A wonderful quilting friend just started her own blog. If you get a chance check it out. She may have only her first post but at least you can say you knew her when she first started out in the business. LOL

http://sew4uandme.blogspot.com/

Yesterday, I was able to finish the wall quilt for my niece's new baby. The baby isn't due for a couple more weeks so I am ahead of schedule. I can't post a photo of it because I am sure Aimee would peek! Wouldn't you Aimee!

I also was able to get my blocks for the lottery on our Quilting In Indiana group put together. So here is a photo of those. The instructions for the block can be found at:

http://www.quilterscache.com/N/NextDoorNeighbor2Block.html



Since I can't post a photo of the quilt I just got done, I will share some photos that my Dad took on their trip to Colorado. I think these photos were taken in Kansas. They are Wind Powered Generators. I wouldn't mind having a couple of those in my back yard!







Hope you are having a wonderful summer day!!!

Rhonda

July 6, 2008

Yesterday I received a box in the mail from my Secret Sister! What a great gift to receive on my birthday. Here is a photo of everything she sent me.


Thank you to my wonderful Quilting In Indiana Secret Sister!

I also was surprise to get $100 from my wonderful husband to spend at the local quilt shop. When I say local quilt shop, I meant Sharynn's in North Vernon. I stimulated the economy somewhat at that time! lol

Anyway, I had a great weekend and birthday!

Hope you have had a great weekend also!

Rhonda

July 4, 2008

Happy 4th of July!!

There are no exciting activities here at our house today. It has been rainy, dreary weather here. We are going to a cookout tomorrow afternoon. It is my IL's annual BBQ Rib cookout. And of course, tomorrow is my 48th birthday. I have already received all my birthday gifts. I got a digital camera and some fabric from all the kids.

I have been working on the quilt for my niece's baby that is due in a few short weeks. The piecing went fast but now the quilting is going slow. That isn't my favorite part of quilting. But I am sure it is going to be done in time. When this project is done I will get started on a class sample. I need to get it designed tonight so I can pick up the fabric tomorrow at Sharynn's. Then there are 2 challenges to do. One is due before the middle of September and the other is due in November. I have the one for September designed so I just need to get the fabric and make it.

Well that is it for today! Hope you are enjoying your holiday!

Rhonda

July 1, 2008

Wow, the beginning of a new month! One of my favorites since my birthday is in July. I already know what I am getting from all the kids. Why do I know? Because I told them what to get. lol A new digital camera and some fabric. My daughter has been kind enough to tell me that all has been purchased. I wouldn't trust her with any secrets! I didn't even have to ask her, she just blurted it out when she came home with the purchases. No future for her in a government job that requires secrecy!

Yesterday was our 7th Wedding Anniversary. My wonderful DH got me a $100 gift certificate to one of the quilt shops in Madison called Margies Country Store. I like going there because she always has a great selection of fabric in her clearance area. Who can pass up fabric at 50% off! I know I can't. What did I get Greg? He told me 2 things he would like to have. So I got him both. A Dewalt grinder and a set of Craftsman sockets. He said it was like Christmas yesterday morning when he got up! We are going with all the kids but Micky out to eat tomorrow evening. Plans are to go to Cracker Barrel. Should be fun!

I am still working on my Lonestar Cabin quilt but have gotten quite a bit done on it. I have all 288 small diamonds completed. I have been working on putting all of those together into the 32 large diamonds. That is almost done also. Once those are put together though, I will have to put that project aside for a little while. I need to start on a wall quilt for my nieces new baby. The baby is due July 24th so I better get busy.

That's it for today! Hope to share some good photos soon. Waiting on that new camera! lol

Rhonda

June 26,2008

Things have been pretty quiet around here lately. I have been working on finishing up those 288 diamonds for the Lonestar Cabin quilt. I am down to only needing to do 62 more and the first few strips are already on those.

No pictures today. I haven't finished anything to take a picture of. Maybe in a few days. I hope to have all those diamonds done by then. Then I need to start on a wall quilt for my niece's new baby.

I have been thinking I need to go through all my projects and make a list. A list of what needs done to them to have them finished. Get those UFO' s done so I can make room for more.

That is it for today. I know not much!

Have a great day!

Rhonda

June 23, 2008

Over the weekend I did some playing around on my Mom's embroidery machine. This is what I came up with. I should have pressed it before the picture.


Have a great day!!

Rhonda

June 22, 2008

My sister sent pictures of the quilt we made her. These are photos of the quilt on her bed with a bed ruffle.






Have a great day!!!

Rhonda

June 19, 2008

Have you noticed the new layout for my blog? I thought I needed to brighten it up a lot. Do you like it, let me know.

I have received comments on my blog from several people. I don't know how to reply to them. Haven't figured that out yet. Could someone leave me a comment and tell me how to do that? I am computer illiterate. lol

The photos I post aren't very good either. I can tell you why though. My digital camera is 7 years old. When I bought it back then it was top of the line. But you know how things are. You buy something one year and it is obsolete the next. I have asked my kids for a new camera for my birthday next month. I think I may just get it. Yippee!!!! You will actually see decent photos on my blog. LOL

I spent yesterday working on my Batik Happy Block swap. I have all my blocks done. I will mail them once Jill gets her blocks done for the swap. I think she has 15 of her 50 done. They are really easy and go together really fast so it won't take long. We are way ahead of the deadline which is August 15th. We are doing this swap in our Quilting In Indiana group.

