Back From New York

I can't tell you how much fun I had with my hubby and son in New York. We were there for 6 days and we did something every single day. I knew I was going to walk and be on the Subway trains but my body must have gone into shock because I wanted to crawl home the first night. I was so tired from the walking, running to catch trains and climbing stairs. It's so much easier to just get in your car and go :) We met up with my son's girlfriend  at Lambardi's Pizzeria, who has excellent pizza by the way. I loved walking through Little Italy with it's outdoor cafe's and restaurants. I swear I heard the Godfather talking at a table. We went to see Wicked and it was fantastic and we loved every moment of it. We went to the Statue Of Liberty and ate hot dogs on the grounds. Those were the best hot dogs or I was just very hungry. We went to the Natural History Museum and loved seeing the big blue whale.
As a sewer though I was in heaven while walking the Garment District and seeing store after store of fabric, trims, buttons, ribbons, and jewelry supplies. I just loved being there. I wanted to go to The City Quilter quilt store but the day we chose to go it was closed. Bummer! We walked blocks and blocks to get to, Purl, another yarn/quilt store. They only had about half a wall of fabric and it was so different to the quilt fabric I'm used to seeing in TX. After all that walking in the drizzle I had to buy something so I bought some very pretty and VERY expensive ($19 a yard) two yards of fabric. I also bought a panel of some very very cute paper doll fabric that was $12 a panel. Oh yea, and today my cousin from Illinois tells me she had just found the same fabric for $6.50 a panel, but hey, I got mine in NYC. LOL. Oh, I also got to go to Carlo's Bakery in Hoboken, you know, the guy with the cake reality show. Their cookies and cupcakes are so so good.

TWO MORE DAYS

Two more days and hubby and I will be in NYC. I'm so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bought Another Camera

Remember when I told you guys about losing my camera back during the Christmas holidays? Well, I never found my beloved camera and I went 4 months without a good camera. I had to take pictures with a cheap little digital that I wasn't crazy about. I decided to just get another one exactly like the one I lost which was a Panasonic Lumix FZ18. I can't tell you how much I like that camera. It has so many features at a very reasonable price. Three years ago I got my first one and back then I paid $399 for it. It's still $399 but luckily I found it on line for $250. YAY, I'm so happy! I just got it yesterday and I'm ready to take pictures in NYC. I'm gonna have to have it strapped to my neck the whole time I go out when I go out on the town so I won't lose it. I also hope to make a trip to Carlos Bakery in Holboken, New Jersey. He's the guy who has the cake show and he's got a crazy sister who works with him. I want to make it to the garment district and check out some of the fabric stores.

Beautiful Threads

There are some beautiful threads,fabric and other goodies at http://cathyscrazybydesign.blogspot.com/2010/04/200th-post-giveaway-finally.html and I am so glad I found that blog. Love that crazy quilting but don't know which is easier hand crazy quilting or machine hand quilting.

Getting Ready For New York

I am so looking forward to going to NY to visit with my son. I'm not looking forward to all the walking he said I'm going to do though. My back is going to be crying. I have my heating pad and Aspercreme ready to go. I'm suppose to be going to the dentist to have a tooth pulled on Monday so hopefully I'll be healed and ready in two weeks. I'll have it replaced when I come back home. We'll see where my son takes hubby and I. He said he would try and get tickets for the broad way show Wicked. I sure hope he does. I am also looking up quilting stores in NYC and Jersey City, although I can't imagine the fabric prices in NY. Ouch.
Quilting is going steady with me hand sewing the binding on the small quilt. I chose a yellow fabric with little bees. I usually choose dark bindings for my quilts but this time I chose a light yellow, which to me says,"Baby Girl". I'll post pictures from NYC.

Finished Quilting On Second Dick&Jane Quilt

I actually finished the quilting on the second Dick&Jane girl quilt today. In one day, I like that! The quilt top always looked very simple to me, but  the quilting design gives it a lot of personality. I'm so glad I chose that design. I did mark the design because it was my first machine quilted quilt. Marking it did take time and so did the pinning. I hate pinning! But it was all worth it. I would rather pin than thread baste that's for sure. I did make some mistakes, like messing up on a couple stitches when I was sewing but you can't really see them with the busy fabric, which is why I chose a flower print for the backing. I'm not stupid LOL.  Tomorrow, I'll be putting on the binding, but I haven't decided if I'm going to sew it on by hand or machine.

Another Dick and Jane Girl Quilt

My hubby and I will be having a quiet Easter at home being very grateful for the good health of our family and ourselves. I will be starting the quilting on another baby quilt I made with some left over Dick and Jane blocks. I was having a hard time deciding on what quilting design to use and didn't want to take a chance on free motion quilting since I've never done it before. I have been a hand quilter for 30 years and find it very hard to machine quilt. I know I can do it and am sure i can do a good job because I've been sewing since  for 35 years. It's more of a mental thing. I'm so used to the quietness and mental therapy hand quilting gives me. Anyway, I decided on a design I saw in a book I checked out from the library and   made a template from poster board so we'll see how that works for me. I will be using a cotton backing even though I prefer a flannel backing for a baby quilt but I don't know if the flannel  would drag when I'm quilting it with the free motion quilting foot instead of the walking foot. Oh, and I'll be doing the design vertically instead of diagonally.  I'm still going to hand quilt but I want to finish more quilts and the only way to go is machine quilting. I really am behind the times aren't I! LOL