Happy New Year!!

Wow, I can`t believe it is 2010 already! It seems like it was not that long ago that the whole world was worried about 2000. I must be getting old, time is going way to fast. lol
Have a safe, happy, and healthy New Year!
Don`t drink and drive, it is not worth it, in anyway.

Baby Bees Boutique GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Baby Bees Boutique GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

This is such a cute giveaway, and I am entering in anticipation of my new grandbaby coming in June!!
I am so hoping for a little girl.

Merry Christmas!!

I just wanted to wish all a very Merry Christmas! I received some wonderful homemade gifts from some great friends and will post some pics soon.
May your day be filled with family, friends and most of all love.
Mine was!!

RIP, my brother 1968-2009

I will miss you so very much.
At peace at last.

updating my Mom!!!

Well can you believe how many elves there are on HGTV, well let me tell you!!
over 130 at the very least. That is how many ladies have asked for my Moms address.
So far she has received over 35 envelopes and a few boxes of goodies for quilting.
She is loving it!! I asked her today what she was doing, and she said "Waiting for the Mailman!!" lol
She sounds just like her old self, and is putting up her tree, and planning on what layout for her new quilt is going to be. She is saving the Christmas fabric, and wants me to make her a mini with it. I am of course going to start that as soon as she picks the fabrics she wants in it.
You know it is funny how a little envelope with a 12.5 inch piece of fabric can change a persons outlook on life. She still has all the daily issues to deal with, but now she has something to look forward too, and the most important thing::::she is not alone, and that is what Kathy and I wanted her to get out of this. Never did we imagine how many people would want to spread a little cheer.
SO, if you are one of those elves, Thank you from the bottom of my heart!!
And if you aren`t, Thank you too, for reading this, and maybe you know someone who just needs reminded, that they are not alone.
After all, it is the season. :)

giveaway!!

http://www.spunsugarquilt.com/
Check out this great blog, and be sure to sign up for the giveaway she is having for hitting the 400 number mark in posts.

I have more to be Thankful for!

When I did my last posting, I was feeling down for the holiday. And really concerned for my Mom. She was just so upset about my brother, and my sister. Well anyway, my friend Kathy saw my post and she had an idea. What if she asked all the ladies at HGTV to send my Mom a card, chocolate, or something to cheer her up for the holidays.
WELL, let me tell you, when Kathy emailed me and asked me what I thought of the idea, I thought it would be great! And since my Mom is a quilter, and we are asking quilters to do this, why not just ask for a 12.5 piece of fabric added to the cards.
She will get a great quilt out of it, and she will not feel all alone.
Kathy posted the request on the HGTV quilting board, and told them to PM me for my Moms address!!! OMG, that was on Wednesday night! Since then we have had over 85 requests for her address. She is going to be flipping out in just a few days, as some have already mailed out today. One of the ladies told me she just joined the board, and had missed out on being a Secret Sister, or in the Christmas exchanges, so she was adopting my Mom for Christmas this year and sending her a package!
The best thing is I feel better already knowing how good this is going to make my Mom feel! And knowing, what I have known for a long time, QUILTERS are the BEST!!

Happy Thanksgiving! but don`t read if you want a happy story!

I want to wish all my friends and family a very Happy Thanksgiving!
Sometimes I think about the things in my life that are not good things. And blame these things on life, and the hell we go through. My sister and brother have Huntingtons Disease, which is a horrible hereditary disease. My father died at 48 with it, and my brother is 42, and not long for this world. My sister was 46 last week, she will not see 50, of this I am sure. She fell about five times in the last few days, and her face is all black and blue. What did my family do to deserve this? I don`t know, but we must have been horrible in a past life. My mother cared for my father until he died, she is caring for my brother now, and doing what she can for my sister, who refuses to leave her home. She is over 70 and has always been a very strong woman, but even she is down now, and I don`t think anyone could blame her. She has always been the glue that held our family together. I need her to keep me strong too.
I am sorry this is not the story you wanted to hear for Thanksgiving, but it is mine.
I am THANKFUL for all my friends online and the ones I have met in person. I am so very thankful that I have my Mom.
BUT, the thing I am most thankful for is that since I do not have Huntingtons, my children don`t have to worry about getting it.

