Where does the time go?

Oh my! The time is flying by. Hard to believe it has been nearly two months since I made a post. Honestly, I compose them in my head all day long but since I do not have internet at the studio I just forget when I get home and get busy with family stuff. I do post my going on of the day quilty-wise on Facebook since it is so easy to do that from my phone and that links directly to Twitter. I know blogger has an app but I have never had much success with posting from it.  I have seen others make one post and it goes everywhere. Something to figure out for the upcoming year.

Speaking of the upcoming year... its that time, yes the dreaded resolutions. I don't call them that. I call them "goals." I usually get a shiny new planner in December. I like the weekly kind that have the days in columns. They are hard to find. I use the Barnes and Noble Desk Diary. I don't use it much as a working calendar because that part of my brain is kept in i-Cal (which I love because it links between all three of my devices and is why I got my first i-pod touch, well one of the reasons).  I write down my goals in the back of it and use it as a sort of journal for everything from exercise (haven't done much of that lately) to what I cooked for dinner. 

Apparently last year I only listed the crafty projects I wanted to complete. There are 13 items on the list. I have completed 3 of them and will have one more this week (hopefully, it is a Christmas present!). A few others are half done. Hmm, that is not a very good percentage. I should have recorded business goals too, because then it would look better. I have met my expectations in that area :0) Maybe I will make a page here for a little accountability? Maybe not!

So, for this upcoming year one of the things I want to accomplish is to visit here at least once a week. To help with that I have joined a Challenge on Creative Every Day  . There will be linkies to my blog so maybe I will even make some new internet friends in the process.

What is a goal of yours for 2014? 

Hugs,

A little of what has been keeping me busy

Shoe on a tshirt quilt for a StitchIts friend's granddaughter

Here is a sampling of what I have been busy quilting. I try to post a picture of each project in progress and put that on www.facebook.com/beautifulbeequilting. I also put them on the web site www.BeautifulBeeQuilting.weebly.com (eventually). 

Memory quilt from t-shirts and clothes

Flannel quilt with garden theme

As an "I bleed Orange and Blue" Gator, this was a bit painful to do, but I added a special touch to this Alabama strip quilt

Puppies and kitties on a kitty quilt.

t-shirt quilt

Jungle animals on a baby quilt

Another memory quilt in progress

Snow flakes on a red and white snowball quilt

Snowmen on a Christmas strip quilt

Another t-shirt quilt

Circles on a rocket quilt.

More to come!

When does a Longarmer work on her own projects?

At a retreat of course!

I have been in business for one year. I got my machine in the middle of September last year, so we will say October is anniversary month. I have found out rather quickly that I have little time to do my own projects. I do set aside a day every week to attend my stitch group "Stitch Its." I am glad I committed to keep that up. What I do is so solitary that if I didn't keep that up I might not ever see my friends!

This week I had the opportunity to get a little more intimate time with my Bernina at a 2 day, 3 night retreat. This group is affectionately called "The Seam Rippers." We went to Scottsboro, AL to Grand Oak. I cannot even begin to describe it. If you ever get a chance to go, do it. They are perfect for quilting and scrapbooking retreats. The facilities are great, the food is wonderful, and view breathtaking. Here is the web site. Here are my pictures of the week. 

Sunrise view from the parking area

Scenery from the porch of Grand Oak

Chicken coop = fresh eggs

Another scenic view of Lake Guntersville

Looking down the driveway (Betty and I walked down and then back up!)

Meeting of the quilting minds

I worked on the small cornerstone blocks (81 of them) and cutting sashings for a block swap quilt.

Mommy blocks and baby blocks with sashings

I also did a block for a friend moving away

Talk about full service, Sara (of Grand Oak) even changed a flat tire for one lady!

Going down the drive way 

and down

Good by Cindy, Sara and Grand Oak until next time!

My Great Deal

Ott Lites are great things. The light they shine really does make it easier to do things like sew, read, scrapbook. I already own a cute pink one and another one that sits by my chair in the family room. The pink one has a weighted base and is somewhat heavy. I also dislike having to unplug a light that I use regularly to haul it to stitch group once a week. I really wanted one to keep in my sewing bag. (Honestly I just plain forget to unplug and bring them!)

I saw this little gem at Tuesday Morning a month or so ago. I didn't snag it because I really didn't trust that the "regular price" "sale price" things were totally accurate. I have bought things before that I thought were a great deal only to find it somewhere else for the same price. Stores aren't allowed to mislabel like that are they? Anyways, I decided to investigate this one. So the next time I was at another large fabric chain store I looked at the Ott lites. Indeed they sell this one for $99.99. So $39.99 is a steal for this rechargeable light. Even better for me it was on further sale, I got it for $31.99. 

What great deals have you found lately? 

Mystery solved

Two of the cocoons hatched today. After a little internet research, I have determined they are Black Swallowtails. There are still two cocoons and two or three more caterpillars. 

top side

underneath side. 

Where did the summer go?

So... I have been pretty busy with my little quilting business. Which is a good thing. But I have mommy guilt that I haven't spent enough time with my 11 year old doing incredibly fun and adventurous things this summer, and school starts Monday!




One cool thing is nature. My garden is pretty pitiful looking. The abundance of rain and then lack of it has left the tomatoes cracked. Last year's parsley was kinda out of control, and then it wasn't. Where did it all go. When I went to use some I found these guys.

This chrysalis/cocoon should hatch in about 4 weeks. I wonder what it will be. I have seen a lot of black and blue butterflies around. Or maybe a monarch? Time will tell.  

Off topic, I wonder why only half of this post posted last try without pictures... 

Happy Fall! 

Todays quilting adventure

I received a quilt in that has already been bound and the quilter decided to have the borders done on the longarm. Not only that, there is beading and embellishing already done. Not being one to turn down a fellow quilter in need I am giving it a go. Also, she is one of our more accomplished quilters. I am excited about this project.

Sallie's Quilt for Mary

A quilt is not a quilt. Some deserve a bit more attention than others. This is one of those. My friend Mary spent a lot of time making this one and she has plans to put it in our local Heritage Quilters of Huntsville show this fall. So I researched and looked all over the net for ideas for it.

The pattern is called "Sallie's Quilt" and is from Red Crinoline Quilts, formerly Bonnie Blue Quilts. They specialize in civil war reproductions. "Sallie, a Brittany Spaniel, was the beloved mascot for the 11th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment. " is the description of the pattern from their web site. 

I got my quilting inspiration from another blog (Sew'n Wild Oaks) and am very happy with how it turned out. I even emailed Lynn and she was kind enough to email back with the information I was looking for. She free-motioned hers, I must admit the Statler did mine :0)

"cathedral window" inside the inner squares

This is the outer block

Pumpkin seeds in small irish chain blocks

Each block and star are outlined with stippling in the light areas

I used a blue thread to quilt the same flower from the border into the 3 inch areas on the blue blocks

Setting triangles

Border corner

Flower in the center of each border

I also went back and outlined the black border on each side. 

Thanks Mary for letting me work on your beauty! and thanks to Lynn for the inspiration for it. 

Melissa