I thought today I would work on some blocks to send for the Quilts of Valor quilts. One of the ladies in our group participates in that and gave us the instructions for the blocks last Saturday at our sewing day. These quilts are made for injured service men and women in our state. A very worthwhile cause. You might want to check on the organization in your state.

Well, that is about it for today. Have a wonderful day!

Rhonda

June 17, 2008

My sister received her quilt today. From what I gathered on the phone this evening, she is happy with it. I guess I won't get it back after all. Darn it!!

This is it! This photo was taken at our Sewing Day last Saturday. That is Angel peeking over the top. She is such a sweet girl! She is really tall too! There are two other people behind that quilt but they are a little shorter. LOL



Hope you had a great day!!!

Rhonda

June 16th, 2008

If you have a blog, you know how hard it is to come up with a title each time you post. My solution---just have the date as the title. So that is what you will see as the titles on my posts.

My sister's quilt is now in South Carolina for a short visit then will be on to North Carolina tomorrow. I guess you could say it is taking the scenic route to her. I am anxious to find out what she thinks of it. If you hear screaming it may be her.

I had planned to post yesterday telling all, well some, about our sewing day Saturday. But I got busy Sunday and didn't get it done. I got up Sunday morning and took a shower and got ready for church. After church I thought I might as well mow the yard. I got that done and took another shower. Got the vacuum hooked up on the pool and did that job. Just got that done when Greg came home and said his brother needed some help setting his tobacco. So off to the field I go. Spent 5 hours doing that. I wish I had thought ahead and took the sunscreen. I am quite a bit red right now. Anyway, got home from there about 8 p.m. and had to take another shower. 3 showers in one day!!!

So I do need to tell about our sewing day on Saturday. We had a blast!!!! I think we had a total of 17 people come that day. Some for just a little while and others for the whole day. The last ones left about 7 p.m. I didn't get much sewing done but had a lot of fun just chatting with old and new friends. We took a road trip to one of our nearby quilt shops. I think they were glad to see us. Maybe not. We were there for about an hour past their closing time. The owner, Sharynn Patterson, gave everyone 10% off their purchase. That was so sweet of her. Sharynn and her employees are so nice. I love going in her shop. I did purchase 3 new patterns and a stencil. One of the patterns was for my daughter Jill. It is the Sassy Bag by Lazy Girl Designs. Jill has been making some of the Wonder Wallets by Lazy Girl so I thought this would be a great pattern for her.

Today I made 2 blocks for the block lottery on our Quilting In Indiana group. The pattern chosen by the winner this month is Kansas Dugout on the Quilters Cache website. Great website if you are ever looking for a pattern. Here are photos of the two blocks I made. I didn't get a straight shot of one of the blocks so it looks kind of funny.





















This is the better photo of the two. I guess I must not have been wobbling as much. LOL
























See what I mean about being wobbly! LOL

I got these 2 blocks done today plus 42 Batik Happy Blocks for a swap I am participating in. They are turning out really great. Tomorrow it will be more Happy Blocks!

See ya later!!!!!!!


Rhonda

June 13th

I finally got the binding put on the quilt my Mom and I made for my sister. Tomorrow it will be going home with Mom. Sunday it will make its way to North Carolina. I plan to post a photo on Monday. By then she will have seen it. It was a large project and we are glad it is done.

Tomorrow is one of our sewing days here in Deputy. Some of the members of our Quilting In Indiana group will be getting together to just sew. Some I have met but some I haven't and am looking forward to meeting them. We always have a great time. I think we get more eating and chatting done more than anything. I think this is going to be our largest group since we started doing this. My daughter is even decided to go also. She wants to makes some wallets from the Wonder Wallet pattern by Lazy Girl Designs. She made one Wednesday along with a purse. She did really good.

For the last few months I have been working on a quilt called Lonestar Cabin. I started it back in March but have had to put it aside several times for other things. The pattern is from the magazine Quilts With Style. There are 32 diamonds in the quilt. Each diamond consists of 9 log cabin diamonds. Here is a photo of one of the 32 diamonds.








Hope you are having a great day!




Rhonda

Cooler Weather!

What a beautiful day in the neighborhood! After the heat and humidity the last couple of weeks it was nice to wake up to an 80 degree day.

I had to get up earlier than usual today. I had an 8:30 a.m. appointment for a root canal. Yuk!!! It wasn't nearly as bad as what I had thought. What hurt the most was paying that much for it! As my DH says,"its only money!" You mean its only fabric! Fabric I can't purchase because I had to spend so much on dental work. So depressing! I think how much fabric I could have purchase for the cost of that tooth.

I did do some recent fabric shopping the last couple of weeks. All on sale of course.

My first purchase was to Colorful Cottons online. Everything was on sale for $4 a yard. My order got her in a decent length of time but $24 for shipping and handling was way too much. I know that at least $16 went to just handling. That made my fabric almost $5 a yard in the long run.







My Colorful Cottons order.












The next order I placed was with Stitching Post Quilts in Washington, Indiana. Some of the fabrics were $2.75 a yard.







My Stitching Post Quilts order.








The last purchase was made at Margies Country Store in Madison, Indiana. Margie and all her wonderful employees makes her store one of my favorites. I got all my fabric 50% off when I was there yesterday.







My purchase at Margie's Country Store.






Now that I have purchased all this fabric, I need to start some sewing. LOL That is what I am going to do now!

Have a great day!

What are you working on?

I spent the biggest part of the weekend working outside in the yard. I have the sunburn to prove it. I got my car washed, the yard mowed and the pool ready to swim in. I think the pool was the hardest part.

