The thrill of holding my Grand Babies

I arrived here in sunny California on Thursday morning and could barely wait to get to my sons house to see the twins. The minute I walked into the door and saw their tiny sweet faces I knew I was in love. OMG! So many of you Grandmothers have told me that I would experience and incredible and overwhelming feeling of love when I first saw them - it hit me in seconds. Little Evita and DeAngelo are just so precious - I plan on cherishing every minute I have with them for the next 3 weeks.

Thank you everyone for your well wishes and congratulations. Mommy & Daddy are do in great and I know they will be the best parents in the world to these two precious angels. AS soon as I come home I will be sure to share another picture.

My Grand Babies Are Here!

As most of you know I usually do not post personal things here on my blog but....... I just have to as I am so excited!

On Friday afternoon, May 8th, my beautiful grand babies made their appearance into the world! Little Evita Ceilo weighed in at 4.8 lbs and DeAngelo Cruz came in at 5.8 - both healthy and beautiful. Mommy Evy is doing great and daddy Jason is off the wall excited... he takes after his mother LOL!

I am leaving for California on Thursday and can hardly wait to hold these precious babies in my arms - to be a Nana is a dream come true! May I present to you DeAngelo, who looks exactly like his daddy and Evita, ever so petite and pretty like her mommy.

Yipee! Back to Crazy Quilting!!

Gerry's naked CQ Block

Now that the Retreat is over I find myself with lots of spare time on my hands. I think it's time to get back into the groove of doing something I love - Crazy Quilting.

Last month I started in my very first CQ RR with the CQI group (Crazy Quilt International) I was so excited to get started with this group as there is so much talent and tons to learn! My block is now out of my hands and will be worked on by 4 other crazy ladies.

The first block I received to work on was from Gerry - her CQ block foundation was made up of some beautiful olive green fabrics - silks, satins, etc. Since I was the first person to actually work on it you can bet I was nervous. Gerry asked that the picture of the little girls be framed out in flowers - sure hope what I did was what she was looking for. I really enjoyed mixing silk ribbon, beads, and various threads for the outcome.

COF 2009 Retreat - What a blast!

COF 2009 Retreat Gang:

WEW! After a year of planning the COF 2009 Retreat is over - what a blast! I'm still not rested from all the running around and fun I had and think another couple days of sleeping just might do the trick... after all, I've got grand babies coming in about two weeks or so and Nana Nicki has got to be alert!

In Front: Quiltingnewbie, L/R: LisaTX, NickiLee, Irish62, IThinkSew, Brinnsmom & Ely

All in all the the Retreat seems to have been a huge success . It was so much fun getting to see old friends and meeting some new ones that we had been chatting back and forth with over the past year on the HGTV board. The weather was absolutely fabulous - for New England in spring it rated A++! The days were in the high 70's-mid 80's and the evenings were warm enough to walk around without a jacket.

2009 FQ Fabric for Challenge:

My FQ Challenge Project: The idea was to use just ONE FQ of the Challenge fabric and no more. You could however add any other fabrics or items to make your project.

This FQ Project was made by Marina in Russia - this adorable sewing bag was won by Bluesnail for having the funniest FQ Project.... Hers was a purse with utters.

Between the Bingo, The FQ Challenge, the door prizes, the fabulous Trunk Shows by members of Retreat - Quiltbea, Quiltaholic and Shawkl, lots of beautiful quilts were shown. All the girls also brought along with them tons of awesome Show & Tell items. The little COF Boutique was full of pretty things and I did my share of buying.

The 2009 COF Committee: Quiltingnewbie, NickiLee, OwenJulesMommy, Auntie Reba, Ely and Mrs. C

The committee surprised me big time by presenting me with a beautiful new candy apple red Nikon camera! Thank you girls... Have I told you lately that "I LOVE MY NEW CAMERA!"

Prior to the Retreat a lot of ladies from the HGTV board sent me some of their selvages. I used them to make a mat to frame pictures taken at past Retreats.

The trip to Keepsakes was a blast! The bus ride was made more enjoyable by our own comedian - Quiltingnewbie....and she keeps telling me she is shy - LOL!!!! I don't think so! Between Keepsake Quilts and the awesome bead stores we visited, I think the HGTV gang left quite a bit of mula in NH!

