Quilt for Ciara

Here is a peek at the next quilt. A couple of weeks ago I showed you a quilt I did for FarmerBoy's grandneice!!! Yes, his nephew had twin girls and I decided that it would be nice to give them each a quilt. The first quilt was pink and orange. The fabric is Lakehouse by Holly Holderman, it came in two colorways which was perfect for this project.

Little Ciara is going to have the purple and black!!!!! Yikes, did I say black!!!!!
I took the fabric to my quilting group and got the opinions of many women and we all decided that it would be stunning but I do need to add some of the pink and orange to lighten it up. So here is the result of my cutting.


I designed this quilt myself and it is super easy, just a lot of cutting and you can add some appplique to spice it up and draw your eye. This is going to be really pretty and the best part is that I will have enough for a third and fourth quilt for my little sidekick's room!!! Not bad for about 40 fat quarters...


The only problem that occurred while organizing this was typical of my stupidity!!! I had everything laid out on my big cutting mat which was sitting on my bed. I organized all of the different sizes and colors into piles for separate quilts -- keeping everything balanced. I would like to mention at this point that I have an antique four poster bed that is very high. I picked up the mat and started to turn so that I could put it in a safe spot and that is when the corner of the mat hit one of the posts, the mat bent downward and off slid all the fabric!!!!!!!! I could be heard in three counties, the language being rather colorful to say the least....... Now I have to sit down and reorganize it again!!!

I am hoping to get this done soon since I have so many quilts that need doing and some have deadlines. I also have a few patterns that need writing up and I haven't even given any thought to Christmas yet. I need more hours in my day....

Bye and keep smiling!!!!

Holiday Update!!

Well, our trip is behind us and we had a great time!!! Here are just a few pictures of a walk on one of the local beaches near the home where I grew up!!! This particular beach is bordered by a private golf course.

Connecticut is a beautiful state and if you ever have a chance to visit it you really should.

This was a very difficult trip for me personnally, the night before I left my husband was informed that his job was being made redundant. I held off from telling the children, no need to ruin their holiday. I however was really torn, part of me didn't want to go -- how can you justify an expensive holiday when your financial rug has been pulled out from underneath you. So off we went and tried to enjoy ourselves as best as possible.

The children had 12 days of eating all sorts of fabulous foods that are not available here in Ireland. Freshly pressed apple cider, DS#1 drank an entire bottle (about 1 litre) in one sitting!!!! Ice Cream sundays with sliced bananas, cookies, candy, pizza and of course Root beer!!!!! My mother opened her big mouth one night and told them about how their great grandmother used to love root beer floats. Well, you know what happened next don't you??!!!! Vanilla ice cream was bought and that evening after dinner we were making root beer floats!!! For those of you that don't know what I am talking about, here is the recipe. Two scoops of vanilla ice cream in a nice tall drinking glass and then pour root beer soda over it!!!!

We had a 12 day food feast!!!! My three kiddos were also in love with foot long hot-dogs, they just could not have enough of those.

The three kiddos were totally over the moon about Halloween, we brought back about 10kg of candy - disgusting but good!!! Another observation that they made was how friendly everyone is! They were a bit taken aback one day when a man opened the door for us has we approached a shop door, he held the door open and said hello and was very friendly and then he went on toward his car. DS#1 turned and said to me, "why are people so friendly here?". I don't like to run down the country I live in, I am a guest here after all, but there is a friendliness and politeness that exists in the US that you don't even come close to over here. People you don't even know talk to you for no reason when you are out and about. When you are shopping and the order has been rung up, the clerk smiles and tells you the total, and when all is finished they say thank you and wish you a pleasant day!!! I know that Americans are made fun of "have a nice day"!!! but to be honest with you it is really nice to have someone treat you with friendliness after you have just spent money in their establishment rather than the treatment you get over here. I shop here and they don't even tell you the total, you don't even get a smile or a hello and god forbide NO ONE ever says thank you!!! Sorry for that little tirade but it was especially noticeable on this trip.

Anyhoo, we are back home and Farmerboy was sooo delighted to have us back. He was very lonely and the pets just weren't cutting it as companions. They are not very good conversationalists!!!

