Celebrate Color - October Part 2

I wanted to enter two items for:

and the linky on the contest site would not let me use the same URL for both entries so here ya go, a tote that I made using THIS tutorial;





It reminds me of fall with the pumpkin,gold and brown among the colors with a shot of blue for the sky.

4/19 April Tag & a little sewing

This month Joan is asking a few questions about our magazine preferences for the Charming Girls Quilt Club April Tag.

1.which magazines do I prefer???
Here are just a few from my collection;

Funny how those I chose were all in the orange/yellow colorway and then my lighting didn't help matters much. I don't subscribe to the magazines because I like to look through them first to see if there is anything I would make. If I were to subscribe to one it would be the Quilts and More most likely.

2. have I made any projects from the magazines?
3. would I show them?
College girl saw this quilt while I was flipping through the magazine and fell in love with it.


So I made it with almost the exact same fabrics. This was her freshman year of college quilt;


Then I made a purse following these directions;

College girl picked the fabrics out for this one. She likes it but really prefers a bigger bag.


Another bag that I made;


I made this for an auction. The checkbook cover was made using a tutorial found at Crazymomquilts(did you hear she is coming back???!!)


Finally, I did get a little sewing done this evening - very little.

The binding for the Blush table runner. I need to finish getting the POSH binding glued to the back of the quilt so that I can get to stitching that at home and I need to get the Blush binding attached so that I can take that with me on Friday. Possibly the Verna quilt will go along with me as well.

I vacuumed my sewing room today which has to be done with the hose attachment because there was SO much thread on the floor it would just get tangled in the beater brush. Well it looked so good when I was finished that I decided to clean off my sewing tables as well as my cutting table. They were quite the mess and it took me a couple of hours but it looks so much better now. I just smile every time I walk into the room. I kind of don't want to mess it up by sewing!! That won't last long though. :) Hubby walked in, noticed right away and was surprised. I had to have my son take a look around and be more observant, he then asked when I was going to clean off the scrapbooking side of the room. **rolling my eyes**

The giveaway post is getting lots of comments! Don't forget if you want to enter the giveaway you need to comment on THIS post (and follow the rules so you can get three entries!).

Praise - the septic tanks were pumped and passed inspection! One more thing checked off the list!

Prayers - that my son would stay on task and finish his Biology course this week.

One project done!

I procrastinated as usual and didn't even start the tote until late morning on Saturday. WHY do I do this over and over?? I don't know either but it really irritates me. This was the tote to be given to the gal at church on Sunday. I wrapped it and it was presented to her in a basket along with other gifts and cards. I didn't get to see her open it


Mark one off of the list. The quilt that I was going to give to the newlyweds this coming weekend is on hold. Last Wednesday when I went to the BSR class, hubby went to JoAnn's for me to get Warm & White. I told him exactly where it was in the store, how much I needed and I gave him my coupon. They didn't have any. WHAT???!! How can that be? That is like the grocery store being out of bread and milk. Was there some quilting emergency that I didn't know about that would clear the shelves of Warm & White? When he came to pick me up from the BSR class he told me the sad news. I gritted my teeth and decided I would just buy some at full price in the quilt store where I was taking the class. They only had Warm & Natural. Okay then. Project on hold. I can still finish the top (and I am almost there) but then I can't sandwich it and quilt it until I can get some Warm & White. Hmph.

I had seen an article online about grilled pizza and I was intrigued by the idea. I did some searching, read various recipes and methods and decided to give it a try. I used my new 'normal' pizza dough recipe and after the rising I split the dough in half and made two pizzas because my normal sized pizza was NOT going to fit on the grill. I know this because I measured the grill ahead of time. Well then came the tough part of doing this all on my own because I do not even know how to start the gas grill. I am not a fan of open flames, bottles of propane and lighters. I had to ask for help. Well my son said he knew how to start it so he got it going and we let it heat up. Then I chickened out and decided to get my hubby involved. I called him to the deck and explained what we were going to do. He was less than thrilled. When he found out that we were not going to use a pan or stone he lost all interest. He wanted to see someone else do this first. He was sure the dough was just going to more or less drip through the grill and make a huge mess. I told him to be adventurous! Go with the flow. This just made him a little less excited to be a part of this. He was getting close to ruining the 'event' and the dinner. College girl stepped in at that point and gave him a little talking to. She will be the first to admit that she is normally the one to 'lose it' when facing the unknown so I guess she recognized the signs and took it upon herself to talk him down. Now maybe for you grilling pizza is no big deal and you are finding it hard to believe that this sort of drama was being played out. I know.