I have been doing some designing with my Electric Quilt 6

Here is a sample. Let me know what you think.



Hope you have a great Monday!

What Today Will Bring?

I have my day all planned. As you know though, the best laid plans will go awry.

We took the pool cover off our pool yesterday afternoon. For the first time since we purchased the pool the water looked nasty. Solid Olive Green! So it is off to the pool shop this morning with a container of water from the pool. I hope I don't have to spend a lot on chemicals to straighten this out. Since I need to go to the bank also, I will do that while I am in town. With the gas situation, we try to do everything in one trip. But after that trip 20 miles north, I have to make a trip 20 miles south to take my daughter to the doctor. Might as well go to the Walmart while I am there. I don't like going to Walmart. So that will be a short trip. Hope to be back by 2 so I can get some sewing done. I spent some time yesterday working on a Lonestar Cabin quilt I started back in March. There is close to 5000 pieces in that quilt. Yes, I said 5000! I have one of the diamonds done and have 31 more to go. I will post a photo of the diamond as soon as I can.

Have a great Saturday!

It has been a while!

Almost a month since I last posted! Where has the time gone?

I have had so much going on. Where do I start?

My Mom and I had been working on a quilt for my sister, Dawn. We finally got it sent off to the quilter on Monday. I think it turned out really well. I would post a picture but I don't want her to see it. She has to wait until it is delivered in a few weeks.

My DH and I finished the process of becoming a foster home. We are now licensed and ready for some little ones. We did this to try and adopt 2 little boys we have known since their birth. But things did not work out and the boys will be going to a family in Ohio. We just hope they will be happy with their new family. One day, I hope they contact us. We miss them so much.

I quit my job last week. Now I have plenty of time to spend in my sewing room. I want to start a new project but have decided I need to finish some of those I already have started. Most of them just need quilted.

Our quilting group is having a sewing day here in Deputy on the 14th. I know we all will have a great time. It is so much fun when we get together. I always look forward to meeting new members and getting together with everyone.

Today is the last day of school for my daughter. I know she is ready to have some fun this summer.

We are going to try and get our pool opened up this evening. It has been really warm this last week. We went from 60 degreee weather to 90 degree weather overnight.

I will leave you with a picture. It is a quilt design using the Disappearing Nine Patch.



Hope you are enjoying your summer day!

Retreats are wonderful!!!

I spent a wonderful 4 days at the North Webster Retreat last weekend. I had such a great time I plan to go again next year. I made some great new friends, ate so much food, and completed a few piecing projects. Judy DeWald was a awesome teacher for the Needle Turned Applique class. I am ready to dive head first in to some applique now.


The photo to the left is the Mystery quilt a lot of us participated in. Disregard the glare spot on the quilt. Once I add some borders I think it will turn out great.





The photo to the right is a Round Robin that I finally got all the blocks sewed together. I added a 2" black border to the blocks. I plan to add another border of spikes to this wall quilt.
The blocks were made by members of the the Quilt Mavens yahoo group. There were 7 of us in this Round Robin. Each person made one 12" and two 6" blocks. The blocks weren't sewed together until they came home. Thanks go out to Liz, Janet, Mary, Stevie, Kathie and Becky for their contributions to my quilt.

52 hours to go

From what Joanne L. says we have about 52 hours until retreat starts! I am really looking forward to going to this special retreat in Northern Indiana. I will get to meet some great online friends for the first time! Liz, Mary, Susan, Joni and all, I can't wait to meet you in person! I hope I didn't forget anyone!

I am leaving on Wednesday to drive up to my SIL's to spend the night. Then wonderful Joanne L. is picking me up on Thursday morning to finish the drive to retreat! Then back to my SIL's on Sunday evening for the night. Should get home on Monday morning sometime. I think my DH is looking for to the vacation also.

Riding with Joanne I am sure will be an experience. I know already I should take a tarp for inclement weather and she has already said, "unruly passengers will be strapped to the cargo rack on top". I don't plan on being good! lol I think we should sing 99 spools of thread on the wall on our way. Well, I thought it was a good idea!

I guess I better think about doing some packing tomorrow. I don't even know what project(s) I will take with me to work on. I have so many I want to take but I don't think I will need that many.

Joanne, I will be ready! See ya soon!

Spring is here!

I think anyway! The weather has been great! So great, I have had my windows open during the day.

Greg has had to actually mow the yard. Now it needs it again. I may just do that tomorrow if I get the time. The grass is green from what you can see under all the dandelions!

Greg was able to get the garden tilled up on Monday! Yeah!!!! We even got our potatoes planted. Yesterday evening we set out our cabbage plants. I know we set out way too many though. Greg's uncle has a greenhouse and supplies us with all our plants. Whenever we ask for 12 we get 24. That was the case with the cabbage plants. We asked for 12 and got 24. Uncle Dave picked up our seed potatoes also. You can probably already figure out we got more than we wanted. Asked for 25 pounds and got 50. If the weather is good this summer, we will have plenty of potatoes and cabbage. I think it is because he always has so many extra and just wants to get rid of them. I hope it isn't because he thinks we eat that much! LOL
I always figure if we can't use it we can give it away to those that need it.

My Mom and I have been working on a quilt for my little sister Dawn. She is so little anymore. She is 45 years old! Where has the years gone!
We are making it out of batiks using Log Cabin blocks. The center of the quilt is 120 of those blocks. Then there is the first border of Flying Geese. The last border is Log Cabin blocks set on point. I think it is going to turn out nicely!
I have another quilt I need to get started on. A wall quilt for my niece's new baby that due to arrive in July. Since it is a wall quilt it won't take near as long as Dawn's quilt. The baby is going to be a girl if all the technology is correct. Her name will be Isabella Rose. I have the design in my head and just need to put some things down on paper.