I did do some quilty shopping!!!! Nothing very exciting, just alot of necessary instruments. I bought alot of rulers of various sizes, needles, thread (a massive amount of thread!!!) and of course fabric. I didn't buy as much fabric as I had originally planned but enough bits and pieces to make the coming winter enjoyable.

I have a pattern complete for the next issue of Irish Quilting Magazine and a few more in the works. I am enjoying coming up with my own creations versus using patterns, a nice challenge!! I do however have a few BoMs and kits that I do need to finish up and/or start.

As I write this I am feeling very nostalgic for home especially since next week is Thanksgiving. Even though the next few months are going to be very difficult for us financially, I am very thankful that I have such a wonderful family. Three great kids and a wonderful husband. We always pull together in times of difficulty and we have plans for the farm that involve eco-tourism and cycling/walking so the future is looking good. I just hope people continue to come to Ireland for their holidays.

Bye and keep smiling!!!

The Colors of New England

When you live so far from home, you often forget the little things. Here are two pictures that I took the other day while my little sidekick and I went out for a walk. Oh, how I miss New England in the Autumn!!! The colors are soooo beautiful and I love the crisp morning air. These pictures don't do justice to this part of the world but just let your imagination fill in the blanks!!!

We have been busy and yes I have managed to do some fun quilt supply purchasing!!!!!! Remember FarmerBoy is at home and not here to remind me of the budget!!!!!

My children have fallen in love with Apple Cider (not the hard stuff!!) and my DS#1 has eaten half of a pumpkin pie!!!! His grandmother was horrified that he was able to manage it all. He has also become enamored with American style football, sitting with his grandfather watching games all weekend.

I will keep you posted!!!

Keep Smiling and I will have more tomorrow!

Bon Voyage!!

Bon Voyage folks!!!! I am off to see the parents in Connecticut and do some leaf peeping!!! My three travel companions are counting down the hours now, the countdown has been going on for about 30 days. To say I am relieved that the day is finally here is two fold, a bit of rest and no more count downs!!!!

Here is a picture of the three amigos on top of our local castle, yes you heard me correctly!!! Ferns Castle sits in our village and is directly behind the school. When the weather is nice and the children have earned a break their teachers take them on a tour of the castle, How fun is that!!!! Ferns Castle is one of the most historic sites in Ireland and it is what you call a hidden treasure. I could go on and on about the history of area and the significance of Ferns to Gaelic Ireland, but this is a blog about quilting so I won't go there!!! If you are travelling to Ireland be sure to put this on your itinerary and book your B&B with me and I will give you all the local details!!!! I will update you all on my trip to the States when I get back and I am sure that I will have loads of goodies to share with you!!!!!!

Have a great two weeks people!!!!

WARNING!!!!!

Warning!!!!! Do Not Cut Fabric While Watching A Movie!!!!!!

As you can see over there to the left, I do actually quilt even though I don't always show you what I am working on! I have a few things brewing but I can't reveal them, this however is a BoM (block of the month) that I am doing with the Fat Quarter Shop. It is the Designer Mystery Block of the Month using Peace on Earth Fabric by Three Sisters for Moda. God that is a mouthful!!!!!

The first 4 blocks went easy peasy, last night I found my mojo and was working away while watching the movie Atonement on my laptop (great movie!!). Well, I was not really paying attention and I may have been slightly careless with the cutting which means that the block is not quite up to snuff!!!!!! Every block measures 12.5", but not that one!!! What am I going to do??? Should I look for some fabric while in the US???? Should I leave it and try to stretch it when I go to put the whole thing together??? The block is coming in at 12 - 12 1/4 (mostly the latter), not my best work.....

I pledge to never watch tv or any other media while cutting again, tsk tsk tsk!!!!

Bye and keep smiling!!!!!

Slàinte!!!!!

Okay everyone, I want you all to listen up!!!!! (I sound like a mom don't I!!!!) A very good friend of mine (some of you have been reading her blog) Sherry is nearing the finish line and is about to launch the first issue of Irish Quilting!!!! Sherry has been working feverishly over the past few months and the end is in sight, all of us who know her are sooo excited for her, she is presenting us quilters here in Ireland with a venue to display our work and a resource for future quilters on this Emerald Isle. The photography will take your breath away, the quilts are travelling all over this beautiful Island to be photographed in some of our most scenic areas. So please, please, please watch out for it and buy yourself a copy!!!!!

