Tyler Rose

2010-04-28T18:37:00.000-07:00

GOD'S SERVANT

I made this quilt for a member of our church. He came to me about 3 years ago and asked if I could make a T-Shirt quilt. Told him I never had made one but I would try. It took a year for him to get the T-shirts to me and another year for me to get the nerve to try making it. Finally cut the shirts up then thought about it for another 6 months.

This man is truly God's Servant (which is monogrammed on the top). While I was making this, all I could think about is all he does for our church, youth and community. He also leads our mission team every year to some disadvantage country doing medical, building and agricultural support. I showed the quilt to our minister and leaders of the church and it was decided to present it to him from the congregation in appreciation of all his devotion to God and humanity.

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS

Bonnie Hunter's pattern that was published in Quiltmaker in 2009 and quilted beautifully by Viki Kirby. This was such a fun quilt to make and I love the colors.

It feels so good to get these 2 quilts in the done column. I still have one more to get bound, one still being quilted by Viki and then I will be free to start something new.

2010-03-28T19:27:00.000-07:00

THE DONE COLUMN

The Christmas Cardinals

On a trip to Florida about 3 years ago with my great quilt friends, I bought the fabric for this quilt. At the same time, I got, as a gift, a quilt cookbook which consisted of desert recipes and quilt patterns. I thought this pattern was perfect. After many distractions, I finally finished the top but decided to hand quilt it and that took me forever. Procrastination was what you call it. I'm glad it is done and will be ready to hang next Christmas.

NICU QUILT

Our guild lost a very dear friend and member last year. Roseanna's favorite project was making NICU quilts. It was decided that we would all keep her memory alive by continuing her project and placing labels on the quilts to tell the recipients they were made in her memory. This is my first one and have plans for a few more.

2010-02-10T13:43:00.000-08:00

BEEN BUSY

I finally finished the Carolina Crossroads quilt designed by Bonnie Hunter at Quiltville.com

This turned out so romantic and I am sorry I didn't take a picture of the back before I gave it to grand-daughter. (pictured below) Viki Kirby did a fantastic job on the quilting. Long arm quilters still fascinate me. They are truly talented in their own right.

We recently made a rush trip to IN. due to the death of one of my sister's-in-law. Fortunately we got there and back before all the bad weather hit up in that area. While there I got to attend for a day the mini quilt retreat at Miss Mary's with all my close quilt friends. Had just enough time with them to put together this little doll quilt from some scraps that another quilt friend had turned over to our group.

I wanted to add one more border to make it large enough for a baby quilt but I was out voted by the group. So doll quilt it will remain.

To the left is a pic of grand-daughter who is a sophomore at the University of Texas in Austin, TX and the recipient of the Carolina Crossroads. She was excited to get the quilt which always makes Gramma happy. She is such a beautiful girl, smart and sweet.

Our other grand-daughter who is 14 auditioned for and was accepted to the 2011 London Troupe from our Civic Theatre. She will be going with a group of 15 young people to London & Paris for 10 days the summer of 2011 to perform at various venues. What an awesome experience for her.

One more picture of a recent finish. Sorry I couldn't get it turned around. This was a block of the month project done by my SIL many years ago for the guild. Glad to get it finished. Another fine quilting job by Viki. Love the colors!

I think I am caught up now with reasons I haven't been posting lately. Hope it won't be as long the next time.

Happy Quilting everyone.

2009-11-02T17:33:00.000-08:00

IT HAS BEEN AWHILE

Can't believe it has been almost 3 months since I have posted. Been a busy, sorrow filled and painful time for me.

I belong to a group of quilt ladies that are absolutely my best friends. We were all at quilt camp together the first week in September and had a great time. A few weeks later we lost one of our group. She was one of the youngest of the group and we all thought of her as our "Mom" because she always looked after us and was the one to jump in and help without us even asking. She will be truly missed.

TABLE RUNNERS

Dawn at "Quilts & Pieces" taught us how to make these table runners. They are really addictive. Made from border print fabrics and are fast and easy. Thanks Dawn for giving us a great present to make for family and friends.

I have been suffering from some really bad pain in my right hip and leg now for a year. The day after I returned from camp I went in for a back injection and it worked for 4 weeks. It was wonderful to be without pain. Unfortunately it has returned and have been trying several things to relieve it. The only place I can sit and not be in really bad pain is my sewing chair. Lucky me!!! Trying to finish up some projects and starting new ones.

These are my 3 favorite ladies. My Mom (86) on back left, Aunt Dot (89) back right and Aunt Boo (84) in front.

A few weeks ago I took Mom and Aunt Dot to see Aunt Boo who is in a nursing home in Kerrville, TX. This was a 9 hour trip going and coming. It was a trip that needed to be made considering their ages and health. I am the only girl in this family and these ladies spoiled me rotten growing up. Wouldn't take anything for this picture.

Back to my sewing machine.

2009-08-10T12:20:00.000-07:00

PICK A PECK

Our camp retreat in Indiana this year is titled "Patchwork Pantry". My DSIL sent me an email the other day asking me to bring the Pick a Peck potholders I had made. Returned an email telling her would be glad to and did that mean I needed to get them made? Well yeah!!! So made them up this weekend. Aren't they cute!!! The pumpkin is finished. So 1 down 4 to go. The eggplant looks more like a grape to me and I was informed by my 86 yr old Mother last night that tomatoes are round not square....Oh well, I like them.

If you are interested, the patterns are from Quiltmaker Sept/Oct '08.

Speaking of IN. retreat, my dining room table (which is very large) is now stacked with camp projects all in various stages of completion. Really need to pick and choose otherwise my shipping box will not hold all this. That is not even thinking about lifting it. Can't wait to get away.

2009-07-19T10:48:00.000-07:00

NINE PATCHES

I have never made nine patches in my life and after making all of them for this quilt, I may never make any again. These have been the most time consuming things I have ever done. This is the start of Bonnie Hunter's Carolina Crossroads.

DD lost her position as Fine Arts teacher due to budget cuts. However, they offered her the position as Head Start Teacher for the next year. She is not the happiest camper about this but is determined to do a good job with 20 (3, 4 & 5 yr olds) kids. Found this I Spy panel in my stash to make her a wall hanging for the kids to learn alphabet, colors and objects.

Then found this alphabet fabric that I plan to cut and stuff each letter for them to be able to attach letter to picture.

Lots to do before school starts and I leave for quilt camp in Indiana.

2009-06-22T17:38:00.000-07:00

GRANDSON, PUPPIES AND QUILT

What a wonderful weekend we had. We went to Kerrville, TX for our grandson's 8th B'Day. DD and family moved into their new home last weekend so along with B'day celebration we also did a lot of unpacking boxes.

The puppies are now 4 months old. They are so cute, loveable and fairly well behaved. Koda is on the left and Captain on the right. They are brothers and play like brothers. Koda was the runt of the litter and was plagued with illness when he came to live with DD but is now catching up with big brother and finally putting on weight. They are fun to watch.

DGS got his new quilt and we also gave him a free standing basketball goal (assembly required) That project took DH and DSIL all day on Saturday to assemble. But was worth it when GS immediately started throwing baskets. "Best Birthday ever" was the comment he made.

Check out the exotic (we think) goats. There are a lot of different animals on the land that is on the other side of the fence of DD's new back yard. Lots of deer, also. We enjoyed sitting on the patio in the mornings with our coffee and watching all the different animals crossing this clearing.

Fun weekend!!!!

2009-06-17T10:16:00.000-07:00

ORPHANS

My good friend, Joyce, set out to develop a project at church to make play clothes for an orphanage (as usual volunteered my services). We had people who donated fabric for this project. Going through all that was donated, we discovered a lot of pieces which were not useable because of size. Her comment was "we will just have to get rid of this sack - not big enough". I was very nice and said I would take care of it.

YES!! Look what I got out of it. Started cutting it up into strips and was inspired to probably make Bonnie Hunter's Carolina Crossroads. These neutrals with pink and green. Not my favorite colors but as the saying goes "When life gives you scraps - make QUILTS" Will have to dig into my stash for additional pieces of fabrics and maybe into my DSIL stash as well (always a good source).

We hope to have these play clothes finished in the next couple of weeks and shipped off to an orphanage in Mexico. Slow go, because we haven't been able to recruit very many people who sew.

Off to Kerrville, TX to visit youngest daughter and family. It is GS B'day and he will be getting the Bluework quilt that was posted earlier. I also just went and picked up a free standing basketball goal for him (assembly required). The box takes up the whole back of the van with all seats stored.
Have a great weekend!

2009-05-19T19:13:00.000-07:00

HAPPINESS IS A NEW QUILT

Our Michigan State Graduate showed up at our house on Sunday on his way to Austin, TX to pick up his sister who just finished her first year at UT.

I presented him with his graduation gift. A new quilt for his new condo in downtown Chicago where he will be working.

This of course is the Double Delight design by Bonnie Hunter that I named St. Patty's Double Delight. It was the perfect quilt for GS since it didn't have any flowers and green/white are Michigan State's colors. His comment was "thank goodness, Grandma, the other quilt you made me has about had it". I knew this because I had already repaired it twice.

CONGRATULATIONS to our graduate.

2009-04-26T11:31:00.000-07:00

CHECK IT OUT!

Blog friend and machine quilter, Carol at http://www.cornfieldquilter-carol.blogspot.com/ has reached that magic number of 200 post. She is having a give a way of beautiful Moda "Fig & Plum" fat quater stack. Visit her blog and get your name in the pot.

You can also check out a snap of my DD quilt she just got finished quilting for me. Can't wait to get my hands on it.

2009-04-20T10:24:00.000-07:00

HOOKED OR HEXED?

Carol at "Cornfield Quilter" has been posting her progress on hexagons lately. I have been so intrigued by them. While we were in Indiana last week, I got DSIL to get me started on them. I was so hooked that I worked on them all the way back to TX and still going strong. Have no idea what I am going to do with them when I finally say stop but that will come I guess. They are fun and mindless while you are sitting, watching TV or riding in the car. What fun.

The trip to IN was an emotional one. One of my husband's brothers passed away so it was an unexpected/quick trip. On Sunday, we decided to unwind a little bit before we headed back to TX and took a Sunday drive to see the WIND TURBINS. There is a field of them just outside of Lafayette, IN that covers an area as far as you can see and they are still putting them up. What an interesting site.

Also had the opportunity to see almost all my quilt buddies while we were there. A wonderful evening with husbands in tow. They just love the quilt talk.

SUMMER IS AROUND THE CORNER

What a job! I spent this morning bleaching the cushions on our outdoor furniture. Just about did myself in on this little project.

I think this will be the last year for these cushions. Hard to find someone to make these any more so will probably have to go to store bought and they don't last near as long.

Doesn't this just make you want to go sit outside and enjoy the quiet beauty of spring.

This weekend is going to be the trip to the nursery to purchase flowers for all the beds around the house. I think this year I am hiring someone to plant them. Just getting too much for my back and knees to handle.

Hope your springtime is as enjoyable as ours is here in the South right now.

2009-03-23T07:40:00.000-07:00

ANOTHER UFO

TOP

DONE

I'm moving right along!

Isn't this just adorable? I made the bluework blocks about 6 years ago with the idea of putting them in a walll hanging for youngest grandson. Well.....as things go he will be 8 in a few months and the walls of his room are now taken up with action heros. Therefore, this is now a lap quilt to always remind him that he will always have a little boy in him somewhere. His B'day is June 19 so this is right on time.

Beautiful weather here in East Texas and everything is in bloom. Will have to get a picture of some beautiful landscape we have here for y'all to see.

Stay tuned for the next UFO project completion.

2009-03-14T19:19:00.000-07:00

PROGRESS ON "FARMER'S MARKET"

At Old Tippecano Quilt Guild camp last September, we started a block of the month project to be completed by our camp in 2009. These are just a few of the blocks that will be in "Farmer's Market" by Pat Sloan (www.patsloan.com). I haven't done any applique in quite awhile and have really enjoyed doing it again. The strawberry block is not complete because it goes into a border at the top.

I am staying on tract about not starting any new big projects. I have a lot of things unfinished (UFO'S) that I am anxious to complete. Most of my quilt friends really get a kick out of this because up until the last few years, I would not start anything new until I had completed what I was working on. Over the years they have managed to corrupt me. So stay tuned for completed projects to be posted.

2009-03-07T15:37:00.000-08:00

MY BELLY DANCING QUEEN

Took this picture at the Four Winds Renaissance Festival just south of town. This of course is, Abby, our 13 yr old GD. She did a good job and I am sure will improve a lot more since she will be doing this every weekend this month. This is a very interesting setting. A lot of strange looking people, all dressed in costume. LOL!!! It was a beautiful day but windy. I believe I am wind burned.

Abby and friends as they waited for their Henna Tattoos. All three got a rose in the center of their lower backs. (my first question was how long do these last - 3 weeks tops) Since this event last about 4 more weeks, I figure we will have to have one more, so we are looking at 6 weeks. I am shaking my head.

Did survive GS and buddies arriving at 3 a.m. on Friday morning. They slept till 9 a.m., fed them breakfast and they were on their way by 10:30. I must say it gives me a lot more confidence in the next generation after having these 4 guys here. Very well mannered, clean cut and considerate young men.

It has been a grandchild weekend, very enjoyable, but awfully glad I don't have to do this every day.

2009-03-04T18:30:00.000-08:00

DOUBLE DELIGHT

This was a long time coming but I finally got the top finished. The pattern was a mystery by Bonnie Hunter and was originally suppose to be in double pinks thus the title Double Delight along with all the squares in a square and double nine patches. However, mine has so much green in it I have decided to call it St. Patty's Double Delight. I have a lot of the fabric I used in this left, so I need to come up with another quilt to make. Open to suggestions!

Spring has definitely come to East Texas. It is suppose to be in the 80's this weekend. This is a good thing because there is a Renaissance Festival (www.fourwindsfaire.com) going on every weekend this month in a little town about 15 miles south of here. I mention this because 13 year old GD is performing there. She has been taking Belly Dancing lessons and the troupe will be performing at various times all month long. I had the task today of taking her scarf skirt apart and shortening it about 5". Of course she is using my favorite color, Purple, with lots of bangles over the black scarf skirt. I will try to get a picture of her in costume to post.

Tomorrow night will be a long one. GS, Senior at Michigan State, called last night and informed us he will be arriving sometime between midnight and 8 a.m. Friday morning with 3 buddies. They will be crashing here for a few hours on their way to Austin to see GD at the University of Texas before they head to Panama City, FL to finish up their Spring Break. Told him there would be pallets on the floor, front porch light on and door unlocked and I would see them in the morning for breakfast. This will be an experience for me having never had boys to feed. Hope I survive this.

2009-02-24T15:35:00.000-08:00

ANOTHER BABY QUILT!

Before anyone sends me an email about the spelling, I want you to know this is the correct spelling. This little girl is going to go through life with people misspelling her name. I was going to applique the letters on but was running out of time, so I called on my dear friend, Joyce, to monogram them for me. After she saw the completed quilt, she said "do you think we could make these to order for people?" I did not respond!

At the moment I don't think we have any more babies, in the family, on the horizon for awhile.

Thank Goodness!

I'm afraid to say anything about it, but I think Spring is here. Our trees have budded, Azaleas are budding and beginning to pop out, the Daffodils are up and beautiful in a sea of yellow, Tulip trees are full of blossoms and the garden centers are packed with people. Sure hope Mother Nature doesn't slip a freeze in on us.

Working on Double Delight. Have the center done and ready to start on the borders. As most of you know, I did not do mine in pink but in brown/blue/gold/green. There is so much green I've decided it needs a St. Patrick's day name. So I was thinking "St. Paddy's Double Delight". Will post a picture as soon as I get the borders on this weekend.

Until next time, happy quilting and stay warm.

2009-02-09T17:18:00.000-08:00

OLD TOBACCO ROAD

is done

and on its way to Kerrville, TX

Once again a big thanks to Carol (www.cornfieldquilter-carol.blogspot.com) for the beautiful quilting job done. Finished putting on the binding today (even remembered to put a label on) and loaded it into DD's car this evening. She is headed down to San Antonio for a Music Convention for teachers and staying with her sister in Kerrville (65 miles from San Antonio). So the deadline was on to finish it in order to save on shipping.

I have made the resolution to not do any big projects after I finish Double Delight. I need to finish up some small ones and get things out of my sewing room. Of course, like most resolutions that will probably go by the wayside as soon as Bonnie (Quiltville.com) post another mystery or as she has renamed them - Challenges. Will keep you posted on my ability to stay on track.

2009-01-27T19:07:00.000-08:00

COLD BUT FUN

What a wonderful 4 days I had with some of our fellow bloggers and some non-bloggers. If you can, you need to check out some of the other bloggers that were there, Dawn and Laura (http://www.pineridgequilter.blogspot.com/) . I am only listing these two right now, because I know they have posted pictures of our winter retreat.

I did not get as much accomplished as I would have liked to because I came down with a bad cold on the first day there. Riding in airplanes does it to me every time.

Carol (http://www.cornfieldquilter-carol.blogspot.com/) met us at Miss Mary's on Saturday during a very cold morning to bring me my OTR quilt. What a beautiful job she did on the quilting.

I added additional borders on both sides in order to get it to King Size. This one is going to daughter & husband in Kerrville, TX. She just loves scrappy quilts and I know this one will please her and get a lot of use.

I also finished all my blocks for Double Delight but with 12 of us in that little house with sewing machines going, there was not enough room to lay them all out. So I packed them away to finish here at home. I had started some Pineapple blocks at Camp in IN last Sept., so I went back to work on those for the remainder of my stay at Miss Mary's.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!!

DD, Tammy, sent me this Edible Bouquet. It was almost too pretty to eat. However, DH and I have made short work of it this weekend.

We escaped yesterday and went to Shreveport, LA to the casino for a day of fun and to celebrate my B'day. We had a great time and I can really tell I'm getting older because we were back home by 9:30 last night and I was in bed by 10:30.

2009-01-08T18:32:00.000-08:00

OUR WINTER RETREAT

This is Miss Mary's in Indiana. Will be leaving for this retreat on the 21st and will have 5 glorious days of fellowship, laughter and lots of quilting activity.

Isn't this a neat place? We have enough room for about 12 sewing machines (cramped but adequate). We occasionally blow a few fuses. We sleep 6 upstairs and 3 downstairs. There is a kitchen and we all take turns preparing a meal. The day campers come and go at all times of the day. It is a blast.

Convenient quilt store next door. This old church has been turned into a quilt store and is right next door. How neat is that!!!! The same people own both places and really cater to us quilters.

I am counting the hours till I get on that plane and head to a wonderful retreat with my good friends. The only thing that will make it extra special is if we have a nice snow while I am there - not a lot, just enough to make it beautiful for a few days and satisfy my snow fix for the year.

2009-01-05T18:38:00.000-08:00

BITS AND PIECES OF DOUBLE DELIGHT

Bonnie's NYE mystery is coming along. A lot of cutting and trimming but it is going to be great. All of Step 1 done, Step 2 half way there, Step 3 cut out. That is as far as I have gotten. Hopefully, I am going to have all pieces cut out and assembled by the time I leave for a mini retreat in Indiana on the 21st. Plan to assemble all the blocks and quilt top while I am there. I have to ship all this by the end of next week, so I best stay busy.

While we are at our retreat we hope to get Laura (http://www.pineridgequilter.blogspot.com/) to give us lessons on Tonya's letters so will be taking some fabric to do that. I have an attic windows wall hanging that I want to put words on for my 7 yr old grandson. Looking forward to that project.

2008-12-27T15:59:00.000-08:00

HAPPINESS IS ANOTHER MYSTERY

Bonnie at Quiltville is posting another mystery to start on New Years Eve. (doing happy dance).

These are the fabrics I bought when I was at quilt camp back in Sept. Couldn't figure out what to do with them and then Bonnie came to my rescue. What do you think. It is hard to see the light (background fabric) and may not use it. It is a tone on tone (beige with lighter beige design). It is not as stark as it looks here. Her pattern calls for the brown and can't decide if the brown design or the solid would be better to use.

What's your opinion? Open to suggestion!

Have a Happy New Year!

2008-12-22T17:59:00.000-08:00

LOOK WHAT THE POSTMAN BROUGHT ME

Fran, Making Memories One Stitch at a Time, sent me a present. The raindeer had lots of candy in it and DH and I took care of that very quickly. The fabric is fantastic and can't wait to figure out what I am going to do with it. Thank You, Fran, it was a wonderful early Christmas Present.

On the Quilting Front, I finished my Old Tabacco Road today and went to the fabric store where they were having a 50% off sale to get a back for it. 9 yards later, I have the back ready to put together. Contacted Carol, at Cornfield Quilter, to see if she could get it quilted for me by the time I go to Indiana the last of January. She said - YES! Will be putting it all in the mail tomorrow and will post a picture of the finished product sometime at the end of January. As Bonnie Hunter says, there is no quilt police - thank goodness - because I took some liberties in turning this pattern into a king size quilt.

This is our daughters 3rd through 5th graders at the finish of their program last week. They were great and everyone was proud of them, especially our daughter who is standing on the right side of the picture. She still amazes us in her ability. Proud of her.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Have a safe, warm and happy holiday.

2008-12-15T19:00:00.000-08:00

"DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE"
These lights were put up by yours truly. This is the backdrop and stage of the school where DD teaches Fine Arts to Head Start through 5th grade. Approximately 220 lovely adorable children.

Last weekend I was recruited by said daughter to help her decorate the stage for the Christmas programs. She of course is afraid of heights, so I had to climb a 15ft ladder to put up these lights with safety pins. There are apprx. 12 strands and that is a lot of trips up and down that ladder. There are certain parts of my body that are still in pain from this adventure.

These adorable children are her head start and pre K children who sang beautifully. Also performing after this group was the 1st and 2nd graders. Tomorrow night we get to see 3rd through 5th graders.

I just shake my head in wonder on how she handles all of these kids at one time and actually gets a great performance out of them.

A most enjoyable evening.

I'VE BEEN REGIFTED

In September, I gave Dawn at Quilts and Pieces all my left over crumbs from making my Batik Jewels quilt. This week she returned them to me in a lot better shape than she got them.

Isn't this just adorable. The doll, mini quilt and basket are all made from my batik crumbs. I just love this and it makes me so happy to know my crumbs were appreciated. Thank you, Dawn.

2008-12-07T16:43:00.000-08:00

MORE NEEDLEWORK

Here is some more of my Christmas needlework that I have done over the years. I went great guns on doing these for a few years and then quit. I think quilting got in the way.

Unfortunately the lights got in the way of these pictures. Also, I can not figure out how to turn off my flash on the camera so you get the flash light on there also.

Sorry about the flash.

2008-12-05T07:55:00.000-08:00

'TIS THE SEASON

It is time to decorate. This is a picture of our mantle that is my DH's responsibility. He painted all of this village and takes great pride in setting it up every year. There are lights underneath all that "snow" that makes it really dramatic when the room is dark. Of course, I wouldn't dare rearrange anything on this project but as you can see all the buildings are lined up (he is a little anal - we call him Mr. Monk).

The cross stitch pictures of Old World Santa's are my handiwork. I have some more around that I will take pictures of and add to the next post.

My Christmas Goose. Made this wall hanging back when I first started quilting. As you can tell I got fairly close to having it even all around. Even entered it in a contest at a quilt store where we lived at the time. Managed to get 3rd and won $15 in a gift certificate. I don't care if it is not perfect, still like it.

More handy work to follow in next post.

2008-11-16T16:55:00.000-08:00

PIGS

Aren't these cute? Dawn at Quilts & Pieces sent me the pattern. They look big but they are only about 11" long and 8" high. So Cute!!!

My 7 yr old grandson is raising a pig right now , known as Maverick, so I thought these would be a cute gift for him to put on the shelf in his room. Quick and easy to make from scraps.

UPDATE on Old Tobacco Road quilt. I have added the flying geese border and stopped because I am still trying to figure out what to do to make it King Size instead of Queen. Hopefully, will have that question taken care of by next weekend.

It is holiday time and we are headed to Kerrville this weekend for a visit. This is provided DH is up to it. He is having a steroid epidural on Thurs. for a sever back problem he has had for about 2 months now. We decided to go before Thanksgiving and beat the traffic and hussle/bussle of the holiday weekend.

Know everyone is looking forward to the holiday. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-02T17:30:00.000-08:00

YEA!!!

Center of Old Tobacco Road Done!!!

I really do like the way this is going. Still have some borders to do, but this was the most time consuming part of this quilt.

Thanks to DH a square turned wrong was found and corrected. I wasn't happy because it was right in the center, but glad he found it now instead of later. Looking forward to doing the rest of the borders.

BTW what do y'all think about piano key border to bring this to king size. I really want to give this to youngest daughter and need for it to be king size. So it will be narrow solid border, flying geese border, wide solid border and then piano keys. Tell me what you think. Too much????

2008-10-29T14:51:00.000-07:00

ANOTHER JACKET

I decided the other jacket was a little to small, so back to the fabric store. Tried to find some heavier fleece but all they had in heavier stuff was solid. I knew daughter wouldn't like that so spent about an hour feeling all the fleece they had. She really likes SW theme so this was the best I could do. Bright isn't it?

Guess the other one will have to go to GD..of course you know how difficult it is to get 13 yr olds to wear a coat. It usually ends up tied around the waist.

A few more satin pillow cases to make tonight then back to OTR quilt. Should be able to get center finished tomorrow and start cutting the first border. A bunch of flying geese, so that will take awhile.

2008-10-25T19:25:00.000-07:00

MAKING GIFTS

My girls seem to know when to call and request certain things. This week it has been "Mom, do you still have the pattern for ----, can you make me ----, will you make (grand daughter) -----.

Got busy and got some of them done today. The first thing is a copy of a Neiman Marcus jacket from about 14 years ago. It came out when Polar Fleece was brand new (never thought the fleece would take off like it did).

This took me most of the afternoon because of all the fringe that had to be cut. When I finished it, I realized my mind was not working real well when I bought the fleece. I got the regular fleece fabric instead of the heavier Polar Fleece. So this jacket is not going to be as heavy or as warm as it should be. Hope it will be OK for daughter in Southwest TX where it usually doesn't get that cold. If it isn't, will probably be making another one sometime soon.

The next project to be accomplished was satin pillowcases. One daughter's birthday is Monday and this was her request. Of course when I told the other daughters that I was making them it was "Oh, Mom, I need a new set too". Those will have to be Christmas.

In the background you can see half of the center of the "Old Tabacco Road" quilt that is a mystery by Bonnie Hunter at Quiltville. Doesn't it look like fun? I have still got a ways to go with it and also try to figure out how to get it to King Size with some easy border additions. I'm pulling a Scarlett O'Hara "I'll think about that Tomorrow".

It's time to give the mind, body and fingers a rest and get some sleep. Have a nice weekend everyone.

2008-10-05T18:35:00.000-07:00

The Weekend Is Over

I went into my sewing room on Saturday to try to put it into some order and after moving fabric around from one place to another and then back again, I finally sat down and laughed. I was making no progress because I kept running into future projects and would stop to think about it and feel the fabric. When I realized what I was doing, I decided to get rid of some of the big pieces I had put back to make Pillow Quilts.

This is the fruit of my labors from the weekend. The Southwest one is for daughter and son-in-law in Kerrville who are into SW and the Dalmation one is for 7 yr old GS. My family (all 3 girls) just love these quilts. For those who do not know about them they are 42" x 72" and fold up into a pocket making a pillow. I can't begin to count how many of these I have made over the last 10 years.

YEA! 8 yards of fabric gone from my stash. I have put away all ongoing projects and refuse to get them back out till I clean up the mess in the sewing room. Need new bins for fabric because some are falling apart, so it is off to Wal Mart I go. New Years resolution!!!! DO NOT BUY ANYMORE FABRIC. Work with what I have. Word to the wise, I have never kept a New Years resolution yet.

My sewing room is the storage closet that was at the back of the garage. When we bought this house we closed it up and cut an opening into it from the laundry room. It is not very big so all my fabric is in bins and stacked to the ceiling. At the moment, I have as much on the floor as I do in bins. There is a path to the sewing machine and the ironing board is at my back. That's all that is needed, right?

Pray for me, I really need help to stay on track in the cleaning up process.

2008-09-21T17:06:00.000-07:00

I HATE IT WHEN THAT HAPPENS!!!!

I was finishing up the mystery quilt from camp and all of a sudden I noticed I had no heat in my iron. After replugging it and shaking it, I came to the conclusion that this is where it needed to be.

A quick trip to Wal Mart settled this problem and I was back in business. With the new iron I was able to complete the mystery.

I am donating this piece to the Women's group at church to be put in a raffle for next year. All proceeds will go to our mission fund. Of course, I have to get it quilted first. Will probably take it to a lady here locally and give her until next summer to get it done. It was a fun mystery with a lot of little HS triangles. The really fun part was making that border come out right with the two colors.

Now on to finishing Old Tobacco Road. However, I have a lot of things to finish for the church bazaar first, of which I am chairman of the Women's booth (can't figure out how I got that job). Plus, we are having a "Homecoming" at Church in a few weeks and expecting about 600 people with a catered lunch after services on Sunday. The rest of this story is another lady and I are in charge of making the table decorations for this event (once again I don't know how I got that job). As soon as all this is accomplished, it will be time for Christmas....Woe is me!!!

2008-08-27T18:00:00.000-07:00

THINGS WE DO FOR OUR CHILDREN!

This is a picture of 25 scarfs made for my DD who is a fine arts teacher in an elementary school. She brought me 4 yards of the creepy crawly scarf fabric and I was about ready to disown her for it. This is the worst stuff to work with and she wanted rolled hem all around. Thank goodness for Sergers. They were suppose to be 12" square so I cut them (not very well) 15" and hoped I could square them up to at least 12" while doing the roll hem. It doesn't look like there is 25 of them here so that should tell you how difficult this fabric is to work with. I do like the colors, however, and am sure the kids will enjoy using them. It will be a fun time for them.

Packing to head off to Indiana and guild camp on Wed. a.m. Have to drive to Dallas and spend the night Tues. in order to catch the plane at 8 a.m. Wed. The only hitch in this scenario is Gustav, the hurricane brewing. Don't want to wish back luck on New Orleans but sure hope it misses TX because it will play havoc with my trip on Wed. Timing is everything here.

Shipped 2 boxes to IN on Monday. All my projects I will be working on plus everything else I will need. One box weighed 36 lbs! Had to get DH to help me get it in the UPS office. I keep a Featherweight up there for these retreats, so that is one thing I don't have to worry about. My DSIL keeps a drawer and corner in her sewing room for all my stuff. Got the clothes packing down to a science. 1 carry on suitcase for 6 days.

Looking forward to a great week of sewing, friendship and fellowship.

2008-08-21T09:24:00.000-07:00

CHALLENGE

There was a group of us quilters that went to FL last year to stay with our good friend and fellow quilter, Mel, at her home around St. Petersburg. In our quilt store hop, I fell in love with the fish fabric we saw. This is the first stage of this project. Don't you like the attic windows? Looks like an aquarium, I think.

The "Challenge" is to come up with words to be done in the border. The second challenge is to my friends who we have been dubbed "Queen" of words (learned from Tonya). They will have to give me lessons in this stage which I hope they will do when we are at Camp in IN in a couple of weeks.

Join the fun and give me your ideas for words. It might help to know that I plan to give this to my 7 yr. old grandson for his room.

2008-07-30T16:40:00.000-07:00

CRUMBS

Here we have a pile of scraps I had left from making the Batik Jewels. As I said before, I hated to waste all this so I started making crumbs and never made a dent in this pile. So these are going to camp with me in September to be given to Dawn or anyone else who wants to go crazy making CRUMBS.

You can't see the depth of this pile from this picture, but believe me it is piled up and it is all Batik fabric. I know this is going to make someone happy and I will be overjoyed in their happiness.

Now for the results of my use of the above pile. It looks like the neutral fabric is white but it is really a marble batik cream. It is lap size because I got tired of making crumbs. Plan to sandwich it this weekend and machine quilt it. When all is said and done, I really did like this little experiment in CRUMBS.

2008-07-19T15:03:00.000-07:00

GREETINGS FROM KERRVILLE, TX

I am in Kerrville, TX visiting daughter and family for a few days. For those of you who don't know about TX, Kerrville is in the part of TX we refer to as the hill country. It is 65 miles NW of San Antonio. They live on the Guadulupe river and it is very picturesque down here. No tall trees, just mesquite trees, hills and beautiful scenery.

While I was here I had to do some repair on a quilt I had made for them a few years ago. Thought I would take the opportunity to post it here for those of you who have never seen it. They are into Southwest decor and of course live in the perfect spot for that. This quilt is kingsize and we have a kingsize SIL to hold it up. 6'5" SIL's do come in handy.

Daughter, Tammy, has a birthday in a few weeks, can't tell you how old but it is a big one. Hard to believe my baby is going to be that old. I had bought her a little what they call farm table and chairs for their breakfast eating area so she and I sat in the floor yesterday and put them together. Of course GS was excited when he got to use the rubber hammer to put the plugs in the holes.

I am headed home in the morning and they are taking off for a camping trip. Packing the camper as we speak. 7 year old GS is running around acting crazy due to the excitement of getting ready to go camping. SIL is smoking ribs and brisket for dinner tonight and boy do they smell good.

LIFE IS GOOD IN KERRVILLE, TX.

2008-07-11T18:09:00.000-07:00

THANK YOU

Everyone has been so nice with all their warm fuzzies on my Batik Jewels. I can't wait to get it quilted and then find a place to hang it.

I had a question on the pattern. Yes, it is a Jacqueline de Jonge pattern. I met her and saw this made up on a trip to Paducah. I looked at it for days before finally giving in and buying it. It took 6 months to get the fabric together to make it and another couple of months of drawing off everything for paper piecing as well as getting up the nerve to start it.

Thanks to my quilt friends who were always encouraging and helping me learn how to do those stupid "Y" seams.

2008-07-09T09:18:00.000-07:00

TA DA!!

I can't believe I actually got this done! It went together a lot easier than I thought it would. A lot of pinning. It will be a long time before I tackle anything like this again.

Plan to bring the pattern and all the templates, my wonderful nephew made for me, to camp in Sept. and sell it at the garage sale we have, so someone else can go nuts like me.

Don't know how this will be quilted, but plan to get advice from all machine quilters on what they think will be best.

2008-07-06T16:42:00.000-07:00

I'm Hooked on CRUMBS!

(double click on picture to get a get a better view of these - they are a little blurred)

I have spent the last 4 days putting these together. This fabric is left over from the cut offs of the paper pieceing I have been doing on the Batik Jewels of which I only lack 2 in finishing.

Here are 15 Batik Jewels. I keep looking at these and wondering how in the heck I am going to sew them together. Still haven't read the directions!

Needless to say, I have had a lot of little pieces left from all the Batiks I used in this project. Seemed like a waste of money and fabric to just throw them away, so I had Dawn give me a quick lesson when we were together getting ready to go to Paducah. Bad move on my part.... Not sure what I am going to do with these 4 1/2" squares yet, but have decided to make more and at least get to a lap quilt size. (I am open on suggestions on how to put these together). When I get the crumb project done I am going to send all my left over little pieces to Dawn (hopefully, it will drive her as nuts as it has me).

Our 4th weekend has been fairly quiet. Good thing since I have spent most of it in the sewing room making the crumbs.

2008-06-28T17:22:00.000-07:00

LIFE IS GOOD

Our daughter and grandson came up from Kerrville for a visit this week. It is always so great to have them here. He is 7 and as you can tell from the picture is into making faces when you ask him to smile. They were busy while they were here visiting, movies, swimming and a trip to the Pottery Cafe to make a coffee cup for Dad. We don't get to see them that much since they moved to SW TX, so this was a special event for us. We also had their boxer (Duke) visit with us, so we had a full house for 4 days. It is sure quiet around here since they left this morning.

Needless to say, I didn't get any sewing done while they were here, but I did get my Rainbow Sherbet quilt off to be quilted. Will hopefully pick it up while I am in IN. for camp in Sept. Been checking flights and trying to decide if I should fly or drive. About the same money wise.

I did get some sewing done before they arrived, however. These are casserole carriers. One of our roommates in Paducah this year had made all of us one and I just fell in love with it. I decided to make a few for our Church's bazaar in Nov. What I really like about this one is the fabric. Lucked into a sale at the fabric store and fell in love with this fabric.

Isn't it just the cutest thing. Plan to make about 8 of them and try to sell them for about $12.00 a piece. All the money will go to our mission fund. Also making knitted dish cloths which will probably be sold for $4 or $5.

All of our grandchildren are busy this summer. One Grandson is interning at Bank of America in Chicago (he is a senior at Michigan State), his sister, Grand-daughter #1, is preparing to attend UT Austin in the fall, grand-daughter #2 (11) just left today to spend the rest of the summer with her Dad (we are sure going to miss her), and the youngest Grandson that just left here is headed to Hot Springs to visit his other grandparents. Glad I am staying right here in the cool air conditioning for the rest of the summer. Hopefully will get some sewing done.

2008-06-16T19:10:00.000-07:00

I LOVE IT

This project was so much fun, especially doing it along with others and being surprised at each step. I am going to change from the title of Orange Crush and rename mine:

RAINBOW SHERBET

There has been two groups who have asked me to donate it to them for auction (Women's Fellowship at our church and the Civic Theatre). Don't know if I can part with it, I love it so. First things first, however, I need to get the back put together and send it all off to Viki in IN. to quilt for me.

2008-06-09T18:27:00.000-07:00

CAN YOU SAY ORANGE!

The orange really jumps out at ya! I really like it though. The only thing that disappoints me is the star blocks do not show up very well. Probably using the purple in the star blocks and the pink or apple green in the center of the orange blocks would have been better. But I do like it.

Finishing...at this moment I am planning on putting the apple green as solid border then the pieced border followed by the Pink. Working on the pieced border and hopefully will have it all together by this weekend.

DH arrived home late Thursday night. He drove straight through and was totally exhausted by the time he got home. I would like to say it was because he was rushing home to me, but I think the comfort of our bed was the more appealing thing. There is nothing like your own bed.

I have gotten more Batik Jewels done. Only 6 more to go. Sure hope I can put them all together when I get them done. Haven't read that far in the directions yet...scared to! Anyone who wants to help me is more than welcome to come here and do so. At least hold my hand.

2008-06-01T20:47:00.000-07:00

An update on my weekend.

Being home alone is really weird. I have been waking up at 6:30 to 7:00 a.m. in the morning and telling myself, I don't have to get up and do anything. Fortunately, I have been able to turn over and go back to sleep for a few hours. Sewing has been one of my top priorities this weekend, since I have to hit the ground running on Monday morning taking care of business. After finishing OC step 5 on Saturday, I progressed to my Batik Jewels. Got a few more done. They are so pretty! (see below)

This evening was spent with my good friend, Joyce. Joyce's husband (our former minister) passed away 12 weeks ago and we spent the evening reviewing the events of their short married life (1 year 1 month 5 days). As the evening progressed (after 2 bottles of wine were consumed) we got into a deep theological discussion. What an interesting evening. Needless to say, my mind is totally exhausted, but all in all it has been a good weekend.

I have had my 3 days of being home alone and am ready for DH to come home.

2008-05-31T14:40:00.000-07:00

HOME ALONE FOR THE NEXT WEEK

Yes, that's me for the next week. My DH has gone on an adventure by himself. Really, he drove to Illinois for our granddaughter's graduation party and then down to Indiana to visit his siblings. I sure miss not being with him for these occasions but I really needed to stay here and keep an eye on my Mom. This is the anniversary of the death of her husband (my stepfather) of 43 years. She is 85 and sometimes has trouble dealing with the situation.

Anyway, this gives me the perfect opportunity to SEW without having to stop for those wifey things like cooking and cleaning. Started out today with the Orange Crush (see below) then will be headed back to the Batik Jewels.

A LOT OF ORANGE

Boy, does the orange jump out and bite ya! This is definitely going to be a bright quilt. Can't wait to see how this comes out. All my friends that are working on this are guessing as to what the setting is going to be. There is still a border to go so anything is possible, I guess. All I can think of is Bonnie told us before we started Step 5, that the middle of the quilt was done, so the pink and green blocks must be surrounded by the "Bright Orange" blocks. Guess we will just have to wait and see. It has been fun and interesting, however.

This is the Flamingo quilt, made for grand-daughter, Abby. The blocks are from a shop hop we did in Florida 2 years ago. If you click on the picture you can actually see the flamingo fabric in the border. I set these on point and added the blank blocks to make it a full size. There were a million flying geese, well maybe not a million but a lot. It was machine quilted by V. Kirby in IN and she did a fantastic job. Hopefully I can keep it secret until Christmas. She is so nosey, she will probably find it before then.

Off to take my Mom to dinner.

2008-05-16T07:48:00.000-07:00

BABIES EVERYWHERE

All of a sudden I have been overwhelmed by Baby Shower invitations. As I was opening 2 the other day, my thoughts went to what to buy. DUH! You have all this fabric and it doesn't take much to make a baby quilt. So I got busy and made this one out of 30's prints I had left over from making both of my granddaughters quilts a few years back. Have enough to make about 3 quilts without going to the store. GOOD FOR ME!

The pinwheels go together real quick and I did machine quilt it (easy stitch in the ditch). Should hold up with all the washings it is going to get. Have the other two cut out, just need to put them together.

Today is our 44th Wedding Anniversary. Some years back we went on a year to year renewal. Asked my DH last night if we were going to renew for another year. "Let me sleep on that" was his reply. We have committments tonight, so celebration will be put off to another day.

2008-05-14T10:47:00.000-07:00

GOOD NEWS

Thanks everyone for your good thoughts for GD, Abby. The Dr. said she is doing great, but will have to keep it medicated and covered for another week. As far as scaring goes, Dr. said it will probably take up to 2 years to clear but didn't think there would be any long lasting scaring. Will have to keep it moist for a long time and make sure she uses waterproof sun screen. We are greatly relieved.

2008-05-13T19:14:00.000-07:00

A BUSY FEW DAYS

All 30 step #4 of Orange Crush done. I really like the way these blocks turned out. Can't wait to see what the next ones will be like. These look pretty good by themselves even if I didn't do the rest of the steps. This has really been a fun thing to do.

I spent all weekend working on things. Got up early Saturday morning and planted all my summer flowers. Of course, it was a humid day and I was wringing wet by the time I got done. I always seem to pick the most humid day we have to do this project. Never fails. After a shower, I turned to on these blocks. Sunday morning was church and Mother's Day lunch at the Country Club with DH, Mother, Daughter and Granddaughter. Good food and I didn't have to cook or clean up. Spent the rest of the day making these blocks. So it was a great weekend.

Update on granddaughter. She is going to the wound clinic in the morning. Hoping they can do something to prevent the burn from scaring. It is getting better, but still looks pretty bad and is very uncomfortable for her.

2008-05-07T19:56:00.000-07:00

MYSTERY SOLVED

Finally done! This was a mystery we did at camp last September. Laura, Pine Ridge Quilter, provided all our clues. This was a fun mystery to do at camp and see all the different quilts that came out of the same pattern. I did increase the size by adding the two borders and added the applique. Vicki Kirby in IN. quilted it for me and did a fantastic job. Sorry you can't see the detail on this because it is fabulous.

You can see my DGD, Abby, peeking out on the left side. She has had a rough few days. On Saturday she fell while riding her scooter and skinned her knee really bad. Her Mom cleaned and dressed it but Abby took the bandage off on Sunday morning. For lunch she decided to fix herself Ramen Noodles in the microwave (which she has been doing for a long time). Not thinking, as is common for most pre-teens, she pulled it out without a pot holder and immediately spilled it down her leg causing a 3rd degree burn from the middle of her upper leg down to and including the skinned knee. After a trip to the ER and some meds to prevent infection and help with the pain, she finally went back to school today, bandaged and limping.

YEA! OC #3 done

I really had a hard time with this step. Having to do the mirror image really confused me. Took me a while to get it all figured out, but it is done. Sure hope we get to bigger pieces pretty soon and get into our major colors. I'm getting excited about seeing how this is going to turn out. Impatient also.

2008-05-01T09:42:00.000-07:00

GETTING BACK TO REAL LIFE

First things first. PADUCAH was a great time. Being with good friends, seeing beautiful quilts and MEGA Shopping! Hancocks still blows my mind every time I walk in there. Below are a few of my favorite quilts at the show. Can you tell I like bright!

The Zodiac sign quilt is by far my favorite. There were so many beautiful quilts and the minatures were amazing. So many great ideas but just not enough time in my life to do all I want to.

Returned home to TX on Monday and was immediately thrown into real life again. However, I did manage to get to my sewing room late on Wed. and finish Part 2 of OC.

Will try to get to Part 3 after my shipment of boxes arrive today. My new companion ruler is in there and I want to use it. Had to raid my DSIL stash for more metallics to hopefully finish this quilt. I thought I had enough but I began to panic. Thank goodness she comes to my rescue. (OFTEN)

I am getting real curious as to what this is going to look like. Excited also. I have mixed these blocks up so much there is no rhyme or reason to any of them. Hope I am not disappointed as to how they all go together. I am notorious for second guessing myself. Does anyone else do that?

It is back to taking care of business here. UGH!! Also taking time out to clean house. Having a group of women (12) here on next Tues. to play Mah Jongg. So sewing time is going to be whenever I can work in a few minutes here and there.

2008-04-19T10:13:00.000-07:00

BATIK JEWELS - 9 DOWN 8 TO GO

I really like these things. Of course, when I try to put those top and bottom pieces on as a "Y" seam I am still asking myself why did I start this project. Ran out of some major colors so will have to do some shopping in Paducah. Also need to locate some spangles and beads that will be put on each star point. My nephew is cutting some templates for me (he works for a glass company) that will be used to cut the fill in parts of this (Black Fabric). Will pick those up while I am IN. next week. I haven't looked at the rest of the directions but I am sure it will involve more "Y" seams. Ugh!! Thinking seriously of leaving the final assembly for Quilt Camp in Sept. so I will have a lot of expert help on this part. (good thinking on my part)

It is back to packing for me. Think I just about have it, if I don't change my mind again.

Also going to go check out "Red Box" ($1.00 movie rentals) for "Atonement". A quiet Saturday night for DH and I.

2008-04-18T06:28:00.000-07:00

BUSY WEEKEND-WILL FEEL LIKE A WEEK

The time will go so slow this weekend because I can't wait.

Leaving on Monday early for Indiana to meet up with the quilt girls for our annual trip to Paducah, KY. So this weekend is going to be packing, unpacking and repacking. Putting everything I will need for 7 days in one small suitcase, plus fabric for working on part 2 of Orange Crush Mystery.

I was getting my fabric cut for #2 when all of a sudden I couldn't find my little Easy Angle. In a panic I called my DSIL in IN. to make sure she could find hers. So everything is cut but the lights which I will do there. Fortunately, I will have 2 days there to get all 142 pieces done so I will be ready for Part 3, when I return from this trip.

Taking grand-daughter shopping this weekend, also. That will call for a few alcoholic drinks by the end of the day. She is 12 going on 18 (or at least she thinks so). Time to get summer clothes and her idea of a bathing suit and mine are totally different. This will be interesting.

Will try to get a picture of my Batik Jewels that are completed on the blog this weekend. Sure hope I remember how to do that.

2008-04-17T13:10:00.000-07:00

THANK YOU, DAWN

Dawn did all my graphics for me. Thank you again for a wonderful job.

Some may ask why Tyler Rose...well Tyler, TX is called the Rose Capital of the world. The roses you buy to plant in your yard probably came from here. The Rose industry made this town along with the Oil & Gas industry. Of course, you also have to remember the old song "Yellow Rose of Texas" thus Tyler Rose w/yellow roses. AHHHH

2008-04-15T19:57:00.000-07:00

Orange Crush 4 patches. Can't believe I actually got this loaded on here. Boy, do I have a lot to learn on this blogging thing. Y'all be patient with me.

2008-04-15T18:58:00.000-07:00

YEA!!!!!
I did it. Now I will have to work with y'all to see how to do other things on this blog.
Maybe since DSIL is cleaning up her computer desk we can get to it next week when we get there. This is exciting....I did something.

2008-04-15T18:56:00.000-07:00

OK! Got to this point. Not sure I can get back to it, but at least this is a start. Will try posting this and getting back in to do another post. Thanks Dawn