Sunday, March 28, 2010

Lucky Ducks and some gifts...

I finished up my Quilts For Kids quilt this week -- I was sort of putting off the quilting, because I am not comfortable with machine quilting, but I decided it would be loved whether the lines are straight or not, right? :o) So off I went, I just did a very simple diagonal stitching, and then followed the borders around. (I used cheap masking tape to mark the lines, it was good enough to stick while I stitched, but came off easy with no residue left, when I was done!) You are supposed to wash it before you send it back, and once I did that, it crinkled just enough that I don't think anyone will really see where my lines went off! :o) I am really excited to have this one done and will definitely be doing more of them! :o)
I received my Easter Basket Swap this week from Cindy, from a YahooGroup that I am part of... She sent such cute stuff! I have the socks on today, and they make me smile! :o) Jim took the Peeps and jellybeans... :o) And I will probably have to share the chocolates too... :o) Thanks, Cindy! This swap was really fun! :o)

And last but not least, I received this wonderful hand-made Thank You card from Laurie, for the Nostalgia Scruffy quilt I sent her... I have never received a hand-made card like this, and I think it is a treasure in itself!! The bird on the card reminds me of the birds on the fabrics I used in her quilt... :o)

Hope you all had a good week... The trio are off school this coming week, for Spring Break, so I probably won't be getting much done... :o) I know Jimmy will sure be happy to have them home - he misses them so much when they go off to school!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

friendship

I met Beatrice of A Needle in A Haystack thru a *Friends* swap last summer, and we have emailed and exchanged little gifts ever since. Yesterday, I received a Spring package from her! Oh my! I am so lucky! Several of these things are items she has shown on her blog, that I commented on that I really loved! The Bunny in the Snow, and the Easter stitchery are both pillow covers. (I need to get some pillow forms!) An adorable fabric basket, with chocolates! And two little pincushions that she made, scented with the lavender from her own garden!


AND! She also included the *Madeline* Schnibbles quilt that she made in January! This little quilt is just my style! I already have it hung on my little quilt rack above my sewing machine. This is my favorite spot, as the shelves hold some of my most favorite treasures! (Our cowboy wedding cake topper, and some of my Angels) The quilt is perfect there!

Thank you so much, Beatrice! You are so sweet, sending me all these things that I love! :o)

Saturday, March 20, 2010

National Quilting Day!

I decided since it was National Quilting Day, today would be the perfect day to put together the little quilt top for my Quilts For Kids quilt... It is one of those *Downy: Touch of Comfort* quilts. You request a kit from them (for free!) and the only thing you need to provide is the batting, machine quilting, and love in every stitch... :o) And then you send it back and it goes to comfort a child in need... What can be better than that? I have been very blessed with four happy, healthy children, and have decided this is one small way that I can pass along a little happiness... :o)
Check out Quilts for Kids -- I promise, it is worth the time... :o)

Friday, March 19, 2010

Poky Little Puppy

I made this quick-and-easy little quilt for Jimmy! It was a panel of Poky Little Puppy, that you are supposed to make a cloth book with, but I made him a little quilt instead. The gold border fabric is *Golden Books* fabric, and then the backing (and those green squares) are large puppies, the ones from the book. :o)

He has a fleece Pooh Bear blanket that he has had since he was a baby, for in his bed, but he is getting taller, so his feet keep coming uncovered. Which means he hollers for Momma to come cover him back up... MANY times a night! UGH! So hopefully this little quilt will cover him better... :o)


P.S. I just noticed that this post will be post #107 for my blog! Wow! Maybe I should have some sort of give-away...? Hhhmmm?!? :o)

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Warning: Sunglasses Required! :o)

Oh my, Elizabeth is going to love this! Here is her finished quilt top (this will be her 13th birthday quilt) -- the name of the pattern is Gumballs. I purchased the fabric kit thru Stitchin' Heaven. It is alot of pieces, but it was really easy to put together. This finished quilt top is 60" x 72"... I am waiting for my backing fabric, and then it will be sent off to Carol to quilt... :o)Someone else wanted his picture taken too, while I had out the camera... :o)

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

March Schnibble

I did not get to work on Elizabeth's orange quilt yesterday. David was home from school sick, with spring allergies, so I couldn't work on it! UGH! I did get the blocks done today, and hope to start putting them together tomorrow...

Sinta over at Pink Pincushion hosts "A Year of Schnibbles" each month. This is the first month that I have made the right Schnibble during the right month! This month was the Roundabout pattern. I used Bar Harbor fabrics from Moda. I love the summery, patriotic look of these fabrics. I have not decided if I will hand-quilt it or not... My hand-quilting pile is getting pretty large!