Next week I am going to another Quilting Retreat in North Webster, Indiana. There will be 19 other ladies that I will be joining. I am really looking forward to it. Some of the ladies I have gotten to know through email and our Quilting in Indiana Yahoo group. I can't wait to meet them! Retreats are so much fun! You learn so much and make wonderful friendships!

That's if for today! Hopefully I will make it back sooner the next time!

Retreat!

I just had to stop in and tell everyone about a wonderful retreat I attended last weekend!
A few of us decided to get together for the weekend at The Leavenworth Inn in Leavenworth, Indiana. We had such a wonderful time!
We each received some wonderful gifties. Here is a photo of the gift I gave. I call it my Fabric Milkshake. It reminds me of the great milkshake that you get at Steak N Shake.


I will be going to another retreat the first of May. I am so looking forward to it!

I'm back!!!

I haven't posted in a little while so I thought I better get over here and do that!
I haven't been working on much except some Nine Patch blocks for a swap in your Yahoo group. We have 16 players right now for this swap. Yeah!!!!!!!!
I have been trying to use up some of the scraps in my scrap tote. That is a really big job!! Been making lots of nine patchs out of those. I realized I have a lot of strips to use up also. I need to make some strip blocks to go with a strip quilt that I have started. When I started it I didn't have enough strips to make it as big as I wanted. Now I am sure I have enough.
I have thinking a lot about what project I want to work on at our retreat coming up. 8 more days until we get to get together to sew for a whole weekend. We are meeting up at the Leavenworth Inn in Leavenworth, IN.
Isn't the Inn beautiful? I think so!

We have had a lot of rain lately. Everything is flooding! School was even on a 2 hour delay yesterday for the flooding. Some schools were even closed. It stopped raining yesterday afternoon and turned to snow. The snow didn't last long which was a good thing. I am ready for spring and hope it comes soon!

That is it for today! Stay dry and warm!

Sew Along Quilt Day Retreat Weekend

If you want to have some quilting fun this weekend, stop over at Pat Sloan's blog and enjoy the Quilt Day Sew Along Retreat Weekend. There are always fun things to do with Pat around!

Blocks for the Lottery

On one of the Yahoo groups I belong to, we are doing a block lottery. Here are my entries! I really like the blue one better. Laurie M. was the winner for this months lottery and she picked the pattern for these. At first I wasn't going to play, I thought the pattern looked too complicated for me. But I couldn't pass up the challenge. Found out the pattern was really easy! So I am glad I went ahead and played.










I spent the day with my Mom yesterday. Our usual day together is spent going to quilt shops or sewing together. Yesterday was different. Very different!!! We spent the day here at my house washing curtains, washing windows and doing some furniture moving. We still had a good day together.
After Mom left, I did get some sewing done. I have been working on a wallhanging using the Signature blocks I received in a swap. I now have all the blocks in rows and just need to sew the rows together and add a border. My pile of quilt tops is growing so probably after this quilt I will need to concentrate on getting my tops quilted. I have a couple that just need binding so those will go fast.
That is it for today! Maybe I will be back tomorrow!

Tamara's Package of Wonderful Things

As I said in my previous post, I received a wonderful package from Tamara over at Quilting N Stuff. Here are the photos I told you I would post. Tamara was so generous! Thank you so much!




Have a wonderful sewing weekend!!!

I won again!

I received a prize from Tamara over at Quilting N Stuff. Thank you so much Tamara! I will try to post a photo of the wonderful gift you sent me. There were some Fat Quarters that were absolutely gorgeous. Also a Watercolor Quilt Kit and a pin caddy (I am not sure what you call it but it is fantastic). I will try to get that picture on my blog this weekend. Tamara was so generous!

OWOH Giveaway

I was the lucky winner of a prize from the OWOH giveaway. I received a wonderful prize from Shelley Jones at Nahia Creations. The prize was Bath Salts, Chocolate scented soap and some great Peppermint Lemongrass Lip Balm. Thank you so much Shelley!

Moving!!!!

I spent the entire day, except for going to the bank and getting groceries, moving my sewing room. My entire house is in disarray!!! No I won't post any photos! lol
I am working on rearranging my entire home. That is what happens when you decide that you are going to try and adopt. We have one more training class and the home study to go through and hopefully we will have two little boys to join our family.
My mom had voluteered to come help me do some moving tomorrow, but sometimes the best plans go bad quickly. My boss called right after I talked to my mom and asked me to work days the rest of this week. I sure can't turn work down right now. lol
Some people would probably say we were crazy! Maybe we are but we are still going to follow our dream.
Can you believe it? This is my second post for today. I have had just too much energy for today.
I also want to thank Lish for the You Make My Day award. Lish is so creative. You really need to check out her blog. Make sure you check out her photos while you are there. Her Wonder Wallets are great! Thanks Lish!
Enjoy the rest of your evening!

You Make My Day Award

Debi Wind, over at Just Me And My Rubber Stamps, has been so kind as to award me with the You Make My Day Award. Thank You Debi!!!

The rules for the "You Make My Day" award, are to re-present it to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blogland. Let them know through an email or posting to their blog so they can pass it on. You may get the award more than once, so if you do, consider yourself very loved! So pass it on!!! Here are the 10 blogs that make me happy! Check them out and see if they make you happy!

