Heading Home to Quilt!

Hello Everyone,

I hope you have all enjoyed my vacation posts of my trip to Arizona!! As you read this my son and are are on one of these...

Heading back home to the cold and snowy northeast. I am happy to be going home to my family and to quilt. However, I am also leaving behind family and all these wonderful vistas...

Not to mention the warm and sunny weather!! Oh and check out my newest blog post here!!

Come back here on Wednesday for the Modern Basics Blog tour and Giveaway!! See you then!

Until Next Time...

Heading Home to Quilt!

Me On An ATV in Arizona...

Hello Everyone,

Yes, you read that right! However, I never really made it on the ATV. Here is the story...

My son really wanted to go on an ATV tour of AZ. He has an ATV at home (I have never been on it). He googled tours and came up with a place, Arizona ATV Adventure Tours, that is in Florence (right near the maximum security prison).

The tour operators were very reputable, trained, certified and very safety conscious. So I said, "What the heck, this will be a piece of cake!"

We arrived promptly at 7:45 am and got all suited up with our safety gear. Note that the bandana and goggles are to protect you from all the dust that kicks up when you are riding in the desert. I chose the red ATV, had to have color. You know my love of color doesn't just end with quilts.

Don't I look just smashing? Wait, don't answer that...

They proceeded to go through the entire safety part of the tour with all of us and how to operate the ATV. I was getting nervous at this point. After hearing some of the things on the checklist. Then we hopped onto the ATV and were instructed to ... Start your engines!! I did and felt sick to my stomach. Keep in mind that we were going to be riding for 40 miles!

This is when I graciously copped out. Yes, graciously.

My son exclaimed in his loudest voice possible... "You have got to be kidding!" Nope not kidding. They assured me that my son would have a great time, and off they went. I felt horribly guilty.

Here are some beautiful photos, courtesy of my son.

Some beautiful mountains and lots of cactus.

My wonderful son, looking a little dusty, but having fun.

More beautiful vistas.

Some canyon views.

They had a great time. When they returned, my son said that I would have hated it!! (Got over the guilt) There were steep inclines and declines, and really rough terrain. One girl took out 4 cactus and then had to ride with the trainer. I think I made the right decision.

What did I do for the 3.5 hours they were gone? I hung out with two wonderful mothers, did a walking tour of Florence, got some fudge, and tea. But really no photos as my son had the camera. I had only my iPhone. Although, there is one that I posted on Facebook of a sign in town. You have to see this photo. Just click here to take a peek.

That was my day, it turned out well and we had fun...

Until Next Time...

Me On An ATV in Arizona...

Me On Horseback in Arizona...

Hello Everyone,

Yes, that is right, my son convinced me to go horseback riding in the desert. I have to say that, it was a good day.

We started here at the ranch in Saguaro Lake. Just a beautiful area.

The horses were big! But I guess I knew that. Since I never had the chance to actually get on one, I never realized how BIG they were, but beautiful.

Really beautiful animals that were going to carry us for 1.5 hours through mountains and ravines. Pretty amazing when you think about it.

Here we are getting ready to ride. My son and I, ready willing and able!

The scenery was gorgeous throughout our journey. But I do love the desert terrain. My horse did stumble twice. I wasn't flustered, just hung on and he got right back up.

Here we are on our horses... Bert and Mesquite. I kept calling Mesquite, Mackenzie. I don't know why, must be that I just liked that name, who knows? But he responded to me no matter what I called him.

Notice in between us the beautiful Four Peaks. They actually had snow on them. I am so glad they were far, far away! You can also see a bit of Saguaro Lake below us. We were up pretty high. That meant we had to come back down.

Back at the ranch, I took a photo of our trusty young guide Ken. He was truly a great guide!! Thanks to my son too for suggesting that we do this, it was a great day!!

Next up... an ATV tour!

Until Next Time...

Me On Horseback in Arizona...

Some Highlights of Arizona Vacationing

Hello Everyone,

If you have been wondering why I have been kind of unavailable the past few days, well it is because I had to get out of snowy New England and visit my parents in Arizona! So glad I am here, there is NO snow and lots of pure unadulterated sunshine. Happiness does exist!!

Since I knew I was coming to the glorious southwest and I also knew that Nedra of (Cactus Needle fame) sometimes frequents the Phoenix metro area... I sent her an e-mail to see if she would be in the area.

I couldn't believe it when she e-mailed me and said she was going to stay an extra day to see little old me. I was tickled and so thrilled!

So after several years of reading each other's blogs and e-mailing, we finally met for lunch. Fantastic is all I can say!! Lunch was too short for my liking, we could have talked forever.

Nedra is talented, sweet, and fabulous person. I am so glad that I have finally met her in person. We are looking forward to meeting up at Quilt Market in Salt Lake City too!! You are a peach, Nedra!!

Also, while here...

on the first day we visited a little ranch at Saguaro Lake and I took these interesting photos. The above is a dead Saguaro cactus that had been under Saguaro lake for hundreds of years. When the lake had been damned, the cactus was unearthed. They built this room around it... pretty neat!

Then there was this wonderful four sided fireplace in the middle of this room. I thought it was just wonderful.

I had to take a photo of this chair for my friend, Justine. She loves cows. This is a great cow chair.

This is the dam that is holding back Saguaro Lake. We call this the dam picture... haha! The next day, my son convinced me to go horseback riding here. So make sure you come back tomorrow for photos of me on a horse!!

