The Quilter's Kitchen

How to Make Paper Snowflakes

2011-11-15T23:18:00.000-05:00

Did you ever want to know how to make paper snowflakes? Well, here you go! I found this awesome video tutorial that makes it super easy to do.

But first, I want to give an update on where I've been. What a year! I have not been right physically since my car accident in November of 2009. Some of you may remember that I was out of work for 8 months. Then I tried to go back to work last year. I struggled through but things got worse oner the course of the year. I finally got a correct diagnosis on my shoulder giving my extreme pain validation. Bottom line is that I am now out of work for good. Disability. I never, ever thought I would ever be in this position. But here I am. The good news is that I can still sew and blog. I just have to limit how long I'm at either. I can live with that. I can tell you this, I have a heartfelt empathy for those who are in chronic pain and dealing with meds that throw your body for a complete loop. Sign,

Let's concentrate on the good things shall we?

Now without further ado, let's get on with it......and hopefully there is still time to get some things created for Christmas gifts!!! I do believe there just might be. Yup, that's what I call fun.

Back to the snowflakes. Click on the play button to view the video below.....oh and have fun. I did!!

Happy Sewing!!
Kate

Catching up

2011-02-18T00:56:00.000-05:00

Hi there, I've missed you! Did you wonder what happened to me? Well, I got hit big time with a virus, pneumonia and a staff infection all at once. Yikes! What a winter it has been. I've been out of work now for a couple of weeks recovering after a week long hospital stay. (not fun by the way). The good news is that I'm finally on the mend and getting my strength back. I'm expecting to go back to work mid-week next week after a final follow with the doc. (who has been struggling with illness himself for several weeks).

I'll have some new posts soon. I've a fun penguin pillow to show you and some other goodies that are quick to whip up!! Come back soon and we'll chat. What have you been up to? I'd love to hear what's been happening in blogland in my absence. :)

Godspeed!
Kate

Gather Up Your Scraps For This One!

2011-01-07T07:40:00.000-05:00

I used up several scraps to try out this new Gathered Clutch pattern from Noodlehead.

From this angle is a bit tough to see the gathers.

The only variation I made to the pattern was to add this metal loop for a handle. Which I just realized that I forgot to take a picture of.

This inside has pockets for debit/credit cards and a separater.

I'm linking up to Sew and Tell Friday over at AmyLouWho's.

Happy Sewing!!

Did You Ever Find Yourself...........

2011-01-05T06:34:00.001-05:00

.......undecided about what to do with fabric that you've had for so long that, well, let's just say a long time.

Then you iron it............

.............and a bright idea hits you!

... to just go ahead and use that undecided strawberry, daisy fabric for an ironing board cover.

It makes me think of summer every time I iron now. I'd stay and chat, but I just got a hankering for leomonade.

Happy Sewing!!

Mug Rugs Are All the Rage

2011-01-03T06:04:00.014-05:00

So I just had to see what all the fuss was about.

Sip, snug, comfy on the outside. The inside says............

Oh, and this is the back...I have to say it felt good to work with some non snowman/Chrstmas fabrics.

Such a cutie size. Ok, I do see what the fuss is about. (sorry for the shadow)

I'm hooked. Can't get enough of polka dots.

Oh, yes, the inside of the mug says, "You will find rest for your soul." Jeremiah 6:16

Now. I do like the sound of that. Happy Sewing!!

Scrappy Snowman Doorhanger

2010-12-31T09:13:00.002-05:00

This little guy was so easy to put together. He has all of my favorite things; buttons, bells and scraps all in one fun project, oh and snowmen.....duh! As a farewell to 2010 I wanted to save my favorite project for my final post this year. This scrappy snowman has been a huge hit. Everyone who saw it wanted me to make them one or asked how they could make one.

In just a couple of hours (or less) he's a great hostess gift or gift to keep on hand for that last minute present.
You can always just make a few to put on all your own door handles too.

All of the pieces are applied with fusable wonder under.

The cutie little face is made with french knots.

I love the litte star with the button in the middle.

Buttoms are my down fall. I must have hundreds in my stash. These are from my special collection passed down to me from my mother-law's-stash. I used a machine blanket stitch around the edges of the snowman.

The jingle bells add a nice finishing touch. Did I mention that I'm a sucker for bells too?

I found the pattern in the Better Homes and Garden's magazine. But it's from 2007. I'm not sure if it's still available.

These are the materials needed. I hope you can read it. Click on the picture for a better view.

The placement is pretty straightforward.. The strips are 1.5" X 4.5". The squares at the top are 1.5 X 1.5. I used light weight upholstery fabric for the front. For the back and handle I used a soft brushed maroon upholstery fabric that I found in the discount section at the fabric store.

Happy Sewing and Happiest of New Years!!

Thank you for stopping by and sitting a spell with me. I hope you come back soon.

Noodlehead: gathered clutch tutorial

2010-12-30T08:40:00.001-05:00

This is such a great gift idea. Maybe in Valentine colors, birthday gift for someone special or get a head start on Mother's day? I know what I'm doing today!!

Noodlehead: gathered clutch tutorial: "A huge thanks to Dana and Disney for doing such a great job of rounding up all sorts of wonderful mother's day projects! Material..."

Easy; no really!

2010-12-21T07:24:00.007-05:00

Choose some soft, cozy fabrics in a variety of colors.

Cut them into the size you need. These are crib size.

Combine them with a nice soft backing and stitch around the edge with a 1/2 inch seam.

Turn inside out and presto, chango. An easy, quick, comfy cozy blanket for some lucky little person on your Christmas list. Let me know if you would like more detail on these.

Merry Holiday Sewing!

All the way from Jerusalem

2010-12-19T06:36:00.001-05:00

Friends of ours took a special trip to Jerusalem back in the 80's. We watched their young son for a couple of weeks while they were away.

They brought this hand carved manger home for us. It's been a treasure ever since!

Merry Christmas my friends!

Quick last minute gifts

2010-12-18T07:19:00.000-05:00

Baby items are a breeze.

What baby doesn't need burb cloths?

And lots of them!

I used a pretty heart stitch on my Viking #1 (tells you how OLD my machine is!)

Various patterned flannels work great too.

The hour glass shape makes is easy to throw over your shoulder and not bunch up.

Love this stitch!

Merry Holiday Sewing!

My Rustic Mantle

2010-12-16T07:36:00.000-05:00

I made these stockings a few years ago.

I really love the heart right in the center.

I have about 9 others but all the kids moved out!

So now I hang mittens......for the mice.

Merry Sewing!

Remember when..........

2010-12-15T06:54:00.003-05:00

...........Bunnies were all the rage? I made a dozen or so at the time. They still bring a bit of joy to my heart when I see them dressed for the season.

As do these two little buddies. I'm enamored with Raggety Ann and Andy.

They are keeping an eye on my tree for me.

Merry Sewing!!

Special Recipe for Hot Chocolate

2010-12-13T06:38:00.001-05:00

Oh Come Let Us Adore Him

2010-12-12T06:15:00.005-05:00

This is my manger this year. I was inspired by the scripture Luke 2:13 that says that the night that Jesus was born a host of angels sang to celebrate His Holy birth. "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to all whom God favors".

He came to bring hope to a lost world.

Then the shepherds said to one another, "Come, let us adore Him!" I'm with them.

A very first!

2010-12-11T06:34:00.001-05:00

My daughter in law, Janel, had never cut out cookies before........in her life! Can you imagine that? Sooooo, in true mamma form, I was honored to teach her!

The rolling of the dough.

Cutting out her very first ever Christmas cookie. She chose the star; she's a teacher. Can you tell?

Her first batch comes out of the oven.............so exciting!

Our stars are perfect........of course!

Now for the fun part........frosting!

We got the giggles...........I sure do love this girl!

We had so much fun!! I'm baking our annual Christmas cookie with my grand kids this week-end. I'm really looking forward to it because I had to skip it last year because of my car accident. Thanks for stopping by.....bake with someone that you love today! Check out Janel's crafty blog here

I found my thrill..........

2010-12-10T06:12:00.034-05:00

...........on peppermint hill. .

Well, well, well, what do you know......I actually finished something! It's been a LONG time since I've finished any quilting projects and I won't torture you with the why's and what for's. Let's just say that it's been a LONG year.

I made these curtains for my bathroom a couple of years ago or maybe longer. And always planned to make some other items from this adorable peppemint snowman fabric. (Which I bought for a completely different project by the way).

The fact of the matter is that Snowmen seem to be my muse. Ever since I finished decorating my house for the holidays I've been itching to sew.

Thrilled to be sewing!! (and wiggly)

A close up of the pattern on the bottom curtain. Gives me a hankering for some snow.

Drum roll please....................my finishes for today are these matching aprons. One for me...........

And two for my twin grandkids who are coming on Saturday to make our annual Christmas cookie cutter cookies.

LOVE the striped tie backs.

I'm so excited that I got these finished.......TWO days early to boot!! This year is really special for us. I couldn't bake with them last year because of a car accident that put me out of commission for the better part of this year. In fact now that I think of it, I wanted to make these last year. As you can see, this is an EXTRA special finish for me this week.

Oh, I almost forgot. I finished the little runner at the top of the post this week too. It's for the back of my toilet to match my curtains. Phew! That's it for me.........at least for now. Yes, I'm thrilled; things are certainly looking up and just in time for the holidays.

I'm linking up to Amylouwhos Sew & Tell. Hop on over and see all the lovely finishes for this week's Quilting Bee. Go ahead, it will be fun. I promise!! Merry, merry Sewing!

These are a few of my favorite things.....

2010-12-09T12:21:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned, these are only a few of my snowman collection that makes it way from carefully labeled bins (I wish!) to various spots throughout my WHOLE house............

And stay camped out until the end of March!

Many more merry winter wonder friends will visit my page over the next several weeks. Thanks for stopping by and come back soon!

Snow "Pumpkin" Man?

2010-12-09T08:19:00.000-05:00

Frosty is that really you? Man, I wish I still had my pumpkins. This "snowman" has got to be the cutest thing ever!! Head over to Caught in Grace to see how she made this little guy with her leftover pumpkins and just a a couple of household items. Wins my vote for adorable AND creative this season!

All I want for Christmas..............