Ellen

Sandy

Mary

Sew Very Creative

Tamara

A Peach In Stitches

Laurie

Stitchin Friends

Quilts & ATC's

Lish

Have a great day!!!!

A Late Christmas

My dear friend Debi and I enjoyed a late Christmas together just the other day. It was so much fun getting together with her for a Chinese lunch and gift exchange. I just had to share with you the awesome gifts I received from Debi.


The Altered Frame is absolutely gorgeous! The notebook is so cute and has definitely come in handy! And last but definitely not least, the set of greeting cards in the beautiful card keeper are the best!!!!
Merry Christmas Debi!!!!

Great Lunch!

Friday I got the opportunity to meet up with my dear friend Debi for a late lunch. Debi lives in Louisville which is about an hour away from me. We hadn't been able to find the time to get together in months. So, we hadn't even exchanged our Christmas gifts yet. So, Friday we met up at a Chinese restaurant and exchanged gifts. We had agreed this year to make the gift we give to each other. Debi made me a wonderful altered frame, notebook and card keeper with 6 handmade cards. All of the gifts were fabulous. As soon as I get the time, I will post a picture of the things she made. Lunch was great! We got to chat and catch up for a couple of hours, which is the best. Now that I am not working as much, hopefully we can get together more often. We have a great time when we get together. Despite the fact we have different crafting interests, we do get together to craft. Debi and her rubber stamps and me and my fabric! Check out her blog at Just Me And My Rubber Stamps.
I made Debi a quilt for Christmas. Nothing fancy! But I think she really liked it. I didn't have time to take a photo of it but I am sure she will post a picture on her blog soon.
Yesterday, Greg and I went to CPR/First Aid classes in Columbus. We both passed! Stopped at my mom's on the way back from the class. We had dinner with her and my step dad. My mom is a great cook! We had Roast, potatoes and carrots, salad, corn and some biscuits. For desert we had something different. We had a Caramel Flan. I had never had it before but it was good. Not something that I have to have like cheesecake though.
I have joined a couple of swaps in the Quilting In Indiana Yahoo group I belong to. One is a Giant Postage Stamp round robin. I am really looking forward to that. They are so easy and go so fast!

Thats it for now!
Rhonda

A Christmas Gift Done

I finally had some time to get some sewing done the last few days. I would post a picture of my latest completion but it is a Christmas gift for my dear friend Debi. A gift for Christmas 2007! Yes, I have been running behind quite a bit. Now I will be able to call her and say let's get together and do our Christmas. I probably won't have to call since she reads my blog! Are you ready Debi? LOL
I will post a picture after she receives her gift. I am sure she is going to like it!


The schools in our area are on a 2 hour delay due to the weather. We were suppose to get quite a bit of ice and snow. When I went outside just a little after 6 a.m. this morning it was just raining. I was really hoping for lots of snow! Since I have no where to go today I would love it. I guess it wouldn't be so good for others.

Just heard on the news that Microsoft is trying to purchase Yahoo. I am not so sure that would be a good thing for all the free groups. We will have to wait and see what happens.

Have a great Friday!

Row Quilt

Recently I participated in a Row Quilt swap in my favorite Yahoo group, Quilting In Indiana. When I received it back, I realized that I didn't like the row concept of the quilt at all. I loved all the blocks that were made but just didn't like them in the rows. So, I ripped all the rows apart and mixed up the blocks. Added some sashing and got a beautiful quilt! The blocks are absolutely gorgeous and have been made by some wonderful friends of mine from the group.

Hello All

I know!!! It sure has been a while. They have been working me like a dog at work and have left me little time to play. The only good thing about all the OT is the money to spend on fabric. The bad part about that is there is no time to shop for fabric. So I guess you could say my OT is saving me money. That is really probably a good thing. I had decided I was going to try and not purchase fabric this year. Yes, that is one of my New Year's resolutions! If you could see my sewing room, you would definitely understand why.
I have come to realize that the more I make quilts the more my tastes in fabric change. For instance, I used to be a Thimbleberries addict. Now I go for more Michael Miller and Hoffman fabrics and pass the Thimbleberries up consistently. Instead of greens, burgundies and golds it is now purple, lime green and teals that I like.
I guess if we didn't grow as quilters we would be pretty boring!!!

Finally did it!!!

The last few months I have had trouble with the truck I drive. Fuel pump, water pump, flat tires, etc. My DH and I have went back and forth on whether to buy a new vehicle. It has been 4 years since we have had to make a car payment and really don't want to do that again. But the time finally came last week when the starter began to have problems. So to finish off 2007 with a bang, this is what we purchased this past week.



This is our new 2008 Dodge Caliber. I think I am going to like it, all except that payment each month. lol

Some things that have been going on!

It has been a while since I posted but I have a good excuse. I have been working so much!!! Actually between 60 and 70 hours a week. This is the first weekend I have had off since October and I really needed it. I was suppose to go with my DH to his family Christmas dinner tonight, but decided I just wanted to stay at home. It has been so long since I was able to just sit and relax at home. He didn't mind.

I have some really neat things to share (I think, anyway!).

I have been working so much that I didn't even decorate for the holidays. My son kept telling me I needed to put up a tree but I just didn't find time. So Christmas morning, when I came home from work, I was so surprised to find a tree sitting on my dining room table. I had to take a photo of it. My son is always coming up with something like this. He keeps me laughing! Don't you just love it! lol



Charlie Brown would have been proud of him!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I also received a wonderful gift from my Secret Sister in our Quilting In Indiana group. I really love the apron. I have been looking at patterns for aprons but just haven't had the time to make one. She must have had an inside connection with Santa on this gift. I love it!!!!


