Computer Woes

Well my computer is down again. I am posting this on my husbands computer. If you don't hear from me for awhile this is why. I hope to get it fixed next week.
Have a wonderful weekend.

The Healing Quilt

I just finished a wonderful book that I just have to share with you. It is called The Healing Quilt by Lauraine Snelling. It's a story about 6 women brought together to make a quilt to auction off to raise money for a mammogram machine to replace the outdated one they have in their town.

The story is about the different problems several of the women are dealing with in there lives. It is a very uplifting story about how God is always with us even when we aren't sure and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I think you will too. The author who wrote the book tells about herself at the end but I don't want to give anything away. :)Make sure you have a box of tissues.

Take the time to either buy it or check it out from you library.

The Healing Quilt by Lauraine Snelling.

Thanks for stopping by.
Happy Stitching.

Life Lessons from the Kitchen

Yesterday I decided to make some cheesy potato soup. YUM!
I put carrots, celery, onions, brats and potatoes in it, and of course cheese. I got all my veges assembled to clean and peel and when I took the carrots out of their bag I noticed that several were very moldy. Yuck! I decided to cut off the bad parts and peel the rest. One of those carrots didn't make the cut, it was kinda skinny so I peeled it thinking I would just cut off the moldy part after peeling. I took the first scrape with my trusty peeler, going into the moldy part and low and behold there was a good carrot under that mold. I peeled off all the mold to find a perfectly edible carrot for my soup.
The lesson? Sometimes we see people in life who are so moldy that we either throw them away or try to cut off the bad parts to salvage the rest. God sees us, mold and all and He knows which parts are salvageable and which need to be trimmed off. Trust in Him that He is always trimming even when you think someone or even yourself may not be salvageable. I guarantee there is something there. :) That was my lesson from the kitchen and something I was so glad to know.

Today I am going to Hobby lobby in Ames to look for some Christmas buttons for my stockings. Maybe some cording too. I also want to look for purple flannel. I already have some but I don't think I have enough for the border for Areigna's quilt and doll quilt.
I love my flannel board. Only $3. I can put my projects up on it and step to get a better view. Love it, love it, love it!
Here is a picture of the flannel quilt, doll quilt and Christmas stockings. All works in progress. :)

Here is a picture of the blue quilt. I am still making blocks for it so this is a tentative view.


It is very cold here today, with a light dusting of snow on the ground.

My Gratitude's for today:

1) My Savior, who, when I listen, is always reminding me that He is here and that He cares for me. Thank you Lord

2)My Design (flannel backed table cloth) Board, so that I can step back to see the bigger picture.

3) My Daughter Casey Francis, for all her love and encouragement especially now. Thank you Little love.

I pray you all have a very blessed day. I hope you have been inspired and loved.
Thanks for stopping in.

Christmas Stockings

Good morning Everyone,

Today I am working on Christmas stockings for my DGC. I have one completed and the other three are in various stages of completion.

Here are 2 of them. The one on the left is completed and the one on the right needs to have the back, lining and name embroidered on.


I am embroidering their names on each stocking by hand. Here is a close up of Areigna's. Not to professional but it's made by Grandma. :)


This one needs lining and a back. The back will be machine quilted. The ribbons are stitched on. I am thinking of either hot gluing crystals in the center of them to cover the stitching. or finding some cute buttons. I'm not sure yet.


This one the blocks are pieced together and just waiting to be put to the muslin backing.


This stocking needs to be pieced yet.


Here are all 4 of them. My current WIP's. The pattern is called Christmas Sock and it is put out by Patch Press. It's an old pattern and I'm not sure it's still available. I tried looking for it on the Internet yesterday and couldn't find it. If any of you are able to find it could you post in the comment section in case others want to make these. There are 2 other sock patterns as well in this one pattern.


I'll post the completed ones later today or tomorrow.
Have a Great Day.
Thanks for stopping by.

Happy Day before Thanksgiving

This is my favorite time of year. I love Thanksgiving. The wonderful smells coming from the kitchen, family getting together from far and near, football games on the T.V., lots of laughter and pumpkin pie with creamy whipped topping. Yes it is a wonderful time of year.
May your Thanksgiving be the most blessed day yet this year.
Thanks for stopping by and from my house to yours - Happy Thanksgiving.

Beautiful day

It is sunny here this morning and the air is crisp.

All 100 blocks of TB are together awaiting borders and quilting. Now I am piecing a top for my GD called Magic Nine patch. It is all brightly colored. My GD is getting a doll crib for Christmas and her mother asked me to make a doll quilt . I have enough fabric left from the top I am making that I can make a matching quilt. I will post the results when the tops are complete.

