Saturday, September 22, 2007

100th Post!!!!

I've managed to keep this blogging thing going! I really do love it though, this on-line journal has been so good for my creativity. I really love this quilting community. So thanks for all your comments, suggestions, and encouragement!

I just received my first fabric postcards in the mail! Aren't they great! Thanks Cynthia and Sewnut!


As I've mentioned before, I am participating in Tonya's on-line classroom. Here is one of the things I am working on. It's a Halloween inspired quilt. When you don't have a pattern, you can get a bit carried away! Mine started with black cats:


Then I got to doodling, I thought I could make some cat blocks, and then wouldn't it be great if their tails could cross the 't's:


Oh boy! What did I get myself into? Will it all come together?


After a bit of cursing, and a dash of self-doubt, I present Black Cats Staring!


It still needs a bit of work: eyes, border, a web for my spider....but I think I will rest now.

Friday, September 14, 2007

Postcards

This is a birthday card I made for my hubby early this summer. Again using some images from his old t-shirts. I cut the letters out of the back of a concert shirt I had used for his t-shirt quilt. I actually sewed the fabrics right onto a blank card. Hubby loves it!


We are having a postcard swap at the guild this year. I call this next one "The Butler did it!". I used mainly scraps of Amy Butler fabric.


This one is called "Sakura".

Friday, September 07, 2007

The fun never stops!

Why is it that everything positive is followed by a negative? Positive: I painted the store (part of it anyway). Negative: the air conditioner dies a fiery death!!!!

We hadn't even opened the store (just before 10AM), my employee, JW, and I were chatting when strange sounds and a burning smell were coming out of the A/C. It is a sleeve A/C that vents into the alley beside the store. JW cut the power to the A/C and I went to check it out in the alley. I could see flames inside the sleeve and I ran back yelling "It's on fire!!!" JW grabbed the extinguisher and I called 911. The fire was out before the Fire Department got there. The FD checked it all out to make sure it was OK and used a large and noisy vacuum-fan-thingy to air out the smoke and dust. They were all done and gone by 10:10 AM. Nothing was damaged, just covered in a fine dust from the extinguisher. Clean up took until noon.

Grateful for:
An extinguisher that worked!
JW, an excellent and capable employee!
Happy that this happened while we were there and not in the middle of the night. There are apartments above the store. I will have nightmares about what could have been!




Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Oh my gosh! Have I ever been busy!

First I am taking Lazy Gal's on-line course! And I am having a ball! There are about 20 ladies from about 6 countries and all have such varied and wonderful backgrounds!

Second I've decided to paint the store! egads! What an undertaking! When we first moved into this location, we couldn't decide on the colour for the walls so we just left the primer on the walls! Isn't that terrible?! 6 years later and finally I am tired of the white walls! It was hard to decide on a colour because their is so much colour in the product and the product is very busy looking. Well, I've really gone and done it! Red is my choice! Not a subtle red...Disney paint...Mickey's Pants...is what it's called. I used this colour on my A-board sign for the sidewalk. I told the paint dealer "I call this Superman's cape!"


I've made another tote bag; this one's for a friend using her t-shirt:


While I was at the cottage, I did finally finish the binding and quilting on my 2 Suske quilts:


My camera does not like orange :( I've tried brightening it up using Picasa, but still it is not the true colours. It really does look better in real life:


I've finished piecing my Amy Butler piece; the blocks are about 8 inches each and it is 7blocks x 8blocks. I didn't have any place to hang it, so I laid it on top of my bed, so there is another quilt underneath.