My Neighborhood BOM

Just a quick note to let you all know that I have posted the last 2 blocks in the My Neighborhood BOM. I am going to be writing the directions for the quilt soon and will post those hopefully in the near future! I am planning on leaving them up on my website as free patterns though the end of February so if you need any and haven't downloaded them yet, "What are you waiting for??"

After that I am going to put them as a set in my ETSY shop. Yes, I broke down and made a shop. I have a quilt to photograph and list which I will be doing soon too, I hope!

Anyway, I hope you have enjoyed the Houses and will share what you have made with me so I can see your interpretation of them!

Christmas Day 09

I know I am behind in my posting so here goes. This was what our tree looked like on Christmas morning. Notice the red candle on top of the angel on top of the tree? There are 3 of those candles and 3 of my kids. Each year they try to see who can put theirs up the highest on the tree. This year DD1, the shortest, just gave up and put in in the middle. But DD2 and Ds? Ohhhh they were on like Donkey Kong! Notice that the red one is the "winner" but the green one is a close second. Well, DS figured out that he could put his on the halo of the angel thereby winning the contest!

Here is my incredibly adorable and dorky family in their matching PJs. My MIL and FIL gave everyone pajamas for Christmas. Each family got a matching set and this was ours. I am not in the photo as mine were the only ones in the family that didn't fit! Of course!! I felt kinda left out, but I am going to lose weight and fit into those pj's for next Christmas, you just watch for that, k?

My dad and sister usually spend Christmas day and the next day (DS's birthday) with us. This is actually the day after Christmas and Grandpa was getting ready to go home so I needed a photo with all the kids. He is 83 and you never know how many more Christmases he will be with us. Hopefully MANY!! He is very healthy and active.

This is my goofy sister. All the girls (my 2 daughters, me and my sister) and my DH went to see the 3D movie Avatar together. My sister was getting ready to leave with my dad and began crying so DD1 put the goofy 3D glasses on her so we wouldn't be able to tell. I think they just made her look even goofier, but "whatever". This is now DD's favorite photo! My sister is 9 years younger than me and has Cerebral Palsy. She lives with my dad and for awhile DD1 lived with them. Both my dad and sister are extremely attached to her and this is why my sister was crying (not because I was mean to her or anything, although she did call me mean for taking this photo, but how could I not share this with all of you?? I'm just sayin...) She did swipe at me with a crutch on the way out but I'm OK she is not very fast with her hitting.

As you can see grandpa and DD1 really love each other. I love my dad! He is a wonderful generous man!!


I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas too. I did receive many wonderful gifts from my family too. The girls bought me an external hard drive with 1.5TB of memory for all my photos (DD1 was horrified when I got a new computer at work and had to transfer ALL my photos and there are over 3000 of them) Yes, I download them onto my work computer as a back up to my home computer and because sometimes I post from work. I love my Mac so much more than that PC I use at home! My DS bought me the entire first season of Supernatural,love it! DH bought me a new iron (b/c I have been asking for one) and this one can be used corded or cordless (Orek), He ordered me 2 quilt books that I asked for a foot for my sewing machine that I asked for and a surprise, a quilt rack that he and DS are supposed to build for me. I also ordered a single hole needle plate for my machine. (Bernina had 25% off so it was a good time to do so). I had taken my machine it to have it cleaned and checked over and I just love the guy that does my service. She should purr like a kitten once I get a chance to play again!

We got a lot of DVD's at our house for Christmas too. I have watched the entire first season of Fringe and True Blood, both very good. Now on to Supernatural and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

I hope everyone else was able to enjoy family, friends and the time off from work! (As I type this from my work computer!! LOL) I will be meeting up with LTW today to go to Checkers and pick up an order. I will share more about that tomorrow. I am also going to get to see her farm today, but sadly you will all have to wait to see it as I left my camera at home! Maybe I can convince her to use her camera and send me some pictures, we will see. I guess you will just need to check back now won't you??

Frankenmuth and Christmas Prep

Last Sunday my whole family decided to go to Birch Run (an outlet mall) and then to Frankenmuth (a Bavarian town). We took DD's BF with us so the whole drive time there was about 2 hours. We shopped a little bit and strangely enough ran into DH's sister and her family. Even more odd is that this niece and nephew are the ones my kids like the most! We told them we were planning on going to Frankenmuth so we decided to meet up at Zehnders (they are known for their famous family style chicken dinners.




