In Awe of Applique

Jumping on the Bandwagon

2011-10-29T02:18:00.000-07:00

To bring you my entry for the Fall Blogger's Quilt Festival hosted by Amy's Creative Side. First of all, thank you Amy for organizing this twice a year event and thank you to all the sponsors that donated prizes! It's always fun and inspiring to gaze at all the quilts that are entered and read their corresponding stories...when I checked my blog today after work, there were already over 200 entries!

Not one to be left out, I sat down at the machine this evening after dinner and finished quilting my entry around 8pm..Fast forward a few hours and it's now almost 1:30 in the am on the West Coast and this bit of quilty loveliness is all bound and hanging on the design wall. So, here I am, almost 2am on an early Saturday morning, full of creative energy and well, doesn't it just make sense to take the time to blog about it now, rather than wait until (later this) morning? My DH would totally disagree with this rationale, telling me that we creative peeps are lunatics to stay up so late to finish a project...all while toddling his way off to the bedroom to go to bed! What can I say? I'm a nightowl and one must take advantage of creative energy while it's flowing, right?!

Okay! Now, onto the story behind the quilt...Once upon a time (hey! I'm getting punchy here...give me a break!) I started and finished the top to this quilt for a coworker's (Jackie) baby shower back in early August (another late-night adventure) using the tutorial by Oh Fransson! A week or so later, a beautiful baby girl was born on August 8th, while my family and I were celebrating in Montana my Mother-in-Law's 60th birthday AND mine and my DH's 20th wedding anniversary. Sometime in September I got around to piecing the back, sandwiching and pin-basting it, started the quilting and... lost my momentum. It had a little (well a lot really) to do with an emergency trip to Montana for less celebratory reasons and more recently yet another trip to Montana for my Mother-in-Law's funeral. So here we are almost a month later...let me add here that I didn't finish the quilt just so that I would have an entry, but more so, because Jackie is coming back to work on Tuesday and well, between the two, it was just the push I needed to get it done! She brought her beautiful girls into the office on Wednesday and I got some snuggle-time with her newest addition, who was smiling and cooing and smelling all baby-like....ahhhhh, life renewed!

What have I learned in making this quilt? That puckers in the backing continue to be a nemesis for me! I'm hoping that they will blend in after it's washed an machine dried, but if not... Jackie's Mom is a fellow quilter, Jackie understands the quirks come with all things handmade...I know that this quilt will be well-loved and well-used. Furthermore, I love the bright colors, it was fun, quick and easy to make and I would definitely make another one (in fact, I have the fat quarters set aside on the ironing board!)

So here it is...take into consideration, the hour at which the photo was taken...I just couldn't wait until tomorrow to get this posted...well, ahem, so I guess it is tomorow, being 2-something now in the am...uh, that would be my cue to put my weary self to bed...good night all! Good morning...again! I couldn't leave y'all with that awful photo from last night on the design wall...here are a couple more artistically pleasing shots taken outside...thought you might like to see the back as well!! Enjoy your perusing of all the lovely quilts...I am off now to do that myself

Revelations

2011-10-12T22:08:00.000-07:00

It was another hard, sorrowful week. My Mother-in-Law Linda passed away on Tuesday, October 4, 2011. Her funeral was this last Monday, the 10th at the Belgrade Baptist Church. My family and I hopped in the car and made the long, 9 hour, 545 mile journey to Belgrade, Montana, traveling with my husband's cousins and aunt. Though the journey's purpose was mournful, we had a good time texting, making facebook posts and drag-racing along the way. We arrived and helped assemble poster-boards full of photos taken throughout the many years of Linda's life, we had a campfire in the back yard and visited with not-often-seen relatives and as a tribute to her, I made a floral arrangement full of the flowers that she loved, sunflowers, roses, carnations, gladiolas and her favorite of all...butterflies. We attended the memorial service and listened for an hour as many in the congregation shared stories of Linda and how she touched their lives. Pastor Curtis's eulogy was more of a reflection on Linda's Bible study notes and how, despite the disappointment of the certain death she faced, Linda still read scripture and studied God's word in search of meaning...one of the last things she told me is that everything would be alright and to read my Bible...and I mean to do just that (I have been lax in that department)

I learned many things during those 4 days, some of them disappointing as many of you I'm sure can identify with, given the nature of people...I learned that a wife and a mother can't possibly console a husband and 2 young men at once (even worse is that my boys are impossibly tall, which makes hugging difficult) that it's beyond heartbreaking to watch your children experience life-changing loss, knowing that you can't begin to comfort them or take away the pain they are going through. That Linda was a woman of deep abiding faith despite what had to have been a huge disappointment to learn that she was losing her fight against leukemia and lymphoma. Despite that disappointment, she still was eager to let you know that she wasn't afraid to go, that she knew her Lord and Savior AND most important of all, she wanted her friends and family to know Him too...which brings me to the real purpose for this post.

Bible study...

As you can see, I was given a Bible by my church when I should have gone through Confirmation in 7th grade. In high school, I became a Christian and started reading the Bible, even taking a class my senior year called Bible as Lit. We read through the entire Bible as if it were common literature, this was back in 1982-3 and you could still recite the pledge of Allegiance but any Bible study had to take place off-campus. I attended those weekly studies and have attended church over the years, but still am left with a burning question of how does one go about studying God's word???...this is where YOU might come in...is there a certain book that you would recommend? I've known enough to read a Proverbs and a Psalm a day. I've listened and read Joyce Meyer and Joel Osteen's tv show and podcast, but still that curiosity remains...WHERE to begin? I am open for suggestion on where to begin this journey...

On a quilty note, I hope to regain the creative spirit soon...there's much to finish; ome small section of machine quilting on a baby quilt for a sweet little miss born in (cringe) August, the camper quilt, one more section of large stitch hand quilting on the bento box swap quilt, some stitches to pick (and re-cutting a couple of rectangles that I just didn't pay attention to the proper size) on the portrait gallery quilt, courage to either lop off the edges of some hexies or hand sew the borders on my Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt and do some applique on the final large border...yes, I so need to get out of my funk and get motivated!!!

Saying Goodbye

2011-10-02T19:19:00.000-07:00

It's been a rough week, and for as rough of a week as my family and I have had, it's been a lot worse for my dear Mother In Law Linda. She has battled Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia for 15 years and Large Cell Diffused Lymphoma for the last year or so and now, her fight is ending. Hospice has been called in to make her last days comfortable, my husband's cousin Amy (who was a bridesmaid in our wedding 20 years ago) has flown in from Boise, Idaho to be her constant caregiver (it's what she does for a living) and we couldn't have left her in more capable and loving hands. It became evident that chemo wasn't working, so we (my DH and sons) packed our bags and headed to Montana to give my F-I-L Mark and S-I-L Connie a break. It turns out that we were fortunate enough to spend the last lucid days that Linda would have with her and my In-Laws. It was the hardest and most blessed week that I have ever had, sharing last moments and conversations with her. But, saying goodbye and watching my DH and sons say goodbye and struggle with emotions about ripped my heart out! Oh, if I could only take that pain from all of them, I would bear it myself in a heartbeat, just to save them from the agony of it all! After phone calls from family tonight, it seems that the end is very near and I pray that it is, that she would finally be at peace and without pain. That is my prayer for her... 2 Timothy 4:6-8 comes to mind when I reflect on her iminent passing..."For I am already being poured out as a drink offering and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing." I love you Linda Hall, may you rest in heavenly peace until we see you again...

Blogger's Quilt Festival

2011-05-14T11:28:00.000-07:00

My entry for this Spring's Blogger's Quilt Festival is this baby quilt that my friend Patty commissioned me to make for her soon-to-be grandson Eli. I was a bit apprehensive about making a quilt for someone and being paid for it, I had never done that before, so of course I was more than nervous. What if she didn't like it? That is always in the back of my mind whenever I make something for someone, which in every case up until now has always been in the form of a gift for that person. Somehow, being paid just upped the antey...I know that many of you quilt on commission, so my story isn't all that unique, but I haven't had a lot of luck making things for or with the peeps with whom I work. Putting that aside, I decided to give it a go anyway and she absolutely loved it (phew)! It was a fun quilt to make, the tutorial can be found on Moda Bake Shop's website...I ADORE the colors, it went together easily and quilting was a breeze, but best of all, Patty AND her daughter loved it...that is worth more than any money I might have made. Go check out all the other entries, but set aside some me time...there's a bunch of beautiful quilts as always!!!

A Day Late?...Maybe, but I'm a Happy Mom just the same!

2011-05-10T10:38:00.000-07:00

About noon on Monday, while attempting to fish at a place not very near here, the phone rang. It was my OB calling to tell us to stop what we were doing and get our fannies down to John Day. He, my parents and another fishing buddy, affectionately named "Brucie" couldn't seem to keep a pole in the water for all the fish they were catching. In essence, they had caught 5 adult Chinooks and a Jack and lost or had to release 10 more, which is a beyond-awesome day of fishing! Each person is allowed 2 adults and 4 Jacks (but once you catch your 2 adults, fishing is over for the day for you)
Being an obedient sibling, we loaded up and headed South!
Upon arrival, we disembarked the vehicles, said our hellos and the next thing heard was the clanging of a bell and sweet music to my ears when my OB yelled "fish on"!

There was a lull in the activity for about an hour and a half...some napping occurred (that's my Daddy and OB) more quilting was done on the Modern Bento Swap quilt, the second section is all but finished...a barge went by and DH caught one!

After that excitement, a sucker was caught, a sturgeon was hooked and cut free before it peeled all the line off the reel and Brucie hooked into and fought about a 35lb wild fish that had to be released, then it was time for dinner and the trip home. All in all, a VERY good day of fishing!!! Sadly, the season ends today for Springer season below John Day, but I couldn't be happier with the late Mom's Day fish!!!

Can you guess what's on the menu tonight??? That my friends, is heaven on the bbq!!!

The Good News and the Bad News

2011-05-08T19:27:00.000-07:00

First let me preface with saying that yes, I know that today is Mother's Day, but if you haven't realized it by now, I'm a pretty non-traditional Mom. This being said, my day did not start with breakfast in bed, surrounded by my boys and DH...(yeah, that would NEVER happen...and I'm fine with that). Nope, my day started when the alarm blasted into my consciousness at the unbelievable hour of 3am (yes I did say 3). DS1 and DS2 bought me roses and chocolate last night when they came home from the rodeo and that was a complete surprise, but I digress...

It's Spring Chinook season on the Columbia and Snake Rivers and there are, according to the fish counts, thousands of fish going over the dams. In layman's terms that means that it is supposed to worth getting up uber early to go "plunking". We arrived @ 4 and there were already people there! The bad news portion of my story is that out of 15 people along the banks in our area only 1 fish was caught and it was wild and had to be released. This is what they are supposed to look like:

The good news is that due to the lack of any fish biting/ catching/ netting excitement I was able to get ~~some~~ a lot of hand quilting done on my modern bento swap quilt, off and on about 7 hours worth! The other good news is that it wasn't quite warm enough for any rattlesnakes to make an appearance!!!

What I've been doing instead of quilting

2011-05-01T14:23:00.000-07:00

There's been quite alot of this....

Practices on Wednesday evenings and a game

or two every Saturday and me w/o a portable project!

Not that one could concentrate with all that action going on, but it would be nice to occupy the endless between game times.

Besides, this is what my sewing area looks like at the moment...not exactly inspiration for creativity is it?

There have been fundraisers.

Terra, the beautiful redhead to the right of the podium and two of her classmates took upon themselves for their senior projects the goal of purchasing 25 thirty-two inch plasma tv's for the pediatric oncology ward at Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane. Unbeknownst to me, but chemotherapy affects the eyesight of patients, making images on a small screen a blur. Since many children who are being treated for cancer are in the hospital for weeks at a time, Terra's goal was to make the passing of time a little more pleasant.

