Scrappy Pincushion Swap

I can't believe what the postman brought today! Remember the Scrappy Pincushion Swap I joined at flickr?

Jess (who blogs at hectic household) has blown me away today with not one, not two, not three, but six amazing pincushions!

An adorable owl, 

a fabulous rooster, 

an amazing star,

(and yes, that's all patchwork),

and three bright and fun patchwork pincushions!

Jess, I LOVE THEM!

From the very bottom of my heart, thank you, thank you, thank you!

Turquoise Obsession

I've always loved a beautiful robin's egg blue or dreamy Tiffany blue, but it seems that right now, turquoise is everywhere! Inspired by House of Turquoise, I decided I want to paint my kitchen island in the new house, turquoise. I didn't have any trouble convincing the hubby either.

I've been trying to pick a paint color for the sewing room, so Shea and I went paint color shopping. Now she wants to paint her bathroom turquoise and I want to paint the laundry room turquoise.

I looked around the house for my favorite shades of turquoise; above are just a few. I'm matching them to paint colors and trying to decide what color to put where. I don't want to go overboard, but paint is such an easy and inexpensive way to decorate and you can paint over it when you are tired of the color. My only problem now is that I want to paint my bedroom in turquoise, and my console table in turquoise, and the armoire in my bedroom in turquoise, and my quilt rack in turquoise, and the inside of my bookshelves in turquoise, and my...

Too much of a good thing?

A wonderful weekend!

The retreat was wonderful! I worked on a number of projects, but they are still packed in the car. Once I get everything unpacked, I'll photograph and share.

We stayed in a large Victorian house built in 1890. The sewing cottage was in a separate building. There was lots of sewing, lots of talking, lots of eating, and the iced tea flowed all weekend. Lisa was our ingenious inventor*, Gina (who really needs to get that blog started) was our amazing chef, Jamie was our super-sewer who cut and pieced an entire king sized quilt, Michelle was our go-to girl (and fellow aspirin-chewer* who let me test drive her 440QE), Monica shared her adorable baby boy with us, Amanda kept the cottage bright with her gorgeous blocks on the design wall, and Ellen made some great progress on a beautiful Nest quilt. Everyone worked on gorgeous projects and it was such fun to have the help, support, and opinions of others.

It was like a three-night slumber party. I even had to hide my toothbrush*. We stayed up way past our bedtimes, talked about fabrics we are going to design*, recipes we'd like to share, and various other girly topics I won't mention in mixed company. I didn't really get an abundance of sewing done, but the company and conversation alone made the weekend. I have no regrets (other than maybe sobbing in the parking lot at the tire store*). I don't remember laughing so hard or so much in a long, long time. My cheeks and abs are sore from so much laughter, but maybe the constant laughter burned off some of the delicious calories I consumed! I'll be counting the days until we do it again, girls!

While I was gone, the house got some more brick, trim and tile. I'm so anxious to move! That's my sewing room over on the far right. I'm going to have a fabulous birdwatching spot under that pecan tree.

Last night, we joined our family to celebrate my Papaw's 91st birthday. I always love being with my family. We have so much fun catching up and teasing one another.

I think a great time was had by all. The perfect ending to a wonderful weekend!

* Sorry, you had to be there.

My, how time flies.

That little break was unintentional. You know that kind of busy that keeps your head spinning but at the end of the day you feel like you have nothing to show for it? That's what my last couple of weeks have been like.

Those house is coming along nicely.  We have...

a front door (which was hung today),

trim, crown moulding, and baseboard (this is the master bedroom),

and coolest of all, some brick!
The house is L-shaped and this is inside the L in the back. 

We finalized our paint colors tonight.  By the end of the week, we should have painted walls, cabinets, completed trim, brick on all sides, and maybe some tile. I'm so excited! But, I'm going to miss all of this progress, because I'm leaving town.

I'm joining seven fellow Dallas Modern Quilt Guild members for a quilting retreat! We'll be coming from all areas of the metroplex (the Dallas-Fort Worth area) to meet in an old Victorian house for four days of quilting and sewing! I've never done anything like this before, so I have no idea how much to take. I'm afraid I'm taking too much. I'll be that car on the freeway with my tailpipe sparking as it drags along the ground and you won't be able to see in the back window because the car is full of stuff.

I mostly packed UFOs, but I also threw in some fabrics I don't have plans for yet and a selection of books for inspiration. I just got the Liberated Quiltmaking II book today. I've only flipped through it, but I think I like it.

I've been baking cookies to take with me to the retreat. So far, I've only eaten one. I won't have internet access this weekend, but I might try posting from my phone. I need to finish packing my quilting supplies and then start packing my clothes. I'm such a last minute packer.

I heard the air conditioner in the sewing cottage gets really cold, which will be a nice break since we've had a week of unbearable temperatures (in my opinion). It's still in the upper 90's long after the sun has gone down. I think it's pretty much torture.

Oh, I've got to go. I just burned the last batch of cookies and I've got to keep the hubby from eating too many! See ya later!