Our Last day in New York City

It is almost 9 am and both Lynda and Colleen are still asleep.  We had a late night last night so we were sleeping in today.  Yesterday we went on a Movie tour of Central Park.  It was really interesting even though I had not seen most of the movies that were talked about.  The young lady who did the tour was very knowledgeable and friendly.  She had been in an episode of Law & Order SVU. 

 

After the tour we walked down 5th Avenue for a few blocks, then took the subway to Madison Square Gardens so we could get our bearings and know where we were going to see the hockey game.  We went into the Gardens and asked one of the gate keepers where to go to eat and found the nice restaurant he suggested.  Harrington's restaurant has booths that look out onto the street and we were lucky enough to get one.  We had lots of time before the hockey game so we went back into the gardens.

Me with Mark Staal.

Mark is from my home town of Thunder Bay.  There are 4 Staal brothers all playing hockey in the NHL.  The hockey game was great even though Montreal lost to New York Rangers.

Today we leave for home at 4:30 so we will have one last trip into the city and then board our plane to go home.

Peggy.

Day 5 in New York City

This morning Colleen and Lynda wanted to go to Hobokan to see Carlo's bakery from the TV show so we boarded the PATH train and went to New Jersey.  After walking a few blocks we came upon a line up and it was easy to figure out that it was to get into the bakery.

We waited in line for about 15 minutes and then were handed a ticket to be waited on.  When we got inside they were serving #15 and we were number 40.  It was 45 minutes later and we were waited on.  Colleen bought a t-shirt for her husband, I bought a huge danish that we will eat for 2 mornings and Lynda bought a dozen cookies.

From here we took the bus to watch the St Patrick's Day Parade.  This is a holiday here in New York.  Everyone watches the parade and celebrates the day

Flags were everywhere

After we left the parade we went back to Times Square and had dinner at Ruby Tuesday's.  Delicious baby back ribs and a salad to die for.  Wandered around Times Square and then came home.  Another great day in New York City.

Peggy.

Day 4 in New York

We slept in this morning since the weather wasn't so good and it was darker outside.  It was raining when we started out for the day so we went to Madame Tussaud's wax museum.  There were 4 floors of figures.  We started out in "opening night" and then went onto sports and Presidents.  There were statues of world leaders and popes and even one of 3 firefighters raising the flag at the 9-11 site.

We had lunch at a massive McDonald's restaurant next to the museum.  There were 3 floors of tables to eat at.

After lunch we took the bus back to Rockefeller Plaza to take a tour of NBC studios.  All tours were booked until Saturday so we went in the store and did some shopping of NBC memorabilia.  When we were all shopped out we took the bus to Macy's.  We didn't buy anything, just browsed.  The lineups were too long to stand in.

Lynda wanted to go to MOMA so we got back on the bus and then walked to the museum.  Lynda wanted to see "Starry Night" by Van Gogh.  I took a picture by Pablo Picasso of  "Three Women at the Spring".

 

Peggy

Day 3 in New York City

Today we took the subway again because the bus took so long to come.  We wanted to take the bus over the Queensboro bridge.  We got off the subway at Lexington so that we could go to Bloomingdales.  Colleen bought her daughter a lipstick.  Lynda and I just browsed and talked to a nice gentleman at Jimmy Choo's.  We saw a key chain for $230.  From here we walked across Lexinton toward 5th Ave and Central Park.  We passed Barney's store and I said that it was in my book so we went in.  There was a large sign saying that Katie Holmes was in the store today.

Because Katie Holmes and Jeanne Yang were in the store they were serving champagne and Petite fours. A real treat.

 From here we walked down 5th Avenue and went into Tiffany’s, Louis Vuiton, Prada and Saks. We had lunch at Trump towers and shopped at the Trump store.

St Patrick’s Cathedral was just down the street so we made a visit. Some of the alters are very well decorated with flowers and many people had lit candles. The alter of Our Lady of Guadalupe was just filled with flowers.


