Yes, I am!! I sent what I was working on to "In Stitches" the blog for The Quilt Shoppe and they were having a contest. I had my choice of a turn over or honey bun from Crazy 8 or Frosted Memories. I chose the honey bun from Crazy 8 as I have a charm pack from that line. If you have not checked out The Quilt Shoppe you really should. Their sale section is great and you can NOT beat their customer service!!
Thanks, Lani!!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Salem Lacrosse
Monday was senior recognition at our lacrosse game. All the mom's of graduation seniors got flowers. My DH was out of town but we all had to walk through the 2 rows of players with their sticks upraised. Here is a photo of me with my DS the lacrosse player.
For any of you that don't know lacrosse here is DS running with the ball in his cross (the net part of the stick)
He plays in the attack position. (That is not a lacrosse net behind him it is a soccer net)
Here he is looking for a shot to the net.
He shoots...he SCORES!
Unfortunately he can't play for the rest of the week because his grades were not good enough. We keep trying to tell him that he needs to make sure his grades are ok, but not playing for a week when there are only 2 weeks left may make more of an impression!
Means I can go to quilting with the Cherry Hill ladies tonight! = ) (I'd rather be at the game!!)
I forgot to tell you on Monday but I am now down by 20 pounds!! Yeah me!!
Also, the latest 2 Houses from my Neighborhood BOM have been posted. Please remember to let me know if you are playing along!!
For any of you that don't know lacrosse here is DS running with the ball in his cross (the net part of the stick)
He plays in the attack position. (That is not a lacrosse net behind him it is a soccer net)
Here he is looking for a shot to the net.
He shoots...he SCORES!
Unfortunately he can't play for the rest of the week because his grades were not good enough. We keep trying to tell him that he needs to make sure his grades are ok, but not playing for a week when there are only 2 weeks left may make more of an impression!
Means I can go to quilting with the Cherry Hill ladies tonight! = ) (I'd rather be at the game!!)
I forgot to tell you on Monday but I am now down by 20 pounds!! Yeah me!!
Also, the latest 2 Houses from my Neighborhood BOM have been posted. Please remember to let me know if you are playing along!!
Friday, April 24, 2009
On to the next creation
I took this photo while Aiden was "helping" me put on the binding for the baby basket quilt. Isn't she a beautiful cat? She has a beautiful purrsonality too. She is my DD1's cat but had adopted me since DD is not living at home. Although she will be back to our house for the summer to work in the lab with me so they will be reunited soon!
Now that Karen's quilt is ready for the quilter I needed a new project to work on so I decided that I *need* to make one of my dearest friends, Mary a quilt. Wouldn't you know that her colors are aqua and brown (which I don't have ANY in my stash!) So I actually had to go and buy some of those colors. Here is some of what I have come up with. I went to the store again yesterday and came home with 3 more fabrics to add in to the mix too.
I have decided to do a disappearing 9 patch with all of these starting with 5" charm blocks for the 9 patch. It looks like an interesting block. I will dump them all into a bag and pull out the squares to make the 9 patch first, then cut them into fourths and put them back into a bag and pull them out again! We'll see how that works for me!
Last night was a busy one. I went to JAF because I had to use my 50% off coupon (just like I will go again tonight). Next was off to Target to get a baby shower gift and some other odds and ends. I got home and decided that I needed to use up some ham left overs so made scalloped potatoes with ham for dinner and then I made this...
Doesn't it look YUMMY?? It is a pumpkin cheesecake (No Annemiek, I didn't eat a bite). My Brazilian friend, karen (the one I made the quit for) has her parents staying with her. Her father LOVES my pumpkin cheesecake. I made it last time they were in the US, so since they are leaving on Monday I thought I had better hurry up and make it again for them. Apparently they went to the Cheesecake Factory in Chicago and he was disappointed that he could not get pumpkin cheesecake at this time, only in October. I hope it tastes as good as it looks!!
I have a lacrosse game on Monday and it is senior recognition day so that will be fun. I have a baby shower on Sat afternoon so I have all my gifts ready for that now too. I am hoping to do a little sewing tonight and then if the weather stays nice I hope to do some clean up in my garden on Sunday. What are you doing this weekend??
Now that Karen's quilt is ready for the quilter I needed a new project to work on so I decided that I *need* to make one of my dearest friends, Mary a quilt. Wouldn't you know that her colors are aqua and brown (which I don't have ANY in my stash!) So I actually had to go and buy some of those colors. Here is some of what I have come up with. I went to the store again yesterday and came home with 3 more fabrics to add in to the mix too.
I have decided to do a disappearing 9 patch with all of these starting with 5" charm blocks for the 9 patch. It looks like an interesting block. I will dump them all into a bag and pull out the squares to make the 9 patch first, then cut them into fourths and put them back into a bag and pull them out again! We'll see how that works for me!