Our visit

Well, Lois, Holee and I had a great day yesterday! Spent an hour or so shopping at the quilt shop, everyone got some beautiful fabrics, but Lois hit the jackpot! lol
(she spent the most) Lois is working on a black and white quilt, so everytime she sees a black and white fabric, that she does not have, she buys some.
Then it was off to the truck stop restaurant to have lunch and give her the big surprise. Awhile back I talked to Lois about how Holee is redoing that big old house and has no walls in most rooms, let alone anything on them. Anyway Lois started a private message among the mini swappers that Holee has been hostessing, and asked them to make a mini for Holee. She was going to make up a box and send it to her. I of course could not miss the chance to see Holee and get her reaction when she got to see all those great minis! I was not disappointed. :) She loved them all.
If you check out Holees blog, she posted them all. She does so much for others, that is was great seeing her receive.

Off to visit Holee!!

Today is the day Lois, and I go to visit with Holee!! I can`t wait. There will be pics posted tonight, so be ready. We meet at a quilt shop, so we shop and then eat, what could be better!! I am taking Steve along and him and Dave can talk cars, while us ladies talk quilts, friends, fun, whatevers.

new giveaway that Holee told me about!

Here is a great way to get a great book and a bunch of scraps of some beautiful fabrics. Here is the link, you will need to copy and paste.
http://sherimhoward.blogspot.com/2009/11/one-year-give-way.html

a Great Giveaway

Canton Village Quilt Works is having a great giveaway. She was at the Quilt Market and received lots of goodies and is sharing the wealth! I don`t know how to get links to work in posting, but her blog is listed on my sidebar, check it out.

bad cold

I have about 10 things I need to be doing, and here I sit feeling like crap. I have a horrible cold and just want to sit here and not move. I can`t breathe, and my body aches all over. I need to finish up the hand work on my mini quilt, and I need to finish up my ATCs to mail out all by the end of the week. And at work, this weekend is Family weekend at the university, so we will be crazy. Guess I just need hot tea and rest tonight, then dig in tomorrow. That is the plan anyway. lol

Christmas mini top

Well since I am on a roll and my camera cord has reappeared, here is the mini for the Christmas swap. The top is done, just need to do the quilting and it is ready to go.

Halloween mini

I am doing mini quilt swaps on HGTV. This time it was Fall or Halloween themed. I was so lucky in that my partner loved Halloween, which is my favorite holiday. What I am trying to get out of this swap is doing something different and new to me. So this was a first in ragging edges to me. I loved how it turned out and hope Julie likes it.

another pic of the bike, with my husbands collection

here it is in good company

my gnome riding his Harley

I finally got my camera cord and am back up and running!
So first of all, here is the cool hand carved gnome riding his Harley, that Tom of Quilting and Carving blog made me.
He asked for suggestions for a Christmas giveaway that would combine his love of carving and quilting. I thought a mini quilt set in a hand carved frame with a gnome on it would be great, AND so did he. So I won this gift from him.

You are in my prayers, Donna

I am so sorry, Donna for the loss of your husband Cliff. I know it has been a rough time for you and your family. Hugs and prayers coming your way tonight and many nights more. If you need anything, call!

College Move In Day

Today was move in day for my towns college, IUP. Since I am a restaurant manager in that town, WELL it is CRAZY. We get packed and run around like nuts, but I love it!
It is like our small quiet town gets bursted at the seams. And yes I know bursted is not a word, but works for me in this instance. lol
The kids are great and we really miss them over the summer. And today is the first day of our fair. I wanted to have a few things done to enter at the fair, but did not do it. So I should be ready way ahead of time for next year.
I am working on a mini quilt with a Halloween theme right now for a swap on HGTV. I love Halloween, so am excited about this project and if it turns out right, I will make myself one too. The other thing I am working on right now is my embroidered butterfly. I have an afghan that I am crocheting too. So depending on my mood, I pick up a needle of one kind or another and get to work. lol
I know I need to post pics and will get to that soon. The hard thing with that now that I have my laptop is that my picture resizer is upstairs in my sons room with the desktop and I am on the laptop all the time. And too lazy to go upstairs!!
One other thing that I am excited about is I am getting a new washer, dryer and fridge delivered tomorrow! Can`t wait, as all those appliances in my house now are over 20 years old, and am hoping to save on the electric bill with these new ones.
I got a front loading washer and dryer and the pedastal for them to sit on. Make it a little easier on the back too. :)

a giveaway! and an update!

