Sew be it!

progress...

2012-02-12T09:35:00.000-08:00

Hi to all my friends. Thanks for all your kind comments about my chair! Let me know if you want a quick tutorial on how to do it. It was easy! A quick update on my progress since my goals were posted last month. This is the Toy Chest Etui that I am stitching with Margaret. We are trying to stitch a page a week, and so far we are only a week behind. LOL. This is the needle book, and it was a really easy stitch. I added my initials and date to the design.

And I finished up part two. Silly me, I thought this would be a good project for an airplane ride down to Phoenix last weekend. Every time we hit a bump, I think I missed a stitch! I know I'm off on the satin stitch on the girl, and I may re-stitch some of it, but for right now, I'm calling this one done. The reason the boy is standing so far above the girl, is after stitching her, I decided I didn't need to be so frugal with the fabric, and I gave him a little more room.

I finished up the borders on this mystery quilt, and I started the Valentine Mystery. It's almost finished, but I need to get the borders on it, before I show you. I like this quilt, but it's really "bright" for my home. Hopefully I can find a place for it next year. It has a lot of cute embellishments that I will add after it's quilted.

I had to sit through one of my daughter's ballet classes a few weeks ago, and I decided to stitch up this candle mat by Bare Roots. I made one of these for my friend Jolene at Christmas time too. I like projects like this for passing away "waiting" time.


I had the pleasure of attending my niece's baptism in Arizona last weekend, and my mom and I went to THE Attic Needlework store. If this store doesn't make you want to plunk down some serious cash for stash, then I don't know what will! It's amazing! Katrina and Paulette, recently shared some of the eye candy there. Among my stash purchases I bought Scarlett Houses, Hannah Tingey and decided on getting fabric as well. Her sampler was done on 45 count, which made it so dainty and delicate. I loved it, but honestly didn't know if I could stitch on 45 count. I went with the 40 count. Hopefully I can see that! My mom and I bought the fabric and silk for Blackbird's, Christmas Garden. We also enabled my SIL, and bought some for her too. The Attic ladies have changed the colors, and it was stunning. I have the pattern on order, and I'm excited to put a few stitches in this when it comes. I also bought Historic Stitches John Foster 1885. They had this stitched on 29 count linen over one, I couldn't resist the beehive.


Here are my two growing kids in front of my Aunt and Uncle's house. We stayed here, because of all the company at my brother's house. They live just around the corner from each other, so the cousins kept in touch by riding their bikes back and forth. I could have stayed here another week! The weather was just about perfect. I don't know why I live in a place that is dark and cold half of the year. I love and need the sun! This is my brother and his cute family. Doesn't my little niece in front look like an angel? She was just baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I usually don't share too many personal things on my "Sewing" blog, but I just have to say that these family events are things I cherish. I believe families are forever, and happiness in life is built around forming strong bonds between family members, and following the commandments. Thanks for letting me share that.

Well, that's it for now. Thanks for sharing your comments with me. I just figured out how to get my comments to go to my e-mail, so I can respond back! Yea! I apologize for not commenting back to you if you have left me a comment in the past. I will be able to respond now. Have a wonderful day and happy sewing!

Feeling blessed, and getting organized!

2012-01-18T16:27:00.000-08:00

Hello my dear blogging friends. I have been surprised by a couple of wonderful stitching friends this week, and I have to share. These random acts of kindness have touched my heart, and made me reflect on my responsibility to do more for others.

First off, I won Jennifer's blog giveaway a few months ago. Woohoo fabulous Gingher scissors! I was the last person to comment on her post, and you can imagine my surprise when my name was picked by the random generator. Jennifer was going through some very difficult stuff in her personal life, so through an e-mail I told her not to worry about sending anything, which I really meant! I was the last person I wanted her to worry about. How sweet of her to still send the scissors to me. She even threw in my favorite kind of candy bars! Beautiful scissors and fabric Jennifer? You totally went beyond anything I expected, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Do you remember this sampler from my 2012 goals to finish this year? This was a Round Robin that I did in 2007 with my local stitch group. I had decided to just stitch the last section so I could get it up on the wall. Well last week, I received an e-mail from Edgar, who volunteered to stitch the last section for me. I was completely surprised by his offer. I really could not believe that someone would volunteer to do that! I am honored by his request, and thank him so much for being willing to share his stitching with me. It will mean so much to me to know that the whole sampler was stitched by people I admire and consider great friends.

What else have I been doing this week? Well, Deb and I had been e-mailing back and forth about getting organized and getting our sewing mojo back. One thing that I know I have been needing to do for a long time, is improve my sewing space. (Thanks Deb for the gentle push in the right direction!) My husband was on vacation last week, so I was showing him my completely overstuffed closet, and asking his advice on how to get things under control. The next thing I know, the whole loft looks like a bomb went off! It's hard to believe that all of this...

and this...

and this...fit into my tiny closet! What an embarrassment! I ended up taking all of my fabric out of my drawers (below), and if it had 2 or more yards, I wrapped it on bolts. I now have about 3 times this amount, and my daughter keeps calling it her quilting store. LOL!

Now with the fabric out of here, I organized all of my quilt kits into the drawers. I also organized a drawer for wool. My DMC floss is now in it's case, and there is nothing in front of it, so I can open it easily. (big sigh of relief!) The blue shoe boxes still need labels, but they are holding my bindings for quilts that are at the quilters, and fabric that I have cut into various squares and rectangles. I also have one with card making supplies.

DH built in an extra shelf, and reinforced the ones I had. Fabric is very heavy, and it was making the shelves bow. I was worried that if we had an earthquake, there would be some serious damage done to my stash. I organized all of my fabrics that are less than 2 yards into these drawers, and you can't really see it, but I also have shoe boxes stacked on the left side. There are 12 boxes for fat quarters, and every color has it's own box. I also added another filing cabinet below these bins, and all of my cross-stitch kits and patterns are stored there.

This is one of my favorite things we did. I don't have a lot of pre-made frames, but I thought this was a good way to store little frames that I have purchased for certain projects. This is inside the closet above the door. My husband reinforced it with an extra piece of wood as most of the nails would not have been in the studs. Now they are not getting scratched and taking up a lot of valuable shelf space.

The other thing I have been meaning to do for a long time is to recover my sewing chair. This is a chair I have had for 11 years, and I love stitching in it, however the cream color was starting to look really dingy. Yuck it was time to replace it, but new cushions would have cost $279.00. I was really intimidated to tackle this project, and even though I have had the fabric for over a year, I have had to sit and think about how to do it for a long time. Finally I decided that I needed to get it done, or get a new chair, so I went at it, starting with the foot stool. I was able to get it done in ONE day, and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It only cost me $24.00 for the fabric, kaching! I am really pleased with the results.

I still want to stain my little drawer unit to match my chair, and I want to cover my computer chair with the same fabric as my accent pillow, but WOW what a difference it makes. It really has motivated me to get projects done, and I'll show you more pictures when I'm done organizing everything. Right now I am working on putting the past 9 years of pictures into albums and getting that out of the way. It feels good to get things under control. Hope you all have a little time to organize your sewing space, and to do something nice for someone else. Thanks for stopping by, and for leaving me your wonderful comments. They make my day! Until next time...Happy sewing!

2012 Goals

2012-01-04T08:45:00.000-08:00

Hi to all my blog friends. It's hard to believe that it has been so long since my last post! A lot has happened in my life the past 6 months. My daughter's ballet and school schedule have been responsible for most of my absence, but I also have been put in charge of the 14-15 year old girls at my church. Teaching on Sunday and having an activity every Wednesday for10 girls, has been really fun and exhausting at the same time. I have not done a lot of stitching in the past 6 months, which makes for one cranky mom! The reason I started this blog in the first place, was to be able to post some stitching and sewing goals. It was a great bonus to meet some wonderful friends and be able to be inspired by your work. I found myself buying 2 projects to every one I finished. I even found my stitching style changing as I looked at everything out there. I definitely started to do harder projects, and found myself buying 40 count linen! Yikes, my eyes are regretting that! Well, I have a closet that is pretty much out of control, and a stitching drawer that cannot handle one more project! It's time to make some goals to finish what I have, and hopefully I can be happy with my stash and not be tempted to add to it every week!
I have been noticing a lot of challenges going on for finishing WIP's, and am going to add my list here. If anyone is working on the same projects and wants to do a SAL, please let me know. It's always more fun to work on something with someone else.Sorry I didn't bother to iron all my linen before pictures. You get to see my goals, wrinkles and all.

I really, really want to get this one done soon. I love this project, but it doesn't love me! I have had to unpick a great deal on this, for some reason. Despite that, it's still one of my favorite samplers, and I want to see it hanging in my living room real soon. This is a sampler called Mary Allen. I am doing a SAL with Deb. What do you say Deb, are you ready for more?


I showed incredible restraint at the Shepherd's Bush sale last Saturday, and this was the extent of my purchases. The frames were only $7.00 for both! Can you believe that? I could not pass them up. Jolene gave me the little kit in the stocking for one of my fabulous Christmas presents, and I bought the other one at the sale. One of my goals this year is to start a collection of small pincushions to rest in a bowl. So many of you have these, and I just love them!

I want to finish Shores this year if it kills me! Why I put it down in the first place, I will never know, but picking it back up again has been so hard. My goal is to get one block a month done until it is finished. My Mom and SIL are going to start a SAL with Autumn at Hawk Run Hollow, so I hope to finish this before starting that OWB (overwhelming Beast!)

I started this on a plane ride to Philadelphia a year and a half ago. I'd love to have it framed and displayed by July.

This is Drawn Threads, Random Thoughts. I realized that I stitched the center words in the wrong colors, and I haven't been real happy with it since. I don't think it would take long to finish, so it's on the list. I'll have to get the whole thing done before I decide if I need to frog the center.

I started this on Thanksgiving, thinking I could get it done by Christmas (yea, right!) It's such a cute design. It's called Joy to the World by Heartstring Sampling, and those cleaver ladies at the Shepherd's Bush changed the linen and thread colors. It's wonderful in person. I want this hanging up for Christmas next year.

I took this class from the Swan Sampler Guild several years ago. I love this design from Ellen Chester, and I have no idea why I put this away. I have all of the things in it to make it into a huswife, but it would be lovely framed as well. I will have to finish the stitching and decide what to do with it.

This is Little House Needlework's, Hillside Traveler. This is the one that has been getting most of my attention this week. I love working on it. My husband took the kids out for a couple of hours on Monday, and the house was quiet for the first time in months! I filled in most of the green hill and stitched the little people, and watched "The African Queen" with Kathryn Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart. It recharged my stitching batteries. I forgot how much stitching can calm the nerves!

This is a Round Robin that my local stitching group did in 2007. I have been waiting to have one more friend stitch on it, but I think I will complete the last section so I can get it up on the wall. This was really fun to do, and each motif was stitched by a dear friend which makes it special.

I think this is my oldest WIP. I don't know what possessed me to buy this other than I was dazzled by the pretty colors. This is stitching for the crazy person! Better get it done before my eyes are completely shot. I love this design, but it is very tedious to work on. The Heart's Content, English Carpet.

I had the pleasure of attending the Swan's Sampler Guild retreat this summer. I intended to post about it, but never got around to it. It was a wonderful event, and I met new stitching friends, and got acquainted with old friends as well. Betsy Morgan was a fabulous teacher. I would love to finish this before next Christmas so I can display it with my antique toys.

This is another class that I took at a retreat in Park City several years ago. It's a lovely needle case, and a girl can't have too many of those, right?

I bought this from The Silver Needle, the minute it came out. I love Halloween, and this Etui by Just Nan was so clever. I stitched the first section on the way to Quilt market in Houston, and then got sidetracked by quilts, and didn't get back to it. I want this done by Halloween this year!

I have been doing some mystery quilts with a darling, new shop near my home called"My Girlfriend's Quilt Shoppe". The designer is the twin sister of the owner. So far I have completed the Halloween, and Christmas quilts. This is the January quilt that should be on my wall right now, but I didn't get it to the quilter's in time. I start the Valentine one this week. So I need to get this one completed first.

I worked on this over Christmas. This is from American Patchwork and Quilting August 2004. It's a beautiful table runner, and I just need to sew on the tabs and the back. It's a Blackbird Design.


Bunny Hill's, Vintage Christmas. I worked on this at the last quilting retreat that I attended. I am so close to finishing it, just need to do the embroidery, and put it together for the quilter. If I get it in soon, she should be able to get it back to me before next Christmas.

Well, I have several other quilts and small projects that need attention, but I think this is enough for the goals this year. A goal unwritten is just a wish, so hopefully this will propel me to complete these things this year. If you are still with me, I thank you so much for your comments and support! I miss all my blog friends, and hope you have a wonderful and great stitching year! Until next time.

Summertime catch up!

2011-06-30T20:18:00.000-07:00

Hi to all my blog friends! I have to share an update on what's going on in my life. As I was taking pictures, it became apparent to me why I am so busy! I've been making up for lost time this year, and really cranking through the projects. First up,my favorite obsession at the moment! This is the beautiful Mary Allen Sampler that I am stitching with my dear friend, Deb. We e-mail back and forth and she has become my kindred spirit. We met through blogging, and going to the Shepherd's Bush retreat. When Deb told me she wanted to start working on this, I jumped at the chance to do a SAL with her. My other SB, blogging friend, Terri ,gifted the pattern to me and I have been dreaming about it ever since! (Thanks sweet Terri!) I just finished my first page today. (I know I like to push deadlines). We are stitching a page a month, and I am happy that I can start stitching page two tomorrow. I am stitching on 35 count French Vanilla by R&R Reproductions, with one strand of NPI silks. I debated on doing 2 strands, but with 35 count, I opted to do one. Also, knowing me, I'll have to unpick a lot, so I don't want to worry about buying more silk. :)

Just in time for the 4th of July, this is a quilt guild block exchange that we did last year. I decided to make it my picnic blanket, so I added one more row to make it bigger. It's an expensive little picnic blanket. When it comes back from the quilters, I may change my mind about putting it on the ground!

So sorry for the blurry photo. I took this picture a while ago, and the quilt is now at the quilters, so I couldn't shoot it again. This is another block exchange we did in my quilt guild. This one was a couple of years ago, and it's called, Cracker Crumb. When we were exchanging blocks, I thought it was going to be a homely looking quilt, but I really like it now that it's put together. I appliqued big stars on the corners. This quilt is for my son's room.

I was so happy to finally get this finished. I put it away for a few months, because I wasn't happy with the orange colors I had going on. I bought some different fabrics for the filler blocks, and I am really happy with the way it turned out. This is Fig Tree's Garden Fence. This one was tricky with the checker board border. I spent several hours getting that to fit just right. I think it was worth the effort. Love this quilt!

This one was simple, just add the boarder. What I didn't show you, is the bag of clothes that go on the dolls! I loved the idea of a quilt you could actually play with. I think my daughter and I will have fun dressing the paper dolls up during the Christmas holidays.

Since I finished my big Alphabet Village, I decide to start about 5 new projects. Seriously, isn't that the way it goes? I have so many things I want to do. This is Weeping Tree by the City Stitcher. I started this in May and haven't looked at it since. I do hope to get back to it soon, as I loved working on it!

My SIL Melanie and I are doing a SAL with Random Thoughts by The Drawn Thread. A nice easy piece to work on when I'm tired.

