Bev's Bits n' Pieces

New Storage

2011-06-22T14:17:00.002-06:00

Yea!!! I got rid of the old, bulky shelves in my sewing room. (Can't quite bring myself to call it a "studio") My son-in-law was here for a visit so I put him to work! We went shopping at the local home improvement centers and found the storage cabinets and added the drawer units and shelves. There are still some things to be rearranged and changed, but I love it. The old unit had three big shelves so I had all of my fabric in odds and ends of plastic bins stacked three high. Of course every time I needed a piece of fabric it was in one of the bottom bins. Now I can just pull open a drawer to find get what I need. Boy, did I find a lot of "what were you thinking" and "ugh, this is really bad" fabric that got weeded out. It's very interesting to see what colors and types of fabric were "in" and that I really liked once upon a time. I can't remember who made the comment, "if it's still ugly, you just haven't cut it small enough", or something like that. That's about 99% true, but there are some fabrics that are just plain bad. My new rule is that I can't add new fabric if it won't fit in the existing space. Think that will work?

The old tv has to go! Mr. D suggested a new flat screen that will fit on the top shelf to right of the iron. Should fit perfect. For now I just have to move the old one out of the way.

Summer Roses

2011-06-22T13:56:00.002-06:00

Summer is officially here! The sun is shining and the temperature is rising....finally!! I had to take some pictures of our roses so Mr. D could see how gorgeous they are. He's been house bound for the past week due to extensive foot surgery.

Big old bumble bee enjoying the roses.

My favorite

Check out all the buds! This one blooms all summer!

Robin Update #3

2011-06-22T13:37:00.002-06:00

Lea sent me a note that Mrs. Robin decided to lay her eggs in nest #3. She thinks there are two eggs. Building two nests and refurbishing one seems like a lot of work for two eggs. It will be interesting to see if another pair of birds add to this little village of nests next year.

Robin's Nest Update #2

2011-06-01T08:48:00.000-06:00

Just got another update on "Mom Robin". ......

" I talked to Lea yesterday and that silly bird is still working on all three nests! Mr. Robin is still hanging around with his dorky mohawk, waiting for her to complete her task. I really think we need a web cam in place on the TPQR porch to monitor the progression of the nest neighborhood. Could she possibly connect the three nests to make a McMansion? "

I think a web cam would be a great idea, especially since the Robins are in Idaho and we are in Utah! This pair is just too funny. Maybe Jim could drill holes in the rafters, so the rooms (nests) could connect.

New Amy Bradley Pattern and Mini Interview

2011-05-31T17:04:00.000-06:00

You've got to check out Ruby Slipperz blog and read her "mini interview" with designer Amy Bradley, and Amy's new pattern "Have a Happy Scrappy Day". It is so darn cute....and she found it at one of my favorite shops. Click HERE to check it out.

Robin's Nest Update

2011-05-31T16:39:00.000-06:00

I just got word from Kaye, one of the quilters that was at the retreat. "I hear that Mom robin has settled into nest #3. Don't know if eggs are in the works, but will report if I find out." Thanks, Kaye.

Quilting Retreat and Confused Robins

2011-05-23T18:33:00.000-06:00

Just got back from four intense days of sewing at Teton Patchwork Quilter's Retreat in Tetonia, ID. We always have a great time at our retreats, and this one had an additional treat. We watched a pair of robins building these nests. Yes, that is plural....three nests to be exact. The one on the left was there from last year, but was redecorated and updated, checked and re-checked for size. Apparently Dad Robin wanted a newer dwelling, so Mom Robin started nest #2. This one has walls so high she almost didn't have enough room to get out of it. Hm-m-m, still not quite right, so she started nest #3. We took turns watching and reporting her progress so we could get some sewing done. She didn't work on one at a time, but went back and forth between the three all day long. Dad Robin did bring some dried grass and other building material, but spent most of his time strutting, fluffing his feathers and checking Mom Robin's progress.

Do Robins usually make more than one nest? Will she lay eggs in all three, finally choose the right one, or build another nest somewhere else? Is she just really confused about this whole process or just keeping busy until she's ready to lay her eggs, or is her mate just too darn picky? We've been promised updates, so will let everyone know the final decision.

Three more 12 x 12's

2011-04-22T13:43:00.002-06:00

Catching Up.....?

I've been trying to play "catch up" after being so far behind in making these little quilts! Still only halfway there, but here are two that are finished and one almost finished. First is "green", titled Simply Green, because of the words on one of the fabrics is Simplify. The back is a fabric with the recycle symbols and a green world.

Next is Tenacity. This was a difficult word for me because there were just too many ideas and interpretations. So, I chose that "tenacious leaf" just won't let go, no matter what Mother Nature dishes out. The background is one of my hand dyes, the branches are twisted fabric strips, and the leaf was free motion stitched with thread.....lots of thread. What you can't see is what I used as a base to stitch on (besides several layers of Solvy stabilizers). Kaye had some dried corn silk from last summer that retained its color. So, I stitched all over the corn silk because I wanted a bit of yellow as well as a more opaque leaf. I left the strips from the tree branches hanging to represent the roots of the tree.

The next one is my interpretation of the word "road". After several months of looking at pictures of roads, I saw a photo of a "road runner". For this one I used water color pencils to blend the sky and add detail to the bird. I'm still adding stitches to the background, so it is not quite finished, but the end is in sight!

Thread leaf and tenacity

2011-04-01T18:53:00.000-06:00

This is the finished little quilt using my "thread" leaf. It's for the 12X12 group I belong to....trying to catch up since I'm only about six quilts behind. For those of you who aren't familiar with 12x12's, every other month a word that has been submitted by one of the members is randomly chosen, and we make a 12" quilt with our interpretation of that word. This is my version of "tenacity".... that one last leaf that just hangs on through everything Mother Nature throws at it. The background is one of my hand-dyed fabrics, the branch is made by twisting several strips of brown fabric together, adding a new strip for each little twig, and finally the thread leaf applique. I left the tree strips to represent the roots.

Back to the drawing board! I've got two more 12 x 12's on the design wall waiting for some quilting and embellishing.

Thread Painting

2011-03-30T16:46:00.002-06:00

I wanted something really different for one of my little quilts. At our last Surface Design meeting, one of the demos was about free motion embroidery and how to make your own appliques using stabilizer and thread. I tried this once about 12-13 years ago with excellent results, but kind of forgot about how much fun it can be.

I used three layers of Solvy Stabilizer and drew the maple leaf outline onto the top layer with a fine Sharpie marker. (I had a bunch of dried leaves from my last trip to Maine). I forgot to take pictures until I started the second layer of thread.

It takes a lot of stitches and thread but not a lot of time to make a "thread applique". The most important thing to remember is that once the stabilizer is rinsed out with water, there is nothing to hold it all together. So, your stitches have to overlap or criss-cross each other by making a base layer. Think of it kind of like weaving.....back and forth, up and down.

What do you think? I don't want it to be as deep a red as the real leaf, so just a bit more and it will be finished. See all of those light yellow "threads" sticking out from the edge of the stitching? They're actually dried corn silk one of my friends gave me. I thought the corn silk would make a fun foundation to stitch through to add a bit of texture. It worked!

I'll show you the finished project in a day or two. Just have to finish the binding and label.

Finished!

2011-03-19T10:28:00.001-06:00

The "American Beauty" quilt top is finished and on its way to Draper! The pictures aren't great, but you can see how big it is. That's a CA king bed it's on! Yes, I'd say it's a "generous" queen size. If you are near Thimbles & Threads Quilt Shop in Draper, stop by to see it and say "hi" to Cathie Z.

I couldn't get far enough away to get a full picture and my design wall was way too small to hang it properly.

This was the best I could do to show the size....

Scroll down to the earlier posts to see the pretty pinks and soft yellows.

What I've Been Up To

2011-03-13T11:24:00.001-06:00

The last couple of week have just flown by and I can't believe that it is almost the middle of March. Between board meetings, guild meetings, and other things, I've been working on a shop sample for Thimbles & Threads. So, I thought I'd share a few pictures. This quilt (almost) is Marti Michell's bom, American Beauty. It really is a beauty (in more ways than one). Now I know why I don't especially like using templates.....the really small templates! It's not me as much as old Arthur(itis) in the fingers. Big templates are fine and by big I mean over 2". Yes, templates make cutting odd shapes easier and more accurate. The way the corners of the various pieces are trimmed really do make the process of fitting everything together much better.

All of these goodies arrived March 1st. Beautiful fabrics from Maywood Studios, thread, and templates. There are some pieces of luscious yellow fabric that don't show up very well.

This is one of my favorite blocks. The black will be the background.

I love the green stripe and dark pink together and the black makes everything pop. I thought the stripe fabric would be hard to cut straight but it was easy.

These blocks aren't sewn together yet, but you get the idea of how it is going together. The Friendship Star block, on the left, is my favorite out of the twelve blocks. I've never seen this setting using five stars in a 12" block.

Ready to start sewing it together!

