I liked this cute little black cat
and it's pumpkin!
(BTW - you can click on my pics,
to view them bigger)

I don't think I've ever seen
a table runner, like this, before.

I loved the fall colours,
but especially the (blank)
oval space, in the center.

Aren't these flowers adorable?!?!?

And OH MY GOODNESS!!!!

You HAVE to click on THIS one!!
Incredible appliqués!!!
LOVELY baskets!!!

I loved the soft pink colours,
in this one...

And I loved the purplish/lime green
colours in this one, also.

It reminded me of our official provincial flower, the "violet".

In fact, it was only once we got home and started looking at our pics on our computer that we realized that the pink flowers (above) and the purple flowers (below), were one and the same pattern! Incredible how 2 different colour ways can make a quilt look COMPLETELY different, eh?

*grin*

I have a HUGE plastic tote with LOTS of recycled jeans! I especially loved the pockets and red/orange labels that they added on this quilt!

And that's about it, for today!

I think I'll be blogging, once more, about the quilt show and that should be it.

Stay tuned!

Rosa