We proceeded. Hubby sprayed some Pam onto a paper towel and wiped down the grill and then I sort of tossed the dough onto the rack. It didn't land exactly like I wanted it to so some rearranging was in order. We let the top bubble up and hubby peeked at the underside a few times. When it was browned nicely but not burned he flipped it over and we worked quickly to cover it in pesto;

Then I arranged the chicken pieces and red onion;

Hubby sprinkled the cheese on top and then shut the lid. It really doesn't take very long and it is time to remove it from the grill. Hubby used a big spatula and moved it to the pizza stone so that he could cut it.


It was soooooo good!We all really liked it. The kids started eating this one right away while hubby and I got the second one cooking. Hubby did have to agree that this was a great way to cook pizza, especially when the house is hot. I was trying to talk him into the idea of barbecuing the pizza in the winter. I would be in the house of course cheering him on. ;)

Praise - to our God for His wonderful creation. We watched a magnificent lightning storm last night, accompanied by some very loud thunder. The storms always make me think of the many wonders of God's creation.

Prayers - for the young missionary family that spoke at our church on Sunday. Their desire is to be God's servants in any way He sees fit in a very foreign land.

I've joined a club

Kelly at Charming Chatter has started a Quilt Club and I've signed up. I have lots of projects to do anyway and this is some extra motivation to get 'er done!



These won't necessarily be done in this order, just aiming to have them done by the end of July.

First up make the binding and apply it to the Old Red Barn Quilt Along Quilt.


This tote is going to be for a wonderful lady at our church who was so faithful to organize and lead the women's shelter that has now been closed. The print is by Blank Quilting and has some of the names of God on it. The colors are wonderful on this piece! The lining fabric is Moda Marbles,the pattern is by Tanya Whelan's Grand Revival (same tote pattern that I used for my sister's birthday tote). This project MUST be done by July 12th for the presentation.


Using my scraps from the Old Red Barn Quilt Along Quilt, some white cotton yardage that I found in my stash and some white Minkee that I bought for a project that it ended up not working out for, I am going to make my very first stacked coins quilt! I think it will just be a throw size and I would LOVE to give it to my hubby's nephew and his bride when they get married on the 18th of this month. DEADLINES! Of course it helps that my 'scraps' are already sewed together in strips of six! I'm pretty excited that I had everything on hand. I'm even thinking that I have some Warm & White stashed in my fabric closet too but it 'might' be Warm & Natural which will NOT work. If all I need is to get is some Warm & White that will be a pretty sweet deal.


I have never used Minkee on the back of a quilt before but I got advice from Rebecca at Our Busy Little Girls on how she did hers.You have GOT to go look at the quilt she made using the blues and greens of Ginger Blossom and the scalloped border and the Minkee back. CUTE! She said the spray adhesive would not hold the Minkee and that she did use LOTS of pins.

With that in mind I put QUILT BASTING PINS at the top of my shopping list and headed out this morning to get groceries for the weekend. I went to Wal-Mart and headed straight for the drastically reduced in size fabric department. I had already gotten one package of the pins there so I KNEW that they carried them. No pins. I could not find the pins. I saw very small curved quilting pins and wondered when Barbie and her friends started quilting. I asked one of my favorite Wal-Mart employees, the gal that runs the drastically reduced in size fabric department, where the pins might be. She said 'oh we had to get rid of those, we cleared them out'. WHAT!???? How insane is that? I joke with her all the time and asked where I could file a complaint. We lamented over the drastically reduced size of the fabric department yet again, wondered which big wig in Arkansas was deciding we didn't need regular sized curved quilting pins and then she was off to help some cheerleaders with a ribbon purchase. Phooey. I lingered. Then said Wal-Mart employee says 'oh let's look at this end cap' and lo and behold on a hook were about 10 packages of the pins!! Along with scissors and beads and some clear thread that some big wig in Arkansas decided we didn't need in north Idaho. I told said Wal-Mart employee that I loved her. :D She said she was just being a HERO today. I bought SIX packages of 40 pins. I'm pretty sure that will be enough. I hope so. I could get the other 4 packages next week if someone else doesn't need them beforehand.

