VBS Week Now Complete

We attend a smaller church that my husband's family has attended for oh...

about half a century.

We finished with VBS a few weeks ago and it is always so cool to see such a large group of kids having fun.

Everybody (adults to the pre-K classes) sported staches one night.  

All the giggles coming from the young children's classes was just precious.

We had 9 professions of faith and that included one adult.

Awesome!

And that is what the congregation shouts when they are presented to the church.

And...who knows...maybe that's what God's sayin' too.

It's Almost Time & I'm Ready!

We are heading to Holden Beach, NC soon. Very soon.

I've never seen the ocean and neither has my Hunny or kids.

It's going to be an adventure to get there.

An 18 hour adventure.

But we're ready!

Scrappy Camera Case

This is my scrappy camera case I threw together last weekend.

It needed some personalization so then I appliqued my initial on it and made it mine. All mine.

No pattern was used.  I just "winged" it. 

Just...uh....don't pay any attention to the weeds around our okra plants.

I'm not.

:)

Friday Night Sew-In

It's time for Friday Night Sew-In on the 18th.

This will be my first and I'm so excited!

And it's just what I needed to get my table topper ready to take with me on vacation.

I'm going to practice hand quilting it while I'm gone.

Click the button to follow its link and join us.  See you there!

Special Delivery

Thank you!

I received this Fairy Frost charm pack from Michael Miller Fabrics in the mail this weekend.

It's my gift from The Quilt Shoppe's drawing for their Spring Fever Bingo that is being held on their blog, In Stitches.

This is way cool!  Thanks!

June Project List

I have a small project list for June.

I have a home project to complete.  Paint and re-wallpaper our main bathroom.

And we have a large vacation planned this month to Holden Beach, NC.

And my birthday is in June.  Here comes 42!

So this is my meager list:

Finish "Old Fashioned Hospitality" a Kim Diehl quilt from her book Simple Comforts

WIP - Jaybird Quilts - Hexagon Quilt-a-Long - Moda's The Caroler

Start a lap/wall quilt that I can practice hand quilting while on vacation this summer

My Baby's 17th Birthday

Today is my baby's 17th birthday.

He was born 17 years ago today and it was Memorial Day the day he was born too.

My husband's aunt and cousins, from Oklahoma, were down the street staying with my husband's grandma for the three day weekend.

I woke in the morning thinking that I was in labor but didn't have the tell tale signs.

Just a little dribbling and no contractions.

Later that morning my husband was outside mowing grass.

And his grandma called wanting to know when we would be down.

I told her during the conversation that I thought my water had broke.

She told the rest of the family that was there.

Mike, my husband's cousin, was willing to come over and help...

fix our........plumbing.

Needless to say, we did go to the hospital and at 12:05 a.m. May 31, 1993, we had a beautiful 8 lb. 10 oz. baby boy,  Ryan Christopher.

I love, love, love my baby.

And he loves his Mommy.

Happy Birthday!!!

Today is my dear friend's 40th birthday.

This is the Disappearing Nine Patch quilt I've been working on for her birthday gift.

It's made out of a cut up layer cake and several charm packs of the Nostalgia  fabric line by Moda.

I finished it this past Monday with time to spare which is very unusual for me.

Using a monthly project list helps me stay focused on getting projects done on time.

And boy!, it's such a relief not to be in a panic to get a project done.

I love the backing fabric. It's part of the Nostalgia fabric line too.

I longarm quilted it at our local quilt shop with a meander pantograph.  

Hmmm....maybe I should of chosen a simple floral pattern.

I never can decide.  Choosing the quilting pattern is the hardest part for me.

I made the quilt label on my Brother 4000D embroidery machine.

I can't wait to see this quilt after she washes it a few times.

It will be a great cuddle quilt.

Happy Birthday Shaleen.  Love ya!

Bra Shopping

I went bra shopping today.

It was depressing.

I've lost about 15 pounds the last several months just by not eating as much, parking in the "back 40", and stepping up the speed when I walk places.

Yes, this is a good thing.

Thus the need for some new bras.

I needed some support...and now a support group.

You know how you don't really pay attention to yourself until you're starting at yourself in that mirror (you know what mirror) under that terrible lighting?

"Hi, I'm Paula and I'm 42.

I have to hike my girls up and into their place."

I'm slowly becoming....

OLD!

Feelin the "Comment Love"

Wow!

