Mama T Keeps You In Stitches

Gabe's birthday

2012-02-09T19:01:00.000-08:00

Twelve years ago today we were blessed with our first grandson. Twelve years! How can that be? He should still be a little baby. Well, at least a baby! He never was little. He weighed almost 10 pounds when he was born and was the cutest chubby toddler. Now he's skinny as a rail and in the 6th grade. Did I mention that he's the reason I have the name Mama T? All because he couldn't say Mama Teresa which is what I wanted him to call me. And Papa Tim became Popple. The rest, as they say, is history.

He has his own room now (no more sharing with brother Timothy). So he has the bunk beds and only one bunk bed quilt. His mom and I decided we should fix that problem. His other quilt has a "space" theme so we used the scraps from it and added some more to make this:

Baby brother sneaked into this picture with Gabe.

Here's Gabe with the brother with whom he no longer shares a room.

Quilts and cats don't mix. Neither do kids with shoes. But this one is so cute he gets by with it. The cat.....not so much.

Giveaway

2012-01-23T12:35:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd mention a GIVEAWAY here:
www.abbeylanequilts.blogspot.com/:

Happy 2012

2012-01-14T17:42:00.000-08:00

Well....it's been quite some time since I've posted. Things have been very busy. First Christmas. Then Tim's brother came for a short visit. Then my sister came for 8 days (we had lots of fun sewing and she showed me how to use lots of stuff on my computer that I didn't know how to use)

I've gotten the top border of my applique done and will show it soon. In the meantime...this is about all I got done around the holidays.

This is all wool made from scraps (some given to me by my friend Carolyn). It's machine appliqued and hand embroidered.

Joplin Quilts Done and Delivered!

2011-12-10T08:35:00.000-08:00

I think I posted about my stitch group's Joplin Quilt Project some time ago, but in case I didn't, here's the story in a nutshell:

After the terrible tornado struck Joplin, Missouri back in May of this year I just felt helpless as to what to do to help. Over 150 people lost their lives and hundreds of people lost their homes. My friend Leslie and I decided to help just one person and thought it might be good to make a quilt for a teenage girl. I contacted a friend of ours, Sheryl whose children and grandchildren live in Joplin. Her daughter Rene' knew of a family who had lost their home and there was a teenager in this family so we got busy and started making the quilt.

Through a few conversations with our friend we soon found out that the girl had 8 siblings. We enlisted the help of our stitch group (there are a total of 7 of us). They got excited about the project and we decided we could make a quilt for all 9 of these kids and their parents. We asked for help from our guild (http://www.greencountryquiltersguild.com/) and even posted about the project on Facebook. We soon had donations of batting, fabric, quilting services and money to get the tops quilted. (You all know who you are and we thank you from the bottoms of our hearts!)

To make a long story short (I know--it's too late for that!) on Thursday we delivered all 10 quilts to Joplin and got to meet everyone except the youngest child and the dad. Joplin is less than 2 hours from us. We had a fun filled day and one that we'll remember for a long time!

First I'll show you the pictures of the quilts and then I'll show you pictures of the quilts in the hands of the recipients.

This is the one that started it all. Leslie and I used a split nine patch pattern for this one.

Lots of 5 inch charms. All we did was offset the rows.

This one was LOADS of fun! Each of us brought black and white leftovers from other quilts. The pops of color completed it.

One of our members, Coleen, found this top at a yard sale. So sad that someone was getting rid of such a beautiful work of art. We added a border to it and just knew that Mr. and Mr. Joplin would love it!

This was four blocks that June had started. We got busy and made more blocks. Then the bandana print border just made it!

My friend Cindy of Reno, Nevada heard about the project and just had to get involved. She quilted it on her new long arm machine. Don't you love it?!

One of our quilt guild memebers donated this top. All we had to do was add the borders and get it quilted.
(Thanks Phyllis and Kat!)

Another one started by June. We split the "jelly roll" strips and added the applique and borders.

Judy is one of our members who spends her summers away from the heat of Oklahoma in beautiful Colorado. When she heard about the project she enlisted the help of her quilt group out there and came up with this. Beautiful!

It was my job to keep this project organized. Unfortunately, I'm not always good at organization. When I miscounted and found out I needed another quilt, our friend Lynessa stepped up to the plate. She had this top finished. When I told her I needed it right away, she quilted it, bound it and had it my hands in less than a week!

Okay....now on to the good part. The oldest of the kids is taking college courses in addition to her high school work. So we met her at the college to give her her quilt. Then we went on to our contact's house (Rene', daughter of our friend Sheryl here in Tulsa) where each of the other kids got their quilts.

This is Korina reading the label on hers.

Here are that five of us who got to go to Joplin pictued with Korina and her quilt. Sadly, Coleen and Judy didn't get to go but they were with us in spirit. Left to right: Emma, June, Korina, Leslie, me and Donna.

Ethan ripping his bag open. Brothers Liam and Kayden lined up behind him waiting patiently.

Sorry about all the red eyes!

Here's Liam...

And here's Kayden.

Desirae ( a little out of order--we gave them the quilts from youngest to oldest, but my computer skills are just not there! The pictures keep skipping into places I DID NOT PUT THEM!)

Chanel

Damen.....Such a sweet smile!

Alyssa

Okay....my captioning has gone haywire so I'll just tell you about the rest of the pictures.

After Alyssa are Rene' and Monica (the mom) looking at the quilt for the youngest child, Selah.

Then, Monica and 7 of her kids with the quilt we made for Monica and her husband Tim.

The group picture was taken in front of Rene's house and includes some of her kids, too.

The rest of the day was filled with lunch at the Red Onion, a visit to Bittersweet Quilt Shop and Candy House Gourmet Chocolates (YUM!)

We were so blessed to be a part of this project for this family in Joplin. They are all so sweet and it was our great pleasure to get to meet them.

Bottom Border Finished...well almost

2011-12-06T07:49:00.000-08:00

Here's the bottom border for my applique quilt. (Flower Garden by Kim McLean). I didn't care for the top and bottom borders in the pattern so I designed my own using the flowers and leaves that were elswhere in the pattern. The vines will spill over into the side borders when it's all put together.

Hang It, Dang It

2011-12-04T16:04:00.000-08:00

I had such success using the "Hang It, Dang It" system to hang my wallhanging that we AT LAST got this quilt hung on our bedroom wall. Seriously, the rod is hanging on ONE NAIL and it's not even in a stud. I'm quite pleased with the ease of it and how good the quilt looks hanging up.

It's 73" x 80".

Back to sewing

2011-11-28T10:51:00.000-08:00

Between all the sickness and finally having our Thanksgiving meal, I got back to the sewing room. I've dreaded putting my applique blocks together for some reason, but once I got into the swing of things, I'm enjoying it. Here's the first row:

The sashing is 1" (finished) squares. All strip pieced.

....and since I'm on the subject of flowers:

My Christmas cactus bloomed for Thanksgiving. It's never had this many blooms before. Mom always had one and we would talk about it on the phone. Hers always bloomed.

I gave my mom a basket of miniature rose bushes for Mother's Day in 2009. It turned out to be her last Mother's Day on earth. She transplanted them into pots and when she passed away, I took them and planted them in my flower bed 300 miles away. They're always SO beautiful but this year has been exceptional. I guess they've liked our extreme Oklahoma weather. They're still blooming even though we've had several frosts. They're a nice reminder of Mom and what a wonderful person she was!

Thanksgiving.

2011-11-25T20:17:00.001-08:00

Yes! We DID have Thanksgiving today! A day late, but everyone was well. We're SO thankful for our family.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T17:04:00.000-08:00

I wanted to take the time to say Happy Thanksgiving to all of you in blogland. May you have the blessings of family close to you and take time to thank God for all He has given you.

We're postponing the actual day of the get-together due to a stomach virus that has been "running" (literally) through my family. We all got together last Friday night to pack boxes for Operation Christmas Child. My youngest grandson (who has tummy troubles all the time that are currently being diagnosed) apparantly had a virus. I couldn't resist kissing his precious little face (or maybe lips....yes, probably lips).

He got worse. By Sunday I was VERY sick. His dad was VERY sick. By Sunday night his brother Timothy was sick. On Monday night his Auntie Dre got it. It only lasts about 24 hours but leaves you "wiped" out (Pun intended) with no energy or appetite. Today is the first day that food really sounded good to me. So after5 days of cleaning up after 2 sick kids and a sick husband, my other daughter came down with it tonight. And did I mention that my son had it, too?

That only leaves husband, other son-in-law and oldest grandson who haven't had it. So we're going to wait a day and see what happens. So in everything I'm (trying) to give thanks. I'm thankful that my Operation Christmas Child party fell through last Friday night and that the only people who showed up were my family. Otherwise, all of my guests would now be sick for Thanksgiving.

I have SOOOO many things to be thankful for! As my son said tonight when I asked him if he minded postponing the day "It's the people, not the day"! Happy Thanksgiving to all you people who help round out my life!

Preparing for Thanksgiving

2011-11-11T13:30:00.000-08:00

This week I've cleaned out three cabinets, two piles of clutter, one freezer, the junk drawer, did some mending, cleaned the oven and survived two earthquakes. (Well, the survival part wasn't THAT hard, although they did really shake our house and scare the @*#% out of me).

And I FINISHED the LAST block of my hand applique project. That's 24! Done! I've started the bottom border and have it halfway finished, but the borders are going to take a long time.

My last appliqued quilt has been sitting around since the fair. Today I put a hanging sleeve on the back of it and hung it using the "Hang It Dang It" method. http://www.hangitdangit.com/
I was able to hang it all by myself and was quite impressed with it. I saw it demonstrated at the Houston Quilt Show last year and ordered through my local quilt shop (Cotton Patch).

