African Quilt

Me again...............

Some time ago I booked into a class to make an African themed quilt with Pippa Moore.

Wow, what fun. If you ever get a chance to take here class you will not be disappointed.

Here is my design wall. Months later it pretty much still looks like that. The animals are stamped and we got them in a kit, the kit fee was $35 and I means you get to choose quite

a lot of fabrics and stamped fabrics and even paper beads.

It's 3 am

Hello.

It's 3 am and I am wide awake so I thought I might do some catching up.

First a little rant.................small business all over the province are struggling to say in business. These are real hard times. Support your local small business, it's worth it, you get full supports and people who care about your needs. If we don't, there won't be any small businesses left to support. Thanks for listening!

Getting ready for retreat now. Alot to do and prepare. It's going to be so much fun.

Ken and I just got back from Nanoose Bay. I usually do a lot of sewing there but this time I was not motivated at all and did not get any sewing done. I did nothing at all. Slept, read and watched TV. Guess that's what a relaxing holiday is all about huh?

Hi, well yes I do know that it has been quite a long time since I posted.
We had a wonderful Christmas. Kelsey, Sean, Mandy and Kevin all came for dinner.
It was supposed to be a Chinese food fiest, however, since Ken does all the cooking, he decided on beef dip. For dessert we made one of those chocolate wafer log, with whipped cream. It has been a while since I made that dessert so it was fun, actually, truth be told, I just bought the wafers, Mandy did all the work.
After dinner we went downstairs, played loud music and pretended we were rock stars.
Alot of lip sincing and dancing. What a blast!
Christmas Day I invited myself to my sister Terri's for dinner, WOW! it was wonderful, moist juicy turkey, sweet potato, mashed potato............there was more but I just cannot remember. For dessert, Terri made tow pies! Apple and Pumpkin, I had to have a small slice of each with ice cream AND whipping cream. OMG I can still taste it now if I think hard enough. My niece Jocelyn was there with her husband Clint and kids Owen and Camryn. A very good time was had by all.
Great Christmas.............Oh, Ken got me a Pandora gift certificate, I can go shopping!!! Yahoooo! Also he got me a new flat screen TV for my sewing room. Oh boy I love that. I will try to find some pictures for you. Especially the rock star photo's LOL

On my way home.......

On my way home,

I pass a wonderful place,

I never know what I might see.

The scene changes with the seasons.

This wonderful day I saw polka dot mushrooms. Little people with homes is stumps.

Beautifully painted birdhouses and and bird baths.

The beautiful lady who owns the home tells me that all her theme decorations take up quite a chunk of her house.

Butterlys and gnomes, mushrooms and frogs

It is all so beautiful, just when you think you have seen it all, there is more to see.

I will be keeping an eye on this wonderful place. I can't wait to see what Christmas brings.

It's almost time for the reveal of the new Pfaff Creative Sensation sewing and embroidery machine. Here's a little sneak peak for you. The machine will be shown worldwide on August 22nd......http://www.pfaff.com/mediafiles/creative_sensation/pre_launch/index_us.html

Okay so I know I promised wedding pics, still trying to sort them out and get them from the various people with cameras. Hang tight!

kelsey and sean wedding

so it sure has been a while since i posted Life sure does get in the way of things. The shop is busy, I am doing very good............life is good i will post wedding pics soon.

Hoop Sisters Goose Tracks

We have just wrapped up our Hoop Sisters Goose Tracks quilt. An entire quilt made one block at a time in the hoop. Wow, if you have not tried Hoopsisters, you owe it to yourself to sign up for one...........it is so much fun an addictive.


Here are a few layout pictures of the quilts produced in my class.

Here are some of the quilts we got to see and photograph at the Simon Haskins two day workshop that Anni and I took

Anni and I took a two day class with Simon Haskins. Just for extra fun we booked into the event hotel for a sleepover. Below is Simon and to the upper right is the Fabricadabra Quilt that I am in the process of making and will be offering in the shop as a class. To the left is a beautiful evening bag made entirely of embroidery stitches. I had so much fun and if you have not taken a class with Simon.............treat yourself! He is just a blast to spend the day with. Here are some more fabulous quilts from the day. They were all spread out on the floor around the room. Wonderful to see all the quilts that we see in the Jenny Haskins magazines in person.