2010-12-09T06:37:00.006-05:00

is you.............A tribute to my Mom. She loved Christmas the best of all!

The Heart of Christ

2010-11-12T09:59:00.000-05:00

Adventures!

2010-09-27T09:22:00.000-04:00

My husband and I played hookie from work one day recently to take some pictures with our new cameras.....sssshhhhh.
And these are some of the treasures that we found.

Cool tire tracks I found on the side of the road.

I was picturing a nice quilt hanging over the top of the this door. I'm enamored with doors lately.

This one is my favorite! I'm calling it "Shady Lane".

Thanks for stopping by! Quilting projects are in the works and I'll share them soon. I've been obsessed with using my camera, now I'm missing my sewing machine and fabrics!! :) ahhhh, but it's such a nice problem to have.

Goodies From a Friend

2010-09-24T06:08:00.003-04:00

Meet my friend Elaine. She offered her yard so that I could practice with my new camera. Lookie what I found..............

Americana at it's best.

Hope you enjoyed sitting a spell with me and my friend. I sure had fun!

Dynamic duo

2010-09-23T06:58:00.001-04:00

Fall lovelies

Fall is here for sure, for sure

2010-09-22T06:38:00.002-04:00

Some of my favs of fall.............

Baby Girl's Breath of Fresh Air

2010-08-07T10:32:00.000-04:00

Nothing says summer better than colorful pinwheels and bright flowers. I made this for my daughter's bff recently when she knew she was having a baby girl. This was also done is boy colors for my grand nephew. You can see it by clicking on this link: Summer Breeze Pinwheels.

I used a loopy pattern to quilt it to look like breezy swirls. Click on the picture to see a close up view.

The dresden plate flower in the middle captured my heart for summer. I am so smitten that I have already started another lap quilt with these bright summer colors (for me!) with a variation of dresden plates, grandmothers fans and mini pinwheels. Can't wait to finish it!! Oh and my youngest wants one for her birthday :) Those squares are all cut, prepped and ready for assembly. That one will be a surprise. I better get crackin' since her birthday was the end of JUNE!! I know, I know.........but you see, the summer has been the best we've had in years and the beach keeps calling my name. AND I started back to work this week after being out for 8 months because of my car accident. Lots going on. All good.

Be sure to check out the Sew and Tell event going on over at AmyLouWho's here! You can also get there via the button on the top left hand side of my blog. Thanks for stopping by!

Happy sewing in the neighborhood!

Jeremy Camp "Empty Me"

2010-06-20T08:56:00.000-04:00

Jeremy Camp - Walk By Faith

2010-06-20T08:53:00.000-04:00

Happy New Curtains

2010-06-10T14:53:00.001-04:00

I needed new curtains for my bathroom. I searched through my stash and found this lovely Chinz fabric that I bought ages ago and never had a project for it. Well, it matched my bathroom perfectly!! I can't believe that I never thought of it before now.

If you notice on the bottom of the curtains that I added a row of white it's because I didn't have quite enough fabric to make them long enough.......sooooo.....I had to get creative and make "designer" curtains. Necessity is the mother of invention you know!

I added a row of narrow white edging to the top so that they would match. I'm quite surprised and very pleased with the results.

I was on a roll so I decided to cover the little stool that I keep for the grandkids so they can reach the sink.

These pictures are from "Home Interior Designs". Does anyone remember that company?

Faith Hill - There Will Come A Day (LIVE)

2010-05-24T15:26:00.000-04:00

Curtains, Plates & Mornin' Muffins.......and high in fiber? Yum! Lots to share today

2010-05-19T06:04:00.004-04:00

I think my camera skills are slowly improving. But I'll let you be the judge. By the way this dresden plate matches my newly made kitchen curtains below. I'm really on a roll these days. The flowers are to me from me. :)
These muffins actually look good enough to eat. hehehehe

Here's where the fiber comes in. Apple Cinnamon is my favorite; but only when I'm not eating banana nut. :)

I made enough for my ladies bible study group. I like to share the yummy goodness.

Ok, back to my dresden plates (table runner without the running. I have a round table)

This green in the center circle is the color of my kitchen now. It's very soothing and refreshing for that matter.

The backing is just felted wool. You can also use plain old felt which is less expensive. I stitch the edging blanket stitch and then trim the edges last.

Close up of the sections outlined with a verigated thread. I'm enamored with these fabrics and plan to make a Grandmother's Fan quilt soon with these very same fabrics.

My new curtains! So exciting to give the kitchen a fresh new look.

These flowers remind me of my Gram too which makes them extra sweet.

I've had this eyelet lace since forever ago when I used to make dresses for my girls. It was just waiting for the right project. So glad to have a home for it where I can enjoy it every day. Gotta love a well stocked stash!

Very sweet floweral pattern. Even better, I had the fabric in my stash too. So no money spent! Well, recently spent money that is.

Another great day in the sewing neighborhood for sure. Thanks so much for stopping by. More to come............can't wait to see you tomorrow! OOOPS almost forgot to link to AmyLouWho's Sew and Tell. Be sure to stop by and see all the treasures completed this week!!

Summer Breeze Pinwheels

2010-05-18T08:29:00.002-04:00

I have been wanting to play with some pinwheels......... so I made this baby boy quilt for my niece's baby shower last Saturday. She was thrilled. I love that feeling when you give a gift and the recipient is so excited that they make everyone stop and see what they have just received. Sweet! These pinwheels were so fun to make. Bonus!

The fabrics were all from my stash, which made this project even better because I'm on a no shopping pact until I make a significant "dent" in my over loaded shelves!! Unless of course I just need to add one or two fabrics to what I have to finish a project. hehehe :).....sheepish grin. shhhhh!

For some reason these squares look a little more yellow than they really are. Note to self: Gotta get a better camera and some better "user" skills.

This pinwheel is a better color shot. Don't you just love the green!! So delicious.

The backing said boy for sure.

Now I'm just playing with some camera angles. ok, ok, I can't get enough of these fabulous colors. I'm so excited that I have enough fabric to make another one!!

My humble lable. A rectangle of muslin. A permanent black marker. :)

I just finished some dresen plate table circles. I'd call it a runner but I have a round table so technically it's not really a runner. Oh, and I have pictures of my new kitchen to share with you soon. Later in the week I should have the photo shoot completed. Fun, fun! I am pleased with the results AND my kitchen is MUCH more functional now. I will also have the AFTER shots of my sewing room coming. That space is now organized (believe it or not) and humming along just fine, hence the newly finished projects that I am quickly crossing of my list. I'm posting this on Amy's Quilt Festival you can also view it here. Lots of great creations to feast you eyes on!!

As always, thanks for stopping by. See you tomorrow!!

Happy Mother's Day!!

2010-05-09T11:54:00.000-04:00

I'm back......again. I've had a bout with bronchial pneumonia that took me by storm and landed me in the hospital for the better part of a week. In the mean time, I had my kitchen re-modeled too! So much to share and I can't wait to show you what I've been working on. I also have great plans for a new header on my blog. Very exciting spring now that I'm starting to feel better. I've recently made curtains for my new kitchen. I'm working on 2 baby quilts and some dresden plates. Delicious fabrics and fabulous patterns.

Have a wonderful Mom's day to all the mother's out there! Come back soon for the updates. :)

Viking Party Mania

2010-04-15T10:46:00.001-04:00

Our friends hosted a Viking Party not too long ago..........

The deck made an awesome Viking Ship!!

On the look out for the enemy.......or land :)

I came as the Queen..........although I do have to admit that I look more Persian than Viking BUT I did add fir to my costume!! Take a close look at the cape collar, cuffs and trim at the bottom of the dress.......very cool.

The Queen knights her first warrior............sir Christopher; my loyal subject. Oh, btw, the sword is real making it REAL heavy. I was concerned I would chop off his head instead of give the royal blessing!!

Checking to make sure my royal stone was still in place.

Ahem, why yes, of course it is!!

I'm giving audience to the host of the Viking Banquet, Mike. Great costume here. Don't you just LOVE the fur vest and horn hat?? Very authentic.

A closer view of the royal robe and jewels. So much fun to get all dressed up AND have some place to go :)

Me and the hubster. I made his costume as well; but I failed to get a full view of it in a picture that night. Bummer! He was caped and everything. With fur cuffs and boots!

Fire show.......very pretty!

I won the fish toss! Woo hoo! Now this salmon (pictured above my head) is going to hang in my sunroom with my collection of sea shells and other fisherman items.

The King and Queen with the royal daughter, Miss Faith. Also in a hand made costume that she designed and we made together. See full view of her costume below. LOVE the fur belt.

The hubster at the royal viking feast. Sorry for the small picture but the pixels on the camera were set too low.

This picture below is the model that I used to design my costume MINUS the cone bra; that was a little much for me. I didn't feel comfortable with ~~those~~ ahem, that style of dress ;)

Faith put in a lot of time with design suggestions, planning, shopping and cutting..........we completed all three costumes in 1.5 days! I had to wait to get paid to buy all the materials, which took about 3 months and FINALLY came in about 3 days before the party......it was crunch time if I ever saw it. TEAM WORK at it's best paid off.

Not sure, maybe I look more like a woopsy??? The cape is upholstery fabric.......very regal looking. (I'm going to use it to make pillows for my living room now. hehehe)

Our hosts

Viking warriors

Fun was had by all that came; the food was rich fish chowders and stews aptly eaten with wooden utencils; roast of Lamb to be ripped off by bare hands. , etc. Rick and I are now inspired to host a Pirate costume party in July at our house by the lake. We are going to deck the house out!! I can't wait to show you the pictures. Is anyone else out there obssessed with costumes or costume parties?? If so, I would LOVE to see pictures and hear the stories!!

Bragging about my aunt's projects....take a peak!

2010-02-24T06:25:00.001-05:00

My Aunt Dottie from Virginia was a sewer from way back. When I was a kid and used to visit her in Maryland in the summers all the way from Massachusetts, I remember her sewing then and always wanted to be like her sooo when I got old enough to have a family.....sewing was first on my list to take up as a hobby! Dot shared with me that it's been a long time since she'd done any sewing but once she saw my blog and others like it she decided to dust off her machine and take up her old pass time. Since she doesn't have her very own blog......yet, I wanted to brag about her work.

