pieceful kwilter

GA aquarium part one

my favorite place in the whole wide world...besides my studio.....

is the Georgia Aquarium!!

i love the belugas!!!! to me they are so ethereal. swimming in out of the blue like a ghost.

if i win the lottery i want a beluga aquarium in my house....or better yet, i'll donate a whole crap load of money to the aquarium and i'll go when ever i want.

if you're in the atlanta area, you have to hit the aquarium. go on a weekend and plan on staying all day. here's a local's tip from me to you: if the aquarium is crowded, they will open up the ballroom around lunchtime to help with the over flow from the seating in the 'cafe'....RUN don't walk to the ballroom. there are two viewing windows, one for the ocean voyageur (the whale sharks) and the belugas.

also- double check for the feeding times....we got to see them feed the whale sharks (i got pics), but missed the piranha feeding frenzy *darn*

the ballroom viewing window for the belugas is the BEST set in the whole aquarium and worth the price of admission. the belugas swim by and rub against the glass. you can get a much closer experience than at the 'regular' viewing window.

i sit there for hours....with a big ole goofy grin.

the best is when you are sitting there and one swims by and you can look right into that eye and know it's looking right back into yours....

my favorite thing is to press your ear against the glass and you can hear the clicks and whistles from the whales as they swim by.

this is going to sound weird- wear a bright color.they can see us through the glass and seem to like lime green and red. the lady next to me had on a lime green shirt and the youngest beluga would swim up to her and pause before continuing his circle around the enclosure.

if you ever wondered what whale poop looked like.....

another favorite thing about this spot is the kids' reactions....one little boy asked his mom if they could get one for the backyard.

i hear you, kid!

it's hard not to fall in love with an amimal that has a permanent smile.

davis later asked an employee about touch experience packages with the belugas..how much, when, who to call, scheduling.....that only means one thing
*SQUEE* i might leave my own poop cloud in the water *lol*

more pictures later....

iQUILT

i over heard my itouch making fun of my iphone the other day....

"you might be smart but i'm pretty....she loves me more"

yeah that wasn't happening. so i bounced over to CaseMate and ordered a quilty cover for my iphone. i ordered on monday, paid a bit more for priority shipping and got it today, thursday.

i choose to put Footnotes on the back of my phone. had i knew that i would be getting an iphone, i would of put my Squilt on the back of my phone and footnotes on the itouch *shrug* oh well....

i over heard my iphone going "Ne'ner ne'ner ne'ner thppbbt" to the itouch

i'm not affiliated with CaseMate, just a happy customer...and i don't believe that my electronics bully each other *giggle* my studio is zero tolerance

miss me?

i'm back from my teaching trip to north carolina.

i taught the Carolina Longarm Association (CLA) all sorts of fun quilty stuff!

i taught feathers feathers feathers galore!

feathers great and small!

(yup-that's a dime)

i drove angela's machine with the new MM wheels...Nemo needs new shoes, so i bought a set for him.

i showed them how i design free motion custom quilting designs. students brought tops from home and i sat in the floor and doodled on their quilts.

the lovely angela hosted the classes and provided me a bed to sleep in. (and all the crack roast beef i could eat- that stuff was addicting!!) so i made her one of my signature flanged pillows as a hostess with the mostest gifty.

it found a good home on the recliner and it matched perfectly with the decor.

angela's puppy, Lincoln, provided me puppy love. i stilled missed my noodle heads tho.

isn't he so adore-ably cute!!! i like his Burt Reynold 70's mustache.

i had to share my crack roast beef to get this picture....but it was worth it *smile*

then it was time to point the truck towards GA....

ahhh, no place like home

*sigh* yup, no place like home....only in atlanta does it take an hour to go seven miles on the interstate....

my work place

this is my cubicle and my ususal rush hour traffic requires me to step over a stalled dog in the hall. *giggle*

this is a quilt i quilted for david. it was huge 100" x 112" it was made from the quilter's tweed fabric collection.

this is a block from a quilt i quilted for evelyn. i fell hard in love with that art deco print. it is a vintage print, so i can't find any of it. *sad*

i like the block as well. it is a great stash bash block. the block is 8" finished.

the two skinny strips (navy and pink) are cut at 1.5" and the art deco print is cut at 2.5". i would sew all the strips together, then subcut the 4.5" squares. you'll be able to get (4) from strips cut from a fat quarter and (8) from strips cut from WOF strips. clear as mud?

the good kind of twister

i recently quilted sue's blue twister quilt. it's a gift for her mother.

i liked it so much, i bought the ruler. i'm going to use it to destash some batiks.

i also started my next english paper piecing (EPP) project. the quilt's working title is Beachy Keen. i've been ~~hoarding~~ collecting blues, browns, and creams in modern prints for years and the other day it hit me what to do with them.

i have some 60degree diamonds left over from a previous EPP quilt, so i'm making my version of my friend jessica's traveling quilt. my diamonds have 3inch sides giving me a 10.5inch hexi block. i plan on making 90 to 100 of them.

i'm doing it a bit different- i'm putting a ring of cream around each star to give me some space for some creative quilting.

cindy used my tutorial

i recieved an email from Cindy couple weeks ago. she had made a tote from a dog food bag following my tutorial. she sent me a picture of the bag and it even included the benefactor of the food. here's her picture and her email:

Thank you!! I just finished mine, minus the handles.. (which is proving to be my biggest obstacle) and I so totally LOVE my new bag! I've been holding on to this dog food bag for about 2 years, hoping to find something like this tutorial that is also this thorough.

