Day 2 in Connecticut

We were up at 6:30 AM on Wednesday (2/27)…well, actually BG was up at 5 AM, but she let me sleep until 6:30  :~).  

After a smurfy breakfast of unfrosted cinnamon/sugar pop-tarts (does my friend know me or what?), we were at our machines by 8 AM.  We sewed until 11:30 

when Al and Lynn (financial planners & good friends) 

picked me up for lunch.  We had a great lunch and a good meeting and I was home by 2 to start sewing more: 

We stopped again around 4:30 and BG put together a smurfy Shepard’s Pie for dinner.  We were back at it again after dinner, but stopped by 8 PM to relax, read, visit, whatever…it was another wonderful day.

fist day in Connecticut

Michael and I were up at o'dark hundred (5 AM) on Tuesday (2/26) to get the airport by 6 AM.  My flight was uneventful (although very bumpy) and BG was there to pick me right up:

We headed home and Mary Jo was there shortly afterwards and we all dove into Paczki's....YUM!!!!  BIG Y definitely makes the best ones and I am so lucky that Easter is late this year because the last day they make them is Shrove Tuesday. 

After that BG and I had a lesson on using Mary Jo's pineapple ruler.  Although the block we made was beautiful: 

I thought it was way too much work (and that was with Mary Jo having cut all of the strips and doing all of the ironing and trimming)!!!  Mary Jo headed home after that and BG and I started into our projects for this year. 

She is doing my Zig Zag quilt, so she started with this:

and by the end of the evening she had 2 borders on many of her charm squares:

I'm making a quilt that Janice just finished, so by the end of the evening I had this: 

We had pizza for dinner sewed until around 10 PM when we both fell into bed...what a wonderful day!

Extra Pics, someone took pictures when we were out at Buca, and finally shared them with Michael:

Martini Night

My honey was up and out early on Monday (2/25) desperate to get in a bit of golf, even though the course was probably a lake!!!  I got to sleep in and it was heavenly (except for Cookie jumping in and out of the bed every 10 minutes!)   

Eventually I made my way downstairs and got the program set up and started quilting on the newest QoV:  

I got to see the bluebird up close and personal when it discovered the bird feeder right at the edge of the patio:

I worked on my quilt until 3 PM and am almost 1/2 way done with my rows.  

My honey came home from golf and said it was a real slog fest, but he was happy to be out there anyway.  I ran to the bank and to CVS, then got cleaned up and headed out to pick up Pat for Martini Night.  Andie was our hostess:

and she had a lovely spread of appetizers: 

along with Pink Cosmos:

But she stole my heart with dinner...Italian Wedding Soup and home made rolls!  Everyone enjoyed everything...it was all delicious!

Pat, Joyce, Jane, Andie

Ellie, Bonnie, Barb, Alice

We played PICTIONARY after dinner (always a hoot) and Andi served a lemon cooler for dessert and it was light, refreshing and heavenly.  I left early to come home and cut some cream colored strips and pack.   I'll be winging my way to CT at o'dark hundred tomorrow.

*** MMR – Michael’s Movie Reviews ***

Stan+Ollie with Seve Coogan and John C Rielly – The comedy team of Laurel & Hardy were at their peak in 1937, but getting no respect or money from Hal Roach who owns the studio and rights to their pictures.  Trying to negotiate was futile and Stan’s contract ended and he was ‘fired’, while Oliver ‘had to’ continue working as his contract was not up.  Fast forward 16 years to 1953 and the duo is teamed up again (across the pond) on a personal tour, supposedly to raise money for their own movie.  The rest of the story is about their relationship, personal and business, and what it was like to be in the twilight of their careers.  Superb make-up makes you believe John C Rielly is Oliver, and actions and expressions turn Steve Coogan into Stan.  It’s a story well told with great acting and period costumes.  If you like Laurel & Hardy, you will love Stan+Ollie.  I give it 4 fat quarters out of 5. 

Janice & Dennis

I hopped up Sunday morning (2/24) to get a coffee cake made…the one Michael calls ‘drake’s cake on steroids’ while the rest of the crew was just chillin’….

It was a nice and relaxing start to the morning.  

After breakfast we all headed downstairs to visit while I got a Quilt of Valor loaded up.  

