Memorial Day

Thank you to all who serve our country!

Julia played Taps twice today. At 7:00 this morning, she and a Boy Scout friend played at a ceremony at the Rhode Island Vietnam Memorial. The Vitenam Vets are an awesome group of guys and always make us feel like a part of the family.


After a quick change into band uniforms, my kids, the band geeks, were ready for a parade.
Pete, quoting Will Smith in Men in Black:
"I make this look good."


Following the parade, there is a ceremony in the park. Julia and Manny played Taps again. Same beautiful 24 notes, different uniforms.

It makes me sad that so many families who attend the parade do not stay for the ceremony. I try to remind Girl Scout leaders to stick around after marching, but most do not. I grew up with a strong sense of patriotism, and I hope I am passing that on to my kids.

Happy Memorial Day!

T-Shirt Quilt

This week, I finished a t-shirt quilt that began 5 or 6 years ago.


To make a long story short, an acquaintance asked if I could make a quilt from her running t-shirts. Arrangements we made, the quilt was started, then I didn't see her again for several years.

Julia met her this spring through Josh, and the connection was re-established.

Julia surprised her with the quilt last night and she loves it!

(The garden tour was just so you'd have something pretty to look at!)



In case you need proof that there is a teenage boy living in my house,
I present Exhibit A:

Running shoes on the kitchen table.

Bloggers' Quilt Festival

Welcome to Seaside Stitches!
Here's my entry in the Bloggers' Quilt Festival Spring 2010.

Geese in the Forest, completed October 2009.


It was a paper-pieced block of the month designed by Anina at twiddletails.
Her original blocks were 6" finished, which was too big for me.
Mine are reduced to 3", so the quilt finished at 30" square.

It was pieced from a variety of green batiks on a solid white background.
It was machine quilted on my Bernina 153.
I'm hoping it will be accepted at the Lowell Quilt Festival.

To see more than 600 more bloggers' quilts, click on the button!

Quilters' Day Out

Where do quilters go for fun?

A great quilt shop, of course!


Rose was very sweet to take this photo of us with 3 cameras!

Karen, me, Maria and Jackie


And where do quilters go when they are finished shopping?
Out to lunch, of course!

Maria (not a blogger) and Jackie

Karen & me (pretend I'm 50 pounds lighter)

The loot:
Miscellaneous pretty fabric and a jazz band print.
A cute little paper pieced pattern.

Jackie was so sweet to bring us all a little gift- a charm pack of Moda Tinsel Time.
And she delivered my pattern purchase from her shop.

After lunch, we all had to run home for kid-related reasons.
We said goodbye with plans to meet again at another shop someday.
Maybe you can join us next time!

P.S. My post from yesterday was linked to Craft Gossip!
How cool is that? Hello, CG linkers!

Road Trip!

Karen, Jackie and I are meeting at Quilter's Dream today! Yay!


Yes, those are frogs perched on thread spools
on a bridge in Willimantic, CT.
How cool is that?

Befores and Afters

I needed something new to wear for Spring and loved the color of this sweater and the little ruffle trim, but hated the gold buttons.

No problem. I can sew on a button.

Much better!

I have never liked the fabric on our dining room chairs. I finally dragged Bill to a fabric store and we picked out new fabric. I wish the colors were a little more vibrant, but after 20 years of marriage, we are experts at compromise.

Much better! 5 more chairs to go.

After I finished this one, I saw the word UP on the selvedge with an arrow. Oops. This one is turned 90 degrees. I'll get the others right, but this one looks fine, so I'm not taking it apart.

Family and Flowers

We've had a busy couple of weeks around here.

I was in a horribly foul mood for over a week (hence the missing blog posts), so Bill bought me this gorgeous rose and some chocolate to cheer me up. It didn't work, but when the mood finally broke (like a switch suddenly being thrown), I did appreciate the effort.
Look at that color and the ruffled petals!

This clematis might be my favorite plant in my garden. It is supported by the mailbox post, and it is a wonderful greeting at the end of the driveway.

Julia played Echo Taps at the Veteran's Cemetery on Armed Forces Day with about 40 other brass players. It is a very moving ceremony. She'll play again at the RI Vietnam Monument on Memorial Day. I'm so happy and proud that she represents the Girl Scouts as a bugler.


Pete's current garage band played at a Battle of the Bands recently. He totally rocks!
(I know, it's a horrible picture. There is a new camera in my future.)

He's learning to enjoy playing in the high school Symphony Orchestra on timpani. He prefers classical music to the marches that the band plays. The percussion parts are more challenging and interesting. (A slightly better photo.)

The sun is shining and life is good! Have a great week!

Finally, a Finish

This is what you get when you ask a goofy 14 year old boy to hold a quilt for you!
It's my first finish in a while: a baby quilt for one of Bill's co-workers.


The fabric is One the Go by Jill Webster for Clothworks.
The new parents had chosen a transportation theme for the nursery in blues and browns.

I was good with transportation, but I'm crazy for orange right now!
Simple piecing, simple quilting.
I hope they like it.

Go, Baby, Go!

Totally Random

A little bit of everything today!

Twirly Girl skirt pattern and a jelly roll of Birdie.
Hoping to make 2 of these this week for my niece's little girls.
We can't wait to see them on Saturday.

A baby quilt for Bill's coworker's new baby boy.
Fabric is On the Go by Jill Webster for Clothworks.
Many thanks to Fat Quarter Shop for the speedy delivery!

Big news!
My nephew Christopher proposed to his girlfriend of 8 years yesterday at a covered bridge in Vermont. We're so happy for them both! And you know what this means: Wedding Quilt!!
(photo swiped from Jamie's facebook page)

Bill bought Julia a bouquet of roses for her birthday that faded to an incredible velvety purple-red. Of course, impossible to capture on our cheap camera.

Thank God for the lilacs!
A farmer nearby dressed his field with cow manure.
If not for the lilacs, we wouldn't be able to go outside for a week!

Pete's first at-bat of the season! Yay! I love baseball season!

An osprey family holds court over the baseball and softball fields.
We watched mama bird deliver a couple of fish to the babies during the game.

The Baltimore Oriole couple has returned home to our backyard for the summer. No pics yet. I just caught sight of them this morning. The oranges are out at the feeder for their lunch.

Happy Star Wars Day!
May the Fourth be with you!
(get it? May 4th?)