The wonderful apron-------------

Sharon, thank you so much for a wonderful gift!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hopefully tomorrow I can post more photos!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!

I just want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! May the Love of God be with you through out the holidays and the coming New Year!

Santa Arrived!!

My Secret Santa anyway! lol
I got a wonderful gift from my Secret Santa in the Quilting in Indiana Yahoo group. Joni Tracey sent me such an awesome gift! The FQ's are just spectacular! Thought I would take a photo of her gift and let everyone see (rather be jealous)!

The picture doesn't do the FQ's justice! They are absolutely gorgeous! What a wonderful Secret Santa I have this year!!!!!
Happy Holidays!

Round Robin Blocks

These are blocks that I did this week to add to a Round Robin quilt. The quilt is now heading back to the owner in Wisconsin. I hope she likes them! I would show you the rest of the blocks for the quilt but I don't think that would be right since they are other quilters work.
The patterns for these blocks are done by the Quilt Mavens.

Fabric Addiction

I will tell you I have a fabric addiction! No, I don't want any help with it! lol
The job I have leaves a lot of time at work that my co-worker and I don't have a lot to do. So we take in our sewing, knitting, cross stitch or whatever to work on. Melanie was a cross stitcher until recently. I taught her how to do fusible web applique the other night. She is totally addicted! lol
It is so wonderful when you can teach someone a new craft and they instantly become addicted. The night after I taught her how, she brought in fabric, fusible web and started her daughter a Sunbonnet Sue quilt. How awesome is that! She has even asked her husband for a new sewing machine for Christmas! Yes, I feel that I have done my job! lol
I decided a couple of months ago I needed to cut back on my spending for my hobby. I did really good until last Friday. Yes, I fell off the wagon! I purchased a Janome Jem Platinum 760. I love it! I take it to work with me. It is so light weight and does everything my Viking Lily does. This was my Christmas gift for the year. I bought it at Sharynn's in North Vernon, IN. The ladies that work there are so wonderful (Sharynn, Sue and Rose). Sharynn's is my favorite quilt shop by far. Not because of their huge fabric inventory but because the ladies are so great! If you ever have a chance to stop in there, tell them Rhonda sent you!

Some very interesting things!

I really have to tell you about some interesting things I have found out in the last few days.

The first is, my friend Debi has started her own blog. Debi does some awesome work in Altered Arts. Check out her blog. I am sure you will find some wonderful things!

The second interesting thing is the 2007 Angel Card project. This is a great way to give of yourself to someone in need at Christmas. It is all about sending cards to those that are in need of some extra cheer for the holidays. You can find out all about it and sign up to participate at The 2007 Angel Card Project Website.
Hope you will join me there!

With the holidays right around the corner, I have been rather busy finishing up some quilts for Christmas gifts. I have one with the binding almost finished, one needing the binding just sewn to the backing, and 3 more ready to quilt. I really need to get busy and get those done.

I also made a few Christmas cards over the weekend. It has been quite a while since I had done any rubber stamping.
I thought I would share a couple of my creations from the weekend. Hope you like them!





Have a great day!!!!!!!

What are you doing?

I am so far behind I can't see daylight any longer. lol

I started a part time job about a month ago working 12 hour shifts on Saturday and Sunday nights. So things have been a little crazy around here lately. Things I usually did those two days now get put off to another day.

I am trying really hard to get some quilting done on the frame. I have one loaded right now. Only about 5 more to go. Hopefully, they will be done by Christmas.

I want to start a new project so badly so I have come up with an excuse to do so. We are having a group sewing day on Saturday and I don't have a project I can take to work on. I think that is a good enough excuse!!!

Our Yahoo group gets together occasionally to have sewing days. These are in Indiana so if you are in the neighborhood think about joining us. We have also set up a Weekend Retreat at the Leavenworth Inn during March. I just made my reservations yesterday. This is our first year doing this and I think it will be so much fun. I just hope we have a good turn out!

Have a great week!

Where has time gone!

I didn't realize how long it had been since I posted to my blog. It is hard to realize it is November and Christmas is just around the corner. This year is quickly disappearing!
I finally have all my swaps caught up and ready to be mailed. I have one last set of Round Robin blocks to make when they get here. I have decided to try and quit signing up for so many swaps. The cost of buying fabric each time one comes is getting too much. Not that any swap takes that much fabric but rather going to the quilt shop and buying way too much while I am there. I guess I have no self-control! How many quilters do though? lol
I have so many projects that just need quilted. I need to start working on those and getting them finished as several of them are going to be Christmas gifts. I hope to get the frame loaded with one of those projects today.
It hasn't helped that I started working again. Just part time but that part time really eats into the sewing time. It seems like lately I have something that I have to do every day. Doctor appts, banking, groceries, etc. I am sure you know what that is like.
Have a great weekend!!!

Sweet Corn

I know. It isn't a good picture. I don't know if it is me or the camera. It seems like all my pics are a little on the blurry side. The camera is at least 6 years old so maybe it is time for a new digital.
Anyway, this is the October BOM for Pat Sloan's group. The block is called sweet corn. I thought it turned out pretty good. I know though, how can you tell from the blurry photo. lol

Swaps

This is a photo of 3 blocks I got done over the weekend. These are for a swap I am doing in Deb Karasik's Quilt Mavens Yahoo group. It took me most of the weekend to get these 3 done. The larger one is 12" and the two smaller ones are 6". I am really anxious to see my blocks that are being done for me. I asked for nothing but red, white and black.
I have one more set of blocks to do for this swap and I will be done. I am also expecting a row swap any day from Mary L. Once that row is done for that quilt I will be done with that swap.
I have a grid swap to add a block to tomorrow. I like to get my obligations done and out the door as soon as I possibly can.
I also signed up for a Signature Block swap in out Quilting In Indiana group. Don't let the name fool you, we are not all from Indiana. We welcome everyone to the group, and it is a great group! I started on my signature blocks last week at Moms. I decided to use her embroidery machine and do mine. I only got about half of them done so she is finishing them up for me. I still want to add some embellishment to them.