First this is for Shogun who told me it was time to post something!! lol
I visited this blog today and she has a great giveaway!
here is the address http://gatherings100.blogspot.com/2009/08/time-for-small-giveaway.htm
I can not seem to make links work, so you will have to copy and paste, but it will be worth your time.
Other news, I just got back from vacation and we went to New Jersey for the kids to go to Six Flags amusement park. They had a good time and I laid on the beach all day, so we were all happy. We also took the ferry to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.
I loved Ellis Island and want to go back again with more time to read about the history of it. I really enjoyed seeing the old pics, and reading the boat manifests.
I finally found my camera cord. Seems that when my hubby thinks I spread out my crazy quilting supplies, magazines, books, yarn, etc, to far into the living room, he puts all the stuff in a box and puts it back into my sewing area. Well yesterday I decided to clean a little back there and there was my cord. Pics will be coming, I have quite a few to share of projects I am working on and things that are finished and mailed out.

accident update!

Well after numerous calls to insurance companies today, we did get some good news.
It was the other ladies fault and her insurance company wants to settle up with the Jeep right away. They are giving my son a fair price for it, so now the hunt for a new vehicle is on. We still do not know anything about the insulin pump, but are working on that right now also. We drove out to the Jeep and got the rest of my sons stuff out of it. I will get some pics posted of it tomorrow sometime. They were very lucky young men. Joey is feeling better today, but still taking his Vicodin about twice a day. I think things will be ok. At least today I think so, will take tomorrow as it comes.
Now am just looking forward to good friends and fun next week!!!
So hurry up Kathy and Talia, get here quick!!

car accidents, crazy at work

I think sometimes that my life will never slow down!! Last week I had a really nice two days off. My husband took off for vacation days and we spent the time riding the bike (harley) and went to visit the Flight 93 memorial near Somerset. It was a very moving tribute to those 40 people who gave their lives to save so many others.
The next day we went to Wheels and Wings party in Ebensburgh, we took my 66 Mustang and had great food and a good time. Then finally we went with some other friends to Thunder in the Valley, a biker event in Johnstown. The event is about 200,000 bikers from all over the place.
Well everytime I get some nice relaxing time, it seems like all hell breaks loose soon after. My sons decided on Monday to go to the local town for some dinner and maybe buy a new game for the X-Box, well five minutes after they leave my older son calls and says they have been in an accident!! I drive there as fast as possible, get stopped about 1/2 way up the hill and just pull over, leave the car and run up the hill. My youngest son is laying on the ground, white as a ghost. His right arm is brush burned from shoulder to the finger tips. He is confused and not sure what happened. My older son, the one that was driving was bruised, but ok.
The ambulances came and made the great decision to take one child very close to my home and the other child to a different hospital 35 miles away!! Well I had to go with Joey as he is a minor. They did x-rays, cat scans and put a cast on his arm. He broke his arm at the growth bone in his wrist. Well today we go to the specialist, and they take off the temporary cast and in the hospitals wisdom, they had put the cast on with no dressing (vaseline, ointment or something). So as my child sat on the table and they peeled cotton dressing off of a brushburn along with skin, scabbing and lots of blood!! They poured bottles of hydrogen peroxide onto the cotton to try to get it off. It took almost an hour to get it off and he was in severe pain. They had to put a removable cast on his wrist, so we could take it off and keep ointment on the brushburns. But he will be ok, and for that I thank God.
Did not mean for this to get so long, but wanted to tell the story. Will give accident details later. And the continueing saga of Joey. :)

3 days off!!