Snow Dying

2011-02-25T14:05:00.000-07:00

Monday was a beautiful winter day and there was plenty of new snow from the day before. So, we (Kaye & I) decided to snow dye some fabric while we still had snow. The days have been above freezing so that means melting and heavy, wet snow. The first time it snowed on Sunday, the temp was hovering just below the freezing point so we had about six inches of the heavy, wet stuff, and around ten p.m. it started to snow again. This time it was cold enough to produce the dry, granular, powder type snow that skiers love, but there was only about an inch of that. I tried to scoop the powdery stuff into my last container, but got bombarded with snowballs and a golden retriever that kept sweeping the good stuff around with his tail! Anyway, here are some of the results of a very fun day! The hardest part of snow dying is waiting for the snow (in the containers, on top of the fabric) to melt and the dye to trickle down through to the fabric. The results are worth the wait!

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T10:47:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone out there in blogland has a very happy day! The sun is out and today might set a record for the warmest day in February.....might just hit 60 degrees. So smile, give your sweetie a big hug and smootch and enjoy what the day has to offer.

Fusing Problems

2011-02-06T11:16:00.001-07:00

I did it again!! At least this time I know what the problem is. See the crinkles in the top half of the first picture and in the center right of the second picture? Yes, Laura (Wasilowski), I fused everything to the wrong side of the batting!!! Again!! Argh-h-h-h!

So I thought I'd remind those of you who fuse and those of you who are about to.....don't fuse to the scrim side of the batting. Yes, even cotton and bamboo batting has a scrim. Really hard to tell sometimes which side is which without testing a scrap piece. The pieces that crinkled are sheer fabrics so that may be part of the problem since the cotton pieces aren't as bad. The iron may have been too hot for the sheers as well....didn't think about that at the time.

I will show you the whole piece as soon as it's quilted and embellished. Hopefully that won't be too far in the future?

A Whole Month Already???

2011-01-24T16:32:00.001-07:00

I can't believe that an entire month has gone by since my last post! And I don't have much to show for all that time either. Yes, the holiday's took some time, but no excuses.....I just didn't post.

Today is beautiful here in Utah. The sun is out, the air quality is in the green zone, and the temp is in the 40,s. Actually, the thermometer on our deck says 51°F. No wonder Sam (dog) is happy staying outside so much today.

I have been working on some PHD's (doesn't that sound better than UFO's?) but haven't finished any yet. Jenny of Elefantz has a new 2011 bom that I fell in love with! The link is on my sidebar. This one will have a little saying to hang on the main quiltlet each month.

This little section hangs on the button and there will be a different one each month.

And this part "Gives Thanks" for everything. My thanks to Jenny! Another wonderful design.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-24T10:18:00.000-07:00

Wishing everyone a very happy Christmas. The best gifts are the ones that come from the heart and quite often the only cost is a little time and effort. A simple act of kindness, an encouraging word, or a hug can brighten even the gloomiest day. Thank you all for your comments during the past year.....I appreciate each one. Enjoy your holidays with family and friends.

Daisy Stitchery Finished

2010-12-11T15:10:00.000-07:00

Doesn't this look like a spring-y, warm, summer-y little wall quilt? This was a bom from Jenny of Elefantz, who is one of my favorite designers and bloggers. When I look at my list of favorites, it seems most of them live in Australia! If you haven't visited Jenny's blog, just click on the name. I really like the combination of stitchery and quilting.....but I also like artsy quilts....and traditional with a twist.....oh, lets just face it! I like almost every type of quilting!

All Things Christmas

2010-11-20T13:29:00.003-07:00

I can't believe that next week is Thanksgiving already, which means that Christmas is only a month away! Anyway, SewCalGal is hosting another online Christmas quilt show, and this is the only Christmas quilt I have. Yes, I posted about it last year and also promised myself that I would finish the embellishing before Christmas 2010. Hasn't happened yet, but I took a class from Mary Stori in October so I'm getting out the beads and fancies. When I finish embellishing I will update the picture. In the meantime, check out all the wonderful quilts at the virtual quilt show. Just click HERE

This pattern is from one of my favorite applique/pattern designers, Angie Padilla. Check out her website for some really fun things. Angie is also the author of the EQ6 applique book.

And The Fall into Fall winner is.......

2010-10-16T17:36:00.000-06:00

Not yet! First I would like to thank everyone for stopping by and leaving a comment on your favorite fall activity. Mine is picking apples and just the "right" pumpkin for our annual dinner in the pumpkin! This is a day late because I didn't get out of hospital until yesterday so I'm moving quite slowly. My apologies for that.

Drum roll please........Mr Random Generator chose....#74.....Karen! Good name too, it's my youngest daughter's name. Karen I will email you in just a bit for mailing info. Congrats! And thanks for entering.

Kindle Case and More Little Bags

2010-10-05T11:26:00.000-06:00

This little bag turned out so cute. The pattern is from "The Quilt Company" and called "Three Pocket Tote". It's actually made from a quilted square. The trick is folding it origami style. There is a center pocket and two flap pockets that button or velcro closed. It can be almost any size depending on the size of your quilted square! This one is about 8"x8 1/2" and the perfect size for a quick trip to the market.....or fabric store.

Here's another Sonoma Bag made for another grandgirl. She picked out the colors and watched while her sister (younger) stitched all the strips for both bags together.

I just got a Kindle and had to have a pouch to protect it. The tutorial for this one showed up in my in-box from Tipnut.com the same day I was trying to figure out how to hide the lining seams. The tutorial can be found on Junie Moon's blog . The first photo is the back pocket and the second picture is the front. Black velcro would have been so-o-o much better, but I needed it right then. Thank you Junie!!!

Road Update

2010-10-04T14:54:00.000-06:00

I've had several people ask me for an update on the new road behind our house. After almost a year of problems, cars are actually able to drive on it! Most of the time.

Okay. Here's the latest as of this afternoon. Seems there is still a problem with water drainage! Last time I posted about the road it was all paved and ready to go....or so it seemed. Sure enough, something was just not right so they got the old jackhammers out and dug up a few spots through the brand new hot topped road. Did I not predict that that would happen? That was around the end of August. Since we are a desert climate, there is not much rain during the summer, but we have had a few storms. Yep, each time it rained out came the trucks and up came the man-hole covers.

This photo was taken right behind our house. It started raining about half an hour before they got here, but not really that hard. When they started the engine on this thing it sounded like my vacuum. Once it reached the bottom it sounded like my vacuum sucking up a spilled box of beads, only louder. You all know the sound of hard little things being vacuumed.

So, for now, it seems like it's mostly a go. I'll let you know if anything interesting happens. Oh! There are actually some speed limit signs up....so it must be officially declared a road.

Fall into Fall Quilt Bloggers Giveaway

2010-10-02T12:12:00.001-06:00

Oh my gosh! I am so sorry for the late post for the Fall into Fall Quilt Bloggers Giveaway! My excuses are valid but I won't bore you with explanations.

See the little scarecrow on the right sidebar? When you finish reading this post....not before....click on the little guy and he will take you to the list of blogging quilters who are all giving away prizes. There are 130+ sites to visit so you have lots of chances to win some fun things. The giveaway runs from Oct. 1 to Oct. 15th.

This is what I will be giving away. A half yard of autumn fairy print, (several different fairies in little rectangles that can be fussy-cut), half yard of coordinating leaf print, three fat quarters and Billie Lauder's book "Quick Quilt Tricks". There may be a few more goodies included. Surprises are fun!

To enter just leave a comment about your favorite fall activity. International is welcome, too. If you decide to become a follower of my blog that would be wonderful but not necessary. If you don't have a blog with a link-back, please include your email with your comment. You can't win if I can't contact you and Mr. Random will have to draw another number. Winning entry will be drawn on Oct. 15th. Good luck to everyone!

Niagra River Rapids

2010-09-27T11:51:00.014-06:00

We spent a wonderful week visiting family in Buffalo, NY (two weeks ago). Can't go there without visiting Niagra Falls which is one of my favorite places. The Canadian side of the falls is gorgeous, but we were making a trip to the casino and since we all left our passports at the house, decided to check out the American side. We went to Goat Island and we were able to venture right down to the Niagra river....no railing or fence to keep you from falling into the rapids. Wow!! It was amazing! We couldn't actually see the falls, but you can see mist caused by the power of this river. The rapids were incredible.

This picture is taken from Goat Island looking over the falls at the city of Niagra Falls through the mist.

(Close-up from the picture above)

You can see the water beginning to spill over the edge and the "fog" is the spray or mist rising from the force of the water hitting the bottom.

This photo is just one little area of the rapids.

Contemporary Art Quilts

2010-09-18T11:32:00.000-06:00

Contemporary Art Quilts

Who: Universe City
What: Contemporary Art Quilts by Judy Elsley and Julie Nelson
When: October 1-16, Fridays: 5:00-8:00 pm, Saturdays: 1:00-6:00 pm
Opening Reception: Friday, October 1, 5:00-8:00 pm
Closing Night Art Talk and reception, Saturday, October 16, 6:30-8:00 pm
Where: Universe City, 2556 Washington Boulevard, Ogden

In conjunction with First Friday Art Stroll, Universe City opens "Contemporary Art Quilts" by Judy Elsley and Julie Nelson, Friday, October 1 from 5:00-8:00 PM. The show continues until October 16th, Fridays: 5:00-8:00 pm and Saturdays: 1:00-6:00 pm or by appointment. For appointments, call Benjamin Jennings, 801 458-8959. The show will conclude with an art talk and reception on October 16h, 6:30-8:00 pm. Light refreshment are available opening and closing nights.

