Meandering Quilt Thoughts

Another Perfect Grandchild!

2012-02-12T18:42:00.001-08:00

Jeremy and Amanda had their sweet baby girl today! Not quite decided on a name, but she is beautiful!

Here is the proud Papa:

She is a petite little thing: 6 lbs. 12 oz. (Not me, the baby):

Grandpa is excited too!

It was a long, long night and day, she was finally delivered by C-Section around 3:30 p.m. We are so excited to have 6 grandbabies now!

Valentine's Day: Fantasy vs Reality

2012-02-07T09:30:00.001-08:00

With it being February and all, I am thinking about Valentine's Day coming up next week. If you watch TV or read the paper, you see all the ads hawking the romantic gifts and ideas for the big day - you know, jewelry, fabulous vacations, wonderful restaurants, lingerie, flowers, luscious chocolates, etc. This, to me, is the "Fantasy" part of V-day. Reality is that you can't get a seat in a restaurant on Valentine's day, unless you're willing to settle for Burger King. Usually at this time of the year, I am still squeezing into my clothes from the over- indulgences of the Christmas holidays and am not too keen on stuffing myself with chocolate. I am not a big jewelry wearer, I only like rings on my ring fingers and I only have two of those and they are 'full'. I can't afford a 'fabulous vacation' and lingerie? I am not even going to go there - let's just say that those advertisements are not for grannies like me. I do enjoy flowers, but Mr. Handsome actually met me at the airport last week with some of those, so I'm satisfied for awhile yet.
We have this idea that romance should be a certain way, perpetuated by commercial establishments and those popular girls in high school. It started for me while I was still in school (many years ago) and on Valentine's Day, you could pay a dollar and have a flower or balloon delivered to your "sweetheart" during class period - you know - in FRONT OF EVERYONE in your English class - so exciting. Well, all 4 years of high school, I would get a little hopeful each February when the delivery students would come in with the gifts. But, alas, none were ever for me. Some girls got multiple flowers! I would console myself that my boyfriend went to another school, or he would have gotten me one, etc. Just another popularity contest that I failed, sigh. Come to find out, some girls would make a pact and send them to each other, so they would look "more popular"! I guess I missed out on that one.
Now that I've been married for nearly 31 years, I still enjoy a little romance, but I realize that we are all different and that romance looks different for each of us, as a couple. Mr. Handsome fills my car up with gas and gets it washed each week - maybe not a 'commercial worthy' romantic gesture, but I love it and he's been doing it for years and years, consistently. I love to garden and when I have a big hole to dig, he uses those handy muscles and digs me a great big hole, no complaining. He leaves me the occasional note and always takes out the trash, and takes me on fun dates, that he's thought out and planned. He is faithful and kind and I could go on and on, but I don't want anyone to feel left out if that's not what their romance looks like - I think we all need to be grateful for the wonderful people in our lives and not compare them and make ourselves feel bad. So - Happy V-Day to you and yours!

Finished!

2012-02-01T09:26:00.000-08:00

I finished this (huge) quilt! It's from "Pie Plate Patterns" and the pattern name is "Skip to My Lou". I'm sorry I can't remember the book it's from - I borrowed it from the guild and have since returned it. It measures about 84" x 104".

It's called "Irish Sunshine" because it has a little bit of an Irish Chain going and the colors are so gorgeous and sunshine-y. I love it! I had to run it outside to try to get the colors to show better:

It has nice, cozy flannel on the back, except for this random corner with a few scraps, since I did not buy quite enough backing.

I got it done right before I hopped down to California for a great, quick, visit. I have no pictures of said visit because I am a slacker and did not bring my camera. Although, I must admit, that even though I think my trips are great - you all might think they are kinda boring/same thing. Visiting my sisters, my parents, my son and his girlfriend. Going to the movies, manicure/pedicure, good food, going to church, reading, relaxing, helping my parents with a little organizing, etc. So, maybe it's not so bad that I didn't bring my camera and make you all sit through the family pics...

Oh, Bother...

2012-01-24T15:55:00.003-08:00

I am getting a new favorite quilt quilted on the frame in the studio, but as you can see, I've run into a little problem:

The batting, that seemed quite big/wide enough, Just. Isn't. This is a piece of leftover batting that someone must have taken the scissors to while I wasn't looking (I'm SURE that was what happened). I have just a little bit left to go, so I guess tomorrow, I will be hunched over it, whip-stitching a bit more batting onto it - bleck!

And, while I'm on the subject of complaining - why is it when I go to work every afternoon, I look at the family room and with that sunshine coming in it looks so inviting!!! I just want to lay down on that sun-warmed couch and take a little snooze! But, alas, it's off to work with me!

And, yes, as you can see, we finally got some snow - hooray!

Ruminations

2012-01-17T09:55:00.000-08:00

Hopped down to Hurricane for a relaxing weekend, we hadn't been there since before the holidays, so it was great to head down. The weather was beautiful. We took a 7 mile hike (low, rolling hills - or I wouldn't have made it!), the only one more tired than me was our dog! We got back to the condo and treated ourselves to this:

Yep, 4 each, we don't mess around! We went out to a nice (big) Mexican lunch, then back for a much needed NAP! I have recently gone back to the gym and started a little weight-lifting again and had done a "lower body" workout, so even before the hike, I was pretty sore. When we got to the restaurant, I was moving VERY slowly, because whenever I moved, I hurt. Then, I had this amazing light-bulb moment! I'll bet this is what it feels like to be (really) OLD! We have a few older gentlemen at our church and they move like I was moving all the time! I am trying not to be nervous about this discovery - I figure I've got 20-30 years before I feel like that all the time! (Maybe if I don't think about it, it won't happen?).

