Proud Moment!

First there is a Big Fat Congratulations in order! This Little Bugger, also soon to be known as Deputy Davis, had his final exams this last Friday and passed! We didn't expect anything otherwise as he has been preparing for this day since he turned 17! Graduation is this coming Friday and he will have a good 20 people there to cheer and celebrate with him! Afterwards we are going to host a big bar-b-q bash, thankfully my Dad and Mom are coming in Tuesday night to not only visit but help put it all together! Good Times! Then he will have the weekend off and report for duty at 6am Monday morning,

Then here is just a quick shot of the two baby quilts I finally got quilted, the one on the left is a pattern from Jan Patek, I like her stuff!

The Pink one is for Rosie, it is going to have the scalloped edges, the design idea is from Alex Anderson's Baby Quilt Book, she has some cute stuff in that one and Christmas Goose Quilt Shop in Las Vegas had quite a few samples up on one visit this last year.

I probably should have marked it first before quilting but I figured it wouldn't really matter, we shall see!

Was hoping to put up a shot of the quilt I did for my Mom but must have accidentally deleted them from my camera thinking I had already downloaded them. That is OK though as I put the first phase of the binding on it while in Vegas so will have her bring it back up so as to retake the pictures. She found a really pretty blue to go against the gold sashing and it is really going to be very striking when done, plus it will be washed by then and that always makes the quilt and quilting stand out for better shots.

Sorry for the jumble!

I have no idea why I can't get things lined up properly! The posts are looking horrible so please bear with me while I try to figure it out!

Any suggestions fellow bloggers?

Trying again! This Goof is David, we were trying to figure if we needed to add another row and this was his way of deciding!

And we did, I originally wanted it to be a charm but since making the change I ended up duplicating, this quilt is a gift to a special family friend and I cut for two quilts using the wonking huge tumbler template from Pinwheels. When you look at her you can see she is a Daiwabo Lady!

Her Husband of 54 years had been dying a slow death from cancer and originally I was wanting it to be a little something for her while dealing with it all. It turns out he died the day before it was to be delivered so we held it back for a week.

Don took it with him this morning and will deliver it tomorrow so I will be anxiously waiting to hear what she has to say!

I don't think I can make too many of these! It is probably one of my absolute favorite patterns and it is

making me want to get another one that I have going with all scraps completed!

This was my first time dealing with

an odd ball binding but it went great and now I am ready to tackle the baby quilt that requires scalloped edges! I got that plus another quilted up yesterday so it will be neat to see it completed as well!

Little Rosie is only 9 months old now so she won't mind having waited a little while! ~smile~

Does Dirty Little Boys Bath apply to Carpets?

It seems we go through with a Rug Doctor every six months! Generally we do a thorough cleaning once a year with touch ups throughout.








The folks who had the house before us were a little on the eccentric side and had this once creamy carpet througout, it is very nice carpet but man alive it just doesn't cut it with this crew. I was going to get everyone together and get a shot of the 18 feet that travel through here but thought it might be a little over the top, hmmm, I just might do it still because it just sounds funny now!








Donnie took over for a bit since he likes to wear combat boots and travel the hills I figured he owed a little more to the cause.








William was in charge of the keeping hot water going and I didn't get a shot of Blake as he was in charge of emptying the mud er dirt water out!

and here is Courtney after getting everything put back into place, it always smells so fresh afterwards!

Hanging Head in Shame~

This about sums it up! It pretty much started a good month ago, there has just been so much going on with the family and trying to get projects into the completion stage.

We decided that we are going to get a booth at one of the local craft fairs that is put on at the lodge where the kids work, so that means having to prepare things to sell! Plus I am hoping that it will also bring a little more attention to some quilting services!

I have done quite a few things but one quilt I had the privilege of doing was for Niki, here is the link to the quilt as she did a much finer job in taking pictures of it!

Then I just felt like I needed to add a little sunshine into my life so came up with this monstrosity! Still toying with adding borders but I am leaning more to quilting it with some spirals and binding it in a bright red.

It really is quite cheerful to gaze upon, especially from a distance with sunscreen and shades on!