My name was drawn in the daily drawing and my blog was featured on the In Stitches blog for the Spring Fever Bingo.

I'm a new blogger and pretty much have been in my own little blog world until now.

I feel the "comment love" and it feels great.

Thank you.

How About That?!?

Today has started out as a good day.

My name was drawn on the first drawing for Spring Fever online BINGO game hosted by the Quilt Shoppe.

Quilt Shoppe Bingo drawing day 2

Thank you!!!

I won a Fairy Frost charm pack from Michael Miller.

Thank you again!

Spring Fever Bingo!

Ooooooo! Online BINGO!

Sounds like fun.

Scoot on over to The Quilt Shoppe by May 23rd to join in.

These are my words:

applique

barbecue

blossoms

blueberries

breeze

daffodil

dogwood

freesia

graduation

grass

hummingbird

jelly beans

kid

lily

May

peony

pink lemonade

porch

quilts

seeds

sky

spring break

sweater

thunderstorm

water hose

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!!

BINGO!  --  I'm just practicing : )

Bloggers Quilt Festival

Sounds fun to me.

 

I'm still new to quilting and love, love, love! looking at all the different quilts.

I probably would have twice the quilts made if I spent more time quilting than looking at different quilts on the internet.

I've never been to a quilt festival. Any quilt festival, show, etc.

I have no friends that are interested in quilts.

And you know, Arkansas does not seem to be that into quilts as the other states.

What's up with that?

Memory Block--Is That It?

What's up with this memory thing as I get older?

I used to think my Mom was crazy for not remembering who gave her the beautiful casserole dish she uses only for lasagna.

Not remember who gave you the casserole dish? Really?

I am slowly becoming....my Mother.

I loaned out our hedge trimmers.

I don't remember who too and they haven't returned them.

How can I not remember that?

I remember standing in our garage and looking for them while I was talking to him.  

But....I don't remember who "him" is.

I've been trying to remember all weekend.

And...nothing.

And since I mentioned my Mother.

How did her hands get attached to my arms?

I Couldn't Resist

Oh dear.

I'm supposed to be on a fabric buying freeze saving $$$ for our summer vacation.

I couldn't resist.

A sale AND a $10 off coupon at the Fat Quarter Shop.

I picked up a jelly roll. A Sandy Gervais jelly roll.  An Essence jelly roll.

A jelly roll on S-A-L-E. Have I said that already? I'm trying to make myself feel better.  Can you tell?

It's my colors and I simply couldn't resist.

A few days ago I posted about the pattern book I have from Heather Mulder Peterson.  

A pattern book I bought specifically to make the Jelly Roll Junction quilt.

And...well...I don't have a jelly roll.

But now I do.

{whispering while hunching over with my finger over my lips} Don't tell my Hunny. Okay?

Disappearing Nine Patch (D9P)

Disappearing Nine Patch (D9P) is a simple block to make.

1.  Sew a typical 9 square block.  Choose 5 darker squares for the four corners and center.  Choose 4 lighter squares for the others.  Press the seams well to make block lay flat.

2.  Line up your ruler to cut your block in half both vertically and horizontally.

3.  Rotate 180° one set of opposite blocks and sew blocks together again.

4.  Press completed block again.

Sew blocks together for quilt, table topper, table runner, etc.

This is a 5" charm D9P lap quilt.

It is 4 blocks per row x 5 rows = 20 blocks

20 blocks x 9 charm squares per block = 180 charm squares

180 charm squares / 42 charm squares per pack = 4 charm packs + 12 additional charm squares

51" x 63" quilt top

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


You can also make a table runner from the D9P blocks.

Add as many D9P blocks to make your table runner whatever length you would like.

This is a 3 block D9P table runner.

3 D9P blocks x 9 charm squares per block = 27 charm squares

BTW -- This is my Mom's Mother's Day gift.  Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Sew 3 D9P blocks together in 3 rows to make a square table topper.  You can always sew more D9P together to make a larger table topper to custom fit it to the size of your table.

Ideas for the D9P are endless.

Have fun with it!

Some Assembly Required

...and only Mom's are qualified.