Here it is hanging on my bedroom wall. It's level even though the picture may not convey that.

Amid all the things that I'm doing this week to get ready for having company for Thanksgiving, I looked out the window and noticed this: (It seemed to have happened overnight)

And this:

We've had a few frosts already, but the roses are still blooming. Despite the terrible drought we've had this summer, the trees around Tulsa are beautiful. The local weatherman says it's because of a few late rains that added sugar back into the trees. Whatever the reason, I'm glad.

So....with all the busy-ness that we'll all be having the next few weeks, take time to smell the roses...or to look at the trees. There is beauty all around us!

I've been away

2011-11-02T09:38:00.000-07:00

Wow! Does time ever fly by! Tim and I took a 10 day vacation to the beautiful hill country of Texas. We stayed in a lovely house on a golf course (no, we don't play golf). And did I mention that we took my bff and her hubby with us? Yes, Leslie and I bid on the use of this house at a Little Lighthouse Fundrasier last April. The Little Lighthouse is a school here in Tulsa for children with disabilities. It's operated through donations and support of the community. It's a wonderful, wonderful school and many children have made amazing progress there. So....anyway a generous man owns this house in Kerville, TX and donates the use of it to several worthy causes. We bid on it and we won! So that's how we ended up in Kerville, TX.

Our husbands really needed a vacation so we didn't really plan any activities that were set in stone. We ate a lot...we watched the World Series (Yeahhhhh Cardinals!!!! I'm a Missouri gal, by birth!)...Leslie and I stitched...the guys played a bit of pool...we got pulled over twice for speeding (umm...I'm not saying who was driving, but no tickets were issued)....and in general we had a great time. Oh I forgot!!! Leslie and I visited at least 6 quilt shops. We had to ban our husbands from going in them after a while because they caused too much of a commotion. When we went outside to check on them we discovered that they were sitting in front of the door demanding beer or a dollar from anyone who tried to enter. Don't know if we're welcome back there. haha

Here we are on a walk along the Guadelupe River in Kerville.

Always the rebel...the sign says "Keep off Dam". Guess where he is.

This is also on the Guadelupe when we took the scenic drive into the hills.

This is at the James Avery Craftsman "compound" in Kerville where Tim bought me something shiny for my birthday.

Did I mention that I had my birthday while we were gone? Leslie baked me this lovely angel food cake. Yum.

On our scenic drive we had to stop at this little hole in the wall place. Not only did they have the "Best Dang Jerky in Texas", they also had one of the best barbeque brisket sandwiches I've ever had....

...and since Tim is the slowest eater in Texas (or anywhere else) he got to finish his sandwich with a Peacock. Weird place.

Here we are working on our applique projects.

This is the entry way to the house that we stayed in.

Bff's in Texas

This is in Fredricksburg. There were more pies than quilts. The guys were touring the WWII museum. We tried to get some German food in Fredricksburg, but all the restaurants shut down. We think there was a city water problem...but more than likely it was just the Marler luck. It just happens that way.

This was a great quilt shop in Bandera, TX (not so great picture). We left the guys without a car to fend for themselves that day. They managed to walk over to the country club for lunch.

Here are a couple of things I've mangaged to finish lately. I'm working on the border of my applique quilt now but still have the last block to make.

This is the 23rd of 24. Almost there!

This table runner idea came from Nancy Halverson's new book. I made it to fit a table that's been in our family since 1990. Calista has it in her new house. Is that a little giraffe standing beside her?

Close up of the quilting. I appliqued and quilted it at the same time.

No early November post would be complete without pictures of my favorite "Halloweeners".
This is Timothy the famous Jedi.

Ninja Gabe

And there's that giraffe again.

Now on to the rest of the holidays. Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here before I know it. Time to get busy!

This and That

2011-10-15T09:05:00.000-07:00

Fall is finally here (although the temperatures are still above normal) and another grandson has discovered how beautiful my mums are.

Here's a close up of the yarn my daugher spun for the Sweepstakes Prize at the Tulsa State Fair. She told me that the "stuff" she started with was quite ugly and greasy. (I know "stuff" is not the correct word but I'm not a spinner so I don't remember the right terminology). She used her spinning wheel to spin it into something beautiful. She added metalic threads and tiny, shiny beads.

This is another piece she won a prize on. It's a collar, shawl type of thing. The next picture shows it opened up.

And here are the latest of my applique blocks. Right now I'm working on the last two and then it's on to the border.

Three handsome boys.

2011-10-11T20:42:00.000-07:00

Our oldest grandson Gabe started 6th grade at a new school this year. One day a week he has to wear a tie for Chapel. I think he looks extremely handsome. He thinks I'm extremely weird.

Second grandson Timothy caught his first fish Sunday. Here he is at his new home in the country. (The pond is right down the hill from his room). Very handsome (and pretty cute, too).

Third grandson Wesley started preschool this year. He's the youngest in his class but by far the most handsome (at least that's what I think). He's so stinkin' cute I can hardly stand it!

Fair update

2011-09-30T05:51:00.000-07:00

Last night my BFF Leslie, my older daughter Calista and I all went to the Tulsa State Fair to see if we (Calista and I) had won any prizes. Calista is a knitter and spinner and this year she even entered a quilt. She didn't win a prize on her quilt but she won the SWEEPSTAKES prize on her homespun art yarn. It was her first entry in the catagory. She won the blue ribbon AND the big purple ribbon. We were all excited. She also won one other ribbon for one of her knitted items.

My quilts: I entered 3. I posted pics of two of those a while back and the third was the one I made for Calista's birthday and posted back in June. I won a blue ribbon on my red and turqouis wall hanging and a red ribbon on Calista's birthday quilt. Nothing on the one with rick rack. All in all, we were very pleased. We wandered around a bit until our feet and legs hurt and ate a bit of junky fair food (the most important reason to go!)

Applique blocks

2011-09-26T21:06:00.000-07:00

I'm working on the 20th block of my applique quilt. After that one, just 4 more to go. Then....the border. The border could take the rest of my life. But right now I'm just happy to be so close to getting the blocks done. Here are the ones I've made in the last month.

Purse

2011-09-23T16:24:00.000-07:00

I almost have an obsession with purse patterns. I buy them and put them in a drawer and wish that I would make myself one of them. Well, this week I did. Here is is. And I love it. It's "Grids and Grommets" by Indigo Junction. It's pretty big, but I need a big purse. Now I'm inspired to make another one of my cute patterns. Wish I had time to do that.

Fair quilts

2011-09-14T18:05:00.000-07:00

The Tulsa State Fair is quickly approaching and I just put the finishing touches on this quilt in time for the entry deadline on Saturday. I started this quilt back in February when there was 3 feet of snow blocking our front door. I finished it as we had our 44th day of above 100 degree weather this summer.

My wonderful quilter friend, Donna T. worked wonders (as usual) with her longarm quilting machine.

Donna quilted this one, too. It's a pattern from "Piece O Cake" designs. I started it in a hand applique class by Jane Green at the Cotton Patch last September. I finished the applique in June. (Don't you just LOVE a quilt with feet?)

Here's a close-up of Donna's quilting.

She did all the quilting free-hand with the exception of the four corner squares. They're computer generated.

Another close up of the quilting.

And I just had to finish with the head that belongs to the feet in a previous picture. He has a wide wingspan so I always ask him to hold my quilts for me. Isn't he cute?!

More applique blocks

2011-09-08T19:11:00.000-07:00

Three more of my applique blocks completed. That makes 15!

Quilts for Joplin

2011-09-06T13:12:00.000-07:00

Earlier this summer my BFF Leslie and I decided to make a quilt for a teenaged girl in Joplin, MO (remember--the terrible tornado in May). We have a good friend whose daugthers, sons-in-law and 14 grandchildren all live there. One of those grandchildren was in the storm, but she survived. So...we have a contact. We got in touch with our contact and she found out the name of a girl in Joplin whose family lost everything and who would really appreciate a hand made quilt.

We had a lot of fun making it. Our contact (I'll call her Sheryl, 'cause that's her name) didn't reveal to us the whole story until we pinned her down for more info. It turns out this teenaged girl has 4 sisters and 4 brothers. Our hearts were touched and we COULDN'T make just one quilt. We enlisted the help of our stitch group (there are 7 of us in all) and we decided there HAD to be quilts made for all the kids and their parents.

A few weeks have passed. All 10 quilts are underway! We're getting help from one of our members who is spending the summer in Colorado. We're also getting help from a dear friend of mine who lives in Reno, Nevada. We announced this project to our guild and help has been pouring in. We've had 3 volunteers for doing some the machine quilting. Ladies at the shop where I work (Cotton Patch, Tulsa, OK) have donated batting and others locally and around the country have donated money to get the others quilted.

I'm happy to announce that the first quilt Leslie and I started is completely finished.

Our plan is to hand deliver the quilts when they're all done, hopefully, well before Christmas. We have the names of all 9 children (ages 4-16) and their parents and are looking forward to meeting them all.

We're so thankful for all the help that's been offered.

Baby Quilt

2011-08-29T10:31:00.000-07:00

This is my latest baby quilt. I should say OUR latest. Calista helped me with this one.
It's a "Three Sisters" charm pack (3 of them). I split them in half and offset them in vertical rows.
I got the idea and the applique from a book called "Some Kind of Wonderful".

Close up of the applique and quilting which I did on my Phaff machine.

The Label.

Calista showing the back. It's a Robin Pandolph fabric. We also used that as the borders on the front.

The little recipient, Bella Sue. Calista is holding her and that's her Mommy, Jessie (the baby's mommy haha) in the background holding the quilt. It made us feel really good to hear Jessie SQUEEL with delight when she unwrapped the quilt.

