Mary and I have just returned home from a wonderful retreat in Florida!

We usually fly into a city and never get to see the city. This time because of flight schedules, we arrived a day early and had some time to see the sights Amelia Island had to offer. This is what Mary caught just off shore. It was a battle but she won!

We got to shop in some wonderful boutiques and eat in some fabulous local restaurants before all the fun at the retreat started. We also learned about “Sweet Tea”. If you don’t know what sweet tea is… ya’ll aren’t from around here…are ya!

This is Laura, our friend and babysitter. She made sure that we got picked up from and returned to the airport along with entertaining us all throughout the weekend.

She doesn’t exactly look like someone assigned to keep us out of trouble!

This is our friend Laurie, who set up the retreat…

She is going to become my personal shopper in Florida. We found a great little boutique and she has promised to send me photos of all the new things that they get in. She also made Mary and I aprons decorated with our new Spring Fever fabrics!

And lets not forget about her partner and our friend Peg in the blue outfit.

Peg has more energy than the energizer bunny and we can’t wait to see her at market in Minneapolis in a few months.

These ladies went above the call of duty making sure that we all had a great time!

We got to see some old friends.

Including two sets of sisters…

One set with MOM…

And this pair of sisters who came prepared! Look at all that luggage!

We spent the days stitching quilts, visiting, and making our new Pinafore Bag.

Here are some of the completed bags!

And Jean…I didn’t get a picture of her bag before she left.

Thanks for the great time ladies!!

Hope to see you all again soon!

Barb

Thanks for all the wonderful comments and for participating in our very first blog give away. We really appreciate your visiting and hope that you visit often!

We printed all the comments, cut them apart, put them in Bella’s toy basket and pulled the comment for…

So with out further delay…

This prize goes to…

…Ruth C ! ~ What a cute idea! I love the old becomes-new idea. So sad that Bella wasn’t as thrilled about it. But she got lots of doggie treats!

Congratulations!

I will be emailing the winner today!

Barb and Mary

Happy Valentines Day Give Away!!

Chelsea over at Bunny Tales and Gibby over at Minick and Simpson have decided to join Bella in a Valentines Day fashion show and give away!

If you are not a regular to our blogs ~ Chelsea, Gibby, and Bella are dogs.

The idea came about during an email conversation and we just rolled with it. It became one of those ideas that even had me running outside and going through my own garbage.

The suggestion that had me running for the trash came from Polly Minick who said that I should make Bella’s valentine outfit from my old pants with the giant hole. After all she said “They are red and white”!

So after plunging into my own garbage, the pants were rescued from the egg shells and other yucky stuff, washed again, and  reborn as…..

TA DA!!!!
The pants live on!!!!

I simply turned one of the pant legs into a doggie mini skirt and  trimmed the hem with a red zig zag stitch.

I then glued some batting onto pink and red fabrics, cut out the small puffy hearts and raw edge appliqued them over the snow flakes.

That was the easy part.

Half a box of dog cookies later….

This is the best picture that I could get!

She does not look too happy!

Even with all those cookies and sitting on her favorite chair, the only way that I could get a decent picture was to remove the skirt.

Mary’s suggestion is that this should become an annual event. One of my favorite TV shows is Project Runway.

This could be called Project Dog Way. Contestants would have to pull items from the trash and create high fashion dog outfits!

I will have to think about this idea.

Anyhow we will be giving this prize away…..

Just leave us a comment and your lucky name could be picked by Mary on Wednesday morning.

Happy Valentines Day!!

Woof!!

Barb

I found this new book at one of our local quilt shops!

The owner said that she had just gotten them in that day ~ put 4 on the shelf ~ and I got the last one!

Check out the jelly roll on the cover…Its our Birdie!

I admit that it’s what drew me to the book, but after I looked inside I had to have it.

Not only does the book have a beautiful “Birdie” jelly roll on the cover, but it also has some great quilts that I hope to make someday.

I think that my favorite is “Honey Bun Cabins”.

I love the fun tips that she gives throughout the book, especially the one about fusible web not storing well.

So don’t stock up when it is on sale. I did not know that!!!

It’s by Kimberly Einma and gets two thumbs up!

Good Job!

Barb

The washing machine ate my favorite pants this week!!

They were the special pair that I wore to be comfortable in!

I think the UPS lady liked it when I answered the front door in them too, but now they are ruined!

These pants were soft and comfy. They had become thread bare because of countless washings and countless hours sitting in front of my sewing machine.

They were my favorites! They just didn’t survive the most recent trip into the washer and dryer.

They were the first ones that I grabbed after a long day and will be greatly missed.

Some people would be embarrassed to show such a pathetic sight publicly, but I am not embarrassed in the least. I know many of you have a similar pair of ratty old comfy pants that you love and will understand.

I thought that I might be able to repair them, but when I saw the size of the hole, I knew it was impossible.

Mary suggested this photo at the scene of the crime, with one of our fabrics filling the hole to show just how big it is. She is always so helpful and supportive!!

I have already begun breaking in my new pants.

My mother gave them to me today. She found them on the sale rack a while back but never got around to wearing them. They look like they might fill the void. They are soft, have an elastic waistband and just might work.

Wish me luck.
Good bye old friend ~ Hello new possibilities.

Barb

This past Saturday we taught an all day class at one of our local quilt stores, Quiltz. Its a fabulous shop and has recently been on the top ten list in American Patchwork and Quilting.

Anyhow we had 10 wonderful ladies in our class and each was eager to learn how to make our new Pinafore Bag.

Notice our Twigs quilt in the background!

Lots of concentration going on here!

We had a great time meeting all of you and made some new friends.

Thanks ladies for the fun filled day!!

Barb