Julie Nelson and Judy Elsley are quilt makers living in the Ogden area. Both artisists design and make their own quilts, and they meet regularly for "play dates" to talk about their individual work and try out new techniques together.

Nelson uses a mix of commercial and hand-dyed fabrics, incorporating wood, metal and gourd shells into her work. Elsley's quilts are made from her own hand-dyed fabrics. Nelson machine and hand quilts her work, while Elsley often takes hers to a professional machine quilter.

Elsley says of their work, "We draw inspiration from each other, learn from each other, and we play well together. I admire Julie's creativity, her sense of color, and her beautiful quilts. We feel fortunate to have found each other and we enjoy collaborating."

In addition to being a quilt artist, Elsley is well-known quilt historian, as a researcher and author on the topic of quilts and their place in culture. She has taught a course, "Text and Textile: Teaching the Literature of Quilting," at Weber State University, where she is a Professor of English and also the Director of the Honors Program. The course familiarizes students with texts about quilts and quilters, ranging from such non-fiction as history, biography, and critical articles to a variety of fiction, including poetry, short stories, a quilt detective novel, children's books, and a play. Quilt texts are often connected with the textiles that inspired them so as well as reading, discussing and writing about these texts, students are invited to bring in a family quilt to "show and tell." As a final project, students make a small autobiographical quilt which they display and explain to an audience of family and friends.

For more information about this show, contact:
Judy Elsley, jelsley@weber.edu
or Benjamin Jennings, benjaminjennings@me.com

New little bags

2010-08-26T13:48:00.001-06:00

When I saw these little bags I knew I had to make one...or two. They measure 7 1/2" x 9", outside pocket big enough for a cell phone or i-pod, and two inside pockets. I found the buttons in my button box and finished it off with little zipper pulls with some beads I had. The size will be perfect for our upcoming quilt fest....no heavy purse to carry while visiting all the wonderful vendors that will be there!

Surprise in the Mail

2010-08-18T10:46:00.000-06:00

The mail brought a package last week with these wonderful fabrics and patterns.
I had to dive right in and start with the top kit. Check out the ric-rac! Orange is so not my color, but this combination just shouted "happy, happy! Me first"! Keep reading and scrolling to see the finished top. It just makes me smile because it is so bright and cheerful.

The second kit is a Christmas table topper called Figgy Pudding. Yes, Christmas is not that far away, especially for quilters and crafters! This one uses 10" squares cut into four different sized pieces and put back together with strips of sashing. This kit came with fat quarters so if there is a cutting error...oop-p-p-p-s....there is plenty left to cut another piece. I love the new Christmas colors, especially the blues and stripes.

Here are the finished tops.

Sorry the picture isn't quite in focus. There is a strip of wide lime green ric-rac across the middle of the top piece and the bottom piece.

Popp'n Posies by Izzy & Ivy
Kit from Thimbles & Threads

Happy, dancing flowers.

Finally, here's Figgy Pudding from Mary's Cottage Quilts.
Kit is from Thimbles & Threads.

Can you believe that I found some Christmas decorations in August? The little bags are filled with balsam needles from our niece who lives in Maine. They make and sell wreaths and always send us one along with these cute little bags. I save them every year and put them in a red basket!

Plum Jam

2010-08-07T11:12:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we made nine jars of plum jam. (One is already missing!) Our big old plum tree didn't produce much this year but we did get enough for one batch. Last year the tree was loaded with plums, and our dog, Sam, loved to eat the ones on the ground and the birds really enjoyed pecking bits out of the ones still on the tree. Not so this year. Maybe it's an every other year thing.

Mushrooms Anyone?

2010-08-05T14:50:00.000-06:00

I found these beauties growing in odd spots around the yard. These were sprouting under our spruce tree. Really strange looking. The middle one looks like a glass of beer with the foam overflowing...really dark beer. Not quite sure about the small one, but I'll watch them.

These little guys were growing next to a piece

of wood. The peaked tops were quite shiny and if you zoom in there are wonderful striations of color that almost looks like wood grain.

This one was all by itself between two pieces of wood. Much darker brown cap.

I guess they like the dampness of the wood because here is another group on the other side of the log.

Last year I found a giant puffball in our yard. Of course I had no clue what it was when I took the picture, but after much research, not only did I find out what it was, but that it is edible and has a texture sort of like a marshmallow.

Nature provides us with many, many interesting and unusual things to see and wonder about if we take the time to really look at our surroundings.

Kathy's Project

2010-07-25T10:29:00.000-06:00

My daughter, Kathy, asked me to help her with a project she needed for Nursing School. It had to be "creative" and tell the story of her journey to become an RN. It also had to show her future goals. She had decided to make a "quilt".....designed and finished in 10 days! Between classes, exams, full time job, and three girls still at home, plus studying and maybe a little sleep.

She did it!! We raided my stash and supplies and since she doesn't really sew and isn't a quilter (yet), I suggested fusing the whole thing.

So, this little quiltlet shows the road from CNA to LPN, to RN with her BRN to be achieved in the future. A little pleat on the curves became 'speed bumps', a flower button by the rest area sign, beads representing the rocky road, burning the candle at both ends, and lots of other little things to show her journey. She has worked really hard (and almost quit a few times) to reach her goal. We are so proud of her!

Road Update

2010-07-15T14:42:00.001-06:00

Looks like we are entering another phase of our road construction. There has been a lot of activity the past week. Trucks full of gravel carefully winding their way around some small front end loaders, small yellow shovels and a big one too, plus a grader and even a water sprayer. I just took our dog out and OMG! they are putting in some jersey barriers on the drop off side of the road. No more fear of some loonie driving over the edge and adding to the scrap metal pile! Yes, there are quite a few people out there who don't think the barriers and the "road closed" signs at each end apply to them. A few have gotten stuck over the last few months and have had the joy of backing down this steep, narrow, unfinished road. Some have been good for a chuckle or two. I'm beginning to think that things may be a bit boring around here ~~when~~ if it's all done.
Maybe it's time to get out of my quilting slump and finish some things!?!?

21st Century Technology

2010-07-06T13:46:00.000-06:00

Road construction has been progressing slowly but surely. This morning there was a lot of activity with quite a few guys....not a lot of motorized activity, mind you, but a lot of "get down an dirty" stuff. I didn't realize just what was going on until this guy and two other workers were almost out of sight, so you only get to see the "down and dirty" guy. No, he's not hurt or taking a break. He's really working hard! If you click on the picture and maybe zoom in, you will be able to see a string just about eye level. He's got "laser vision"! Yes, he's using the old fashioned method of making sure the string is right on with the other stakes and string. Hm-m-m, I wonder if he's a hunter who is used to lining up the sights of a gun or even a bow.

We still have things being done and then re-done, such as deciding that the retaining wall isn't quite high enough in one section, so off come the caps and on go a few more levels and then back on with the caps. A few minutes ago two cement trucks went past, so maybe it's almost time for the next phase.....but.....it will be much more difficult to un-do concrete than plain old sandy dirt.

Remember the "junk-yard" at the bottom of the hill? Well, three guys were trying to un-junk it a bit, but got caught by one of our police officers. He watched them for about 10 min. and called for back-up. The cops were pretty sneaky and the un-junkers were so engrossed in trying to clean things up that they didn't hear anything until it was too late. Mr. D and I drank our morning coffee on the deck watching all the action. Their car was towed away along with some of their stuff, but we're not sure what happened to the "un-junkers".

Gee's Bend Quilt

2010-06-21T16:35:00.000-06:00

Have you seen the quilts that the ladies of Gee's Bend, AL have been making? I love the simplicity and geometric designs. This pattern is called "Housetop Denim Quilt" and is all hand dyed fabric. It has been so relaxing to just sew straight seams with almost no matching. AND no points to line up. A quilt store in Kansas City had several of these quilts on display along with a few kits. I don't usually buy kits but this one wouldn't let me move on until I decided that it had to come home with me! Any ideas for quilting designs?

Perfect Rose

2010-06-20T16:57:00.000-06:00

This morning was gorgeous! Warm and sunny with a mild breeze just doesn't get much better. This rose was kind of hidden on the side of the bush so I didn't see it right away, but had to grab the camera and share it with you.

Hope all the great Dad's out there had a great day!

Road Update

2010-06-18T14:34:00.000-06:00

Yea!!! We have a fire hydrant installed! No recent disasters although the "water problem" area was dug up and filled in a couple of times since my last report. It is finally beginning to look like a road and the retaining walls have gone up quite fast. Big Blue is at the edge of our backyard putting the last bit of gravel between the wall and our yard. Maybe there really is an end in sight! Any bets on the finish date?

Cottage Stars

2010-06-13T11:25:00.000-06:00

Finally! The top is finished! The photo shows about 3/4's of the top because it is quite large....85 1/4" x 102 1/4".....and not quite enough space to hang the whole thing. There are 50 star blocks plus 18 side units plus 4 corner units. Each star block has 20 pieces and each edge unit has 10 pieces......oh, plus the four corner units, but who's counting!? (1204 sound about right?) It's a good thing that Cathy is on my "A" list. Yes, there was a lot of cutting and lots of pinning (which I seldom do), but I think it turned out really nice. Can't wait to see it quilted!

