Quiltin' Sistas Retreat

 
I just got back from an amazing 5 days in the Okanagan, for our First Annual Quilting Retreat in Oliver!  Shirley and I had dreamed of doing this for awhile so we finally made it happen.  The two of us signed up to do our first Mystery Quilt, so the plan was to go to the local quilting shop to choose our fabrics together and then start working on it all weekend.    

 A gorgeous Fall day in Summerland

I drove out to West Kelowna bright and early on Friday morning and made it to Peachland for lunch.  I had a few hours to kill before Shirl got home from work so I went to the Blind Angler for a burger, then walked along the lake for awhile.  It was gorgeous Fall day!  Warm, bright... so beautiful.  Once Shirl got home, we packed up and were out the door by 4:30.  We stopped for dinner at the Falls Restaurant, in OK Falls.  Fabulous Chinese food and the place was packed... it's also pretty much the only place in town to eat besides the pub across the road.

A crisp evening - on the patio enjoying a glass of wine

The sun's coming up in Oliver

We made it to our B&B by 7 pm, and the owner was there to greet us.  It was located in the hills overlooking the vineyards in Oliver and it was perfect.... honestly, amazing place!  We totally lucked out on this place and will definitely be going back each year!  I loved that it was outside of town so it was super quiet and peaceful with a gorgeous view.  The first night we cozied up in our blankies and sat outside on the patio with our glass of wine.  (We even had a fire one evening.)


Saturday we were up bright and early and got to the quilting store before 10:00 so we could choose our fabrics for our Border Creek Mystery Quilt.  We were GIDDY!! Michelle, the owner of the store, was expecting us and luckily there were no other customers in the store.  We had her all to ourselves and she was super helpful in choosing our fabrics.  Shirl had hers chosen in about 20 minutes!  We were surprised - we thought it would be more difficult.  But the nice thing about Michelle is that she totally knows what she has and can zone in on what works immediately.  And it's not a huge store so it wasn't overwhelming.   My quilt choice was equally easy because I decided that I liked the recommended mystery quilt colours so I only had to coordinate a few fabrics to complete my stash.   We're both pretty excited to start working on our quilts, and it'll be fun to see how the mystery begins to reveal itself.  Hopefully we don't hate our quilts!  I doubt it.... :-)

We were finished at the quilting store so quickly that we were back in our jammies by 11:15 am!  Let the quilting begin!!

2 days of work... hard to believe!

Ironing and enjoying the view

 

So this is pretty much what we did for the rest of the weekend.... got up early, quilted, drank coffee, ate gourmet (frozen) pizza, Mr. Noodles and Cheetos.... and drank wine of course.  (Oh, and I 'may' have had a minor quilting meltdown/tantrum... all part of the experience.  Sorry Betty!  So much for trying to recruit her to the quilting world)  Oh yeah, so Shirl's BFF, Betty, came to join us for a night which was alot of fun.  I just love her for putting up with us, what can I say??  Being with sisters is not for the faint of heart... haha.  It was such a perfect weekend.  It was really the first time Shirl and I have ever spent time together, without our families, so it was a long overdue vacation. 

Eventually we had to go home.  :-( 

After we left the B&B we headed to a few wineries in Oliver (my favourite winery (EVER!) was CLOSED that particular day... total fluke bad luck... wah) and then went with Mike to another winery in West Kelowna later that afternoon.   It was great to hang out with Mike for awhile that evening, and then I was off bright and early on Tuesday to head home.  So sad to leave.  By the time I hit IKEA, all the "zen" had left my body as I battled traffic, getting lost and being in a building with a million other shoppers.  (Have you ever noticed that, no matter which direction you go in that store, you're always going against traffic??)  I made it back to the ferry and was home by 8 pm.


An awesome weekend.  Love you, my Quiltin' Sista!  We are soooo doing this next year!!

California Road Trip!!

This is for you, Shirl!!  No journalling, just alot of photos for you to check out!  Enjoy.

A free slideshow by Smilebox

More quilting news...

Last Saturday I dragged Cameron and Ruby to the quilting store in Cordova Bay, on the hunt for background fabric for his quilt.  We arrived at 3:50 pm and the door was locked, even though it said they were open until 5:30 pm.... After a few minutes of thinking to myself "Wha??" I ended up banging on the door to get the woman's attention (who was clearly ignoring me).  She finally let me in after realizing that she had the wrong time on her clock... she had closed up the till and was heading out the back door when we arrived! Seriously??  Then she proceeded to ignore me again while she re-opened the till.  Um, hello?  Can we get some help here?  It was basically a waste of time for both of us because they had absolutely nothing in the store that worked for me.  Again.  I'm so done with them.  I tried to "support the locals" but this isn't the first time I've had issues with this store.  The last time I went there, another employee miscalculated how much fabric I needed so I had to go back the next day.

