More getting ready for fall

This is what the lil guy and I made the other day. You might have seen these on some other blogs. I found the crows at the Dollar store and decided I needed to make one too.

The lil guy is staying at our home this week. He has been so much fun to have around! I had forgotten what it was like to have a constant little buddy around me all day long. It has been pure joy and I am so thankful his parents let us have him while they are on their cruise. It's going to be hard to give him up this weekend.

We had some family pics taken in May....finally got to see them!

Don't you just LOVE these?!

What I did this summer!

I haven't been blogging much. It has been a very busy and quick summer. I'll try to recap in pictures........
First off lil' sis graduated from high school! The whole family cheered that night!

Lil' man left for a 2 year Church mission in Tennessee. He loves it there even if it is hot and humid.


The summer is also filled with lots of birthdays and anniversaries in the family!


Saw a hometown circus!


Went to Girl's Camp and survived and also took a short trip to Denver to see our oldest and his darling wife. I was even able to house hunt with them! Too fun!


All summer long we searched high and low for a cabin to buy at Bear Lake. We made one offer on a cabin in July but the home inspection did not come back positive so we kept looking. Finally closed on our new getaway a few weeks ago! We are loving it! It is the perfect size for our family and we hope we can have lots of good memories there.


This is what we did last weekend!


Now Labor Day has past and summer is ending with fall coming fast! We actually had snow yesterday at the cabin. Brrrr! Time to start getting ready for the lil' sis to leave the nest and relearning what it is like to live as just 2 people again. It's a great time in our lives!

4:30 a.m.

Every morning I look out my bathroom window and am struck by how eery this sight is. Eery in a good way. I love how mysterious these trees look. Hearing the rustle of the leaves just adds to the attraction for me. I have been wanting to get a shot of this for some time now but at 4:30 in the morning, I am not always thinking straight. This morning though I kept telling my mind to just go for it. Find the camera. Take a picture before it gets any lighter.

Happy 4th!

I love this country of ours! I feel so blessed to be an American.

It's been a great couple of days. Birthday yesterday and it wasn't too bad turning around year older. Some years have been rough. :) There was a missionary sighting of Lil' Man in TN. I love hearing about those! And tomorrow we head to Bear Lake to look at more cabins. I love my life!

Utah's Shop Hop

I hated missing out on the shop hop in Utah this past week so on Friday I made a mad dash over there to hit a few shops. I used the excuse that I had to return some blinds at Target to get me out of state. I was able to hit 5 of the quilt shops and then I found Material Girls that was highlighted in the newest edition of Quilt Sampler. I had a hard time finding their shop since it is in a new shopping area but I called and Nadine, the owner, guided me around the corner and into her shop. I am so glad I made the effort to find it! It was darling with so many samples hanging everywhere in the store! Her quilt that was in the magazine is better looking in person. After seeing it in person I had to buy the kit. I will definitely shop there again.

Maybe it was just me, but I had been so excited thinking that every shop hop participant would get a whole pattern of each quilt from each store. Well. I guess we did but I found most of the quilts to be ones that I would probably never make. The theme was along the lines of Fairy Tales. The quilts were all beautiful but just not ones that I would make for a child or myself to hang on a wall. Quilt Haven did have a traditional quilt and that was the only one that I thought I might want to make. So having said all that, I'm not sure I like the idea of getting a whole pattern at each store instead of a quilt block with ideas on how to set it. Maybe it was because of the theme. Anyway......I still had a great time enjoying each of the shops.

I started out in Ogden and worked my way down to Salt Lake. My favorite shop was Quilt Haven in Bountiful. I don't know why I love that place so much?! I also love Quilt, Etc. in Sandy. The employees at Quilt, Etc. go above and beyond making your visit memorable with them. They had games, food, demonstrations and just a happy feeling there. I spent lots of money in each shop...now to get working on my new treasures!

Here's a couple of pictures of what I bought that day......here are some kits I found irresitable....

Name of my blog quilt

I have been asked what the name of the quilt at the top of my blog is called. It is Storm at Sea by John Flynn. I used a precut kit full of batiks. When I was ready to take a picture of the quilt it was snowing but I decided to go ahead and take the pic anyway. I kind of like how it turned out with the snow falling on it.

And this is?????

Does anyone recognize this pattern? I can't believe that I made this quilt and now can't find the pattern to it. The shop that quilted it for me, copied it and have one now hanging in their shop. They called to ask me the name of it and where they could find the pattern. Ummmmmm. I'll get right back to you on that one......it would be nice to just remember where I found it at. I need to update my quilt book too and I would love to have that info in there too. I'm thinking that it came from Quick Quilts magazine or another "easy to make" quilt magazine. On the otherhand, it could be from a strip quilting book........