I do have some other things I would love to make this month and since two of these items MUST be done by the 17th it is feasible that I could do something else. I will give it some thought and possibly post a couple more projects before the 7th. I'd better get busy!

Praise - that I am on the mend from the cold I came down with on Tuesday. I'm just fighting a ticklish cough.

Prayers - that the rest of my family would stay healthy this summer. They all have to leave the house everyday to work!

The GREEN Month is upon us

February is too short. Can you believe it is March already? Almost a week into it too. March always makes me think GREEN (and I am not talking Al Gore's 'save the planet' green either). I don't really get into celebrating St.Patrick's Day like my parents did. My kids really enjoy it for some reason though. I think as homeshooled kids they just needed a fun day to celebrate and be silly. I have made them shamrock cookies and dyed some of their food green and sometimes I even wear green. I have never made Corned Beef and Cabbage (shudder), you gotta draw the line somewhere, after all.
I did want to share with you something that I recently made that was a glorious green, it was good for me AND it tasted good.

This is what I started with;

Add to that a couple cups of very cold water, peel the apple, take the grapes off the vine, peel the kiwi and give it all a whirl and this is what the outcome was;

It was so refreshing! My son did not appreciate it. He couldn't get past the color. I have made one just about every afternoon this week. A nice little pick-me-up. I have changed the ingredients a little bit each time and have included oranges and kale in some of the mixes. Both my hubby and my son liked the green smoothie that I made yesterday.

* * * * *

I finally got around to finishing my February challenge. I used the Grand Revival Pattern for the Flea Market Bag. I sewed it up using some Amy Butler fabric for the outside and some Michael Miller Garden Pindot for the inside. I used a magnetic snap closure. The bag is supposed to be reversible but using the snap closure would void that option.

I am glad that I made it finally and I think I would make it again, maybe the shorter bag with the petal tie ends on the strap. I was confused by the directions from the get go. There was not an illustration to go along with the first set of directions and I was just not getting it. I read and re-read and it finally dawned on me what I was to do. The corners are also a little tricky and the pattern just says turn the corner and continue to sew but I had all this FABRIC there. It ended up okay but a little more explanation might be helpful for a novice bag maker. I had not done straps in this way before. They turned out fine. It amazes me how many ways there are to make a bag. I don't always see where the directions are taking me but I keep plugging along. I'm glad someone else figures this stuff out, writes it down, drafts a pattern and sells it to me!

* * * * * * *

I will post my March Challenge pattern choice sometime this weekend. I was having computer problems earlier and don't feel like messing with it anymore tonight.

* * * * *

Praise - I've had a great week with my prayer and food and exercise commitments. College girl got over her cold and her friends are there with her for the weekend. My son had a great time snowboarding today (and a safe trip driving up and back down the mtn.). It was absolutely gorgeous on top of the ski mountain. That winter isn't quite over yet, at least here. We have had snow quite a few days this week and we are expecting more!!
Prayers - For my two friends and myself as we commit ourselves to the Lord every day before we attempt anything in our own power. For hubby and son as they participate in a volleyball tournament tomorrow - for their safety and for the entire team to be a shining example of His love.

It was a Quilt Show Saturday

My friend and I started out early, after all we had a 1.5 hour drive ahead. My friend's sister who happens to be a quilter was going to meet us there. These gals were GREAT Quilt Show companions. They were funny, they were appreciative, they were very much into the detail and workmanship that had been put into the quilts. We looked at EVERY quilt displayed. Here are just a FEW pictures. The photo of one of my favorite quilts did not turn out so great so I am not showing that here. Taking photos was not easy with so many people there and the lighting was an issue as well. Anyway, on with the show!

Most of the flowers in this quilt have a raggy edge (some pinked) that is not attached. You might be able to see it better in the second image.


I call this one the tearjerker quilt. It is a lovely photo quilt that anyone could appreciate, then I read the entry card. OH.MY. The quilter's younger sister was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's at age 53. The quilter made this as a gift for her sister, to help her remember people and events. She stated on the card that it helped her to accept what was happening to her sister as well. She said making the quilt brought on many tears but also smiles and laughter.