Last night was a busy one. I went to JAF because I had to use my 50% off coupon (just like I will go again tonight). Next was off to Target to get a baby shower gift and some other odds and ends. I got home and decided that I needed to use up some ham left overs so made scalloped potatoes with ham for dinner and then I made this...
Doesn't it look YUMMY?? It is a pumpkin cheesecake (No Annemiek, I didn't eat a bite). My Brazilian friend, karen (the one I made the quit for) has her parents staying with her. Her father LOVES my pumpkin cheesecake. I made it last time they were in the US, so since they are leaving on Monday I thought I had better hurry up and make it again for them. Apparently they went to the Cheesecake Factory in Chicago and he was disappointed that he could not get pumpkin cheesecake at this time, only in October. I hope it tastes as good as it looks!!
I have a lacrosse game on Monday and it is senior recognition day so that will be fun. I have a baby shower on Sat afternoon so I have all my gifts ready for that now too. I am hoping to do a little sewing tonight and then if the weather stays nice I hope to do some clean up in my garden on Sunday. What are you doing this weekend??
Thursday, April 23, 2009
The Anniversary Quilt
I did have a HUGE finish this week. I got both the top and the back done on my friend Karen and her husband Cory's quilt. Brief story of this quilt. My friend Karen was marrying one of my bosses, Cory. I told her that we should have squares at her reception for her friends and family to sign and that I would make them into a quilt for them. I decided to use the squares on the back and make a beautiful design on the front. She chose the block (lots of matching, these were the ones I kept saying I hate making these). I chose the fabric (she wanted pale aqua and pale green). This is the outcome!
This is an up close of the block. No 2 blocks are the same of the 42 I made.
This quilt finished at 90" X103"
I put the signed squares in a pattern across the back. And here they are close up.
I brought the top and back into the lab to let her take to her home today so she can show her mom and dad as they are here visiting from Brazil. They are so sweet! Shhhhh don't tell Karen but I have a surprise coming for her mom and dad too. I am taking the left over fabric (and there was not much) and making a disappearing 9 patch wall quilt for them. I will put a white square on the back for Karen and Cory to sign and give to her parents! With them so far away it will be a nice reminder of their only child's wedding, don't you think? Ahhh, life is good!
I am so HAPPY to finally be finished with this top and back. I made the binding too so once LYW returns from her vacation this will be going to her! Like always I'd like to know what you all think. There are more photos on my Flickr account if you want to check them out, under Mamaspark (Mama Spark)
This is an up close of the block. No 2 blocks are the same of the 42 I made.
This quilt finished at 90" X103"
I put the signed squares in a pattern across the back. And here they are close up.
I brought the top and back into the lab to let her take to her home today so she can show her mom and dad as they are here visiting from Brazil. They are so sweet! Shhhhh don't tell Karen but I have a surprise coming for her mom and dad too. I am taking the left over fabric (and there was not much) and making a disappearing 9 patch wall quilt for them. I will put a white square on the back for Karen and Cory to sign and give to her parents! With them so far away it will be a nice reminder of their only child's wedding, don't you think? Ahhh, life is good!
I am so HAPPY to finally be finished with this top and back. I made the binding too so once LYW returns from her vacation this will be going to her! Like always I'd like to know what you all think. There are more photos on my Flickr account if you want to check them out, under Mamaspark (Mama Spark)
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Online Quilt Festival
Park City Girl is hosting an online Quilt Festival and has asked us to post our favorite quilt we have made and tell about it.
This is called Long Horn Pride. I designed and made this for my son. He is a HUGE University of Texas fan and this is what he wanted for his quilt. My friend Liz (aka Liz the Whiz or LTW) did the custom quilting for me on it and I love it. I have posted about this quilt in the past and I still love it.
I have finished another top and will take a minute to post about that one too. In the mean time, go visit Park City girl and get in on the fun!
This is called Long Horn Pride. I designed and made this for my son. He is a HUGE University of Texas fan and this is what he wanted for his quilt. My friend Liz (aka Liz the Whiz or LTW) did the custom quilting for me on it and I love it. I have posted about this quilt in the past and I still love it.
I have finished another top and will take a minute to post about that one too. In the mean time, go visit Park City girl and get in on the fun!
Monday, April 20, 2009
Some of the Weekend
Now that I have that out of my system for the time being I return to quilt things! I was VERY stressed out on Friday. We, the lax board, had a meeting with our coach and the AD on Thursday night that turned into a personal attack on myself and my son. It was awful! It was the most difficult meeting I have ever been a part of. I can't wait for the season to be over and I can step aside and never have to deal with him ever again. If you want to know more email me, but I am not sure who will read this and there are some things I can't say publicly at this time.
