Dee's Doodles

Red Hot Valentine's Star Rose Block

2012-02-14T06:02:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

As bold as can be! Some red hot block lovin' goin' on here.

LOL

This is an eye popping block if ever there was one.

Waaaaay out of my usual soft, muted palette, but I desperately wanted to use the center rose and some special vintage fabric found last summer while out thrifting with hubby-Valentine's-sweet. The lightest print with pink and orange fabric is so pretty in person.

Next up is a happy, scrappy flower gifted to me by KT surrounded by beautiful blues. Can you see the bluebirds flitting around the block? Love Kaffe Fassett's fabrics here to really draw the eye.

And last, but certainly not least, this crazy block! If I had been thinking, I would have fixed the mistake (can you see it?). I thought things looked a little, well, weird and spider-like...but it wasn't until I looked at the picture that I figured it out. Oh well. These blocks are like children. I don't have a favorite, but love them all equally!

I'm linking up with Quilt Story's Fabric Tuesday today and with Freshly Pieced's WIP Wednesday.

Can't wait to see all the quiltey love there.

Come join us, woncha!

Monday Musings

2012-02-06T05:31:00.000-08:00

Pinteresting things going on all over.

Hi. My name is Dee. I've been Pinteresting now for over a month. I guess you could say it's all my quiltey bloggey friends' faults.

Although, I know I need to take ownership of my own choices.

LOL

This is the 'Nanner Dog that was shared with all "my" kids at homeschool co-op this week. Lots of interest in learning how to make these, crochet these, knit these, Play Doh these...Pinterest has been an awesome oasis of DIY/Crafts, Gardening and Outdoors for me.

My own huge "Happy Place" to go to when things in the real world get a little, well, stressed.

I also shared on my FB page this cute lil' fella with the caption,

"The only way we should ever push people."

A friend commented, "Hang on tight little mousie."

Yeah. About that.

Seems we are imperfect people in an imperfect world.

Go figure.

And sometimes...many times...a lot of times...those imperfections spill out of ourselves and into other people's lives.

And it can get very dramatic. And emotional. And pushy.

People wanting. People whining.

Selfishness and self servingness everywhere!

Argh!

So, imagine my delight when I read Penny's blog this morning.

It just made me smile.

If you have had a hard week for whatever reason, you should go read it too.

Trust me on this one.

Rose Star WIP is Still a WIP!

2012-02-01T05:58:00.000-08:00

I've been working slowly and steadily since last week's WIP at Lee's blog Freshly Pieced.

This Rose Star block is on the sewing table for today to finish. Jennifer Paganelli prints with Fassett/Mabley/Jacobson? print and some springey green KT gifted me a while back.

This is my new favorite block.

This was my last favorite block.

Yes. I know it's only halfway there. LOL It's an edge piece and I hated cutting it off, but that's how the pattern works. Grrrrr! The center is a very old vintage linen print hubby sweets and I found out antique shopping last year.

This was my favorite before this one.

Amy Butler's Love takes center stage on this one, with Heather Bailey's Nicey Jane and some Flower Suger from Lecien.

This was my favorite before this one.

Sandi Henderson, more Paganelli and Kaffe Fassett.

My first favorite from last week is this one.

Pat Bravo, more Bailey and Pagenelli.

LOL

It's been so much fun picking out fabric for these blocks and you can sort of see me starting to join them together. It's a quilt with imperfections. It's a work in progress. It's a learning curve.

I love it!

Marj left a comment letting me know she's working on the Rose Star blocks using machine piecing too if you'd like to take a look at how someone else is tackling this block.

Stop by Lee's blog...do it! With your favorite beverage of choice and some chocolate.

You won't regret it.

Rose Star Finish It Up Friday

2012-01-25T04:10:00.000-08:00

It's Friday again! Another week in the can and some awesome sewing time for me!

I think I've spent more time sewing this week than I have for a long time.

Yay!

Crazy Mom Quilts is a blog I have followed ever since I even knew about blogs. It's been so much fun to watch her as a quilter...learning new things, trying new things, teaching me all kinds of awesome tricks and tutorials.

She hosts Finish It Up Friday every week. This is a great chance to share what I've been doing this week and to see what quilters from around the world are working on.

Over at Self Sewn there is this tutorial that has had me hooked all week long!

The Rose Star block is so much fun to make. I've enjoyed picking out my five fabrics and then figuring out how to make them using machine piecing, instead of the EPP (English Paper Piecing) she uses.

Lots and lots of "Y" seams. I have a whole row of them now with their white background to make the top two edges, but no pictures yet. Once you figure out the outer, white edging, they go together easy-peasy!

This was the first block I made. Jennifer Paganelli, Martha Negley and some prints that I don't know where they come from.

lol

Broke out my Flower Sugar to make Block 2.

Marth Negley's Mums, Kaffe Fassett polka dots, Sandi Henderson prints and some Patricia Bravo in this one.

This is one wild quilt, let me tell you! But I'm loving it and can't wait to get the top finished for hubby sweet's and I's bed. That will be a queen size top. Little intimidating, but the blocks are so well worth it!

Wishing you a happy Friday and a weekend that is full of sunshine!

Rose Star Block Love

2012-01-23T11:34:00.000-08:00

First off:

Dear Blogger,

Wassup? I can't comment on posts, see comments from other people on my blog without finageling a bit, and get to other blogs using linkies.

Frustratingly yours,

Dee

Secondly, I should not be left alone to browse blogs while I'm on cold medicine.

Self Sewn has an EPP (English Paper Piecing) tutorial for a Rose Star on her blog that is just...well...amazing! There's even a Flickr group full of beautiful blocks.

I'm in trouble!

lol

After looking at other quilters EPPing their blocks, I decided, "Hey, I can do Y seams. I've had lots of practice from my Jack's Chain WIP."

Hubby sweets asked me what I've been doing...um...um...um...starting a new block.

I'm terrible at not finishing what I'm working on!

Bad Dee! Bad Dee!

Out came my stash scraps of limes and greens, purples and aquas and light blues.

So, here is the Rose Star block with a fussy cut center and it's first row machine pieced.

I love this color combination, don't you?

Adding on a lime green and then a soft purple row.

Getting excited!

And here it is finished with the "kite" row added.

Holey Crap Batman, another new addiction!

Arrrrrgh!

I'm linking up with Megan this week for the first time. You can find her and other linked blogs at Canoe Ridge Creations for Sew Modern Monday. Oohh...lots of eye candy here for a blah Monday!

Fabric Tuesday over at Quilt Story is another fantastic way to connect with other quilters to share what you're working on and see the scrumptiousness they're working on. After you look at today's blogs linked up, check out Quilt Story's Monday's post about a mermaid!

Amazing!

Finish It Up Friday Swoon Edition

2012-01-20T05:38:00.000-08:00

This week saw a lot accomplished at the farm...lol

I sashed the green Swoon block

and

the orange one.

Whew! That's a lot of piecing and cutting for sashing. But "orange" you glad I did!

Here are the pink, blue and orange blocks together.

I started laying them out on the floor with the green one to get a sense of color placement too.

I'm very pleased with all the scrappiness going on here and I'm working on the sashing for the yellow and purple blocks.

Amandajean is hosting Finish It Up Friday and Sew & Tell This is my fourth linky party this week and I'm pooped! Inspired, amazed and in awe of all the quiltey goodness going on out there.

Head on over and take a look!

Hope today treats you kindly!

WIP "Snapshot"

2012-01-18T00:05:00.000-08:00

Lee at Freshly Pieced is hosting WIP Wednesday.

On Monday, she posted an awesome tutorial on her Ribbon Star Block.

WoW!

This is one I'm bookmarking and going to do.

Amazing!

Saturday I took a mental health day and did some random piecing. I started and finished a new doggie dish mat for our dog, Lady.

Here's the finished dish mat and a woodcarving/burning I got for Christmas that looks just like her.

A week ago or so, I came across a blog where the quilter lamented not getting to "new" fabric to play with until it wasn't "new" anymore because she was working on "old" projects. I understand that. I just scored some awesome new scraps and fabrics and wanted to use them before I put them in the stash and they were no longer "new" to me.

So I started a new quilt project (mini? twin? queen? table quilt?) called "Snapshot".

~~an impression or view of something brief or transitory~~

This quilt is a snapshot, an impression and view of fabrics that I like. Some because they are from popular designers or lines or because of something I'm drawn to in my life.

I think a quilter's stash says a lot about their personality, world view and outlook.

I wanted to capture where I am as a quilter right now.

I cut 3 x 3" squares from my stash of scraps that I love and from the "new" fabrics I bought while in Indy.

100 of them...

...and sewed them into strips of ten.

They are auditioning in what order my ten strips of ten squares should be put together.

Here they all are. Playing so sweetly and nicely together. I would like to find some gray, khaki or tannish solid to sash this with.

Thoughts?

I also got to sash another Swoon block. This time I worked on the pink and was able to sew it to the blue one I sashed last week.

So happy I went ahead with the scrappy sashing. The white on the pattern was just...well, a lot of white!

LOL

Finished:

Doggie dish mat

Sashing on pink Swoon block

One Snapshot block

Still working on:

Scrappy Swoon quilt

Buttercup Swoon quilt

Jack's Chain quilt

& a score of other projects lurking around the house somewhere!

Hope you head over to Lee's and check out what the other quiltey ladies are up to. It never ceases to amaze me at the creativity you can find in one small slice of the web.

Today is a treat....enjoy!

Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story

2012-01-17T00:05:00.000-08:00

...this week is all about instant gratification. Microwave quick piecing, quilting and binding. Pick it out, cut it out, piece it, sandwich it, quilt it and bind it in a just a few hours (while doing laundry, dishes and parenting).

This was such a nice break after working on large projects for a long time.

When Javi was a little boy, this was his placemat. When he was done with it, I stashed it back because I hated to see it's usefulness be over. When we got our dog, Lady, I thought it would be a neat thing to use for her dishmat (plus helping me see a reminder of my oldest's toddlerhood).

Needless to say, it's seen better days and I finally threw it away after having it for almost 19 years.

LOL

Yes, I've seen the show "Hoarders" and yes, we're working on it!

(love that owl scowl!)

I searched through my pink scraps to add with some black and white doggie fabric and prints.

The whole time I worked on this, I kept thinking, "What's black and white and pink all over?" Lady!

She's a black and white Peagle (Pointer and Beagle mix) we adopted from her former owner.

She's my buddy.

Hubby sweets and the boys went with "Dad" (hubby's dad) to a woodworking show late last year. Christmas morning, this was gifted to me by the men in my family. This looks almost exactly like Lady. I need to have it framed. A man made this carving on softwood and it's just incredible!

By late morning I had a quilt sandwich and was ready for basting. Have you ever tried curved basting pins? Totally recommend them!

I just left my 1/4" foot on and sewed straight lines where I felt like sewing them. Many of these scraps are gifts from my quilting sis.

The finished dishmat ready for use.

I used to wonder about pet owners who would make mats, beds, quilts, etc for their pets. I always thought to myself, "Boy, they have waaaaay too much time on their hands."

LOL

But now I get why some projects might be made. This one was a simple, let your mind wander while your hands are sewing something small, fun, bright and able to be seen every day project.
For a very important part of the family!

Here she is already using the mat for her lunch. I'm not sure how much she appreciates it, but I sure do love that doggie!

I'm linking up with Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story. I just cannot tell you how inspirational these stories are. And fun. And sometimes sad. What an awesome idea for a blog! Grab your beverage of choice this morning and head on over!

Hope today treats you kindly!

Sack o' Scraps

2012-01-12T05:47:00.000-08:00

Right now, you might be questioning my sanity. I know I'm questioning my resolve, self-control and self-discipline.

This is a large sack o' scraps.

This is a large sack o' scraps so tightly compacted, a vacuum has almost been created.

LOL

I went to a LQS Monday and for $12.95 you get to root through their scrap bin and take home as many scraps as can be fit in a baggie and still be closed.

Yes. Those are reds in there too.

We're trying to get better acquainted.

Also found were these lovelies. Same Kaffe Fassett and Patricia Bravo and I'm ashamed to say I didn't happen to catch the names of the other two. I'm trying to bring gray into my color palette too.

"Have you seen the little piggies...?"

Picked these up for a splash of sunshine.

They are now playing nicely with some Lecien Flower Sugar and waiting for inspiration to hit.

Yummy!

Some yellow and gold to help me pretend it's sunny outside on a gray, wintry day.

Another LQS is new to me. The French Seam apparently opened up about seven months ago and it's taken me all this time to find it? The IMQG is having their January meeting there and I found out about the store from our blog. Sweet!