Today my oldest child turns 30 y/o. I guess I am feeling a little melancholy. Sorry that this is short today.

Gratitude's:

1) A beautiful day

2) The wonderful children I am blessed with.

3) My Saviour.

Hope your day is blessed beyond measure. Thanks for stopping by.

All fixed.:)

Hello Everyone,
I am finally back. I had a virus and couldn't get on here but now it is all fixed. I had so much to say. :)
I gave my daughter her birthday quilt on Saturday and she loved it. Here is a picture. It is called Cottage Rose and the fabric is from Alex Anderson. I bought the kit online and if anyone is interested I will get the Website for you. I don't have it handy and will have to ask my quilty friend Wendy for it again.



This is my first full size, completed quilt and I am really happy with how it turned out. I didn't quilt it though and can't wait for the day when I am quilting as well as piecing all of my quilts.

I worked a lot on TB this weekend and the blue quilt that I started. They are coming along nicely.

Today I am making homemade chicken and rice soup. I roast my chicken which really holds the juices in. Only 30 minutes in the oven or until the juices run clear. I have left over rice from supper last nice, throw in a few veges, chicken broth and there you go.

I hope you all had a great weekend. Here are my Gratitude's for this week:

1) A wonderful stepdaughter who's fantastic boyfriend fixed my computer. Thanks Paul and Amy. (Amy is a knitter/crocheter and a budding quilter.:))

2) I finally finiished a quilt for my oldest daughter (only 16 years later, sorry Love)

3) Grateful for a loving God who supplies all my needs through His glory and riches in Christ Jesus. Thank you Jesus.

Have a wonderful day and give someone a hug.

Thanks for stopping by.

We finally have a winner!

DH finally made it home safe and sound after being on the road for 8 long days. Right away I had him draw the winning name for the giveaway. (He asked if he was drawing a name for Christmas. LOL)
The winner is Mrs. Lewis. Thank you for sharing your projects. She is also a follower of this blog if you want to read more of her decorating ideas.

I did make it to the sewing room today and worked on TB. I have the binding all pinned on and ready to sew on the birthday quilt, made a couple of blocks for the new quilt and I am making Christmas stockings for my grandchildren. I have 4 projects going at once. YAY! :) A little attention deficit going on here I would say.

I hope you had a nice day and got some sewing in .
Here are some things I am grateful for:
1) husband home safe after being on the road for 8 days.
2) A home to come to
3) A soft bed, I am tired tonite. :)

Take care and Thanks for stopping by.

New day

You are probably wondering what happened with the Giveaway. Well husband didn't make it home this weekend and should be home tomorrow. I did go to see my son yesterday fully intending on having him draw a name and I totally forgot. DH will be home tomorrow and I will have him draw then so if there are any latecomers your name will go in. Tell what you are currently working on or what future projects you are working/thinking on. That's all there is to getting into this giveaway. So far only 3 people have responded. Thanks ladies.

I started working on a new block on Friday and have 20 blocks done. I still have
TB on the board though so I will work on that today and get some rows done. I also have the binding to get on 2 other quilts and will be working on them this week.

Today though, I am making cookies for DH's return home. He has been gone a week. WOW!

Gratitude's:

1) A loving Son, Daughter-in-law and Grand-daughter.

2) Warm sunny days in Nov.

3) A hard working husband. Miss you honey.

I hope you have a blessed day. Thanks for stopping in.

Giveaway and Flannel board

Ok, so now my camera is charged and here is a picture of the fabric to be given away (see previous blog). Some of you may recognize it. You still have 2 days to get in on this giveaway. If there are no responders I will extend it for another week. I am still very new to blogging and haven't built up a following yet. :)
That's ok - Build the Blog and they will come... :)



Yesterday I went to Walmart to look for anything flannel. They had all their fall things on sale and I found flannel back table cloths for $3. YAY!!! There were still some of the really long ones left so I bought two, not knowing how big they would really be. They are a very nice size. I just put a couple of staples in to hold it up and WA LAH. I love it!


After I got TB up there on my new flannel board I realized that I had put him together wrong on a previous post. I went back and checked and sure enough I did. This is the correct way, and now I know that this will be a tricky one to put together I will have to constantly be checking to make sure it's right. YAY for a new flannel board!

Yesterday I completed 2 more of the Sister's Choice block. That brings the total number of blocks to 8 at this time.I still have some yellow left, enough for 2 more blocks and I found a pink that looks nice so maybe I will have more than 3 different colored blocks. I don't have anymore yellow that shade in my stash. I am thinking of making a few different blocks to test and then get your opinions on what should stay and what should go. I could make place mats out of the extras. :)

I am thinking of making a few new blocks of this quilt just to test it out. The pattern looks so cute and easy.

