New York Beauty: A Quilt for Diane

Yes, I'm finally back! I had a stomach bug, followed by a cold, followed by another stomach bug. I was out of commission for over two weeks. I think it should be someone else's turn now!

New York Beauty is my second finished quilt for 2015! This quilt was made for my sister-in-law Diane, who was born and raised in Long Island, New York. She has been a California transplant for the last 20 plus years, but she still holds New York close to her heart.

This is actually my third New York quilt. You can see the other two here. When I gave the first two quilts to my Mom and my Uncle Stanley, Diane admired them profusely so I knew that I had to make one for her. She had a special birthday in March...

Yes, once again I made a Yellow Brick Road quilt from Terri Atkinson at Atkinson Designs. The quilt is made entirely out of New York-themed fabrics and I think it is quite wonderful. All of the fabrics, except for two, came from The City Quilter. The quilt is a large lap size, 63"x72". It was machine quilted by Kate and Justin Mitchell. I finished this quilt in early March, along with Lily's Quilt, but I had to wait to show it to you until Diane received it for her birthday.

Here are some close-ups of some of the fabrics in the quilt, which include subway maps, taxi cabs, bagels and more!

This fabric is exclusive to City Quilter. It is called All The Buildings In New York. I LOVE it!

The quilt has a label thanks to Joannie! I also bound the quilt in this fabulous black and yellow check!

This is the back of the quilt. I had two large pieces of fabric left over for the back.

I found the perfect bag at Marshalls last summer to package the quilt in!

Here is my sister-in-law Diane, on the left, with her identical twin sister Linda.

This is my favorite building in New York!

Linking up on Wednesday with Freemotion by the River and Sew Fresh Quilts' Let's Bee Social.  Linking up on Friday to Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Crazy Mom Quilts and Richard and Tanya Quilts. Linking up on Saturday to Pink Doxies' Pet Project Show. Thanks for visiting!

Pugs and kisses,
Nancy

We Interrupt This Blog...

I had recovered from my stomach bug for less than 24 hours when I was struck by a massive head cold... blogging to resume soon, I hope. Crawling back into bed...

Pugs and kisses,
Nancy

Lost Weekend

I took Romeo to the vet on Friday morning before work. Although it was supposed to be Romeo's annual physical, it turned out that the little bald spot on his chest was not caused by rubbing from his harness, but rather it was a skin infection. $342 later, Romeo and I left the vet's office, complete with antibiotics, special shampoo and a request to come back in five days. As I helped Romeo into the car, I thought, well I shouldn't spend another penny this weekend.

Be careful what you wish for... I spent the rest of my weekend supine on the couch or curled up in my bed with a nefarious 24 hour stomach bug. I didn't get to go fabric shopping with Marion on Saturday or to dinner at my favorite restaurant with my friend Kate. Nor did I get to go to the quilt show on Sunday with my gal pals.

Joannie sent me this photo from the quilt show.

Joannie, Sue and Marion went to the Rhododendron Quilt Show on Sunday. Joannie only sent me one photo. I wish I could have seen this quilt in person or read the story behind it. It is simply darling, even though there doesn't appear to be a pug on the bus.

Anyways, it's Monday morning and I'm fine and ready to go to work.

Hope your weekend was better than mine!

Pugs and kisses,
Nancy

Owl Always Love You: A Quilt for Lily

I finished Lily's Owl Quilt. This is my first quilt finish of 2015. It is made of flannel and it is all owl prints. Every time I went into Joann Fabrics it seems they had a new owl design and I finally had to stop buying them. Lily is only 6 and she does not have a king size bed!

Lily loves owls and her favorite colors are green and purple so I used green flannel for the sashing and pieced her name in purple at the top. The quilt design is Colonnade, a pattern by my blogging friend Kim from Robot Mom Sews. (I made this quilt in a completely different color way last year. You can see it here.) The letters for Lily's name are from the Little Letters tutorials by the Temecula Quilt Company. I think they came out quite cute! My friend Terri Bearer quilted the quilt in an all over owl pantograph. Terri says that she hates me now and she'll never use that design again because it was very hard to do! Unfortunately you can't see her wonderful quilting in any of the photos, but take my word for it, it is simply adorable. My finished quilt measures 67x79.