While I was there, I spied their clearance basket. Um...yeah. These are all generous cuts with bitty, bitty prices. I think the most I paid was for the bottom one. Thank you.

Now...I just need to go buy more time. Can you do that? Kinda like carbon credits? You know, time credits. I'd like just an extra two hous, totally free, non crammed with everyone else's business but my own, sit and sew for longer than five minutes at a time, actually accomplish something...time.

I know it's out there somewhere. Where does your time come from? Do you squeeze it in between work and home, home and home, school and home? Steal it while your children are napping? Hubby already hit the hay? Lunch break? Weekends?

I just need more of it for me!

LOL

A book (I think the first of many, sorry honey hubs!) came Monday while I was out ~~shopping~~ making sure my child has life enriching experiences paging at the State House. I'm thinking a lot about colors. Color wheels. Combinations. Likes. Dislikes. Loves. You need a color scheme for fabric and I'm gathering ideas.

I'm sketching. For the first time in a long time, I'm seriously sketching.

And I'm loving it!

And I have a partner in crime now.

Thank you for all the encouragement! I'd like to be able to share as much of this experience with you.

I pulled these together a while ago and snapped them to remember the combinations that appealed to me.

There's a lot of advice out there on choosing colors for your wardrobe, home, and quilts.

Lots to learn.

Here is a mosaic I've made of fabrics in a goldish/yellowish color from Hawthorne Threads. They have a handy little little color grid you can use. From their website:

If you are looking for a particular color, this grid is an excellent way to narrow your search. Simply click on the color of your choice to see all of the prints from our shop featuring that shade.

You will then be able to further modify your your search by looking for prints that have a high or low dominance of that color, as well as whether they are very close or only somewhat close to your chosen hue.

This tool is particularly great when trying to mix and match different designers and collections by allowing you to explore different pairing possibilities. You'll be amazed with the different combinations that turn up and we hope you'll find some inspiration for your next project!

Erin McMorris, Patricia Bravo, Darlene Zimmerman, and Michael Miller all together for one project. How fun would this be to play with!

Hope today treats you kindly!

Swoonaholic

2012-01-06T12:35:00.000-08:00

WoW!

That's a mouthful, but I'm going ahead and posting on Amandajean's blog to get in my first "finish" for 2012.

I am a Swoonaholic. Addicted, in love and probably overly obsessed with this block. Dittoes for scraps and scrappy quilts.

Can't get enough of them.

I'm in the process of making scrappy, large Swoon blocks in pinks, oranges, yellows, greens, blues and purples and not quite liking a plain, white sashing between the blocks.

Sisters Jennifer and Jessica over at Twin Fibers have this awesome tutorial on a Sun Ray Quilt Block that can as scrappy as you like. Which I do.

Thought that type of sashing would look great with the Swoon blocks.

This Swoon Blue is the first block I've gotten completely sashed. The tutorial is super easy to follow and well written. It just takes a little bit of time to get a strip of scraps long enough to frame this Big Boy. The finished block is 24.5" square.

It was nice to have college boy home to help me with pictures too! See him widdle finners!

Thanks Javi!

My personal assistant...ahem...informed me a package had arrived for me.

For me?

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!

I just ordered this Tuesday and it's here already!

Long before I thought of getting my Ph.D in domesticity and all things parenting, I was an Art Education major. I love color, light, shape, form, curves and art. It's history, it's evolution and it's impact on the world we live in.

A resolution for 2012 is to get up off my tushy and take a stab at designing fabric. This is the second step for me in ordering this book. I haven't even opened it yet. Saving it for a time for intense concentration.

Another package should be arriving any day that is part of the first step to realizing this goal.

Can't wait!

Please stop over at Crazy Mom Quilts and check out the other Finish It Up Friday posts and don't forget to swing by Quilt Story's Fabric Tuesday and then there's Lee's WIP at Freshly Pieced. Maybe leave a comment or two, or three, or four or more! lol You never know what encouragement and inspiration you're leaving for another quilter--and what encouragement and inspiration you'll came away with!

Christmas in South Carolina

2011-12-28T08:22:00.000-08:00

Ahhhhh.

Two kids still sleeping and one totally engrossed in an XBox game.

Hubby back to work.

Laundry piled up higher than it has any right to be.

Turtles still on the kitchen counter (good friend helped take care of them and the cats while Lady was enjoying the week at Mimi's).

Boxes and detritis everywhere.

I'm still in my jammies and it's almost 10:00 in the am.

Must be the holiday aftermath.

LOL

I can now share why the blogging vacation...a real life vacation with the family.

We started off the last day of school on the 16th by driving down to Knoxville, TN to spend the night. We got up Saturday morning and headed into the Smokey Mountains.

Among beautiful vistas at overlooks, waterfalls on the side of the road, and icicles in the higher elevations, we saw a mama Black Bear and three cubs. We've decided we probably were less than a hundred yards from them! Truly a once in a lifetime experience. We decided to stay in Gatlinburg on our return trip which saw us getting home about 10:30 Christmas Eve. Quick wrapping up of gifts, buying some milk for breakfast and waking up in our own beds Christmas morning. I didn't put up any Christmas decorations, put a minimal emphasis on gift buying and we are sending out Happy New Year cards instead of Christmas cards.

We continued driving until late Saturday night's arrival on Hilton Head, SC. Let me tell you, five people packed into a Honda Civic for that long is nothing short of miraculous and tedious! But it was well worth it.

The sunrise outside our window.

The sunset on the beach.

It was a little too cold to swim in the Atlantic, but we waded a little here and there as the temperatures rose through the week.

We hit all the highlights on Hilton Head. I think we visited every beach and shopped and ate until we were almost too tired to go out at night and watch shooting stars out over the ocean. While hubs and I were stargazing, the boys took their flashlights (no worries, turtles are nowhere near HH right now) to look for shells and shark teeth during low tide.

This picture appears on hub's Facebook page with the text: Bait.

Thankfully, we saw no alligators on our little nature trail walk.

This year's unofficial theme for homeschool coop has been all about US history. Right now, the senior high kids are studying the early history of the US and were reading about and learning about the Revolutionary War before we left. This part of the country is just full of stories, historical sites and remembrances of these times.

We learned about several massacres and ambushes on the island and visited a small cemetary at the end of the road our condo was on.

I have lived in the Midwest almost all my life and was just in awe of the age of some of the sites we visited. The joke was that other families do touristy type things on their vacations and we visit cemetaries. LOL We probably went through 4-5 throughout the trip. We learned life in early America was often harsh and ended young for far too many. Lots of graves of infants, young children and mothers. Makes you really appreciate the times we live in with modern medical diagnosis and treatment.

We journeyed through Beaufort, SC which has the distinction of being the second landing site of Europeans in this area in 1514. St. Augustine is older by only a year.

One of the cannons guarding the harbor.

A beautiful home in Beaufort decorated for Christmas.

Hubs caught site of this church as we were driving through the local area. So we backtracked, parked and walked out to the ruin and...of course...the cemetary.

Old Sheldon Church has its beginnings in the 1740's and was burned by the British and Sherman.

William Bull was born in 1683 and died in 1755. Such a small testament to what reads as a very long and full life.

Another day was spent in Savannah, Georgia. We took a trolley tour around the historic squares and along the river.

Forsyth Fountain created in 1858.

Inside the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist.

The oldest house in Savannah which was the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island.

Here in corn country, we don't see many street vendors and hawkers. We did buy Palmetto Roses and Bean was serenaded with an "ole negro spiritual" by someone looking suspiciously a lot like Santa on vacation before Christmas.

Our chocoholic was tempted to just bury his face in a barrel of candy kisses at a candy shoppe housed in one of the city's old cotten market offices along the river.

Some gratituous beach pictures.

I can't even begin to tell you how much we all needed this vacation. Bean has been having issues with some bullies in his class at school, Middleman has had a tough schedule so far in his sophomore year, Javi has been taking more than a full load of classes the last three semesters and hubs and I have had our fair share of difficult times this last year. That sounds bad. LOL Not with each other, just in some of the struggles and challenges we each face at work, school and being part of a family. We're not sure when the next family vacation will be. 2012 will see both older boys working through the summer (maybe away from home and/or out of the country) and as our family grows up...we never know how much time we have left with all of us still at home and able to vacation together. We cherished this time together and the thought of not having this time again helped get us through the inevitable squabbles that come with having three boys.

Thanks for sharing in our family vacation.

And from our family to yours:

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

2011-12-14T14:17:00.000-08:00

I was visiting Nanette at her blog, Freda's Hive, and came across this picture she took.

I'm going on a blogging vacation for a week or two to enjoy time with my hubby sweets and children three.

Dear friends and family,

May your days be merry and bright and filled with all of God's deepest and richest blessings.

I know that I am blessed by what you say and share with me here.

What rays of sunshine and happiness you all are in my corner of the world.

Thank you.

Merry Christmas to all!

Jack's Chain Fabric Tuesday

2011-12-04T12:22:00.000-08:00

Well!

I was just blown away when I clicked on Sandi Henderson's blog and saw this

as a giveaway.

Do you know what pattern that is?

LOL

Yup!

Jack's Chain.

How weird and cool is that! I'm so excited to find another picture of a completed project using this pattern. And this is just beautiful! Beautiful! I found a bag of way cool fabric for $1 at our LQS yesterday and decided I like it with the Hunky Dory colors I have....hmmmmm.

Also found this softly lovely by Hazel. The story behind this piece celebrating renewal is breathtaking and inspiring.

I love being able to read through blogs and make a connection with the authors not only on a quiltey level, but on a deeper level as well. What a privilege when stories, hearts, emotions and histories are shared. From all over the world, women speaking a common language using needle and thread...and their love of quilting.

This week I've working on more nine patch blocks for the Jack's Chain I'm making. I originally found the pattern at Quilter's Cache. I thought QC's instructions were fairly simple and easy to follow, but I wouldn't mind taking a look at the Quilter's Club book to see their instructions.

I started with 1 1/2" wide strips from a jelly roll of Moda's Hunky Dory and 1 1/2" wide strips of white. Using a 1/4" seam, I sewed two white strips to one of the Hunky Dory strips, and sewed two of the Hunky Dory strips to a white one so cutting and sewing the nine patches needed would be easier.

Here is what your new strips should look like. The one that has the two Hunky Dory strips on the outside will be the outside units of the nine patch and the strip with two white pices will be the center unit of the nine patch. Careful pressing keeping the seams as straight as possible will help keep the nine patches from being wonky later on.

Go ahead and true up one side of the newly sewn strip so you're rotary cutting will be even.

Now cut 1 1/2" wide units from the strip. You need to make sure your horizontal seams and vertical cuts are right on the money with your ruler or you'll have wonky nine patch units. Not recommended! LOL

Here are your strips cut into units you will use to make the nine patch.

Lay out your units to make the nine patch and sew together, again with a 1/4" seam. Carefully press the nine patch keeping the block as evenly square as possible.

Now you need to square up your nine patch block with your ruler and rotary cutter to 3 1/2".

Next time I'll be working on adding these new nine patch blocks with a triangle and hexagon to the quilt.

Today I'm linking up with Heather and Megan at Quilt Story for my very first Fabric Tuesday. Through the winter here in Indiana...it can get really dark, gray and depressing. I love the linky parties that let me have snippets of sunshine peak through with all the bright, happy and cheerful projects other quilters share!

I'm also linking up with Kimberlee for my first Finished It Friday so there's lots to so and see when you follow the links and see all the other beautiful projects!

Sewing Up a Storm!

2011-11-30T04:05:00.000-08:00

If you've been following along, you'll know I've been making baskets to sell and raise money for our homeschool coop scholarship fund. I wanted to raise $100 to donate to this incredible ministry that helps two of our outstanding seniors pay for college ie books, gas money, groceries etc.

I used this tutorial from the Pink Penguin for my pattern and inspiration. A huge thank you to Ayumi for sharing this with her blog readers.

All of the baskets I've sold were made from scraps. The only thing I had to buy was more batting when my scrap batting ran out...oh...and some new needles!

Last week I posted pictures of a couple of them on Facebook and told my family and friends there what I was doing. Enough orders came in that I have made my goal! I'm so excited! Thank you to everyone who bought a basket!

I will be taking a short break from making any more for a while.

LOL

I did manage to square up a mini Starflower block from Modify Tradition's blogsite.

I love baby blocks! After the huge Swoon blocks

I've been working on, it's nice to have something so small and sweet sitting on your sewing table.

