And then there were two...

Good morning, girls! Happy Wednesday.....how is everyone? A tiny but fun bee last night - just Dolores and myself. No pictures - sorry. We just talked about life, kids, quilting and caught up on stuff. A lot of laughs! Dolores is making a quilt for a woman at work - and she's becoming problematic! I'm sure it'll be beautiful - and you can always smother her in it! Dolores was kind enough to bring her contibution to the Quiltmama banner - it describes her completely! Thanks. LA - sorry you misunderstood the day. I read your comment about looking forward to Wednesday and it crossed my mind - 'I wonder what's going on Wednesday?' I'm a little slow on the uptake sometimes. Maureen called and talked to Kelly around 9 - sorry the back-to-school night was so long. I hope it went well...if folks can stand it....we'll have to wait till next week for the big reveal! Pam - hope your work situation isn't too unbearable. Hang in there...I looked at the calendar for spring - need some feedback about the Lancaster weekend. Easter is April 4th. I think we talked briefly about either one of the next two weekends after that - the 10/11 or 17/18 - anyone have a preference? I'm going to call and book it next Friday - payday. Let me know, ok? How many weeks till Brigantine? (about 6) OY! I'm so looking forward to it. I'm contemplating Christmas gifts already! September just flew by. The crisp air is nice - and the fall decorations look so nice. Check out Pam's blog - congrats on the widgets! There is going to be another Blogger's Quilt festival coming up October 9-16. The first one had some amazing quilts - looking forward to it. Think that's about it.....I'll remember other stuff after I post, I'm sure. Consuelo - have you heard from the Italian travelers? Hope they're having a blast. Enjoy this day, girls......piece

A dreary but brightening Sunday...

Hello, ladies! How is everyone? And how was the sewing day yesterday? I was dying to call and see what was going on. Anyone take show&tell pix? I can host this Tuesday - Wednesday is Kelly's birthday - hope to see some goodies! Pam - hope the weather didn't put a damper on your weekend plans. Lois - you and George keep dry? Cross country was cancelled today because of the rain - and I'd gotten all my chores done anticipating being gone for a couple of hours - so it's like a little present - some unexpected time. I'm heading up to the sewing room. Yahoo!!! Wishing a nice, unexpected event to each of you. See you Tuesday......piece.

PS - Pam - Kim of Kim's Big Quilting Adventure decorated her house for fall - her pictures remind me of your house! Only 34 days till Halloween!

Buon Viaggio

Mare - have a safe and wonderful trip!! Italy is beautiful and romantic - good luck! Consuelo and Cath - have a relaxing, enjoyable time on Saturday. Lois - enjoy the mountains. Dolores - looking forward to seeing the t-shirt quilt. Isn't Ryan's test coming up soon - best of luck to him! (His name is still Ryan, right?) Lor - have fun at all the soccer games, etc this weekend. Pam - hoping the job isn't too hectic and you're getting some down time. LA - take it easy.....here's a little virtual show&tell. I needed to get the cupcakes done before this weekend - and it's hanging up! The other one is a little wall decoration for my office. Have a terrific weekend ladies!

Piece....

Hate to take it back...

Girls.....sorry, I'm going to have to take back my offer to host on Wednesday. Kelly found out tonight that she can test for her next stripe at karate on Wednesday night - so I want to be there. I need to stay on her good side now - she could put a hurtin' on me! Totally kidding!!! It's so neat - she has to kneel down in the front and they all clap for her. They're really very nice. And I get to shed a tear or two. Mare - have a great time in Italy! Looking forward to the stories when you come back. Have you googled quilt shops over there? LA - how's that quilt coming? Have a great visit with your sister. Make sure you let her hold Olivia now and then! Pam - good luck in class. Lois - enjoy the mountains - I can't get over how many leaves are changing around here already. Isn't tomorrow the first day of fall? Have a splendid week, ladies. Be good to yourselves. Piece....

Good Monday morning...

Hello, 'mamas! Hope you all enjoyed this fabulous weekend! I'd be happy to host this Wednesday if you can stop by. Mare - I know you'll be packing but if you get a minute! Feel like I haven't seen folks in ages. Have a nice day.....see you soon! Piece....