Anyway, we had a great weekend - visited a fun quilting store and even though I had already spent my paycheck, I took my sugar-daddy with me (Mr. Handsome), so I came home with some delicious fabric! I did manage to get this quilt all bound while we were watching movies:

The name of it is: "Perfectly Square, An Oxymoron", if you really look at it, you can see what a brilliant name that is - I'll wait.

Hope your January is going great! I am super excited to be working on fun quilting projects - "just for fun" - no holiday deadlines! Toodles!

Why Grandparenting is Important

2012-01-02T12:52:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Brooke and her family left for the long drive back to Missouri. Babygirl was beside herself, crying and being very sad. The younger ones gave good hugs but weren't really upset - they were more interested in the movie being shown in the car. For Babygirl, it's back to the grind of first grade...

Our house is back to quiet today (after a quick visit from "Little Man" this morning) and it makes me reflect on the importance of this whole grandparenting thing. I think that kids need grandparents because it is great when a grown up thinks they are just perfect and wonderful. Their parents are pretty busy worrying about feeding them some sort of healthy food, fashioning them into upstanding citizens and keeping the fighting and noise to a minimum.

Grandparents are just amazed at the adorable-ness of them. (We know in the back of our mind that our own children were adorable too - but we were so busy then). Grandparents love their grandchildren forever and ever, no matter what. We take the time to do things with them that we didn't have the time (or the mental capacity) to do with our own children.

We need granchildren too - it makes us feel needed, special and important. They remind us that the world is a wonderful, amazing place, when we see it through their eyes. They remind us that relationships are so worth working on. I am so glad that Mr. Handsome and I have made it through those rough years together so we can enjoy our children and grandchildren together, because I don't think anyone else would be so crazy about them. Their little faces light up when they see us - what a joy!

They remind to relax and help us to remember what is really important. (Them)

They are such a blessing in our lives and we are forever grateful for each one of them. I know not everyone is able to have a relationship with their grandchildren, so it makes me appreciate them even more. (And my fabulous children too). Happy New Year! (You weren't expecting resolutions, were you- blech!)

On the other hand, our dogs' nerve are shot from having such a houseful for two weeks, she barks now whenever anyone comes over or makes a loud noise from the other room, etc.

Winding Down...

2011-12-31T08:07:00.000-08:00

Christmas has been wonderful this year, as usual - happy and crazy. Brooke, Ben and the babies have been here for 2 weeks and are heading out tomorrow, we will miss them terribly! Jeff & Vanessa were here for a few days and it was great to see them and everyone got to meet Vanessa (and the votes are in - everyone loves her). My entire sewing studio is covered with toys, books & games from Santa's visit - but I still managed to sew a few blocks together for my "scrappy around the world" quilt. We also had a baby shower for Miss Amanda:

It was very well attended and she is pretty much ready for the big event in a few short weeks.

Her sister-in-law made her this totally cool love-y taggy thing-y:

We all examined it very carefully and want to make some on the next family quilt night.

We've been to a few movies - always fun. Family Christmas Parties, BINGO night, Tamale Making, - oh yeah and most of us got the flu - blech!

Here is Mr. Handsome with the "big" grandkids, with our little scrawny tree in the background:

It went out the day after Christmas because I am the grinch. One more event tomorrow - Shane & Becca are blessing baby Brian - so one more party and then back to "normal" life - whatever that is. Hopefully after Brooke and her family get home safely we can get some snow around here - it is pretty dry and barren - very unusual, it was in the 50's yesterday! Of course, after reading the weather report, I decided to polish my toenails and wear sandals and short sleeves- I froze and had to add socks and a jacket for the movies. Apparently even though the 50's are quite warm for December in Utah - it still isn't quite toasty - go figure. Hope your holidays were wonderful!

Procrastination...

2011-12-16T08:39:00.000-08:00

Brooke and her family have officially left Missouri this morning (at 3 a.m.!) and are coming this way! They will be to our house by Sunday, so, guess what I'm doing today? That's right, cleaning! So, why am I posting instead? (You really have to ask?)

We are going to have a houseful for Christmas, Jeff & Vanessa are coming and even my Mom is coming - that is a Christmas Miracle all by itself! (Dad is staying home with all of the dogs) I am so excited to see everyone and feel very, very blessed.

All of my shopping and wrapping is done and Mr. Handsome made himself VERY useful, as usual, and made our neighbor gifts:

Sugared Pecans - delicious! I made them cute with leftover charm pack squares. That is outside his area of expertise...

I have a whole pile of fun stuff to do with the "big" grandchildren when they get here. We haven't seen them in 6 months, which is WAY too long. We have lots of things on our list to do when they get here, you know, things like "Going to the Nicklecade and shooting the giant spiders", pillow wars with the uncles, dates with Grandpa, and all of those wonderful grandchildren things.

Well, I'm off to clean...

White Elephants...

2011-12-04T11:38:00.000-08:00

We had a fun "White Elephant" gift exchange party last night. It made me reflect on the many years we've attended and had a great time at White Elephant parties over the years. I came home with these babies last night:

(yes, price tags still attached) Mr. Handsome got a fabulously ugly (women's) sweater and the funny thing is, that I don't even have it to take a picture of this morning, because 2 of our sons have figured out that they want to wear it to their work parties - they are having ugly sweater parties and they think that sweater is perfect! After they are done with it, I am going to felt it and make a cupcake pincushion, etc. with it. So - you can get some pretty fun stuff at these shindigs. We have so many fun memories of these parties - Doug bringing a live mouse in a hamster ball and wrapping it up - quite a surprise for my neice, who opened it. One year, Brooke bought a 1 pound box of See's candies and we all carefully opened it and took a bite of each candy, then she re-wrapped it and took it the party - it was a hotly contested item, but at the end, when the final recipient opened it up - we all laughed uproariously, they did not - such is the luck at the white elephant parties...

Will December ever arrive???

