Saturday, January 31, 2009

GO VISIT MY BABY GIRL'S BLOG

Be sure to go by and visit my baby's blog and see the pillowcase dress she made for her babies today. I am so proud of her. It's the first garment she's made on the machine she got for Christmas. She didn't have any pattern/directions/instructions she just winged it looking at a few she has bought them over the past year. First thing she has made since she made a sweatshirt in high school her Jr. or Sr. year...she graduated from high school in '98, to give you an idea how long ago it's been.

Friday, January 30, 2009

GIVE AWAY

Go by here to visit Green Fairy and sign up for her great bag giveaway plus some fabric too!!!

Be sure to check out her patterns...they are really nice.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

GIVEAWAY

Be sure to go visit CHRISTINE at Once Upon A Quilt. She's have a generous giveaway to celebrate her birthday! She'll be closing the giveaway on her birthday which is February 7th. My favorite is the patchwork heart wall hanging and the yo-yo heart with stitchery is my next favorite. There's a darling yo-yo flower with stitchery and then another wonderful stitchery. Here are the pictures she had posted showing them.






SCRAP THERAPY--CHARMING BUDS, cont.

On Sunday I worked on my "Blooming Buds" Scrap Therapy Quilt.
I took my units that looked like this-- And with my trusty Ginger rotary cutter, Olfa square and cutting mat with my friend Gucci keeping close in case I needed his expertise--

I got a pile of trimmings which you see here---

And got a pile of squares you see here---

I then sewed them into strips. Next I made the rows of sashing---and you see these two here----

Later in the week I sewed my strips and sashing together...here is a picture of them lying on the rug in order as I was going to sew them. HOWEVER....I can NEVER keep things in order---and the order got switched around several times. I'd find a print too close to each other and switch.

In the end I think I ended up with maybe one or two of the little cornerstone blocks in the sashing being a little closer than I would like to the matching print triangle in the row of blocks...but don't tell the Quilt Police!!!
Monday night I went to a meeting/class and there I sewed my last row in the middle joining the top and bottom units. Cut my borders. I did put the bottom border on and one of the sides borders on...I think the right side one. She taught us her way of doing the miter...NOW I hope I can remember how I did it. I've had the three grandbaby girls this week and tomorrow. I'm hoping that Saturday or Sunday I'll get the rest of the border and mitered corners completed and I'll post a picture of the finished top once I get it done.
No one on this green earth knows when I'll start quilting it. Think I'll machine quilt it on my sewing machine. I normally prefer to hand quilt. But really don't feel like getting the frame down from the attic over the garage, through the house, upstairs to large bedroom and set it up for a throw size quilt. Queen or King OK but not a throw size one. The border and the backing are going to be the same print. Floral on Black background. I may need to pick up a package of batting....I'm not sure I have the one I want to use in it on hand.
Monday night I signed up for two more classes in March on Monday nights. One is one night and the other will be three nights. I bought fabric to do two quilts for the class that is one night. Since that is the week we are planning to go to Lancaster, PA---weather permitting and also when DD can get off to go with us and her DH can get off to take care of the three grandbaby girls and the three kitties and two doggies. But, that one should be a breeze so I at least have the pattern to do it. The other one is much much larger and I do want to attend those classes/meetings and also the fourth night for a cutting swap.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Sunday Afternoon

I spent this afternoon trimming my "Charming Buds" quilt squares. Cutting the sashing strips. Sewing the strips to the sides of the blocks and sewed them into the required number of rows.

I need to sew more of the strips to squares for the sashing that goes between the rows I made this evening.

Tomorrow evening I go back to Nancy's Calico Patch for the second class on "Charming Buds". We are to have as much as we can of the top finished except for the outer boarder. We'll work on the top and put the border on and miter the corners. We are to do the quilting at home whenever we have the time.

I took a couple pictures this afternoon and want to take some more later tonight and will post them later.