The monetary goal was $15,000. With the help of the Tri City Optomist Club, the generosity of many, many local business and the overwhelming support of those who attended the silent auction and dinner, the total donations came in at an unbelievable $30,000!!! The girls and I in our office (Terra's Mom Shelly is one of 5 clerks in the office) helped out collecting bids, counting all that $$$ and checking folks in.

Earlier in the month, my husband and I attended another fundraiser for a good friend, camping cohort and coworker of DH's, who recently discovered that he had testicular cancer. Grant is a trooper for the Washington State Patrol in the Kennewick Detachment and the vibrant husband and father to Heather and their precocious son Logan. After it was discovered that he had cancer, surgery was quickly scheduled to remove the affected area, it was then that his lab work came back to reveal two more cancers! So in March, he and his family went to the University of Washington hospital for a more complicated surgery that left him with a scar that reaches from chest to groin and down both thighs. He is currently cancer free, recovering well and due to return to light duty soon. The local FOP sold wristbands and had a spaghetti feed in his honor and has raised several thousands of dollars to help defray expenses for Grant and his family. I had the honor of snapping this photo of his squad sporting their wristbands!

And last but not least, I had the pleasure of photographing the Every 15 Minutes Program at Riverview High School. My photos were then converted into a slide presentation set to music for the assembly the next day to bring awareness to the young people in high school of the very real tradedy of drinking and driving. Oh my gosh it was an emotional 2 days! If I can get my hands on some of the pictures or better yet, the slideshow, I will try to share that with you. But in the meantime, my former Lieutenant loaned me is Canon EOS digital SLR to play with!!! I am completely in love with it and will be plotting the next bank heist in order to purchase one for myself!!! (disclaimer...any mention of bank robbery in this blog is COMPLETELY for humor-sake and is NOT intended in ANY form of premeditation should a local financial instution become the victim of any such heinous crime) Anyways, let me leave you with a few more inspiring photographs and I hope that you enjoy the remainder of your weekend!

Weekend Fun

2011-04-15T23:39:00.000-07:00

My DH and I were scheduled to take off for Portland Friday after I got home from work at 5. In all his great wisdom, Mr InAwe talked me into taking a vacation day so that we could leave earlier and I'm so glad that I did! It was a gorgeous warm spring day, perfect for a leisurely drive through the Columbia Gorge and we had an agenda...He wanted to stop below John Day Dam to see if anyone was catching salmon and I wanted to snap pictures...after his stop, we went to the Maryhill Museum, wandered around admiring the vast art collection (it wasn't until I snapped my last photo that I was informed that they don't allow flash photography...BIG oops on my part...does that make me uncultured?) Anyhoo...there were displays of gilt furniture built by Queen Marie of Romania who dedicated the museum back in 1926, I have always been fascinated by icons, there is something about the face of the virgin Mary, that is so dreamy, introspective and ethereal that it has always intrigued me.

There were sculptures by Rodin and a huge collection of Northwestern Native American artifacts, baskets, handmade tools, headdresses, baby bundling boards, beadwork, trade beads and handcarved items...just fascinating stuff.

There was an occasional dam, a picturesque barn ...just total eye candy along the way! And of course, what trip from Washington to Oregon would be complete without a stop at Multnomah Falls, after braving the congestion of the parking lot, of course?!!

The weekend was a complete success, I found Trader Joe's, bought cases of wine (okay 2), yummy (you can't find that kind where I'm from) hummus and pita chips, experienced the Hollywood District of Northeast Portland....

Where at Trader Joe's (a much prized destination only enjoyed in the Western region of Washington State ...ahem, I live in DEEP Eastern Washington)...I saw a bumper sticker that read, "keep Portland weird"...the unvoice question was answered upon the arrival at our next stop, Safeway, where in the parking lot, there was a circa 1980-something black hearse being loaded with groceries by, none-other-than a midget decked out in goth-attire and his/her (I say she was female, DH insists he was male...I suppose it was anybody's guess...as I tried to as-politely-as-possible not to stare-but so wanted to take a picture with the phone camera) yes, you can say total culture shock, it's quite appropriate here, but funny nonetheless! I even subjected DH to my maiden voyage of Fabric Depot. He was pleased to find that they had a "man cave" and I was completely in awe/smitten/overwhelmed by the fabric choices! I was informed upon checkout (by DH, not the staff) that I had spent 90 minutes (is that all?!) browsing...he so, doesn't realize how lucky the budget faired by my only spending $51....really!!! (thinking there should some sort of award here for ultimate restraint) Perhaps now is a good time to mention that DH's choice of preferred retail therapy was to peruse the fine establishment known as Camping World, just so you know that it wasn't all about me!

It's Getting There

2011-03-21T19:50:00.000-07:00

Progress is slow, but this was never meant to be a race to get it done kind of project. More so, it's been something that I've savored along the way, enjoying the process of handstitching...of sitting around the campfire chatting and sewing...of sitting in the car, listening to the radio on a roadtrip when the scenery is boring and the conversation has begun to dwindle (or when they are talking boy-stuff) I've developed quite the callus on my middle needle-pushing finger too and my fingers fall asleep more than I would like them to, but I'm enjoying the whole process. It's getting there, I can just about see the finish, I'm working on the borders now, so my thoughts wander to what kind of flowers I'm going to applique on the final border and should I machine or hand quilt this one? There was a kind lady at the quilt show over the weekend who was handquilting with a hoop on a vintage GFG, it was fun to pick her brain, asking what kind of batting she used, how slack or taught the quilt should be in the hoop, how she knotted the thread when she reached the end of a length. The kind of questions that (for me anyway) that can only be answered by watching someone do it instead of trying to figure it out for myself with pictures and/or instructions on paper...in fact it inspired me to finish up the left-hand border that night and though it's not quite a "ta-da!" moment, I think that you'll agree that I've made quite a bit of progress...in fact, I think that I'm in love with this one!

My Saturday Inspiration

2011-03-19T19:41:00.000-07:00

The area where I live in Washington state has two local quilting guilds that every March co-host a show and vendor's market at the Three Rivers Convention Center. I've attended the last four or five years where I spend an hour or three happily wandering the aisles of quilts, contented to snap pictures at my little heart's content. This year was no exception, except that my DH accompanied me (bless his heart) instead of a dear co-worker who is my usual companion...alas, poor Kim went on vacation to Southern California for the Christmas holidays, injured her foot badly while there, is still hobbling around on crutches and hasn't returned to work since!

There were many lovely quilts, wonderfully made and to-die-for quilted (it is on my bucket list to actually enter a quilt in this or any show for that matter) but the quilters here don't seem to embrace the "modern" quilting designs which really excite my eye. Still, I had a wonderful day, gazing at them, snapping pictures for inspiration and dodging everyone else there who was doing exactly the same as I...which is probably at this point in my happy tale that I should apologize...that while dodging said peeps, my photo angles and the composition of those photos suffered along with my patience in getting a nice photo for you to view!

The first two that you see above, are right up my alley colorwise,vibrant and exciting. I'm loving orange at the moment as a new favorite color, but pink,pink and pink will ALWAYS be my go-to color of choice! Last year, Judy Niemeyer was the featured artist, I soooo admire her work, would die and go to heaven to take a class of hers (as intimidating as that might be...) and so, that remains on my to-do list of quilts yet to be made as is the lonestar quilt, like the one above!! I love the fussy-cut flowers that circle the inner star...yummy!

I have yet to attempt much of anything with black as a focal color, but love the way that the blue green and purple just pop!

I love this one with retro prints, appliqueed and embroidered...it reminds me of Grandma's house.

Since I have a house full of hunters, myself included (hey, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em I always say...and if it means that I am out hiking and enjoying the beauty of God's splendor, well then it's a lot more enjoyable than sitting in camp and doing the breakfast dishes!) I (and my DH) admired this one...

Not exactly my color scheme, but the design is wonderfully geometric and I have to admire someone who would cut all those tiny pieces of fabric, on purpose!

Hexagons...need I say more?! I can't seem to get over my love of them : )

And polka dots....love, love, love them too!!!

Things are beginning to come together

2011-02-20T22:43:00.000-08:00

I have a couple of projects in progress at the moment as I'm sure many of you are familiar with and in the same boat. I am quite happy to report that all 36 qayg squares are now finished and a row is assembled. Originally, this endeavor was begun with the intention of making a quilt for the double bed in the bungalow (the affectionate term for our camp trailer). Upon auditioning it upon the bed in my room (which is a queen) it occurred to me that a quilt in the camper would only be used a few months out of the year, why not make it big enough to be used in the master bedroom? I am super excited to get it put together, it looks amazing and I am mostly happy with the way the squares have turned out. There will be a bit of tweaking to be done when assembling the rows, some of the last rounds of the squares are a bit skinnier than is pleasing to my eye, but we shall see how it looks as I go along, I am being totally flexible on this one and am not opposed to ripping anything out if things don't look quite right.

Here are just a few of the 36...I absolutely LOVE the bright colors and I think that I've mentioned before that my hubby picked out the center motif fabric on Equilter.com. He has been kind of cute, allowing me extra sewing time by making dinner and doing the dishes and clean-up after the meal...I truly am a VERY lucky girl in that department! With salmon fishing and the first official camping trip of the season closing in quickly, I do need to get busy getting this put together. I have yet to find appropriate backing fabric and have found some fun western and camping fabrics on Equilter, but I really do prefer backing my quilts with flannel...we shall see.

On another front, here is a preview of the handquilting on my Modern Bento Block Swap quilt. I am trying large stitch, without a hoop, perle cotton, quilt it in sections quilting...something totally new and hopefully easier than trying to hand quilt the completed top assembled method...hey, whats the worst that can happen? If things don't work out to my liking, it can always be modified, I do have a large hoop to slip it into if need be...don't you just love an adventure into the unknown?!

Give me the internet

2011-02-11T21:09:00.001-08:00

Or give me death...well it feels like death...dang but I miss the net! I can live without the phone (it would be heaven actually) I think I could even live without the tv (I really only listen to it anyway)my iPod is a different story by the way...but since we have been experiencing "difficulties" with an un-named cable company (ahem Charter)who in my opinion is incapable of simple accounting...finding an economical replacement has been a bit of a challenge! In the meantime, I've been jonesing for my Blogspot, Ebay, iTunes, even Webmd! Thank goodness for my Blackberry b/c amazingly enough the public Library doesn't allow access to Blogspot (adult content). The good mews is that Frontier shipped the motem via 2 day UPS today so we shoul be back in business by Tuesday...the lack of net access has afforded a bit of a silver lining though an I have been rocking my qayg squares with only 7 more to complete before I can assemble the rows...AND show you more pictures!!! Which brings me to the following announcement...further pictorial enhancement will again resume upon the arrival of my soon-to-be favorite man in brown whom we shall aptly name (feel free to fill in the blank since I can't come up with a catchy starts with a U and rhymes with UPS male surname...until Tuesday boys and girls toodles!

With Limited Time on My Hands

2011-01-23T23:14:00.000-08:00

And some batting scraps, the beginnings of a quilt as you go project began. This is the tutorial that I am using, it's well-written, fun, but time consuming, though the lovely part is that most of the process is done, only the backing remains and I think that can be accomplished in sections

Camping season is fast approaching and the bungalow is in need of a quilt. While perusing Equilter.com, I found camper themed fabric, much to my DH's delight! He loves anything vintage (vehicle-wise) and somewhere in the back of his mind has aspirations of restoring an airstream in his spare time. Here are closeups of the two blocks that I have finished, each one will have a camper/trailer as the center...aren't they fun?! I would love to make matching curtains, but one thing at a time I think...

