Celebrate Good Times

I don’t know about everyone else, but since I started this blog last October, I have tried to keep a camera with me at all times. So, when our great grandson was having his first birthday, who do you think forgot her camera? Well, that’s right. But our grandson was there with his so I asked him if he would email me his pictures and, of course he said yes. The birthday was 4/24/09 and I got the pictures 5/29/09 and only when he was told I wouldn’t get him some food from Olive Garden unless he had sent the pictures (that came from his mother, not me).

Anyway, here are three pictures from Skylar’s first birthday in April:


With Grandpa......

With mom and presents........

and outside with Big Boy toys. Notice that he “dressed down” after eating cake with lots of icing.

One month later came our granddaughter’s graduation: Skylar’s mother. Her parents and grandparents were very proud of her accomplishment. Notice that she graduated an honor student.

Here are her parents, Skylar and his father, all cheering with excitement at the big moment.

As a final celebration, DD, DSIL, DH and I spent the day, yesterday, driving to FL to eat at Red Lobster and shop. We have been planning this trip for two months to celebrate: 1) both guy’s birthdays in March, both gal’s achieving lifetime at Weight Watcher’s in April and now DGD’s graduation in May. We had a great time, ate well, and shopped in our favorite places: LQS’s for me, Bass Pro for DSIL, Books A Million for DH and Barnes and Nobel for DD. Then we came home, tired but happy: no pictures.

Today it is back to the old routine. With some luck I hope to have my black and white loaded on the frame this afternoon: have to piece the backing first but have a plan and most of it cut out so it shouldn’t take too long.

Bye, Ponce

So today was the day Ponce went home. It seemed like the dogs knew, even before we headed for the car, that something was up. Here they are, watching from the deck, but not trying to get out and come with us.

Once the half gone bag of dog food and the dog blanket were in the car, everyone was loaded in.

We had an uneventful drive, stopping once for a pit stop at a rest area. The puppies settled down quickly but Abby soon made the move to the front and Ponce stretched out on the back seat.

Each family drove 3 hours to meet in Tallahassee. This is the fourth time we have exchanged Ponce there, we are really good at this: drove in at the exact same time. Ponce was really glad to see his folks. Interestingly, Ponce and his folks will be moving to MD on Friday so this will be the last time he will be staying with us.

After a lunch at Subway we headed for home. Abby was really tired after seeing her friend off and napped almost all the way home.

What was really interesting was that when we got home and I took her out to the back yard, she just looked and looked for Ponce in all the places he likes to go. I think it will take a little while before she gives up looking for him.

Me, too.

Hungry/Habit

I don’t know how many of you have seen the Weight Watcher’s TV adds featuring “Hungry” but I get a kick out each and every one of them. So when they had Hungry for sale at my meeting, I had to have one (three). Although I don’t experience hunger very often, I find that Lifetime/Maintenance sets me up for falling back into old habits so I have renamed my Hungrys “Habit.” And where, do you ask, do my Habits live? Well, one is on the refrigerator, of course. But I also put one in the car.

He is there to remind me not to just swing through the drive through and mindlessly order junk food. He is also a reminder that I can eat anywhere, I just have to make good choices: I like that.

The third one resides in the quilting room in the studio.

Because I keep a refrigerator and microwave in there, he is there to remind me that I have quality snacks available for break times and don’t need to “graze” in the kitchen, especially to sooth my nerves when the quilting doesn’t go exactly right. He is also on the machine where I can see him and smile.

And now I need to get out of this chair, take a shower and get back to that quilt on the machine. I am so very close to being done…yea!!!!!

Besides, Habit is waiting.

Welcome to Monday

The weekend was not as productive as I would have liked but I did get some quilting done. I worked on my Continuous Curves. I do pretty well, sometimes, and others, my hands seem to get in the way of the template and machine. Anyway, here is a sample of what I did.


There are 9 sets of triangles in the row and there are 4 rows: I have now done one. I’ve got a long way to go. I think my next quilt will have to be an edge to edge “something” just to give this old mind a rest.

So, while taking a break from quilting, my DH asked if I was going to take his picture with Ponce.



And he couldn’t just have his picture taken but had to make it dramatic (the actor in him).

But I think he was just using Ponce so he could get himself on my blog again: HAM!

Speaking of Ponce, he really likes the woods around our house. He seems to disappear into the trees, following some unknown scent.

But to better see where he goes, I shot this picture from the woods looking back toward my studio. This is a great playground for a happy puppy.

Busy, Busy

No, I haven’t started quilting again but yesterday I did get the melon templates from Kimmy. I ordered them on 5/12 and they were here on 5/14. AND, she lowered the postage charge so I saved about $10. That is really service, isn’t it. Tomorrow I will do a little practicing with the templates and then get busy, again, on quilting the quilt.

But I have been busy. I walked into the studio on Wednesday and just had to make something new. I have only made one purse, the Smart Bag, and didn’t enjoy doing it but with all the purses and bags out there I decided I wanted one, too. I took these batik strips down

and along with some other batiks, and started cutting and sewing. And look what I came out with today:

I would love to tell you how I did this but I was totally flying by the seat of my pants.

I did take a break from sewing this to have my daughter over for lunch on Thursday. I have been wanting to get a picture of her in her nursing student scrubs and she obliged me.

