A Quilt for a Friend

I am starting a new quilt that is a collaboration with another friend. The center of the quilt is from a pattern that she has wanted to make. Since it wouldn't be big enough for a lap quilt, we are adding borders like those found in M'liss Rae Hawley's Mariner's Medallion book.


Border fabric on outside - blues for water


close up of border fabric


close up of water fabrics


potential center medallion fabrics


close up


Picture of M'lss Rae Hawley's medallion quilt. We may use the bargello border for our quilt. The friendship stars would look good too.

A Glorious Victory Over The Hated G-Men

With the Cowboys losing to the Chargers Sunday afternoon, Sunday's game between the Eagles and Giants loomed large. First place of the division was at stake. It was an exciting game with lots of bigs plays. None bigger than the 2 TDs from my favorite player Desean Jackson. Only he can get away with with a body slam to the coach (Andy Reid).

It's Christmas Time At The Day's

Everyone loves Christmas here. The decorations are up and presents are being wrapped. The kitties enjoy all the new toys. Wrapping paper and new boxes (empty of decorations) are favorites.




Santa collection

A Quilt in the Mail

When I got home yesterday I had a lovely surprise. My Holiday Quilt from my swap partner Donna had arrived. I really like it and can't wait to hang it up in my office tomorrow. It will give my cubby hole a festive air. I also received a fabric pen - one that actually works well - a glue pen, which will be nice for paper piecing, 3 gorgeous batiks and some yummy jam. The jam is made with wild Maine blueberries. I often bring it home as gifts to friends after a visit to family in Maine. After opening my package, I promptly toasted an English muffin and enjoyed some jam.

Productive Quilt Retreat

This weekend was a quilt retreat with my quilt buddies. My goal was to finish my Holiday Swap quilt, so that I can mail it tomorrow. The quilt had several new techniques for me. The little quilt is actually a block from the I Believe quilt designed by Nancy Halvorsen. I really enjoy her cheerful designs. I have been inspired to try and make the Christmas card holder in the same book as the Peace block.

Holiday Swap Quilt

Closeup

Nancy Halvorsen's book

Holiday Quilt Swap

Time for another mini quilt swap. This time the theme is Christmas Holiday. I have a applique pattern in mind. Since this will be my first attempt at applique, I have a paper pieced pattern as a backup. :) Here are the fabrics I've picked out for the mini.

Friday Cat Blogging

I haven't posted pictures of the felines lately. I have the rare Lucky and Lady sighting. Lady isn't very fond of her brother. For the record she doesn't like the other two either. L&L will be 17 on September 1.



The girls often curl up together, however Pearl is trying to take over Myra's spot. Myra likes to sit in that chair when I am sewing.

Jens is coming!

To the Tour of Missouri that is. After recuperating from the terrible crash in the Tour de France, this will be his first race back. I was REALLY hoping Cancellara would be joining him, but he will be at the Vuelta along with Andy and Frank. Jens talks about his rehab.

More Colorblock Swap Blocks

The second set of 20 blocks. I chose pink this time, although the photo color is a little off. I'm still trying to decide how to put them together. The resulting quilt will go to the Linus Project. The swap coordinator, Margaret, is a big supporter of this effort, so it seemed like a good home for the blocks.

What To Do With My Mornings Now?

The Tour has ended and mornings now mean work. The Vuelta will be here soon though. It was an interesting tour. There seemed to be a lot of flat stages without much excitement. I was glad to see Voeckler win a stage. He is always out on the attack. Looks like picking Bradley Wiggins for my Fantasy Tour team was a genius move - who knew? I finished 8th out of 140 teams. Not bad for a first time try. I also had the winner Contador and second place finisher Andy Schleck. This tour showed that there a lot of young riders able to challenge for the GC, so it looks like some exciting tours ahead. Even though I didn't have him on my team, it was good to see Lance make the podium. He rode a great race.