Anyway, I digress, so for stress relief I decided to work on this little binder cover. Michelle, do you recognize the fabric?? Isn't it just so adorable? I've given up with the stash busting sigh, but I bought a little fabric to go with this to make it. I used most of it making this though.
See the green and those squares? I bought 1/3 yard of each to use for making this. But while I was at JAF...
I don't have the photo on this computer but I bought some aqua and browns for a quilt for my dear friend, Mary to make her a quilt for her birthday. I knew they were on sale this last week so I bought a yard of many (thus ending the stash busting) Oh, I am going to add it to my book but it is so sad that I am up in yardage. I really have nothing in brown and aqua. I really don't like that color combination at all but that is what her bedroom is done in so that's what I'll use. I decided to try a disappearing 9 patch. I have never made one before but am excited to try one. I cut all the fabrics into 5" squares (well not the whole yard cut, but some of it, since I don't know what I want to do for borders or binding or the back I am keeping my options open with the leftovers). I will upload the photo tomorrow.
I also finished another quilt this weekend, like I said but will show it tomorrow too. Too much to post at one time and I need something to talk about later in the week, right? I suppose ince it is HUGE and I have NOT counted that in my used fabric I could count it as busted which would at least put me back into the negative numbers again but...no, I think no more stash reports for now.
On the diet front, I lost a pound last week and gained back 2 so I am down by 14 ounds, sigh, but it *was 16* ok maybe I needed some incentive to try harder. Well last week was NOT one of thos weeks!
Let me know what you all think of my little owl binder cover. I'll post again soon!!
Anyway, I digress, so for stress relief I decided to work on this little binder cover. Michelle, do you recognize the fabric?? Isn't it just so adorable? I've given up with the stash busting sigh, but I bought a little fabric to go with this to make it. I used most of it making this though.
See the green and those squares? I bought 1/3 yard of each to use for making this. But while I was at JAF...
I don't have the photo on this computer but I bought some aqua and browns for a quilt for my dear friend, Mary to make her a quilt for her birthday. I knew they were on sale this last week so I bought a yard of many (thus ending the stash busting) Oh, I am going to add it to my book but it is so sad that I am up in yardage. I really have nothing in brown and aqua. I really don't like that color combination at all but that is what her bedroom is done in so that's what I'll use. I decided to try a disappearing 9 patch. I have never made one before but am excited to try one. I cut all the fabrics into 5" squares (well not the whole yard cut, but some of it, since I don't know what I want to do for borders or binding or the back I am keeping my options open with the leftovers). I will upload the photo tomorrow.
I also finished another quilt this weekend, like I said but will show it tomorrow too. Too much to post at one time and I need something to talk about later in the week, right? I suppose ince it is HUGE and I have NOT counted that in my used fabric I could count it as busted which would at least put me back into the negative numbers again but...no, I think no more stash reports for now.
On the diet front, I lost a pound last week and gained back 2 so I am down by 14 ounds, sigh, but it *was 16* ok maybe I needed some incentive to try harder. Well last week was NOT one of thos weeks!
Let me know what you all think of my little owl binder cover. I'll post again soon!!
Tea Party 2009
Here is a video of some of the Tea Party where we were all singing how proud we are to be American! I hope you enjoy this Dot! See Annemiek, no arrests just peaceful protesting!
My friend Carol just sent this to me, it is a great analogy
An economics professor at Texas Tech said he had never failed a single
student before but had, once, failed an entire class. That class had
insisted that socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one
would be rich, a great equalizer. The professor then said OK, we will have
an experiment in this class on socialism.
All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no
one would fail and no one would receive an A. After the first test the
grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard
were upset and the students who studied little were happy. But, as the
second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even
less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too; so
they studied little... The second test average was a D! No one was happy.
When the 3rd test rolled around the average was an F.
The scores never increased as bickering, blame, name calling all resulted
in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else. All
failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism
would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to
succeed is great; but when government takes all the reward away; no one will
try or want to succeed.
Could not be any simpler than that.
"The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's
money." - Margaret Thatcher
"A government which robs Republicans to pay Democrats can always depend on
the support of Democrats." -- Maynard
My friend Carol just sent this to me, it is a great analogy
An economics professor at Texas Tech said he had never failed a single
student before but had, once, failed an entire class. That class had
insisted that socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one
would be rich, a great equalizer. The professor then said OK, we will have
an experiment in this class on socialism.
All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no
one would fail and no one would receive an A. After the first test the
grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard
were upset and the students who studied little were happy. But, as the
second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even
less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too; so
they studied little... The second test average was a D! No one was happy.
When the 3rd test rolled around the average was an F.
The scores never increased as bickering, blame, name calling all resulted
in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else. All
failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism
would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to
succeed is great; but when government takes all the reward away; no one will
try or want to succeed.
Could not be any simpler than that.
