Home Sweet Home . . .

Most of you have never seen our home, so I thought I would show you it.

S has worked very hard on the yard, and it looks amazing! I'm so proud of him! We have 2 big oak trees and 2 big walnut trees.  We're pretty lucky to have such a cute home with such a great yard.

So, I am working on a quilt . . . but I'm so dad-gum close to finishing that I don't really want to show you until it's done . . . hopefully by the end of the week.  I'm working hard to get it done for Spring to Finish! So here's a sneak peak!

Finally . . . do you remember this chick?(Yes, I'm thinking of the one played by Uma Thurman, but I can't find a good picture. However, great movie!!!) I am her, just without the hotness or the craziness.  Yep, just the poison part.  It's been about a week and is finally going away, but I'm pretty much miserable.  Pity me. :(

I now leave you with a picture of Ralphie helping me with a layout for work . . . she is a GREAT helper!

See ya!

Mother's Day . . .

So, almost a week late, here is my Mother's Day Post.

For my mom, I made this.

It's just a little tote for her garden. My mother has an AMAZING garden. Everywhere we have lived, our yard has always been beautiful. Her house now is the one place we have lived the longest, and her backyard gets more lovely every year. In addition to amazing flowers, she also has vegetables and herbs. Her tomatoes are crazy big. S's favorite garden is when she makes her pico garden, with peppers and onions (but I think he just likes the resulting pico!). So back to the tote. The bottom is hard (I cut up a warped cutting mat) so it would hold up a little better. The black and pink material is separated into pockets so she can stick her tools in there. I thought it would be good for her because right now she carries her stuff around in an old box top. When I told her that, she laughed and said that the box top was for weeds, and the bag was too pretty for that. She wants to use it when she harvests her vegetables.

For S's mom, I made these.

They are pillows to match a wall hanging I made her when I was dating S. I was trying to get in good with the family, and I think it worked. It's hanging in their bedroom and they love it. The hearts are mostly from my Grandmother's stash (she helped me a lot with the original hanging). It's so funny because she has had her stash for a LONG time! I have found the same material in the stash that is in the quilt she made me when I was born! (It's lovely, a pink and blue double wedding ring. I pull it out when I'm sick or sad because it makes me feel better.)

So there are 2 more for the Spring To Finish! That makes a total of 3! Woo Hoo :)

Also, I have an update on the Improv quilt. I'm quitting. (Sorry Jacquie). I tried, but I couldn't find a way to be happy with it. I think that I haven't grown enough as a quilter to branch out on my own yet. I need a few more "safe" years of copying patterns and coloring inside the lines before I get a little crazy. But at least I tried. That's a big step for me! Anway, at least that's one less UFO! Woo Hoo!

See ya!

Oh baby baby . . .

So this weekend was the wedding! Congrats MaryAnne and David! We're so happy for them! Here they are with all the buddies and the buddies-to-be! The wedding was great, and it was wonderful to see everyone.

We got to meet this sweet little boy! (and see his daddy looking like the brawny paper towel man!)
We gave him this quilt . . . which was finished in the car on the way to the wedding! Nothing like a last-minute gift!

It's quilted in the ditch. I know some people don't like it that way, but its quick and easy and it looks pretty good. It's not the best quilt every, but it's my best one so far. I'm pretty proud of it, and Steven was too. I hope Miles likes it.
Of course, Ralphie had to help. I guess this is project #1 for Spring to Finish! Hurray!
We also got to meet this sweet angel (no, not Danelle). Tatem is Joe and Roses' sweet baby. We didn't even know they were pregnant. She's 11 weeks, and we're pretty impressed. She is gorgeous.


I also have 2 mother's day gifts to tell you about, but I didn't want this post to be too long, so I'll talk about those later.


I leave you with a self portrait by Kaylie Paige.
See ya!

1 Chance at a first impression . . .

FYI: Tallgrass Prairie Studio has extended the Spring to Finish! Hurray! Maybe I can redeem myself from last month.  I'm not going to make a list this month, but I'm pretty sure I'll do better than my dismal 1 finish and no submissions.  