36 years of marriage

2011-08-18T21:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was mine and Tim's 36th wedding anniversary. Our daughter, Andrea posted some really sweet stuff about us on her photography blog. Thought I'd share it: http://www.amurphyphoto.com/blog/happy-university-mom-dad-tulsa-photographer

A few more

2011-08-13T08:55:00.000-07:00

Even though the summer has been extremely busy, I've managed to get some more of these done:

This one is # 12, which means I'm halfway done with the blocks!

Chocolate cookies!!!!

2011-08-08T10:04:00.001-07:00

Please help me! Someone posted a recipe for Chocolate Cookies that are like brownies only in a cookie form a while back. I made them and they were delicious. But...alas...I didn't save the recipe. Now I'm having a cookie attack and I NEED that recipe! Anyone, anyone....Please.

Kids, kids, kids....and a few other things.

2011-07-29T22:29:00.000-07:00

Wow! It's been a while since I've blogged. I've been a little busy. We've had a couple more birthdays, went to a funeral in Missouri, decided to buy some land, and I've been keeping my grandkids while Calista went back to her job of teaching Pilates. And all of this in the middle of record breaking heat here in Oklahoma. Oh how we're longing for the days of snow and cold! Just kidding...but REALLY...we'd like for these 100 plus temperatures to break. But alas, the weathermen are making no promises for any such thing to happen any time soon.

But life goes on, even when it's hot outside. Kids grow...

...and kids like to play in the pool--even when it feels like bath water.

Here are all three of the young monkeys on one of the days I spent at their house taking care of them--or should I say being referee!

This little guy had a birthday (which he enjoyed very much)

This one's growing so much I hardly recognize him from day to day.

This one can be hard to please at times, but other times he's just the sweetest thing ever. One night when he spent the night (just him) at my house, he told me it was the best day of his life. Here he's helping me design a little quilt....

...which will eventually be for this little guy. His name is Lenox and he lives in Kenya. We've "adopted" him through Compassion and are enjoying getting to know him through his letters and helping him with his daily needs.

In the meantime, I've made a few more of these hand appliqued blocks.

I've also been working quite a bit at the Cotton Patch, but during down times, I get to applique.

We recently celebrated Tim's birthday. I won't say how old he turned. I'll just say that the candles on the cake don't really represent the age.

I got him a new raincoat in anticipation of the rain that will surely come soon. We'll keep praying and looking forward to the day when it's cooler and wetter.

I'll end with just one more picture of the cutest little guy around. He's learned how to walk in the last 2 weeks. He went from barely being able to stand to practically running. That could explain all the bruises. Anyway, he's captured our hearts!

More Applique Blocks

2011-07-05T20:17:00.000-07:00

I've made a few more of these large, colorful applique blocks.

They're so much fun to make. I think this is my favorite so far....

....or maybe this one. I love them all! Oops! I love them so much, I think I already showed this one.

Happy 4th!

2011-07-01T20:14:00.000-07:00

Wishing all of you a happy 4th of July weekend. May we here in the United States of America appreciate the freedoms we've had in this country and be thankful for those who sacrificed for us to have those freedoms.

I made this quilt in 2003. The eagle is hand appliqued. Pattern by Phyllis Enos.

I made this one in 2001. It's completely hand appliqued and machine quilted. One of my favorites.

Mystery

2011-06-27T14:36:00.000-07:00

My quilt guild is doing a mystery challenge. The pattern is by Debbie Maddy and she desinged it just for us.
Here are my fabric choices:

Most of these are from a collection called "Zen" that I bought at least 2 1/2 years ago.

I decided to take out the one on the left and added one that was even darker for more contrast.

This will be the border. It and the green are the only two I had to buy. The rest is from my stash--even the backing.
I'm excited to see what it will turn into. It's a mystery.

More birthday celebrations

2011-06-24T07:41:00.000-07:00

Remember these? I started them back in February using the tutorial found here:http://magnoliabayquilts.blogspot.com/2010/01/string-blocks-tutorial.html

Actually, I don't need the tutorial anymore since this is the 3rd quilt I've made like this.

Yesterday was my first born's birthday. She knows she's loved since I made the quilt for her. She even said that...."I know I'm loved 'cause you made me a quilt". (the quilt is much darker than it appears in this picture).

Here she is with the fam. At least part of them. Gabe is away at Boy Scout camp and we sure do miss him. Everyone except Timothy. He's having a great time without his big brother.

Here's a close up of the all over quilting done by Loretta Rogers.

And here's a close up of the label I made for the quilt. I got it sewn on about a half hour before Calista arrived at my house. She and Chris went out to dinner without any kids. Tim and I kept the little boys. Timothy spent the night and we're off to have some fun today (which includes Target and the swimming pool in our neighborhood). Hope you go have some fun, too!

Daddy

2011-06-19T17:39:00.000-07:00

Father's Day 2011

When I think of my dad (who has been gone since 1978) I see him on a tractor. He could drive a John Deere like a guy rode a bucking bronco. He would stand up as he drove past the house down the hill and wave as he drove. He drove a Ford tractor, too, but for some reason I remember him mostly on that big green John Deere.

My dad was a hard working man. He had an 8th grade education and did anything and everything to support his wife and family. When I was about 4 we moved to a farm where he spent most of the rest of his life working for another man to put food on our table. It was a good place to live and grow up. He and another man managed almost a thousand acres and several hundred head of Polled Herford cattle. He could scrub the dirty face of a white faced bull until it sparkled like snow to show it off in a big cattle show. And he would come in the house as dirty as anyone could get, covered with hay seed and sweat.

In my mind, Daddy could fix anything. He was a mechanic, a handyman, a tree trimmer--you name it--he could do it all. Yet, he was gentle enough to sit down with me and help me build an entire miniature town out of toothpicks once when we were flooded in behind the creek for a few days. He also made a wooden neck for one of my Barbie dolls once when my cousin ripped her head off.

We had a good relationship and I think I was pretty special to him (being the only girl between 2 boys--UNTIL my little sister came along! haha). I could wrap him around my little finger and he would let me do things that Mom probably would not have. I'm sure he knew my manipulation yet he went along with it.

Daddy loved music and made sure I loved it, too. He made sure I learned to play the piano so I could play in church. Church music was what he loved. He sang bass and even though I can no longer remember what he sounded like when he talked, I can occasionally hear him singing bass in my head. He and I would sing together and I would play for him and Mom when they sang in a quartet.

Our last Christmas together, Daddy took Tim and me coon hunting. We walked and ran all over the side of a small mountain in the dark chasing our dog as he chased a coon. It's one of my best memories. Another best memory is seeing him out in the field plowing. He'd see me in the yard and whistle for me to bring him a drink of water. I'd fill a Mason jar with ice and water and go running across the field to take it to him. He'd take a break and we'd sometimes sit under a shade tree and talk a minute or two.

On June 28, 1978 that tractor bucked him off. He was hit by a round bale of hay that knocked him to the ground and broke his neck. He died a week later in the hospital. 33 years later....I miss my dad on this Father's day. I love you, Daddy and look forward to seeing you again in heaven.

On to a new project

2011-06-15T18:31:00.000-07:00

My favorite part of quilting is starting a new project. As soon as I finished the last applique I started this one. The pattern is Kim McLean's "Flower Garden". I'm excited about it. So much fun.

Happy Day!

2011-06-09T20:41:00.000-07:00

I'm having company this weekend. And I needed to get my house cleaned up. It started in the guest bedroom where I had all my applique blocks neatly laid out on the bed. One can't just stack those blocks up and put them away.
.

I had finished this one earlier this week and it had found it's spot on the bed with the others. So I decided to sit down and quickly put the blocks together so I could get the bed cleared off. Several hours later, I finished the job but the house had still not been cleaned. So tomorrow I'll have to get up extra early and get the house cleaned up before my company arrives in the afternoon. To me, it was worth it, because this is how it turned out:

And I'm VERY, VERY HAPPY with the results. I'm already on to the next project and have the first block of a new applique quilt done. I think I'm addicted.

Early Summer

2011-06-03T09:41:00.000-07:00

Since last I blogged I found out that Sew Neat in Joplin (that I visited just 3 weeks ago) was destroyed by the tornado. I've heard that the owner is not going to try to build it back. So sad. My quilt guild (Green Country Quilters' Guild) has sent 40 small quilts over to help those in need in Joplin. If you have a desire to make one, I'd be glad to get it there through our guild or other shops in the area that are helping. Joplin is only an hour and a half from my home and is located in my home state of Missouri.

In other news:

My tennis elbow was a good excuse to get my daughter over here to do some weeding and planting for me. (That, and the fact that I hate doing it and she doesn't mind). She got a little help from the youngest member of the family.

He started out on the blanket....

....but that didn't last long.

There's something about dirt that attracts boys.

He likes rocks, too. It comes from being the grandson of a geologist and a rock collector.

He'll be walking soon.

Recently we celebrated my second daughter's birthday. Since it's so unusual to wrap a present in this family (in anything other than a Wal Mart bag) we thought we should get a picture of it.

Yes, I AM still sewing. This is the next to the last border of my applique quilt. The last one is almost done, too and soon I'll be putting it together.

In the meantime, I started the quilt that I'll use for my bedspread. Nothing else matches since we painted the walls this past winter. 3 blocks done....78 to go.

The flowers are blooming...

These lilies are doing well. The ones in the backyard are being eaten by a family of rabbits.

Somehow they managed to bloom anyway, even though they have hardly any leaves left.

This hydrangea survived the winter. It's partner 2 feet away did not. Sigh.

Skippy, our cat watches tv...

...for hours sometimes. She changes positions from time to time and gets up for a snack and a bathroom break occasionally.

woops...more flowers.

