True Love!

I am sooo sorry for the delay in getting back to all of you--I spent Friday thru most of Sunday in bed with a nasty bug. Luckily I was able to sleep thru much of it, but it's definitely not a recommended way to spend the weekend.

Of course you didn't come here to read about my aches and pains...you want to see who won the drawing!



Well, first of all, I was overwhelmed by your wonderful comments. All 80 of them! So after numbering all the paper bits, it was off to the studio...



Presley was not impressed; he's been thru this before.
Sitting on the darling piece of Anne's fabric I laid out for the occasion...Melvin looks, well, confused.


Rosie tries to cheer him on.


Nope, this just isn't working, is it?

Time to bring in the Professional...luckily I caught Compton between Monday engagements, so he had the time to come teach Melvin the ropes.



THIS is how it's done...you just stick your head in...LIKE THIS!



And pull out a number! LIKE THIS! See? Easy!



I'll even show you again...LIKE THIS!! Got it?



Hmmmm...
You mean like this?



Did I do good?



All things considered, I'd say Melvin did quite well. You may be rolling your eyes over the idea that the pigs were talking to each other. Well, if you had the amount of cold medicine in your system that I do, trust me, PIGS CAN TALK.

So...if the following people can email me with their addresses (latebloomerquilts@yahoo.com) I'll get your goodies off to you!
Thanks for playing along!

#12: atet
#49: Eva
#3: Jeannie

Hey there,

As promised, it's time for another giveaway--True Love style! Since Valentine's Day will be upon us shortly, it's time to pull out your favorite pink and red fabrics and get to work.
This time the winner will receive a copy of my Altar Steps pattern, my True Love pattern and two kits--one for a heart ornament and one for a cone. (I know, there I go with the cones again...)
They are easy patterns and those little ornaments are addictive.


Sound like fun? Of course it does! You know who will be drawing a name this weekend.

Maybe you figure you won't win? Well, if you order a True Love pattern before Valentine's Day, I'll include an ornament kit with your order, while they last. The ornament kits include fabric, felt, and all the trimmings you need--many include vintage millinery flowers and antique lace.



Melvin is resting up for the occasion,


so...

and leave a comment!

An apple a day...

How's THIS for a snack? Pam brought this back for me from the farmer's market when she went to visit Frankie. And I have to say, it's an example of truth in advertising--that was one OUTRAGEOUS caramel apple! It was freaking amazing.
And yes, I ate darn close to the whole thing.



Maybe you aren't a big fan of apples...what do you think of these cherries? I think they're darling. This is what arrived in the mail for me the other day--I'd entered a blog drawing figuring I'd never win...and I figured wrong. How sweet is this lapel pin?!



If you would enjoy a pin like this for your very own, just hop on over to Room With a Past; they're now available. Pam and I were up there today--since this is the weekend they're open this month-- and there are always sweet goodies and vintage treasures to be found.

Even if you can't get there, one of the owners, Jan, has a darling blog so you might want to check it out! Jan also did something so sweet...look what she did with Melvin's picture! I didn't think he could be made any cuter...wrong again.

And regarding Melvin, I've been asked if Presley attempts to eat the little guy. That would be a big NO. Presley works extremely hard at completely ignoring Mel...as only a cat can ignore.



And speaking of drawings to enter...stay tuned because there will be a Valentine-themed drawing here next week.

Happy rest-of-the-weekend, everybody!

Roommates in...

Believe it or not, there's more to the Late Bloomer life than just shopping and sniffing glue...I've got a studio to get ready! Well, and quilts to work on, but we'll discuss that another time...

While I love my new studio I'm just not at all used to being alone in a room. Feels wrong. But luckily it was easy to remedy.

When I moved upstairs, I took Presley's basket with me since he generally spends his days with me. I found a spot under my sewing table and put the basket there. I correctly assumed he might have an issue with my placement. He did. Wouldn't even go near the basket. Instead, he'd go downstairs and sit sulking in the spot where his basket used to be. OK, fine. I moved the basket back downstairs. Nope, no good. He went back to the studio. (Sorry, but I love that word so much I have to make it special even when I type it--so hopefully you'll read the word the right way--studio--in a sort of breathless whisper...)
This time he decided my chair would be his new hangout. Uh, no.

So youngest son Jeff (you remember Jeff--my princess?) took my basket full of crochet stuff off its wooden stand, dumped it on the floor and placed the basket up on it. So Presley can look out the window while he relaxes. An added bonus is he can spray hair on my new white curtains.



Well, that leaves me needing to find a place for my yarn, but at least the cat is happy.


