Aloha!

Mike and I have left for a long overdue vacation. We'll be back soon!

In the meantime, here are the newest photos of the pug boys for you to enjoy.

Here is our beautiful Elvis, age 15.

From left to right: Elvis, age 15; LarryPug, age 8; and Caesar, age 4.

The photos were taken by Fred Levy of Fred Levy photography. He specializes in taking photos of black dogs!

Thanks for visiting!

Pugs and kisses,
Nancy

Happy Thanksgiving

Our friend Jeff from Black Thumb Studio took some new family portraits of us last month at Brookwood Community Farm, which is a local farm near our house. Here are my five favorites.

When he took this photo in the tall, tall grass, all I could think was I hope there aren't any ticks crawling up my pants!

We are about the farthest thing from a farm family but I couldn't resist taking a picture with this old tractor. I thought my friend Colette would get a kick out of this.

I love this photo because the four of us look great while LarryPug, at far left, is having a meltdown moment. Classic LarryPug.

My very handsome husband Mike and our baby Caesar.

It's all just a walk in the park!

I can't decide which photo I like the best. Which is your favorite?

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Thanks for visiting!

Pugs and kisses,
Nancy

Drop Everything And Make an Elmo Quilt!

Why settle for delayed gratification when you can see the finished quilt at the top of the blog? It took seven photos before I could get all three pug boys on the quilt, all looking in the right direction. From left to right: LarryPug, age 8, Elvis, age 15, and Caesar, age 4.

My friend Sandra who blogs at MMM Quilts hosts a monthly link-up for DREAMI (drop everything and make it) quilts. Here's my first DREAMI quilt.

This week is Thanksgiving and we will get to see Baby Nate. He is into all things Elmo right now. So I thought it would be great to make him an Elmo quilt. Of course, there is no Elmo fabric to be found, even after scouring the Internet except for a lonely panel, which I bought because it was better than no Elmo at all.

A close-up of the fabrics in Baby Nate's quilt. They're all flannel.

On Friday during our Cape retreat, we visited Tumbleweeds in Barnstable. We had also visited on Thursday, but serendipitously, on Friday we entered through the back door of the shop. Lo and behold, there were several bundles of Elmo flannel in the clearance rack, which I hadn't noticed the day before. I restrained myself from buying all the bundles and only bought one. Baby Nate doesn't need a king-size Elmo quilt.

Here is the top assembled on Nancy D's design wall.

The fabrics in the bundle were different sizes. Some were large squares and some were large rectangles. I was able to get eight large squares out of each print. I opted for simple and fast since Baby Nate will only be a baby for a short time.

Here is the finished quilt, sans pugs.

The quilt went together quickly. Originally it was set in diagonal rows, but I laid it out in the other room at our retreat. I sewed half of it, by chaining the pieces together, but they kept getting tangled. So I picked up the second half in rows and neglected to check my work. A design opportunity occurred...

I quilted it myself by simply crossing each square in an "X" and finished it with a wide satin binding because all babies love satin binding the best! There is solid red flannel on the back. It is fairly large, about 60 inches square. I started this quilt on a Friday and finished it the following Sunday. After the pug boys did their photo shoot, I threw the quilt in the wash and it is all soft and crinkly.

Linking up on Tuesday to Freemotion by the River. Thanks for visiting!

Pugs and kisses,

Nancy

Here is LarryPug to say, Have a great day!

A visit to the Proper Bostonians Quilt Show, Part 3

I had intended to write an I like Thursdays post, but after fighting with photo software on my computer for several hours, "I like my computer" wouldn't have made the list, so I'm just going to finish up the quilt show post.

Part 1 and Part 2 can be found on their respective links.

This stunning modern interpretation of a log cabin was the first quilt that I saw when I entered the show.

Amish Cabin by Pat Kelliher, West Roxbury, Ma.
Pattern is Urban Cabin from Modern Quilt Designs for Classic Quilts by Kelly Biscopink and Andrea Johnson.
I think I have this book. Might as well add this to my list.

