Happy Birthday Aliya!

I don't usually do this, and I probably won't continue (although maybe I should).

Maybe it is because she is our oldest grandchild, the first girl...I don't know, but I wanted her to know that Grandma is thinking about her.

Today she will turn 6, where have the years gone?

How did she get so grown up?

Family....plain and simple or are we?

I wasn't going to do this...but well the temptation was just to much for me! There is nothing I love more than my husband, but the grandkids, well they are a close second! (I really think he is okay with this, that is where they are on his list also...haha).

For Thanksgiving our youngest son suggested that we all meet in Oklahoma for Thanksgiving...What a great plan!

We had a blast...if you want to check out that activity go here or here to see all the fun. I am bad at taking pictures. While we were out there we had a family photo shoot, Tammy Hall took our pictures. If you are in that area, check her out, she is awesome and her outdoor studio is fabulous, not to mention the indoor one also.So here are a few of my favorites:

These pictures of my *little men* just crack me up....

all of them!
Tammy did a great job of capturing their little personalities.

And then there are Grandpa's little *Princesses*!

Oh so cute... Oh so Sweet!

Sorry Kimberly about Zurie's flower being in the center of her head...Uncle Seth was just trying to help.
You would never have believed these could have turned out like this with all the wiggling, crying and fussing going on in the studio!

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

You all thought you were going to see snow....not even close! It was 99 degrees last Saturday and while it has cooled off (I am so grateful!) It has still been in the mid to upper 80's this week.

No, I have to make my own Winter Wonderland here....
I *heart* SNOWMEN!
Snowmen take me right back to my childhood, to simple times, to lots of snow in the winter, to warm cozy houses (my house here only seems to be warm in the summer...LOL), to hot chocolate and warm socks.

So when my sister in law offered a snowman quilt kit a few years ago (I'll post the finished tops in the next couple of days..I haven't quilted them yet), I jumped at the chance...okay I didn't jump, but as soon as I saw it in person I was hooked. I have made two different snowmen quilts since then and this is my third...I am behind, I had the kit a year before I started on it but isn't it nice our UFO keep!

Here is the final design (pattern front):

There are 10 stitched blocks, ranging in size from 6 1/2 x 14 to 16 x 24, and lots of varies sized in between. Rena is fantabulous at picking colors and patterns. I miss living close and seeing her excitement for fabric. You can visit her shop website here.

Sorry you can really see the blue marker in some of these. These are raw finishes, meaning I haven't trimmed them yet and I won't wash them until the quilt is finished.

This is the holly leaves and berries...sorry hard to see.

I started this project on our summer trip with the Travelers to Cottage Grove Oregon

This is actually the block I am currently working on. It is very wrinkled, it was *wadded* up in my bag. I haven't had it out since we came home from Oklahoma. I still have a good evening work on it...maybe there will be a good movie on tonight....(a girl can hope!)

Two blocks with words in them. This verse just makes me want to sip hot chocolate in front of the fireplace.
And this one, the first one I did makes me still giggle....Snow angels are just fun!
This block should be dedicated to my first trip down the slopes! No laughing Kimberly and Alex!
This isn't the best picture of all the fabrics, but I don't dare take them out of their designated bag. Like I said Rena is fantabulous at picking fabric combos and this quilt is just no exception to her talent. I LOVE these combinations and am excited to get the patchwork block done....I just made myself a promise I wouldn't start sewing blocks until the stitching was done...two blocks left!

Here was this weeks project! Neck pillows for the four youngest grandkiddles. We are planning a road trip out to Oklahoma for Thanksgiving and thought neck pillows would help the two little ones we will be traveling with. I found this pattern online, can't remember the blog or I would totally give her credit. We didn't use stuffed animals, we used the hand puppets that are currently being sold at Costco.
Here is my little helper modeling his pillow....Have pillow will travel!
Here he is ready for travel in the deep jungles of Africa! He has such personality...he always has something fun to show us!
We are off on ADVENTURE!

Everything I Need to Know I Learned from....

This week...Aliya, Landon, Parker and Zurie...
We have had the opportunity to babysit, watch after, take care of...what is the right words when you are the grandparent? Anyway, we have been with four of our seven grandkiddles, for the last 6 days, 4 of which without parental supervision (did you get that...their parents actually trusted us to stay with them! hee hee). I realized Sunday about 5 minutes after their parents left....we were going to have lots of things brought to our remembrance! LOL!

