Paradise Tote

This was both fun and easy to make!

One of my monthly shipments in the Annie's Attic Creative Quilters Fabric Club, this one was by far one of my favorites to make.  The fabrics sent to me are called Paradise Fabric Collection by Art Gallery, and the free pattern that came with it was for this tote.

I started the tote Saturday, December 15th, 2012 and completed it Sunday, December 16th, 2012.

My One Year Anniversary

A year ago today I met my honey, Brian.  We are celebrating this as our anniversary since neither of us can recall the exact date when we considered ourselves in an "official" relationship...LOL!

So here we were in December 2011...

And here we are this year...
(the most recent photo I have of us together is from Sept 2012)

It's been a super fast and fun year...and we are both looking forward to many more to come!

Fabric Stash Quilt Blocks

In an effort to reduce my stash of fabric scraps, I've been busy making quilt blocks...most of which will probably be donated to the Princeton Public Library, Princeton, WI for their Quilt that built a Library fundraiser.  Any blocks donated to this fundraiser need to be 12 inch square blocks, so I am making them all 12 inches square.  I haven't yet decided if I'm donating the whirling pinwheel block yet or not...it was difficult for me to make, so I may want to put it into a quilt or pillow project...time will tell what I decide to do with it...
All the fabrics used in these blocks are leftover from previous projects I've made.  I didn't buy new fabric just to make these blocks.
Here are the blocks I've made so far in the last couple of weeks during my spare time...

The two holiday quilt blocks pictured below are for the Star Pointe Quilters' Guild Christmas Party Quilt Block Drawing, to be held on December 13th...  I recently joined this Guild out of Stevens Point, WI, and this is the first project I've participated in since joining last month.  I look forward to many more projects I can participate in, in the future!

For each quilt block we make & take to the party, we get our name entered into the drawing.  The person whose name gets drawn will win all the completed quilt blocks and pattern instructions for the quilt.  We were given the fabric pieces at our last meeting, so all the quilt blocks have coordinating fabric for the quilt.  I grabbed enough fabric for making these two blocks.

Another Teardrop Purse...

For this particular Teardrop Purse, using the same pattern as the goat Teardrop Purse, I took the pattern pieces and enlarged them 130% so I could make the bag bigger.  One of the ladies in the Tuesday Quilters' Group gave me some drape fabric that she really liked, and asked me to make a purse from it.  I think it looks great with this pattern...

Teardrop Bag - An Amy Butler Design

Made an Amy Butler designed handbag for the first time!

TEARDROP BAG

It's not perfect, but for a first try, it didn't turn out too bad!

My boss and her husband live on a farm, and they've got goats.  She just loves her goats, and she asked me to make this bag out of the goat fabric she had purchased.  And she also asked me to use the hay/straw print fabric for the inside.  It turned up pretty cute!

The pattern for this bag can be found in the following book:

Tuesday Quilters - At the 2012 Portage Cty Fair

Tuesday Quilters is a group for those of us who love to sew & quilt.  We gather the 3rd Tuesday of every month at the home of Patricia J., just outside of Rosholt, Wisconsin.  Tuesday Quilters is a fairly new group, just started this year (2012).  I discovered the group from a sign posted on the bulletin board at the local post office, so I made the phone call to inquire about it, and now I go every chance I get.  I have a wonderful boss, who allows me off work the 3rd Tuesday of every month just so I can go!  :o)

Anyways...this past weekend, Labor Day Weekend 2012, was the Rosholt Fair (Official Portage County Fair), and after getting permission from the local 4H Club, we were given permission to hang and display some of our group members' quilts and table toppers at the fair all weekend.

Here are some pictures from the event...

 

Hanging the Quilts & Table Toppers (below)

The

Tuesday Quilters

Quilts & Table Toppers Display...

If you live near the Rosholt, WI area, consider coming to our monthly get-togethers!
We have a lot of fun with show & tell, learning new techniques, sharing tips, hints and ideas, making new friends and socializing with others who share in the same interests.
Send me a message if you're interested and I will put you in contact with Patricia, or you can call the number shown on the first photo in this post!