Well, let me tell you, she has been quite busy!!! These projects are all her own creations that she has made for her grandchildren.......aren't they just delightful!

Her grand daughter's name is Kate too.....great name! :) Too bad she's a Saints fan though ;) I'm a Patriot's fan (I'm from the Boston area) and we lost to them this year in the Superbowl :(........ but I still posted the quilt anyway since she is family after all and she's only little still. lol

This beautiful creation is for another grand daughter...I LOVE the teeny bows in the corners. Great job Aunt Dottie!

This shows a bit of the back with the label. Click on the picture for a close up view.

Don't you just LOVE these flowers and heart applique?? I can't wait to try this on a quilt this year. It really makes a nice touch!

More recently she has developed a passion for tote bags. She reports that this pattern is really easy to follow and she's planning on making lots more......I'm hoping to have one show up in my mail box one day ;) hint, hint....LOVE the fabric choices!

Side view; before the top seam has been sewn (that's why it looks like a raw edge at the opening)

FABULOUS!!

Look at all of these great pockets and fun lining fabric too. Awesome job!! Isn't it great that you can just jump right back into sewing without skipping a beat........makes my heart happy to keep America sewing!!

Hello Kitty!!

2010-02-19T05:40:00.000-05:00

This is an a post especially dear to my heart. My grand daughter, Kailey Rain, is now 6 years old and has shown a great interest in my sewing equipment and making things for people as gifts. At Christmas I usually like to make several hand-made gifts. Last year she proclaimed to my daughter-law who was at the time the newest addition to the family that "Did you know that my Gram can make like.....EVERYTHING?". :)

Lately, she has been asking me if we could sew something together so I found this awesome project made especially for her age group at Michael's. I forgot to take a picture of the actual box that the project came in, but this picture below is close enough. However, the Hello Kitty kit that we made was a full body version complete with stuffing and a dress, bow and buttons that needed to be attached, etc.

The kit came complete with everthing needed, including all the parts of miss kitty with pre-punched holes, a large plastic needle, embroidery floss, pre-cut dress....you get the idea. (Very easy to follow instructions)
When I showed the project to miss Kailey she did protest a bit but only because she informed me that she is "way too old" for Hello Kitty stuff and wanted to know if there was anything we could make like.....Hanna Montana clothes... She finally relented after agreeing that maybe she could still make it and give it as a gift to a "little" kid that she knows who is still into "baby" things. I tell you what, these kids are growing up way to fast these days! (why am I suddenly feeling ancient? I'm feeling this overwhelming urge to bust out in song...."Kids! Why can't they be like we were perfect in every way? What's the matter with kids today?")
Ahem..........

The first few times, I threaded the needle for her, but quickly she decided that she could do it herself.

Sweet success!! I love how she looks so proud of herself.
Kailey: "I can sew just like you now, huh, Gram?"
Me: "You bet, sweetie, you're doing awesome!"
Kailey: "I'm having fun! This is cool making stuff."

Now for some more stuffing. Looking like an old pro with that needle already.

Note the serious concentration. Almost done.

Kailey: "Gram, next time can we use your big "thing" over there to sew with instead of this little needle? This is taking a really long time."

Me: "you mean the sewing maching?"

Kailey: "Yeah that, I'm ready for that now. Gram, do you think I can sew everything now like you do?"

Me: "After some more practice honey, you sure can"

Kailey (exasperated): "I can't think about all that right now; I think that's too much for my brain to think about"

Me: "That's ok honey, let's just finish this Kitty and then we can think about more projects later"

Kailey: "Phew, that's a lot of work!"

Kailey: "Look Gram, I did it all by myself! Are you going to post this to your blog, Gram?"

Me: "Can't wait; I'm so proud of you! Let's take a picture of us together with Hello Kitty"

Kailey: "Well, ok, but can you write that I did this all by myself even though you helped me a little bit? a(pause:) "Do you think it's ok if I keep this instead of giving it away? I really like it now!"

Me: "I think that's a great idea"

Kailey: "We can still make something to give away next time right? Sewing is fun!"

Me: "absolutely!" (my heart leaping with giddy joy; yeah, there's going to be a next time!!)

Passing on my sewing ~~obssession~~ passion to the next generation. Priceless!

Well I'm off to the store to find a more "grown up" project for my little miss sewing sensation. Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

2010-02-14T06:00:00.012-05:00

Gifts from the Heart............my own creations at that!

I created this wallhanging for my son, Adam and his new wife, Janel, for a wedding gift. Their 1st anniversary is coming up at the end of February. The colors inside the cross were also the colors of their wedding which took place in Cozumel, Mexico during a week long cruise that we all enjoyed as a family. By clicking on the image you can see the details more clearly. I was inspired by the colors; I believe that God showed me that the blue was to represent His living water that he supplies for each one of us; the red was for His blood that He shed for us on the cross. The three hearts at the bottom represent that a marriage should be three fold cord; husband, wife and God and that we should love one another as He loves us.

If you notice at the top the letter is not quite straight. I was grieved when my machine lettering took a "nose dive" so to speak in the middle of my embroidery. After much fretting.....and then prayer; he showed me that I should leave it just like that because marriage is not perfect, yet we should love each other with all of our imperfections, etc. The crazy quilt pattern is along those same lines; we never know what turn that life will bring our way; it can take many shapes that may not seem like they should go together at first glance, but in the end they are quite beautiful when we keep our eyes focused on the cross and keep our love right in the center as the picture of them right in the center represents.

Below, I created this wallhanging for my younger sister, Becky and her husband's 25th wedding anniversary.

Beck is a breast cancer survivor, so I used pink ribbon fabric for the hearts in the corners. The border is butterflies to represent a memory of our mom who interestingly enough passed away on Beck and Ed's 20th anniversary 6 years ago. The blue hearts in the center are Beck's favorite color with a button in the middle from our Grandmother's button collection. By nature I'm actually not very creative. I usually need a pattern to go by. But sometimes God's creativeness just flows right through :) God is good!

Click on the image to view in closer detail.

Thanks for sharing in these very fond memories. I hope you enjoyed my ramblings......

Happy Valentine's Day!!! Now go create something! :)

Market Tote Bag Using Recycled Clothing...........Near and Dear to the heart

2010-02-13T06:30:00.008-05:00

This is a very special bag with an interesting family history to it. The outer bag is made from a pair of my youngest daughter's favorite and I do mean most favorite pair of corduroy pants that she wore so much that the fabric in "certain" places was worn to the "see through" stage if you know what I mean. I used the legs and pockets to make the outer bag and the handles. (Handles were lined with batting for extra strength)

The butterfly is the pocket from another favorite pair of blue jeans of hers that the zipper finally gave out on....not sure of the details on that story, but I do know that I was not able to repair it...........let's just say that some things are better left unsaid. :) You're welcome Rach. Luckily there were two butterflies; so I put one on the front and the back to be used for cell phone, keys, etc. Note the original brand tag of the jeans; so cute!

Now for the lining the story gets even better. This red fabric was actually one of MY favorite button down shirts that I wore in my late teens and early 20's. Interestingly enough, same said youngest daughter also fell in LOVE with this shirt when it no longer was in style for the mamma, she quickly confiscated it.....ok, ok, truth be told; it no longer fit me. There I fessed up, now let's just move on shall we? Here you can see that several fun pockets were added to the inside lining. I even put the actual shirt pocket as a "secret" pocket on the botton of the inside of the bag. I couldn't get a good picture of it. But Rach got a real kick out of it as she adores nooks and crannies so to speak. :) I lined the pocket with a tan canvas type fabric for stability. The short flap at the top is the fastener where I added a couple of strips of tan velcro.

Below you can see the tab that is used to close the bag is the botton down side of the front of the shirt with the actual buttons. I lined it with tan velcro as a fastener. The gathered look is from elastic that I inserted to give it a "ruffled" look. A solid piece of stiff cardboard was inserted into the bottom of the bag for extra stability sandwiched in between the two layers of fabric.

Below the side tabs are the actual ties that held up the sleeves after they were rolled up. Remember that style of shirt? I tried to find the picture that I have of Rachel wearing this shirt but I couldn't locate it in the archives. Bummer. These tabs can be used to hang keys or sunglasses, etc. Darling! (yes, the buttons actually work....sometimes I even amaze myself)

So there you have it. This gives a whole new meaning to heirlooms wouldn't you say? Needless to say I was tickled pink that she squealed with delight when she opened it with tears; you know it was awesome when you get tears. It was a true moment. Ahhh, I just love to recycle....oh and the best part; my shirt lives on!!!

Thanks for stopping by! I'd love to hear from you about any special projects that you made and the story behind it.

Batiks partner well with soft corduroy

2010-02-08T06:33:00.000-05:00

Delicious colors for this one. I made matching quilts for my two oldest daughters, Cindy and Faith who insist on calling themselves twins even though they are 4 years apart. So cute! I ended up quilting a straight line in the ditch for this one.

Close up of the batik pattern. I love the swirl!!

I ended up showing them to the girls in their unfinished state on Christmas morning. I couldn't get them finished because of my car accident but I wanted them to see what they would be getting. Needless to say, they LOVE them. One is now finished and the other is coming along quite slowly, but making progress non the less.

I bought some beautiful brown batiks in November with some chocolate brown corduroy that I can't wait to get started on. I'll post some pictures of those soon. I haven't decided on which pattern I'm going to use for the browns yet. Hmmmm

Thanks for stopping by. Leave a comment so I know you were here! :)

Baby Quilt finished just in time

2010-02-07T06:24:00.003-05:00

for a Christmas gift to my daughter's baby that she nanny's for. Baby Ava LOVES it. They use it all the time at nap time to snuggle in the rocker before bed and nap time. This is the film strip or otherwise known as window panes.

I did a simple stitch in the ditch around the squares and the borders for the quilting. The results were quitel pleasing.

Check out the tutorial at CrazyMomQuilts here. Thanks for stopping by!!

