A Very Special Gift

I was so happy to share the butterfly quilt with all of you. 

 It is all quilted up now and actually gifted. 

 I can now share some more information with you about this fabulous quilt. 

 One of my oldest and bestest friends has cancer. 

 She has had 2 surgeries and will be starting radiation therapy very soon.  

This quilt was made for her. 

 I wanted her to have something to take with her during the treatments to keep her warm, wrapped in love and hopefully a little cheered up.  

Two of my co-workers and I made all the butterflies for the quilt and I put it all together. 

 I had to wait for the fabric, as you know, to actually finish it up.  

What you don't know is that I hand embroidered a label and I love how it came out.

The saying was soooo appropriate for her!

My friend, and an amazing quilter, Liz, did the flower/butterfly quilting and it was perfect!

I got a sun dappled photo but that's all I had time for.

 I love love love the back.  

This rainbow fabric is to die for!!

I had one extra butterfly so I put it on the back and it made the perfect setting for the label.

I had to decide how to wrap it up for the gifting and this is what I did. 

 I think it was perfect!

I gave it to my friend on Monday night and I think she was thrilled.  

We have been friends so long that when I asked her if she could pick out the butterflies that I had made she got every one of them right!

Not a single wrong guess!  

She said it was my fabric choices.  

The one made out of blue dragonflies was the first one she guessed.  

I really hope she knows how much she is loved and how much her friendship means to me. 

I am a better person for having he in my life!

This quilt was a true joy to make and to gift.

~XOP~

Beautiful and Strong

I have been working on a quilt with a couple of my friends. 

 I am not normally much of a butterfly person, although I do find them beautiful.  

I just don't do much quilt or fabric wise with them.  

Cats? yes please! 

 Butterflies..meh.  

Notice I say not normally.

  I recently found some fabric by Tamara Kate at Michael Miller called Flight Patterns,

 you can see it here at the Fat Quarter Shop.  

I fell in love with the multi dappled migration, 

and the multi patio lights as well as the glee in multi. 

 I stalked shops for MONTHS waiting for it to be available.  

My friends and I are making a butterfly quilt and I *needed* these fabrics for them. 

 End of July is when they were due out.  

Finally, on July 31st they were listed and darn it all if the glee was sold out!!!  

WTH??!! 

I did manage to snag the dappled migration and the patio lights, but just barely.

 I found the glee in multi on ETSY and bought what I needed of it for the back.  

I can't show you the back yet, because it was late at night when I finished it.

Then I brought it to the quilter. 

Also it is a gift.

I incorporated the label into the back so you will have to wait until I gift it to see that.

BUT

Here's the top.

In all it's butterfly beauty!

Close up of the borders.

I just love how the side borders go all the way down in a line. 

 So cool!!!

I also found this saying that I thought was so cool:

"You never know how strong you are,

Until being strong 

is the only choice you have!"

It made me think of this butterfly quilt. 

 Butterflies are so delicate looking but are so strong.  

Some even fly all the way to Mexico from the northern US and Canada.  

The Monarch migration is amazing!

Beautiful and strong.

Great combination don't you think?

~XOP~

Happy Anniversary

We had our 30th wedding anniversary yesterday. 

 I can't believe it has been 30 years!  

Time really does pass much too quickly.  

I have been so busy that I have not had time to blog much.  

Last weekend we went to Grand Rapids to move my sister into her new apartment.  

We began on Friday and hubby told me not to make any plans for Friday night 

and that we would be done at 5pm.  

He told me he wanted all my attention for Friday night.  

Interesting...what could that man have planned? 

 He also would not tell me where we would be spending the night 

since we were staying to finish the moving on Saturday either.  

At 5pm we got in the car and began driving north of GR.  

I didn't think much about it but kept wondering where on Earth we were going? 

 To Hardy Dam maybe?  

A favorite spot to be sure.  

No, probably not there. 

 Then the light bulb went off.  

Me:"I think I know where we are going."

Him: "Oh really? Where?"

"Here"  I say

(Winter Inn, Greenville, MI)

He just smiled.

And then I began to cry.

This is the Inn we spent our wedding night at. 

 He not only booked the Inn but the same room we stayed in 30 years ago!

I think this is the most romantic thing he has ever done for me!

Gotta love this man!

Happy Anniversary to my BFF!!  

I hope we can do 30 more!!

~XOP~

Paper Dolls and Small Things

I know it has been a LONG time between posts hasn't it? 

 Someone pointed that out to me today. 

 I'm sorry but sometimes there just isn't anything good to write about. 

 I began training for a 5K with a group of ladies at my gym, 

so the amount of time I spend at the gym has increased a LOT. 

 We are doing the Couch Potato to 5K program so I have to run 3 times a week.  

That's in addition to the 3 Zumba classes and the cardiolates and body pump classes. 

 With working full time, and taking care of my dad and sisters, it doesn't leave a lot of extra time to sew. 

 I have been working on the back of the Swoon wedding quilt and

 can't share that as the bride to be reads this = ) 

 I will do a tutorial on how to do the dish towels soon, I promise!  

Have you ever had sewing you *had* to do but got TOTALLY distracted by something else?  

That's what happened to me! 

 I am always looking for a project to use for leader/enders while I sew. 

 Do you guys use leader/enders when you sew? 

 I had bought a really sweet pattern called Paper Dolls and 

thought that would work but wanted to make up one block and see how it would be to use. 

 I have been wanting to do this for soooooo long and I finally made one up.

This is unpressed but how freaking adorable is this??  

Can you totally see a whole quilt made up with these??

I think I am going to put white on either side and then maybe surround it with squares. 

 I'm not sure yet. 

 I want to alternate these with a plain block and maybe an improv cat block or 2. 

 I have NO business taking the time to make this, but it is so much FUN!!! 

 I could not resist making several!  

The largest piece is the HST part of the dress and it is 2 7/8", so VERY scrap friendly! 

 I am planning on using several "skin" tones for the girls. 

 I have several more cut out and think that it will be a good L/E project.

Fatty McFatty has been helping me a lot lately too.

She sure loves laying on anything I have been making!

One of my oldest and dearest friends celebrated her 50th birthday today! 

 I cut some lilacs for her (her favorite) and make caramel brownies also her favorite!  

One of our lab mates got her this cake and it was amazing.

So happy birthday to the one person on this earth that completely understands me, every facet of me!  

I love you man! 

 LOL

~XOP~