2011-11-30T10:35:00.001-08:00

A few more peeks at what I've been up to in the studio:

Cute snowman fabric on the back:

These were already given to my sisters for Christmas when I was in California last weekend.

And, I finished my first, ever, Christmas Tree Skirt! I am debating putting ties on it, we will see if they are necessary.

A VERY scrappy backing:

(This was sort of a bear to bind, so I'm glad you can't really see it up close).

And here is sweet little Brian, who came to play at Grandma's:

The Holidays are Here...

2011-11-22T16:06:00.000-08:00

I can't believe November zipped by so fast! The holidays are officially here. I must say I am quite excited about them - all of my children will be here with their families for Christmas this year!

I am cooking Thanksgiving, with a little help from the close-by kids, and Mr. Handsome, of course. Yesterday, I went out and bought a turkey breast, since I don't always have great luck with whole turkeys (I only like the white meat anyway - and of course, it's all about me). One year, the turkey didn't quite finish cooking and we had to get it done on trays in the microwave, once I managed to cook it upside down and couldn't figure out why it looked funny - you get the idea.

Anyway, this turkey breast cost a fortune! More than an actual whole turkey! It's either super expensive or we are going to have enough meat for the whole neighborhood. I am also mentally gearing up for the once-a-year gravy making nightmare/I mean experience. Let me just tell you, there is a lot of standing over a hot stove, and stirring going on and it always takes way longer than I think it should. I think I'm going to run back to the store and buy some jars of gravy and add little of my own gravy fixings and call it good. (Shh, don't tell)

I am excited about a fantastic looking peanut butter, cream cheese chocolate pie that I found the recipe for - that will be delicious, no matter what happens to the turkey and gravy - it's "no-bake" - doesn't that mean "can't fail"?

I always love seeing everyone enjoying themselves, even if Amanda is a wee bit cranky about having to say "what she's thankful for" at the table. I love to see the kids spread out on the family room floor, with all of the sale ads spread around, plotting their course for the Black Friday. Mr. Handsome is putting up the Christmas lights on Thursday and the weather should be fine for that - I LOVE to see the house all lit up!

Well, off to finish up my Christmas Tree skirt...

P.S. Just got back from a super quick, super fun trip to California (Saturday night to Monday morning) and the only picture I took was of this great (giant) potato masher that my mom gave me - it will be put to good use on Thursday (Shane can't wait)!

Amazing...

2011-11-13T18:58:00.001-08:00

We headed down to the condo this past weekend and although no Christmas sewing got done, it was nice to get away. On Saturday, we did a fun hike out on the backside of St. George:

Beautiful scenery, fantastic rocks to jump around on:

I am very sad to report, that when I was here 10-15 years ago, I did a lot more jumping around - I guess getting old is kind of stinky.

The dog didn't think much of the hike -she kind of dragged her feet all the way up, she was much friskier on the way home. We only hiked a little over 4 miles - and I always wonder when I do something like that, "If I did this every day, could I eat whatever I wanted and not gain weight?"

We saw two movies this weekend - "In Time" with Amanda Seyfreid, it was a good movie, but that gal has the boniest knees I've ever seen on someone older that 11! We also saw "Tower Heist" - also enjoyable, but be warned, Eddie Murphy is a little on the crude side (no surprise, actually - but lately I'm just used to him as "Donkey" on the Shrek movies).

Now back to work and sewing and shopping - but first a nice soak in the jacuzzi...

Meanwhile...

2011-11-06T10:56:00.000-08:00

It's turning into a regular Santa's Workshop over here (or so I like to think): I got this quilt out of the dryer this morning - I had washed it to remove the blue grid lines (for placing the flowers/circles). I usually don't wash quilts before gifting them, because, heaven forbid some color runs (I am not a pre-washer of fabric) or it doesn't look so new - BUT - this quilt is so nice and soft, I think I am changing my mind and am going to wash up all the gift-y quilts I'm giving this Christmas.

Just got back from the annual Quilt Retreat - it was in Park City this year and it was fabulous, as usual! We quilted and ate and slept and quilted some more and we laughed like nobody's business. (Pretty much ate junk food like nobody's business too) There were about 70 ladies having a great time and making beautiful quilty items. We stayed at the Marriott - very nice. It was so amazing to wake up each morning (4 days!) and not have to worry about anything but maybe how many pieces of bacon to take from the breakfast buffet or which project to work on first. No dishes, bed-making, going to work, etc. - just fun! Got lots of projects finished, now on to quilting them!

Here's Kathy as the "Beverly Hill Billies Quilter" ready to take off - she actually got ALL of her stuff onto this bottom rolling cart - we can only assume she made it all the way to her car, intact. Earlier she had shared how she was performing this trick at another retreat, and coming out of the elevator EVERYTHING spilled all over.

We all had a great time, but it's good to be home too. Now, onto the holidays...

Household Happenings

2011-10-24T21:18:00.001-07:00

I've finished another Christmas Quilting project: (Yay, me!)

And we got back from a great birthday party/family reunion in Arizona:

My Mamal (a southern word for grandmother) turned 90, so we had a party! Here she is with her 4 children - all in one place! Left to right: Janet (my mom), Linda, Richard & Dottie. Richard came in from North Carolina, Dottie came from Florida. My mom came from California . We had lots of cousins in attendance - it was wonderful. We had a great time visiting and catching up. My cousin, Mark was even there - from California and I hadn't seen him in at least 10 years! Since my Aunt Linda and Uncle Nick are semi- retired caterers, the food was wonderful! And, my Aunt Linda is, as always a superb hostess! (I am sad I didn't get more pictures, my camera setting was off and they mostly turned out really blurry!) They did have some serious scorpions down that way and when we first got there, my Uncle had a blow torch and I am thinking - "Yippee, Creme Brulee for dessert - just in time", but no, they burn up scorpions with it!!