And now, to personal business; I still feel sick, but I'm getting better. I need to be in tip-top shape, though; this is a big weekend coming up! Not only is it Mother's Day, but S's birthday is Monday and we are going to College station for a wedding on Saturday.  At this wedding, we will be seeing all the buddies (well, at least some of them), including Kyle, Katie, and baby Miles!  We will be meeting him for the first time . . . and I am EXTREMELY excited! I am making him a quilt! (I'm not above bribing babies for love.) It is pieced and half-way quilted, but this is it!

It is a Monkey Wrench design, and if you know Kyle and Katie, you'd understand.  Kyle and his father are REALLY into cars . . . they fix them up and go to shows, and it's basically a family affair.  I'm pretty sure that Miles will be working on cars pretty quick.

I'm still pretty sloppy in piecing, and even though I did my best, my blocks were not square.  They needed to be 12 1/2" square, and they were insanely bad.  I used Fransson's freezer paper method, but I didn't really like it. I couldn't make it stick really well without using steam, and the steam made it wrinkle.  The blocks were also so large that it was difficult to handle. When I ripped it off, it pulled and broke the thread.  Maybe I should try the freezer paper with pieces instead of whole blocks or maybe I should iron it immediately before I sew it.  Or maybe I just need to learn to piece correctly. That might help.  The end product was great; one of the best set quilts I've done, but it was a hassle.  If I have to, I'll use it again, but only when EXTREMELY necessary (like I'm giving it away to non-family and it actually needs to look good). This is the first quilt I have made for someone outside of my family. I'm not exactly happy with it, but S loves it. So I guess it's OK.

This block is my favorite.

It has a T-Rex in the middle! Steven picked out all the fabrics and the design.  It's about half bright colors and half kid prints, but there is the required Aggie fabric.  The "wrench" is a really cute fabric that looks like pick-up tool box metal. I should have it quilted and bound by Wednesday or Thursday, and I'll put up a pic of it later. Maybe I'll get a pic of him this weekend! Woo Hoo!

I leave you with a preview of one Mother's Day gift.  It is finished and shipped, but I won't tell you about it until next week after she gets it.

I am now off to finish quilting the Monkey quilt!

See Ya!

Pre-Easter Ramble . . .

I meant to blog last night . . . but I'm leaving town tonight and last night just got away from me with the laundry and packing and spending time with the hubby and cat. So I'm rattling this off during my lunch hour at work so I don't feel blog guilt while I'm with my family for Easter.

First, did you know it's Spring To Finish time at Tallgrass Prairie blog (see button on side bar)? That means we are going to finish at least one UFO (Un-Finished Object) by April 30. Woo Hoo . . . just the inspiration I need! I have several. The first (and most important) is a Monkey Wrench quilt for a new baby. Miles Hess should be born around the 14th, and I wanted to make him this quilt. Sorry, no pics yet; I'm not too happy with it. This is the first quilt I have ever made for someone other than family, so I'm extremely critical. But here's hoping! I also would like to get my Project Improv quilt pieced, more on that below. Finally, I have a quilt top from Moda called Portebello Market I bought as a kit after Christmas. I have it all cut out, but that's all. Maybe I'll get it pieced. I like it because of the name; I know it's supposed to be for a mushroom market, but it reminds me of Bed Knobs and Broomsticks with Angela Lansbury and that song, "Portebello Road".

Next, I finished this pincushion from Elizabeth's (at Oh Fransson) tutorial for Sew Mama Sew. It is awesome! If you look close, you can see 2 little green eyes peeking out from under the table. That would be Ralphie. She is a BIG help, as you can see. I wonder if this counts as a finished project?

Finally, a Project Improv update. I think I have stumbled upon my inspiration. I am typically a very traditional person; I use traditional blocks, I like to piece by hand, and I like vintage looking fabrics, especially ginghams and calicos. But I LOVE applique, I just don't do it often. I am also teaching myself embroidery from this awesome book. I have decided to put these things together. I want to do applique and embroidered "art blocks" and I have chosen the Texas wild flowers as my subject. I'm not drawing anything, I'm just going at it (watch out!). My first block is going to be the flowers below. I have no idea what they are, but they are on the side of every highway, and I love them.

I hope it works. Finally, I leave you with a parting pic of Ralphie "helping" (my material and embroidery floss is in that basket).

Happy Easter!

P.S. A shout out to Codi for helping me with my Aunt's sewing machine. The sewing/quilting community is SO HELPFUL! I'll post more later!