Sweet Jolene was my partner in crime at Shop Hop. She surprised me with this paper doll quilt! How I love it!!! I dream about working on it. She is such a wonderful enabler!

Another Start, LHN Hillside Traveler. This is a SAL with my Mom and SIL, Melanie. We are doing so much together this year, and it's really fun. I have until July 26th to stitch the brown house and the 2 trees. I better get crossing my x's!

If stitching wasn't enough, My mom and SIL and I are also working on Farm Fresh by Buggy Barn. My mom has spent hours on end cutting kits for us, and I have spend hours on end tracing and ironing. Can you see my enormous pile that I have to prep? I like to use the spray starch method for my appliques. It goes fairly quick, if my kids help me paint the spray starch on. This will be on the agenda after sewing for my DD's birthday is done. Yikes! I have a lot to do, it's only 2 weeks away.

I got the urge to cut out this project a few weeks ago. It's from the book "Simple Graces" by Kim Diehl. I thought I would make this a "car project" this summer. My last car project got left in there for 4 years. I guess that means that I drive most of the time. I don't plan on waiting that long for this one to be finished. At least I hope not!

Another project from the Simple Graces book. This is a yo yo quilt. I have been cutting little circles to do this one day. After seeing Deb's last pos t about her wonderful Go machine, I think I may get one, just to cut my circles! This quilt is a lot smaller in person than it looks in the book, and it was the first yo yo quilt project that inspired me to make one. It was stunning in person!


Last but not least, I have to share my sweet little daughter's photo from her ballet recital. It was a play based on the story of Madeline, and she played a "Petit Sailor" in the park. She was so cute! It was a wonderful performance. Since then DD has tried out for the ballet company which is a small group of 30 girls, out of 150 that will perform more during the year. We were so proud of her that she made it, and now our lives are going to be centered on ballet, because she starts taking lessons 3 times a week in August. I may need more car projects!

Thank you for stopping by to see me! I appreciate every single comment. They make my day. Have a wonderful 4h of July holiday. Until next time, Happy Sewing.

18 years in the making!

2011-05-15T16:43:00.000-07:00

In 1993, the Spring before I got married, I went to Shepherd's Bush to buy a new project to stitch. I decided upon a large project called "The Village Alphabet" by Cross My Heart, Inc. The pattern was only $5.50. The pattern was designed to stitch the entire alphabet, or you could stitch "Welcome to the ....(fill in your last name)." Well, even though I was engaged, I was not married yet, and I didn't want to commit myself to a last name, so I decided to stitch the whole alphabet. Little did I know that it would take me 18 years to finish! Here I am at the ripe age of 22, sitting on a bean bag starting this journey. I preferred to sit like this when my back and legs could stand it. I wouldn't be able to last for 10 minutes now!

I started with the "M" block, and I stitched K through Q over a 4 year period. Then my son was born. Being a new mom, I didn't stitch very much for the next 3 years, as I was too busy running after him. We moved to Oklahoma for 3 months while my husband was doing some training with the Air Force. I felt certain I would finish this, because we were living in a hotel room and there was nothing to do, and this was the only project I took with me. However I became very ill, and often didn't feel good enough to stitch. Later I learned I was pregnant with my daughter. When I retired this to the closet, blocks K through W were complete.

About 5 years ago, I was cleaning out my closet, and discovered this sampler tucked in the back. It was still on the scroll rods, and I thought about getting rid of it. I asked my husband if he thought it was worth finishing, or if I should cut my loses and give it to someone else. He encouraged me to finish it. He said it was one of his favorite pieces. That motivated me and I began working on it with excitement, but I still had over half of it to finish, and progress was slow.

Two months ago at stitch group, my mom said, "What can we give her if she finishes that sampler by next stitch group?" I still had blocks A through E to finish, but somehow when I am given a "goal" then I can stick to things much easier. I took the challenge to heart and pushed ahead. I finished the top row in record time. I will have to let you know what my "prize" is on Tuesday!

I had to unpick the finished date and change it from 2010 to 2011. Some of you may remember that I thought by stitching the date, I would stay on task...I don't know what happened, I should know better! :) I have worked on this sampler for almost half of my life, and the memories are sweet in remembering where I have been, and what circumstances I was in as I stitched the blocks. Thanks for celebrating this finish with me!


Also, last but not least, I have to share my birthday present from Jolene! She spoils me way too much, but her gifts are amazing. I don't know where she finds such fabulous treasures, but I am truly blessed! Thanks Jolene for your sweetness. I can't get over it all! Hope all is well blog friends! Thank you in advance for all your sweet comments. They make my day!

This poor blog! A much needed update!

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


What Have I been up to the past 2 months? I can't wait to show you. I went to a quilting retreat in March and put together 3 quilt tops in a day and a half. I attend this particular retreat every year, and I usually take easy, fun projects that don't involve a lot of thought. You know how it is when you start talking...It's easy to mess up! This is "Argyle with Style" by Bate and Taylor. I bought this pattern at quilt market a few years ago. My SIL and I were standing around looking at all the quilts. I read the label..."Angry with Style...hmmm, cute". After a long pause my SIL said, "It's called, ARGYLE with Style, not ANGRY with style". We both started laughing. I had to explain to the designer that I was very tired from staying up and talking half the night, and that apparently it had affected my ability to read! Then I bought the pattern so there would be no hard feelings. :)

Next up is a tumbler quilt that my SIL, Melanie, gave me for my birthday a few years ago. She cut this out using a tumbler die from an Accu-cut machine. Boy do I wish I had one of those handy machines sometimes! I think the fabric line is called Rebel Roses by Henry Glass. This will have a bias striped binding that will be added after quilting. I intend to keep the hourglass shape on the sides. I like the way it looks.

Finally from my retreat, I put together this fun quilt. This is a quilt from the Book "I can't believe I'm quilting, beyond the basics", by Pat Sloan. The fabric line is called City Girl. I think it's probably long gone by now, but I loved this fabric so much that I made a dress and a bag out of it. I have 3 more quilts that I worked on, and are very close to being done. I will share those when the tops are finished. I am going to keep a quilter very busy because I have 10 quilts ready to take to the quilters at the moment! My poor pocketbook!

As Easter approached, I decided to make some doll clothes for the "girls". It's hard sewing for 4 dolls! This is one of the dresses I made. The other 2 looked like this. A very easy dress, and really cute! I didn't have time to dress up the dolls to take a picture, but I will next time they are wearing them.

A few months ago I bought a bag of buttons on Ebay and made this cute basket. My generous friend Jolene, gave me a bunch of buttons, but when I realized how many it would take, I decided I better buy my own so as not to use up all her stash! :) I thought this would be a daunting project, but I sewed all the buttons on in about 4 hours. It was really relaxing, and a fun project to do. It's still waiting for me to make it into a pillow for my couch. I don't think anyone will be tempted to sleep on it, do you? The pattern is by Joined at the Hip.

I celebrated my 40th birthday last week. My Mom surprised me with the wonderful quilt! I just can't believe she made it for me. As you may remember I just bought the pattern when we were in California in February. It was on the top of my "want to do" list. Well, she beat me to it, and it's a good thing, because at the rate I'm accomplishing things, it would have been years before I got to it. My mom is such a fabulous quilter. And, not only did she make me this quilt which would have been enough indeed...


She also made this for me! I must be the luckiest daughter in the world. Two fabulous quilts, and new red Born sandals too. Love my mom! She is so good to me. I guess it helps being the only girl out of 5 brothers! I do get spoiled sometimes! :)

My wonderful SIL, Melanie also didn't disappoint for my b-day! She always give me wonderful things. I do love her so. This is the new fabric line from Lila Tueller, who is now designing for Riley Blake. I can't wait to do something wonderful with this stack of goodness!

This is my progress on Dear Jane. I haven't done a lot as you can see. I was doing a SAL, with my mom and Melanie, but I am lagging behind in a serious way. Melanie is finished with her blocks (130 I think), and my mom has over 90 blocks done. I have a stack of patterns and fabric that loom in the closet! I'm hoping that summer will make it a little easier to get things done! I don't love that black and white block that sticks out like a sore thumb, but my mom assured me that there are many more black and white blocks for me to still sew, so I won't get out the tea dye just yet.

For our family vacation, and my birthday, we went to California again. This time we went to Disneyland. We did 3 day passes for Disneyland, which was a little too much for all of us, (just look at my poor son sitting in the chair. I think his face says it all). However, DD had some wonderful experiences with the characters. Here she is with her favorite girl Jessie. They sat and colored together for over 20 minutes. I don't know how we got so lucky, but It's something DD will never forget!

We enjoyed the fabulous weather and the beach. This is at Balboa pier in Newport California. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw 9 dolphins in the water not far from the shore! I've never seen dolphins in the wild, and it was a thrill! Apparently they live there and are always around at feeding time. It was so neat!

We also fed some Sea Lions that were hanging around.

I added to my stash. Love me some Fig Tree Fabrics!

We ate my birthday dinner at a wonderful Italian restaurant called Ciao on Balboa Island. The island is lined with cute little houses with flowers and flags. It got me excited to work on this...

My long lost Shores project. I've been stalled on it for a year of more. I am working on the sails right now. For some reason when I got to this block I lost my zeal for it, but hopefully I can get the excitement going again. I have many other wonderful projects just waiting to show you. I even have things I haven't shared, but when you wait too long between posts, it's too hard to share it all! I have something really special I'm doing that is hush hush right now, and it will be taking up most of my time this month. I can show it to you after July! Hope all is well with you my friends. Until next time...Happy sewing!

Not a lot of Gain on Jane, California and other progress (Picture Heavy)

2011-02-20T09:19:00.000-08:00

Hi to all. Life has a funny way of teaching us. I have not been blogging, nor looking at blogs as much lately. I felt that it was keeping me from exercising, enjoying my hobbies, and keeping me away from my family. As I learn to juggle my time a bit better, please bear with me. I will try and post at least once a month, but if I don't comment on your blog right away, I will eventually, even if it means reading several of your posts at once.

What have I been doing lately? Vacationing in lovely California, which was a mere 30 degrees in the mornings. Burrrrrr! I will take 30 degrees where I live any day.

With my parents and kids we flew to San Diego, and over 4 days drove up the coast to Los Angeles. We enjoyed many things about this trip. As my parents age, I feel spending time with them is so important, even if I do have to adjust to their schedules and habits. We made some wonderful memories.

On the last day of our trip, my son got very ill, and started to run a fever. That was the start of the awful flu coming to our house! I never did get it, but both my kids, and husband did. It's taken a lot of energy to keep up with them. Keeping them hydrated, fed, comfortable. My daughter lost 3 pounds, and my son was the sickest I have ever seen him. I'm glad that's over. I didn't get much done for a week!

At a wonderful quilt shop in Vista California called Fat Quarter's Quilt Shop. My mom and I did some damage to the credit card, and spent several hours here. I bought 4 patterns from this designer. This one is called Thursday's Quilt by Quilts by Cheri.

This is at the wonderful Mormon Battalion Visitor Center in Old Town San Diego. We made a beeline here after getting off the plane. If you have never been, you MUST go. It tells the story of some Mormon pioneers that enlisted to serve in the Mexican/American War in the 1840's and marched over 1000 miles to San Diego. They built roads and many of the original buildings in San Diego. One of our descendants, C.Y Webb, was part of this, so it meant a lot to us to learn about him. It is top notch "Disney style" fun and story telling, and it's all FREE. Here I am trying to strike it rich with my kids and my Mom, (my dad is hiding in the background. I'm wearing a fabulous scarf that Deb knitted for me and gave to me on her trip to Utah. I get so many compliments on it. Thanks Deb!

More of Fat Quarters quilt shop. You know when you just fall in love with something, and have to have it? That was me with this quilt. I don't know why, but the colors just spoke to me. They did have a kit of this, but it was $60.00, and for a wall hanging I thought that was a bit steep. I opted to buy the pattern instead. It's on the cutting table right now. A Tisket A Tasket by The Whole Country Caboodle.

One of the best things about visiting other quilt stores is seeing the local designers. I am in love with this local, Quilts by Cheri. Cheri is the sister of well known designer, Bari from BareRoots. They have very different styles, don't you think? This is the Journal quilt. My mom and I really want to do this one soon.

I bought this pattern too. I could see it hanging with the quilt with the basket. (above). Another local designer Joan Grenke of Bits and Pieces by Joan. This is called Honey Bee Baskets.

Another quilt by Cheri, "Soots and Ashes". Sorry I couldn't get a good picture. It's done with all blacks and creams, then heavily tea dyed.

Another local "Stitching Stories" A $2.00 pattern, that went home with me!

My Dad at the gardens at the mission San Luis Rey in Oceanside. The tree in the background is the first Pepper Tree planted in California. The monks used it for medicine.

What's a trip to California without a stop at the American Girl place. Yes we bought Kanani, my daughter earned her by doing jobs and homework. Now we have 4 dolls, and I think that is enough!

When the weather warmed up we enjoyed the La Brea tar pits, right in the heart of Los Angeles. They have millions of fossils from these tar pits. A great school day!

We also went to the Science museum in Los Angeles. Nothing better than leaning "hands on"

Okay, now I have to share a fun project my stitch group did last week at my house. These clever pincushions are mounted on a heavy metal bell from Hobby Lobby. Jolene donated the wool from her stash that she has acquired from thrift store wool jackets. Kathryn (no blog) prepped the wool, and provided the inspiration. We had these almost finished by the end of our day. The pattern is called "A Little Birdie Told Me", by Wooden Spool Designs. Five of us made them, and they all turned out so different and cute.

My finished bird from the front!

From the back. Perfect for holding some scissors! The pocket looks crooked, but it's just the angle I took the picture from.

I've picked up a little framing. Ah' Tis Spring by Notforgotten Farm. This was a premade frame I found and against my framers wishes, I went ahead and had them frame it in here. It's a bit tight, but I think it still looks okay for a seasonal item. It was a lot cheaper than going custom!

The Farmer's Wife, ready to hang in my sewing room

This is one of my favorite samplers. A sweet gift given to me by dear
Terri. She did the little dark haired girl and I stitched the rest. I hung it in my sewing room, where I can see it every day.

Last weekend, I went shopping with Jolene and Kathryn (no blog) and found this cute child size ironing board. I fell in love, and it came home with me. I don't know where this will end up, but for now it is sitting by an old chair in the living room. My mom made this little quilt for one of my daughter's dolls, and I'm "borrowing it" for a little while, until I can make one for myself.

I won a fabulous giveaway by Nancy, Bountiful Stitches. Thanks so much Nancy. This one is going in the work basket next month!

Some of my stash from Fat Quarters. I loved the Buggy Barn quilt. With all the fabrics bundled up so perfectly, it somehow made it into my shopping bag. I don't know how that happens! LOL

Last month Jolene surprised me with fabric for this fabulous quilt. We got together and whipped up 2 quilts, one for her, and one for me! We were like a well oiled machine. She put the fabrics in order, handed them to me for piecing, we both ironed, and she trusted me to quilt them. I will always have fun memories of making this fun January project with sweet Jolene. This is called Snowman Basket by Jan Patek and it's made from 1 charm pack, and a little yardage. Easy peesy! Thanks JoJo!

I've been trying to get some older projects out of the closet. My SIL gave me these cute perforated paper designs with the blocks for my birthday about 4 years ago. I stitched a few of them, and they are in storage now, but these still needed to be done. Seeing all of these stash buster challenges, I decided to finish these up. I am still working on December, and then I will be done! YES!