Can't wait to use my bag (once I hand stitch the handles on.. LOL)

Oh, I'm also your newest follower!
-Cindy

thanks for sharing your picture and pooch! i love the how the great dane is along the edge of the tote...you did a great job!

leaving on a jet plane

i'm going to be heading out of town soon to teach LAing and will be scheduling some posts to keep yall distracted :)

here's barney on the couch the other night. i took it with my iphone. is he smiling? noodle dog

did you catch that?...i took the pic with my iphone....yup- i offically have a cell phone now. davis bought it for me. i have tried to stay away from a cell phone as long as i could, but he threw me in the 21st century. i am amazed by all the things it does. all this technology that fits in the palm of my bitty hand...he says it makes him feel better that i have in case of an emergency....i thought that was what the glock was for *grin*

wierdest picture ever!

lucky was all cuddly last night and i was taking his picture.

this is one right as he licked his nose.

weird huh?

i think it looks like he blew a bubble with bubble gum and it popped....

davis says it's wierd that you can see the exact outline of his nose.

happier than a pig in she-ot

that's what granny would say when things worked out for the good. she also thought that if you pronounced cuss words a bit different, it wasn't cussing. (ever wonder where i get my weird idiosyncrasies from)
anyway!!! i found some of the tie dye fabric i was looking for!!

my friend lisa suggested i call hancock's customer service number and see if they could check their data base and see what stores had 4plus yards in their inventory.

i did and they did. i was given the number of a store in montana and was told it was up to the store manager whether they would ship it to me or not...

i hesitantly called and told the manager my situation and she agreed to help me!!! YAY *snoopy dance*
i have 4 yards winging it's way here from montana as i type! i want to say a big huge thank you to everyone that looked at their local hancock's for me! i promise to double check for small print from now on *grin*

(i had to use a lifeline and phone-a-friend to help me spell 'idiosyncrasies')

i'm madder than a wet hen

that's what my granny would say and that meant she was MAD! and right now, i'm a very damp chic-a-pee!
see i ordered 10 yards of this pretty batik...at a very good price...i wanted (3) 3 yard pieces with enough wiggle room to match the pattern....

simple enough, right?

guess what i got!!??? GUESS!
you'll love this:
i got a 8 yard bolt and a two yard cut

*crickets*

i admit- i have no one to blame but myself- i was so overwhelmed by the tie dye goodness i didn't read the small print: average 8 yard bolts

....now i have the joy of tracking down 4 more yards to get what i want for what i want.... i know, my own fault for going outside my LQSes....but it's so pretty...i looked on line, apparently i bought the last 10 yards in whole freaking world.

*grr* *boo* *hiss*

so i beg my blogland friends-

anyone have a Hancock's fabrics close that has 4 CONTINIOUS *giggle* yards of 'Batik 70's tie dye' in this color? i'll pay ya back...

to the moon alice, to the moon!!! (that's what pap-paw would say)

summer eating

i don't like to cook (but i love to eat *smile*) i'm more of a pre-fab type cook. i take a box, add a simple ingredient or two, put it in a bowl, and throw it in the oven. but i am creative....and i want to share my favorite summer snack.

i call it a pocket salad. it's simple really. (i had one at a restaurant and thought how easy to do my self...but aren't crafty people like that- see something and think, "well i can make that simple enough")

you'll need:
-caesar dressing
-parmesan cheese (i get the blended stuff from kraft. the asiago adds a really good flavor)
-romaine lettuce
-grilled chicken (i buy it 'bulk' and cook a bunch and put it in the fridge. it doesn't last long enough to go bad)
-soft taco tortillas (i get whole wheat)

construction is simple- run a line of ceasar dressing down the center of the tortilla stopping two inches from one edge. sprinkle some cheese into the dressing. add the romaine- don't be stingy. add a smige more dressing. it's like the glue that holds everything together *grin* then slice your chicken and lay it on top of the romaine. fold up the bottom of the tortilla and wrap the sides around- WHA-LA! a grilled chicken ceasar pocket salad.

YUMMY!

mail call and a quilt

i loved opening my mail yesterday!

first my new unsewer!!

i ordered it from Gearhart Beach's etsy shop. it's hand turned bird's eye maple. it fits perfectly in my hand- very comfortable!

i love the details. not only did he send me a replacement tip, but notice that he has added a brass ring along the bottom of the plastic cover- that's to prevent the plastic from splitting and falling off!! my favorite is that it was packed for safety in the purple fat quarter!

can you believe it!! i won a giveaway over on densie's blog Bitten By the Quilt Bug. the fat quarters have already settled in comfortably in my yellow/orange drawer.

thanks densie!

nancy came and picked up her split 9patch quilt.

i quilted a feather meander on it with a natural colored thread- gorgeous!!.

holiday recap

*VERY IMPORTANT NOTE*
for those that are doing/collecting my BOM, please go back and re-save July's instructions.

Carol emailed me to point out a mistake in the cutting directions. (thank you carol) i have corrected the instructions and re-uploaded the corrected .pdf

we now return you to the regularly scheduled blog post already in progress *grin* today i finished my first set of blocks for my swap.

i had one of the squirrels watch me through the window for a while.

she was really close...and totally facinated with the whole quilting process....

or maybe she was jealous of the AC...

or waiting on me to spread out some more sunflower seeds.....

in other backyard drama....i walked the pups this morning and the baby birds are gone. *sad* the nest was empty. there were alot of crows in the trees around the field and i think they watched the mom and dad flying in and out of that bush and figured out what was in that bush. damn it....