I've gotten the Jack's Chain quilt back out to work on while I take a brief rest from the Swoon mania. Imagine my delight and astonishment at seeing this incredibly beautiful mini quilt showcased by Cathy at her blog Cabbage Quilts.

This looks so much like the Jack's Chain block! I am in complete awe! and inspired to get back to work on mine! Look how tiny those blocks are!

Amazing!

This is a little table topper I made as a PIF for a sweet friend. This is a fun block to make and you will definitely conquer Y seams on this one!

Got these out too to play around with this winter.

I thought they might look good as a sashing for this quilt

Darn! There's just not enough light in the day to do everything I need to do and all the quiltey things I want to do!

For the week:

Finishes------seven Useful baskets

WIP's worked on------zilch! LOL

WIP's thought about------Jack's Chain and the Kaffe Fassett inspired value quilt

New projects started------nada! which makes me feel better about not working on other WIP's!

Please join me at Lee's blog http://freshlypieced.blogspot.com/ for WIP Wednesday and Amy's blog http://www.amylouwhosews.com/2011/12/amylouwho-sew-tell-v311.html for Friday Finish. As Christmas gets closer, there are so many yummy sewing projects going on. You won't want to miss it!

It's snowing here now. Crap! It's not so much how it looks from inside my window that I hate about it, but the wet, melty slosh someone has tracked in that I sometimes step in in my sock covered tootsies!

LOL

WIP Gobble Gobble Edition

2011-11-22T10:34:00.001-08:00

I love learning! I try to learn something new every day (or every other day as Life allows). I had always heard that this could help prevent Alzheimer's disease. Something that scares me. Forgetting what it has taken me so much of my lifetime to learn. Not remembering my loved ones.

So, imagine my joy when I read this, "Recent studies indicate that the old adage of "use it or lose it" does have some merit. Whether or not you think you are in the first stages of Alzheimer's disease, be sure to exercise your mind. Learn something new each day - do a crossword puzzle, read a challenging book, or learn a new recipe for dinner. Keeping your mind active and engaged is a great way to prevent Alzheimer's disease."

This is the Winter 2011 Volume of a fun magazine that will be helping me learn new blocks and techniques in 2012. I just purchased it at Joann's this week and got a chance to peruse while Middleman was in the library loading up on books.

Cogwheel Daisy

by Debbie Beaves

This is one of the blocks I want to learn to make. It's such a peaceful pattern.

Yvonne's Myster

by Cinzia White

Is another that I just love. So soft, but it makes such a huge impact visually.

Now, I'm not starting any of these until I have some of my WIP's finished.

Thankfully, I finished up the three Useful Baskets I had been making as a fundraiser for our homeschool scholarship fund.

Here's one without handles and its lining (sorry, didn't get a shot of them done before delivering them). These are super fun to make and are great for quick Christmas gifts for teachers, music instructors, neighbors or whoever. The two I made for a silent auction to benefit a daycare had small bags of chocolate covered pretzels added to them! Cocoa pouches, candy, nail polish or makeup....the fun thing is you can stuff them with whatever you want for a holiday gift for someone who deserves a little handmade treat!

You can find the tutorial here.

Last week I was working to finish up a project started this summer.

I'm trying to put together a tutorial on how to make this block. It's a modern twist on two of my favorite patterns. This short and sweet table topper is going to a very special home for the holidays.

This week I started four new projects for Christmas gifts for the other ladies who serve on our homeschool Steering Committee.

I wanted to try something new and learn how to make zippered pouches.

I turned to Sew Chic & Unique's "My favorite 8 zippered Pouch Tutorials" and thought this pouch from Make It Perfect

would be pretty simple to learn to make.

And it was. I opted not to make a patchwork front until I knew I could master the pattern. Applique would be very cute here too, wouldn't it? In the future, I'll try something a little bit fancier.

I have two made now and am working on the last two.

Zippers have always intimidated me, but she makes it easy peasy to put them in. I learned a lot making these: zippers can be longer than what the pattern calls for and how to make them work, how to wrap my brain around how a lining works and is assembled and that I will be making more of these. LOL

Here are two that are finished. Once I figured the pattern our and felt comfortable making them, they went together pretty fast. The tutorial was very easy to follow.

Sew, for the week, I'm up with six WIP's finished:

Grandma's Dresden Garden table runner

three Useful Baskets

two zippered pouches

I have two more pouches to finish and then onto whatever other WIP catches my eye. Maybe I'll start working on the Jack's Chain Quilt again?

I'm linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday. On cold, dreary, dark days...I look forward to seeing what women from all over the globe are working on and getting inspired myself to work on my WIP's!

Hope to see you there!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! May you be blessed with fellowship, peace, joy and fun on this special day!

WIP Wednesday!

2011-11-16T05:17:00.000-08:00

Doesn't he look evil!

This is Tundra staking his claim to Middleman's "school" satchel.

Keeping it real here with homeschooling stuff out.

Doesn't everyone let their cat hang out on their table?

LOL

Jen gave me a great name for the vintage and modern fabric quilt I just finished.

Ta da!

The Starflower Quilt.

Thanks Jen! Our family has been enjoying it in our family room while we watch movies!

This week saw me picking out fabric and beginning to put together three more "Useful Baskets".

A mom at co-op asked for two to be made. One with any colors I liked.

Yeah.

I like these!

She wants the other basket to have black, lime green and blue. I love the black and white dog print. I seriously need to update our dog's dish's placemat. Will definitely use the doggies in that!

And a little more traditional fabrics and colors for a lady at church who saw one I had made and asked me to make one for her. She wanted burgundies and pinks.

Playing with scraps.

I'm so crushing on this color combination!

Yummy!

Hubsy wubsy and I went thrifting this weekend. I have this thing for enamel ware.

This was a cute little dish I couldn't pass up.

I'm storing paper hexies for piecing on a project. I think that's a map of Asia I cut up for a template. I teach geography in co-op and well, it was handy, and I needed a piece of paper to cut to a certain size...

LOL

Pulled out a project that desperately needs finished.

Super fun!

Kinda looks like owl eye-balls, donchathink?

What do I do with these? I was experimenting this summer with strings and can you see the stars?

Not sure where this is going, but I wanted to pull it out and start thinking about it.

I managed to sneak in another two full size Swoon blocks. Purple. Just a sneak peek 'cause I figure I overloaded all y'all last week.

And green. Marianne (Hi Marianne, miss you blogging!) asked if it was difficult to downsize the block. I just took the full size Swoon pattern and cut the measurements in half. My blocks come out to about 11" sq because I am not a math person. If I were, then I'd probably have 12 1/4" sq blocks. lol

It's Wednesday already again and next week is...gulp...Thanksgiving! Here in Indiana we had a tornado watch last night, a lightening storm to beat all and flooded streets! I'm hoping for 90 degree weather on Turkey Day so the kids can play outside! Ha ha ha!

A Hoosierism: If you don't like our weather here in Indiana, stick around 1/2 hour. It'll change.

Linking up with Lee again at for WIP Wednesdays. Ohmygoodnessgollygracious did you see all the eye candy last week? Wow! Really inspiring!

Just a "Swoonful" of Sugar

2011-11-09T05:29:00.000-08:00

...helps this week!

As soccer season was winding down, I started a "Baby Swoon" obsession. With my love of scraps and tote just chock full of them...what could be better than mini Swoon blocks?

I started out with a pink and have added a blue, purple, yellow and orange block. They measure a square 11" when finished with 81 pieces in each block. I'm sewing them together using Sun Rays Quilt Block from Twin Fibers. I just love this way to frame a block! These babies will somehow be incorporated with this block:

for a scrappy quilt for hubsy dear and I. This is a full size (24.5" square I think) block with some much loved vintage and other scraps from the tote. I will do more blocks based on colors like the baby Swoons and somehow make it all work. At least, that's the plan.

I managed to finish up some of the Moda Buttercup Swoon blocks as well.

Library Gal Quilts commented on having a simplified way of doing the block and I need to contact her to pick her brain! I have all the measurements (both for the big and baby blocks) memorized and could probably cut and sew one in my sleep! But I sure do love the way this block looks.

The "Useful Baskets" scholarship campaigns continues.

Hubsy sweets volunteered two for an auction for a very good cause, scholarships raised for a daycare.

So here are my two contributions to the auction:

The colors today on the garden bench couldn't have matched more perfectly for this picture.

Three more to make for our own co-op scholarship fund.

Our 2011/2012 ECHS Strikers Soccer Team. Middleman is far left on the bench. They placed third in the Silver Division for 2nd Division for Nationals. What an awesome thing to have hundreds of homeschooling families in one place for a weekend of soccer and fellowship! World Vision will send soccer balls to a school in an underdeveloped nation for a small donation. Middleman is writing up a proposal today to ask his fellow teammates to donate just a few dollars to share their passion with boys and girls in another country.

I love that kid!

Head on over to World Vision and see what you can do with just a few dollars to help change the world!

Also in the works this week is the binding of this quilt:

Not really sure I have a name for it yet. It's made from vintage sheets and pillowcases and new (sometimes designer) fabric. I decided to use Moda's Birdie for the binding. Some loving, sweet, compassionate and super duper sister brought some home from Paducah last year for me.

I wasn't sure how to finish this one off because there's so much going on visually. I had thought a solid, but didn't want to go out and purchase more fabric just for this. Found the blue Birdie and it was perfect!

Here it is almost finished. Just one more corner and half of a side and it's ready for the wash. Just in time for the temps to drop tonight!

I'll be linking up with Lee at for WIP Wednesday. Even when I don't get to post on Wednesdays, I still love to go through the other ladies' contributions and see what beautiful and creative things they're working on. They're so inspriring and help take the doldrums away. Hope you get a chance to go over and take a look!

Here's to the rest of the week treating us kindly!

Swoon and Useful Baskets

2011-10-05T10:42:00.000-07:00

Four more "Useful" baskets made up for a sweet, sweet lunch lady at co-op. I've sold seven besides these four and have another three to make for people. That's $70 total when the other three are made and delivered. My goal is $100 to donate to the co-op's Senior Scholarship fund.

I have the pattern memorized and can churn these things out assembly line style now.

LOL

Something else I started just to please my need to create something new a couple of weeks ago:

I had a pair of grayish pants that I somehow managed to put a huge gash in and couldn't be worn any longer. I love making braided strips of fabric and just started pulling blues from the scrap tote to pair with strips I cut from the pants. I have no clue what to do with them, lol, but I like the way they look.

Maybe the back for a quilt in the future? A table runner? The front of a quilt?

Shrug.

One of the unfinished Swoon blocks that's waiting for me to go get more fabric. If you'll recall, I wasn't thinking of what I wanted to use it for when I had a 1/4 of a yard of each Buttercup fabric cut. The Swoon pattern calls for fat quarters. A more generous cut of fabric that just a plain 1/4 yard cut. Middleman needs to take the PSAT next week and I'll have about three hours to myself in a town already closer to the LQS that carries this line than I am at home. Makes sense to just jot on down there and buy what I need to finish these up and put together in a quilt top.

I really, really like this fabric line from Moda! It's very traditionally sweet and reminds me of a "cottage by the sea" look.

This quilt still sits on a chair waiting to tell me what kind of binding it needs. Now that I look at it again, I'm thinking a solid? What do you think?

Please take a minute to check out these other fun and quilty projects at Lee's weekly WIP.

Enjoy the sunshine!

Baby Swoon Block

2011-09-29T08:42:00.000-07:00

They've been all the rage this year. The Swoon blocks from Camille Roskelley.

Thimble Blossoms

Flickr is full of them. Her website has such eye candy as to make one "swoon" from scrumptiousness overload! Quilters have used incredibly beautiful fabrics and color combinations in their blocks and quilts.

When finished, these blocks measure 24.5" x 24.5". Whopping big blocks that can be combined to make all sorts of sized quilts. Here is a picture of one that is the inspiration for my block:

Erin at Two More Seconds

Mine, however is only 11" x 11".

That's a quarter on the HST, by the way.

LOL

This is what happens when you're moving your sewing stuff inside for the winter. In the spring, summer and early fall, my sewing things are out on the sunroom where I can take advantage of the natural light and being able to see my flower gardens blooming and kids playing. When mornings start turning chilly like they have been, everything comes inside.

Now we're set up in the living room. Lots of light to help me see and two of the sweetest lil' helpers you've ever met!

While sorting through similar colored scraps, I came across the Swoon pattern I had bought this spring. I've already made four regular sized ones. Well, sort of. The pattern calls for fat quarters and not thinking, I had some 1/4" yard cuts from the Buttercup collection laying around, I went ahead and started making the blocks only to find out I need more fabric to finish them. I've got about 2/3 of the whole block made in four different fabric combinations. Sheesh. Guess that means a trip to the LQS! Darn!