That is pretty much it for today. I just want to share my Gratitude's because
I have so much to be grateful for, here are a few,

1) A wonderful daughter who helps me put this blog together.(There is actually 2 of them. Thanks girls. Case helped me with the link today :))

2) Inexpensive flannel back table cloths to make a flannel board to hang up my WIP's before sewing so as not to take up my bed. This also helps to get a better view of them.

3) Finally , Jesus, who when I am down and discouraged I can always turn to and leave my troubles with Him.
1Peter 5: 6-7, Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

Thanks for stopping by. I love to hear from you. I hope you have a wonderful day.

Sister's Choice

Here is another WIP. This block is called Sister's Choice and I found the block pattern from Jennifer Chiaverini's book Elm Creek Quilts. I am making a quilt with just this block but I only have enough of the pink and yellow fabric for 8 blocks so I will do 8 more in a different fabric and then 4 in something else. I want a total of 20 blocks, to fit a queen size bed. The blocks measure about 12.5 x 12.5

This is the block laid out. I need to make eight half square triangles. The four blocks set out will make my 8 blocks. The corner squares and the four colored squares aroung the center block are 3", the rectangles are 2.5 x 3", To make the 1/2 square triangles I made the blocks 3.5" and then cut them to 3" after they were put together. The middle square is 2.5 x 2.5.




My 1/2 square triangle blocks sewn together and ready to be cut.


Completed 1/2 square triangle blocks.


Here is the block laid out now with my half square triangle blocks inserted. Now I am ready to put it all together.


I don't do any pressing until I have each row put together. Then I press the seams of the top row to the right, the next row to the left, and so forth. The seams will but up to each other when putting the rows together. Some people do press the seams open. It really is your personal preference.


Completed blocks. :)


Now I have 5 completed and 2 cut out ready to go. I have enough fabric to complete one more block after that and then I will need 2 different fabrics for the "flowers" as I call them. I haven't decided on how I want to do the sashings yet. This is definitely a work in progress as I am making this quilt from the pattern of one block. If you have any questions post them in the comments.

I was going to post a picture of The fabric to be given away and the battery in my camera died. It is a cream colored soft minky style with dots on it. I will be giving away 1 yard to all of you who post a comment this week. Tell me either what you are working on or what you are planning to work on. I would love to hear from you. Saturday I will put every one's name in a hat and have my dear husband draw a winner. YAY!

Gratitude's:

1) Faith in a God who can do the impossible. Lord Jesus Christ

2) A beautiful fall day

3) Delicious potato soup

Hope you have an enjoyable day. Thanks for stopping by.

Home again Home again

I finally feel rested up after a very busy week. Just a little recap>>> I got home on Thursday night at about 10:00pm. Fat Quarter Log Cabin was my late workshop - 5:30 - 8:30. What a fun class and making the log cabin with Marty Michele's ruler certainly made it a lot faster.

Hip to be Square was my Thursday afternoon workshop, all about making sure your long arm frame is set up right each time before you load your quilt. Renea Haddadin was the instructor. Renae had several of her award winning quilts on display and I must say she does stunning work. It was a very informative class. I know I don't have a long arm - Yet. :)

Friday was a very busy day starting at 8:30am and going until 4:00pm. Free motion quilting 101 with Micky Dupre. What a great class following Frieda Anderson's on Wed. I certainly feel more confident about jumping in and PRACTICING my Free Motion quilting. Micky really took us step by step through various stitches that all worked off of each other. Kind of like building blocks really.

I came home early and went to bed early and now it is about 4:00am Sat morning and I wanted to let you know that if you didn't take any workshops this year there is always next year. It is definately well worth the money. The instructors are all professionals and your classmates are all very nice and friendly. I loved it and look forward to next year.

Of course I didn't get out of the show without spending more money. :) I bought a table extension for my sewing machine,(recommended by Micky) and quilting thread for my FM quilting projects.

Well there you have it, Des Moines Quilt show 2009. Today is the last day so if you haven't gone yet, stop in and check it out. There are a lot of Beautiful quilts and tons of goodies.

Hope you have a great weekend. Keep reading as I am going to have a fabric giveaway coming up. Stay tuned for details.

