GLOBAL WARMING- Hundreds Gather to Protest Global Warming ...

Snowmen Make Me Laugh

Why does this make me laugh?

When I try to explain this cartoon to my friends (yes, I have some)I start laughing and must concentrate to get through it. I'm laughing now just thinking about Frosty picking his nose ...
Have you heard the one about Santa and Snowman poop?

Holly Jolly Blog Bingo

I am playing bingo online quilty style with those creative gals over at The Quilt Shoppe. I love creative people. I would have never thought of something this fun. You can bet your bippy that I am already laughing over this whole adventure.
Here is my word list:
bubble lights
charity
church
hope
lantern
red
nativity
sparkle
sweet potato
toboggan
wassail
wonder
yuletide
white elephant
holly berries
ivy
linens
comfort
grinch
figgy pudding
quilts
love
trumpet
ho, ho, ho
pine cone

My plan was to pick words that weren't all that popular or obviously Christmas ... we will see if that works! Everyday The Quilt Shoppe will post seven words. I will change the color of my words as they are drawn. Did I mention that they have prizes?

The Virtual Christmas Quilt Show!

This is my very bad picture of the Christmas quilt I made this year. I have had a Mary Engelbreit charm pack since last Christmas. I was saving it for something special, but what? Park City Girl had a quilt along for a zigzag pattern and I knew I had to make it. This was very fun because I made it up as I went along. It started out as this: (all the right ingredients) and became this: I have enjoyed participating in virtual quilt shows. There is something special about quilters and why they create quilts. Their stories are little gifts of joy. Now go over to SewCalGal and check out some REALLY beautiful Christmas quilts and experience a bit of the holiday spirit!

PSQ2

This lovely quilt is known as a placemat. However, I will not be putting a plate on it, because I don't want to change its beautiful state. Valerie from Canada sent this to me in a swap. I sent her the one I blogged about earlier. (It's down a post or two) Since I have a Canadian background I was pleased to be partnered with Valerie. The triangles remind me of birds flying south for the winter. I think that's pretty appropriate picture considering I grew up with many relatives heading this way for some winter relief. Snowbirds.

Dear God,
Thank you for my three friends who welcome me home whenever I go away. Thank you for their friendship and the way they make me laugh. I love them with all my heart. Amen

PQS2

This is the placemat I made for Xerxia for a swap on flickr. I challenged myself to make something Xeria would like without purchasing new fabric. I have a book that challenges quilters to make something out of the "leftovers" from other quilts. This little quilt is made from the leftovers from a quilt I made for one of my SIL's over 10 years ago .... Hey at least I am embracing the "green" side of quilting!

Practicing ....

Sometimes I can't let go of Autumn. Seems like it takes FOREVER to get here. When it finally arrives (and the weather cooperates) I just want to wallow in it for days and months. I like the change in color, the smell of fireplace smoke wafting through the air, baking things with pumpkins that don't come out of a can. I like wearing sweaters and long sleeves. It just makes me feel whole and good and happy.

But then something comes crashing through my peace ... it's name is, Christmas. During Autumn one should focus on all things Autumn. But now, there are something like 45 wake ups until Christmas (I know this because Santa is on Twitter). There are presents to be made that have nothing to do with pumpkins. I joined a Christmas Stocking swap ... it has to be mailed by the end of November! What was I thinking? I've never made a stocking before. I found a good tutorial that Amy at ParkCityGirl blog and decided I should practice. This is the result: I think I did a pretty good job of making Autumn and Christmas meld together for some Autmas goodness. Do you think if I left it out an Autumn elf or faerie would take pity on me?

Lately

Lately, I am missing cooler weather. Heat makes me cranky. In my life, I can't afford to be cranky. I don't like trying not to be cranky. If only the weather would cooperate *sigh.* This little pumpkin is working it's charms over me. Even though it's hot this picture makes me happy, and that's good.




Lately, I have been participating in quilting swaps, it's been a lot of fun. It's also scary making something for someone you know nothing about, except a few hints as to likes and dislikes that they disclose. This is the quilt I received in the DQS7 during late summer. It has 3 dogs in it. That made me smile.






Lately, I have been creating a placemat. I can't show the whole placemat, because I haven't mailed it to it's new owner in Canada, and it suppose to be a surprise. I took a bunch of leftovers from a quilt I made and turned them into the placemat. Crazy Fun!