Buttercup by Moda

Middleman will be taking the PSAT in October and I will have a whole morning to myself to go and get the fabric I need to finish the blocks.

I wanted to sew a little something quick that I could finish while putting my sewing table back to rights...saw the scraps, saw the pattern and thought this would make a sweet little block half sized. I just cut the measurement requirements by half and and I'm so glad I did!

I would love to make a mini quilt with this. It seems everything I make is a largerish sized quilt and those drag on for what seems like forever. This is a fun way to use scraps us with instant gratification!

Bean has two days off and the cats are wishing he didn't. LOL
Soccer game tonight and coop tomorrow.

Thank you for the encouragement on the baskets for the Senior Scholarship fund. I'm only asking $5 because a lot of our coop families are struggling to make ends meet and I thought this would let them get a homemade pretty for very little.

Hope today treats you kindly.

The "Useful" Basket

2011-09-21T08:27:00.000-07:00

When I first started reading quilting blogs, I came across the cutest tutorial for a smallish, fabric basket from the Pink Penguin.

I made it for Christmas gifts one year for teachers and "special" friends. I have three of them being "useful" around our house too.

Each year, our homeschooling coop gives out scholarships to two of our outstanding graduating seniors. We have a Senior Cake Off, Cupcake Auction, Silent Auction and anything else we can throw in the pot to raise funds for the scholarships.

This year, I'm selling "Useful" baskets. I have one made up and sitting at our Welcome table on class day.

They're $5 a piece and made entirely of scraps or fabric that's been gifted to me and leftover batting.

No cost, except labor, for me.

Financial benefit for the scholarship fund.

I've sold three already!

It isn't a lot, but every dollar goes to help a senior buy books, meals, necessaries as they go off to college!

Well....................................................................................

2011-09-19T18:30:00.000-07:00

It's mid-September.

You know what that means?

Yup.

Tee hee hee!

Drat!

2011-08-15T06:35:00.000-07:00

I love computers.

Well.....

not really. Yes. No.

It's a love/hate relationship.

I've lost my INBOX twice.

Twice!

I can't sign in to Flickr.

And my comments are being listed as from, "Anonymous".

Sigh.

Starry Summer Quilt

2011-07-14T14:19:00.000-07:00

top that I started last year is done!

Here it is with only three rows of six,

and here it is with five rows of six and the border! Can I just say "Yay!"

I pulled it off the WIP pile this week after some yummy vintage came in from Jeni at In Color Order.

I shouldn't share this, but she has beautiful vintage fabric, ships fast and has the cutest bunny named George.

The star blocks are from Modify Traditions blog. Easy peasy!

They measure 12" finished. I anchored the corners with some of my favorite vintage prints. I'm pulling out full size vintage sheets I've stashed to find the perfect one for the back, and once that's done, it's on to basting and quilting.

It measures 72" x 84" and is just the right size to snuggle under on the hammock (when the mosquitoes allow)!

Hope your summer is going well. Javi is working part time and loafing part time. Middleman is still lifeguarding and Ben just gets away with about as much as he can. God is good!

Squirrel Baby

2011-07-01T09:03:00.000-07:00

That came to visit.

I was sitting out on the swing Wednesday night and heard a strange little sound. Saw a hosta leaf move and found this little fellow.

Either hit by a car, or fell out of our oak tree.

He couldn't move his body from the middle back down, so I don't think he could have crawled into our yard from the street if a car hit him.

We called the Bird Lady at Yorktown Wildlife Resqu Haus and she had us bring him over.

She was going to call some BSU professors to come get him and nurse him back to health if the paralysis was temporary.

While we were there, we got to meet:

a bittern

Furrby the Screech Owl

Stevie, the blind kestrel

a Barred Owl

five individual Red Tail Hawks

a Peregrine Falcon

and these little cuties, juvenile Screech Owls.

Mrs. Shaffer will take in injured and "unwanted" animals from all over. Besides our squirrel and the birds pictured, she had baby bunnies, baby starlings, robins, ducks, chickens and sparrows.

I'm hoping this is somewhere Middleman, Bean and I can volunteer at over the summer. Cleaning cages and helping to feed the animals.

What an adventure!

Oy! I'm sewing again!

2011-06-21T13:14:00.000-07:00

This has been a whirlwind!

But I have managed to get some sewing in this week.

Thankfully.

Blissfully.

Finally!

This was May's block for Meg at IMQG. I loved the patterns and colors she had us work with. She wanted a wonky Log Cabin. I'm a little late, but it's been crazy I tell you. Crazy!

Another project I started was a way to tame the scraps!

A scrappy, stringy Ohio Star block. This measures 12.5" unfinished and I love the subtleness of it all. I have a huge tote full of scraps. I'm cutting 2.5" strips and randomly sewing them into fat quarter size pieces and cutting the fabric for the pattern from that. I know I have other things to do, but this was a mindless kick start to get the quilting mojo back into action! It's working and again, I have another new WIP to post on Lee's Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday. So don't forget to go and see what other quiltey people are up to this summer

I've also been working on these:

snowball blocks. LOL See that cute lil' something taking a nap? That, my friends, is Tundra. A male kitty we adopted last week. He's about 6-8 weeks old and the cutest lil' thing! They were having a sale...so we went for the twofer...

and this is Gizmo! She is a tiger calico that has also staked out a claim in the sunroom on my sewing projects. Tundra is a little bit bigger than a Coke can and Gizmo just a bit bigger. She's about 8-10 weeks old. Yes, we are crazy. We've always had multiple cats. The last of our original three passed away a week ago and we decided to adopt kitties while all the boys were still at home and these were the cuties that came home with us.

Hubby sweets and I also attended our niece's wedding. He is my best friend, confidante, counselor, buddy and all around nice guy. Don't know what I'd do without him!

Off to work on more strips for the Ohio Star!

Have an awesome week, my friends!

Edited to add I'm perterbed blogger won't let me log in to leave comments! What is up with that!

The Sweet Life

2011-06-07T18:47:00.000-07:00

Josh graduating from basic. He and his sister, Julie.

Two weeks spent building, assembling and decorating sets for Arsenic and Old Lace for our co-op. Middleman was Dr. Einstein. Bean and Javi were dead men. LOL

Late night jam session after the co-op talent show. These kids are so smart and talented! Middleman in his "hippy" stage in the red shirt.

Middleman out of his "hippy" stage on the left. He played an alcoholic plastic surgeon who is soft and cuddly!

Plus a wedding. Co-op graduation program, niece graduating and then a wedding today as they head off to Texas. Awards programs for Bean and Middleman and last days of school. Javi made the Dean's List.

My cup runneth over.

Humbly thankful.

On the down side, I asked Javi to help me sort through the boys' toys in the sunroom and clean it up. That was three weeks ago and although I did get my machine moved out there, it will probably be time to move it back to the den before I can actually get to it!

No matter. Sewing is always there and these moments in life aren't.

Enjoy and live life with others to the fullest!

Give thanks with a grateful heart

2011-05-23T06:20:00.000-07:00

I can't tell you the weight that's been lifted from my shoulders!

LOL

A happy weight, but I was so afraid I wouldn't get this quilt done by June 2nd.

Mom's next chemo treatment.

I shared it on Flickr this weekend and got so many kind and happy wishes for my mom. Bless you all for making me cry. Cancer touches so many people. It is not a respecter of persons. Age. Gender. Social status. It just doesn't care.

That's where we as people have to.

Care.

To pray. To live where people hurt. To be there for them. To share in their pain. Rejoice in their victories.

Chemo isn't pleasant. You can have chills, itches, aches, pain, hair loss, weight loss...I've watched my mom have all of these. The chemo she's on now deposits calcium in her kidneys. So, kidneystones. LOL She's had one hospital stay and procedure, and will need another in the next few months.

I just got a call from my dad that she's out of the surgery to have a port put in and is in recovery. She should be home later today. Medicine can be amazing!

The name of the quilt is "Thankful". Because even through it all, that's what our family (especially me) is. We've been blessed with time. Time for her to laugh. To watch her grandkids grow and have milestones. Time to see our oldest graduate from high school and start college. Time to watch Middleman grow and mature into a young man she is proud of. Time to help Bean dig up "treasure" in hers and Dad's backyard. Time to just go shopping and out to eat.

I'm also thankful to the wonderful ladies of the IMQG who donated their time and talents to help make the blocks for me. This quilt will be wrapped up in as pretty a package as I can make it and sent along with my mom June 2nd. I'm asking her to give it to the nurses who will then gift it to another patient there to take home and hopefully bring back during their chemo treatments.

This is a nice lapsized quilt. No dragging on the cancer center's floor, but big enough to help keep the chills away. I used just a plain white sheet that had been washed enough times to make it as soft as a cloth diaper. The medicines used can make a patient's skin very sensitive and I wanted somethings as close to soft as a baby's bottom on the back of the quilt. A couple of weeks ago, I found a vintage sheet at Goodwill that I just knew would be perfect for the binding. I didn't cut on the bias, thinking the slanted lines would make an already busy quilt, that much "tiltier". lol Just a meandering quilting stitch used since some of the blocks didn't come back quite square or the same size. That's okay. It's one of the reasons I love quilt so much. They are unique in their creation.

Can you see why I'm calling the sheet the "candy corn" sheet? I'm so pleased to have this project finished and ready to go to its new home. I'm so thankful, that yet again today, God has shown His care and love for my mom and my family.

Enchaned Tas captured beautifully what I'm hoping to give to someone in this quilt, "it screams sunshine, blue skies and love! And I can imagine it drawing in beautiful, fresh air and positive vibes as it sits in this lovely location! I can only hope it delivers the beautiful vibes I see!!"

It's like she saw into my heart and soul.

Thankful for your many prayers and well wishes for us.

WIP Wednesday is Here

2011-05-11T00:05:00.000-07:00

and I just can't tell you how excited I am! All of the ladies who participate just inspire and encourage me to take a look at what's in the "to do" pile and work on something with the goal of finishing it off faster than if I wasn't taking part in WIP Wednesdays.

This week I've been working on quilting the Quilts of Comfort quilt. This is a quilt that when finished, will be donated to a cancer patient at our local cancer center.

Here it is before the outside sashing has been completed and sewn on.

The nurses have told me they will pick out a patient they know will really love and appreciate the thought and wishes behind the quilt. The huge hearted ladies from the IMQG graciously lent their hands and creativity to make the blocks for me in our bee.

Last week I had two requests to showcase a block and a quilt.

Melanie from Sew, Mama, Sew! did a blog entry for them on What's New?~Sewing Trends focusing on color palettes. She asked to use my Vintage meets FMF block for "Sunshine".

I'm so tickled that the block is with other vintagey, quiltey goodness. Definitely good company!

Then, Heather from Modern Day Quilts asked to share the back of the Robert Kaufman challegen quilt on her blog which features one modern quilt a day. There are some fabulous and outrageously gorgeous quilts on there! The diamonds in Bohemian Quilt are just breathtaking!

So for the week, no new fabric bought, but I need thread! lol
No new projects and the quilting on the Quilts of Comfort is coming along nicely.

I've also been able to spend time the last two days outside working in our flower gardens. Splitting hostas, planting perennials, hanging Mother's Day baskets, and tidying up the yard.

A good week all in all.
I'll be joining up with Lee at Freshly Pieced to share my quiltey progress and see what all the other ladies have been up to! You should check out Lee's post on her Mod Times quilt. I love the colors and the tranquility that just oozed from this quilt.

Blessings and springtime blossome to you all!

Birds sing hey ding, a-ding, a-ding

2011-05-05T05:56:00.000-07:00

"In springtime, the only pretty ring time, birds sing hey ding, a-ding, a-ding. Sweet lovers love the spring."

a fave song of mine from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Any one of these lovelies could come and visit at my house!

Brutally Honest

2011-05-04T04:15:00.000-07:00

I stink at certain types of improv.

Really.

No, no. It's okay.

The IMQG bee is in full swing. I have only received half of my blocks back, but I'm hopeful.

I made this block

for the month of April.

This was a block I thought wouldn't require a lot of thought, but it did. Probably doesn't help I had a headache while I was piecing it. Do you see my mistake? Ratz! Off to the cutting board to rip a couple of seams and insert a couple of strips of white. They should be bordering the orange and blue on the two outside sections.

Darn!

I had three finishes in one week. This week, I've managed the block (albeit boogered up) and buying fabric to sash the Stars Over Indiana quilt.