I have lots more pictures to share but it's bedtime for me so keep an eye out for more pictures in the next few days.

It'a all about me me me!!

Okay so after months, no actually years of getting my Dad's estate all sorted out................note to self, leave a will.
Anyhoo we all ended up with a decent chunk of cash. So we started with paying our debts, then we each got some treats! I decided to beautify the two places I spend the most time in.
So.............I started with my sewing room and bought Sylvia modules to form a big U. Sewing machine on one side and serger on the other plus and extra add on called the quilters table. I ordered inserts for the drawers to hold a ton of thread spools. The whole thing is due any day so right now I am sorting and purging in my sewing room to make room to get the new stuff in and then my bff, Anni and I will get in there and, for the first time in 50 years of sewing, organize me. I am so excited, I have never had a Professional looking sewing room, I will, of course put pics up when I get settled in.
In the meantime you can go see what I got on the site, just look for the most deluxe arrangements you can get and that's it!
http://www.sylviadesign.com/index.php If you see anything you like, I can get it for you.

Next to the bedroom! I had a king size bed but it took up the whole room so I got a queen size memory foam bed............Heavenly! Then I got a set of bamboo bed sheets............wow, those are amazing. Pricey but still I highly recommend them. Then I got a feather duvet and a beautiful duvet cover.....................OMG I cannot wait to go to bed. Actually I am in bed now!

Next on the go is Retreats, one is sneaking up very quickly. A week from tomorrow.
Intrigued? Go see..http://www.pocosewingandvacuum.ca/retreat.html

Okee doke, that's it for now. Time to sleep in my comfy beautiful bed.

Okay, so it has been a while...........

Hi Everyone,
As promised I will be giving you the rest of my trip to Toronto. After spending a wonderful day of bead shopping and clothing shopping with Dariel, my eldest sister.
It was time for her to head on home.
That morning Dariel headed home and Terri and I headed for downtown Toronto to the Royal York Hotel.
After we checked into our beautiful room we took a stroll around the lobby, stopped for the best apple martini I have ever had and then went in search for a Pandora's jewelry shop. Turns out we were standing right above one!


These ladies were absolutely awesome. We had such a blast choosing bracelets and beads for everyone for Christmas, including ourselves. Both my sister and I are now addicted to Pandora! From there we wandered along "The Path" which is an underground tunnel system linking to all the downtown streets, buses and subways. It is amazing and completed filled with shops. We wandered and shopped and had a wonderful day.

That same evening my sister had purchased tickets to a Broadway play for my birthday!
We went to see Pricilla Queen of the Desert. Oh my goodness what fun that was, so colorfull and the costumes were amazing.














One of my favorite sites in Toronto, and there are so many, is this bridge in downtown Cambridge. It seems the townspeople did not like the look of the bridge and decided to get together and change it. So.............they covered it in knitting! I did not get to see it as at the time I was at the bridge, it was just ugly cement. But you can search it out on the net The bridge benefits the arts and the homeless.
http://www.examiner.com/knitting-in-providence/knitted-canadien-bridge-benefits-homeless-and-the-arts-knit-cambridge-update-pictures




Well that's all for now.............stay tuned!

My Trip to Toronto

Hello Everyone.........


I recently took a trip to Toronto to visit my two sisters, Dariel and Terri. Dariel lives in Lindsay and Terri lives in Cambridge. Dariel is on the left and Terri on the right in this picture.

Dariel came down from Lindsey and spent two days with me.

I lucked out totally on my flights. In both directions I got an aisle seat with no one in the middle seat. I love it when that happens. The flight was uneventful, and I really enjoyed it. However, I did not know that the in flight movies were free.............silly me..............so I worked on my computer during the flight and also read my ereader. I thought the movies cost money and that they likely cost too much money, oh well, I did get my money's worth as I watched two movies on the way back.

