Please keep Corey & Joanna in your thoughts & prayers. Corey is back in California with her seriously ill father. Joanna has been dealing with breast cancer recovery & now her dear mother suddenly & unexpectedly passed away.
Isn't it strange how we all feel we know each other personally when good things & bad things happen to us.
It's been a busy & fun week. Saturday I went to Connie's house (CGS) for some artsy time. I did take many pics at Connie's but they are saved & hiding for now. More on that surprise later.
Yesterday Pam came over to my house for some shopping & a gabfest . We went antiquing & a few other places including a nice drive in the rural parts of Oakley & Brentwood. We realized on our way back that we hadn't taken a single picture so I snapped some of the scenery just so you wouldn't be disappointed.
Next week I will be getting into mischief with Shirley.
Organization Ideas:
I ran across this fun blog that had some wonderful tips on sewing room/studio organization. Hop on over & check the right hand column. Sewing Room Organization Challenge.
QUILT MARKET
Here are some WONDERFUL Quilt Market photos provided by Fat Quarter Shop. This is where my friends Pam & Elizabeth are. I'm there too in my mind.
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HALLOWEEN FUN
My husband & I went to a fun Halloween Party yesterday. I can't remember the last time I dressed up for Halloween. This was my husband's Cops & Firefighters motorcycle club.
Don in his Zoot Suit. What a howl!
Here I am in my French Kitty outfit along with the Black Eyed Peas!
Fred the Pirate & Donna as Renaissance Peasant
Kristin the Cereal Killer
Mike the Convict & Donna, the Spicy Chef
Nick the Eskimo & Denise - Hot Lips Houlihan
Patty the Convict & Tiffany the Cop
French Kitty attacking Fred's Parrot. I didn't have time to apply my claws.
Stephanie as Little Red, Donna the Chef again & Nick the Tooth Fairy. My husband told Nick he must be very secure in his manhood to wear an outfit like that. Nick won best costume. Little fairy wings in back.
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DOLLS
Our hostess Rogna had some very collectible vintage dolls on display that were her mothers.
Snow White & the 7 Dwarfs. So, so cute. Also two Nancy Ann dolls.
The rest of the dwarfs, Nancy Ann & other 30's 40's dolls.
Sweet vintage bride doll
My husband Don LOVES peach pie & peach cobbler. We received our annual postcard from our favorite peach ranch in Brentwood that their peaches were ready. We (Don, Shirley, Earl & myself) headed out yesterday for our peaches & made our yummy desserts. It was a beautiful day, hot but not too hot.
A good place to start
Where's Earl? I haven't seen him since we got here.
I think he's hiding in the next row eating peaches!
I was so sorry to hear that our dear Daisy Lupin recently passed away. I will miss visiting with her.
Last year I made a couple of collages for her with her own garden photography & family photos which I will post today in her honor.
Today was a get together day for Pam & I. She told me all about quilt market & it sounds like so much fun. She checked out my new sewing area & also brought my b-day gift a few days early. We also played with Photoshop. I wanted to show her a few tricks & my computer, of course, wasn't cooperating. We worked our way around it though & she already knew more than I thought she did. When my husband got home he figured out what was wrong & I'm back in business. A button I never use somehow got clicked & I couldn't figure out how to get rid of the problem.
I got the two fingers up for my fabric stacking but she's NOT gonna do it with hers.
A peek at my birthday treats from Pam. Photos taken with my birthday camera from Don!
A sweet little Cath Kidson pack, a darling pincushion kit, two of the cutest little hangers from Character Construction.
Also this pretty box with ribbon handle & the newest book from The Blackbird Design gals. I LOVE their patterns.
This is a tiny shell with a paper over the back that says open me. I can't remember who makes them, so Pam will have to comment & tell us. Anyway I guess even though it says open me, people usually don't open it ?? I was naturally too curious to NOT to open so I pried the edges of the paper up to see.
Inside was a little printed phrase, a kitty sticker & a pretty shell button. I think each shell has different things inside, not to spoil your surprise if you are given one.
I've already used one of my little hangers to hang a cabinet card. This lady will need a few Photoshop bandaids.
I showed Pam my Goodwill stack & tried talking her into taking that stuffed goose & a few other things but no deal.
Thanks Pam, it was a fun day as usual. Tomorrow is get together day with Shirley so we'll see what kind of trouble we can get in to.
YIPPEE - I got a new camera for my b-day! Canon Power Shot SD800 IS. We'll, my b-day isn't for a couple of weeks but the camera came today from my husband. It's much smaller than my old camera & slips easily into my purse or pocket. It also has an image stabalizer which should help me quite a bit as I can't always hold the camera completely still. Now ... to figure out how to use it is the next thing.