Not a lot of gain on Jane, but this is my progress. For the past 2 whole days I have been printing the rest of the patterns I need to send on to my Mom and SIL. Now I just need to get sewing. I have about 50 blocks sitting here with fabric. Can you say OVERWHELMED! I guess if there is no Pain, I will not have a Dear Jane, so it must be done. This is what I will be working on the rest of the month.

Love by Sweetheart Tree, is another one of those projects that has been in my closet for 5 plus years. I was going to make this for my in-laws wedding anniversary. One day while working on it around her I was trying to get a feel if she liked it or not, and I asked her how she liked it. The answer was, "I would do it in different colors", Well, it went back in it's bag and hasn't' seen the light of day since. I decided to work on it for Valentines day, and I will finish it up for next year. The other project Jolene and I started last month at stitch group. It just needs a few hours to be finished. Hopefully I can show it finished next month.

This is my quilt that I was working on last month. It's been finished and ready to take to the quilters for a few weeks. Initially I had planned to quilt it myself, but I don't want to mess it up, so it's off to quilters for this one. I love the saw tooth border, and even though it was tedious, it really adds to the quilt.

Thanks so much for coming to visit me! Cyber hugs to all my blog friends. I'm anxious to hear from you. Until next time, happy stitching and sewing!

New Year, New Goals

2011-01-10T09:09:00.000-08:00

Hope you all had a fabulous holiday! We are well into January and it's my favorite time to sew. The yard doesn't need my attention, I often don't have to travel outside the house, and with the holidays over, I can sit back and have great expectations in finishing a whole closet of projects! LOL!
January is a time to accomplish, so without further ado, let me share with you what I've been doing the past few months.


This was a fast little stitching project I accomplished Thanksgiving day. We had a small group for dinner, so we made the food low key, and spent a good deal of the day watching movies and stitching! This is from Blackbird Designs Peppermint and Holly Book, and It's on 28 count platinum linen with colors suggested.

This snowman table runner was a project that a lady in my neighborhood put together. I had planned on making it for a gift, but when I finished it, I decided I loved it so much that I wanted to keep it. (Naughty me, I know!) This is from Buttermilk Basin, Winter Seasonal Runner.

I've spent the past 2 months sewing doll clothes! This is a cute dress I just finished Saturday. It is a pattern from LibertyJane. I really love making doll clothes. I'm sorry I didn't take a picture of everything I've sewn for "the girls" this month. I will have an American Girl fashion show later.

This is a cute little snowman that my BFF Jolene gave me for Christmas. One of the MANY wonderful things she gifted me with. I think he is the cutest thing!

DD got a new American Girl for Christmas. She is hugging Lanie the Girl of the year from 2010. She already wants the new Girl of the Year for 2011, Kanani, and is saving up for it. I decided that this phase will not last long, and I want to enjoy it as much as I can.

My antique toys I've been collecting. It was a much better display at Christmas, as I had it on a small table with a Christmas tree. I wanted to show you the cute doll that Jolene gave DD. She also gave me the clown and elephant tin toys. They are so cute added to my display. My kids play with these all the time!

My mom made me this darling Abby bag for Christmas. It can sit on the edge of the couch or by my sewing table. This has been a fabulous gift! I love using it.

This is a Dear Jane quilt that one of my friends made. I've started this quilt this year along with my Mom and SIL. We are trying to get 24 blocks done a month, and we will be making ours slightly bigger than this.

This is my humble start. I love working on these blocks. They are so different and fun, and I don't remember enjoying a quilt so much. I look forward to more progress.

This is another quilt I am working on right now. I seem to rotate between Dear Jane, this quilt and a stack of doll clothes! I think working on more than one project is very efficient. I sew as much as I can and then make trips to the ironing board with all three projects.

I have a finish! The Farmer's Wife by Carriage House Samplings. This was a SAL with Andrea. Unfortunately I was really bad about keeping in touch with her, so I hope she is progressing okay. This is suppose to be filled in with white under the house, but I started doing that, and then decided to omit it. I didn't think you could see the face very well, which BTW looks like a pig to me, and I don't know how to make it look any different. I changed the dress color, and changed the squirrel to a rabbit. I started this sampler about the time that my DD had her 9th birthday, and she was Alice in Wonderland if you remember. Her bunny had to be put to sleep on her birthday, because he broke his back. It was a very traumatic experience for us all, he was such a sweet little animal Because I was working on this during her birthday, I decided to make it a "tribute sampler" to little Thumper.

Hope that this year brings many wonderful moments for all of you. Thanks so much for your kind comments. They warm my heart! Until next time...Happy sewing.

Going Colonial (picture Heavy)

2010-11-08T11:23:00.000-08:00

Hi to all my blog friends. I'm embarrassed to write this post, as it's been FOREVERRRRR since I've blogged. I'm sorry for the absence, life is somewhat overwhelming right now. My in laws are moving to Arizona, we have had company for several days with friends moving to Virginia. It's been crazy! Hopefully my blog mojo will return really soon. Also, I'm having lots of problems posting pictures now. I hate the new blogger layout! It's such a headache to get your pictures in the order you want them to be in! Sorry that these are all screwed up, but I'm so frustrated, that I'm going to post it anyway, without fixing them.

First off, I'll share my WIP's, because of the problem I've mentioned above!

Andrea from Deep Fried Cupcake mentioned that she wanted to work on Farmers Wife, from Carriage House Samplings. I've had this in my workbasket for a while, so we are doing a SAL, to help us get it done. I'm stitching with 32 count Black Zweigart fabric, and DMC threads, my own conversion. How is yours coming Andrea?

I have a finish! Be Ye Thankful by The Cricket Collection. I started this at the Shepherds Bush retreat, and took it on vacation with me. I finished everything, except the house. I was really struggling with the colors. The color that it called for was pink, and I just didn't like the way it looked, so after multiple froggings, this is what I came up with. I used the colors it called for, but substituted "Mulberry" in place of "Old Brick". I think the red is a little bright, but it looks good with my red walls.

This is the new stash I bought at the wonderful stitching store in Williamsburg VA, called Haus Tirol. If you go to the area, you must visit this darling shop. I bought a few pattern that I hadn't seen before, and the stitching case in the upper right hand corner is a shop exclusive kit designed for this wonderful shop for their 30th anniversary. The kit did not include floss, but had the linen,wool, beads and everything else. I think I will be changing the colors on my kit and making them a little more muted and dark. I could not pass it up though, because I just love pineapples!

A few months ago, my BFF, Jolene, helped me rearrange the blocks on this table topper that I've had in my closet for 2 years. This was a class I took from the wonderful Barb and Alma of Blackbird Designs. I will share again when I get the quilting done. Barb signed the upper right block. Isn't that cool?

After our retreat in September, Deb, Cari and I decided to start a SAL together. This is Angel's Song from Shepherd's Bush. I am seriously slacking on this sampler! I need to get on a regular posting schedule so I can stay on task with this. Are you way ahead of me ladies? Post your progress so you can kick me in gear!

We spent 2 days at the wonderful Busch Gardens Europe theme park. What a fabulous park. I loved it more than Disneyland! This is the funniest photo. Don't I wish I had one of these at home! "The cost of an untidy chamber", and "For want for a quiet tongue". LOL!

During October, Bush Gardens has a spooky theme, for all Halloween lovers like myself! This park was decorated to the hilt, and at 6:00 PM, the "spookers" as my DD called them, would come out and scare the dickens out of you. They would replace their mannequins with real people, and when you weren't expecting it, one would reach out for you. We were scared multiple times from people in the bushes. Every time, my DD would cry her eyes out. She is a scardy cat, which is pure pleasure for a 13 year old big brother! They had these fog machines that would mist up the park, and add to the ambiance. I think we will go back sometime, as we all thought it was the best Halloween fun ever. We didn't attend the spook alleys that they have for the teenagers, that's not really my thing. I just like the eerie Fall feeling. Does that make sense?

We have been vacationing in Williamsburg this month. It was a lovely vacation! A small sampling of photos:

A peaceful wagon ride in style! Outside the Governors Palace.

This is the wig shoppe. How I loved watching this woman make wigs, and share her talent. Wigs go back to Roman times. did you know that?

The Governor's Palace. The centerpiece of Williamsburg. As your might remember, I won a pattern from Melissa a few months back featuring this lovely mansion. I was so excited to go home and look at it. I know this is going to be stitched really soon!

This is the gardens outside the palace. What a lovely place to sit and sew!

Next up, was the Folk Art Museum. Many of the items were donated by Abby Rockefeller, as she loved Folk Art finds. I could have spent an entire day here, but my DH had other things in mind. Seriously, we never fight, but we did NOT agree about how much time to spend in the museum. After a few days, I did get over my grudge towards him, and lingered a few hours in here, by myself, which was pure heaven!

They have an extensive gallery of early American portraits. Many famous painting that I had seen in books were at this museum.

Oh the cuteness! This is a memory pot. The owner glued special things on it that she wanted to save and remember.

A fabulous child statue. I would love to have her in my front room!

Furniture gallery! Heaven! No samplers were in this museum at the moment. (bummer.) They did have a small quilt display, which was quite good, but the glass over the displays really made for bad picture taking. What a fun place to visit. I was filled with such love for our Founding Fathers, and the early Americans that sacrificed so much for our freedoms. I'm sorry I have to type my conclusion to this post here, but blogger won't seem to let me add a sentence after this picture! (I swear it should not be this hard!) Take care all my friends, until next time, Happy Sewing!

Spoiled!

2010-10-05T08:38:00.000-07:00

Life is full of fun events, isn't it? Well, my life has been very full lately, and I feel very blessed. Spoiled might be a better word. As you've probably read on Terri's, and Deb's blogs, we recently returned home from a vacation in Park City. A stitcher's retreat, that was held in conjunction with the Shepherd's Bush retreat.
It's taken me a long time to get this post done, as I had to pay the piper when I got home, and catch up on the rest of life. My husband does a good job "maintaining" things, but I certainly had a lot to do with the kids and school work, and house cleaning too! (Not complaining, just stating the truth!)

First off, we finally got to meet our dear friends Terri and Julie. We whisked them off to lunch at the fabulous "Gardner Village" to have lunch and enjoy the "witches." This place is decked out with fun displays this time of year.

With one of my favorite people ever! Little Tiny Terri! She is as sweet and adorable as they get. I am so blessed to have her in my life. I heart you Terri!

This is outside Pine Needles, a delightful shop owned by Sandra Workman of Pine Mountain designs.

Julie, Terri, Myself, and Kathryn just "kissed" on the cheeks by the fairies. Just in case you can't read the sign, it says "Don't pi** off the Fairies." (Good advice, don't you think?) In case you are wondering, Deb was on another flight, and Jolene picked her up later, so that's why you are only seeing the 4 of us here.

What fun would a retreat be without presents? I was blown over (and I mean totally stunned beyond belief) at what Julie and Terri gave me. This absolutely darling sewing kit. The kit is originally suppose to be a jewelry box by Vera Bradley, but these cleaver girls turned it into the most complete sewing kit you have ever seen. It has pins, a tape measure, a needle book with thread, scissors (cool blue storks), with a matching fob, a thimble, pins, button bag, needle minder, and thread winder. The book was hand made by Julie. I love this kit so much. You know, I'll be making a matching bag real soon! Thanks from the bottom of my heart girls. I will treasure it always.

And if that wasn't enough...they spoiled us with more presents the next day! Julie (AKA Miss Talented Extraordinaire) made the darling pin cushion in the box. I love this idea! Terri (her sister AKA Miss Creative Universe) made for us the most adorable strawberry and pincushion set. The wool was from a recycled sweater, and is the sweetest color of red. The bottom had Park City 2010 inscribed. Wonderful! (Terri also beaded my daughter a Hello Kitty necklace, that she hasn't taken off since I got home! I forgot to snap a picture, and will try and do that for the next post.) We were also treated with a bag of goodies from Michigan. Famous chips, chocolates, and dried cherries for our salads...yum!

Here is a little sampling of Jolene's fabulous gifts to me over the past few months. We are becoming bosom buddies, and I have affectionately nicknamed her the Spoil Queen! She loves to give gifts to others. The dress form above, is probably made for jewelry, but holds scissors perfectly. Jolene amazes me with her creative mind. The cute whisk broom is for our upcoming project seen here. Can't wait to work on this real soon. The darling witch and red fabrics were gifts on this trip. I'm going to make pincushions from the red fabrics, when I can decide on a pattern! I am so blessed to have her live near me. She is my kindred spirit!

Here I am with my new sisters! Seriously, I want to be adopted by these fabulous ladies. I don't have any sisters, so I am more than willing to become part of their family! Karen (Our new friend from Colorado. She isn't a sister, but a want-a-be like me), Joan (The sew fabulous seamstress. Do you see the banners in the background? She just whipped those up to decorate their room!), Simply Fabulous Cari (Yes the real one!), and Cathy (Just as sweet as she can be). Love these ladies beyond words! They made our trip sooooo fun.

Here is a sampling of their talents. We were greeted with these fabulous fabric bags made from Joan. Cari made the darling hexie pincushions. All hand stitched and hand quilted! My heart took a leap when I saw this, as I have been ~~coveting~~ wanting one of these. She also made this cool pincushion ring. This is a very useful idea, and I will get much joy in using it! Cathy made the darling button pin, (which I wore to quilt guild and got tons of compliments on), She also went shopping at a local antiques store to find some goodies for our projects. I know I'll be using that key on one of my punch projects. Thanks so much my new sisters! You are the best!

I was also very excited to meet one of my favorite blogger's and dear friends, none other than Thread Gatherer's Deb. I am so glad that she decided to join us for our retreat. She is thoughtful, soft spoken, and so sweet! Deb's gift was AMAZING too! Can you see why my post heading says, "spoiled"? This was better than any Christmas I've ever had. Deb knitted with her own little hands, this adorable scarf. I love the colors, and this will look great with many jackets and jeans this year. Thanks so much Deb!

Her thoughtfulness did not end there, she gave me this darling set of black and white boxes. I promptly went home and put them to use with my different button collections. Knowing that one of my favorite colors is red, she filled it with all kinds of red goodies! Heart buttons, red scissors (my first pair of little gems), a really pretty lady bug pin, mother of pearl thread holders, and a beautiful pin keep. So fun Deb!

When I got home, I realized that the pin keep would be perfect with this Needle case that I got at a class from another Park City retreat. This has sat in it's package since coming home 5 years ago, but I decided to finish it, and put all of my "red" treasures inside.

If you are wondering why I've been MIA for the past 2 months. (Thanks so much Mylene for asking, you sweet darling thing!) I had to make something for the girls too. I wish I would have had time to do these for everyone, including my new sisters, but there is only so much a girl can do. I made these wool army blanket bags in my quilt guild a couple of months ago. Jolene and I were racking our brains to think of a good gift to give the girls in our room, and decided that the wool bags would be a great reminder of their Fall in Utah. We spent a few days cutting out the appliques (a wool bird on a vine with a cute acorn) then I finished the bags, and Jolene punched scissor fobs to match. I didn't think to take a picture of them, so you will have to look on their blogs to see how they turned out. They were all different, to reflect their personalities.

