Thrifty Thursday!

Finally had a chance to stop off for a little thrifty jaunt this evening after work!
aaaaaaand of course I found a few things to bring home!



Love the little Hull vitrified china piece...my tea bags will have a lovely new home!

And another box...



for the collection!

And then there was just something about this S&P set...



Marked 'Italy', I just love how they snuggle together!

Snuggling is good.....and so is thrift shopping! Give 'em both a try! ;o)

*Peace!

April and the SDW A German Band Sampler

Sticking with the plan of stitching one page per month of the Scarlet Letter's SDW A German Band Sampler, today I finished up page 4....April.

When I turned the page at the end of March, a full page of symbols awaited me for April. But it went rather quickly!


Loved the colors in this part of the sampler! That maybe helped move things along!

Here's the overall progress thru 4 chart pages.


Only 20 more pages to go!

*Peace!

Trade-Offs

Today's been a day of trade-offs, and I think I've been on the winning end!


Daughter needed to run some errands, and I had a long grocery list to tackle. Sooo...she agreed to do my grocery shopping...IF...


I would entertain Mr. JJ while she did her other errands!


No problem!

We had a great time! Mr. JJ has had quite the time of late.


Seems he has a wicked case of reflux....and after many hospital stays and doctor visits, it's beginning to come under control.


In the meantime, I've assured him that bibs are a most sophisticated fashion accessory for the well-dressed 4 month old. Such a cutie!

And these were delivered to my kitchen...


Put one in the "WIN" column for me!

Sunshine is non-existent today. This does not make me happy.

But...


earlier this week the hubs and I celebrated out anniversary, and he spoiled me with several bouquets of flowers.


I've got them strategically placed around the house.


The colors brighten my day since there is no sun! Another good trade-off!

Now I'm heading out to the kitchen for some prep work and pre-Easter dinner cooking! The trade-off.....a more relaxed holiday tomorrow!

Happy Saturday!

*Peace!

Thrifty Thursday!

Good morning and happy Thursday! Hope this finds you well with spring outside your door! I'm hopeful we'll see spring sometime soon! I'm growing impatient!

Monday I was content to play 'knitter' and stay home and knit knit knit, but the hubs always seems to be on a quest to get me out of the house for some reason. He wanted to go on the hunt. So...I obliged and we stopped at two G'Willy's...and I found two treasures!


Okay...I really should say the hubs found this treasure...


Good eye, Jerry! The Quilt.....


for five bucks!!!! and in impeccable shape, I might add.


It doesn't appear to have had a page turned! I am thrilled! This is a $50 book, so quite the score! When my friend, blogless Kimm, and I go junkin'...she always hits up the book section and finds great reads on the cheap, and I usually also come home with a few for the bookshelf and future reading. But this is the first large coffee table book I've scored!

And at the other G'Willy.....


a lovely silverplate coffee pot in excellent shape! Excited to add this one to the silverplate collection!

Just a couple finds on this fine Thursday! I hope the week has been good to you!

*Peace!

It's Good To Be Diversified

That's what I've told myself all weekend! It's good to be diversified! I got quite a few things done in different genres!

First up....fabric arrived!


Isn't it lovely?? It's my bolt from the latest American Jane line from Moda. It's the backing for my Yellow Snow quilt!


Cheery huh? I can't wait to get this quilted and have it turned back on the bed to show that cheery column stripe!

I spent Friday and part of Saturday piecing backs for other quilt tops too.


Got a lot done and there are two more to go.


I think this blue will do nicely!

And the polka dots....


Yesssss! :o)

The rest of Saturday and Sunday I spent on page 4 of the SDW sampler...


almost done with my April allotment! Enjoying this page immensely!

And yesterday...


there was knitting! I carry a sock around in my handbag, so I worked on the toe decrease of that sock. The sock above resides by my chair, so it saw some needle time too! It works for me!

*Peace!

Thrifty Thursday!

Yes! It's Thrifty Thursday....for another 21 minutes anyway! The day got away from me, and honestly I didn't have any finds until after work this evening! My usual haunt has left me empty-handed, so this evening I took the long way home (kinda) and stopped at a different G'Willy's and found a few things!

$6.36 later...I was on my way home! Here's what accompanied me home this evening!


You know I can't pass up old dishes....fifty cents a piece and these lovelies went in the cart.

And...what would a Thrifty Thursday be without some pottery? :o)


This is imprinted "olson" and was $3. It's super heavy...and I love the glaze! A nice piece to add to the collection!

And for a buck,


I can add another glass lidded jar to the sewing room! I love putting buttons in these little buggers.

So the third time out this week was the charm. I was beginning to grow concerned there were no more treasures to be found! ha!

*Peace!

How Do You Say 'Hangover' in French?

Because that's what I feel like I have today! But, alas, not the alcoholic kind! I blame the Red Bull! Last night I imbibed in a Red Bull, and got busy with lots of sewing!