My little collection of vintage flocked flowers (old camera shot - see my blur problem)
I've spoken of the fact that my old high school had been torn down a few years ago as it wasn't earthquake safe. The school had a "Wrecking Ball" party right before it went down which was like a giant 3 day reunion for all past students.
One of the past students (our 60's era) filmed much of the party, the school, interviewed past students & teachers, then the tear down process & made a film of it. Shirley & I went to the premier of the film last week which was such fun. They had the showing at Shirley's old grammar school. Many old students & teachers attended as well as some current students. The new school won't be finished until at least next year so the current students are attending classes in portable buildings on the big vacant lot. Poor kids aren't part of the old school or the new school. The school was built in 1941 & torn down in 2005.
Thanks Kent for making this movie about our old school - El Cerrito High School!
I LOVE my wisteria! This is the view out my kitchen window where we sit & eat breakfast & watch the birds. I can't wait for Spring every year to see my wisteria come into bloom. A big bloom now & then off & on blooms all summer & fall.
I LOVE my friends! Here we are last night getting ready to go out to the Fratallanza Club for dinner, where Shirley is a member. It was the club's 62nd Anniversary Party. A very old Italian American Club. Lots of wonderful food & company. It reminded me of holiday dinners at my Italian/French grandma's house.
Shirley (center) is my old high school & antiquing buddy & Eileen (right) is one of my favorite quilting buddies. All our our husbands used to work together & were there as well. Shirley is holding one of her many Steiff pets, the Beaver. We tease her a lot about this little beaver & have nicknamed Shirley "The Beave". It's a long funny story.
GOTTA LOVE THESE SHOES!:
Yesterday while I was blog surfing I came upon the CUTEST shoes. The blog was all in French (gotta love the photos in those French blogs even if you don't know a word of what they are saying). Anyhoo, the shoes were women's high top tennis shoes & it said Converse. Aren't they ADORABLE! You can bet I'm googling these shoes but can't find them. Maybe they just sell them in France.
HELLO KITTY FANS:
Being a quilter & sewer I do have my regular sewing machine. I love my Quilter's Edition Bernina even if it is 6-7 yrs old. It does everything I need. I have often wished I had a travel size sewing machine & PKM once showed me the darling Hello Kitty machine that Target carries. Being that I am getting close to taking off in our motorhome next month on vacation I'm pondering traveling machines again. My Bernina is just too big & heavy. I was googling Hello Kitty Machines & may just have to check this one out. The price is certainly right. Whoa! - while googling I came across this Hello Kitty blog.
You've gotta ready some of these posts for some laughs : ) And ... Please don't forget the archives!
I try to have a girlfriend day at least once a week. Time out just with the girls. When I worked for so many years I didn't have time for girlfriends. Between work, husband, home chores, gardening that was about it. I'm making a point now to connect & reconnect with my lady friends.
Today Shirley came out & we hit the thrift stores & antique shops. Shirley is an old friend from high school & Ebay selling friend. We always have a fun time.
I found this hand crocheted vintage lace collar for $2.00
And this fun hand crocheted bolero sweater for $6.00
Then Shirley found this dress hidden behind some other treasures. She thinks it's really from the 20's & not a reproduction. It is hand made gray crepe with a crepe lining & see through sleeves. It is covered with seed beads, bugle beads, sequins & pearls. Shirley MADE me buy it! It was marked $45 but I got it for $30. The bugle beads & sequins are irridescent /aurora borealis look. Shirley even bit one of the pearls to see if they were real but she couldn't tell as they are small. She says if the pearl feels sandy to the bite they are real : ) My photo is a bit blurry.
It is wonderfully made. Even the little snaps on the sleeves are covered in crepe.
The neckline & sleeves are edged in beads
There are side slits on both sides which are also edged in beads.
The dress is probably a size 8. There are no labels at all (handmade). I bought it mainly for Hannah, my mannequin - or - to resell. Shirley thinks it will fetch a very good price on Ebay. Either way I will hang on to it for a while & enjoy it before selling it.
There is no zipper or buttons to get into it other than slipping it over your head. Shirley tried it on & couldn't get it past her shoulders & then I tried it on. It made it past my shoulders, a perfect fit ON TOP but as you can see I couldn't get it past my HIPS! Instead of a long flapper dress it looks like a shortie. That's me - size 8 top & size 10/12 bottom and Shirley must be size 10/12 top & size 8 bottom. Please excuse my Winter White pasty legs.
There's Hannah in the background having a good laugh & knowing the dress will certainly fit her.