Here's where it was in January of this year. Still not sewn together and a play mat for a very curious cat.

The perfect sashing fabric. From Joann's. Purchased with a 50% off coupon. So I got two yards for the price of one. Yippee! Wish my LQS had coupons like this!

Testing.

Yeah, I like it!

I've been working on the back too.

For the Aloha Quilt

I used a Single Irish Chain for the back.

OMGoodness, how pretty is that! lol I forget what things look like when they're folded on a chair or I'm lying under them.

This is such a happy, fun and easy way to put more bang in your quiltey buck!

Crusin' along. Having some fun with nine patches.

And here they are being pieced together.

I don't think the whole back is going to be this...I'm toying with the idea of morphing the white square in between the nine patches into the blue and green fabrics and switching the five green and blue squares in the nine patches into white. Make sense?

We'll see.

I've been playing around with diamonds lately ( last month) too. In pinks and oranges. I mean, really. What little girl at heart doesn't just love pink and orange together!

And who could resist a couple of love birds?

Where is this project going? I have no idea! But I'm loving the look of the blocks sashed in white!

This week has also been all about

Middleman's Flight Experiment Proposal paper that will be submitted to a panelist of judges in related fields.

He's doing natural food preservatives in space and this paper will go along with several others to be judged, and if it passes, it goes to a national review board who decides which experiment from our community

Avicenna and LLC

will fly on the shuttle Atlantis. Lots of work to do before the paper is turned in though!

Another finish this week was Middleman's (with the boogie board) Lifeguard certification. Lots of hard work and studying, and he passed with high marks and new confidence!

Way to go buddy!

This week also marks an end of Javi's freshman year at university.

Here he is at Gulf Shores last year.

Here's a really good shot of our family I forgot we had.

Can you tell which one is me? LOL

Slowly slogging my way through WIP's with no new projects started. Fabric bought for the sashing of a quilt and other than that...nothing new added. Which is good.

Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday.

So much fun going on over there! Each week I find a new favorite (or two) and get inspired! You should check it out too!

Leaving you with a finish from last week. A WIP off the list. Woo Hoo!

Le Printemps

2011-04-29T05:44:00.000-07:00

I loved taking French in high school.

Vivaldi's The Four Seasons is one of my favorite pieces of classical music.

So, it only seemed appropriate

A bursting forth of glorious colors as the sun rose this morning.

Bleeding Hearts tucking their shy blossoms under leafy green foliage.

Rabbits darting swiftly back and forth across the lawn.

Robins joining the chorus of avian choirs.

Can I just say I love this quilt?

When we were first offered the opportunity to receive free charm packs from Robert Kaufman for a Modern Quilt Guild challenge, I jumped.

Free fabric.

Such beautiful colors.

This quilt measures the size of a generous crib quilt. Just perfect for tucking your feet up under on a still chilly Spring evening while snuggling on the couch.

Thank you, IMQG for the opportunity to create a new favorite!

I'm linking up with Amy at Sew & Tell. Make sure you visit!

Sunshine

2011-04-27T04:16:00.000-07:00

It's been so wet that Noah came here for breakfast and then went to a friend's house in NJ to have lunch.

Sheesh.

So we were glad to wake up to this

this morning! Glorious sunshine and a blooming Crabapple tree.

On the news, they're telling us not to look at the big, orange ball in the sky too long. LOL

On a more serious note, prayers to the families and communites hit hard by the severe weather this weekend and more coming this week.

Well, I finished two projects this week.

The first is a mini quilt for a PIF I'm waaaay overdue on. Sincerest apologies, but so many times the projects I started making for this sweet sister, ended up extremely flawed! Seams way off, extra fabric quilted onto the back.

So, along with some goodies, she'll be getting two mini quilts to make up for so much time having passed.

This is a mini I made when playing with the blocks for the Jack's Chain WIP.

I read in a magazine that it took a quilter three years to complete hers, so I don't feel so bad! lol

I'm working on the Persian Garden quilt back. I had random blocks lying around and while cleaning my sewing area, rediscovered them and decided they needed to be used.

Some diamonds and strings making their way in.

A New York Beauty coming out to play.

Oh, here's another one and

a star and a churn dash that were practice blocks for a bee.

Put them all together and you get

a fair beginning for the back of this.

Persian Garden

I got the idea to stack blocks from a quilt on Flickr, which now, for the life of me...I can't find. Ratz!

I also finished up the Grandma's Dresden Garden table runner. I decided to bind it in the black I used for the center of the flowers.

It's on the coffe tabe in our den for now. I want to make a table quilt for another PIF I owe to a special friend and sweet sister.

So, let's see.

2 Finishes for the week = Yippee!

I have a 12" x 12" area on the Robert Kaufman quilt and I'm done quilting! Then I need to put the binding on and hopefully be done in time for the April 30th deadline the IMQG set.

Still working on:

Quilts for Comfort

Jack's Chain

Stars Over Indiana

and other various and sundry flimsies packed away

Fabric bought this week was a 1/4 yd of the new Denyse Schmidt in the blue/green colorway. This is playing next to the Buttercup fabric in a basket waiting for some more finishes before I start looking for inspiration.

I'm linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesdays. You should see the shower curtain she made! Wow!

Wishing I had time to do this! It's awesome. Stop over and see what other cool, creative and crafty things are going one!

My Cup Runneth Over

2011-04-20T05:22:00.000-07:00

and yet I still whine.

LOL

About Life in general. The state of the Union. The state of the economy. Long hair on a kid. Short hair on a kid. Kids who eat a ton. Kids who take two showers a day. Kids who can't seem to find the trash can. Living a girl's life in a world full of men.

Are you ever like this?
----------

Knowing that this morning, your children and husband woke up in the same house with you. All of them healthy. All of them drug free. Alcohol free. Still waiting for the right one to marry and let the birds and the bees go a-chirpin' and a-buzzin'.

That your husband has a job.

That your college son has a job.

That your high school son pooled his savings and earnings from last year to get a better job at the pool this year.

That your elementary age son is honored for his writing accomplishments.

Your co-op is involved in a once in a lifetime opportunity.

And I still whine.

Sigh.

But I am blessed. Oh so blessed.

I have running water.

Electricity.

Indoor plumbing.

Shelter.

Heat.

AC.

Reliable transportation.

Three meals a day.

Snacks.

A hospital within a five minute drive.
"Brick and mortar" friends and bloggy friends who share their lives with me.

My family is all healthy and safe.

Not everyone is the world today can say that.

So, I am thankful. And trying very hard to stop whining. And to count my blessings when I am tempted to mutter and grumble.

Thanks for listening.

In case you thought there might not be quiltey stuff in here, are you tired of these yet?

Over the weekend, I was able to sew three together to see if I liked them that way. Got to thinking another quilt right now is insane. Maybe in the future. Maybe with Moda's Sunkissed line? I picked up a charm pack a couple of weeks ago. I decided I like them in smaller sized cuts than yardage.

Sew, I made a quilt sandwich with these three, some batting and the leftover Maize Kona from the Robert Kaufman challege quilt. It is now a table runner. LOL You know a girl can change her mind. And then change it again!

The Kaufman quilt was in various stages of destruction. LOL I started straight line quilting and got through several lines before I discovered my thread hadn't stayed threaded properly in the bobbin case. Out came the seam ripper. Our deadline is April 30th. Argh! I'm pleased to say I took some time off from my daily routine to do a little free motion quilting and I'm liking the way it's turning out.

The front of the quilt and...

the back.

Projects started = 0 (dying to start something new to be creative and and avoid drudgery, but trying to finish up some things first!)

Projects finished = 0

New Fabric purchased = 0

(not for lack of trying to get ahold of the new Denise Schmidt line at Joann's)

WIP's include:

the Quilts for Comfort quilt

the Grandma's Dresden Garden table runner

Robert Kaufman challenge quilt

Value quilt

Stars Over Indiana quilt

a PIF mini quilt

bee blocks for the IMQG

Persian Garden quilt

and those are just the ones I have in their little storage boxes on the floor next to the ironing board.

Here's a shot of the table runner a little later in the day.

I straight line quilted 1/4" on the inside of the block and stippled the border. I haven't hand quilted in about 15 years friends. But I got a hankering to try colored embroidery floss around the petals to make the ones that aren't stitched down stand out more. I then quilted 1/4" around the black hexagon center on the petals. I'm really liking the way this turned out. Just need to sew the binding on it, wash it and put it on the table!

I'm linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday. I have had so much inspiration from the other ladies who link up. The SuperNova quilts are so beautiful. It's hard to choose a favorite color or fabric pattern! And so many incredibly creative projects that make me jealous and want to start something new.

Go check 'em out and be inspired!

I'd like to thank Stephanie and Jenny for their sweet comments and awards. I'm going to get a post ready to share with you other bloggy friends and their works that encourage and inspire me to make the world a more beautiful place.

How do I love thee?

2011-04-16T07:10:00.000-07:00

Love=strong predilection, enthusiasm, or liking for anything

I love surfing the internet for inspiration and encouragement in the pursuit of quiltiness. And I am always amazed at how many women (and men) quilt and how beautiful their creations are.

They make me smile.

They make me sigh.

They make me want to run to my stash.

They make me want to compose a symphony in fabric.

They make me want to finish what I've already started.

Loving these lil' Peeps bunnies.

Loving the fruity luciousness of these stars.

Loving the richness of these colors and the way they make me smile.

Loving snuggling up under this one.

Loving the stained glass look of this.

...and I love my kids. Every year there is an essay contest on integrity for the school children in our county. Three essays are picked from each school level (elementary, jr high, high school) with monetary awards and bragging rights (these are more for the mommies-lol). Bean won from the elementary level. We're not sure where he placed (1st, 2nd, or 3rd), but will find out Monday night at the award ceremony. This year's guest speaker is John Rosemund. We are so proud of Bean and his hard work!

Middleman's homeschool co-op will be flying an experiment on the last Space Shuttle mission, STS-135, Atlantis. We are collaborating with a private, Islamic elementary school. Our two schools have formed what is called a "community" in the competition. We are the only community from Indiana participating. We are the only community with a homeschool group. We are the only homeschool group in the program, ever.

We are pumped.

We are excited.

We are a wee bit intimidated.

We are so proud of all the kids!

Javi is finishing up his freshman year and moving on to prepare to take a leadership position in InterVarsity Christian Fellowship USA campus ministry at BSU. It does a mama's heart good to see her child pursue God with a passion. It has always been my prayer for each of the boys.

Thanks for sharing a slice of my life this morning. May yours be blessed!

Basted Away Again in Quilteritaville...

2011-04-13T05:32:00.000-07:00

It's her fault! KT always comes up with an oldie but a goodie for her posts and I sure could use a little Jimmy Buffet right about now!

It's been five days without any sewing. LOL

The machine is out and ready to go...

My walking foot is out, cleaned and ready to go...

Look at all these pins!

This week I was able to go and buy the 2yrds of Kona Maize I needed to finish piecing the back.

About two years I strarted a quilt called Sweet Pea. It was my first paper piecing project and I had no clue what I was doing.

Google truly is your best friend for tutorials.

I made four blocks and then set them aside to make my mom's cancer quilt.

I thought of them when I went to make the back of the Robert Kaufman challenge quilt.

Our theme was Spring and these colors remind me of all the beautiful blossoms right now. Magnolias, tulips, vinca, crocuses, muscari and daffodils.

Here's the inspiration (sorry for the flash spot).

The sashing is really a teal color.

This is a simple quilt, but I really like the way the colors play against each other. It cheers me up when I see it.

I think I'll just straight line quilt it. It's a "modern" quilt and I think any frufrura quilting will only muddy the waters? I don't know.

What do you think?

Bunny hopping on over to Freshly Pieced to get my inspiration on.

Stop on by and be amazed and encouraged by what these ladies are working on!

Decided it would be good to shame myself into a finish.

Projects started this week--0

Projects finished this week--0

Working on--

Cancer Patient Quilt Donation

Persian Garden quilt

Grandma's Dresden Garden mini quilt & table runner

Value quilt

Stars Over Indiana quilt

Jack's Chain quilt

So glad to be able to say the cabinet where I do my "paperwork" for the "farm" is cleaned out and organized. The younger boys' room got spring cleaned this week as well.

Planted some of our seeds early indoors for planting after Mother's Day.

What have you been up to?

Bee Blocks

2011-04-09T10:52:00.000-07:00

Sue from the IMQG sent me a lovely note with the two blocks she made for me. Isn't it amazing what a small world we live in and what things we have in common. I think Sue is a very brave woman!

