I love going on quilt retreats and sometimes I will just sew and the last retreat I went on I did both when I made this quilted bag.  I had this kit for a few years and finally dug it out and made it.  I'm trying to go through all my kits in my sewing room and finish them up.  Truth be told I would probably have to sew every day to get through it all...ugh!  That is not good :0

Winter still has its hold on us here in Wisconsin.  Today it's raining and the animals are not overly happy about that.  We haven't tapped any trees yet and we haven't seen any buckets/bags out yet.  Around here most of the Amish have converted over to the tubes and bag system, not us we still us the galvanized buckets hooked on a spile/spout.  We're not too fond of having tubing lines running through our sugar bush, it's just not for us.

Well, the month of February is coming to a close.  I'm not really sure where January or February went, I guess being busy probably helped some.

Back in late September early October, I went on a 9 day quilting cruise up the east coast and into Canada. It was a Judy Niemeyer Quiltworx quilt that we had worked on.  I will say that this was my very first cruise.

This was our view when we were sewing.

This was not my quilt, this was one of the instructors quilt, we just had to take a pose with it.

The goal was to finish a quarter of the quilt which most of us did not do. When I got home I started right away on it. I knew that if I put it aside that there was a very good chance that I would forget where I left off and most likely forget how to even put it together. I did not pick the colors, each of us all got the same colors so there will be 30 of these quilts floating around USA and Canada when the others finish theirs.

I have so many photos to share from my cruise that I thought starting with the reason I went on this cruise was a good place to start.

I know the old saying is...in like a lion and out like a lamb...when it comes to the month of March, but right now our March is pretty lamb-like.  I'm excited to be getting back into blogging again, I've really missed it a lot, though I must have needed to have a break since I had been gone so long from the blog.

I have been doing a bit of quilting and finished my Lori Holt's Farm Girl Vintage Quilt.  Although I didn't do the sew along, I had gone on a local quilt shop bus shop hop trip and the theme was Midwest Farm Girls featuring the Farm Girl Vintage book and that was in 2016.  It only took me two years to get it done :)

One reason why I had been MIA from the blog was that at the Madison Quilt Expo last September I had purchased a Baby Lock Crown Jewel 3 long arm machine and in the first part of November I had gone to a getaway down in St Louis Missouri to learn my machine, it was a 4 day training on my machine and frame.  It was awesome! 

My mom had made quilts for all her grandchildren when they had their first baby and when she passed she had left 6 baby quilts not done.  So, I took all the fabrics and her pattern ideas and I'm finishing them for her, so now I have 2 down.

So, this is some of what I have been doing since being gone from the blog and it's great to be back.

I stole away for the weekend to sew with some friends. The weather turned bad when we all settled in for our weekend of sewing. We didn’t mind, we were warm and had plenty of food, and lots of sewing projects to work on. I got done what I wanted to get done.

The place we stayed at is exactly the same driving distance for all 4 of us. It’s an area where there are many people who come to ice fish in the winter and fish in the summer. 

It was really a nice getaway especially with winter still hanging on tight. 

First off our Texas kids are all fine and stayed dry during Tropical Storm Harvey.  It was close for our son and his family with the water flooding their street and starting to creep up the driveway a bit, but it receded before any damage was done...whew!

I quilted a quilt that a friend pieced together and donates to an auction, I donated my quilting services.  This is the third one she's done and the second one I've quilted for her.  I've also been working on a quilt I was asked to make for a friend who wanted a quilt for their cabin here in Wisconsin, that top is finally finished and will go on the frame soon, I will post a photo of that one when it's all done.

I've been eying up this barn sweater to make and finally I'm starting it.  The yarn is actually a mocha color but doesn't look like it in this photo.

I've been trying to keep busy with my hobbies that I love to do, and with the cooler weather we have been having, I'm enjoying cuddling up underneath my quilt in the evening and just knitting.

Wow, two posts in one week, hopefully I can keep it up.

I am so loving the cooler weather we have been having of late, the whole summer has been absolutely awesome.  I skipped out for a weekend getaway to do some sewing with a friend last month.

This cute table runner was just one of the projects I finished and sitting out on the porch with a cup of coffee was totally relaxing.

I started these socks last January and finally am getting them done.  We planted some Minnesota Midget melons and I just couldn't resist a melon break when Mr. brought a melon in to try.

I've had this quilt in the back of my mind when I saw the panel in the quilt shop I frequent.  I plan to donate this quilt for a Gala/Dinner held in South Dakota.

I am working on another quilt right now but it's really in the early stages to post about.  Though I've not been blogging I have been keeping busy sewing and knitting.

I'm still having a hard time believing that school has started and summer is almost over.  I do love fall though and can't wait to get apples from the orchard and make applesauce.

I've been making things for my booth and these mug rugs turned out so cute and my little swim fish pincushion find, I'm just loving him.  Gasp!!!! There's a loose thread in my bottom photo LOL!  

I'm still posting from my iPad and this post is from my phone. Let me know what you think, especially if you are viewing my blog from your computers or laptops. Are my photos ok?  I'm thinking if I can post from my phone or iPad I just might post more.

Thoughts?

I've got a little bit of this and a little bit of that in this post.  Tho I've not been blogging regularly I have been busy and all these photos are from my cell phone.

From my walk the other day.  Did I say before that we are green and lush? Well we are and as you can see the vegetation almost covered this fence post.

Our pumpkin harvest was really good this year.

Over the summer I joined a Mystery Block of the Week and made a picnic quilt.  I went outside the box a bit and added the flying geese and the 4 patch strip on the ends to make it just a tad bigger.

This Missouri Star tumbler quilt went to Alaska.

Another pattern from Missouri Star, the Everything Bag.

One of my daughters wanted me to make this for her, so before I mailed it out I had to model it.

This is just a little bit of what I've been doing and I'll leave you with a photo of some visitors that we had come by the other day.  Our neighbors cows got loose and they meandered over to our place (LOL).

I'm so happy I've finally got this done and in time for any camping trips we hope to take in the near future.  I quilted it with a fish pattern that I thought was very fitting for the "glamping" theme.  Camping and fishing they pretty much go hand in hand.  I fell in love with this pattern a couple of years ago.  I'm a huge fan of the log cabin block pattern and this just had a bit of a twist to it.

Now on to the next one.

I feel like I'm finally getting the hang of using my mid-arm and I'm LOVING it!!  This one is by Fons and Porters pattern...By the Sea, tho I had bought my pattern down at the Missouri Star Quilt Co.

I have such a wonderful holder of my quilts, he patiently waits until I'm done taking photos, boy I love that man.

So, another one done and time to head down to start the next one.