Before I head off to visit my family for a couple of days, I wanted to give a verry public shout out to Sherry and thank her for allowing my two quilts to be included in her magazine. There are stories behind both of those quilts and how they came in to being and then showing up in Irish Quilting. I was chatting with Sherry today and we both had a right chuckle over her anxiety and excitement for the next two weeks and my disgracefully high credit card bill which of course is all quilt related, the UPS man has been making alot of deliveries to my parents house lately!!!!!!! Let's just say the children's piggy banks are going to be surprisingly empty by the end of the day!!!!!! The excitement in Sherry's voice was palpable!!!!!

There are many talented patchwork quilters here in Ireland. When I first moved here (almost eight years ago) I looked for quilt shops or even fabric shops, thinking it would be a nice way to meet other women and get better settled. There was nothing...... I forged ahead and we built our home and set up doing Bed & breakfast. I started reading blogs about quilting and searching out online suppliers of fabric and notions that would ship overseas. There was nothing here in Ireland. There were no groups advertised, no where to take classes and worse no where to buy fabric. This is how I met Sherry!!!! You have to work very hard overhere to get involved in quilting, it is an underground activity that desperately wants to move above ground. Everything is word of mouth and it can take forever before you speak to the one person who knows somebody who has a cousin that does quilting!!!!! I hope that this magazine will help showcase some of the very talented Irish women on this Island!!!!!!

So, Cheers Sherry, to you from the bottom of my heart:

Slàinte agus go raibh mìle maith agat!!!!



***** Please note that my accent mark is backwords and I couldn't find the proper one on the keyboard, many apologies to those of you who speak Irish and who will notice my mistake!!!! My children pointed it out immediately, these children never stop ganging up on me!!!!!!

Just Another Weekend!

First I would like to show you the gorgeous sunset we had last night, all three of my children were outside mesmerized by the color of the sky! I just had to take some photos to share. This past weekend was the end of a very busy 6 weeks. I had more business in the past 6 weeks than June and July combined!!! Not really but pretty close.... The tourist season is winding down and exhaustion has set in. Last night there were no guests in the house and I was extremely grateful for that. I have alot of work ahead of me this week in an effort to get this house back to proper order!!!

The bottom picture is what a small corner of my sunroom looks like right now. The pile of sheets need to be folded and pressed, these are the guest sheets that have accumulated over the past few days!!!! Yes I said days not weeks!!!!! In amongst the sheets is a baby quilt that is waiting to be bound and given to the new mother (well, she was a new mother 6 months ago -- I'm slightly behind!!!). On the table is laptop, magazines (quilting of course), my DS#1 Egyptian project and my sewing machine and basket of tools. I have no guests on my calendar and plan on spending the next week catching up on all my jobs.
I might even finish up a quilt or two or at least give it my best!

All the best and keep smiling!!!!

Memory Lane

I thought for today I would take a trip down memory lane!!! You see I am heading off to the US of A very soon and these quilts are going with us to their new homes.
The first quilt over there on the left is for my mother and father. It was done with Roman holiday fabric from Moda and was a kit from the Fat Quarter Shop last Christmas. All of my quilty pals say that it is not very Christmas and could be used year round. I am sure they will enjoy it and if they don't then I will take it back!!!!! Don't put it past me!!!

These two quilts are going to be winging their way across the US to the beautiful Pacific Northwest. The light color quilt was one of the first quilts I showed on this blog way back in January. Hopefully my neice will enjoy this quilt and will look pretty in her room. And if not then I will take it back.... I mean business people!!!!!!!!

The Thimbleberries quilt with the trees will be hopefully gracing the back of my sister's sofa in her living room. They live in Washinton state, close to the Canadian border near Vancouver, the thimbleberries will fit in with their enviroment perfectly!!!!! If not then you know that I will take it back!!!!

I love my quilts and grow very attached to them so I only like sharing with people that I am pretty sure will appreciate them!!!

