Friday Night Sew-In

Well my weekend was so busy that I forgot to post about what I did last Friday night. My friend Debbie and I got together to sew for a few hours so that we could participate in the latest Friday Night Sew In. Debbie came over with her sewing machine and quilting supplies and joined me for an evening of cutting and sewing out the latest block for our Starry Night quilt, which is the BOM for Cornerstone Quilt Shop in Fairfield, CA. We meet the third Saturday of every month, and we have to have our block completed and turned in then, and so with both of us being procrastinators this was the perfect opportunity for us to get them done and participate in the FNSI.

Debbie had already cut out her fabric for the BOM so she was ahead of me when we started. I didn't have too much trouble cutting out my fabric for the block so I soon joined her at the sewing machine. I had just recently ordered 2 different types of 1/4 inch quilting foots for my machine so I decided to try it out. I did one little square and hurriedly measured out the seam. It looked like the seam was measuring just a little bit smaller than 1/4 inch but I thought that would be okay. I was thinking that was what they are always referring to as a scant 1/4 inch seam.

Well I should have stopped and remeasured a few other of my seams. Needless to say that I didn't and soon had my block almost done minus the borders. I go and press it and go and measure it and it is way bigger than it should be. I guess they are right at the quilt store when they say one little bit off carried out over the whole block or the whole quilt makes a big difference. It was almost 1 inch bigger than it should be. I knew I couldn't just trim it because I would cut off all of my points. So I decided to rip everything out and start over. I had it almost completely ripped apart and Debbie suggested that if I had enough fabric left over it would probably be easier and quicker to just redo the whole thing. So Debbie left to go home and I stayed up and cut out another one and resewed the entire block. That was after I got my machine calibrated to precisely sew a 1/4 inch seam! So it took me all night but I did get my block done in time!

Quilting Fun with my Girl Friend

Yesterday I spent a wonderful day at my girlfriend Debbie's house quilting. We don't get to get together as often as we would like because of all the things that take up our time in our busy lives. So it is especially nice when we get to spend the better part of the day working together on our quilts and having the companionship of someone like you who enjoys doing the same types of things.

It really doesn't matter how much we get done or accomplish as long as we are having fun together. We sewed and sewed, cut and measured fabric, talked all day, and drank coffee. Some of my very favorite things to do! So it was a very nice day indeed!

I look forward to getting together with some of my other friends soon to quilt and sew with also. We have a little quilt group that tries to get together once a month to sew and encourage each other. Our group is called the Double D's. No! it's not what you think! It stands for Domestic Diva's.

It is so fun to see what type of projects the other ladies are working on and I think everyone both learns and teaches each other. Each one of the ladies brings something different to the group. We have a variety of different levels of quilters also. Some have been quilting for a really long time and there are those of us who are relatively new to quilting.



I personally have sewed since I was in Junior High School but haven't been quilting all that long. I started my first quilt about 15 years ago but then put it away for about 10 years before I started working on a quilt again. I've only been seriously quilting for about 4-5 years now. I know have way too many UFO's or Un-Finished Objects but I have found the time to finish a few quilts recently.

Candy Dance Craft Festival- Genoa, Nevada

Well me and 5 other Red and Pink Hat friends went up to Carson City, Nevada for a three day weekend. We went up there for a fun festival that is held nearby and is called The Candy Dance. The festival was in a small town called Genoa. I guess it started years ago as a fundraiser for the town. They would make their homemade candy to help fund the town dance. They still sale the candy and have the town dance but it has turned into a huge festival with lots and lots of crafts and home made items.

We left Friday around noon and drove the 3 1/2 hours to Carson City. We drove by and checked out where the festival was going to be held before we went to our hotel. We saw a lot of the vendors getting ready and putting up their tents and wares. We checked into our hotel and unpacked a little bit. We then went to a really nice BBQ restaurant for dinner before we went back to the hotel for the night. A few of the ladies decided to try their luck at gambling but I choose to go to my room and watch t.v. Gambling really isn't something that I enjoy doing and besides I was saving my money for the craft fair.

Saturday we got up early and went to the Candy Dance Craft Festival. It was the largest craft fair that I have ever been to. We spent the better part of the whole day there and didn't even get through half of the booths. I saw quite a few things that I would have liked to purchase but contained myself somewhat! I did splurge for this lovely bracelet made out of antique spoons made of silver. My spoons were from 1935 and also had a really beautiful pink crystal bead in the center. I also picked up a few wooden blocks for a future craft project I have planned. A purse that was on sale from $35 down to $7 also went home with me.

We then went to a fabric store and I bought quite a few pieces of fabrics that I hadn't seen elsewhere. I picked up a couple of pieces to make aprons for my mom and sisters for Christmas. I also got some fabric for two of my nieces who are going to try and make their own aprons.

We went again the next day to the same fabric store on our way out of town. I again picked up a few pieces of fabric that was unusual and not what you usually see around our fabric stores. I also got some feathers and silk flowers to embellish another hat with.

On the way home we drove back through Lake Tahoe. The lake is so beautiful and calm looking. It was a beautiful three shades of blue. It was so serene looking and I would have loved to have been able to stop and enjoy the beauty of it a little longer but we needed to get back on the road.

I think everyone had a really good time although we were all extremely tired and sore from all of the walking. We got back home around 4:00 pm and had time to relax a little before having to unpack and worry about dirty laundry and what's for dinner.

I hope we are able to go back to the Candy Dance again. I will make sure I'm well rested in advance and have a full pocketbook so I can once again enjoy myself.

My Most Recent Embarassing Moment!

Well it all started out with going out with my girlfriend for a nice afternoon of fun. We all deserve to take a day off to just have some fun. We hadn't gotten to see each other much since she started back to work and we needed to do some catching up.

We started the morning off and had a lovely time at our monthly Quilt Block of the Month earlier in the morning. Then we headed up the road to have a lovely tea at a beautiful tea house. We enjoyed ourselves for 1 1/2 hours over our delicious food and lovely tea. The conversation was nice and we were just truly enjoying some quality friendship time.

We then went to a local quilt shop that I had previously found my last time up at this town. My girlfriend hadn't been there before so we went and had a look. The store had some lovely fabric and notions and it was all displayed around vintage items and old quilts in an old restored building.

We then decided to go check out the local thrift store and then an antique store that was just down the street. That was nice too. There was some interesting things to look at and I found a few bargains. So we decided to try our luck up the road at another antique and thrift store we had been too on another adventure.

We got back in my car and I thought I heard the sound of ripping fabric. I got out and touched my backside. No the seam of my pants was still there. I must be hearing things. I go to get back in and then there was the unmistakable noise of tearing fabric. I get back out and ask her how bad it is. It can't be that bad can it?

Well it was worse than that!! The whole left side of my pants was ripped open with the whole left side of my behind showing. Not the seam but along the edge of the pocket. It ripped from almost the waistband til almost the thigh!! Oh no!! I don't want to go home yet. I want to shop more. Then we started laughing. Only me!! Only I could rip it that good. I decided that if I could laugh about it than people could just laugh with me and not at me.

I knew I had a small blanket in the trunk so my friend got that out for me. I just tied it around my waist and went into the store. I told the lady at the counter that I was going into the dressing room and if I found something that would fit I would be wearing it to the cash register! And I did!!

After that we ended up going to another couple of stores and found all kinds of treasures and goodies that we just couldn't go home without. It was a day that could have ended early but because I decided to have a sense of humor about the event, and my friend was gracious enough to go along with me, we ended up being gone for most of the day and having a wonderful time!