As you can see they were less than thrilled to have their photo taken but they tolerated it for you guys. It was kinda bright so some of them had their eyes closed. You can see DD's BF next to her, the one with the red hair. He is a really nice guy.

You can see all of us at the dinner table! We had such a good time at dinner we decided we need to meet up with them and do this every year!

Have you guys seen those little plastic animals that sometimes come on your drinks? Well they put them on our ice cream dish and DD decided to put them all around her glass and drink. Silly girl!

Here is my son posing for me. I told him I wanted a pic by the soldier and would pay him a dollar so he went and posed, and I paid him a dollar, LOL.

Everything was lit up for Christmas, so pretty!

Then it was time to head home and we had to drop the BF at his house. His parents asked us to come in and it is the first time our entire family and their entire family have been together. I suspect BF may become a DH in the future so we went in and had a nice hour together and then it was time to go home. BF's family is very nice.

I had to work on Monday but have been making up for that on Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday I finished shopping and then the girls and I went to see Avatar. OMG, I can't even stress enough so OMG again. This movie is one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. They did it in 3D and it is amazing. The plot is a little predictable but I really, really enjoyed it. I want to see it at an IMAX theater. If you have a chance GO AND SEE IT!!

Yesterday DD2 and I spend the better part of the day baking cookies and cleaning. Last night an old BF of DD2 came over. He is attending West Point and will graduate this spring is astro physics (yes now I know a rocket scientist IRL!!) He is going to go to flight school to learn how to fly some big ass helicopter after graduation. He and DD dated the summer before their freshman year in HS and are now just good friends. He usually stops by at Christmas when he is home to see us. We really love him, just a great kid. He helped DD decorate the sugar cookies last night and then they went out with some other friends. I should have taken his picture, maybe next time he is over.

So today we go to my SIL and BIL house to celebrate Christmas. It is a 2 hour drive. My dad and sister will come here and stay in a hotel (we don't have an extra room). I usually call him when we get home and he comes over for a little while. I made homemade mac and cheese to bring tonight. When I get home tonight I need to bake my raisin bread and make my breakfast casserole for the am. At least I am all wrapped! I will take some pictures and post probably soon.

Have a Merry Christmas or Happy Holiday and stay safe. Enjoy some family time and eat lots of good food!!

Irish Christmas Giveaway

OK, I have not had time to write of late but dang it I have been swamped! My friend Micki over at Irish Muses is having a wonderful giveaway of some really cool Irish things. She is a sweetheart too so you really need to go and visit her.

I told you I would share what I got for PTM for Christmas after I gave it to her so here ya go. I thought these little kitty faces were so adorable! And PTM is totally addicted to 30's fabrics.

I also gave her some of these. I believe they are from Darlene Zimmerman's newest line. Aren't they adorable?

I also gave LTW her present but , very bad me, I do not have a photo of what I gave her. I did show you some Kaffe Fassett fabrics in a post about NYC. Well I also went to the LQS and got a couple more of those fabrics. I made FQ's out of all my prints and shared half with LTW!! I think she liked them. She is saving up some of the pinks and purples to make a pattern by Don't Look Now. Me too. If anyone has any KF scraps you would like to donate to the cause we would take any color and type. I had none in my stash so will need to do a little collecting before actually getting started. I just love her stuff!

I am trying to fight off a cold and my head is all congested so I took a Benedryl and now I am getting sleepy. We are going to Frankenmuth tomorrow so will try to write when we return. Headed off to bed, can barely keep my eyes open...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz........

Coin Quilt for ETSY

I got my coin quilt back from LTW and I am so happy with how it came out. I had her do birds and berries overall and I really like how it looks. Here is the front:


And here is the back:


Here is the close up of the quilting:


This entire quilt was made from scraps (mine and LTW's)or fabric I had at home already. I gave it to PTM to do the binding on in the red fabric. I am planning on putting it up for sale on ETSY once I get it back from PTM. If you know anyone that might be interested please steer them my way!

My Travels to Shipshewana

So DH and I went to Shipshewana, Indiana on Monday to do some shopping. Why does this make me so happy? Because there are multiple fabric shops there. Lolly's and Yoders Department Store. But...I digress. The start of this story begins on the drive there. We were driving down US 12 when an "Oversized Load" truck went by followed by this:



WTF? you might be asking as was I, when DH tells me that it is a blade for a power generating windmill. HUH?? It is ENORMOUS!!! So we passed a total of 6 of these on our way to Indiana. We stopped at a light in Jonesville and there was one trying to make the turn. DH went around the block for these pics for you guys, just so you can see how BIG they really are, Ready?

