Catching Up...

I've a few photos to show you. 

This is the blanket I made for Manley (sister Julie's Golden)...measures about 28 x 40...same on both sides.

 See what I did on his blanket?  I free-motion wrote his name.   Can you see it?

Here's the blanket for Kisa (sister Julie's cat)

I don't think I ever posted a photo of this quilt...maybe just a sneak peek before?  Well, here it is...pretty in pink.  For Joyce to give her granddaughter, Alyssa.

Finished this one, too.   Fabric is Coco Express by Jo Morton. 

I received these photos this weekend...

Conlan - Mr. All Around Flag Football player.

 

 Jasmine & Conlan.

Conlan - I love black & white photos!

Jasmine - stunning.

I feel much better after doing nothing all day.  I am now ready to take on the work week.  (well, sort of)

I hope you all have a great week!

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might. - Ecclesiastes 9:10

Our Thanksgiving Celebration

What a day.

My sister from Colorado, Julie, was there...
a surprise for our Mom.

A lot of people in a small space.
But, we all had a great time. 

The 4 J's together...telling stories
on and about each other. 
All of us laughed so hard.

Here are some photos of our day...

Table 1.

l-r...Michelle, Joyce, Jill, Tim, Julie, Ray, Mum.

Table 2.

l-r...Conlan, Matthew, Jasmine.
(not pictured: Jenni & Trent)

 

Conlan, Jasmine & Trent.

Son Matthew helping his Gram with her mp3 player.

Granddaughter Jasmine.

 Oldest sister Joyce.

Me Mum and grandkids Michelle, Matthew & Jenni.

Trent with his mom (she's my niece...he loves the quilt).

Trent & Conlan.

Sister Julie & blankets for
Manley & Kisa (made by me).

What fun we had.

I was sorry that Paul & his family
were unable to make it.

I was sorry to see the day come to an end.

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might. - Ecclesiastes 9:10

In the Nick of Time...

Got it done!

woohoo!

It's after midnight (Friday night) 
and this quilt is all washed & dried...

ready to go.

It's for my sister, Joyce, to give her grandson.

Tomorrow. 

The fabric is 'diggers & dozers' with Kona cotton solids.

I quilted it with YLI variegated thread
in the color 'primary'

in not-so-straight lines

which are unevenly spaced.

Intentionally.

 Measures 50x52 inches.

Must get to bed.

Looking forward to a great family day tomorrow!

Goodnight. 

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might. - Ecclesiastes 9:10

No Holiday For Me!

That's right.

I am working, working, working.

Trying to get this quilt done

before our family Thanksgiving 

celebration on Saturday.

Quilting with my walking foot with not-so-straight lines.

Let me tell you...

after quilting the last several quilts with my walking foot,

I'm looking forward to stippling the next several.

 

This quilt is going with me and it'd 

sure be better if it was done.

Ya know?

Yeah, so we're all meeting up at Jill's house.

Joyce (sis from Alaska) is in

between homes.

She sold her house in Anchorage

and is on her way to Maryland.

This is a 9-day stopover.

Lucky us.

My oldest son, Matthew, and his 2 kids,

Conlan and Jasmine will be there.

My youngest son, Paul, his wife, Rachel,

as well as Devin and Kaylynn will be there.

Me Mum and Ray.

My niece, Michelle.

My niece, Jenni, and her son, Trent.

My sister, Jill, and her boyfriend, Tim.

I'll be there, too!

I plan to take a bunch of photos.

Happy Thanksgiving Day to you all!

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might. - Ecclesiastes 9:10

A Whole Lot of Stuff Goin' On...

WOW.  I have a lot to say today!  You may as well settle in for a long read. 

The most fun news, first!  I stopped in at my LQS last Friday.  Saving Thyme is celebrating its 10th anniversary...and everything I bought in the picture below was on sale for either 30% or 50% off.   Except the Lily & Will charm pack.  I couldn't resist that.  Oh, I also bought 2 spools of thread that I need to quilt 2 quilts with.  They were not on sale. 

I paid, and was then told that my purchases entitled me to gifts!  YAY!  I was given the book, "The Quilter's Legacy" and the charm pack, which is a mix of creams/golds/greens!  Plus, I received a coupon for $5.00 off my next visit!

I entered a drawing for a fat quarter bundle on my way out the door.  Didn't really pay much attention to it.  Cuz, you know, I never win.

Except, I did!  woohoo!  21 fat quarters, a book of patterns, and 5 fat sixteenths!  How fun is that!!!  The fabric is Sanibel by Henry Glass.  Go here to see all the fabrics in the collection.  No clue at this time what I will make with it.  How fun, though.  I mean, seriously...who wouldn't love to win 21 fat quarters!  I am blessed!

I finally have some decent photos of the baby quilt I was making.  It's for Maggie, a baby girl born last week to coworkers of mine.  She weighed 10 lbs...poor Mama Sara. 

You'll remember my struggles with getting this quilt going.  Thankfully, I was inspired by Erin's 'small squares quilt'...though my squares are not small.  Still...inspiration is what it is.  Thank you, Erin!  I used several green charms (5") and Kona cotton solid in Bone.  (ohmygosh..if you've not used Bone...you must!  That color is absolutely fabulous!)  I quilted it with green variegated thread.  Maggie's quilt measures about 38 inches square.

This photo is closest in color, methinks.