This is another shop sample for Cathie Z of Thimbles and Threads in Draper, UT. She's busy getting her new shop ready for the annual Shop Hop which begins all too soon.

The close-up picture shows the stars much better. You will just have to ignore the wrinkles from being folded up. It really does lay nice and flat.

We're not in Kansas anymore,

2010-06-05T18:49:00.002-06:00

Bubble Tea and BBQ Ribs! M-m-m-m good stuff! Our Son and Daughter-in-law love to try different cuisines (so do we) and restaurants, so it seems most of our travels include finding good food. Sometimes I think we should have been food critics.....wouldn't that be interesting? We tried Spanish Tapas, Mongolian BBQ, Italian Pizza, a great breakfast place, etc. Sounds like we spent our week eating, but we did a lot of sightseeing as well. The WWI Museum was awesome. History books can tell you about things, but when you can actually see the weapons and reconstructed living conditions it really brings things into perspective.

We really enjoyed our trip to Kansas, but it's good to be home. Why is traveling so tiring? It's always fun to experience new things, but then you need a vacation to recover from your vacation!

This is one of the hidden bunkers.

This is the WWI Monument and entrance to the museum.

This is another monument in Rosedale Park.

Fun in Kansas City

2010-05-28T18:38:00.000-06:00

Kansas City has some wonderful things to see, eat and visit. So far we've done a lot of eating! Last night we had a wonderful meal of Tapas. What a wonderful variety of flavors and textures, and a great way to sample many different dishes.

Our plane trip was quite an adventure. Everything was fine until we were ready to leave Denver for KC. Before we took off, a tornado warning and storm came in. All of a sudden we were asked to deplane as quickly as possible, leaving everything behind. Once inside, the alarms kept going off, and announcements to go to safe areas and away from the windows. Did anyone listen? Of course not! After more than an hour we finally re-boarded and took off for KC. During the flight, the weather channel came on and Denver got at least six inches of hail....golf ball to baseball size! They showed pictures of front end loaders clearing streets!

The weather here is pretty warm and a bit humid, but beautiful. Had to share a few pictures from today.

Rain, snow, cold, and mud

2010-05-25T20:28:00.000-06:00

We've had a lot of rain the past few days and even a little snow yesterday. Water and dirt equals mud. Loose dirt on a hillside along with lots of rain equals mud slides. Yes, there was mud sliding down where the new road is going. The crew brought in gravel and stones this morning to try to fill the hole a bit. But....this afternoon they dug it all back out because of all the water pooling at the bottom. They dug down to the drainage pipe that was put in some time ago. I'm not sure what is going on at this point. We are going to Kansas City for a week, so it will be interesting to see what has happened while we are gone.

Hole in the Hill

2010-05-25T18:11:00.000-06:00

This photo was one of several that I took on May 19th. Yep, they had to stop working....again. After a big conference with about 10 guys, they concentrated on a different part of the road. At least nothing fell in and no one was hurt this time.

Bloggers Quilt Show Entry - click here

2010-05-21T16:23:00.002-06:00

This quilt was made during a class on Ricky Tims "Convergence Quilts". We were able to put the whole top - background and borders - together during the two hour class. The appliques and embellishments were added after class. The fish and starfish are fussy cut, and the seaweed were free form cut and fused. I added bead "bubbles" and machine quilted it using metallic thread, outlining some of the background images. You never know just what your finished quilt will look like, so there is a lot of anticipation while sewing all of the strips together.

Click on the title of this post for all the links to all of the quilts

Bloggers Quilt Show

2010-05-21T15:58:00.001-06:00

It's time for the Blogger's Quilt Festival! Visit Amy's Creative Side to either enter a quilt or follow all the links to see all the eye candy created by so many talented quilters.
Just click on the above button to read all about it.

Road Progress?

2010-05-21T10:13:00.000-06:00

These are some pictures taken Wednesday. The first one is the end of the road at this point. You can see the end of the retaining wall. Second picture, things look pretty good. They made a lot of progress during the time I was away. It's even beginning to look like a road!

O-0-0-p-p s! Spoke too soon! Looks like a cave in the side of the hill! We know there is a lot of water draining down the mountain and it looks like it wants to join the creek below. This hole is only about 10 feet higher than where the front end loader fell in.

Teton Patchworks Quilters Retreat

2010-05-18T19:00:00.000-06:00

I can't believe how long it has been since my last post! Lots of things have been going on during the past few weeks, so I will be posting pictures, etc. out of order, but that's normal for me, too!
Nine of us lucky quilters just got back from a wonderful weekend retreat at Teton Patchworks located in Tetonia ID, which is also the home of Lea and Jim Hardy. Lea taught us Ruth McDowell's technique of curved piecing to make these wonderful roses, and Jim was our chef! What a treat to be able to sew to our hearts content, learn a new technique, have brunch and dinner cooked by someone else, AND not have to clean up the kitchen!!

Anne's Purple Rose, Kaye's Orange Rose

Pat's Whimsical Orange, Cathie's Red Velvet

Bev's Red, Marilyn's Pretty Pink

Sue's Retro B&W, Laurel's Peach

Anna's Pink

and finally, Lea's class sample

We had two days of intense sewing, unsewing, re-sewing, and a lot of muttering trying to put some of these puzzle pieces together, but we had a good teacher and we all helped each other. Some got their top completed, while some of us still have a few more seams to finish.
We also had alot of laughter along with some clowns......or should I say Elmer Fudd?

Sorry, Cathie. Way too tempting not to post this! (She was really cold and took all the extra blankets). Yes, it is her hat and she did bring it with her. No, it wasn't really cold for the rest of us.

Here's the whole group.....Pat, Anne, Cathie, Lea, Kaye, Laurel, Bev (me), Marilyn, Anna, and Sue in front.

Road Construction Update

2010-05-06T18:38:00.001-06:00

We now have three big shovels digging up the rest of the hill. In addition to big blue, there are two big yellows happily moving dirt from one spot to another. When all of this began last fall, there were trees and brush, deer, raccoons, pheasants, and lots of birds and other wildlife. Then all of the trees were cut and everything else was removed. Nothing else happened for quite some time, until the big equipment finally started to reconfigure the natural landscape. Since then, dirt has been taken out, dirt brought in, more dirt taken out or moved from one spot to another, gravel brought in, drainage pipe laid and then taken back out. Retaining walls started being put up and then back to the drawing board. Since the "near disaster", there have been many (that we have seen) meetings with drawings and plans laid out, along with many surveys, new markers, and on and on. There are now four, yes, four tiers of ground. Pictures just don't show the depth of these, but it starts with our lawn, then the first drop-off which is a good ten feet, where we thought the actual road would be, now another lower tier with at least another ten foot drop-off. Not finished yet! One more drop-off to the bottom.

Why? No one can really give us a good explanation as to why all of this is being done. Now all we see when we are on our deck is dirt, and the junkyard left behind by the former landowner who lived right beside the creek. What would almost make all of this worth while would be a nice little park / green space beside the creek, maybe a couple of picnic tables and benches. I know, I know. Just dreaming a little of what could be done. Something to suggest to the city.

This guy had to use his shovel to pull himself back up.

Big blue is way-y-y down on the third tier.

Another survey and check the plans.

If you click on the picture you can see some of the junk that's all over the area beside the creek. Yes, there was a house (kind of) there. The garage is still standing, bulging with more stuff.

Near Disaster!!

2010-04-27T16:37:00.026-06:00

OMG!! It finally happened!! Yesterday afternoon I was outside with Sam when I heard a shout, looked up and saw the ground give way and a big piece of construction equipment fall into the ditch they were digging. I ran inside, got the phone and called 911. By the time I got back outside, they had gotten the driver out and said that he was okay. I relayed that to the dispatcher and went back inside to get my camera. That only took about 30 seconds, and when I got back outside someone was shouting for an ambulance! Go figure!

The police and ambulance had to wait for Big Yellow to move some dirt and tamp it down so they could get to the injured driver.

Short story......the driver apparently had minor injuries and is okay. The crew spent two more hours digging out enough dirt so that Big Yellow and Big Blue could get in there with cables to lift the fallen equipment back on its wheels. It had kind of jack-knifed when it fell over, so they pulled and heaved to straighten it somewhat. It took awhile to get it running again, and someone actually was able to drive it out. Unbelievable! There were a few things broken and banged and dented, but it didn't look too bad considering everything that happened.

I did take lots of pictures, but too many to post at one time. This whole project has created some really dangerous situations, and I don't think this accident will convince the city that some kind of precautions need to be exercised. Lots of unstable ground, kids climbing the piles, curious nuts trying to drive down, and even a dirt bike or two.

This morning the power company took their truck out from our side yard without too much damage. Yes, the pole is still standing!

Paradigm Shift

2010-04-26T19:36:00.000-06:00

Last Monday one of my friends and I went to visit Thimbles and Threads quilt shop in Draper, UT. Cathie (owner) has been busy, busy, busy updating most everything in the shop, an open house, getting ready for the shop hop in June, along with everything else she does. Now I'm busy, busy, busy (along with some of my other friends) making shop samples.....yes, I left the shop with lots of fabric for two quilt tops. This is the first one, from the current issue of McCall's, called Paradigm Shift. I really like the asymmetrical setting for this one.