Update on Girl's Camp/Missionary

I survived!
What else can I say?! Actually I had a great time! At the last minute we had an extra girl come but it worked out well. The weather was beautiful. With the week before being cool, the week of Girl's camp was so nice. We didn't even have mosquitoes or horseflies! I get bit all the time during the summer from those pesky bugs so it was really a nice blessing to not have those lil' things around all week. The girls were great and got along so well. I couldn't believe it when they would come to me and ASK if they could go to bed! Ummmm...sure you can, even if it's only 10:00 p.m.! (And no. I did NOT drug them!) Who would have thought that a bunch of teenagers would be so tired by the end of the day that they would want to go to sleep?! The only downside happened on the first night. I was hoping that someone would turn the fast running, noisy river down to a more managable sound level. I thought it would be so fun to fall asleep to running water. Instead it kept me awake most of the night because it was raging so loud!

Lil' man made it safe and sound to Tennessee. He is loving it out there though he mentions bugs and humidity. :) He was still in Heaven when we lived in Corpus and Kingsville so he wasn't prepared for what humidity would feel like all day long. He's a trooper though since he says that he is starting to get use to it. I lived in South Texas for several years and I never got use to it. That tells me he is being upbeat and happy. I am so glad.

Who could resist this?

A few weeks ago I was at TJ Maxx in Ogden, Utah and saw the cutest ironing board covers! I finally took a few minutes today to put the one I bought on. Is this not the cutest thing ever?! Who wouldn't want to iron with this on your board? There was another one that had leopard spots on it. I was going to buy it too but then thought, "it really isn't me...". Now I wish I had bought it too. Who cares if it isn't "ME"?! These would make anyone think that ironing is fun! The best part, besides the dots, is that it has velcro straps underneath to attach to the board instead of those silly strings that you have to try to tighten. I love it!

My Missionary

I was going to keep this blog only on my quilting adventures but for the last couple of months I have slowed down....way down on sewing anything besides a button on a shirt! Since I haven't been quilting, I also haven't been keeping up on my blog. Today though I am changing that....my youngest son is in the air right now flying to Nashville to serve a LDS mission for 2 years. I just had to share a picture of him! Girl's Camp is also this week. Starting tomorrow I will plaster a smile on my face and take charge of 8 teenage girls. I am not a camper. No other words to describe it. Yesterday I found out that the tents we were suppose to use are moldy. My assistant is scrambling to get new tents for us today. I have lots of last minute prep work to do but at least I know that by Friday afternoon, camp will be over and I can then concentrate on things I do like to do....like quilt!

How fun to get a package in the mail!

Carolyn over at Lakeside Quiltinghad a give away awhile back. I thanked her in an email but I have been wanting to share what I got from her here. Thanks again Carolyn! The goodies were all wonderful! Several patterns, chocolate covered pretzels, a darling notebook holder and lots of fabric! I love it all and hope to begin using the fabric after life eases up a bit.

Apron Giveaway!!!

Aprons seem to be back in style! I love all the aprons I have been finding online lately. My mom was a big apron wearer and I have some of her great vintage aprons that I inherited. If you want to enter a giveaway for a darling apron go to The Apronista's blog and follow her directions.

The Cottage part 2

Not sure why I couldn't get the url to work in the last post but here are pics of the lil' home....

The Cottage

It has been a very busy week....not with quilting but with real estate. We have (at least I think) a very cute lil' house in Utah. We bought it for our 2 children to live in while they were going to school. It has worked out perfectly for them but it is now time to move on. Our Middle Child is graduating soon and so now while the market is still ok, we have decided to put the cottage up on the market. I have mixed feelings. I have loved that lil' house. It was built in 1890 but has been completely remodeled. I enjoyed being able to come over and stay there when I wanted a break from small town life. It was so nice not having to drive back home on cold, snowy nights because we had a place to stay if we needed it. Or just coming over to shop and play, then not having to stay at a hotel because we already had a place to stay. It has been perfect for our needs.

If you know of anyone who needs a small place to live in Utah........

Dresden Bloom

I think it was over a year ago that my friend, Cindy, and I were in Green River at a LQS and saw this beautiful quilt made from jelly rolls. The shop had just finished a class on making this Dresden Bloom quilt but we both bought the pattern and ruler so we could make our own. Well. You know how that can be. I am a fabricholic and buy lots of stuff related to quilting but sometimes life gets busy or you just aren't in the mood to make something that you thought was gorgeous months ago. The pattern and ruler sat in my cupboard. Jump forward to about a month ago and the LQS here was having a class on making this same quilt that I already had the materials for so I quickly signed myself and dear Middle Child up! I knew it might be the only way I would actually finish this quilt. I am so glad I did! I still think it is a gorgeous quilt. I used a Maypole jelly roll from Moda and couldn't be happier with my choice! My daughter used a Strawberry Lemonade jelly roll. I wish I had a picture of her quilt. We used bright colors while the other ladies in the class used more fall colors. All turned out beautiful. Here is the pattern if anyone is interested. As you can see the pattern looks so different from what my quilt looks like!