That is the length of a city block!!
Trying to make the turn:


Seriously HUGE, can you tell I was enraptured by them??

OK back to Shopshewana. We arrived and had to go to Jo-Jo's for pretzels.

Drooling yet? They are wonderful when warm and with their mustard!

Then to Lolly's. I won't bore you with the pics inside the shop (they are on Flickr if you really want to see them). I bought a little bit of fabric, no really, not very much at all. Why are you all laughing??
I bought this panel to go with a pattern I already had

It is the one in the middle. I got the American Jane one while in Mason and the Hanky one at Yoders.

Remember how I told you I finished up the Peter Rabbit cross stitch blocks? Here is one:

I got fabric to make them into a quilt. More about that after Christmas when I can get them all out and make the design I have in my head. But I bought these for that.

or maybe these which I got at Yoders Department Store,

Although the batiks are for a quilt for DD1 later and the aqua just "cuz".

I bought a few other fabrics for Christmas gifts so I can't show you until tomorrow as we are exchanging tonight. I also bought a shirt for my friend that has horses:

I scored these adorable tea towels at Vintage Home.

They had a lot of cute retro stuff. But I showed a lot of restraint and it was hard!


Then off to Rebecca Harrer's place for some old quilts and Mercury glass ornaments. This one was a beauty. So small.

Even Santa made an appearance.

Then we found a new to us antique shop Vintage Mast and I bought a few things but this was cool, an old cloth children's book. I am thinking I can scan it in, print it on to fabric and make a quilt with it. The pics are so cute!


You get the idea.
Then we went to the bulk food store where I got steel cut oats for .67/lb!! and other great deals and on to Yoder's Meat and Cheese shop where we bought lots of meat and cheese. We love their bacon and their dried beef, YUM. No pics of that though. Lots of walking and lots of together time with my DH. We had a really fun day together!

I have to scoot off to home now and get ready for the CHVQ Christmas Party at PTM's house, so I will write more tomorrow. I still have things to share, not about the trip but important none the less. Have a wonderful evening!!

My Life Lately (or I really need more hours in a day)

Have you been wondering where I have been lately? No? Well I am going to tell you anyway!

Last week Tuesday the CL's had a Christmas party. We did a small gift exchange and it was fun. I am ready for a break from that group right now though, after some of the "stuff" that had happened. Maybe some well deserved time off is in order. What do you think?

Then on Saturday, the family went to East Lansing to go to a mass to remember my MIL that has been dead for 30 years. My DH's entire family, including my FIL and his wife, and all 7 brothers and sisters and all the kids, except for 2 were able to make it. I thought I would get a holiday photo of my family while I was at it.



Before we got to the church we stopped in Mason, a small town outside of Lansing. There is a little general store there with fabric called Keans (I think) and I found some of a line I liked when I saw it online. So here is what I got.



They also had the Alice in Wonderland line and it is really fabulous in person. I didn't want to buy any as I really don't know what I would do with it and I am trying not to buy what I don't have a use intended for (Like the fabric I just bought, sigh)

I did manage to get the entire downstairs decorated for Christmas. It sure takes a lot of time to do that!

Anyway...DH and I went to Shipshewana on Monday. I will blog about it in a little while. I have to get back to work for the moment. Genotyping is never finished!! = )

Give Away

Been super busy, sorry! Trying to catch up on blogs. I found a great giveaway over at Twiddletails blog. Hop on over and enter will ya? She is giving away some of these pretties.
4 fat quarters of Wild Thyme fabric to each of five winners. I love the fabric but thought you should know! Good luck and I will write more soon. DH and I are going to Shipshewana in the am so off to bed for me.

Dickens Festival Holly Michigan

Every year we try to go to the Dickens Festival in Holly. We love the "characters" playing the parts and putting on shows, as well as the antiquing and shopping. It is just a fun place to go. We usually choose the coldest day and go (at least that's how it seems) but this year it was not bitter cold. Here are some of the players.

I saw this neat sewing stand but it was a little too expensive for me! Cute huh?

This desk is so close to one at my dad's I had to take a photo so I can tell him how much it was. Oh, wait...maybe I shouldn't as I want that desk someday.

Look who was wavin' at me! Yep, it was Santa!

I saw several things in Holly Hills Primitives that caught my attention and several had this cute little mouse on them.

At first I thought he was real. Then I looked a little closer.

