LUCKY ME!

                Look what I won!!  This came in the mail yesterday!!
I had left a comment on Tina's blog "(Peacefully Knitting") that I liked that little lacey shawl and I was chosen as the winner of this lovely book.  
(Mary and Rosemary--this book is fabulous!!)
AND......

And, when I opened the package I saw this yummy skein of yarn she included as an extra gift to make my lace project with...how generous ;-))))
AND
the latest issue of Knits magazine...

(Sorry for glarey photo!!) which has some stunning knits inside.
I saw a vest and a cardi that are just my style....



Thank you so much, Tina--I will be reading (and drooling over lol)
 the patterns for those beautiful shawls and winding off my new yarn
 in that gorgeous avocado colorway....

It is raining here this morning, after thunder and lightning storms passed over us from about 3 am on....so I am awake early today.  It is our day to go to our local BJ's and stock up....so, maybe a little time in my sewing room later
on....

Hugs to all
Julierose La Blageuse (thankful-euse) 

MONDAY MEANDERINGS

This is all done

In the midst of this right now--trimming up to 10.5"

I have all the green/aqua blocks trimmed and have decided not to sash them with white strips,
but rather set them against each other--two rows of green, two of pink and two of purple
bordered by the lavender fabric I (caved in!!) ordered online....

FYI: for you walkers out there:
I went to our boardwalk and did 40 minutes (I have only been doing 20 minutes on our treadmill up to today,, so progress)--while (poor) DH went up to his PT for his pinched nerve problem.  He will go again Wed and next Mon--then he will get the lumbar epidural shot on the 29th...we are hoping for the best results....

These wildflowers are blooming just off our deck--the scent is amazing--enveloping us as we sit out there....in our own little Land of the Lotus Eaters....

Hugs to you all
Julierose, La blageuse (seweuse, knit-euse)

DAGNABBIT!!

I am getting re-acquainted with "Jack, the Seam Ripper" (lol  Jeanna!!)

I have resigned myself to taking off EVERY ONE of those white outer strips....
as I handle them, they are raveling even more on the unsewn edges....
(&*$#%!!!) etc etc....Beware folks, this is a total vent post  
:--000

I was wondering what my Summer hand work would be...well here she is!!

THIRTY-EIGHT stinkin' blocks...plus these below already sewn together
 in rows!!

I have done one row this afternoon=-ing 4 blocks--hello neck ache!!
(or is it pain-in-the-neck???)

at least i found my little sharp ripper...my other one is all rusted out--
let's not go down that road...

As a present for making, what, in my heart of hearts, I
KNOW is the right and most likely 
the ONLY decision--I am treating myself to a piece of this:

My own homemade, baby, apple pie...I found the recipe on "Desserts For Two"
blog and decided I NEEDED a piece of apple goodness.....

Hugs from Kooky-monga-rip-it land...

Julierose, La Blaguese (rip rip rip-euse)....

BEWITCHED, BOTHERED AND BEWILDERED

So....here are the first four of Cassidy's blocks sewn in a horizontal row....
Aren't they pretty???

Well, that looks pretty good, I'm thinking....(so without putting the next three
rows up on my wall) I mean, I could fudge the "leetle" bit of differences...ya know??

so, I sewed the rows WITHOUT placing them up on the wall .....(hmmmm)

Now, if you follow my blog, you know how upset I was (am) with those white strips being wonky, uneven and raveling..... (sigh!!) 
and I stated that I would butt them up against the straight
 edge of the 2.5" strips....right???

this is what it looks like now...

really, really  pretty fabrics right?? 
BUT, there is a gremlin lurking   .....
can you spot the problem????

Here and

Here and even more so.....

H E R E!  Aaargh!

Nothing is matching--I saw on the Youtube MSQ video-- comments how if you sewed a strip on the left and bottom of all the squares 
it would be easier to, well....to
match the seams....well, then again, maybe not....;(((((

Right now, only horizontal rows are sewn...two more to go.  I am not a seam ripper-outer...just not!!

 And there is just so much fudge-ability (this is a definite word in my quilting dictionary apparently! ;000)

sooo, I really am at an impasse here....
any suggestions--other than ripping out??? 

I was thinking maybe putting a 2.5" lavender strip in between rows (but no plain lavender in my stash!!) 

so here I find myself:

 "bewitched" by the video of MSQ,

"bothered" by wonky strips they recommended and i bought; 

and "bewildered" as to how to F I X this....

Because I L O V E this fabric...and have none left either...