There are a lot of pictures I need to get downloaded so I can share a little bit more of what all has been going on.

There were a few weeks thrown in there of my not feeling so great, I am 99.9% sure it was a little ulcer I have acting up, wasnt doing a good job of just venting things, I tend to just hold things in a wait for them to pass but sometimes it is ok to just stick your head under a pillow and scream, I am getting there though and all is well again!

Thank you Ladies for the nice notes that were sent my way in wondering where I had disappeared to! It felt great knowing you cared!

More to come!!

Getting Old~

I am a day late in wishing everyone a Happy Mothers Day! It is a special day but we seem to celebrate every holiday every day of the year! Sounds crazy huh? I think the main thing I look for is what kind of card Don finds for me and who he has set up to put it out for me as he is generally not home to do it himself.

I had ordered some supplies for the Longarm and Scottie grabbed up the statement and wrote a check out for the total so that was his gift to me! I was thrilled! Then Levia bought me a new Bible, mine has been falling apart slowly the past few years, Don had bought it for me right after we started dating 22 years ago, I will still use it for my personal devotions but the new one will be for Church.

Courtney came home with a Lobster Tail and Fillet Mignon from the lodge! She is something else, they had extras left over from the special menu and she negotiated a deal to be able to bring me one! It was after 11 when she got off but I stayed up for it! Haven't had some of that in years!!

Then Saturday night Scottie Levia and I went to see Trace Adkins! It was a great show and what makes it funner is the fact they offer special deals to the locals so it was a buy one ticket get one free! Can't beat that and since I have the Jetta back home we can drive there pretty economically!

Then my Folks came up on Thursday and stayed until noon time Saturday, it was nice but boy they wear me out! Mother always wants to go shopping so I spend the days hauling her around, and they are now looking at the different areas and homes so they can start planning their move. Then Dad (he is my step-dad but he has earned the honor of being called Dad!!) likes to bring movies so we were up until 2am each night then back up by 7am starting the day. Yawn!!

Today I am playing catch up, and hopefully get to some quilting, started a new project, need to still finish an old one..............and Mother brought a quilt she just finished up for me to longarm, she also brought the backing that I need to piece yet. Usually I put the binding on for her to stitch down but she forgot and I conveniently didn't mention it!

Guess I put the days if reverse order here, didn't make back to Tuesday nights activities, Chad and Dale talked me into going to see Iron Man, the only kicker is since they closed the theatre here the closest now is in Laughlin, and the tickets here were $2.50 per person, there $9!! but the last show is only $5 and that was 11:45pm, sigh, so that is the one we went to, thankfully Levia was up to going along as well, I have to say it was worth it, the movie was great!

There you have it in a nutshell, I am anxious to get back into a routine and I see there is going to be a quiltathon this coming weekend so may take advantage of it and get some stuff finished up!

Some Encouragement!

YOU SAY
GOD SAYS
BIBLE VERSES
You say: 'It's impossible'
God says: All things are possible
(Luke 18:27)

You say: 'I'm too tired'
God says: I will give you rest
(Matthew 11:28-30)

You say: 'Nobody really loves me'
God says: I love you
(John 3:1 6 & John 3:34 )

You say: 'I can't go on'
God says: My grace is sufficient
(II Corinthians 12:9 & Psalm 91:15)

You say: 'I can't figure things out'
God says: I will direct your steps
(Proverbs 3:5- 6)

You say: 'I can't do it'
God says: You can do all things
(Philippians 4:13)

You say: 'I'm not able'
God says: I am able
(II Corinthians 9:8)

You say: 'It's not worth it'
God says: It will be worth it
(Roman 8:28 )

You say: 'I can't forgive myself'
God says: I Forgive you
(I John 1:9 & Romans 8:1)

You say: 'I can't manage'
God says: I will supply all your needs
(Philippians 4:19)

You say: 'I'm afraid'
God says: I have not given you a spirit of fear
(II Timothy 1:7)

You say: 'I'm always worried and frustrated'
God says: Cast all your cares on ME
(I Peter 5:7)

You say: 'I'm not smart enough'
God says: I give you wisdom
(I Corinthians 1:30)

You say: 'I feel all alone'
God says: I will never leave you or forsake you
(Hebrews 13:5)

Back at it

Hello! Ever feel like you just don't have anything to say? I kind of felt like that the past couple weeks, mostly because I went and exposed myself to too much sun and came down with a nice case of sun poisoning and it is usually my lips that get it the worst! It was kind of my own fault because I forgot my sun protection at home but it was a nice cool breezy day and thought all would be well. Not!

