Purse Organizer Insert

At the last quilt shop I visited, I purchased a "Portapockets" pattern from Studio Kat Designs. I carry a rather large tote bag and am always digging in my bag for tissues or a pen or mints. I thought this organizer was a great idea for my tote bag.The pattern has LOTS of pieces and six pages of instructions. Since I have the attention span of a teenage gnat, I was soon out of patience for "lining A and Part #3 interfacing........."
After spending a good deal of yesterday wrestling with the instructions and the many, many pieces, I put the project aside. This morning I looked on the internet for purse organizers and found many, many choices, but my favorite was $24.95 plus shipping and handling. Now $24.95 may not seem like a great deal of money, but to a retired person on a fixed income a few of those $24.95 purchases add up quickly. Soon I find myself digging into the line of credit - no, no, no - not wise.

So I went back to my project and finished it without the help of the instructions. I just did my own thing. It is poorly constructed and the finishing is non-existent. However, it will reside in the depths of my purse and keep me a little more organized. That was the goal and the goal has been reached.

Quilt Retreat 2010

For the 7th year some of the women in our Bee group have gone on a quilt retreat. Carol invites us to her summer home in upper Wisconsin where she kept the lower level empty so that she could invite us each year.

As we sew, we look out onto this beautiful lake.

Carol rents tables so that each one of us has a nice large sewing space. The room is clean and inviting.

The right door leads to the convenient half-bath, and the dark doorway leads to the outside.

(The rifle is handy in case anyone tries to steal our fabric!)

Lindsay worked very hard on this wonderful quilt for an auction/fundraiser.

She also made borders for this UFO scrappy project.

Carol completed this precisely pieced quilt with the smashing border.

Aline sweated over the calculations to get these stars to fit around her adorable redwork.

She also assembled these flower pinwheels and put the first border on making it ready for some applique.

Here I am with a vegetable tablerunner, a pile of black and white blocks, a sample "plaid" block, and the beginning of a quilt for Quilts of Valor.

The four of us - Aline, me, Lindsay and Carol.

Baby love.......

What is more beautiful and fun than a baby! My grand niece and her daughter, my great grand niece, came for a visit this morning. What a delight! Isn't it amazing how a precious little baby can put a great big smile on your face and heart.

It seemed like only yesterday that this baby's mother was a baby, and her mother (who is now the grandmother) was a baby not all that long ago either.

Baby's first year is so short and so wonderfully sweet. (I couldn't stop touching her chubby little legs with that incredibly soft skin.....) Come back again for a visit real soon!

Finished (Smile)

Quilted and bound.

I started this quilt last year in July at the annual quilt retreat I go on with Bee friends. I recently got it back from the long-arm quilter and finished the binding tonight. The pattern is Come-on-a-my-house by Miss Rosie's Quilt Co.