Paper Roses

End of Summer

We are heading into the last bits of Summer.  I'm so ready for the fall.  I love the trees turning and leaves falling to the ground. The boys love playing in those leaves and making huge messes. :)  And then my favorite holiday will be here soon...Christmas!  But I want to send out summer with sharing a quilt that should of been on my UFO list but I totally forgot about it. 

I also want to share that even though I haven't actively been sending new cards out to editors, they are still publishing cards I sent them years ago. :)  This magazine came in the mail last month and it features a few cards of mine and this favorite one!  

Embroidery towels

I've always been a fan of cross stitch.  I started my first cross stitch piece when I was 13 or 14 and fell in love with the art.  When I was 16 I made a counted cross stitch piece called "Father Christmas" which I did on linen and I placed it in the Idaho State fair.  I won first place, best of division and best of show.  I was so proud.  :)

So it was only natural to pick up other types of needlework and for the last few years I've really enjoyed embroidery.  Whether I use the backstitch or a stem stitch, I'm having fun.  Here are a few towels that I've finished over the last few months.  The patterns are from Bird Brain Designs and they are the freebies she has on her site!

The blueberries towel was given to me by my secret sister, I had to stitch it, but she gave me the pattern, the thread and towel. :) :)

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It's a new week in my weight loss journey.  :)  I have reached a wonderful milestone!  I am now down 15.5 lbs!!!!!  I'm thrilled!  True, I have lots more to go, but if I can do this in 7 weeks, imagine what I can do in 6 months or a year!  

I'm already down one size and have cleared out almost everything from my closet that was way to big for me.  I don't want to go shopping just yet, so I'm making do with what I can.  I have been pinning tons of outfits on pinterest, getting more excited for the new me and all the new clothes I can buy and look great in them!  Eventually.  :)

This August...

This summer just got away from me!  I've so neglected my lil' ole' blog here, that I'm not even sure if I want to continue with it. :(  I figure if I can get at least 1 -2 posts up each week, that could be doable.  For those of you who have been checking with me and my blog I thank you!  Thanks for being patient and understanding. I do enjoy sharing my creations that I've created.  Whether they be quilted, stitched or crafted. 

I have crossed off lots on my UFO list this year.  I started with 51 on the list and now have more than half of it done!  I've been a busy girl!  I will start sharing with you some of the finished projects that I have done over the summer.

This is something I've had done last year, but I really love it and had to share.  Of course I love all the cat stuff underneath it.  The sign on the right says "The Cats and their staff live here".  Perfect for us.  Love my kitties.  The gang of 5 are doing well. Still a few hissy fits here and there and maybe now once a month to every 2 months there is a full blown out fight between Vader and Buster.  

School started for the boys!

I can't believe that I have a 5th grader and a 3rd grader!  They are growing up so fast!  James is almost as tall as me.  I bet by April he will be! Oye!  :) :) :)  This is also James' last year at the elementary school.  I'm. So. Not. Ready. For. Middle. School!

Also a quick thing....

I started getting more serious about my health and losing weight!  My aunt came down to visit from Idaho last month and boy did she look great!  She's lost 55 lbs since last November!  I just knew if she could do it I could too!  So I also joined Weight Watchers (again) but am more focused now!  Already in 5 weeks of doing it I have lost 11 lbs and have already seen changes in my body!  I'm loving it!  My first goal is to be below 200 by Christmas!  It's very doable and I can't wait to see it happen!  I will keep you posted on my progress!

Hope you have a great day!  Do something creative....it's good for the heart, the mind and the soul! :)

Thank you American soliders!

Today is Memorial day and we all need to thank our military men and women for fighting for our freedom. 

Thank you!!!

(still my favorite Americana quilt I've ever made....A Jo Morton design)

Enjoy your day today with your friends and family!

Chocolate every day of the week

Here is another finish this year.  This was a block of the month I started maybe 4 years ago?  I only had the first one done "Monday" for a few years, then last summer I started to work on it again. Buy the end of last year I had it all completed.  Usually I give these type of quilts to my aunt to quilt.  She does such awesome quilting, especially on the applique quilts.  But I thought I would try doing this one myself.