I also worked furiously on finishing my friendship sampler, so that Terri could stitch the little dark haired girl. This was one of the sweetest gestures that anyone has ever done for me, and I will treasure this sampler always. If you remember I was coveting Terri's sampler, as she stitched it with 2 threads. I did mine with one strand, but it really turned out nice. The colors are soft, and they look great in my sewing room, where this will reside after I get it framed. Hugs Terri! I love it! I have now passed the threads and pattern on to Jolene, and we will be making a "Friendship Sampler" together. It is my hope this will be a traveling pattern, to bless many more lives.

It was my pleasure and a real treat to share a little about my religion with my dear friends. We visited Temple Square after our trip to Shepherd's Bush. Everyone was so gracious and respectful, which meant a lot to me. We just had the Semi-annual general conference of the Church for Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. One of my favorite things to do is to stitch and listen. Here is a link if you want to stitch and listen too.

I have been the recipient of some wonderful blog giveaway this past month. I'm so sorry for the delay in posting. First off the Homespun Sampler and the Polly Gayton sampler were from Melissa of Words and Blooms. She did a private drawing for her blog friends that read her regularly. I love these samplers, and I am planning a trip to Williamsburg soon, so I was thrilled to see the Governor's Palace sampler. The Stories to Live by sampler is from my friend Maggie, all the way from the UK. I have always liked this sampler too. Thanks for thinking of me, dear friends! You make my life so meaningful.

It was a fabulous week, with great friends! Deb put it perfectly...This is the rewards of blogging! Thanks to all my dear friends who we met this weekend, New and old...I'm so blessed!

I've got some fun things that I'm finishing on the sewing table, and with a renewed sense of motivation, I should have some things to share real soon. To all of my blog friends, thanks so much for coming to see me! I would love to meet each and every one of you someday!

Is anyone still out there?

2010-08-05T09:30:00.000-07:00

I have been procrastinating this post all month. Somehow the blog blahs have set in, and I haven't felt like posting at all. This month has just flown by. I'm actually looking forward to school starting, just so things will slow down a bit! (That's pretty sad!) I hope you are all still with me, even after my long absence.

Last February I showed my daughter a blog post with the most darling cake! She had it in her mind, that she wanted an Alice in Wonderland party just like that! I almost didn't go through with it, as there was just so much to do, but in the end, somehow it all came together. The cake was a family affair. it took us a couple of days to make, but so much fun.

I made DD an Alice dress,and one for her AG doll too. Doesn't Julie (the doll) look like the perfect Alice?

This is the quilt that my mom and I made for my DD's birthday. I pieced and appliqued the quilt and my mom "HAND QUILTED" it, in about a weeks time. Isn't her stitching perfect? DD loved it!

Quilt Soup's "All Dolled Up"

Other events this month...my husband and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary. We had 2 major holidays, the 4th of July and the 24th of July, which is Pioneer Day in Utah, and is a big deal! (It's the day the Mormon pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley, after being persecuted and driven from their beautiful city of Nauvoo, Illinois.)

This is the Brigham City Tabernacle, in which the pioneers built in 1868, and has subsequently gone through a total renovation in 1986. We were tour hosts for this beautiful building. It was a neat experience to be able to learn all about the history of the building and those who sacrificed to build it. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is building a temple right across the street, which will be an impressive sight to see.

We inherited two birds from the neighbor kids. They raised these ugly ducklings from eggs, but thought that we would be able to release them into our trees when they got a little bigger. The one on top is a pheasant, and it turns out, it's a girl, so her name is Fredrika the Pheasant (After Carriage House Samplings sampler) and the bottom is a "Chucker" and it's name is "Chuck" because we don't know if it's a girl or a boy. These birds are getting a little easier, but at first I was really regretting the decision to adopt them. They stink!

Also this month, I had 2 nephews get baptized. Family parties and lots of food always accompany those wonderful events. We had a family wedding that ended up getting canceled 4 days before the event. We still had lots of family visiting, so we had more parties and food! I tell you, I'll never work off the calories we've eaten!


Birds of a Feather Friendship Sampler. Stitched on 36 count linen with Weeks, and GA threads

On the stitching front, I haven't made a lot of progress on anything that's probably why I haven't felt like blogging. I've been working on this wonderful little sampler that Terri gave me. I hope to get it done for our retreat in September. (Happy Dance!) I wish I would have stitched this with 2 strands of floss. I started with one, as I love the "soft look" normally, but after looking at Terri's I wish I would have gone with 2 strands of floss. I'm not inclined to start again, so I'm just going to have to live with it!

Hope all is well with you dear friends. Thank you so much for your friendship! Your comments make my day, and give me happiness that you will never know.
Until next time..

Surprise!

2010-07-03T08:34:00.000-07:00

Don't you just love surprises? I was the recipient of not one, but two brown boxes all tied up with string, yesterday! YIPEE!

I won the giveaway from Dixie Samplar Designs last week, and Terri's wonderful package arrived yesterday. I was filled with anticipation when opening the box. Do you want to see what's inside?

A whole lot of wonderful stitching goodness! Scissors, patterns, a glass flower frog, thread, fabric, treats, a candle, and fabric! What more could a girl want? Thanks so much Terri for the fun. I'm so in awe of your generosity!

I especially liked this pattern. I think I will put that in the "to do real soon" pile! (Do you have one of those? Mine is really big!

My other wonderful surprise came from Deb. This wasn't really a huge surprise, as I knew that she was sending this package. It's quilt software, for Dear Jane. The surprise was how fast the postman got it here! Deb and I are going to start this project together. She bought this software for herself several years ago, but it is for Windows, and she now owns a Mac, so it would not work her. I'm really hoping it works on my computer, so I can print templates out for us to paper piece many of the blocks. Want to join us on this insane quest? I can't promise we will be very organized or stay on task, but you are welcome to join in the fun if you want. Let me know.

I finished this little Betsy Ross House sampler, (a freebie from plum street samplers. I don't remember the name of it right now) I'm not showing close up, as I'm not thrilled with my finishing on this. I've never done finishing like this before, and it shows! It looks okay from a distance, so that's how you get to view it! LOL.
I think this saying applies in this situation, "Better done than perfect!"

I finished my Joined at the Hip quilt. It's hanging on the front door. I'm amazed at how long projects like this, actually take! I thought a day or two...good grief it took me a day just to quilt the darn thing. I'm not thrilled with my quilting either. I used clear thread, so it wouldn't show up very well. I'm critical of my skills, as they are very beginning. I'm not one that would choose to do an entire quilt, as I like the finished product so much more if an experienced quilter does the job. It's good to practice I guess. I'm all for learning new skills.

I just finished piecing this quilt top yesterday. This is for my DD's 9th birthday in a few weeks. Grandma is going to help me with the quilting, because of my beginning quilting skills as mentioned above! I hope she likes this. It is by Quilt Soup, and is called All Dolled Up. I bought the pattern and kit last year at shop hop. I love these fabrics! So bright and cheery! I have lots of sewing to do for the birthday party. I'll post more about that later.

I've been sneaking in a few stitches here and there on my "The Farmers Wife" sampler from Barrick Samplers. I have had to do a little tweaking on the colors, as the DMC converted colors are really off. I like the way this is turning out, and I find myself wanting to work on it all the time, which I'm trying to avoid. Consequently, Deb sent me some rotary instructions for a quilt called the Farmers wife, that I would like to start real soon. Isn't that weird? Two projects with the same name...I must be in a Farm kind of mood.

Well, take care and have a wonderful 4th of July. Thanks so much for your advice on my quilt from the last post. I'm still holding on that quilt for a while! Also, thanks for your comments and kind words. I should respond to all your comments, and forgive me for not doing so. I will try and be better! Your comments are the reason I keep blogging, so thanks from the bottom of my heart!

Shop Hoppin' and more stash buying

2010-06-20T10:19:00.000-07:00

Boy, it's been a long time since I've posted anything. Here's an update of what I've been up to.

Little House Needleworks All Dolled Up series

Liberty and Justice

DMC colors

I finished a little patriotic sampler. This was a fun stitch, and I did it in a few nights. I haven't been stitching too much lately. The sewing machine has been getting more attention, because of this...

My DD got a new sewing machine. This is cute Hello Kitty machine, that actually sews great. It has 9 stitches and a button hole. The perfect machine for DD to learn to sew on. It is a real Janome machine, not a toy, so I do have to watch her, but so far she has been really careful, and we haven't sewn our fingers yet...knock on wood!

She made a few pot holders. My son wanted to learn too, so he made the one in the middle. I think they did a good job, and it was good practice. She also made a couple dresses for her AG dolls. They were both the same, and she needed a little help with the trim, but for the most part, she sewed the whole dress. There was a slight mishap with the scissors when cutting out the skirt, somehow we ended up with a huge hole. I told her that now we know what not to do with the scissors!

I've been working on Garden Fence by Fig Tree. I really love this quilt. I am having problems finding the right color of fabric to go in between the blocks. I have a lot of orange going on here, and I'm not sure that I want that much orange. Opinions anyone?

I finished my trench coat and bag. (Sorry for the terrible picture. No body was home to help me with this.)
The weather has been so awful here, I actually got to wear this last weekend for our towns annual Heritage Festival. It only got up to 55 degrees, and it rained all day. I've had lots of compliments on it, and I'm glad it turned out. Both patterns are from Serendipity Studios. The jacket was really easy, and I got my decorator fabric for a dollar a yard...Kaching!

At the Heritage Festival I helped some friends with the trunk show. They have a different designer come and do a trunk show every year. Big names like Blackbird, Quaker Town Quilts, and this year...Barbara from Quilt Soup. Her trunk show was fantastic! I love her patterns, they are fun and happy. Quilts that make you smile. I bought this pattern, which is not like her work now at all. This is one of her first patterns she designed. The center on the star block gets cut out, and you can make a bonus quilt with the extra piece. I love this idea! After the show, I got to go to lunch with Barbara. She is so fun to talk to. I love getting to meet creative people! Wish I would have had my camera!

Some of my stash haul from Shop Hop Can you tell what fabric DD picked out, and what I picked out?

This week, I've been to our annual Shop Hop, in Utah. It really is a fun event. I suppose to meet up with Jolene on Wednesday. Tuesday night the weather report was showing 70 mile an hour winds and DH was not very excited about my going. He could see visions of trucks tipping over on the freeway (which did happen, but no one was hurt). It turns out that Jolene could not get Thursday off, so she went without me! I was plenty mad at the hubby let me tell you! I decided to go on Thursday, and I took my little daughter. It was fun to have a day with her, but not the same as if I had been with Jolene. I didn't take my camera so go over to Jolene's blog to see some photos of the different stores.

My best deal were these Joined at the Hip kits. $5.00 for each kit, including the pattern! I wish they would have had Fall and Winter too.

Saturday, Jolene came to my town and we went to the last store, Village Dry Goods. I found a few more things I needed. I have had this quilt book for a while, and I wanted some Civil War prints to make some of these small quilts out of. They have a great selection. The berry fabric was on sale for $4.99 a yard, and I just thought it was great for something. Don't know what yet...

Jolene was so cute, and bought me some patterns while she was shopping around. Gosh, I don't know what to say! She blows me away. I can't wait to do some of these darling projects. I made her a small pincushion to remember her shop hop event, and took her to lunch at the Idle Isle. A restaurant that has been around for 90 years! Not even a comparison to her generous gift, I know, but can you ever out do Jolene?

I started on this easy project last week. One of my shop hop projects from years past. I love this blackbird sampler fabric in the background. I have lots of this fabric, in many different colors! I am going to have projects that all look the same! This is Joined at the Hip, Liberty Welcome. It is one of the Hanging on a star series quilts. You can make a quilt for every season to hang on your door. I'm not sure if I'll get to anymore soon, but I'll try.

I started on one of my Barrick Samplers. I have vision of a whole row of these black samplers hanging with black ribbon in my sewing room. I'll have to take pictures when I get them done.

Last but not least, I made a new ironing board cover. Don't you just love the samplers on it? It fits my room perfectly!

Take care dear blog friends! Thanks for all your wonderful comments. I love them! Until next time...Happy Sewing.

To Quilt Market and back!

2010-05-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

Hi to all! I've had the wonderful opportunity to go to Spring Quilt Market, with my traveling SIL and friends. This is our 4th market together, and I think, my favorite. People are starting to know who we are, and we know them, so it's like a big reunion with some of the most talented people on the planet. I can't wait to share some photos.

First off, things didn't start off smoothly. We ended up sitting on the runway in Denver for over 2 1/2 hours during an incredible electrical storm. There was also a tornado warning in effect! Thank goodness the people next to me were fun to talk to! I kept thinking... "Well, if we get stuck in Denver, there is a new American Girl store here!"
We did make it to Minneapolis, at 3:30 in the morning. Imagine my surprise the next day when we went to the "Mall of America" and they had an American Girl store! I was in heaven! I spent many hours and dollars here!

My husband says this is a dangerous place to let me loose in! He's right. I could look at everything 3 or 4 times. I don't get tired of it. I must be a kid at heart, because I love these dolls!
Our hotel was right across the street from the Mall, and they had a giveaway for Lanie the cute doll above. I entered every time I walked past the desk.
I bought my daughter some little gifts for her birthday. The typewriter, the guitar and the doctor set. Imagine my thrill to see this at market....

More AG dolls! This is Playdate, the new line from Patty Young, and ModKid

I like Patty, because she is just my size! I really wanted to buy every pattern she has, but my closet is already overflowing with projects to do. I will probably break down and order some of her doll clothes patterns eventually. They are too cute for words. I especially loved the little "wardrobe" suitcase. (hanging next to the bed on the left) What a great thing to take to Grandma's.

Most of our day was filled with "fabric buying" We had back to back appointments with Michael Miller, Moda, Studio e, yaddie, yada, yada...so in between trips to the bathroom, I would wander around and get pictures of things I wanted to see.
I stopped off at one of my favorites...Fig Tree, and low and behold one of my favorite fabric designers was there...Kate Spain! (The nicest person you will ever meet!)
I reminded Joanna of the time she came to my little town to do a trunk show. My mom and I got to sit at her table for dinner. We ate a very famous local restaurant named Maddox. Well, because it was a very large event, we had 3 options for dinner. FRIED chicken, Turkey FRIED steak, and Chicken FRIED Steak, (which is beef, not chicken.) You should have seen Joanna's face when the choices were read...She grimly said, "I'll have the salad?" wondering if there was any proper way out of this FRIED unhealthy food night. A very funny moment to watch. She remembered it perfectly. It was fun to reminisce about.

As you can see we were laughing way to hard to have a proper picture taken. Really it was because I am so short, and these 2 ladies tower over me. They were practically on their knees, and I was as high on my tiptoes as I could get. Too funny! BTW, Siobhan. I told Joanna all about you! She now knows she has a very devoted fan in Ireland that "stalks" her website.!

More of Fig Tree's beautiful booth. Joanna talking to Kate Spain.

This was Michael Miller's booth. (A fabric company) It was really elegant, but interesting, as everything was white...I can assure you that none of their fabric collections are white. It made for a nice backdrop to show off all of the different designers collections.

To the right is the booth for Bonnie and Camille. They are a mother and daughter team that both have their own patten companies, and together,design fabric for Moda. This was a great new fabric collection called "bliss". Turquoise and red is all the rage this year.

Here I am meeting the famous "Elliot"! A highlight of the trip I'll have you know! You have to go to Amanda Herrings website to read the adventures of Elliot. Amanda is the wonderful pattern designer of "The Quilted Fish".