Hugs of Hope

2010-02-06T05:51:00.000-05:00

This raffle laptop quilt was fun and quick to put together. I used a lazy crazy quilt pattern and then used all the fabrics to cut 4" squares for one of the borders and piece the back with. By the time I was finished I didn't want to part with it, but it was already promised for the raffle to support my youngest daughter's best friend's fund raiser for Huntington't disease. So sad. This disease is not well known, but thousands are afflicted with it every year. Her mom passed away 3 years ago and now Jill is on a mission to raise awareness and funds to further the research. Way to go Jill!!

It seemed fitting to use a loopy quilting design because Huntington's is know as the dancing disease. Jill raised over three thousand dollars at her event; which is a great success for her first fundraiser where she coordinated a DJ, Food, Games and live entertainment. It was a very fun night.

You can see the pieced back here and some of the loopy quilting. This was my first attempt at this design. It wasn't perfect but I was pleased with the results. It's always fun to try something new.

The back.

I found this pattern in a magazine a long time ago and no longer have the article. I've made so many of these now that I don't even put out the directions anymore. I'll try to find them if anyone is interested and post a tutorial. Let me know if you like this and would like to know more about making one. It's EASY and QUICK. I don't know any quilters who are not excited about those two words!! I have a second quilt top all put together, it just needs the borders sewn on, quilting and then of course the binding attached.

I just have to share this great story of how this quilt ended up being won by a 3 year old. Near the end of the night just before the raffle names were to be drawn. A young dad brought his little boy up to the table and let him pick out anything that was displayed to put his 2 tickets into for the drawing. Keep in mind that there was this awesome motorcycle ride on toy in the mix that was specific to his age group. He saw this quilt and asked his dad to let him put both of his tickets in the box for it. Low and behold he won the quilt. He was so excited that he ran up and wrapped the quilt around his little body and danced around. How sweet! I was so touched because nothing about this quilt said "little boy".

As always thanks for stopping by!

Lingering Christmas Treasures

2010-02-05T05:50:00.001-05:00

This table runner looks a bit yellow, not sure why, but maybe my camera setting was off a bit. It could also be the pain meds I'm taking for my back and I'm blaming the camera unfairly ;) I made this one day for a quick hostess gift for my friend who was throwing a Christmas party for our little bible study home group. It's just 2 1/2" wide strips; cut 15" long with a binding around the edge; I used the same fabric for both the backing and the binding. REALLY quick to whip up for a gift. (Yes, I did add batting but it would be just fine without it too).

Looks like I chopped off Santa and Mrs. Clause's heads. Oops! Sorry Santa. *Hopefully he won't remember this incident and give me coal in my stocking next year. shhhhh. It's our little secret!

I made this wall hanging back in 1994. It was my first "let's try out this special triangle ruler" project. My kids always tell me that it isn't Christmas until I hang this tree up. I think it was meant to be an advent calendar of sorts but I just leave all the ornaments attached. I serged the edges with shimmery green metalic thread.

These little cuties are 5x5 log cabin blocks that were left over from another project. I stitched 4 of them together and put a backing on them with no batting and used them as "doilies" at Christmas time. Love these!!

Come back soon for more treasures. Have a wonderfully blessed day!

I'm Back! But Only for Short Visits. Feast your eyes on these.....

2010-02-04T14:32:00.000-05:00

Snowflake Dresdan plates...........

This is a dresden plate that I finished before Christmas but haven't been able to post until now. These adorable snowflakes are a Moda print. The cutey snowmen are from my sister; I got them both in our family grab this year at Christmas. The "Snow" sign was a gift from my daughter. I was tickled pink that these all go together so well.

Close up below of the just the dresden plate. I used the larges size on my desden ruler.

I used some of the red snowflake fabric to make curtains for my kitchen. What's so great about these is that I can leave them up until March with my snowman collection!! They make me smile everytime I look at them. As soon as I can sew again, I have enough of this fabric to make several more dresden plates. Can't wait to get back to "normal".

Updates: After my car accident of November 30th when I got rear-ended by a van while I was sitting at a stop light; I was left with nerve damage and lots of soft tissue damage leaving me with severe spasms and inability to sit for very long or use my right arm in a normal fashion. The good news is that some things are getting better; the challenge is the identify and pinpoint the nerve damage and get a good course of action in place to "fix" it. The insurance companies are playing their hide and seek games with me at the moment which makes the whole ordeal even worse! But I know that God will always provide for me so I am doing what I can on my end and leaving the rest up to him. At this point I can use all the prayers that I can get.

Thanks for stopping by today. Have a good one.

2010 Bring it in!! Happy New Year everyone!

2009-12-31T11:41:00.000-05:00

My posts have been postponed since a recent car accident took me out of commission for a bit. I did manage to finish a few Christmas gifts in time.....a few are IOU'd at this point. The good news is that my injuries are healing and I should be able to post all the pics that I took over the holidays soon. :)

See you next year!!

In the mean time I leave you in 2009 with this song by Mercy Me. God keeps speaking to my heart to be still and know that He is God; rest in Him and trust that He will work all things together for good. Even a car accident that was out of my hands. A driver rear-ended me at a stop light leaving me with some injuries that will take awhile to heal. But I know that His is faithful and just and has my life in His hands.

Word of God Speak

I'm finding myself at a loss for words

And the funny thing is it's okay

The last thing I need is to be heard

But to hear what You would say

[CHORUS]

Word of God speak

Would You pour down like rain

Washing my eyes to see

Your majesty

To be still and know

That You're in this place

Please let me stay and rest

In Your holiness

Word of God speak

I'm finding myself in the midst of You

Beyond the music, beyond the noise

All that I need is to be with You

And in the quiet hear Your voice

[REPEAT CHORUS 2x]

I'm finding myself at a loss for words

And the funny thing is it's okay

(you can hear this song here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9Zh1FUbWjw) copy and paste this link into your browser and recieve this blessing from the Lord today.

Filmstrip Baby Quilt

2009-12-07T11:53:00.000-05:00

It's a little tough to see the colors, but the dark square and dark borders that you see are actually dark purple and dark green. This is the best picture I could get with my cell phone. :) I finished the top and decided to piece the backing because I don't have enough fabric to make it all one piece. The backing will be the fabric that is inside the top row. It's pretty little purple flowers. Very sweet. Most of the fabrics are flannels. There are some brushed cottons that I coupled with the flannel because I really liked the color combination.

It's a Christmas gift for the baby that my daughter nannys for. She helped with fabric selection and pattern. I'll post the finished product soon. It might even be as soon as tomorrow.....barring any ADD tendancies to hop on another project!!! ;)

There is a great tutorial for this quilt over at CrazyMomQuilts and she has better pictures too. Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous Monday!

Disappearing 9 Patch Audition

2009-12-01T06:23:00.022-05:00

I'm making 2 baby quilts for 2 little girls that are right around a year old. Aren't these flannel fabrics sweet?

Love these colors together with the darker purple as the smaller block.

The lower right hand corner fabric says, "I love mommy, I love daddy" all over it with little people and teeny flowers and hearts scattered all about. Just enough to melt your heart.

Disappearing 9 Patch is SOOO much fun to play with. I can't decide which pattern I like best :)

I sewed the squares together opposite of each other. One block highlights the solids and the other style highlights the printed fabrics. I think this one may be my favorite lay out. Hmmmm.

Yup, really do like this one.

I tried to get a long shot of more blocks together to get a better idea of how the pattern plays out. I think I need to make a few more to really get a good picture of is. Check back tomorrow. To view a really great tutorial go to Rachel's site at P.S. I Quilt blog here. This project is on the docket for tonights project while I watch my favorite Tuesday night line up on the new 42" tube we got at last week-end's black Friday shopping bonanza....gotta love a hubby who shops on black Friday. As for me? I was home sewing...of course. Sweet!

Dresden Plate Dream Come True

2009-11-30T10:15:00.000-05:00

I truly hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday celebration. You know, Thanksgiving isn't really over until all the left overs are gone. In my house, they went pretty fast. My hubby outdid himself this year with the dinner. We take turns cooking and this was his year to shine, shine, shine!! In one word? SCRUMPTIOUS sums it up quite nicely. How was your day?

Now, let's catch up on the sewing front. For as long as I can remember I have wanted to make Dresden Plates. So this is pretty exciting to have FINALLY made one. The best part is that I can use these on my table EVERY day under my plates!! I'll have to set the table one of these days and snap a shot so you can see how it looks all together. I had them finished for Thanskgiving Dinner. I must say it looked FABULOUS. It's just one of those things that as my Gram would have said, I'm "tickled pink" about.

Very easy to cut and assemble.

Close up of the fabrics. Some are vintage others are random lines from my stash.

These will be for my fall decor. I have really cute snowflake fabric selected for my Winter Dresden's. Oh, and then I will make some more with Spring/Summer fabrics. Check out the pattern, easy to follow tutorial and original desinger, Kim Walus on Moda Bake Shop. Love that site!! I'm planning to make the napkins and table runners. But that will have to wait until after all my Christmas sewing is done. Sew much to do, sew little time. I am also posting this, albeit a bit late for last weeks Friday Finish over at AmyLouWho's awesome site. See button on side bar or click on the links to check out all the great finishes and Thanksgiving recipes from last week.

Hopefully the wick in my candle is long enough to burn at both ends for awhile. :)

Keeping It Real...........is this too real????

2009-11-28T06:08:00.000-05:00

In honor of "keeping it real" AND to show off the new shelves my hubby made for me. The following post is a glimpse into my ~~chaotic~~ messy house and how I'm working to get it better organized. After all, creative minds are seldom tidy!!

My sewing table

My "I have sooooo may treasures and nowhere to put it" pile. (can you see the handle of my treadmill.....yes, it's burried!)

More stuff (or as my husband loving refers to it, "crap").

My bins of "some" of my fabrics (tons more in the attic) with a better view of the treadmill. (sheepish grin) Now what is that used for again?????

My armoire, that I booted my husband out of last year to store "all" my quilting supplies.....yup, you guessed it, I've overflowed!!

This is the inside top section.....so great!

The top holds some family photos, but I need that space now. I'll have to find another space for aunt bessie and the kitty......LOL

This is the bottom section of the armoire, 9 awesome drawers. Now if I could only get to them......hmmmmm

Cutting table and storage drawers for threads, etc. My sewing machine is just to the right of the drawer unit.

