Another Quilty BlogSpot!

Random Photos

2009-09-16T17:26:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in so long I thought I would just randomly select photos to add to my blogspot. These are my Thimbleberries from 2008 and the start of my first two blogs of my Sunbonnet Sue through the Seasons.

OMG! Too long!

2008-09-24T15:14:00.000-07:00

I'm SO far behind! My mom has been diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer so I am spending a lot of time traveling now. Sometimes I fly and sometimes I drive. And then I sit at the hospital if that's where mom is--or I clean her house if she is home. Unfortunately, I don't even feel like I should whine about it because I won't have much time to spend with my mom.

Needless to say, it's putting me way behind on stuff at home and on quilting. Although...I did finish my siggies for the Christmas with Jane Siggy Swap last night! Yeah! One more pressing and they will be ready to mail. Now to find the directions...

B-day siggies are done through the end of September only so I have a few more to make to get those done for the year. That has been an absolute joy! Not just the receiving of so many beautiful siggies, but the making and sending of them too. There are some really (I mean REALLY) creative ladies out there making siggies!

I'll post a photo of my Xmas siggie later!

BFF up or down?

2008-05-15T18:45:00.000-07:00

Talked to my bff, Frances, tonight. She lives about 360 miles away, UP in Illinois. I'm DOWN in Southern Indiana almost to Louisville Ky.

She's the one that gave me the terrific bag pattern that my daughter and I had so much fun with.

We're going UP to Illinois for a visit at the end of the month--I'm SO looking forward to going UP and seeing her!

No, Frances, I'm NOT making fun of you...yes I am! :) All in fun! Miss you!

Siggie Fever

2008-05-13T18:25:00.000-07:00

OMG! I've caught Siggie Fever!

The DJ group just had the "big swap" and I submitted my siggies. Wasn't really sure I wanted to do it but I joined the list just after last year's swap and felt SO left out when everyone got their beautiful siggies in the mail. Didn't want to go through THAT again!

So I made my 135 siggies and sent them in. We don't have all the siggies back yet (Wonderful Deb Giggles is swapping them out but waiting for stragglers before sending them out to us), but another swap was started--a Christmas Swap! I can't wait! My mind keeps going round and round and round--what do I want to do on my Christmas siggie? So many ideas, finally decided to wait and see what everyone else's look like before I make a decision.

I also joined the International Siggie list. So far I've only gotten the one from the host of the swap, Annalies. But it is beautiful. It has little sock monkey "see no, hear no, speak no evil" on it! She's been collecting them since she was 15 and says she has a lot of them. I can't wait for more! I'll need to send a few out and see what happens.

From what I can see online there are many siggie addicts out there. I hope to exchange with all of them! Ok, maybe just lots of them?

We made "bags"!

2008-05-04T15:01:00.000-07:00

My UFO for April was to make a Tammy Tadd tote bag that I had purchased the stuff for almost a year ago. The directions were so hard to follow that I just didn't even want to attempt it. But...the quilt quild picked that number so that was the project that was due. Guess what?! I did it! Not only was it MUCH easier than I thought it was going to be, but I so enjoyed doing it that I went on and made the small bag!

Then my daughter wanted me to teach her to make one so I made one for the other daughter while I taught!

The doggie fabric is my tote (DUH!), and the orange/blue batik bag is my purse. My daughter made the red & green bag--it has Charlie Brown & Lucy golfing! And I made the purple & white bag for my other daughter. I used alphabet fabric because she's a teacher.

My youngest & I had a lot of fun making them!

Too Long!

2008-03-23T07:44:00.000-07:00

Wow! It seems like just yesterday that I posted. Time flies when...

A lot has happened over the last month--none of it has been incredibly important.

The Dear Jane group on yahoo has been busy with the quilt police, the WIP-fairies, and the UFO-fairies (UFO-fairies are totally undesirable and many of them seem to live at my house!).

I've decided I started too much and joined too many groups this year (two B.O.M.s, Thimbleberries, DJ x 2)--thus this year I will just try to keep some semblance of sanity and try to keep up. Of course, AFTER I decided I was already involved in too much then I signed up for the "Siggy Swap" in the Dear Jane group. Hopefully I'll still be married at the end of the year!

My daughter and grandson spend weekends with us so SOMETIMES I don't feel that I get much done on the weekends. Wouldn't trade them though! I really cherish the time they spend with us.

Will update with a few pictures later.

Happy Easter All!

DJ Retreat!

2008-02-10T17:11:00.000-08:00

My LQS has an upstairs that is set up for sleeping--and of course it is
decorated in beautiful quilts. They have just recently started opening it up for
people to have retreats.

Friday night I met about 5 other ladies and we had our own little "DJ
retreat". It was great--between the 6 of us we got over 50 blocks
done in 24 hours! I myself did 6 blocks--twice--for a total of 12! One for each of my Janes. And they were NOT the easy ones!