I finally took three days off in a row!!! I have not had two off since the retreat back in April! Well we were suppose to go away for a few days to celebrate our 23rd anniversary, but I took off over the clean up days for our township!!! Bad move on my part. lol DH decided we needed to clean the basement, and he was right, but stilllllll.
So bright and early Friday morning, my two sons, one sons girlfriend, my husband and I started on the basement. What a mess it was. I NEVER, EVER throw anything away. And if someone is getting rid of something, I take it. I don`t know why I am like that, but my Mom and Grandmother were the same way. So at least I get it honestly.
I did really well this time though. We have a small trailer to haul our Harley in for trips and we filled it to the top 2 times with things that just needed thrown out. We filled the back of my pickup up with items for Goodwill, and took them and dropped them off. I finally saw the middle of my basement for the first time in like 5 years!!! lol
There is still a lot left, but I felt good about getting rid of the stuff that I did, and my family was proud that I got rid of some of my clutter. My husband has a table saw down there, and this morning he got to cut the few small blocks he has been wanting to for months, but could not get to the saw. I wish I had taken before shots, but will post after shots when we are finished cleaning it up.
So today was a ME day!! I finished up the label for the mini that I am swapping with Shogun and got it sewn on, ready to mail out tomorrow. I am very happy with how this turned out and can not wait to see mine from Ali. I want to make a rail fence quilt that is a lesson on learningfa, a quilting group from Yahoo that I belong to. So picked out the fabric and also cleaned up my sewing area some. Now I am off to start cutting that and the fabrics for the One Block Swap that is going on at HGTV now.
I had participated in an HGTV round robin crazy quilt piece that started last October. I sent two pieces for a purse that I wanted to make when it got back to me.
WELL, most of the ladies have gotten thiers back that were in my group, but one lady that should have mailed mine on May 15th has still not sent it to the last one to work on it before coming home!! I am sad about this in a few ways, one being I want my pieces back, and that she could have joined our group and not kept up her end of the bargain. I understand she had problems throughout the swap. She sent some on that she did not do any work on, and some very late. This is not the way that things should be done. I am not saying that life does not happen, and at this point I don`t care what she has done or not done, she should send my pieces to me. Sorry for the rant, but I am just a small bit pissed about this!! lol
Back to sewing and calming down!

The mini in disguise!!!!

This is a picture of the mini that I am making for Shogun. I love this swirly pic thing. You upload any picture and it does this to it. That way she has an idea of what colors are in it, but not the whole picture. I love this software.
Tammy

hand quilting, 23rd anniversary

I have been doing hand quilting on the mini I am making for the HGTV mini swap. My partner is Shogun. I love this little quilt. I think it is probably my favorite piece I have done in a long time. I can`t wait to get the binding on it next week and get it sent to her. I have decided I love hand quilting small pieces and plan on doing a lot more!!
Today the 23rd of May is my 23rd wedding anniversary!!! I left work early today and went to Altoona with my husband to celebrate. I took him to the Olive Garden for dinner, and it was very, very nice. This is the first time, in I can not remember when that we did not take at least one of our sons with us. We went to the local antique store and flea market. I found a great book of embroidered flowers for only two bucks. That was all I bought at the flea market. I told my husband all I wanted was a pair of Crocs shoes, so of course we could not find them in about 20 stores at the mall. He took me to another shopping center and bought me two pairs of Crocs, and two tops for our anniversary!! So I made out very good! lol
Tomorrow we go up to my Moms camp and have a picnic for her birthday and to celebrate Memorial Day. On the way up every year, I stop at a nursery and buy her flowers and plants. I buy some for my house at the same time. I want to plant some asparagus this year too. I found out my whole family love fresh asparagus fried in olive oil in a cast iron skillet.
That is what I am up to on this weekend!

Day off!!

Since coming home from the retreat on the 27th, I have worked everyday but one!! I was so far behind in my sewing and cleaning up my stuff I bought while in New Hampshire. BUT today I fiinished cleaning and putting away my goodies. I also finished Bluesnails RR crazy block. I will deliver that on Friday. I finally decided on my idea for Shoguns mini quilt. So that fabric is in the dryer right now and tonight I plan on working on that. I have a partner for the One Block Swap, but she is away right now and I will call her this weekend to see what she wants on her block, so can`t start that till then. Maybe I will get some work done on my Miranda Bag from the retreat. I had all my fabrics ready and all my homework was done, but there just was not enough time to do it at the retreat. Some ladies got theirs done, but I just didn`t take the time to sit down and work on mine. AND if that is not enough, I still need to do a few practice pieces for my quilt design for the Scraps to Treasures quilt challenge on HGTV. I am pretty sure on my design, just need to see if I can get enough fabric out of squares to make my idea work.
Yesterday after work I planted four azalea bushes and a new crimson maple tree.
It is still too early to plant pansies and such, so will do that at the end of the month. My son got me a hummingbird feeder for Mothers Day, and I got that hung up.
I want to get another wind chime up. I love wind chimes!!! I buy one every year.
Ok, back to work, my fabric is dry!!!

Daisy Quilts...: I'm having a Giveaway!!

Daisy Quilts...: I'm having a Giveaway!!
Check out this cool giveaway!!

Happy Mothers Day!!!