Brooke - this picture is for you!

And - guess what we picked up on the way home? Here are a few hints:

Yes, it's a DOG!! We picked up a 6 year old "Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier" on the way home. She has a really bad hair cut, so Mr. Handsome won't take her picture yet. She is pretty cute, but still a little nervous to be away from the home she's always known (with 12! other dogs). She's a retired "champion", so she needed a home. It's pretty quiet around here. Her name is Jenny - but we can't help but call her "Jen-nay" - think "Forest Gump".

I must say it is so nice to be home here in Utah, where the fall colors are in full array and the weather is in the 60's instead of in the 90's like Arizona - I don't think I would be my normal pleasant self if I lived there... (hahahaha)

So, I'm off to sew and watch all of the fabulous/addicting shows they've just added to Netflix (like Sister Wives)...

Birthday Party!

2011-10-16T11:32:00.000-07:00

Mr. Handsome decided to have a birthday party celebrating his dad's life. Larry passed away 8 years ago and most of the young married in-laws never met him, so they don't get some of the family humor.

We had a great turnout and lots of fun!

I didn't get a picture of the food, but Stacy smoked a couple of briskets & some pork roasts - delicious! We also had cornbread, sweet potato casserole and plenty of desserts!

The weather was perfect. Everyone who knew Larry shared a memory of him. Most of them were pretty dang funny! People shared about the nickname that Grandpa had for them and funny things he did and said. Bruce did a great job videoing everyone's memories. Stacy had blown up pictures of him and old family pictures (I really am a terrible photographer, I missed lots of pictures). Denise did a game with "Grandpa's Rules", which pretty much meant, they weren't fair and changed a lot. You could also trade your prize for "whatever I have in my hand". There was also a killer "money grab".

Brandon won a "swig of my pop" Beckham decided he couldn't win against Doug, so he gave up:

Brian was there, looking adorable (even if Shane REFUSES to smile for pictures for me! Shane, when you are old, people are going to see all of your pictures and think what a mean man you were!)

Beckham loved the balloons (and the candy, and the cornbread, etc.)

All in all a great day - thanks everyone for coming and making it fun!

A Finish...

2011-10-13T11:49:00.001-07:00

Okay, I figured I'd better post a quilt or I would have to stop calling this a quilting blog! This is a "medallion" style quilt, where you start in the middle and work your way out, and well, let's just say I should have squared up better as I went along, it was pretty skewampas by the time I got to the last borders! (Pattern and fabric from "Crazy Old Ladies Quilts")

This is for Mr. Shane, so, of course, there is Minkey on the back:

I just have to keep it hidden until Christmas, because every time that boy comes over here, he tries to snuggle in it, even before it was finished!

Mr. Handsome and I made another fun trip to the condo and he finally collected on my promise to go golfing with him (from February!!). It was pretty windy, but it's always fun to tear around the golf course in the cart - he drives like "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" at Disneyland. He hit a ball into the desert part of the course and it was so funny that it was stuck in this bush!

Well that's the news from over here, hope you're having fun quilting or doing whatever makes you laugh! (I will be madly sewing Christmas Gift projects for the next few weeks...)

Another Beautiful Baby...

2011-10-04T15:25:00.001-07:00

So exciting, Shane and Becca had their sweet baby boy on Sunday:

He is, of course, perfect:

His name is Brian Douglas (after his proud Uncle Doug). We can't believe all of his precious hair! It is beautiful and soft. We are so proud and happy for Shane & Becca!

Quilt Festival, Shoe Carnivals, etc.

2011-09-22T16:34:00.000-07:00

This week is the Utah Quilt Guild's Annual "Quilt Festival" - doesn't that sound so grand and fabulous??? Well, it is! I woke up on Wednesday morning and couldn't stop smiling! I had such a hard time sleeping the night before, it was like Christmas when I was a kid (okay, as an adult too). I kept waking up and looking at the clock, waiting for morning to come.

This is my 5th year of attendance and I plan on going every year until I die!

There are all sorts of classes offered, fabulous lunches with National Quilt-y Speakers (David Taylor, George & Virginia Siciliano, Sally Collins) - 2 of my favorite things - eating and absorbing quilty-ness!

There are lots of vendors at the vendor mall, just waiting for me to stroll in and buy their wonderful items that I NEED. I am basically a lazy shopper, I don't like to go from store to store, getting sweaty, etc. So I love it when they all come together in one place!

This year, I took a scrap class - we learned how to organize our stash, and USE it, we got several patterns and I got started on a "Around the World" scrap quilt. What is that you say?- several hours in class and you got 4 (!) blocks finished? Yes - that is me. I took a lecture class with a fun batik quilt show. This morning I took a "Short Cuts" class with great ideas on ways to make flying geese, square in a square blocks, prairie points and more. I loved this class (taught by Bonnie Miles) because I love efficiency and she is very efficient and her brain works WAY better than mine at figuring out the most efficient/easy way to make blocks - and she shares her ideas with us! Tonight I am taking a hand quilting class and am looking forward to that. Tomorrow and Saturday - no classes, just volunteering at the mini quilt raffle/display booth and working on handwork + two more fabulous lunches!!!

Yes, I am aware that my quilt blocks look pretty skewampas, but I'm hoping when I make more blocks, I can arrange them in a way where they will play nicely together...

P.S. Did I mention there is a quilt show too??

P.S. S. Whenever I see the "Shoe Carnival" store, I keep thinking I'll go in and there will be high-heeled shoes riding a merry-go-round or something like that - I am always vaguely disappointed when it's just a regular shoe store.

Sigh...