From here it was on to Rockefeller plaza and the top of the rock. That is the 70th floor of the Rockefeller building. You ascend in 43 seconds up to the 67th floor and take the escalator up 2 or 3 floors. The roof top is enclosed in very thick glass with holes in it so that you can take pictures of the skyscrapers.

I had to visit the City Quilter so we took the bus to 25th street and walked a few blocks over and found it. Both Colleen and Lynda also chose fabric from New york for me to make them a cushion. Then it was onto Times Square and more picture taking of the lights. Dinner was at the Red Lobster .


Back to the hotel at 8pm tired but had another great day.


I having trouble with the internet so no pictures right now.  I was able to take pictures of Katie Holmes before they told me not to.

Day 2 in New York City

What a great day today was.  We started off taking the subway down to Battery Park.  On the way we were serenaded on the subwayby a young man who was trying make people smile.  From here we boarded the ferry to Liberty Island to see the Statue of Liberty.  Lady Liberty did not disappoint.  She was magnificant. 

From there we got back on the ferry and went to Ellis Island where immigrants were processed coming into the United States.  The first person processed was a girl from Ireland called Annie Moore.  When we were in Ireland last year we saw a statue of her there so I had to find the statue here.  It was up on the second floor of the museum and there she was.

It was a very powerful experience and the tears just started to flow.  I couldn't control them, I don't know what happened except that it really affected me to see how people years ago had to leave their homeland and some never returned to see family again.

From here we went to the World Trade Centre site.  There is a lot of construction going on here and it is hard to see the sight. 

We arrived back at the hotel tired but happy.

Peggy.

Our first day in New York

We had a great trip to New York.  We got to Toronto late but had lots of time to get our luggage and clear customs before we had to get our second flight.  We arrived to nice warm weather and took a cab to our hotel room.  We have a suite which is really nice since there are 3 of us.


To-day we turned our clocks to daylight saving time so instead of moving our clock forward I turned it back so we got up a little late.  After breakfast we took the subway into downtown and then Lynda walked us all over the city of New York. 


We had a nice luch at a small restaurant called "The Village Den".  Great food and great service.  Then we went to the Chelsea Market and then to the 911 Museum.

We had an appointment for 2pm and you have to be there on time.  It is a very small museum but a very powerful one with pictures and artifacts from the 9-11 site.



After the museum we walked from the Meat Packing district to Broadway and then to Union Square and Filene's Basement.  We didn't buy anything to-day but may go back later in the week and buy some of the things we saw.  Union Square was full of street vendors selling paintings and photos of New York City.  From there we walked along Broadway and took pictures of the Flat Iron Building and the Empire State Building.

Looking for a place to eat we found a great steak house but one look and the menu and we opted for "Naturally Healthy"  The menu at the steak house had Steak for 2 for $84.00. 

By this time we were ready to head for home so we took the subway and headed back to the hotel.

Peggy.

All packed and ready for New York City

I finished my packing today and hope that I have everything for New York City.  I try to pack light but then I think of something else and it has to go in also.  We use only a carry on suitcase when we travel but we check it so that we don't have to drag it through the airport.  It is bad enough once we arrive at our destination. 

Lynda will have her laptop with her so I won't have to bring mine and I hope to blog while we are there and let everyone know what we are doing and what sights we have seen.

We have tickets to the 911 museum and a tour of Central park is also booked. One of the highlights of the trip will be the last night in New York. It will be in Madison Square Gardens at an NHL hockey game between Montreal Canadiens and the New York Rangers.


I will be celebrating my birthday while we are in New York City at the St Patrick's Day Parade. It is the 250th Anniversary of the parade so it should be a lot of fun.

Peggy.

Small Pouches

I have been making small pouches the last 2 days.  I made one and it was too small so I had to make another.  The first one fits my Ipod perfectly so it wasn't a waste and the second one is for my GPS.  The small one has fusible interfacing so it is not floppy and the larger one has fusible batting to make it more protective for electronics.

I don't know where I got the pattern from, it was off the Internet but I can't find it again.  I probably downloaded it sometime last year and maybe the writer has taken it down.  I have started copying the website now when I download a pattern, so that I can go back and see the pictures that the writer has posted.  Sometimes the instructions aren't clear to me and it is nice to be able to go back and look at the pictures again.