The other side of the room isn't much better. I'm in the middle of switching out winter and summer clothes. There is a desk under there somewhere. I'm a little behind in putting this "crap" in the attic. Hubby says that pretty soon we won't be able to open the closet doors that it's all leaning against. Pishaw!! I mean, ooops, yes dear.

I have pictures stacked on my bureau that I've been meaning to hang up ~~recently~~ (for about a year).

I'm thinking these shelves inside my walk-in closet would be more space to clean out for quilting supplies!

And here too might work. The top two shelves are just junk but the bottom and side hold my clothes. I may need to keep those. :)

Another view from across the room. See how close my bed (up against the window) is to my sewing space (foreground). That's where hubby is sleeping when I'm sewing at 5 a.m!! He's a keeper!! My Double Wedding Ring hanging on the loft banister patiently waiting to be quilted. I MUST stop procrastinating!! (and get over my anxiety of ruining it!!)

Another view

Fabulous threads!! (now they won't get dusty AND more importantly, I can FIND them).

Ironing station.

Looky here what my fabulous hubby made for me last Saturday!!! I didn't have to beg much either. But now that I think of it, since then he's been talking A LOT about buying a 42" plasma t.v. I wonder if there's a correlation???

Another view - you can see the bar from the treadmill in the bottom right corner. Ahhhh. I can breath (and think) better already! Don't let that empty space on the shelves fool you. The piles have been disappearing from the floors. But I'm not finished with the organizing project yet, but I'm ALMOST there. I LOVE that man. Muwah!!!

While he built the shelves for me, I found time to do this. (Did I mention that it was piled HIGH with dishes. I had taken a pic of the mess but I can't find it now. :)

Hopefully this hasn't been too real. I've been visiting quite a few blogs that have shared their "keeping it real" posts and it's very freeing to share with all of you. I'd love to see your sewing space.

Happy Friday!!

I'm celebrating with my new Market Bag.....Happy Thanksgiving!!

2009-11-25T11:05:00.001-05:00

I finished this market bag last night while watching the finale of Dancing With The Stars. Can I just add that my FAVORITE star won!! Yes, yes, yes. Donnie Osmond himself took the Mirror ball trophy!!!

The pattern called for a short ruffle at the top of bag where the straps attached which I left off. Next time I might also use elastic in the casing where the side ties are and leave those off too. I might be fun to switch it up a bit. What do you think?

This is the side view - there is a little pocket on the front and the back at the bottom of the brown sections. (The front and back look the same).

I added some extra pockets inside too. The pattern only called for one 5" pocket inside....that would never do!!

LOVE those pockets!!

Sorry that I can't share a tutuorial because I used this pattern & kit by Late Bloomer Quilts which you can find on line.

See you on Friday for the Friday Finishes (see button on the left) and for my "Keeping it Real" post. I have some GREAT pictures to share.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday with your families!!

Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart

2009-11-19T13:06:00.000-05:00

I would like to invite you to this wonderful Giving Thanks Challenge that I just stumbled across today. I have to say it is perfect timing too! Of course, I wouldn't expect anything less from the Lord. Would you?

The list of things that I'm thankful for is VERY long but I have no trouble narrowing it down to these as THE most important to me today.

Truly, Truly thankful for God's word that I can lean on and use as a "plumb line" to measure the happenings in my life. God is in the lead and I am grateful for His guidance and His Holy Spirit.

My Incredible Family

Prayer

Praise & Worship

Joyful Hearts

Footprints in the Sand

(click on link to read poem)

Time for Hobbies like:

Quilting & Crafts

Love

I learn so much from these awesome ladies!!

But most of all I'm thankful that Jesus paid a debt I could not pay.

Skip on over to South Breeze Farm and join the Giving Thanks Challenge today it's not too late!!

Special Delivery to the Heartland

2009-11-18T13:49:00.000-05:00

The St. Louis Gateway Arch (click on link for more info)

PRICELESS

Secret Squirrel Gift Unveiled

2009-11-13T09:51:00.017-05:00

My son Adam, turns 29 this Saturday. He has been struggling with some health issues lately. Thank you to all who have prayed for him recently. He is having some issues with his heart and will need to have surgery soon to correct the problem. My husband, 3 daughters and one SIL are planning a road trip out to see him in Missouri. (We all live in MA). It's about 1150 miles to drive. We're a little nuts, but we LOVE a good road trip! We leave tomorrow.

To celebrate his birthday, I made him this quilt. It's made from corduroy and light weight home dec fabrics that I had in my stash. The first shot shows it on my table after I pin basted it. A little L.L. Beanish don't ya think?

You can see a close up of the colors.

I tried for a few different angles to capture the true colors. I used a wavy quilting stitch in the ditch with invisible thread. Click on the picture for a close up. I added a few squares with flowers because he said they reminded him of me. Awe. How could I deny that!

It looks really yellow here. The picture above this one is more true to the colors.

I had 2 friends at work hold it up for me. Thanks guys!

My first attempt at a pieced back; all flannels. You can see my little picture label up in the left hand corner. Click on the picture for a close up of the quilting on the back. Then scroll down for a close up of the label.

I used a permanent marker to write on the label. It's tradition for me to make my labels with the marker, so I don't usually get any fancier than this. :)

I'm tickled pink to be delivering this one in person!! YAY!!

Happy Birthay Adam!!

Off to St. Louis

2009-11-12T14:19:00.001-05:00

My family and I are traveling to see my son, Adam and his wife, Janel, (click on the link for their recent story) this week-end in St. Louis, Missouri. So I'll be away from blogland for a few days. I'm ssooooo excited for this road trip. All three daughters are coming and one of my sons in law and of course my hubby. We rented a Town and Country mini van so that we could all fit comforably in one vehicle (we got a fabulous deal from Enterprise for 51 bucks a day, can't beat that!). We are traveling from MA which makes the trip about 1150 miles one way (yup, 18-20 hours in the car YIKES!!) I'll be back on Monday afternoon.

Hope the scenery looks like this!!!

Thanks for checking in! I'm off to pack the one teeny tiny bag that the hubby said we were all limited to (ya right!!) oh, I mean "of course dear". hahahaha, Snacks are a must.....you can't have a road trip without snacks. I have the ole iPod loaded and ready for action. Can't wait to see my boy...ahem, I mean son. He's all grown up and married now after all. But all you fellow bloggers that have sons know what I'm talking about when I say "yup, that's my boy". I feel a GIANT hug coming on......

Godspeed,
~Kate

Just in the nick of time!

2009-11-11T10:32:00.001-05:00

I finished the 12 Days of Thanksgiving Calendar for the twins this morning. My daughter's MIL let me come over and use her embroidery machine to write the "Give Thanks".........

And the family name at the bottom.

I need to run the craft store today at lunch time to pick up a little wooden leaf for them to move from pocket to pocket on each day. So cute. I can't wait to bring it them tonight. We leave for our road trip to St. Louis tomorrow night to see my son and DIL so I have to deliver it a bit early. I'm so excited!

This is the little book that I put together that they will use each of the 12 days.

The little strip of white at the top of the page says what they are thankful for. For example. This one says "I'm thankful for my friends. Today do something nice for your neighbor". I picked a coordinating scripture to go with it. Luke 6:31 "Do unto others as you would have them do to you" that they can practice and memorize. The bottom one says, "I'm thankful for my teacher. Today write a letter to your teacher to tell them how much you appreciate them". Scripture reference: Psalm 119:105 "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path".

I made 5 all together but didn't get a chance to photograph all of them before I went to work today. They all have different borders. I'm hoping to have the rest posted for the Friday finish post for AmyLouWho's challenge. I also finished my special secret squirell project but you'll have to come back Friday for that one!! I have to deliver it first and I don't want to spoil the surprise.....shhhhh. It's our little secret. :)

Godspeed!

Here's the deal

2009-11-09T09:36:00.003-05:00

This week-end proved to be busy, busy, busy! I did get lots of sewing done, but not on the projects that I had hoped to do. I had every intention of working on my DWR. I did get all of the layers pressed, put together and pinned. I even sketched out the stencil onto a practice sheet. Unfortunately, that was the extent of it. Other more pressing projects took center stage and before I knew it I was driving to work this morning.

On a good note, I have the "secret squirell" project 95% completed!! I will show you pictures later this week after I deliver it!! It has turned out to be more FANTABULOUS than I originally thought. It took me all day on Saturday to finish the borders, piece the back and quilt it. Did I mention it was more time consuming than I planned on.........what was I thinking?? (I'm nortorious for underestimating time frames.DUH) BUT I'm so pleased with the results; it makes it all worth it. I am hoping it's a big hit. I always get so nervous when I'm giving a gift that I made. Not sure why I struggle with that, but I'm feeling the pressure more now that the day is drawing near. :) *sigh*

My Thanksgiving Advent Calendars got some major attention this week-end. My daughter, Rachel's, mother in law has an embroidery machine that she graciously let me use to embellish these delightful wallhangings. I must say the result is awesome. Tonight after work, same said dauther is coming over to help me do the final assembly to get them all done. The count down to use these starts this Sunday so I need to finish them like.....NOW! lol. I'll post picture tomorrow of the final results. Can't wait!

Which leads me to my last project that we unexpectedly worked on this week-end. Rach is working on a special Christmas gift for her hubby; I can't give more details because I'm sworn to secrecy. He is an Internet buff and may just be secretly following my blog (grin). Anywho, she needed my help with the top and it took us the better part of Sunday afternoon to complete it. The good news? It is about 50% done now and it is really creative and sentimental. The rest will be the easy part. We just need to add sashing and borders!

Sorry no pictures for this one. Stop back tomorrow. I promise to have pictures. :)

Christmas Time is Coming

2009-11-07T05:25:00.001-05:00

And Jesus is the reason for the Season! Take a peak at this wonderful Christmas Advent Calendar that was posted on Charming Chatter. This pattern was made by Barri Sue of Bareroots (check out the link; she has tons of awesome patterns that all include embroidery on the quilt tops). I'm going to order the pattern today.

I am sooo excited!! This will be an awesome item to make for the holidays. My grandbabies are going to LOVE it.

Food for thought: I am planning to alternate this a bit to be more Christian oriented. For example at the top write Jesus is the Reason for the Season instead of Christmas Time is Coming.