2011-09-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

You can see from my pics, that my projects are getting bigger and my design wall isn't! I guess it's more crawling around on the floor for me. I shouldn't complain, I am grateful I am physically able to get down on the floor, etc. But - in case you haven't noticed, I am a chronic complainer. (I think Mr. Handsome may have noticed a wee bit.) Here is my latest project from "Crazy Ladies Quilts":

I have 4 more "rounds" to go:

It's a Christmas Gift, it should be finished in plenty of time, which is great, except it is not even close to the amount of quilt-y gifts I am planning on giving this year. It is for my baby boy, Shane. He doesn't follow the blog (I try not to be insulted that he doesn't hang on my every word, now that he is married and expecting a baby of his own, etc.), so he won't see it, although he has gotten glimpses of it already.

Well -it's after 11 and I guess at some point I should shower and get out of my walking clothes...

I need a bigger design wall!

2011-09-14T16:48:00.000-07:00

And somewhere to put it...

I have been spoiled with my design walls (flannel backed plastic table cloths), this quilt just wouldn't fit, so I had to crawl around on the floor. It was hard to get the perspective right too, I moved a couple of blocks around and numbered and stacked them, so we'll see. I can't wait to get this all sewn up and quilted!

Birthday Month...

2011-09-02T08:26:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's my favorite time of year, September! I love that it's my birthday, fall is close, I'm anticipating the fun holidays, there are quilt retreats galore, the weather gets nice and cool, etc. This morning, it was nice and crisp when I went walking, which makes me think happy thoughts and want to quilt!

I just got back from a great visit to my family in Southern California. It was wonderful to see them all, it is so nice to be with a bunch of people that you love and they love you back! We celebrated my birthday (a little early) with "Death by Chocolate Cake" from Costco, always a favorite. Looking forward to a fun family reunion next month in Arizona for my Mamal's (grandmother's) 90th birthday.

Life is good and I am grateful.

P.S. Got a little folding & sorting in at the studio:

The Narrows

2011-08-22T19:32:00.000-07:00

We went down to the condo this past weekend, and, since we hadn't been there in 3 months, it was great to get back there. We went to Zion National Park (as usual) and this time we hiked "The Narrows", a hike that is perfectly suited for the killer hot days of late August. It was 104 degrees in Hurricane, but we figured maybe 85 on the water and we were wet the whole time, so it was fabulous!

Even though we have been to Zion Park many, many times, we have never gone this far up the Virgin River, through the Narrows. Most of the hike is through the water, sometimes it was chest deep, a little less on some taller people. Where the canyon walls get super narrow, the only way up is through the water, it is beautiful!

We hiked about 3 1/2 hours up, but it took way less time to get down, not quite 2 hours, or so it seemed, we didn't have a watch or phone with us. (The camera was double zip-lock bagged.) Because for a lot of the way down, we swam, or really floated down the deep parts.

The only problem with that was, my light yellow/very large t-shirt got a little see-through-y, so there will be no close up photos...

And thank goodness, even though there were lots of people there, we saw no one we knew. There were lots of bikini clad Europeans in all shapes and sizes, so I'm thinking no one even noticed any sort of immodesty on my part (that's what I keep telling myself, anyway). We had so much fun, we are going back in a couple of weeks for my birthday! (Wearing something else, of course)

Happily we also got my "American Dreamin'" quilt hung up in the eating area at the condo... and I'm nearly finished with a new quilt for the double bed in the 2nd bedroom, the plan is to be finished for next time we head down there. (It is totally crooked-y, but that is the beauty of quilting, as I see it - homemade goodness - right?)

Yes, I am still alive...

2011-08-14T09:02:00.000-07:00

It's been a little while since I've posted. I wish I could say I've been on an exotic vacation, but no, just here, doing a little quilting, a little working, tending my sweet grandson, reading some good books, etc. Here's what I've been up to in the studio:

1. This is a Christmas gift, (for someone who doesn't check out the blog), now all I have to do is take that stack of fabric at the top and subdue it into a quilt back for this baby:

Here are two more I've been working on: They may look like they match in this picture, but they are quite different. The back/square ones are for a simple quilt for the double bed at the condo (we are visiting it soon - hooray!) It matches the quilts on the bunk beds in the same room. The quilt I have on the bed now, my mom gave to me, which is great, but it is an extra enormous King-sized and even after I cut it and re-bound the end, it is still huge and unwieldy. The church dash in the front is a beautiful quilt in yellows, oranges, greens, etc. for my updated office upstairs. I put a chair in it with a light for reading when Mr. Handsome is watching something on the TV that I don't care to share with him. So this quilt is for the chair in the winter months, when something a little cozier is warranted.

I've got a ways to go for the office quilt, but I finished the 31 churn dash blocks and, after noticing they were a little wonky, was happy to see that I needed to trim them to 10 1/2 inches. Smiling with glee, imagining the neat stack I'd have after I trimmed, I was extremely disappointed to see that NONE of them even measure 10 1/2 inches BEFORE trimming... (sigh)

I am looking forward to fall, I have 3 (!!!) quilt retreats that I'm attending, visiting the condo, California, AND the grandbabies in Missouri - I love autumn...

Jeremy & Amanda

2011-08-01T13:24:00.001-07:00

We had a wonderful day yesterday, Jeremy & Amanda tied the knot. It was small - just immediate family at his parents house. A beautiful day. They are beautiful too.
Jeff came from California and Brooke from Missouri: (We missed Ben & the kids)Of course, Mr. Beckham was perfect:It was a great day for sure! (Dad is hoping for some tall kids...)I am glad that Brooke made it - on Saturday, we spent the day at the hospital - Brooke had a huge kidney stone. They got it out (lithotripsy) and she was able to come home Sunday morning. She rested all day, until the wedding. Lots to be grateful for.

