One more Day to Picnic - Quick Overview of my Picnic quilt

One more day to enjoy the

Perfect Picnic Blog Hop

My original Perfect Picnic post from June 5th is

Here

If you've been following along...

I promised I would put together a tutorial for my quilt

before the end of the blog hop.

Good news/Bad news...

let's get the bad over first...

The tutorial is still in the making...

(it's been an incredibly zaney week

and I'm still waiting for those 72 hour days)

But the Good news...

I've prepared a quick look at the fabrics you will need...

the sizes you will cut...

so for those of you that are planning your next

fabric gathering excursion

here's the quilt one more time...

with a quick overview below

or just what you'll need!

Unless you've never made a quilt...

ever...

you can probably figure out what I did

and get started on your Perfect Picnic Quilt.

My free time this coming week is completely non-existant...

The Spouse and I already put in a few hours of work

at the shop today...

our one day closed...

but you do what you must...

when you have things to do.

I promise as soon as I have my next bout of 'insomnia'

or can manage to squeek in a bit of pattern writing time...

I'll be back with an honest to goodness tutorial!

Meanwhile...

Be sure to visit the last of our

Perfect Picnickers

on

Monday, June 9

Cherry Blossoms
The Quilting Queen Online
Mad Quilter's Disease
Daisy Days
Buzzing and Bumbling
From My Carolina Home
Sew We Quilt

Thanks for the Visit

&

Have a Fun Week!

A Perfect Picnic with Friends.....

Welcome to our Perfect Picnic!

Thank you Mdm Samm of Sew We Quilt

and our picnic perfect cheerleader

Mary of IPiece2-Mary.

I'm a little sad, this being the last hop of the season

hosted by dear Madame

but I'm sure there will be plenty more to enjoy when the new season starts.

(don't ask me when that is...I haven't a clue)

First of all...our goal for this hop was to present to you

"A Perfect Picnic"

with a perfect picnic quilt...picnic basket...picnic games...picnic food.

I started one quilt with Star Spangled Cottons from Riley Blake...

then decided I'd save that for the 4th of July.

I started another with some great Hawaiian print 4patch kaleidoscope blocks...

they were framed with white...
there would be lots of pieces...

and then I thought...
white...
ground...
dirty...

all those pieces...
to sit on....
hmmm....

so saving that quilt for another day.

We are huge Jacksonville Jaguar fans...

the obvious choice was to make a picnic blankie for tailgating....

But really, truly....

sometimes a mouse just wants to play with fabrics that have been calling to her.

So I did!

Here is our Perfect Picnic Blog Hop offering...

Our picnic started first thing this morning....

oops...just a peek now...

I'll bet nobody else had 'oatmeal' for their picnic fare...

or a basket full of yummy Riley Blake buttons...

(not to worry...that's not our picnic basket)

This was truly one of those days...

the kind you plan...

but go completely off kilter from the beginning!

In a perfect world...there would be 72 hours in every day...

with plenty of time to work and play...

ahhh....

Not today!

From the time our shop opened at 10am...

until 45 minutes before we closed at 5...

we were constantly busy with wonderful customers....
Since our shop is our bread and butter...
no complaints here...but...

Yes...

can you imagine me explaining when customers came thru the door...

just WHY Bob was sitting on a quilt...

eating oatmeal on the floor?

During a 5 minute lull...

I quickly snapped this picture of the full quilt

not knowing if I'd have another chance...

(I didn't).

This has been my all time favorite fabric line from Riley Blake!

I originally planned to make a disappearing 9-patch...

but once I made the huge 9-patch blocks...

I just could not cut them up!

(again thinking...picnic quilt..to rest our booty...keep it simple)

I LOVE OUR PICNIC QUILT!

In a perfect world I would tell you I wrote a tutorial.

Not today.

However...there will be one before this hop is over...

it's ready to be written...

I'll have to write it after hours...
after all...sleep is so overrated!

My idea of a perfect picnic...

is inviting friends who will bring the food!

We invited them...

they didn't come.

I did make a cute little basket though...

In case I happened upon any cute little food I suppose.

I found this red basket at the $1 store...

I cut 8 strips of fabric - 2" wide x wof

(4 pink...4 aqua)

I paired like fabs together...

wrong sides together...

and quickly stitched them together along the long sides

making 4 two sided strips.

Then I pinked the edges...

(you will see better below what I'm talking about

when I show you what I did with the leftovers)

I wove the strips thru the basket holes..

hand tacking the ends (inside so they wouldn't show)

There was about 8" of each strip left over...

so I zigged them together....

and sewed a hand gathered stitch with #8 perle cotton.

Pull the gathers tight to form a flower...

Use a cute red flower button for the center..

(from Riley Blake of course)

I tied the flower to the basket handle.