"The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's
money." - Margaret Thatcher
"A government which robs Republicans to pay Democrats can always depend on
the support of Democrats." -- Maynard
TEA'd Off
Yes...I am "one of those people" that attended a Tea Party last week. It was an amazing demonstration of a peaceful protest of some of the things our free capitalist society is becoming, and we are NOT happy about it. This sign is a pretty fair assessment of how I feel.
I believe this was a quote from Margaret Thatcher. Pretty insightful even though England is not in the best of shape either. HINT: Socialism doesn't work!
This was just the beginning of the crowd that formed in the park. Our state congress man Thaddues McCotter was there and there were people singing and speakers.
The signs were the BEST part! People were so creative!
This man was very nice but his sign sums up his feelings = ) You go Joe!!
This little girl was having a great time and she was so cute. Too bad Obama and the congress are busy spending her money (and her children's money too!)
This was awesome. She is right.
All in all it was a very interesting day and I'm proud to be an American where I have the right to protest what I don't like about what my government is doing. We have no reason to apologize for being who we are, the most successful nation in the world! Who is the country that has your back? It always seems to be us! Thanks for your support England, Australia and Canada! We need to stay capitalist and free, thank you very much!!!
I believe this was a quote from Margaret Thatcher. Pretty insightful even though England is not in the best of shape either. HINT: Socialism doesn't work!
This was just the beginning of the crowd that formed in the park. Our state congress man Thaddues McCotter was there and there were people singing and speakers.
The signs were the BEST part! People were so creative!
This man was very nice but his sign sums up his feelings = ) You go Joe!!
This little girl was having a great time and she was so cute. Too bad Obama and the congress are busy spending her money (and her children's money too!)
This was awesome. She is right.
All in all it was a very interesting day and I'm proud to be an American where I have the right to protest what I don't like about what my government is doing. We have no reason to apologize for being who we are, the most successful nation in the world! Who is the country that has your back? It always seems to be us! Thanks for your support England, Australia and Canada! We need to stay capitalist and free, thank you very much!!!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
One word...SHOES
I have so much to post but no time to do anything much right now. I found this amazing website with the most fabulous hand painted clogs. So much for knocking my sox off, this blew my shoes out of the water!! You need to go NOW and take a look. I wish I knew what kind of paint they are using, as I would buy some and have my DD1 paint a dragon on some for me. I may just have her try it anyway. Could be interesting!
I had a finish this weekend too, after 12 hours of working but will show you all either later or tomorrow. Today, laundry, cleaning, bills, cleaning the car and looking for pics on DS for a video for lax.
TTFN!!
I had a finish this weekend too, after 12 hours of working but will show you all either later or tomorrow. Today, laundry, cleaning, bills, cleaning the car and looking for pics on DS for a video for lax.
TTFN!!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Baby Basket Quilt
I hope you all had a wonderful Easter on Sunday. It was just our immediate family and one of DD's friends for dinner. On Saturday we had a lacrosse game. We finally won a game and DS made 4 goals. That was pretty exciting too. On Monday I was leaving for a meeting and when I got home, my DH told me that the dog had gotten up on the stove and took the leftover ham and at the whole thing!!! Bummer! I was looking forward to leftovers. Stupid dog. This just reminds me again that I like cats better!!
I also got my Baby Baskets quilt back from the quilter on Monday! It is just stunning!! I don't have the binding on it yet but here are some photos for you.
LTW did a beautiful bow thing in the handle. I had her use a pink and brown varigated thread (Superior Threads) for the handle, the flowers in the basket and the borders.
You can see the outside border and the inside border quilting here.
The back is as beautiful as the front!
I really LOVE how these baskets came out.
In the negative pink space LTW used pink thread so it did not distract from the baskets.
I chose the flower patterns for the baskets and the negative space. I suggested something like what she chose for the handle. LTW did a little bow in the actual base of the basket and outlined the baskets too. She chose the border quilting.
I brought it to the CL group last night and everyone thought it was just fabulous! I do too. The baby it is intended for will be born April 28th so I need to get the binding done on it and get it labeled soon!! Please let me know what you think.
I am coming along nicely on the QFH too (aka the anniversary quilt). I have several rows finished. I need a night at home to actually work on it though. There is a lot of matching when I have to put the rows together so each row is taking quite a while, although I am liking how it is turning out. Maybe LTW will be able to quilt the h--- out of it? Hopefully it won't be a problem.
I really want to get this one done!
Anyone attending a tea party today? I am off to see if I can find one close by!!!
Attention: There is a great give away over here, at this new blog I just found. Go check it out!
I also got my Baby Baskets quilt back from the quilter on Monday! It is just stunning!! I don't have the binding on it yet but here are some photos for you.
LTW did a beautiful bow thing in the handle. I had her use a pink and brown varigated thread (Superior Threads) for the handle, the flowers in the basket and the borders.