A kitten in the Studio

2011-07-24T11:14:00.000-07:00

We got a kitten a couple of months ago. My husband got her from the neighbor, after much cajoling from the grandchildren who were visiting at the time. Mr. Handsome really wants a dog, but after having/raising dogs (Labs) for the first 20 or so years of marriage, I put my foot down and now there are no dogs for the next 20 years (that's fair, right?). I am actually allergic to dogs (an allergy I have developed in my old age) AND I don't really even care for dogs. I (reasonably) told Mr. Handsome that when he retires, he can get a dog, because then HE will be here to take care of it all day, when normally it's ME here at home when the dog runs out of water, gets out of the yard, is barking it's fool head off, pooping where children/grandchildren step in it, chewing up things, etc. while he is at work, blissfully unaware of how much trouble a dog really is. I know I may sound hard-hearted to you dog-lovers out there, but that's the truth as I see it.
Anyway - back to this kitten, Tinkerbell, now that she survived the grandchildren's extended visit she gets sort of bored with just the two of us here. So, she tends to make her own fun, which generally includes hauling things around that she's discovered in various places around the house, and last night, while I was sewing on this quilt for #5 grandbaby:

She was running at the trashcans I have in my studio, knocking them over and crawling inside to haul out bits of fabric, paper, etc. So now, after picking up the trash, this is what it looks like around here:

She also knocks down any fabric pieces I have sitting around near my sewing machine and is working hard to pull down my design wall. Every time I get up to use the iron, this is what I find when I return:
She looks very comfortable, doesn't she?
P.S. Her nickname is Stinkerbell.

Lazy Summer Days

2011-07-21T08:07:00.001-07:00

It's been pretty quiet around here since Brooke and brood left last month. I finally finished this baby:

I've been working on it for 4 years!!!! I originally took a class to learn how to applique and it was hard and some of my applique is terrible. The newer stuff is still nowhere near perfect, but I like to think I am improving somewhat. This is one of my favorite blocks (sorry about the sideways-ness). I tried to do some fancy quilting like the quilting done by my friend on my last quilt, but as you can see, I've got a ways to go...

I made a couple of matching pillows and they are all going to go to live at the condo - the quilt will be hanging on the wall. Yesterday was the annual July Quilt Fair and I did not buy a quilt, even though I bid on a couple of small things. I did NOT let that auctioneer suck me in - I am proud of myself! I did buy lots of fun stuff though:

(No, I didn't buy the kitten - that's Tinkerbell, always in my business). I got a couple of darling kits, some fabulous fabric a couple of patterns, some great flannel on sale for $5 a yard, and some fun Jillilly red thimble stickers. I hate real thimbles, so I use the little pads you stick on your fingers and since now they come in red instead of boring tan, I had to get some. I do enjoy shopping at the vendor mall - it's my kind of shop hop - not piling in and out of the car, driving all over the place, re-sweating each time you get into your hot vehicle, etc. Anyway, great day all around! Today I am going to sort through my stack of quilting magazines - pull the patterns I might use and toss the magazines! (I am feeling pretty ambitious for sure!)

Mini Quilt Finished

2011-07-10T09:39:00.003-07:00

Here is the pattern:

And here is my interpretation of it (out of my stash):

It's called (wait for it) "Batik Flowers"

The Pattern is from the magazine "American Patchwork & Quilting" Aug. 2011 issue, by Annemarie S. Yohnk of Quilts Remembered. I, of course, tweaked it a tiny bit.

Who Knew?

2011-07-09T14:35:00.001-07:00

Since Brooke and her precious babies went back to Missouri, I have been trying to get down to the quilt studio everyday. It has been really fun! I made a cute mini quilt for the Quilt Festival coming up this fall - I just have to get it quilted and then I'll post it. What's been really fun is just thinking about quilting more - colors, designs, ideas, projects, techniques, retreats, etc. I've just sent in my registration for 2 quilt retreats this fall and am getting excited for them too.

I was thinking today about something that I wore in HIGH SCHOOL - you know, like 30 years ago!!! and how happy I was that the stripe in the heel of my shoe, matched part of my blouse and my pants, etc. I always loved "pulling it all together" with touches of color. Mind you I was no "best dressed" kind of girl at all, but I enjoyed clothes, (when they weren't feeling too tight). I was thinking about how this has come all the way into my old age - pulling in colors in my quilts - the center blocks, borders, binding, etc. I really enjoy choosing the fabrics and colors for my quilt projects. When I first started quilting, 6 years ago, I mostly bought "kits" - all the colors were chosen for me. I felt I had enough to do with just constructing the quilt. I progressed to charm packs (Okay, I haven't really gotten past the allure of charm packs, layer cakes, jelly rolls, etc. but I digress) where, again the colors were all there, but I chose borders, binding, etc. I do still use pre-cuts, but I find I really am enjoying branching out and picking my own colors - fondling fabric, dreaming about colors, wondering if there's something under my pile of unruly stash that would be perfect (and did I buy enough of it??) Anyway, once again feeling grateful and happy about my fantastic quilting life, I mean hobby.

PS. I made raspberry jam today - a bit easier than peach jam - no peeling, pitting, cutting - only a little smashing...

(Don't ask me about that random bit leftover, I wasn't going to throw it away!)

Grandma's Lemonade Stand

2011-07-05T07:54:00.001-07:00

I finally finished this quilt. My daughter helped me name it: "Grandma's Lemonade Stand". It's from the book "Gathered from the Garden" by Cindy Lammon. I tweaked it a little. I am going to enter it in a quilt show. I have never entered a quilt before, so I am a little nervous. I am certainly not expecting to win anything, but I think it will be fun to have it in the show.

The quilting is amazing! It was done by my friend, Kim Peterson of Kimberwood Quilting. I usually quilt my own quilts, but I wanted it to look extra special and it does!

The big news around here is that Amanda and Jeremy are getting married at the end of this month. We are so excited for them!

Road Trip!

