Quilt finished...

Isn't that a good feeling? I just love finishing something. In the quilting world, it seems like a rare thing, indeed. There are just so many stages between step #1 and done. Ya know? Now this particular quilt didn't take me long. The pattern was in Coffee Time. It was called Caramel Latte. Of course, I had to rearrange the colors and now it is a bit more like Expresso By The Sea! I just used the fabrics that I had and it turned out very nice I think. I used some of everything in it. There's civil war reproductions, asian, calicos and batiks. I pieced it back in February, and quilted it and bound it this month. I still need to get the label made. see? Not really finished, eh? Close enough to show you, though. It is for a dear friend and his sweet wife- one of my sons was born on their bedroom floor. Now there's a long story. But I don't think I'll be getting into that. At any rate, he likes coffee and she likes blue. Hope it's a good match.

Lindsay's quilt...

This is the quilt that I made for our friend, Lindsay. She just graduated from the nursing program. The fabrics are all batiks and the pattern is from the "Stack a New Deck" book.

I have finsihed several projects here lately. Kinda makes up for getting nothing else done!

Think Spring!

You know it's spring when the farmer keeps you up at night, plowing. He usually stops by midnight, bless his heart, but I was ready for bed long before that. His bright headlights periodically shining in my window and the sound of that monster-tractor resembling a jet at take-off. Yawn.

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It has been lovely weather. When I saw this little patch of woods down the road from us, it just reminded me of my kids. Notice how all the little saplings are just bursting forth with tender green leaves, while the older, more mature trees are patiently waiting. And how does that remind me of my kids? Well, they are the same way. When that first breath of warmer air drifts in, they are ready to declare it "SPRING!" They want to rush outside, barefoot, and sleeveless- 'cause it's spring! I said, guys, it's still too cold to be doing that! But they wouldn't be suppressed and so they had their day or two in the sun. And then winter returned with a vengence and all those tender green leaves were burned right off with the freezing weather and they looked so pitiful- all crumbledy and brown. The kids just couldn't believe that they were being forced back into the house by the bitter winds and cold. They looked just as pitiful as those little trees and their moans were a whole lot louder. Made me kinda sad to be the older, more mature one that said, " I told you so." But now spring is really and truly here and the kids appreciate the warm weather even more, if that's possible. The baby trees have recovered and the green out there... well, it's just amazing.

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I wonder if we ever really appreciate our blessings when we are in the midst of them? When they are just coming on, oh, we are soooo thankful. Like with Spring. That warm air feels so lovely after a long cold winter, the colors seem almost magical, they are so bright after winter's drabness... and yet the warm air, the gorgeous colors of trees and grass and flowers will still be here throughout the long summer... do we ever pause then and say, Wow! This is just so great! Or when we are blessed with a new person in our lives- we are just so awed by that miracle- and yet, when they are 15, are we as apt to stop in our tracks when we look at them and feel that wonderful feeling wash over us? They are the same miracle today as they were all those years ago. What about that new house or car? They brought us so much happiness back then. Now, do we come in and out and not even feel a moment of thrill? It's the same blessing today as it was yesterday. With us, it's always more... more... more... when, if we counted for the rest of our lives, we could never complete the list of wonderful things that fill our lives. Our family, our friends, our health- whatever measure we have, our homes, our possessions, the way the breeze makes those white curtains dance, that perfectly formed, pink-striped flower, those gorgeous fabrics that fill our eyes with something just so "right," that cool drink of water... What a miracle life is! Joy is right there in front of us, all the time, but sometimes it's our perspective that makes it look like just another hot summer day.

Just to show I'm still alive...

I thought I'd better post something. As a quilter, I do believe this is my busiest time of year. How about you guys? Lots of quilt shows, college graduations, high school graduations, and weddings. Shew! I think, if possible, that I have been busier now than at Xmas. In another week, I'll be trying to get the garden in. I have noticed the local farmers are starting to plow- I don't remember a year when they were so late in getting things into the ground- It has been so wet and so cold, this spring. Just keep that little tidbit in mind when it comes time to gamble in commodities!

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I have finished 4 graduation quilts- one I pieced and the other three I just quilted. I told them that we would need to keep it real simple to get them all done, and I didn't hear any objections. Woo-hoo. Meanders and loopy loops all the way around- except for mine, of course! But there should be some perks to being the quilter! I even quilted up a Disney princess quilt. I found a very pretty variegated thread from King Tut that had lots of pastels and it looked real sharp in that sea of white. White quilts stress me 'cause no matter how many times you sweep and dust and such, there is always a navy blue thread just dying to become entombed in a white quilt!

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This blue and red quilt block was a trial piece that I did and decided that I liked it well enough to make a soldier quilt from it. I accidently cut the strips the wrong size and you can see how the blue is overlapping. That really bugged me, but my guys begged me to leave it that way- I think they were afraid that the red would morph into hearts if it was more balanced... I guess I see their point. I kinda like how the batik blocks seem to float and leave a shadow. It's a very guy quilt, huh?

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I have new favorite CD. It is Fernando Ortega and Carrie, if you don't have it , you should! He is a pianist and plays beautifully. But he also writes almost all of his songs and they are just wonderful. He has a very "real" voice and this particular CD is just very worshipful. "In the Shadow of Your Wings." is the name of it. That top picture I just couldn't resist posting. Doesn't that little boy look just like his daddy?