And I thought I would show a picture of one of our cats -- this is Lefty. His official name is *Sir Limps-a-Lot* :o) He was born with a bad right back leg, it is twisted and not formed right. But it sure does not slow him down! :o) He is about 4 years old. His daddy is our other cat, JJ, a pure black cat! HA!

Thanks for visiting! Hope you are having a good week!

Monday, March 15, 2010

Why do you quilt?

Why do you quilt? That is something that I don't actually sit down and think about, after all these years. It is just what I *DO*. I am a quilter. I am a crafter. My mom used to crochet and knit, and I remember as a teen, helping her cut out her first couple of quilts, with good ol' cardboard templates. It was what Mom did. And then, it became what I did. I was the only girl in Home Ec class that actually already knew how to sew. I cross-stitched, I made dolls, and then I started to make quilts. Years have past, since my first quilt.

Fast forward to Christmas 2009. Sometimes, we get so caught up in our own lives, we forget to give. At Christmas time, I received an AMAZING gift from Laurie, from Indulge Your Shelf, this Christmas wreath made with vintage ornaments. That was what started me thinking, about giving. And started me thinking, about why I make quilts.

I make quilts to give comfort. To show love. To bring joy. Not for thanks. Not for *oh, that's beautiful* comments. I make quilts to give a part of me. To show love. To be remembered by.

So that brings me back to Laurie. Her kindness had touched me in ways that I can't even put into words. So when I saw this fabric line called *Nostalgia*, I knew I had to create something for her... She likes shabby chic (at least that is what I call it), so I made her this *Scruffily* quilt, using the *Nostalgia* fabric line.
This quilt is to show Laurie that I care. To make her smile. To make her feel special. That is why I quilt. You can read about Laurie's reaction, in her post: A Quilt of Friendship.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Oranges and Easter Basket Swap

Oranges, anyone?! Ok, not real oranges, but the orange-iest fabrics I have ever worked with! Oh my! Remember, I am making birthday quilts for my trio's 13th birthdays later this year? These oranges are for Elizabeth's quilt. She is ALL about the color orange. (Carol, I think you may need sunglasses when you quilt this one! HA!) Definitely not my color choice, but I know Elizabeth will like it, so that's what matters... :o)

I also wanted to show what I sent in an Easter Basket Swap that I participated in. It was sent to Pat at Pat's Patter. I made a Spring-y Easter Basket pincushion, some crocheted dishclothes, a fabric transfer block, some birdhouse buttons, beads, and a sticker sheet... It was nice to *think Spring* with this swap!

I am going to work on Elizabeth's quilt blocks a bit more today, and then hope to get another DJ block or two done tonite! :o) Have a great day! Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Dear Jane ~ times two!

I would like to invite you to visit my *Dear Jane ~ times two!* blog! I put up my first post tonite, showing the fabrics that I will be using to make my TWO Dear Jane quilts that I am starting on... :o) The new blog will be my secondary blog, to follow my Dear Jane journey. :o)
This blog will still be my main blog, about my quilting and my family... :o)


I do hope you will stop by my new blog and follow my journey there, too! Thanks!

P.S. I just posted my first DJ block over on the *times two* blog! Yeah!

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

two more UFOs done, sorta...

I am still patiently (NOT!) waiting for my Dear Jane fabrics to arrive, so am working on my UFO pile some more. I suppose that is a good thing, right...? :o)

I finished up this quilt top today, the blocks were already made, just needed joined into rows and the rows put together. It is the *Scrappy Trails Quilt* pattern from Carlene Westberg Designs. Very easy to put together - uses a charm pack and a jelly roll. It is the *Sent with Love* fabric line... :o) Sorry it is sort of yellow-ish looking, the sun is actually shining brightly today, so there is quite a glare!
I completed another UFO quilt this morning, but cannot show pictures of it yet because it is in the mail to someone... :o) Hopefully, by next week, I will be able to show some pictures! I was REALLY happy with the way it turned out! :o)
Hope you all are having a good day! Jimmy is back to his normal self -- a wild-n-crazy 3-year-old! :o) Thanks for everyone's good wishes for him!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

one UFO finished, and another added to the pile... :o)

I finished up a UFO! Yeah! This Blue Rails quilt is done... I had ordered Kona Snow, that I was going to use for my Dear Jane in Pink quilt, but I decided it wasn't nearly as white as I had thought it was going to be, so I had 6 yards to use for other things. I used a couple of yards of it to back this little quilt! It has been in the UFO pile for quite awhile, so I am glad to have it done. I put it up for sale on our Country Scrap Quilts site.

