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

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!

Spoiled!

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?

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..