Good news...Friday evening I took feline Daisy and K-9 Legend to see the doctor. Legend was due for shots, get his ears checked and lumps on his hind legs. Lumps are fatty tumors. Good news. Daisy who Dec. 26 recheck from a few days earlier lab work was told she most likely has lymphoma or leukemia of the bone marrow. She test negative for Feline Leukemia. She is a former show cat by previous owner and may have been in contact with FL at the shows but in her developed into a different type. Or may not be related. Good news her blood came up from 13 to 28 without any medications...so now doctor feels she does not have cancer. She does have kidney disease in one kidney but doing fine without special diet. She's been ill for over a year with a really bad kidney infection and been on powerful antibiotics until just before Christmas.

Check out this Blog

Be sure to visit Quilting on a Budget. Her January 24, 2009 posting Internet Toys and Tools for the Quilter has some neat links in it. One you click on the name of a color and the screen turns that shade. Another you inter a picture you like the colors which are in it and it tells you what the colors are. She has about four links in that posting and all are really helpful.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

RECENT SEWING

Here's a turtleneck I did for 'Lil Miss Rachel. Her Mommy brought the shirt back with the ones I did for Laura and Rachel with Christmas motifs before Christmas.
The frog has a tutu on. It's from "Playful Pals" one of the Crafter's Collection division by OESD. You can order it online. I bought mine at my Bernina Dealer and Quilt Shop---Nancy's Calico Patch. Where I went this morning to buy more Kona in black for my Blooming Buds quilt. While there I picked up a fat quarter of roses on a yellow background for the said quilt. I had bought fabric for the backing and outer boarder previously. Though I like the fabric a lot I was not overly happy with it for this particular quilt. Today I found just what I had in mind for it. I'll have to add a picture of the fabric I bought later. I've been cutting more squares, cutting them into triangles and sewing them to strips to make more blocks. I need to get cracking on it...Monday night we put the strips together and do the binding.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

RULER GIVE AWAY

Please go by and visit Kimberly on her blog "Quilting with Kimberly". She's giving away a neat ruler---EZ Pineapple Log Cabin Ruler. Scroll down to see this ruler. Looks to me it's a must have for making a Pineapple Log Cabin Ruler. I read about it on "Quilt Hollow". Be sure to tell her you read about her give away on "AverettLadyNana" You leave a comment on her blog under her posting HELLOOOOO OUT THERE....to be considered in her drawing.

STASH SHOPPING--STASH BUSTING

DD came over with the three girls. I pulled out some of my stash. That which was the easiest to get my hands on. She went home with an armload of some nice fabric to add to her stash. She left with the instructions...save all of your scraps. Do NOT throw scraps away!!!

She's made a couple necklaces...sew a tube of fabric, Thread on a bead, then insert a marble or something similar that is round, thread on a bead, insert a marble, bead and so on. Sew up the open end. They are really cute. Reminds me of some I made a long while back.

Her shopping for her stash resulted in stashbusting for me....both a good thing!!!

Friday, January 16, 2009

I THINK SHE'S GOT THE BUG...

I think my DD has caught the bug. She got her first sewing machine for Christmas after indicating an interest in sewing. She has three darling little girls. The oldest will be three in February. She wants to sew for them...pillowcase dresses are one thing that peeked her interest. Napkins, pillows are some of the things she wants wants to try her hand at making.

Today she had her first Out of the Box Class to learn about this little beauty of a machine. She came home with five or six fat quarters. She said well they were so cheap and pretty, she figured she could do something with them. The start of her stash!!! I am so excited! I told her she could come shop from my stash.

GIVE AWAY

Go by and visit Roberta. She's giving away an awesome Bow-Tucks Handbag she made for a sample for a class. All you have to do to enter is leave a quilting tip on her blog comments. She's drawing on the 31st. Vera Bradley eat your heart out...

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

HOW ODD IS THIS??

My brother-in-law and his first wife were divorced and he remarried when my husband and I started dating and got married. He and his first wife had three children together. Over the years she and I would chat about the kids, family happenings, etc. our friendship grew and we refer to each other as my sister-in-law to other people.

What is so funny is we both worked at the same department store in our town back many years ago.

When she and her second husband lived in the same time they would be out eating and my husband and I would show up at the same place, or we'd be out eating and they would show up at the same place. We used to joke and say OK where are we going to eat next week.

