Latest musings

Yesterday I needed to put away what I was working on, due to the visit of a certain little person, so I pulled out a jelly roll that I had purchased from Connecting Threads. I played around and came up with these blocks. They go together so easily, and I think I can easily make 12 blocks, and then probably find something in my stash for sashing and a border or two, and have another quilt top that will probably go to Project Linus when completed. I am so pleased with this collection. I am not an employee or in any way related to the Connecting Threads folks; just a happy customer. I also like their prices - $5.96 a yard, I think it is.



These little silly DGC are taking a bath in our bathroom and wanted me to take a picture of their "helmets." Too cute. They just have the best time playing around and making a mess!







The last picture is on one section of our back yard on a warmer day than today. Come on back warm weather! I think (hope) it is to warm up a bit starting tomorrow.

Project Linus string quilt

Well, as promised, here is the second string quilt I made for Project Linus. I don't like this one as well as the last one, but hopefully it will be something that someone will enjoy.

We have been enjoying the flowers in bloom here. The daffodils are nearly gone, but there are still quite a few tulips. We have gotten our first glimpses of dogwoods and lilacs this week. Some of the early rhododendrons are in bloom, but the azaleas are pretty much done. There is so much to appreciate and enjoy with all the spring color splendor.

Spring has sprung!

We have been fortunate enough to have several absolutely beautiful spring days. Yesterday and the day before were up to about 80 and today is to be more of the same. This cute little guy is our youngest grandson. He is four, and had just learned how to ride a bike without training wheels. He thinks he is pretty cool, and we absolutely agree! He is such a little sweetie pie and he loves to be at our house as much as we love to have him.

With our beautiful weather, DH and I have spent quite a bit of time working in the yard. We pulled a ton of weeds (well, it seemed like a ton), and got four yards of mulch delivered and spread, plus other miscellaneous yard chores. We were pretty sore at first, but feel pretty good now. The yard sure looks better. The daffodils and tulips are fading, but other blossoms will come to replace them.

On the quilting front, there is not much to report. I did finish quilting another string charity quilt. It is not the prettiest one in the world, that's for sure, but hopefully it will make someone happy. I am working on hand-sewing the binding, and will post a picture when I finish.

I helped our two DGDs and a neighbor girl begin work on purses. It is a simple little pattern, and they still have some work to do. It was a challenge to have the three of them, because they all wanted my attention at the same time, but we managed.

I better go get something done.

Happy Easter and Finally!

First - Happy Easter, everyone! We had the family here today, and had a great time. The DGC were so cute and had so much fun.


Now, drum roll, please! I finally got it done! The quilting and binding seemed to go on for miles! I am, of course, speaking of my Thimbleberries Lakeside BOM from 2008. I increased the size of it to be king-sized. It isn't perfect, but I am quite pleased with it, and it looks nice on our bed. I need to get some more fabric and make pillow cases to match.

The rest of the pictures show a bit of the quilting that I did. I have a Janome 1600P that I put on two large tables for quilting.



















I haven't posted since I went to my retreat. It was right on the beach. We had such a nice view, and besides sewing a lot, we went and walked on the beach. The weather was just perfect. One of our friends was ill and couldn't go, so we made this signature wallhanging for her. We gave it to her yesterday and she was so pleased to receive it.

DGS and giveaway prize

This little cutie-pie is our 4-year-old DGS Anson. He is holding "Tommy," his teddy bear, who is wrapped up in his coat. He brought poor Tommy to Grandma to mend, because he had split his back seam. Anson is our youngest DGC, and I'm sure will be our last, barring an "accident," :-). He is such a little cutie-pie, and loves being with us just as much as we love having him.

This is the what I won from the giveaway at

http://alderwoodquilts.blogspot.com/. I love the fat quarters and the pattern. That would make such a cute quilt for Project Linus. I think I will put that on my stack to make soon. You might want to check out her April giveaway. She does some nice things.

No April fool joke here!

Well, I am so excited! I was doing some blog hopping and went to http://alderwoodquilts.blogspot.com/ and found to my delight, that I am the winner of Sue Hauser's March giveaway of some Lakehouse fatquarters and a darling pattern called Bloomin' Bugz by Sew Special Designs. I just emailed her my name and address, so will be anxiously waiting for my special prize! I'll post a picture after it arrives. Sue's quilt shop is in Banks, Oregon, which is probably 30-40 miles from where I live. I definitely am going to plan to take a drive out that way one of these days soon and visit her shop.

On another front, I am going to a quilt retreat in Newport, OR on Sunday, and coming home Tuesday. I am very excited about the outing. There were to be three of us who are very close going, but our one friend has become ill and won't be able to go. We'll still have a great time, but we will sure miss her.

At the retreat I will be working on a quilt for one of my DGDs. I won't be able to post pictures of it until after she receives it, because she sometimes takes a look at my blog.