Happy 4th of July!

June 30, 2012
I love this country! i have always been so proud to be an american and grateful that i live here! i don't have a place to hang my statue of liberty but by next july i should! right now i have it hanging on a railing so that i can at least admire it.

nora jean is sacked out on my large quilt which is on the back of my couch for the holidays. she looks comfy doesn't she! what are you doing for the holiday? we are still working hard on the house so we'll be spending the day here. last year we were able to see the fireworks from our kitchen window (where my little fire cracker wallhanging is) and i hope we'll be lucky this year.

we took an early morning "moose" ride this week and we were not disappointed! we were gone for 45 minutes and in that time saw a huge bull moose, a fox, a turkey, ducks, a hawk, and a young deer.
we live about 2 miles from the famous kancamagus highway (or better known up here as the kanc).  here is our moose trying to hide! they are such a docile and patient animal........as long as you don't threaten them or get in their space. he was right on the side of the highway so we were no more than 10 feet from him. as long as we stay in the car and are quiet he's fine with us taking pictures. he tried to hide when another car pulled up along side of us to see what we were looking at. they got out of their car! he tried to hide behind this tree and then ambled off into the woods.

 well this week i've done quite a bit of sewing. i started a scrap quilt using my accuquilt and my "kiddie" prints. i liked the way it was turning out so well that i started working on a quilt i'll be making for our bedroom using the same pattern that i made up. i'm in no hurry to make either quilt since they are for my pleasure. it's nice to relax and just sew for the heck of it! i don't do that often enough. i'll post some pictures of my blocks when i get some together. right now i'm cutting and sewing squares together. i love doing that. i was watching a tutorial on the Missouri Star Quilt site and they had the CUTEST I Spy quilt. they are my favorite quilts to make and i've made dozens of them in all sizes. this was I Spy in a Jar. i'll be making at least one of them. check out the site. its wonderful.
today is another gorgeous day up here. there's a nice breeze wafting in from the windows.....not too hot or cold. i can tell i'm going to have a great day and i hope you do the same! nancyb

I'm a quilter and this is a quilting blog (sort of)

June 21, 2012

hi everyone! is it as hot where you are as it is here? it's 90degrees and i have NO air conditioning! i do have a new refrigerator in my house that has an ice cube maker and water tap. i have to say that it is an awesome thing to have. everyone said we'd love it and we do! this hot weather will only last for a few days and if it keeps up i'll go down to the swift river and take a swim (unfortunately i can't find my bathing suit!). we still have a lot of unpacking to do but our closets aren't done so i've got things stuffed whereever i can find a spot.

i feel like i haven't made this a proper quilt blog (mixed with mountains and animals and woods) so i'm going to put a few pictures in today that say a bit about myself. this bookcase quilt was a challenge that my guild i belonged to on the seacoast presented. we had to make a wallhanging that said something about ourselves. i was in the mood to make another bookcase quilt and so i made this. each shelf represents 20 years of my life. if you look at it closely there's quite a bit of information in there. i plan on eventually adding one more shelf to represent my retirement years, our new house and living up north. i have it on my wall in my sewing room and like to look at it. any questions? just ask!

the next picture is our maine coon cat nora jean sitting on my quilt chest that my sister gave me as a retirement present. she's laying on my  husbands amish quilt (i made him that but don't like amish colors myself). she is insistent on laying on my quilts, especially my WIPs. i think she feels she's helping me and gets quite quiet and bummed out if i don't let her lay on them. i have to keep my beautiful chest covered because she lays on it whether there's a quilt on top of it or not.  its glass and i don't want her to scratch it. i haven't been able to convince her that we didn't put it there for her to sleep on. she is a good cat tho and we love her and spoil her. we've had her 10 years already! i keep wanting to get her a little dog to keep her company but the mister isn't going for it right now. i figure i'll wear him down! nora likes dogs and little kids but HATES other cats! it's the only time we see her show any aggression.

i went to another meeting of the material girls of conway and we made out mystery quilt. they have material there that you can take for these projects but i found something in my stash that i used instead. it came out cute and some little child will love it. they have someone who machine quilts and sews the binding on the quilt tops so you just get to make the top. that's the best part! i also finished my bowtie quilt and will be putting that in my etsy shoppe. if anyone is interested in checking out my shoppe its under nancyb or sewingontheswift. i still have quite a few things to add to it but one thing at a time!
well we've had some very interesting wild animal tales to tell this week but i don't want this to be too long. i'll definitely tell you about it in the next blog! have a great week and i will too. nancyb

Emily's Mum

Emily's Mum
hi emily.....i am trying to figure out how to add you to my blogger list so that i can follow you. i need your url and don't know where that is! i'll figure it out tho. hopefully you'll get this! nancyb

i've joined a guild!