This year I kinda slept around - LOL! First night I slept with Elaine, second night with Kathi, the 3rd night with LisaP8 and then... back to Kathi. I had the best roommates! Kathi - forever roommates - I just love you! We both have the same sick sense of humor - I'll never tell as long as you don't! LOL!!!!!! Can you hear me now?????

Personally, I would like to thank each and every lady who attended this years Retreat. Walking into that conference room on the first day was the biggest gift anyone could give themselves - lots of hugs, laughs, and conversations.... I just wish I had had more time. Thank you to all the committee members who worked so hard putting this together and making it so much fun - your support and friendship over the past year has been so much fun and I look forward to our mini Retreat at Christine's this summer - bring on the BBQ!!!

Quilting Retreat Time!

Yahoo! After a year of planning, the COF 2009 Retreat is here! 2 more days and a group of 70 quilters from the HGTV Quilting forum will descend upon Manchester, NH for 3 days of nonstop fun April 24-26th. These ladies come from all over the United States, 29 states are actually represented this year and one lady just flew in from Ireland!

Last year, while at the 2nd Annual Retreat in Houston, Texas, I was nominated to host this years' Retreat. I chose Manchester NH because it has a small airport and is so much easier than trying to get in/out of Boston and it's driving distance for at least 25 of the ladies. We are staying at a wonderful place called Highlander Inn which has both a Main hotel area along with a B&B. The B&B has been designated the sleeping quarters for the rowdy bunch (me included LOL!). 5 other ladies from RI, MA & NH formed the 2009 committee and have come up with some great ideas which will make for a lot of fun and laughter. In case I don't get to personally thank them in all the excitement and running around we'll be doing - Elaine, Ely, Carline, Christine, & Cheryl, THANK YOU for all your help and time that you have put into making this a wonderful time for all of us. You are the best and it has been fun working on this project with you! Oh, One other person I need to thank is my wonderful hubby Rob. He has put up with my stressing moments and my OH NO! moments throughout the past year. Always with a helping hand and ever so supportive. I've got the best dang Babe in the world!

Just a few of the many door prizes waiting to be won.

Three years ago the First annual COF Retreat was held in Minnesota, 2 years ago the 2nd COF Retreat was in Texas and now, this year we will be in Manchester, NH for the 3rd Annual COF Retreat. What started out as a little get together has grown into a wonderful little family of some fabulous women and great quilters. Some of the "newbies" to this years retreat are telling me that they are nervous - funny I was too when I went to my first one but within minutes of walking into a room full of hugs, you wonder why you ever stressed out. Most of these ladies have become dear friends to each other and are angels in a time of need and can joke and party with the best.

Every year the hosting Committee picks out a fabric that sorta represents the state that the Retreat is held in. This year, being NH, we picked out a fabric with cows (picture up in right corner) as NH has quite their share of cow farms. Each attendee is instructed to make something, anything. using the FQ. Only rule is you can only use 1 FQ of the particular fabric and no more - others fabrics can be used though. New to the line up this year is a T-Shirt Challenge. We were looking for something that would be a fun way to introduce ourselves and thought that by making a T-shirt representing the state/country you were from would be a great way! Plenty of prizes will be given out in both the FQ Challenge and T-Shirt Challenge. A few other surprise are planned too but I can't talk about them until after the Retreat. Also, we've planned Trunk show presentations, Bingo, A group project, and 16 different classes from Needle Applique, Machine Quilting, Binding, Crazy Quilting, Tatting, Redwork, Postcard & Inchies, Polymer Clay Faces to Shadow Applique and more. One of the real treats planned is a trip to Keepsake Quilting. I have a feeling that this quilt store is going to remember this group for a long time - I am so excited that so many of us will finally get to meet and play all under one roof...... 2 more days! Yahoo!