I set the table in the classroom for a picnic lunch....
setting two extra plates in case we had company...

Dontcha Love my little red dishes...

yes...I'm a $1 store junkie! haha

Lunch - Our perfect food?

(I sit here laughing...what was I thinking...signing up for a blog hop

that required me to have food?...ok...here it is)

Crackers...dried fruit...apples...

yep...

that's it...

Betty Crocker I am SO not! 

It's probably a good thing I didn't slave over a meal...
we would have never had a chance to eat it...
Not today.

Here's a quick peek at the back of the picnic quilt

Don't you love those trucks????

I love the pantograph Bob used...

he picked it out himself!

 

"Bollywood" from Urban Elementz!

I did not make this for the hop...

but in my perfect picnic world...

where OTHERS brought real food...

I could just lay back on my little quilt
and listen to a book....

I made this a couple months ago...

playing with selvages...

doesn't the fab look familiar?
Didn't I tell you how much I LOVE this fabric?

Here's the back...

One day I'll make another and take pictures

as I go...for a tutorial...

but...

you guessed it...

Not Today.

Now it's time to go home...

but the Perfect Picnic isn't over yet...

oh my no...

we've planned a little picnic at home tonight...
with a very special guest.

I used my favorite Jaguars tote

it holds the picnic quilt so perfectly...
and slipped it all into my basket
(who says the basket must be for food?)

  

hmmm...who could be holding that Jaguar bag?

It's a Perfect Picnic Mystery!

?

?

?

Oh wait...I think he just got into the car....

Who oh who could it be?

?

?

?

A back seat driver no less....

You see...

I originally planned a 

Teddy Bear Picnic....

But my bear friends skipped town!

To the rescue...

my Awesome Friend...

Mary Pat

(she's having a picnic too today!)

Well wouldn't you just know...

Mary Pat told her special friend

we needed some love...

and Mary Pat's equally awesome hubby

gave BEAUREGARD

a ride to the shop where he spent the day....

Thank goodness for that...

or we wouldn't have had a picnic game to play....

Aren't they so cute?

Once home this evening...

with our Perfect Picnic Quilt spread out...

I offered BEAU' some honey...

but he preferred something a little more...

ahh..

robust, you could say...

and  then we discovered...

that even the Perfect Picnic should

come with a few rules....

like...

hmmmm....

I wonder if Mary Pat is aware our friend has a wee problem....

which of course leads us to Rule #2

For the record...

the Spouse drank what is missing...

really!

Imagine that...

BEARLY left any for Me!

We did snap one more pic...

thinking that Ms Mary Pat might want to show

her kids at school...

what Beauregard did during his summer vacation...

(which starts in a few short days)

we thought it might not be very proper

to show a bear with his bottle....

so...

I didn't have to worry about feeding Beauregard...

because...

wait for it...

He was STUFFED anyways!

My idea of the Perfect Picnic Guest!

You don't have to feed them!

We're almost done...

and THANK YOU if you're still with me here...

Because....

Now I can show you...

we really did start the Perfect Picnic on Tuesday night

June 3rd.

It was our 36th Anniversary...

the Spouse and I celebrated the evening at Everbank Field...

Home of the Jacksonville Jaguars...

(that is our NFL team here in Jax...football for you non-sports types)

It was also the annual business meeting of our

Jaguars Booster Club...

(wasn't that sweet...how they coincided their event with ours? lol)

They even had

Real Food!

And believe it or not...

I brought my Perfect Picnic Quilt...

and grabbed the first guy I found...

Lookie Look!

My Purrrrfect Picnic Partner (sorry Bob)

-another guest I didn't have to feed-

Bob was going to snap our pic...but he was off buying 50/50 tickets...(we didn't win)...

meanwhile...

Jaxson our teams mascot...

 is just the Cats PJ's...

he asked professional photographer Bobby King

to take our picture...

wasn't that sweet?

Now that my friends...

is the 

Perfect Picnic!

June 5th-7pm - Late breaking Update - - - 

Photographer Bobby King just alerted me that this

picture was published today in one of our local papers.

Page 3 - Click here...how fun!

Be sure to take a looksie at my fellow picnickers today...

I'll bet they have food...

real food...

and it probably won't be oatmeal...

LOL!

TODAY - THURSDAY JUNE 5

Ella and Nesta's Little Room

Thimblemouse and Spouse - thanks for being here!

Jane's Quilting

Amanda Murphy Design

Quilting Quietly

Words & Stitches

Childlike Fascination

Thanks for the Visit...

The Mouse & Spouse

What Rhymes with Ruffle?

 Welcome to the last day of the

"Think Ruffles"

bloghop!

Have you been following this from Day 1?

I don't think I've ever seen soooo many things Ruffled,

and every offering has been amazing!