To all my blogger and now Facebook friends. HAVE A GREAT MOTHERS DAY!!!
Whether you are a mother or not, this day is for woman to relax and enjoy their families far and near. Some of us still have our Moms, don`t forget to call them and tell them you love them!!! For those that have lost theirs, remember the good times and the love that you can never, ever let go of. Moms are great!!

Home from the retreat!

Wow!! It has been a fantastic 5 days!!! I got home about 1 am last night and was exhausted. BUT, it was so worth being sleep deprived. The committee in New Hampshire did a great job!! SHAWKL, Quiltingbee, and Quiltahohlic did a great job with the presentations, and the quilts they showed took our breaths away. When 70 ladies get together, there is just no way to descibe how fantastic it is. (I should add 70 quilting ladies) We got to reconnect with friends we met at previous retreats, and meet new ones this time.
I took classes in shuttle tatting from IowaLisa, and learned some things I was doing wrong, and that practice, practice, practice is the best thing to do. She was a great teacher.
I also took bullion and stumpwork from Brinnsmom. That poor lady had lost her voice before the retreat, but kept right on teaching, and I did learn how to do the bullion stitch. She did a fantastic job, and had great handouts printed so we can keep working on those stitches.
The other class I took was ATCs and Inchies from Toryam, she is such a cute little thing. We all had a ball making those teeny tiny work of arts.
We only had time for three classes, but all of the teachers were there to answer questions, and show us a few tips from their classes. Colleen taught Clay faces, and I did not get to take that class, but she graciously showed us how to do it in the B & B on Sunday night.
I got to sit beside Pegsami and BJeanes at the table quite a bit of the time, and they are both fun ladies. Pegsami and I had coffee together every morning! Her name is not Peg, but to me she will be Peg forever. :) She was so funny!! The only single room that was available was in the B & B was the handicapped room, so that is where she was. We teased her about it all week, and she didn`t mind at all.
If I name all the ladies that I had a ball with, this would go on way to long, so I just want to add a few things.
I loved finally getting to meet Donna (everythingquilts) she is just like I thought she was going to be, and that was great!
Dixielady is an absolute hoot, and we had a ball with her. Her daughter Taylor went with us a few times, and cute as can be. We went to a few bead shops with her, and laughed so hard, I almost peed myself. Just don`t listen to her GPS, because as Taylor says, it is illiterate!! lol She is not kidding!!!
There is just too much and too many more things to say today, but I am sure I will be adding lots more as I wake up and remember them!! :)
Joyce and I roomed together and were the perfect match!!! That is if you remember The Odd Couple, they loved each other. BTW, I am Oscar, she is not near as bad as Felix, but you could definetly see the difference in her stuff compared to how mine was all over the room.
AND yes I found the smarties and ate them!!! :)

Three more days!!!!

I am leaving in three days for the HGTV Circle of Friends retreat in Manchester, New Hampshire!!! It is going to be great! There will be 70 woman from everywhere around the world. I was going to say the United States, but this year there are a few ladies coming from different countries. We are going to have quilting classes, quilt games, and a great shopping trip to Keepsake Quilting. But really, the most fun is just getting together with all these fantastic ladies. I went last year, and the friendships that I made were so great. I got to meet ladies that I have swapped with and talked to for a whole year before I met them. And this year with even more coming, it can only be better.
My best friend and I are rooming together, so that is gonna be fantastic. It has been almost a year since I saw her, and I can`t wait. So I will probably have lots of pics and things to share as soon as I get back.
Tammy

Is it time for the retreat yet???

This has been like the week from hell!!! I went into work early on Friday, as my head cooks Dad was taken to the emergency room and she had to leave work. We were very, very busy. Somehow I got a homefry,(small potato) on the bottom of my shoe. I slid and almost fell twice, seriously jarring my back and neck. It is still very sore.
Easter Sunday- heat in front of restaurant goes out, water backs up the drain, flooding the dish area, plunge for like two hours, great for the back, finally get the water to go down, pull plug on dishwasher so I can go home and have Easter Dinner!! Dish room floods again.
Monday- Heating and Refridgeration guy comes, fixes heat, plumbers come fix drain, heating guy decides to put new cooler doors on deli cooler at lunch time!! He sits on a milk crate in front of cooler, which is in the middle of my grill area. We need to work around him and it is a very small area. not fun
Tuesday- state inspector comes in to inspect, (we passed with flying colors) computer guys come in, shut down computers for hours. All orders must be handwritten, handed to cooks, prices looked up, taxes added. Finally get to go home 11 hours later.
Wednesday- nice day, go home at decent hour, already have 40 hours and it is only Wednesday!!!
OH, almost forgot, family decided on Easter, they didn`t know when I would get home, so they ate without me. I got a leftover plate!!
I so badly need this retreat!!!!!!!
IS IT THE 23RD YET?????????????????