June 12, 2012

last week has been a VERY busy week! i finally got up the nerve to contact and go to the conway material girls meeting. i think they consider themselves a guild but i'm not sure. anyway, they were so welcoming and fun. they meet twice a month. the 2nd tuesday of the month they have some kind of learning class. any member can teach something. this meeting was so great! member Darlene taught us 3 different squares. she was a confident and really good teacher. she's obviously taught before. while i'm familiar with all of these blocks i've never done them totally by machine. since i can't hand quilt for any length of time (i killed my hands knitting and my work) i was excited to learn them and was not disappointed. i've taken pictures. i am making the bowtie block and it has just enough hand stitching in it that i can sit and do a few at a time in front of the tv. i think this is probably an origami that's done with material. the little pucker (bowtie) in the front has about 2 inches of hand stitches in the back to tack it down.  i've taken pictures and will take a picture of my finished quilt. i think i'm going to make it little girl size and put it in my etsy shoppe. i really can't make that decision until the quilt it done. after that i'll try the other two blocks. i love them all!

back to the meeting. this is a very easy going and loose group. they are not new tho, and have things well organized. they mainly do charity sewing and quilting. there is no pressure to join them in making quilts etc. the 2nd meeting of the month seems to be solely for charity sewing. this month they are having a mystery quilt for that. they have tons of material there so if you don't want to use your stash you can just make it from theirs. i love their attitude and i also love that they make it fun to do! i think almost all quilters love making quilts for others and this is a great way to do it. i'll fill you in more about the group as we go along and i learn more about it. so far, i really loved it.

well, i got a blogger who has read my blog. i don't know if i can reply to her or not. she is new also. if anyone writes to me and i don't answer please try again. i'm still learning the processes. hi emily's mum! i wrote you a note but there's a noreply thing on your title so i don't know if you got it. like i've said before......i will eventually figure it out! i have more to say but need to stop for now. i'll write to you in a few days and tell you about our squirrels & chipmunks and birds.......oh my!
have a great day and i will too. nancyb

Bears and Birds

June 2, 2012

can you believe the year is almost half over? what happens to the time. it just seems to fly by! well, i'm having some progress with my etsy shoppe. i still have more things to put in there and then i really need to do some advertising to get the word out that i have a shop! i have finally gotten up the nerve to contact the material girls which is a quilt group that does mainly charities in my area. they meet twice a month and i'll be going to my first meeting on tuesday. i'll tell you how it goes. the woman i contacted got right back to me and was very helpful and friendly. i think i'm going to like the group. quilters are nice people anyway!

well, we had to take our suet, hummingbird and birdfeeders down. we came back from a moose ride with some friends that had stopped by and discovered our screen on the lower window (RIGHT OUTSIDE MY QUILTING AREA!!!) ripped. we went out and saw the bear tracks. we have the "neighborhood" bear pass through our yard pretty regularly but we figured since the feeders were up so high that we were safe. guess not! the birds have plenty to eat but it was really a lot of fun to watch them. some of them are so comical! i got up the next morning and found the male and female purple finches and a goldfinch in between them staring at me through the window. it was pretty funny. i think the hummingbird feeder was dripping the sweet syrup every time they fed and that drew the bear. we only put that up a week or so ago and within half an hour we had an awesome hummingbird at it! we counted 6 different bear on our property last summer so we're not messing with them. we'll put the birdfeeders up next winter when we're sure the bears are in hibernation.
well, i just tried to put a picture i have of the bird at the window and this is what i got! the red mark at the suet (hanging from the post) is i think the head of the male woodpecker but i'm not sure! i've told you all before...........its a learning process but at least i'm going forward! this is our backyard and goes all the way down to the swift river. it's really pretty no matter what season it is.

