I wrote about my latest sewing project on my other blog, but I thought I'd also post the cool quilting fabric info here for you crafty non-baby types.
Amy Butler
Joel Dewberry
Heather Bailey
Sandi Henderson for Michael Miller
...plus two new ones from Kerry (thanks!):
Anna Maria Horner
Soule Mama
There are still openings for the workshops next weekend in Newark, DE. Here is the schedule:
Friday, July 11, 1-4 Stone Setting (Intermediate)
Friday, July 11, 5-8 Pendant & Earrings (Beginner)
Saturday, July 12, 10-1 Charms (Beginner)
Saturday, July 12, 2-5 Leaves & Hollow Forms (Intermediate)
More information on workshops can be found here. I'm not sure when my next set of workshops will be (did I mention we're having a baby?), so if you're interested in learning about PMC, get in while you can! If you're unable to come, please email me with what workshops you'd like to see on the schedule in the future. anne@annemade-jewelry.com
Our Cornerstone group planned a picnic to celebrate the 4th. Fortunately we reserved a pavilion at the local park because this is a screen shot of the weather map beforehand. (Imminent doom!) But, we still grilled out and had a good time. And we watched the fireworks from home, so the traffic wasn't bad at all!
Yesterday Steve and I went to the AT&T National Golf Tournament in Bethesda for the second year. We had purchased tickets back before the Open, so it was disappointing that the host wasn't even there (but I understand why). We did get to see Rocco Mediate, who lost to Tiger only after battling with him for 91 holes in the Open. In general, Thursday isn't a very exciting day to see a golf tournament, but that also meant fewer crowds and sunny weather (compared to today at least). I wimped out on Steve, preferring to stay in one spot and see several groupings play a hole before moving to another location, but it was over 90 degrees and pregnancy has stolen my stamina. My favorite part of the day? Frozen lemonade being peddled for $5. Oh, and when we heard Jason Gore giving Jeff Overton a hard time, to which Overton said, "Anything you can do I can do better." I leaned over to Steve and said, "Watch that guy." Today Overton is topping the leaderboard with a 3-stroke lead, and Gore is in last place. Hee hee.
Because America doesn't really need more jobs, now we have automated flagmen.
The mechanism of changing signs is pretty nifty, I'll give it that.
Hope you all have a safe and happy holiday and weekend!
If you don't hang out at your house during the day you may not have had the pleasure of picking up the phone to be greeted by a recorded message touting the merits of a particular politician. My phone rings only a couple times a day, so I get all excited only to find out it's an unresponsive voice heralding doom about high gas prices or something. Political and charitiable calls are exempt from the National Do Not Call Registry, but Citizens for Civil Discourse is working on a political do not call registry. You have to register online, but I figure it's worth it if the robots stop calling.
Steve and I just went for a visit with his folks in upstate New York. On the way we stopped by Joolz in Canandaigua to say hi to Francie and Kerry Bogert, who was having a trunk show and demonstrating flamework. Hopefully next time I can meet Kerry for margaritas, but it was fun to say hi, catch up a little, and hit the road for the final leg of our trip. 
The next morning it rained, then was sunny, then rained some more. Normally I wouldn't have cared, except anyone who knows me knows I love berries, and this is strawberry season in NY. There is a you-pick farm on every other corner! So during a break in the clouds Steve and I headed down the road to Morgan's Farm to pick some berries. We'd collected 7 quarts before I stood up and said, "I think that's enough. What are we going to do with all these?" And then it rained again, so we went home.
Here are Matt and Bob working on the lawn tractor in the barn. 
Also in the barn there is a nest of swallows almost ready for flight school. Cutest. Thing. Ever.
Later I was walking Riley in the 
family orchard when I noticed there are cherries! on the tree! this year. (They knew this, but it's not a big deal to everyone else.) Ripe ones, and lots of them. They're called tart cherries, but they are sweet to eat. (When I think "tart cherries," I think of the bright red ones Cheryl and I bought from a vendor in Barbados who assured us they were sweet to eat - turned out to be the tartest cherries I'd ever tasted!) So we picked a quart of cherries off the tree, plus some red raspberries which had just begun to ripen. And then I died of happiness. The end.
Saturday night is always Mexican food, so Cherie makes enchiladas, quesadillas, or tacos. This week it was tacos with your choice of fried-corn or flour shell, two kinds of cheese, several hot sauces, lettuce, tomatoes, and chili beans (two sets, one for each end of the table). I started thinking about this meal (and drooling) weeks ago because it's always so good.
I have an inordinate love for Wegmans, and being that the closest one to our house is an hour away, we always go to Wegmans in NY as there is one in practically every town. It's not just a grocery store, people! Sheesh. This time we didn't walk up and down every aisle, but we did get coffee and stroll 
through the market part and the cheese shop and the kitchen gadgets and the bulk candy and the craft brew section (arranged by region like wine). I got some rhubarb which may or may not have survived the trip home in the trunk, some French lemonade for my francophile friend Elizabeth, and a measuring cup with a slanted edge to make it easier to read.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have 8 quarts of fruit to deal with. Bliss!
The Torsade Necklace ... For those eagle-eyes out there this tutorial I posted in April has just been updated with a download option.
A torsade (tawr-sahd) is a multi-strand necklace that stays twisted together on its own, and yes, there's a trick to doing that. For those of you new to bead stringing, Basic Bead Stringing instructions are included with the Torsade Necklace tutorial.
This weekend is the Midsummer holiday in Sweden, celebrating the longest day of the year (remember - they're pretty far North so sunlight and warmth are not taken for granted). It's as important as Christmas, and Steve's Swedish colleagues who have been in the States went home last week to be with their families. It party time all over Scandinavia where one can dance until dawn, don folk costumes and dance around a leaf-covered maypole, or just have a barbecue and spend the time with family. (This is my favorite account.)
This morning I got a call from my nephew, something that hasn't happened before.
It had everything to do with speed dial and Tom making waffles nearby, but it was still flippin' adorable. And of course I was in the shower and missed the whole thing.
Travis chattered into the phone, prompted by the voicemail greeting, and then I could hear Tom in the background saying, "Did you call somebody?"
