FNSI: Results!

I did get alot done last night.  I had many projects in-process and can now check them off the list.  The sanddollar blanket was a start-to-finish....

For a gift shop in Florida that is now carrying our light blanket gift sets:

I am finishing up an order for a bridal party - four reversible totes.  I finished the two SEASIDE last night and did the linings for the BERMUDA, the outsides of which are already done:

I also made some cell phone sleeves - you can see my HTC Inspire in the pink bubble one.  I also finished a little pink and green pouch bag that needed handles and putting together:

Finished my last JESTER tote since no more fabric.  I love the reverse in the damask:

And last but surely not least, I finished a new chenille quilt in the log-cabin style.  I added an extra row to the top and bottom to make it rectangular instead of square:

Here is the ETSY pics ofthe quilt, which will be posted soon!

 Whew! How was your Friday Night?

Friday Nights Sew In: June 17th

Yay for Friday Night Sew-In and even better that I am all set for it.....my projects are picked out and although I won't be starting anything new, I'll be finishing alot this Friday night.  I'll have to pass on the glass of wine if I want the results to turn out ok. :-)

If you want to sign up, please go over to "Crafty Vegas Mom" blog and register.

Check back tomorrow for the pictures of the results!

Two New Totes and a Handbag....Summer 2011

I found these fabrics and fell in love - my problem? I see fabric and I buy it.  Sometimes I use it, but other times I 'save' it.  Well, nothing good can come of a saved piece - the better option is to make something with it.  So here are my two new totes....

BEACH WAVES:

 MIAMI BEACH:

I also made a little hangbag in the SEASIDE fabric since I had extra.....

I have the best model!!  :-)  Happy Weekend!

Memorial Day Weekend: 2011

I cannot believe it has been so long since my last post - life is moving too fast for me.  Hope everyone is having a great Memorial Day weekend.  We're out on relaxing Fire Island with friends and their two daughters.  Little Olive is playing "big sister" to the two girls.  Here she is modeling a new dress - for the Memorial Day occasion....and then July 4th, and Flag Day, and Labor Day..... :-)  It will get alot of use.  She picked out the fabric herself!  She's getting so big.....

Sunday Surprise: Our Poor Tree...

When the snow melted and I assessed our backyard, I noticed our flowering pear tree had a "break" in its trunk from the fork of a main 'trunk'? 'branch'?  I thought that when Spring arrived, I'd likely have to get something to 'seal' the fissure.  This was 2 weeks ago.

Yesterday, we had a crazy storm - nothing to the extent of the tornadoes that hit Oklahoma / Arkansas earlier this week, or North Carolina earlier on Saturday.  We had pelting rain and then the winds started.  We've had worse winds though.  This morning - all was good.  but, sometime between 2:30-4pm, when Mr. Olive was out with little Olive at the park and I was upstairs, that limb cracked off the trunk.  Little Olive and I were readying the Easter egg coloring when I looked out the window and saw the hunk on the ground. 

We planted this tree when we first moved in - it was a sapling.  As you can see, after 9 years, it has grown into a beautiful tree. Now, two-thirds sit on the lawn.  I'm so sad. 

Orchid Show: Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square PA

I love plants - always have, always will.  Growing up I had a room full of houseplants, but funny, no flowering plants.  I started getting into orchids about two years ago and have posted several times about the orchids Mr. Olive has given me and others I've bought.  I'm a total beginner and need to hone my skills in caring for them so I can get flowers.  My little collection makes me happy, but seeing the Orchid Show at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, is a huge treat for me.  I'm lucky to have a college-friend live in that town so twice now, we've packed up the car and headed to the Orchid Show and tie in a great visit-weekend.  The show is put on with different orchid societies putting together its display and then the orchids are judged.  I wanted to share some pictures of the gorgeous flowers.

 Catleya:

 Vanda:

 Vanda

 Several different orchids:

 Phaleanopsis:

 Catleya (I think):

 ???

 Dendrobium:

 Phaleanopsis injected with blue dye:

 Paphiopedlium (I think):

 Vanda (I loved these!):

 Oncidium:

 Militonis (pansy orchid):

Now, next set of pictures will be of my plants - the ones I've managed to get to flower.   Enjoy!

Commuting: I have to vent....

For those of you that live outside the NYC area, you probably get up in the morning, have coffee, read the paper, before getting ready for work.  You probably have a 20-minute commute into your office.  OR you live in an area where taxes and expenses aren't strangling you and hubby, and you don't have to work.  Me, on the other hand, ain't so lucky.  We live in New York.  Worse than New York...Long Island....Nassau County.  I get up at 6am to maximize my sleeptime.  I then race the clock for either the 6:37 am or the 7:04am train into NYC.  Ninety minutes....yes, you read that right.....90 minutes after I walk out my door, I arrive at my desk.  And it's the same time home.  Fifteen hours a week I spend on the commute.  If we lived anywhere else, we'd probably be looking at a 30-minute each-way.  I'd have back 10 precious hours to my week.  Mind you, we are 27 miles outside the City - when I get off the train platform in Long Beach? I can see the NYC skyline.

And the subway.  I cannot even go into it without shuddering.  I've told Mr. Olive I'm not sure how much longer I can take the subway!  The subway uptown to Penn last week, there were high school kids on the car.  I couldn't read so I merely closed my book and stared at the window.  The woman next to me - also a professional who looked seasoned by the subway - looked at me and said "I don't know if I can take much more of the subway".....so we bonded for the remaining 10 minute ride.  I hear ya sista. 

The next morning, I cannot get on the train at Penn, so I wait for another.  A guy gets on in front of me, so I'm already annoyed at him, not then not as much as the girl inside the open doors that doesn't move to let anyone else in.  Pulling pulling into 14th street, the girl then needs to battle the crowd to get herself across the train to the opposite doors.  The guy looks at me and says "And she couldn't move when we're trying to get in?  I don't know if I can last on the subway". So I smile and relate my same subway woes.  But, this guy is a 9-11 survivor who moved to Florida and was lured back by a job that he said he'd have to work for five years, until he was 45, and then he'd be able to retire and move back to Florida.  He isn't sure he can make it on the trains.  I don't have that same type of job where early retirement is an option.

*sigh*  sorry - I just had to get it off my chest!!  Tomorrow will be a new day. :-)