I didn't get a picture of the whole quilt here but I just LOVED the border and the quilting!!

This is one of those itty-bitty, never in my lifetime quilts. It was MAYBE 12" across.

I just LOVED this quilt!! It is just so darn cute, little paper doll dude. It makes me smile. :D

The photo does NOT do this next quilt justice. It is called COPPER PENNY and it was just gorgeous! It had a beautiful depth to it as well as some shine.

I am not sure if this qualifies as a watercolor quilt but I really liked it. Each of those squares is a flower.

A log cabin with a tulip growing from the center. The center square is also not the traditional log cabin center shape. I loved the color scheme of this one.


I really liked this saying;


There were MANY MANY quilts featuring applique this year. I don't know if this is a new trend or if I just didn't notice them before. Another trend, machine embroidery featured on the quilt. It did not change my mind about selling my embroidery module.

I was a little disappointed in the vendors this year. First of all, I did not see ANYONE demonstrating the new Bernina 830. I was sure someone would be there to do that. I was wrong. I have seen the machine demonstrations in the past, even when there was not a big release coming up soon. Secondly the booths themselves didn't have that over the top inspiration that I usually love about them. I am used to seeing purses and totes and aprons and quilts just spilling over each booth, so much so that I tend to miss things on my first go 'round and discover more when I make the rounds again. I wasn't WOWed by anything in the booths that I can recall. Thirdly, the fabric. Let's say the LACK OF fabric. Oh there was fabric but really, nothing NEW and EXCITING! Some of it was fabric I saw at last year's show. There was not a whole lot of the new fabrics that I know others are able to get in their local quilt store. I was really looking forward to seeing it all in person. The one exception was seeing some of 'Recipe for Friendship' in one booth. I was surprised to see how big the paisleys were, not how I envisioned them at all. I still like that print but was just surprised. ONE booth had some 'Ava Rose'. Some. Phooey. None of the red or grey. I went with a list of things to look for and I didn't get one thing from my list. I'll show you later this week what I DID get! I need to take a photo.

It was a long, fun day. My dogs were barking after all that walking. I dropped my friend off at her son's house and then I went to a quilt store. They did not have 3 of the items on my list that I thought they might but they did have the miniature vacuum attachments for machine cleaning. I bought that. I stopped at a Hancock's after that and just spent time looking at pattern catalogs and home dec fabric. I did get some fleece that was on sale so it wasn't a total loss. ;)

Praise - that my trip to and from the Quilt Show was safe and uneventful. That my son had the time of his life helping out on an infomercial shoot. That my hubby was safe helping someone bring in their hay. Finally that my daughter had a TERRIFIC time at the retreat! Prayers - that we would get final approval, this week,to move ahead with the new house.

Sewing for Christmas

Yes, you read that correctly. I am sewing for Christmas. The thing is, these are not gifts for me to give to my loved ones. Nope. I am sewing these to auction off. This is the third or fourth year that I have participated in this auction. The funds raised go to help parents give their children some Christmas presents that they would not otherwise be able to afford. There is always so much participation and it is great fun. Everything must be handmade and there are so many talented contributors.

So yesterday afternoon and today, this is what I made;
from BHG Quilts and More Fall 2008, the Pick-a-Pocket Tote. I made the matching checkbook cover using the directions found at Amandajean's site.


This little Halloween purse was made using Amy Butler's In Town Bags pattern. I spent some time making sure the little kids would be centered but then...argh! As you can see I should have put that print at the bottom and the dots at the top. I had no clue until it was time to cinch up the drawstring. Yeah, I know. It was the first time I used beads too. I need some pointers on that procedure. If you have any tips please share. The ribbon that says 'Happy Halloween' is just fine in real life, the flash makes it look smudged.


Another bag using that Amy Butler pattern. Again I have to admit I have no vision. I was just happy to make a candy corn colored purse. It made me smile. I planned to enter it into the Candy Corn Contest held here. When I cinched it up. OH.MY. Now it REALLY looked like candy corn!!! Someone else, you know someone that had already made one of these purses (yeah, that would be ME) should have figured what the shape was going to be. I think all the head shaking and eye rolling has done some serious brain damage.


I also submitted this Metro Blue checkbook cover that I made and posted awhile back.