Their parents decided that we would go to early church meetings on Sunday so that they could get in at least one block of meetings before having to head to the airport, I am imagining they weren't even out of the parking lot when we had the first diaper call, Grandpa totally unaware of why he was being called out of meetings left only to have to come back for the diaper bag...while he was away little miss Zurie, well she didn't want to be left out of the fun, preceded to fill her pants, yes way beyond their capacity! Grandma left with out any means to fix the situation wondered how long she could wait....but wait, third child needing assistance...great a reason to leave this meeting and find Grandpa....Wow! Let's see parents have been gone....7 minutes tops! Can you see what we are in for...LOL! And just for the record we are loving every tired minute of it!
What we have learned so far:
Whatever Mommy said (or anything we think she said) is the truth and must be obeyed! (Mommy would be happy to know about this! ;))
Balls in a can that can be taken away are effective discipline devices!
All day Kindergarten is long! (But they must give them energy pills because she comes home wired!)
Dimples, can fix anything! (and get you about anything)
Lower case "g" is really hard to write.
You can take turns changing diapers
Two year olds are delightful
Three and a half year olds want to be just like Grandpa
Mommy is the most important, then Grandpa!
Little kids go to bed really early...we can watch two movies if we want!
Wal-mart is only 3 miles away...a good place to go everyday!
The Speech teacher will take your child anytime you drop them off even if it isn't the right time
Pizza Rolls should be warmed in the oven
Landon loves cake...especially in the miniature form (cupcakes)
Aliya loves cupcakes in her lunch (sorry Mom)
Parker would like his cupcake to have 4 layers...with frosting on top and between each layer.
Sticks have to carried when going to the pond, also rocks for throwing.
Perfect strangers like dimples too!
Having a two year old and three year old boy can make laundry confusing!
Two year old little boys and three year old little boys DO know whose shirt that is!
Battery operated toys with dead batteries should probably stay that way
If you are a child...Grandpa's can never give enough piggyback rides, if you are a Grandpa piggyback rides can make you REALLY tired!

Needless to say we have slept well...It will be with mixed emotions that Mommy and Daddy come home...

PS. I have been working on some quilty stuff.....I just can't upload, or is that download...heehee any pictures right now...in about a week I should be able to post some pics.

My "spoonfuls of sugar"

The older I get the more I realize I have learned from the very people in my life I thought I would teach...my kids!
I have four incredible children and they have incredible spouses. Today my oldest daughter did a post on her "spoonfuls of sugar". You can go here to read about it. She made it a tag and I decided I wanted to participate, I hope you will also. I think it is always good to think about these kinds of things.

1. My family (any of them individually or all of them collectively, however I can get them at the moment.)
2. Fall air, leaves and temperatures.
3. Scriptures
4. Hot bread
5. Quiet moments in my sewing room
6. Quiet promptings
7. Class full of silly teenagers
8. Tucson sunset
9. Drawers of fabric scraps :)
10. Pictures of the grandbabies on the fridge

Hope you will take the challenge and post your "spoonful/spoonfuls of sugar". It really is good for you!

Another Quilt and a vacation

This quilt was made to go in the Model A my husband helped his father restore. This past spring they have worked hard to get a 1929 Model A Travelers ready to go to meet this summer. This little vehicle is really Henry Ford's idea of a motorhome, it has a bed (albeit small), an icebox, and a water tank with a basin. I had struggled with exactly what kind of quilt to make for the bed and found this kit at one of our local quilt shops. It is a reproduction quilt from the late 1800's, I felt like it was appropriate for this car. I actually stitched the binding on the plane and finished the last side in the car as we were going to meet, so no washed quilt pictures here.



It finished at 60 x 72 and is perfect for the bed if it is folded in half (yes that "little" bed is 2 ft by 4 ft).

I just can't get away from a folded quilt picture...sorry! I did a small stipple on this quilt, it will be a utility quilt. I had visions of some heirloom quilting, feathers and such, but time did not allow for that, I took this quilt off the frame and sewed the binding on, then put it in my suitcase and headed out the door. Nothing like the last minute!

Backing was a small scale green print, I love it! I wasn't as excited about this quilt when the top was completed as when I saw it in the store, but I do think it is perfect for the little car.

If you are interested in more details of this cute little car you can check out the progress blog at http://theantiqueguy.blogspot.com I will be posting some pictures of our trip tomorrow.

Where, Oh Where did this quilter go??? - Revised and pics added

Ha, I can't believe I have not posted in over month! Thanks to those who don't give up and have hope something will appear in this space. I have accomplished a few things actually, just have been busy and gone. I will post them over the course of the next few days, not all at once.
First item...
The end of June our oldest son came to visit with his family. Our daughter in law, Dawnise wanted help in making a quilt for our granddaughter. She brought several fabrics and an idea. She knew she wanted to make the card trick block. She has sewn but really not done any piecing. She did such a great job on her quilt. While they were here she pieced all the blocks and constructed the quilt top. I added the last border for her and machine quilted. I also did the binding. Kaylie, our granddaughter, loves green and her mother let her pick the binding...she of course picked green.

This is a twin sized quilt for Kaylie's new big girl bed. Way to go Dawnise, you did a great job!

The folded quilt picture!

The backing and a glimpse of the machine quilting. I used a pantograph designed by my youngest daughter, it reflected the print in the borders and backing.