The Bitchy Stitcher: Because I care. And I'm lazy.

The Bitchy Stitcher: Because I care. And I'm lazy.
Ok, she gave me a link and everything, so lets see if this works.
oops, this a quilt giveaway, but the best part is her blog is so funny, you will want to read it all.
Tammy

One more goodie giveaway!

Check out this one, link at sidebar.
http://jennifer-phoenixcrafts.blogspot.com/

a few giveaways to celebrate spring and milestones

For some reason I can not get the photo to work, so I linked to it through the sidebar on my blog.
It is Kerknowcards on the side bar.
There is also another great giveaway at http://jacqui47.blogspot.com/
Just copy and paste that to get there.
I will try again tomorrow to get the pictures to work. I also added this blog to the side, if you want to use that to get there.

2 weeks till retreat!!

I can`t believe it is only two weeks away. I finally finished my challenge piece. lol
My kids think it is a little weird, but that is ok, at least it is finished.
Now to get my T-Shirt done. I have started packing up things I will need. I am really excited about the classes I have signed up for. The ladies that are setting everything up and doing the classes are so great to take all this time getting things ready. I want to thank them online for all to see. I don`t think I will name them, as I might miss someone and do not want to do that. So will just say
THANK YOU!!!
I get to see some great friends that I made last year at the Houston retreat, and meet lots more that are making the trek to Manchester this year. The other sweet thing about this is I get to see some of these great United States, that I otherwise would never get to see. And next year, we go to Oregon!! I may have to consider taking my DH along on that trip and spending some extra time in the great western states.
Ok, off to get some more things done before going back to work tomorrow. I need to decide on a gift for my best friend for her May box.
Tammy

My best friend sent me this!!

I had met a wonderful lady online last year, we just seemed to connect from the very first PM. We are so much alike, it was uncanny. I got to go out and spend sometime with her in person. We are like sisters, but even better. lol
Anyway, we decided instead of doing the secret sisters on our HGTV board, that we would pack a special box for each other every month. It is a ball shopping for her, we have the same interests, so it is so easy to pick out things for her.
WELL this month she sent me this fantastic needlecase made by another friend from the board. If you have not seen work done by Nickilee, you need to check out her blog for the fantastic crazy quilting she does. And don`t forget to look at all the hand dyed laces she sells. Her blog link is on my list at the right. My best friend Joyce commissioned this piece for me and one in blues for herself. And of course mine, is in my favorite color--purple!
We are going to the retreat in New Hampshire in just a few weeks and I can not wait to see her again. We of course are rooming together and I am sure little sleep will be gotten. rofl So NTQuilter, get lots of rest now, you are going to need it!!!

my mini

pictures!!!!

Here is a link to Ginny`s website where you can purchase one of these great purses.
www.bagsnrags.blogspot.com/

my bag, 30 FQers giveaway, and my mini!!

I have lots to post about today, so first off I won this great bag from a fellow blogger. Ginnyquilts. She does great bags and sells them on Etsy. I got to pick the one I wanted or she would design one just for me. I had already seen this one on her shop and loved it. It came yesterday and is even better looking then the picture.
Then this week, I also got my mini from MyJack, she was my partner in the mini swap that my friend Bea hosted on HGTV. She did a fantastic job on my mini, and it is in my favorite color also. I love red fabric!!! I also love purple!!
Now the other thing you need to know about is Quiltoholic`s giveaway!!!!
Her daughter is turning 30 and in honor of that, she is giving away 30 FQers on her blog. You can link to that by using the Pigtail & Quilts link at the side of my blog.
So hop on over there and check out her work and sign up.
I will add the pictures for my mini and bag as soon as I go upstairs, so just check back in a few minutes if you get here before I get off the couch.
Tammy :)

Great news and a great day with my Mom!