While I am stitching and blogging away, the boys are having a craft time of their own. Salmon season on the Columbia River begins in April, when the Chinooks return from the ocean. They are tying up hook rigs and spinners to be used with bait, in hopes that we will be using the right combination that will entice the fish to bite. It's all a very closely guarded secret and when a lucky person lands a fish, those along the banks pull out the binoculars to try to catch a glimpse of what was used, passing boats pull in close in hopes of grabbing a straggler...it's all very competitive! Last year, the wind blew like nobody's business, I froze my tootsies off but managed to reel in a nice 12 pounder...my first salmon. I found it a bit tedious and boring, we didn't bring a tv with us, because the year before the guys had no time for viewing, the fish were biting that often and I was assured that it would be just as exciting...not so much, but we did come home with four so at least we weren't skunked. My nephew and I entertained ourselves by throwing beach rocks at each other...he nailed me in the shin with a boulder the size of a basketball (huge exaggeration on my part) and I alternated between screaming at the top of my lungs (yes, people were craning their necks to see what all the comotion was about) and writhing in mock agony on the ground and giggling at the same time until tears came...I guess you had to be there! Even more fun were the superstitious rituals that were performed in order to please the fish gods. I won't even begin to describe the blessing of the rods, what happens in fish camp....

I Have This New Gadget

2011-01-19T20:55:00.000-08:00

On my sidebar, it's called MapLoco and it places a pindot for every visitor that has viewed your blog. It's the coolest thing! I know, it's nothing new, but I just discovered it and find myself checking back a few times a day, just to see where everybody's from. I had a visitor from Austria today, how wicked is that?! Interestingly enough, I've had 69 out of some 140 hits from Medford, Oregon...curious....

In other news, not much quilty-ness is happening during the week lately in my house, though the weekends finds my sewing machine chugging along. I'm just itching for payday (YS has discovered the virtues of playing hockey...it's an expensive obsession, so we've come to find out, but in retrospect, it does keep him busy AND out of trouble) so that I can purchase some backing for the bento quilt, a medium blue polka dot flannel currently has my eye. I am excited to try the quilt as you go method, everything is ready to go...except the checkbook, but then, patience is a virtue (that I tend to lack) isn't it? The other bad news is that my walking foot seems to be on the fritz, which leaves me to improvise the straight line quilting...perhaps my lines will have a bit of wonkyness to them...hmmmm, not such a bad thing.

Aaaaannnnnddddd...I found this recipe for baked mac & cheese here. All I have to say is YUMMMMMM!!! I even experimented by making it a slightly lower fat version by cutting the whole milk, cream and butter, replacing it with 1% milk and 1/2 stick of butter and it still turned out fantastic!!! In fact, the OS & YS have informed me that boxed mac & cheese will never touch their lips again, I have to giggle...they don't know it, but I am slowly turning them into foodies! Go on over to Janelle's blog and while you are there, check out the recipe for cheesy potatoes too (I made those for Christmas dinner), oh heck, she has a plethora of recipes that I'd like to try....mmmmmmmmm!!!!! Her awesome blog can be found at...Comfy in the Kitchen, just don't be hungry when you do!

Look What I Found!

2011-01-15T12:58:00.000-08:00

My modern bento box swap squares! They were waiting patiently in a cupboard, knowing that someday I would get to them. Upon review the second round of swap blocks were received sometime in October, so that's not too bad, somehow it felt like they had been loitering for almost a year. Oh my, but it's busy! I'm thinking it's gonna hang on the design wall for a day or so, perhaps it will grow on me. Not that I don't like it, mind you, but it is a riot of color dontcha think? This one is going to be a test candidate for quilt as you go, I just need to decide if it will be in two or three or more sections...still pondering where the sashing in back will go and if the quilting will be straight line, circles or meandering. This would be a good time to experiment...Interestingly enough, the DH loves it, not just likes, but loves...never would have imagined that, he's not always big on the bright colors sometimes, but I do love it when he gives an unsolicited opinion on these things.

Also in progress is another baby quilt for a friend of the family who recently gave birth to twin boys, which of course means that I have to make another after I;ve figured out the borders for the first. The twins also have a big brother and I do have this quilt top (pictured below) finished and with no recipient in mind.....hmmmmmmm, perhaps, ok it's really pretty definite that I will quilt that one up for him. After all, he has to compete with not one but two new objects in the house to steal his Mom's time and energy! And who doesn't need a big brother quilt after all?
Sounds like I need to quit typing and get back to sewing, good thing it's a long weekend, Toodles!

The Things They'll Do

2010-12-23T23:41:00.000-08:00

All I can do is laugh! Just look at those faces, aren't they absolutely pathetic? No really, my boys respectively 18 and almost 14 still can't wait until tomorrow evening to open their presents, they begged and pleaded (c'mon, just one!)...I held my ground...it continued, believe me, they play a good game! But still, I stood my ground, my resolve was rock solid. I was confident, their father was deep in a Pay-per-view movie and they were dealing with Mom after all, the unwavering rock of the family, hard-core, steely-gazed Mom who always says no (that's why you call Dad first)...and so I did, over and over and over again, still they persisted, then when I wasn't looking DS#1 grabbed his truck keys, DS#2 grabbed his wallet and out the door they went, to do heaven only knows what...I got a phone call some 20 minutes later, telling me not go to bed yet (I believe there was an idle threat to put me in the home early if Idid) I told them to save their money, I REALLY didn't want anything! They didn't listen of course...

Dove chocolate, not one, but four bags were plopped in my lap. Behind DS#1's back were these lovely roses. What could I do?! The final word came from their father (so they would be quiet and he could listen to his movie in peace) out came the pocket knives to cut the tape (can't you just hear the banjos playing?) and at last, they were happy! DS#1 with his flannel shirt and DS#2 with his basketball shorts and flannel sleep pants (they were both in the same package, no he didn't get to open two) and now all is quiet in the house (save from the elevated volume of the tv, of course...thank goodness I haven't given in to surround sound) DS#1 is in his room texting his GF and DS#2 is texting one of the many girls that find him irresistable ...all is well!

Perhaps now would be a good time to mention that these poor, forlorn waifs have already received the larger portion of the Christmas gifts in advance, due to the ever-rising depth of snow on the slopes here in central Washington, both sons have already hit the slopes no less than 3 times already...DS#1 with his new snowboard of which we paid half and DS#2 with his bright pink Burton bindings and not pictured here are his grenade gloves also in an outrageous color (hmmmm, does he get his love of color from moi? me thinks so)

And the real reason that I didn't want/need anything for Christmas from them? Well, I have already done a little shopping on Amazon and Equilter of course! Can you believe that I found FMF?! Yep, my heart swooned when I saw that it was on sale. The books are both ones that I have been longing for and found for at a tempting price, how coincidental that my hubby was in a generous mood all at the same time! It was fortuitous I tell you, yes indeedy, I tell you it was!
We will be hitting the slopes at White Pass on Christmas Day AND we found a room at the Hotel Packwood for the night...crossing my fingers that the hot tub will be uncrowded and that our non-traditional Christmas will turn out better than our extremely less-than-traditional Thanksgiving!
I know that I previously wished you a Merry Christmas, but in keeping with the holiday spirit, I want to expand by saying that I hope that you find this Christmas season full of love, laughter, blessings and all the things you've hoped for that will continue to grace you in the New Year to come!

A Final Finish...Just in time...

2010-12-22T16:21:00.000-08:00

For Christmas that is, this darling baby quilt was commissioned by the civil clerk (Patty) at work whose daughter is due to give Patty a grandson around the 30th of this month...she is excited to say the least and I was thrilled when she said that she loved it!...what a nice way to end the work week and begin the break for Christmas. Now, before I wish you a Merry Christmas, let me give credit where credit is due, the pattern Patty picked out is this wonderful tutorial by Melissa of Happy Quilting that I found while perusing Moda Bake Shop!

Non Traditional Holidays

2010-11-27T13:13:00.000-08:00

My DH and I had already planned on having a non-traditional Thanksgiving. It was to go something like this; we were going to spend the actual TDay watching movies and relaxing with our boys, with Friday being spent with family and friends. It was a good plan, win-win for everybody and the day went well, if you don't take into consideration that the dog ate my pie crust! The rest of the plan, however, went slightly askew from there...

Friday morning came, DH and I did some Black Friday shopping, took a well-deserved nap and awoke refreshed and ready to get the party started! I re-made the apple pie, peeled potatoes, cut up yams, put the meatballs in the crockpot to warm in lovely cranberry and bbq sauce (yum!), threw together the hot crab dip in my fondue pot and set the wine outside to chill in the balmy 24 degree air. Precisely at 1:30, the stuffed 20.99 lb turkey went into the oven and all that remained now was to get cleaned up, fill the dishwasher and wait for the guests to arrive at 4:00, which they promptly did!

We visited while noshing on appetizers, watched a little tv and generally had a great time, the boys even had an impromptu snowball fight with the neighbors in our front yard...I did find it a bit odd that I couldn't smell the turkey at this point, it's delicious aroma should have been wafting throughout my house enticing us. Well, not to worry we'll just pull the roaster out and give that bird a basting and check its progress. I lifted the lid, everything looked okay, the skin was browning nicely and the drumsticks appeared as if they were almost done, hmmmm....I'll just adjust the oven temp a bit to speed things up, put the lid back on and slid him back in the oven.

The dinner hour arrived at 6:30 and still no lovely roasted bird smell met my eager nose, so again I pulled the bird out and this time noticed that the broth was still yellow not brown, nor was it bubbling, it was then that I located the source of the problem...the element to my oven had broken in half!!! It's not very often that I am left without a clear plan of what to do next, but I have to admit, my mind was blank and at this point a bit frantic. It was now 7:30 and I had 8 hungry guests waiting for me to present them with a much anticipated feast! Yikes! Home Depot is just up the road from us, they should have still been open, but by the time that we would have gotten another element, assuming that one was in stock, we would have been eating around 9:00...the bird still had about an hour left to roast!

My girlfriend from work Kim, looked at me and laughed...it was really all we could do at that point, that, and send the guys down the hill for pizza!!! So, we ate pizza, it was good, but it wasn't the turkey and all the trimmings that everyone had their hearts set on. My kitchen, was a complete disaster and it at least looked like a holiday meal had been prepared and enjoyed. (Sigh) Not all was lost, I suppose, we still had pumpkin and apple pie for dessert AND we did accomplish the fact that our Thanksgiving was (extremely) non-traditional! I vote that somebody else in the family is responsible for the Christmas feast!

What's up on the design wall and other ramblings

2010-11-21T22:43:00.000-08:00

Yesterday afternoon, while my DH and OB were performing open-transmission surgery in the garage on a '91 Suburban, I had this wild idea to keep a tradition alive.

My Father is over half to two-thirds Norwegian, somehow his family line is related to the king of Norway there is even a family island in Norway (Elvik Island where the family farm still stands)
Dad had open-heart surgery on October 7th to replace the leaking mitral valve and heart murmur that he has had his whole life. Over time it has weakened his heart and suddenly began to cause him to black out. He gave us quite a scare, his heart became weaker still, so much so that he wasn't allowed to get out of bed, for fear that he might go into v-tach. Thankfully he sailed through the surgery, went home to recuperate and was doing well, until a little more than a month later, he blacked out again. We had always known that he might need a defibrillator to correct the arrhythmia he had been suffering from. Sure enough, he was transferred by ambulance on November 19th to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane...not a minute too soon either, he was only there an hour before he blacked out twice in his room and had to be rescusitated, CPR performed and ultimately shocked back into rhythm, his surgeon, a tiny little woman from Eastern Europe, they call Dr. B. came in on a Sunday to do the procedure. Thankfully now, he is back home, resting, regaining his strength and enjoying some home-cooking! Alas, my Mother, who is not used to all this activity (the banking, Coumadin clinic, driving hither and yon) has not been feeling up to making the traditional holiday goodies this year.