My oldest grandson "graduated" from 5th grade and will go to a different school next year. The second one finished kindergarten and tells me he'll be skipping 1st grade. Since I don't have a picture of either, I thought I'd post a picture of my high school graduation some....years....ago. Thanks to Jeff Neier for posting it on Facebook for all the world to see.

Tornados

2011-05-25T10:58:00.000-07:00

Just in case anyone is wondering....we made it through the Oklahoma storms just fine last night. Just fine....IF you think 5 of us crammed into an under the stairs closet is fun. But seriously, we're so thankful that it wasn't too bad and that we had no damage.

My middle child and her husband come over every Tuesday night to watch Biggest Loser with us. Last night was the FINALE and also was Andrea's (middle child) 29th birthday. Biggest Loser never came on because of all the weather warnings. Not only that KJRH is NOT going to replay it. They put it on their digital channel and on a different Cox cable channel but that doesn't do any of us Sattelite Dish people any good. So we're mad at them. We'll have to wait and watch it on our computer later. So don't tell us who won.

Anyway, with them here and Aaron and Tim and me we were quite a spectacle in that closet. One report said we had 80-90 mph straight line winds. It came out of the south and was pounding our front door which sits back a ways under the porch. It hardly ever gets wet. When we "came out of the closet", Aaron walked into my sewing room and announced that it smelled like a wet dog in there. And he was right. The rain had beaten so hard that it came through the window seams. Not much got wet so it was easy to clean up. Then we discovered that the same thing happened in the garage. It came through the seams of the garage door and Tim's car was very wet.

I don't know how our trees survived, but they did. And most of the flowers looked pretty good, too.
This morning Tim told me that right before he got in the closet he could feel the house "pulsing". I'm glad he kept that to himself last night.

I'm wondering if the quilt shops that I visited in Joplin 10 days ago survived. The entire city is so sad. Let's all keep them in our prayers. They have a long ways to recovery.

Giveaway

2011-05-24T20:27:00.000-07:00

AbbeyLane is having a giveaway. Go check it out: http://www.abbeylanequilts.blogspot.com/

Another bag

2011-05-23T07:07:00.000-07:00

I've probably made close to a million of these now (well maybe that's a bit of an exageration). But they're so much fun to make and take very little time. Almost forgot to take a picture of this one, so here it is in my car right before I went into the post office to mail it to Tim's step mom. And she loved it.

A new quilt enthusiast

2011-05-20T07:37:00.000-07:00

One of my talented children has caught the quilting blog. She's always been a bit interested. We started her first quilt when she was in 3rd grade and I was home schooling her. I thought it was a good idea to teach her how to hand piece. Unfortunately, neither of us had the patience to follow through with the hand work, but we DID finish the quilt 3 or 4 years later. She's used a sewing machine a bit off and on since then.

I guess when I first knew she had the "BUG" was when I noticed she started hiding her fabric stash at my house (as if I had any extra room for someone else's stash). And she wasn't really hiding it from anyone, it's just that she didn't have a place to put it in her tiny house. It seems her yarn stash takes up the stashing room around there. That and 3 boys, a husband and "some" cats and other various and sundry pets, etc.

So here she is, caught by the bug, sewing at my house.

Here's Calista doing a bit of machine applique.

The finished quilt top. And she did it mostly by herself. Note the look of pride.

The center is a panel called "Cherish Nature" and the rest is machine appliqued (blanket stitch). She delivered it to her favorite quilter this week, so stay tuned for the finished product in weeks to come.

And just in case you might think I have only one talented daughter....go here amurphyphoto.com/blog
to see the work of my MIDDLE child.

Road Trip

2011-05-16T14:37:00.000-07:00

I just got back (last night) from a trip to Missouri to see my youngest neice graduate from high school. Since she was the last of my mom's grandchildren to accomplish this goal, I felt it would be proper for me to be there (besides, I WANTED to be there). My mom was the first in her family to graduate from high school.

Dear husband was unable to make the trip with me so I roped Leslie into the idea. It didn't take much to convince her since I promised a stop or two at a quilt shop.

The (normally) 6.5 hour trip stretched into about 10 hours and the couple of quilt shops turned into ---well, let's just say more than 2.

We've been to several of the shops along the beaten path--especially between Tulsa and Springfield, MO, so we decided to visit just the ones we hadn't seen before. Here we are at Bittersweet Quilts south of Joplin, MO. Very nice shop.

This one is in the heart of Joplin. We enjoyed it, but the name DIDNOT fit the shop! haha

This one is located in Lebanon, MO. The ladies there were so friendly to us.

We basically shopped our way up Interstate 44.

This one is in Rolla, MO and is a yarn/fabric store.

We arrived at my sister Greta's house Thursday evening. I made Lora Beth a quilt (of course) for a graduation present. Here's the label. I also gave her my mom's senior class ring and she wore it to graduation.

Here's Lora Beth unfolding the quilt. That's her boyfriend Adam with her.

And here it is....her not so PINK quilt. I had started a quilt for her and when my sister was here in December I showed it to her. It was mostly pink. Turns out Lora Beth hates pink so my plans had to change.
I found this pattern in a magazine and decided to try my hand at 60 degree diamonds. It was lots of fun to make and I'm very pleased with the outcome. As was Lora Beth.

The next day Leslie and I took Lora Beth into town (they live out in the country) to buy a dress for graduation. And shoes...very tall shoes....very tall shoes. Okay.

Very tall shoes. Then that night was graduation. It took place at my old alma mater--only in the new gym. Sure brought back memories. Wait, I don't think I remember much about it because it's been so long ago. Lora Beth's mom was 5 months old and screamed through the entire ceremony so my mom had to sit out in the hall with her. I behaved much nicer at Lora Beth's graduation than Greta did at mine. I saw 2 classmates that I graduated with. It was a lovely ceremony and we were all so proud of Lora Beth.

Afterwards, we drove back into town for an "after graduation dinner". Here's Lora Beth with Adam. Thanks Greta and Joe for dinner.

The next morning Leslie and I let Greta sleep in and we went to the cemetery to see my mom's gravestone. It had been installed since I was there a year ago. It was an emotional time for me. We also visited Tim's mom's grave, but it was raining so hard I forgot to take a picture. Notice the litle quilting lady on the lower right.

We left the cemetery and forced Dolly to open her shop for us. haha. We didn't notice she wasn't open until we had opened the door and found her standing there cutting fabric. She was very nice about opening up and we may have purchased some fabric from her.

Another trip to town to see my husband's step-dad and brother and to ...eat some ice cream.

We left early on Sunday and stopped in Springfield to see Tim's dad and step mom. She has lovely flower beds.

Every where we looked in Missouri the peonies, roses and irises were blooming.

Linda also has a talent for cooking. Baking to be exact--coconut cake to be specific.

I'm exhausted from the trip. But so glad I went.

The Little Lighthouse Quilt and Garden Party

2011-05-10T09:21:00.000-07:00

On April 30 a bunch of us attended The Little Lighthouse Garden Party. It's an annual event to raise money for the school which is for children with disabilities. It's a wonderful place and the event is always so touching. We always go away from it teary eyed. The kids learn so much that they can't get anywhere else in the Tulsa area. We first learned about it when our own little grandson Timothy was diagnosed as blind when he was an infant. WELL...miracles later...Timothy sees well enough now to attend a regular school. And I just want to jump up and down and try to help the others who can't see, walk, comprehend, etc.

Anyway, this is my 5th year to make a quilt for the silent auction. Calista helped me this year and last year. The first one was a group effort with my stitch group.

Here's the quilt. And it was bought by good friend Crystal Grantham. Here she is with her lovely daughters, Katherine and Julia.

Did I mention that this is a fancy affair with hats and dresses?

Here's the group that sat at my table, thanks to the generosity of my husband. Included are his secretary Melissa , his former secretary Annette and another lady from his work, Jessica; my two daughers, Calista and Andrea; my bff Leslie;
and Crystal, Katherine and Julia. We had a wonderful brunch and a great time. Lots of money was raised for The Little Lighthouse. Notice some of us have stuffed animals. Another part of the fund raiser.

While my hat is not as elaborate as Leslie's and Calista's I DO have my grandmother's brooch pinned in it!

Calista won the prize (potted plant) for the most creative hat. She crocheted all the roses. I was impressed since there were hundreds and hundreds of people there.

I must end with the best part of the party. Someone had donated a play house for the live auction. It was huge. Something you would put in your back yard for your granddaughters (if you had any--I'm just sayin') Tall enough for adults to stand up in. It was pink with gingerbread decorations and copper on the roof. It was no ordinary play house. The value was placed at $10,000 and the crowd went wild when it was sold for $30,000! I've never seen anything like it....until....a few minutes later it was announced that the person holding the winning bid had donated the house back to The Little Lighthouse for the kids!!!! Then the crowd really went wild! Imagine...in these tough economic times....there are still people out there doing great things for those who are disadvantaged! What a blessing!

Happy Mother's Day to All

2011-05-08T21:31:00.000-07:00

This is my second Mother's Day without my mom and without Tim's mom. It's hard. But thankfully, we have wonderful kids who helped make my Mother's Day great. They were all here (in addition to Leslie and David) for lunch. The boys grilled hamburgers, chicken and shrimp and Calista made a most delicious caramel filled gigantic brownie.

And then....they gave me a present:

The present--in a pretty box.

The present...out of the pretty box. The beads on this bracelet are my kids' birth stones, plus a few extras. They'll be able to add on to it so I'll eventually have the grandkids' stones and the sons-in-laws, too. Maybe more grandkids someday, also.

And here's the most special gift--my wonderful kids and husband.

Now on to other things: Leslie had two birthday parties--one at the Cotton Patch where we both work and one at my house with our stitch group. So naturally, I had to make her 2 cards. Here's the first one with the envelope.