I spent all day Thursday with my mom. My Mom is the best lady in the world!! Some of you know that my brother and sister both have Huntingtons disease. My mom takes care of my brother and has for the last ten years or so. She took care of my Dad who had the same disease for ten years before he passed away at the age of 48. She also has had cancer four different times in different spots in her body. Last week she had a report of a lump in her remaining breast, we were all so scared she had cancer again.
BUT, on Wednesday she went to the doctors and it is NOT cancer!!! Thank you God!!
So on Thursday, I went up and spent the whole day with my Mom. We went to see my sister who is still able to be home by herself. Then we did some shopping and went to the local Janome dealer and checked out their machines. I have an appointment in June after I go to the retreat to look at the Janome 6600P! And as badly as I want that machine, spending the day with my Mom was even better!!

apron and lots more giveaway

I was just out wondering around blog land and came across this blogger! It is a really interesting blog, and I enjoyed reading lots of posts. She is giving away an apron and lots of other goodies, check it out!
Tammy
http://calamitykim.typepad.com/calamity_kim/2009/03/calamity-kims-apron-celebration-giveaway.html and here is a picture: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3602/3382818222_1710cedbf0

Mini Swap finished

My friend Bea organized a mini quilt swap on HGTV. I had never done one before, but thought this would be fun. I joined up and finished my mini today. I am going to post the picture now, and get it in the mail tomorrow. I am pleased with the result. Hope my partner is too.
Tammy

Win a new Janome!

A website I check out a lot is designing a new website and it is all about quilting. They are getting started with a giveaway which is the new Marie Osmond Quilting machine for Janome! Man I would love to win that machine. So if you go there and register for thier newsletter, that gives you one entry and there are other ways to get entered, so check them out.
Use the button at the side over there ------------>

Turtles!!!

As a lot of you know, I collect turtles. My favorite are sea turtles. SO while at bike week in Florida, I decided I needed a sea turtle tattooed on my foot. I have been wanting to do this for a long time. I DID IT!! When you are 50, you should be able to do what ever you want, right?? :)

a picture for you all

Since I can`t post any pictures of the things I am working on. I decided to post one sneak peek of the RR I just finished doing. This is Lori`s block and is jungle themed!
The buttons are zebra striped. Her block is so cute.

It`s Thursday!

Well I promised myself more then anything to get some work in my sewing area down on my two days off. And I gave all of you my list to egg me on. So here is what I got accomplished. I finished piecing my mini for the swap, but can`t show it till MyJack, my swap partner gets it. It will still need to be quilted and bound, but the piecing is done. And I am very happy with how it turned out. I got my part of the RR done for that swap and it is ready to be handed on to the next person. I did get all my squares cut and mailed for the Scraps to Treasures challenge. I also got my Bingo FQers ready and will drop them in the mail tomorrow. And since I was looking through all my FQs, I got my ones ready for the retreat and for the April Birthday Swap that I am involved in!!! So even though there are still some items on my list, I am happy with what I got done. OH, and I cooked Jambalaya, made a pineapple upside down cake and cleaned the downstairs!! Wow, I am tired, now I need a day off from my days off!!! lol

Off for a few days!

If all goes well, I am off the next two days! And I have lots to do. I want to finish piecing my mini for the mini swap. I have all the tiny blocks done, just need to do the sashing and border. I also need to work on my Round Robin. I want to start a wall hanging, and cut fabric for a quilt that I am doing for Learningfa. an online teaching class for lots of different quilts. Now if that works out, I also need to go to the PO and mail out some things. Take my son for his physical for his learners permit. Jeez, I can`t believe how much I plan on doing in two days!!! NOW to see how much I get done! I will post on Thursday what I do get done. OOPS, almost forgot I need to piece my crazy quilt block for another online class. Does anyone want to come to my house for two days and help me!!! :)
Tammy

selvedge giveaway

This is a great giveaway! You can win a whole ball of selvedges. I wish I could post a link, but still have not figured that one out. BUT, if you go to my friends blog, she has a link. Her blog is Sew Happy Quilting and is listed on the side of my blog. Be sure to give her the credit for getting you to the right place.

I`mm back!!

Did you all miss me?? lol I had a great time in Florida. The weather was awful the first of the week, we froze our @#$#@ off, riding, but had fun anyway and then the end of the week was in the high 70s and I got a great sunburn. lol
Here (I hope) is a picture of me on a bike at one of the events. I got to go to a local quilt show too. It was the best of both of my worlds. biking and quilting!!
Well I have so much to catch up on, I better get off here and get some sewing done.
Tammy

Off to Florida!! And an award!