2011-06-30T13:41:00.000-07:00

Just got back from a week long road trip. Our daughter and her 3 kids had been visiting for nearly 2 months and we told them if they flew out, we'd drive 'em home. It was a wonderful trip! One thing we did was go to the dollar store before the trip and buy lots of inexpensive goodies for the kids. Brooke organized them into lunch bags - 1 for each child every 200 miles. They were so excited each time they got a bag - it was like Christmas! Here is Nattie with her flamingo glasses: (She is holding one of the 9(!!!) quilts that Brooke made while she was here! The trip was great, I went to states I had never been to before - like Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa. It was great to see this beautiful country, I feel very blessed to live here in this great land.

We drove out through Colorado and Kansas, then back through Nebraska and Wyoming. It was kind of funny, my car has a GPS system, Mr. Handsome's phone does too AND we had the iPad, which also has Google Maps on it. At one point all three of the electronic items were sending us in 3 different directions!! When we got to Missouri, I insisted that we go to the Auto Club and get old-fashioned PAPER maps that don't move when you touch them or go "out of service area" at inopportune moments. This made me very happy, I got out my little yellow high-lighter and marked up my maps and knew where I was the rest of the trip. We had to detour around about 100 miles in Northern Missouri and Iowa on our way home because of all of the flooding along the Missouri River. We saw farms, fields, homes and more halfway underwater! It is amazing to see it in "real life" instead of on TV. It really brings home that people really are suffering.

We went to a funny restaurant in Missouri called "Lambert's Cafe" it is the home of the "throwed rolls" - where they literally throw rolls to you when you want them - it is a crack up. Especially to see the kids catch the rolls.

On the way home, we went through Lincoln, Nebraska and guess what is there? That's right, "The International Quilt Study Center and Museum". Totally cool. The admission is $6.00 per person and I graciously told Mr. Handsome I would pay his way, but - it was free admission the day we were there because they were having some sort of event! Lucky us. It was neat to see the exhibits and just to be in a place where people study quilting! Wow!We stayed in some real dives, including "The Annie Oakley Motel" - thank you Expedia - NOT! I think my real problem is that I have "Hilton" taste and a "Motel 6" budget... It's good to be home, but I had a great time, with my daughter, grandkids and wonderful hubby. (Yes, it was fab to see Mr. Ben too!)

Father's Day Family Pics...

2011-06-19T21:01:00.000-07:00

Okay, these are really from Mother's Day, a month or so ago, but I have been a bit lazy/busy/distracted, etc. - take your pick. Little Miss Wonderful, Tiffany (tiffanycarter photo.design) came out on a Sunday to take some pictures of our wild family:

Here are Ben, Brooke and the babies...

Doug and his boy, Beckham...

The entire family! (I can't believe it!)...

Here I am with Mr. Handsome, pretending to be daring...

Who knew that hanging around together for 30+ years would result in all of this wonderful family!!!!! Thanks kids, it was a stupendous Mother's Day gift!

Just in Time

2011-06-17T10:55:00.001-07:00

I finished this quilt for my niece-in-law, Shelby today, which is a good thing, since her baby shower is tonight! For some reason I was thinking I had another week!

I finished hand sewing the binding down this morning, while watching "Dora" and brushing up on my Spanish. I am keeping an eye on the little bear, for a few days, since her momma went to a family reunion with the "big kids" and was worried about "Little Miss 2 year old" and the cars at the campground.

Shelby wanted "hearts, gray and lavender", I don't think I did too well - the binding is gray and the back is mostly lavender Minkey. I didn't quite have enough to do it all in lavender.I hope she likes it - it is nice and snuggly.

Disclaimer: If this post doesn't make sense it is because I have my little friend standing here talking to me and asking me a million questions and handing me things, etc., etc.

Sister-In-Law Retreat!

2011-06-13T21:36:00.001-07:00

Had a fabulous time at our 12th annual Sister-In-Law Retreat this past weekend! We went to Rose's wonderful home in Saratoga Springs where we were pampered with lovely towels all tied up in ribbon and Bath and Body lotion AND a chocolate on our beds! We ate wonderful food, as usual, and best of all, got lots of visiting in.For dinner one night, we drove up north to cousin Karen's house. She is doing a fundraiser with her kids - they are cooking dinner and serving it in their amazing backyard and the money they collect all goes to build schools in Kenya. Michele couldn't come to the retreat, but since she lives near Karen, she joined us for dinner. We got Aunt Raelene in this pic too:
On the way back to Rose's, Deanna mentioned that she had NEVER been to IKEA! We were appalled and so we had to stop! Denise kept telling Deanna how it was pretty much like Disneyland, flags at the entrance, letters on the light poles in the parking lot so you could remember where you parked. Announcements while you're shopping, etc. The only ride was the elevator, but we all still had a good time. (Although, we all made purchases and Deanna only looked)I got one quilt top completed and another one all cut out and ready to go. The completed quilt top (in the bottom box) is for my niece-in-law's shower next week, so I can't show it yet...I was telling Rose and Deanna how much I loved my Shark steam mop, so when they brought me home on Saturday, they both just had to try it - they were fighting over who got to mop my sticky kitchen floor! (The grandbabies have been staying - so it's pretty much always sticky). I think I sold them both one, I should get some sort of commission, I think.All in all, a wonderful weekend, although we were joking that it was "The Grandma Retreat" this year, since we were all grandmas - the younger girls didn't come. (Although I heard a rumor that Jen showed up after I left...)

Ladies Spa Night...

2011-06-05T10:04:00.000-07:00

With Brooke around, things are a lot more happening here at the old homestead. Last night, she invited a bunch of ladies over for a spa night - nails, waxing, etc. Brooke did everyone's nails all fancy (sorry for the blurry pic, I took 3, but apparently I need two full hands to snap a photo):
Tricia did some serious pedicures and wanted to do some waxing on people, but nobody trusts her - except, Mitch stopped by and he and Stacy were trying to decide who was more manly, so they let Tricia wax their toes:

It was pretty dang funny:

Some of got our eyebrows professionally waxed by Jessica, who has just finished Esthetician school - very nice. Everyone brought a snack, so we had some yummy treats too.

