I Can Do Better!!

I have certainly failed at the Post a Day in May commitment I made at allsorts. Here it is May 18th and I have only posted 5 times. We'll see how well I can keep up from now on. Besides the trip to the ER, our middle son moved back home from college last week and we are trying to get him settled in. What a mess!!

I have been sewing away on a couple of projects. There will be pictures of them soon. I thought I would share a couple of table runners I have finished this year. The first one is a free pattern on the Fat Quarter Shop website. It was really easy. Don't you just love those Moda Swirls? The other is obviously a Christmas table square which was also a free pattern on Marcie's website. It was a really fun one to do.
















Thanks for stopping by. Happy Quilting!

You know you're getting old when.....

you wind up in the emergency room due to back pain and you didn't do a dog-gone thang to cause the pain. That day would have been last Tuesday. I then spent the rest of the week in the bed on a heating pad and pain medication. And what do the doctor's say???? It's old Arthur. Arthur-itis, that is. A steroid shot to the hip should cure me, they say. We'll see. Just let me get back to my sewing machine, please!!

And since I couldn't post without a picture.
Here's a pretty shot of what's blooming in my back flower beds. Yeah spring!!


Thanks for stopping by. Happy Quilting!

Prom 2008

This is our baby. She went to her Jr. Prom last night. I can't believe that she is only days away from being 17 years old. She is a great girl and we are so very proud of her.













Her "date" is a good friend from church. The chaperone at their feet is her dog, Scout. He just ambled over and inserted himself between them for the picture. It was really funny. He is very protective of her. I thought we weren't going to get any pictures without him.



I will introduce our boys another day. They are both away at colleges in other states. We are so very proud of how they have grown up. I remember thinking back when they we all under the age of 5 that I would not live through some of those days. Now, I find myself wishing for those "toddler" days again. The years pass far too quickly.

Thanks for stopping by. Happy Quilting!

A Post A Day in May

Jenny B over at Allsorts has issued a challenge. Are you up for it? Run on over to her blog and join in the fun. Even if you don't have a blog, go on over and check out her blog. She's really got a lot of colorful inspiration there.

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Since I haven't finished anything substantial to show you I thought I would share my sewing space with you today. It is really our formal dining room. We are not the least bit "formal" people so we usually eat at the bar in the kitchen or at the table in the adjoining breakfast room which you saw yesterday. We do however have our farm table in that room so it has become my sewing table. It is ergonomically-challenged but I'm hoping to remedy that soon. The bar in the kitchen is also my cutting table since it is at the perfect height for cutting. It is only a few steps from the "sewing room".

By the way, I cleaned up for this photo. The table NEVER looks like this when I am sewing. Those tubs stacked up there are some of my current WIP's.

Meet Quilt Inspector's #2 and #3.(You met Lily here.) That's Grace on the ironing board and Preston on the table. Grace spends most of her days on the ironing board. She is very "hand's" on with her inspections. This is not a problem unless there are large pieces to press. That's when the power struggle begins. Preston usually sits behind the sewing machine while I'm stitching. I guess he feels that quality control at the machine is the way to go.

I hope you enjoyed this small tour. Thanks for stopping by. Happy Quilting!

UFO Sighting

Actually, this is no longer a UFO. Wednesday afternoon I was looking over my list of UFO's and noticed that I had not finished anything in April. I remembered that this table square made from a Winter Rose charm pack kit (I've had it so long I don't even remember where I bought it from - sad, huh?) only needed the binding finished off. Another sad point, the binding was sewn on just not turned and finished. So, I quickly pulled it out and finished it off while watching the Idol Results show. I am determined to finish at least one project every month this year. So far - so good!!




Here is a close up of the quilting. I machine pieced the top along with the rough-edged stars(that's how the pattern called for them) but I hand quilted the rest of the top with a stencil made from the star pattern. It was a quick project and I've no excuse for not finishing it years ago.
Well, it's done now!! I love these colors. They have become our new decorating color scheme. This is a real switch for me since I have been stuck on Americana for quite a long time.



This last picture is how it looks sitting on our breakfast room table. The arrangement was from our going away party last year at our church back in Illinois. It was made by some very special friends so it holds a prominent place here in our house.

Thanks for stopping by. Happy Quilting!

Donna

Hand's Down -- I'm a real cut-up!

No, I mean it. A literal cut up.

I volunteer one morning a week at my church doing whatever needs to be done to lighten the load for the staff. I answer the phone, greet visitors, proofread, whatever! The past two weeks I have spent the morning cutting out hands for our children's minister, Jill. She tells me they are actually sunflower petals. All this takes me back to my years as a young mother when I worked at our church's Mother's Day Out program. I always loved this kind of thing. Don't ask me why. Maybe as a kid I didn't get to play with scissors. Maybe I like mindless work. Probably I'm just nuts!! (No comments from the peanut gallery. Ha Ha - pun intended)

Today was especially a blessing to be able to serve Jill all the while praying for her, her husband and their family. You see, Jill's husband had open heart surgery today. In fact, he's in surgery as I type. Life is so strange. Last week, as she and I discussed these "sunflower petals", all was good. This week, as I cut, her life is markedly different. As the song goes, Life is hard but God is good. Please pray for Jill that their lives will quickly get back to laughter and sunflowers!

Back to quilting tomorrow!

Life Gets in the Way!!

I'm not getting very much sewing done. My bff Claudia thinks that is all I do all day long but it's really not. Yesterday, for example, the only sewing I got done was some hand quilting on a wall hanging during a couple of hours of TV. Gotta watch my Dancing With the Stars!! Here's a picture of "my sweet spot". It's where I spend my evenings hand quilting, crocheting, cross-stitching, whatever I'm in the mood for as long as it involves a needle. You can see the quilt on the ottoman and the crochet in the basket on the right. My Ott Light is indispensable. I do need a better table for my notions there on the left.

Instead of spending time at my sewing machine yesterday, I got to buy groceries. We seem to think we need to eat everyday. Go figure! After that daunting task I have to come home and put them all away. Don't you think that's even worse? I certainly do!! Then, I get the call that track shoes have been forgotten and are needed NOW at the high school. Off my little van goes again. Then it's time for supper. (Again, all this eating!!!) After clean up, it's TV time. Oh well, life just gets in the way sometimes and that's ok. Dare I even say it....life IS more important than quilting?!?!?

I really am joking here. I am so blessed to be able to spend as much time sewing as I do. I am able to stay home(that reads - no outside employment because I really don't stay home much) and now that my boys are off at college and track girl drives herself everywhere, I do have the time for sewing that I have always yearned for. Life is good!!
Happy Quilting!