So when I was at the quilting show last month, I realized Victoria has a quilting store that I had never heard of before.  So a couple of days ago I thought I would check them out.  They are located in an industrial area, in an odd building which shares a parking lot with the gravel yard. So there are big dump trucks coming and going and you have to get out of their way... they stop for no-one.  So anyway, I was completely caught off guard and wasn't expecting what I saw when I walked in the door... QUILTER'S HEAVEN!!!  Oh. My. Word.  Bolts and bolts of fabric everywhere, stuffed wherever there was room, like a warehouse.  A small warehouse but it was awesome!  It reminded me of Mook Fabrics in Medicine Hat - no frills, nothing fancy, but scads and scads of gorgeous fabrics!!  And helpful staff who actually know what they are talking about.  Imagine that!!  I was so happy.  Sigh.

I found my background fabric... woot woot!  And I changed my design for Cameron's quilt because the other idea was going to be too finnicky and tedious.  So the block when from this:

To this:

I think it looks much better.. it's a more defined pattern (not as random as the first one) and it's way easier too, which is a bonus.  Also, I was lucky to find a pattern that uses 4 strips of fabrics sewn together, which is what I had already started doing for the original pattern.  Yay!!

Now, if I could only bring my sewing machine on our road trip, I could get this quilt done lickety-split!!

Say NO to Quilt Guilt

After 3 years (or more?), Simon's quilt is finally done and on his bed where it belongs!

I ended up getting some "help" in finishing Simon's quilt, but I am so pleased with the end result!  After I spent countless days/months stressing about how I was going to quilt it on my machine, I finally let go of the guilt and sent it off to be long-arm quilted.  I found a lovely woman (www.quiltasdesired.com) in Dean Park to finish it for me and she did an amazing job!  She even put a rush on it so it would be done by Simon's 12th Birthday - bless her!  Simon was thrilled, I was thrilled, she was thrilled that Simon was thrilled... a win win!!  YAY! 

I've already started on Cameron's quilt.  I bought a Batik jelly roll from a recent quilting show in Victoria.  Love the colours!!  But I'm not sure if I love the pattern I chose... it may be too random??  It's a "3 Dudes Quilting" jelly roll quilt pattern that I found from the Missouri Star Quilt Company.  They have a bunch of really cool UTube videos for jelly roll quilts.  Anyway, I've started sewing my strips together already so I don't think I can change my mind anymore.  I'm sure it will be fine! If anything, it's easy enough that I should have it done quicker than 3 years from now!! :-)

Lent

Yesterday, we were challenged at church to give up something for Lent... not a new concept of course, but something I've never really done. We were to write it down on a little piece of paper, to be stuck to a tree/branch at the front of the church. So, not wanting to feel left out of the process, I marched up to the front and wrote one simple word on my little piece of paper... Facebook. It was the first thing I thought of. How hard could it be, after all?? It's not like I wrote down "coffee"... or "wine" for that matter.

It's been less than 24 hours and I am in the sweats/shakes stage of withdrawal. (And I blame Pastor David :-)) Ah.... maybe just a little tiny peak to see what's going on, see what my friends are doing over Spring Break.... it's killing me. People rely on me being there, always available to post something or respond. What if I miss out on a fun Spring Break daytrip invitation or something?? My poor kids! Everyone will think I'm ignoring them... or maybe something tragic has happened to me if I don't update my status!!


So what's the point of this anyway?? Here's the point... Lent is a time when many Christians prepare for Easter by observing a period of fasting, repentance, moderation and spiritual discipline. The purpose is to set aside time for reflection on Jesus Christ - his suffering and his sacrifice, his life, death, burial and resurrection.

And I guess it's working. I've thought about Jesus and what he's done for me, several times over this 24 hour period. way more than I would normally, I confess. I've also worked on my quilt, cleaned my kitchen, made a double batch of muffins... blogged!

I think the discomfort of feeling like I'm disconnected from my Facebook world is a good thing. I still have email, a PHONE!! So if you're reading this and wonder where I am... I am here doing more productive things with my time. I'm off to Parksville with the kids for a few days with our friends. I'm looking forward to it so much! Time to enjoy the simple pleasures in life... great friends, the gorgeous beach, sunshine, games, books, food. And no Facebook.  I'll keep you posted on my withdrawal symptoms.

Creative Juices

I have a new obsession... wait for it.... I'm addicted to Paint by Numbers!! I know it sounds a bit crazy (and juvenile perhaps?) but I am seriously in love with my new hobby. Over Christmas, Ruby and I decided to buy PBN from Michaels, and since then we've spent hours and hours happily painting. It made all that Olympic-watching more guilt-free because we were actually "doing something" while glued to the TV. I finished my first one and Ruby is almost done hers... she's been commissioned by her Auntie Shirley so Ruby's expecting to get big bucks for her artistic talents! (I think the last time they negotiated, Ruby went from $5 to "40 Bucks"!! It sounds funny when a 6 year old says "bucks"... I don't know why)

And once I got addicted... well, it was important to get some friends involved!! I now have 2 buddies that are into it as well, and we get together after we drop the kids off from school and drink coffee, gab and paint!! What a great way to waste a morning!

The second one I chose is significantly harder but I am loving it so far! (I noticed after I took the photo that the remote control was sitting right next to me - not staged! :) You will also usually find a coffee cup or wine glass next to me as well, depending on the time of day!


