Old-fashioned pig roast! A neighborhood affair!

My friends/neighbors had a grand pig roast for their daughter's wedding shower. It was a big party instead of a shower just for the ladies. They had it at their house on the lawn, and it was picture perfect!

Here is a picture of my son Rob and the father of the bride (Mike) as they started roasting the pig on Saturday morning at 6:30 AM!! Kathy, my friend and neighbor, is in the peach outfit. Of course her daughter, Leah, is the one in the green with the tiara! Robin is the groom's mom. Leah used to babysit my kids!! She was my mother's helper for a number of years as well. Can it be that all of these kids are old enough to be getting married?

The night before the party, we all went to help Mike and Kathy get ready. As we ate dinner together in the tent that night, I said it reminded me of an Amish barnraising. It really was a neighborhood event, which made it even more special.

Getting the arbor ready. Keith and Barbara used this for their kids and are now putting it together for Leah. It had lights and sheer fabric on it later.

Sue lives across the street. We all helped each other raise our kids. Since they all turned out great, I guess it's true that it takes a village! She was taking all of the pictures, so I stole her camera to sneak one of her.

Keith had a good system to get the arbor together.

Of course I am messing with the toys for the kids. This megaphone would be great for school.

Barbara is good at making things look beautiful. She is also very patient!

Adam's parents putting the sides on the tent. It was so pretty at night with the lights on in there. We all sat together and had Chinese food once everything was done.

It was exciting to help get ready for the party! We were all looking forward to spending the next day and evening together. Kathy and Mike spent weeks and weeks getting everything just perfect. It all paid off when Leah saw what they had done for her special day.

Getting ready for Halloween!!

Today was one of those perfect days!! I am off from school for the Jewish holidays, so I got up, did my chores and went to visit my auntie down the road for a few hours. Then I played with the dogs. By afternoon, I was sitting at the sewing machine making this adorable quilt for Halloween. The blocks are all machine-appliqued, which I did this weekend. The middle border is a black and orange polka dot!! I love polka dots! Here is a closer look at the center. You can click on the picture to make it larger. It is so easy and quick to do machine applique. Putting on the borders took most of the afternoon, but I was also making meatloaf and mashed potatoes while I was sewing. The weather today is cool and windy, which made it all the more perfect to work on Halloween projects.

Last night there was a class at Pieceful Quilting where we are making a wall hanging with paper pieced witches and pumpkins. Today I made four of these witches. Cannot wait to get eyes on her and to get the pumpkins done.

Curtains and a quilt that took a long time!!

A few years ago I got this great rooster fabric from The Fabric Mill, which is a store for people who make curtains, do upholstery, etc. It has been sitting in my sewing room waiting for me to do something with it. Last month, there was a class on making these napkins, which are reversible.

Here are the curtains I made to match. The red fabric is from that failed slipcover attempt a while ago. The curtains are easy to make and are lined which makes them nice and sturdy. This is a lovely quilt pattern from the Nickle Quilts book. You take five inch squares and cut them and sew them together to make a variety of different quilt designs. While I love this quilt, it took a long time because you have to do a lot of cutting. Each time you do a little piecing, you have to cut it again to make it perfect. So, it took a long time, but it was perfect when I finally put it all together.

This must have been my summer of green. Almost every quilt that I made had green as the main or coordinating color.

Summer is officially over!! We had to go back to school this past Wednesday for meetings, and room set-up. The students will be in on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week and then we are off again for four days (Jewish holidays). A rather disjointed beginning, but it will be a good year. I look forward to seeing the kids every September, and I am ready to go back. I have not gained weight this summer, and have only ten pounds left to lose!! It is easier during the school year, so I hope to have it gone by Thanksgiving.