The inside of the first one.

And the second one.

I finished another border for the hand applique project I've been working on.
Unfortunately, it seems that I've developed Tennis Elbow--at least that's what I'm hoping it is.
My doctor also tested me for Rheumatoid Arthritis since my mom had it and Lupus since my sister has it.
Hopefully, it will just be Tennis Elbow and I can lay off some of my sewing and get it well ( and I can take drugs, too--I'd rather do that than stop sewing) But I have slacked off some, so this project may not get finished as quickly as I had hoped.

Happy Birthday

2011-05-02T08:22:00.000-07:00

Today is my BFF's birthday. I'm posting this under Family and Friends, because she really is not only my friend, but like my sister. Everywhere we go together, people ask us if we're sisters. We've even been asked if we're twins. ( maybe it's because we shop together, like the same clothes and many times show up wearing the same outfits).

We've been through a lot together. I could tell you stories. But I won't. Let's just say that we've laughed a lot of laughs and cried a lot of tears.

So in honor of Leslie today on May 2, 2011 when the world is celebrating the death of a very evil man, I'd like to celebrate the birth of a very loving, caring, gentle, wonderful friend. Leslie Lind Hale.

I WON!

2011-05-01T15:38:00.000-07:00

I won a major award! Go see! http://www.freespiritfabric.blogspot.com/

April Showers

2011-04-26T20:09:00.000-07:00

APRIL SHOWERS BRING:

May flowers

Irises--Love, love , love them!

Climatis.

Lettuce. For now it's really good. But, there's a rabbit in my yard and today he stripped my lily leaves. The lettuce has been moved to the patio table. Can rabbits climb? If they can, he may meet an untimely death.

Peonies--my absolute favorite. The smell is intoxicating.

Miniature roses. I sent this rose to my Mom two years ago for her last Mother's Day on earth. Now it resides in my garden.

Green onions.

This one was taken a couple of weeks ago when the creeping phlox was in full bloom.

April showers cause little boys to have to hunt their Easter eggs inside. Thanks to Uncle Patrick, we're still finding hidden eggs! Poor Uncle Aaron had a cold and spent the day hiding in his cave to keep from giving his cold to the little guys.

Hope ya'll had a Happy Easter !

The Joy of a Machine That Works Like It's Supposed to Work

2011-04-22T20:56:00.000-07:00

I've had a nice Phaff Sewing Machine for more than a couple of years. It gave me trouble from the start. Finally, the place from which I bought it replaced it and I continued to have trouble with it. It sewed "okay", but when it came to quilting the actual quilt sandwich, it was the machine from hell. I spent more time cussing the machine than I did sewing.

But at last....

I took the machine to "another Phaff dealer" in Hennessey, OK. Specifically, Prarie Quilts owned by Randa Parish. She told me to bring it to her technician and she would guarantee that he'd have it singing like a bird in no time. And was she ever right. His name is Kent and I'll never take my machine elsewhere to be serviced. He found a few things wrong that were causing the problems. I'm wondering why those things were overlooked before. Anyway, I'm really happy with it and here is the first quilt I've quilted since it's been working like it should.

More applique and More on Aaron

2011-04-19T21:43:00.000-07:00

This is the latest applique I've completed (some weeks ago). Now I'm busy with some other things and can't seem to get back at this quilt. It's not that I'm not wanting to.

Here's the first shot of all the ones I have done so far. I'm thinking I like them.

And here's my zany son Aaron. Still here. Still waiting to serve his country in the United States Marine Corps.
Now "they're" saying his date to leave will be 2-3 months. He's discouraged. We're all on an emotional roller coaster.
So you praying friends out there can pray for him that he'll stay encouraged and ready to go. In the meantime, he's starting a temporary job tomorrow. It will help him stay busy. Prayers already answered.

Cards

2011-04-10T14:16:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I make cards. These are some of my latest. I used to be into rubber stamping and I made a lot of cards. Now, I just make them when I need one. Still fun, but I love making quilts more. Sometimes it's just fun to diversify. And I get to play with my button collection.

For those of you who are interested, my son's date of departure for the Marines has been delayed by 2 weeks. So now he leaves on the 25th and I get to baby him just a little bit longer.

Sadness

2011-04-03T21:59:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of my friends Sue (right) and her daughter-in-law Theresa.

A couple of years ago I helped Sue get this quilt ready for her to hand quilt. Her mother had hand pieced it. She finished it and I helped her bind it and make a label for the back.

Sue passed away Thursday after a sudden illness that kept her in the hospital for almost 5 weeks. I got to spend some time sitting with her there, but missed her last week because of my bad back. My husband has been asked to speak at her funeral and I've been asked to play the piano for a couple of our friends to sing "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" and "It Is Well With My Soul". I know that to be true for Sue. She's resting in heaven now and is greatly missed by her friends and family. I'm glad to have known her and counted her as a friend. Good-bye dear friend.

Pain in the ....back

2011-03-31T20:41:00.000-07:00

Last Friday I hurt my back while doing....laundry. Yes, laundry. A slight twist of the body to drop a shirt in a laundry basket and WHAM!!!!...I nearly went down. Thankfully, my daughter Calista and my son Aaron were here and got me to a chair. Then Aaron drove me to the chiropractor. The next day, Tim drove me to the chiropractor. Monday, Aaron drove me to the chiropractor and Wednesday, Aaron drove me to the chiropractor. Tomorrow....well, you get the picture. It's been a rough week. I did manange to finish one of my applique borders.

Here's another block I finished but haven't shown yet.

Dr. Marshall says I should be feeling better soon and he's right. I'm getting better every day. To add to my dismay, we're having a going away party for Aaron tomorrow night (the Marines--remember?). But I have good kids and all three of them pitched in today and cleaned the house. Andrea, the middle child was especially helpful (she made me say that). The doctor says I should be totally back to normal in 2-4 weeks. I'm hoping for sooner than that.

Good Times

2011-03-23T17:34:00.000-07:00

What a day! Leslie and I took a road trip to Hennessey, OK. There's this guy--Kent. He's special to me (now). He tunes up sewing machines and he spent 2 hours tuning up mine. It sings like a canary!

And ya know what else? Leslie and I got to shop at the store where he works while he did his magic. That's
Prairie Quilts. And do they ever have some lovely fabric (a bit of which found it's way into my car).

Then...we drove home through Stillwater, OK, home of blogging buddy of mine, Ranette. She met us at The Quilting Post (another fabulous shop) and we got to meet some of her friends and partners in quilting crime.
And then....SHE INVITED US TO HER HOME! We got to see her quilting room(s) and many of her beautiful quilts. Boy, was that fun!

Unfortunately, I forgot to take my camera. So for your viewing pleasure...
GRANDKIDS! Doing what they do best....

Looking like his Aunt Dre and being cute.

Looking like his Uncle Aaron and being silly.

Looking like his Popple and reading a book.

Fabric Collage

2011-03-11T18:14:00.000-08:00

I finished my fabric collage and got it framed at Hobby Lobby. I'm very pleased with the outcome. It will hang in my "humility" room as my grandson Timothy calls it (utility room) and I'll get to look at it every time I do laundry...or go into the garage....or leave my house...or when I just want to go look at it.

My inspiration came from "Vertigo" by Kathy York in Quilting Arts Magazine --Feb/Mar 2009

Close Up:

Blocks

2011-03-07T15:17:00.000-08:00

I went at least 10 days without even touching the sewing machine. But I'm back at it.
I made some more of these:

And I finished a couple of these:

This red work is a long term project--one of those things that sits in a project bag all ready to go in case I don't have anything else to work on. Which explains why it has taken me 2 years to finish 2 of these.

Blocks

2011-03-02T17:42:00.000-08:00

Last week our second grandson, Timothy celebrated his 6th birthday. He wanted a small quilt that he could take from room to room. Calista and I decided on the Dr. Suess fabric for his birthday quilt. And guess what? We got it done in time for his birthday. Quilted by Kat LeFevre.

The back.

Bits and Pieces

2011-02-28T16:55:00.000-08:00

Several people have asked me about the workhsop that I took last weekend. It was taught by Candace Kenyon and was called Fabric Collage. I haven't had time to do any more work on the piece I started, but after I finish "quilting" it (don't know if you can really call it quilting because it has no batting) then it will be washed to remove the Sulky Solvy. Then I'll stretch it over an artist's canvas and have it framed. Hope that answers some of the questions.

Yesterday, I met my sister in Sprinfield, MO for her to pick up the quilt/comforter she had left with Kat LeFevre to quilt. She bought the fabric for it when I was with her in St. Louis last summer. She asked my opinion and I told her I was glad she was the one making it and not me. The fabric was slick, ravelly, synthetic--you name it--everything that THIS quilter doesn't use. But Greta loved the fabric and wanted to make it into a comforter for her bed.

Time passes...Greta visits me after Chritmas. Greta brings fabric with her. Teresa and Greta make comforter together. One of my machines hated the fabric as much as I did and refused to sew it. Thankfully, I had another machine which was quite "comfort"-able with it. So we got it put together. We bought cotton backing and Kat agreed to quilt it.

It turned out really nice and we've both had a new experience! And we're still sisters.
I think it will look beautiful on her bed when she finishes the binding (I got 2 sides and all 4 corners done for her)

The printed fabric tends to change colors in different lights. It also appears shiney in some lights. But it really is gorgeous. It was so good to see Greta and her husband yesterday. We met in the middle at Tim's dad and stepmom's house. Thanks Linda for all the great food!

Baby Wesley's International Blanket

2011-02-23T20:49:00.000-08:00

I don't think I've ever posted a picture of this beautiful afghan that my daugter Calista's friends made for her baby Wesley.
The squares came from knitters all over the world and sent to Oklahoma where our friend (and long arm quilter extraordinair) Kat LeFevre put them together. We think it's amazing.

