Thursday, February 26, 2009

Spring Just Can't Be Too Far Away



I just know Spring can't be too far away. My daffodils have been blooming for 2 1/2 weeks now. They are blooming better than they ever have. I think that's because my husband really kept the bushes trimmed back and it helped them show off more. In previous years they haven't done this well because the bushes crowded them out. We have had such beautiful days and today I took advantage of that by walking around the yard. I found that my hyacinths are also popping up and a couple of them are in full bloom. I always find it exciting to see the flowers coming up as Spring gets closer.

Today I started preparing for the retreat next week by cutting out the fabric for the Countdown to Christmas mini quilt our group plans to do. I also worked some on the crocheted baby blanket I have had going. I also washed the flannel and the fabric for a jacket that Karen will teach us at the March 3rd Saturday.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Renegade Quilters

I met with the "Renegades", yep, that's right "Renegades". It's a small group that I enjoy very much. We met yesterday, with some of us working on the "Great Pumpkin Patch", a Christmas project and of course some UFO's. One of the girls brought 6 finished quilt tops to give to her quilter. Here I am retired and this gal who works, brings in 6 finished tops. What am I going to do? I guess I better get busy. We have such a great time together we laugh, we cry and just get along beautifully. Oh, and we eat too. (of course). We are having a retreat in about a week and a half. We have so much fun on these retreats. We plan to work on some of our Christmas projects so that maybe we will have Christmas gifts done when Christmas comes around. It seems all of us rush around at the last minute trying to get those gifts done. This year our plan is to get them done early. (At least I think that's what we are trying to do, lol). Oh, did I mention we are going to be in the movies. lol. A daughter of one of the ladies will bring her crew with cameras to film us as a documentary she is doing. You can bet we will be on our best behavior. (maybe). Til, next time, happy quilting.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

3RD Saturday Quilt Day


We had a 3rd Saturday all day quilt day today and I thoroughly enjoy being with the gals. I worked on "It's A Wrap" quilt that was featured in the Nov/Dec issue of Quiltmaker magazine. So far I have 5 blocks done. Not sure if I will make it lap size or larger yet. I think it will depend on when I get tired of making the blocks. LOL. It's really a colorful quilt and a good way to use up some of my Christmas fabric stash.

On 3rd Saturday we usually have someone to be in charge of the lunch and those that want to will bring something to go with the main dish. Today we had fried potatoes with hot dogs and sauerkraut with hot dogs. Of course there were plenty of desserts to go with lunch. Believe me lunch was very good.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Denim Jacket Embroidery

Today I decided to play with some machine embroidery on a denim jacket I have had for awhile now. My thoughts are that if I dressed it up a little, it would feel like a new jacket to me. With Spring coming up on us, I went with a butterfly theme. Right now I have only done something on the back. Now I think I will sit back and think if I want to do more on this jacket or leave it as is. It's ideal as this jacket was without any designs. I might put a butterfly on the collar corners or somewhere on a sleeve. But I want to think about it before I jump into doing something else.

Monday, February 16, 2009

I;ve Got My Eyes On You


My daughter-in-law sent me the latest pictures of her Grandson (my Great Grandson). The first one I call it "I've Got My Eyes On You. It gives me joy in my heart just looking at this picture. It really gets my day started. He is 3 months now. He is a gift from heaven and I will enjoy watching him grow. He is so precious. Our first Great Grandson is 4 months now. The babies are cousins and it will be fun to watch them together.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

I'm Done


with the Cardinal puzzle that is. I finished the puzzle last night. It was not an easy puzzle as there were not square corners, so it was hard to tell if a piece was a border or the inside of the puzzle. Also so many of the colors such as the reds, greeens and the whites it made it hard to tell where it was going. Once I got in a roll last night, I continued to work on it and by 12:30 a.m. I had it done.
It was relaxing and it made a nice break from my sewing.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Books I have Read