Happy Kaylie and Grandpa, snuggling with the new quilt.

University of Arizona

I have a friend whose kids love the UofA, they have and are attending there. They had a baby last winter, and she wanted an UofA blanket for the baby. I am behind, but I did get it done this week. I just had to wait until it had been delivered to post.
I did use this pattern from Alex Anderson's baby quilt book. I love this pattern if you have a novelty print to incorporate. I know I had planned this a bit differently when picking up fabrics (in fact I ditched one of the fabrics I had purchased), but I couldn't remember my initial plan. I like how it turned out. So do they! I used the overall print in the red for the backing. I also quilted in the red, I like how that turned out. What color thread to use is always a hard decision for me.

I washed this quilt before passing it on. I really love the look of a quilt washed and folded!

Check out the binding...okay I am still wondering if I made a good choice here. I had this piece in my stash from something else. The colors were perfect and I do love a bias stripe on the edge of a quilt...but I was marginal about this one, I think for me it was the busyness factor. Well I do like the quilt...I have enough fabric to do another one....I will bind it differently for sure.

I love the quilt all folded up!

Happy Anniversary

I laid in bed this morning thinking, thinking about this day many years ago. It was very early, well very early in my book, 4:30 a.m. I could hear the neighbor dragging his trash and recycle cans to the street...he was happy, he was whistling also...yea, I am laughing NOW! As I laid there I was thinking about the significance of this day all that has happened in the last 29 years....Lots has changed from that quiet Tuesday morning in 1980. We don't share this day alone, we had Gary's bestfriend and little sister getting married the same day also. It has been fun to share an anniversary with them all these years.

So, Honey here is too another 29, 30 or 40 whatever we are permitted to enjoy. The years have changed us some, but I still love you...actually I love you more!

Busy week/weekend!

Whew! Wow, I can't believe I posted that last quilt a week ago....seems like yesterday. We have had a crazy week/weekend here. Monday morning I finished the binding on this little baby quilt.

I received inspiration from Crazy Mom quilts last fall. I have done one in blue also, it isn't finished. Actually Kimberly and I pieced 2 pinks and 2 blues, this is the first that is complete.
I love the striped binding. I feel like it pulls both the colors together in this quilt.

We choose a pale pink with brown polka dots for the back....too cute!



We also had the opportunity to have our 9 month old grandson for a few days while his Mom and Dad were away. What fun to have a baby in the house....well full time. He comes and visits often. He has mastered the stairs, and it is so fun to watch him go up and come down. He understands what he has to do at the top, although he gets so close to the edge he scares us a bit.

So if you were 9 months old what would you do with these little critters????






Well here is what our grandson does.....

No frog legs for this boy!

Gary also finished the Travelers he has been working on. His parents came down on Thursday to take it home. They had a couple of issues, which now we know, he has a bad head gasket...(he found that out yesterday about 3 hours away from our house.). They left Monday for their 1200 mile trek back home. They are determined to do this and our love and prayers go with them for a safe journey. They can do about 45 miles per hour in this little car. It is beautiful. Gary did all the wood on it for his Dad. His dad is so excited to drive this car back to Idaho. We will join them in July for a regional Model A meet to have the car judged and shown.

This little car is beautiful, pictures honestly do not do it justice. My mother in law who had not seen it since they brought it down, was so in awe of it. You can check out it's progress and trip home at http://theantiqueguy.blogspot.com This is completed car number 8 for my father in law, he has another started in his garage. I think he loves these little antique cars....we love our little antique guy!


So way to go honey, it is gorgeous. Good luck Mom and Dad on your journey home...

Weekend finishes Part 2

Here is finish number two for the weekend. It is a scrappy lap quilt for a dear friend's birthday. The pattern is Crazy Eights by Bits 'n Pieces. There website is www.bitsnpieces.net It was fairly quick to piece together. I added more blocks to make it lap size and a small sashing. I still felt like it was a bit short and added strips at both ends. I did a medium stipple design all over in navy blue thread.

I used a blue tone on tone print for the back and binding.

And of course, the folded quilt pic!

Weekend finishes....part 1

I finished two quilts up this weekend. I have been rather remiss in getting things done from the sewing list. I am going to break these up into two posts....



First finish:

I had ALOT of scraps left over from Miss Zurie's grammy quilt, I thought they would make a great stacked coin quilt, I got my inspiration here. I got two stacked coin quilts and another scrappy 4 patch quilt from my scraps! Here is the first of the three.


Have I mentioned, I just love the folded quilt pics!

Showing off it's bright pink backing. I love the scrappy nature of this design and the white fabric which shows off the fabrics. I especially like the bright pinks and greens. I haven't decided what I will do with these three when the other two are done....probably one will be gifted and the other two will go to charity. I love finishes and taking these out of the dryer all crinkly and soft!