Prayers and Well Wishes

Stage 16: Jens Voight suffered a horrible crash on the descent of the Col du Petit-Saint-Bernard. Prayer and well wishes for a full revovery go out to him.



In other tour news - Lance is still in 2nd. Will he have his time trial form of old? Four of my riders on my fantasy team are in the top 10! Go Seadogs. Tomorrow is a brutal mountain stage.

Off to Maine

I'm off to visit my family in the Portland area. After the triple digit temperatures here in Dallas I am looking forward to some cooler weather. Last year I ran into some cool weather and fog.


Looking across to downtown


Portland Head

Tour de France Eve

It's almost here! Tomorrow is the Prolog from Monaco. It will be an interesting start. With a nice little climb in the middle it's not a given that Cancellara will win it. Will Astana go for it and have to defend the maillot jaune for the first week?

I have a fantasy racing team for the Tour that is being run by the Podium Cafe. It consists of 10 riders. My top 2 racers are Contador and Little Schleck. You could only spend 100 points for the 10 riders, which made Cancellara too expensive. :(

What to watch first in the morning - the Prolog or Venus and Serena at Wimbledon?

Happy 4th of July!

A Judy Workshop!

Friday, Saturday and Sunday was a workshop with Judy Niemeyer at Quilt Country in Lewisville. I really look forward to these workshops. I had hoped for a wedding ring class, but not this time. It worked out for best as Judy has redesigned her Wedding Star and will be teaching a workshop in January. Sandy, the owner of Quilt Country, and her wonderful Supergirls created quilt kits for the class. The kit includes 2.5 strips in 88 bali fabrics that Judy picked out. The are absolutely gorgeous.

In this class I worked on the Sand Devils pattern, which has lots of curved edges. Not to worry however, with Judy's tips for sewing curves it's a piece of cake. Her technique works very well. I had used it in my Hawaiian Star quilt. I had bought this pattern in my last workshop. It will a gift for my brother. I've made good progress in my 3 days.


Corner piece

Border and small arcs



Most of the class were working on star pattens. The brave ones were working on the amazing Amazon Star. It's so large and has many Lone Star pieces. I'm not sure I want to try a Lone Star again.

These workshops are an opportunity to make new friends. I remember some of the ladies from the previous workshop. The quilters directly across and next to me were great company. Time just flew as we chatted and sewed on our lovely quilts. We each were working on different pattens. One was working on a new pattern not yet published, there was a soothing purple and green Dragon Star and a lovely Christmas tree skirt. I look forward to seeing them again in the Wedding Star workshop.

A Great Day in Sports

Where to begin? The afternoon started off with the Red Sox and Braves playing on a cool misty day in Boston. Tough weather for Wakefield's knuckleball. He got off to a rocky start, but his teammates came right back to take the lead thanks in part to a Big Papi's home run into the Monster seats. After that he cruised into the 7th. From there the lead seesawed and was tied going into the bottom of the 9th. Nick Green (SS) was the hero with a solo homer.


Nick Green watches the ball head around Pesky's Pole.

While the outcome of the baseball game was in question, the finish of the Tour de Suisse was pretty much a forgone conclusion. With a TT in Bern (Cancellara's home town) as the final stage, the GC contenders needed to put minutes into Cancellara. However Saxo Bank ushered Cance up the mountains, so he was firmly ahead of the competion going into the TT. It was enjoyable to watch him just blow away the field to win the TT and the Tour de Suisse.


Fabian Cancellara wins the Tour de Suisse

Cancellara is back!

The Tour de Suisse has started and Fabian Cancellara crushed the competition in the opening Prolog. He is still in the Yellow Jersey after the second stage. He is finding his form leading up to the Tour de France.

Update (Friday 6/19): Cancellara is sitting in 2nd only 9 seconds back. If he doesn't get dropped on tomorrow's (Saturday) stage to Crans Montana, he will be sitting pretty for the last stage which is a Time Trial.

Turquoise Colorblock

My 20 colorblock blocks for the Four Season Quilt Swap are finished. There are several variations, but the 2 below are what most of the blocks look like.



