Some Birthday Goodies

This month I celebrated a birthday, here are a few goodies I received..........

Large Candle Mat made special for me with chickens.

Inside this little bag are all the "ingredients" to make a Gee's Bend quilt, something I've been wanting to make for a while now.

Here's a photo of the fabrics.

I also received some other wonderful treats, some fat quarters of fabric, a kit to make some potholders.  Thank you to my wonderful friends for the above mentioned gifts, you know who you are and I really appreciate your thoughtfulness. 

Earlier this spring I found an ad on craigslist for a quilt kit, it was for Tonga Nature by Wing and A Prayer, the price $75, (it's a 96x106 quilt), it is certainly a great deal as this kit would sell for over $200.  I messaged the woman and after speaking with her we picked a day to meet and now I have this kit waiting patiently for it's turn.........

All the fabrics to make the quilt top.

Off to work on more of my Farmer's wife blocks, read, or maybe take a little nap!

Celebrating 50 & 28 Years of Marriage

Today my siblings and I surprised our parents with a 50th Anniversary party..........

 I told a "white lie", they were supposed to be meeting me at my house and hubby and I were "taking them out to eat"..........

 A little tradition........

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!

Meanwhile, my husband and I are celebrating 28 years of marriage..........

Now all the party planning is over I am hoping to get back to the sewing room, and soon it will be time to get moving on the outside work!!

Learning a New Skill

The book, fabrics scraps and the templates I made to start this new project.

Our local quilt shop, Kathie's Quilt Shoppe, has a new sewing group........The Farmer's Wife group, it"s a chance for anyone that has been wanting to make the blocks in 'The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt' by Laurie Aaron Hird to finally get started!  Today was the first day we met, we will meet monthly for at least the next three months.   The neat thing is that we have all chosen to hand-piece this quilt, it's a lot of prep work, but I think I will really enjoy the process, it certainly will give me a whole new appreciation for antique quilts.  For those of you that aren't familiar with the book, it contains patterns for 111 pieced blocks inspired by letters written by "farmer's wives" in the 1920s when asked:  "If you had a daughter of marriageable age, would you, in the light of your own experience, want her to marry a farmer?" 

Besides learning a new skill I plan on making this a true scrappy quilt by picking fabric from my stash, this is just one of several baskets full of scrap fabric....................

Another exciting happening........the above mentioned quilt shop is one of the shops in the Better Homes and Gardens Quilt Sampler 'Ultimate Shop Hop" Edition for Spring/Summer 2012.  It's exciting to see the shop that I frequent often (dangerously close to my home) featured in a magazine.  If you are ever in Southern Maine be sure to stop in, let me know and I would be happy to meet you!

If blogger cooperates........I plan on posting more of the things I have been working on since my last post in early April, very soon, I promise!!