Talk at you later,

Des Moines Quilt Show and workshops

Good Morning,

Sorry I didn't get this in last night. I came home, fed the animals and crashed. I was sooo exhausted. Mostly because I didn't get a lot of sleep the night before my workshops.
I kept waking up about every 2 hours and then finally got up a 4:45am to get ready. I left the house at 7:00am to be sure I would get there by 8:30am and be sitting in my class ready to go. Well I got there okay, found a parking spot ($6 for event parking) and arrived 20 minutes early, (plenty of time to find a good seat and get situated)only to find that my first work shop was cancelled. :(

After getting the refund paper work completed I now had 4 hours to kill before my next workshop, so off I went to look at everything.
WOW! So much to see, vendors, quilts, people (I met some of the gals that are in my online quilt group) and more. I checked out several long arm dealers, picked up a new 18 inch ruler and a book. I looked at the quilt collections and it was time to get something to eat and go to my next workshop. I didn't even have time to go look at all the quilts that were on the main display floor. I was so tired by then I wasn't sure I would make it through my workshop, but I did and I am so glad I took it. I learned so much in such a short time and the teacher was fun and very informative, not to mention patient with us newbies.
Now I need to find out about quilting on my little Janome so I am going to their display today to see about a quilting foot for free motion.

Here are some of my practice quilt sandwiches. It was such a fun class.


I practiced writing my name.




This is me practicing stippeling. Can you see the instructors stippeling in there? It is the really nice and smooth one.



Such a serious sewer. Just trying to get my hands and foot to coordinate.



Yes that is a new Janome we practiced sewing on. Boy was it nice. That is about it, if you have any questions go ahead and post a comment and I promise to get you a prompt answer.

Today my first workshop is at 1:00pm and then another at 5:30pm. Can't wait to tell you all about it.

It's raining out now and looks like the weather won't be so great. I am sure it will be fun at the show and maybe I will see you there.

Hope you have a great day.

Gettin ready for DM workshops and Show

I have my supplies all packed for tomorrow. First workshop is at 8:30 am and it's called Bordering on Lunacy for Beginners. It is a workshop on borders and sashings geared for the beginning machine quilter. That's me! That workshop will last until 11:00 am and I have a break until 1:00 pm. The 1 o'clock workshop will be my first free motion machine quilting class and it lasts until 4:00pm. I have my "quilt sandwiches" all made up



and I am ready to go. I am so excited I hope I can sleep tonite.:)

I hope you all sleep well tonite too and I will talk at you tomorrow.

Gratitudes:
1)Thankful that I had all the fabric on hand for all of my workshops.

2)Thankful for Daughters that are soo encouraging for this newbie quilter.

3) Thankful for a good car to get me to DM tomorrow.

Well the weekend is over and I survived.YAY!
I had a great time with my 5 y/o grand-daughter Areigna Rose. We went to the pumkin patch in Grinnell on Sat. afternoon. Grandma could barely keep up with Areigna. It was a good thing her aunt Casey and uncle Kevin and cousin Leo went too. The day was beautiful and there was lots to do. So keeping an energetic 5 y/o busy was no problem.
Here are a couple of little treasures I picked up at the pumkin patch shop. There was a big sale and I picked these each for $1 each. Cute aren't they.



This one is kinda blurry. I must have been shaking while shooting. :)





While at Grandmas house, Areigna kept busy sorting scraps into color piles and bagging them up. She did a great job and enjoyed helping Grandma who was very glad for the help. I was really impressed with her eye for color. She also played with the dogs, helped to feed the rabbits and played with some Cabbage Patch Dolls that were her Aunts dolls when they were little girls.

We really enjoyed having her this weekend and look forward to her coming back soon. Maybe Grandma will teach her how to bake some cookies or make chains for crochet or something else really crafty and fun. If you have any ideas for crafty things a 5 y/o can do, they will be greatly appreciated.

Today I am going to figure out a design board so I don't have to lay my quilt out on the bed.

I also have to get my supplies ready for the workshops that I signed up for at the Des Moines Quilt show that starts on Wed. I have 2 workshops on Wed, 2 on Thurs and one on Fri. I will blog each day to let you know what new things I have learned.
I had better get busy because I also have laundry and cleaning to do today as well.


Gratitudes:
1)My quiet time with my Lord. Helps to keep me focused.

2)My home made laundry soap, Just pennies per load. Love it.

3) My Family, Husband, children, grandchildren and parents.I love you all very much.

Thsnks for stopping in, Have a great day.

True Blue and Crocheted Baby Afgan

I am finally done with all 100 blocks for the TB quilt and am ready to start assembling them into the quilt top.

I am still working on how to edit this blog and thanks to my daughter Casey I did get the pictures in the right place. YAY!!! In the first one TB is laid out on my bed (I really need to make myself a design board). That isn't even all of the blocks because I couldn't fit them all on my bed. You can really see the pattern pop out.


The next photo is the last 10 blocks ready to be assembled.