Asteroids by Eileen Thurston, Hyde Park, MA.
This quilt was made for the guild's summer challenge which was to use three to five analogous colors.

Black and White with Spots All Over by Barbara Winrich, Natick, MA.
The pattern is from Victoria Findlay Wolfe, Fade to Purple.

Snow in Summer by Linda Scollins, West Roxbury, MA.
This pattern is Snowflake from Laundry Basket Quilts.
It was enlarged from a 3-inch square pattern to a 4-inch square pattern.
Let me tell you, the pieces in this quilt were tiny!
I can't imagine how small they would have been if they had NOT been enlarged!

Kaffe Tuffet by Mary Ellen Berman, Milton, MA

Cities Can Sparkle by  Marguerite McDonagh Gallagher, Roslindale, MA
Modified from the pattern Urban Legend by A Quilter's Dream.

We went to the Bead Affaire the same weekend as the quilt show. A double-header!

My purchases from the bead show. I didn't buy anything at the quilt show. Really.

Here is LarryPug sleeping with all of his babies.

Thanks for visiting!

Pugs and kisses,
Nancy

A visit to the Proper Bostonians Quilt Show, Part 2

Here are some more photos from the quilt show. The ones in this post are simply outstanding. They are on my Bucket List. I will probably never have the talent or time to do these. But I have pictures to look at! Part 1 is here. There are enough photos to do a Part 3.

Carnival by Judy Kilgore, Jamaica Plain, MA. This is a Jacqueline de Jonge pattern.

Rainbow Circles by Mary Ellen Berman, Milton, MA. This design is from the Stunning Circles Quilt class on Craftsy.

A close-up.

A New Hexagon by Judy Kilgore, Jamaica Plain, MA. This is hand-pieced.

Superbuzzy by Marguerite McDonagh Gallagher, Roslindale, MA. This is a free pattern from Rita Hodges of Red Pepper Quilts and can be found online at, Giant Dresden Plate.

A close-up

Field of Daisies by Barbara Winrich, Natick, MA

This quilt was inspired by the Garden Party pattern from Making Quilts with Kathy Doughty of Material Obsession.

I have to say that I am very thankful for the thorough labeling of all the quilts at the show!

Here is my favorite work from home co-worker LarryPug. He is keeping my laptop all warmed up with his cute little fuzzy behind.

Thanks for visiting! I'm off to join my Brown Bagger Quilting buddies for our November Sunday sewathon. I'll be quilting a baby quilt that I started last weekend at our Cape retreat. I haven't shown it to you yet...

Pugs and kisses,
Nancy

A visit to the Proper Bostonians Quilt Show, Part 1

A few weeks ago, Marion and I went to a local quilt show from the Proper Bostonians Quilt Guild. We enjoy this show a lot. It's small enough that you don't feel overwhelmed, so you can really enjoy the quilts. There are a few vendors in case you feel the need to enhance your stash.  There is a good variety of quilts shown from the "I can make that" to the "You'd need to lock me in a room for 10 years" to "Bucket List" to "Dream the Impossible Dream."

One of the first people we ran into when we arrived was my friend and neighbor Marcia. Marcia lives right down the street from me, even closer than Joannie, and I almost never see her. Which is too bad. Because she's a great quilter and a really nice person!

Marcia is a graphic designer and this year she created the guild's mystery quilt. Isn't it great? I'm also coveting Marcia's animal print blouse.

Marcia's beautiful quilt! I love the blocks she designed to create the diagonal setting.

 Here are some of my favorite quilts from the show.

My Scrappy Favorites by Mary Willis, West Roxbury, MA

 Two stunning quilts from our fellow Brown Bagger quilter, Lynn Godin.

Steampunk by Lynne Godin, Chestnut Hill, MA. Also a founding member of the Brown Bagger Quilters and an extraordinary quilter.

A close-up. This is a Jen Kingwell design.

Fandango by Lynne Godin, Chestnut Hill, MA. This pattern is from Karen Griska Designs although Lynne self-drafted the block for paper-piecing.