A gorgeous weekend

Good morning, girls and happy Saturday! It promises to be a lovely fall weekend - clear blue skies, nice temperatures - just beautiful. Hoping you get a chance to enjoy it - a nice walk, a soccer game or just sitting on the porch. I went to the quilt show on Thursday and really enjoyed it. The class was a lot of fun - the teacher was very nice - an older woman from Maine - she looked like she stepped out of an L.L. Bean catalogue. I still have a lot of work to do to my little project but it's a nice hand stitiching project. The show was very nice - lots of quilts and lots of vendors. Some of the beadwork was just amazing! The funniest quilt in the whole show was Sunbonnet Sue Goes to Hollywood. It had to be at least 35 panels featuring Sunbonnet Sue in various movies - The King & I, Saturday Night Fever, The Exorcist, Jaws, Gone With the Wind, Bonnie & Clyde - just hilarious! Hope you get up to see it. Mare - how's the packing coming? You're leaving Thursday? I'm so excited for you. LA - are you going to Virginia Beach on Friday? That is awesome! You'll be hugging that baby like crazy and wondering how Kevin got so big so fast. Pam - did you have class this week? How's it coming? The pictures are terrific. There was a flower pots quilt top done in one of the vendor booths. She used similar fabrics to yours but used a powder blue with white polka dot as the backgrounds and I thought it really took away from the whole thing. Also - there was a lollipop trees quilt in the show - very nicely done. But, still not as nice as yours! Cath - hope you're hanging in there with school. December will be here before you know it. Lois - have you booked your next trip to Seattle yet? Isn't Ainsley's birthday in November? Lori - a great weekend for soccer games - are you still working on that tablerunner with all the yo yo's? Dolores - how many things are you working on? I thought of you three or four times while I was walking around the quilt show. We had a lot of laughs in the vendor area, didn't we? Consuelo - are you going to cross country this weekend? Saw Matt in his uniform at Mass last week - he is so cute!! It's going to be a beautiful day! Are you the official caretaker on the DeMarco manse while they're jetting to Europe? Mare - forgot to mention congratulations to Nicole for her official white coat! She has worked so hard - you must be so proud. Think that's about it girls.....have to get ready to go to karate! Enjoy this weekend!! I have to check next week's schedule and I'll blog about Wednesday.......piece.

A gorgeous Monday!

Hello, ladies......what a lovely day! God or Mother Nature's way of easing us into a new week? Perhaps.....anyhow - Pam - hope you had a lovely birthday. How is Scott feeling? I hope you guys had a chance to do something fun! LA - how is aunthood? I'm sure you've seen pictures....how are the new momma and poppa? When is she going home - or is she there already? What an exciting time! When are you going down to visit? Sadly, I cannot host this week. I have to attend a volleyball parents meeting - and I still haven't gathered all my supplies for class on Thursday - so there might be a trip to Joann's in there somewhere! Hope you guys get a chance to go up and see the quilt show. I'll blog on Thursday night and tell you my impressions. Consuelo had suggested a sewing day on the 26th for those who are interested - please comment or email her and let her know if you're in, ok? Consuelo - sorry I can't come that day - it is Erin's birthday (Kelly is 4 days later) and, miraculously we don't have any sports that day - so we're planning a family outing day - shopping, eating out, etc. Thanks for the invite! Hey -check out this quilt. Size doesn't matter!!! Soak up this Indian summer, girls...it won't last! Piece...

Bon anniversaire !

A very Happy Birthday to Pam!!! Hope this coming year is full of adventures, love, joy and wonder....we are so glad to be your friends. Thanks for being you!

The Quiltmamas

All about us...

Hey girls....please check out the blog to the right - Craft Nectar - 'the friends every maker needs'. It's almost like she wrote about us! It's amazing how a group of diverse women come together, drawn by a similar hobby - but with very different tastes and strengths in that hobby - to support and encourage each other to stretch, try new things and be confident in our work. Cheers to us! Don't you just love that dessert tray quilt......looks like it would be a fun challenge, maybe? What do you think - everyone do a different dessert and we can put them all together? Just a thought....enjoy the weekend....piece.....

Bee-e-e- wrap-up

Hello, girls......it's a rainy Thursday evening....it's been feeling very much like fall this week. I guess it's time to get out the pumpkin decorations. Missed those who weren't at bee last night. There were many topics of discussion, including Matt's fervent prayers for Fruity Pebbles. You gotta admire the kid's faith! Sorry there are no pictures - my brain is still not making that connection - 'Hey, get out the camera to put stuff on the blog'....maybe next time. Cathy put together sections of a Nancy Halvorsen panel into a quilt top - so cute. It's called 'I Believe' and has a special meaning for Cathy's neighbor. Such a nice thought. Pam brought her Kim McLean's flower pots - the blocks she has put together so far - it is truly amazing. The workmanship alone gives pause - but as you look at it, you notice the little touches - the fussy cut circles, the scraps of sock monkey fabric. Just amazing...we will be seeing this hanging somewhere major at some point - no doubt. Lori brought her nephew's quilt top finished - it looks terrific! The borders are really cool. He's going to love it. I finished the wedding gift wallhanging and the summer tablerunner - complete with ladybugs! I also made a ladybug block into a pillow for a little girl's b'day gift. Cloth & Bobbin is having a super sale this weekend - in honor of their 2 year anniversary. Also - the former 'Fort Washington' quilt show is next weekend up in Oaks. It starts on Thursday. I'm taking a landscape class on Thursday with Jo Diggs - that reminds me, I should dig out that supply list and do something about it this weekend! Check out the Will Work For Fabric blog - she has her aunt Millie's blocks laid out - they are just amazing! Talked to LA tonight after cross-country practice - her sister is in false labor. She was actually at the hospital last night but they sent her home. OY! Let us help you get that quilt done!! After all, we are this child's Quiltmama aunts! I think that's it, ladies. Lois and George were installing a vanity today - after installing their new toilet earlier in the week. We should see if they will contract out to fix things at our houses.....I have a few projects.....hmmm.....Cath - good luck with the paper-writing this weekend. Pam - shields up! Good luck in York. Hope everyone has a manageable Friday and a great weekend!!! Piece...

