Excitement is in the air!

The stockings are now hung by the chimney with care.....

 

Today I am picking up the out of state kids (who am I kidding?!) grandbaby today from the airport! I can hardly wait to see how the lil' princess has grown!

Going to have a houseful this Christmas with all the kids here and I wouldn't want it any other way!

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year from my family to yours!

Using the Lil' Twister

I had alot of fun using this ruler for my Convoy border. Thought I would share in steps how you make a border like mine. I see lots of quilts sewn together with the Twister ruler but not a border.

First you cut 5" squares and sew them together. If you have a charm pack that matches your quilt, it would be even quicker to whip this up! Sew a 3" border around your long strip of 5" squares.

 

Put your Lil' Twister ruler on the first seams and line it up with the lines on your ruler. Cut all 4 sides.

 

Move down to the next seam and again place your ruler on those seams and cut around. Every cut you make is lined up with seams so it is easy to know where your next cuts will be.

 

Continue cutting at each seam with your ruler.

 

You get a little bit of leftovers from the centers. I have seen these made into 9 patch pot holders. Very cute!

 

When you make each cut, place your pieces together in their pinwheel places.

 

I cut several pinwheels and then sew them together so I can keep them in order more easily.

 

I'm not a great piecer but look at how the centers of each pinwheel look so nice! It's very easy to "match" centers together. You really don't have to do anything but sew a straight line!

 

So you go from 5" squares with 3" borders around them....

 

....to a very cute border! Looks complicated, but isn't! Just what I love~Easy and quick! I'm now thinking I might have to buy the bigger twister ruler that works with 10" square fabric!

 

Would love to hear if you try these rulers!

Grandma'a Apron

I went back to the LQS and was able to get a picture of the full BOM we have been working on in 2010. I love it! Can hardly wait to get mine finished......after Christmas that is!

 

2010 Block of the Month

Saturday was the last BOM class at the LQS. It has been a very fun year! I have been making the Apron blocks. Here are a couple of pics of how our blocks can be put together.

I love this one! Wish I would have taken a picture of the whole quilt but the room was crowded and lots of ladies in the way so I settled for half of it.

 

Another version of the same BOM showing a different border.

 

Wish wish wish I would have made this one too! Soooo cute! We have a fabulous local designer and she designed both of these patterns.

 

Now to get mine finished. I bought the speciality ruler to try my hand at making the pinwheel border. Will show pics when I start!

Here comes the Convoy!

My dil had an emergency appendectomy a couple of weeks ago. While at the hospital she found out she was pregnant! I have been watching these two lil' ones so she can rest. It has been fun and crazy!

This was my high chair when I was a baby. I have used it for all of my kids and now we are on to the grandkids using it. Yes.......it needs a new strap to keep the munchkin in. I think he was trying to get out because I was taking too long to find him something else to eat. :)

 

And lil' man is dancing because he is so excited that he could help Grammie decorate the Christmas tree! I love the excitement and energy of these lil' ones!

 

Speaking of CRAZY.....I am finally finishing this Buggy Barn pattern called Convoy. It is for the oldest's birthday. Am changing the pattern so it will fit on his bed. It has to be done this weekend so I can get on with Christmas and fun times! It's our year to have all the kids home so the Honey and I are excited!

 

Finally something to show!

Oh my!! We are having a winter storm here! I have been sick all week so didn't head to Provo for the last home game at BYU but The Honey couldn't miss it yesterday! Yea.......I told him it was going to snow........by the time he was ready to come home, I-80 was closed so he got as far as he could and then had to spend the night in a hotel. He was able to get home during a lull in the storm but it is coming down again right now. So glad we can stay home now and watch the snow fall from inside the house instead of inside a car. We always seems to get stuck in one or two storms each year. I keep thinking we are smarter than that by now after all these years of living in snow but obviously not.

The Honey picked up 2 of the 3 quilts I had at the quilter. I was excited to see them! This is the busy time of year for my quilters and they had had these for a very long time. Of course the one that is the Christmas gift was the one that wasn't finished yet but I have 4 more that need to be quilted before Christmas and they have promised me that they will be done even if they work 24 hours a day! :) I would hate the pressure they (there are 2 of them that longarm) must be feeling right now!