If you've followed my blog at all you know I have an irrational love of guinea pigs. I'm still missing Turbo quite a bit...so middle son Nick suggested I get a pig of my own. Wasn't hard to convince me! So I'm pleased to introduce Melvin.



Isn't he darling? He's so sweet and cuddly...his cage is ugly so you don't get to see a picture of it...yet...I've got plans for adding some fabric to hide the ugly parts. I'll show it off when it's done. Assuming my plans work...

So anyway, it's starting to feel at home up there. A prettier and cleaner version of home, but I'll take it!

Celebration Monday

I had decided that Pam and I should get together today since maybe she'd need some cheering up--it's the first Monday in I don't know how long that she hasn't been working in a quilt shop.
It was a lovely bright and brisk day and it turns out that the mood was celebratory--since Pam now has more time for fun!



We started out in Berkeley, since that's where our closest Anthropologie store is. I'm embarrassed to admit I'd never been--tho I've logged plenty of hours drooling over their website and catalog.
I had some Christmas money burning a hole in my pocket (thanks Uncle John!) and the only thing that kept me from leaving with one of everything was (besides the $$ obvious) is that it's been many years since I was either age 20 or size 3.

But wow. I could not get over the incredibleness of the clothes...the accessories...the shower curtains, even! And please don't get me started on the sweaters. The most freaking amazing sweaters I've ever seen.

Obviously my photos STINK, but here's a bit of what I found--like I'm ever gonna actually USE this dishtowel...



I also found a couple of wonderful metal brackets that will hold up a shelf in my studio. (That's my new favorite word and I use it as often as I can...studio...)

Then we went on to Tail of the Yak, since you can't go to Berkeley without stopping there. When I saw that this tin of glue comes with its own tiny brush...I had to get it.



This is the stuff that smells like almonds...it's Italian and absolutely divine. I have no idea if it's good as a glue, and I don't really care. I'm happy sniffing it.
Yes. Sniffing glue. A new pastime of mine.
I highly recommend it.

On our way back home we had to stop at The Quilter's Inn to congratulate Jane on being named one of the top quilt shops for Quilt Sampler magazine! I decided to treat myself to a couple of pieces of my all-time favorite American Folk and Fabric prints--I'll never get tired of these.



Doesn't it appear as if Pam prefers to be the one taking the pictures?



Got home in time to go to the post office before kid-pickup and I got a parking place close to the door and there were only 2 people in line!

Can't remember a better Monday...hope it's been as great for all of you!

Super special treat!

Aren't quilters just the greatest? Of course!

Awhile back I got an email from someone in Iceland who was interested in one of my patterns. On a side note, how cool is that? Iceland!

So I sent it off and to my amazement, she sent something back to me! It's this wonderful book full of darling bags to make. Apparently there are no published Icelandic quilt books--this is Danish--Iceland used to be a Danish colony.

All I know is the book is absolutely lovely and I am thoroughly enjoying looking at the photographs and trying to figure out some of the writing. It was also such a sweet, wonderful gesture and pretty much made my week!

Thank you so much, Halldora!

A fresh start

I sure hope 2008 is starting out well for all of you...it's been crazy-busy around here.
My room is coming along...I had paint chips tacked up before Eric actually left, so I was ready to dash to Lowe's to pick up the Martha color I'd decided on (French Ivory with Teacup trim!) and cleaning and painting commenced.

I'm positively GIDDY over having a room of my own...I still need to figure out just where to store all my crap and I really REALLY want to be rid of all plastic bins--at least in that room. I can't see a way to live without plastic storage bins, but I feel the need to try.



I have yet to hang any pictures, etc...still many things to figure out. I'll be keeping you posted.

Of course being at this end of the hall, I have a new neighbor, and that would be Nick. He's a rather noisy neighbor at times, but having a new room AND peace and quiet would probably be too big a shock to my system. He visits periodically, and has already managed to spill soda on the carpet. One of his friends was over last night and has declared that my new room "smells happy", so I guess I'm on the right track.



I had a wonderful treat Saturday evening...I was invited to go with Nick and his girlfriend Kari (pictured above playing Rock Band) to the Tech Museum in San Jose to see the Body Worlds 2 exhibit which was the most amazing thing I've seen in years...Photography was not allowed, and I imagine some of you are grateful for that fact! But it was an incredible combination of science and art...with a bit of philosophy thrown in. I'll probably go back--if I can snag another family member to go with me. It was also a kick to be back in downtown San Jose...I grew up in that city and my first real job was downtown, and that was back in the days when downtown SJ was not a very nice place to be. It seemed surreal to be walking the same streets I'd walked as an 18 year old now with MY 18 year old...

Anyway...a fresh start always feels so good, doesn't it...it's time to get working on new projects for 2008!