For example the pockets would have one with Mary and Joseph on their way to Bethlehem; pictures of the shepherds; kings, wise men, sheep and angels. Another with a cross; jars of gold, incense and myrrh.

And maybe put a few scriptures on it here and there like Matthew 1:18-25; Matthew 2:1-12; Luke 1:26-38; Luke 2:1-20. For the last pocket, I'd have Jesus in the manger. I once saw this awesome picture of Jesus in a manger with Santa kneeling in awe of Him. If I can figure out how to fit that on a pocket, I might try that idea.

Check out this link with an awesome "santa prayer". (I also have a copy of it and a great picture at the end of this post just in case the link becomes inactive for some reason).

Inserts for the pockets would be fun! Each day would have a part of the Christmas story on a slip of paper and then an activity for the kids to do. More to come on this later.

List of ideas could include:

gift ideas to make for someone
easy baked goods item they can make and give away
idea for a random acts of kindness
give something to someone in need
family volunteer together at a food pantry
choose a family or person to be a secret santa to

Christmas Poem for Christmas Eve

Kneeling Santa Prayer

The sleigh was was all packed, the reindeer were fed, But Santa still knelt by the side of his bed,"Dear Father, " he prayed, "Be with me tonight. There's much work to do and my schedule is tight.My sack will hold toys to grant all kids' wishes.The supply will be endless like the loaves and the fishes. I can do all these things, Lord, only through You. I just need your blessing, then it's easy to do. I do this only to honor the birth of the One, That was sent to redeem us, Your most Holy Son. So to all of my friends, lest Your glory I rob,Please, Lord, remind them who gave me this job."

Godspeed!

Free Motion Rookie - Double Wedding Ring Update

2009-11-04T05:52:00.005-05:00

The top of the DWR is FINALLY done and ready for quilting. I'm so nervous and excited and emotional!!! I was going to try something in free motion for the centers. But I have chickened out and have bought a stencil to use for this project. Because this is SUCH a special quilt, I want to ensure that it comes out perfect. And knowing my lack of detail and precision, I need all the help I can get.

I was planning on using the wax paper method to copy this onto and then stack them (I would need 2o patterns for 20 squares) and sew through the stack of wax paper with no thread to "copy" onto each template and then just follow the holes to quilt each square. Sounds like a great plan, BUT I recently took a machine quilting class at The Charlton Sewing Center and the intructor, Holice Turnbow, mentioned that he heard that the wax paper gets stuck in the threads and it's a real bear to get it out. Imagine pulling teeny, tiny threads out of 20 squares!!! UGH. Thanks for saving me a HUGE headache Holice!! He's my new hero. He gave me a quilter's pencil to try. He said to simply trace my stencil and that it will come right out when I wash the quilt. I'll report back to let you know how it worked.

I'm so pleased with how the top came out. I was concerned that the squares would not lay flat at the corners. There are some minor flaws. No big stand outs though. PHEW! Anyway, I'm of the firm belief that each quilt should have some flaws because after all life isn't perfect now is it?

And phase 2 will be using this lovely stencil that I found at a local quilt shop in New Hampshire whose name is escaping me right at the moment. I can't wait to see how this will look......so excited..........and terrified!! This is my project for this coming week-end. I'm determined to get all 20 squares done so I can get this treasure bound and ready for gifting. (Huge smile on my face right now just thinking about it).

For some free motion quilting fun:

Hop on over to Leah Day's blog 365 Days of Freemotion Quilting for TONS of amazing ideas on free motion quilting filler design ideas to try. She has a mini video for each design she creates. I'm totally addicted to her site!!

Today's blessing: I'm thankful for all of you out there in blogland! It's an awesome outlet for me and I've been meeting some really nice fellow crafters and quilters.

I won!!

2009-11-03T05:18:00.010-05:00

I'm so excited! I won this fabulous pattern from Tooznie at Wish Flower Studios. I had visited her site for the first time during October's Blog Festival hosted by Amy at Park City Girl. I can't wait to make it. It remindes me of tic tac toe. So fun!

This came at such a great time last week. Some of you know my son has been having some serious health issues over the last couple of weeks. So to come home one day from work and have this waiting for me was a great surprise! It is reminding me to stop and take stock of my blessings.

I am blessed to have:

***A loving husband who is also my best friend for the last 30 years who doesn't mind that my "crafting space" takes up half our bedroom. Or that I sew best at 5 a.m. (I know.....I'm nuttso!)

***Truly wonderful kids (4) who are all married to super nice spouses. Such an added blessing! Priceless.

***Twin grand babies (who are 6 by the way, but still babies to me) who always fill my heart to overflowing!

***Dear, dear friends to celebrate with and pray with in seasons of trouble.

***Starbucks coffee

***A job that gives me great satisfaction and pays well enough that I can play with my quilting obssession. :)

Here's the whole gang:

What are the blessings in our life?

Creeping along

2009-11-02T13:27:00.004-05:00

I bet you thought I was going to show some post halloween creepy crawly thing didn't you? No, this is how I feel my projects have been going.

It sure has been taking a LOT longer than I thought to make these this 12 Days to Thanksgiving project. I'd like to blame it on the pattern design but I have to admit that it's user error. :0) I have been sidetracked with other things lately like 5 pair of pants that needed hemming; dust bunnies that were taking over the entire house and linens that were in desperate need of a trip through the washer. I'm happy to report that I am all caught up with my household duties........ok not really but enough to not feel so guilty. (are you picturing my sheepish grin?)

I've also been working on a super special, super secret squirell gift for someone very close to my heart that I can't tell you any more about because I don't want to give the surprise away. Let's just say it has something to do with 8" squares and flannel.'nough.said. shhhhh!!

My wallhangings are coming along nicely; albiet slowly. BUT I'm all impressed with myself that I got them started so early just in case there were delays. And lo and behold there were delays; so we're still good. I shot some pictures of the different borders that I've used. The affect should be lovely. I'm getting excited to see how they will turn out once the pockets are attached. I did all of the decorate stitching this morning around the outside edges. I couldn't get a good picture of that because my flash was too bright and it was still dark at my house this morning at 5 a.m.

Corn husks. Love the colors on this one with the tan background. You can see my pins on the edeges.

These flowers are a nice combo with the green backing.

You can see my several wallhangings stacked up waiting for attention. I experimented with several to see what they would look like. I have better pictures when they are finished. Which should be soon!

2 different borders here. On the lower one I tried to get in close to show the blanket stitch just inside the borders. Sorry for the poor lighting. Very cool verigated thread. It's been fun using it on this project!

My faithful 15 year old Viking #1. It was one of the first "computerized" machines to hit the market in a big way.

So exicited!! Can you see my brand new extension table? I just picked it up to help me to better handle larger size quilts. It has proven to be very helpful with even the smaller pieces that I have been working on. I bought this spray on glide stuff that helps the fabric slide across the top much easier. I'll have to snap a picture to show you which one. It work great. I love it.

Crazy Quilts and Mini Log Cabins

2009-10-27T05:11:00.006-04:00

I made this table runner a few years ago using an awesome "lazy" Crazy Quilt technique that I found in a magazine. I have several other squares prepped and ready to sew another runner so I will post a tutorial on it soon. It was a lot of fun. I love this color combo. The fabrics are a Cranston print that is now actually called Cranston Village. These fabrics are so old that they are no longer in print.

The backside of the meandering looks like the top of an uncut loaf of bread doesn't it?

More close ups of the quilting. I'm going to try verigated thread on the next one. My local fabric store was having a great sale recently and I picked up some fabulous new colors to try.

This might be a better shot of the length of it. I really do need to take some photography lessons I think.

My log cabin is from the Little Quilts All Through the House Collection By Alice Berg. You can find the book here. I meant to snap a photo of the book but I was a bit rushed for time this morning. Must get to work on time to pay for my quilting obssession. :) I found this teeny tiny picture on line so you could get an idea of what it looks like. Kind of fitting though since it's chuck full of mini quilts. (Sometimes I really crack myself up). Don't let my lame humor keep you from checking out this fabulous book with great tutorials. I just found my own book again and want to make a few more for gifts this year. So much fun and really, really quick to make!

I hope this close up isn't too washed out so you can get a good look at the vintage fabrics. I made this about 15 years ago. I stitched in the ditch with a wavy stitch on my machine and it worked out really well.

I have been working diligently on my 12 Days to Thanksgiving Wallhangings. I finished all the pocket detailing this week-end along with attaching all the borders. More to show soon!

Aprons bring back wonderful memories of my Gram

2009-10-24T05:31:00.003-04:00

This post came via email to me earlier this week from my two aunts in memory of my dear Gram (their mom) who passed on to Glory 3 years ago today; she was 94 and lived a wonderful long life. These "uses" of an apron are a real life memory for me from my childhood. I miss her; but I know she is at peace. I plan to make some aprons for me and my kids to honor all my Gram's hard work and extra special love that her apron represented. :) I hope you enjoy!

The History of Gramma's Aprons.

I wonder if our kids know how special an apron is.

The Principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect.

The dress underneath, because she only had a few, it was easier to wash aprons than dresses.

And they used less material, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing Hot pans from the oven.

It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.

And when the weather was cold, Grandma wrapped it around her arms.

Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.

Chips and Kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.

From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the Fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.

Send this to those who would know (and love) the story about Grandma's aprons.

REMEMBER:

Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool.

Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw.....well maybe not ALL of them ;)

They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron.
**** I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron***

Fear not...........

2009-10-22T11:55:00.006-04:00

Adam and Janel

Yesterday the day started with a call from my daugher in law, Janel, that she had just called 911 at 6:30 that morning for my son, who they thought was having a heart attack. Fortunately, it wasn't as bad as they thought it would be. Prayers were offered from all over the world (thanks to blogger land!) At the hospital, they had to stop Adam's heart and then re-start it before there was any cardiac arrest because his heart rate was dangerously high for too long. Very tough to know that I'm about 1400 miles away and can't physically be there with him!! Adam is home now with strict orders to relax and has been given the proper medications. He has to see a cardiologist in the next couple of days to schedule a heart surgery (not as scary as it sounds). ANY and all prayers and positive thoughts would be greatly appreciated. I want to thank all of you for the emails, facebook comments, phone calls, and prayers yesterday and today!! :)

Scriptures for today:

Jeremiah 29:11

11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." I am believing this with my whole heart today for my son and his newly wed wife (they just got married in March of this year!)