We stayed up until about 3 am sewing and then started again a few
hours later. Unfortunately the shop we were sewing at closed at 3pm so we
all had to go home. Well, maybe it wasn't so unfortunate--I did go to
bed at 8:30 last night because I was so tired!

If you get the opportunity to go to a retreat (and I can't wait until
"someday" when I can go to Shipshe!)--you should do it. It's very
motivating!

Are you my pillow?

2008-02-03T16:42:00.000-08:00

Couldn't resist adding this photo of my grandson and my best bud Apollo...they were both keeping me company in the sewing room.

Baby Jane

2008-02-03T16:33:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a long time coming to this point but here's the first two rows of my Dear Jane Quilt. This one is my "Perfection is Highly Over-Rated" Jane. I have almost another two rows done but am missing one or two here and there. I'll try to post a better picture another time. Super Bowl is on so DH won't be real happy if I ask him to try again!

I also have a second Jane going--"Little Jane Blues" which is done with the same background and different blues that I like. I'm just enjoying the journey and trying not stress if the little 4-1/2" blocks take me a while to complete.

As you can see--not perfect--just like me!

Yellow Monkey Wrench

2008-02-03T16:29:00.000-08:00

My quilt guild is doing a block of the month and I liked the block they handed out for January so much I did a whole quilt of it! Now I still need to do a block for monthly drawing. Maybe I'll end up with two monkey wrench quilts!

Bear in the Woods

2008-02-02T05:29:00.000-08:00

Wahoo! This was supposed to be my husbands Christmas gift, but the class I took was delayed so it didn't get done. He saw this at a quilt shop (yes, he went to a quilt shop with me!) and loved it. Making it for him is the least I could do! haha As if sewing a quilt was a hardship! Anyway, the longarm quilter just got it yesterday--she's going to quilt it in a pattern with trees and bears and moose. I can't wait to see it done!

What a relief!

2007-12-27T16:56:00.001-08:00

Being a new quilter, I hadn't realized how difficult it would be to give up a quilt to someone and not be there when they opened their present to see their reaction. The first of four people just opened her quilt and called me. Thank goodness she really seemed to like it!

Not that I meant to make her cry but knowing that she did made me feel so much better about giving her one of my "babies".

Pam is my hardest sister-in-law for me to relate to. She's a wonderful and caring woman but we have never had a lot in common. Pam is also very vocal and assertive--another thing I'm not. I've always felt that she didn't really consider me part of the family--although she's been my SIL for 30 years...I guess we can't help the way we feel.

Anyway, if I can find the picture I took of her quilt ("Hard Candy") I'll post it on my blog.

I'm amazed too that I'm feeling this relief! One down, three to go...or maybe they've opened them but didn't like them so haven't called me because they don't know what to say?! Not a chance! Of course they'll like them!

Merry Christmas part II

2007-12-25T14:31:00.001-08:00

Ok, so...I got up at 5:00 a.m. and finished the green and yellow quilt, then I cut and chopped and made the potato salads (one without eggs because my daughter is allergic).

The deal this year was, I made quilts and "stuff" and did the greatest majority of the shopping and my dear spouse was supposed to do the gift wrapping. YEAH! (I hate wrapping!)

So at this point--before the ham went into the oven--I said, where do you stand on the gift wrapping? He replied, I have a few left to wrap, no problem. I'll get them after my shower. So we put the ham in the oven. I took MY shower, then called my daughter and said "we won't be late this year! Things are well in hand!" Then I walked into the back bedroom where the wrapping was supposed to take place...and promptly called my daughter back and told her I didn't know how late we would be. For the next hour I stuffed presents and tissue paper in gift bags, filled out gift tags, and boxed and wrapped Christmas gifts. OH MAN! I think he thinks this will get him out of wrapping next year! I'll find SOME way to get him involved. Of course, if we didn't tell anyone, they wouldn't have noticed the shoddy gift wrapping!

Or maybe not.

I really had to remind myself of the "reason for the season". But other than being an hour late getting to my daughters (and we weren't the last ones there), it was a lovely day.

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-25T14:15:00.000-08:00

Another Christmas come and gone. Why do we think the children today have forgotten what the season is all about? And are so happy when they love the gift(s) we have choosen for them? The gifts that meant the most to me were the quilts I gave to people I love.

Among them...a cowboy quilt for my 6-year-old grandson. When he opened it he started jumping up and down--"a cowboy quilt--a cowboy quilt" and smiling from ear to ear. I knew that was a hit. Then my sister sent sent him a horse costume--I didn't even tell her it was a cowboy theme this year! He was thrilled!

My granddaughter got the "circle" quilt. And my daughter's mother-in-law got the green and yellow quilt. They loved their quilts too. Hopefully as much as I did! I had a hard time giving Rhonda the green & yellow one. I love those fabrics!