I'm pleased with how it came out.  I really am proud of my ribbon bow in the candy heart box. :) 

This is one of the 19 off of my UFO list so far. (crossed this off back in Feb.)

12 more days!!!!

The boys only have 12 more days!  12 I say!  And then they will be off for the summer!  I best be ready to entertain!  Actually Mark has 2 weeks off in the summer, so we already have a bunch of day trips/activities planned.  We are doing the fair, Santa Cruz/boardwalk, Monterey/Aquarium, Columbia/Sonora mining towns, a Rose 4th of July party, Jelly Belly factory and other little stuff.  We are also driving up to Eureka for a few nights and exploring the redwoods.  My favorite aunt is coming down from Idaho this summer and we get to spend a few days with her!  Yay!!!  This summer is going to be busy and fun! 

But I also have school work to do with the boys!  lol.  I went to Barnes n' Noble the other night and picked up workbooks for them.  Just because it's summer doesn't mean that we all turn into coach potatoes.  There will be "learning time" most days in the summer.  And lots of reading time.  James likes to read (but really only at night for whatever reason). Andrew on the other hand....not so much. :(  I'm an avid reader.  I LOVE to read and wished he loved it as well.  So we will also try to do more reading and going to the library more. 

Also this summer I hope to finish up most of the Christmas gifts I have left on my list.  I like being ahead of the game, and hoping by the end of August I'll be done.  That would be 2 months ahead of my usual time of being finished!  :) 

An update on my UFO list....well to date (and I didnt' get to cross off anything at the May meeting) so from January to April, I have finished 19 of the 51 projects on my ufo list.  19!!!!  That's HUGE!!!!  And I could have another 5 or 6 done in the next 2 months! :)  I'm so loving this club!  It motivates me to get these past projects done.  Of course I've allowed myself to start a few new projects that are not on the ufo list, but not many.  Once I finish more of the list, I'll let myself wade through the numerous patterns I have. :)

 Now for some eye candy....

This is my Feburary Jo's project.  (forgot the name of it)

This one is called "It's a Wrap" (it was one of the 19 on my ufo list)

 

This one is called "Stars and Vines".

Thanks for swinging by!   Be creative today! :)

American bluework snowmen

I finished all the snowmen bluework for the guild's block of the month back in February.  And not too soon after that did I put sashing on and quilted the top.  I just haven't shared the finished quilt with you all here! :)

This was really fun to do and seeing what the other ladies are doing for their blocks is so inspiring.  Some are doing redwork, one is doing in blackwork with added pops of color, others are doing it all in colors.  Each one will be very different and special!

This will go in the downstairs bathroom for the winter time.  Now to think of what to do for a block of the month for this guilds year.

A little bit of Q&A

 I saw this on another quilters blog and thought I would answer the questions as well...

1. Where is one place in the world you haven't yet visited, but would like to? There are so many places I want to visit. Most of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, most of the states...but I am dying to go to Walt Disney World. :)

2. What is your favorite quilt-making gadget?
I don't really have a favorite. I enjoy my sewing machines. Does that count? :)

3. How often do you oil your machine?
I have 3 machines and none of them I've ever oiled.  The old Singer which is 12 years old I only use for paper crafts, the Brother is 8 years old and I have my grandma's Viking (don't know how old that is).

4. What is your favorite perfume?
I like the Victoria Secrets Heavenly and the Coach perfumes

5. Machine piecing/applique or hand piecing/applique?
I do all of my piecing by machine and 99% of my applique by hand.

6. What is your favorite dessert?
Aack!!!  I have a major sweet tooth!  I have to go with ice cream!  (maybe that's one reason I was an ice cream cake decorator for 10 years)

7. Who is your favorite author?
There's so many authors I enjoy, it would be way too many to list as I read so much.  But I will tell you my current book I'm reading...Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. (it's the 3rd in the Hunger Games series)  I've only been reading this series for the last 2 weeks.  It's amazing!

8. What quilting technique would you like to learn more about?
Well I did just learn paper piecing.  I'd like to continue to get better at that.