Blogger's Quilt Festival

I am so excited that Amy has once again hosted the Blogger's Quilt Festival. In fact it was Amy that got me into blogging! Participation in the BQF required a blog, so I took a deep breath and took the plunge. It was an amazing experience, one I know everyone will enjoy.

This little quilt was an original creation for Doll Quilt Swap 7 over on Flickr. This was a secret swap, so I only had hints and pictures of what my partner would like to receive. She really likes bold colors and art quilting.

I really worked outside my comfort zone on this one, and to my surprise I really enjoyed the process. My biggest stretch was to try trapunto using a technique I read about in a quilting magazine. It involved soluble thread and cutting backing... <<<<STRESS>>>>>! I am happy with the way it turned out. Happy Stitching!

At the Beach

Yesterday I spent a few hours at the beach. I am sitting in my chair wishing I could go home and I see this


I spring to my feet and grab my cell phone and start taking pictures as fast as I can. By the time I get there they are ready to walk off and I start yelling,"Ma'am, Ma"am, yoohoo (yes it's true I waved my hand and said it, twice), yoohoo!" They finally looked and I asked her if she had made the quilt, and Virginia (my made up name for her) said that her friend had some leftover fabric and made this quilt for her. She said it was her favorite quilt because It was sturdy and she liked to look at it! "Are you a quilter?" she asked ... Yes, yes I am. Then they posed for this picture :o)

Sense and Sensibility and SeaMonsters

The fact that this exists just flat out makes me smile and then LAUGH! It's one of those things that I will think about just as I begin to fall asleep and laugh so hard the bed will shake. Rolling Thunder will just shakes his head and say,"SeaMonsters?" I know this because we went through the same routine with a Santa/Snowman poem ... another post :o)

Jam and Bread

I like fig jam, a lot. This weekend I am going to make fig jam and bread. Yep. All by myself. My dogs will hang out with me, but they won't help. They refuse. Rolling Thunder (my husband) will be busy doing secret guy stuff with his brother-in-law. My daughter will be busy doing whatever is it teenagers do ... with my niece. So yeah, just me " jammin" (har,har, har).

My First Quilt

Camille and Carrie have created a "First Quilt" show on their blogs. I have seen many other quilters first quilts and I must say,"wow!" Seems like most quilters bit off more than they could chew and really made a nice job of it. This is my first quilted table runner. My husband told me that this was my first quilt. He remembers me having fun making it and particularly enjoying choosing the fabrics.

This is the first quilt I made from a pattern without anyone to help.

(Carrie you were looking for the "uglies" and here it is ...) I was very proud to make this quilt for my husband ... to make matters worse, the fabric designer was at my house for a retirement party and ... I proudly showed it to her! (oh the horror, of that memory.) She was very gracious and kind (bless her...)

A recent quilt is a difficult decision for me ... I have made many quilts and given them to others, but lately I have been making bed quilts, much too large for me to quilt myself. So I picked one from the last year or so to share.


I have learned to trust myself and do what will make me smile. The rotary cutter is a good friend, and a husband that gives you a room in the house for all your quilting needs is a best friend!

July 4th UFO

Just finished this denim quilt (although because there is nothing inside, technically ... it's not a quilt) that I started at school last year with a group of boys. Yeah. Anyway it's one thing I can check off my U (un) F (finished) O (object) list. I like the way it looks on my wagon.

CSI, I mean DSI

The Crime Scene ...

The bodies ...



The usual suspects ...


The interrogation ...

Evey - wagged her tail and licked the baby bunnies. Happy, happy girl!

Olive - refused to make eye contact. Would not look a baby bunnies

Sister - went back to sleep, annoyed that I would even ask.

Who do you think did it?

One Very Special Day

We're daughter and mother
Not so long ago.
We give and take
And take and give
Along time's endless row.
Love is passed
And love received
To be passed on again:
A precious heirloom
Twice, twice blessed,
A spiritual cardigan.

I'll put it on
And treasure it,
The me I have received,
And when the roles
Reverse again,
I'll have what I most need.

So may our love
Go on and on,
A hundred thousand years;
Mothers and daughters,
Daughters and mothers,
Through joys and other tears.
- Anonymous

I got to spend a WHOLE day with my Mom last month! It was fabulous, just the two of us taking our time and being together. Thanks for the great memory making day, Mom. I love you.