You can see the outside border and the inside border quilting here.
The back is as beautiful as the front!
I really LOVE how these baskets came out.
In the negative pink space LTW used pink thread so it did not distract from the baskets.
I chose the flower patterns for the baskets and the negative space. I suggested something like what she chose for the handle. LTW did a little bow in the actual base of the basket and outlined the baskets too. She chose the border quilting.
I brought it to the CL group last night and everyone thought it was just fabulous! I do too. The baby it is intended for will be born April 28th so I need to get the binding done on it and get it labeled soon!! Please let me know what you think.
I am coming along nicely on the QFH too (aka the anniversary quilt). I have several rows finished. I need a night at home to actually work on it though. There is a lot of matching when I have to put the rows together so each row is taking quite a while, although I am liking how it is turning out. Maybe LTW will be able to quilt the h--- out of it? Hopefully it won't be a problem.
I really want to get this one done!
Anyone attending a tea party today? I am off to see if I can find one close by!!!
Attention: There is a great give away over here, at this new blog I just found. Go check it out!
Friday, April 10, 2009
New (to me) blogs
OK, I just found 2 more fabulous blogs. You *have* to go and check them out! (Especially YOU, Annemiek). The first one is : Quiltsalot. She has finished a Pie and Tart quilt that will knock your socks off, seriously, it really will, I am sock-less as I type this. Go, go now...then come back and tell me what you think.
The next one is Cabbage Quilts. Check out her Wheel of Fortune quilt using Kaffe Fasset fabrics. Her applique is really amazing too. Again, what are you waiting for, you just got my personal invitation, go!! But come back here again too. = )
On a quilty note, I did get another row of Karen's quilt finished last night before the lax game. All quilting will probably stop for the weekend since I will be cooking and cleaning.
For those of my friends that celebrate Easter, I hope you have a blessed Easter! My kids will all be home for the holiday and we will have lots of great food too. Should be a good weekend.
BTW...check out this fabulous give away here for 30 FQ's! WOW she is so generous!!!
Happy Easter, Bauk, Bauk!!
Photo taken from the web.
The next one is Cabbage Quilts. Check out her Wheel of Fortune quilt using Kaffe Fasset fabrics. Her applique is really amazing too. Again, what are you waiting for, you just got my personal invitation, go!! But come back here again too. = )
On a quilty note, I did get another row of Karen's quilt finished last night before the lax game. All quilting will probably stop for the weekend since I will be cooking and cleaning.
For those of my friends that celebrate Easter, I hope you have a blessed Easter! My kids will all be home for the holiday and we will have lots of great food too. Should be a good weekend.
BTW...check out this fabulous give away here for 30 FQ's! WOW she is so generous!!!
Happy Easter, Bauk, Bauk!!
Photo taken from the web.
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Also over the weekend
My friend, Suzanne, that lives in Texas is always so nice and keeps DS supplied in UT wear. For those of you who don't know, UT played in the Fiesta bowl and these beauties arrived from Suzanne on Friday. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH SUZANNE!! You are the BEST! I'm not sure how much if at all she ever followed MSU but I am turning her into a covert Spartan fan too!! As soon as I get a break in the lacrosse action I will be scouting for some MSU basketball t-shirts to send off to Texas! Second in the nation is still pretty awesome!!
The same day I received the shirts, I received this amazing gift in the mail from Michelle. I remember commenting on her owl fabric and look what showed up at my house!! Aren't they just the cutest?? She sent a nice note and apparently she sent this as a pick me up to reward me for my hard work cleaning my dad's house. What a sweetheart you are Michelle. My Blogland friends have been so kind and supportive of me! I appreciate all the wonderful people I have met via my blog!
LTW had given me this whole cloth quilt and told me to color it ala Irena Bluhm so here is my first attempt at doing just that. I really like how the leaves turned out but need to do some fine tuning on the pumpkins. I decided to add some darker shading and ended up not liking it so I "erased it" using a q-tip. The colored pencil seemed to blend but when I put the textile setting stuff on it all the dark lines showed up. Oh well, it has been fun to experiment with and will still look OK when I'm finished. Maybe a wall hanging or maybe a giveaway...??? Who knows, but it needs to be finished. See how much trouble I can get into when I am avoiding working on the quilt for Karen??
This quilt was made by one of the ladies in my second quilt group, the one at Cherry Hill Village. I am putting it up so you can see the amazing quilting done by our famous LTW. The front looks really cool, especially the curly wool on the lamb!
But the back is where the amazing quilting shows up. All hand guided. Many starts and stops and many thread color changes. She sure does fabulous work!!