Terri had to work one of the days I was there so Dariel and I noodled around the small shops in downtown Cambridge. It is very quaint. We found a great bead shop, Iguana Beads and spent quite a lot in beads and projects. The owner was lovely and she gave each of us a free bracelet.

From there we headed to the mall and tried on clothing at a wonderful shop called Casis.


That evening we all went to dinner at a wonderul restaurant. I learned a little about the town of Cambridge. For instance, there is a bridge there and one year the people of Cambridge decided it was an eye sore and so they covered it entirely in knitting.

That's all for now.....................my next post will have all my news about my stay at The Royal York in downtown Toronto.

Diane's fabulous vacation.

Hi! Diane here, manager of Poco Sewing and Vacuum. I just have to share with you all about our fabulous vacation.


Brian & I decided to do something we both really enjoy for our 40th anniversary, so we did a road trip down the Oregon Coast. September is always a beautiful time of year for this little trek. We had a wonderful 6 day holiday and perfect weather. We went a little crazy at the Outlet stores in Lincoln City, but who wouldn't when the discounts totalled 70 to 80% off.


The best part was the number of quilt shops along the coast. I think I took at least a little taste from each one then bigger bites from others. But you would too if you saw what I saw.


Look at the picture of Pat & I at Love of Quilting. What a scrumptious store. There are 6 rooms each with their own fabric theme. Pat is delightful and very helpful.

I bought a few metres there for my son and daughter-in-law's quilt and some cute little scissors for souvenir. Always need an extra pair.


On our way back I visited Diamond Centre in Canaan Beach and bought all the fabrics I wanted to make a Bargello quilt hanging for my hallway. Have been planning this one for 2 years. Let's see how long it takes me to make it.


I also got a perfect pattern book to make doll clothes for my grand daughter's Christmas. It is a book of patterns for an 18" doll. Then Edna told me I could buy the 18" doll at Michael's which I did in Burlington.

It wasn't all about me though. We did get some golfing in so Brian enjoyed that part. Oh yeah, and there was a car show in Florence the weekend we were there. I dropped Brian off and two hours later, (bags of fabric later) I joined him there.

I have a few doll outfits made. When I have completed the wardrobe I'll post some pictures. Hopefully my 4 yr. grand daughter doesn't know about blogs yet.

Crazy about Hoop Sisters!!

Okay so I am totally addicted to Hoop Sisters! And what is HoopSisters you say? Well I am glad you asked.

It is the process of making an entire quilt, piecing and quilting, all in the hoop. Once all the blocks are done you use the Quilt as you Go method of putting it all together. There are little ones and full quilt sized ones. So much fun to do and I dare you to walk away from your embroidery machine as it is also so much fun to watch!



My friend Anni and I spent all day friday making blocks for the center of our TNT Tips and Techniques class at my shop. Mine is the Rust/Brown block and Anni's in the Pink/Green one. We have so much fun doing these while making a huge mess at each others houses.


Lorraine Peck (past owner of The Electric Quilt and also my old boss) is teaching the TNT quilt and I will be teaching a Christmas class of hoop sisters.

Not up to much else these days. Still as always, working on my Sharman's Garden quilt. I have done most of the blocks and now need to start on the center medalion. I can't tell you how much I am enjoying the making of this quilt. Part of it, I'm sure, is the threads I chose. They are very much my Mom's colors and having just past the two year mark since I have been without her, I find her colors comforting.

Happy Sewing! What are you up to?

Mini Vacation

Hello Everyone!

Having worked hard getting things organized around here, Ken and I decided to take the Labour Day weekend off and head for our property in Nanoose Bay. I love going there, we have a luxury 5th wheel on our property so it really is a home away from home. Ken is an outdoor kind of guy so I sew and watch movies all day. Ken does all the cooking so it is super relaxing for me.

I also do a lot of reading. I have now finished the Steig Larrson series and hardly know what to do with myself.

I am working on a Twisted Nine Patch quilt. It is a large quilt made entirely of 4" squares, plain alternating with nine patches. At one of my retreats Marg and Krista were working on them and I loved it so I decided to make my own. It may end up being a wedding gift for my daughter. Shhhhh don't tell her. Look up Twisted Nine Patch on the net.