The Kid Crew = adopted daughter, nephew, niece

Ah, summer time! It's the perfect time to enlighten (or torture) the kids. When they were little we would have "adventures." It was great because when you're 2, 4 and 5 adventures can be anything from the Wild Animal Park to getting lost and making the most of it. We had some really great times! Now, however, at 12, 14 and 15 they're, er, uh, more sophisticated.

I love strange, unusual, funny stuff. I would be the person to drive route 66 just to see the World's Largest Ball of Twine. See what I mean? I am laughing just thinking about it now. I want to go to Winslow, Arizona and stand on a corner and see some fine sights. It really exists, there's a mural. You may not know it, but on the way to Palm Springs is a place called ... Cabazon (Hear the echo? Mysterious right?) It is home to, wait for it, DINOSAURS! The kids had never heard of it, let alone been there. Road Trip here we come, an adventure was waiting to happen!

My daughter took control of the dinosaur situation quickly! She saddled up and rode of into the sunset! My niece was horrified by bad breath!
The nephew and husband running for their lives! Wait! It's all okay, the T-rex just wanted the hat, crisis averted! I am not sure the Kid Crew will want to have anymore adventures after this, but I laughed myself silly and enjoyed every minute!

Orange Scrappiness

Bonnie K. Hunter did this mystery quilt last spring. I wanted to make a scrap quilt and I love the color orange, it was a no brainer! I had to join the fun! My husband had major surgery during that time so I would cut fabric while we talked or watched movies and while he would sleep I would head to my sewing room to stitch!
Bless Marita Wallace for quilting so beautifully! She did an all over leaves and feathers pattern.

May Day!

Happy May Day!
This is a special day for my Mom and I. When I was very little, five or six, my teacher showed us how to make a May Day basket. She told us to fill it with flowers, leave it on the doorstep, ring the doorbell and hide. When the person answered the door, you jumped out and yelled,"Happy May Day!" So I did. I guess my Mom didn't understand the whole May Day thing, because she was not happy that I was hiding after ringing the doorbell. Something about doorbell ditch? I came out of hiding crying and sniffling, pointing to the flowers and doing my best to explain. Once she understood we tried it again and it was nice. Now each May Day we honor eat other with some kind of floral gift. This year I made a small quilt with paper pieced flowers. It was awesome! She (and my Dad) never saw it coming, BIG surprise, early in the morning. Yeah, it made my whole day to see her smile.

walks and dogs

I have three dogs that make my world a better place. All three are quite companionable and we are mostly always together. My husband calls them the "puppy parade." We live in an area that still has wide open spaces, so the pups and I often go for walks. The dog in the upper right is Olive, the white dog is Evy, and the black dog is Sister. They behave well enough to be off leash, so they explore and meander sometimes together, sometimes alone. I love watching them. I often wonder what kind of picture we present on our walks... a woman in work boots and denim following (or leading, depending if we are heading out or coming in) three dogs. Are we a friendly sight or do other hikers hesitate when seeing us? Whenever we see another soul I call them back and leash up, we are considerate of others, but I still wonder what kind of picture we present.

First Day Back ...

As an educator, with a veerrry interesting job, it is often difficult to predict the first day back from vacation. Sometimes it's good to just jump right in and go full steam ahead. Other times a more laid back approach is in order. I made plans for both, but with the heat and spring ... I should have made a bet that the later plan would be the only one needed. We, er ,they wrote in their journals and then we made this stained glass quilt. This activity was a twofer, it gave the students something to do while talking and catching up and created a visual barrier. (It's spring, remember?) You can see that it isn't completed yet, but we should have it done by tomorrow. In the meantime, I can look at a beautiful stained glass quilt and smile :o)

Blogger's Quilt Show

First, a confession .... I opened this account so I could participate in the Blogger's Spring Quilt Show! Whew! With that off my chest I can tell my quilt's story.

I love the movement of the "Storm at Sea" pattern and have wanted to make one for several years. I was able to take a class at Quilter's Paradise from Wendy Mathson, author of A New Light on Storm at Sea. To my astonishment I was able to create my quilt Chicken of the Sea. I was able to connect two things I enjoy, quilting and chickens. I love this little quilt and it brings me great joy! I have since made several others and enjoyed each moment in their creation.