I feel like I could make a few more things but of course I waited until the last minute and I won't be home tomorrow. Where am I going you ask??? Well to the BIG, held at the fairgrounds, Quilt Show!! I love this quilt show and I can't wait. I have my camera ready to go. I am going to make a list of yardages needed for some of the patterns I have on hand and carry a little spiral notebook. This year a friend is going with me. I hope she 'gets' it. I hope she isn't ready to leave thirty minutes after we arrive. I hope she doesn't have to walk home. I hope she is still my friend on Sunday.

Fortunately for you I did NOT take a picture of my sewing room. It is insanely messy (and I am not talkin' 'Nanette' messy ;) ).

Prayers - for my daughter. She has a dorm retreat this weekend. I pray she can relax, have FUN, make some connections. Prayers for the big decision she needs to make. Also prayers for our house buying situation. It has not all been approved yet and it is really causing a lot of tension in this house. Praise - That we are in the situation to buy a house at all, that we have a roof over our head and food to eat and that we have good health. My son has an opportunity to help on a film shoot tomorrow and he is excited.

Pictures - you asked for 'em

Okay, buckle your seat belts and settle in for the ride. All the pictures that I haven't been able to post are here now, in one place.
Lakeside Charm is home from the quilters. The stitch pattern is called popcorn. I just LOVE IT! Oh yeah...see that flappy stuff there along the edges...binding. Uh yeah. I am supposed to hand sew that around the back, right?? They got the quilt done early for me so I would have plenty of time to hand sew that. Uhhhhh, have I started? No. Hanging my head in shame. It is on my to do list to start it tomorrow. I WILL start on it tomorrow. I have NO IDEA how far I will get and how long the entire thing will take. I can't put it off any longer though. So when it is time to wash and dry this should I take it to a laundromat? I am not sure it will fit too well in my washing machine.

The next is the first checkbook cover that I made using some scraps of Marcus Metro Blue. You can find the directions here. Amandajean is posting quite a few tutorials for Christmas gift inspiration. You'll wanna check them out.

Then look at this lovely fabric. Mmmmmmmmm Moda Cotton Blossoms. It just hit me the other day, although I have drooled over this fabric since first eyeing it in a Quilt Market photo that it is a combination of the two companies! DUH! So I'm slow. Camille's company is Thimble BLOSSOMS and her mother Bonnie's company is COTTON Way. Put those two creative minds together and we get Cotton Blossoms. Below is a mix of the 'daughter' layer cake and yardage for the border and binding of the A PIECE OF CAKE quilt. It is even prettier in real life. This is not normally a color combination that I would be drawn to but this time I was.

I couldn't wait to get those blocks sewn together! Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, I have so many other things I SHOULD be doing (like that binding???). They went together so easily though I could not resist. So now they will wait, in a stack until some other things are done. I have to trim all the blocks to a uniform size but here is a rough layout of how my quilt top will look (without the binding).

When I was in the LQS recently I noticed about 4 or 5 little tote bags all around the store, all the same design. I commented on them to the sales clerk and she said that she had made them using the pattern from the latest issue of Quilts and More. I liked being able to see the tote in person and decided that I could make a few of these. I found this fabric at WM. A nice line of about 6 coordinating prints and inexpensive enough to not feel too guilty about getting a bit to make the tote. ;) Especially for a first run through. I got it all cut out and the straps ironed but then realized that I had NO dark brown thread. The new machine is a little pickier about thread types than my old machine was so....this was put on hold.

October 4th is a popular wedding date this year. We know of 4 weddings on that day and we were invited to two of them. In two different states. It breaks my heart to not go to the one in Washington. We have known the young man since he was maybe 9 or 10. We need to be here in Idaho though as we were asked to take the photos at that wedding. So for the fiance' of our longtime friend I made this apron. Her bridal shower was today. My daughter and I attended the bridal shower of the gal being married here in Idaho and I did make an apron for her as well (made it yesterday in fact) but I don't have the picture of that one yet.