As you can see to the right my bookshelf and that I am a big fan of Debbie MaComber. The one book of Geraldine Brooks title March was given to me as a Christmas present. I will read other books other than Debbie Macomber's, but I tend to like her for the easy reading and it helps me to fall asleep when reading at bedtime. It is a great relaxer when going to bed to read.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Oklahoma Stormy Weather



The weather conditions were just right for the storms to occur here in Oklahoma. Things started jumping about 2:30 yesterday afternoon and jump they did. As far as I know,five tornadoes jumped around our State. We were fortunate as the storms traveled West of us and went North. The storms came one right after the other and seemed to be traveling the same path. Buildings were destroyed, trees and electric lines came down. The storms that hit by Waterloo Road and Broadway are two miles away where my son and family live. They are all safe. They had some debris in their front yard, but they did not have any damage. Further South in the State and in the evening a tornado 3/4 mile wide hit a town of Lone Grove, where 9 people were killed and the winds were 170 mph. It is sad to think of people losing their home, but another thing that people lost their lives. This all makes me realize that God has blessed me in many ways. I count my blessing everyday and that reminds me of a quilt I did called "Blessings" which is on my bed everyday.



Saturday, February 7, 2009

As If I Don't Have Enough To Do



As if I don't have enough to do, I started a puzzle. It's a Cardinal puzzle and as you see by the box the puzzle is in the shape of the Cardinals. It's only 650 pieces, however the shapes are really different. The edges are not straight and corners squared off like in normal puzzles. I started it yesterday and I have quite a ways to go. One of the gals at my quilt guild loaned it to me. Like I said "as if I don't have enough to do". I'm still working on my pumpkins, the Christmas Wrap Quilt, and knitting some socks. When I need a break from all that, I go to the puzzle and find a few more pieces.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

No Sewing Today


Last night at the NNNQG I worked on the Christmas Wrap Blocks, but today I just did not feel like sewing. So I did a little shopping instead. I went to Hobby Lobby to get some doubled pointed knitting needles as I am trying to learn how to knit socks. I am doing this on my own using a learning book I bought. From there I went to Patchwork Place Quilt Shop and bought a couple of yards of background fabric. I was down to having just a small piece in my stash, so I need to build up my backgrounds again. From there I went to Sam's to get some things I needed for the house. So now I have the shopping out of my system and can settle down again at my sewing machine. I think we all need days like this.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Great Pumpkin Patch Applique







I know it seems as if I jump from one thing to another. But, I have so many projects going that when I work a little here and there on them, they will eventually get done. I Hope!! So. today I have been working again on the Great Pumpkin Patch Quilt and have appliqued down two of the blocks in this quilt as shown here.

This morning my husband and I got up early and went to Denny's for their nationwide free breakfast. It was a little crowded, but we did not have to wait very long. Their employees were sure working fast. The waitress said as we were leaving "pray for me". I know she hopes to make it through the day as fast as she was going. It was just a fun thing for us to do.

This afternoon I will go to the Quilt Guild for an early sewing day at 3 p.m. I think I will work on my Christmas Gift Quilt as I only got one block done on Friday because I had John Deer's class and by the time I got to the Guild, I did not have much time to do more.


Monday, February 2, 2009

My Weekend

On Friday and Saturday I attended an embroidery event at B-Sew-In put on by John Deer. It was a full two day event where we learned the history of embroidery and the foundation of how embroidery designs are made. In between the lecture we had five hands on projects to embroider. We each had a number and when your number came up, it was your turn to do the project while your group color watched (mine was yellow and I was number four). My project was to do a napkin ring holder. All of the projects were fun to watch and it was also fun to see the different sewing machines and the 6-needle machines. My project was done on the 6-needle machine. John Deer is very entertaining and I would recommend his Embroidery Events.

Today I am playing with some embroidery on embroidery on the back yoke of a shirt. I got inspired by the weekend embroidery event.