A Quilter is Born

My friend and neighbor, Cindy, came yesterday and we finally cut and started her first quilt. She is making a Jacob's Ladder which will measure 60X72....not your traditional "first" quilt, which would most likely be a wall hanging or baby quilt. She is a gifted seamstress, so I knew she would do just fine, and she did.
She just had to erase all the ideas of anything more than a 1/4 inch seam and pressing her seams closed instead of open. Butting up her corners to make them match was a cinch for her! Her first block came out beautiful!!!! Only 29 more to go! Cindy called me later in the afternoon and invited me to come see her new sewing room. It is WONDERFUL!!! A quilter's dream room! I will have to take some pictures next time I go down. She has separate pressing and cutting tables, along with an area for her serger and a nice table for her sewing machine. She has beautiful hard wood flooring with lots of floor space and it is a beautiful room with a fireplace and library, and incredible track lighting. I decided I would love to get some track lighting above my table. Lighting is my biggest problem in my sewing area since moving downstairs.
I have so much piecing to do in my near future, and Cindy has helped motivate me to get started on it. Not my favorite part of quilting, but once I get going on it, it is not too bad. It is necessary to do and once done, I can move on to my favorite part.....hand quilting.
Have a Blessed Week!

A Hug From God

Has it been a week already??? I have been spending much time with my new best friend.........my Neti Pot. It is a freaky little contraption, but I am seeing positive effects, so I will keep him close by! Anyone with sinus problems, really should invest in one.

Yesterday was Charlotte's crochet class. I go along and hand quilt while they all crochet. Charlotte's teacher, Miss Mary, had a large bag with her this week. She handed it to me and told me not to be "offended". I was puzzled by that, but opened the bag and inside was the most beautiful crocheted afghan EVER made! She made it to look like a quilt. I laid it out to take a picture and instantly a cat and a kid climbed on it!!!I could get the kid off, but the cat had other ideas!Isn't it gorgeous! I cried big-fat-baby tears and hugged her neck. She said, "God told me to make this for you so you could feel his love. It is from Him." More big-fat-baby tears!!It is one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me. Mary has no idea of the things going on in my life and I barely know her. God knows, though, and Mary hears His voice. I am speechless.While suffering in silence with my sinus, (say that 3 times really fast!), I have been doing a lot of hand quilting. Between laying with the heating pad on my face and the Neti Pot up my nose, I have managed to get a jump on Emerson's quilt. Some cutting and piecing.Mostly, though, it has been hand quilting.That entire cream triangle was finished last night and now I have 2 and 1/2 blocks and the entire body of the Pink and Brown will be finished!!! Once that is done, the borders will be quilted up and the binding put on! I even remember where the binding fabric is!!!!

I was able to spend yesterday afternoon with my mom, out to lunch and some shopping. It was great to get out of here, and I love my time with her. I think, other than a couple of trips to Walgreens, I have been couped up in the house all week.

Sassy, though still a bit stuffy in the mornings, is recovering from her sinus infection quite nicely. She was a tad irritated with me yesterday when I disturbed her nap with some picture taking.Today is a special day....It is Winona's birthday!!!!

She has taken a blogging break, but I know she reads her emails, so leave a Happy Birthday message on her last post and she will get it! She is a wonderful friend and I count it an honor that I have gotten to know and love her!!

That is about it for now. Hopefully it won't be a whole week before I get back here.

Have a blessed day!!!

Thank You

A few days ago, I posted a couple of videos here of the Crimson River Quartet. I loved their sound and put their CD on my wish list. Today my mailman brought me a bubble envelope with Crimson River Quartet as the return address. Inside was a CD of their 10th Anniversary Live Concert (which features all their past and present members). Oh. My. Goodness. It is WONDERFUL!!! I have no idea who sent it to me, but whoever you are,

THANK YOU!!!!

What an incredible blessing it was to me and my family. We have all enjoyed it today and it has brought a beautiful "feeling" into our home. May God pour out 100 fold into your life, that which you poured into mine.

Making Christmas Gifts

The gift making continues here in our home. Charlotte has created numerous dish cloths and has added dozens of rows to her Daddy's afghan.

I have been making more miniature wallhangings/table toppers. I just love little 9 patches made with 1" squares. They are so dang cute!!! Add some fence rails and 1/2 square triangles and you have the makings for a sweet little miniature. All I need to do is mark and baste it and it is ready for the hoop.I played around with a Christmas jelly roll.....Not at all thrilled with this little table topper. Zach had some fun with the strips....He wants me to stitch that creation up for him. LOL

My sweet friend Debi sent a package our way. She made Charlotte and Zach beautiful fall themed pillow cases. They are NICE!!! I want that pattern!She also enclosed a few things for me. A sweet pincushion, some notecards and a wallhanging kit. I am in love with the design and the fabrics are so me!!! Thank you so much Debi. You are such a blessing to me and my family...in more ways than one!!

Well I am smelling the oatmeal chocolate chip cookie bars I have in the oven. Better go check on them! Chicken Dressing Casserole for dinner tonight....one of our favorites around here. Click on the link to try the recipe! It takes a double batch for our family.