I met Lily and her Dad Jeff for lunch last week and I gave Lily her Owl quilt. She was thrilled. Lily turns 6 tomorrow (we have almost the same birthday except I'm a few years older) and she is having an owl-themed birthday party this weekend. It is at the Blue Hills Trailside Museum so there will even be a real owl in attendance.

As shown on my queen size bed.

Joannie made me this great quilt label. This cute flowered flannel is the backing fabric.

Lily's Dad Jeff sent me this photo. I think she likes it!

Me and Lily!

Of course, I also gave Lily another owl pillowcase. Who can resist leprechaun owls for Saint Patrick's Day?

One more quilt photo!

Linking up on Friday to Richard and Tanya Quilts, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation and Fabric Frenzy Friday at Fort Worth Studio. Linking up on Tuesday to Freemotion by the River. Thanks for visiting!

Pugs and kisses,
Nancy

Happy 2015 Birthday to Me!

Today is my birthday! My quilting gal pals treated me to a Quilting Road Trip last weekend (blog post soon!) and my husband is spiriting me off to Cambridge for a mini weekend including a fancy dinner, a Celtic concert, an overnight hotel stay and a wonderful brunch. And I think he will even take me to a quilt store (or two) on the way home.

In honor of my birthday, here are my handsome Pug Boys!

From left to right: LarryPug, Elvis and Romeo

The original Dynamic Duo: Elvis and Romeo

LarryPug. His birthday is in March too!

 How did I get such cute photos?

I had to lie down on the kitchen floor with my pug pals. Of course,
they came over to check on me to see that nothing was wrong.

Thank you to my wonderful family and friends who have showered me with gifts and cards. I love you all!

If you missed my Mom's birthday post last year, check it out!

Pugs and kisses,
Nancy

Bag Making in Boston

I took Friday off and I finished two quilts! You will see them soon. About half way through the day, Joannie found out that I was home and joined me in The Studio for a little sewing. She finished making a knitting bag that will be a gift for a friend. She machine embroidered the white pocket panels with knitting designs. She even added more pockets inside.

The pattern is A Novel Approach Tote Pattern by Poorhouse Quilt Designs.

Here's a photo of the fabric she used. Aren't the knitting sheep cute?

Joannie has made this bag before for some of her golfing friends (of course, with golf fabric). I'm pretty sure I've shown the bags in my blog, but I can't find the post. Note to Self: add search feature to blog...

Not to be outdone, Pat was busy making MORE Sew Together Bags and sending me pictures from her iPhone. Seems like daughter Alison tried to sneak off with the first one.

Here is Pat's second bag.

Another pretty one done in Kaffe Fassett fabric.

Here is Pat's third bag.

Pretty in a pastel paisley print.

Daughter Alison will get her own Sew Together bag and so will daughter AnnMarie. But what about oldest daughter Jackie? Or granddaughter Jill? Pat, you better keep sewing!

Thanks for visiting.

Pugs and kisses,
Nancy

Sam Moves On

This is Sam.

Hanging on the sofa.

My Thursday Girl friends gave me Sam at my bridal shower so I would have a grandbaby for my Mother-in-law. It's kind of a long story...

For several years, Sam has hung out in a remote corner of our living room.

He enjoyed a brief modeling career in my Etsy Shop.

 Until he was supplanted by LarryPug.

I decided that sitting forlornly on the bookcase was not Sam's ultimate life choice, so I searched for some new opportunities. One of my co-workers volunteers at a homeless shelter for women and children and I thought Sam would feel more useful there. She told me that there is a little girl who is just the right age and will love Sam!

I brought Sam into work this week. He enjoyed a spin in my office chair before heading off to his new life.

Farewell Sam! I'm sure that your new little girl will simply adore you!

Thanks for visiting!

Pugs and kisses,
Nancy