Some New Fun Things!

I've been talking with other quilters who attended either the MQX show on the east coast this week or the International Quilt Festival in Chicago. Both were AWESOME shows and some really neat things came to life there. One of them is this new rotary cutter lite by Clover.

At only $7.95, it attaches neatly to your rotary cutter and gives you that extra little burst of light right where you really need it. Being the smart-ie that I am, I would say first off, you are TRULY a dedicated quilter if you are cutting fabric in the dark. However, as the aging process sets in even for me, I have found that I just can't have enough light to be able to see anymore. My hubby constantly complains that I have every light on in the house!!!

Another neat product that came out recently (I'm sure it was being sold at the Chicago show) is this new yo-yo maker. I've never made yo-yos, but I've thought about it alot!! I always think that whipping a few of them up here and there would be easy and soon, I'd have more than I would know what to do with! This has gotten great reviews online. It looks like this:

And using one gets you this:

What fun!! BTW, the above pictures were borrowed from The Quilter's Buzz. The actual link to the yo yo maker (with a review by Joan Hawley of Lazy Girl Designs) is here.

And I tell you, Clover is really on a roll...

PamKittyMorning (LOVE this gal!) talks about another new Clover product, the PomPom Maker. Who'd a thunk it?? It sounds like so much fun!!

One other really cute thing...two years ago before Christmas, my friend Marilyn taught me how to crochet those fuzzy scarves. That's the ONLY thing I know how to crochet!! LOL Anyway, they've been talking on the Pat Sloan group about these really cute little crocheted buttons.

I can think of TONS of things they could be used to embellish!! Now I think I'll have to learn how to do it... Sherry has a tutorial on her blog here.

And as if I don't have enough other things to do...my birthday is coming up on Monday and I think I might have to go shopping!!!!!!

Speaking of birthdays, my little used-to-be redheaded baby is going to turn 3 on Saturday.

Yesterday, I took her shopping to get some decorations, etc. and it all had to be Hello Kitty, of course! She will look so cute with her little birthday tiara on! I'll share pics from the party later on.

AND speaking of shopping...hop on over to EBay to check out this week's Quilt Pink Auctions. Some members of Pat Sloan's group made this one.

Bid and win! You get an awesome quilt and you can feel great about your $$ going to a wonderful cause!

'Til Tomorrow...

What a Fun Weekend!!

Last week, my hubby turned 35. Not a big deal to some, but I always try to make his birthday a little extra special. He grew up in a family that didn't celebrate birthdays/holidays much as opposed to my family where we celebrated every little thing that came along and always in a BIG way.

A few weeks ago, I got a wild hair about throwing him a surprise party. I invited 15 other couples to eat with us at Rube's Steakhouse (YUM) and I hired our community's supreme baker to make a couple of cheesecakes. I had it set up with a girlfriend and her husband from out of town that we would meet them Saturday night at Rube's for dinner. In the three week period between the original invitation and this past Saturday night, I have never lied so much in my life!!! LOL I had his friends RSVP either via my personal email or via my cell phone. The only thing is whenever someone called, they always did it when he was in the house or with me!! It was hard to explain all of these "unknown" male voices to my dear hubby!!

Anyway, I pulled it off without a hitch. He never expected a thing and was totally awe-struck to show up to 30+ people all yelling "SURPRISE"!! It was awesome! Not to mention the food and friendship were great, too. And it really was a lot of fun putting it together.

This week is going to be a busy one with the kids...they didn't have school yesterday as the final day of their "Spring Break". Then there is Kindergarden Registration later on this week which means William will be home on Thursday and Friday. The weather this weekend is supposed to be rainy all day Friday and Saturday so I think we're going to take a family trip to the City for haircuts (we all need them!) and a fun family day out. There's a new dinosaur exhibit at the State Historical Society that I'm sure the boys will love.

I'm hoping to have all day tomorrow to get some quilting done. Lots and lots of stuff on the to-do list!

House Looking...But Not Buying

We went again yesterday to look at more acreages. I'd previously been to two (one of which the pictures were WAY better than the actual house) and the other needed way more work than what we were willing to put in. And both had hardly any outbuildings or ones that were ready to fall in if you touched them. (a husband's requirement!)

The ones we saw yesterday were...UM...Okay. One was in town and was a huge old victorian with a wrap around porch. Thought I'd love it. And I did. For it's craftsmanship, oak woodwork, and open-oak-curved staircase. GORGEOUS!! But not practical for my family. With four kids, four inside cats and a dog PLUS a quilting studio I am NOT going to give up, there just wasn't enough practical space. It really hurts me to say that because my dream has always been to own a Victorian house with a wrap around porch.

The second one we visited had a nice metal building wiht heated shop area and office (score for the hubby), detached two car garage and a house with ALL hardwood floors (score for me!). Unfortunately, it was S-M-A-L-L. I need space. I'm a closet claustrophic, I'll admit it. Large open spaces are what I need...

The third one we looked at scored BIG time. Of course, looking at it from the outside, it was the one I thought I'd like the least and actually ended up being the one I liked the most. LOTS of space, five bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths, 5 acres of ground, a metal shop buildling and two big bins. It had been lived in by a little old lady and, when she either passed away or moved to the nursing home, the son moved in and renovated it. All new everything...fixtures, carpet, hardwood (Pergo), linoleum, etc. It's bad side came after thinking about living there for 30 years and having to do all of the stairs. It was a split-level so when you walked in the front door, it was either up or down but no where else to go. And am I going to want to do that 30 years from now??? Am I even going to want to do that right now? Visions of carrying a sleeping baby with armloads of groceries came to mind... The other bad thing is the carpet that was redone was put in as a tight-weave Berber. And I HATE Berber carpet. Especially with kids.

Anyway, all of this 'looking' has me thinking about what I do want in the "perfect" house. Then I'm going to try and get my hubby to do the same so that we know what we're looking for. The thing that scares me the most is being able to find it around HERE.

My perfect house would have:

1) Five bedrooms
2) Three bathrooms (kids, master, 'community')
3) Large open room with separate entrance (or opportunity to make it so) for quilting studio with room to put a long-arm that I hope to acquire someday
4) Eat-in kitchen with an island big enough to sit six seats
5) Breakfast nook off the kitchen with a fireplace
6) Private balcony off the master bedroom
7) Double hung windows
8) Walk-in pantry in the kitchen
9) Fireplace in the family room
10) Rec room for the kids

I could live with a ranch style house if the basement were finished and a walk-out. That's all I can think of right now.

Otherwise, not much quilting going on here this week. I'm preparing to put in a book order over the weekend, ordering more Vintage Valentine patterns (see further down in the post for pics) and ordering some patterns from Jacqueline de Jonge of the Netherlands. You can see her patterns here. Very, very nice paper-pieced patterns. Let me know if you're interested in any of the above! I will be putting orders in on Sunday evening so payment by then is appreciated. Contact me for pricing and more details.

Even though I haven't gotten any actual sewing time in, my thoughts are quilting-based EVERY day. Since my trip to Minneapolis to IKEA, I'm slowly getting my things put together and moved into my studio. Of course, that type of thing always takes three times as long as you think it should!!

The kids are home from school today and Monday for Spring Break...so I'm off to help them clean-up in the toy room today. Then we're going to color Easter Eggs later on!