She also had these really cool wooden icicles. They were so amazing.

The best thing ever though was this vampire hunters kit in the antique shop.

All in all it was a lot of fun. Every year I buy DD2 a "creepy elf" which I usually find in Holly. This year did not disappoint. He is a small little guy but great creep factor. Can't show him until after Christmas though!!

We did manage to get the tree up and the lights on the tree but that's about all. It was a busy weekend. I hope you all had a good weekend too.

Craft Show

I had a busy weekend but I will begin with Saturday and since it is kind of late and I have to be up early will most likely finish the story tomorrow. Friday night I went to the church to help set up for the craft show that the POKE-N-STAB quilters were in. (STAB stands for St. Thomas A'Becket, my church). We sure had a lot of stuff to put out. Then Saturday morning at around 8:30 I went back to the church to drop off the cash box. Of course I did a little shopping too. I found a little something to send to one of my friends that lives out of town but in the country. I'll let you puzzle that out.

This is what our "booth" looked like at the show. Last year we were crammed into a small space but this year we had lots of room to spread out.




We did amazingly well! It was a successful day indeed. I then went home and decided I wanted to get the tree up and the house decorated. I managed to only get the tree up and the lights on it. DD1 and I took some more boxes to her storage facility so now at least I can get to the decorations! LOL. So hopefully this week. Sat night we met our friend, Shelby for dinner and we got to meet her new boyfriend. She is a widow for many years now and we are glad to see her so happy. He seems like a nice guy, very down to earth. We had a great evening but that meant nothing else got done until today (which nothing got done in either). Like I said though, it is late and I am tired so more tomorrow.

I Got Gifties and other intersting stuff!!

I couldn't remember if I had shown this after it was quilted so I am going to show it again! I made this for the son of my French daughter. Blandine was an exchange student with DD1 back when DD1 was in the 5th grade (she was 10 and she is now 24, so 14 years ago). She came here first and then DD went to her family's home. We all fell in love with Blandine. She was so cute! She didn't speak much English and we spoke even less French, but we somehow communicated. We were lucky as we got the BEST kid in the group. She loved us and we loved her. She cried unconsolably on the way to the airport to go home. We cried too. Who knew you could love someone you only just met and in 3 short weeks? Well, our little girl has had a baby! I just found out recently as they are not big on email and I am not a great letter writer, LOL. I realize that if she is our "daughter" then this makes her son our French grandson, right? Am I right? YEAH!! our first grandbaby!! From the minute I found out I was drawn to Odyssea from Moda to make a quilt for him. So...TA-DA, here it is. LTW quilted bubbles into it for me and PTM did the binding. Isn't it beautiful?? I just sent it off in the mail yesterday, so I hope she receives it soon.


Then, my sweet Nutbud Quilter, Faith, send me a wonderful golden package. Inside this package were these wonderful things. Some books, chocolate and some beautiful FQ's. On top of all that, some adorable quilt tins with cats on top. There was even a thimble inside one of them!! Faith, I love them all, thank you so very much. I can't wait to read the books and especially to use the tins.

As I said before, I packed up my sewing room = ( but fear not, I still have things to do. I know you were all sweating over that one. I had quilt group on Wed and thought, hmmm what am I going to do there for 3 hours?? Why, cut out a new quilt of course, silly! And you thought I wouldn't have anything to do. PAH! You know I don't have enough to do with finishing up my UFO's so I *must* begin some new UFO's (or finished quilts whatever). I bought this pattern a little while ago and then when I was looking for fabric to finish that lighthouse quilt for LTW, I found the fabric to make it up for a reasonable price so I got it. I thought I would make it up in the colors it called for and if I like it i will use some of my own colors later. I do like the colors they chose too but might have chosen some different ones too. So you can see the cut fabrics and the pattern. Have any of you made this pattern yet? She has nice modern patterns if any of you are interested.

I have to get the display ready for the craft show on Sat but set up is tomorrow night so I am going to go and help with that. Then I went and got money for the cash box tonight so I will have to go to the sale on Sat am to deliver the box. Then Sat night DH and I are going to meet my dear friend, Shelby's new beau. She lost her DH several years ago, now, and I am so happy that she is moving forward with her life. It has not been easy but I am excited to meet this one as she is sure he is "the one". I will keep you posted.

What are you working on during the holidays??

Oh yes...I forgot to tell you, I posted the next 2 blocks in the My Neighborhood BOM today. Sorry I was late but...