Here's my Red/Aqua one that I did in a swap. It's bold. It's bright. It will make a great snuggle quilt. Disappearing 9-Patch.

 

This is the back of the quilt. I took my own extra fabric pieces and pieced them all together. I kind of like it.

 

This is the Jelly Roll Quilt Along. Already have it hanging up.

 

Now to go snuggle under my quilt and think about the next project on my list!

Sew Night

It was cold and windy yesterday. Perfect weather for staying indoors and sewing! We got some snow the night before with more on it's way this week--so says the weatherman. I love watching the snow fall under the streetlight during the night.

Am trying to modpodge this lil' quilt together. First time trying to paper piece...didn't go too great yesterday. Had to try to figure out what I was doing and then my printer ran out of ink. I have been trying to decide what to do with the 2 empty spaces if I don't paper piece 2 more blocks. I have already cut the fabric and I don't have any extra. I really don't/didn't want to buy anymore so have been trying to think of a block that would work with what I have cut. I might have a solution and will leave paper piecing for another day when I am more prepared.

Stayed up into the early morning hours to sew last night (this morning). Loved the quietness of the house and stillness of the night. I should have known better though...the body still wakes up at the same ol' time when the sun rises!

This is for the lil' princess for Christmas....hope to get it finished today then will start on the next one. I am enjoying making these little Snugglie quilts for the grandbabies.

 

Are you playing along?

The Layer Cake Sampler Quilt Along started yesterday. Is anyone playing? I am! I have had a couple of layer cakes for ages and decided to use them up.

I love the Charisma fabric (on the left) but it might be a tad too busy for this quilt. I am disappointed that the pinwheel doesn't stand out more. Most of the fabric is busy and dark with not much contrast. We will see what happens as the weeks go by. The one on the right is unknown fabric. I love the colors in it...bright, deep pinks and greens but again, it might not be a perfect choice for a sampler quilt. At least I can feel good that I am using some of my stash, right?!

 

Started cutting out another grandbaby's snuggle quilt today. I am not getting much done though...a few months ago I downloaded the pilot show of "In Plain Sight" and watched it on a flight to Denver. I enjoyed it enough to check out the rest of the first season on Netflix. BUT I am finding it is hard to watch tv/computer and also try to sew. I hear of other quilters being able to do both at the same time. I guess I'm not one of them. Darn because I am kind of getting hooked on the show! It probably isn't wise to just watch tv all day is it? :)

Since it's Halloween night......

....I'm dreaming of this again! Oh yummy! I was in Provo yesterday taking a class to learn how to use my embroidery module. Found this great pizza restaurant in Riverwoods shopping center. It's called MALAWI'S (no website). Supposedly the pizza is healthier than regular pizza. Thin crust and baked in a brick oven with fresh ingredients. We loved it. I haven't had pizza for a very long time (diet-blah) so it was fun to chomp down on the first bite and taste yumminess!

Here's my college son trying his pizza.

 

The dessert pizza's were oh so good too!

 

 

One of the reasons why I love Wyoming!

I'm a city girl living in the "wilds" of Wyoming. Have been for many, many years now. I don't know why this always makes me smile. I never get tired of seeing this....sure glad I have that fence though.....:)

Pumpkins!

In my Church, I work with the girls that are ages 12 to 18. They are such a fun group! October is my month to plan activities with them so we decided to have a Halloween dinner at the end of the month. This past Wednesday, the girls made Bat invitations to give to all the single "Ghoul Groan-ups" (girl grownups). I also had them make cheesecloth ghosts. I was very surprised that they had never made them before!

We also made these cute simple pumpkins. Takes all of 30 seconds! Just get a fat quarter or scrap of fabric. Place toilet paper roll in the center of fabric then bring fabric up and into the roll. Finish it off by adding a leaf and a stick for the stem. The girls loved making them! We plan on using them and the ghosts for the centerpieces on each table. Should be a fun night!

 

Gettin' it done!

Here's a couple of more pictures of what I am working on. By the time you read this, it will be finished! Yea! Deadline will be met!

Friday afternoon.

 

Friday evening.

 

And?????? Can't show anymore....need some surprise for Christmas in case his mommy sees this!