Amanda is a doll! So much fun to be around. She is from Utah too, so I'm hoping for a lunch date! What do you say Amanda? Check out her new darling fabric line in the window panes above! So cute.

Oh, I just loved this booth of Ann Sutton. Bunny Hill, has become one of my favorite designers. Her patterns are very detailed perfect works of art. I have to say, that it was very busy in this booth when I went by, and I didn't get the chance to talk to Anne, other than to say everything was wonderful. To tell you the truth, I was really nervous around her! I am such a big fan, I was just too chicken to tell her!

Love these vintage colors. I got the charm pack from Anne's quilter that was helping in the booth.

On the stitching front, I finished my freebie from Plum Street. I want to mount it on this basket, but I've never done that before. If you know how, or have seen a good tutorial, I would love the link!

I also did some deep stash diving and found this pattern by Homespun Elegance. I don't have very many "travel friendly" projects right now. I've got to buy more stash..Darn!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures. I really appreciate all of your sweet comments. I'm all inspired to work on some quilt projects this week! Have a great week...It's the last week of school, I could not be more thrilled! More market fun later!

Meeting blog friends, Rainbows and Stitching!

2010-05-17T08:46:00.000-07:00

A quick post to show you who I got to finally meet this past Friday night...

Jolene and me with stitch group. My SIL was suppose to take this picture of our faces, not me scrunching down like this!

This is my dear blog friend Jolene and I. We have been trying to get together for several months, and finally our paths crossed, and I was able to get my stitch group together on a night she could come up. It was so fun to meet Jolene, FINALLY. She is a doll. We hope to do this a lot more often!

As you know from Jolene's blog, that she is very generous with her thoughtful gifts. She surprised everyone with a little gift of unique scissors and a beautiful scissor fob. She made our night!

A beautiful and thoughtful gift from Jolene

She had this cute cork on the end of the scissors, to protect them from punching through the tissue paper. Teresa (Lower Left) reminded us of the movie "Dirty Rotten Scandrals". The part with Ruprect having a cork on the end of his fork, so he wouldn't poke his eye out...well, we couldn't help demonstrating how useful the cork will be for us! No one will be poking their eyes out with this ingenious little addition.

Later in the evening it started raining, and we had this beautiful double rainbow. It was great to sit out and watch it, but it did get too cold to stitch, and we ended up going in the house. :(

I got my Bent Creek wedding row back from the framers. I opted to leave the heart buttons off, as they made it look more valentiney, and I want to leave this up all year. Sort of a "silent sermon" to my family members of my love for them.

Finally, I have been cleaning out some things in my sewing room, and came upon these. I decided to show you the sewing accessories I designed for a retreat that I did in Park City several years ago with Cynthia Zittel from the Drawn Thread. These classes were taught three different years, and eventually I wanted to complete a shaker box to put these in. Unfortunately, the store that held the retreats went out of business and that ended all the fun.

A photo of the back sides. I never published these designs, but have thought about doing it in the future, when time comes my way again...LOL!

That's all for now. Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have a great week with lots of stitching!

A little chocolate, and a Philly Cheesesteak!

2010-05-06T09:22:00.000-07:00

Hi to all. I'm hopelessly behind on life, blog reading, posting...you get the idea. However, I cannot complain, as I have been traveling to Pennsylvania this weekend, and I can't wait to show you some things. Here we go!

Enjoying a fresh pretzel at Immergut (It is Good in German). Yes it was!

My husband had an overnight trip in Philly, so I took the kids a few days early for a little "field trip". We drove through the Amish country the first day and then up to Hershey.

Thanks to Siobhan, I was able to look at beautiful scenery like this...instead of the freeway. She used to live here, and gave me great directions on what to do, and where to go. My husband bought me a GPS before going, and "Lola" (as my daughter named her), did not like the fact that I was taking a different route, but I ignored all of her instructions and stuck to route 896.

I bought this cute doll in Intercourse at a the Old Candle Barn. Then it was on to Eldreth pottery. I looked at everything, and honestly had the hardest time deciding what to buy, so I left without a thing. We went to Hershey that night, and after a fitful night of dreaming about not getting a piece of Eldreth pottery, I made the stop on the way back to Philly and bought two plates. The little black one was my first choice. I loved the colors, and thought it looked great with my new doll. The other plate was sitting over with 3 other plates. They all had names and dates on them, and normally they would have been $50.00. I don't know if they were ordered and never picked up, or what, but this plate was marked $2.00. It made me think about orphan samplers with other peoples names on them. I decided my doll could be named "Anna Marie", and I bought it. I told the saleslady she probably thought it was weird that I would buy a plate that had someone else's name on it, but she said people do it all the time. (I guess I'm not the only crazy person.)

We went on a buggy ride with a former Amish teenager named Kaleb. His family is Amish, but he has decided to pursue an education and become a vet. It was really interesting listening to his perspective on things. We learned much about Amish culture. A real highlight of the trip.

My daughter was so excited to make her own candy bar, as we had seen on the Hershey website that it was new for 2010. Well, Wally World was closed when we got there. The machines have net yet been completed, and it won't be open until the end of June. It was the biggest letdown! We toured the factory, and she really loved the ride, so her spirits were better after that. The next day we went to the Hershey museum and went to the "Chocolate lab". It was really interesting to learn about, and taste chocolate from all over the world. We didn't know that we would be making our own candy bar in the lab, and DD was thrilled! We added crushed red peppers to our chocolate to make it more like the Mayan's would have done. It just makes the chocolate taste warm, but it's not spicy like you would think. A wonderful place to visit. I think another trip back to Hershey to stay in the Hershey hotel, is on our list of family vacations!

This little quilt was in the Hershey museum. I can't wait to find some pink, and make one. It was so sweet. The back was interesting too. It was a pieced quilt as well. Very different color schemes, that seem to work great together.

This was a sampler in one of the cases. Love the design of this one too.

Back in Philly, we walked around a bit the first night. We went to "Logan square" which has some beautiful fountains. This use to be the place that they had a gallows set up. Hanging's happened here every weekend. Hard to imagine, and a little creepy. They moved the cemetery and made this park, I think in the 60's.

The next day, I didn't take my camera, because we wanted to go to the US Mint, and when I was there last year, camera's were not allowed. I left it in the hotel room. Well, wouldn't you know it, they are only open Monday through Friday, so we didn't even get to go, and I had no camera for pictures of Independence Hall, and the Liberty Bell! UGGG! DH took pictures on his iphone, but it's likely I won't see those again. Our kids favorite thing, Chinatown! So funny. DD bought a silk dress, and Chinese parasol there. DS bought a pack of fake money!

Lastly, we went to Las Vegas and spent the night. We had to take a late flight home Monday night, and had the whole day to kill. We found a Cafe Rio in Vegas (which is one of our local favorites), and right next door was our local favorite custard shop, Nelsen's Custard.

After that we went to see the lions at MGM Grand, and walked around all day. Our feet hurt, and it was hot, and I think we were all feeling "vacationed out". I don't enjoy the Las Vegas strip at all! It was hard to have my kids there as there is so much crap that they can see, that I didn't want them to see! It was not a good end to the trip, however it gave us much to talk about with them, and it helps them to realize what stuff is out there.

Back home...

Before I left, I received a special surprise in the mail. Jolene, sent me a wonderful set of silk to stitch Carriage House Samplings Noah's Ark Stocking. I was so overcome with emotion. I am so blessed with wonderful friends. Thanks so much Jolene. The colors are beautiful! You are such a sweetie!

When I got home, I received another surprise from my great friend Terri! She was sending me belated birthday wishes. I just love this flower frog, and the darling sewing set she made! The scissors are perfect too. Terri, you made my day. Thanks from the bottom of my heart!

My SIL, Melanie, gave me this great tile changing frame. She made all of the vinyl stickers, and spent a ton of time making this cute gift. It was so different, and I love it!

I won Sharlotte's blog contest last week, and she sent me this darling towel. It goes perfect in my house. It really looks great with Terri's gift! Thanks Sharlotte! Love it, and your stitching is wonderful!

On the stitching front:

I'm almost done with my little bunny. I just have to finish the basket and words. It's funny how fast this was going at first, and then I kind of stalled. I hope to finish it up this week. I don't like how the dye lots change on the dress. I had an extra skein that I started with, and it was obviously a little brighter than the 2 new skeins I bought. Oh well! I still love this little bunny.

I started this little sampler on the airplane. It is a freebie from Plum Street Samplers. I thought it was appropriate as we went to the Betsy Ross house, and this reminds me of her house. We had a lot of turbulence and it was hard to stitch anything. This is all I got done on the 10+ hours of flying! Can you believe that? It was a wonderful week! Thanks for checking in with me, and leaving a comment! You are wonderful, and you make my life sweet!

What a fabulous Day!

2010-04-22T19:45:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

I don't blog twice in one week very often, but I just had to tell you about a wonderful day that I had yesterday!

First of all, thanks to all my wonderful blog friends who wished me a happy birthday! You are the best! It was so nice to read (and hear) all of your messages. Also, my little daughter is beaming with joy over the sweet comments about her painting. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Yesterday, Mother Nature marveled us with hail storms! We don't get them often in Utah, but we had two huge storms before the day was through. They ripped through the grill and furniture covers on the patio, they demolished the garden and little flowers. You would think one would want to stay home amidst this craziness. I however, didn't want to fix myself and family something to eat, so I insisted that we go to lunch in Ogden, and after that go do a little shopping at Shepherd's Bush.

I was starting to regret that decision at first, because the weather was so bad at the restaurant that I thought the car would be damaged from the hail. We also had the power flickering off and on in the restaurant, so I thought that would be eating in the dark. But, all of this was worth it after our trip to SB.

Since the weather was what it was, no one else was crazy enough to brave the storm, and we pretty much had the entire SB staff at our disposal. After I pointed out a few lovely things to DH, that I would like, I hung out in the back of the store while DH decided what to buy. The girls stayed busy for quite a while, and I had no idea what could be taking so long. Well this is why they were taking so long...

Such lovely gifts. Most of them had a little "sheep" tied to the ribbon. The SB girls do know how to spoil!

Hubby did pretty good at picking out fun things. He bought waaayyy more than I would have. The Autumn and Fall charts were a surprise, and I wasn't as jazzed about them. However he said they had changed the colors, and he loved them...guess we got to do something the rest of the family likes once in a while!
He hid all of the gifts in the car before I could see them, and then he went home and set up a wonderful "treasure hunt". It was so fun.

I can't say enough about the SB staff. They really went out of their way to make this a special day, and I don't think my husband will go to another store to buy a present! He has become a loyal customer!
When we were leaving Teri said, "Your husband is really great! Really, you are very lucky." I could not agree more!

My dear friend, Val, gave me a great puzzle from a local artist. She even had the box autographed. Also, she gave me a sweet book about friends. I'm so blessed!

The next two photo's are presents to myself. I went shopping last week, and found this cute angel in the clearance section at a decorating store. It was the only one left, and it was a whopping $.63. Can you believe it! I can't wait to put her with some samplers.

I also bought the turquoise vase and ball things. I thought they were pretty great. They are not antique, but they were cheap, so I added them to my table.

I finished my Bent Creek Wedding row. One more UFO to cross off!

Thanks for visiting me. Hope you all have a wonderful day. Again, I thank you for the sweet comments. They sure brighten my day!

Ah' Tis Spring!

2010-04-21T08:19:00.000-07:00

The weather has been so nice...

Hi to all! We have been enjoying the lovely 70's weather this past week. So fun to roast marshmallows around the fire pit. So nice to feel the warm sun. So nice to work in the yard. I have enjoyed every minute of it, UNTIL... a terrible storm came through last night and woke us out of a sound sleep. Pea size hail and thunder woke us out of our slumber. Ah' Tis spring! This is typical weather for us in Utah. Nice one day, and snowing the next. A hailstorm ripped up the flowers and plants this morning...Happy B-day to me! (Yes, it's today! I'm going to take full advantage of it.)
A New Start
"Ah Tis Spring by Notforgotten Farm"
28 count cream Lugana with Weeks, Gentle Art and DMC linen thread

Last Thursday, I needed a new project. Something that would be easy to work on while DD did her math outside, so I caved, and left my goals behind to start something new. Now that I've picked this bunny up, I can't seem to put her down! This is one of those projects that I have loved every second of. I hope to work on her again today. It would be nice to finish a project in a week!

I got all of my new Carriage House Sampling Stash. Our stitching group is splitting up this order and the charts will be going in our library. Since so many of us wanted these charts, we thought this would be a good way for all of us to have chance to stitch these designs. So fun to look at all of these projects. I can't wait to start something new. I love the way Terri stitched Noah's Stocking into a sampler. I may have to copy her! What a great idea.

I also got the new Blackbird book. At first glance, I wasn't really that thrilled with it. I wasn't sure that I would do anything out of it...however after finding FayeRaye's blog , I decided that I may have to do this sampler someday. Really pretty!

Keeping up with my goals this month.
A new bag for a friend who just had her second baby.

My bag to match my Easter dress. Still working on it! (The dress is done!)

My Fig Tree Quilt, Garden Gate! Loving this project.

Lastly, I need to brag about my little daughter. She took a painting class from a lady in our neighborhood. She teaches their "Achievement days" class at our church.
Last night, they had a "Art Appreciation" night to show off the paintings they made.

My DD next to her painting. I can't believe my 8 year old painted this! I'm thrilled with her work.

That's all for this week! Thanks for all you wonderful comments. I love reading them!

Losing spring and Finding Friends

2010-04-06T08:31:00.000-07:00

Look at what I woke up to today! What happened to spring? This is quite a snow storm. Enough for the kids to go sledding in! Thankfully, it is spring, and it will melt soon. Also, we really need the snow for the water, so I guess I can see the bright side of this situation. Another bright side...I can stitch today, instead of working in the yard!

Birds of a Feather Friendship Sampler
Stitched on 35 count linen with Weeks and Gentle Art Colors
One strand over two linen threads

Recently, I was the recipient of a most wonderful surprise. I am feeling so grateful for kindred friends I have met while blogging. Teri, is one such special friend. Last Fall, She posted a sampler on her blog that she had stitched with her friend Julie. After it was finished, I commented on how much more special this sampler would be, knowing your stitching friend had stitched part of it. She totally surprised me with a wonderful package! This sampler was part of it. I promised I wouldn't blog about it, but I just can't help myself! I have to share my feelings of appreciation to her.
I have been stitching away on this wonderful sampler, and loving every second of it. It has 3 different over dyed blues for the lettering, which makes me go a little slower, but the effect is wonderful! When she comes to visit in the Fall, (She and her friend Julie are trying to get into the Shepherd's Bush retreat), she will stitch one of the little girls. I hope I'll have the rest of it finished by then! Thanks from the bottom of my heart Terri. Your gift was more than I could ever ask for!

Alphabet Village by Cross My Heart
Stitched on Cream Lugana 32 count
2 strands of DMC over 2 threads
I have been marathon stitching away on my alphabet village. This is my oldest UFO. I have been working on it all weekend. Only one more row to go after I finish this one! It seems to be going fairly fast. I made a goal to finish 2 houses a month, but...you know how that goes! I seem to have a never ending interest in buying new projects.