My friend, Cori has an online quilt shop. I called her and went by and picked up a couple of cut fabrics from her. I got Sweet and Soiree. They are such beautiful lines!! Go to her online shop and check out her stuff. (Also listed in my sidebar) She charges less than some of the other Moda cut goods stores online and her customer service is the BEST!! If you order be sure and tell her I sent you!!
Yesterday our lacrosse game was canceled so I thought I would stay home from the CHV group and work on Karen's quilt. I had layed it out at the church on Tues night so it was ready to sew the blocks into rows. I am so happy to *finally* be done with those blocks!! I got 2 blocks sewn together when one of the CHv ladies called. "I have a quilt from X I could drive it to you or what are you doing tonight?" No it's OK, I'll come and pick it up, *sigh*...so much for my planned evening. I did manage to get 1 row done, woo hoo!!! We have lacrosse tonight and again on Sat and both are home games so we will see how much I get done (oh yes, and it is Easter!! so I will have the entire family over, guess I better get cleaning, ugh!)
BTW I follow Kellie's blog and she has the cutest Honey Bunny tutorial over on her blog. You should go and check her blog out too. Her work in truly inspiring! I will be making "Honey" for sure!!
The same day I received the shirts, I received this amazing gift in the mail from Michelle. I remember commenting on her owl fabric and look what showed up at my house!! Aren't they just the cutest?? She sent a nice note and apparently she sent this as a pick me up to reward me for my hard work cleaning my dad's house. What a sweetheart you are Michelle. My Blogland friends have been so kind and supportive of me! I appreciate all the wonderful people I have met via my blog!
LTW had given me this whole cloth quilt and told me to color it ala Irena Bluhm so here is my first attempt at doing just that. I really like how the leaves turned out but need to do some fine tuning on the pumpkins. I decided to add some darker shading and ended up not liking it so I "erased it" using a q-tip. The colored pencil seemed to blend but when I put the textile setting stuff on it all the dark lines showed up. Oh well, it has been fun to experiment with and will still look OK when I'm finished. Maybe a wall hanging or maybe a giveaway...??? Who knows, but it needs to be finished. See how much trouble I can get into when I am avoiding working on the quilt for Karen??
This quilt was made by one of the ladies in my second quilt group, the one at Cherry Hill Village. I am putting it up so you can see the amazing quilting done by our famous LTW. The front looks really cool, especially the curly wool on the lamb!
But the back is where the amazing quilting shows up. All hand guided. Many starts and stops and many thread color changes. She sure does fabulous work!!
My friend, Cori has an online quilt shop. I called her and went by and picked up a couple of cut fabrics from her. I got Sweet and Soiree. They are such beautiful lines!! Go to her online shop and check out her stuff. (Also listed in my sidebar) She charges less than some of the other Moda cut goods stores online and her customer service is the BEST!! If you order be sure and tell her I sent you!!
Yesterday our lacrosse game was canceled so I thought I would stay home from the CHV group and work on Karen's quilt. I had layed it out at the church on Tues night so it was ready to sew the blocks into rows. I am so happy to *finally* be done with those blocks!! I got 2 blocks sewn together when one of the CHv ladies called. "I have a quilt from X I could drive it to you or what are you doing tonight?" No it's OK, I'll come and pick it up, *sigh*...so much for my planned evening. I did manage to get 1 row done, woo hoo!!! We have lacrosse tonight and again on Sat and both are home games so we will see how much I get done (oh yes, and it is Easter!! so I will have the entire family over, guess I better get cleaning, ugh!)
BTW I follow Kellie's blog and she has the cutest Honey Bunny tutorial over on her blog. You should go and check her blog out too. Her work in truly inspiring! I will be making "Honey" for sure!!
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Saturday at my dad's
DH and I decided we needed to get back to dad's to install the faucet for him and for me to finish (hopefully) the cleaning of the spare room so DD would have a place to sleep. Now one would think that installing a new faucet would not be that difficult...and normally you would be right. But there was no shut off valve under the sink so this necessitated turning the water off from the basement. Again, no big deal, unless you remember that someone else was trying to clean, now WITHOUT ANY WATER!! This makes things much more challenging to say the least. This is how my DH spent most of Saturday (about 5 hours). After at least 3 trips to Home Depot and many hours later the new faucet is in.
Meanwhile back in the spare room. Look what I found. This little elephant pin is not significant by itself BUT I did find humor in the fact that it is indeed an elephant with my dad's name on it (and he is a HUGE democrat) so that was my chuckle for the day.
DD was fascinated by this Ouija board that used to be mine when I was young. It was inside the metal wardrobe cabinet. She was amazed that it is made in Salem MA. Fitting, don't you think?
We managed to get 35 additional bags out of the room. This included bags for charity. We emptied out the metal wardrobe cabinet, the dresser and a couple of the built in cabinets. I then called my uncle Tom (my dad's brother) and he came and took all the bags away! Thanks, Tom!