Thank you 

Madame Samm of Sew We Quilt

and

Amy from Sew Incredibly Crazy!

I've played with ruffles in the past. I've made curtains, and doll clothes....

and sweet Maggie patiently sat and posed for one of my pattern covers

many dog years ago....

That was probably the first ruffled collar I'd ever made...

and the last, come to think of it....

My dear Mom inspired so many of the projects I've done since I began blogging,

and even tho she's been gone 6 months...

She is always with me in my heart.

Little did I know the pink ruffled scarf I made for her last Christmas with us,

would be just what I needed today.

Heavens no...that's not all I've got...

those were two special memories I wanted to share.

But now for today...

I thought about a quilt...nope

a doll...uh, no

curtains....nada

Mr.Bob in an Apron....sorry no pin-up of the Spouse...

(tho he volunteered to model again..lol)

I thought about the word

Ruffle...

And words that Rhyme with Ruffle...

My first thought was

Truffle...

And then that made me think of pigs...

Ahh!!!

Pigs in Ruffles looking for Truffles?

Surely I'm not that crazy...

Or Am I?

Hmmm?

So I looked up images of Truffles...ya know...the kind pigs hunt for...

And I never realized how uninspiring...and unattractive they look....

Did you know...pigs in France hunt for black truffles,

while dogs in England hunt for white truffles.

If you live in France or England and this isn't true...

well...

I'll just blame this info on Wikipedia...LOL.

But I digress.....

So.....

Instead of hunting for truffles....

I bring you.....

Simone....

and

Sylvia....

THE SISTERS SNUFFLE......

With their ruffles....

Waiting for their Tea and Truffles....

at....

with their waiter....

Ricky T

(he moonlights as a waiter...but by day...he's a pretty big time quilter...lol)

All together now.....

Lookie look...there's even one little piggy "inside" behind the window...

I'm also into 'little' quilts lately...this one is 9"x10"...NOT that little is faster...

I stopped keeping track of hours after 25....

Yes....

Just maybe I went a little crazy....

But right now...

there's no place I'd rather be!

"Oink"

Thanks for stopping by...and don't forget...

there are

MORE RUFFLERS TODAY

be sure to visit them all!

Today - March 14^th

Thimblemouse and Spouse (tres bien, you are here)

Jane's Quilting

Bear Creek Quilting Company

Ipiece to Mary

The Quilting Queen Online

Miss Priss Quilts

Sew We Quilt

Happy Valentines Day Mes Amis

Wishing you All a Beautiful Day!

First and foremost...sending everyone here in blogland

HUGS & KISSES...

but especially to

Sweet Madame Samm

She surprised  me with this

New Wonderful Blog LOOK!

Isn't it spectacular?

Didn't she just nail 'tail' us?

I'm still so overwhelmed and absolutely

in LOVE with our Mice!

And she made us both names tags....

mine's at the bottom...

here's.....

Isn't he just the cutest?

I just want to poke his cute little round tummy!

*wink*

My heartfelt thanks Dear Madame

I feel so grown up now!

You are the best!

(Gush Gush Gush)

Valentines Day started early....

My dearest darling "Spouse" arranged for a special visitor to the shop yesterday.

That's "Jaxson DeVille"

mascot supreme with the Jacksonville Jaguars

(our very own NFL Football team - as in here in "Florida"...

lordy no, "we the mice" do not own a team...lol)

It's always a delight to see Jaxson...

of course the 'treats' he brings to share are pretty awesome too!

yummmmm....

can you say 'weight watchers worse nightmare?"

oh...but what a way to go!!!!!

Jaxson gave us both the most beautiful Roses...

I quick found a vase...

but then I needed I pretty 'something' to put the vase on.

Can you believe I hadn't made anything Valentine-y?

I thought about a quick 10 minute table runner because

right now I'm in 'crunch mode' at the shop

(inventory, retreat prep, classroom remodeling once we FIND the classroom again...lol)

..........and I really have no business starting a new project....

Did that STOP me?

What do you think?

(of course if you noticed the opening picture for todays post...

you already know my answer...ha)

Just a partial view up close.

I'll be back with a tutorial and clearer pictures...

when I locate my 'real' camera.

Earlier this week I mugged some rugs....

and posted this on our Facebook Page

Yikes...I did it again.

Started writing this 'quickie' post

at 10am this morning...

it is now almost 4pm.....

I guess it's time to wrap it up before Valentines Day is no more.

But before I go....

Be sure to click over to Madame Samms...

She has oodles of

HUGS & KISSES

you don't want to miss.

Dear Madame and my sweet friend

Soma from Whims and Fancies

are hosting this oh so sweet blog hop.

Be sure to visit...and tell them I sent you!

The Thimblemouse >"<