I found myself on this particular Saturday afternoon with not much on the agenda, so almost as an afterthought, I boiled up 5lbs of russet potatoes, riced them, added butter (it was supposed to be melted...oops), cream, sugar, salt and flour, mixed that up and stuck it in the refrigerator to cool. That was stage 1 of lefse making and the resulting gooey mixture is supposed to cool optimally for 12-24 hrs. I have never done this part of the operation, my Mother has always handled that part. I figured, heck...I am a 40-something woman, able to follow a recipe and adept at phase 2 of the lefse-making process, heck yeah, let's do this thing!!!

And so I embarked on an adventure...A tasty adult beverage (or two) was mixed, not sure my ancestors did the same, but there you go. I followed the recipe, adding 1-2 cups of flour (just what the recipe called for) with the dough hook of my trusty Kitchenaid...hmmmm...still looking pretty sticky, let's add more flour...still pretty sticky...let's add a bit more, until I don't know how many cups of flour later, I ended up with something that resembled what I was used to seeing, a tidy little mound of dough...ready for, you guessed it, still more flour and a proper rolling out with the traditional ridged rolling pin used by my Mother's Mother Emily. I inherited Emily's grill, her turning sticks and her rolling pin and well, it just feels homey and warm to use them, knowing that her hands performed the same task many, many times before me, making lefse for the annual bake sale at Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Arlington, Washington and our holiday table, but I digress...

Some two or three hours later, my kitchen is a disaster, it's covered in flour and my feet are killing me, but I have reached the end and my nice pile of warm lefse is cooling beneath several layers of kitchen towels. It's been taste-tested with butter and cinnamon and sugar...yum!!! Got the thumbs up on that one and now I sit typing and resting my weary little feet...In other news, here is what's up on the design wall!!!

It's a baby blanket for a grandchild on the way...not mine, thankfully (all in good time) but the Civil clerk at work's daughter is having a baby boy sometime near the end of December...Eli Benjamin, I believe is to be his name!

Yet another news flash...it's snowing in our little armpit of Washington! Really...wow! I mean, it's really coming down!...we live in the desert (yes, there is a desert in Washington, put on your history hat and remember WWII and the Manhattan Project) I wonder if school will be delayed tomorrow morning, I have a 13 year old that is hoping...At any rate, I think that it's time for bed...

It's that time of the year again

2010-11-04T20:51:00.000-07:00

For the Blogger's Quilter Festival! It's always amazing to me to peruse everyone's entries, read their stories and their blogs...there is so much talent and creativity amongst us all!After pondering a bit about this year's entry, I decided on my youngest son Tanner's quilt, partly because it relates back to this quilt, which was my first entry in the quilter's blogfest.

I recently finished this quilt up for my son after he patiently waited (a few years) for it's completion. You see before I undertook the huge project of the raffle quilt, I had made a quilt similar to this one for a coworker who was undergoing dialysis. It's color scheme was predominately yellow, pink, purple and lavendar. I wanted to do something to help her, I felt awful for her situation, but she is a very private person and didn't want a big fuss made. So, I found myself with a finished quilt, unsure of how to approach her with this gift that I had made, time went by, she was off on medical leave and in the meantime, I just sort of wrote it all off as a good idea whose time had passed, a little embarrassed at myself for not having stepped up and given her the gift. Little did I know, but during all of this Tanner had sort of adopted this quilt as his own!

Then, word came that Tracie was to have a kidney transplant and a group of us at work wanted to find a way to raise some money to help with medical expenses. Thus came about the raffle quilt! So now here I am, engaged in the large undertaking of organizing the making of the raffle quilt and I mention that I had this other quilt to give to Tracie, but didn't know if it was still a good idea to give it to her...one thing leads to another...and I sit down with Tanner to explain to him that this nice lady (for whom the quilt was made for originally) really needs (his) quilt to feel better and did he mind if I gave it to her after all?

He readily agreed and handed it over, I left his room and went about my evening only to realize sometime later, that he hadn't come out and that was a bit unusual, since it was nowhere near bedtime! I ventured back in to see what was up, only to find him quietly crying on his bed! After giving him a hug, asking what was the matter and explaining that I was a bit suprised that since the quilt was in "girl colors" he was so upset, he put a little tear in my heart by saying, "yeah but Mom, I love it because you made it"...Well, that cemented it...at 8pm on a school night, we hopped in the car, headed to JoAnn's and he picked out all the fabric for his very own "boy version" of the same quilt!

I think he was 8 or 9 at the time, but I still remember the look on his face as he explained his tears to me and how horrible I felt for having hurt his feelings...after all, he was a "big boy" by then, all rough and tumble with holes in his jeans and skinned knees from climbing whatever would hold still long enough for him to scale it...but deep down, he was still my little boy who might not let me give him kisses at night, but needed a blankie now and then and a Mom to understand that he can't always tell her when he needed some tenderness once in awhile. I cringe to say that it has been about 4 years since we bought the fabric for his quilt. My youngest son Tanner is now 13, he's six foot tall, wears size 13 tennis shoes, his hair is longer than would be my choice, his pants don't always cover everything I would like them to cover and his quilt is a bit too short for him, but he takes it everywhere he plans to sleep at night!

What did I learn from all of this? Well hmmmm...always get things done in a timely manner, buck up and do the right thing (again, in a timely manner), boys (no matter how old) still need their Moms once in awhile and never, never, never underestimate the comfort that is shared when the gifts we give are handmade and given with love!

Is It Really Done?

2010-09-26T21:55:00.000-07:00

I have long admired this quilt from the tutorial on Make It a Wonderful Life's blog and have wanted to give it a go for at least a year now. Well, I made my first purchase off of Etsy one evening of a bunch of 6" squares, but when they came in the mail, well, they just weren't what I was expecting...but determined not to file them away for a later date and having purchased a new circle template ruler...what the heck, it was worth a try to see how they looked. Along came a Saturday when my DH and YS were putting a new motor in the OS's pickup...and voila! I managed in an 8 hr day to get all the circles done and the rows assembled, which only left the border to complete. That was finished last night at 12:30am...much to my DH's chagrin. I had (in the back of my mind) intended to add a white border with rickrack vines meandering with a few raw-edge appliqueed flowers and leaves to make it a little larger (at the moment the dimensions stand at 57 x 64 which is a little small-ish) I don't know...I'm thinking that I like it without the extra border...as always, I am in a quandry!

Just so you know

2010-08-31T20:53:00.000-07:00

That I have been at least a bit productive...I really have! These quarter blocks are for the second round of the Modern Bento Block Swap and are ready for mailing. In the original swap, I made enough to make a small-ish lap quilt, so when someone suggested a second round, I was definitely in. I love a quilt large enough to snuggle under, so with the 24 quarter blocks I'll receive in return, it should produce something snuggle-worthy...~~if the right person in my oldest son's life really likes it, perhaps this might become a graduation gift~~! Not only have I worked on these lovelies, I have also done some hand sewing on my Grandmother's Flower Garden while gadding about Central Washington on camping trips and such! There are perhaps 4 more hexies to go on one flower and then the 3 main rows will be connected. Then comes the task of making the connecting diamonds and the borders, still a bit more work to do, but it's getting there and I'm excited! I will post pictures when all the flowers are stitched together, until then, well...school started for the youngest son today, so it is time to herd him off to bed so I can start a new book! TTFN...

Wow...19 years

2010-08-10T22:48:00.000-07:00

Has it really been that long? I remember it like it was yesterday...all the preparations, all the anticipation and a lot of stress, not to mention an all night session the night before the wedding, putting all the flowers together. My best friend Kathy traveling from Alaska to serve as my Maid of Honor, my Mother in the midst of a gallbladder attack and Valium induced, removing half of the beading on one of my sleeves at the church because there just wasn't enough time to finish both...and now that you mention it, my dear, sweet Grandma & Grandpa Soma spending the week before the nuptuals at my parent's house the entire week before to help with everything...and the two of us (Emily and I) sewing beads and sequins on my gown in the evenings...oh, how I treasure THOSE memories. Then the day was finally here and my Dad and I were standing at the end of the aisle at Richland Lutheran Church, at 2pm sharp and he asked me, "are you nervous?"..."Nope, says I...let's do this!" I distinctly remember anxiously wanting to begin the rest of my life with my new best friend...

DH asked me as we ceremoniously cut the cake, "what do we do now?"..."just start shoving" and so we did....1 year later, I was still picking cake and frosting out of my earrings...19 short years and two kids later, he is still my best friend, the one with whom I love spending time, the one who completes me...wow, who would have thunk it? Me, of course...it seems that I knew the moment I saw him...

Both Sons have quilts, can I have one now?

2010-08-03T18:55:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling pretty good right now, having finished two ufo's in two weeks. It has made me realize though, that I need to pay more attention when I add borders that I cut them on the straight of grain and measure more precisely, rather than wing it like I did this time in the name of getting something finished. That, and I need to work from the middle out in both directions. It was well pinned and stretched on my livingroom floor and I had intended to just do straightline quilting over the entire quilt, but made the mistake of first stitching in the ditch each vertical row before going back to do the other closely spaced vertical lines...major puckering ensued the closer I got to the end, which resulted in a frustrated and unhappy quilter, but alas, it was another lesson learned and my oldest is happy with it. My husband, bless his soul, remarked, "you are the only one who notices that anything is wrong with it." I do have to admit that most of the puckers crinkled up nicely after washing and drying. So, now comes the question...what do I make for us now? I'm considering a quilt as you go log cabin like the tutorial/quiltalong done by Sewtakeahike, that looks totally do-able in queensize...And I would only have to wrestle with the beast quilting-wise when putting the backing on (let me explain that my Brother has a relatively small throat, which makes anything larger than a twin a real challenge to mash through the opening) As I ponder my decision further, let me leave you with the pic of the whole quilt hanging on the backyard fence.

Almost...But Done Enough To Show You

2010-08-01T10:11:00.000-07:00

My hope was to get this finished last night and washed this morning, but with all of the running around that happens on a Saturday in my house, it just didn't happen. My DH installed a new oven in the trailer (doing the happy dance here...the old oven didn't work and was just old enough that you couldn't get parts for it anymore) but for some reason, it didnt have an oven rack and he had to improvise...a replacement bbq grill and a set of bolt cutters did the trick (at least it wasn't duct tape...hehe!!). While he was working on that, I whipped up a batch of pico de gallo, some ceviche to go with last night's dinner AND a pan of enchiladas for dinner tonight. My reward was a refreshing mango margarita and dinner in the back yard until I realized that ahem, I could be stitching on my binding if it were machine attached...off went that hat and inside I went to break out the sewing machine to get that done. The sun, however, was nowhere to be seen by the time that it was accomplished...not to worry though, I popped my posterior on the couch and listened to the Sons of Anarchy reruns that DH was watching...the end was in sight...one more corner to go...1am rolled around and this girl just couldn't keep her eyes open any longer....Oh well, there is always today, right?! I can have it finshed, washed and nicely folded for my firstborn to take with him out to the ranch this evening, with that being said, I need to get a move on if I am going to fit in a well-deserved (ok, not really deserved, more like heavily craved) chocolate chip ice cream cone at the Country Mercantile!!!

It's a Finish!

2010-07-13T19:07:00.000-07:00

Finally! After 3 years (or was it 4?) of sitting on the shelf, I finally finished my youngest son's quilt...he wasn't quite so tall when I started it though and when I saw him sleeping with it this morning, it didn't look nearly big enough for him (sigh), he loves it...couldn't wait for it to come out of the dryer even! Don't look too closely at all the puckers in the back...(no really, don't look!) In retrospect, I would have quilted it differently had I to do it over again, but by the time I had decided that, it was halfway quilted...and I was NOT going to pick out all those stitches!!! Now it's on to the next quilt top...I wonder if I could get it quilted by the end of this weekend? Hmmm.....