My Birthday Weekend

It is extra special when your birthday falls on a Sunday, because then you get a birthday weekend!!!! It all started yesterday. My mom and I made plans to spend the day together, just like we did 49 years ago. She asked where I wanted to go and there was only ONE place!!!McHenry! My town. Sweetheart and I raised our boys here and I have such fond memories. My dearest friend lives there still....we have been close friends for 27 years, never losing touch and I don't think we have had one real quarrel. So that is where we went. We picked up my friend Sue , and went to Applebee's for lunch. It was wonderful. After that, we all drove by the old house. This is where we lived through most of our boys childhood.I was more than taken aback at the state of the yard and house. Though the house looks the same, it is not like Sweetheart kept it. I have such comforting memories of my time there. We went back to Sue's house and had such fun visiting and remembering our time spent together. We lived about 4 miles from each other and spent a lot of time together. Our children grew up playing with each other and we spent HOURS sewing together. Oh, the quilts we each made from start to finish, sharing the details every step of the way. Here are a couple of Sue's quilts. You can see her many quilts by visiting her blog. She hand quilts, hand appliques and hand/machine pieces. My mother is in awe of her!! (so am I) You will also get to "meet" her wonderful children (she has 6) and her youngest, Ruthie, is a dolly. Ruthie would not let me take her picture, but she was at the door, all smiles to greet us, and to wave goodbye!

My family gave me cold hard cash for my birthday and I went to Joann's for some purchases. I got 3 different corduroy's...2 for Charlotte and one for me...all for new skirts.And 3 yards of orange (Bear's orange to be exact) and a batting for an upcoming quilting project.
Yes, I used some of my birthday money to buy fabrics for other people....it was what I wanted! I still have money left over and plan to visit 2 quilt shops tomorrow. I came home around dinner time and found a box had arrived with my name on it. Inside was an abundance of wonderful smells and colors!!!Joann, my blogging friend, had sent me my favorite Bath and Body Works scented lotions and shower gel, a journal, an Elizabeth George book, a scented candle, Christmas dish towels, silk flowers, and 4 Let It Snow place mats. I felt very spoiled! Thank you, Joann!

Today is very laid back and low keyed. I baked pumpkins pies, drank coffee, and have a roast and potatoes in the crock pot for dinner.My son, daughter in law, and grandbabies are all coming for dinner very soon! Other than that, I was able to finish my second miniature and start quilting the third.....Seeing all of Sue's (4) large Christmas quilts done and bound made me want to get on the ball to finish my little ones!!! She has that effect on me!

Until tomorrow, when I will be visiting here.... I am praising God for His lovingkindness!

Over the Hump Day

Yesterday was a full day. Sweetheart painted my parents bathroom so I got to spend the day with my mom. First we ran my basket quilt out to my friend Coleen's house. Coleen has the coolest sewing room. Since she hardly ever blogs....though she DID just update her blog the other day...I will show you around. Here is Coleen at one end of her large L shaped studio which is in her basement. Her husband built her walls and even put a door on.Coleen has a fabric stash that would put many quilt shops to shame and a book collection unmatched. She has a collection sewing machines and this mid arm quilting machine. This is where she will baste my basket quilt. I could not watch. Again...she gets me and is fine with my prejudice toward hand quilting. We have been friends since I met her in my old guild over 16 years ago. Coleen also has a massive design wall. Here she is doing a couple of monthly classes. Did I mention she is addicted to quilting classes?? (((hugs))) I love all these blocks. We like the same colors...you will find few pastels in her collection, though she did buy some recently, and donated some to the Basket Case.This is one of my favorites...it is called "Wine and Cheese" and the picture does not do it justice. I was with her when she bought the kit. The fabric is gorgeous!These are blocks from a 1930's swap she was in.
And this is her masterpiece. All hand appliqued. Gorgeous! That is a hummingbird in the center. Coleen LOVES hummingbirds.Her new obsession is wool applique and you can see her project on her blog.

After we left Coleen's, I took my mom to run errands. We ate lunch at the mall and went to Bath and Body Works. I love that store. I got some body cream in my new favorite scent, Coconut Lime Verbena, another foaming soap in that scent and another in Spice. Also they have this hand lotion called Cashmere Shea that is awesome. A teeny tiny tube is $14.50, but they were on sale for $6. All a gift from my mom.

Back to my parents where Sweetheart was finishing up the painting. Mom made us Pizza Pie for dinner. It was so good.She smiled after I took the picture! She was not thrilled with my shoving the camera in her face. LOL

I had to pull out a bunch of those pastels when I got home. I know...I feel like I have eaten too much cotton candy!! I needed to get going on a baby quilt. We are having a shower for a new baby girl in the church at the end of the month. I am putting it together and Coleen is going to quilt it on her mid arm....yes, she is. Coleen goes to my church too and will be giving the quilt along with me as a gift of love. I am hoping to have the top together today so she can take it with her when she drops off the Basket Case. It will be 7 rows of 7 blocks, all 6 inches, measuring out at 42" square. Not too difficult.I can't wait to get my hands on that basket quilt! I have several other tops I want to get going. A couple are already started. Winona listed her August goals yesterday, and though my own are no where near what she has planned, I would like to make a dent in a couple of projects. Once home school starts, my time at the machine will be very limited.

Also, I wanted to tell you of a brand new blogger. Go over to Pins and Needles and meet Chris. She is a quilter who loves hand applique, hand piecing and hand quilting. She also has a garden and grandkids, so she will be a fun new blog to read!

I better get back at it. Sweetheart is working at his mom's today so the day is mine!! Remember to give God some of your time today!!!