Ah' Tis Spring by Notforgotten Farm
Kitted up with Gentle Art, Weeks, and DMC Linen thread (My own conversion)
Stitched on 32 count Lugana Evenweave

I've been watching another dear stitching friend, Jane, stitch away on this cute design. I decided to kit this project up. I would love to work on this, but I'm trying to stay focused on my other projects. (A difficult task, for someone like me, that suffers from stitcher startitis!)

Speaking of new projects, when my stitch group met last week, we started talking about Carriage House going out of business. This news sickened all of us, as we, especially me, adore her designs!! What are we going to do without her? Well, we all decided we better start acquiring her charts. I already have all of the Hawk Run Hollow designs, and a few smaller ones as well. I went ahead and ordered another 19 charts! A huge early birthday present to myself! I can't wait to get my package, and I will share with you when it comes!

Have a great week, and thank you so much for your sweet comments. Oh, how they make my day!

Thanks to a wonderful friend!

2010-03-14T18:35:00.000-07:00

I was so thrilled to receive this award from a wonderful blogger, Jolene. She is just about the sweetest person on the blogging web, and I am thrilled she wanted to know more about me. Thanks Jolene! I have never been nominated for an award like this. I'm flattered!

1. I am the only girl in my family. I am right in the middle of 5 brothers. Two older and 3 younger. My dad was worried I would be spoiled, so I think he went out of his way to make sure I didn't receive any special treatment. For example, if my car (which I bought and paid for with my own money) needed any mechanical work at all, my dad would not help me with my woes, unless I was sitting by his side helping him work on it. I'm grateful that he made me learn how to be a mechanic, as I have had to use that knowledge a lot in my life!

2. I contemplated changing my major about 5 times in college. First it was business. I wanted to be a buyer for a department store. I didn't know you had to have so much math for this major...I hate math.
Next, public relations...you have to write for the school paper...weekly...nope, not my favorite thing to do.
Third was French...I'm not really sure why I thought about this major! Fourth...microbiology...lab work was not really my thing.
Finally...Marriage and family therapy...I decided to get married, so I didn't finish this one either. I should mention that I really never officially changed my major in college. These are just the things I was interested in. I went to school for 4 years, so if I would have stuck with one thing, and started and finished with my FHD ambitions, I would have finished. Such is life.

3. I hospitalized on my 8th birthday for pneumonia. I had to stay in one of those oxygen tents for about 7 days. It was scary, and lonely, and I wanted to play with my toys that I had gotten for my birthday. I still have vivid memories of a Charlie Brown character book that a friend gave me in the hospital. I loved that book!

4. One summer, I broke my arm, when my brother and I went down to the local go-cart race track and pooled our money together so we could ride twice as long on the track. We took turns "driving" and "pushing the gas pedal". My crazy brother drove us into a bail of hay, and as it was my turn to push the gas, I didn't stop us! This same brother broke his arm a week later when he was showing off on his skateboard, and the garden hose happened to get in the way!
We have another brother that broke his arm a few weeks after that on the neighbor's trampoline. My poor mother!

5. I've been stitching and sewing since I was about eight. It has always been something I have enjoyed doing. I started with those little Bucilla crewel kits. I also sewed with 4-H and I entered several articles of clothing into the fair.

6. I have had my own pattern business. I published under the name of "The Hidden Heart." I designed mostly punch needle patterns, but I also had some embroidery, wool, and cross stitch patterns. I taught classes all over the state of Utah. What fond memories! My favorite retreat was at the Washington School Inn in Park City. I taught 3 years with Cynthia Zittel of "The Drawn Thread." What a thrill!

7. On the day that the SAT test was given, I was really sick. I didn't want to miss the test, as there wasn't another one scheduled for several months, and I was interested in trying to get into college early, during my senior year. I went and took the test, and I don't remember much about that day, other than I was sicker than I ever remember being!
My mom picked me up from the test and took me straight to the hospital instead of going home. After a few blood tests, I was diagnosed with mononucleosis. Needless to say, I spent the next month in bed. I felt awful!
After applying for college, it was not surprising that my SAT scores were too low to get into college early. I wrote a letter of appeal, and told them why my scores were so low, and that I had taken the test while having mono. I guess the person reviewing my case figured that if I had enough dedication to go to a test while having mono, I would be dedicated in my classes, so I was accepted. I was only the 7th person at the time in my high school to go to college early. I guess I really should have finished getting my degree, huh!

I am suppose to nominate 7 other blogger's. I am having a hard time with this part. I love all of the blogs I follow! I feel like I'm breaking one of those "chain" letters, but I'm going to say that if you are on my blog roll, and you would like to tell me a little about yourself, then this award is for you! Please feel free to share 7 things that are unknown about you!

I get to show you what I have been doing this week!
Matching bags for my DD and I for Easter!

I went to a quilting retreat on Thursday through Saturday. I got a few projects done! (Can you hear the hallelujah chorus?) It was so fun! love being able to just sit and work on projects and not be interrupted by kids, phones, and fixing dinner!

Button Up Buttercup by FriendsFolk Quilts

I got this put together on Friday. It's been in my closet for a few years. This is for DD's bed. After it is quilted it will be washed, and the flowers with "rag up" giving it some dimension. It was funny that one of my friends had the same quilt, and she was doing it in black and white prints with bright yellow flowers. It was amazing at how different they were. A great versitle pattern.

Prairie Sweets by Fig Tree Quilts

I bought this yesterday on my way home from the retreat. Isn't this a lovely quilt? I think it's the perfect quilt to use up scraps. I love this little pamphlet. There is a wonderful article in here about having a variety of projects. It's important to have projects that are challenging and some that are just plain easy and fun to finish. She says it helps us be more creative if we mix it up a little. It was just what I need to read. I think I can get overwhelmed at times, and this put things in perspective for me.

Hope all is well in blog land! I really appreciate the comments and support. How I love all my peeps and blog friends! Take Care, and have a wonderful week!

Life is Pixie Perfect!

2010-03-04T07:07:00.001-08:00

Spring has sprung at my house...Not outside, but in!
Bare Roots "Love Notes" embroidery made my my Mom a few years ago
Pine Needles "Punch and Cookies of the Month for April

Hi everyone! I'm sick of always starting with an apology for why my life is so insane and out of control, so...I'm just going to say, that I'm busy! But, my house is semi-clean, my kids are sort of caught up on their schoolwork, we are all healthy, and I got to go to Disneyland this month with some friends! SO... LIFE IS PERFECT!!!! (And I got some wonderful stash this month so how can I say anything but, Life is perfect!)

One of my favorite places in the world...Disneyland!

Some friends and I, ran away to Disneyland for a very impromptu trip over Valentine's Day weekend. We had a wonderful time! We have the best husbands in the world, as they were supportive and willing to let us go! I think we walked about 40 miles in 3 days, and it was anything but relaxing, but it's Disneyland! The happiest place on earth (besides the quilt and stitching stores!)

My Version of Quaker Town Quilts "Mama Said"

I finally got this quilt back from the quilters. It had been there for over a year. Somehow I made the back a titch too short, so she had to add some fabric. I felt like such a dork! I should have picked it up and fixed it, but my quilter insisted that she would fix it for me, so I just left it. I almost forgot about it, when I get a phone call saying that it was finished. It looks great on my couch. This is a quilt I started about 6 years ago, so it's nice to have a UFO done!

Kate Spain's new line of fabric called"Verna". I am in total heaven over this fabric!

Last month for our quilt guild, we had this designer from "Crazy Old Ladies" quilts come and do a trunk show. She offered us a great deal on her patterns...3 for $20.00. Of course, I have no self control and I had to buy three! Here is what I got. I promptly went to the fabric store and bought fabric for 2 of them. This is Lila Tueller's new line called "Eden" I have no clue where these quilts are going, as they are a little bright for my house, but I think they will make cute t.v quilts or gifts.I acquired the pattern "Rabbits Prefer Embroidery" by Bunny Hill. I started the redwork on it to match this. Later I saw this made up at a store, and with shock said, "Did you guys reduce your pattern?" "No, they said, this is full size. Well, my quilt for my couch is a mere 36"X39" finished. Not exactly the size I was hoping for. Since I had already traced my pieces, I'm finishing as planned. I guess I've learned the hard way that you better look at the instructions before you buy. Pictures can be deceiving!

This is "Postage Due" the 3rd pattern that I bought from Crazy Old Ladies. Also, Joined at the hip "Button Basket" that I bought last week during another moment of weakness. My friend and I, went to a quilt store before our stitch group met. Now I'm thinking, "I hate sewing on buttons! Why would I buy a pattern with all buttons on it?" I love the look, but I may have to use my machine for this one.

I've been stash buying at Shepherd's Bush this month. If anyone sets up a 12 set program for out of control buyers...let me know.

Plum Streets Paradise Lost
Plum Streets Ghoul
Birds of a Feather Happy Hearts Sampler
Ah, Tis Spring by Notforgotten Farm
Ewe and I and Friends Heart in the Garden

This is all I've accomplished on my Village Alphabets. I think my goal of getting this done by next month is impossible, as I still have 8 houses to go. I'm shooting for 17th wedding anniversary in July now!

I'm almost finished with "Wedding Row" by Bent Creek. I don't really have a desire to work on Valentines anymore, but I don't want to put it back in the closet until next year either, so I hope to finish it and get it framed so I can put it out next year.

Take care all my friends. Thanks for all of your posts and comments. I love looking at your blogs, and I am most appreciative of your friendship....Until Next time, (Which hopefully will be soon so you can see what I ordered from Spring Market!)
Take Care!

Traveling again.

2010-02-01T12:00:00.000-08:00

My daughter and niece on a little island in Belize

I guess I'm blogging once a month, at best. Hopefully my blog friends will still be interested in what I'm up to!

We have been vacationing... again. I know we just went to Florida, but my husband has to put in his vacation time a year in advance, so November was our 2nd vacation for 2009 and January our first for 2010.
We went on a NCL cruise with my brother's family and my parents. This is my 3rd cruise. Our first was with Disney, and my only complaint was that it was too short. The last 2 have been with Carnival and NCL. I have to say that even though these cruise lines do a lot of things right, (we did have a great time), I found it very annoying that they managed to charge for every little thing! It ended up costing a great deal more than we had planned. I'm not a huge fan of cruises. I don't think I want to do another one any time soon, unless it's Disney.

I loved the ports that we went to...Roatan, Belize, Costa Maya Mexico, and NCL's private island in the Bahamas. Here are some snaps:A perfect beach day! Belize (same island as above)

My DD getting her hair braided by Johanna in Roatan (a small island off of Honduras)
We went zip lining in the jungle just prior to this. I didn't want my camera as I was dressed for a day of snorkeling...a swim cover up and sandals. The weather was not great for snorkeling, and we ended up doing the zip line instead. I would do that again in a heart beat, it was thrilling!

These are the recently discovered Mayan ruins of Chocchoben about an hour outside Costa Maya Mexico. (Discovered about a year ago. They were amazing! You can see how the earth looks now, and how much they still have to uncover.)

My little family on the biggest temple uncovered. There are currently 3 temples that have been excavated.DH carrying DD after she stepped in a fire ant bed! (She was not a happy camper.)

A conch we found in the water on the beach in Mexico. I didn't know they had such beady little eyes!

My parents, SIL, DH, and niece and nephew in Mexico.

Some of the artwork from the midnight chocolate buffet. Really cool stuff, but it was too late to eat for me (except for a little bite of a chocolate truffle pie)!

My finishes and framing from January. I know I didn't come close to attaining my goals this month, but I didn't get a lot of stitching time in, like I thought I would, so I feel pretty good about what I have to show.

This is my little start from New Year's Day. I like the way it turned out, and it looks great on my little red wall in the loft.

Shepherd's Bush Baby Bug Ball, hanging in my DD's pink room.

Shepherds Bush's Spooky Sheep. I love this huge frame on this little piece. Shepherd's Bush Sail Away, finally finished!

Shepherd's Bush Snow Hill. (I didn't realize had so many SB pieces done the last few months!

A little prize I won from Sharlotte's blog a few month's back. Notice the framer put the hanger on the wrong side (the heart is upside down). I will have to take it back next time I go.

Blackbird's Flea Market Find.

Progress on Shores. I'm enjoying this again, and trying to get it done this year.

This is a new start for Valentine's Day. This is Bent Creek's Wedding Row, but I am stitching in Red and pink Valentine colors. Shepherd's Bush has this done up in their shop, and it's much better done this way.

Finally I finished the "F" house in my alphabet village. Only 9 more to go! I'm hoping to finish by April for my DH's birthday, as I am dedicating to him.

That's it for today. I know it's been a newsy post! Hope all is well with my blog friends. Thanks for your wonderful comments and friendship! I love you all!

A New Year...New Goals

2010-01-04T07:39:00.000-08:00

Hi to all my wonderful blog friends!

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday! We did, and the memories are still lingering. I haven't wanted to take my Christmas decorations down yet! (A first for me.) I may just leave them up a few more weeks, before I switch to Valentine's.
I'm sorry I've been so silent on my blog. December was busy, and every time I thought about snapping a few pictures, the camera eluded me. (I did find it in the laundry room, after a good day of cleaning up!

Here are some of the things I got for Christmas!A new couch! (The other one was a love seat that we bought when we got married 16 years ago.) After it developed a big hole, we decided it was time for a new one!

A New plasma TV. Hubby bought it on "Black Friday" sale. Our other TV was older than a dinosaur. After trying to give it away, I looked on eBay to see if it was worth anything, and to my surprise we found one exactly like it, listed for 1200.00! Who knew it was so rare! I guess we will be listing ours, and hopefully we can pay for this one by selling it!

My wonderful Mom gave me this...

Cinnamon and Cocoa by Bunny Hill Designs
I absolutely love it! Doesn't it look great with my couch? I want to make the matching quilt called "Rabbits prefer embroidery". (Even bought some red and white fabric at a fabric sale last week to get going on it!)

On New Year's Eve I pulled out this....

Grandma's Porch by Carol Hopkin's Designs One of her Civil War Legacies Patterns.
(An exchange we did in my quilt guild last year)
Kim posted on her blog that she likes to work on a quilt for New Years. I thought it was a great idea, and I worked on this until about 10:30, when my internal clock told me it was time for bed!
I can't decide on borders, so it is just sitting on my sewing room floor at the moment.

I've been working on this during the holidays....

This is my oldest UFO project, started the year I was married in 1993. I debated several years ago, if it was worth finishing. My husband loves it, so I'm going to finish it for him. As you can see I've already stitched the year, so ... the pressure is on.

I did a bit of kitting...

Now this is what my kitted cross stitch projects looks like! It's a little overwhelming to see how many things I have to do...but I love that I can just pull something new out, whenever my stitcher ADD kicks in. I have a basket of new patterns that I have yet to kit. When I met Barb Adams from Blackbird, she related that many stitcher's, she has met, have a kitting fetish. That is so true of me! It gives one a sense of satisfaction to see all of these projects.

And finally my Christmas miracle...

I finally finished Sail Away! It was so hard to do that over-one stitching on the hill! It seemed that I would stitch on it for hours and never see any progress. I wish that I would have just done half crosses on the hill, as I ran out of floss towards the bottom, and could only do half crosses on that section. It is very hard to see, unless you hold it up to the light. I went through every finished Shepherd's bush project I had, and used every bit of that green silk that I could find. (Good thing they like that color to design with.)
Anyhow, it is great to be done with it! What a fun project to work on with friends.