We are all very excited about our trip to the states, the only sad bit is that FarmerBoy has to stay at home and take care of the animals. He has no more holiday time left this year and what few days he does have needs to be saved for Christmas. It will be tough not having my shopping monitor with me, ohhhhh myyyyy what shall I do!!!!!

My children are sooooo excited to see their grandparents and indulge in some purely American food. This holiday will be all about the food!!!!! Their first request was to ask my mother to have root beer and some of that really good danish. They also want to go to the Donut Inn for chocolate donuts on the first morning, do ya think we might have a problem with hyperactivity later in the day or a serious sugar crash!!! Yikes!!!! High on their list is pizza, hot dogs (the real ones not like the Irish ones), cheddar cheese popcorn and last but not least Candy Corn!!!!! They can thank me for that one, I can't wait to get my hands on some Brachs Candy Corn, it's all I can think about.

High on their list of activities is a walk at the woods, go to the playground at the beach (personally they are a little to old for this but I will indulge them so that they move on), ice skating rink and last but not least Toys r Us. They left the US when the oldest was 5 and the youngest wasn't quite 2, whenever they go to visit they are overwhelmed with the sizes of the stores and the amount of choices available. We are looking forward to a great holiday. It has been two years and our visit is long overdue!
Bye and keep smiling!!!!!!

Come Visit my Workshop!!!!!

Welcome to my little nest! This is where the magic happens, or rather where I wished it happened!!! One of the greatest aspects of blogging is that you get a glimpse of other people's lives. I love it when other quilters show off their space and talk about their studios or work areas. This is mine!!!!!

When we had dormer windows put in late last spring, we gained a little extra space and some much needed sunlight. I was "allowed" to claim one of the dormers for myself. Now this little work area is just outside my bedroom door in the hallway. It's not much, but it's all mine....

Next to my desk is a plastic 3 drawer storage unit for my Fat Quarters!!! How convenient that I don't need to get up out of my chair (which by the way is falling apart). Sorry about the sunlight, I usually work with sunglasses on!!!!
I have moved slightly so that you can see the other little nook!!! Behind the fabulous Fat Quarter custom cabinet is my collection of plastic containers and assorted hold all's! Large basket for assorted stuff like glue, some rulers, threads and anything else that can fit. There are two small plastic containers with all of my threads. Keeping watch over all of this is Woody from the infamous Toy Story Saga (he is in for repairs but we pretend he is the guard). Woody is sitting on a plastic container that holds some projects that are in line to be worked on and the plastic container that the basket is sitting on is for my stash. The bottom container is filled with stash!!!! Farmerboy thinks it's old baby clothes....shhhh!!









This little attractive arrangement is for stash, charm square and jelly roll collections and scraps. The purple baskets have my Thimbleberries stash and other assorted fabrics. I have two types of stash, both are equally unhealthy!!!! I buy fabric online when it is on sale and this is randomly purchased, I try to purchase a variety of colors, textures and print sizes. I also collect fabrics from a certain collection or designer. For example, I love Three Sisters designs from Moda. I have a nice litte stash of their fabrics as well as April Cornell fabrics. I am a huge fan of Lakehouse fabrics and enjoy collecting that year in and year out.


My space is small and cramped, but it is all mine and sure beats the kitchen table where I have been for quite some time. Someday when all my chicks have flown the nest I will have a spare room to set up in and I am sure I will be missing the little chicks more than enjoying my bigger space. So I am happy and grateful for my little hole in the wall!!!!!
Plus this is my view!!!!!!!!!! Can't beat that!!!!!!

Have a good one and keep smiling!!!!!

Slowly but surely!

Slowly but surely I make progress on this adorable gift. Yesterday I showed you a small glimpse of this quilt and today I would like to share the applique that I did late last night. Applique can be a bit daunting for me, it's the stitching that makes me tremble not the fusing!!!

I have to do the three borders and then I will get it quilted. Once all of that is done I can start working on the second one.

Have a good one and Keep smiling!!!!

A Little Something!!

