October 27, 2009

I can still remember the first party I ever attended that had any dealings with Christmas ornaments. Even now the memory makes me laugh, although it was many years ago....

The Taste of Home Cooking Show, held at the local fairgrounds, was quite a hulabaloo in our small community. I remember how excited and grown up I felt to be going with my mom, her friend Keena, and my little sister, to what was sure to be a delicious event! I actually remember very little about the show itself, funny how that works out. What I do remember, was the door prize that we all received: Campbell's snowman Christmas ornaments. Now these were awfully ugly, I don't think I ever heard of anyone thinking they were cute cause they just weren't.
My mom was hosting the Piecemakers annual Christmas party that year and had yummy snacks and fun games lined up. These ladies had come to win some serious prizes! Name the block was the game at hand. 12 traditional quilt blocks had been made and displayed, every woman writing down the name to as many as she could remember. I have no idea what the winner won, but I'm sure it was lovely. The loser was not so fortunate however, for she took home a booby prize: an ugly Campbell's soup snowman Christmas ornament collection! Having been a joke from the start, those silly things circulated through many ornament exchanges for years. I wonder where on earth they ended up? Someone who wasn't in on the joke must have thrown them out or something.....

Well as we gear up for the holidays here at the shop, we are looking forward to the cookie exchange and ornament make! I have several cute patterns to chose from so come on down and bring some of your favorite cookies to share!

October 20,2009

Wow, so that rain turned into a totally crazy storm! The power was out forever....I was driving home that night and the whole town looked abandoned: it was so dark cause everything was closed down...even the traffic lights were dark! Thankfully, the power is back on and things are up and running....
It's cloudy today but the past few days have been so beautiful as we experience a central coast autumn. Although they are few and far between the oak trees, there are a few colorful, deciduous trees to be found here in town. We spent a couple hours this weekend just appreciating their beauty...
So as we head into the "quilting season," we have 2 binding workshops coming up so that your treasures can be completed with a perfect binding. Check out workshop times at our website:
www.atascaderosewingandvacuum.com. Can't wait to see all of your projects! Happy sewing!!!

October 13, 2009

So who isn't loving this rain?! I love it! I slept with my window open last night; one cause I always do. Two it was nice to hear the sound of the wind and the rain, just pelting outside while I was snuggled up, warm and toasty underneath the unfinished whole cloth quilt on my bed....ok, I admit it, its been 8 almost 9 years and it is still not finished. But one day it will be!

The first rain always seems to usher in so many other things. Even this morning my mom was reminding me about how dangerous the first rain is and to make sure I drive particularly slow...A caution both of my parents have been reminding me of since I began driving! But more than that, the rain seems to usher in the feel of the holidays. Everyone is back in school, Halloween will soon be upon us and then the next thing you know, it's Thanksgiving....Christmas... hello 2010!

Christmas trees have always been a favorite tradition in our home. We have always gone down to get our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving....that is of course after we come home from a crazy morning of early shopping! We would come home to my mom playing the first Christmas album of the year. Out came all of our cherished ornaments as my sister and I carefully placed each one on the tree. And not to forget the lights! The more the merrier!
The completion of our tree comes with the tying of the tree skirt. My mom and I each made one of these, many years ago now, as a mother - daughter project. Hers was a red and green one for our own home, mine a purple and green one so that it would match my grandmother's ornately decorated tree. It's amazing how our memories and decor become a part of our traditions. They become keepsakes.

So to celebrate traditions and holidays, we will be making this tree skirt here in the shop this November, before Thanksgiving and the craziness that the holiday season always brings! So come and sew with us and create some of your own new memories and keepsakes!

October 6, 2009

Well Friday night we had our first class sessions here at the shop!

Donna has been quilting for a little over a year and brought with her an adorable, cheerful quilt that she was binding! How fun, I love show and tell! She was taking the curved piecing class featuring the quilt, DOT.COM. In lieu of the craziness created by an over whelming amount of polka dots, she brought a variety of florals for her curved piecing project. The combination of circles and florals reminded me of a colonial style garden. I'm looking forward to seeing her finished product!

Wendy is a brand new quilter. She has had her sewing machine for 2 weeks and already has been busy with pillow cases, tote bags and now quilts! She was enrolled in the beginning quilting class featuring Seaside Rose. She and her husband had chosen several cute green florals for her project and she was excited to go home and show him her completed strip! She also fell in love with her new quarter inch foot, (if you don't have one, I would highly recommend one), and the chain piecing technique. I'm looking to seeing her finished piece as well!

There is still a couple more days to sign up for Bernina Club as well as the second session offered for the 2 classes mentioned above. We should have the next class rounds up on the web sometime in the next couple of weeks, so keep your eyes open for those! Looking forward to seeing and sewing with all of you!

September 28,2009

This weekend we took those crazy high school kids hiking up Bishop's Peak, one of the central coast's seven sisters. I had never been on this particular hike and was really excited to go. We had things timed so that we could watch the sunset from the top....Of course, even the best plans sometimes get way laid!