Self-Mitered Log Cabin by Mary Gaffney, Jamaica Plain, MA

A very special thank you to all of you who responded to my last post requesting ideas on how to mark white fabric for quilting. Painter's tape was the obvious solution for me! Other good suggestions were to use a Hera marker (I own one somewhere...), a pounce with chalk, make stencils from freezer paper  and to mark the first line and then follow the edge of the foot. And of course, sweet Joannie called and offered to quilt it for me.

Taking in the quilt show with Marion.

Thanks for visiting!
Pugs and kisses,
Nancy

I Like Thursdays: Three Things

Lee Anna's I like Thursdays is encouraging me to blog more and I like that!

Here are three things for Thursday!

I like to see my quilts being used and loved.

This is my little cousin Angie with her cat and her cat quilt.

I finished a quilt!
I am happy that my sewing mojo (aka sewjo) has returned. This baby quilt had been languishing in my sewing room since February. It just needed a few more lines of quilting and a binding. It is a gift for Jeremie who is one of my trainers at the gym. He and his wife had a baby boy named Owen in May.

Handsome husband Mike is my quilt holder.

All the fabric came from my stash! Win!

I even had the coordinating fabric for the back!

I am seeking advice from my quilt blogging friends. 
My friend Dianne asked me to finish this table runner for her. Her Mom passed away this summer and like all good quilters left behind a couple of unfinished projects. What would you mark this white fabric with? I usually use white Clover Chaco Liner, but it obviously won't work on white fabric. I'm nervous to use colored Chaco Liner, like yellow, pink, or blue, unless one of you has used it before because I'm nervous that the color won't wash out. Or what about a Frixion pen, which disappears with ironing? Your advice needed!

What would you use to mark this fabric for quilting?

Happy Thursday!

Here's a rare photo of all three pug boys sleeping in the same dog bed.

Thanks for visiting! Linking up with Lee Anna.

Pugs and kisses,
Nancy

November Cape Retreat Part 3

I'm fortunate that my quilting group hosts six quilt retreats each year. Typically we host three "at-home" quilt weekends, go to the Cape twice a year in February and November, and visit the Berkshires for an extended retreat in May. I hope that you enjoyed seeing the pictures from Part One and Part Two of our November quilt retreat.

Here are some more photos.

Nancy D. worked on her Dresden Squared birthday blocks, a Missouri Star Quilt Company pattern. I've seen the fabrics that Nancy chose for her sashing and borders and I can't wait to see her finish this top!

Nancy D.'s Sweet Petunias, another Missouri Star Quilt Company pattern.

Joan S. was working on a Yellow Brick Road in Amy Butler fabrics.

Marion and I took a class at a local shop on Saturday. This is the Boomerang Quilt, a pattern from JayBird Quilts. It uses her Super Sidekick ruler. It was easy and fun to make. This is my quilt in progress. Marion also used batiks. As usual, we chose similar colors.

This top is made from this year's Birthday Blocks. I have several more borders that I'm going to add so it will fit on my queen size bed. I've nick-named this quilt, Blinded by the Brights.

Thanks for visiting.

Pugs and kisses,
Nancy

November Cape Retreat Part 2

Here are some more photos from our Cape retreat.

Jo Ann E. had a new project up on her design wall every time I turned around. Her she is shown with one of many! I didn't photograph them all. She was too quick to take them down!

Another one of Jo Ann's projects, an autumnal wall hanging.

Here is Sally with her birthday block quilt. She challenged herself to use red in this quilt.

I finally put borders on this large quilt top. The pattern is called City Life and I bought it as a kit (except for the outer border) from Hancock Fabrics several years ago. It is going to be a  gift for my Cousin Liz who also loves purple.

Cordula created the original silkscreen for this quilt and the quilt below.

Close-up of the silk screen.

Another silk screened quilt by Cordula.

Close-up of the silk screen.

Cordula was quilting this beautiful quilt this morning before we left the Cape. This quilt if from one of Kaffe Fassetts' books.

This quilt top is Cordula's design.

Did you miss Part One? Thanks for visiting. Still more photos to come.

Pugs and kisses,
Nancy