WEEK-END HAPPENINGS...AND SOME FABRIC STORIES

This will be quick as I have LOTS still to do, and it will probably be my last post until after Melody and her family are gone.  I know I will have my moments where I will no doubt visit around while Melody is off visiting Mike's family and some of their friends though, or goodness knows how far behind I might get, but we will see.  Grandma may need to be dozing during the down moments, lol.

We spent the week-end on the run.  Does it seem like we spend a lot of our week-ends like that?  It does to me sometimes.  But on the other hand, I enjoy it and I am not complaining.  Sat. we took off early (AFTER thoroughly cleaning the porch furniture and trimming out there!) and went to Riverside where we met Diane for lunch and then hit a couple of quilt stores in that area that we have been wanting to get to.  My husband is a saint and went along with us and carried things around for me etc. As I have said before not sure what I'd do without him...wink.  It was really kind of crazy to fit this outing into everything else we needed to do this week-end, but I have been fretting over getting the fabric that I had FINALLY decided on that I wanted for a quilt for ME, lol.  Every since I took up quilting, I had wanted to make a quilt for me for our family room.  I had only a small idea of what I wanted and I have been all this time (when I could grab the moments that is) searching for fabric, both styles and colors, to come up with what I wanted.  A couple of weeks ago I decided on both the fabrics and the pattern, and I have been somewhat frantic to get started on it every since.  I felt like I needed to get all of my July and August gifts out of the way first, so I could concentrate exclusively on it.  I have also been gathering ideas for a Christmas quilt for ME, and I have come up with that too.  It will include both embroidery and quilting which I am very excited about as well, but first things first.  I want to make the family room one before I even get started on that, lol.  Anyway, I had decided on Civil War Fabrics.  The colors and the style so suit my family room one would wonder why it took me so long to come up with it, but it just did.  So naturally I began the search.  The pattern I am going to use starts with two layer cakes.  Figured I'd just get a couple of layer cakes in both darks and lights to make the pattern. Well there is where I ran into my first problem.  I simply could not find layer cakes pretty much at all in these fabrics, and the ones I did find I didn't want. I guess it is the 150 anniversary of the Civil War and LOTS AND LOTS of ladies are making Civil War quilts and the fabrics cakes are simply hard to come by.  One of the sights I went to that had the layer cake I wanted (at one time anyway) simply said, "This fabric is no longer available, and NEVER will be again!"  I had to laugh as I read it to my husband.  Soo onto to plan two.  I would have to gather my own fabrics and then cut them all into 10 inch squares like the layer cakes are and do it myself.  I was really hoping to eliminate all of this, as cutting is not my favorite thing, and it means having to be ever so careful while I do too.  But having made the decision I went to both of our local quilt stores but couldn't really find what I wanted. And I don't really like to mix and match fabrics online when I need soo many different colors, and really wanted to SEE the fabric myself which means of course going to the actual store.  Thus the panic began to set in, lol.  I had called both of these quilt stores in Riverside and they assured me they had LOTS of the fabric in the colors I wanted, so we decided to go on own.  They are both about 45 minutes from here.  Sorry for all this background info, but you get the idea of why I felt like I HAD to go look and buy before there truly was nothing and I had to re-think the whole project.  Anyway, the first store not only had NONE that I liked, it was sooo hot in the store (not running their air ~ whatever were they thinking when it was near 100 degrees outside?)  we could barely stand it. Onto to store two.  Now this store was just our kind of place.  Both Diane and I LOVED it.  How we ever found it though remains a mystery as it was in the oddest little remote spot ever.  It was soo cool in there I felt I could have stayed much longer then the hour and half we were there, but the old knees were screaming in protest by the time we were done as it was.  They too were running a little short on some of the colors I wanted, as they got hit up hard during the quilt run.  They had NO navy's at all (except for in fat quarters) and that is probably my main color I wanted, and didn't have many burgundies either which was my next big choice.  (apparently they are everyone else's as well, lol).  But I found enough in fat quarters to get 98% of what I need.  I am needing just a little more (1/2 yard of each) of both a navy and a burgundy and I am all set.  Let me show you as best I can what I got.

RICH NAVY'S, BURGUNDIES, OLIVE GREENS, AND PURPLES.  AND THEN THE GOLDS WILL BE THE LIGHT COLORS THEY ARE PAIRED WITH TO MAKE THE BLOCKS

A LITTLE CLOSER LOOK

SEE THE BURGUNDY IN THE OLIVE GREEN FABRIC?  LOVED THE WAY IT ALL TIED TOGETHER

A lady who worked there was a TREMENDOUS help to me or I am not sure I could have come up with these choices.  I am excited to get a few blocks done to see how it is going to look, but I will have to refrain until there are NO babies underfoot, lol.  And speaking of babies, we hit up Target and a couple other places after that and managed to find a few new toys to entertain the boys with.  I also got MOST of what I need for her party next Sat., and have my lists made for the grocery store.  I am getting my nails done and the car washed when I finish with this post (and while I am working on the laundry ~ YAY ~ for multi-tasking) which leaves my hair for tomorrow and a couple of other quick errands.  I might make it after-all...whew.

I did want to show you really quick what I won.  I am always entering give-aways for fabric and such on the quilting and sewing blogs I follow, and I pretty much NEVER win, lol.  So when I was notified that I did WIN one I couldn't even remember which fabric it was for.  Going to the site I was super excited to see what I had won.  However, when the fabric arrived a couple of weeks later it wasn't the fabric I thought it was suppose to be and was fabric I know I had never seen before, lol!  However!  I do LOVE it!  And there was sooo much of it!  42 fat quarters of sweet vintage style scrappy type fabric.  Let me show it to you....

LOOK AT IT ALL AND IN SOOO MANY COLORS TOO!

LITTLE CLOSER LOOK AT SOME OF THEM

Anyway, I have only just recently been following this blog, and I love it, so a big THANK YOU to them, and I am urging you all to check it out if you haven't and you are interested in that sort of thing.  The name of the blog is Clover and Violet, and you can find them HERE.

OK, guess that's it for now.  I simply must put this computer down and get back to my list.  Hope you all have a good week.  I am soo excited for Melody's visit (they will be here Wed. afternoon...early!) and pray for safe travels for them, and that we might all be healthy during their visit.  Blessings to you all!  Debbie