Red & White - Sweet Dreams

Happy Tuesday!

I've always wanted a red and white guest bedroom and now I have one!

The embroidered penny square quilt is an antique I bought in Pennsylvania.  I made the red work pillow of our cat, Starbuck.  The other 2 quilts are signature quilts.

On the night stand is a quilt from Janet of Quiltsalott from doll quilt swap and some darning eggs in case guests or Andrew and Sig (who use this room the most) want to darn some socks.

In the corner on a red high chair sits our beloved Fred T. Bear (T stands for the "the").  He is a puppet bear.  The window toppers and bedskirt I found on ebay - hooray.

On the other night stand is a quilt I bought on the AAQI website and was made by my friend Lori of Humble Quilts.

I'm really happy with the way it turned out and just may have to sleep in there soon to try it all out.

Last week I went to my guild in NJ, The Brownstone Quilters.  They had a Red & White Challenge last year and here are some of the quilts.

Aren't they terrific?

This is my friend, Pauline's -

There will be a special exhibit and will include my School House quilt at the Quilt Show in
 October.

Hope you are having a great week!

Fun For Friday - Souvenirs

Happy Friday!

Last week when I visited Newport I was able to add a few souvenirs to my ongoing collections.

The first was a floatie pen.  I haven't seen one in quite a while.  I picked it up at The Breakers.  It is a horse drawn carriage pulling up to the house.

Here is my collection:

Two of my favorites are Mary Poppins, floating up to the chimneys and the gorilla climbing up the Empire State Building.

On the back you can see where they came from -

I also got to smash 2 pennies, the Rose Island Lighthouse and The Breakers.

You can see more of this collection in this post.

Lastly, I'm sharing this wonderful card from my friend, Jill.  Don't you love it when your friends "Get You"??  This card has it all:  pink, glitter, a cocktail and a bit of England.  WEE!

Have a Fun Weekend!!

A Grand Day Out

Happy Monday~  I'm just going with it at this point.  Thanks for all the nice comments and checking in even though I have been really erratic and non-quilt related since the move.

My dear and close friend, Joan, came for a visit this past weekend and we had a grand day out last Friday to Newport, Rhode Island.  Playground of the rich and famous New York Elite in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

The Breakers, summer home of Cornelius Vanderbilt.  All I can say is WOW.  The decoration is incredible, as in hard to believe and even look at too long.  sorry, no indoor photos.

Here is the view of Long Island Sound from the terrace - not bad if you like this kind of thing  :)

We also toured The Elms, a Coal Industrialists' summer "cottage".  It was lovely and not so over the top.  They had nice gardens too.  Here is the side view.  I loved the Pergola.

I've decided women over 50 shouldn't attempt selfies, lol.   We were trying to get the house in the background.

Back here in Madison, CT, we went to one of our town beaches for a picnic.  I always wonder why we don't do this more often.  It was a lovely day and fun to walk the beach.  Here is Joan and Mr. Fun.

It was a great joy to have Joan for a visit.  I haven't talked or laughed so much in a long time.

Have a great week!

P.S.
Hooray!  The gigantic media center was picked up and left my house on Saturday - Thanks Restoration Hardware, your service was great.

Forced Integration

Happy Friday!

This week, I finally sewed in my sewing room.  It made me feel home at last.

Here is my closet.  It's not perfectly folded, but I know what is in there.
I've decided to apply forced integration with my fabric stash.  I used to keep them segregated.  Now modern, repro, toile' and florals all live together.  I do have Halloween and Christmas separate.   How do you organize your fabrics?

I installed a high shelf for lesser used stuff.

I've started a new project!  Here is a sneak peak:  Lavender!  (on a temporary design wall aka; a flannel backed table cloth)  Inspiration and purpose can be found here.

I'm making 2 HST at a time.  For whatever reason, I don't like trimming the dog ears after I sew.  I decided to clip before I press.  It works great for me.

Now these are scraps too small to use.

On the advice of my friend Susan, I am starching my fabric for this project with Linit liquid starch.  I'm doing it in batches in the kitchen sink.  After soaking and wringing, I air dry it for about 30  minutes then iron dry.

Here is my new laundry closet.  I corralled all my baskets into one area and put them to storage use.  I'd love to get in there and wallpaper, but that is a "level 4" improvement".....

Aaahhhh, set up for sewing again.  Watching Breaking Bad on my lap top until my TV gets hooked up.

Side project - little 2" four patches.  I guess I was engrossed when I made that renegade block... I'm keeping it!

Happy Labor Day and I hope the only laboring you do is creative :)

Fun For Friday - Maybe.....

Fun?  What is that?
Barb?  Who is she?
Friday?  Not Yet.

That is a little how my life feels after a very, very busy summer.

I'm doing a little house update and tour today, so if that's not your thing, tune in next time when maybe I'll have something quilt related to share.

Here is one of my favorite spots.  It is an outdoor balcony off our family room.

I dream of sitting out here sewing and watching the hummingbirds one day.

I found a great place to hang the hand cut silhouettes of the kids.  They are facing their designated rooms here.  They were 6 and 1 when they were done.  They are now 24 and 20.  That is a bath between the 2 bedrooms.

and finally progress in the Sewing Room!  Hooray!!

A little nook for the big ironing board.

This is a big closet - BEFORE photo.  I'm putting up shelving this weekend.

Ikea shelving that Rich built for me - 

Cutting table. filing cabinet and machine.

Now here's something really funny.  We ordered a media center from a catalog.

We measured carefully and thought it was the answer to all our storage prayers.

Are you SERIOUS?  The guys who delivered and assembled it said "too big? no problem just return it." Then they left.

We'll have to see how this one ends.  Wish me luck.  I will NEVER order furniture like this on line again!

Hope you have a wonderful Friday!