So now I not only have one tube of the 40spf but 4 and I these guys are constantly nagging me about it, then as things were healing up I had a yummy piece of pizza from Papa Murphy's that's cheese was still piping hot from the oven that got right in a sore spot and that part is taking awhile to heal up. Ouchi~Momma!

Figured it usually takes a good two weeks to clear up so I enjoyed a few books that have been compiling and even did two runs into Vegas, one was to a sale at Quiltique, a shop in Henderson that was having a nice sale, did get two fat quarters there but struck gold at Joann's that had their denim 50% off. I did manage to get 12 yards without blinking an eye!

We had stopped at Fiddlestick's and I made it out with a pattern but when we had to stop again on our way home I ended up with 4 yards of 2 different solids. They are absolutely gorgeous and will make up a nice 2 color quilt!

The next trip was to get my Darlins' car serviced, we spent the night at my Folk's and rode home with him when he got off work,
it put us home at about 4am! It was nice to be with him though, he spends 4 days away from us and sometimes it gets to me, especially when I am not feeling well!

By Saturday I was feeling up to getting going again in the studio,
I had this quilt all cut out and ready to go, sometimes it is nice to
work on something mindless, but once I got to putting the other half together my brain couldn't comprehend the middle section.








I had bought the kit at a quilt show probably 8 years ago at a little
show in Vegas. About a year ago I came across the very same quilt on McCall's site that was a free pattern! It had been copied word for word and sold under another name, it left a bad taste. I decided not to add any additional borders to the copycat, it just said done to me! But I was able to figure out what I was missing from going to the web site for help!








I don't usually buy any fabrics from Wal-Mart, but I do check out the denim from time to time and found this cool striped one! I chose all dark plaid flannels to back it and thought by turning the blocks it might give it a weaved affect, not sure yet if it will but the colors are very stunning together so either way it will be a pretty throw!

I just finished stitching up the backing for the copycat and will get it loaded up, the binding is cut as well so it will be nice to cross it off the list, I need to rename it on the side bar as well.

As for the Books I was offering, they have all found new homes! I was thrilled to be able to share them with the ones who left comment and not worry about having to draw a name! Bren suggested The Ultimate Quilting would be great for a beginner so I asked if she knew of one and did! So I am thrilled to pass that on, it turns out it is another Blogging Gal who's Blog I enjoy so am doubly thrilled to gift her and her daughters with it!

What Happened Here?

I love books and at one point in time I even had a software program that I had entered everything in my collection, and kept an updated list in my purse to avoid such a scene as this. Then having the quilt books in 3 different cases is also not good, so as I was going through starting on the organization project this is what I found, sigh, I have to say if you enjoy scrap quilts then Tried and True is an absolute must have! There is not one quilt in that book that I don't like and thankfully they came into the collection by using the 40% coupons.

The Ultimate Book of Quilting is equally as impressive and I enjoy the inspiration that comes from it as well. And the same can be said for the Amish Small quilts.

So I am thinking about sharing them, I am just not sure yet how to go about it. Maybe if there is one you are interested in you could leave a comment on it and I will seperate each into bowls and draw a name! Input?!








A friend of mine recently made a Pink and Brown Turning Twenty Top that was just absolutely gorgeous! I personally haven't favored those colors until recently, now I have two projects planned using them! I have added 2 more colors to the bunch this past weekend but I had already taken the picture so will have to show them later.

But first I need to finish up the Denim Circles, it is a little slow going but will be worth it when it is competed, the Girls are thinking it should go to one of them as a Wedding Quilt, I laugh in their face! ;0)

Quilt from Hades

This quilt has been on the list to get completed for far too long, it has just been easier to work on something else than to just deal with it!