I am so very proud of her. She has finished the semester and will be on the Dean’s list. She has two weeks off and then Summer semester begins. I hope this smile continues as I remember being an adult and married college student.

What do you do when you want to post to your blog but almost everything you are doing is a secret?

Well, I guess this is what you do. Last weekend DH was in a community theater play, “Lying in State.” It is a political farce and he played an inept governor. Here he is in his makeup, no really, this is a wig and makeup:

Now, wouldn’t you be proud to show him off?

Here he is with one of his co-stars:

Anyway, just to show you that he really doesn’t look that bad, I took his picture at one of his favorite places to eat, Taco Bell.

While he was playing with his friends I did get the final borders on All That Jazz.

I mitered the corners but haven’t cut the excess off yet.

I also worked on a challenge quilt for guild and started quilting a gift quilt. I had to stop the quilting because I decided to order Kimmy Brunner’s melon templates to do the continuous curves: lots of continuous curves. The little curves I did on Spring Garden don’t show up too much but these will be bigger and need to be “more correct.”

My personal challenge came this week when Sandi decided that her BOM block for May would be a grandmother’s flower garden. I did one for Spring Garden in 2005 and swore I would never do one again: I, and my arthritis, don’t like hand work. Now I have to decide if I am going to be true to the BOM or true to myself.

Now I am, again, off to the studio. I just need to find something to work on that I can show…….

Happy Mother's Day

This is a most different Mother’s Day. I usually am treated to lunch by my daughter, you know the 40 year old nursing student, but she is working today. DH is tied up with the final performance of his play (matinee) and I am here at home. I am, however, not alone. Look who all is with me:

This somewhat calm picture is not what drove me to get the camera at 6am. Look at what I woke up to:

I had said they would become really good friends and boy have they. I haven’t been able to sleep past 6 for the past 2 weeks. For a retired person, that is really early.

I had thought of going to my mother’s in central FL for Mother’s Day but it wasn’t possible: I did send her this.

This is a postcard made with machine embroidery, fused appliqué, and satin stitch around the outside. The picture, covered with vinyl, is the only one I have of me as a child: aren’t I cute? I love making things for my mother and I have been trying to come up with smaller things that won’t just clutter up her home.

I am hoping that with all this solitude I will be able to begin the quilting on my gift quilt: I finally got it put on the frame yesterday. And then this afternoon I have been recruited to video DH’s play: that would be 2 ½ - 3 hours of standing with a video camera. Oh, what we do for the one’s we love. Happy Mother’s Day everyone.

We Have RAIN!

We have had rain: Sunday = 2.5”, Monday = 1.5”, Tuesday = 1.5”, and Wednesday = 1”. Today, so far, it has not rained but we have a 50% chance it will show up before the day is over. Now you are not hearing any complaints from me. I was born and raised in Oregon, I love rain. Not so fond of lightening and possible tornadoes but they just go along with rain in Alabama. I tend to sew in between storms and to either do housework or computer work, on the battery, when it is storming.


Yesterday I took off for NWFL and did my own shop hop. And look what all I got:

Batiks and more batiks. I have been collecting batiks for a short while but still have no plans for them, I just love the mix of colors.

And, so I can see them better, I refolded them and found a new home for them.

I also have a jelly roll of batiks but they are hanging where I can see them: I am thinking jacket but who knows.

The other fabric I purchased yesterday was the backing for “All That Jazz,” the black and white. I think I may use it for the binding, too, the orange is perfect.

When I got home yesterday I found that I had received got some wonderful blocks in the mail from Pat (A Little of This and a Little of Pat) but I can’t show them because I am planning to use them in a gift for someone who reads this blog. Sorry. I do plan to show them when the project is completed and the person has been gifted.

This morning I worked on an Eleanor Burns BOM block:

These are all appliquéd and ready to be cut up and sewn back together.

And now, since lunch is over, I guess I better get back to it. Tonight I am going out to dinner with DD, DSIL, and DGS to celebrate their 22nd wedding anniversary. Then we are going to the final dress rehearsal of the play, “Lying in State,” that DH is in. He will be doing three performances this weekend and, having already seen it, I will be home sewing up a storm. Yea for everyone!!

Working Weekend

I will blog while a thunderstorm passes over here. This is the first rain we have had for a couple of weeks so even with the wind and noise, it is welcome.

This has been a productive weekend. As noted below, the quilting on Spring Garden is done. Also done is the binding (same as the border) and I appliquéd down the stretched fabric that turned into tucks on the back. The quilt has been washed and right now is in the dryer. I can hardly wait to see how it looks but am, as always, a little fearful.

edit: all done and looking good on my bed. Yippie! I’ll try to get a label on before the end of the month.

















Also this weekend I completed the April strips for the calendar quilt challenge: I was only 2 days behind.

I have strips cut for some of May: I am trying to include some from current projects and, if I have them, strips from past, pre-blog, projects.


I have a gift quilt top and back(cannot show yet) ready to load on the frame and I have the fussy cut borders cut for the black and white and hope to get them sewn on tomorrow.

It has been different in the studio. I don’t allow my dogs in there: Abby is still a puppy and the other two aren’t interested. But Ponce follows me over there and then stands outside, staring at the door. So this morning I decided to take him with me. In he walked in and started checking out the work in process.














But after a little while he got right to work.












And pretty soon he was fully involved in canine quilting.

Isn’t it fun to have a quilting buddy?