We both notify each other when we know of someone who is in need of prayer and offer up prayers for those people.

We both love all aspects of sewing.

We both took Home Economics eighth grade through our senior year.

Our first sewing projects were done on borrowed treadle sewing machines.

We both got our first very own electric sewing machines for Christmas when we were in the eighth grade.

We both had asked for them but our parents felt it was just a whim and we had no idea we would get one. Neither of us those Christmas mornings saw the machine and the last thing after gifts had been opened they appeared. Rather like The Christmas Story and Ralphy finally gets his beloved BB Gun.

We both used those machines until we wore them out. We later got a much better machine that we both still love and use. She got a Janome and I got a Bernina. Then in 2000 we both got new Bernina's which were the top of the line at the time.

Now we are both dreaming about the 830 though we both don't want to put out that much money with the economy the way it is and feel we really don't use our machines to their full capability and wonder if we'd use that one to it's full capability. But we visit it at our dealer's quilt shop and dream of the day...

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Scrap Therapy--Charming Buds Quilt

Last night I went down to my local quilt store, Nancy's Calico Patch for a Quilt Therapy Session/Class. We're working on the Scrap Therapy's Charming Buds quilt. A month or more ago I went for a cutting session where we cut our scraps into squares. Here are some of my squares.

Last night we cut these squares in half diagonally and got these:

Next we cut strips and got a stack of these:

We sewed the triangles and the strips getting a bunch of these:
Then with right sides together matching points of the triangles and sewed the unsewn (is that a word?) sides of the strips together and got these:
Next we are to square these units, trimming off the extra.
During the next two weeks we are to make more units, squaring the units. Cut our sashing, sew together the various rows.
In two weeks we meet again and will sew squares to sashing until we get our quilt top. And we are to cut and add the borders with mitering the corners.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Pay It Forward

I just signed up for a Pay It Forward on my blogger friend Lola's blog ...And Sew On. She makes wonderful projects. Hope I get picked for it. Pay it Forward is referred to in Blogland as PIF.


ANYHOO...the idea is when someone does a good deed for you in return you do a good deed for three other people....hence the name paying it forward. I thought I'd do one too.


In the blog world what you do is post it on your blog...the first three people to sign up get a gift from you that you have made. Besides making a something you may want to include a little crafting/sewing gift (perhaps a pattern, magazine, some fat quarters, special thread, etc.)


The gift you make can be something you enjoy making or something you've tailored to the reciplicant's likes based on what you read on their blog.


I will send out my gift sometime within the next three months to the three people I pick. And in return the three people I pick must post on their blog a Pay It Forward/PIF and send a gift to three people who sign up for their PIF on their blog.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

COMMISSIONING USS George H. W. BUSH CVN-77

This morning at the Naval Station Norfolk the USS GEORGE H. W. BUSH CNV-77 was commissioned. The aircraft carrier was built right here in Newport News at Northrop Grumman the former Newport News Shipyard. What a beautiful floating air station she is. What an impressive and beautiful ceremony it was watching this ship be commissioned and come to life during the playing of "Anchors Aweigh".

Just watching on TV was an awesome and moving experience. I only can imagine how moving it must have been to have been there in person to witness it.

Go here to see pictures of the building of this Nimitz Class Carrier.

May God Bless All Whom Sail Upon Her!

Thursday, January 8, 2009

BUNNY TALES BOM

Be sure to visit Bunny Tales/Bunny Hill Designs and see the wonderful free BOM they have posted. You can go there by clicking on this icon on my sidebar.

I can't wait to get started on the January block which looks like this I've printed the directions. I've been under the weather with a nasty cold the past week or more that will not go away. Maybe I'll go through my stash in a while to select some fabrics for this block and start working on it will perk me up.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Christmas Sewing 2009

I was over visiting my blog friend Lola and she was talking about starting sewing for Christmas gifts 2009, and how over at Freda's Hive and Cheryl at Polka Dots & Rick Rack are telling about sites and patterns with some fun gifts to start making ahead. You may like to take a visit and see these gal's ideas and donate some of your ideas to them. They have a cute logo you can add to your blog that take you to their site but I didn't see how to get the code to add it so just yakking about it. Some cute ideas. I've printed off a few to try.