Happy Labor Day

A cloudy and cool last day of summer in these parts. Hope eveyone had a nice long weekend...check out Piecefully to see Pam's latest work. Dolores - you are most certainly not a loser! In fact, you are the Quiltmama trivia winner! The first quilt was yours and the second one was made by Lois. Those pix were from February 2006 - how about that? Coming up on four years! OY! Did you get to the movies today? A great day for it. We had our cookoff yesterday - and Burkie did not retain his title. Nick won with a cheesesteak stromboli. We had 7 cooks this year -the most we've ever had and everything was great!! Lois - how's the newest appliance working out? LA - how was the backyard campout? Back to school this week....I don't feel like I'm ready for that routine yet - but, it's coming anyhow. A good day for stitching - I was sitting on the porch for a while finishing a binding. I can host this Wednesday if everyone is back in town - you are most welcome to come by. I think I feel a nap coming on.....hmmmmm....take care, girls.....piece.

Freaky Friday?

Hey, girls....a little departure if I may. If you don't mind, I'd like to bore you with two work related stories/observations from this past week. Our department sponsors a career fair in the fall and spring. Interested employers click a link on our website to register and pay to come - a couple of screens - no big deal. I picked up the phone the other day and the man identified himself as so & so from the FBI. He said he was having trouble registering online. In the split second before I said, 'What screen are you on?', the following thoughts flashed through my mind - 'Seriously? You find missing persons, wiretap and nab mobsters, bust Enron folks and track down fugitives - and you can't fill in the screen? Have you never seen Without a Trace?' As I thought about it later, I was first of all amazed at the speed with which I thought of all of those things. And secondly, I was grateful for my age slowing me down enough that those same thoughts didn't come tumbling out of my mouth. I don't think FBI guys are known for their sense of humor. Another career fair-related story. Independence Blue Cross registered as a non-profit. (Non-profits get a reduced rate) As they are my health insurance carrier, I had trouble believing that they are in fact non-profit considering the thousands of dollars they get from us each year. I looked it up online and....sure enough - they are a non-profit company which, combined with Highmark Blue Cross, made 20.4 billion dollars last year. How is that possible? That is not my idea of 'non profit' My idea is more along the lines of my bank account running on fumes during the second week of my pay period - yet I'm still going to work everyday. Perhaps if I declared my self a non-profit, things would change....hmmmm.....anyhow, thanks for letting me vent after a long and fairly stressful week. Back to our regularly scheduled quilt programming. I thought of a little Quiltmama trivia contest. The following are two pictures of projects made by Quiltmamas. Who made each - and bonus points if you can guess the date (year will do). Good luck....contest is only open to Quiltmamas - no one else would know! Prize to be determined........Piece....

Good morning, mamas! Happy last Thursday of the summer. For those down the shore and heading to the shore - enjoy these last days. The weather has just been lovely - maybe a touch chilly for those looking to bake on the beach but the rest of us are loving it. No bee this week.....as the mamas are far-flung. LA - how was the Phils game - they just didn't get any hits, unfortunately. I'm sure you and the 'girls' had fun. You watch a lot of games on TV - do the kids ever ask you about all the Cialis and Viagra commercials? Someone posted on her blog about the seeming epidemic of this type of problem based on the number of commercials on every night. One of her commenters posted about this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84-g3kuJ2cE - it is hilarious! Check it out. I have to figure out how to make that a link - but...in the meantime. How is that baby quilt coming along? Cath - hope school started off well. Lor - sorry to hear about the funerals. Anyone have big Labor day plans? Burkie is getting ready for the Labor Day cookoff - which means he downloaded a recipe from the internet.....I have a feeling we'll be taste testing it for breakfast on the big day (Sunday). Enjoy the weekend, ladies. Hope to have bee next week and see lots of show & tell.....take care. Piece...