Last but certainly NOT least - a layer cake of Cotton Blossoms in the 'mother' colorway. I love the other quilt top so much that I was sure I would love it even better in this colorway. It is more to my tastes with the reds and chocolates. I can't wait to get this one made up too (yeah, yeah, AFTER the binding). I am thinking now of gifting the one I have started already and then keeping this one for myself. :D


So there you have it. An update on my projects WITH photos. Sorry but I can't show you a picture of my sewing room. My mess is not anywhere near as neat as Nanette's mess. ;)

Prayers being said for all those affected by Hurricane Ike and the lingering effects that seem to be up into the mid west now.

Well I HAVE been productive

But I just wasn't bloggin' about it. Seems like this week has flown by. WOOOSH and it is Thursday night. If you keep track of my projects, listed over there -----> on the right, you might notice that I moved a SOMEDAY up to the QUILTS TO DO list! I ordered the layer cake, yardage and pattern to make this:



I have loved this quilt since seeing it in a QUILT MARKET photo in the Thimble Blossoms booth. I've been waiting and waiting for the fabric to hit the stores. Well my package arrived on Saturday but I didn't get a chance to open it until sometime Monday. I have got to say this is the quickest a quilt has gone from obtaining the fabric to having the quilt blocks sewn. I wanted it to be exactly like the photo but I did end up making some changes. The first one was by accident (but I'm not telling) and the second one was to give a different variety to the fabrics used. I mixed it up just a bit. I didn't even start to cut the layer cake blocks until after 4pm on Tuesday and I am sure I had to stop to make dinner, but it is all a blur now. I got right back to the quilt and sewed away. I decided I was not going to bed until the blocks were all together and that was before midnight. My plan was to iron all of the blocks last night and then trim them to the uniform size. Is that what happened??? Noooooooooo.

I had been watching this blog for her Christmas gifts tutorials to appear and yup, there was the first installment and it was a doozey! Something cute and easy and fun! The checkbook cover! The selvedge one is ADORABLE! That Amandajean is so creative :D You have got to check it out. She added a new tutorial today for little storage basket/bins. I wrote down the directions and headed upstairs. Sheesh I spend so much time trying to decide which fabric scraps go with which other fabric scraps. Go ahead, roll yer eyes. I will wait. I really wanted to use Cotton Blossoms but I haven't cut my borders or binding yet so I didn't want to chance not having enough of that. Dig, dig, dig. Turns out then I had TOO many choices. Finally I went with some Metro Blue and went to work. It went together so nicely and quickly. Everyone had gone to bed so I had no one to show it off to. I proceeded to cut out fabric for 3 more! If you make any of these, let me know!

Then I ironed all of my Piece of Cake blocks. They look so pretty! I also cut out the fabric for the tote featured on the cover of the fall issue of Quilts and More. A gal that works at the LQS had made a few and was telling me how easily they went together. The reason I haven't sewn it already is this, we have been house hunting! Hubby decided we needed to get serious about downsizing sooner rather than later.

Sorry no pictures of my projects yet. Hubby was out hunting and he took the camera with him. I will try to take pictures tomorrow and get them posted. If the blocks are not sewn together by then I will take a picture as I lay them out and decide on their placement. I am thinking very seriously of getting a layer cake in the other colorway from this line. The brown with reds - mmmmmmmmmmmm. I am thinking I might give the one I am working on now as a wedding gift. I am thinking that I would keep the other one for myself. :D

Prayers for wisdom in the hunt for a new house. It is so emotional and exciting. Prayers for our pastor and his wife as they travel to Wyoming to visit family. We miss them so much when they are gone (and she is my gym buddy). Be well!

A flimsy at the end of the tunnel

I can see a flicker of a flimsy at the end of the tunnel! If I had gotten an earlier start today. If I had taken fewer breaks today. If it hadn't been so hot in my sewing room again today. If. If. If. I DID get all of my rows sewed together. I DID get all of my sashings and border strips sewed together. I could not bring myself to iron. It has cooled down in the room now but now I am tired. My plan is to iron all rows, sashings and bindings in the morning, then sew the sashings to the rows and iron again. Then I can sew the borders on. I will have achieved FLIMSY status!

I WAS going to post pictures of the tote bag that I made for the swap, since my partner received it. I WAS going to post a picture of the apron that I made for the swap, since my partner received it. Blogger will not allow me to upload any images. :( Says internal error. The apron IS up there in my slideshow now. Sorry. No pictures.