(But probably not more amazing than this precious baby! --I'm just sayin'!)

New stuff

2011-02-21T09:42:00.000-08:00

Saturday, Leslie and I took a workshop. We cut up our beautiful fabric into little pieces and put it back together into beautiful pictures.

I wasn't crazy about mine until I added the petals. And then....OH MY GOSH! I loved it!

Here I am pinning it after the Sulky Solvy is put on top of all the little pieces. Then, I started "quilting" it--just scribbling all over. I got it about 1/6 of the way scribbled.

Here's Leslie's. Don't you just love the red bird!

This one was done by Linda. She copied a painting that was done for her by our ladies in our sister quilt guild in Costa Rica. She just got back from a mission trip there.

I thought this one was stunning!

I finished another of my hand applique blocks last night.
(Sorry, this picture got out of order and I can't fix it)

This is one that's finished. After the quilting is done and the Sulky is disolved, the picture is stretched onto a canvas and framed.

Karen made this one at another workshop, but started another one just like it at this one.

I've been having some painting done in my house--bathroom/master bedroom, utility room and kitchen.
I love the way my little Amish quilt looks in the bathroom.

Happy Birthday to me, again

2011-02-16T18:51:00.000-08:00

My BFF, Leslie gave me this lovely table topper for my birthday back in October. It wasn't quilted yet. I may have shown it then. But now it's so much more beautiful witht the quilting done and the binding done. Leslie's the best! I love her AND the table topper.

Reminders

2011-02-06T10:32:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday we were hit with "the storm of the century". Here in Oklahoma, we set several records this week--one for the most snow in a 24 hour period, one for the lowest temperature on this date (-6) and one for having a true blizzard.
By the end of this week, we may break another record of the most snow in any winter. This all reminds me that spring may be a ways off.

This reminded me of the fact that we couldn't get out our front door that day. In fact, we couldn't get out at all. Aaron tried getting out the back door, but when he got to the gate, he was trapped in by snowdrifts. A good reminder to us all that we should be prepared for things like this...

....and prepared I WAS! I had all the essential ingredients to make this quilt top.

I machine appliqued the flowers and circles...

Oh the joy of having a great stash of fabric....and ric rac...and thread. I sewed and sewed...

...then I was reminded that someday we might NEED to get out of this house. Thankfully, Tim was reminded before I was.

He was remimded that he might like to find his car. Thankfully, my trusty Nitro in the garage has 4 wheel drive.

We were all reminded that if we were to move that Nitro out of the garage, we would first have to move some snow. At this point, I'm reminded of how happy I am that Aaron is living with us right now.

I'm reminded after all this work, that we all need to eat.

My guys' favorite thing to eat in this kind of weather is chilli...

...and chocolate chip cookies...

...some with nuts and some without (the guys don't eat nuts--so guess who ate this whole plate of "nutted" cookies?--over a few days, of course)

Eating cookies reminds me that I MUST sew some more...so...

...I made these.....

...and I finished this...(hand applique)

...which goes with this.

Yesterday, it all started melting a little bit. So I was reminded that spring COULD be on it's way one of these days. And it reminded me that only one short week ago our temperature was 77 degrees and we celebrated Aaron's birthday....

He's a sweet...

sentimental...

CRAZY!!!...

....MAN who loves his family and his country...

Yes, I said MAN. How can my baby be a grown man of 26?

I'm reminded that in 2 months he'll be going to Marine boot camp...

Yes, I'm reminded of a lot of things...
Spring is coming....too fast.

Blizzard

2011-02-02T21:03:00.000-08:00

See this picture:

It's a White OUT! haha I'm having too much fun being snowed in to blog.

Making life easier

2011-01-29T16:09:00.000-08:00

I'm all for making my life easier and a little bit more organized around the house.
I have a huge design wall in my sewing room, but it's covered with stuff--a lot of unfinished projects and whatever I so randomly pin up there. Also, it's mostly blocked by my cutting table. So....I bought the "Disappearing Design Wall" when I was at the Houston Quilt Show in November. I finally got my guys to hang it up for me.

Here they are pretending to be happy about this "Honey-Do"

They installed it in the (large) hallway that I have right outside my sewing room. I keep the ironing board there (because there's no room for it in the sewing room). So, now as I press blocks, I can put them directly on the design wall.

Here it is installed. Looks great! I'll put some framed pictures on top of the shelf someday.

Here it is pulled down. It works like a window shade. And the great thing about it is--I can roll it up without taking the blocks down. It doesn't completely block the sewing room (on the right) or the bathroom (on the left) so I don't have to roll it up to go in and out of those doors. I love it! And I love my guys for installing it for me. (Of course, they had to have a special treat afterwards and I was glad to make them both and Italian Creme Soda. One for me too!)

The Things I've Been Working On

2011-01-24T09:16:00.000-08:00

Cold winter days make me want to do nothing but make quilts. Unfortunately, there are other things that HAVE to be done around here. My long term projects have gotten pushed aside and I'm busy starting new things and finishing other smaller projects.

I made this 9 1/2" block for my guild's outgoing president. She gets to choose the block. Her choice was: A 9 1/2" house block with green grass and blue skys--any kind. And it had to be signed. I signed mine in the smoke of the chimney.

I finished this little quilt last week for my friend Theresa's first grandbaby. I gave it to her on Friday and the baby boy was born Sunday. Good Timing!

It never hurts to throw in a little "Beatles" fabric.

Another bag. These are so quick and easy. Made for my friend Phyllis' birthday.

Last week the two older boys had a day off school so we celebrated with Mexican food. Gabe had just returned from a Boy Scout campout in Kansas (as if it's not cold enough in Oklahoma!) His mom was grateful that he was NOT one of the boys who had to call their parents to come get them for failure to follow the "DON'T GO NEAR THE NEARLY FROZEN RIVER" rules.

Guess who's sitting up all by himself? Wesley likes to come over and participate in afternoon "sew-ins" with his Mommy and Mama T. I don't get much sewing done with a cutie like that around!

This is my mom's special black walnut ring. When I was growing up she made it at least once a month. This is the second time I've made it and it turned out just like hers this time. Yummy!

Just a reminder of how good it was....and that I can't eat this EVERY DAY! (I wish!)

2011-01-17T21:07:00.000-08:00

I made this purse last week to carry to the Oklahoma City Winter Quilt Show.
It's made of wool . Hand embroidered and machine appliqued.

I made this little bag for my friend Ranette who by the way won first place for her Peppermint Twist Quilt at the show.
AND she won the Viewer's Choice award, too. I'm so happy for her. See the pictures here: http://ranettesdailystitch.blogspot.com/

New Quilt for a New Baby

2011-01-07T20:49:00.000-08:00

Calista (oldest daughter) and I made this quilt for her friend Sonja's first baby. Lucia was born on December 22 and we finished it just in time. We had finished the top in time for the baby shower a few weeks ago and presented it to her unfinished. It felt so good to have it done in time to welcome baby home.

Calista did a lot of the piecing and the tracing and cutting of the applique pieces. I machine appliqued it and did the quilting.

2011-01-05T15:21:00.000-08:00

Look what Leslie made me for Christmas! Isn't it beautiful?! And I even saw her working on it and thought it was for someone else. I'm glad it was for me. (Don't know why it's sideways)

And here's what I made for her. It's a pillow.

We did our yearly thing and hung out together and sewed on New Year's Day. Our hubbies watched a lot of TV.

One Last Glimpse

2011-01-02T09:19:00.000-08:00

Today, before I put all the Christmas decorations away, I thought I'd do one last glimpse.

This is my favorite Christmas quilt. It all flannel and oh so cozy. (must be why I posted it twice)

Another flannel quilt. I'll leave this one out, cause it's a winter scene.

The Christmas wallhanging I made some years ago and the Marler Village.

Our tree this year.

The stockings were hung on the kitchen bar with care.

My collection of Jim Shore figurines....and an angel quilt that's so old I don't remember when I made it.

The brass sleigh that my dear mother-in-law gave me many years ago.

The bear that reads the ENTIRE "Night before Christmas" and the moose that sings "Santa Got Run Over by a Reindeer"--fun to have around until the grandkids push their buttons TOO many times. LOL

The tiny "quilts" on my gold tree.

The advent that I didn't exactly keep up with.

Last, but certainly not least... the true meaning of Christmas. My favorite.

May each of you enjoy the blessings of the new year.

Merry Christmas to Everyone

2010-12-27T08:14:00.000-08:00

I can finally show this. It's been unwrapped and taken home. Middle child (Andrea) told me last January that she didn't have a quilt that she could use on her bed. I made the top in February, but my quilter was busy and didn't get it done last winter. It sat at her house all summer, then I changed my mind about the backing. So it's done in time for this cold winter.
Andrea and Patrick loved it! And Timothy sneaked into the picture.

It's all flannel (mostly batiks) with a batik backing.

A few projects, a few grandboys

2010-12-16T14:13:00.000-08:00

Whenever we add a new member to the family, I have to make a new Christmas stocking. This is Wesley's....

...and he LOVED it!

And in case you've forgotten I have 2 other grandboys, here are Timothy and Gabe at their school Christmas program. And yes, their PUBLIC school called it a CHRISTMAS program. Hats off to you, Grisham Elementary, Tulsa, OK. And hats off to Mr. Schmidt who directed the music.

Here's Gabe who wore his elf hat in the program.

Wesley's shirt says, "Here comes trouble". He doesn't look like trouble to me!

I made this Christmas ornament for my sister Greta for her birthday. She was born on Pearl Harbor Day when I was a senior in high school. She's truly my "baby sister".

I also made her this notebook cover. It's left handed 'cause SHE's left handed.