Here is why I put it aside, when I stitched the rows there was a hole because the lines I was following didn't cover it all! No big deal right? At the time is was because I let it stump me and defeat me. Well not anymore, I got tired of moving the basket it was in last night so grabbed it up and decided it was time to conquer the beast!

I simply ran another seam to take care of the problem and felt the victory slowly starting to rise, so grabbed the glue stick and slathered it on to hold the flannel in place. What I don't show is the denim I used when trying to decide which stitch to use, it looks pretty cool and is currently holding my coffee cup.

So here we are working on the first row and I think it is going to be ok! I think it will need a little doodling in the center to help stabilize but so far I am liking how it is turning out. Only been moving that basket for 2 years~

When Chad was first starting school he would get so frustrated if he couldn't do something just right the very first time, we went through reams of paper because he would mess up and crumble it. I knew that trait must have come from his father! After realizing that is exactly what I have done I can safely say that Chad and his Dad must have rubbed off on me after all these years! Hehehehe!

One Cool Give-Away!

Jaye over at Just a Mom is having a Contest that I really don't want to tell everyone about because it will just make it a little more difficult for my name to be drawn. Just kidding, a little, so pop on over and check it out!

~William~

This here is my boy William! He is the Cutie-Patootie of the family and wears the badge well! A week (or two) he decided he wanted to do some piecing with me. And the machine I was going to get him going on was already on the table, would just take a minute to get moved for 'em! Easy peasy!

I just needed him to give me a minute to finish whatever it was I was doing. 24 hours later he asked if I was finished doing whatever it was that I was doing and I pleaded for just a few more!

48 hours later he smiles and says, so you think we might get the machine moved? Yes! Just let me finish this up, it will only take a momento! and in his little sing-song voice he says 'Mom! I have already given you 3 days of minutes', then he happily skipped away to play a round of Halo with his big brother.

So after I scraped myself up off the ground I not only got it moved but cleaned oiled and threaded up so he could go to town on some muslin! And he is doing great, it is fun to watch his hands operate the hand crank and fabric. He is about ready to start on some simple blocks and I just happen to have some denim squares he can play with, I will just set the gauge up to give him a bigger seam allowance.

The machine he is using is (one of) my favorites, a 201k, can't recall the year at the moment but it has the most beautiful stitch and it has pieced many of my tops with a faithfully perfect stitch every time! It had been in a treadle cabinet so it could be used either way but since getting the longarm I had to move a few of them out so popped it back into a case and plopped it onto the cutting table for whenever the urge would strike to use it.

When we first moved here I would set up on the veranda and crank away while watching the kids play, and with the days getting nicer I am thinking it might be time to do so again!

Wonky Rails and Flying Geese

Finally got to get the wonky rails quilted, I was going to try out a new template but decided I liked the old faithful Baptist Fan better!









The backing was a fun one to do, just kind of let the blocks fall where they may, the top blue is bigger, it is just laying over the bar and not getting a full shot. I can't wait to get the binding on it now to see how that will add to it all.









I met a new gal from the Quiltville's Mystery Group, Andee from The Modern Diary, she made this sweet top for a gal who is in the hospital and she had mentioned she was going to tie it and I volunteered to quilt it for her! So she sent it to me and here it is done ready to head back to her first thing tomorrow morning.









Here is a shot at the cute little label, I was tickled to have seen my name added to it! How cute is that?!








Then here is just a closer shot, we are all enjoying the bright fresh colors while it is still hanging in the studio. I am just amazed at the friendships that I have made from the Blogging community, I still have a ways to go in leaving comments and letting everyone know how inspiring they are to me! So if you are reading this, considered yourself told! Thank you very much for it all!

I also got another denim quilt done, there is still a good pile left of squares so am going to put aside the flowery ones for some good ole' fashion plaids and stripes, which I just love! If the weather cooperates I want to get a shot of them lined up on the veranda railing but that will have to be tomorrow as well.

It is way past time to update the Stashbusting Tallies and I am excited to see what all I have gone through this past month. I have added a few pieces of flannels that were 50% off but I am also happy to say they are already cut up and ready to be used!