May To Do List

2 Mother's Day table toppers - DONE!

Start a quilt - pattern TBD - Nostalgia Layer Cake - May birthday present - DONE

Finish "Old Fashioned Hospitality" a Kim Diehl quilt from her book Simple Comforts

WIP - Jaybird Quilts - Hexagon Quilt-a-Long - Moda's The Caroler

Start a lap/wall quilt that I can practice hand quilting while on vacation this summer

Quilt  and bind Nostalgia Quilt - May birthday present - DONE

It's May Already?

Time flies when you're having fun.

Guess April was a fun month because it flew by in no time.

I was able to complete a project from my April's To Do List and a part of another project.

Two table toppers/runners for Mother's Day gifts were completed. Yea!
I think that this is the first time ever (...umm...yea, ever) that I completed a project for a gift with time to spare and I'm not working until the very last minute, sweating it out, to get it done.

It's nice not being in panic mode.


The navy topper is from Heather Mulder Peterson's On A Roll pattern book. I completed it in Moda's Flag Day Farm fabric from my stash.


The other is a table runner I completed in the disappearing nine patch pattern with the charms from Moda's Nostalgia.

The charms were leftovers from another project that was on my April's To Do List.

It's a May birthday present for a very dear and cherished friend.

I completed it with a charm cut layer cake and several charm packs of Moda's Nostalgia from my stash.


I'm using the Ecru from the Nostalgia collection for the backing of the quilt and a scrappy binding from the remaining charms.


It worked out well for me to actually make a quilting to do list. It helped me stay focused on completing a project before starting another and making another UFO.

Now off to work on a May list.

Keep your sewing pedal down!

Greasy, Grimy Buildup---No Problem!

Have I got a great cleaning tip for you on cleaning up greasy, grimy buildup you get in the kitchen.

Yep, it's Spray 'n Wash.

In the middle of my spring cleaning mode I was cleaning the cabinet doors above my stove and it was getting all gummy and nasty cleaning with my rag and bucket of water and cleaner.

I started going through different cleaners I had in the house thinking that there is something better than what I was using.

Ta da! Eureka! I found it!

Spray 'n Wash. Spray it and wipe with a damp rag or sponge.

NO SCRUBBING! NO MORE TACKINESS! NO MORE GUMMY!

Easy peasy and it smells great, too!

I have stained and sealed cabinets and they cleaned up with no problems to the finish.

I also used it to clean the grime off of the top of my refrigerator.

***NOTE: Double check your cabinets first on the inside of a rarely used cabinet door to be sure.***

Fast and easy = more time for quilting!

Ahhh...Fresh Bread From the Oven

This past weekend wasn't all fail.  Homemade bread = WIN!

One of the best smells in life...

bread baking in the oven.

One of the best tastes in life...

hot bread just from the oven.

Butter optional.

Easy Homemade French Bread    Print Recipe

Crisp crust, lightly chewy center.  Makes 2 large loaves.

1/2 cup warm water
2 pkg. dry active yeast OR 4 1/2 t. dry active yeast
2 cups hot water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 T. sugar
1 T. salt
6 cups all-purpose flour

1. In small cup or bowl, add together warm (not hot) water and the yeast.  Set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add the hot water, oil, sugar, salt and 3 cups of the flour.  Mix until combined.
3. Add the water and yeast mixture.  Stir until combined.
4. Add the remaining 3 cups of flour.  Stir until combined.
5. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
6. Stir for a minute with wooden spoon. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.  Repeat 3 times.
7. Divide dough in half.
8. Roll out one half of the divided dough on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle shape. 
9. Roll up long edge of dough jelly roll style.
10. Place rolled dough onto a lightly greased baking sheet or on a rectangle baking stone. 
11. Repeat for second half of dough.
12. Let rise in warm place for 30 minutes.
13. Make 3 diagonal slashes across top of each loaf. 
14. Brush loaf tops with a beaten egg white. 
15. Bake 400° for 30 minutes or until tops are golden brown.
16. Remove loaves to wire rack to cool.
17. Eat while warm. Yum!

NOTE: You can sprinkle herbs like thyme, rosemary, oregano to top of loaves while baking. Adding some grated Parmesan would be great too.

Enjoy!

First Fail In Quilting

As a newer quilter (summer/fall '09) I've been pretty much following patterns from "experienced and professional" quilters.  

This past weekend I wanted to branch out and do my own pattern. It couldn't be that hard, right?

I had a Nostalgia layer cake I've had in my stash that I've been itching to make into a quilt for a birthday gift.

I wanted something kinda special and not just sashing around plain squares. And I wanted something larger than a lap sized quilt.