My Quilters Club of America MQ6 Quilt: Progress Update

Yesterday after work, I picked up my Quilters Club of America MQ6 quilt from The Quilting Place in Almond, Wisconsin, where I took it to have it long-arm machine quilted.
Nancy Butolph, Owner of The Quilting Place, did a BEAUTIFUL job on the quilting!  

(I wish I could do my own quilting, but I don't have a machine capable of doing so, so I have to outsource it until I can someday get myself a quilting machine).  

I wasn't super impressed with how plain the quilt top looked before having it quilted, but after seeing it quilted, I just love how it turned out!

Now I just have to bind it and it'll be complete!

More Pick-a-Pocket Purses!

Pattern Pick-A-Pocket Purse Designer: Monica Solorio-Snow of Happy Zombie

Free Pattern:

www.allpeoplequilt.com

I made these a few months ago, but for some reason the photos got lost in the laptop...

so I'm just posting them now.

First Time Musky Fishing!

Sunrise over Kentuck Lake as we were just getting on the water

August 17, 2012 at 5:45am

This has nothing to do with sewing or quilting, but I enjoyed it so much I just have to share.

I love fishing...so does my boyfriend...he has way more experience than I do, and he has a fishing boat...so he's gone Musky fishing before, but I never had, until this past weekend.  A few months ago Brian asked me to be his fishing partner in the 2012 National Championship Musky Open, in Eagle River, Wisconsin, and I agreed.  So last Thursday we headed north for the weekend.  Fortunately, my parents have a lake cottage up in that area, so we were able to stay there instead of a motel or campsite.  

Friday morning we were up by 4:15am, packed a cooler for drinks and lunch, then headed out.  We got out on Kentuck Lake, then spent 11 hours fishing on our first day.  Unfortunately we didn't get anything, but Brian did have 2 follows...sure wish they'd have taken the bait!

Have you ever seen a Musky plug before?  They are huge!  And tough to cast...but by the 3rd day I was casting pretty good!  LOL!

Here's an example photo from the internet:

There were a total of 1,111 participants in this tournament, and only 198 Muskies caught & released.

(All muskies are returned to the water after being registered, and they do not count towards final points if they die, so they must be kept alive).

Our 2nd day on the water we fished for 9 hours, and Brian had 1 follow.  The last day of the tournament nobody could fish past 11am, so we only spent 4 hours on the water.  Neither of us got a Musky, but we sure did have fun trying.  We also got to see a lot of beautiful scenery and wildlife.  There were Bald Eagles nesting along the shorelines and we enjoyed watching the young eagles trying to catch fish.  We saw a couple different types of loons and some red-headed ducks.  Lots of cranes, seagulls and some herons.  It was amazing!

Here are some photos of our Musky fishing adventure...

 Don't ya just love the bug-eye fishing glasses I borrowed from Brian?  LOL!

My lovely boyfriend doing the
"I'm sexy & I know it"

look with the bug-eye fishing glasses!  LMAO!

 Red-Headed Ducks

 Brian on the boat

As I was operating the foot pedal for the trolling motor, I noticed a frog
hiding in between the top and the bottom of the pedal!

 A pretty butterfly went for a ride on the boat with us

Early Morning Fog over Kentuck Lake

 Early Morning Fog over Kentuck Lake

 Early Morning Fog over Kentuck Lake

 

Early Morning Fog over Kentuck Lake

 

Early Morning Fog over Kentuck Lake

 Brian Fishing

A Loon on Kentuck Lake 

~~~~~~~~~

After the Tournament is all done...

We walk down to Korth Lake, behind my parents' cottage

and my mom takes some pictures of us in our Tournament

hats and shirts...

Brian jumped on the wood dock and I freaked thinking we

were gonna fall through...so then I was laughing at him...

My hair blowing over my chin makes me look like I've got a beard!

Here are some videos I took with my camera, too...