Still in March!

I am trying to get into April but I am still wandering around in March! It's been a two weeks since tinkering with this top, I still need to add a final border to seal it off. The patterns just called for the center rail fences but it was a little to square for me and not long enough to enjoy as a snuggle quilt.









So I pulled out the Dresden Ruler and seen the wonky tumblers on the package and thought it would be a perfect addition to the top and bottom. I just love the colors, my stashbusting tallies need to get updated as I purchased a set of fat quarters of the Kansas Troubles Autumn to do this in, plus added a yard of what I had in the stash to build on it.









These little Raggedy Dolls are some I purchased to represent Levia and Courtney a couple years ago at a little tea shop in Boulder City, they do an outside quilt show which happens to be coming up in May and one of the local gals Vida makes them. And see that little blue pincushion in the background? That was the one that the pups used as a chew toy and couldn't be found when I was gathering them all up, found it tucked behind the machine when I was dusting!

And the quilt the dolls are on is Blake's Baby Nursing quilt, I was still fairly new to quilting when I made it so there is a combination of hand and machine quilting to it, I did use it as well with William but it will go to Blake when the 'passing of quilts' time comes!









I have been getting backings and bindings together and just finished up the solids for the wonky rails, it is currently loaded on the machine but I enjoy the process of doing the bindings and especially when I can incorporate strips that were used in the quilts! The front one is what was left of all the darks for the above quilt and the same for the solids, not sure how they will fall once on the quilt but it will be a nice surprise!

Traveling Group of Youth

Three of the Kid's headed off to Lancaster California yesterday for 3 days of a Youth Conference at Westcoast Baptist College. Chad and Levia are standing next to each other in the back row and Donnie is the first one kneeling, Courtney was due to go as well but with the 3 working at the same place and she is the low man on the totem pole she stayed back to fill in. Plus she is excited that she will have a check for this week and they won't!

It took some time helping them get all their things together, from shopping to washing and packing, I was ready for a break myself from it all, and to top it off we had a guest speaker at Church this week so being the Hostess it meant being there an hour before setting up for the little snacks we had before each service.

So I only have Blake William and Courtney at home and I have to say the quiet is rather nice at the moment! Figured by the time they come home we will be ready to have them back! ~smile~









So I came home and finished the first of 3 denim rag quilts that I have going, got it washed and all and am pleased as punch with it! Decided to shake things up a bit and place a big X in red and put the flannel on top instead of on the bottom, it has the feel of being a picnic blanket so thought the denim on the bottom would hold up much better, also took the time to double the stitching in the seams for extra durability. Those cute little tootser's belong to William!









I also don't fancy to clipping the raggy part, kind of like the frayed edge like a nice pair of worn out jeans! It still needs to be taken out and given a good shaking to get rid of all the loose strings and will probably do that once it warms up some outside, I'll give a rug beater to the boys and let them have at it!

Silly Kid!

Not long ago we decided to add the texting package to our cell phone plan. I personally didn't think it would be something I or Don would do but I tell ya what, we have a blast with it! But it is (now was) a little tiring trying to figure out what all the abbreviations meant, Courtney to the rescue! She found this poster for us and I am going to get a frame for it and hang it somewhere!









These are some of my favorites, especially the DGTG (don't go there girlfriend)!









Then here is silly Ki-Ki, he was tilling the dirt in this pot a few days ago and I thought he was going to use it as his poddy and shooed him away from it, then yesterday Don came and got me to see him and realized he was just fluffing the dirt!

Mary Ellen is the Star for this Project

I had the honor of producing 2 baby quilts from a set of 20 quilt blocks that a 103yr old Great Great (there may be one more Great in here, can't remember) Grandma made, it was a pattern that she must have tinkered with herself as there was really nothing definite that I could put together with just the blocks.









And from this photo you can see how wonky the seam allowances are thus making no two blocks alike and with the help of Mary Ellen's Press they came into a little submission, at least long enough to be cut down into a uniform size!









Here they are completed, they are being gifted to a Grandchild who just delivered twins this past week!