I searched through traditional blocks that I could make from one layer cake, add some yardage fabric for the border and backing, and ta-da, a quilt.

Ummm.....no, ta-da.  : /

Yea, it didn't work quite like I had in mind.

There wasn't enough cream colored squares to match with a print square.  I had the four remaining squares that I matched to make the two U-G-L-Y blocks.

The other blocks are the SO-SOs.  I'm afraid the remaining squares will also result in SO-SO blocks too.

On to "Plan B".  Only I don't have a "Plan B".

I do have an incomplete layer cake now.  {sigh}

Please excuse me now.

I have to go figure out how to get a quilt out of a partial layer cake.

Hexies Were Happening

I finally found time this morning to start cutting out my hexies for the hexagon quilt-a-long by JayBird Quilts.

Jelly roll and layer cake is Moda's, The Caroler. 

 

Love, love the colors and the hexagon layout.

Done with step one.

 Ohhh jeez, now I must wait for the next step.  

I think that will be the hardest part of this quilt-a-long.  : /

Bung, Bung, Bung

Mr. Taxman, please go away.

WOW! Another Giveaway!

Head on over to another online giveaway--JayBird Quilts.  

Such generous bloggers we appreciate you!

Isn't He Just Handsome?

Our youngest went to Prom this weekend.  

Preparations for him were so much easier than for our daughter a few years ago.  No hair, no nails, no makeup, no accessories.  A tux, shower and shave.

He and his friends had a great night.

Me, not so much.  He's growing up too quick.    :'(

I Have a Notion Giveaway! And It's an Accuquilt Go!

Whoa!

Only 5 days left over at I have a Notion blog.  It's a giveaway of an AccuQuilt Go.  The AccuQuilt Go is safe and easy to use, accurate and up to 90% faster than rotary cutting and scissors.

Wouldn't that make quilting life simpler?

 Run! don't walk over to the blog and enter yourself in the giveaway!

If you miss out on the giveaway and you can't live without the Accuquilt Go now that you know it exists, you can purchase one in their online store.

April Project List

After a week into April I've finally completed my project list for this month.  Maybe this will help me stay focused on my projects.  

2 Mother's Day table toppers

Start a quilt - pattern TBD - Nostalgia Layer Cake - May birthday present

Finish "Old Fashioned Hospitality" a Kim Diehl quilt from her book Simple Comforts

WIP - Jaybird Quilts - Hexagon Quilt-a-Long - Moda's, The Caroler

Start a lap/wall quilt that I can practice hand quilting while on vacation this summer

Gotta go and push that sewing pedal down.  TTYL

A Day of Firsts

Today is a day of firsts for me.  I won my first online giveaway after entering many of them for well over a year.  Thank you Make Life Sweet for drawing my name! I can't wait to receive your patterns in May.

And I joined my first online quilt-a-long sponsored by Jaybird Quilts.

I'm pulling a jelly roll and layer cake from my stash The Caroler from Moda.  This is also a first because my quilts up to now have been from fabric scraps from other sewing projects, yardage fabric, one charm quilt, and a few fat quarters. This will be my first time to cut into a jelly roll AND a layer cake.  

The jelly rolls are so pretty and nice and neat rolled up.  I've dreamed and awed over projects that I could use it for.  Somehow they just aren't as nice as that rolled up jelly roll.

And finally, this is the first time to work with hexagons.  I'm uber excited about starting a new quilt! I'm up for the challenge.  

Just not quite sure about cutting into my jelly roll.  : O

Bunnies, bunnies....Everywhere!

Seeing all the bunnies the past few days for the Easter holiday kept giving me visions.  Visions of the increasing population of bunnies in our home....DUST bunnies.

Please excuse me from quilting today.  I must go cage some of them before they start teaming up with the missing socks.  

If the shelves are dusty and the pots don't shine,
it's because I have better things to do with my time.
~Author Unknown

Up From the Grave He Arose!

Hope you had a blessed Easter!

Fabric Buying Freeze - Oh My!

My Hunny, kids, and I have a summer vacation planned to drive approximately 18 hours to Holden Beach, North Carolina.  My Hunny and I are in our mid-40's and have never been to a beach...any beach.

So the family is on a strict budget until we go.  Saving for a sun-filled, relaxing week.  Basically, we are only eating and drinking this...

and this.