Well today was insane at work. I always do a full food inventory on the next to the last day of the month. So started early today, hoping to get out of work early as this is the last day I had to work before going on vacation. Of course this was at 5am this morning, left work at 4pm!! BUT, with being busy, having my big boss there, and trying to explain everything my supervisors needed to do the week I was on vacation, I still got great news. I was named Manager of the Year!!! This was the third year in a row, that I won. IT is great to be honored for all my hard work.
So even though I have a horrible cold and have been downing anything they say will work to get rid of it, I feel great. I am leaving tomorrow morning to go to Daytona, FL for bike week. I have never been to bike week in Daytona before. I have gone to Myrtle Beach bike week a few times and had a ball. I am sure Daytona will be even bigger and better. So everyone have a great week. I hope to have lots of pics to show when I get back. And if anyone sees this tonight and has any quilt shops in the Daytona area that I should check out, please let me know.
Tammy

Got it Holee!!

That is what I have to do is go to postings and hit save. IT was driving me crazy.
Well one more week from today and I will be in Florida for bike week! I can`t wait, warm weather and sun. We are driving straight through on Saturday and spending the whole week. I will get a chance to hit a few quilt shops while there. And I have a friend that is going to be there the same week, so want to look her up while we have time. Tonight I didn`t have any thing to work on, well I do, but not what I was in the mood for. So I decided to make a gift for a friend. Sewed the pieces together and every thing went great. Trying out some bullion stitches on it. Did a lot of search online for hints on these stitches and they are easy. Just takes a long time.
Can`t post a picture right now. Its a surprise.

won`t update!!

I don`t know why my blogs that I am watching in my side bar will not update!!! I have them all showing old posts and I have to click on them to get the newest postings. Has anyone else had this problem? And how did you solve it.
Thanks for any and all help.
Tammy

What color is your rainbow

Your rainbow is intensely shaded violet, red, and black.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is says about you: You are a creative person. You appreciate mystery. You may meet people who are afraid of you. You get bored easily and want friends who will keep up with you.

Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.

If this worked right it is a color quiz, take it and it tells you, your colors of the rainbow. It is cool and does describe me in some ways.
Try it out and see what color your personal rainbow is.

Punxsutawney Phil

First off, today is Groundhog Day!! As I was born and raised in Punxsy, I must bow to wondrous Phil, and tell you all there will be six more weeks of winter weather.
I loved growing up in Punxsy, it is very small town. We use to go up on Gobblers Knob a lot back then, there was a few hundred people that would make the trek every year. We even had the day off of school if we wanted to go. Now, there are always like thousands of people from all over the world!! It has grown huge. Back in the old days lol, we use to drink at the bars and then go up and just keep drinking, there would be kegs of beer and a lot of young people having fun. Now you can not drink up there at all. I am really glad that so many people visit Gobblers Knob, but it is just to crowded for me now. If you ever get a chance to go to Punxsy on February 2nd, go, you will enjoy it. Also if you are there anytime, take a look around at all the things that are related to Phil. I will get my husband to take my picture with my Punxsutawney Phil shirt and post it later tonight or tomorrow.

FREEZING!!!

And that really sums it up how I feel today. We had no heat at work all day and it was minus 4 with windchill outside at about 20 below. It was 40-45 in the restaurant where I am the manager. We froze. I am in awe of the people that have to work outside in these kind of conditions. I can not even imagine how cold they are. The guys that worked on my heating system throughout the day, spent most of their time on the roof working in that cold. I was ashamed to complain that we were cold!!
You can not believe how good my HOT shower felt tonight. I didn`t want to get out.
So the next time you see someone outside working in the heat or cold, smile, wave, whatever you can do, to show you appreciate what they do for us!!

whirl into winter giveaway!

I have spent the day registering at all the sites and WOW, there are some great blogs out there. I will have to spend some more time looking them all over.
Here is one that loves batiks as much as me.
http://hillscreekquilter.blogspot.com/
So get out there and play!! After all it is way to cold to go outside.

My list!

I have decided that I need to finish all the quilts I have in various stages. So tomorrow when I am off work, I am going to make a list and post on the side of this blog. As I finish one, I will mark it off. I vow not to start another one until at least one is finished. So if one gets marked off, one will be allowed to be started. That way my UFOs will not grow!! The only exception to this will be blocks for a swap, they will be allowed! NOW does anyone else want to join me in this endeavor???
If you do, let me know and I will add your name to my list. It is always easier to do things when you do it with others.