Crazy Quilt Motif Swap

Remember the lace motifs I made a couple weeks ago for a swap that I had signed up for with the CQI Group? Well the swap is over and my goodies finally came - I'm so excited! During the course of a month or so we were all teased with tons of pictures of all the pretties that were being submitted to the Swap Hostesses... every day I would see another pretty and say "Oh, I want one of those!" The talent that went into making each and everyone of these motifs is incredible! I received everything from SRE on silk, tatted snowflakes, baskets, stars and a seahorse!, beaded stars and cabochons, to embroidered ribbon and dyed lace to crocheted flower baskets & a heart... love them all! The nice thing about participating in a swap like this is you get a chance to see so many new techniques which, in turn, will push you into learning something new. I want to thank each and every lady for the awesome motifs I received in this swap and promise to do justice to all of them. Thank you and many thanks to our wonderful hostesses - I can't wait to do this again!

A pretty little Surprise!

Don't you just love surprises! Want to see something so precious and so pretty?

Recently I received a surprise in the mail from my new friend Pat ( birdnestontheground ) Pat had made a promise to herself to make something special once a month and send it to someone who had left a comment on her blog. Lucky me... I just received this gorgeous pincushion - and it's blue!! Thank you so much Pat - I love it and will cherish it always.

Crazy Quilt Mini Mermaid Block

Before:

I'm so excited! I finally finished my mini mermaid block and am happy to say "I love her" I had so much fun beading her up and embellishing the ocean theme. She measure 8.5 x 11 and if I can figure out a way to quilt/bind her I will use this as my first page in my monthly art journal project. I am naming this page "I wish I was a Mermaid"

After:

In the top right hand corner is a small piece of silk fabric (in purples) that I cut from a piece of silk that I had dyed about 10 years ago using resist. The piece measured about 24x24 and had been sitting in a box for years... might as well put it to use! Also in the right hand corner is a beaded fish that my dear friend Ely made for me. She knows how much I love the ocean and thought this fish would be great in one of my "ocean" themed CQ projects. Ely... it is the perfect touch! Along with some of my dyed laces, I added seashells, a beads. My friend Carolyn made me some awesome polymer clay shells - the starfish hidden amongst the seaweed.

My First Mini Quilt & Crazy Patch Postcards

Now that I'm back home from CA it seems the creative mojo has been full speed ahead. I just completed about 8 Crazy Patch postcards to use as Birthday cards as well as for a swap I'm in with ART4Mail. I wish I could have added more CQing to the postcards but with all the restrictions the post office seems to be enforcing ,I didn't want to get hammered paying mega bucks to send out a small PC. Used to be I could send one out for only .51 cents - lately they have been costing over a $1.00 each!

A friend of mine ordered one of my recycled cat food can pincushions. Julie wanted pinks & mauve so I created this one especially for her. Hmmm can you see a pattern here? I think I'm starting to really like working with the "pink" family LOL!

Also, I just completed my very first Mini Quilt for the HGTV Mini Swap. This quilt was made for Bluesnail. I really enjoyed making it as I got to use a fabric manipulation technique that I learned in a Quilting Class I took last year. Not only was this my very first mini quilt (which I see lots more in my future) but it was the first time I actually ever machine quilted anything and also the first time I ever made a Quilt Label. Bluesnail, I hope you like it as much as I enjoyed making it.

Babies & CQ Embellished Laces

Two weeks!? Where did it go? Seems like I just posted about my Naked Mermaid blocks and now I find that that post was two weeks ago! Guess you could say I've been really busy. Just got back home from a trip to CA to visit with my son Jason and DIL Evy. I don't normally write about personal things but I have to tell you just a little bit about this trip.

Not only did I get to feel my grand babies doing a little dance and kicking up a storm, I had the privilege of going to my DIL Evy's ultra sound appointment and got to see them. Little buggers were being shy so I didn't get to see their adorable faces this time but did on a previous CD. Have to admit little DeAngelo looks like his daddy and Evita looks like mommy. Only a couple more months and this world will be blessed with two new precious babies.

I've also been extremely busy planning the 3rd Annual COF Retreat for the ladies on the HGTV board. This time around we have 70 ladies flying in from all over the US.... it is going to be one wild time in Manchester, NH come April 24th! I have a feeling that the Highlander Inn will never be the same once we decend on it! The committee met at my house yesterday and had a very productive meeting. Things are right on schedule and if everything goes as planned, we will all have one fantastic time.

As for projects... well the only thing that I've actually completed in the past couple of weeks has been some embellished lace motifs that I just sent in for a swap that I am in. I've seen pictures of some of the items that the other participants have made to swap and am so excited about the surprises I'll be receiving back - what a great way to share in lots of different CQ creations..... I can't wait to receive my goodies back so that I can incorporate them into a block.