Now I am ready to put it all together but not today. :)
I am going to Cedar Rapids today to pick up my 5 y/o granddaughter for the weekend. YAY!!! I haven't spent a lot of time with her this year and now that I am currently unemployed I am taking advantage.

I just wanted to give a short update to everyone on my activity the last 2 days. I went to see my youngest daughter, Casey, both days. We spent the afternoons with her new son named Leo. We baked cookies on Wednesday, chocolate chip, my favorite. I stayed for supper that night. She made a delicious meal of vegetables from her garden, glazed carrots and steamed potatoes along with Scallops sauteed in butter and wine. It was wonderful.

Yesterday we enjoyed a leisurely lunch together and she helped me to put a signature to my blog. We had lots of conversation. I snuck in a few hugs to her as well as being able to hold my darling grandson as much as I wanted. :) A good time was had by all. Leo is growing so fast. He is already 10 weeks old and such a handsome little fellow. I sure do love being a grandma.

This the baby afgan I am crocheting for my sister-in-laws first grandchild. It takes 2 strands of yarn and will be a very warm blanket when it is finished. Baby and family all live in Utah.


Those are my current WIP. What is WIP? you ask? Well it stands for work in progress.

That is all for now. I will work at blogging on a more regular basis to keep you updated.
Thanks for stopping in. I love to read your comments so thanks for taking the time to comment.

This is something new I picked up from crazy mom quilter:

My Gratitudes:

1) My husband who works hard and never complains.

2) My 3 adorable grandchildren who bless me so much with their energy and huggableness. (is that a word?)

3) My Mom. I love you very much Mom.

Talk to all of you soon,

Monday's

Thought I would post another picture of an unfinished project. This is a comforter that I am tying called Majic Nine Patch.I need to finish tying and putting on the binding and it will be done.
Today is Monday. Start of a new week. Yay! Getting the house cleaned up and laundry done then into the sewing room. I have a gift I need to finish up. I will post that at the end of next month.
Still working on the blocks for TB. Only 30 left and then laying it out. I can't wait so I better get busy.
Thanks for checking in. Looks like it's going to be a beautiful autumn day. Enjoy. :)

The blahs>>>>

Well, all I have been doing these last few days is peeking in at my sewing machine. Sometimes I go over and turn her light off and on. Mostly I have been sitting with my back to her while I mess around on the computer.

Just haven't had much ambition these last 2 days. I don't know if it's the weather or what but I better get my rear in gear if I want to get these 40 quilts started and finished.

I need to get ready for the workshops I am signed up for at the Des Moines Quilt show at the end of this month. I have all my tools that I need in a nice little container. Now I have to make some "quilt sandwiches". These are squares 13 to 15" big made with a top, middle (batting) and bottom (backing). I will use these in the machine quilting workshops to learn machine quilting on. I need 9 for one workshop and 6-8 for another.

Was looking at the next pattern I want to get started on. It is called Splendor and probably will be the hardest one I have done up to now. It has pieceing that really has to have accurate 1/4" seams. It is a beautiful quilt in cream and green with red flowers. I bought the kit in Cedar Falls at a quilt shop there. They had the completed quilt on the wall and it was just beautiful. I may have gotten a bigger challenge than I thought.

Maybe the thought of that quilt is bogging me down. Oh well, I have put it away for now until I get finished with True Blue. I put a couple of pictures on of the blocks for TB quilt. They really are coming together nicely. A lot of Half-Square Triangles. I am getting fairly good at making them.

Just looking at those blocks and writing this blog has encouraged me to at least go and get those nine done.

Well I guess I'll go make some coffee and reintroduce my self to my sewing gal Sal. I have never named my machine before and think that is a good one. So Sal it is. Hope you were inspired to get in your sewing room today too. Take care and talk at ya soon.

Happy Stitchin,

~Nan~

Photo

]
I thought I would put up a picture of my very first quilt top. This is called my "Quilt for Jesus". The pattern is called Burgoyne Surround. It was on this quilt that I learned how to use a rotary cutter, mat and ruler. The top itself came together pretty fast. I think I had it almost completed in the workshop that I took. I'm not sure now as that was back in the early 1990's.

I started to hand quilt it and as you can see, I have not completed it yet.
One of these days >>>
You may be wondering why I named it the way I did. In the Bible it talks about giving your first fruits to the Lord. This is my very first quilt top ever that I pieced and someday when it is complete I will give it to the Lord via donation.
Well I am still new at this blogging and I wanted to put up other pictures but the blog page wanted to put them all at the top of the page. So I will enter ths one for today and I am off to my sewing room. Have a nice day.
~Nan~