I'm also happy to report that I am getting closer to finishing Simon's quilt. Thanks to Shirl's moral support and motivation, she helped me finish the blocks while she was visiting a couple of weeks ago. Here's the top, all done and waiting to be "sandwiched". I'm seriously afraid of the sandwiching process so I've been avoiding it. I've also never machine-quilted a project this large so I am worried about how that's going to play out. The backing fabric is currently in the dryer, pre-shrinking. I need my sister to come back so she can motivate me to continue!! We've actually talked about meeting up at Harrison Hot Springs with our sewing machines and having our own quilting retreat sometime. But in the meantime, I have to be a big girl and do this myself!! Woot woot... go me!

(P.S. Just realized that the girl from Fabric-crappy-Land didn't cut me enough fabric for the backing..... ARGH!! I am so very unhappy right now. Why do people who don't know what they are doing, work there?? Next time I will have to figure out the math and not assume they know what they are talking about. Blah. Now I have to figure out a creative solution for the back (aka: wing it and scrap something together. Shirl, are you there?? Save me.)

Yo Yo!!

Yes, it's true. I'm a giant Yoyo....

Here's my confession: I have gained 30 pounds in one year. Last year at this time, I was just getting home from a beach vacation and looking and feeling great. But then I got off the plane and immediately the dreaded gloom of January smacked me in the face. Hard. Really hard.

So I basically ate my way through the worst month of the year (in my opinion), and perhaps had too many glasses of vino while sitting on my couch, by the fire, eating chips. Perhaps! :-) Anyway, the crappy eating/no exercise spilled into February, then March, then the world got brighter and I celebrated by eating! And then my favourite time arrived... Summer!! Sunny skies, warmth, vacations, camping, road trips... happy hour! Anyway, you get the point.

And now I am walking around in stretchy pants and long tunic tops every day because my clothes don't fit. And I mean, REALLY don't fit. So once again I am trying to lose the weight again so I can fit into my clothes. Again. (I think I'm using that word too much, but AGAIN!! seems to be the theme here.)

I dusted off my Jillian Michaels "90 Day Body Revolution" DVD program, which I know w gets good results because I've done it before. The great thing about this program is that it's only 30 minutes of exercise every day for 6 days... 30 minutes of really intense "you may cry occasionally and get sweat dripping into your eyes" kind of workout. And I love it!! I love it even more that my buddy Stacey, has decided to join me most mornings. And that has been super helpful and motivating for me. We are almost done week #2 and feeling great! YAY TEAM B.S.!!! (I also have an annual pass to the Rec. Centre which I am using fairly regularly, to go on the treadmill and read my book.)

Okay, so now I have my exercise routine back on track and I'm actually enjoying it most days. But for me, the hardest part is getting my eating under control. I am a grazer who, unfortunately, has access to a fully stocked fridge and pantry all day. Not good. But I'm working on it with the help of MyfitnessPal.com. It's a free online program where you can track your food and exercise so you can keep track of what you are stuffing into your face. So for the last 10 days I've been logging everything and it's been pretty helpful.

So... have I lost any weight?? Nope. I think I've actually gained 2 pounds. Seriously! But I will not be discouraged. I will keep plugging away!! This weight thing has been a constant battle for as long as I can remember. I go up. I go down. I go up again. My goal is to find out why I am a big Yo Yo and to find a way to get back on the wagon before I turn into a stuffed sausage who can't do up her coat!!

And before I get on my workout gear and get sweaty this morning, I feel the need to say this.... and it's important to remind myself of this: It doesn't matter what size I am. I don't need to be a single-digit girl. If I stayed a size 16 for the rest of my life - and actually maintained that - and I was eating healthy, exercising and felt good about myself... so be it! That's okay. But this up/down thing is ridiculous and not healthy. I am not healthy. I am not happy about it.

Okay, I am done with this rambling post. Gotta go, I have a date with Stacey and "Jillian"!

My List!!

Wow, it's been a long time since I've blogged! This is going to be a quick, random kind of post, with the intention to write down my "To Do" list for 2014.

I'm not really into making new year's resolutions but it is good to think about what I want to accomplish this year... and put it down on "paper" so I don't forget! :-) So, in no particular order, here is my list (and it's definitely a work in progress... I'm sure I'll forget many things!!)

1. Make a Photo Book of our trip to Hawaii
2. Make a Photo Book of our Road Trip (Summer 2013)
3. Organize School Photos into albums for each child. Just stick them in a book!
4. Finish Simon's quilt
5. Scrapbook more!
6. Lose 25 pounds!! Again.(Seriously, why must it be "again"?? You big Yo Yo!)
7. Organize my side of the walk-in closet
8. Research renovations for upstairs playroom... come up with a plan for the boys.
9.
10.
11.
12.

As you can see, it's a work in progress. I'm sure I will add a few more things to the list as I go along, or as I think of them. I am trying to put a list together that is achievable....

Right now I am currently working on #1, #4 and #6. Not bad for a dreary January!!

Anyway, just posting this to remind myself what I want to accomplish this year. Hit "POST"!! Done.