Should something be called "work" if you really love doing it? I love making shop samples! It allows me to play with new fabrics, try new patterns or ideas, improve my piecing skills, and above all, use colors or textures that I normally might avoid.

Best of Show - Paducah

2010-04-24T16:57:00.000-06:00

Sue McCarty, of Roy, UT has been awarded the BEST OF SHOW at the AQS show going on in Paducah this week. Wow! Her quilt, Tribute to Tolkien, won best of show at the HMQS last year, and has also won awards in CA and TX. Sue is a true quilt artist. If you'd like to see the award presentation, click on the following link www.wpsdlocal6.com/news/local/91670204.html to watch the news video of the award ceremony.
I've had a couple of quilts quilted by Sue and they are wonderful. Now I can say that I know a soon to be famous quilter. Way to go, Sue!

Road Construction Update

2010-04-23T10:02:00.000-06:00

Okay! Last Friday, the power company, city planners, and the engineer were here and we ended up with a BIG truck in our side yard holding the power pole so it didn't fall into the big dig. Well, it's still here, still holding onto the power pole ( was only going to be 2-3 days). The retaining wall looks like it's almost up where the pole is, but there is a long way to go until it is finished. Unfortunatly, Mother Nature has not been very cooperative the past three days. Wednesday afternoon we had rain and hail, but some of the crew worked through it. Oh, yeah....there was a lot of lightening as well. Yesterday brought more rain and as you can see in these pictures it created quite a mud hole. Then this morning, out came the yellow tape (see top picture) after a meeting of the minds. We don't know why this part is taped off, but it doesn't instill much confidence in the safety of our neighbors or ourselves. Yes, it's still raining and the mud is increasing.

These pictures are all taken from our upper deck so you can see just how close all of this digging is to our house. What's really scarry is an article in the paper and on the news, yesterday and today about mudslides and rock retaining walls giving way and a house on the verge of sliding down to visit the neighbors below them.

Now that I've vented a little, it's time to get some sewing done. I've got 42 quilt blocks finished and ready to put together.....black, white, and lime green. You can see it when the top is together.

Chaos 12x12 project

2010-04-20T09:50:00.000-06:00

Finally! It's finished! This really represents my creative life....decisions, decisions, decisions! I used a small panel for the crazy lady, enlarged it, cut her arms off and switched them from being on her hips to holding fabric up. She started out as a nurse, so I cut off her cap, used "Texture Magic" on a piece of gray fabric which became her brain, and thread tangles (from the dryer) for her hair. The words were printed on fabric as well, and the little bits and pieces are simply fused on. Once I decided on trying the Texture Magic, everything else just kind of fell into place. Oh, she also has beads for earrings and her jumper is colored with marker and colored pencil. This was a fun piece to make. Hope you all enjoy it.

More Road Construction!

2010-04-17T13:14:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was very interesting. A very nice guy from our power company came to tell us that he was very concerned that the power pole on the back corner of our yard was going to fall into the gully that's been created by the construction crew. One of the anchor cables was exposed when the big blue machine was moving more dirt for the retaining wall. Mother Nature just doesn't like having her surface re-contoured like that. Solution? Back a big power company truck into our side yard, break our plum tree branches, put a choke hold on the power pole, and leave it like that until the construction crew gets the retaining wall up and everything stabilized.

If that's not enough to be concerned about, there is a 20-25 foot drop-off from the edge of the grassy area to where they are digging. No retaining wall there yet either, and the edge is so unstable that our dog won't go near it because the sand/dirt gives way. It seems to be mostly sand and since they've taken all the trees and undergrowth out there really doesn't seem like there is anything there to keep us from sliding right down to the creek. Just pray that we don't have an earthquake here....there was a 4.6 quake not too far north of us on Friday afternoon that was felt in three states.

This big yellow guy is directly behind our house as viewed from our upper deck. There isn't much more than 20 - 25 feet if that between the house and edge of the grass.

Big Blue is right underneath the power pole piling up dirt and retainers. So, big yellow behind us, big blue to the right and big power truck beside the house. Very interesting. I watched some of the "Big Dig" in Boston and now this, and I'm convinced that sometimes these guys just think they are in a big sandbox with their toy trucks, having fun moving the dirt and then putting some back again. No disrespect intended, that's just what it looks like to me. They really do work hard at what they do and it is fascinating to watch how precise these heavy equipment operators are with these huge shovels. So, now to enjoy a quiet weekend without any more drama.

Florida Trip

2010-04-17T10:46:00.000-06:00

How's this for a backyard visitor!! The picture is a bit fuzzy because I'm taking it from inside the pool cage (screened in area). She doesn't look too big in this picture, but she was the size of my Brittany Spaniel, Sam. She stayed and watched all of us watching her, for about ten minutes, and then just sauntered away. I did go out and try to get another picture, but she was a bit too far away. There is also a resident raccoon and a few bunnies, but they didn't hang around long enough to have their pictures taken.

The main reason for my trip was to help take care of Makayla and Tyler, my two youngest grandkids while my daughter, Karen, had back surgery. I had so-o-o much fun with them. We went to the park, did a little shopping, colored Easter eggs, went to Fisherman's Village, and the Military Museum. There was a time-out, too, because they had to find out just how far I would let them go! lol It seemed once was enough.
They even made some yo-yo's for one of my quilts!

This is a shot of the marina at Fisherman's Village. I didn't get any pictures of any of the really big yachts. It was just a gorgeous day to spend outside.

I came home to snow on the ground and lots of snow in the mountains!

Trunk Show

2010-04-14T16:31:00.001-06:00

Robyn Orchard presented a wonderful trunk show at the Ogden Quilt Guild meeting this afternoon. Ogden's theme for this year is how to use your scraps to make beautiful quilts. One of the best web sites for patterns and ideas for using scraps is Bonnie Hunter's site at

www.quiltville.com . There is a lot of information and tips for cutting and storing strips, bricks, and squares of various sizes which Bonnie calls her "scrap savers system". Robyn showed us just how beautiful quilts made from scraps can be. Organizing all those bins and boxes of fabric can be daunting if you try to do it all at once. Instead, Robyn suggests limiting your cutting and sorting time into 15 minute segments. When the timer goes off, walk away and do someting else unless you are on a roll, then set the timer for another 15 minutes. It really is amazing how many strips, bricks and squares you can cut in what seems like a short amount of time.

Here are a few more beauties!

Quilts for Cars

2010-04-13T18:34:00.000-06:00

Oh, yes! Quilters love their craft and they really love to let everyone know just how much they love it! Quilts were originally intended as bed coverings to keep you warm. Most of them were made with scraps that were from old clothing or traded with other quilters. Fast forward 100+ years and we make "lap" quilts to snuggle under while watching TV or reading, wall quilts (hangings) to help insulate our homes, art quilts, and more. There are quilt blocks painted on barns and even tours to see this wonderful artwork. What else are quilters doing with orphan blocks? Click on the link below to see just how creative we quilters are!!

http://quiltspluscolor.blogspot.com/2010/04/in-spring-quilters-fancy-turns-to-quilt

First Spring Daffodil

2010-04-13T10:29:00.000-06:00

This is the one and only flower that has decided it might be spring! Wrong! It rained and then snowed yesterday!! I spent eight days in Florida helping my daughter who had surgery. The weather was a warm 82 - 83 F (hot) . The daily reports from Utah was snow, snow, snow...enough to need the snowblower.

Hubby had to have sinus surgery this past Friday and can't smell much right now, but should be able to really "smell the roses" this year. Lots of leaf buds on the trees and tulips poking through the ground, uh, snow, so my favorite time of year is almost here.

Finished Tote Bag

2010-03-23T14:58:00.000-06:00

This bag will be perfect for my upcoming trip and the next quilting retreat. The pattern is from "The Creative Thimble" and their instructions were easy to follow and understand. The zippered inside pocket is big enough to hold my laptop and the other five inside pockets will make it easier to find things. There are two pockets on the front and a full width pocket on the back along with a luggage strap. The side pockets can hold a good sized water bottle or whatever. I didn't take a picture of the top of the bag, but it has a full zipper so nothing will fall out! I'm really happy with the way it turned out and can't wait to put it to use.

"ADA"

2010-03-16T09:52:00.000-06:00

Yea! I finished "angel doll" last evening! She was designed by Debra of Wattlebee Designs. Debra had a giveaway on her blog and I won! That seldom happens. I had been visiting her website trying to decide which pattern I wanted to order (they are all so-o-o cute) when I got the e-mail that I was a winner. Now I have to order another one to make, don't you think? Ada measures 19.5" and is designed to hang on a wall, so she will keep me company in my sewing room (studio?).

If you want to visit her site it is: http://wattlebeedesigns.com.au

Time to get back to finishing some ufo's.......... so I can start some more?