We Interrupt the Preparation for this Swap...

2010-06-27T21:42:00.000-07:00

To bring you this little bundle of joy... My nephew and his girlfriend had themselves a sweet little baby girl early this morning! She weighed in at 8lbs 10ozs and a whopping 21in long!!! It's been a REALLY long time since I have held a newborn, so I had to soak it all in, she slept and cooed and wiggled when I unleashed her little feet, but oh what a joy to snuggle with!!! Anyway, I just had to share...isn't she just yummy?!

One Swap Down...

2010-06-26T17:54:00.000-07:00

And one more to go...these Bento blocks are addicting and fun AND a challenge to come up with different combinations AND I love the way they turned out! Here are pics of the total 48 quarters, after I removed the 12 that I kept and what my 12 look like all put together. I already said that I love them didn't I? Yes, I know that I am gushing...so onto something else... Ah yes, they still need to be packaged up and mailed, but that's just a detail...have I mentioned that I can't wait to see what comes back to me in the mail? I'm not good with anticipaton, so to occupy my time I think I'll get the rest of my modern siggy squares sewn, cut and signed, and with any luck, I can pop those babies in the mail at the same time as the Modern Bentos, sounds like a plan!!! And to celebrate the start of a big finish (and the fact that my DH just came home and dinner is almost ready) I'll be blending up a tasty adult beverage...now that is what I call instant gratification!!! (perhaps I can talk DH into a shoulder rub...it's a bit tense between the blades) Have a happy weekend everybody, if you need me, I'll be enjoying a warm summer evening on the porch!!

2010-06-13T12:28:00.000-07:00

Phew!! We got my oldest son graduated from high school with minimal stress albeit A LOT of hard work but, the house was ready, the food prepared, my DH laid concrete and sod in the backyard weed patch...It looks great and we are still enjoying it! So, what a better way to celebrate a successful graduation and family visit, than to start ANOTHER project! The Mod Bento Block Swap was just to cool to resist, we are using this tutorial and the nice thing is, that so far, I have just used what is already in my stash. If there is any purchasing to be done, it might be a little Kona cotton, but I've got JoAnn's coupons for that, so no worries here! As you can see the sewing assembly line is goin while the pups enjoy a lazy afternoon snoozing on the couch...I gotta say that I truly heart these blocks! By the looks of the flickr photostream, there are some wonderful pieces out there...a lot of them destined to grace my mailbox sometime soon!!! And I am more than just a little bit excited about that : P Well, this chick needs to get back to work and keep the momentum going, but I will leave you with a picture of the happy graduate and some of the peeps that graced my house, enjoy the rest of your weekend!!! TTFN

Blogger's Quilt Festival

2010-05-21T06:19:00.000-07:00

This year's entry for the Spring Quilt Blogger's Festival belongs to my Mother-in-law Linda...or at least it will eventually, the top has been finished for some time now, it was even sandwiched and pinned. Then I tried to put it on my machine for quilting and it really was just too big and bulky to wedge in there without fighting it throughout the entire process. Perhaps it is a candidate for hand quilting, that is when I gather my resolve and give it a whirl! I'm just not sure if I should start on this one the first time out!
Anways, the story behind it goes something like this: Linda has had leukemia for about 14 years now and only just in the last 2 years has had to do any real chemo to treat it, I had bought Eleanor Burne's book Egg Money Quilts and saw the version that she made of this in yellows to depict sunflowers for a wedding quilt. Well, Linda happens to adore purple...and once I put it all together, the flowers reminded me of echinacea blossoms (which consequently is a supplement that is known to boost the immune system) how perfect!! I remember when we found out her diagnosis we were all full of gloom and doom and prepared for the worst, but not Linda...nope, she is a testament to will and inner strength, not to mention abiding faith in the Lord. She told us all that she had too much to live for to succumb to her illness, she had gradchildren to see graduate and get married and great-grandbabies to love. So now in 2 weeks, my oldest son, her second oldest grandchild, will graduate from high school and she will be here to celebrate with us, just as spunky as ever!!! And it is my prayer that she will see her goal through to the end and that I will kick myself into gear and get this quilted for her so it can infuse it's strengthening powers...Finally, thank you Amy for hosting this years festival...it's your hard work and determination that allows heartwarming stories and those things that inspire us to make the quilts that we do in the first place to be shared amongst us all

Do you ever...

2010-05-20T20:47:00.000-07:00

Feel like voting yourself off the island? This week has been extremely emotionally draining...and I'm there, let me tell you...I never in a million years thought that something as simple as a couple of pieces of fabric missing off of a quilt could cause such discontent...well, I volunteered my time and pieced this quilt in conjunction w/some women at my workplace (none of which have ever completed a quilt themselves) and in the upper portion of the light blue, there was supposed to be appliqued two bears and 3 trees...and it just amazes me that the absence of those 5 items can ruin a couple of friendships...honestly it makes my heart sad...so vote me off the island if that's what you need to do...I give up, valuable lesson learned...

Marathon Quilting at it's finest/ Not quite a Friday Finish...

2010-05-16T11:56:00.000-07:00

Woo Hoo!! I finally have a finished project to post! It's been awhile since my last report, mostly because there just hasn't been anything to really show for my efforts. I have started things and as per usual, lose my enthusiasm and move onto the next inspiration. There is nothing, however, like a deadline to inspire completion regardless of enthusiasm or lack thereof. Three weeks ago, a meeting was had to set the end date for this quilt (May 16 being the presentation of Susie's quilt day) and having plenty of time, or so I thought, I relaxed and waited for the quilting bug to hit me. Well, I ended up in the ER last weekend, so no progress was made there, which left me a week to get the quilting and binding done. Tuesday evening, I wound bobbins, cleaned the lint out of the bobbin case, installed a new needle and set to work with stippling...can you say yuck? The thread color was all wrong and my stippling was nothing less than uglieness...so out came the seam ripper and I tore those stitches out, a total waste of an evening. Wednesday evening brought a new color of thread, new winding of the bobbins and loopy stippling, lots and lots of loopiness, about a third of the quilt in loopiness...being pleased with my progress, I took the quilt off the machine and laid it on the bed...and realized that the green thread that matched the backing fabric looked as if a child had scribbled all over the light portions on the front of the quilt, again, ugliness and the arrival of the seam ripper. Thursday brought the realization that this quilt may not be presentable by Sunday. That, however, was not a scenario that could be entertained...so I caved and took 4 hours of precious vacation time on Friday to finish ripping out the offending stitches and to start anew. By 1am Saturday morning, I could see light at the end of the tunnel and hope was renewed, so I went to bed. Back to work by 9am, it was bound, washed, dried and photographed by 8pm that evening and delivered to a co-worker who was attending the Sunday morning party at Susie's house. With nothing better to do now but to relax, I poured a glass of wine or three and celebrated the evening in the backyard on my newly laid sod with my DH and pups...BIG sigh of relief!!! Next on the agenda? Ummmm, well...get this house ready for graduation in 19 days...YIKES!!!

A Little Progress Made

2010-02-16T19:49:00.000-08:00

Friday morning dawned like any other...I got hubby off to work, (he wasn't happy to be awake) the kids didn't want to go to school...especially my youngest who is 13. He doesn't ever want to go to bed at night and the "I have a stomach ache" excuse is used at least twice throughout the week. Well, Thursday night he came into my room after lights out claiming he was nauseous...he was pretty convincing! Clammy skin & goose-bumped, I administered the Pepto and sent him back to bed with a bowl, just in case. He didn't say much in the morning, so I figured things had passed, to school we went, I dropped him off and told him to call me if he got pukey again, with the "hey, it's an early release day and a long weekend" pep talk, I drove home and finished my pre-work ritual. I had no more than rounded the corner out of the neighborhood, when the school called me to come pick him up (big sigh). I called my Sgt. to let her know I wouldn't be in and started planning my day at home. Here is what I came up with

I made 9 blocks with red before wondering if a less traditional color would be more to my liking...upon asking my husband which color he liked best, he wisely pondered the blocks on the wall before answering, "How many do you have done in red?"
Ohhhh, he is funny, funny boy!!! "That is NOT what I asked", said I. "Okay, I like the green". I have to say that I agree with him! Heck, what would a quilt of mine be if I didn't have a moment of indecision I ask you?? On a slower note...I all but have the first row hand sewed together on my Grandmother's Flower Garden!! That makes me pretty excited to say the least. Not much indecision there, I gotta say that I am pretty pleased with the color combinations on this one...and with that, I will leave you.

Saturday Stress Relief

2010-01-30T18:56:00.000-08:00

My internal clock must have gotten tweaked somehow. I have NEVER been a morning person, I can't emphasize that enough...I really mean NEVER, not when I was a kid, not even when I had babies. I used to work graveyard in a potato processing plant as a QA tech while I was pregnant with both of my boys and like me, they are both nightowls. These days, I am a Monday-Friday 9-5 kinda girl. My DH, however, has been working 6am-4pm Thursday-Sunday for the last month or so (his days off vary from month to month) which means that when the alarm goes off around 4:45am... I hear it, he doesn't. Several smacks to the snooze button later, he finally decides that he really has to go to work, but alas, I am wide awake by then. This doesn't make a girl like me, who enjoys sleeping in until 10am on a Saturday very happy...but there it is just the same. My body wants to cuddle up with my pillow and a dog or two and forget that an obnoxious noise ever disturbed my slumber, but my brain is on fire and sleep is but a fantasy! So to take advantage of the opportunity,

I have been going into work for a little overtime these last past few Saturdays. I was all set to do the same...but not today...no today, I contemplated the paperwork that needed processing and just couldn't do it, nope! Instead, I remembered that I have a young man that we call B around the house who has been waiting 2 years (cringe) for this to be quilted...

and so it was laid out on the livingroom floor, layered, taped and pinned and then it hit the sewing machine...it was then that I quickly realized that my machine quilting skills are pretty rusty!!!

Having completed about a third of the quilt this afternoon, the thought of picking out all those stitches have kept me from deciding to fix the walking foot onto my machine to do some straight line quilting. I am very happy with the back though, while searching my stash for the backing flannel (which happily had already been pieced to the needed 84x74) I located some leftover blocks that were quickly stiched into a medallion of sorts to add interest. With any luck, I'll have B's quilt nap-worthy by Monday...(keeping my fingers crossed that I don't run out of thread before payday)

Weekend Excursions and Swaps in Progress

2010-01-18T01:06:00.000-08:00

I am proud to announce, that my no sew block swap squares are cut out, packaged and ready to mail. "Louisiana" was the square that I finally chose and despite the fact that flying geese are not one of my favorites, I'd say that this endevour wasn't all that bad and am quite pleased at how it turned out...

Next on the agenda is the modern siggy swap...I've completed a third of the required 101 squares, but will definitely be working on the rest this long holiday weekend and will hopefully have them ready to mail along with the first swap! Progress on these projects were only slightly interrupted by a little excursion with one of my best friends and her husband (Kathy was the maid of honor at my wedding almost 19 years ago) to the quaint little Bavarian village of Leavenworth. Honestly, the place looks like a postcard!

