Adventure Time!

Wow- what a weekend! Last week I mentioned that I was taking a quick trip to Long Beach for the Long Beach Quilt Festival. This was a last minute trip and all happened because of a cousin who works for the airlines. So I grabbed a bag Thursday morning and my friend Terry (of PGD fame!) and we set out for the time of our lives.

The way it works with these kind of flights is you're on standby. Our chances of getting to LB were slim but we opted to give it a try. We were so surprised when we made it on the very first flight. Woo Hoo!!!

We made it to LB and after a much needed nap set out to get our party started. Hail to the Queen Mary there in the background!

In true Emily fashion I didn't bring my camera. No it wasn't forgotten, it was deliberate. I didn't want to have extra weight in my baggage. So all of the FABULOUS pics are from my cell. The pic above is from one of the special exhibits at the show. It was an amazing fabric village with little houses and trees. The details were unbelievable. Each one was done by a different artist.

I was certain I had more pictures from the show. Dang it! I did a quick google search and there are TONS on the wed if you're interested.  :o)

The trip was short and sweet and on Saturday morning we gathered our things and headed back to the airport. The problem is- we forgot one small thing. Both of us had purchased a cute decorative hammer at the quilt show and had it in our luggage. Just so you know- the TSA doesn't like that. The regulation is 7" or less and our hammers were 7 1/2". Long story short we managed to escape being thrown in jail and opted to check our bags instead.

I can finally see the ocean!

Well as luck would have it our bags got on the plane and we didn't. After reviewing our chances of getting on a flight we decided to extend our stay in LB until Monday. Of course we had no clothes or personal items because they were in our bags! We went to the rental car counter and batted our eyelashes for a deal. A cute little convertible (pictured above) that we never even lowered the top on because we didn't know how.  :o)  A stop at walmart for a change of clothes and toothbrush and we were set.

We agreed that we had seen all of the show and chose to do a little shop-hopping instead.

Armed with a GPS we visited:

Tranquility Quilt Shop

The Quilt Cupboard

Sewing Party

Quilter's Garden

Fat Quarter's Quilt Shop

Orange Quilt Bee

Quilt in a Day

Piecemakers

One of my favorite shops was Sewing Party. I had gone to their booth at festival and loved their selection of fabrics. They carry a lot of FreeSpirit and Japanese fabrics. None of the other shops we visited carried these prints so if that's what you like you have got to visit this store!

Fat Quarters Quilt Shop was another wonderful stop. This store is HUGE and definately has something for everyone. We spent quite a while in this store and enjoyed every minute of it. What was nice is that we got there about 30min. before closing and they never mentioned it once. They visited with us and were so pleasant. I could've stayed much longer but my wallet was empty and so was my tummy.

If you're in the area these two shops are a must!

Mr. Seagull with a lollipop in his beak

 All of the stores we visited were really nice and each differed just enough from the next to keep it interesting. A must for our trip was to visit the famed Quilt in a Day shop. Eleanor Burns was at Festival but that didn't stop us from going to the shop.

This shop has a HUGE inventory. In fact, they were having a tent sale that was full of bolts going for $4/yd (or $3.50 if you buy the whole bolt). Unfortunately we weren't that impressed with their customer service. Granted we showed up right before closing (they close at 4 on saturday!) but you would think since we were travleing and spending money they could've been a tad bit friendlier. We hurried as quickly as we could and then stood at the cutting table as the woman took her sweet time to cut for us. We were the only ones there and it took 20 minutes to get 8 fat quarters for Terry and 8  1 yd cuts of fabric for me. I think we were both just dissapointed because we expected more from this very famous shop. If I am in the area again I'm definitly giving this one a second chance!

On Sunday we decided to kick back and relax. I had brought some hexies to work on and Terry volunteered to help. After a few minutes I heard her sigh. I glanced over and she held up her work (on the right). Friends don't let friends sew hexies! We laughed so much on thie trip and really had a great time.

Our last stop on Sunday eve was the beach. We went to Seal Beach- one of my favorite SoCal beaches. It was gorgeous!

Monday morning we went to the airport again hoping for good news on a flight. Thankfully the guy helping Terry was super friendly and helpful. We weighed our options and instead of waiting it out decided to purchase tickets to get home.

It was a fun weekend and certainly an adventure but I am glad to be home. Now I just have to figure out what I'm going to do with all this fabric I bought!!  :o)

Also, I'm now on instagram @crazyoldladies if you want to follow.

Simply Charming MINIS!

Hey there friends! Today I have the pleasure of telling you a bit about Simply Charming Mini's- the latest book from Moose on the Porch Quilts!

