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NEWSFLASH: I DID IT !

I ordered a pdf pattern on line for the first time!
I know this is 2012 and many people have done this before me, but I just have never done it, but let me back up a bit...
Some of you may know that Sue and I have been taking part in a journey called Another Year of Schnibbles (note to self: learn how to put the year of Schnibbles button on your side bar.)
It has not always been easy to acquire patterns on time to take part in each monthly quilt along so we missed Jan. and Feb. When March patterns arrived we jumped right on the bandwagon. We were a bit concerned that we might run into difficulty with obtaining the upcoming patterns on time, but Miss Rosie's Quilt Co.  came through for us! Well not just us... but you know what I mean. Today is the first day you can order her patterns in pdf format, so you just go online, pick your pattern, pay for it and then print it off! No shipping, apparently no tax was added(so far) and because of the Canadian/American dollar situation right now it was less than the actual price and best of ll....INSTANT! I printed it off right away and no waiting!

I'm excited; can you tell I'm excited? I bet you can...

The first pattern I purchased and printed is called George. I had to have this one cause although I refer to him as Mr. O here, actually I call him Georges, so I had to have that pattern.   A wise woman once told me that patterns should not travel alone so I ordered 2 more to accompany Georges and I am happy to announce they arrived at my "in-box" in good time. I am off to work a little more on my April Schnibbles...hopefully I will have some pics tomorrow.

p.s. just 20 more sleeps to the big day!

Happy Monday!

Deal with it Wendy!

Mr. O and I spent a bit of time outside on Friday burning brush and broken branches accumulated from the winter winds. I was thrilled to discover that despite the snow I had a few green daffodil sprouts showing. I was hopeful that when we went to the cottage to check on things that all the snow would be gone and we could open early this year.

Oops! Not quite yet...still a bit of chill in the air. (Deal with it Wendy!)

Afterwards we stopped at a local quilt shop and I made a small purchase and then a little Bakery/Cafe and purchased a fresh baguette, and a chocolate croissant and pistachio pastry to share. Next stop was at a small local place that makes their own cheese and we added that to the menu. Armed with our beverage and snacks we decided to stop and eat at the beach. After a bit of nourishment it was time for a walk on the beach where we gathered beach glass and just enjoyed the "salt air".

Yes that is snow and yes this is April! (Deal with it Wendy!)

Yes I am sappy...(deal with it.)

When I got up early Easter morning and looked out it wasn't the Easter Bunny I saw...

It's Northern New Brunswick; (Deal with it Wendy!) Happy Easter.

Because we have missed the first 2 months of "Another Year of Schnibbles", Sue and I are determined to be on time with each monthly project. I have a busy month ahead of me;  another short business trip away with Mr. O, piece a back for my Cinnamon and Nutmeg quilt and drop it off to be quilted, make the April Schnibbles project, prepare the cottage for opening, make myself a new travel bag and get a start on packing for our trip to Europe. 

We are already one third of the way through April and because I only arrived home from our last trip a week ago, none of these jobs are checked off my list!
Yesterday was a holiday for my Schnibbles partner so I invited her to come up and have a sewing day and we started on our "Summer Day" Schnibbles. Sue arrived with all the cutting finished and I had started mine, but needed fabric she was bringing to me to be able to finish the cutting part.
Me, in all my wisdom, thought it would be a good idea to use the leftovers from another quilt for this little project. Once I had decided this I started pressing, measuring and cutting, BUT the pieces were not large enough to cut a square and then sub-cut to triangles. This meant I had to cut and measure each triangle separately.

Somehow I managed to cut several the wrong size. Now in all fairness the angle of this photo makes the difference appear greater than it really was, but come on Wendy! How did you not notice this??? ( I wonder if it had anything to do with the lateness of the hour and the fact that was watching/listening to a movie?)

Ok, back to the cutting table...problem fixed.

After dealing with a few machine problems (again strictly my own fault)  Let's start sewing...

A dozen or more units into the project, I realized that after fixing the problems caused by a barbed needle, I had forgotten to set my 1/4 seam allowance! 

At this point Sue took pity on me and offered to rip while I continued sewing...ahh friends!

As you can imagine, by this time the morning is gone and it is time to prepare lunch...

I am happy to say that things went smoother after lunch with a lovely little stack of flying geese to show for my labours and I am confident that I will at least have one thing to cross off my list my month's end...

as for the rest of the list; I will deal with it! 

Some highlights of a quick trip

Gone from Thursday to Wednesday with 2 of those being travel days, we managed to pack in some fun times.

Shopped lots a bit.

Helped our granddaughters decorate Easter Eggs.

Our son and daughter in law bought a 6 acre piece of country property they are hoping to build on this summer, so we spent a day there with family and friends. The guys spend a little time building a fire pit and then clearing under brush. 

We also got to do a bit of four wheeling and eating and visiting and sitting around the fire.

Where there is a campfire there has to be "smores"

At one point we discovered Meg had gone off by herself to her "thoughtful spot".

She was quite content to be by herself, chattering away and cleaning the bark off a stick she had picked up earlier. A few years older and I won't be surprised to see her whittling...

When I asked her what she was thinking about, she said "nothing" but later she said she was thinking about their new house and living out here. The girls love the spot and can hardly wait.

Church on Sunday and old friends over for Sunday dinner. Later we had the girls sit to have their hair braided ...

...together! Isn't it gorgeous?

All in all a wonderful little mini vacation. 

I do agree with "Dorothy" though..."There's no place like home."

"Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home;"

John Howard Payne 

Almost over

...our little mini vacation is coming to an end. Mr. O had business in Toronto and we decided to buy an extra plane ticket and have me join him. Our son lives about 90 minutes north so it was a perfect opportunity to visit, spend a little time with our grandchildren, do a bit of shopping for our big trip and just get a bit of relaxing in. It has been a great few days with family and friends. One of our purchases was a new iPad 3. I am writing this post on it but have not figured out how to post pics yet. Probably should figure it out another day though because we have a wake up call for 6:45 for our flight and it is almost midnight.
Good night. See you at home!