Ugly wreath contest

My dear daughters decided last Christmas that my house looked great decorated, EXCEPT that it needed a wreath above the mantle to replace the picture hanging there. No problem, thinks I, and off I go to Michael's for supplies. I had seen a great wreath in a Pottery Barn catalog that I felt confident I could copy. The result, however, was less than spectacular, and one of my daughters decided it would definitely win in an ugly wreath contest. My sister thought that it was a little unsettling, because she felt the ribbon sort of looked like a nazi symbol....not exactly the look I was hoping for! So, back to the drawing board, and what I ended up with it fine....not Pattery Barn, but fine.

Christmas time!

Now that Christmas is just a week away, I can finally sit back and relax, and focus on what the Lord did for me in sending His son to die for me. I hope that you all have a very blessed Christmas!

I finished all 18 of the pillows that I posted back a few months ago. They have been sent to their new owners who I hope are enjoying them. I have been stuck on pillows and kitchen towels as holiday gifts for a few years now....I need a change!

Here is a picture of O Tannebaum, finally finished and hanging proudly on my wall! I did a fun all-over machine quilting of holly leaves, and I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out!

A long time gone....

It has been a while since I posted here. School is pretty demanding this time of the year, as is my yard, my house, etc. I have sewing (notice I didn't say "quilting") responsibilities now also. I'm going to start sewing my 3rd and final Halloween costume today. The thing I always forget during the time that passes from sewing one garment to the next is that, when you sew clothes, you are done soon! We don't ever start a quilt one day and say, "Gosh, I hope I get this finished today!" That is my goal for this little dinosaur costume for my 2 year old grandson. I have a couple quick projects to do this morning (plant sweet peas, finish a skirt for my nearly 4 year old granddaughter, and finish painting a gourd). But once the college football games begin, I will plant myself in my sewing room and let the green fluffly fabric fly!

Christmas pillow

This is the Christmas project that I am making for family and friends. I have already finished embroidering 14 of the centers....about 5 to go!

Working away on a 3-day weekend!

I haven't posted for over a month, but I have been busy! Today, I have an empty house. My husband's team is playing in a water polo tournament out of town- and doing really well! I have made 2 Halloween kitchen towels, made a Christmas pillow, and finished my granddaughter Sammy's raincoat. It is for her birthday in October. The outside is an oilcloth...the first time I've worked with that!

Finally!

I am proud to say I have finally finished my O Tannenbaum top...it looks like I may have a Christmas quilt to hang this year! I still have some embellishing with embroidery to do, and then of course, the quilting, which at this moment has me stumped. I'm sure I'll think of something!

Shelly's pillow

I gave my friend Shelly her quilt while I was vacationing in Spokane. She seemed really happy with it, and she is looking for a new duvet for her bed so that she can lay my quilt over it. We both decided that she needed a little pillow for the bed too, so I made her one from the scraps. It was fun to do a little project for a change!

Finished!

I finished one Lewis and Clark quilt this weekend. It is the first big quilt that I machine quilted, and I am pretty happy with the results. I will be taking it up to my good friend, Shelly, in Spokane, next weekend.

One top down!

I've finished one Lewis and Clark top...I couldn't get it all in the picture, so you will have to use your imagination a bit. I love the scrappy look! I'm a little nervous to start machine quilting it. It is 80" square, and I've never quilted anything that big (by machine).

Tonight I hope to work lots on the other L & C top that I'm making....I'm nearly done with it also.

Garden invaded by aliens??

So, what do you think of my strange foxglove? It is obviously some very weird mutation. The core is very stiff, but the little leaves are soft. It really feels like some sort of creature. I'll be anxious next year to see if it returns!

Today, I plant zennias and work on my Lewis and Clark quilts. Should be a great day!

Quilt update

I've finished the next round of my Lewis and Clark quilts. I'm liking the way they are turning out! I have one more pieced round (which I am starting this evening) and then a simple border. I hope to have the tops done by next weekend when I go to my sister's in Morro Bay. I need some imput on machine quilting.

We finished state testing at school today. Now we can have some fun!

Spring garden in California

My yard has reached its peak, I believe! We have had such a beautiful spring...perfect weather for flowers! I'm sure our hot days are just around the corner, but until then, I will enjoy all this color.

Spring break in Washington

I just got home from 5 wonderful days in Washington with my oldest daughter and her family. The weather was beautiful....surprise, surprise! My granddaughters were so much fun! The oldest one, Sammy jo, had lots of fun dressing me up. She and I had a sleep over every night since I shared her bedroom.

Tomorrow, I hope to get lots of sewing done on my Lewis and Clark quilts!

The start of a new quilt!