Does anyone else have trouble giving away the quilts they've made? Even when I start one with a specific person in mind...I think it's because I put so much "me" into each quilt I make.

Anyway, hope your Christmas was as good as mine! Please say a prayer for all of those that most need us right now--including those that do not have a family, the homeless, and our service men and women...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Crayon Apron

2007-12-15T13:34:00.000-08:00

My granddaughter is getting this crayon apron for Christmas. I saw it in a magazine and knew I had to make one for her. Her other grandmother is giving her an art easel to go with it!

Tic-Tac-Toe or Stars & Circles!

2007-12-15T13:32:00.000-08:00

I made a quilty tic-tac-toe "board" for my grandson for his birthday. He loves it!

More Sewing Room

2007-12-15T13:28:00.000-08:00

As you can see, my sewing room used to be my "doggy room". Slowly but surely the dog stuff is moving into the rest of the house and the sewing stuff is taking over. There even used to be a bed in here! The two tubs in the bottom of the closet are filled with quilts for Christmas gifts. Yeah!

Sewing Room

2007-12-15T13:24:00.000-08:00

Well, this is the sewing room. You can see that there is organization in my chaos. I don't function well when things are a mess. It's been hard the last few months sharing my sewing space with my daughter. It's been nice having her company sewing though!

You can see one of my current projects on the table getting sandwiched. Granny's Scrap Garden.

You can also see some page protectors on the bottom right of one of the photos--those are my Baby Janes!

Grandkids

2007-12-15T13:22:00.000-08:00

How often do you get to see one of the "Men In Black" escorting Minnie Mouse? My granddaughter is 2-1/2 and my grandson is almost six. My daughters will abuse me for posting my boys before my grandkids!

My Boys

2007-12-15T13:16:00.000-08:00

These are my boys, the blonde is Turner and the redhead is Apollo. Since my children are adults these are my babies. We do obedience work and field work together.

Photos Today?

2007-12-15T04:27:00.000-08:00

We finally got a new computer this week. It's all set up and I'm using it now! Of course, I want to upload some pictures from my digital camera! But...I can't find an instruction book for the computer (my dh set it all up) and I can't figure out where to plug in the memory stick! Arghhhhhh!

I took pictures of several things to post on my blogspot. I have one of my grandson playing tic-tac-toe on the quilted tic-tac-toe "board" I made him. I took one of the crayon apron I made for my granddaughter for a Christmas gift. One of my current quilt in process...several of my sewing room...

Dh is at work today (this is his really busy season). He had December 2nd off and has worked every day since. He gets another day off the 22nd and after the New Year he will revert to a regular schedule. Happens every year. I say goodbye to him at Thanksgiving and "see you next year"! But I'm still hoping he'll take a look later and show me where to put the memory stick so I can upload my pics!

Grandson was so cute--he turned six years old on Wednesday. But his favorite gift isn't the "golfing thing" my dh picked out for him--it's his "stars and circles" quilt game! He LOVES all things quilty! What a great kid!

Wondering if my granddaughter will do the same thing at Christmas when she gets her quilt from grandma that she did last year. Last year she opened the box and climbed into it! She didn't even want to take the time out to take the quilt out of the box! She was not quite two years old. Now she's a big girl of almost three years old, think she's learned that it's easier to wrap up in a quilt that isn't in a box? haha.

Right now it's sleety, snowy, freezing rain outside. But it's going to turn to all rain a little later (then back to snow but we won't think about that!).

Well, more later if I can figure out the pics! Have a great day!

The Best Intentions!

2007-12-11T08:43:00.000-08:00

The best intentions...I really thought I would get a chance this weekend to upload some photos and learn how everything works. Unfortunately, my new computer didn't get set up until Sunday night and I have had company ever since. So...maybe next weekend? No, too close to Christmas now, too many Christmas gifts to finish... Sounds just like a procrastinator, right?

Both my daughters and both my grandchildren will be over tonight for supper. I'm really looking forward to seeing them all! Tomorrow my grandson will be six! He's really excited. Saturday will be his "official" party. But Gramma can give him presents tonight!

Worrying about all the people getting hit by the ice & snow storms...I'll be saying a prayer for them and hope you will too.

Dear Jane...dear jane...? What's dear jane? haha. After Christmas!

Getting Started

2007-12-07T04:07:00.001-08:00

Oh my gosh--I can't believe how easy this was to get started!

Welcome to my blog! Not that I'll have anything interesting to say--this blog will most likely contain comments about my children, grandchildren, dogs, maybe my spouse, and my quilts or quilting.

As soon as I get my new computer at home I'll start adding photos and more info.

At work today but would rather be home with the dogs--sewing! It was icy this morning and one of my boys (dogs) fell down the steps. Since he has hip dysplasia I'm going to be really worried about him all day. I'll go home early and check on him.

Hopefully more of interest at some point in the future.

Suzanne