I've had the pleasure of knowing Konda Luckau for several years and I am 'simply' amazed at her talent and this book is FULL of it. It includes a wonderful variety of mini quilts- 16 to be exact and each one can be made with charms.

The instructions are clear and precise and the diagrams show everything perfectly. I've been wanting to make a couple of these since I saw her booth at market and I scrambled to find the time before this post. But alas, summer has stepped in the way.

I did manage to try my hand at a little photoshop to show you EXACTLY how I want to use my mini's. (Please don't judge- photoshop and I have a love/hate relationship)

I LOVE the idea of hanging a mini quilt amidst a collage of pictures and other decor in a bedroom. I pasted Konda's 'Fire and Rain' quilt into this pic. Isn't it cute!?

Photo courtesy of Pottery Barn- edited by ME!

 And it's not just for girls.

Photo courtesy of Pottery Barn- edited by ME!

This pattern is so fun and looks good in any fabric choice.

The next one is called Bitty Bits it has a more traditional style and looks fabulous in this boys' room.

Photo courtesy of Pottery Barn- edited by ME!

 Lastly is my FAVORITE pattern- Lilies and Lace. It stands alone as a piece of art in this nursery. 

Photo courtesy of Pottery Barn- edited by ME!

The fun thing about these patterns is the versatility. She has minis that are modern and minis that are traditional. There's a mini in this book for EVERYONE. Wanna see? Leave me a comment and you will be entered for a chance to win your very own copy.

I'm heading to the Long Beach Quilt Festival this weekend so I'll pick a winner next week.

For more chances to win make sure you check out the other bloggers in the tour.

Tues, July 24 Lissa Alexander http://modalissa.blogspot.com

                        Emily Herrick http://crazyoldladiesquilts.blogspot.com

Wed, July 25 Nannette Merrill http://fredashive.blogspot.com

Thurs, July 26 Pam Lincoln http://www.mamaspark.blogspot.com

Fri, July 27 Brooke Johnsen http://pitterputterstitch.blogspot.com

Sat, July 28 Sherri McConnell http://www.aquiltinglife.com

Sun, July 29 April Mazzoleni http://april-makingendsmeet.blogspot.com

Mon, July 30 Vickie Eapen http://www.spunsugarquilt.com

Tues, July 31 Konda Luckau http://moosequilts.blogspot.com

                        Michele Foster http://quiltinggallery.com

Also- Don't forget to mark your calendar for the

 The quilt along will be Sep 11 - Apr 2.  You will make 4 mini quilts- one every two weeks and then the next two weeks will be for quilting them or getting caught up.  Then four more quilts, and a break and four more quilts then a break.  So we will make 12 of the mini quilts out of the book.

Her quilt alongs are fabulous- you don't want to miss out!!!

YUM-O!!!

The other day I was cruisin Center St. in Provo. HA! That's the only way you can since it's 10 mph. Anyway I was looking around at all the old buildings and I spotted what looked like a 'new' place.

Cut to Saturday night when the hubs and I broke away for some "alone time" and I suggested the new place I'd seen.

Apparently they just opened on July 10th. This place is so cool. It's a tiny bit confusing when you walk up because there's signs for The Madison, Cowboys, and Old Towne Grill.  But let me explain.  

After 10pm the back opens and is a club. I believe that's The Madison. They serve delicious looking bar food and of course alchoholic drinks at this time.

Upstairs on the 3rd floor is Cowboys- the country bar. Yes, they even have a mechanical bull. The hubs vows to come give it a try when his back is healed. Yeah, we'll see.

We stayed on the main floor where the Old Town Grill is located. Yes they serve alcohol but as I pointed out to my husband so does Olive Garden, Chile's and Applebee's. Not to mention so many others in the Utah valley. We were carded when we went in which made me feel all young and cute- but we don't drink so opted for Dr. Pepper.  :o)

Afterwards we were told there's a separate section of the restraunt you can go to that doesn't have alcohol at all and is away from the bar signs and such. Great for families. In fact, there were a few eating there when we left.

The menus are super cute- nailed to lightweight pieces of wood.

Oh, and the selection is amazing. There really is something for everyone.

The hubs had fettuccini and I had nachos.

They have the cutest barn-wood art all over the place.

This crazy couple had a great time. I didn't plan on taking a million pics while I was there so only had my cell. Sunny day + bad cell = not so great pictures. Sorry.

Something else I LOVED about the decor was the curtain tie-backs. Yes, ties! I keep trying to figure out where I can do this in my house. :o)

I didn't get pics of dinner but I did manage to keep the husband off of the dessert just long enough to snap a pic of desset. I have a lot of favorite desserts out there- more than I care to mention. But this one BY FAR takes the cake. No pun because this is a brownie...with ice cream....and raspberry sauce...in the perfect combination. SERIOUSLY!!!