This weekend, I started a new quilt (two actually, of the same quilt), one for myself, and the other for my oldest daughter's mother-in-law, Shelly. It is made from the Moda line of Lewis and Clark fabrics that came out in 2004 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark odyssey. My husband and I took a road trip along the trail, and I collected the fabrics as we went along. Shelly is very interested in this part of our country's history and is currently remodeling her vacation place in Idaho, not far from the trail. I thought it would be a perfect house warming gift for her "new," expanded place. And, I'll have one for myself! I'm making them both at the same time. It will be 80 inches square when it is done. I'm pretty sure this is the hardest part!

I like the way they look so far!

March, 2009

I made a couple of pillows for my living room....I like the way they turned out! I had 64 people at my house last weekend for a surprise 60th birthday party for my husband. It was so much fun, and he was soooo surprised! Good motivation to get these pillows made! I bought the fabric in February in Morro Bay.

I started a new quilt this last weekend. It is for my oldest daughter's mother-in-law. I am using the Moda Lewis and Clark line. I will post my progress when I get a chance. I actually have enough to make myself one also, so I think I will try to do two at once. We'll see!

A Finish!

I put the last stitch in Emmaline's baby quilt...just in time to give it to her mama(my oldest daughter, Sarah) next weekend. They live far away in Washington, so I am excited to see her soon!

This weekend, I will be doing some major cleaning around my yard, and I hope to get three pillows made for my living room. We are supposed to have very nice weather!

That's it for now....

February 26, 2009

Here is a picture of my Dear Jane top with all the center blocks finished....finally! This has been such a fun project. Now, to get all those triangles done.

The redwork quilt is for my youngest granddaughter, Emmaline Lorraine. She was born in May and is now crawling all over the place. Her mom, my oldest daughter, has always been an Anne of Greene Gables freak. In fact, Emmaline's name is from a character in the book. Several years ago, Sarah and her husband took a trip to the east coast of Canada and the USA, and Sarah had a great time touring Prince Edward Island and Anne's house. She bought some Greene Gables fabric while she was there. I took some of the pictures off that, enlarged them, and traced them on blocks for my mother-in-law to embroider. She and I together have made quilts for all nine of her great-grandkids. I'm hoping to get it sandwiched tomorrow and quilted this weekend.

I had my yearly checkup today, complete with mammogram and blood work. Glad to have that done for another year! I got home early and planted a flat of pansies in my front yard....it was such a beautiful day!

February 25, 2009

I am very excited this evening, because I have FINALLY finished all the center blocks on my Dear Jane quilt! I sewed row "M" together and will add it to the rest of the top as soon as I get a chance. Now, to finish all those pesky triangles!

Meanwhile, I have my granddaughter Emma's redwork quilt top finished. I am going to sandwich it tomorrow and try to get it quilted this weekend. We might have rain on Sunday...perfect time to stay out of the yard and in the sewing room sewing away!

February 8, 2009

I thought I would post a picture of my Dear Jane quilt. This weekend I finished my 165th block and my 20th triangle. I am really getting excited about finishing this quilt. I will be hand-quilting it, and I won't get to start that until I have finished my Women of the Bible quilt, which is about 2/3s done.

I lost 2 pounds this week, which is very exciting! I hope to keep that progress up for a while....Tomorrow I have the day off, so I will be sewing and starting a little spring cleaning early!

February 4, 2009

Here's a picture of the first panel I've gotten finished on my "Over the River" quilt. My goal is to get all three panels finished by summer vacation. The quilt itself looks pretty easy. Maybe I'll even have it done for winter!

January 29, 2009

My youngest daughter and I have decided to leave the chill behind and to head for my sister's house at the beach for the weekend. My sister, Melanie, is also working on the DJ quilt, so our plan is to do a difficult triangle together, and then to begin work on a quilt top that we started cutting out a couple of years ago. We are each making our own. It is a full-sized quilt, so we won't be finishing the top this weekend, but it will be fun to finally get started on it. I hope to get it all prepped and ready to go tonight. We will leave right after I get off work on Friday. I can't wait!

Besides cutting out pieces for that quilt, yesterday I also quilted a couple of thread in my Women of the Bible quilt while I watched American Idol. I also embroidered a couple of threads in my "Over the River" quilt panel.

January 25, 2009

I don't have any pictures to post of my weekend's progress, but I feel like I really got lots accomplished! I did a DJ block and triangle, worked on my borders for O'Tannenbaum, and traced another panel on my emboidered quilt (it is a black and white winter quilt called "Over the River and Through the Woods"). It has 3 embroidered horizontal panels, and I have just about finished embroidering one, so I need to get the next one prepped. I'll post a picture of the first panel as soon as I get it done. Tonight, I am going to start the DJ block, FireweedFlower. I only have 6 blocks to go!