I love to get mail. While I was gone this weekend a couple of packages came. That was fun to come home to. Today I got a package from Quilt Taffy. The Line by Line (or Jam Bars) pattern, the Sewing Edge (which I used today...LOVE IT!) and a yard of an Allspice Tapestry fabric. Mmmmmm. My apron swap partner notified me that she has mailed my apron! WOOO HOOO! I can't wait to receive that package.

Prayers for my nephew and his bride, for their marriage - their future. Praise God for safe travel to and from the wedding. Prayers for my kiddos, as we left them in the big city with friends for the week.

Summer Stinks

No really. Think about it. How many scents or smells do you associate with summer?? Just today I experienced - hay, sunscreen, watermelon, toasted marshmallows and a campfire. Yup, summer stinks. Isn't it so cool how we associate smells with memories? I love how a whiff of sunscreen can take me from north Idaho to a beach in southern California and also take me back a couple of decades at the same time. That is some GOOD sunscreen! :D

On Thursday I got the fabric for the We the People Tote Bag Swap and yesterday I was able to cut the fabric out and get a start on the sewing. Well this morning my guests headed to the farmer's market like they planned so I had some time to sew. I finished my tote!! WOOO HOOO! Here is a sneak peek at it;


Next, I will be sewing my swap apron.

Time for bed. I have Sunday school and church in the morning. No idea what the plans are for the afternoon. We do have some cooler temperatures forecast for a few days and that is a huge relief to me.

4th of July

well maybe when this gets posted it will say the 5th of July. I just realized how late it really is. The fireworks show was great!

Here is my patriotic picture for today:




Homemade Cherry Pie! This is the first time that I have made cherry pie. Those are little stars cut in the crust. I used a recipe from allrecipes.com and I was pretty pleased with it. Gauging by the amount of little green cherries on the tree in the front yard I should be making these about once a month.

I did get some time in my sewing room today (with a big fan in the doorway). I got my apron pattern traced (which is all I was hoping for today) and then got the apron fabric cut out! BONUS! Then I started working on my tote bag and made pretty good progress on that. At that point my guests were in and out so I left my sewing for another day. Maybe Saturday. My guests are going to a farmer's market in the morning so I think that I will work on the tote while they are gone.

A big THANKFUL praise to God tonight. He spared us from what could have been a terrible boating accident. I don't even know what else to say about it. It was a total gift that He gave us.

So frazzled I forgot a title

Let me tell you, figuring out that slideshow over there on the right just about did me in. It looks like it is going to be easy enough. I set up a Flickr account JUST so that I could use the slideshow feature. That wasn't so tough. Then I attempt to add the slideshow. Uhhhh, those would be sunsets - try again. Uhhhhh, that appears to be a fire truck? What?? I don't even HAVE pictures of fire trucks - on Flickr OR amongst the thousands of pictures on our computer. Pretty sure. No firetrucks at all. Hmmmm, I think I will use the HELP function. Not so helpful. I did read posts by others that have the same issues. Soooooooooo, at least I know I am not alone in Stupidville. My hubby made a few suggestions. He IS a computer genius you know. This was going to be the answer. Nope. This is not helping the headache that I already had. I did some more searching and found a guy who posted a link that had some information. I tried that. Wah Lah! Slideshow of MY pictures. Happy Dancin' goin' on now.

Then I started some blog surfing and came across some cool crafty/quilty/sewing blogs. My favorite kind dontcha know. I found a tote swap quite by accident and the deadline had been changed from YESTERDAY to TOMORROW! That was a sign. It was meant to be. I am supposed to take part in this swap. It is called the WE THE PEOPLE SWAP (because a bunch of her blog readers VOTED on what they wanted the next swap to be).Ahhhh democracy. They voted for Tote Bags. You can find it here - http://itching2bstitching.blogspot.com/ . You have until Sunday night to sign up. Maybe it was meant to be for you too.

So between the quilt I am making, the apron swap and the tote bag swap I should have some more crafty images to share soon. I can't wait to get my swap partners so that I can choose fabric. That, I think, is my favorite part of a new sewing project.

Praise God for the answered prayers; My little baseball playing buddy is feeling better and back on the field. My SIL came thru her surgery just fine and is at home recuperating.

Oh yeah! A BIG Blogging welcome to my friend http://inthepink-pink.blogspot.com/