Happy Birthday!!!!

We have 4 birthdays in about a month- and then we have something of a hiatus until August. Eva(8) and Bekah(6) have birthdays just one week apart. The girls like to celebrate together. They have a theory that they get more presents that way! They share everything, so I don't know if it matters, much. Joe(17) and Jacob(14) have birthdays two weeks apart and they like their own celebration-no doubt about it- they get more food that way! Teenagers are funny about things like that!

Traditions.... as most of you already know, we have some unusaul traditions around here and these pictures illustrate a couple of them so well! Birthdays are a big deal for us- but just for family. No parties or anything like that. The birthday kids get to pick the menu for the day. And the type of cake they want. Then, I take them out for lunch at the restaurant of their choice. All that is pretty normal, I figure. But once the cake hits the table, things go awry. I am not at all sure how this started... but we sing "Happy Birthday" as loudly and as obnoxiously off-key as possible. The higher pitched the better! Now you know why no one outside of family is invited! As the children have gotten bigger the noise level has increased exponentially, and I'd just like to say that our windows and all other household glass is at risk of shattering! I think I was deaf for about an hour after that last one! And if you are wondering why the girls' cake is so covered with candles and Jacob's is so..not... well, I set out the proper amount of candles for the girls- 14- but before I knew it they had scarfed up the entire box of candles and I didn't have the heart to tell them to remove them from the cake and put them back! So I was out of candles when it came to Joe's birthday- he gladly settled for one votive candle, and I meant to get more, but forgot... so Jacob came up with the idea of the zippo... said he would save breath that way- not having to blow it out but just releasing the button. I thought that was a pretty good solution.

CONTRAST...

I think contrast is a good thing. I love white-chocolate covered pretzels- the salty contrasting with the sweet. Things would get pretty boring without contrast. Of course, there is contrast and there is contrast. A little bit is good, maybe too much can be jarring. Here are 2 of this week's projects. (No, I didn't limit myself to only 2 projects- there are several more in the works, but they are gifts and, as such, have to be kept under wraps.) These 2 quilts are what I would consider high contrast. Too much of a good thing? Oh, I don't know.

The top picture is my Thimbleberry Village which I am putting together for my Mom. I have another "block" finished so that leaves 4 more to go. I am thoroughly enjoying this quilt. I love making samplers- while they take a little bit longer to make, it's a lot of fun to see how each block is going to turn out and how they will all come together. And did anyone else notice that my geese are doing a nose dive? I didn't like the way the red in the log cabins blended into the house block- not enough contrast. But I am not sure which is the lesser of 2 evils... nose-diving geese or blurry log cabins... You decide for me, will ya? These blocks came pre-cut and that alone has been a real treat. I am averaging about a block a day- like I have nothing more pressing to do. But I have been rewarding myself with sew time after each pass on the quilting machine. It seems to be a pretty good combination. I get contrast and my shoulder doesn't get "stove up."

The bottom picture is a "Minkee Blankee" that I made as a house warming gift for a young friend who just bought his first house. It has a fire place and he was joking about how good a bearskin rug would look in front of it... so I threw together this cheetah backed blanket. Not exactly the same effect, but I've had rave reviews from it. It is soooooo soft. He said that was it's only flaw- it's so soft he finds it hard to stop petting it! His arms and legs keep flapping around at night! He is 6'5" so I made it extra long. And doesn't that blue look just like a pool of water? His dad liked it so much that now we need to make another.

So how's that for contrast. One is very traditional and one is quite modern for a quilt. One has lots of little pieces and one has no piecing. But both are quite tasty. Now where can I get some of those pretzels....

The Girls and Their Body Guard...

Jack is only 2 years older than Eva, but I never noticed how much bigger he is! (Eva and Bekah are 2 years apart also.) These are the girls' Easter dresses and you can see I did get their doll dresses finished. I just kept it real simple. Sarah gave me that butterfly fabric a couple years ago and it's been waiting for just such a project. Eva has a thing for "cute" bugs. When they walked into church, some one said they expected me to be dressed like them... um, nope, I'm not so much a fan of purple butterflies. At least not this version. But they look very sweet on the girls.

I have been trying to keep things simple. I have accomplished a lot of from my list. Even added a few more- like I need more to do! I am starting a "new" Thimbleberry quilt for my Mom. Tanya from the quiltshop just gave me the pattern and the fabric- already cut!- so it's all fun, now! Do you remember the Thimbleberry Village pattern? It's been a while back- years, since it came out. Tanya decided that she hated it and wouldn't spend any of her time working on it. It'll go perfectly in my folks barn, though. I have also been working on Sarah's quilt challenge quilt. Each year we challenge each other to make a quilt. This year it is to be a two color quilt- unless Sarah cheats again. Rules are meant to be broken by some folks! I'm teasing. She gave me a very pretty, soft green to work with and it hasn't been a trial- much. It is all going smoothly- I'm sure she is relieved to hear this. Sarah is the type to plot and plan everything out and I tend to fly by the seat of my pants, so I think I worry her sometimes! But don't worry Sarah. I'm right on schedule. Now if I can only get the 4 quilts done that need to be finished in the next couple weeks!