Thank you Sue!

I also made blocks for the bee. These were finished back in February and piled on by fabric. When I was cleaning out the other day, I found them and they will get in the mail Monday.

These were quick and fun to make!

On the spaceflight experiment front, yesterday, each team submitted at least two hypotheses for consideration. Our group's were about the effect of microgravity on plant roots (how will they know which way to grow?) and on food preservatives (on a molecular level, they use osmosis and diffusion-does this work the same in space as it does here on earth?).

I'm so proud of these kids!

1. Aloha finished!, 2. Three "Arms" done, 3. Front or back?, 4. Breakfast at Tiffany's and Fresh Cotton, 5. PIF, 6. September Snail's Trail, 7. IMQG Block, 8. Gull Fussy Cut, 9. Wonky Log Cabin

Taking a look back at some of my projects from 2010.
(thanks to Rene' for alerting me to my mistake! lol)

Needing to finish up the Robert Kaufman challenge!

Happy weekend!

WIP Wednesday!

2011-04-06T06:59:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, our homeschooling co-op was asked to partner with two other schools (a private Islamic school and an Indianapolis public school) to compete to win the chance to send a science experiment into space on the last Atlantis shuttle mission.

How cool is that!

We've been divided into teams and Middleman was (ahem) volunteered (ahem) to be team researcher. LOL

Ideas have been bursting over heads like little lightbulbs going off.

Food preservatives?

E-coli?

Seedlings in space?

So many possibilities.

Only, nothing flammable.

Gee. Wonder why?

Through the last week, I decided to add a string border to the Grandma's Dresden Garden block. I used this tutorial I found while looking at this flickr photostream.

I've decided to sash them with a solid called Lemon Yellow from Joann's and make it a quilt. It's just not working as a table topper. I have several more Dresdens made and am working on more string borders for them.

On a medical side note, thanks to all who ask how my mom is doing. Sunday night she was taken to the ER by my dad. Two days later, she's home with a stint for a kidney stone. Evidently these are side effects of the chemo she's on. Please keep her in your prayers!

I'm linking up with Lee for WIP Wednesday. I love looking through other ladies' blogs and seeing all the happy, beautiful projects they're working on. They really inspire me to get out to the den and sew even on dreary, rainy days.

My Little Buttercup

2011-03-29T12:31:00.000-07:00

Moda released a new line of fabrics in February and I fell in love with them at our LQS Saturday while waiting for the IMQG March meeting.

I came home with these

beautiful prints! There are very few lines I have to have more than one print or color from. These were just too gorgeous, soft, cottagey and feminine to pass up.

I don't have plans for them yet. I just like looking at them and waiting to be inspired.

This is what happens when you're up late waiting for your college freshman to call you for a ride home from a cultural event. Hubby sweets and Bean had already gone to bed and Middleman had agreed to ride to campus with me to pick Javi up. Well, due to a miscommunication, Javi rode the shuttle bus home and forgot to call and tell us he wouldn't need a ride.

I had been playing around the with whirleygig applique and couldn't quite convince myself to work on it that late at night. I started playing with scraps from my scrap box and my Stack-N-Whack fan ruler. I cut cute little 3" Dresdens and started laying them out in a circle. Didn't like the look of that and intimidated at how big the circle would be and how many I would have to cut.

Laying on my cutting mat was a hexagon from the Jack's Chain wip.

This is what happened when I laid the Dresdens out in a hexagonal pattern.

I pressed a 1/4" seam on the sides of the Dresdens and only appliqued the top ones onto the white. I like the 3-D effect it gives the block. Then I cut out a hexagon that would fit in the middle and appliqued it on.

Voila!

I'm thinking of making four of these blocks and turning them into a table runner for Spring/Summer.

These blocks are fun and fast to make and I definitely see more in my future!

I'm linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday. If you want to be inspired, encouraged and see some fresh, happy projects in the works...head on over!

Sending you happy thoughts and sunshiney weather!

Learning Curve

2011-03-24T19:38:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to learn Paint with the pictures I take.

This is a first try so I can identify and credit pictures I like and store for inspiration.

These are my great-great-great-grandparents.

I'll need to go fix the picture after a phone call to my mom this morning. I didn't have enough "greats" in there!

lol

Okay, I'm diggin' this! I've been looking for a way to edit pictures since I got this new computer. Thanks to Javi for being out so late I need to stay awake to go pick him up!

'Night all!

Random Bits of Quiltey Goodness

2011-03-24T10:55:00.000-07:00

Still looking for this in person before I buy. I have to touch, feel, see a fabric before I commit to it.

I'm just that kinda gal.

Beautiful quilt scammed from cyberspace. Thought it very appropriate for the month of March.

Also shamelessly scammed inspiration.

(if you know who these belong to, can you please leave a comment? I want to give credit and see if they have tutorials! thanx!)

Theresa showcases a super cute skirt on her blog.

Another beautiful small quilt with no identifying quilter. Ratz.

What was I thinking when I scanned them in, but didn't note their origins?

Yum. Yum. Yum!

Cutaway Applique-The Itsy, Bitsy Spider

2011-03-22T07:58:00.000-07:00

Like I don't have enough to do or going on in my world...

On Fridays our homeschool co-op meets and I have about four hours where I can work on something off and on. I clean the "cafeteria" and play "enforcer" for a junior high class during this time. During play practice for the high school students, I get to chat with grown-ups, but hate not having any hand work. (well, okay, there is a crochet blanket for Middleman, but I'm not in the mood right now)

Here's where once again, I prove how insane I am.

Isn't this just the most gorgeous and fun quilt ever!

It's from Quilts with a Spin by Becky Goldsnith and Linda Jenkins.

Found this awesome book at Half Price Books for $5.98/listing price $24.95.

It calls for a technique called "cutaway applique" and has pretty good instructions on how to do this block. This is one time Google is not my best friend. I looked for other tips, hints, how to's or tutorials, and couldn't find any. Bummer. Guess I'm on my own unless any of you know where to find such a treasure.

Okay, so maybe this is too light? lol

You make two templates from the pattern provided in the book. A full template and one of the

shaded only area. I got this!

And voila! There is a nifty, eight legged spider looking thingey that crawled onto the Pat Bravo fabric! LOL

The next step is to trace, carefully, around the template onto my chosen fabric. Which will probably be a light fabric since I can't find my pencil for dark fabrics (wonder where that went? hmmmmm!) and as I'm still in my jammies, I'm not going out just for a pencil.

We never really get a spring break here. Haven't for the last three years. Having kids in different schools (public, private, homeschool and now college) means three different spring break weeks. Add a hubby who is at his busyiest and...well. Last week was BSU's break, this week is public school and next week is private school kid's break.

We're just doing co-op and homeschool work this week and next week we'll take a break from homeschool stuff and just do public and co-op. Make sense? LOL Yeah. I know.

Hope the day treats you well and that Life is good to you!

Quilts for Comfort Sashing

2011-03-17T13:34:00.000-07:00

The ladies at the IMQG made Criss Cross blocks for me. My month was January, and I've gotten enough back now to make up one of the quilts I'm donating to a cancer patient through our cancer center.

I went with oranges and a hint of aqua in this HST block.

I've been waiting for the rest of the blocks to come because originally, I wanted to have two quilts with 12 blocks each. I consulted with my mom about what size quilt she thinks works best when she has her treatment. You can see the quilt I made for her here.

We agreed a lapsize of only nine blocks would be a better fit.

No dragging the ground in the treatment center (yuck!) and not a lot of bulk to wrestle with your IV.

So, out came the boxes of blue scraps to make sashing. I still have two sides to sash, then choose a border, but the sun was shining today and I wanted to get some pictures.

Waiting for the Beanster to finish a page in his book and come help me take pictures outside.

Moda Snippets, Henna Garden, Amy Butler, Heather Bailey, Sandi Henderson, FMF...um too many to remember and name!

All scraps from other projects or quilts waiting to be made.

You can see the side I need to add sashing to. A lot of the blues came from KT and projects she's done through the years. Thanks bud!

When all the blocks come in, I should have at least enough now for two good sized lap quilts with six blocks left over. I will probably make up another three for three quilts to donate. Not to mention other blocks donated by bloggy friends to become Quilts for Comfort for more cancer patients.

Hoping the sunshine smiles on you today too!

Robert Koffman Challenge

2011-03-14T06:09:00.000-07:00

~Sending out prayers for Japan.~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

American Patchwork & Quilting's April 2009 issue browsed through at MIL's house a month or two ago. I had just signed up to receive a free charm pack from the IMQG for the Robert Koffman Modern Quilt Guild Challenge.

Our guild chose the bright pack of Kona solids and gave us a theme of "Spring". There were some questions as to what other fabrics you could use, but general consensus was the sky's the limit.

This is the inspiration for my quilt. It's called Color Cues and when I saw it in the magazine, I just knew this was what I wanted to make.

What a great way to showcase the fabrics and keep in the spirit of "modern" quilting.

Here is what I had accomplished by Saturday. I've since added the borders. I'm not a big teal person and took my blocks to Joann's to audition other colors of Kona for the sashing and borders. I settled on "Maize" and love the brightness that still lets the colors pop.

Thinking maybe there ought to be a flickr group for the challenge...hmmm.
Going to go look if there is right now.

Blessings to you and yours.
Please join Lee at Freshly Peiced WIP Wednesday to check out some other fabulous in the works quilts and projects!

Persian Garden

2011-03-04T13:12:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday, I broke out of my routine and went shopping at Joann's and Hobby Lobby. Just didn't want to go back to the house after dropping Middleman at school.

I found some beautiful fabric at both places that played well together, but I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with them.

A couple of years ago, I bought this book

Quick and Easy Romantic Quilts

Sandy Berry.

I love the designs in this book and made one of them for Javi's graduation. That picture is on my other laptop, but you can see it at the link.

This is another of my favorites I wanted to try.

A variation of a blooming nine patch.

I started cutting fabric last Friday and Saturday KT arranged for she and I to spend most of the day Saturday just sewing at a LQS.

(She's having a giveaway on her blog right now!)

This is my interpretation of Sandy Berry's Anastasia' Dream.

I'm calling it Persian Garden.

It reminds me of one of our Persian rugs! lol

I started out with a purple polka dot in the middle and added the material from Joann's and Hobby Lobby.

You strip piece the 4" x 4" nine patches and blend them with same size fabric blocks. Blending or contrasting as you like. It measures about 61" x 72" inches and will make a colorful and springey quilt to cuddle under.

The black was way out of my color comfort zone. But it's so beautiful!

The light, flowery fabric towards the center was the first fabric I saw and the black, flowery just begged to be paired with it. The pink and blue fabrics I already had in my stash. The paisley, aqua and black on the edges bought to finish out the quilt.

I just finished it today and am already thinking about what kind of a back to make.

Diamonds?

Later that night, KT's family and mine went to Half Price Books in Indy where hubby sweets bought me a new book.

(sorry for the flash, I'm so lame!)

Quilts with a Spin

Becky Goldsmith and Linda Jenkins.

This was one of the patterns that caught my eye.

Along with this one I am dying to try!

Don't they look yummy!

Sew happy I finished up the top so quickly. I was really motivated by the sunshine we had the last couple of days. Except for today. When it was finished and ready for pictures! lol

Thanks to Middleman for braving the height of the coffee table to help me snap a picture.

Here he is with his 15th birthday present. He's been playing and taking lessons since September and amazes me. He plays by ear and has learned to read guitar music. Which, I'm told, is different from other kinds of music...like the piano and trombone he's played.

He's growing his hair out to join the keepers on his soccer team. He would like to keep this year or in the future. Except for one, all the other boys have long hair.

Sigh.

Signing off to go start on the back!

Spring is...well..springing!

Blogging Vampirism....

2011-03-02T07:44:00.000-08:00

is all I seem capable of right now.

LOL

You know, reading through my blog list and totally sucking whatever color, excitement and vitality out of them that I can...

without responding...

without blogging myself.

(disclaimer, I am commenting, just not faithfully as I normally do...I am a commenting freak)

My world is all about gray, brown and white right now. In one week we had school delays for icy roads, snow dumps closing schools and getting out of bed at 2:30 in the morning for tornadoes. Blah! Monday, I needed a boat to get out of our neighborhood.

I do have some perennials starting to peek through.

So I know it can't last much longer.

I am working on a flimsy right now.

In between...well, you know what I do, there's no need to list it.

I have three more months of cab driving and shuttle service before summer vacation kicks in.

I'm working to have it ready for photos to post on Friday since it's spring break for co-op and I will have time to post.

I leave you with this promise of spring...