Thimbles and Threads

2010-03-14T15:09:00.002-06:00

Thimbles and Threads in Draper has a new owner! Cathie is a quilter and already had a long-arm quilting business, so she really knows what quilters want. She has a lot of plans for her new shop, so if your travels take you to the SLC area, stop by to see the shop. There will be an open house in April and I made this top as a shop sample. The pattern is from the Moda Bake Shop called "I'm Blushing" and uses a Blush jelly roll. The designer of this quilt is Natalia Bonner and I think she lives here in Utah, too.

Cathie is going to put this little quilt in the bathroom in her new shop. It was so much fun to make. I used the wrong side of the white fabric for part of the rolls to make it look like the unprinted side of the rolls. This was made using some of the Blush fabric line....can you tell I really like this fabric!

Blooming Christmas Cactus

2010-03-05T09:34:00.000-07:00

Here we go again! This plant had so many blossoms the first time it bloomed that I thought it was done for the year. Well, it has continued to produce a few flowers since last fall, and now has about a dozen more buds. Yes, it still blooms with red and white tinged with a bit of pink. Someone told me not to move or turn the plant while it is blooming because that will cause the buds to fall. I haven't touched it and I think she's right! Just had to share because we all love flowers.....especially with two inches of snow outside! I'm so-o-o ready for spring. We've been teased with some really nice sunny days, but I want more!!

2010 or 2011 Valentine Quilt?

2010-02-28T13:54:00.001-07:00

I started this little quilt a few days before Valentine's Day, and finished it a few days after Valentine's Day. The question becomes.....was I late finishing it for 2010, or am I really early for 2011?!? Since I usually decide to make something just before the event and race like mad to make the deadline, this time I just went with the flow. So....I'm going to say I'm ready for next year! Doing the free motion quilting for this quilt taught me that by just relaxing a bit, without a deadline, gave me the rhythm needed to make it a fun thing to do.

The whole point of this comes down to one of two things: give yourself plenty of time to enjoy and finish a project, or accept the fact that you won't get it finished in time, but it will be ready in plenty of time for next year. Will I follow my own advice? Probably not.

Quilts For Kids

2010-02-05T13:25:00.000-07:00

This little crib quilt came as a free kit from Quilts for Kids. The kit had a pattern, strips cut to size, backing fabric and a label. The fabric is wonderful, current, and bright. All you have to provide is the batting, a little time, and the return postage! The finished quilts are distributed all around the US to various hospitals and groups. I was very happy when I opened the package and saw that the fabric was really good quality and the pre-cut strips were straight and the right size! Now I just have to wash it and send it back to the organization. How easy is that? I know, I know.....a lot of folks will say that the quilts we make for charity should stay in our own area, but this is a national organization that distributes quilts where they are needed. The makers of "Downy Fabric Softener" has partnered with "Quilts For Kids" to provide 10,000 quilts to children in hospitals.

If you'd like more info, visit Downy.com/HelpingKids or to request a kit, go to Quiltsforkids.org

BOM Placemat

2010-01-28T13:18:00.000-07:00

One of the guilds I belong to is doing a block of the month, but after so many years of doing these, it becomes a question of what to do with these blocks. So, this year I have decided to make placemats. Thanks to 3 Creative Studios for the idea. Check out their blog for some really good ideas and freebies. Anyway, the first block is "paper pinwheels". It had a plain 6" center so I decided to replace it with a pinwheel, added borders to the sides and this is the result. I won three, one yard pieces, from the same line in 2003! It's wonderful fabric but really didn't go with anything I had or any project on my to do list. Sad that it had to wait so long to become part of something but I'm happy with the way it turned out. If you look close there is some of the salmon-y color in the little flowers.

Finger Painting?!

2010-01-24T11:45:00.001-07:00

I'm almost (notice I said "almost") embarrassed to post these pictures, but we had too much fun not to share. The first picture shows the gelatin "plate" with a few squirts of paint on it, paint bottles, and Brandy's hands. You can make the plates in any shape....we had rectangle, round, domed, and large square ones. It's really amazing just how tough and firm these things are! We were able to pick them up, wipe or rinse them off with water, plus you can re-use them for several weeks if you store them in the fridge. Just make sure they are well labeled....can you just imagine what would happen if someone tried to eat some?

Okay, next picture is Kaye's large square plate with various colors on it. See the big comb? That really created some interesting patterns. Once the paint is on, a piece of pfd fabric is carefully laid on top and pressed into the paint. We used a brayer, rolling pin, combs, and a baker's bench knife, not forgetting to mention our hands, to spread all that paint around. The gelatin plate "gave" just enough to allow us to push and skoosh and smush all we wanted. It really was like being in kindergarten or even pre-school.

Yep, those are Brandy's hands again. We gave up on the plastic gloves! Acrylic paint washes off!

It took us awhile to figure out that we were probably using way too much paint........some of the pieces are stiff as a board! Think a sewing machine needle will go through 1/4" of paint? We tied a clothes line across the kitchen to hang some pieces and the rest are on the floor. Now the big challenge is what on earth will we do with these? Some are "very interesting", our polite way of saying yuk, but you just have to imagine some neat stitching and embellishing on them.

Yo-yo's and Applique

2010-01-18T13:30:00.000-07:00

Yo-yo's....I need many, many more of these cute little things! This project was put away for awhile (not telling how long!), and almost forgotten. It seems that January is the month to dig out our ufo's or phd's and make a list of those projects begging to be finished and this one was yelling pretty loud. Anyhow, the pattern calls for 384 yo-yo's. Yes, 384!! Not to mention all the applique and bias stems! Each hexagon block has 6 yo-yo's.......that comes out to a lot of blocks, 64 to be exact. Time to re-think this project even though I love, love the finished quilt, it needs to be quite a bit smaller. The design comes from Barb Adams and Alma Allen of Blackbird Designs and is in their book "Lovina's Pressed Flowers".

There are just too many new and exciting patterns, fabric, and techniques that I want to try, to ever get everything finished. Example in point: tomorrow three of my friends are coming over to play with jello! I just put my gelatin "plate" in the fridge to harden. Phil just rolls his eyes and shakes his head when strange things happen around here. Anyway, what does fabric, gelatin, and paint equal? Check back in a few days to find out. If you subscribe to Quilting Arts magazine, check out the cover of the Aug/Sept issue for a hint.

Surprise Package!!

2010-01-11T13:59:00.006-07:00

This package came in the mail Saturday morning from Marina who lives in Australia! I couldn't wait to open it, especially since it really did come as a total surprise! Marina was my swap partner last fall as part of the Stitchers Angel Swap hosted by Helen Stubbings. We've become cyber-friends and e-mail back and forth about once a week. It has been so much fun and very interesting to exchange information and ideas with someone on the other side of the world. Marina is sweltering in the heat of summer while I'm trying to stay warm 'cause it's the middle of winter here. What's even more interesting is the fact that we both have been working on an on-line bom from Bunny Hill Designs!! Of course, I'm way behind on mine....but that's nothing new for me!

There is a calendar called "Wild Australians" (animals indigenous to AU), three big pieces of fabric, which I have a plan for already), and a copy of Patchwork. Now, what Marina doesn't know, is that there is an article in the magazine that references my other Stitchers Angel, Deb Gardiner, who is a designer of dolls and other things!! Is all of this a coincidence or what? I thinks it is pretty neat and so...Thank You, Marina, you are a keeper.

Patchwork Posies and UFO's

2010-01-03T11:18:00.018-07:00

Happy New Year everyone! One of my "resolutions" should be to post more often! I've been reading all of your blogs and forgot about mine.

Well, I've been working on this little quilt from a workshop with the gals from Blackbird Designs, Barb and Alma. Yes, it was a couple of Januarys ago and I've been trying to hand quilt it for the past year (or so). My hand quilting goes ver-r-ry slowly, but I am determined to finish this one. All of those little round buds were supposed to be appliqued circles which were replaced by yo-yo's because they are more fun to make plus they add a little character. The background fabric is creamy tan like the full photo, not off white like the close-up.

I've spent the past week trying to re-organize my sewing room along with a lot of other bloggers. lol My DH tells me that it seems like I'm alway putting things away or just moving stuff from one spot to another....he's right. Time to weed out things I know I'll never use - craft & quilting stuff - and find homes for those ufo's I'm never going to finish. Why do so many of us, crafters and quilters, seem to always have multiple projects going on at one time? Is it because we are creative and the creative mind never stops? Or do we just become bored without multiple projects to work on?

All Things Christmas Sampler

2009-12-24T11:24:00.002-07:00

"HAPPY HOLIDAYS" everyone! It's Christmas Eve, is your shopping done? baking? quilting/sewing projects?

It's not quite finished and it's Christmas Eve!!!! This was supposed to be ready for last Christmas! Where did the year go??!! At least it is bound and ready to hang, but still needs lots of embellishments, especially the bottom row. Nothing like naked ornaments.

The tree has red beads and still need something to sparkle up the star, and the Christmas Pudding Cake has sequins and beads on the holly berries. This little quilt might be one that has something added each year until it says "enough, no more, you are done"!!

The pattern for this was a bom from Angie Padilla's website. She has a lot of really cute ideas and applique patterns. Some are free and some are for members only. It's a fun site to browse.

Maine Christmas Wreath

2009-12-17T14:34:00.000-07:00

Each year, our niece who lives in Maine, sends us a fresh wreath with a little bag of balsam needles. Oh-h-h-h, the fragrance is so wonderful and always brings back treasured memories of when we lived there. Yes, our niece and family make and sell wreaths each year, along with some other decorative items. Aren't we lucky to have them as family!!