9. What dish do you cook/bake that is considered your best?
Well I cook and bake all the time and my family loves it all....I would have to say my pumpkin pie hands down. :)

10. Machine-sewn binding or hand sewn binding?
First part is sewn on by machine then the folded part is hand sewn.

11. What is your favorite flower?
Roses  :)

12. What is your favorite season of the year and why?
I love the spring time.  I love when my garden blooms in gorgeous colors.  I love the weather, not too cold but not too hot.  The birds singing outside the windows. It just reminds me that God is so ever present! :)

13. If you could live somewhere else in the world where would it be?
I always wanted to live in Portland, Oregon.

 

April Sewing list

It's been several months since I've updated this particular list.  I've been working steadily on my UFO list having now completed 19 of the 51 ufo projects!  I will change this list in a few days to show the 51 UFO projects I'm working on.  (But to let you know...this is not counting all the stuff I'm doing as well outside of the UFO list) LOL. ;)

Things in bold are what was added to the list or what was worked on this month. The strike outs are what was finished completely.

All Done

1. Snowman Valentine pillow
2. Crazy Wedding wallhanging
3. Pink and Brown flower table runner
4. Farm Quilt
5. Jo Banner Day table runner
6. Patrotic Christmas Jo quilt
7. Flag Day table topper
8. Snowbound
9. Postcard Cuties
10. Oh, Americana
11. Courthouse steps (Jo Morton club 10 project)
12. Pumpkin Hill
13. Bug Jar
14. Berry Nice (Jo Morton club 10 project)
15. forgot the name of the quilt (july's project)(Jo Morton club 10 project)
16. Baskets from Blackbird designs
17. Vintage Christmas
18. Lining up the Stars
19. Little logs (did this in 2 days)
20. Henrietta Whiskars
21. Folk Art
19. Memory quilt of Grandma (made by my friends)
20. point of view (Jo club quilt)
21. Sunbonnet witch (jo club quilt)
22. Snowmen of the Year bluework
23. Chocolate Days of the Week
24. It's a Wrap
25. Batik Calendar
26. friends of Glory (Round robin online)

WIP (Work in Progress)

1. Rabbits prefer Chocolate (I only have 5 more blocks to finish!)
4. Polka dot Whimsical garden (moving this to the UFO's)
5. Americana Baltimore (Tuesday night class) (Have the 5th and 6th block done)
7. Snowmen photo booth (cross stitch piece)
8. Americana houses (fabric is all cut. I have the applique all prepped now)
11. Farm Fresh (Prepped the first block and have done a bit of sewing on it)
13. Snowmen of the year bluework (I have all the months stitched now)
14. Hocus Pocus *haunted village blackwork* (Still stitching on the first house)

15. Strawberry Baskets (some is cut out)
16. Winter Wonderland (7 blocks now done)

17. Blessings of Spring (finished the first block in 2 days)
18. Chocolate days of the week
19. Civil War Chronicals (1st block done)
20. General Wives (I'm caught up on this one, just waiting for the April block)

UFO's

1. Queen and her court
2. Valentine heart
3. Mystery quilt 2009 from Tuesday night class
5. Raspberry block swap (This is all sewn together and will be donated for charity)
6. Butterflies (I put this together for the Row Robin I am doing with the tuesday group)
7. Spring block swap (This is all sewn together and will be donated for charity)

8. Summer Queen (cross stitch piece)
9. Polka dot whimsical garden

To be Quilted
12. Christmas round robin tuesday group *still need to name it*
13. Floral round robin quilt guild *need to name this one too*

 

HOPEFULS

2. Enchanted Autumn
3. Petal Pusher
5. Baltimore bunnies
6. Christmas Magic (doing this with my friend Renee)

Batik calendar quilt

There's a message board out there on the internet that is all about quilting.  I've lurked there for a few years. I've posted here and there. I've done a few exchanges including some round robins. One thing that I have gained from there is a new friend that was my secret sister a few years ago. All year long she sent me and my boys little gifts. She is so sweet and I hope to one day meet her.

Throughout the year she would send me a new block for a quilt she was making for me.  I just had to put it all together.  Once I got all 12 blocks, I put the sashing on and the borders and put it in the drawer.  I finally pulled it out in December to quilt it (I know it's now March and I'm finally showing it)

Thanks so much Kathy!!!! :) :)