Nacho was concerned that she wasn't going to make it to the top, so I told her I would hike with her....but after a short distance, both she and Jessica decided there was no way they were getting to the top! So I hiked on, by myself for a while since the rest of the group had long since passed us; a few of our young macho men had ran to the top. After a while, I met a young girl hiking alone down the mountain. She said I still had a ways to go. (Funny but her name was Courtney too.) So needless to say, I was pretty pleased with myself when I caught up to the rest of the gang and then even beat them to the top! The top was the craziest part of the hike...narrow paths with overgrown brush, hugging rock sides and then trying to climb up them...but the reward was worth it! I had seen the sunset about 3/4 of the way up but got to see the moon rise over the top. It was a beautiful half moon, surrounded by a sprinkling of stars...providing us with a perfect moonlit hike back down. Now I am a runner and consider myself to be in pretty good shape, but this hike was 3 days ago and I am still sore!

I love to see all of creation around me, singing praise to the Creator. His beauty is what stirs in me a desire to design something beautiful....Currently I am working on a vintage dresden plate and am hoping to have that class up and coming for the new year so keep your eyes open for it and happy sewing!

September 22, 2009

Wow! What a crazy 2 weeks it has been! Despite the challenges presented, there was also lots of room for fun. This weekend a group of us went out to 46 east and via telescope, were able to see Jupiter, along with some of its rings and moons! So way cool! It has me itching to take an astronomy class....maybe some day!
Now I know I have mentioned Zombie before, and I have another crazy story about her! A cat with her personality is bound to provide endless entertainment...
So my sister took her down to the vet's office this week to be spayed. The vet informed us that she needed to do as little activity as possible for the next 5 days. Yeah right- Zombie, not running around? This presented us with quite a challenge. So it was decided that she would live in the bathroom for the next few days in order to give her some space, but limit her activity. What a mess! So first off, I kept forgetting that she was in there when I would open the door and come face to face with another creature, I nearly had a heart attack! Then she would play with everything in site. We found all kinds of stuff, hair clips, bandaids...you name it, in the hall way that she had thrown under the door. She played with the door stopper all night long. But the icing on the cake was when she "locked" us out! Some how she managed to open the drawer right by the door, and it blocked us from opening it more than just a crack. A stuck, swollen wrist and a wooden spoon later, Becca and I finally managed to close it and get in...
I am happy to report though that she is fine and back in her home environment, much to Lizzie's relief. She was missing her companion!
I am looking forward to what is hopefully a more relaxing week full of lots of sewing! Happy stitching.....

09/09/09

Well Happy 09~09~09 everyone! Don't you just love crazy dates? I have a definite fascination with them...I mean, how cool is 07~08~09? However, I will admit that 06~06~06 did creep me out just a little!
So I had an interesting experience this week. I was peanut butter and breaded! I know...how bazar is that! But when you're locked in with about 20 highschoolers for 12 hours, crazy things are bound to happen! We had split the kids into 2 teams: boys vs. girls. When Nacho (her name is really Michelle but everyone calls her Nacho) brought out 2 jars of peanut butter and 2 bags of bread, the kids started to get kind of nervous. So when she asked for a volunteer, no one jumped up and down! I volunteered; how awful could it be? Nacho handed Colton, the men's volunteer, and I each an old shirt and told us to put it on. She handed each team a jar of peanut butter and the race was on! The girls began to quickly spread peanut butter all along my back and arms. The next thing I know, I am being bombed with bread! We were racing the clock and each other to see who could get the most bread to stick to that goopy mess....And I am proud to report that we women won! The girls said that was only because the boys cheated and personally I think it was because there was more of me for it to stick to!
So we are in the process of scheduling the paper piecing class. The pattern is soooo cute! Hope you all want to learn this technique, I have to admit, it is one of my favorites! Hope to see you there!

Whew! I'd ak where the summer had gone to, but with this extreme heat, I know right where it is! But the summer is coming to a close here on the central coast; families are going for one last hoorah this Labor Day weekend before settling down into their school rutines. Having been blessed with the opportunity to travel the country many times, I know what fall is....and we just don't have it here, no fall colors, and crisp, windy days...we have Indian Summer! Now when I think autumn, I think windy days, falling leaves, and apple pie! So to commemorate these memories, We are launching October's Bernina Club as "Autumn and Aprons".....Check us out on the web. Can't wait to see all of you!

August 26, 2009

So I got up the other morning with every intention of working on the "Dot Com" class sample before I went to work....It all started with feeding. Lizzie, our cute corgi, didn't want to eat -Unheard of! She didn't even get up, good grief! So I called her over and decided that she seemed depressed. So I called my mom, who was away house sitting, to ask her what I should do...and she told me to change her food. "Ok," I thought, "no big deal." Right. By this time, our cat, Zombie, whom we affectionately refer to as the cog, because she wants to be a dog!, had come inside and was climbing up the sofa behind the table. Great. So I moved the table away and got her out, only to have to keep chasing her away from poor Lizzie's food bowl, so that Lizzie could eat!
When everyone had finally eaten, I turned on my computer to take care of some homework, really quick. Yeah Right! My brand new laptop computer, wouldn't start. I began wondering if I should go back to sleep and wake up later to a new start! Someone told me that I should have sat down and wrote a country song!
Well, all of that to say, I didn't make it to "Dot Com" that morning. But It is finished now and class scheduling is in the works! So look for it - it's the curved piecing class!

Long and HOT days of summer. I hope that you are all getting some cool air conditioned time to enjoy sewing!
Happy stitching!!!

Hey everyone! Watch for our classes starting up again in August!
Dont forget fair specials on sewing machines. Its the time of year to purchase.