It didn't last long. :o)

(the jar is our drink glass- large and in charge. So perfect!)

This was my favorite sign and completely true. This place is definately AWESOME SAUCE! Every little detail was thought out without being too overdone.

And the prices were reasonable. The hubs and I ate for 32 bucks and that included drinks and dessert. Pretty darn good!

You HAVE to check this place out. 

Just to give you a little push I have a stack of coupons to give out. If you live in the area and want to give this place a try leave a comment and then EMAIL ME your address (crazyoldladies@gmail.com) and I will send you a coupon.

Please come help support a tasty local business!

So what are you waiting for? Your coupon could be in the mail TODAY!

What a week!

I mentioned at the start of the week that the hubs and my oldest would be gone all week at scout camp. This is no big deal. My hubs is a hunter so I'm used to him being gone for a few days at a time. I usually try to plan fun things for me and kids to do during the day. And nights are for sewing into the wee hours after the kids go off to bed.

This time I would be minus 1 since the oldest kidlet was going to be gone too. I had plans ya'll! We were going to have a party week. The operative word being "WE".

Unfortunately my kids had other plans and decided to have their mid-summer-breadowns this week. SERIOUSLY!? These two who usually play so nicely together instead were at war. All. Week. Long.

Honestly I think they were bored of eachother.

Of course, there was good times too. In 5 minute increments. Twice, maybe three times a day if I was lucky. A couple of times I left them to "work it out" while I snuck away for an hour to have lunch with the girls. I believe that was my saving grace for the week.

I love these kids. They make me laugh and they give the best hugs. And most of the time they're really good kids. But this week! UgH!

I never thought I would miss the hubs and giant child #1 so bad! We snuck away to a movie this morning (Ice Age Continental Drift- Great Movie!) To pass the time until the guys get home.

And right on cue- my phone just rang to go pick them up. Weeeee!

In case

The hubs and giant child #1 are headed off to scout camp for the week.

Last night was a scramble to gather up needed items and get them packed.

At about 9:30pm the hubs tells me he would really like a new pillowcase to take.

He picked out the fabric.

I traded doing the dishes with him so I could get it done.

Good thing he doesn't realize just how easy it is to make a pillowcase.  :o)

I'm going to miss having my guys aroung,

but I'm looking forward to spending some quality time

with my younger two.

See you soon!

Criss Cross Applesauce

I only have a few finishing touches to add to my latest 'first' project.

I've never made improv crosses before.

I used the intructions from the Chair Quilt by Lucinda Jones

in the Pretty and Patchwork Doll Quilts book.

(LOVE that book!)

 I can't wait to get it quilted and show you the finished quilt!

FISHSTICKS freebie!

Hey folks!
I hope you enjoyed your Independence Day celebrations.
I'm spending a lazy morning going through my inbox.
You'll be glad I did because I found something AWESOME for you.

The lovely Bonnie from Fishsticks Designs emailed me a week or two ago with this link. I finally had a moment to check it out this morning.
The design is SO CUTE and I don't even sew clothing. What's even better is that it's free!  Yes, you heard me- FREE!!

So hop over to Bonnie's blog and check it out. While you're there you should take a moment to check out all her other cute designs. This woman is TAL-EN-TED and she's probably the sweetest gal I've ever met.

That's it from here. I'm going to have a bowl of cereal. See you soon.  :o)

Fear Factor

This last week I decided to conquer some fears I had.

The first: Pebble Quilting.

I have a special project that HAS to be pebble quilted. I keep trying to visualize it quilted in a different way but nothing else will work. After a pep talk from April I decided to give it a try. It wasn't as hard as I thought, but definitely takes practice. In this photo it looks pretty good but I'm going to work on it a little more before I start on the actual quilt.

The second: Paper Piecing

I made my own dresden-ish template and gave it a go. It wasn't too difficult, but like the quilting, needs practice. I'm planning on using this as the example for my Bee blocks. I am so excited!

Last week I took a night off from the fam. to hang out with some wonderful ladies at the SNAP/Sewing Summit meet-up. It was so much fun and just the break I needed. I finally met the fabulous Sachiko from TeaRoseHome. I've been a fan of hers for years and have never met her in person!

I also met Natalie from Craftin' Mechanic! I fell in love with Domestic Bliss by Liz Scott but Material Girls was all out of charms. So Natalie and I split the cost of a layer cake and had it cut in half!

As soon as I got home I grabbed some of my Cotton Coutures that matched and put together a lovely little bundle. These gorgeous prints are going to be my next 'First'.  I better get busy.

In other news:

Ribbon Candy Quilt Company is giving away a 25 yd. roll of Steam-A-Seam!

Visit the link to find out more!