On a personal note, the surgery to my left knee went well. It is rehabbing quicker than the right one did. Another few weeks on the stationary bike and then the freedom of my road bike. No tennis until late August though. That is only if things continue to go well. The Corporate Challenge tennis matches are mid September, so I probably will be a little rusty.

On a very happy note - the Red Sox swept the home series against the hated Yankees. They have started 8-0 against the Yankees this year. Big Papi may not be playing well when it comes to the rest of the teams, but he still can hit against the Yankees.

Big Papi and J.D. Drew

Quilting Retreat

My Dear Jane group met at Highland Lake Lodge in East Texas this past weekend. It was a lovely weekend, but most of the time was spent sewing away.



I am working on a quilt for our king size bed. Keeping in mind that the walls are chocolate and the curtains are green,I was able to select 18 different fabrics for the quilt from the Quilt Asylum. The pattern is called Hip to be Square. The focus fabric that all the other fabrics are related to is a Kaffe Fassett. I had to add extra squares and a border to get the quilt up to a king size. While at the retreat I finished the blocks. Thank goodness there was a design wall big enough to arrange the blocks in rows as there is no pattern for this. I was able to sew the blocks into rows. I really like the pattern and would like to try it again.

One Knee Down and One to Go

Well the surgery on my right knee went very well. I was up and walking around the next day. The relief was immediate, which was an unexpected bonus. It had gotten difficult to walk, especially on a rolling cruise ship. Surgery on the left knee is June 2nd. With any luck I will be back playing tennis by the end of July. I am hoping to get in a few rounds of disc golf this long weekend.

Happy Memorial Day!

Off to the Caribbean!

Good News and Bad News - I'm heading off for a 7 Day Eastern Caribbean cruise on Carnival Liberty. Unfortunately when I get back I will have my right knee scoped. When that one is healed I get to have the other one done too.

So I am going to think about sitting under a palm tree in St. Thomas and drinking some fun rum drink with an umbrella in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I will be going with some of my dearest girlfriends. We have know each other since first grade.

Purple Pizzazz has arrived Down Under

I am so pleased that the 4 Season Quilt Swap quilt that I sent to Australia arrived in just 7 days. Now I can show it off. It measures about 18in x 21in.

Dallas Guild Show Mini

Despite some health issues lately, I have been able to get some quilting done. I finished a mini quilt for the Dallas Guild's Mini Auction. The auction was a success for a great cause. The profits from the auction went to the local Ronald McDonald's House. I had volunteered at the membership table which was next to the auction. The bidding was quite lively.


My quilt was made using 9-patches left over from my Four Season Swap 5 quilt.

I also finished my monochromatic 4 Season Swap quilt. I am pleased with how it turned out. I will post a photo when its new owner receives it.

A Wonderful Surprise In The Mail

When I came home today my Four Season Swap 5 quilt was waiting for me. I love it! Lots of lovely purples. The quilt was to be monochromatic and represent a season. When I took the quilt out of the package I set it against a pillow on the couch to admire it. Immediately Pearl materialized (how do cats do that?) and settled in. Instant approval.


The quilt was made by the Quilting Pirate, Toni. Thank you so much - I am thrilled with my new quilt.

MS Walk Dallas - Please Donate

It’s that time of the year again – the MS Walk. Perhaps this year you would like to join in the fun. The Dallas Walk is Saturday March 28th at the Addison Circle Park. To participate in the walk with my team, The Gladiators, follow the link Sign up. In just one Saturday morning you can make a difference in a lot of people’s lives. Money raised by these walks and 150 bike rides goes to fund research for a cure. If you don’t want to walk you can still help by donating to the National MS Society through my donation page.

Thank you for your support in the past. I hope that you will join be again this year in the fight against MS.

Catching Up With The Tour Of California

While I was away and without access to Versus I missed the first Cancellara sighting of the season. He won the Prologue, but had to drop out the next day due to illness.