Deuteronomy 31.8

"And the Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear, or be dismayed".

Joshua 1.9

"Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go".

Super Fun Craft Day with

2009-10-19T10:19:00.007-04:00

two of my girls on Saturday, Faith (middle 26) and Rachel (my baby 24). Cindy (oldest 30!) was busy with her twins on an outing.

This is Faith; yes, you guessed it. The DWR is for her. This week-end I was able to assemble the entire top with the extra side pieces!! I put the finishing touches on it this morning. Now for the layering and quilting.... I found a beautiful heart pattern that looks like a huge flower that I will attempt. I have never done more than stippling so I am excited to try it out on my new extension table. That is my project for this week. Stay tuned for pictures; I plan to document the quilting progress. (I just LOVE to torture myself)

Rachel's pup, Mella, came along to keep her aunt Bonnie (my dog) company. She's giving Faith "good job" kisses.

She cut out ALL the burlap numbers for the 12 Days to Thanksgiving Advent calendar!! YAY!! My arthritic fingers are very thankful for her young hands and happy heart.

Enough for 5 of them!! This is the giant stack that we assembled complete with batting and backings. We also got all the background fabric, batting and borders cut and ready for assembly for all five calendars. That's a lot of pockets to give thanks with!! Good days work.

Rach was working on a top secret special Christmas gift for someone. I'm under strict orders not to post more details, but let's just say that it involved T--Shirts; cutting wheels and left over sleeves that double quite nicely as a night cap. :) I love this picture of her.

Twin night caps....do you think we look more like sisters than mother and daughter? Ok, I'm fishing here, but who can blame a girl for trying?

This is just outside my sunroom window looking out toward the lake. October 18th will go down in history as the earliest blizzard I've encountered to date. At certain points it was near white out conditions.

Thankfully we didn't have much in the way of accumulation. Although our neighbors in the next town got just enough to make mini snowmen!! I wish I had my camera this morning on the way to work this morning so I had pictures to show you.

Happy Monday! Thanks for stopping by!

October snow??

2009-10-15T22:05:00.003-04:00

Yes, it's WAY too early even for us. Some people around here freak out when it snows in November let alone the MIDDLE of October. Well after a chilly SHORT summer it looks like Fall is promising the same pattern. Welcome to New England!! If you don't like the weather, just wait a few minutes and it will change. This is right outside my back door.

My poor mums are doomed!!

Maybe this is all because I put the Christmas counter up so early on my blog??? For some odd reason though I have a hankering to make hot chocolate and sing Christmas carols..........

Border progress

2009-10-15T09:48:00.002-04:00

I did manage to cut out the squares for the border and stitch them together but that's as far as I got. My quilting area is now officially a MESS. I have several projects laid out all in different stages!! My husband felt he needed to remind me to make sure I keep a path to walk through. LOL

One finish! One almost there.......

2009-10-14T11:27:00.004-04:00

I decided to use red and natural burlap for the numbers on my 12 Days to Thanksgiving Wallhanging. I really like the affect. Here are the pockets. Still unattached but I wanted to see how it would look. I also decided to change up the suggested pocket construction on Melissa's blog. Instead of put the backing on the pocket and turning them all inside out. I skipped that step and will leave the edges raw and secure them with multicolored thread. It saved a lot of time. I like the "raggy" look to it. It will go especially well with a twine hanger I think. I'm hoping to assemble the rest of this tonight after work. :) We'll see how that goes. I HAVE to get to Curves (gym) tonight. I haven't been able to get there at all this week and I can already feel myself getting lazier and lazier. UGH!!

I'm so excited to have finished these pillows! That match my Welcome quilt that my daughter, Rachel, made for me. (You can see it in an earler post from last week)

Pinwheels!! I'm addicted to them now!

I'm so pleased with the result!! So was Rachel who came over last night for our ladies bible study. So much fun!!

Come back tomorrow to see the Wallhanging progress!!

Touring with the Festival

2009-10-12T14:33:00.002-04:00

I've been so busy touring all the wonderful quilts in Amy's festival that I haven't gotten much else done. The stories behind the quilts are moving and oh so inspirational!!

Not much sewing got done this week-end. My oldest daughter, Cindy, turned 30 on Friday and we had the gang over yesterday to celebrate!! So much fun. Oh and Saturday I spent the WHOLE day shopping......shhh! ;)

I did manage to work on my pillows for a bit this morning before work and will be posting more later. Come on back tomorrow!

Blogger's Quilt Festival - 2009 Entry

2009-10-09T11:12:00.003-04:00

I'm reposting my Blustery Day Quilt as an entry into the Quilt Festival that Amy is sponsoring on her Park City Girl blog. Mozy on over to her site and check it out!! Enter your favorite quilt.........it's not too late.

Many of you may have read my earlier post on this quilt, but the rules of the contest ask that we write the story behind the quilt. Here goes! I named this quilt The Blustery Day because that is my favorite Winnie the Pooh story that I used to read to the kids when they were little. Up to the point when I started this quilt I had made tons of quilts for other people but had never actually made one for myself. Soooo after I recovered from cancer I decided to make a quilt for me! My favorite season is fall hence all the fall colors :) I actually can't remember where I got the pattern from which leads me to my next point. I got the top finished for this about 7 years ago. It actually went together pretty quickly because I was so excited to see all the colors splashed on the "canvas" together.

Then I hit a road block and couldn't decide how to quilt it or what color binding to use and there it sat. In the mean time, we had purchased our first house (after 25 years of marriage believe it or not) and my mom passed away which was tough. We moved into a loft home so I hung the quilt top on the banister for the last 6 years! I was also having some trouble with my shoulder and neck muscles so I wasn't quilting as much for a few years. THEN I got some physical therapy, lost a bunch of weight, got on a healthier life style and BACK TO QUILTING YAY!!! I decided to do some good old fashioned stippling for the quilt top and outline quilting around the leaves and a deep green binding to replicate the border of green pine trees that always hightlight the beautiful fall colors every year.

That's my story. I hope you enjoy your journey through the festival today!! Thanks for coming on over. See you again soon! I have lots more fabulous creations on the way and I would love nothing more than to share them with you and see yours! Leave a comment and I'll come visit you. :)

Pinwheels

2009-10-09T09:20:00.002-04:00

I was playing around with different patterns on my desing wall and this one seems to work. I still need to trim the edges. I'll put a green piping around the outside edge. Both pillows will end up being 14 inches. I just need to decide what to use for a backing! I think I have enough of the pink floral to make that work. There is only a little piece of the green left. Hmmmm.

I've been working away on the Thanksgiving wallhanging. I put the batting on the pockets last night and chose fabric for the leaves; glorious reds, golds and yellows. I decided to use burlap for the numbers; I have red and natural. It should give it a nice touch (I hope). I expect to finish that one this week-end. Oh, and I got the DWR back out. I'm ready to work on the next steps. It's been a tedious process. Did I mention that I'm not that great with tedious. :) I'm committed to having it be my next UFO checked off my list AND completing in for an October finish!! THEN I can work on my Christmas gift list. YAY!!!

Have a wonderfully creative day today. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Pillow Talk

2009-10-08T09:52:00.003-04:00

My daughter, Rachel, made this awesome Welcome wallhanging for me a couple of years ago. Along with this incredible gift she gave me the left over fabric YAY!!

I am working with the following options for a pillow design. I want to make two pillows and plan to use large green piping along the edge. What do you think? Here is a 9 Patch design that I cut into 4 sections rearranged; thanks to my friend Wanda from Exuberant Color. I also made a pinwheel design using the same fabrics but a different method. That one will have to wait until tomorrow; I forgot to take pictures of it this morning........what can I say? I'm out of Starbucks coffee so my morning brain is a little off!! LOL

Or this.....

This is just a show off of a quilt that I made for my husband a few years ago. YES, it's actually finished. hahahaha. My daughter, Rachel, helped me with the design of the top. I had all of the quares done but couldn't come up with a good lay out that I liked. She came over and in 5 minutes (Yes I mean 5) came up with this and called it "Hugs and Kisses for Daddy".

This is a close up to show the border and the corner block. See the fall leaves? These are also the colors in our house. We are Autumn fanatics!!

Thanks for stopping by today!!

2009-10-07T13:10:00.002-04:00

I just love this picture. I'm trying to figure out a way to use this as my header on the top of my blog. I'm hoping my neice, Sandra, can help me when she comes over to help me revamp my blog. This reminds me of my grandmother's machine when I was little. :)

I've been working away on my Thanksgiving and Applique Tree wallhangings. I will have pictures to post soon!

Blustery Day is finished!

2009-10-05T06:26:00.008-04:00

It's finally finished! Once I decided to machine stitch the back of the binding rather than hand stitch it (I have arthritis in my hands so it's difficult to work by hand), I worked on it and the rest of the quilting around the leaves this weekend and it is done!! YAY. The 7 year project is now checked OFF my UFO list. I'm very pleased with the results.

The are sample squares for my 12 Days of Thanksgiving wall hanging. These were all in my "pile of leaves post from Saturday". I decided not to purchase the new Moda fabrics because I have so many delicious fabrics to use up before more shopping can be done!

This is one of the lay out choices with a dark green background.

Here it is with a tan background. I like them both.

Do you think I need more pockets with bolder patterns? I still need to cut the numbers out to put on each pocket.

I'm thinking of using this twine instead of ribbon as a hanger. What do you think?

Doesn't this look like a

2009-10-03T08:05:00.004-04:00

giant pile of leaves???

I was so excited when I went down to the basement today to do laundry and noticed a bin under the stairs. GUESS what was in there. Yup, you guessed it, all of these FABULOUS fall colored fabrics!!! I had totally forgotten about them because they have been down there for so long. I ran them through a quick wash cycle and this is what they looked like coming out of the dryer. A giant pile of leaves! I just wanted to jump right into the middle of them. LOL

I'm planning to use these to make the 12 Days to Thanksgiving wall hanging and the Tree Applique quilt from my earlier posts. Off to the cutting table!!

Thanks so much for stopping by. What are you up to today?

