Butterflies All Around

Last night I taught my first quilt class at Country Quiltworks.  I had so much fun!  The women were great.  I had a full class of ten and everyone finished their butterfly square and were so happy and excited with the results. Well almost everyone..Alice was one antenna short of finishing.  What a trooper.  She has only been quilting for a year and was determined to do a good job.  She came to the class with Mary and Isabell.                 

Debbie, who I met in Philadelphia when Brenda and I went to see the Yarn Harlot was there.  I was so happy to see a familiar face!  My nerves disappeared as soon as I saw her!  Her Christmas butterfly was beautiful.

Scottie was FAST!  Last to get there.  First to finish.  First to leave.

  

Mary Beth..the quiet one. A girl after my own heart..brought her ott light!:-)

Joan was a plethora of information on thrift shops!!  I can't wait to check them out.  My sister Judy will be so pleased when she comes to visit me and I can take her to some great thrift shops:-)

Friends Joanne and Marcy came to class together.  Joanne had a fabulous hanky covered in violets. (My favorite flower!)

And last but not least..Sharleen, who signed up for the class the day before and was so happy she came.  I was happy too.  She was a great entertainer:-)

I can't wait for next Saturday.  I will be teaching Hawaiian Quilting!  If you live near Country Quiltworks, come and join us.  It will be great fun!!!

My New Favorite Place

I've been spending a lot of time on Ravelry. I love it!  I have finally figured everything out and I've gotta' say...it's cool!!  I joined some groups;  Lace, Victorian Lace Today, Yarn Harlot Fans, and North and West of Philly. This last group meets at Panera Bread in Montgomeryville every Thursday. I can't wait until I have a Thursday evening free to meet everyone.  This Thursday I will be teaching my Grandmother's Handkerchief Quilt at the County Quiltworks. I'm so excited to meet the women who will be taking the class. 

I have posted the lace items I have recently finished on Ravelry.  There's the Wedding Shawl 2: The pattern is actually called Icarus from Interweave Knits Summer 2006 Issue.

My First Gossamer Shawl:

  

And a  Valence I made for Rachael's room.  The valence I modified from a scarf pattern in Victorian Lace Today.  I love how it turned out.  Rachael was happy to see it hanging in her room when she came home from college on Friday:-)  

I've also been working on The Bed Jacket from Romantic Style and The Adamas Shawl, a free pattern from mimknits.com.  Pictures of these projects will come later.  It's taking forever to download pictures tonight.  Later....

Graduation #2!

My life is one big graduation!
Not really, it just seems like it.
This is the busiest time of year if you work in education. There are always so many things to do and this year has been even more stressful with the addition of many events going on at home.
Needless to say there is a lack of any creating, just sock knitting at events:

Pops Concert...


Baccalaureate, Awards Assembly, Graduation....



Happy/Proud family!



One more to go...the graduation bash. It is no longer a party, it is a bash!
We have combined the celebration of high school graduation (Abbie) and college graduation (Katie) into 1 big event.
Maybe then, I can put some of my creative juices into action.

We LOVE the 'Yarn Harlot'

Brenda and I went to the Philadelphia Book Festival yesterday to see Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, aka, the Yarn Harlot..yes...THEE Yarn Harlot.  We were so excited!!  We took the train into Philly and were the 3rd and 4th knitters in line!!

(We WERE very excited!)  We were NOT disappointed.  She was 

 witty, SMART, and just plain wonderful:-) Usually everyone knits socks when going to see the Yarn Harlot, (she is known for her traveling sock...her version of Flat Stanley I think).  I was knitting this:

This is the valence I am making for Rachael's bedroom window.  However, I did take along a sock I started so I could blend in if needed.

Was I glad I did!!  Here is Brenda and I holding Stephanie's sock and she is holding mine.  Did I say we were the 3rd and 4th in line?  If you would like to see Brenda and I smack dab in the middle of the first row, click on here blog  and scroll down a little to May 19th.  Yes, we are the nerds taking pictures of her taking pictures of her sock.  