Until Next Time...

Some Highlights of Arizona Vacationing

Peruvian Pinwheels Top is Done

Hello Everyone,

On Saturday I spent the afternoon completing the Lil' Twister top for my friend Rosa.

I really love the way that it turned out. The stripes, the solid blue Kona. Really everything.

I think it does evoke the colorful lifestyle of the Peruvians and hope that it will be a welcome addition to Rosa's Home.

Now I just need to piece the backing. I will be using some squares that were left over from my Colors of Peru quilt and then surround it with more of the Kona.

When choosing the solid color, I auditioned many different colors, but this was it... the blue worked best and I really love it!

Here it is side by side with it's silk sister. Two totally different types of fabric, but love the looks of both.

I officially name this quilt Peruvian Pinwheels. Hopefully next time I show it, it will be quilted and bound.

Until Next Time...

Peruvian Pinwheels Top is Done

Do You Know Him???

Hello Everyone,

Do you know the Quilt Dad... A.K.A. John Adams? If you don't, you really should get to know him. I met him at Quilt Market in the Fall and he is one of the nicest people I have met!

He not only is nice he is a fantastic quilter and Dad! He has lots of quilting endeavors under his belt and many more up his sleeve. You must visit him at his blog by clicking here. There is always something wonderful going on there. Tell him I said hello.

But in the meantime, he was kind enough to do an interview with me while at market. It was fun, informative, and inspirational.

So please listen to his interview on my newest podcast. Episode #22 is now available on iTunes or you can click here to listen in directly from your computer. Oh and by the way, in case you didn't know Podcasts are FREE!! Yay!!

So give a listen and let John and I know what you think. Enjoy!!

Until Next Time...

Do You Know Him???

Striped Swiss Cheese?

Hello Everyone,

As promised, I did my demo at our quilt guild last night. But a funny thing happened. I brought with me the fabric, the Lil' Twister, my rotary cutter, but forgot a cutting mat... argh! Of course no one had a little one handy, but then again why would they? So I improvised, I put the piece on cardboard and cut only four pieces.

It worked okay, but I took the rest home and cut it yesterday morning. I wouldn't recommend using cardboard for a cutting mat as a habit. Here are the results of the rest of the cutting.

Striped swiss cheese! Remember this is what it will look like when you cut all your tessellating pinwheels out. The remainder of the striped squares in the "swiss cheese" were all trimmed down to 1.75 inches to be added to the outside border.

Then I put the tessellating pinwheels up on the design wall.

What do you think? I love my "Peruvian Pinwheels".

I put my silk one right up next to it. So you can see, today I will be piecing the pinwheels together and then adding a 3.5 inch border. Once that is done I will add the tiny squares.

Don't forget the tutorial for this is located on my sidebar or just click here.

I think that Rosa will be pleased.

I am so excited to finish this for her and it will be the perfect size to fit in Victoria's luggage!! Stay tuned for more photos of the progression of Peruvian Pinwheels.

Until Next Time...

Striped Swiss Cheese?

Playing With Stripes

Hello Everyone,

These fabrics may look familiar to some of you. If not you can see the quilt that I had originally made from them here.

The reason why I am playing with them again is because I am making a little quilt for my friend Rosa from Peru. You can read about our trip to Peru in 2008 in this post and this post. In the second post you will see a picture of her. It is the 4th one down and she is in a purple sweater.

Anyway, my friend Victoria is going to Peru in March and she is going to see Rosa!!! I am so excited. I wish I could pack myself away in Victoria's luggage and go myself.

So I asked Victoria if she would bring a little gift to Rosa for me. She would, yay!!

I decided to make another Lil' Twister quilt top. If you didn't see my first one, you can read about it on this post or go to my sidebar and click on the Lil' Twister Tutorial. By the way, the Lil' Twister is back in stock in the shop, just click here.

These are the same stripes that I used in my Colors of Peru Quilt. So we will have matching quilts... sort of. I am bordering it with Kona Deep Blue.

Tomorrow night this will be cut into swiss cheese, when I do the demo at our quilt guild! Stay tuned for the finished project. It goes together really quickly.

Don't forget to enter my fabric giveaway going on here! Today is the last day!!

Until Next Time...

Playing With Stripes

Wild Garden Giveaway!!

Hello Everyone,

Yet another fabric giveaway!!

This one is for Westminster Fabrics designer Dan Bennett's Wild Garden Collection.

This entire fat quarter collection is being given away. I am sure you will love this. The colors are vibrant and beautiful. Just what we need during these winter months.

These are the fabrics included in the bundle. If you absolutely can't wait to have these, there are a few bundles left in my shop! Just click here to see them.

But, if you would like to enter the giveaway, here is what you do:

Just visit my friend Sherri at a Quilting Life for your entries and good luck!

***This giveaway is now closed. Please visit A Quilting Life for the winner***

Until Next Time...

Wild Garden Giveaway!!

Sneaky Peeky

Hello Everyone,

Happy Valentines Day, everyone!!

Especially, Stephanie!! Some of you may know that Stephanie and I have set up a little private swap with each other. I have been working on it recently and wanted to show what I have been doing.

Hmmm... what could it be? Great colors, peaks and valleys.

Greens, Stephanie loves these. Pinks, I love these.

I almost have the top complete, then onto the quilting. Soon, I hope, soon!!

Stop back tomorrow for a great surprise.

Until Next Time...

Sneaky Peeky