Here's another one just like it, only this one is for a right handed person. I made this for my stitch group Christmas exchange. Donna was the lucky recipient. Wish I had one for myself.

I DID make one of these for myself. I really don't like to embroider, but these were just so darn cute, I couldn't resist.

I died and stamped these little onsies for a baby girl who is expected on Dec. 22. Soon I'll have her quilt done to show here.

This is a sample of the "10 Minute Block" class I'll be teaching at the Cotton Patch on Feb. 21 and 23. It's a method by Suzanne McNeil and is so much fun. It's almost magic how the center dark squares are set in. (They're 3 dimensional)

The "10 Minute Block" can be done with any size squares but you can save a lot of time by using Layer Cakes (10 inch pre-cuts) or Charm Packs (5 inch precuts). (Don't you love my model?)

Time Flies When You're Havin' Fun

2010-12-01T19:39:00.000-08:00

Yes, we Marlers can have fun. Most people think we're totally nuts. And by the time you finish looking at these pictures, you may agree.

We had a great Thanksgiving with Tim's dad and step-mom here from Springfield, MO. All 3 of my kids were here with 2 sons-in-law, 3 grandboys and 2 friends.

It started like this:

Aaron thought his Grandpa Jasper might enjoy seeing his new hat.

Yes, Jasper liked it and described it as a 10 gallon hat on a 2 quart head. (or something like that)

On Thanksgiving morning we answered the door and found this. He resembled the rest of the people standing at our door demanding entrance....

What can I say? Yes they're related to us.

Now this is a fun thing....Some years ago Tim wanted a grapefruit on Thanksgiving morning. It's a long story, but somehow it stuck and now every year we have to have the "Traditional Thanksgiving Grapefruit". Oh well...at least it's good for us and doesn't take much prep time. And the kids love it.

Now, speaking of crazy traditions. Thanksgiving at our house would not be the same without "the roll".
One of the kids will say to Tim, "Dad, can I have a roll?" And this is what we get. It's been going on for more years than I can remember.

Andrea and Patrick "got to" sit at the kid's table this year. So as usual I'm shooting tons of pictures (even though SHE'S the PHOTOGRAPHER http://www.amurphyphoto.com/). So she says, "Hey let's do a silly face". And guess who ends up being the silly one?

We had fun being tickled by Grandma Linda. Some of us seemed to enjoy it more than others. (He really DID like it...the picture just doesn't show it)

We also had lots of fun eating (and squeezing Wesley's thighs) I think Javier was practicing for when he gets his new baby daughter next month.

Need I say anything about this one? Fun, fun, fun!

Uncle Aaron gets his nose tweeked.

Aaron with Grandma Linda and Grandpa Jasper. Sigh....This will probably be Aaron's last Thanksgiving with us for a while. He goes to Marine Boot Camp in April.

3 Marler Generations. Jasper, Aaron and Tim.

Now for the "Time Flies" part. I made this 2 years ago. I got this much of it done and thought I'd just make a new number every day. That's as far as I got. Last year I didn't even bother to take it out of the box and work on it.
So yesterday I decided that this UFO (unfinished object) should get done.

I made all of the rest of the numbers and quilted them. Skippy seems to approve. Now I just have to remember to change the numbers every day.

Well, that's all the fun I can stand for one post. Hopefully, I'll have some finished projects to show next time.

My "loot" from Houston

2010-11-19T21:13:00.000-08:00

I LOVE this fabric. It has 4 huge flower panels and coordinating pieces. I'll make it into a quilt...someday.

I think I must have been in a brown mood, 'cause I sure bought a lot of brown fabric.

...and blues, and giant buttons...

...and a few tools and a few fat quarters...

...and patterns

A line of Phillp Jacob's fabric. Irresistible.

Some lovely wool and a bright fat quarter.

Now how did this get in here? I didn't buy him in Houston. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to show another grandbaby picture. I'm sure you won't mind.

Family pics

2010-11-17T07:48:00.000-08:00

My daughter Andrea is an amazing photographer. We did some family photos this weekend and some of them are on her blog. So if you want to see them go to: http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amurphyphoto.com%2Fblog%2Fits-just-a-picture-tulsa-family-photographer%2F&h=92f89

More quilts from the Houston Show

2010-11-16T16:48:00.000-08:00

I love the bright colors in this quilt!

More bright colors.

The next 6 pictures are details of this quilt. It was so amazing! Lots of fairy tails tied up into one quilt.

Leslie---and more bright colors.

Next time I'll show you some of the loot I came home with.

Famous People at the Houston Show

2010-11-11T06:50:00.000-08:00

This is Frieda Anderson and Laura Wasilowski of
The Chicago School of Fusing
I love their bright colors and hand dyed fabrics. They autographed the pattern I bought from them.

These next two are Janice and Marcea from "Abbey Lane Quilts" Leslie and I have several of their patterns...
...and now ONE MORE!

None other than Elanor Burns of "Quilt in a Day" I've been watching her on PBS since I was a very young quilter.

Lynn Roddy Brown. She had all the quilts from her latest book in the show. She was very sweet and friendly and of course autographed the books we bought from her.

Alex Anderson of "Simply Quilts" and now she and Ricky Tims have an internet show.

Victoria of "15 Minute Play". http://www.15minutesplay.com/ I'm part of that blog. She's from New York City and this is the first time we've met.

And the most famous of all...Our hostess, Rindy Howard. We stayed at her house 4 nights. She worked at the show so she even drove us downtown. Leslie and I made her this quilt to thank her for the "hotel" room. Rindy LOVES pink and black.

Last, but not least, Rindy's husband Gene and their dog Diamond (with tennis ball in mouth). I've known Gene and Rindy since 1988 and they've been wonderful friends. Thank you Gene and Rindy for your hospitality (and the Blue Bell ice cream!)

Houston International Quilt Festival

2010-11-10T08:17:00.000-08:00

Leslie and I started out our "Festival Time" on Wednesday night at the preview. We were there for 3 hours (not counting the hour we stood in line to get in--we had our tickets and were not sure what the traffic situation would be so we got there a "little early")

We drove down on Tuesday and visited 2 quilt shops in McKinney, TX on the way. Even the pouring rain didn't "dampen" our spirits as we drove through maddening traffic in Dallas.

We spent Wednesday "resting"--in other words we went to some more quilt shops, this time in The Woodlands where I lived from 1988-1996. Someone had the nerve to open a quilt shop within a mile of my old house--AFTER I LEFT!

This is Sharon Shamber with her winning quilt. She's known for her beautiful quilting and for the cording she puts around her quilts. This time she added cording in the middle. All of those black and red straight lines are open "lace work" done with covered cording! It was stunning. And she won $10,000 for the top prize!

Here you can see some of the quilting and cording.

This was another top prize winner. I think the catagory was "World of Beauty".

This one was the winner in the "Hand Workmanship" catagory. I heard the lady say it took her 6 years to make. All hand appliqued and hand quilted.

On Thursday morning we decided to wait upstairs for the crowd at the door to thin out. Leslie had a cup of coffee and we relaxed for a few minutes. This is looking down onto the vendor floor.

Did I mention that there were 1,000 vendors there? We saw them all. We didn't stop at all of them. We did our math before going in and realized that we had only 1.27 minutes at each booth if we wanted to see them all. Of course, there were many that we weren't interested in at all and others that we visited more than once. Lots and lots of fabric, gadgets, tools, jewelry, clothing items, embellishments, beads, etc.

I love the bright colors! I wish I could show ALL the quilts I took pictures of.

I feel like I'm part of the orchestra.

This full sized quilt was amazing! It's made entirely of yo-yo's. Look closely in the next picture. It's a close up of the little girl's eyes.

We liked this quilt just because of what it said.

Another close up detail of the winning quilt.

More to follow in the next few days: Famous People at the Show and more quilts.

Houston

2010-11-07T13:47:00.000-08:00

I'm back from the Houston International Quilt Festival and I'm exhausted. It was tons of fun! Leslie and I shopped our guts out! There were 1,600 quilts hanging in the show and 1,000 vendors. We saw it all. When I feel better I'll post a few pcitures. Right now....I'm tired!

Fall

2010-10-27T07:24:00.000-07:00

I think it's about time for fall around here, although judging by the weather we've had lately, it's still summer. But...the last couple of days have been cooler. My mums are in full bloom ( the tree is still green).

Some grandsons are happier than others. Boys will be boys. Gabe has a grasshopper in his hand and Timothy is mad about something. Typical. And the sun is too bright for everyone.

So...even though it feels like summer outside, I'm going to push the issue and decorate for fall inside. Yes, I know I show this quilt every fall, but it's one of my favorites so you have to see it again.
Fall for me means....birthday! Yes, another birthday party. This time with the family and celebrating with my son-in-law Patrick whose birthday is 4 days before mine. My daughter Calista made this huge and wonderful red velvet cake for us. I have one more party coming up tomorrow at the Cotton Patch. Then the "season" of my birthday will be over and we'll start thinking about Thanksgiving.....NO WAIT!!!

There's something else to think about before Thanksgiving. I'm going to HOUSTON! Yes, the International Quilt Show in Houston! My bff Leslie and I will be at the show for 2 days plus the pre-view. We're so excited. I'm sure I'll have lots of pictures to show when I get back.

More Vacation Pictures

2010-10-23T14:01:00.000-07:00

I forgot to post this picture taken in Owatoma, Minnesota on our way back from Michigan. We stopped in this little town because the shop is called Cotton Patch--the same name as the shop I work at in Tulsa. The quilt was designed by the lady who is the store owner. I bought the pattern and someday I'm going to make this quilt.

I bought this little quilt in Shipshewanna, Indiana. It's a real Amish quilt. I hope you can see the lovely hand stitches in the picture.