It's just around the corner!

Who me?

2011-02-21T05:34:00.000-08:00

I can take it or leave it when it comes to celebrities.

I'm not an autograph collector.

I don't gush over Hollywood stars.

Okay.

!!!

I've been tapped on the shoulder by a superstar!

LOL

I'm so pumped right now, I can't stand it.

This has totally made my year!

I'm such a geek!

This beautiful fabric is what caused all this.

It's from Pat Bravo.

Love. Love. Love.

(still excited!)

I've been working on my values quilt

and the Jack's Chain quilt.

See the darker "star" on the right? That's the same fabric-Double Bloom in Taupe.

It's such a beautifully complicated and versatile fabric to work with, I put more of it in the values quilt as I went along. It has so many of my favorite colors all playing along nicely together.

So, here is where I am now. Javi was home Saturday and agreed to help me get a photographic perspective on the overall design. Having a tiny design wall and not much space to walk back for a larger view gets me a little quilter's block.

I am in love with this quilt! It's watercolorish enough for hubby sweets, has the darker colors Javi likes, Middleman thinks it's cool and even Bean

wanted in on the action! LOL

(the cat is just there because she's smaller and catchable!)

I posted pictures on flick yesterday and got an invite to add the Jack's Chain wip to Art Gallery Fabrics pool. Okay. I'm curious. Who's pbquiltartist? And why is she inviting me to her flickr group?

It's Pat Bravo!

OM!

I couldn't add the pictures of the Jack's Chain quilt that I have because it's in too many groups already. So I will have to take more to add. LOL She also commented on the values quilt, so I added that one to the group.

I am a nerd first class. Starstruck nerd I tell ya!

Deep sigh of coolness.

LOL

Excited to share the back of the Stars Over Indiana quilt the ladies at ISQB helped me put together.

I've been waiting to finish this one because I wasn't sure how I wanted the back to look. But I loved the effect of the Single Irish Chain on the Aloha quilt so much

that that's what I decided I would do for this one too.

I'm so glad I listened! This is such a soothing and fresh sight to see when I look at it. Not sure where it's going design wise, but I like it! The nine patches are all 1" squares. Yes, I'm crazy. But then you already knew that!

I'm working on three quilts right now and waiting for the Quilts for Comfort blocks to come in so I can make them into two quilts for cancer patients. My mom is now on maintenance chemo. Once every 4 weeks or so she goes in for a treatment. She is one of the toughest, bravest, courageous women I know!

Thanks for sharing in the excitement with me! Hope your day is a happy one!

Spring?

2011-02-15T04:18:00.000-08:00

Is it ever coming back? LOL

How yummy are these?

Or these?

With a little bit of this thrown in?

(all images courtesy of ebay)

I am so ready for green grass, trees budding out, and warmer temperatures. I'm dreaming of a green St. Patrick's Day! What about you?

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T05:29:00.000-08:00

To all you sweeties out there...you know who you are!

To my hubby muffin...thanks for 22 years of celebrating Valentine's Day together!

I love you!

Mabye I'm just too stupid

2011-02-07T06:39:00.000-08:00

to get why all the weird things that happen around my house...happen?

I offer up for you a typical Monday morning.

A butter knife in the corner cupboard with the macaroni and cheese and instant potatoes.

A sock, rolled and ready to walk on its own lying on a furnace vent in the dining room.

Dishes on the floor in the kitchen. (ok, I know why they're there! meow. woof.)

One lone glove, turned inside out, in the middle of the den.

A headless army man worshipping baby Jesus in the nativity set that's still up from Christmas.

A kid still in bed at 8:00 who should already have had breakfast and be in the shower when I get home from taking kid #3 to school.

Quilting bee blocks that were neatly organized and stacked so I would know who sent what...in three separate piles not anywhere near the identifying envelops they came in.

The lid on the washer up. The load in the washer wondering where the heck the hot water went to.

A gazillion pairs of shoes by the door to the garage.

A kid who over the week had black and blue knees that I iced down...only to find out it was dye from the jeans he had worn sledding the day before. Thankful it came off in the tub.

A bathroom floor that was clean and clear yesterday, piled high with clothes today. Gee. Someone cleaned out their bed?

But, I am thankful for things in spite of my self pity, I hate housework, I'm tired of homeschooling, long hair growing out-on a boy, cats with cancer pooping and peeing, dog just wants to go run in the snow when it's a -5 degree day, I am a living taxi, party.

I am thankful for:

The man who was walking by and helped Middleman push my car back into the driveway after getting stuck backing out of it.

Javi's 19th birthday and safe return from an Intervarsity conference down by the ice-encrusted airport.

Kelsey Koch went home to healing and Jesus.

A job my husband goes to every day that provides for us.

Heated car seats.

A garage.

Three somewhat, well, square meals a day.

A soft and warm bed at the end of the day.

And a cat who found out she can't walk on water. Bean brought Wee-kips to me drenching wet. I checked every possible spill source in the house before coming back to the kitchen to find wet paw prints coming out of the sink full of dishes.

Please, I'm accepting donations from friends and family alike for a mini-vacation to Cancun, Mexico. I hear the weather is great there and that it's a lot warmer there...than here!

Global Warming?

2011-02-02T07:43:00.000-08:00

Well, we've dodged the bullet so far.

Monday night, in preparation for the ice and blizzard coming our way, I made a huge pot of ham and beans and baked some corn bread. I also made a huge pot of potato soup. Two meals we could heat up on the camp stove if we lost power like we did in 2005.

Our neighborhood looked like Bastogne must have looked like after the German shelling. If you've ever watched Band of Brothers...the tops of the trees just exploding and raining down destruction.

We went to bed that night fully expecting a tree to come through the roof. Finally falling asleep, exhausted from the stress. The sound of the branches cracking and breaking from the weight of the ice was nerve wracking. We have huge, old trees everywhere in our neighborhood. I've never seen such a mess, except when we watched those scenes in that miniseries.

Thankfully, we've not had our power company have anyone out of power for a long time. 7 hours at the most is what I've heard. Kudos to the power company crews!

Schools have been cancelled again today. When Bean's school and Middleman's school are out...we don't do homeschool either. And since I cleaned and prepared like a madwoman Monday, I've had time to sew.

I took the Jack's Chain quilt top to the guild meeting.

KT and I had a late brunch. (yes, grits are on the food pyramid and I did find someone who serves them this far north of the Mason-Dixon Line) We went to a sewing machine sales store and they had their machines out for us to use. I'm glad I brought mine because some of the ladies spent a lot more time figuring out their machines than they did sewing. Met some fabulous women and KT and I got to visit a LQS where I added to my Kaffe Fassett collection.

Jack's Chain is a fun block to piece, but I took a slight break from it to try this,

just a simple bow-tie block. I wanted to play with the Kaffe Fassett fabrics so badly. This is out of the box for me normally. But I'm really liking the effect. So does hubby-muffin. That always helps.

Sending us all sunshine, warmer temperatures and tropical breezes!

Finished!

2011-01-26T10:09:00.000-08:00

And I kinda like it!

Too bad it's not staying around here!

LOL

A little table quilt to hopefully brighten someone's day!

A fun project to learn a new quilt block on and accomplish a goal I'm late on. I had originally planned on sending this table quilt

but I had accidentally quilted a scrap onto the back where it would have been too much to pick out all the stitches and fix. So, it now lives on our dining room table under sea shells we collected by the seashore.

Last night we got to take the younger boys to see

the amazing Harlem Globetrotters. Do you think we remembered the camera?

Nope.

Thankfully, a friend whose husband played on the opposing team took some shots and I will nab them from her Facebook page (with her permission).

Okay...here's one and hubby sweets had a stub with a number on it so we can view a picture on their Facebook page of him and Middleman. Middleman is doing his world famous finger spin!

We decided one of our favorite moments was a player putting on a wolfman mask and dancing to Michael Jackson's Thriller. We laughed so hard!

Thanks Daddy!

(and thanks Nancy for the photos!)

Something else I've been working on:

I think I posted on flickr that I wouldn't be making any more of these until, like labor, the pain and frustration had been forgotten.

LOL

You know...I have three children...and I am a determined woman who hasn't met too many challenges that have stumped me for long.

I started a new quilt just to show myself I really could master this block.

I'm not sure I've mastered it, but I have a start that I like. I found some Pat Bravo Paradise Double Bloom Taupe at a family excursion to Indy a couple of weeks ago.

The center star of the quilt is made of this way too beautiful fabric. I then went hunting through the stash to find fabrics that I thought would help give it a scrappy, watercolorish sort of look.

I have a 1 1/2" Humky Dory honey bun that I bought myself for my birthday last year and it's been waiting to tell me what it wants to be. Last week, as I was looking for scraps and stash to add, I realized the dimensions were perfect for the nine squares.

This is a messy quilt, let me tell ya! There are y-seams wherever you go in here and lots of finageling to make seams meet just right. And I have to say, some do in this quilt, and some don't.

But I have learned a lot, added a new block to ones I can sew and hopefully will have another quilt that's unusual and not one you see around much.

Anybody interested in a "how to" post?

Life has been full of helping Middleman write papers for a co-op class. He's a high school freshman, but his teacher is having them do college level work. Woo Hoo! I really enjoy helping him improve his writing and grammar skills. It's not his best subject, but he's making me proud.

We're also reading Shakespeare's Hamlet. We checked out the Kenneth Branagh movie version and it's make a huge difference in helping him understand the scenes and characters. The book we have, also from the library, has quasi cliff notes in it to help explain the language Shakespeare used.

On the Bean front...he'll be representing his 5th grade class in the elementary school spelling bee. He's not quite sure if he wants to go to Washington though!

LOL

I'm spending the rest of the week cutting out fabric ahead of time to take to the Indianapolis Modern Quilt Guild meeting this Saturday the 29th. It will be the first one I've been able to go to and KT and I are having brunch and heading out together. Three hours with other quilters working on projects, swapping scraps (maybe...you know how I love my scraps) and working on this quilt. I just bought some much anticipated frozen pizzas (stuffed crust!) for the boyos to munch on while I'm gone.

Can't wait!

Hope the rest of the week treats you kindly with time to sew, health and smile or two.

This post will self-destruct...

2011-01-17T18:25:00.000-08:00

as soon as my head hits the pillow!

OY!

It all began so innocently.

Some scraps.

A simple nine patch.

Got it.

I'm in control.

Oh look. Another one. Only this one is all about blue.

How cute.

Then...

I was enthusiastic. Energetic. Optimistic.

The whole day ahead of me.

Kid numero uno occupadoed.

Check.

Kid number two distracted.

Check. Check.

Kid number three, quite simply, gone.

Check. Check. Check.

A few weeks ago I came across a beautiful beginning from another blogger.

Jen of ReannaLily Designs had a stunning batch of blocks on flickr.

But if you go to her blog, you'll see much more.

You'll find out just where the Devil is in the details.

There's a handy dandy link to Hell.

LOL

Okay. Maybe not that bad. Or scary.

Oh yeah! It's been every bit of it today as I made this block.

I had wondered why I hadn't seen too many of these hexies on flickr. I mean, it's cute and happy and fun and all...so why wasn't anyone else ~~crazy enough~~

making them?

Probably for the same reason I'm not making any more!

Now...

My back and neck are killing me and I've steamed my fingers into lil' broccoli florets.

Seriously.

It's been a tough, dismally disappointing couple of days.

My hexie table topper I was working on?

I somehow quilted a bit of extra fabric onto the back and stupidly didn't notice until I was sewing the binding onto the back.

How did that happen?

What to do, what to do?

It was going to be a PIF, but now...

(insert a little violin music here please)

Should this lil' fella (we'll call him...oh...say, Roy. Roy G. Biv) be a new PIF to replace the other?

Inquiring minds want to know.

ps.
Javi's in the tan pants!

Sew Much Going on!

2011-01-14T05:21:00.000-08:00

Stars Over Indiana

August of 2010 was my month for the ISQB to send out fabrics and have blocks made for me.

I chose a "cheater star" from the Modify Tradition blog in greens, blues, aquas and browns. See the missing star? Me neither. Somewhere in the hubbub, a star went missing or didn't get sent back to me. No worries! I have lots of fabric and these are easy peasy to put together! A new star is on the sewing table, cut and ready to piece together!

This is the first layout after making up the block to go between the star blocks. I didn't have enough of the original fabric sent out, so I went hunting. Found some way cool scraps that were just the right size to fill in.

I cut up scraps into a 16 square block for a really fun scrappy look. I like the way this is turning out-thanks to all my quilting bee buddies!

