I Want To Move SOUTH!

A good old North Dakota blizzard came our way this past weekend. I like snow....ok, I like to LOOK at snow as long as I don't have to go out in it! I HATE the cold!!!!! The only good thing I can think of about the blizzard was that it forced me to stay home and get some things done! Lefsa, peanut butter cups, nut goodie bars, the tree is up AND decorated and I finished binding on 2 runners and completed 1 entire runner! I guess all in all it was a productive storm for me!

Our yellow lab is enjoying time in the house with the really cold weather. We have given her the the foyer to roam about in. I'm afraid she's enjoying being a house dog a little too much!

The snowman with green is the Lehmann's Four by Four. I made two of these to consign. I thought the green would accent the green in the snowman's coats, but after I finished, I decided I don't think I care much for them! Picking out colors isn't my strong point!!! The second runner with the birds is a super-easy pattern from Atkinson's Designs Happy Hour book. The pattern is Triple Express Table Runner and it really went together fast! I love the material in this runner.....I think I will have to make one for myself!

Christmas is coming so fast! I think we are done shopping...although it seems like a person thinks of little things up until Christmas is actually here!

Take time to remember the reason for the season!

Ummm...the Turkey is a little late!!!

A couple more Cobblestone Runners that went up for consignment.

I had visitors to my yard this morning....the Thanksgiving turkey arrived a little late!!! These are just two of the wild turkeys that were roaming our yard. There were quite a few in the evergreens and maybe a dozen scattered about the yard. Our yellow lab was in her outside kennel and didn't even pop her head out of the doghouse to see what all the commotion was....I guess if it's not a pheasant it's not good enough anymore!!

Not a single decoration up for Christmas...the days are ticking by too fast.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and even in this time of uncertainty in our nation and economy, found some small things to be thankful for. The first photo is a table topper I made for our church's Christmas fundraiser. Half the binding is still pinned, but it should be finished later today. The pattern was a complete nightmare! I am far from an expert quilter, but I have never seen such messed up directions! It was put out by a quilt shop and I bought it as a kit. I really struggled with the colors too. (Putting together more than 2 colors is VERY stressful for me!) I decided early on I hated it and that it was the ugliest thing I had ever seen, but now, when I step back and look at the over-all picture it isn't so bad after all! Not quite my personal taste, but I like how the star really pops out and the octagon shape. I would like to try the pattern again (with the corrections I made, of course!!!) with some different fabrics.

Speaking of fabrics...how do you like my newly purchased Christmas stash!!! I am so excited that almost all of the runners I consigned sold!!!! I'm going on a sewing blitz and hopefully will get several Christmas/winter runners to take in very soon! I have always loved giving things I made as gifts, but it was so exciting to go in and find out that someone actually wanted to pay money for something I made!!!

My you remember the "Reason for the Season" as you prepare your homes and hearts for Christmas! Alleluia....Hurry the Lord is Near!!!!!!

Cam's Quilt

I made this quilt using the Just Can't Cut It pattern. It was a graduation gift for our nephew/Godchild. I quilted it this fall using a pantograph. I just plain ran out of time to get it quilted last spring and he got a photo of the completed top in his card!

My Baby is 7

7 years...wow! It's been a crazy road starting with whooping cough and then cancer, but our stubborn little girl has prevailed and is 7 years old today! She can be the sweetest little angel and the snottiest little brat in the same breath but I love her so much and am so grateful that God gave me the opportunity to share this day and every day with her. Happy Birthday my darling daughter!

Hunting Season

For several years now, on the Friday of opening deer hunting season, a friend and I have set out on our own hunting trip...fabric hunting! We leave early in the morning and head out in a direction checking out as many quilts shops as we can until the day ends! This year I had to cancel )^; My daughter ended up having a tooth pulled due to an abcess the day before and the weather was really crummy, so staying home seemed like the best choice. All was not lost though! I managed to get to a quilt shop after her tooth was pulled and picked out some fabrics and held a mystery runner day at my house! Two friends came over and we quilted away the day! For one friend, it was her first attempt at quilting and she did such a great job and came away anxious to try a next project! I wasn't able to get a picture of all our runners because one friend left early and came back on Sunday to finish and the other worked until suppertime and decided to finish at home. I do, however, have a picture of my finished project (the fun candy cane print) plus some fall runners I did with the same patters...Four by Four by Lehmann Designs.

Thankfully all my guy hunters made it home safely after a long weekend at the farm hunting. The deer were safe for this weekend, but they did bring home some ducks, geese and pheasants! I really like my type of hunting much better!!

Halloween and other SCARY Things!!