This weekend was the Ice Festival, though we really chose to go because of the long holiday weekend. Saturday afternoon was absolutely beautiful once the fog wore off, we wandered amongst the shops, snapped photos of the architecture and the scenery of the park along the Wenatchee River and slogged through the snow enjoying the brisk 35+ degree weather. Though I have spent many summers camping in the mountains along the Icicle creek just outside of town, I have never made a visit during the winter months and now know what I have been missing! The boys could only take so much of the retail experience so it was decided that a field trip was in order. Kathy, John, my husband and I piled in the car for a drive along the Chumstick highway which winds its way through the mountains and farmland, finally descending on the tiny town of Plain (which is fairly close to Fish Lake and Lake Wenatchee)

As my DH drove, we enjoyed the scenery and even convinced my DH on occasion to stop (on only a couple of blind curves) so that Kathy and I could quickly jump out of the car to snap pictures of the awesome views...he is very indulgent of my impromptu photo opportunities! This was not always the case earlier in our marriage... We awoke to 3" of new snow Sunday morning, which made all the kids happy...the local sledding hill hadn't seen anything fresh in awhile, so the heavy wet accumulation was more than welcome for snow sculptures and more importantly for padding their landings!

All stitching progress was not lost because I was enjoying a road trip. I took the opportunity to work on my GFG hexies in the car and in the hotel room...even more fun was had by visiting the Craft Warehouse in Wenatchee and Quilter's Heaven in Leavenworth who were both having a sale...much to my enjoyment, I came home with some Kaffe at way less than regular price! It was good to come home though, even better to find the house in one piece after leaving the kids to fend for themselves overnight. They were each busy though, the Son #1 ventured out goose hunting in the VERY early am, (he and his cousin got skunked) then ran home to catch some quick z's before he was due at school to manage a doubleheader for the varsity girl's basketball game later in the early evening. Son #2 spent his day tearing up the ski hill at Bluewood outside of Dayton, snowboarding with a friend and his family. He called midday to report that the snow was rock hard! He found this out when he took a hard fall and bruised his tailbone a bit, but thankfully, it was nothing that a dose of ibuprofen couldn't manage, oh to 13 again!!

With the New Year Comes Ambition....yikes!!

2010-01-07T21:57:00.000-08:00

Has it really been almost a month since I wrote a post, with projects included? Wow! I guess time really does fly at the blink of an eye! Anyhoo, with the New Year came not resolutions per se, more like an itching to do something, perhaps a bit or guilt after reading about everything you all accomplished over the holidays, or maybe at the very least I wanted to make some progress on a UFO. While I haven't exactly gotten anything finished in that time, I have made a bit of progress on my hexagons. Ahem...okay, okay, this is where I fess up and tell everyone that I lost/misplaced the pale yellow background fabric and was actually (more than) a bit distressed to think that it was gone forever.

My adventure begins a few months ago, when I bought a yard or so of this pale yellow dotted loveliness to audition for the light outer border of my GFG and decided that I liked it, went back to JoAnn's to get the yardage I needed only to discover that another someone liked it almost as much as I did and there was only two and a half yards left on the bolt...that was October 24th. Completely typical of me, I usually either throw my bags in the back seat of the car or bring it in the house and toss it on my sewing table or on a pile of something in my bedroom and figure that I will deal with it later. (No, there will NOT be a photo montage of my sewing table OR the pile of something in the bedroom, believe me you really don't want to go there)
While I was waiting for later to come along, my husband got the cleaning bug (yes...lol, I will freely admit how VERY lucky I am and will even more freely admit that he can clean house like nobody's business!) somewhere in the fray, he tossed the bag (without looking in it, I'n sure) in a box destined for garbage day. I can't really say what happened next, but normally he NEVER would throw away my precious fabric! I am thanking my lucky stars that it wasn't Tuesday night! ...now 3 months later I go to find it and it's nowhere to be found, I get frantic and enlisted his help, saying more than once with total confidence, "well, we know that you wouldn't throw it away..." Anyways, I love a happy ending!!
You may have noticed that there are some new buttons on my sidebar, thus we come to the abitious portion of the New Year...I have joined 2 new swaps!! The no sew block swap with Welcome to my World and the modern siggy swap with P.S. I quilt, this is in addition to the swaps that I normally participate in on swap-bot...cringe...sigh...oh well, looks like I am going to be really busy this next month!!

Oh, and did I also mention that while I was waiting for my lost fabric to reappear, that a thunderbolt of inspiration hit me in the form of crochet? Attic24 has a wonderful tutorial on crocheted hexagons...no really, go ahead and check it out, I'll wait while you do...Isn't her blog just lovely?? I am totally loving her use of colors, in fact, I haven't been inspired to crochet in years!! She used Rowan cotton yarn while I purchased the ever-dependable redheart supersaver skeins @ $2.28 and let me tell you, those puppies are huge! I will be crocheting my little heart out...or as long as my wrists hold out...

Winter Arrived...

2009-12-12T18:59:00.000-08:00

In the form of snow this afternoon, the weatherman had promised it, predicting a 50% chance, which usually means not even a skiff or a flurry but Mother Nature came through this time in a pinch. I don't know, I kind of like it, it feels more like Christmas now AND more importantly the temperature raised up to the mid 20's compared to the teens and below that we have had the last week or so!

In honor of the nice chilly day, I decided to try my hand at Olive Garden's chicken gnocchi soup (our OG is ALWAYS packed and impossible to get into without an hours wait) so I try to replicate some of their menu at home...I make my version of OG's Zuppa Toscana, which we all love, but it was time to try someting new. My DH and I drove all over town trying to find the packaged gnocchi, which was suprisingly hard to find, but was well worth the drive AND my DH liked it, a double bonus!! (the jury is still out with the kids who haven't tried it yet)

Yesterday after work, I flipped through the JoAnn's flyer and noticed that some yardage I have been eyeing was 50% off (okay, truth be told, I flipped through the flyer while at work, but just between you and me, we'll say that it was accomplished during my break...yeah, that sounds good!!) I came home with a bit more than anticipated to add to my stash, but hey...some of it was 50% off the clearance price, now who can pass that up?? I noticed that Flourishing Palms has recently returned from Australia and decided to join the Don't Look Now Joseph's Coat quilt-along with some of her friends in Iowa but wasn't real excited with her fabric choices...I mentioned to her that I have not been too keen on the contents of my stash either, nothing in it seems to inspire me anymore. That is, after being introduced to designers like Amy Butler, Kaffe Fasset and Denyse Schmidt to name just a few, so I have been buying bits and pieces here and there when on sale, something I try not to do except when starting a new project, it just seems that everything in my stash is old and outdated...I still have only admired those designers from afar, due in part to the fact that the local shops where I live are a bit behind the times...they should be popular AND affordable here in about a year or so if I am lucky!

Oh! and last but not least...I have been just looking for an excuse to make an apron (and in true form for me, it is of course not for me- though I REALLY want/need an apron) I thought it might be fitting that since my oldest son's girlfriend is enrolled in the culinary arts program at the vocational/technical school here and someday wants to open her own restaraunt that she might appreciate an apron for Christmas! I have had the pattern for some time now, but with 13 days until Christmas, I suppose that I had better get cracking!!!

What a week...

2009-11-19T23:37:00.000-08:00

There was a bit of progress in the stitching arena this week, despite both kids and myself feeling puny for the last couple of days. I managed to get six of the nine GFG rounds ready for their last row of hexagons while listening to the tv or my iPod,. I'm just not sure if I like the green...what do you think? The pattern is from the July/August 2008 issue of Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting, started late last summer so that I would have something portable to take with me on camping trips. The method is English paper piecing and I have to say, I really enjoy it! I'd like to try piecing an eight pointed star with this method also.

This is what the finished quilt is supposed to look like...I'm getting kind of excited at the progress that has been made...it's almost in the home-stretch, can't wait to see it all put together! I love the appliqued border...though I have some other flowers in mind...might have to improvise a bit, I think! Well, would you look at the time?! 11:32 and well past regulation bedtime...Mr InAwe is due home tomorrow evening from Academy, everyone cross your fingers and say a quick prayer that the pass is clear of snow and that the torrential rains have not caused any major flooding along the 250 mile route home...it's been a LONG week and I've missed him!!!

Seemingly Nonproductive...

2009-11-15T13:46:00.000-08:00

I had such hopes for Wednesday, being a holiday from work, in honor of our Veteran's and their service to our country. I was going to sew, and then I thought perhaps, I would get some sewing done and then, if I got tired of that, well there was always some sewing to be done... But the morning dawned bringing the mother of all headaches and a painfully swollen gland in my neck, not a problem thought I, I'll just pop some ibuprofen and so I did...nothing, I gave it some time, still nothing and so I went back to bed and napped, woke up and you guessed it, nothing! Here it is, Sunday, I've missed 2 days of work a trip to Leavenworth with my BFF and her Hubby and my SIL's 50th birthday celebration, slept enough for 3 people, taken most of a 5 day course of antibiotics and FINALLY, I feel human again, but alas, I've gotten nothing done. I did muster the strength to make it to Craft Warehouse's Open House last night, they had door prizes every 15 minutes! My Hub-meist being a wonderfully good sport, happened to be standing on #161 and much to our suprise, he won a $10 gift certificate ( which I of course put to quick use)!! I came home with a fat quarter bundle, a 60 degree triangle ruler and some masking tape (well, everything else in my hands was already marked down and you can't let a 40% coupon go to waste) not much of a haul I admit, but the important thing was that I saved over $10, that in itself was worth waiting in line for 30 minutes... So, reflecting on my time at home,

I guess all was not a total loss, I did some stitching on my GFG hexagons and got my swap strips mailed off to my partners and in return, ended up with treasures in my mailbox. Now that I am officially on the mend, it's time to do laundry, figure out what's for dinner, get my hubby packed up for a week at the State Patrol Academy for major collision investigation training, perhaps mixing up a batch of chocolate chip cookies to slip in his bag and then I can play with my new ruler!!! Okay well, since no one is home at the moment, I shall take it upon myself to make an executive decision and put everything else on the back burner and play with the ruler!!! (yes, most excellent choice Andrea, most excellent choice!!) Oh, but before I leave you to play, as I was taking out some trash, I noticed that our recent chilly weather (27 degrees in the am...can you believe that I had to scrape windows to take LB to school twice last week...eek!) hasn't taken the last rose (literally) of summer, nor my clematis that I was sure had been pruned beyond resurrection and I of course, had to snap a picture of them for posterity...

Ma'am...Step Away from the Quilt

2009-11-08T20:54:00.000-08:00

Sad to report, it has not been a productive weekend, at least where sewing is concerned. Friday evening after work, I had my hair cut, that turned out well, but I was looking forward to a nice relaxing evening w/the hub-meist. What I came home to however, were the Bicker Brothers in full battle mode. (the BB's of course, are mythical creatures who sometimes possess my otherwise, fairly peaceful boys, they have not reared their ugly heads for quite some time to my knowledge, but this night...oh yes, this night here they were HERE ) The source of contention was the (in the works) duck hunting trip being planned, with MANY phone calls and IM's between the cousin and a hunting buddy, however, the little brother was told that there wasn't room for him, thus creating strife and strong language, oh it's funny now, but the older brother was stressed out to the max and the LB was in his room sulking. Hub-meist was trying to reason with both sides and was getting nowhere, LB couldn't see the error of his ways and OB couldn't see how they could possibly take anything less than 7 dozen decoys, therefore making absolutely NO room for the LB. When all was said and done, both boys got to go, along with the cousin & buddy all of the silly young men sleeping in the blind that night. Why you ask? well they of course were waiting for the break of dawn to arrive, so they could kerhoom the unsuspecting quackers, lured in by no less than 6 dozen artfuly arranged decoys and some creative duck calling! Kinda crazy if you ask me, but who am I to quibble??
Before they could leave, however, an impromptu trip to the local Walmart became necessary, when room was found for a box of still unpurchased shotgun shells. Off we go and are wandering the aisles at 8:45 pm, when what should my battle weary eyes spy? Only the yummiest excuse for Christmas merchandising to begin the day after Halloween, in my opinion...it was Ghiradelli peppermint bark!!!