The bottom picture is a basket full of the little bags filled with balsam needles. Yes, I've saved almost all of them! The red one, lower right, is the fresh one. When you give it a little shake or squeeze, the scent just fills the room!

Thanks Louise and Tim. We love our wreath

Ravioli Day 2009

2009-12-14T11:15:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was our annual "Ravioli Making" day. Every year the family gets together to make dozens of ravioli for Christmas dinner. The first picture shows part of the assembly line with Nicole, (a friend of the girls) who joined us for the first time, Alyssa and Taylor, waiting for dough strips.

Papa feeds the dough into the machine and Nicole tried her hand at cranking the dough through, while Alyssa gives her a hand with the final pass.

Kathy is in charge of popping the ravioli out of the cutting trays and keeping track of how many we make. We broke the record this year with around 26 dozen!! That's 312 ravioli, or about 156 cheese and 156 chicken/spinach!! OMG! No wonder we were tired by the end of the afternoon.

Last, but certainly not least, we have the "Ravioli Squad". Nana, Papa, Taylor, Alyssa, Stephanie, and Mom Kathy. It's a wonderful tradition, one that I hope will continue over the years to come. Our son lives in Kansas and he and his wife make ravioli, and our daughter who lives in Florida has started making them with her family as well, so we will all enjoy this tasty treat during the holidays.

Wishing everyone a very happy holiday season and a reminder to continue sharing the traditions you may have. They make wonderful memories to share with the generations.

Fun Giveaway!

2009-12-07T18:47:00.001-07:00

Click on over to My Brown Bag Studio to enter Kimberly's delightful giveaway! She's made some really cute holiday items.....a little pinwheel quilt, a very cute wooden sign, a wreath, plus more. Leave a comment to be entered into the drawing on Dec. 13th. Hm-m-m, the more that enter, the less my chances are of winning!

Sam's New Stuffie

2009-12-05T10:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, when I looked in the "doggie toy" basket, it dawned on me that everything left in it was missing half its stuffing, chewed up, stiff from slobber, or just worn out. And....only one still had a squeeker that squeeked!! Poor dog, no wonder he hasn't been playing much. He's been going over to the basket, looks in it and walks away. So, this morning I decided to make him one with some left over fleece, plus, I had some squeekers that I bought quite awhile ago (found 'em last night!). As soon as he saw the fleece and heard the squeek, he knew that whatever was on the table was HIS! When that last stitch went in, it was throw it now or be attacked! The whole thing only took 10-15 min. from start to finish, so off to dig out more scraps of fleece to make a few more. I used some odd strips of batting for some of the stuffing which makes it just a bit firmer for chewing.

Seasons Greetings

2009-12-01T10:02:00.001-07:00

This little mini stitched up fast and adorable. The pattern is from Cheryl Goss of "Willowberry Designs" and measures 8 1/2" x 13 1/2" . The details really don't show up well on this photo, but you can click right on it to see the stitching and beads. The hanger loops are ribbon with small jingle bells. I used "tiger tape big stitch" as my quilting guide. It's 1/4" wide tape with markings for the up - down stitch length and makes it easy to sew even stitches.

Click on the title "Seasons Greetings" to go to Willowberry Designs blog.

Knitted-Beaded Necklace

2009-12-01T09:45:00.000-07:00

One of my friends asked me if I had posted anything new since Taylor's big birthday. Now, I know she checks almost daily, so either my life has been extremely boring, or I've just been a bit lazy with my postings! Hm-m-m, might be a bit of both, lol. Anyway, here is a picture of one of my latest endeavors. Once I understood the sequence of where and how many beads to knit in, it only took a couple of hours (I'm a very slow knitter). One of my teen grandgirls oh-h-h-ed and ah-h-h-ed so much that I agreed to make her a purple one, which means the other two girls will want one. Sure wish I knew how to knit faster, 'cause I really want to make socks, but using 4-5 needles at one time really intimidates me.

Big day for Taylor!!

2009-11-21T11:08:00.000-07:00

Happy 18th birthday, Taylor! She had to show us (grandparents) what her Mom and Sisters did to her car! All four sides have something written on it, but my camera was out of memory so only two sides are shown. Taylor reminds me of Mighty Mouse.....she's all of 4'10", a strong gust of wind could blow her away, but she makes her presence known. We always know when she's around because there's constant chatter and motion. She just makes you smile (when she's not tired...then it's grumpy, don't talk to me). I'm not sure just how she drives this big Yukon but she doesn't seem to have any problem. So, another milestone for Taylor!!

Crazy Christmas Cactus

2009-11-20T15:55:00.002-07:00

I got this plant about 10 years ago when we still lived in MA, so it survived a cross-country move. Apparently, it loves it's home because it now blooms about three times a year....actually, parts of it bloom at different times from now until spring. There must have been two plants originally because as you can see, some flowers are red and the others have a pinkish tint to them. I'm surprised that after all these years the colors are still so separate. The red ones are starting to fade, but there are still lots of buds of both colors.

Flea Market Fancy give-a-way!!

2009-11-20T15:25:00.000-07:00

Hop on over to Sew Take A Hike blog for a chance to win some great fabric from the "Flea Market Fancy" line, an autographed copy of DS Quilts, and more. Make sure you read all the instructions in order to qualify and grab her button while you are there.

Teton Retreat...hard at work

2009-11-11T20:29:00.003-07:00

We had a wonderful three days of quilting. This retreat was a "do your own thing" retreat. It was fun to see what everyone was working on and gave us a chance to dig out those UFO's, or as I like to say, our PHD's (projects half done). Lots of tips, techniques, and short-cuts were shared by all. Don't you love to learn new things while having fun?

Teton Patchworks Retreat

2009-11-11T20:11:00.002-07:00

These are just a few of the projects we worked on during our retreat in Idaho. One of our talented ladies showed us her "10 minute" tablerunner. The photo on the top left is of the 21, yes, 21 tablerunners that we all made. Of course, we had to make a "quick" trip to the quilt shop for fabric to make them!! Continuing clockwise, the next picture is a "fractured picture". The original picture is enlarged and divided into sections, then each person in the group makes one of the sections. The trick is to get all the sections to fit together! The two tops that I worked on are on the right. One is a wacky four patch, and the other is an on-line bom from last year by Angie Papadilla. Cindy was working on her pinwheels and Kaye was putting together a block exchange from another group. We really made a lot of progress on our projects even though we talked, laughed, and ate, and ate.

Angel Swap Goodies

2009-11-03T15:46:00.002-07:00

These are the goodies that my swap Angel made for me. Debra made a journal cover with an appliqued rose, a super cute flower pincushion, and a zippered bag, all of which I will be able to use this weekend (yep, another quilting get-a-way). See the little pieces of allsorts? They are buttons! What's really interesting is that my hubby loves licorice and had actually bought a bag that morning (yesterday)!! The other little bag that's reflecting (darn) contains little Christmas Pudding buttons. Deb is a designer of cloth dolls and stitcheries, and her daughter makes the buttons. She has lots of fun patterns for sale, so pay her a visit at: www.wattlebee.com . Oh I forgot to tell you that she is from Australia.

Thank you Deb....I'm so happy you were my Stitching Angel!

Pie Pincushion Winner!!!

2009-10-30T10:07:00.002-06:00

Here is a picture of what Cori of Chitter Chatter Designs sent me for her give-a-way last week! This pincushion pattern is the cutest "pie" that I've seen. She included the tan background fabric for the "crust", red and blue for the "fruit", green wool for the stems, and a strip of bias ready to use as the stem! Last, there's a sweet little package of beaded pins waiting for their new home! Thanks a bunch, Cori! Can you tell that I love it?

Angel Swap

2009-10-29T19:28:00.000-06:00

Yea! Marina received her goodie package from me! I have really enjoyed this swap, especially the e-mails to and from Marina. It was hard to keep my identity secret until the package arrived! Her blog is now listed on my sidebar, so pop in and say hello.... www.maizieandtheboys.blogspot.com

First 12 x 12 project

2009-10-29T13:24:00.001-06:00

This is my first 12 x 12 project. The quilts are 12" square (close) and are designed based on a word. The word this time was "cold". I think I will call it "Cold Night in Maine" because of the birch trees and pine trees. The cardinal is there because there needed to be a dot of color and chickadees (state bird of ME) would blend in too much. Besides, the cardinal is the state bird of Ohio where I grew up. I wanted to use batting for the snow, but didn't want another layer of batting behind it, so I took a larger piece, cut the curve for the snow, put the snow piece on the top of the dark fabric and the other piece underneath the dark fabric That way there is only one layer of batting for the whole thing. You can't really see that the thread is a sparkly white mettalic and that I free motioned some snowflakes in the background.

More Make A Difference Day Photos

2009-10-28T10:13:00.001-06:00

The first picture is us (Winnie and me) delivering some quilts to St. Anne's Shelter last Saturday. This mornings paper had an article and photo of St. Anne's showing sleeping mats covering the lobby floor in anticipation of an overflow need for shelter due to a snow storm that began early yesterday. At the very least, there were enough quilts to keep the kids warm!