well, if anyone is reading this, i would so appreciate a note. i can't tell! have a great day and i will too. nancyb

my etsy shoppe is finally up!

may 26, 2012
i think someone has been reading my blog! i don't know for sure because everytime i go to it to check it counts as someone looking at it:^) i think i'll believe someone is reading this! i finally got going on my etsy shoppe. i only have a few things up on it and have many more to put in there. i'm working on it daily. it is getting easier. this week i made the cutest little kids placemats. one is an I Spy mat. little ones can take it with them when they go out to eat and play i spy while they're waiting for their food. i'm selling that for quite a bit more than the others because there are 50 little fussy cut tumbler blocks sewn together. i've sandwiched them all and quilted them. they look really good! i have a few more ideas for the shoppe but i also have quilts that i want to put in there that are all made. i'll post some pictures but if you want to check out etsy i'm sewing on the swift or nancyb.

how is everyone? the weather here is fabulous. we have been watching the beautiful birds that are all over our back yard. our baby phoebes are already busting out of their nest. there are five of them and are so crowded in the nest that we're waiting for one to tumble out. its cute tho, everytime we go out to check on them mom or dad start chipping away and the babies get very still and don't make a sound. good children! tomorrow we're going to our granddaughters lacrosse game. they are currently in first place and its fun to watch them. they have some really good players on the team. this is the u13 age group.

tonight we're going to the barnstormers theatre in tamworth nh to see the "frost heaves". its a comedy and they've won awards for the show. i'll tell you how it was! well, i've got to go and get cleaned up. we put in our garden today i.e. chip did most of it and wanted to. he's pretty excited about it. he has the green thumb in the family.....i definiteyly do not!!!!  i'm hoping to get some good veggies to can this summer. now that i'm good at!  i'll keep you posted. have a great day and i will too.

Common Threads Quilt Show

May 9, 2012

hi everyone!my husband was finally able to find work up here and started this week so we have been busy with that transition. i've been spending 4 days a week by myself up here while he worked on the seacoast. that was a very different thing for both of us. we have been married 42 years and have never spent much time apart. i also don't know a soul up here so it was very quiet! i didn't mind it though. i like the silence and it certainly is beautiful up here. it also gave me a chance to get used to our new house. the weather is rainy today but not too cold (60's).we have had a wonderful array of birds at our suet and bird feeder. we have the feeders on the upper part of our house so that the squirrels, chipmunks and bears can't get to them. we have 4 types of woodpeckers at the suet.they are beautiful! we also have a phoebe that has laid 5 eggs in a nest on the rafters. we can see the nest thru the cracks of the back porch. chip made a station for nora jean (our coon cat) to sit on so that she can watch the phoebe. she likes to sit behind my sewing machine and watch the red squirrels, chipmunks and doves that spend a lot of time on the ground right outside the window.often the red squirrel will stop and stare at her and she flicks her tail indignantly when big red does that. its funny and keeps her busy.

i've been working on several projects this week. one that i'm almost finished with is an I Spy placemat for toddlers. i'll post a picture when its done. i'm going to sell it in my etsy shoppe whenever i get that up and running. the other project that i completed was a wall clock. i belong to my sister's prairie quilt guild in wichita ks. they are having their quilt show the last week of june and neither my sister nor i will make it. we each made a wall clock for them to sell in their auction. hers is paper pieced and mine is the dresden plate design. they both came out pretty good. i'm curious to see what they end up selling for. their show is absolutely WONDERFUL if you can make it there. it is huge with lots of interesting vendors, great food, a fun auction with a professional auctioneer and last time (its held every 2 years) there were almost 1,000 quilts. i had my miniature I Spy quilt judged  and came in 3rd in the miniature division. i was pretty proud of that.I Spy quilts are my favorite to make and i've made tons of them. they take more time but i find fussy cutting the squares and sewing them together very peaceful and calming. they had a famous quilter do the judging but i can't remember her name! it was Hari or Harriet something. (it wasn't harriet hargraves altho i've taken one of the best classes ever from her). you can google Common Threads Quilt show and get information about it.

i hope everyone has a great day. i plan on it! nancy