Mermaid CQ Block - All set to go!

I spent all day today working on my mermaid block and finally, after a couple mishaps and a few "dang I got to rip that out" moments, I'm finally happy with the end result. This actually has to be the largest block I have ever put together - it measures 22x24! I still have a few pieces of dyed lace and various embellishments to put in place and then this baby is ready to be mailed to Thearica for her to play with. I can't wait for this RR to get started as I know the 6 of us involved are going to have a blast... Ready or not... here she comes!

Since I had tons of blue fabrics out and and extra mermaid already printed out on fabric, I decided to make my first page for the Art Journal Challenge I just signed up for with the HGTV girls. I'm really looking forward to this Challenge as it is not a swap but a personal challenge to create a 8.5 x 11 block each month for the next year. Each block can be made in any medium, using any technique(s). Since I love the ocean, the color blue, mermaids and CQ I figured what better way to start off my journal. I have lots of ideas for embellishing this block - going to try a couple new technique and maybe add some verbiage to it. I have been wanting to do this for a few years now and thanks to Geniebird for hosting this Challenge, I am finally getting of my tush and getting this project started.

Naked CQ Mermaid Goodies

For the next 5-6 months I am going to be swimming with the mermaids. Yep... I love the ocean, I love the color blue and most of all I love CQ. Myself, along with 5 other very talented ladies have decided on a mermaid themed CQ RR. I have gathered all my goodies and still have to find a few more hidden treasures I know I've stashed somewhere to get started. I've got my images and fabrics all laid out and hope to start putting my block together tonight. I think I will make my block about 20 x22 as I have the prefect frame for it already in mind. Mailing date is February 28th so I still have some time to design the layout. I know these ladies are going to be creating some fabulous magic on it and I can't wait!

Crazy Quilt Needle Book/Sewing Cases

Have you ever made something that you just didn't want to give up? Maybe be a little selfish and keep for yourself? Come on... I know you have LOL! I just completed 3 needle books/sewing cases that were commissioned and had to say goodbye to them. As I was wrapping them up for the mail, I kept thinking... why can't I just keep one for me? I am very pleased with the way all three of these came out an hope that the recipients like them too. Not quite sure which one is my favorite as I really love all of them. I loved stepping out of my color zones once again by using pink and purple fabrics. Who knows.... maybe the next time around I'll actually try making something in just yellows or oranges.

Naked CQ Blocks

I'm on a roll! Yesterday while lugging up about 6 boxes of fabric from my basement (due to a hot water tank letting go and a flood!) I decided that since I already had my sewing machine set up on the dining room table I might as well make use of having all that fabric and machine together in one place. Even after having my studio built for all my sewing , I still like to sit in the dining room and sew.... go figure.

So.... What's a crazy girl to do? With boxes of colors and fabric choices - silks, satins, brocades, velvets. damask.... the fabric started to fly. Turned up my Higher Octave CD and let my mind wander back to the day I had heard that music for the first time. I was in Costa Rica a few years ago where the world was full of beautiful colors and scenery. The different shades of blues I pulled together represent the beautiful ocean and sky ; the vibrant reds, pinks and purples were the gorgeous flowers that are found all over the island. You can tell where my mind is - out of this snowy and cold winter here in Massachusetts!

Hmmmm...I'm wondering... is there a market out there for Naked CQ Blocks? LOL! I love putting them together and find it extremely relaxing. I actually finished 13 blocks in one day so now I need to find the time to start the fun part of embellishing them. Most of these blocks will be used for needle books, sewing cases, possibly a purse and maybe a pillow or two. I started working on a purple needle book last night for a friend and have to admit, I really enjoyed working with another color pallet other than blue. I hope to take before and after pictures as I complete each project ....LOL! We'll see how long this takes!

CQ Mini Baby Quilties

For the next few months I think I am going to have babies on the brain! I recently signed up for a Baby Quilties swap with the ART4Mail Group on Yahoo. We were to make 6" Quilties depicting a baby theme. These quilties will be used for baby journals or might even be framed. Since I've finally completed my three, I am off to make some for my grand babies.