The red border contains the initials of several Amish women who make these quilts and sell them.

Let the PARTIES begin!

2010-10-19T21:37:00.000-07:00

Soon I'll be having another birthday. It's one of those big birthdays with double digits that are the same number. Makes me feel old. But...parties help! So let's party. I had the first one of the "season" last week.
My stitch group met to finish up a bunch of charity quilts. We had so many to finish up that we decided we should spend the night. So our gracious hostess Emma let us sleep over at her house.

We had a party!

Coleen made this delicious chocolate cake.

There were presents!
We played "Fat Quarter Craps" (I didn't win)

I made popcorn and peanuts fried in bacon grease just like my dad used to make. Yum Yum

And at some point amid all this partying, we finished 12 quilts. We had started some of them at our retreat in April. We also got 7 tops done.

Friday, the partying continues. I'll have my whole family over to celebrate. Tomorrow is my son-in-law's birthday, so I guess I'll share! haha (He's worth it!)

They have quilt shops in Michigan, too!

2010-10-17T20:40:00.000-07:00

While on our vacation in Michigan, my husband was so gracious and stopped at any and every quilt shop that struck my fancy. Let's just say that I helped out the lagging economy.

These quilts were in a little gift shop in Ontanogan. The lady who owns the shop, Edna Yonkes is a prolific quilter. She had lots of little quilty gifts for sale in addition to these beautiful prize winning quilts on display.

These quilts were displayed in the work/classroom of a Ben Franklin store in Marquette. There was lots of fabric here and the lady who helped me was so nice. She gave me a map of all the quilt shops in the Upper Peninsula.

I think this next one was in Isphaming, Michigan. Again, really nice people.

Still Life

2010-10-13T15:28:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since I've posted, but there is "still life" here at the Marler household. We've been back from our wonderful 11 day trip to Michigan for about 9 days and I'm finally starting to feel back to normal, so I went into my sewing room today and made these. I guess I'd call them "Still Life". Notice that I used a shadowing effect which makes them look 3 dimensional. They're for a block exchange with my stitch group.

The first four days of our trip were spent in Kalamazoo (yes, there really IS a Kalamazoo). Tim and I attended Western Michigan University there in 1976-77. The Eastern division of American Association of Petroleum Geologists had it's anual meeting so we got to reunite with friends while there.

This is Jan Fowler. She and her husband John were our neighbors when we lived in Kalamazoo. She and I took a guided tour (directed by Tim and John's former geology professor's wife) to Shipshewanna, Indiana (Amish and Menonite country).

Everything was decorated for the fall seasons and there were quilt shops everywhere! If I had had more time, we probably would have come back totally broke! haha

We were excited to get to meet John and Jan's son, Jacob. He works in Michigan and is in the United States Marine reserves.
.
The subject of the Marines was very near and dear to our hearts while we were gone because we knew that our son was contemplating joining. Sure enough, before we got back, he had sworn in and is headed for San Deigo on April 11, 2011.
As as mom and dad, we are so very proud of him, yet also so very scared for him. But...we get him for the next 6 months. He has moved back into our house until he leaves. He continues to work and is changing into a strong and determined man right before our very eyes.

Lake Superior at Marquette.

We got to see some beautiful country while in Michigan. Plus, we got to see 3 of the 5 Great Lakes.

Here I am on the shores of Lake Michigan in Holland.

Arch Rock on Mackinac Island on Lake Huron.

And...we got to see some of the most beautiful trees I've seen in a long time. The pictures do not do them justice.

We got to stay in this beautiful place.

The Dapple Grey Bed and Breakfast at Eagle Harbor, Michigan on the Keweenaw Peninsula.

Lake Superior was litterally right outside our bedroom window:

Yes, it was cold that evening. Luckily, Tim had the down jacket I made in 1976 for our winter in Michigan.
No "Still Life" here.

Even though it was cold that evening, I was surprised to see the tomato plants were still producing. And aren't the mums beautiful?!

The next morning we drove 2 hours south to dig in an old copper mine. You might find yourself asking, "whose idea was this?" Well...it was Mike's. He's a geologist and he works with Tim. It was an experience I'll never forget. It started out with this beautiful rainbow over a valley of beautiful trees.

I grew up in Caledonia, MO so the name of this mine was pretty cool. Now to be honest, I probably spent more time in the car with the heater running than I did digging in our pile of rocks looking for copper, silver and various other minerals. I really had no idea what I was doing.

But at least I had fashionable boots for the job! Can't say much for the pants, but with the long johns I had underneath, I was able to stay reasonably warm. Until....the rain. I think I found something. I'm just not sure WHAT!

Lucky for me, there were 3 geologists who knew what they were looking for.

That's Mike on the left, Tim in the middle and the man who owns the mine on the right. I forget his name. But he was very nice. Later we went to his rock shop and I bought some Caledonia mine t-shirts and some...rocks.

We came back in time to take in the Tulsa State Fair where I had entered 3 of my quilts. The bright one on the right is mine. And it has a blue ribbon!

This one didn't get a ribbon.

This one got a red ribbon.

Our daughter Calista brought home a few ribbons, too.
The pink socks are hers.

There was no "still life" while we were gone. The grandkids continued to grow and change.

Gabe got contact lenses while we were away. Here he is playing the Amish made marble game I brought home.

And Timothy got glasses! What a handsome boy!

And of course, Wesley got bigger. And cuter.

I plan to add some more vacation pictures soon. Until then...

What's been goin' on

2010-09-22T08:54:00.000-07:00

It seems like the month of September is flying by. And even though it's still very much summer here in Oklahoma, there are a few signs of fall. And I'm ready for it after the extreme heat we've had this year.

Over Labor Day weekend my sister Greta and her daughter Lora Beth came to visit so that my (extremely lovely and talented) daughter Andrea http://www.amurphyphoto.com/ could take Lora Beth's senior pictures.
Even though my husband tried to spoil the weekend with a bad case of infectous colonitis (2 trips to the E.R.) we managed to sneak away and have some fun shopping and doing the photo shoot. (He tells the story a little bit differently--I DID after all, get him a babysitter).

That's Greta and Lora Beth in the top pic with me; and Lora Beth and (extremely lovely and talented) daughter Andrea in the middle of the bottom pic.

Last post, I forgot to show you what my friend Leslie has been up to. She's been VERY busy making quilt tops.

She and I took a hand applique class from Jane Green at the Cotton Patch. Here's Jane. She does absolutely beautiful hand work. It's hard to see from this picture, but trust me, it's really good.

Here are some of the other class members with the block we did our first week.

This is mine. I've decided to add some brown to it. Working on that now.

Well, Tim did get over his illness and for the first time in ages he had to dress up for work. It was such a rare occasion, I thought I should document it.

Many of his co-workers thought he was a stranger trying to break into Tim Marler's office. His boss hasn't gotten over it yet. I think he "cleans up real good". Off to find some oil and gas.

Last week I made these name tags for a challenge from Green Country Quilters' Guild (http://www.greencountryquiltersguild.com/) . The tags had to be mostly green and had to be readable from 4 feet away.

I finished my quilt! It's quilted by Kat LeFevre. I'm very pleased with how it turned out. I got the binding on just in time to take it to the fairgrounds on Saturday to be entered (along with 3 others) in the Tulsa State Fair. You can see them there starting Sept. 30 through Oct. 10.

You all know I have ANOTHER (extreemly talented, lovely) daughter. She's been busy getting her knitted items and pickles ready for the fair. And oh yes, she raises boys (3 of them) so you know she's got her hands full. We all think the last one looks like her. What do you think?

1979 (although I'm sure she wouldn't want you to know that) and 2010. Same pouty lips.

Since I've mentioned everyone else in my family, I'll conclude with the fact that I'm very proud of my son. He's going through some major changes in his life. We pray for God's leading.

Until next time...

9/11

2010-09-11T08:14:00.000-07:00

WELL....I started the following post and things got really SCREWED UP!!!
Captions didn't go with pictures and pictures got repeated. And I don't know how to fix it.

Anyway, we had a good time at Coleen's birthday party.

I'm working on bindings on a couple of quilts that I'm really anxious to show off.

Leslie and I took a hand applique class at the Cotton Patch yesterday. I've been hand appliqueing for a few years now, but it's always nice to take a class from a different person to get a new perspective. This time the teacher was Jane Green and she did a great job.

Until next time (and then maybe I won't be so computer frustrated!)

9/11

2010-09-11T08:05:00.000-07:00

Today is the 9th anniversary of a huge tragedy in the history of our country. I'm sure all of you remember exactly what you were doing on that day. It was such a sad and scary time. I was sitting in front of the tv sewing the binding on a quilt that had been in the works since I was 14 years old. I finished it that day and included details about the day on the label. Let us never forget what happened that day.

On a lighter note....also on that day some ????years ago, my good friend Coleen was born. She's been a really bright spot in the life of our little stitch group. She keeps us laughing and encourages us all to keep going. So...on Thursday we celebrated her birthday at my house.

My friend Kat Davis made the beautiful and delicious chocolate cheesecake for the occasion (if you want to order one from her let me know and I'll give you her number). Isn't it just TOO cute! The little needle on the cake was even threaded!

Having company makes me get up out of the sewing room to clean my house (which is a good thing when it's done!). It also causes me to set a pretty table--something I don't usually do for just Tim and me.

We had a great lunch, opened presents and then worked on some projects.

This is what the birthday girl is working on:

June was working on table runners and..

Leslie and I are working on a disappearing 9 patch.

Donna was cutting strips for a future project.

Wesley's other story

2010-09-04T20:03:00.000-07:00

Please go to: http://landolista.blogspot.com/ to read more about my precious grandson. Some of you have prayed for him before he was born.