Refreshing blue and yellow

I change things around every so often with my quilts and I decided to put this quilt up on the wall for now because it's so refreshing to look at. There's something about blue and yellow that just makes me feel good when I look at it. Also with this quilt I was able to use so many of my scraps, another reason to feel good. I machine pieced and also machine quilted it. This is about the largest quilt I feel comfortable machine quilting on my home machine. Anything larger than this and I have to send it out to be quilted -at least until I find the funds and the space for a longarm of my own ;)

Door Prize

Look what I won at my quilt group's Material Girls Idaho meeting yesterday. It's a great pattern especially for those of us trying to use up our mounds of scraps and some very fun Halloween fabric. I am so lucky and belong to the best quilt group around. Every month my friends never cease to amaze me with their creations. It's so motivating. The week before the meeting I'm motivated to finish something so I can take it for Show and Tell. The 2 weeks after the meeting my head is so full of fun new ideas from things I saw at our meeting and I'm cutting, designing, shopping and quilting every spare minute I have. I hope everyone has a group like this in their life.

Currently on my design wall...

I've cut out these squares and have them on my design wall so I can look at them for a couple days. It helps me decide what I'll eventually do with them. I've numbered each square-thus the little pieces of paper on each.


Also on my wall is this artistic rendering of myself by my daughter Leah. She loves drawing pictures of me. I particularly like the scarf and free flowing belt that she's added to my attire on top of what looks to be a stylish pair of culottes.

Words

I went to a friend's home party for http://uppercaseliving.com/ and I couldn't resist getting a few things. There were so many fun ideas for decorating with words and letters. This frame came with 4 separate pieces of glass and your choice of words to place onto each piece. I got a saying or word in a color of my choice that would go with each season. I hung it in my kitchen so at least some of the family would notice when it changes. You can rub the letters onto practically any surface including most wall surfaces. I've had fun with it.

Tutu time

Shhhhh...While my youngest daughter was at school yesterday, I picked up some fun tulle from Joanne's and made this tutu for her 7th birthday which is next week. She loves to dress up and to dance, so I'm sure this tutu will get lots of use. I loved how easy it was to make and especially that it was a no-sew project. Since my dog doesn't like to play dress up, I had to use the chair. It's not quite as flattering, but you can get the gist of it. I'm going to add some ribbons and bows to it also. After all, this is going to a princess!

Apron Swap

So finally, here's a picture of the apron and a close up of the fabric I sent to my Fall Apron Swap partner, Jenn. I made this Flirty Skirty apron with some chocolatey delicious Marcus Brothers fabric. Jenn posted this picture on her blog and since I forgot to take a picture of it before I mailed it to her, she's graciously sharing it with me. I'm happy she liked it.

Hot Pad

Had some free moments the other night while watching a football game with the family and I managed to finish my locker hook rug hot pad. I'm pretty happy that I used so many scraps-just cut them into 1 1/4" strips, connect them together and hook away. At first I was going for an actual design on the pad as you can see with the red stripe at the top, but then I decided I didn't want to think about it that much and just went random but with harmonious colors. I like it. I didn't quite get the tension right on every loop, but it definitely looks homey and homemade. I'm using it on the kitchen table almost like a small table runner in the middle with a candle on top. Rug Maker's Homestead is a great place to see all kinds of rugs, how to make them, etc.

Fall Apron Swap

Last week I received this fun package in the mail from my Fall Apron Swap partner Megan from Maryland that Sassy Apron Swap hosted. It's reversible too which will really come in handy. Megan said this apron is her own pattern based on a vintage apron she borrowed from her neighbor. I love the handwork she did on the pocket. I forgot to take a picture of the hot pad she made to go along with it. I've already used it several times. The recipe she sent me is called Everyday Chicken Potpie and it sounds scrumptious. For my partner Jennifer in Michigan, I made a delicious chocolate Flirty Skirty apron (which I forgot to photograph. I remembered right after I got back from the post office) and I sent her my favorite pie recipe which happens to be French Chocolate Pie. Sassyapronswap always has a fun swap going on so check it out and join in some time.

Weightless and windy

Before my oldest son took off for college, he had some fun with the younger kids having a photo shoot with them on the tramp. They love seeing themselves in these gravity defying poses.














I was also so sad to come home one day after a wind storm and find our favorite willow tree looking like this. We were all so sad. After having lived in South Carolina, Georgia and Virginia for many years, we truly miss being surrounded by trees. They are a rarity here. This was our biggest tree and the kids love climbing in it. We'll have to wait and see if it will even survive.

Produce and hooking

It looks like it's salsa time again. The tomatoes are ripe and ready and plentiful. The grapes have been just so-so this year. Some of them are so tasty and others can't seem to ripen. But they're all fun to snack on throughout the day.
It's also time to clear out what seems to be a ton of scraps from projects, so after seeing a beautiful locker hook rug that my friend Diane made, I decided I would try my hand at it. I've got my fabric cut into 1 1/4" strips, have connected them to make one long continuous fabric thread and have begun my practice piece. It's a 10"x10", so it would be a rug for baby's feet only. I'll have to think of something to do with it when I finish. These pictures are some of what I got done today. It really isn't making a dent in my scrap pile but I kind of knew that it wouldn't when I started. So far it's very fun to do and a diversion from my usual quilting.