I remain your (very )humbled quilter
Julierose, la Blageuse-in wonkyland

CHRISTMAS MEMORIES ALBUM

Two pages to begin my Christmas album--using some of the very few photos I took of our children --Candice (L) and Jeffrey (R)--back then there were no digital cameras and film and cameras were an expense for us.  So these photos are very precious and for that reason I wanted to include them in this album.

Our next-door neighbor, Ernie-- dressed as Santa-- came over on Christmas Eve to talk with Candice--(Ernie and Pam, our neighbors,  had no children 
at that time and were totally besotted with Candice ;--)))
 --this was in 1969...

AND.... as you can see, I was VERY preggers with Jeff at that time..he was born Feb. 25th with Pam as the attendant Nurse--how lucky was that!!). 

Candice is holding her favorite dolly--Suzie-- in the upper picture and in the lower one, my Mom and Dad are giving her a Raggedy Ann.

 In some ways this time seems very long ago and in others not so much...time has a funny way of expanding and contracting for me lately --
I think because I am working with these older snapshots 
and journaling a bit for each page.... 

On these two pages I am trying out the layering clusters that I studied in my online class....

and...here is Jeffrey on Christmas morning in 1971, in our first house,
opening  his gifts ...don't you just love those footed sleepers? 

At this point, he had not as yet begun to talk and did a lot of pointing .... 
he was the BEST and easiest baby...so good-natured and happy...
he would sit on my lap and cuddle for hours....how sweet....

These two pages will be a double spread right at the start of my Album;
I  plan on using different prompts to include some old pix of 
myself, Mom and Dad, and Thom (dh)--
these are few and far between as no one was especially
 picture happy like we tend to be today....

I have taken out Cassidy's quilt blocks and am arranging them
 in sewing order--
maybe this week I will begin to sew the rows...
Time to set up Helga for sewing on fabrics once more--whe is very
versatile that way (ROTFLOL)

Tonight is Thom's spaghetti sauce extraordinaire!! Yum!!;--))
 So...
no cooking for me...good thing, as I am finding myself a bit slow
and feeling tired today...
a bit concerned with some issues we are
facing--BUT..so it goes 
and I am enjoying each lovely day as it comes....

hugs to you all from my sunny, windy home..
Julierose, La Blageuse (scrap-euse)

P.S.  You will be seeing a new gmail address for contacting me :
pyanorose@gmail.com--hoping that this will solve the problem
 of my comments not showing up in your emails...
please let me know if you don't get them....thanks ;--000

CHRISTMAS JOURNAL PREP

                              Here are two little cards I made for my Christmas Journal this year....

I am preparing my Journal by decorating  the 3x4 cards and leaving the 4x6 slots open for my photos.... and journaling memories....


AND, AS USUAL----waaay ahead of time

-(if you follow my blog you will recall that I am not good with any rushed or last minute "makings"--quilts, paper crafts or knitting...) .....

The past few years have been pretty stressful so, we haven't even put up a tree or any decorations and I feel now that I have somehow lost my ability to find JOY in Christmas..

So, with that in mind, I enrolled in an online class called "Journal Your Christmas" presented by
Shimelle.
AND........I just found myself loving it...and although my efforts do not in any way resemble her
style, she has re-kindled my desire to scrapbook our Christmas. ( I highly recommend her classes--they are amazing...)

Long ago, I had handmade tags using this style and decided to incorporate it into my journal
this year.........

                                 Two Snow Queens--(stamped, pinked, decorated and glued....
                                    I will be sewing on them after they are totally dry...)

My quilting brain is resting a bit for now;
and,
 my HELGA has been transformed into a paper sewing machine  for the time being .....

In other news.....
This morning, in keeping with my lifelong effort to lose weight, I managed a 25 minute walk on our treadmill--inside-- only because it is very windy here and the pollen is terrible--for it is a lovely sunny day....

Tonight is homemade chicken soup and a tossed salad--for a meal on the lighter side....

I hope you are enjoying this lovely weather....
hugs to all
Julierose, La Blageuse (scrap-euse) ;--))))

THURSDAY'S THIRTY MINUTES

Border fabric: starched, ironed twice, cut to 3" strips....for my
newly titled :
"PS, I Love You" quilt  (PS for postage stamp) 

I am happy with how this French language fabric 
edges the multi-scrappy blocks...
(this piece is way too large to get into a photo in my room--
so here is right side);

 and

Left side --
this print goes with it all--now to haul it down and sew it
                                            E V E N L Y!! ;000

Trying to finish this one and two others....more later, stay tuned.....

It's only 63 degrees here and  with windchill feels like 58--
pretty cold for June!!
Holding off on any planting...will cover my basil tonight...

hugs, Julierose, La Blageuse