I want to take my GPS and my Ipod to New York City and I want them protected and I think that this will work just fine.

Too bad I only had one green zipper, I must stock up on those next time I am out shopping.

Peggy.

Sunglasses case

I like to have a case handy for my sunglasses when I am travelling so I came up with a small zipper pouch.  I got this pattern from Studio Kat Designs.  They are called Roly- Nesters.  I have made a few earlier but this one matches my day bag for New York City.



This is a better view attached to my bag.  I can have it on the outside of the bag or flip it into the bag if it gets in my way.

I used a split ring to attach it to the bag.

Peggy

The Thursday Group

Yesterday Maria, Joyce and I got together to do some quilting.  Joyce finished her quilt with all the beautiful maple leaves on it and is now making a rag quilt for one of her granddaughters.   This girl is into a lot of sports including hockey and motocross.  Over the years Joyce has made pyjamas for her grandchildren and she is using the left over fabric with all the sports on it for her new quilt.

She is cutting 12 inch squares and needs 15 of the sports and 15 of denim.

Maria is doing paper piecing of a table runner.



She has a few pieces done.  The colours are very striking.  I think her daughter will really like it.

I brought some applique with me and these will end up as placemats for the Quilt Guild to either sell at the show or give to Meals on Wheels. 

We always have a great time at Joyce's in her sunroom and even manage to get some work done.

Peggy.

One year Anniversary

This blog is just a fun thing to do and I don't know if there is anyone out there who checks on my blog regularly but that is all right because I just enjoy writing about my quilting life and travelling.  Yesterday is the one year anniversary of when I seriously started blogging.  I did some a few years ago but never kept it up and since I have been doing a lot of quilting I have found it fun to track what I am doing and see what some other quilters are doing also.  I have a hard time believing that I have had 2,791 hits on my blog in one year.

This what I am working on now.  It is a kit that I received from my daughter for Christmas called Snow Chateau by Michael Miller Fabrics.   The free pattern is here at the bottom of this page, but you really need all the fabrics that go with it to make it.

The border around it is stones and they are directional so it was tricky cutting them as I had to cut some strips the length of the fabric and some the width of the fabric.  Then you have to make sure that you sew them on the right way up and not what I did and had to rip out 2 seams before I clued in. 

The next step is to make quarter square triangles from 4 different fabrics and then applique snowflakes onto these squares.

I always do my tracing in the afternoon and then do the cutting while I am relaxing watching TV at night.  That way I don't waste time when I could be sewing. 

Peggy.

Jodi is having a give away

Jodi over at Pleasant Home is having a give away.  She just finished a new baby quilt for her soon to be granddaughter and she is giving away a Baby Go,  Oh, would I love one of those.  I have been thinking about one for awhile.  Maybe I will win it.

Dreaming......
 
Peggy.

Water bottle holders

When Lynda and I are travelling we carry water with us daily so I made water bottle holders that I found on Pink Chalk Studio website.  We really like them as it keeps our hands free and I put Insul-Brite inside so the water stays cold.  They were really great when we were in Italy in 2008 as it was very hot over there.

This year when we are going to New York City it will be before spring arrives so we decided that we will carry our water in our day bags.  The strap from the bottle carrier will be cumbersome and I didn't want to cut them off and waste the strapping so I decided to go to the Dollar store and see what I could fine.

Colleen said she wanted black so Lynda can have the blue one and mine will be the funky purple.  I use a fat water bottle that is easy to wash out and I had to stretch the holder to get the bottle in but I think the whole process will work out easier than the ones I made. 
We can take the ones I made to Paris in the fall.

Peggy.

Getting ready for New York

I made myself a new bag to take to New York.  This will be my day bag that will hold my hat, umbrella and water bottle.  My coat is beige so I had to have a new bag as my other ones are blue and bright red flowers.  The brown one I took to Ireland had too much turquoise in it. 