These two pictures were taken at Archway House. Thanks to the generosity of all the quilters who donated quilts (and their time), we were able to meet our goal of one quilt for each child who spends some time there. The young staff is great with the kids and provide counseling along with a fun sense of humor. All in all, it was an eye-opening yet gratifying day. Now to start all over again for next year. If you have any extra quilts or fabric or batting that you'd like to contribute, leave a comment on this blog.

Make A Difference Day Update

2009-10-26T17:51:00.000-06:00

A previous post shows lots and lots of quilts that were collected from many generous quilters here in Utah, and this was the last stop. Saturday Winnie and I delivered 22+ quilts to Archway House (for teens), and 10+ quilts to St. Anne's Shelter. Today I took 8 or 10 to the Children's Justice Center and this last bunch of 21 quilts to Catholic Charities.

We all hear of the many places that try to provide for the homeless, families in need, distressed children and on and on, but until you actually visit these places, it's hard to fully understand just how much they depend on volunteers and donations. I'm not talking about just cash donations, but baby food, diapers, toiletries and too many things to list here.

Big, BIG Givaway!!

2009-10-20T13:38:00.004-06:00

No, not here on my blog, at least not yet. Check out the Pumpkin Patch Primitive Quilt Shoppe's blog for a chance to win! The prize is A Fat Quarter Bundle of Red Rooster's Pumpkins & Spice Fabrics!! How neat is that? Go to: http://pumpkinpatchprimitivequiltshoppe.blogspot.com or click on the title of this post. Good luck!!

Angel Swap 2009

2009-10-19T16:26:00.000-06:00

Here is a picture of the items I'm sending to my swap partner in Australia. There is a ditty bag, needlekeep, mug wrap and pincushion. It has been really fun to get e-mails from (can't tell you until she receives them) her and to lurk on her blog! The gal at the post office said that it would take about two weeks to get to AU from here. Sure hope she like everything. If you get a chance to participate in next year's Angel Swap, don't pass it up! Happy stitching everyone.

Quilts, quilts & more quilts!!

2009-10-15T19:09:00.002-06:00

Just look at this load of quilts!! Three armloads and a car full!! We (Winnie, Sue, and I) have been getting together to work on charity quilts for "Make A Difference Day" which is a week from Saturday. Today we were at the Senior Center working away, up to our eyeballs in fabric and batting, when in walks one of our friends, Kaye (she's on the right in the picture). Kaye has been collecting quilts from local guilds for distribution and brought more than 40 quilts for us to take to a local youth services center. We chose the youth center because it is for kids from 11-18, most of whom are awaiting placement in foster homes or in need of counseling. Most quilts that are made for charity are crib size and girly. It seems that the boys and especially teens are kind of forgotten, but not this year!

Kudos to Winnie and Sue, who started this quilt-a-thon about 12 yrs. ago. With all the quilts that Kaye brought today, we will be able to give love and warmth to lots of kids, big and small. Thank you to all of you out there who have donated these quilts throughout the year. Working together makes things like this possible.

Sleeping on the job!!

2009-10-14T14:17:00.001-06:00

Is this called "sleeping on the job"?? This morning I decided to cut batting for some charity quilts that a group of us are making. As soon as I got up to get the tape measure, Sam decided that this stuff might just make a comfy bed. After several attempts to keep him off, I had to stand the roll of batting upright. Maybe he wants a quilt of his own?

Blogger's Quilt Festival

2009-10-11T08:40:00.002-06:00

Head on over to Parkcitygirls blog to have a peek at some of the quilts entered in the "Fall Quilt Festival". There are hundreds of quilts to check out, so grab your favorite cuppa something, get comfy, and start clicking! Yep, I've got one entered,too. There is a Quilt Fest button in the left column which will take you right to it, or you can click on the title of this post. Have fun.

Who's in My Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-10T14:57:00.000-06:00

This pattern is actually called "Grin In The Night" from Kim Diehl's book, Simple Seasons. Kim taught this class during our annual Quilt Fest a couple of years ago, just before the book came out, so we got to test the pattern. It was a fun class and for me, a new way to machine applique. This wall hanging measures 28 1/2"x 36 1/2" and is quite bright. I hung it in the kitchen (dining area) on the only large wall, which you see when you walk in. I also put a fall table runner and placemats on the table and counter. Wanna guess what he saw? Not the bright wallhanging, but the two small placemats!!

New Bag

2009-10-07T14:28:00.001-06:00

New bag

Check out my new bag! It's a Bunny Hill design using a "honey bun" roll. I haven't decided whether or not I want to add ribbon ties to each end like the pattern or just leave it as is. The bag is designed with the knitter in mind as a project bag (18" long), but it's just the right size to carry a 12"x 6" ruler, rotary cutter, and a small quilting project. There are five pockets inside which makes finding things easy. I actually got most of it sewn while we were on vacation in Midway. Yes, I took my sewing machine![Photo]

Changes

2009-10-07T13:17:00.000-06:00

I finally found the courage to venture further into the unknown and make changes to this blog. When you are told to delete code for the current background in order to put in a new one, the question is, will I lose everything already there? Well, it worked! Let me know if you like the changes....or not. I'm spending far too much time playing with this stuff and not enough time working on the stack of projects waiting to be finished!!

Sam & Nikki

2009-10-04T12:26:00.001-06:00

Sam has always been in a one dog house and thinks he's king of the neighborhood. We had Nikki, our daughter's dog for several nights and they had to decide who was going to be pack leader! They ended up taking turns at being boss and it was really funny to watch the interaction between them. They are so totally different in personality and behavior. As you can see, they finally settled down after a day of play. I think Sam will miss her, although now he has all my attention again!

Kaleidoscope block

2009-10-04T12:07:00.001-06:00

This is the block started in Paula Nadelstern's class, "Needlestars". The corners aren't sewn on yet, so don't look too close. I'm really happy with the center....it came out pretty good for the first block. It takes a lot of precision and patience to transfer guide marks onto the templates for fussy cutting each piece! Now I know why the templates I made at least 10 yrs. ago were still in Paula's book (I found them when I pulled her book off the shelf to take this class!). I started quilting because I wanted to make a kaleidoscope quilt, after watching a show on TV. Needless to say it wasn't even a "Stack 'n Whack block. I had been quilting, learning from books & magazines as I went my merry way, until we moved to MA. There were lots of quilters and shops and classes! Need I say more? Bethany Reynolds came to one of the shops to teach (before her first book) her methods, and I was hooked. Along comes Paula's book, but I think I was too intimidated to actually cut into the fabric after trying to make my design and templates. Her new fabric, which has bilateral symmetry, makes it so-o-o much easier to achieve a complex design.

Class with Melody Crust

2009-09-30T14:04:00.000-06:00

Melody Crust was one of our National Teachers this year. I was lucky enough to take several of her classes which included beading, free motion quilting with decorative threads, and what to look at, and think about when designing borders. I learned a lot and came away with loads of ideas.

Quilt Fest 2009

2009-09-30T13:55:00.001-06:00

Here is just a sampling of the quilts from this year's show. We had a Baby Jane show as well. What stunning quilts!! The background is an OMG quilt (I didn't say "gosh") with over 5000 pieces! The quilt depicting President Obama is beyond description and taken from the cover of Time magazine. The applique quilt is a work of art. I'm so sorry I didn't get the names of the quilters/artists, so if you recognize one of them please let me know and I will update everything. There were close to 80 quilts and I'm sure the judges had a very dificult time choosing the winners!

Angel Swap design from Cori

2009-09-28T10:23:00.001-06:00

This is Cori's sample with the pocket quilted, embroidered, and colored (colourque) instead of appliqued. Almost too cute to hide beside the bed. Something to think about. Doesn't she do amazing work? Her website is www.chitterchatterdesigns.com if you'd like to check out her other designs.

More pics of Quilt Fest coming up in a bit.

Stitcher's Angel update

2009-09-27T16:37:00.001-06:00

Can you read the name on this booth? You can click on the picture to enlarge it. Yep! Chitter Chatter Designs!! That's Cori, owner and designer, who is also a designer (one of only seven!) for this year's Angel Swap. When I saw the booth at Quilt Fest, I literally skidded to a halt, ran in to introduce myself as a swapper and to thank her for the darling little bed pocket/organizer pattern. It was really great to meet someone else who belongs to this international swap, started by Helen Stubbings who is a designer from Australia. There is a link to Helen's website and blog in the left column if you'd like to check it out. Stop by Cori's website to see all of her cute designs, too.

Alien Pod update

2009-09-21T12:28:00.002-06:00

I finally found out what the "alien pod" was! (Check out the picture from August). It was a giant puffball! And it's edible and apparently quite delicious when dipped in batter and fried. The texture has been described as crispy on the outside and like a marshmallow inside. Can't quite get my mind around that, but if I find another one next year, may have to try it.

Where is it?

2009-09-20T17:01:00.001-06:00

Sam's face is in this burrow up to his eyeballs! The sniffs and snorts coming from the hole were quite hilarious....until he started to dig up the lawn. Wish I could have gotten a shot of his face when he finally surfaced. One of these times he will get his nose nipped by whatever is living in there. Sam hasn't discovered that there is most likely a "back door" somewhere else!