But then, I added another thing TO the UFO pile! HA! I finished up this little Schnibbles quilt, Sunday Best. I love the way the crisp white makes the colors pop. It went in the UFO pile, because I plan to do some simple hand-quilting on it... :o)

Oh, and I wanted to show off the TV cabinet that dear hubby made! :o) Since we got a new TV last month (finally, dear hubby says!) we needed a new cabinet! The old stand was one of those build-yourself deals from Walmart, that I have had since the kids and I were on our own... Besides, the new TV was too big to fit in it! HA! He really did a lovely job! Now all the movies and Wii games are hidden away behind the doors! Yeah! I hate clutter!

Thanks for stopping by! Hopefully I will be getting my Kona White fabric later this week, and my 1800s repro, and can start on some Dear Janes by this weekend!!! I am not a patient gal! But I suppose it is good that I haven't gotten the fabrics yet, because it means I am getting other things done... :o)

Monday, March 8, 2010

band aids...



It was a long weekend... Thursday, Jimmy had a bit of a temperature, but we just thought he had finally caught the cold/flu symptoms that we all had been passing around for weeks.... So I gave him some fever reducer, and he seemed fine... Thursday night, at bathtime, he complained that his leg hurt. I couldn't see anything, so just thought maybe he was achy, and that would be a 3-year-old's way to describe it...?
But Friday morning, when he got up and I was changing his diaper, he had a large welt, basically at the bend of his leg at the diaper line. So I called the doctor, and we went in at 11:15. At this point, he wouldn't walk on it, because he was crying that it hurt. UGH! It almost looked like a spider bite welt?
Anyways, it turns out it was a bacterial infection that had abscessed (sp?) and they had to drain it! Oh my, he did not like 2 nurses and me, holding him down while the doctor cut it and drained it! They left the cut open, so it would continue to drain. The doctor said it was not uncommon, in toddlers his age, that are still in diapers, to get these type infections... Hhhmmm? All the more reason to potty train, although Jimmy does not want anything to do with that process! HA!
Anyways, long weekend, of him not feeling good, not wanting the wound cleaned, and not wanting to walk... Luckily, by yesterday afternoon he was alot better, and up and about some... We went back to the doctor this morning, says it is looking good and we can just use band-aids now to keep it covered. He still limps a little bit, because it is still sore. The doctor said it would take a week or so for the tight lump to go all the way away...
My poor baby... I think Jimmy is making up for the trio never being sick. You would have thought they would have been, being triplets and being 4 weeks early, but they never had ear infections or anything... Jimmy has had RSV (at 7 weeks) and now this, and numerous ear infections/sinus infections, etc... Poor guy!
Thanks for listening... Hopefully, Jimmy will continue to be on the mend and I can get back to some sewing... :o) Have a great day!

Friday, March 5, 2010

help a friend?

My friend, Beatrice, has entered a contest with this beautiful wallhanging as her entry! She is so creative! If you have a moment, could you stop by her blog, A Needle In A Haystack, which will take you to the contest, and vote for her? I would love to see her win! :o)
Hope you all are having a good day!

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

projects...

Lots of projects going on around here... :o) I am helping a friend make some items for her to sell at craft fairs - I will end up putting some on my online site, too... :o) These are coin purses. They just need the little clasps put on. They even have a loop to hook onto a key chain... Lots more of these to make, and checkbook covers and day planner covers, and... :o) These are done up on the embroidery machine, so go together pretty quickly.

I was talking to Lisa at Lydia's Treasures about the *Sent With Love* fabric line, and thought I would show the two projects I have going with those fabrics... These are 1/2" hexagons, using the Honey Bun (1-1/2" strips). I had the girls cut all the strips of the Honey Bun into squares, just however many each strip would make, and then I am just going to make this as big as it gets, probably some sort of wall-hanging... Believe it or not, this little pile is about 55 hexagons! (Hardly a dent in the pile of squares that the girls cut!) I am kind of anxious to get them done, so I can see how big it does turn out!
And I am also using the *Sent With Love* fabric line for these blocks - these use a charm pack and a Jelly Roll. The pattern is called Scrappy Trails Quilt. You can find the pattern at the Quiltville Etsy Shop. Easy, easy blocks to make! As you can tell, I love these fabrics!

And last but not least, I am taking the plunge, and I am going to make a Dear Jane quilt! Ok, but not just one Dear Jane quilt, I have decided to make TWO! :o))) One will be in small dainty pink floral/prints. The other is going to be 1800s repros, in red-white-blue colors... :o)

As soon as I get my fabrics and start on the blocks, I am going to have a blog just to track my progress on my Dear JaneS! :o)

Hope you are having a good day! Thanks for stopping by!