Spirals!

This is my version of Rolling Spirals from the Quilt Mavens book. I used a different layout. I have had the middle of the quilt done for quite a while. I just couldn't find a fabric that I thought would look good as a border. That is, not until yesterday. With some fussy cutting and mitered corners I was able to finally add borders to it. I think it turned out nicely! What do you think?

It has been a little while!

I just realized how long it had been since I posted to my blog. Shame on me for being so behind!
I have been so busy that things fall behind quickly.
We spent a few days in South Carolina at Fort Jackson. Jessica (DS's girlfriend) finally graduated from Basic Training. It was so great to see her! She left Indiana in July, so it has been a while.
Over 800 soldiers graduated that day. Jessica can really be proud of herself, I know we were.
While we were there, my wonderful niece Aimee and her precious little boy Zach, came to visit with us. Aimee brought me a wonderful selection of fat quarters from a quilt shop she lives near. Thank you Aimee!!!!!!!! They were great!
It was great spending some time with the two of them. Zach has grown so much! Quite a little guy!
I have managed to get a little sewing in since my last post. I have been working on a batik quilt from the book Stack a New Deck. I just have the borders left to add to it. Then maybe I can take a few pictures of it. That is if I remember to get some new batteries for the camera.

I know you are probably wondering what has happened to the scrap quilt I had been working on. Well, it kind of took a back seat to the batik one. The scrap quilt as well as the Coneflower wall quilt. I really need to get back to those and get them finished.

I had to go to Columbus yesterday so I thought I should use my 50% off coupon from Joann's while I was there. I have several quilts that just need quilted so I thought some batting would be appropriate for the coupon. Since they had a whole roll of the Warm and Natural, I just bought it. Now to get busy and get those quilts quilted.

Lots to do and not enough time in the day!

Wonderful Weekend

I had a great weekend! Most of it was a sewing weekend!
Friday evening I met with a few online friends at Sharynn's in North Vernon. The occasion was the monthly PMS (Pizza, Munchies and Sewing) evening. We had a lot of fun! I got started on a new quilt that evening. I don't see it being done in the real near future though. Just too much going on!
Saturday we held one of our Deputy Sewing days. Members of the Quilting In Indiana group get together to sew for the day at the church here in Deputy. I think we had 10 show up for the day. I had such a wonderful time with my friends!
Yesterday ended up being just a resting day! I did get some more sewing done. Went to church in the morning for a great Sermon.
I hope all of you had a great weekend!

Wall Quilt

I finished this wall quilt yesterday! I thought it turned out really cute. The pattern originally was for a table runner but by turning the blocks to go all one way it was easily made into a wall quilt.
The pattern came from the book Stacking a New Deck by Karla Alexander.
I think I will put this aside for a Christmas gift. Maybe make a pot holder to go with it.
Tonight I am going to PMS (Pizza, Munchies and Sewing) Friday at Sharynn's in North Vernon. A couple of the other women from our Yahoo group are going also. It will definitely be a fun night!
Tomorrow is our sewing day for the group. Occasionally we get together to sew, eat, etc. We always have a good time doing that!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Been Busy!

I have been so busy the last few days that I haven't had time to post. Not really much to post either.
Friday I had to take my son to Columbus to get his Birth Certificate. He lost his wallet and needed to replace his Driver's License. While there I had to stop at Hobby Lobby and Joann's. I didn't find a thing at Joann's but did get a quilting book from the clearance rack at Hobby Lobby. Also went to the Dollar Tree for some Scribble Pads for paper piecing paper. These are great for that purpose. At $1 for 70 sheets, a lot cheaper than paper piecing paper.
Saturday was my Step Son's 21st Birthday. A group of us went to Belterra to celebrate. Belterra is a gambling boat. No, I didn't win any money! I donated as usual. Between me and hubby, Belterra is $50 ahead. lol
Sunday, of course, was church. We have Fellowship Sunday every fourth Sunday of the month. Everyone brings in homebaked goodies and we eat after church. There was a really good pumpkin pie. It seems like forever since I had Pumpkin Pie. I took my famous Pecan rolls. One of those recipes that looks like you have slaved all day on them. Actually you use Pillsbury Crescent rolls.

I did start on a new project. The pattern is actually a table runner but I thought it would make a great wall quilt. I am hoping to finish assembling it today. Maybe I will have something to share with you tomorrow.

Have a great day!

What would you give up?

Last April I quit my job after having worked all of my life. I guess I really needed a break from working full time. I miss it now but don't regret quitting that job. At that time I knew I would have to cut back a lot on my spending. So I sat down one day and looked at all the bills to see what we could live without. I knew I wouldn't be able to live without buying more fabric. So I cancelled the movie channels that the kids thought they had to have. Called the phone company and got a different package for the DSL, phone and long distance. I knew that wouldn't be enough though. Then it hit me! The Coke, Sprite and Dr. Pepper would have to go. That would be quite a savings! Now, I know that if you know me I don't drink those. The kids do by the cases!