I quilted them using a pretty purple thread and did the Baptist Fan on one and Double Swirls on the other, it was one of those projects that was just plain fun to work on, they are going to travel to see GG(G?)Grandma before making the trek to their new home and hope a little bit of love from me will rub off onto the little ones!

Baby has a New Pair of Shoes!

Back a couple weeks my machine had a little accident, Don was doing some maintenance and in the process it rolled forward causing one of the wheels to break. My heart dropped into my chest as I was in the middle of a massive king sized quilt, since he is pretty mechanical he just turned the wheel over so I could continue working, of course there was a note to self to not let him near the machine when am working on something! ~smile~

So the next challenge was deciding to just get a single replacement or going ahead and upgrade to the Edgeriders, well after 24 hours of deliberating the executive decision was made and another one for the bobbin winder was tossed in there as well, I mean I have been very good in not doing any fabric purchasing and he did feel terrible about breaking the wheel and all.....

So here he is with Chad putting them on, I really think now I will be able to quilt faster and make the absolutely smoothest feathers and circles and whatever else my little hands can do so much better! Hehehe.

Last week was filled with company, Sara came up with a few of her siblings for a visit and she and I went up to Lake Havasu to visit Scott, when we got there they were still doing PT so we got to see them in action. It was about 6pm and still 80 degrees out so that asphalt had to hurt! But one look at his girl and he was all smiles! The poor group was having a hard time getting things timed out and needless to say they didn't get to quit until they got it all together!

Levia was suppose to be my date, but she had to work late so I grabbed a book and enjoyed the time with myself, glancing over every so often watch Scott and Sara interacting. Very sweet to see

them together!

Then as soon as they left for home the phone rang and my Mom and Rog said they were coming up! So got everything put back in order to prepare for them, thankfully the weather has been beautiful as Mom tends to get cold very easy and I just had the boys get all the wood starting paraphernalia put up for the year and the veranda ready for the summer sittings.

In all the activity I still managed to get a few projects done so will end this post and start uploading some more pics!

Decisions......

I am now trying to decide if I should add another border to this one, part of me wants to say it is finished! Maybe if I pick out what it will be bound with that will help to find closure, I ended up not using all 12 blocks so the other 3 are going into the box designated for a maverick quilt, another some day project.









Then here is a shot of the wonky rails with it's borders, I am pleased with the way this one came out and can't wait to get it quilted and washed.









And here we have a shot of the concrete, it is still amazing to see it and have to get a copy of what the rebar and all looked like prior to this stage. We are taking a break until mid-April on the construction so we are enjoying having the extra day at home!

Pin Cushions~Apple Dumplings

After seeing some posts of Gal's sharing their pin cushion collection it was time to gather mine
up, wow! I even surprised myself with what has been collected over the years. But like everything else they each have a purpose, the three on the right with the flower head and corsage pins are for the longarm and one is placed on each end of the table with another on the old ironing board behind the machine, I don't like to have to reach around or over anything when I am working.

Then the two front ones on clamps attach to the right of each machine that I piece on, and their main purpose is to hold the pins I do use, it isn't one of my favorite parts in quilting but sometimes there is just no other way to get things to match up the way they are suppose too!

The two on glass pedestals are basically just really cool looking and the one on the left is actually made from a cutter quilt so although it does hold a few pins they are just there in case I can't reach anything else. Then another 2 are also placed at the machines full of pins, why don't I just use the ones on clamps? Well then what purpose would the others have and then it would be pointed out that I really didn't need them and then all the justifying of needing them would be for not! That is my story and I'm sticking to it!!

Then the others are placed on the cutting table so I can stand and pin when I need to stretch, and that little pink one towards the middle front usually holds various needles, I do have one in blue around here somewhere that one of our dogs used for a chew toy on the wood part, not very pretty but still usable.









Then these have become a favorite real quick like in our house! They are the Apple Dumplings from Pioneer Woman Cooks, they are delicious! She also shared a salad recipe this past week that we made up, and what is nice about that one, it makes up a whole lot and we were able to enjoy it for a couple days with adding different things each time, like instead of the cashews we did almonds with some grilled chicken, then to that added some mandarin oranges and apples. Very good!