We all left at 1 PM…Janice and Dennis out to their friends on the coast, and Michael and I to the theatre for his matinee.  I helped with checking people in, concessions and the 50/50 raffle and enjoyed seeing the play a second time.  

After the play, Michael and I joined 10 more of his friends for dinner at Buca.  Although we loved our dinner, I doubt we’ll be going back…the service was terrible and took WAY too long!  Anyway, we were home by 8 PM and just relaxed in front of the TV before bed.

Janice & Dennis arrive

I was definitely moving slowly on Saturday morning (2/23), but my only goal for the day was to straighten up my sewing room and finish quilting the baby quilt.  I got everything put away that needed to be, and my honey vacuumed the entire downstairs….YAY!!  There are fresh sheets on the bed and the bathroom is spic and span…so I’m ready for Janice and Dennis.  

By mid-afternoon I had time to work on the baby quilt again, and by dinnertime, the quilting was done:  

Michael and Cookie both spent time downstairs in the afternoon, with Cookie squished in a corner of the sofa…I thought she looked so cute:  

And even though Michael just put up a bluebird house about a day ago….we’re already getting some action:  

Michael had soup for dinner and left for the play, and Janice & Dennis blew in 10 minutes later:  

They settled in to relax and recovered from their drive from Connecticut, while Anne picked me and Paula up and we all headed to the theatre.  It was a great show, but even better coming home and socializing for an hour or so with Janice and Dennis before bed.

And what a surprise, our ‘president’ brushes off proven voter fraud in our very own backyard, and immediately brings up unproven allegations which he says have hurt Republicans.  If it doesn’t fit his narrative, he totally ignores it and lies about something else: https://www.aol.com/article/news/2019/02/22/asked-about-nc-ballot-scandal-trump-condemns-all-voting-fraud-especially-by-democrats/23676265/

my day at INNOVA

Friday (2/22) was a very long day for me.  I left the house at 7:30 AM and didn’t get back home until just before 4 PM.  I headed out to Greenville South Carolina to the INNOVA store to check out my machine and what I was really getting.  I spent several hours with Michelle:  

Michelle doing her best Vanna White impersonation

I'm hot to make one (or more) of these stars!

up close and personal with my machine

some of the gorgeous quilts at the shop...wish you could see the quilting....it is awesome!

this BIG DREAM pannel was HUGE!!

and upgraded some things on my machine and now I am VERY excited to get it!!!  The bad news is, our training schedule has to move from the end of March to probably the middle of April, but the good news is that Michelle thinks I will only have to come for 2 days instead of 3 (because I have already learned a lot using my JUKI these last 4-1/2 years).  I'm worried that I've developed some bad habits since I basically taught myself...hopefully I can change some of them.

When I got home, I talked to my honey a bit and had a bite of dinner and a quick visit with Anne before heading downstairs to load up my baby quilt:

Kristin (the woman who is buying my JUKI long arm) came over at 6 PM and stayed until 9:30, getting familiar with setting up the pattern and stitching out 1/2 of the rows.  After she left I collapsed in the living room and read my book until my honey got home around 10:30.

Kind of a long read on the disaster that is our president, but backed with lots of interesting facts: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/02/22/essential-cons-that-define-trumps-success/?utm_term=.29ef4f7ef8c3

SHQ show & tell

I felt like I barely had time to get anything done Thursday morning (2/21) before leaving to pick up Paula and head out to quilting.  I know I’ve said it before but it’s so true….I would never make it out of here every Thursday morning without my honey packing up the car!!  I was really pleased with what I got done at quilting (starting a new pattern for a QoV quilt) and show and tell was awesome:  

I love this skinny snowman pattern, I would like to make it someday....

and I think this is gorgeous!!

This was a silk tie quilt done by June

and another finish from the class I taught in January

And then Jerri L went CRAZY making 'the Loree quilt':

of course I know Anne will like this one

I was home before 3 PM after stops at the library and bank, and continued sewing my zig zag blocks into rows.  While I was sewing, my honey put up a new bluebird house in the yard: 

By the time we stopped for a late dinner of fish sandwiches from ARBY’s (yum!!!)  all of my rows were done.  Michael and I watched TV in the evening while I worked on finishing off the braiding on 2 of my necklaces.