It is pretty light in colour, I just hope we don't have too much rain and it ends up getting dirty.  I have been putting zippers in my bags and also this one has 2 large pockets.  I made the pocket extra large so that my water bottle will stand up in it and not fall over and spill.

Peggy.

Small Purses for New York City

My sister Lynda, my daughter Colleen and I are going to New York City for a week in March during March break.  We carry small purses that fit under our coats when we travel and then carry what we call a day bag with things like our umbrella, water bottle, hats and mitts.  Our small purses contain our money and credit cards and they are never in view of the public except when we are making a purchase.  We have tried money pouches that go around your waist and these make you look like you weigh 30 lbs more than you actually do so I came up with this idea.

I really like this pattern that I found on the Internet.  It is called "Sew Sweet Satchel" by Lazy girl designs.  I make the flap a little smaller and put a zipper under the flap.  This isn't called for in the pattern.  There is a zipper on the back with is also great.  The purse is very secure.  I have one so I made one for Lynda and one for Colleen.

This is Lynda's purse.  These purses go across your body, or they could be worn as a shoulder purse.  They are small enough to fit under a coat and not be bulky.

This is Colleen's purse.  They both wanted dark blue but I made them from different fabric so that they would be different and there would be no mistaking which one belonged to whom.

If you look at the pattern, you will see that I changed it a little.  I added a dome fastener to close the purse and a button for decoration.

Peggy.

Placemats for Meals on Wheels

A while ago I was in the local quilt shop and she had put together some 2 1/2 inch strips in like and complementary colours.  Forty strips in a group to make a jelly roll.  I purchased  a brown and orange grouping just because I liked them. 

Over the weekend I made two placemats by sewing some strip sets together.  They are quite masculine and I think they turned out very nice.  I made them different just to be different.

Peggy

My Vest is Finished

Well, I finally finished my vest.  It was a long haul since I haven't made clothes for myself in years and I probably won't make any again.  My friend Maria was a big help.  We got together last Tuesday and worked on fitting the vests.  We took a little off here and a little off there and came up with a pretty decent piece of clothing.

The binding is sewn on the right side and then folded over and stitched in the ditch on the right side.  Some of the binding didn't catch on the wrong side so I just sewed it on by hand with an invisible stitch on the wrong side.

The front

The back of the vest

There is suppose to be a zipper in the vest but I didn't put one in yet and I may not.

Peggy

The rest of the mug rugs and Lanyard

I am finished with mug rugs for now.  I have made 10 of them for the local Quilter's Guild.  Now it is onto other things.

Pretty Blue Birds

I know it isn't the season for Christmas but I couldn't resist this fabric. 

My trees have lights.

My sister Lynda, my daughter Colleen and I are going to New York in March and I am starting to get ready for the trip.  I want a secure warm place for my camera so I thought of a lanyard around my neck but the ones I have are skinny and I thought they would pull on my neck so I came up with this.

Here it is around my neck but without the camera as I had to use it to take the picture.  My camera is a point and shoot so I took the idea for the lanyard from tutorials for a cover for a camera strap. 

I think that will be more comfortable then a thin stingy lanyard from the dollar store.  And more colourful.

Peggy.

More mug rugs

I seem to like making these little things lately.  I think it is the feeling of accomplishment that you get when you are finished something.  These are for the Guild.  I hope they like them.

Peggy

Bruce Canyon Vest

Yesterday was the class to make the Bruce Canyon Vest.  We started at 10 am and ended at 4pm tired and exhausted but with a feeling of accomplishment.  It was a long day but we had a great instructor who had made the vest herself so she was extremely helpful.  We could read the pattern or we could ask for assistance.  There were 10 ladies in the class so it was a very busy place.

Here is my friend Maria working on cutting out her fabric from the pattern.

                             

This is the 2 fronts of my vest with the strips sewn together.  It is a quilt as you go vest which really goes

together quickly.

 

The back with the collar sewn on.  It still need the sides seams done and the binding applied.

Maria and I hope to get together this week and get it finished up for the Guild meeting on the 21st. 

Peggy.