I grabbed a bag, but not before the OB jokingly demonstrated his rendition of me swiping every bag of the delicious splednor off the upper shelf and into the shopping cart and jetting off to the check out before Hub-meist could stop me!!! Funny boy...lucky he has any hair left!!
Saturday required a trip to my OB's/ SIL's house to visit their brood of 8 wiggly lab puppies...oh my goodness, they are SOOOOOO cute, it doesn't make me want one, but it did inspire me to do my part in socializing the 4 week old cuties, by cuddling, nuzzling, breathing in the heavenly scent of puppy breath and getting my face covered in puppy kisses!
So, today...Hub-meist had to dig a hole & re-do the sprinkler system's backflow preventer to placate the city inspector who is coming to take a gander tomorrow morning (lol...had to laugh that Hub-meist didn't believe that the city would tack on a $1,000 fine if it wasn't done on time....UNTIL, he opened the water bill, that is and then had to do some fancy talking to have it removed!!!) While he was busy with his project, I surmised that it might be a good time to work on my wonky cabins. I decided to add sashing between the blocks to make the quilt a bit larger, but it looked too plain. Now, I have been rolling around in my head a way to add some interest to the sashing and played around with that for a bit before settling on my original idea. Out came the leftover scraps and I set to work, amazingly finishing the first row in no time...the second row has not been so cooperative...I swear that I have ripped out the same block 5 times before the quilt police ordered me to, "step away from the quilt, Ma'am..." so, here I am blogging away, calm, cool and somewhat collected.

The Raffle Quilt

2009-10-16T21:08:00.000-07:00

Amy of Park City Girl is hosting a quilt festival that I'm sure that you have all heard about...I think that I am the last on the list! But here is the story behind my entry:

About 3 years ago, one of my co-workers announced that she was quitting, shocked as we all were, we were even more shocked to find out that she was quitting to have a kidney transplant...it seems that she had suffered throughout her life with a degenerative disease that was affecting her kidneys. At the time, she was having undergoing dialysis daily and it was placing a real hardship on her family. Being a very private person, she of course didn't want anyone to know what was going on and surely didn't want any kind of sympathy from anyone. Wanting to help, a group of us got together (finally with her permission) and decided to make a raffle quilt for her, with the proceeds to help defray the medical costs. We scheduled a work day, where we first shopped for the fabric and then cut all the strips, then bit by bit, ladies would complete "homework" sections and bring them back to work. I put together the top, another coworker donated the batting and the backing fabric and a friend of a friend kindly gave us a deep discount on the quilting. Then began the arduous task of taking turns sitting in the lobby of the local Joann's selling raffle tickets. When all was said and done, we raised almost $1400 for our friend, whose transplant was a complete sucess and I am happy to say that she is healthy and active today and had and added a daughter to her happy family. It's amazing to me that so many women (most of whom had no sewing nor quilting experience) were first able to agree on the fabric and pattern selection...lol and second were diligent in putting it all together so quickly! It turned out to be a beautiful quilt of which we received many compliments, but most of all it went together with love for another in need.

Almost There...almost

2009-10-14T17:54:00.000-07:00

12 wonky blocks, all framed in white, made up over the weekend, with the ever-helpful tutorial by Quilt Dad and I love them!! Now here's the dilemma...I only made 12 when I probably should have done 16-20 to come up with something a little bigger than a lap quilt. Oh...the pressure of a decision (it always seems to come to that for me) should I make 4 more? separate them w/lattice? add a wide border? I guess what I am trying to achieve here is to think out of the box and do something a little different for me...hmmm, perhaps I will ponder for this one for a bit...btw, does anyone know what I did with the battery charger for my camera??? I haven't been able to find it anywhere since we came home from our frolic in the woods...another perplexing situation...lol : )
Oh, and before I go...did you know that Blue is Bleu , bitty bits & pieces AND Mrs. Schmenkman are all having wonderfule giveaways??? You should go check them out, they include Amy Butler Love!!!!

Back To Reality

2009-10-10T11:32:00.000-07:00

We are back to civilization...the Bungalow is unpacked, most of the laundry is done, the accumulated dirt has been scrubbed away and the sewing bug has set in. I did do a bit of handwork while I was away, stitching 2 of the dresdans to their backgrounds and managed to whip up a few hexies for GFG while sitting by the fire.
But yesterday, while perusing for the makings for my oldest's Homecoming corsage & boutonniere at Craft Warehouse, I wandered over to the fabric section to discover that they were having a truckload sale!! All sorts of wonderfulness in the form of fabric was piled high and calling my name...I mean, who could resist Moda @ $3.99/yd???I did manage to escape w/ only 2 yards, but it was just enough to get me started on those wonky log cabins I have been dying to make! (and I must say that I made some good progress after I constructed the corsage & bout. in the meanwhile the kids were at the football game and my DH was cleaning the kitchen...he is SOOOO good to me!!)

But now, I have a date w/my DH for a sub & a beverage at the local pizza spot, so I must bid you adieu and toddle off to hop in the shower and make the attempt to beautify myself. On tonight's agenda: get the kids off to dinner & the dance, take MANY pictures, make dinner (nothing in mind there just yet, but it will come to me), relax w/a nice glass of pinot, perhaps a movie and....MORE SEWING!!!
TTFN...and Happy Saturday!

~Andrea

I think Fall is here...

2009-10-01T22:57:00.000-07:00

The forecast is calling for snow in the upper elevations of the Cascade Range...4500 feet, I believe that's what the weather report said. I think camp is at or around that elevation (must remember to pack the thermals...) and I must say, there has been a definite nip in the air this week, but I like it really.

Tomorrow we will begin the first day of vacation by heading back to the mountains for the opening of elk season and the official last camping trip or the season.

But first I must report that I have been creative this week...it just hasn't been with fabric! A friend at work asked me to take her daughter's senior portraits and we did just that. It was fun and I think they turned out well, but I didn't ask permission to publish the photos, so you will just have to take my word for it. (just to be on the safe side)

Tonight, however, has been all about cooking and freezing meals for the mountains. Sometimes I think that we eat better when we camp than we do at home. The menu? Well, there is beef bourginnone, stew, swiss steak, salsa chicken, ravioli lasagne, chili, gourmet burgers and deep fried turkey...yummmmmm, it's gonna be good!

Rest assured that I will be taking projects with me to stitch by the fire...a round of cream hexis on the Grandmother's flower garden and hand stitching the dresdans to their backgrounds. It's going to be a busy week, but we are expecting a fairly large group including my parents, my older brother and his son (who currently has chicken pox at the ripe age of 17...poor thing, he looks totally miserable) and my best friend and her husband, oh and of course my brood, darling husband, my 2 sons (and a girlfriend), the pups and myself, of course!

And...Speaking of the new girlfriend...darling Shelby...look what she brought home from the store for me! Isn't she the sweetest? I think so!!

A Blissful Weekend of Camping

2009-09-27T21:59:00.000-07:00

Okay, so maybe it wasn't all relaxation, it was actually a lot of work setting up camp, putting up tarps (in case it rains), cutting firewood and arranging everyone's campers for the opening weekend of hunting season (which begins next Saturday) The weather was spectacular with sunny, warm days and cold crisp evenings by the fire. It actually marks the last week of camping for us for the year (really the only camping we have done this year, unfortunately). We spend a week in the woods, all 11 of us (my entire family...Mom, Dad, Older Brother and his boys) by the fire, rising at dawn to frolic in the woods, walking for miles up game trails around the moutains, through the brambles, seeing all of nature, the way most people don't...for me it's new sights and sounds and all of God's glory not seen from a car window, but up close an personal and then returning to camp, dusty and tired to eat awesome food by a campfire (is it me, or does food just taste better when you are camping?) swapping stories of the day (and days past) and just enjoying the company of friend's and family.

To me, nothing beats this view, nothing beats these memories either! Both of my boys and my nephews have grown up doing this as I have...playing in the creek, getting muddy, dirty and then shooting pop cans with their Red Rider BB guns and finally attending hunter's safety class so they can join the big boys on the trail when they were finally old enough. Meanwhile, my mother, sister-in-law (and this year my best friend) and myself bake cobbler in dutch ovens, read, crochet, knit or stitch by the fire...(I've been known to hike along with the guys just because I love a change of scenery now and then)...or we head out in the car to pick chokecherries to be made into jam and syrup, it's absolute heaven!... and it happens again in just 4 more days of work...just 4 more days!

All By Myself...

2009-09-20T17:05:00.000-07:00

On this lovely Sunday, my husband was at work, the boys were at hunter's safety class and I had A LOT of time on my hands...alas, I was all by myself. After throwing together lunches, getting everyone up and out the door, I treated myself to a well-deserved nap (5:30 is NOT my idea of an ideal time to be awake, especially on a weekend) checked to see what you all have been up to, turned on iTunes and broke out the sewing machine.

You see, I have to keep it safely stored under my sewing desk...due my darling rambunctious black cocker,named VooDoo, who thinks it's great fun to chase the cat over the back of the couch, across my sewing desk and around the house...earlier this year, he missed the cat, but sent my sewing machine flying, thus breaking the flywheel and the computer! My DH insisted that I do something that I try to NEVER do and that is to pay full price for anything ESPECIALLY a sewing machine! ...it's a good thing that I love that dog!!! but I don't think I talked to him for a couple of days : )

Anyhoo...a dear swap-bot partner included some lovely scraps along with the 5" noodle that we were supposed to swap and I decided to put them to good use. And, to kill 2 birds w/1 stone, I put a 4" border around it to allow the addition of some applique flowers, leaves & vines from my new Piece O' Cake book. That way I haven't technically "started" any new quilts! By the time I got the wonky block done though, it was time to p/u my DH from work and wait for the phone call that announced that we have a new hunter in the family!

To finish out my somewhat productive day, I finally decided on a background for the dresdan quilt, but first I had to do a little searching on Ebay for some more fabric. Craft Warehouse only had a little over 2 yds of it and that will only be enough for 10 blocks, I would like at least 12, was hoping for 16-20...but 12 will do!

Unfinished Projects

2009-09-18T18:08:00.000-07:00

Speaking of big stitch quilting...

I think this quilt might be a good one to try my hand at handquilting with perle cotton, what do you think? Sad to say it has been sitting around waiting to be quilted for a couple of years now and I solemnly vow before you all to get it quilted and on his bed BEFORE he graduates (in 5 years...lol). So, does that mean that I need to get it quilted before I make a single wonky log cabin, or a zig zag quilt or finish my dresdan plates, or set up a block for nt applique from my new favorite book from Piece o' Cake? Hmmm...I might have to ponder that decision a bit more!! After all, I did make make copies of some of the flowers that I thought I could tackle and I purchased some fat quarters @ Craft Warehouse during lunch today all because I don't like what's in my stash anymore (now that I am getting a taste for designer fabric, thanks to the lovely fabrics you all are working with on and showing on your blogs) ...Oh, and now that you mention it, there is the yellow brick road that needs borders...and, and, and...I'm sure you can all identify with my plight! I think that I should have signed up for sew and tell to keep myself accountable : ) Perhaps, I should get this posted and plug myself into my iPod and get cracking at the sewing machine, after all it's not going to sew itself is it?

Look what came in the mail today!

2009-09-15T20:48:00.000-07:00

Woo hoo! It finally came!!

I bought this book about 4 years ago, loved it and then out of the goodnes of my heart, "borrowed" it to someone and then never saw it again, not a problem...but, rather than wait and wait and wait...I just decided to get another one! You all have inspired me to want to really learn needleturn applique, so here it is...I have done a little bit before and found through past projects (a dresden plate for my m-i-law, a ufo (okay, so I am missing just one block) & a grandmother's flower garden that I have recently started) that I like handstitching! After this, I may even try some big stitch handquilting w/perle cotton (no, I WILL try some and perfect some)! Actually, I can't wait to get started...did I mention that I really want to do the wonky log cabins? And, I am signed up on swap-bot to do a 5" noodle exchange?! I love getting treasures in the mail, whether it be a swap or somethin from Alibris or Ebay....