Happy New Year to all my friends. Thanks for stopping by, and for your wonderful comments. They make my day!

There's no place like home!

2009-11-22T07:50:00.000-08:00

Shepherd's Bush Designs "Snow Hill"
A quick stitch on vacation from start to finish in a few days!

Hi to all! I've been silent for awhile as we have been on vacation in Florida. It was great to get away, but I've payed the piper all week trying to play catch up. I'm still not "caught up" with my kids school stuff, but sometimes it's just nice to let things go!
Friday and Saturday I was sewing up a wicked storm, as I had to complete 2 baby blankets for baby showers and a birthday gift for one of my best friends. I made her a retro apron from Cindy Taylor Oates' book "More Retro Aprons." I'm telling you, it was the cutest aprons, EVER! (I made the one in the center of the photo) I give this pattern book a full "10". The instructions are very well done, and it was a perfect fit! I'm kicking myself for not taking pictures. I was literally clipping threads and wrapping these gifts five minutes before the baby shower! I hate feeling rushed to finish a project, and wish sometimes I could get more organized!

My little fam on Daytona beach. Notice my DS is the only one brave enough to go in the water the first few day. Towards the end of the week, we all ventured in!

No, we did not make these sand sculptures, but they were so cool! Every day we would enjoy watching this talented guy spend hours creating a new design. He used a little stick to smooth the sand.

Anyhoo, back to vacation fun, The weather was a tad on the chilly side. A tropical storm was brewing off the coast, which brought wind and cooler temps for the first 5 days we were there. Towards the end of the week, we were back into the high 70's and the beach was wonderful. We had a chance to sit around a watch a lot of movies, and I got a lot of stitching done!

Baby Bug Ball Finish. Dedicated to my little daughter, who is always dressing up, and to my friend Jane from Australia.

In addition to stitching "Snow Hill" (above), I finished up my BBB, that I've been stitching with Jane. It was a delightful stitch, and I am so grateful for her friendship, and encouragement. I probably would not have gotten this done without her. Just knowing that I had made a commitment with her, kept me on track. Thank you Jane for everything! You are a sweetie! Go to her blog for better photo's. Jane is the Queen of perfect photos!
I had issues with my little black crow. There weren't any button holes in him. You should have seen the look on my hubby's face when I asked him to drill some pin size holes in it! I decided to ignore his counsel and do surgery on the poor thing with a sharp quilting pin. I thought I had done it when all of a sudden I was holding two pieces of a crow! I know, I'm stupid and stubborn, sometimes. I super glued the little guy back together, took it to Shepherd's Bush, which they were happy to exchange, and I'll be sewing it on after this post!

A little present for myself.
A needle minder (which I don't have, and have always wanted), and
Shepherd's Bush Halloween scissor fob kit.

Speaking of Shepherd's Bush, I had "stitch group" the day after we got home. I was so happy to leave the mess and go and stitch some more! We have about 10 members. We rotate houses and have a great time enjoying lunch and stitching. One of our members needed to stop at Shepherd's Bush on the way, and we all ended having to buy something. I think between the 5 of us, we spent several hundred dollars. It was great! I didn't buy as much as some of the others this time, but I did splurge on a Kelmscott needle minder and a Halloween Scissor Fob by Shepherd's Bush, for my orange stork scissors that Jolene sent me!

I have been the lucky winner of 3 blogs. It is so funny, because I have been entering every contest found under the blogging sun, since last December, and I never win anything! For some reason, my luck has changed because I have won 3 times in one week! How lucky am I? I should have bought a power ball ticket! I'm not sure why my luck has changed, but you can bet that it was the incentive I needed to keep entering contests!

My winnings from Heather's blog!

My first win I posted last time, the cute stitchery from Sharlotte. The second was from Heather. Her blueberry pillow is darling, and the patterns were fun too. The needleroll from Lorri Birmingham was a kit, so that should be fun to do. Thanks so much Heather! You are so wonderful! I love everything you sent.

My winnings from Jolene's blog!

I was so incredibly fortunate to win Jolene's giveaway in October. She sent me Plum Street's Designs "Gobble", with the NPI silks! Also some wonderful hand towels, and a sweet card with leaf "hugs. I've been wanting this pattern, so I was thrilled when I opened it! As always, Thank you sweet Jolene! I love it!

A wonderful surprise from Terri!

And if that didn't show how lucky I've been, then this will. Terri, sent me a wonderful surprise! I inquired about a sampler she has hanging over her fireplace in one of her photos. A lovely sampler called "Mary Allen". Terri, the sweet dear, sent me the pattern, along with some wonderful floss tags for the Mary Allen sampler and for "Alphabet Blocks" by CHS. I had asked her some questions about that one as well, as I have just kitted it up, and she was the model stitcher for it! She also sent a wonderful blackbird pattern, that I love, and will probably do very soon!
I feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends. Thanks to all my blogging friends out there! I do not have a lot of interaction with friends, being cooped up on the house with my children every day. You are my outlet! My chance to connect with adults, and to be inspired. Thanks so much for your friendship.

I will be working on Christmas gifts the next few weeks, so I will have some fun things to show. Take Care all, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving week!

I almost forgot to show you that I kitted Blackbird's "Greetings" from the Peppermint and Holly book. I don't know if I can finish before Christmas, but I'm going to work on this during the holidays!

2009-11-02T08:13:00.000-08:00

Little House Needleworks Stitched by Sharlotte

I got a wonderful surprise in the mail on Thursday from Sharlotte.
I won this darling LHN sampler that she stitched and gave away on her blog, The Happy Needle. I love it! I tried to take it to the framing store on Saturday, and they closed an hour earlier than normal because of Halloween. Darn it! I'll have to take it another time this week.
Thank you so much Sharlotte!

Baby Bug Ball Shepherd's Bush

I've been working on Baby Bug Ball by Shepherd's Bush, with my dear friend Jane. My photo's pale greatly in comparison to hers, so if you want to see better pictures, head on over to her blog, Miss Jane's Stitching. It has been really fun to work on this with someone else. She encourages me to keep going, and I like that we are working on different parts of the sampler. That way we can help each other with any snags that may come our way. Thank you Jane! I love working on this with you.Another American Girl Outfit!

I have also finished another American Girl outfit. This one is Josefina's Birthday party camisa and skirt. We bought the fan and yellow shawl, but I made the skirt and top. I added a green velvet ribbon from my husbands Grandmother's stash. I was the lucky recipient of all of her sewing trims, and stash when she passed away. (I also inherited her Bernina Sewing machine, which I could not live without!)

Popping some Indian Corn

While carving pumpkins last week, we popped some Indian popping corn that we bought at the farmers market. I was really surprised that it worked! You stick it in a paper bag and pop for a minute or two. It was delicious, and left me wanting more. Darn carbs!

Eating "POPcorn on the cob"

This is my 12 year old son. I feel bad I don't talk about him much on this blog. Most of my sewing revolves around my DD. He is a great kid, always willing to have fun.
Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween! Until next time friends!

A big surprise, finishes, and a get away!

2009-10-25T14:30:00.000-07:00

A surprise from my dear blogging friend, Jolene!

I got the most wonderful surprise in the mail on Friday. Jolene, one of our sail away members, sent me a gift of orange, rust colored stork scissors and a darling card. I was so blown away by her kindness! When I opened the card these wonderful Fall leaves floated into my lap. It was like getting little hugs from a friend. I've never met Jolene, but can you just tell by how generous she is with others, that she is one sweet, kindred friend. I hope to be a friend like her. She makes you feel good and loved, which is a true gift. Thank you a million times Jolene! I can't wait to meet. There are so many bloggers that I feel this way about. To all of you, I thank you for your comments, and inspiration in helping me be a better person. By the way, Jolene is having a fabulous blog give-away. You will definitely want to check it out.

Spooky Sheep by Shepherd's Bush. One of the few finishes I've done lately. Made perfect with Jolene's sweet gift!

Flea Market Find by Blackbird Designs

I've managed to finish another work in progress. I changed the colors of the fabric, and stitched the vine on the right side of the house instead of the left. I also added the date, a couple more motifs around the house, and the mother-of-pearl button. I'm still trying to decide if I like it the button. What do you think? Does it need more buttons to even it out?
I stitched spider-web roses on my vine, and added a few more motifs. I also changed the color of the stem and leaves in the third block to GA Dried Thyme. It went better with my fabric color.

This week I have been trying to make some progress on Sail Away. I'm hoping to finish soon, so that I can work on another Shepherd's Bush Design, Baby Bug Ball.After about a half of an hour of frustration, and staring hopelessly at this project, I discovered why I was off one thread. Can you see that stitch right in the middle, that I went over one thread instead of two? When I discovered it, I just about died! At that moment I certainly wanted to! My kids wanted to know why I was talking like Yosemite Sam! This screw up could not have been in a worse spot since I had completed the water and lighthouse section already. To fix it, it would have meant ripping out half of this section. Thankfully I was cheered up by Jolene's gift, and decided to try and figure out a way to fix the problem. I am stitching the entire hillside over one thread instead of two. It will take twice as long, but it's better than the alternative of ripping this whole section out. Shepherd's Bush, Baby Bug Ball.
I'm stitching this with Jane, my blogging friend from Australia.

Another dear blogger that I love to read, Miss Jane's Stitching, is starting Baby Bug Ball. I asked her if she minded a tag-a-long stitcher. I always work better on something if I can be inspired by someone else's photos. She is on board, and I'm thrilled to be able to stitch this with her. I actually started this about 3 years ago. I worked on it all night, and this is how far I got. I remember being so proud of myself that I got so much done, and then, for some unknown reason, I put it away, and there it has sat in the back of my closet ever since! I have it on my UFO finish list for 2009, so with Jane's incredible photos, and support, I hope to get it done in a timely manner. Thanks so much Jane! I'm excited to stitch with you!

Inside the American Girl museum, Los Angeles

Last month we snuck away to Los Angeles for the day. DD and I wanted to go before Christmas so she could pick out her doll. It was a really quick trip. We were there less than 24 hours. I've been sewing like mad to get some outfits made to put under the tree. It has been a fun endeavor for me! I love sewing doll clothes. I won't show you a picture yet, but I promise I will when it gets closer to the holidays.

Lining up for the doll salon. We did not do this, but I thought it was cleaver and fun!Julie, the doll my DD had her heart set upon!

I was prepared to lay out a lot of cash at this place, but the only thing that my daughter wanted was the Julie doll, and a black fan. I told her she could get an outfit or two, but she was dead set on just having the doll! Now these dolls aren't cheap. I had to do a heck-of-a lot-of- talking to get my husband to agree to buy a $95.00 doll in the first place, so he was thrilled we didn't buy more.Riding the trolley outside of the mall where the American Girl Store is. What a beautiful California Day!

DD made out again at the hardware store last week, when I had another moment of weakness and my husband and I bought her a bunny. Twenty minutes after leaving the store I was wondering what in the heck I was thinking! I don't need more stress with another animal! This little guy is really friendly, and loves to be held like a baby. He hardly gets put down between husband, DD and DS.

A Vintage Christmas By Bunny Hill

Last but not least, I've been working on A Vintage Christmas by Bunny Hill. It is a darling quilt that I've started with my Mom and Sister-in-law. We got together on a Friday last month, and pooled our stashes together to get a quilt cut for each of us. We did buy some of the fabrics that were used in the original, but over all, we saved a lot of money by sharing stash. I am pumped over this quilt! It is so cute. Hopefully I can get it done for Christmas. I am using the "spray starch method" of applique.

Thanks for stopping by to see me! I'm so grateful for my dear blogging friends. I hope all is well with you. Thanks for your sweet comments. I love hearing from you.

Halloween fun!

2009-10-01T15:25:00.000-07:00

Halloween is in the air! One of my favorite times of the year. Jolene is having a wonderful giveaway. Blackbird designs new chart, with thread and fabric! What a great way to celebrate the season. Also my friend Sharlotte is giving away a beautiful needle case. Go over and take a look!

I just put up my quilt that I made last year, that matches Blackbird's sampler, so I thought I would share.Blackbird Designs Midnight Silhouette without the leaf border

I opted not to put the leaf boarder around the edges, because quite frankly, I think that would have sent me to the loony bin. Appliqueing all those leaves? What was Barb thinking? (Love ya Barb, and you have more patience than me!) I was going to put a scalloped edge on this, but forgot to share that vision with the quilter, and she quilted a wonderful leaf border all around, which didn't leave me room to do that. I'm still happy with the way it turned out.

Light Your Way by Blackbird Designs. This is in the "Trix or Treat" Book.
I made a few color changes
Here are my changes:

The pumpkin = Cognac (Weeks)
The border = Caper (Weeks)
Words and Crow = mascara (weeks)
Stars = Finley gold (crescent colors)
5 squares below star = cognac
Date = caper
Pumpkin Stem = Caper
Basket = Mascara
Leaves = Caper
Flower = Mulberry (weeks)
4 squares and initials = Mulberry

Thought I would also share one of favorite Halloween samplers. I stitched this last year, and love the way it turned out. The frame is the best part. It looks like it's been painted 15 times or so. I think it really adds to the vintage charm of the piece.

One of my many Halloween walls.

Hope all is well with you dear friends. I haven't had much else to share lately. I'm up to my eyeballs in school work with my kids. It does make one cranky when there is no time for stitching and sewing!
Until next time.

Christmas in July...or August

2009-08-29T12:30:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. I'm so sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've tried to keep up with your blogs, so sorry if I've missed a lot of posts. I feel like life is on fast forward. Somebody push the stop button!

Here are some things I've been doing this summer. I finally got this quilt ready for the quilters. It took longer than it should have. I love this quilt, but the greens and yellows are the wrong color for my living room. My walls are sage green, and tan. I wish I would have gone for a different colors. It isn't going to go where I had planned to put it, but it will look cute on my quilt ladder that I change out quilts for the seasons. Also looks great in my sewing room which is apple green, but there is no room for a quilt this big. (Bummer!)

My kids have started school. This is my 4th year homeschooling. This year we are attending the Utah Virtual Academy. It is a charter-Internet based school. The curriculum is wonderful, and the schedule is already planned for me, which is great.

I went to my 20th high school reunion last month, and reconnected with a classmate that sews doll clothes. That got me thinking about my little daughter and Christmas. I decided this might be the year to introduce her to the American Girl dolls. Her cousin gave her the "Addy" doll several years ago, but she hasn't really played with it that much, either because she was just too young, or didn't have any clothes for it. I'm planning a trip to L.A so she can pick out her very own doll. I think I'm more excited about it than she is!
I found this great website that has free downloads for all of the original AG doll clothes, and so... a sewing I have been doing! Mind you these clothes are suppose to be for Christmas, but I'm so excited about them, I've given her a few things now. I've got to make some and tuck them away for the real event! I'm really having a blast making these! I can't seem to stop. I downloaded all of the patterns (beware... it's over 350 sheets of paper and a cartridge of ink)!

First I made these cute clothes. Fun, free easy patterns from You Can Make this. com.

Then I moved on to pajamas. These are "Molly's pajamas from the American Girl patterns. I changed the colors, and added ruffles on the bottom.Since both the Pj's went okay, I decided to really challenge my sewing skills and make the "Felicity dress." I have to tell you that sewing this was like stitching a historical sampler. I love the detail!

This is the ruffle around the collar. I think I used every pin I had. It took about 3 1/4 yards of ribbon and 4 hours to pin together.