Big Horn Sheep

I know they look like goats but these little guys really are sheep. We took a Saturday drive over to the Gorge and saw these guys on the way. Saw alot of deer and antelope also. A few elk were out too. It is always fun to find elk. We started out with blue skies but the closer we got to the dam, the harder it was snowing. At least it wasn't sticking to the ground. I am so tired of snow! Isn't this April?! I finally got my Dresden Bloom quilt back from my LAQ. The weekend has been busy with Middle Child and her dh being here so I haven't had a chance to take a pic yet of it. Hopefully I can do that tomorrow, along with finishing my Orange Crush 4-patches. I really need to get those done so I don't fall behind in the mystery!

Will it ever get to be Spring?

I wore black to Church today to honor the newest snowstorm we have had. I noticed several other ladies did the same thing. One jokester went so far as to wear her black snowflake sweater. She claims it will be the last time we see it on her this year. Not sure I would go that far since where I live, it could very easily snow in July and she might have to wear it then. We were all hoping that the white stuff was gone for good this season and we could start thinking about our gardens. I am in charge of a gardening enrichment night on the 15th and the women are starting to think that we will have to use snowplows to just find our gardens this year! Of course we can't complain too much. We need the water the snow provides and it has been a good year for that. It's just sad that yesterday I was looking out this same window at my lawn. Today I see a good 3-4" of fresh snow.

The Ongoing Dilemma

I decided that I should take time to organize my fabrics better so I would know what I had in my cabinet. You know the reasoning. "If I organize and make it all pretty, then I will use it." It really is very pretty to look at when it's all grouped together and I tie my lil' fabric ribbon around each set. Of course I do have to shove it all back into the cabinet that seems to be shrinking in size daily. I love to ooh and aah over each piece. There are a few pieces I have to wonder about though. Why did I buy THAT? And WHAT was I thinking? But it is getting organized and each piece looks good. My current thought pattern is that I will now see each fabric grouping more clearly with all the fabric ribbons tied around them and then I will be sure to get creative and start using it. I have visions of using it all! Which reminds me.........our LQS is having a huge sale today.........might need to get down there to see what's new. You know. Now that the fabric cabinet is organized all pretty.

Orange Crush

Bonnie Hunter is starting another mystery quilt on April 1st. I decided to follow the leader on this one and chose basically the same color scheme as Bonnie. Here are my main fabric choices and some of my scraps that will be put into the quilt. Bonnie's last mystery, Carolina Crossroads was gorgeous so I am excited to begin this new one next week! The picture below shows another fabric option for the quilt. Do I dare use my orientals and shiny stuff?

The Honey

I really am blessed by having a husband who loves me. He treats me very well. This week is Spring Break but Lil' Sis has to work most days so we ran to Utah for a visit with Middle Child for 2 1/2 days. When Honey came home from work last night he had these in his hands for me. I had to break the news to him though that he also loved and missed me so much that he bought me another Bernina.

I love him.

Yippee for me!

Lookee what I got! I have been visiting the Middle Child (what she calls herself, not me!) for the past few days in Utah and while there shopped the fabric stores. I just happened to ask the owner of one of the stores if they ever got trade-ins. He told me that in fact he just got this machine 2 days ago and would sell it to me for what he gave the owner! He hadn't serviced it yet, but told me to stop by this a.m. for me to pick it up on my way home. When I came back in, he told me that it didn't have the table extension with it so he would either subtract $35 from the total or get me a new one. I already have another table that will fit so I took the lower price. Yea for me! I really got a deal! I am so excited to start playing with it. Now that I live where there is a quilt store, I hope to take more classes. It has always been a pain to take my machine out of the cabinet then make sure I have all the cords, etc. to take to a class. Now I can leave one in my cabinet and take the other with me!

Red Poppies

I have been buying jelly rolls lately. Either on ebay or from sales I find with internet quilt shops. Instead of just hanging onto the rolls and oohing and aahing over the beautiful colors, I am making some new wall hangings. Shocking I know that I would actually use them! This one will hang in my family room after I varnish my new quilt rack I got from ebay. The pattern is called Red Poppies and comes from the book "Strip Delight" by Suzanne McNeill. I used Moda's Madeira jelly roll. It's on sale at http://www.homespunhearth.com/detail.asp?product_id=ZFjr-MD100&src=LeftColumnBestSellers

I have also found the greatest site for looking at quilt books! http://www.softexpressions.com/software/books/4K10944.php This should take you straight to the page where you can find the Strip Delight book. There are only 10 patterns in the book but look on this page and see how many of the patterns you can actually see!!! I found that most books I looked at were just like this page. Very detailed with pictures of what you would find in the book you are interested in. So now I head to amazon.com to see their prices, then back to this softexpressions.com site to see more of the book before I buy it.

Cabin Fever Insanity!

This quilt came about from a challenge from Pat Sloan a few weeks ago. On her yahoo group, she was talking about how we needed a challenge to get us out of the winter blues. I was up to the challenge since winter here has seemed to linger on and on. I also had a few days where I could actually work on my blocks without too much interuption from the Honey and Lil' Sis. I had a great time! At first I was going to use just scraps of fabric that I didn't like anymore but then I found my stash of browns and pinks and decided to change the look. I love how it turned out! Maybe next time I will use the ugly stuff......I do need to get rid of it somehow......even if it's just so I can buy more fabric to hold on to......not that I do that.