I didn't finish the quilt last night, but I DID sit up knitting until 3 AM! And then I MADE myself go to bed. Today...I pay the price. A woman cannot survive on 4 hours of sleep...at least not THIS woman! LOL

Up before 7 to roust the teenager up and out the door, I sat with the pedal to the metal and a cup of coffee in my hand, trying to function. I functioned well enough to finish the French Country Coverlet this morning!

I worked from a pattern in the book Great Patchwork Collection from BH&G


It was one of the first books I added to my quilt library.

This was the first quilt I made from the book...and my first bed-sized quilt!


It's still a favorite, and currently on the bed!

But this one always caught my eye too.


I loved the check fabric and the impact from the positive/negative blocks. And so, the inspiration for my French Country Coverlet.


I'll have to get proper pics another time. This beauty is HUGE....I have no space inside large enough to spread it out....and it's rather muddy outside! So if nothing else, I'll share a pic when it's quilted and on the bed. I love the peasant feel to it....with the flecky muslin...the faded red in that yummy French General print. I'll enjoy this one on the bed!

And now, I continue to deal with this Red Bull hangover. Once I finished the quilt, I didn't do much else for the entire day. Even a nap didn't help. I'll be retiring early this evening! But first...I'll see if the Ben & Jerry's will cure what ails me! ;o)

Happy Monday!

*Peace!

Continuing On....

All the blocks are sewn...


and the blocks have been sewn in to pairs...


and the pairs into quads and the quads into rows....


and some of the rows have been joined. So tomorrow I will be continuing on with the progress on my French Country Coverlet! More row joining and borders and we'll have completion!

Thank you for shopping at my Etsy sale too! I'll be mailing off packages tomorrow! I've decided to continue on with the sale too, because the longer I was in the quilt den, the more bolts and bundles I've uncovered! So check it out, and remember, if you use the coupon code HAPPYSPRING2011, you'll get 20% off the prices in the shop!

If things fall into place tomorrow, I hope to have a new quilt top to show you! I hope you've had a lovely and productive weekend!

*Peace!

Weekend Sale!

Antique Fair from Blackbird Designs

I'm planning to hole up in the quilt den and sew to my heart's content! While I'm down there, I'd love to be cutting fabric for you! Thru the weekend, I'm having a sale in my Etsy shop!

Use Coupon Code HAPPYSPRING2011 when you checkout and you'll get 20% off!

Happy Spring! and Happy Weekend!

*Peace!

Thrifty Thursday!

Hello and Happy Thursday!! Just a couple finds to share this week! Earlier I happened upon a 1/2 off sale at the St Vincent DePaul thrift store. I don't usually stop by this particular store, but the hubs and I were out for lunch one day and happened in.

I found this!


First the subject matter caught my eye. And then the fact that it was an earthy ceramic pottery piece, well...that was another plus!

And I was intrigued by the artist.


So I bought it.


It was marked $2, so I paid a buck. Victoria Littlejohn is the artist. Apparently a known mid-century modern ceramics artist. I've already got my eye on a couple more of these vegetable tiles! Love!

And for another buck after discount...


I couldn't pass up this large wire basket. I'd say from someone's old deep freeze. Loved the color.


It's already put to use in the quilt den!

Thanks everyone for the input on last week's "What Is It?" An individual creamer and butter pat dish has now been identified! I've got another interesting piece to show and get your opinion on what it is, but I'll save that for another time!

Have a wonderful day, and as always, thanks so much for dropping by!

*Peace!

This May Take A While

Well, the long weekend is winding down and I don't have a quilt top to show for it. Not even close! This one may take a while!

Of course it doesn't help the piecing cause when I have other things to occupy my time.

Saturday.....my once in every couple years whim to get my hair colored. That took out a large chunk of my Saturday.


I covered the gray and added some RED! Can you see it? I maybe chickened out on the boldness of it and am now kicking myself. I want MORE of it!

Saturday evening I did get some more strip sets sewn.

Sunday morning, I finished up the strip sets.....all 130 of them. And then had the pleasure of the company of Miss Avery for a while.


She's getting so big! She has two bottom teeth now...and can army crawl like the best of them....too much fun!

Sunday night...I decided to burn the midnight oil and get those strip sets pressed. Mission accomplished by about 1:00AM this morning!

Today...the subcutting began.


I thought I was cruising right along.....counting 288 subcuts...when I realized I still have a LOT of strip sets left. Well DUH! 288 subcuts were for ONE set of blocks. I need to subcut 288 MORE units for the other set.


I took a break from the subcutting and started getting 4 patch units sewn. This is going to have a LOT of pieces, but I just know I'm going to love this one, so it will be worth the time to make it an oversized queen!

This still awaits....


as does the work week. *sigh* But....only 4 more days until I can do some more non-stop sweat shop sewing! Yes...this may take a while, but good things come to those who wait!

*Peace!

Belle Tissu

Belle Tissu.....


Beautiful Fabric.....oh beautiful fabric from the French General La Petite Ecole collection....how I have been fawning over you.....careful not to drool over you, as you sit patiently on the bolt...awaiting your fate.

Finally a decision has been made.


Lots of cutting has been done.

I didn't get a lot of sewing done today....


but the night is young and there's always tomorrow!

*Peace!