So many colors...So many choices.

Finally...We bought a house in Florida. I guess we are staying for a while. Honey said this is "the last house he will ever buy". I'm not so sure about that. I it is...I'm happy with it. The house sits on 2 acres on a little street outside of town. It is not in a neighborhood, although we do have neighbors. I'll have a sewing room and a longarm room. No more quilting in the basement.

My challenge has been paint colors. It's not easy picking colors or the entire house at one time. I thought I had everything chosen..and then.. I had forgotten the guest bath. All the colors were settled until I looked at the master bath again. We had originally though it would need to be re-tiled. After investigation it does not need re-tiling, just cleaning and sealing. That meant the new paint should go with the existing tile. So...the green that was going into my sewing room is now going into the master bath and bedroom. The blue from the master is now going into the guest bedroom. musical colors it seems. Oh and I forgot the guest bath again. Still no decision there.

Now I need new colors for my sewing room and long arm room. These are my creative rooms so the options are endless. I finally decided that I will stick with the green or the longarm room. I'm going to do the chair rail thing and put a darker green on the bottom and lighter on top. Then I'm going to paint the vines and flowers that in this wall hanging quilt I made. I'm thinking about a large quilt block for my sewing room.

Oh ...and the guest bath, I forgot to look at it again. Why is it such a problem? The tub is a cream and mauve color. The tile is grey and the grout is the mauve from the tub. I'd like a neutral color to bring it all together. I seem to have a color block when it comes to the bathroom.

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.