Christmas Retreat

Our bee Christmas retreat was the first weekend this month - I always call them my "Eating, Drinking, Sewing, Eating" time with the girls. It's always so! nice to get away and be with good friends. I will say,, we have some of the best cooks! A great chicken casserole on Friday nite, delicious breakfast casserole on Saturday morning, wonderful tiny ham/cheese sandwiches for Saturday lunch and the special pizza catered in for Saturday dinner. YUUM! OH! a delicious chocolate angle food cake ( hand made, too! no box was this one! ). and a to-die-for chocolate sheet cake that I might as well have plastered on my thighs. I sure I'm forgetting something - but trust me,, I was NOT hungry! This is why I have so much trouble loosing any weight :)

So in between the eating, talking, eating, wine-ing,,what was everyone working on, you ask?

I played all Friday afternoon on a tooth fairy pillow for my grandson - didn't like it didn't finish it at retreat. That's a story for another day. Then I pulled out a paper piece project ( tan/green/red stars, got tired of that, SO I had a tan, brown, beige Turning Twenty quilt that I had already cut out and finally! found something fun to do. I'm happy with it! I have already gotten the backing out and I think I'm going to do some straight line quiliting in some sort of a pattern ( yeah, that made a lot of sense, didn't it )

This is the beach quilt that we had the swap on ( was it this year or last? ). This is so cute,, there is a little bush she made to fit in a space,, great idea!

Our resident free motion quilter was hard at work on a "Take Five" quilt that she made. Someday I'll get enough confidence to do a big quilt - she had a few tables all arranged to take the weight of the quilt which made it easier ( she said - still looked hard to me! )

A couple of views of progress and VOILA!!

I love this fabric collection I'm not sure what it will be ( she could send it my way! I'll make something from them )

and I covet these blocks,, so pretty! and if Santa brought me an embroidery machine, I could make pretties, too!

This is a Patrick Lose pattern that I wish I had,, isn't this just as cute as can be! I just love doing fusible applique. I call it "fabric by number" ( like paint by number ?? ok, I'm weird ), but it's so fun!
She sewed them down and then she is going to quilt over the top to secure everything. I might just have to go get that pattern!

Doesn't this one just make you want to fly right down to the beach! ( for those of you already there, can you see me stick my tongue out at you?? )

The sandels and beach ball are buttons! this is a kit complete with the cool hanger with the shell - Santa are you listening??


We had a Pillowcase Queen this weekend, too. She had a mission to make 30 ( yes 30! ) pillowcases for family. It takes me months to make ONE ! I left before she did, and at the count I had, she was dang close just a few shots of what she was doing. The creme and blue poinsettas here are my favorite.

A baby alphabet quilt that is getting the binding put on, I'm not sure whose heart quilt this was, I turned around and VOILA! it appeard on the wall. springy! I liked this one and the different fabrics used - tres modern!

the big squares below was finished but I asked her to hold it up so I could take a shot,, beautiful!

and this one is MINI -- Yes! a MINI, about 12 inches square. wow,,, blows me away.



I hope you all have Happy Holidays! And if the little elves show up and finish projects for you - I'm jealous!

I got myself an early Christmas present

I’ve been wanting a laptop for a long time – was too cheap to go buy one, just couldn’t justify it to myself.  After all, I have a great desktop that I love, does everything and more!

But, I wanted a laptop, to go with me where ever I went, to indulge myself infront of the television ( just what I’m doing now <vbg> ) to take on vacations, retreats and just anywhere I darn well wanted to go.

I did it!  Ordered a Dell on Sunday night and brought it home on Friday – that’s just slick!  Of course I didn’t change a thing on it or ask for anything special.  It’s basic black, 15 inch screen with Windows 7.   So far, I’ve spent two evenings playing with Windows just trying to figure that out!  It is a bit different from Windows XP.

Enough geek talk – just wanted to share my happiness.  Maybe now I can post more stuff to the blog! In fact, that is what I’  or not,,  new laptop means more play time on the computer !! 

Thanks for indulging me!

How did YOU spend Black Friday??

It's wasn't Black Friday at my house - I'm in the RED!

Thank goodness I'm off tomorrow cause I need a day of do-nothing but what I want to do - phew! Thursday I cooked my 3rd ( yes, third! we had to have seperate meals to accommodate everyone cause sons had to go to inlaws, and brothers had to go to inlaws) Thanksgiving meal, entertained in-laws, outlaws, and others.

But Friday, oh my!

So who else hit the Joann's sales?? I have always said that there is nothing I need bad enough to get up at an unholy hour and go shopping, so why was I at Joann's at 645?? just to get some of that flannel that was on sale ( like I needed it, yeah, right.). Of course, silly me, I thought that the 20% off EVERYTHING coupon meant 20% off E-V-E-R-Y-thing... but oh no! not the flannel. It was a special sale doorbuster. Did you get caught thinking that it was, too?

But still, how can you complain about $1.29 flannel?? tirane asked me to get her some baby flannels ( she's going to be a new grandmom!) and since I was going anyway I said SURE!. BUT, a good friend, a superb friend, would have gotten herself up and out and met me there - ( dig dig poke poke - see my big grin! )
I will complement the staff at my Joann's, they kept the cutting table moving so I was in and out in about an hour - not bad for 56 ( OMG! 56 yards! ) of flannels. I want to use them for kids quilts for the backs. tirane got about 15 yards of this ( whew! I feel SOOO much better )

BUT - that's not all -- are you ready!

THEN I went to my favorite discount fabric store - I met tirane there ( it was 10am, LOL, she was awake ). They were having a 25% discount on everything, ( this time it really was EVERYTHING) so I left there with ANOTHER 50 yards of fabric - all mine! Yipes, Cripes!! Done, no more fabric buying for me!
( jus tto make myself feel better, some of this was only $1.75/yard and it is all name brand cottons )


My name is Beth and I am a Fabriholic. Hello, Beth.

The Flannels
The Cottons

It took two shots to give the full effect!

This one is my favorite - I know just how I'm going to use this, too. The top will be solids of these colors in a rectangle in a rectangle block and then this will be the outer border. Yep, retro back to the 50's ( at least I think it's the 50's )

My name is Beth and I am a Fabriholic
Need I say anything more?

I'm so full!!

I hope everyone has had a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and family! I'm tired ( cooked three seperate dinners this week!) I'm over full,not just full but O.V.E.R. FULL!

I think I'm going to hit Joann's tomorrow and see if there is any of that flannel left that is on sale then go to my local fabric discounter who is having a sale ( fabric warehouse and a sale -- uh-oh! I see trouble! ).

but I'm NOT cooking!

anyway, my oldest friend sent me this youtube video -- seems appropriate for tomorrow and the start of the season -- enjoy!

FOLLOW ME - Quiltmaker BLog Tour is ON!

I'm back from Houston where I had a fantastic time - and now the Quiltmaker Blog Tour is going on! Grab a cup of something you love ( Mocha Latte! YUUMM! ) and read on, my friends..

I'm hoping to win a free magazine! But if that doesn't happen, I'm a winner cause of all the cool things I've found on these web sites... life is good!







( I've got to get it together to tell you about Houston! OH MY! )