Glorious Saturday!

2009-09-12T09:06:00.000-07:00

Did I mention that Fall is one of my favorite times of year? It's sunny and bright outside my window this morning and is supposed to hit 90 this afternoon, but right now, it's a nice crisp 55 degrees, the grass is all dewey...I love it!

I took a half day off yesterday (mental health was the reason), I just couldn't bear to sit at work when my husband was home enjoying the day (and I could be enjoying it with him!) So, my Sgt. graciously let me go at 1pm and Earl & I took off in the car so he could show me a park that he discovered along the Snake River while on a motorcycle ride the day before. Alas, I didn't think to bring my camera...(something I almost NEVER forget) so, I can't share with you some of the sights along the way. I love old barns and there were a few of those (we were in amongst the wheatfields) there were old wooden grain silos, a grange hall and an old school house...

So, I included a barn picture that is from 2 winters ago that I took on the way home from skiing...sadly, it is no longer standing! Anyways, the park was interesting, we are always on the lookout for potential camping spots, not too sure this would be one of them, it was just downriver from Lower Monumental Dam, in the middle of ablsolutely NOWHERE, but just the same, it was a nice green spot on a hot afternoon in the middle of golden and brown fields that have just been harvested. So, we got out, had a look around, cooled our feeties off and headed home again.

And when I got home, I sat down and did a little sewing on my dresdan plates, made a little progress before dinner and then was lured into watching a dvd for the rest of the evening with my hubby, while the kids either went to the first football game of the season or practiced their newfound texting skills with some of their MANY (girl) friends! All in all, a very nice end to the day!

Hope you all enjoy your Saturday...I'm off to freeze peaches and then to get some more sewing done! TTFN...Andrea

What I've been up to lately

2009-09-09T18:45:00.000-07:00

Okay, so the finished quilt on the far left was made 3 years ago for a raffle when a co-worker needed a kidney transplant. A bunch of us ladies at work got together, did some fabric shopping, had a cutting day and then people took home projects to complete at home. I put the blocks and the quilt together, a generous friend donated the batting and the backing and a friend of a friend did the quilting for a huge discount...if I recall correctly, it brought in over $3,000!

The dresden plates are in search of a wonderful background...that I don't think I have found yet...most people I have asked think the turquoise is the one, but I am not sure that I love it...maybe it just needs to grow on me a bit...we shall see.

Ah, but now I have found my stash of polka dots, which leads to a whole new ballgame...I think I like the orange or is it the green? What do you think? I am not a person who picks a quilt by the fabric line or has to have the exact same colors as in the photo, I like to play and let the fabric speak to me, sometimes it seems like the fabric and I aren't on speaking terms...

And the hexagons are a portable quilt I started a year ago and have recently become interested again. And yet again, I am looking for just the right fabric for the next round of hexies which is a light color followed by a green, both of which I haven't picked out yet...but I love being motivated by trying to imagine what the next round will look like! Then when that's all said and done, we tackle the applique on the border...

2009-08-30T10:49:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Images at the Buggy Barn

2009-08-30T09:42:00.000-07:00

What a nice afternoon for a 2 hr drive! The weather was nice, a little warm and not too many people, until you went inside to try to buy something that is! So Earl and I wandered around admiring the quilts and picking out our favorites. The quilts were glorious, but I adore old barns too and the road to Reardon is full of them and wheatfields galore.

We wandered around for about an hour and a half while I snapped my fill of pictures, I didn't buy a thing, mostly because it was VERY crowded in both shops and I have no patience for crowds...however, I did get to peruse the patterns and realized how nice it is to actually hold a book that I have been coveting online and look at the pages and then at the price, sigh and gently place the desired book back on the shelf for another time...most likely AFTER I have won the lottery!

I did something "quilty" today!!

2009-08-29T19:28:00.000-07:00

First of all, I auditioned backgrounds for my Dresden Plate in progress and then I pressed a few of the spokes...but best of all, I went to the Buggy Barn Quilt Show in Reardon, WA! My gracious husband went along with me, he took a bashing on Facebook, but he is the best! That, and it was a nice time alone in the car just talking and enjoying the golden silence of just Mom & Dad time. I love you Earl, you rock!!

Not feeling very creative these days...

2009-08-27T21:10:00.000-07:00

A lovely barn in Bozeman, MT

I just realized that you all have already seen this picture!

But the bride to the left is a wedding I photographed last summer

Maybe it's from too much overtime, maybe it's letdown from vacation, just maybe I have been reading everyone else's blogs and need to be sitting at my sewing machine instead! There are SO many creative people on these blogs, awesome quilts, amazing photos and the inspiration...well, that's phenomenal too. Sooooo, what's my problem?! Not really sure, but I'm not giving up just yet, it's just a phase, things will work themselves out and I will be back on the road to creativity in no time flat, for instance...On Saturday, I am traveling to the Buggy Barn, to see more wonderful quilts, I can't wait! Sue Spargo is giving a class and so is Lynda Hall...what I wouldn't give to be taking a class from either or both of them!!! Who knows, maybe I will come home and get to work! I guess we'll see, stay tuned...

OT

2009-08-25T22:19:00.000-07:00

I've been doing a fair amount of overtime in the past 3 months...has it really been 3 months?! OMG, pretty much my entire summer and I realize now, that most of the summer has passed me by. My intention was to do enough to buy the kids season tickets to White Pass for skiing this winter and then...not sure what happened, but I think it went towards paying off a bill. The next month came and well, this time it will go for vacation so that we can do school shopping while in Lincoln City and have a really nice, carefree time on the coast, and then...the compressor went t/u on the a/c in the middle of triple digit heat (of course!) It's funny how you start out with great aspirations of what the $$ will go for and in the end, it just seems to go for the usual things, I wonder why that is? It's not that I resent putting the extra hours, that's not it at all...I just always am amazed at how fast the $$ goes to everything EXCEPT for what it was intended for.

But, we DID have a nice vacation at the ocean and we DID have a nice trip to Montana and I DID get some good pictures of Ryan for his senior pictures and for the yearbook, so I guess despite the 100 some extra hours of work I put in, the summer wasn't a total bust...

and OMG, but school starts on Tuesday of next week, that's a week from today! And my oldest son Ryan will be a senior, a SENIOR...OMG a SENIOR! I'm NOT prepared for this, I'm sure! Before I know it, June will be upon us and Ryan will be graduating, when it seemed like just yesterday, he was this 8lb 6oz beautiful baby boy that I came forth from my body after almost 9 hrs of labor and 2 hrs of pushing, (and not one bit of pain medication I might proudly add) the same baby boy that was blue and had to be smacked on both heels by the doctor before he would breath on his own...and now, he's a senior in highschool...that just blows me away!

I know that life will pass you by in an instant and my hope is that I won't waste a single moment. But now I am totally off subject and realize that I should just leave it at that...but first, here are some pictures of my beautiful baby boy now....

On the Road Again

2009-08-12T22:08:00.000-07:00

We're back home again, having been in Lincoln City for the past 4 days. The ocean was so peaceful and as relaxing (well, as relaxing as sharing a cottage at the Ester Lee with your husband, 2 boys and 2 dogs can be). The weather for the first two and a half days was spectacular, sunny, mid seventies with beautiful sunsets....it ended in a drizzle, but it was way better than 104 in the shade!

Sunday morning we were up at the crack of dawn to make sure that Ryan got up in time to leave for Newport for his halibut fishing excursion. We snuggled back, deep in the covers and were drifting back to sleep, when the phone rang...my eyes snapped open, fearing the worst, as any mother might imagine as her 17 year old takes off on an adventure on his own. Well okay, so Ryan hadn't wrapped his car around a tree or ran off a cliff into the ocean and he had made it safely to the Tradewinds Charters...he was calling to apologetically (profusely, I might add) tell us that he had also discovered that the keys to the Endeavor were safely stowed in his pocket instead of on the counter at the hotel! Logically, one might just say, no problem we've got a spare and will head down to Newport to pick it up when we get up and enjoy a nice leisurely breakfast...hah!! But no...we don't have a spare set of keys and Newport is a 25 minute cab ride away...a $50 one way cab ride away!

Thankfully, the keys were at the front desk of the charter company and thankfully, the cabbie took pity and only charged Jay one way...but it still cost $50 and it still made our morning much more frantic (we had also promised Tanner that he could go salmon fishing at 12:30 in Depot Bay), but alas, we got the keys, Jay made it back to the cottage and Tanner made it to his fishing adventure on time (looking a bit apprehensive as the boat pulled away from the dock) So, Jay and I having the whole day ahead of us, look at each other and wonder, "what should we do with ourselves today?" Hah again! Just as we were heading into Lincoln City to enjoy ourselves, Ryan called to say that the boat had limited out and was heading back in and yes he caught a halibut (all 28" of it...not the monster I was hoping for, but it will make a couple of nice meals)

Screech! turn the bus around...we are Newport bound, to snap some pics of the mighty fisherman and his prize before it is filleted and vacuum sealed for posterity. Having done that, it's back to the cottage to place the prized fish in the freezer to enjoy later, relax a bit, hear about the adventure and wait for Tanner's call. About an hour later, we got just that and once again, pointed the wagon south, this time towards Depot Bay. We arrive, the cell phone rings again...maybe, we're not on the way back just yet...(the skipper wants to limit everybody out and Tanner has landed his just yet) an hour and a half later, some silly pictures of Jay and Ryan while we wait and lo an behold, in comes the Season w/PC Tuna on board...snap, snap, snap of the weary angler and we are off to Newport to p/u Ryan's car...I was so happy to make it back to the cottage and get out of the car that I almost kissed the blacktop!!

So, I didn't get my relaxing day alone w/my hubby...I suppose those days are yet to come and I can't wait.. but I am reminded that Ryan is testing his wings and this being his senior year, he will soon be doing his own thing, so I need to cherish the time and the testosterone that surrounds me constantly...

2009-07-17T06:56:00.001-07:00

Well, it is finally Friday! I am soooo happy that the weekend is finally here and can't wait to get sewing. I need to put the borders on my YBR that needs to go to Alex up in Spokane so I need to ge a move on, but I have put in 12 hrs of OT in at work and don't get home until 9:30, so that definitely puts a damper on things. So, since my husband is working Saturday, my goal is to sew! he is off Sunday and we are headed to Mt Rainier to hopefully take some pictures and just get out of town. Now that I have been truly inspired by some of the blogs that I follow, it will remind me to take my hexagons along to work on in the car on the drive up...I hope the weather is nice and the mountain is out, oh and the flowers are blooming. Up until just recently there has been a pile of snow in the meadows around Paradise, but now the sun has warmed things up and it is lush and green, can't wait to see it! Since I haven't taken pictures of my quilts, I will leave you with some of my photographs. Oops well, I guess you get the pictures first! Until I get this blog thing figured out...there you go, but now I need to get myself ready for work...TTFN!

Brand New to this Blogging Thing

2009-07-11T10:24:00.000-07:00

Well...never done a blog before, so here I am, typing to nobody in particular really! But I have found some wonderful women who make gorgeous quilts and now I am inspired, so instead of typing this I should be quilting! The house is quiet, it's Saturday am, the kids are still snoozing and hubby's at work weighing trucks. Now the question is this, do I hit the remodel sale at JoAnn's and splurge on a new book (they don't have the Kim Diehl that I want of course) or should I get to work on the Yellowbrick Road that I want to get the top finished by this weekend...there is someone who REALLY needs it...I have a coupon for 50% off one item and 20% off the total purchase, now that's a bargain, maybe I will throw on some makeup and decent clothes and head out and then come back and get started! Sounds like a plan...off I go! But first, here is a pic of the fabrics I am using on the Yellowbrick Road quilt.