They're back!!!

I know it's been a long time. This move to Florida has really gotten in to the way of my sewing. Finally we are settled for a while. We're still looking for that perfect house. you know..the last house we'll ever buy kind of house. no pressure! but at least we have a place to live until that magical house appears on the market.I ave not been doing much sewing during this time. There have been too many other things to think about; where to live, where the best grocery store is, how to get from point A to point B in a large city I'm not familiar with. Everything seems to take longer than it should. Now, don't think I'm complaining, just explaining.

During all this time, my ghosts have been quiet. I almost thought they forgot to move with me. For those who are not familiar with my ghosts, most of the time I am haunted by ideas or quilts. Check out the October issue of www.sewinggazette.com for a more detailed explanation. Well, no need for concern, my ghosts are active again. I had a flicker when looking at the spiky leaves of the palm trees and palmetto bushes here. It would be great to duplicate them in a New York Beauty block.

Honey and I took a drive down to St. Augustine, the oldest city in the country. The city was founded in 1565. A city that old and with a colorful history has many ghosts. We did not take the ghost tour this time, but I think the local spirits woke up my personal ghosts. My ghosts went from sleeping on my shoulder to swirling around my head again and we were there in the bright Florida sunshine. How powerful the local ethereal beings must be when the sun goes down. I know it is only February, but once again, I am being haunted by new ideas and images for quilts.

Follow the 100 Blocks Blog Tour!

I have a block in the Quiltmaker 100 Blocks coming out in the next few days. I had a sneak preview and now have quilt ideas swarming around my head. This book is wonderful! So great I think I'll give away a copy of the book. To register, please post a comment on my blog. You can also send an e-mail to julie@quiltedpleasures.com. Make sure I have a way to contact you ifyou win! Tell me what your working on and if your ready for the holidays. (I am not!) I'll put your names in hat and pull out a winner on Thursday November 12th. Look for my block, Hot Fudge Please! Is there anything as good as a bowl of ice cream on a hot summer day? It's great as a place mat.
Follow the 100 Blocks Blog Tour daily Nov. 9-13 at www.Quiltmaker.com/quiltypleasures for inspiration, ideas and giveaways galore! Look for 100 Blocks from Today’s Top Designers in your local quilt shop, or purchase it at www.quiltmaker.com/100blocks.

I am finally starting to settle in in Jacksonville. The weather is beautiful, but I do miss wearing a jacket now and then. The trip was a little hard on my electronics. I had to replace my computer. Too many bumps on the way down I guess. Of course it was right before the new Windows 7 was released. I wasn't sure what to do. After a little research I went ahead with a Vista machine that included the Windows 7 upgrade. I would have liked to buy a Mac, but have too much software that only runs on Windows. I still have my Mac laptop though. Now I just need a new copy of Electric Quilt. Seems I left that box behind.


I am still in the process of setting up my sewing room. Many of my things remain in Erie, Pa, like most of my fabric. My sewing machine has been in the shop as well. Not for much longer though. I got the call today. A board was replaced and the machine is sewing better than it has in quite a while. I can't wait to get it back and get back to work. I've been doing a little hand sewing to pass the time.

Rolling, roling, rolling...

I have lived on the shores of Lake Erie most of my life. I am used to having the lake as a directional landmark. When you live in this area, you usually know the lake is always north and from that can determine which direction you are headed. If the lake is on your right, you're headed west. It's quite simple. I have grown up with trips to the beach, lots of snow and not much sun. Summer temperatures reach 90 an average of 5 days a year. This summer, we had a hard time reaching 80. My mother used to say the temperature had to reach 80 before we could wear shorts. If I still listened to her advice, I would not have been able to wear shorts this summer. I compromise with shorts and a sweatshirt. All of this is about to change.

Honey and I (and all the little ones) are moving south. We are headed to Jacksonville. I am exchanging the lake for the ocean. I'll have to adjust to the ocean being east instead of the lake up north. It is quite an adventure. I have brought the kiddies down with all the essentials. Honey will follow with the remainder of the house.







If you have heard about my cat Cleo, you'll know that she is afraid of everything. I thought she would be the biggest challenge. She will hiss, spit and whap you if you upset her. She can be very playing, but does not like being picked up and held. She's not a very big fan of petting either. I tricked her into going into a cage by setting her food in it. Fortunately it's a soft cage. She tried to jump out after I closed the top. She really surprised me by settling down about an hour into our trip.


Charlie is my Great Pyrenees. He's 10 and is just starting to have hip problems. Oh and he weighs about 150 pounds. I had to lift him into the car, front half and then back half. The little boys, Booboo and Petey hopped right into the car and we were off.



I took my time. I was pulling a trailer and had some concerns about going through the mountains of West Virginia. We stopped to stretch, to get gas, to sleep, and to get hamburgers for everyone. Now, we're in Florida and the real adventure can begin.

Not Quite What I was thinking...

The word is out... Honey and I are moving to Florida. I have been packing, packing, packing, and living with boxes up to my eyeballs. I have sorted all of my clothes. Winter clothes go to Goodwill. The few I am saving are probably 10 times what I will actually need. Do you think the Goodwill in Florida has a market for a down jacket? or wool blazers? I guess I'll find out.
I have given away about 25% of my basement stores and the attic hideaways...and I am still up to my eyeballs in boxes. The accumulation of my fabric stash was a little shocking when I pulled it out of the attic and stacked it all together. Somehow it remained in the GO TO FLORIDA PILE though, even with a kind offer to help me sell some off.
We decided we had to do something about the kitchen counter top and floor before we put the house on the market. We have an amazing friend coming in to help replace what needs to be replaced. I knew that would be messy. I wasn't expecting this. Counter's strewn everywhere and mixed in with my boxes (sigh). The boys are very confused. Booboo is trying to climb into every box he thinks might be going. Petey sits on the couch giving me the big sad eyes. Charlie is trying to sleep through everything and hoping it will all go away.Even the cat is being more friendly. Maybe she's afraid she'll get left behind also. Just wait until I try to put her in the car. Friendly cat will disappear I'm afraid and witchy-witch cat will return.
So we are off on another grand adventure.

Changing Things Up

I think our vacation to find summer really woke me up. I realized I had been falling into a routine that had become monotonous. It's time to shake things up a little. I decided to take a little break from quilting. (Jaw drops in shock!) Don't worry, not a long break. I decided I needed a new jacket. I went round and round looking at patterns, trying to find just the right combination. conservative enough to last forever (almost anyway), stylish enough that I will want to wear it and was easy enough that I wouldn't get bogged down in making it. That's quite a tall order. I decided on a McCalls pattern, made the muslin and hated it. Good thing I used muslin first. Remind me about this jacket the next time I want to skip that step. I finally settled on Vogue 1064. I ordered a grey wool three season suiting and a grey silk lining. I have to say, it went together beautifully. I still have to send it out to the cleaners so they can press it.

Then, I promised to make the Amy Butler Weekender Travel Bag for T. It is a beautiful bag, but has piping all the way around. It has been some time since I have done piping, so I thought I had better make a "sample" bag to make sure my piping skills were up to speed. Off to the quilt store because (of course) I didn't have anything that would do in my stash. I bought a beautiful black/grey and tan fabric and a very cool stripe for the piping. I came home and cut everything out and realized...I can't use the stripe. I have to cut the piping strips on the bias and the stripes were already on the bias. So back to the quilt store for more fabric. In the end, I like how the bag turned out. Now I just need to fill it. Hmmm.

I'm ready to add some color to my sewing again. Working with all this grey has been soothing but it's time for another change.