On a nasty cold windy rainy day Mr. Luckybears's favorite rider Francisco Mancebo won Stage 1. It was a courageous ride breaking away just 8 miles into the race.


Currently Levi Leipheimer and the Astana team have taken control. I'm looking forward to the time trial tomorrow. We'll see what kind of shape Lance is in.


(L-R) Gregory Rast of Switzerland, Lance Armstrong of USA, Levi Leipheimer of USA, all riding for Astana, and Jens Voigt of Germany, riding for Saxo Bank, compete in Stage 5 (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

A Good Weekend

I have been working diligently on my Four Seasons Swap quilt. I have finished the top and it is currently a quilt sandwich. I really like the way it came together (picture to follow once swap partner receives her quilt). There are several color combinations of nine patches. The first set I created just didn't play well with the other sets. I made 3 or 4 samples of the first set until I came across just the right light material. I want my partner to really enjoy the quilt so it was worth the extra effort. I will start on the quilting when I return home from my vacation.

Tomorrow I leave to meet up with my brother (DB) and nephew (DN) in Orlando. We will be visiting Universal, Sea World, and Busch Gardens. I am looking forward to a good visit with DB & DN. Hopefully there will be some time spent by the pool catching up on reading. I have been reading the Benni Harper mystery series. The books titles are quilt blocks (Sunshine and Shadow, Steps to the Altar, etc..) I have enjoyed seeing the author develop the characters into interesting people. Funny thing - I can't decide if I like the main character Benni or not. I'll have to keep reading to decide. :)

More Quilting

It was a cold weekend here in Dallas. No disc golf, tennis or bike riding. That left lots of time for chores, but also time for quilting! I finished Block 8 from the Star BOM. Wahoo - I've caught up. I also made good progress on my Four Season quilt. It was hard to settle on a design that was monochromatic AND represents a season. I kept coming up with an idea that fit one category, but not the other. I've designed a miniature 9 Patch Pizazz quilt. The focus fabric is a lovely spring floral. It's a bit of a challenge to create it with one color, but I like the progress so far.


Block 8

There Has Been Quilting

My recent blog entries might lead one to think that I have abandoned quilting in favor of obsessing over the Eagles. However I have been working on several different projects. At the top of the list were the last 3 blocks in Judy Laquidara to catch up before we start again the first of February. I've finished block 9 and 10. Block 8 is cut out and waiting to be finished.


Block 9


Block 10

We have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

Today is a day I have been waiting for some time. President Obama was a candidate I could truly get behind and support. His message of hope and optimism that we can overcome our current problems and once again be a shining beacon to the world does not ring hollow. For all of his talk of hope, he seems like a very pragmatic person. His speeches are uplifting, but also give some thoughts as to how we can get there. We are all in this together, so we need to work together to solve our problems.

Like many people I watched the inauguration on the internet from work. I had to wipe away not a few tears of joy several times. Reverend Lowery’s Benediction was a perfect ending.

“Let all those who do justice and love mercy say amen.”

Maybe Next Year

Now that I have stopped sulking quite so bad, I can hope that next year the Eagles will make it to the Super Bowl. It was a fun run in the playoffs.

One shining bright spot of the season was rookie WR DeSean Jackson. He makes this catch and dances into the end zone. An added bonus - I drafted him in the last round this year in my (keeper) fantasy league.

Look Out Cards - Here Come The Eaqles!

Donovan McNabb stretches the ball over the goal line to score the game's first touchdown. (Eric Mencher/Staff Photographer)

A win against the hated Giants at any time is great, but in the playoffs - sweet!. As expected it was a defensive battle. Philly's D came up big. The offense played well enough to win. Yardage was tough to come by in the face of the Giant's D, but the Eagles looked poised and confident. It's on to play the Cardinals in Arizona.

Bring On The Giants!

Another win from the Eagles. Next up the Giants. This will be a tough game as the teams know each other so well. Fly Eagles Fly!