Some time ago I found an ad in the Country Register for a place called Cindy's Threadworks.

I showed it to Ken and asked if he would take me......................he said YES! Cindy is a Superior threads dealer and I love the King Tut line of quilting cottons. I had my mad money in hand as we set off to find Cindy, just past Little Qualicum falls. Her house was fairly easy to find and all I can say is WOW. This is Cindy with one of her Collies. Cindy herself is wonderful and friendly.

One of those people that after 5 minutes with her you feel like you have known her forever. She also has a few dogs which is always an indication of good people. We had a little tour of her beautiful property

This is just a bit of the front entrance area, it really is a beautiful place. And so quiet, from the back balcony, you can hear the falls.

So now we have entered into the Thread Zone.

There was so much to see and so much I wanted to buy. I looked down at my measly handful of spending money and my husband says, "give me the money", so I did and he handed me the credit card. LOL Much better. I bought a lot of King Tut threads in both large cones and regular spools. It took me forever to choose. There were also a lot of quilts and other projects to look at as well as some fun notions. You can visit Cindy on her website.

http://www.cindysthreadworks.com/

Embroidery club and such

Hello,

Boy! It seems that Vancouver has two seasons, winter and construction! I headed off from the shop to go to VSM (which is a story in and of itself) and there was construction every where we went. Getting down to Fabricana is a chore now too.

However, we are gearing up for Embroidery club on September 27. I shopped for my fabrics on friday. Here is a peek........

The project is beautiful and great fun, I am working on putting it together today. In between relaxing in the summer air and reading.

I just finished reading the 3 book series by Stieg Larsson. Wow, I have never been so captivated by a book before. The Girl With The Golden Tatoo, The Girl who played With Fire and The Girl Who Stepped On The Hornets Nest. Honestly I could not put them down. They are big books and I read all three in about 3 weeks. For me, that is amazing! I have passed them on to friends and family and they all say the same. When I read a book I always like to choose an actor for each of the main characters, I chose Natalie Portman for Salander and Daniel Craig for Blomkvist and funnily enough, Daniel will be Blomkvist in the upcomming movie production. The original films are subtitled and made in Sweeden. I want to see them first. Then maybe I will see the Hollywood version when it comes out. Great read, I highly recommend it.

Off to the Sewing room to do my Jenny Haskins Sharman's Garden homework.

Kasey

Still trying to find stuff in my sewing room

Okay, its getting critical now, I have to dive in and clean out my sewing room. There is stuff in there that I know I have and now I need it! My friend Tara in Indianola, Iowa loves it when I clean my room as it usually results in a box of stuff sent off to her. She uses almost everything I send her! I love that!

Poco Sewing and Vacuum ltd

Hi Everyone,




I am so sad to have had to let go of my class room this month. It was just costing too much and we were not doing enough classes to warrant that kind of expence. It sure was a cool space huh?

However, we have worked really hard to make sure that your classroom experience is a roomy and comfortable one. We will not be doing any more Saturday classes. All classes will be Sundays Mondays and weeknights. Sewing/Embroidery classes will not be affected.


Annemarie Ewart starts working in the shop on the 18th of this month. She also has some wonderful quilting and stitchery classes coming up too.


Check out our website to see what new classes are coming up.

I am also, have been for days now, trying to make sense of my sewing room, seems I have outgrown it. Now, chances of getting any more space are slim to none, so it means that I may have to part with some of my precious items to make room. Who am I kidding, I'm just going to fill it up all over again.

Okay so here we go!

I have been saying for months that I am going to start a Blog, today is the day. It is my expectation that I will not be the only one posting, I hope members of my staff will be inspired go join in too!

My husband and I spent the morning at appointments of various kinds. So now that I am home I feel motivated to clean out my sewing room, if I don't do it soon, I will not be able to get in there at all. I am almost caught up on my Jenny Haskins Sharman's Garden blocks and I am also working on some capri pants I hope to be able to wear to work., I would like to put just a little embroidery on the outside of one leg. Maybe some very realistic bumble bees................hmmm

To be continued..........