Giveaway

Go by and visit Elin at Lappertausa . She's having wonderful givaway to celebrate her 300th posting.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Family Reunion

The Sunday after Christmas DH's Aunt Julia always has her family reunion. This year it was only 60 of us there. A small crowd for Campbell standards. I snapped a couple pictures.
In her family room around the snack table almost three year old grandbaby girl sitting in her daddy's lap and her Auntie B.


Her first cousin's by Auntie B. also in family room.


Papa C., my DH, Aunt Julia's oldest nephew. He's the oldest Campbell-Fleming grandchild.

Our youngest grandbaby snoozing in her carrier/carseat. She was next to the youngest there.


A picture of some around her dining room table...also the desert and salad table. Here we see a couple who are family friends who bring the eldest sister-in-law, her nurse and her son the second oldest grandson.


Not sure who these people are. I think they are children and in-laws of the foster twin boys. Now my husband grandparents had eight children and several foster children. They had a set of idental twin daughters the youngest of their children and then they raised a set of idental twin boys who later legally changed their name to Campbell when they became adults. Now, two girls and two sons survive and one of the foster twins. In the back in the red vest is the youngest natural born son.
Here's some in the kitchen filling their plates. The lady up front is daughter or d-i-l of foster son, to the left is Aunt Julia's husband. By the fridge is on of the first cousins talking to the husband of his sister. You can catch a glimpse of the rolls I made for it.

I always take homemade rolls, barbeque and buns, and my Christmas baking leftovers. Here is what was half of an old family recipe for pound cake and black walnut cake a must have in my side of the family each Christmas since the mid 1800's at least.

Here in the living room is the oldest of the granddaughters with her brother's son holding the youngest great-great-grandchild and his wife holding their son who was born on the same day as our next to the youngest grandchild.


Here on the porch are some of my b-i-l's family. Standing is his youngest son talking his sister's husband and nephew's wife is sitting at the table. Also, here is tree she has on the porch.

Living room is one of DH's first cousins with her husband who came up from Savannah.

Here is one of the twin girls the youngest of the children and her twin's (deceased) son. He came up from Atlanta, GA. At the kitchen table is the next to oldest grandson's wife.


The balding man is one of the twin foster sons. The lady is the aunt's whose home it is held. A cousin's husband and the cousin from Ga.

Aunt Julia is a collector. Here is a shelf in the family room with a few of her pitchers on a shelf.


Also in family room a collection of some of her hens on nest on top of Hoosier cabinet.

Here is the widow of the eldest brother. She's 93 or will be...not sure...and she tries to make it each year.

Here is picture of the tree in Aunt Julia's living room. This doesn't show it but she has a collection of lighted houses arranged in a village on a bed of snow beneath it. Most of these ornaments as well as on the porch tree she makes. And behind it you can see on of her paintings. She's very artistic.

Some of her collections on shelves in what was a closet where the doors have been removed in the family room.

And the floor of the said closet.
Here's a picture of our oldest granddaughters on sofa in family room at the reunion.
Here is a picture of our children and brother-in-law's children. It's rare when they are all together. On the front row is our oldest nephew who came from upstate NY, in the black dress is our youngest daughter, next to her in the red shirt is our middle daughter, in the turquoise is niece, behind them is nephew who lives here and our oldest daughter in the blue. Our youngest daughter is my only natural child the other two are my step-daughters who I raise.
And here are their children. Two are missing. One from NY had track meet and one who lives here not sure why he didn't come...he's 21 or 22 now. Ours are the tallest in blue shirt and the baby girl he's holding. The brown shirt boy holding one of our baby girl,s the girl next to him holding another of our baby girls. Next to them are b-i-l's granddaughter from NY and his two grandsons who live here in town. Behind them is b-i-l's granddaughter from NY. Next to her with the dark hair is our oldest granddaughter and next to her is b-i-l's oldest granddaughter who is much shorter as you can see than her younger cousins. She's the eldest in the picture. Her brother is the eldest of them all, not pictured.