I have a roommate!  I have been (kind of) looking for one since I moved here.  Didn't really want one, though.  But, it would help me out to have someone to share a few of the expenses with.  So.  Finally!  Maureen, my spiritual mentor, started talking to me about it a few weeks ago.  I didn't get too excited right away, because we've talked about it before.  But.  She prayed and got her answer!  She'll be moving in by the first of the year.  I think that we will be able to work well together to make this a good place to come home to.  She is so excited about working outside...having a garden, planting flowers, etc.  Well, she can have it!  {grin}  I prefer to sew.  Or almost anything that doesn't involve bugs.  I think this will be very beneficial to both of us and I am very much looking forward to it.  Now that I've gotten used to the idea.  

I was at Kelley's blog a bit ago...and was directed here.  Reading this story about broke my heart.  Please visit for an opportunity to help out.

hmmmm...I think that's it!  Did I miss anything?  Let me know if I did.

1st part of DWTS's 2 part finale is tonight!  And, my fave new show, Hawaii 5-O!  I will be planted firmly in my big easy chair. 

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might. - Ecclesiastes 9:10

FNSI...What I Did

I had three projects to work on last night.

However, two of them are Christmas gifts,

so I am not able to show you at this time.

Drat!  

But, I am able to show you this!

I almost finished hand-sewing the

binding on this baby quilt.

I love the softness of it...

both in looks and touch.

Green charms with Kona cotton solid in Bone. 

That's all I have to show.

I did take photos of the other projects

and will post them sometime after

they are received.

Have a great weekend!

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might. - Ecclesiastes 9:10

Why Buy...

expensive toys when a simple object will suffice?

Indeed.

Tag has decided that his food bowl is a toy.  

Seriously.

Sometimes he just carries it around.

Perhaps hoping that I'll fill it with something.

But, today...

he ran around the house with it...

flipping it and rolling it

and chasing it

and playing with it.

I know that two of these photos are blurry,

but I thought they were still worth posting.

I stood and laughed while he played for several minutes.  

Then, I thought to get my camera,

and he very willingly obliged me

by playing some more so I could take photos. 

 

 

 

What a big goofball he is.

That's my Tag.

{sigh}

 

okay, back to my sewing!

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might. - Ecclesiastes 9:10

Friday Night Sew-in!

Tonight is....

YAY! 

Click here for info and to sign up.

 

I have a bunch of little projects

and some hand-sewing

to work on.

What will you be working on?

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might. - Ecclesiastes 9:10

Happy, Happy, Happy!

After my post (last night) of feeling

like a failure with the green charm quilt,

I relaxed in my big easy chair

and finished reading a book.

All the while,

the green charms were moving around in my head.

Gosh...how annoying that I couldn't just let it be!

I finally decided to go online and look at different blogs

and on flickr to see if anything inspired me.

Keeping in mind, of course, that the fabric was

already cut into 4 1/2 inch squares.

What do you know...looked on Erin's blog

and was totally inspired!

YAY!

Go here to check out her rockin' small squares quilt.

Thank you, Erin!

So.

Totally motivated, I stayed up until 2 a.m.

cutting the solid fabric into squares and strips

(Kona cotton solid = Bone...a lovely color/fabric!)

and sewing all the squares together.

I left the ironing and sewing of the strips until this a.m.  

I am happy. 

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might. - Ecclesiastes 9:10

I Have Never...

Really, I have never before messed up so badly when putting a quilt top together. 

Until tonight, that is.  Those little green charms that became half-square triangles did not work out as I had envisioned.  I'll spare you the boring details.  Not going to rip it all out, either.  I still have 80 or so charms, so will just let them sit there until I get over  the "what the heck was I thinking?" feeling.  

Here's what I think is going on...I have so many projects planned before Christmas and this one came up unexpectedly...not planned at all.  I thought I could whip through it and get it done by the end of this weekend.  Normally, I work rather well under pressure.  Apparently, not at this time.  Probably cuz I'm not feeling in tip-top shape.  Still haven't completely recovered from the pneumonia and then the cold that I got, I guess.  

I think I'll just move on to something else and, perhaps, come back to those green charms.  Time will tell.

In the meantime, here's a photo of Tag E. Butt for your viewing pleasure...sleeping with his blankie from his Aunt Joanne.  

 

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might. - Ecclesiastes 9:10

Workin' On...

finishing up a few projects.

 I'll soon have photos to share.

Remember those green squares I showed you yesterday?  

Divide and multiply (or is it conquer?).
At any rate...my motto for the day.

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might. - Ecclesiastes 9:10

An Unplanned Project...

I do love me some green! 

Must be the Irish in me.

More to come.
Soon.

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might. - Ecclesiastes 9:10

What Kept Me From Going Crazy!

I am so thankful that I have

something that keeps me busy!

Here are a few sneak peeks

of what I did over my 4 day

weekend with no computer.

Not yet time to write a proper post.

Perhaps tomorrow.

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might. - Ecclesiastes 9:10

Back In The Saddle...

YAY!  I have a computer!  Ohman, I am so relieved.  I think I was slowly going crazy.  Luckily, I had sewing and reading to otherwise occupy my time...still, it was a very long 8 days.  

My computer was dead, dead, dead.  So, I bought a refurbished Dell computer from the guy I went to for help.  (I had a Dell before).  I am in the process of downloading all my programs.  AND, I have over 100 emails to answer.  There were about 500 emails, but some needed no answer, so I looked at them quickly and/or deleted them.  Lots to do to get this baby up to speed, so please be patient with me.  I have stuff to tell you!

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might. - Ecclesiastes 9:10