12 Days to Thanksgiving - Moda Style

2009-09-30T13:33:00.008-04:00

Learn how to make this fabulous wall hanging from the Moda Bakeshop site here. The creator, Melissa Mortenson, also has a fun blog The Polkadot Chair here.

I'm planning to make this for my grandkids. Thankfully there is plenty of time before Thanksgiving to actually get this done!! I may also make one for my office door at work. I work in HR so this should go over big!
I certainly have my work cut out for me with all of the awesome projects on my list. Typical quilter ADHD style. :) Most of them seem like they will be fairly quick. We'll see!! I'll post the creations as I get them done.

Thanks for stopping by today!!

Quickie Projects

2009-09-30T11:17:00.007-04:00

I came across these really great quickie table runners, coasters and pot holders that I'm going to tackle for Christmas gifts. Maybe put them in a basket with some home made goods and embroidered basket liners. These would make an awesome set if combined together. What do you think? I'm planning to organize all of my fabrics this week-end while the hubby is away on a men's retreat. Well, maybe not ALL of my fabrics. Truth be told, I have about 20 bins of fabrics in my storage space upstairs. So let me qualify that. I'm planning to pull out and organize my FAVORITE fabrics this week-end. ;)

Tonight is

2009-09-29T11:20:00.004-04:00

time for our next Ladies of Honor bible study again. This week FLEW by! They all loved their journal covers and requested that I attach a ribbon as a page finder. What a great idea! So I finished those last night while I watched Dancing with the Stars. Such a great show and with a bonus this season; Donny Osmond is one of the celebrity dancers. I had a HUGE crush on him when I was a teeny bopper. Seems like a hundred years ago now. As my youngest daughter long ago chastised me, "Mom, you already have a man!" Just for the sake of clarity, I no longer have a crush on Mr. Osmond. It's just fun to watch the old coot dance around the floor though. (I'm cracking myself up here.) Did I mention that he's still quite handsome!

The binding is FINALLY on........and a yummy new recipe

2009-09-28T05:38:00.001-04:00

I'm so excited, I added the border to my Blustery Day quilt. The corner is highlighted below. I put it against red to show you the pins and so that the green border would stand out. You can see the full quilt here. All I need to do now if hand stitch the back side of the binding and I can check anotherUFO off the list. I'm on a roll!

Below is the backing that highlights my stippling or meandering. Sorry about the poor lighting. I need a better camera I think.

I was ambitious today and baked my grandmother's pumkin spice bread recipe for my Ladies Bible Study on Tuesday night. I'm planning to serve it with cream cheese and Pumkin Spice coffee. Yummy! (I made a batch of pumkin muffins for the hubby so he wouldn't be tempted to "take a sliver off the end" of this beautiful loaf) lol You can see the raisins peaking out.

Here's a better side view. Can you tell I'm all proud of myself? I baked a loaf of corn bread today too. That's for tomorrow night's dinner of Lentil soup that will go into the slow cooker in the morning before we head off to work. I had a busy day!!

Recipe for those who want to make this:

Spicy Pumkin Loaf or Muffins

1.5 c flour

1/2 c sugar (I used splenda)

2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground cloves (I didn't have any cloves and it came out just fine)

1/4 c raisins

1 egg

1/2 c canned pumkin

1/4 c oil

1/2 c milk (I used skim)

Topping: 1.5 tsp sugar & 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Stir flour, sugar, baking powder, salt & spices in large mixing bowl until well combined. Then mix in raisins. In a separate bowl, beat egg, milk, pumkin & oil. Pour pumkin mixture into flour & spices, stirring only until combined. Don't over mix. Fill lightly greased (or sprayed) muffin cups 2/3 full or use loaf pan. Mix topping sugar and cinnamon together and lightly sprinkle over muffins/loaf.

Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until lightly browned (see picture) Makes 12 servings.

2 UFO's One finish!

2009-09-25T06:35:00.007-04:00

This quilt is one that my girlfriend's sister made for their mother (I think back in the late 80's or early 90's), but over the years the batting got all scruntched up. So I took it apart for her and put some good cotton batting in it and machine quilted it. She has originally used the tie down method. This time I embroidered a small heart in the center of each square and then quilted in the ditch in straight lines. I can't wait to show it to her. She's going to be especially excited because I've had it for about 3 years!!

This wall hanging quilt (below) is really special to me. I've had it on my UFO list for quite some time.......ok years! LOL This quilt is all fabrics that I used to make my kids dresses and clothes when they were younger. I wanted it for a keepsake. My problem is I can't decide what borders to use on it. Maybe a flying geese border? It definately needs something. So I'm planning to "audition" some fabrics and options this week-end on my design board. I'll post more about this soon. I LOVE how this came out.

This is a close up of a center block. Love the contrasts.

New Project - Tree Applique

2009-09-24T11:17:00.002-04:00

I am totally in LOVE with this quilt! What a great way to use up some scrap fabrics that I just could not BEAR to part with . This is a great idea of our upcoming fund raiser but it may also be a good Christmas gift idea! For the fund raiser, I was thinking that we could have people donate 5 dollars for each leaf that they wanted to dedicate to someone and we'd then write the person's name on the leaf. What do you think?

I'm going to start this tonight!!

Countdown to Christmas!!

2009-09-23T09:49:00.004-04:00

I added a new gadget today. Can you believe that there are only 92 days left until Christmas!! Yay, but also YIKES! I have a gazillion ideas for gift ths year leaving me with TONS to do. I better get busy!!

Here are just a couple of ideas that I have. Fun holiday napkins .........

and a no sew fleece pillow.

I can't wait to get started!

What ideas do you have for gifts this year?

Finished Journal Covers

2009-09-22T06:42:00.009-04:00

I finished the fabric journal covers early this morning (5 a.m.) for our class tonight. I can't wait to give them to the girls! If you click on the picture it will give you a close up of the embroidery at the bottom of the hand. This one is for Nicole in her signature color - pool. I love the contrast.

I couldn't get these pictures rotated to the correct angle so I apologize for the side ways views below.

This one has a trim around the outside edge that I thought gave the hand a nice highlight. What do you think? It's tough to see but this one is embroidered on the bottom of the hand too.

Here's a shot of the inside cover (at the wrong angle of course!) lol

I have 3 others done too, but I didn't have time this morning to get them all loaded. These covers were quick and really easy to make! My brain is on overload with all of the fun options you could do with these covers. This would be a great Christmas gift idea.

Fabric Journal Covers.........very cool

2009-09-21T09:55:00.004-04:00

I'm so excited. I have a quicky project that I started over the week-end that is coming out soooo awesome. I found this idea for journal covers on Exuberant Color. Wanda also shows a tutorial here, so I didn't try to reproduce it because hers is so great. I follow the instructions exactly and it came out wonderfully!! I'll post the pictures as soon as I get back home tonight. I was up before the crack of dawn doing some embroidery on them to personalize each one. I'm planning on giving them as gift to my bible study group that is starting up again this week after taking a few weeks off over the summer.

Our group is called the "Ladies of Honor" which my daughter, Rachel, used for her wedding instead of brides maids. She felt that each woman that she chose to stand with her on her wedding day deserved a place of honor in her life. Each of her ladies chose her own signature color to sash her dress with. We have since started gathering in a bible study and the name stuck!!

Each of the ladies traced out her hand in her own color. I used wonder under to secure the hand on the front cover of the journal on a special fabric that I found that has everyone's colors! I'm so pleased with the results. Everything is cut and ready to assemble tonight when I get home from work. I'm SOOO excited to see the finished result!

Come back soon to see the finished journal covers!!

Stitching Standstill

2009-09-17T12:00:00.004-04:00

I've been at a standstill with my stitching for the last week or so. Life has been quite busy at work and at home. You would think that being an empty nester I would have more free time on my hands, but that is not always the case.

I have all of my DWR rows ready and lined up to stitch to complete the top and of course my "Blustery Day" quilt for fall just needs the binding. Sounds like they should go pretty quick. I can't for the life of my figure out why it's taking 2 weeks to get to it. This week-end promises to be fairly quiet.........maybe, just maybe I can keep my date with my Viking #1!!!

I'll be back soon. Godspeed everyone!

Fall fun

2009-09-08T22:03:00.004-04:00

This is my scarecrow and fall quilt I made quite a few years ago. I decorated my house for the autumn harvest season. So much fun.

This is the quilt by itself to get a better look at it.

Shop hop road trip!

2009-09-08T10:07:00.009-04:00

I bought a new car last week and my husband and I were itching for a road trip. We headed out early Saturday morning for Vermont. I had mapped out a couple of quilt shops that I wanted to explore (and surprisingly the hubby agreed!) and a couple of other specialty shops and we headed out for our adventure. We ended up in Chester, VT for one stop that turned out to be an awesome quilt shop called Country Tr easures.

I met a woman from New York who has been working on a quilt for 25 years. She started before she was married for her first "future" child. That child just entered college this year and she is determined to finish it now. She cross stitched 24 squares (over the years) and added a beautiful fabric border. She brought it in to ask the shop ower's advise on how to hand quilt it. We all told her she should keep it very simple to highlight her cross stitched squares. Since she doesn't have a blog.....yet, she took my email and promised to send some pictures. I'll share them once I get them from her. Now I don't feel so bad about my 7 year UFO's. LOL

I bought this pattern to make for my bedroom. It's the Cozy Cabin by Thimbleberries.

Then we found this great Farmer's market. We bought a bunch of veggies.

We bought some Spelt bread which I had never had before. It was quite delicious!

Check out the purple peppers. I grew up on a farm but had never seen or heard of these before!

these are some handmade soaps that each had their own scent. Very nice! My favorite was the lilac.

Updates

2009-08-31T12:50:00.002-04:00

I'm FINALLY getting the top of the DWR together. It took me all week to get everything prepped to assemble. This week I plan to finish the top....for real! The question is what color to do the binding. White may be a good choice; but light green would work too. Any suggestions?

Yesterday I made a delicious quiche for breakfast with spinache and mushrooms.........my favorite....yummy! AND my new laptop is now ready for action; so I will be able to post MANY more pictures. My old laptop was giving me a BUNCH of issues everytime I tried to post pictures. My awesome hubby, got everything all set to go for me. LOVE that man; and that he's an IT geek. :)

See you soon!