Ta Da!

I did it! I sewed! I started and completed a small project. This is the first bag that I've made, and I'm ready to do another.





This is going to a bloggy friend, (who probably knows who she is). I wanted to keep it a secret, but I needed to prove that I made something. My inspiration was a tutorial at p.s I quilt

The sewing room is clean and organized, and I'm deciding on my September goals. I have plenty of project to complete that will require no shopping, so I have no excuses. Hope to have more completed projects to show you in the coming weeks.

Breaking News. . . . . . .

I ventured into the sewing room, and I've unearthed the sewing machine

and the ironing board!


Who knows what could happen next.



Stay tuned for updates on this developing story.

Long Pine Reservoir

Today was a picture-perfect day. Unfortunately, I had to attend a memorial service in the early afternoon, but we were able fit in a little paddling later. And there may have been some shopping in there somewhere, too. I've been hitting all the clearance racks lately!

Long Pine Reservoir is very pretty, but there's not much to photograph, so this will be a short post.


Like I said, a picture-perfect day!


I plan to have some sewing pictures tomorrow!

Along the Nanjemoy Creek

It's Saturday, so it must be kayaking. Are you tired of kayaking pictures yet? Today we headed for Southern Maryland to a spot that we had seen a couple of years ago, but just never got back down there. The first time we were there was for a geocache named 'Where Eagles Dare', and we saw one of the several eagle's nests in the area. Today, there were Bald Eagles everywhere. Adults and juveniles.




We saw Osprey


A Great Blue Heron


A dragonfly posed for me.


And we saw butterflies in the parking lot.




In other news, I finished a baby afghan last night that will be a Christmas gift, so one more for the Early Bird Christmas Crafters. I've also finished the stitching for a pincushion, and just have to assemble it. What do you all use for stuffing? I've heard about using crushed walnut shells, but I've checked two pet stores and haven't found any. Am I looking in the wrong place? What else can be used?

Happy weekend!

Peaches and a Quilt

On Sunday, hubby and I went to the local Peach Festival, as we have for the past several years. Attending such festivals is one the perks of living in a somewhat rural area. There are craft booths, and an old-time tractor parade, but the main reason for going is the food, of course.


..........................You can get Peach Pie.....................


.............................Peach Ice Cream............................


......................Peach Cobbler....or Peach Tea......................


.........................or just plain Peaches!..............................




One of the other highlights is a handmade quilt that is always raffled off. Unfortunately, there had been a slight rain shower right before we got there, so the quilt had been taken down. I did get the gentleman selling tickets to hold it up for me, but we can't see the entire quilt. They haven't called me to tell me I won. :-(

Happy Anniversary!

Mr. Quilting Dreams and I celebrated our anniversary today (it was actually Tuesday) by kayaking and eating, two of our favorite things! We live in a small town with decent restaurants, but not a great selection. So we often choose our kayaking site by what we're in the mood to eat! Today we had yummy crab cake sandwiches at Cantler's in Annapolis, MD. So that meant kayaking on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay to work up an appetite.



I know I haven't spent much time sewing this summer, but this is my favorite thing to do, so the sewing will have to wait until cold weather sets in.


Sandy Point Light, up close and personal. It's hard to get a good picture from a bobbing boat. Just when you hit the button to snap the shot, the boat moves!



I love the Bay Bridge, the only bridge across the Bay in Maryland.



While we were waiting to be seated at the restaurant, (first you have to wait to be parked! It's at the end of a country road, and there's a line to get into the parking lot) we walked around the dock and saw crates of crabs waiting to be processed. We chose not to eat steamed crabs today, but instead we had crab cake sandwiches! Well worth the wait. If you've never eaten a Maryland crab cake, you haven't lived!! Accept no substitutions.



I promise there will be quilting pictures again in the near future.

It's August already?

I didn't realize how long it had been since I posted, so I need to get back with the program. I haven't done any sewing all summer and I even stopped into a quilt shop a couple of days ago, and walked out empty handed. How pathetic is that? I fear I shall be banned from the sisterhood of quilters. I had planned to do Kelly's Quilt-a-long, but I was just too stressed and overwhelmed at the time. I have been crocheting and cross-stitching, however, which I recently took up again after an absence of several years. I have two Christmas gifts in progress, and one is nearing completion.

I've also started exercising, which is long overdue. I'm walking, riding my exercise bike, and of course kayaking!

I couldn't believe how close these geese allowed us to get!


Yesterday was a perfect day to be out on the water. Not too hot (Finally!!) and a slight breeze. We went to a nice lake in Pennsylvania and spent a very nice afternoon on the water.

I plan to make a few cards today, download pictures from my cameras, and then I promise that I will do some sewing. Someone hold me accountable please!!