So here are some of the after photos. We also got all the carpet out and had to clean the floor and wash the walls (impossible to do without water). We vacuumed the room and did a little washing (whenever they turned on the water) but it needs more. DD will have to work on that. The walls need to be cleaned with TSP as my mom was a heavy smoker and the walls will probably bleed nicotine (yet another reson, as if you need one, not to smoke!)
You can see DD's mattress and chair next to the bed. Next time when I go there I will get photos of it all set up.
She could not be happier to have her "own" room. There are still a few things left to do in the room like finish cleaning out the built in cabinets, the top of the closet and painting and refinishing the floor (this may not be for awhile). I told Dd she can paint. We don't need to be there for that (but you know we probably will).
DH went with DD to her storage unit to retrieve her mattress and chair which meant we were going to miss the MSU game for the final four. I listened to it all the way home and they won just as we drove into our driveway. Sounded like one heck of a game! Unfortunately they didn't win the National Championship title...this year. We have a lot of players coming back so we will see about next year, LOL.
I have more still to write about as some wonderful women sent me some pretty special gifts in the mail but I am running out of time so will post either later today or tomorrow.
Meanwhile back in the spare room. Look what I found. This little elephant pin is not significant by itself BUT I did find humor in the fact that it is indeed an elephant with my dad's name on it (and he is a HUGE democrat) so that was my chuckle for the day.
DD was fascinated by this Ouija board that used to be mine when I was young. It was inside the metal wardrobe cabinet. She was amazed that it is made in Salem MA. Fitting, don't you think?
We managed to get 35 additional bags out of the room. This included bags for charity. We emptied out the metal wardrobe cabinet, the dresser and a couple of the built in cabinets. I then called my uncle Tom (my dad's brother) and he came and took all the bags away! Thanks, Tom!
So here are some of the after photos. We also got all the carpet out and had to clean the floor and wash the walls (impossible to do without water). We vacuumed the room and did a little washing (whenever they turned on the water) but it needs more. DD will have to work on that. The walls need to be cleaned with TSP as my mom was a heavy smoker and the walls will probably bleed nicotine (yet another reson, as if you need one, not to smoke!)
You can see DD's mattress and chair next to the bed. Next time when I go there I will get photos of it all set up.
She could not be happier to have her "own" room. There are still a few things left to do in the room like finish cleaning out the built in cabinets, the top of the closet and painting and refinishing the floor (this may not be for awhile). I told Dd she can paint. We don't need to be there for that (but you know we probably will).
DH went with DD to her storage unit to retrieve her mattress and chair which meant we were going to miss the MSU game for the final four. I listened to it all the way home and they won just as we drove into our driveway. Sounded like one heck of a game! Unfortunately they didn't win the National Championship title...this year. We have a lot of players coming back so we will see about next year, LOL.
I have more still to write about as some wonderful women sent me some pretty special gifts in the mail but I am running out of time so will post either later today or tomorrow.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
One Person's Trash is another Person's Treasure
That's right. You all know that I went through a LOT of trash. What I didn't talk about was the treasures I found. When I first arrived at MSU in 1977 my dad and I went to an Arby's to eat. They were featuring these glasses:
I was thrilled to find this because it made me remember that special day with my dad. It was the first time he had tried a jamocha shake. He *still* talks about that and he still loves those shakes!
I found this old creamer too. We used to have a dog just like this Pojak (boy in Swedish)
Then, and this was a favorite find, I found this elephant pitcher. I remember my mom letting us pour our milk out of this when we had our lunch or dinner. Made milk way better!!
Some of you may remember that my DD2 is studying for a Fisheries and Wildlife degree. I have been collecting fabric for a "save the planet" type of quilt for her. I found this fabulous fabric in that awful bedroom (along with some other fabric, which I will post another time). It is more like a canvas but I think there may be enough to use for a back to a "green" quilt. Check out the bird..."cough, cough"!
Last but not least you need to go and check out who is on Quilter's Show and Tell. It may just be a certain Mama Spark! Yep, go and check it out. You all should share your quilts on this site too. We need to share with fellow quilters! Let me know what you think.
I was thrilled to find this because it made me remember that special day with my dad. It was the first time he had tried a jamocha shake. He *still* talks about that and he still loves those shakes!
I found this old creamer too. We used to have a dog just like this Pojak (boy in Swedish)
Then, and this was a favorite find, I found this elephant pitcher. I remember my mom letting us pour our milk out of this when we had our lunch or dinner. Made milk way better!!
Some of you may remember that my DD2 is studying for a Fisheries and Wildlife degree. I have been collecting fabric for a "save the planet" type of quilt for her. I found this fabulous fabric in that awful bedroom (along with some other fabric, which I will post another time). It is more like a canvas but I think there may be enough to use for a back to a "green" quilt. Check out the bird..."cough, cough"!