My exercise routine is going well. We have walked or taken a run everyday except today. I am hoping to lose a little more weight this week!

January 22, 2009

I finished this quilt about a week ago. It is for my husband's second cousin's daughter's son....I did that on purpose! In spite of the fact that these are fairly distant relatives and that they live 1500 miles away, we are very close and get together yearly. Little Alexander was born in November. The fun thing about this quilt is that when I asked his mommy what colors she would like his quilt to be, she picked these, and I already owned this fabric....such a deal and a great stash reducer!

I'll put this in the mail to Kentucky tomorrow...

January 21, 2009

Today was a great day! I had an appointment with the oral surgeon (who pronounced me nearly healed), so I only taught half a day. I met my daughters Lindsey and Laura along with my grandson (Logan- 16 months) at a cute little nearby town. We had lunch and shopped for Lindsey's birthday gifts ( she turned 30 yesterday). Lindsey and I came home and took a two mile run/walk, which felt great.

I spent some time hand quilting on my Women of the Bible quilt, while I watched a little TV. Now it is bedtime.

My goal tomorrow is to finish cutting out the borders for my O 'Tannenbaum quilt top so that I can get it put together this weekend.

January 17, 2009

Instead of working on my O Tannenbaum top, I decided to put together a pillow top that my sister Priscilla embroidered for me. I thought it would be fun to do it while I was with her so that she could see the finished product. I will put it away for a few months and bring in out in the spring. Now to get busy on O Tannenbaum!

January 16, 2009

I am awaiting the arrival of 2 of my sisters. We are gathering at my house for a quilting weekend. They both live about 2 and a half hours away. I am going to work on a UFO or two. One is O Tannenbaum, which I started last year about this time, hoping to have it finished for Christmas....you see how well that turned out!

January 14, 2009

I'm off work today, up early, and headed to the oral surgeon. I am having a dental implant done, and today is stage 2. I'm hoping to get home and feel well enough to enjoy the beautiful weather we are having. It is supposed to be 66 here today. There are serious weeds that need to go to make room for the tulips which will pop up soon.

I have added row L to my Dear Jane quilt. I am doing a presentation tomorrow night on the quilt, so I was inspired to get my finished blocks added to the top. I am nearly done sewing down the binding on a baby quilt for a niece. Maybe I can finish that up today too.

Probably no exercise today, considering the oral surgery!

Trying again

This is the Women of the Bible quilt top that I am currently hand quilting.

Later that day....

Here I am again....took a run/walk with daughter Lindsey this afternoon. That's 2 days in a row! We went 2 miles at the blazing speed of 15 minutes per mile!!! I will not be running for the next two days. Hopefully, I'll be able to go again on Friday.

I posted a picture of one of my finishes from last year. This is the Sarah Fitch quilt that is on display in Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts. My oldest daughter, Sarah, was engaged to Daniel and wanted me to make her a red and white quilt. I saw this one on a trip to the East Coast with my mom and sisters in the fall of 2000 and decided this one was perfect: it was made by a Sarah for her husband, Daniel. It took me forever to make. It is hand-quilted, which is something I really enjoy doing. I always have a quilt in the rack that I am hand-quilting. Most of my quilts are machine quilted, though, because I am 57 years old and there aren't enough years left for me to hand quilt all the quilts I want to make.

I've added a picture of the quilt I am currently hand quilting. It is the "Women of the Bible" quilt that I pieced and appliqued a few years back. I am using black thread, and I am quilting it pretty lightly. I hand pieced some blocks, machine pieced some, and hand appliqued the rest. I think I am really going to like this one.

I hope to post a picture of my family tomorrow. Will see what I can do!

Shutterfly | Shared Picture Detail

Shutterfly Shared Picture Detail

Day 1: January 12, 2009

Today I set up a blog...new experience for me! I have enjoyed reading blogs, and I am a journal writer (boring though my life is!), but here goes:

Since we have begun a new year, I have set several quilting/lifestyle goals for myself.
1) Finish my Dear Jane quilt top.
2) Finish my O'Tannenbaum quilt top.
3) Make a quilt for my youngest grandchild, Emmaline Lorraine, who is 7 months old.
4) Make a quilt for a dear friend, using the Lewis and Clark fabric line, which is about 2 or 3
years old.
5) Lose twenty pounds.
6) Compete in a half marathon in May.

I have 160 blocks done on my DJ top, which means I have 9 center blocks to do. I have only finished 16 triangles, so I have much to do there. I put two more rows together and joined them to what I had already done. Tonight, I hope to finish row L and join it.

I will add pictures as soon as I'm able.