brimfield!!

this past friday brian and i both took the day off from work and went to brimfield, mass. to the BIG antiques fair. it was really fun despite the drizzly weather. i didn't get many photos in the rain, but i HAD to get one of this adorable little camper with its crocheted tire cover! how cute is that!?!?! if i had a spare tire on my camper i would certainly be working on a crocheted cover as we speak!

we didn't get many things, but i found these aqua pillowcases that are about the best pillowcases i've ever seen! i loooove them!

violet likes them too. is that a little claw i see stuck into my pillow, naughty kitty!! claws and crochet do not mix!

happy monday!

instagram LOVE

and a very happy easter sunday to you all!!! xo

tgif!

my helper!

CAT AND QUILTS

hi! i am excited to show you my new set of postcards called "cat and quilts" starring my furry friend, violet!  she loves snuggling up on all of the quilts and crocheted blankets around here, and i got some nice photos of her in the act!

i'll have these for sale at the craft fair, individually and in sets of five. the sets are bundled in wraps made with sweet vintage fabrics and  ric-rac trim.

i have also dusted the cobwebs off of  my long neglected etsy shop, and you can find them there now! if you live outside the united states, please leave me a message here or on etsy and i will be happy to find the shipping cost for your location.

thanks to everyone who reads my blog and leaves such nice comments! i love knowing you're out there!

happy monday!

**note** the colors are best represented in the very first photo. thanks!

birthday/anniversary quilt is FINISHED!!!!!

my brother's 50th birthday is today(happy birthday, andy!!!), and i wanted to make something special for this occasion and also for he and my sister-in-law's wedding anniversary, which is right around the corner. so, time for a quilt! i wanted to make them something a little more modern looking, so i thought i'd stick to solid colors and a very graphic design. i'd seen this pattern  
on several blogs and on flickr and thought it would be perfect.

i hand quilted it with a 3-inch grid which looks pretty good!  my stitches could be a bit smaller, but i wanted to get this darn thing done in time!

one thing that i really like about making a quilt is that you take all of these little separate pieces and sew them all together, and after everything is quilted and washed and dried it becomes one whole quilt, no longer the little pieces, but its own thing. it's very satisfying!

oh, and violet gave it a test drive and the cat seal of approval ;)

that's my secret project and i'm glad it's done and delivered!!  now i can work on my x and + quilt. hurray!!!

lately

not a whole lot going on around here lately.  i went peach picking with two of my cousins which was really fun and such good peaches!!

i'm slowly plugging away at the x and + quilt.  i can't wait til i have time to really crank those squares out!!  i found some sweet prints the other day at the fabric store.  the green polka dot fabric was given to me by my friends kelly and roger who found it at the flea market.  i love it!

we've had some crazy weather this week-HOT and terrible thunder storms! brian and i took a walk this afternoon and found a spot on the sidewalk where the lightening hit and turned the area to glass!  pretty cool!

pretty relaxing day here today which has been niiiiiccceeeeee!  enjoy your sunday!

v

basking in the glow of the bedside lamp.

violet says hi

 

helloooooo.  i'm ready for my close-up!!!

still here!

hi! i'm still here! it's been a bit of a rough re-entry to work, starting the week off with a stomach flu, and adding another day to my vacation(sort of!  that's never suspicious, right?)  i've had no energy all week, but today i'm finally feeling better!

i was walking rosco in the rain this afternoon, with my umbrella, and met a woman walking across the street who was wearing an umbrella hat. i said, "nice hat". she told me it was from china and was used as a sun hat but also worked well in the rain. then she said, "i have something for you", reached into her bag and handed me an oil painting that she had made. she said she was giving them to people with umbrellas. kind of crazy, but also kind of made my day!

happy rainy thursday!

...and i get my life back

i can say i pretty much got lost in this quilt. i was DRIVEN to finish it! sunday night i finished the hand quilting, and tuesday i found the perfect color to bind it with. you know how you have a certain color in mind, and then you can never find it? well, i went to the fabric store and there it was. a kind of orange-y salmon-y red. thank you kaffe fasset!

so tuesday night i set to work binding the quilt, and , ta-da! it's done!

itch!

the quilt is made up of 4" squares, 20 squares x 22, about 80" x 84". i washed and dried it last night, and i love how it came out all crinkly, especially on the back. due to my "pinning together rush job", there were a few puckery places on the back. but now the whole thing looks wrinkly, so that's great!

i think violet's cooperation today was born of heat prostration (it was almost 90 degrees today!!!) rather than any desire to pose. poor girl!

excuse my color differences. i like that "retro" setting on my camera because it makes everything so soft looking, but the real color is more like the last photo.

now i can do things like mow the lawn and work in the garden...*yay*  (and maybe cook and clean...)

and, so exciting, one more day of work, then v-a-c-a-t-i-o-n!!!!!!!