What did I give up for fabric? Nothing yet! But the kids are not happy campers! LOL

Rag Baby Quilt

I spent Sunday afternoon making a Rag Quilt for one of Greg's cousin's. Her baby is due October 5th but they expect her to go anytime. They know it will be a boy if all the tests are correct. Here is a not so good photo of the quilt. (My camera is just not what it used to be.)




These Rag Quilts are so easy and fun to make. No batting and no quilting! Made completely out of flannel (which makes it nice and cuddly!). If you ever need a quick simple gift this is the way to go.

Busy Weekend

Good Morning!!!
I am so ready for a quiet week.
My daughter had her birthday party Friday evening. 20 teenagers from age 16 to 18 invaded our home for 5 hours. I am surprised that I have a mind left to write this with. Times have definitely changed since I was that age.

I didn't get much sewing done this weekend. We ended up closing the pool on Saturday. That is an all day job that I was happy to do. The weather didn't cooperate much this year for keeping the pool warm enough to swim in. Some advice--Don't believe your kids when they say,"Mom, if we get a pool, we promise to take care of it. You won't have to!" I won't miss the weekly trips to the pool shop for chemicals or the cost of those chemicals. This year is the first year since we got the pool that we had an algae problem. I have friends that have said that also. $250 that month for chemicals. More advice--Don't buy a pool!
Can you tell I look forward to next summer? lol

Went shopping!

Yes, I did it again. I went to Crafttown Fabrics in Salem again. I love that place!
I went with a plan and the plan fell through. lol
I was just going to buy some batting and backing for a quilt. I did buy that plus some fat quarters (6), some patterns, a baby quilt kit and some thread. No, it wasn't as bad as last time!
The patterns I purchased were mostly applique. So, can I blame that on my friend Sandy!
We are going on a short trip to South Carolina next month so I had to have some patterns that would include handwork. I don't like being in a car for that long without something to do. What better way to travel 10 hours. I think that justifies it!
I think another think that justifies it is--it is an hour drive to get to Salem so I need to make the most of my gas costs. Good one, huh?
I am going to try and get the rest of the main section of the quilt finished today. Then I will start on the baby quilt. Greg's cousin is having a baby boy really soon so I picked up this rag quilt kit to make for her. I don't have baby fabrics or flannels in my stash so the kit is the way to go. The last three baby quilts I made were from kits. I don't know about you, but picking out fabrics for babies is hard for me to do. The rag quilts go together so fast and easy they are perfect for a baby gift.
That's it for today! Have a great day!

Autumn is here!

Several months ago, I finished piecing a quilt using patterns from Carol Doak's book, Sensational 9 Patch Stars. I am finally getting around to quilting it, so I thought I would post some pictures of the quilt on the frame.





Here is the quilt on the frame. The fabrics used were Thimbleberries Sugar House Collection.








This is the Janome 1600P sewing machine I use. It has the 9" throat that makes it easier to machine quilt with on a frame. One day I hope to own a machine with a larger throat.

Chilly!!!!!!!!!

I love the colors of Autumn!




It seems Autumn is creeping upon us here in Indiana. The low for last night was suppose to be 45 degrees. This morning the thermometer said it was 46 degrees. That was at 7 this morning. Soon it will be time for the Oktoberfest in Seymour, Old Court Days in Madison and Old Settlers Days in Salem. I used to go to a lot of the fall festivals in the area. You can always find so many interesting things!



The photos on aren't from my area but photos I found on the web. The colors are so wonderful! Can you imagine a quilt done in the colors of Autumn?

Grid Swap Starter Block

I recently signed up for a Grid Swap in a Yahoo Group called Quilters In Indiana. The starter block has to be mailed out by the end of the month, so I thought I would get a head start on it.
Yesterday, I sat down and decided on the pattern for the starter block that I wanted to do. The pattern came from a website that I frequent and find a lot of great patterns. The website is Angie's Bits 'n Pieces
The fabric is a collection from Maywood Studios called Willowberry Lane.
The block was so easy to do using fusible web applique. I think it turned out really well.
What do you think?

Fat Quarter Winner

I had 15 comments on my blog for the Fat Quarter Giveaway. I appreciate each and every one of them. Thank you so much!

Now for the winner!!!

The Winner of the Fat Quarter is Tamara (Quilting n Stuff)!
Please email me your snail mail address and I will put that in the mail to you.

Thank you for your comments!

Pie Block

Pat Sloan has shared a great block pattern with us for the month of September. This block will go with the Jars and Farmer's Market blocks. This is my version of the pie block. It is so great when designers share their hard work with us. Thank you Pat!

Jill and her 1st Paper Pieced Block

This is my daughter Jill on her first day of school this year. She is a junior at Madison Consolidated High School.

She has been doing a little bit of sewing with me but not much. Since school has started she hasn't done any! Too much homework! She loves school and will not miss a day unless she is absolutely, terribly sick.










This is her first quilting block and also her
first paper pieced block. I think she did an
excellent job on it. She even chose her own fabrics for it.










Don't forget to leave a comment to be entered in the drawing for a fat quarter. The drawing was suppose to be tomorrow but since I will be out of town, I will post the winner on Friday.

Thanks for reading my blog!

More Round Robin Blocks

I thought I would share with you the blocks that I made for the same Round Robin that the previous spikey blocks were made for. These will be going to Becky in Tennessee. The other ones were going to Stevie in Wisconsin.




Don't forget to comment to be included in the drawing for the Fat Quarter!