I have been working on so many different things lately, both quilty and otherwise! I have designed this little number for FarmerBoy's Grandniece! FarmerBoy comes from a big family and one of his nephews is the proud father of twin girls. I purchased Lakehouse fabric in two colorways, Pink/Orange and Purple/Black in order to make quilts for the new additions. The quilts will have some applique and are going to be twin size. I know that they are not your typical baby quilts but I didn't want them to have cot size quilts but rather something they can grown into!!!!

My second bit of news is that I am now a card carrying member of the IPS, the Irish Patchwork Society!!! Sherry asked me to join her on her visit to my local chapter in New Ross. How could I deny her the pleasure of my company?! She also introduced me to a former neighbor of hers who coordinates a Thursday evening quilting bee in one of the local community halls. So I joined the ladies in Bree last Thursday and was sooo delighted that I went, it is nice to get out and meet other quilters. I plan on attending every Thursday.

Hopefully I will have the Purple and Black combo ready soon and will share a photo of that. The kiddos are going to be home soon so I need to finish up my sewing and get ready for a little homework time!!!!!

Keep Smiling!

Where does the time go?

I honestly don't know where the time goes, I want to be a good blogger and I have the best of intentions but somehow I always get waylaid by LIFE!!! I am juggling so many things right now and time just seems to slip away. I have been working on learning EQ6, the quilt design program. I have designed a few quilts (on paper) and actually made a few. We are also going to make some changes in our hospitality business. Presently we are a registered B&B but the tourism business is sliding downward and business was so bad this past summer I was all set to close up shop and start looking for a job. The job market is now the pits and so what do I do??!!!! Well, a few of my friends (quilty friends) have suggested that I start offering quilt and other craft retreats. We are working on improving our B&B website and including retreat information. I need to do some advertising and make some alterations here in the house, minimal. I will keep you all posted as we progress. Hopefully things will settle down soon!

I hope Sherry doesn't get to cross with me but I just wanted to show off a little project that I have just finished for the upcoming premiere issue of Irish Quilting!!!!! A lap quilt that I designed using the Portugal line of fabric from Moda.

It was a bit of a challenge on several levels. First it was a rush job, two week turnaround. Now for some of you that would be a piece of cake but I am also running a Bed and Breakfast single handedly and have been really busy for the past two weeks. I have three children who are involved in sports, music, the Christmas Panto that the local drama society is doing and various other clubs. My children can't pass a sign up sheet without putting down their names!!!!!! Sooooo, two weeks is daunting to say the least. The second challenge was that it had to be done with a charm square and jelly roll and a few yards of fabric. I was not allowed to touch my stash nor was I allowed to purchase or use any of my own Portugal stash!!!! Kinda of like that show where you show up with 3-5 weird food items and a professional chef makes a fabulous meal with it!

I had a few designs that I wanted to try out but the calculations weren't working for me so I had to come up with something new. This line of fabric is really beautiful and I was enjoying myself up until it was time to machine quilt it. Machine quilting is not one of the things I do best. In fact I stink at it and it really shows!!!!! I have a few quilt tops sitting here that need to be quilting and I am gritting my teeth.



I often wonder if a Gracie frame would make my life more enjoyable. I have been hemming and hawing over whether I should purchase one. Does anyone have an opinion on the Gracie frames, the one that you load your own machine onto??? Let me know?
Now onto the usual family business. Over there on the left is our lovely Tom Cat! I am pleased to introduce to you Sammy, aka Samuel Beckett. Sammy is a very pretty kitty and he knows it, he lounges around the sitting room all day long and then spends the night prowling around the fields and farmyard. We have seen lounging about on back country lanes near the neighbors house and sitting high up on the bales of straw in the barn. Sammy has the life and he knows it.
This is Sheila the wonder dog. Sheila loves going in the car and insists on sitting in the front seat as the navigator. Last October she went off with FarmerBoy and didn't come home that night!!! She had gotten out of the car and wandered off, totally not like her. FarmerBoy got in the car and didn't notice her abscence and drove the 12 miles home. Two to three weeks later on Halloween night we received a phone call from the SPCA and Sheila had been found just a few miles from our house. She found a family to take care of her while she made her way home. The family lived several houses away from the children's piano teacher, so Sheila is alot smarter than we ever gave her credit for.

Sheila was our first pet when we moved here to Ireland, she holds a very special place in our hearts!!!