Halloween is finally here the kids say! Last night we carved pumpkins and this piece of art was done by Aaron. His first attempt at going beyond just a scary face and he was so proud and did such a good job I think!

In reference to "other" scary things....I just completed a tablerunner using the Big Easy pattern. I loved the fabric and intended it for my kitchen (however, I know I'm nuts as in this stage of life it is never seen!) but am so unhappy with the finished result. I had just watched a DVD on machine quilting and was excited to try to put little loops in the strips...so excited I didn't think about the light thread I was using on the dark red and about allowing room for the binding! Oh, well....a lesson learned and at least it was a small project and not a huge quilt I had invested tons of money on!!

Hope everyone has a delightfully frightful Halloween! I'm taking out the younger kids with a friend so it will be double the fun!!

Rinne's Quilt

This quilt was a project I did spring of 2008. It was a gift for an exchange student from Japan who spent the year with some friends of ours. I paper pieced squares and snuck around the school getting signatures of her friends, classmates and the 1st grade class, where she was a helper for one of her class periods. She was so surprised when I gave it to her!! It was my first attempt at mitered corners and my first attempt at quilting with a pantograph.

Latest Projects

Last week was productive in the quilting department! I used up some leftover fabric to make this baby blanket for a co-worker of my dh. It was a major learning experience as I decided that some nice soft fleece I found would make a wonderful backing...yes, but I guess I was too inexperienced with my frame yet to attempt something that stretchy! It was quite difficult to get quilted!! Plus when I took it off the frame all the stretch made it quite puckered! A wash and hot dry helped some and I decided to give it even though it wasn't the "perfect" blanket I had hoped for. Hopefully it will be dragged on the floor, spit up on and used!!

I made the tablerunners from the Cobblestone pattern by Lehman. It's one of my favorite patterns as it goes together quick and easy, yet looks good (at least I think so!) I gave one to my mom for her birthday and I think I'm going to consign the other one at a store in my town.

Apples, Apples and more Apples!!!

Yesterday my dad and I spent the day at my husband's family farm picking apples. It was a fun day that will be a treasured memory! Dad was having so much fun...I would say I think we have enough and he would say ...this is fun and keep right on picking! The photo only shows my half of what we picked!! I'm not sure how my mom is going to feel about getting her half!! Since the "best" apples were on top, dad got out our Bobcat loader and I rode the bucket to the top of the tree. I guess I will be busy for awhile! The kids love dried apples and the yellow ones are so sweet they end up being almost like candy. The dehydrator will be running for a LONG time! I will be able to make a lot of apple butter this year too! It usually doesn't last long, so the kids will be happy about that too!

Photos of my Hinterberg Stretch frame and Voyager 17. I guess I need to move the crooked picture behind the frame! Below is an old entertainment center that I had my dad cut in half so I would have storage under the frame. It's been a fun challenge learning how to quilt on a frame.

A UFO That Multiplied!

A UFO (unfinished object) finally finished and it multiplied! I bought the kit for this wallhanging (the one on top) two years ago, started it and fall was over before I got very far and I put it away. Fast forward 2 years I dug it out again and I discovered the pattern made enough flying geese (the triangles) to make 2 borders, so I decided to complete a second one for an upcoming benefit for a young lady that lives down our block who is on the waiting list for a kidney and pancreas transplant. I did a little bit of everything to finish these...hand sewing, my regular machine and my V-17. It was my first "real" project on my new V-17 set-up and I did the trillium leaves and somes loops and meandering. Learned a lot, ripped out a lot and decided I need to stick to some larger projects for awhile!!

Dressing up a plain dish towel. I did this a couple weeks ago for a friend's birthday present. Today I helped my mom at the fall senior citizen fundraiser. She's senior services coordinator for two counties. I was in charge of the door prize table...not as easy as it sounds...I'm told the elderly like to sneak in more than one registration and will cast stones at anyone who wins more than one prize so it had to be done with care!!

My kids

My kids are the most important part of my life. Sean a senior this year, Miles a freshman, Aaron in 4th grade and Anna in 1st. It is a hard year for me watching Sean spread out his wings and prepare to go out on his own. I pray he stays the awesome person he is. This photo is from the first day of school...Sean wasn't impressed at still having to take 1st day of school pictures!

Baby blanket for Kelby Jo

I used flannel, minkee and a longer type of furry fabric to make this blanket for our nephew's new baby girl, Kelby Jo. It was an easy project but caused me a lot of stress as I cut some of the squares 1/2" too long on 1 side and then the grey chaco liner I used to mark for quilting decided it was going to be difficult to remove. Hopefully she will love it!