I also lost 16lbs during the year (the goal of the bee was to lose weight and be healthier), but gained six back after a reinjury of my "ski" knee. Too many summers playing catcher for our softball team, one too many trips 'round the lake and a big tumble down the slopes a long time ago. You know, the kind where you get to ride the real cool, orange sled down behind the snowmobile?

Princess Wee-Kips decided to take a stroll across the landscape to check out the blocks and offer her opinion. She likes all the stars!

A swee little something for a super sweet lady!

Never mind the strings on the left, they just need to be tucked in neatly and then I'll whip stitch the binding on.

Thanks to KT for showing me an awesome way to maching stitch binding on the front of the quilt with a finished edge to hand sew the back down! Wow!

Revolutionary!

(not to mention it saves all those around you from getting stuck on pins that you've used to pin the binding on!)

I also managed to send out all my fabric for the IMQG bee.

I even maganed to get some vintage in there in the scrappy blocks! Always a plus in a quilt.

Hope this finds you warm, safe and sewing. I'm linking up with Amy's Sew & Tell, Friday Finish (if she has it this week. check out what she's been up to on the family front!).

Quilts for Comfort

2011-01-03T14:12:00.000-08:00

and some catching up on "Thank you's" to share with you today.

First off is a PIF (Pay It Forward) from Paloma. Her blog was one of the first ones I began reading and she was very inspiring in her creations! If you get a chance, you really need to look at what's she's up to!

Could this be any more fun! This pincushion is a treasure I will always keep! The fabric will go to live in my stash and come out to play soon, I hope! The embroidery thread will be perfect for a project I'm working on and Easter is right around the corner...yummy cookies ahead!

Thank you Paloma!

Next, a huge thank you to Madeline for the cutest Christmas card EVER! and a fun stamp that will come in handy for Christmas projects next year!

Can you believe how awesomely appropriate they are!

LOL

December's block for Solidia of the ISQB group. She's making a scrappy Criss Cross quilt and I just loved her fabrics and the look of the block! Sew much fun to make!

Isn't this a great block! Lovin' all those fun, fabulous fabrics!

Solidia's block is the inspiration for my block for January and the IMQG bee that's going on. I've shared the orange quiltey goodness I've been hoarding and now it's time to use it!

I'm debuting the first blocks for my Quilts for Comfort projects.

My mom's an awesome inspiration. Her mental attitude and spirit through 5 years of cancer is amazing!

I've been honored and blessed to sit and visit with her during some of her chemo treatments at the local cancer center. Sometimes, it's a very hard place to go to.

As part of the treatment, patients receive Benadryl (or something similar) to help them tolerate the drugs better. This can produce chills and being cold while they're there.

What better way to stay warm than with a quilt!

The instructions for this block end up giving you 32 HST blocks. You only use 16 for one large block, which means I can have two made pretty quickly once the blocks come back. I'm only asking for each lady to make one block and to send back the other HST's so I can put together a second one easy peasy.

In with the oranges, I added some aquas to soften up all that orangey warmness.

I love orange and aqua together. I had so much fun collecting these fabrics from quilt stores all over Indiana and it's even more special because some of the fabric is from a win way back from Rene. Another awesomely talented blogger you must visit!

Okay, I've used all my brain cells taking pictures, catching up, writing and trying to keep things straight. I will leave you with the Christmas gifts KT made for me. A housewife, a reusable shopping bag and (not pictured) a rice muff made of the same loverly material to help my hands and feet when they get cold. Unfortunately, Lady climbed up on a chair and knocked over the laundry basket my muff was in and ate some of the rice. KT has promised a repair job when I remember to bring it back to her.

Thanks KT for such beautiful, girley, fun gifts! You know when my birthday is, right?

Did I mention the shopping bag doubles as a cat carrier?

Wee-kips!

We've discovered she likes to take car rides and visit her Mimi. She snuggles up on my current crochet project and takes a little "cat" nap on the way!

On a sad, but better note, Peek-A-Boo had a horrible bleeding incident last week. All over the stairs, the downstairs carpet and tile. She looked like a gunshot victim. We took her to the vet and he's pretty sure her tumor is cancer. We didn't opt for the test, because it doesn't matter to us...we wouldn't want her put down unless she was really suffering. They said she was in great condition for a 20yo cat. She's eating and drinking well and not in pain. We bandaged her up and brought her home. She's had an antibiotic shot and we're nursing her through.

I'm adding a link to Amy's for Sew & Tell Friday and these pictures of the Aloha quilt to share.

Finished since the last Sew & Tell!

Blessings to you all!

The "No Feet" Post

2010-12-31T14:09:00.000-08:00

~~Cheapo~~ Fiscally conservative that I am...

I'm not willing to shell out moola for a picture of bare feet walking a path.

Which is what I wanted to end the year with.

The thought of me walking into the next 365 days.

Not knowing what they will bring.

But being thankful for each one.

Mostly, thankful for family and friends (this means YOU!) that walk the path with me or are walking another way and we intersect here and there.

Wishing you a Happy New Year!

Turning the Corner!

2010-12-27T12:30:00.000-08:00

My favorite day of the year just passed.

The winter solstice!

From now on, it will stay lighter just a little bit longer each day.

That means spring is on the way!

Trying to catch up on all the bloggy goodness that happened at Christmas. I love reading about the traditions and memories families and friends kept and were making!

Hubby luv took the week of Christmas off for vacation. The boys enjoyed having him home. Javi is on a three week break from classes and Bean and Middleman are off this week still. Friends over today to kick bootay on the XBox!

Some exciting news at our house! We've adopted! LOL

Please welcome Wee-kips to the family with us.

Here she is just waking up from her mid morning nap. Not to be confused with her early morning or late morning nap.

Wee-kips was an outside kitty at KT's country home. She has some issues due to what they think were either being hit by a car or attacked by a larger animal. They live in coyote country and Wee-kips just showed up at their house late summer/early fall. She also has something not quite right with her jaw as in head injury?

She is the most docile, loving, cuddly kitten in the world. Lady and Peek-a-Boo are adjusting. Speaking of, Peek has had a couple of instances where what we think is a tumor has burst. It happened again this morning and we've decided that taking her to the vet would probably kill her (does not do car rides at all!) and the vet would either suggest putting her down or a treatment she might not survive anyway.

We've decided to keep her here at home and let Nature take its course.

Among some other fun, quiltey things, I finished the Aloha Quilt.

This is the back. The two tall people helping me were Javi and his friend Josh. Thanks guys!

This is the front. I quilted straight stitch around the pinwheels and a meandering stitch on the large, floral print. Just a thin edge for the binding. I wanted to get better pictures, but the guys were needed in the family room to kill aliens!

Okay, not quite caught up on everything, but I feel better just reconnecting with blogland.

Hard to believe another year is almost here! I don't do resolutions, because I usually break them. LOL

Wishing all a Happy New Year!

Friday Finish-Lazy Butt Blues

2010-12-10T05:11:00.000-08:00

I live in Cornville, USA.

Our nightlife is eating out and trips to Wal Mart.

LOL

I do, however, belong to the Indianapolis Modern Quilt Guild. I'm not sure why they let me in since I've never been to a meeting.

When you have kids, who have soccer, school, germs etc, you find your availability is a teeny bit constrained by them.

It's okay though. 'Cause I love them!

Anywho...

Karen's block for November.

Where did November go?

Oh, yeah.

LOL

So, tonight was the night to get up off my lazy duff and do some construction!

She asked for houses with block measurements in multiples of threes. Mine ended up 12.5 x 12.5".

I have learned not to try and quilt after a chemo treatment for my mom. LOL

The brain disengages at the parking lot of the cancer center and I'm not exactly sure when (or if) it will decide to start functioning again tonight. I loved the colors and fabrics she chose. Not ones I would normally pick, but I loved the way it turned out. That's what I like about the bees, you get to be out of your comfort zone and play on the wild side! The orange strip at the bottom is for all the brick roads we have in our town that I just love.

I originally was going to try and do a block of my house......but.....ahem. Simple really is better!

You can see incredible, inspiring and beautiful pictures on our flickr group!

Mom's doing well. She's experiencing some of the side effects of one of the drugs. Bless her heart, she's a trooper. She brought her knitting (she's making a prayer shawl for the church) but they vampired her and the iv was in the way.

Here's to a safe weekend for those traveling on the coming snow!
Here's to a better weekend than me for those who live a little bit more south and warmer!
Brrrrr!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our soccer coach's family is in serious need of a miracle.

http://www.kjkdancingthroughtherain.blogspot.com/

Would you please lift them up in prayer over the next few days?

This Week's Finishes!

2010-12-01T06:57:00.000-08:00

One reason I hate snow is that it's usually there because it's cold. Too cold to go outside and take decent pictures of anything!

Madeline's block is finished. I think I like it on point as much as not. When I made the "Dove" in the middle, I just kept thinking bikini top or owl eyes. 'Cause what you don't see are the curved sides on this flower. LOL I'm glad it got sewn into something a little less crazy!

Both blocks together. Funny, the solid one looks larger in dimensions than the scrappy one. My points aren't quite like I would like them on this bottom edge for Madeline, but no amount of finageling would fix it!

Grrrrr.

Over the last few months, I've been stashing away orange fabrics with the intent of making a quilt for a cancer patient at the center where my mom takes her chemo. I'm saving up blue as well (you can kinda see it on the left). I'm thinking a HST one about the size of a large lap quilt, less than a twin. Cancer patients receive Benadryl (or a form of it) when they take their chemo and this, along with the other drugs, can make them experience cold and chills.

I'd like to give a little warmth back into the world.

Happy, sunshiney, warm colors!

I'll be working on the November block for Karen for the IMQG bee. She asked us to make house or building blocks (which I cannot copy and save the examples she sent, ratz!) in such vibrant, colorful fabrics! Need to do a little planning on this one.

Carppy, crappy picture. Here is what I've gotten done so far on my Lone Star quilt. I started it at my mom's right after her latest chemo. Dad was in the hospital and we didn't want her to be home alone during her "sleepy" weekend.

This is a QuiltSmart, fusible interfacing pieced project. I've been wanting to do a Lone Star for a long time after seeing one at my LQS. KT and I wrangled our broods and hubbies together in their "many" van on a Saturday and went together for some therapy. I was going to buy the strip method pattern, until I saw this

pattern could be done on the fusible interfacing. It's exactly like English Paper Piecing! The seams fit together wonderfully! The hardest part is figuring out what fabrics and colors you want to use.

Very much worth the money to buy the interfacing and do it this way, especially since this is a first time trying this pattern. I have a better feel for how things go together and where to place fabrics. I will definitely be doing this one again. I just wish the pictures were better, but it's bleak, gray, white and cold outside. Which, as you know, means dark inside! Blech!

And it is that time of my life where my 5th grade student will be showcasing his burgeoning talent.

Ah yes!

Bean originally began with the French Horn. But, it was difficult to play and gave him headaches. Go figure!

So, he moved on to a trumpet like instrument called the cornet.

Much smaller, not as loud.

Yay!

Hope you all have a great day, despite whatever weather you're having. If it's sunny and warm where you are, book me a flight and I'll come visit! If not, I feel your pain!

P.S.

An update on my mom and dad. Dad came home Monday from the hospital and is settling in nicely at home with things getting back to "normal" (if there ever is such a thing!). Mom had her doctor's visit yesterday and will need two more chemo treatments and then will be on a maintenance chemo treatment once a month.

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers. That was a very long three weeks!

P.S.S.

Don't forget to check out Amy's blog for Sew & Tell's Friday Finish!

Scrappy Star Block

2010-11-24T13:10:00.000-08:00

This last weekend I got to share with my mom at her house. She has a "sleepy" weekend where she watches a little tv, putters a bit, eats and then naps. All day long. LOL We drove up to see my dad and I got to spend some time working on a new project which I don't have pictures of yet.

Madeline asked us for a block called "Dove in the Window". My month has been so full, today was the first day I could sit down and devote a morning to reading the instructions and piecing a test block.

I rummaged through the scrap bag for beautiful blues. This is a 9" unfinished block that can be found here.

The little center pieces will make you burn your tiny fingers when pressing with steam! Yow!

But it's complete and will be going in the mail after the holiday, along with a special package for a special bloggy friend.

Dad remains in the hospital until at least Monday. We will surely miss him on Thanksgiving day and for dinner Saturday.

On a hugely happier note, my mom's CA125 count is down within normal. Which means the chemo is working. She'll have one more course and hopefully be done!

Wishing you all a blessed Thanksgiving and sharing with you three of the things I'm most thankful for: