Lazy Sunday Afternoon...

The kids are gone, which makes me sad...it was so much fun to have them here.  They are so different from each other...so special in their own ways.  I love being their Grammy!

Kaylynn played with Tag a lot yesterday before Conlan & Jasmine got here.  "I can't reach it, Tag!" are the words that cue him to push the kong closer.   

She has so much fun playing with him...

The kids played outside for a long time this morning...

I plan to spend a quiet afternoon and evening watching the Olympics.  USA plays Canada - gold medal hockey game - this afternoon...will watch that.  My ex-husband refereed hockey, so I know a bit more about it than I do of some other sports.  And, I clearly remember 1980, the Miracle on Ice.  There is so much excitement about this upcoming game....GO Team USA!!!

Hope your weekend has been a good one!

Sleeping...At Last.

The girls...and Tag.

Conlan made a fort to sleep in...

Watching a Movie...

DQS8 Finished...& Grandkids Coming!

Kaylynn, Conlan & Jasmine are coming today & staying overnight.  I'm excited, as I don't see them nearly enough!  Devin is at his other Gram's today, but may come tomorrow for breakfast and to spend the morning with us.

In the meantime, I wanted to show this...I finished the dqs8 quilt!  YAY!  It measures about 20 inches square...perfect size!  I love this fabric...MoMo's Wonderland...and the snowball blocks were easy peasy to make!  This turned out so much better than I had envisioned!  I love it!  

I haven't yet decided if I should wash it before sending it.  Last year, I washed the quilt that I made for dqs7.  I love the crinkly look...but, come to find out, my partner didn't.  So.  Decisions, decisions.  

Here is the quilt front...

& the back...

I am sending along some goodies...

this fabric basket I made using this tutorial.

My swap partner loves owls.

And this gnome panel, ~20" tall.  

Here's the front...

  

and the back...isn't this adorable???

That's all for now.  

Have a great weekend!

I'm in Love...again!!!

I am in love with this little quilt...

it is so sweet!

Perfect for a baby girl.

It measures 37 x 43 inches.

The front was made with pinwheel 

blocks & fabric from Cathy (thank you!)

and the backing is 

Aviary by 3 Sisters for Moda.

This first photo has the truest colors. 
(be sure to click on the photos to enlarge them)

This is the quilt I am giving to a friend - 

a donation to her son's school fundraiser.

  I'm hoping she gets some decent money for it.

The auction is in April...

will let you know what happens!

I have enough fabric and pinwheels

to make another one of these...

I must do that.

It's too, too sweet!

My Birthday Gifts...

A few of you (nosey people...{grin}) have asked what I received for my birthday.  Here you go... 

From Lindy over at The Gingerbread House.  I think I showed this before, but I'm going to show it again.  Lindy's birthday is the day before mine, though she is not as old as me.  We like to remember each other's special day.  (Lindy, my gift to you has not been mailed, yet.)  

From Janer, my BFF, who lives in my hometown, Eau Claire.  She sent me a pair of wonderful slippers (I hate wearing shoes), flavored powder to add to water (I hate plain water), 2 candy bars (must have already eaten one when I took this photo), large safety pins, and a bottle of Skin So Soft lotion (Avon).

In the photo below this one, the beautiful handmade (not by Janer) rosary,

and in the photo below that...a poster of SHEPHERD!  When we were young and wild, we hung out with a huge group of guys and gals (we were hippies, ya know).  Shepherd was an excellent local band...and we were totally in awe of them.  Janer ran across this poster (a friend from 'back in the day' had a stash of them)...thought I might want it.  I do.

                          

This next photo...gifts from my family.  "The Guardian" Season 1...this was when I first became aware of Simon Baker {swoon}.  (He is now in this season's popular show, "The Mentalist").  Jafra skin care products,  (direct sales company I was once involved with...love their products...click here for more info on their skin, color & body care products), microwave popcorn which was given so that I had a snack when watching the dvd's given...but I don't have

a microwave!  I'll have to take them to work,  I guess.  2 chickens and an angel bell (every time an angel gets his/her wings, a bell rings), a gift certificate for Stitcher's Crossing (lqs), a gift certificate for The Calico Shoppe in Eau Claire (to use when I go home to visit), tealights for some gorgeous candle holders I received for Christmas, and, a cherry blossom exfoliating bar of soap.

Love all my gifts...thank you!

GIVEAWAY WINNERS!

Thank you so much for all of your birthday wishes
and kind words.
I loved reading them all.
I wish I could send each and every one of you a gift!
You made this birthday very special for me.
Thank you.


Now, on to what you are really waiting for!

I'll spare you all the drama, 

but the brown boy got the job done!

(was there ever any doubt?)

Here are the winners:

   

Orange Sink wins the hooker gift

and

Picking Dandelions wins the quilter gift.

I have emailed you both.

Congratulations!!!

I'll be shipping the packages out next week.

(This was fun...I should do it more often!)

A Succesful Night of Sewing.

I am happy to say that the Friday Night Sew-in was again a success for me!  Participating in it makes me focus...knowing I'll need to show photos of what I worked on.  So, instead of watching every single minute of the Olympics, I actually did some good work.  

I did watch tv here & there...was fortunate to catch the gracious Evan Lysacek (gotta love him!), caught some skiing & watched all of the ice dancing.

Here's what I got done...

Finally figured out how I wanted to do
the backing for my doll quilt swap quilt.

Put it together and got it quilted.

Here's the front...love making these snowballs!

And, I finished putting this top together.

This is the quilt I am making for a friend...

to donate to her son's school fundraiser.

 

I am happy with what I got done, and

it gave me a great start to the weekend.

Friday Night Sew-in...

brought to you by Heidi & Bobbi.  

 I'm sewing...are you?

Alexander James Aiken
December 17, 1996 - February 9, 2010

Rest In Peace

The dog in this photo with a younger Alex is Breka.

A very sweet German Shepherd...

fiercely loyal to my son 

and very protective of Alex.

Fabric Shopping...

Had to pick up a few pieces of fabric.

Some of it is to finish out what is needed.

Some of it is for new plans.

Some of it was on sale.

Some of it was 'simply irresitible'.

Like this one...so fun!

See the photo below for all the fabrics in the collection.

 

 

These two pieces are for my Bee Addicted 3 block swap.

My month is April.

I needed a few more neutrals.

I found the perfect backing fabric for the pinwheel quilt!

So soft and feminine like the other fabrics.

 I won 24 pinwheels & 5 fat quarters from Cathy of

Quilting on Turtle Hill.

A friend from work asked me if I'd be willing to donate a quilt 

for her son's school fundraiser.

Sure.  Why not?

This will be it.

It's due March 15, so I should get started, hey?

I finally have all the fabric for my son's wedding quilt.

This fabric is awesome! 

I had a plan when I bought it.

But, I changed my mind.

I now have a better plan.

 

(Don't be surprised when I show more fabric on Monday.

I need to pick up the rest of the fabric for my whirlygig quilt...

and my lqs offers a 20% discount on Mondays.)

pssst...this is post 499.

Sadness

I am not writing this post to elicit sympathy.

I am writing it...

because to not would be almost like 
saying it didn't matter to me.

And, it does.

Matter.

A lot.

This is important to share.

It has shaken me to my core.

It has, once again, 
demonstrated how fragile life really is.
How we should really not take 
for granted that tomorrow will come.

I was once Alex's Grandma...

my son was married to his mother.

That was several years ago, 

and I hadn't seen Alex or his mom since.

When the phone rang late Tuesday evening, 

I didn't recognize the number.
I almost didn't answer.

But, I did.

It was Jenny, Alex's Mom...

calling to let me know that Alex is dead.

Just 13 years old.

Dead of a drug overdose.

ohhhhhh, how can this happen?

I am sad beyond belief.

I have been praying nonstop.

That God has wrapped Alex in His arms.

The funeral is Monday.

I am sure it will be very difficult.

But I will go.

To pay my respects...

to say goodbye.
  

FEED me!!!

"If you follow me, mama, I'll show you where the food is."

(Apparently, the brown dog is hungry.

He brought me his food bowl and wanted me to follow him.
He is actually carrying the food bowl...it looks as if it might be on the floor, but it's not. 

hahahaha...this is why the next statement is what it is.)

So, I've not gotten a lot accomplished on my sew...snow day.

Too busy playing with Tag.

And hangin' out and thinking about stuff.

Actually did get 2 things done, but they need hand sewing.

Will show them when they're done...probably tomorrow.  

Newsflash on the giveaway!
I know...been talking about it for 2 months.
Well, it is almost here.
For sure.

I was cleaning up my blog and found some posts 

that had been started and never posted.

I deleted them.

Which changed the number of blogs I had posted to that day.

This, then, is blog post #497.

I will be having a giveaway on post #500.

Definitely.

I Promise.

As for the snow part of the day...
I am completely snowed in.

Drifts across the driveway too deep for my car.

Will have to wait until I get plowed out.

Wouldn't break my heart if it didn't get done.

At all.

Sew...Snow Day!

It is snowing like crazy and the roads are slicker than you know what.  Glass hills are not fun to drive over.  So, I am home.  What shall I do?  huh...got me!  {grin}

I have declared this a SEW day!

This next part is kinda wordy.  But, so worth the few minutes it'll take you to read it.  

Tag had a lovely birthday...thank you for all your comments and well-wishes.  A little story for you...last week, Heidi (coworker) brought in the most delish peanut butter cookies for us all to gorge ourselves on.  And, we did.  Yummy.  They're so not on my list of foods, but...what can I say?  Peanut Butter Cookies!!!  

So.  I said to Heidi, "Heidi, Tag's birthday is on Monday and I'm wondering if you would bake some peanut butter cookies for him."  She looked at me like I was nuts, and I thought she would say something like, "are you nuts?"  Instead, she said, "Jacque, do you know how busy I am this weekend?  We're going to a Super Bowl party and I have to make a dip.  Plus...blah, blah, blah."  Just so ya know, she didn't really say 'blah, blah, blah', but what she really said isn't relevant to my story.  I told her that I thought she could bake the pb cookies while she was doing everything else.  So, we kinda left it there.  Well, yesterday was Monday...Tag's birthday...guess what Heidi brought to work?  (I tell ya...my coworkers are so fun!)  Yup...peanut butter cookies just for Tag!  A couple dozen!  Nothing in them that he cannot have, right?  I did take them around and shared them with the others...a treat to celebrate Tag's birthday.  ha!  I ended up with about a dozen to bring home.  Now, remember, these are for Tag.  Not me!  Though, gotta tell ya, Tag loves to share with his mama.  I've had about 4 so far...but so has he.

Here is a photo of Tag about to enjoy a peanut butter cookie.  Please note.  It took me at least 5 minutes to get this shot...gotta get the pose with the dog in a down position, with his head down, with a delicious-smelling cookie close to him.  Tag has always been very good at 'leave it'.  I think, though, that he thought I was never going to let him have the cookie.  But, I did.  Tried to get a photo of him eating it, but his big head got in the way.  

Anyway.  Here's what I got...

That's it for now...I have some heart day quilty things to make, so I best get sewing! 

Hope you have a great day!

Happy Birthday, Tag!!!

Today is Tag's birthday...

8 on the 8th!

woohoo!

Hard to believe he is 8...

he still acts 2.

{grin}

A Good Weekend...

Yup, I had a good one.
It's always a good feeling to

cross a few things off my list.
And, to top it off, I received a special surprise! 


Remember the pillowcase I showed yesterday?
I did finish the 2nd one, so 
Julie will have a pair to match her quilt.

More done...
Here's the stacked coins quilt I first blogged about here...

now completely finished and laundered...all soft and crinkly.

 

And, I finished all my blocks for the whirlygig quiltalong 

(see my sidebar for the link).

I received a very early - and special - birthday present yesterday

from Lindy (see her blog here).

We met on Wool Snippets several years ago.

Lindy's birthday is the day before mine, which 
makes us almost birthday twins!

I LOVE all of the quilty goodness she sent.

Thank you so much, Lindy!

That's all I have.

Pillowcase, Dilemma & Masseuse Needed...

This is all I've done thus far today.

Too busy gabbing on the phone.

And looking through fabric.

And just plain hangin' out with Tag.

But, hey!  This is pretty cool!  

I think I might have to go into

the pillowcase making business.

These are super simple to make and 

one is only limited by one's imagination!

This pillowcase is for Julie, 

the sister who is still waiting

for her beautiful quilt!  

(And, ohman, it is one beautiful quilt!)

I am not allowed to show photos of her quilt 

in progress...as she wants to be surprised.

But, I will tell you this...

I am about half done handsewing the binding.

Then, I'll wash/dry it to get the crinkly softness,

& take it a few places to show it off.

Then off to Colorado it will go...

and I will post photos as soon as she gets it!

This pillowcase is the first of two.  

Both made with this fabric, which is the same

as the border and backing of her quilt.

I made a little trim with plain black.

I think it's gorgeous.

Absolutely.

If I do say so myself.

And, I do.

(I may break my arm patting myself on my back.)

 

I found the tutorial here...
by Ashley of Film In The Fridge. 

Have you visited her blog?
I love seeing what she's up to
and am so inspired by her creativity! 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have a dilemma.

Last fall, a friend asked me to make a quilt

and donate it to her son's school fundraiser.

It will be auctioned...great exposure for me!

(gosh, I hope it goes for a good price!)

So, I agreed.

Well, it's time to start working on it.

Cuz it's due March 1.

YIKES!  Can you say panic time?

Actually, she extended the deadline...

to March 15.

Better.

But!

I have no clue what fabric to use.

Or, what pattern to make.

One kind of dictates the other, I think.

My head has been full of ideas that are all rapidly being discounted.

I think I know what I want to do, though...

make a modern quilt using new/modern fabrics.

Okay.  But, what fabric?

I have lots of fabric...

yet, I don't have enough.

That's my dilemma.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 I need a masseuse.

Seriously.

I can only sew for about an hour at a time.

More than that, and my neck & left shoulder start to hurt.

I usually put a cd on, and sew for however long the music plays.

Then, I take a break.

Used to be that would be that.

However.

Lately, I seem to be building up a lot of tension

between my shoulder blades and extending up into my neck.

Or, perhaps it starts in my neck and extends down my back.

Whatever.

Does not feel good.

I think I need to revise my sewing table/chair arrangement.

Perhaps a higher chair.

Or, a lower table.

I am aware that I sit with my shoulders up.

A lot of the time.

Not just when I sew.

So, I am really conscious of it when I am sewing.

I try to relax my shoulders

and move them around to loosen them up.

To no avail.

What to do?

Any suggestions?

That's all for now...

hope you're having a great weekend!