Definitely, positively, none of this is allowed in the budget.

And that makes me VERY unhappy.  Especially when fellow bloggers tempt me with the information of sales like at Craft Town Fabrics.  And it's charms, oh boy!

Lord, please give me strength to resist because you know I really, really like charm packs. And especially when they are on sale.

The Funny Things Kids Say

My sweet little niece doesn't have a black eye.  She tells me, "it's purple."

And let's not let her big sister miss out of the picture taking.

 

Isn't she just precious?  I love 'em both.

Thank you Bonnie Hunter!

Before we left for Spring Break I finished a top from my fabric scraps for a Bonnie Hunter's pattern, Crayon Box, from her site Quiltville.  

I still have to finish sewing the back.  I'm thinking about attempting to straight line quilt it at home on my Brother Innovis 4000D sewing machine. I've only machine quilted a meander pattern on a baby quilt and I wasn't thrilled with the result.

I am most concerned with getting all the layers quilted without puckers.  It is just too easy to lay it out and straighten it on a longarm machine's frame.  I just don't wanna pay the rental fee to longarm quilt it myself at our local quilt shop.

This is the second piece quilt I did in October 2009.  I did longarm quilt it myself in a meander pattern at our local quilt shop.  It is Bonnie Hunter's, Boxy Stars, pattern.

 I read Quiltville forwards and backwards several times researching to see if I thought I could tackle teaching myself to quilt.  Bonnie Hunter's website helped me out so much when I first started quilting.  I love her patterns and her website. 

Thank you Bonnie Hunter!

Her next pattern I'm eyeballing is her Sister's Choice when my scrap bin gets replenished.

I'm off to get a few things done around the house then finish the back to my quilt.  

See ya later!

Spring Break Vacation--Check

Ohhhh, it was a nice spring break getaway.  Not too short and not too long--just right.

It was Silver Dollar City's 50th Anniversary.

We timed visiting Branson, Missouri and Silver Dollar City at just the right time. It was Young Christians' Weekend at Silver Dollar City.  In addition to the theme park excitement we were treated to christian bands, Decemberadio, Lincoln Brewster, and 33miles. And youth speaker, Doug Compton.

Doug spoke at our church camp a few years ago and when we talked to him Saturday, he mentioned that he will be at our church camp again this year in July.  He is a funny dude and kids love his "Dum, Dum" song.  More importantly, he gives a good message and youth hear him.

Hunny and the kids did manage to get me to ride the rides with them.  I'm not a huge fan but I can handle it--what I can't handle is waiting in the long lines.  Especially when the adult person behind you keeps bumping into you while you're waiting.  Pet peeve alert--I get a wee bit cranky. 

Give me a bench and I'll hold all the cell phones, etc. and watch people.  I'm happy.  People watching is very entertaining.  They are riding and I'm people watching.  : ) 

Just as I suspected.  Yup.  Didn't miss quilting after we arrived in Branson because we stayed on the go the entire time.  I was able to stop at one quilt shop and only one.  Hunny and kids vetoed any other quilt shops.  Well, not so much as vetoed as tried to embarrass and harass me until all the joy of the quilt shop splendor was gone.

...what we do for our family.

Do I Have To Go On Vacation???

What does it mean if you are so addicted to quilting that you would rather stay home and quilt than go on a short vacation with your family?

Vision:  I see myself laying on a doctor's sofa (you know what kind of doc I mean) and the doctor is talking to me about separation issues from my sewing machine and fabrics.

I know my Hunny would frown if I packed my sewing machine.  I can hear him saying, "Paula, really?"

I probably won't miss quilting once I'm gone.  But just in case, I've already set our course to hit some quilt shops while we're gone.  That should help.

See you when I get back!

Happy National Quilting Day!

Hello blog world! 

I've blogged a few posts before then deleted them a few weeks later.  I'm going to give it a go around again without using the delete button.

I taught myself quilting last summer.  I always enjoy looking at pictures on blog posts of quilts so let me share with you my first piece quilt. I completed it July 2009.  It's from Kim Noblin's website, Block Central.  She has several Block of the Month's and I selected "Somewhere in Time" to be my first piece quilt.

I longarm quilted it myself at a local quilt shop in town.  I still keep looking at it in disbelief that I actually made it.  I'll share some of my other completed quilts another day.  

Until then, keep your sewing pedal down. ; )