Next I did the "Addy Tartan Dress". I still have to sew on some bows and buttons, but it turned out pretty cute. My DD just wants her to wear the pink dress. This one didn't excite her near as much.

I finished my Amish quilt, twice. I gave the other identical quilt to my friend Kim to commemorate our trip to PA. Now it's off to the quilters too.

My dear friend Deb sent me these patterns a few months ago, from her stash. I can't wait to do some of the little Amish designs to go with my quilt. I really appreciate her friendship. I feel so blessed to meet such great friends through blogging. Thanks Deb!

Last week, I won Doris' giveaway. She was giving away some UFO's and I thought this Shepherd's Bush sampler would be perfect for my daughter to start stitching on. She is just learning, and loving it! Thank you Doris!

I got my Petite Rouge letters back from the framers. This was Blackbirds contest from a few months ago. This is personalized with my Grandma's name. I love looking at it.

To add to my scary thoughts that summer is almost over...we had a "friend" come to our BBQ last week.Can you believe the size of that sucker?! I could have just died. It was making a web on the door knob. We get tarantula's usually in October, but it is rare to see one this early. Someone said that we will have a hard winter. Something not to look forward to! I can feel Fall in the air, even though we have high temperatures still. I love fall, but I always feel sad when summer starts to fade. Time marches on faster than we want too I'm afraid.

Until next time dear friends. Enjoy your weekend!

Where is the summer going?

2009-07-29T02:51:00.001-07:00

DD as Hannah Montana at her "rock star" party!

I had big plans this summer, to get soooo much stitching and quilting done. Well, like many of you that isn't happening. I'm a bit frustrated by that, but I can't complain too much, as I've been getting my house "deep cleaned" and there have been many fun memories made with BBQ's and parties.

My daughter turned 8 this month, my husband and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary. We have had 6 other family members with birthday's in the past two weeks, and Pioneer celebrating in Utah to boot! It's been crazzzzy. I'm ready for it to slow down!

I have managed to finish my June SAL assignment for Shores, but haven't started July's. I did snap a quick picture just so I can prove to you that I did it! The big news is that Terri and I are hosting a SAL and we have an official site set up now. Please check it out at www.sailaway.sal.blogspot.com. We are so excited to be sailing away on August 5th Terri's 50th birthday! If you are one of the official members, I need your e-mail addresses so that I can add you as an author.

This is a short post. Hopefully all is well in your neck of the woods! Take care friends.

We have but such a little time here.

2009-07-08T09:35:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry I haven't been the best blogger lately. I've managed to read a few posts over the past few weeks, but have had a chance to post one.
On Friday, it will be 3 weeks that my sister-in-law, Heidi, who lives in Florida had her 3rd baby. The baby was having some problems initially, so my brother went to "transition" with him, just to make sure things were alright. When he came back, all of the doctors were in a panic, and there was blood everywhere. Heidi was loosing so much blood, that they determined an emergency hysterectomy had to be done. Her blood pressure was so low, that they were not able to give her any anesthetic. While in surgery, her blood tests came back positive for a condition called DIC. This is a very serious medical condition in which the blood coagulates in the veins, instead of at the sight where it should. You essentially end up bleeding to death, because there is no way to stop the bleeding. DIC has a horrible nickname called Death-is-coming, in reference to those who contracted bubonic plague. They would go into DIC before dying, which would turn their skin "black" from the blood collecting under the skin. It was also referred to "the black death."
It was determined that she lost 79% of her blood, and had to be given over 20 units of blood. A normal person has about 5 units in them. Over 20 doctors worked on saving her, and she was then transported to a trauma hospital so she could be watched 24/7. There is a real risk for stokes, as the body has so many blood clots in it.
It was quite an ordeal! I am happy to say that we witnessed many miracles over the course of the next few days. Lots of prayers, fasting and blessing were given, in which Heavenly Father answered in our favor.
I was able to fly out and help her and my brother with the baby. We had a similar near death experience with my daughter when she was 4 years old. She had a seizure that lasted over 3 hours. She was life flighted to a childrens hospital and stayed in intensive care for 5 days. I somewhat know of the loneliness and pain that it is to wonder what will happen. I wanted more than anything to be able for him to have someone to talk to, and to help with the baby.

Heidi has made an incredible recovery. The baby, whom they named Jacob, is doing well, and is the most adorable baby in the world! Such an angel too. He couldn't have been easier to take care of.My sweet little nephew "Jacob". An angel on earth.

I'm sorry to bore you with this story, but it has had such a huge impact in my life. I hope it will help you all to cherish those you love.Before I left, Melanie had to throw together a baby gift. I made the blanket, and my Sister-in-Law, Melanie made the diaper bag. If anyone is interested in the directions for the blanket, let me know, and I will post them. I just kind of made this up using my scraps.

I was able to get some stitching on done on block 5, mostly on the airplane there and back. I was suppose to have this done by the end of June, but my priorities have taken a major shift!Before I left, I managed to start this great quilt by blackbird designs. This is from the book "Women of Grace and Charm". I cut this out almost 2 years ago. I've run into a snag on block one. It seems that there is another set of borders that aren't the right dimensions in the book. If anyone had done this quilt I would love to know if you had the same problem!I've also started getting the appliques done for this cute quilt by Quilt Soup. I'm still working on the flowers. I like to do the "spray starch" method on my appliques. I will stitch them on by machine. My daughter loves to "paint" the spray starch on the edges. She saves me a lot of time!I know the 4th of July is over, but I just barely got my decorations out yesterday! I figure we can look at them for the rest of the month! I love this twisted threads design. I finished it last year.
We have several stitchers interested in stitching Shepherd's Bush "Sail Away". We will be starting on Aug. 5th. If you are interested please leave a post. So far we have the following members:
1. Terri
2. Me
3. Kristin (no blog)
4. Teresa (no blog)
5. Kelly (no blog)
6. Cindy (no blog)
7. Mel
8. Lenna
9. Glenna
10. Katrina
11. Cari
12. Lizzy

We have 3 maybes! Come on and join us. We won't make it hard, promise.

1. Melissa
2. Margaret
3. Annie

If I've left you out, please let me know. I think this is a great number. If you've already stitched this, then you could stitch along with another Shepherd's Bush design. That would be fun.
If all that are confirmed want to send me their addresses. I have a little surprise coming for you! You can e-mail me at Hiddenheart@kellerits.com.

Have a wonderful week! I hope you are all having a wonderful July!

Sail Away SAL COME JOIN US!

2009-06-25T09:19:00.000-07:00

Attention all Shepherd's Bush Fans!

If you have the kit "Sail Away" and would like to join Terriboog and I in a Stitch-A-Long, we will be starting on August 5th, which happens to be Terri's 50th Birthday. (Isn't that great!)

Terri has a fabulous blog Chocolates for Breakfast; Stitching for Lunch, and you must all run over there and read it. She is highly entertaining, and such a doll! We've never met in person, but I know we would be close friends!

If you want to join us and you don't have the kit...then by all means, sprint over to your favorite needlework store and get it, or order online. We are giving you a little over a month to get your hot little fingers on it.

Neither one of us has ever hosted a SAL, so we really have no clue what we are doing, however, we both feel it would be fun to work on something with a group, so if you are interested then leave a post on either one of our blogs and we will get it set up. If you have already stitched this piece, then we welcome your suggestions.

Once again, that is a start of AUGUST 5th! I might make a little "gift" for all that join our group, so that might be your little incentive!

If you know anyone that might be interested, please pass the word along. The more the merrier!Aren't the colors gorgeous? I'm in silk heaven!

I'm wasn't going to buy anything, honest!

2009-06-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

Hi to all my wonderful blog friends. It has been one of those busy weeks with lots to show and tell, so here it goes!

Yesterday my sweet daughter, my mom, Sister-in-Law Melanie, and her mom Margret went on our annual Utah Shop Hop. We were only able to go one day, and made it to about half of the stores, but that was enough for our wallets! I wasn't going to buy anything! Honestly, I didn't think I would. As you already know, I've bought so much in the past few months, that I need nothing!

I'm sorry to say, my resolve didn't last ONE store! I found myself pulling out my credit card at the first chance I got to buy this little kit. I'm blaming it on my DD who begged me to get it! I already had the pattern, and I've been looking at the kit for a while. I finally caved to her pleading and bought it. It will be cute in her room, so I better put it on the top of my list, or it won't get done until she has a daughter! Quilt Soup "All Dressed Up"

Fig Tree's Patisserie line of fabric. Quilt is "Twin Stars" from the "Jelly Roll Quilts" book

I was pretty good at the next few stores, but then we went to Mormon Handicraft, which was having a 20% off sale. I decided to buy this fabric to made a quilt out of my new Jelly Roll Quilt book. I am thinking of doing "Twin Stars". I've never made a jelly roll quilt before, so with the discount I thought it would be a good time to try. I got the fabric for the back in their 75% off fabrics. It was 2.30 a yard! That made it easy to buy, and I'm hoping it will look great with another fig tree quilt that my mom made several years ago from one of our Shop Hop trip. She made this for my daughter, and it is still one of my favorite quilts in my house!

Fig Trees "Flower Star Wreaths." My Mom made this incredible quilt for my daughter a few years ago.

DD begged me to buy this fabric as well. It was only $2.00 a yard, and will make a cute dress or something. Would be great quilt backs as well.

This is the fabric that I bought at market for a spring trench coat! This will go with everything, and I'm actually looking forward to making this!
Summer Snapperland by Bent Creek

I've finished my summer Snapperland. I loved working on this piece. It really was my favorite one of all! I started the Fall Snapperland and I'm hoping to be able to get it done really soon, so that I can have them all mounted at the same time. My framer said he could make it so I could use one frame for all four designs. I'm going to try that for a while. It will be nice to not have to store the other framed pieces. I don't really have a spot for them all to be out at once, so I think this will be a great option for now. I put all of the snaps on this piece, and then took most of them out. I thought they detracted from the piece. Now that I look at this through my camera lense, I think the snaps would have been okay, but I'm leaving them out for now!

Hope you have a great day! I'm off for more quilting and stitching fun. Hope you have a great weekend!

One more thing....

2009-06-11T08:29:00.000-07:00

After my lengthy post this morning, I forgot to show you a finish that I did this week! It's my daughter's new pillowcase, that I bought in Pittsburgh last month. Her dinky pillow doesn't really fit in this case. The instructions are for Queen size pillows. I guess I'll have to buy her a new one when I go to the store.

This is a really fun, fast project that will give you instant gratification. Here are the instructions:

Main body - 3/4 yard fabric
Tiny Accent Border- 3" length of fabric
Border - 1/4 Yard

1. Fold 3" strip in half lengthwise and press "wrong" sides together.
2. For border: Fold in half lengthwise and press "wrong" sides together.
3. Main body is used just as is.
4. Layer and pin the different raw edges in order:
a. The long 44" edge of main body, right side up.
b. Raw edges of the mini accent
c. Raw edges of the border.
5. Sew through all five layers using 1/4" seam.
6. Zigzag seam edge, or use a serger for all of your seams.
7. Iron the seam toward the pillowcase.
8. Fold pillowcase right sides together, pin well, matching the seams of the tiny border. Sew with 1/4" seam.
9. Zigzag if not using a serger.
10. Turn right sides out and press.

Give it a try! It's fun to have new pillowcases! Hopefully that's it for today!

Plugging Along...

2009-06-11T06:21:00.000-07:00

Hike we made to a waterfall near our home.

Hi to all my bloggy friends! I know I've been a bad, bad, bad blogger lately. I have been trying to finish some projects so I can actually have something to show. I'm showing you progress today, because nothing is really getting done as fast as I would like!

School is out, so what is the deal? How did my time evaporate? Between scouts, church, WEEDS, dentists, hiking, and cleaning, my sewing projects are not getting done, according to my unrealistic expectations! I have visions of stitching entire projects in a day, and quilts that somehow sew themselves in the night! I do wish I could hurry my projects along sometimes. I know I am not unique, in having project start-i-tis! I think I managed to do much better with my monthly goals, and will be reverting back to that after this month!

In the meantime, Here are some of the things I've been doing:

We finished our stitching project for our friend Cindy who is suffering from breast cancer.

I finished the Needle book, and snippet box, and Rachel finished the biscornu and the scissor case. Melanie (my sister-in-law who does not have a blog) finished the darling bag.

We were able to take this gift to her last week. She is such a sweetheart. She has been given many challenges the past few months. Not only has she had cancer, but she has lost her father, whom she took care of. To make matters worse, she was opening a window a few weeks ago, and tore her rotator cuff, so she needs surgery on that as well! Pray for Cindy! There is only so much stress a person should have to take!

Cindy has a great eye for decorating. I asked her is I could take a picture of her darling wall, because I love how she has decorated it. I hope she doesn't mind me sharing it with you. I love how all of these stitching projects look so great together. The addition of the the shelf and iron pieces makes the wall dimensional and classy, don't you think?

"Abundantly Blessed" by Cotton Way.

This was a really fast fun project that I decided to do on the weekend. I think it honestly took about 2 hours to complete. It has the look of a cathedral window quilt, but is actually a charm pack (5" squares) sewn together and then about 60 of these oval shaped pieces layed out and sewn down. (The hardest part of this quilt is cutting out those shapes!) It is a "quilt as you go" method, and is raw edge, so there is no binding, and no finished seams. I loved doing it. I need a wedding gift tomorrow, and I'm thinking of making another today. What did I say earlier about unrealistic expectations?

I joined "crafters choice" book club, and was excited to add these books to my library. I got all 4 books for about $10 with shipping, and I only have to buy one book this year, with no automatics send. Great deal, and the books are all fantastic!

Progress on "Shores"

I've been stitching away on shores. I am working on block 5 now. The plan is to have it done by the end of the month! (Sorry no picture, as the camera battery decided it was done for the day!)

I decided to leave out all of the single stitches on block 4. They were suppose to look like stars, but I don't really like working with single stitches, especially with silk thread. I will wait till the end to decide if I need them or not!

I've gone to the beach! (How I wish!) "Summer Snapperland" by Bent Creek

I just got the bug the other day to finish this project. It is stitching up fast! I have to finish this today. It has been pure therapy to work on. I love the colors and soft "feeling" of this design. It reminds me of San Diego. I want to use it for summer decorating, so I need to get it to the framers quick!

And last, but not least, this is my "Sunshine and Shadow" Amish quilt that I'm working on. The squares finish at 1", and this has been more of a challenge than I anticipated. For one thing the squares are small, but I couldn't really find a great pattern to use. My Mom lent me a book that had a good strip-pieced method, but I have still unpicked more than my share on this quilt. I'm making two of these. One is for my friend Kim. (see prior post about spring quilt market for the story). I left the calculator in the photo. I could not have done this quilt without it! My "plan" is to have this finished next week so she can take it home and have it quilted. We shall see!

Take care to all! I hope you have more stitching and sewing time than you want! HAHAHA, does that ever happen? If it does, then let me know your secret!

Create!

2009-05-28T06:50:00.001-07:00

Just a short video to watch that will help you want to be better today than you were yesterday! Maybe this is why I'm always itching to be in my sewing room!

I love this man! He is a member of the first presidency in the quorum of the 12 apostles in "The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter Day Saints".
He is from Germany, and was the chief pilot at Lufthansa airlines before his calling to serve.
Enjoy!