Last but not least you need to go and check out who is on Quilter's Show and Tell. It may just be a certain Mama Spark! Yep, go and check it out. You all should share your quilts on this site too. We need to share with fellow quilters! Let me know what you think.
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
I'm Home...Finally
I made my way home around 10:30pm on Sunday night. I had to clean my own home and do laundry etc so I took Monday off of work. Of course we had a lacrosse game too.
The April installment of the House BOM is now posted. You *need* to go and print off your patterns!
Stash report: zero in and zero out so total remains the same (whatever that was last week).
Diet Challenge: I stayed the same. Which is a miracle since I ate crazy this last week.
Now I will bring you back to more from my dad's house. This is a photo of the garbage bags we put in the garage that were taken out from the house. It isn't all of them as my uncle Tom had taken a load to the dumpster already.
Now for the fun part. Here is the counter top once we were finished. Isn't it pretty??
And the sink area was actually clean too!
This was that awful bedroom. The stuff piled on the bed is there so we could take up the carpet. We were using those boxes for stuff for a garage sale and those bags there, full of yellowed newspapers for recycle! See that "dust" on the wood floor? It is broken down carpet pad! the carpet was so thin you could see through it. There are beautiful hardwood floor under all of that yucky carpet.
This is after we took the Dyson to it.
Look there is a floor!!
DH and I are going back there on Saturday. He will be installing new faucets in the bathrooms (one is leaky). Me? I will be back in that bedroom and here is the plan. I want to get everything from under the bed cleaned out, push the bed to the built in cupboards and finish ripping up the carpet. I then want to wash those floors so they are clean. Then I want to empty the brown metal wardrobe that's in that room. I think that's about all I will be able to get finished in a day. I am planning on making them meatloaf for dinner too (in the crock pot, so it can cook while I work).
MSU plays in the final four on Saturday night too so we need to either stay and watch the game or be on our way home so we can watch it at home. I don't want to listen to it on the radio I want to be able to see it!
The rest of this week is crazy and I doubt if I will have too much to blog about, especially not quilt related. We have another lacrosse game today and I will be leaving work early to get to the school to ride the bus with the boys to the game. They needed 3 parents since the coaches won't be on the bus. Thursday is free but I need to get to Sam's for some stuff for my dad. Friday is another away game for lacrosse and I am driving so have to be to the school around 4pm for that. Then up to dad's house on Sat. Maybe I will have time to get back to quilting on Sunday. It would be nice. I have one quilt I really need to finish (for my friend Karen) I've only had it since their wedding last June!! SLACKER!!! sheesh!
Anyway I hope you all are having a great week!
The April installment of the House BOM is now posted. You *need* to go and print off your patterns!
Stash report: zero in and zero out so total remains the same (whatever that was last week).
Diet Challenge: I stayed the same. Which is a miracle since I ate crazy this last week.
Now I will bring you back to more from my dad's house. This is a photo of the garbage bags we put in the garage that were taken out from the house. It isn't all of them as my uncle Tom had taken a load to the dumpster already.
Now for the fun part. Here is the counter top once we were finished. Isn't it pretty??
And the sink area was actually clean too!
This was that awful bedroom. The stuff piled on the bed is there so we could take up the carpet. We were using those boxes for stuff for a garage sale and those bags there, full of yellowed newspapers for recycle! See that "dust" on the wood floor? It is broken down carpet pad! the carpet was so thin you could see through it. There are beautiful hardwood floor under all of that yucky carpet.
This is after we took the Dyson to it.
Look there is a floor!!
DH and I are going back there on Saturday. He will be installing new faucets in the bathrooms (one is leaky). Me? I will be back in that bedroom and here is the plan. I want to get everything from under the bed cleaned out, push the bed to the built in cupboards and finish ripping up the carpet. I then want to wash those floors so they are clean. Then I want to empty the brown metal wardrobe that's in that room. I think that's about all I will be able to get finished in a day. I am planning on making them meatloaf for dinner too (in the crock pot, so it can cook while I work).
MSU plays in the final four on Saturday night too so we need to either stay and watch the game or be on our way home so we can watch it at home. I don't want to listen to it on the radio I want to be able to see it!
The rest of this week is crazy and I doubt if I will have too much to blog about, especially not quilt related. We have another lacrosse game today and I will be leaving work early to get to the school to ride the bus with the boys to the game. They needed 3 parents since the coaches won't be on the bus. Thursday is free but I need to get to Sam's for some stuff for my dad. Friday is another away game for lacrosse and I am driving so have to be to the school around 4pm for that. Then up to dad's house on Sat. Maybe I will have time to get back to quilting on Sunday. It would be nice. I have one quilt I really need to finish (for my friend Karen) I've only had it since their wedding last June!! SLACKER!!! sheesh!
Anyway I hope you all are having a great week!