 We had a wonderful time and of course it was great to catch up with Brenda!  

My Baby has a BS!

You are looking at the entire graduating class of 2008 at West Chester University.
We heard the names of the entire group and are all the better for it.

We are all so proud!

The 3 happy roommates, looking for jobs!
We had a wonderful weekend together, including an amazing meal at Tangerine, a Steven Starr restaurant in the city.
So... one graduation down, one more to come in June.

2008 Prom Pictures

There wasn't any sun for the pictures but the girls' dresses
brightened everything up.

Abbie and Chad looking very happy!

Good Friends!

Still Feeling the Glow!

We love you! Lewisburg Arts Festival 2008! We finally found our audience, Yeah!!! It was so absolutely satisfying to hear all of those compliments about something you create with all your heart. My head was so big by the end of the day.
Thank you Cathy for coming to help me, I could not have survived without you. She has such a "business mind"!


I even got a special order for pansy cupcake toppers!



The flowers in our yard are so beautiful in the spring, I can't resist taking lots of pictures. I hope you enjoy them?




Tonight is my high school senior's prom, hope to post some pictures later.

Odds and Ends

This is the black squirrel that is roaming our neighborhood.  It is beautiful...for a squirrel.  

The house is coming along.  We have a new roof...

 

The brick work is being completed today!  I love the new space.  Can't wait until it is done.  

I will be teaching a few quilt classes in June at the local quilt shop Country Quiltworks.  So I have started to work on few pieces in preparation.  Hawaiian Applique...  

Love this method.  Full size Hawaiian quilts are incredible.  We will be making a 19" block.

Another class I will teach is My Grandmother's Handkerchief.  I love this idea.  Taking a treasured handkerchief (the photo is one of my mother's) and turning it into a quilt.  I've made several four block wall hangings for friends and family....

This Fall I plan on teaching a 12 week class on Baltimore Album Quilts using the Elly Sienkiewicz books.  

Lots to do, but excited about it!!

Signs of Spring in Central PA

The flowers on our property are finally blooming. It seems to take forever around here.



The daffodils are very plentiful this year.



The forsythia is finally full of color!



My purple windflowers are loaded with blooms.
And...




the little sunbonnet needle cases are the best they have ever been! It must have been all of that rain we received.
My grandmother made me a needle case a very long time ago. She had tatted the little nosegay. I have always wanted to replicate it and over the last week I did and I think they turned out pretty close to what hers looked like, of course no tatting.

A Love/Hate Relationship

I Love lace!  Until I make a mistake.  I Hate lace!  I am working on not 1, not 2, but 3 lace patterns right now.  Every time I drop a stitch I have to take out several rows.  I know... why don't I 'tink' down.  Believe me when I say, I have spent hours trying to retrieve a stitch only to tear it out in the end.  Other problems arose too: I bought the Spring/Summer 2008 collection for Filatura Di Crosa to make the lace shawl on page 19 

          with their Superior yarn

 (fabulous!) only after reading the pattern, I found out it is the Myrtle Leaf Pattern in the Victorian Lace Today book which of course I already have.  BOTH patterns are WRONG! After tearing the whole thing out THREE times I checked the Victorian Lace Today website and found out YES it was wrong and HERE are the NEW directions!?!  AHHHHH!!!

However, I am loving the shawl I am making from The Gossamer Webs Design Collection from Galina Khmeleva.  It is beautiful.  I hope to wear it to my son's wedding this summer.

I will soon be leaving the job I so unfortunately started three weeks ago, and will have lots more time to work on it.  The job....working at a learning academy for preschoolers was well intended but not thought through, as to the hours I would spend there and the time my family (and hobbies) would need me.  I have to say meeting new people was wonderful.  They were very friendly and welcomed me into their 'family' joyfully.  I will miss the people there

Our house is coming along.  Paul and Bob the builders are hard workers and have done an amazing amount of work in a relatively short time.  I am so excited to get the new family room and sun porch.  I will have to put up with the 1962 retro/very cool kitchen for a while longer though.  Judy has great plans for updating with a little paint in the mean time!