It's Official...

I have old lady boobs.
(No, there are no pictures)

Back again, again, etc.

Got back from Cali in time to get my hair done:

You'll notice that I'm back to curly - I told my gal that I just could NOT be blow-drying in the summer! I was tired of looking like something the cat dragged in, since I refuse to blow dry now that it's hot. So, she gave me lots of great layers, and showed me how to use mousse, magic hair cream and some other magic stuff to get it to go a little curlier than it really wants to be. Huge sigh of relief! I also went darker, closer to my natural color, so my grow out won't be as noticeable (hopefully).

We made a fun, quick trip to the condo and bought a great new (big) clock for one of the empty walls down there - a big thank you to Mitch and Megan for the sweet gift card!

I had the grandbabies over the other day and they were playing games on my computer, my camera was sitting next to it, charging and I especially told them not to touch it. When I came back in to check on them, it was still sitting on the charger. HOWEVER, when I took it to the condo this weekend, there was incriminating evidence on it:
I guess they didn't realize that I would know, since they are only 3 and 4 years old.

This week, I am babysitting from Wednesday night to Saturday night, then I start my new job next week. So, I am going to try to finish up my new bedroom quilt that I have on the frame downstairs and get a couple of other projects done - I'll keep you posted on my progress (if there is any).

Quick California Trip

Hi All - back from a quick trip to CA to see my family. Shane so kindly went with me so I would 'bump up' to a higher priority of stand-by. Since he works for Jet Blue now, Mr. Handsome and I get to fly for FREE! (Oh, the perks of having lots of children are flowing freely!) I have been wanting to go down and see my parents and sisters, so Shane arranged it. He graciously accompanied me so I would be sure to get on the plane. We just went down Monday night and came back on the early flight today, so he could be back at work at 1 p.m. It was great to see my family! We had a great visit and hung out by the pool at Heidi's and got lots of good hugs. My dad (80 years old) had passed out and fallen and was at the emergency room for stitches on his face when we got in. He is okay, but I was sure glad I was down visiting him. Stacy chickened out of the trip, since he was afraid he wouldn't get back for work tomorrow. Since we had to get up so early, I came home and took a 3 hour nap - I was just pretending I was still out of town. When Shane flies, he stays after for a few minutes and helps the flight attendants clean the plane for the next flight. My job is to go and wait at baggage claim for the suitcase I insisted that we check. I took my old computer tower down for Jeff, since he needed it. It was pretty big, so I needed to put it in a large suitcase - much to Shane's dismay - he is a strictly carry-on kind of guy. It just made it under the weight limit and he obligingly carted it around for me. We brought it back with a big bag of lemons, since it was practically empty without the computer thing. (Lemons are lighter than computers, in case you were wondering) Here is my sister, Debi, in front of her house with the corn she planted right in the front yard!
My life as a free-wheelin' grandma is possibly coming to an end, I am starting a JOB next week, at the office in the accounting department -okay I will BE the accounting department. It will be part time, but since the babies are moving across the country, I will have some extra time...

Remodeling, anyone?

Well it's been over a year since we tackled our last remodeling project and I'm starting to think that maybe I could deal with a mess again. We went to the Utah County parade of homes (only to a few, since I've still got the boot!), but it got me thinking about fixing up a few more little things. We moved here in 2003 and this is what the house looked like:

Kitchen:

First, we got wood floors and put in recessed lights:

Then, we remodeled the bathroom - I wish I had 'before pics', it was hideous! (Teal and pink tile with a teddy bear motif). We moved a wall a couple of feet and gutted it:

Anyway, it looks like this now:

I absolutely LOVE my kitchen and the other improvements we've made (Adding A/C, fixing up closets, doors, some outside stuff, etc.)

I just don't know if I'm quite ready to relive this nightmare:


I'm starting to watch HGTV again (which I couldn't stand for months after we finished the kitchen) -My studio is next on the list - white wainscoting with lime green walls ought to brighten up the basement...

Somebody stop me!

Are You a Finisher?

I have been trying to get some quilts finished up in the studio lately (I love to call it that!). For the most part, I feel like I AM a 'finisher', I really like to get things done - I am a big list maker. I do 'enjoy the process', but I sure enjoy 'the end result' even more! I have 12 of the clear 12" x 12" plastic boxes that have ongoing projects in them. They are ALWAYS full, I never have an empty one. I refuse to buy any more, I don't want to get more behind! (Also, they won't fit neatly where I store them, under my ironing board table - AND I don't want to hear that there's room for 12 more on the lower shelf!). When I first started quilting, about 5 years ago, I made pretty small quilts: (Poor Doug)
After making lots of quilts (61 + at last count), I make them more appropriate sizes:

Sometimes I hand quilt them, which takes much longer than machine quilting: (Be warned - I make friends that stop by, work on them too) I usually have them 'up' for a couple of months, then I'm tired of the frame in the middle of my house, so I baste the rest and quilt it in a hoop - I just cram the whole thing behind my chair when I'm not working on it - for another year or so! Works great. Sometimes I start projects that SEEM like a good idea, but in reality, they are too hard, try my patience or whatever: (This is now going to end up a table topper, instead of a bed-sized quilt - I just have to make 3 more of the suckers/I mean blocks) Sometimes I just get a whole quilt done at a retreat, or I'm just 'on fire' to finish:I have some friends who only work on one quilt at a time, no matter what. I have other friends who seem to start something new almost every week. Some have way more than 12 projects going at once. Some of my friends quilt their own quilts, others 'quilt by check'. I guess I'll just do it my way and keep on quilting, since I love it!! So, are YOU a finisher?

Getting stuff done...

I finished these cute pillows yesterday: (It took ALL afternoon!)

They are for my new bedroom decor. I just have to quilt the quilt now - plus finish sewing the curtain rod pocket/sleeve onto the back of the valances - I'll post a pic when it's all done!

Stacy went garage-sale-ing on Saturday and got me this cute quilt rack:

Brooke and Tricia thought it was pretty funny when he was trying to get the lady to come down on her price by pretending he didn't know what it was for. He acted like he might buy it, if it was cheap enough, to maybe hang his clothes over! He got it for a couple of bucks - and Brooke refinished it by the next day for me!!!! (She is amazing!) I'm going to take it down to the condo, now I just need to make a cute quilt to hang over it...

On the design wall...

I started this quilt last fall and I am determined to finish it this month! I am nearly done with the blocks - even though it doesn't look like it:At least I have part of it on the design wall: I think I need to re-do a strip of squares, I got two bright pinks together and I think it will bug me if all 32 of the blocks have that problem. This is a great pattern for using up scraps! It's a pattern by Krisanne Watkins, called "Multiple Chains". (Pattern Company is 'Among Friends')
Don't look too closely, those millions of squares are not too square.

Difficulties...

I volunteered to put together some of the breast cancer fundraiser blocks to make a quilt this year. I did it a couple of years ago and it was kind of fun. This year, I got some odd blocks, such as this one:

I think I got the 'leftover blocks', since they didn't go together too well. I did my best, but it was a challenge. I've had these 12 blocks for months! This is what I ended up with: As you can see, some of the blocks are great, they just didn't "go" with some of the other blocks I got. Oh, well, it's done! (That's the last thing that I HAD to get done before Quilt Fest this fall - now I can just work on what I want to work on!)