Girls' Night

2011-06-03T08:42:00.000-07:00

We had a Girls' Night last night, we headed up to Salt Lake and met Amanda at the Cheesecake Factory - delicious!!!! We wandered around the mall, got some fun stuff at Bath and Body and headed BACK to the Cheesecake Factory for dessert - delicious AGAIN!

I just love these girls!

A Finish at Last...

2011-06-02T15:17:00.000-07:00

I finished Shaun's quilt today - yippee! It's called "ABC I love You"

I purchased a crib-sized kit and kept purchasing more and more fabric while I pondered on how to turn it into a twin-sized quilt...

First, I cut apart the panel and added sashing, then giant flying geese. I still had to add some plain blocks to the top and bottom to make it long enough. I used all of my extra fabric purchased on the back - quite a lot of pieces, plus I added a wide strip of Minkey to the top part, so that would be next to his sweet face at night. Since I pieced the back so much - it has a few tucks...

But - he loves it! And that is the most important part of all!

May is Winding Down...

2011-05-30T14:45:00.000-07:00

May has been a pretty chilly month around here! We went up to the cemetery in Ogden today and there was an inch or two of SNOW on the ground! Yikes, we didn't even get out of the car, but headed over to Randy and Michele's for the annual swim party/potluck. Except it was too cold to swim, so we met at their church and had a nice visit and some yummy food too. I am getting Shaun's quilt quilted today, so I will have something to show soon. I am noticing that when I started quilting I secretly judged my new quilting friends who had 20+ projects going at once - I thought to myself - "That will never happen to me, I am too organized, blah, blah, blah." I have 12 clear project containers and I promised myself never to have more than 12 projects going...

But - if you look closely, you'll see a couple more projects, stuffed in between them:Keep looking and there are more projects piling up around the studio...When will I learn not to judge?? Oh well, onward and upward...

Brooke has been busy making quilts since she got here, she completed two sweet baby quilts and this is the third, up on the design wall:

I think she's even learned to change the bobbin... (I am so proud!)

Baby Beckham as a Gummy Bear...

2011-05-23T09:27:00.001-07:00

We went to the dinosaur museum on Friday. Doug and Shane came along as back-up adults, Doug brought little Beckham and they put him in the shark's mouth when I wasn't looking!

Grandkids!

2011-05-14T10:47:00.000-07:00

Sorry to be such a bad blogger these days - the grandchildren that moved to Missouri have come to stay for a few weeks! (They brought their parents too). We went down to the condo for a few days, then picked them up in Las Vegas (cheap flight). Luckily Natalie didn't turn two until yesterday, so she flew for free!

Amanda came down and spent the night too - she hasn't seen Brooke and her family since they moved away last summer! Jeff flew up on Friday morning from California - so the gang's all here!

(That is brave Aunt Amanda getting the giant spider out of the jacuzzi)

Little Beckham came over to meet the cousins:

They were happy to see him, but they were really excited to see Doug & Tricia's dog, Bow, or as the kids call him "Bow-dizzle".

Tomorrow is Beckham's blessing, so a big party with lots of food and fun, speaking of which, Ben will be invited back for sure, he made delicious crepes for everyone this morning, including random family members who dropped in... (AND he wiped all of the counters - he is a keeper for sure)

And, as you can see, I did not get my quilt finished and I basted it and tossed it behind my chair until further notice...

We did have a big family quilt night on Thursday, but I was stricken with the flu!! I can't remember the last time I had the flu - maybe 10 years ago? It was miserable, but Brooke carried on with quilt night for me and the girls all had a good time. I am somewhat recovered today, but still a little tired, maybe I should consider getting a flu shot next year? Nah...

Finally a Friday...

2011-04-29T12:42:00.000-07:00

Yippee, it's Friday, one of my favorite days. I LOVE that tomorrow I can sleep in, followed by Sunday, when I can sleep in AGAIN! What's not to love?

Had a nice visit to California over Easter and Debi's birthday weekend. It was wonderful to see my parents and my sisters and their families, as usual. I also got to spend some time with my sweet, Jeff. Enjoyed Debi singing in church, she has a truly beautiful voice. I was supposed to come back on Monday, but the flight was too full, so I called my dad from the airport and he ran right down and picked me up and everyone was so happy - that's the best part about family, they are always so glad to see you - even if you just left! I enjoyed my extra vacation day and the flights were fine the next day.

Back to work and quilting this week - my goal is to get my hand-quilting project about halfway completed so I can remove one set of the long side rails, so it won't take up so much room. Brooke and her family are coming, and I can just see a little grandchild taking out an eye with those rails sticking out so far!

Part of the problem of getting it done (besides sheer laziness) is that my "under finger" gets so sore from the needle poking into it, so I bought this little contraption and here's hoping it works...

I have also started designing a new quilt for Shaun, who has been in a twin-sized bunk bed since summer and needs a twin-sized quilt for it. By designing, I mean that I bought a quilt kit and I keep buying more & more matching fabric and am trying to figure out how to make it go from crib sized to twin sized. I have graph paper and everything, but it's tricksy - or maybe I'm just inherently not good at drafting! When I have pics, I'll post 'em...

Passing on the Art of Quilting...

2011-04-22T09:33:00.001-07:00

Spring Has Sprung!

2011-04-18T12:52:00.000-07:00

My wonderful sisters came up for a visit over the weekend. On Saturday, Debi and I went up to Salt Lake, she is a great genealogist! I got to see the quilt display at the museum next door - it was great and the tulips are looking great up there at temple square: At the museum, I found this absolutely FABULOUS book, called "The Quiltmaker's Gift" by Jeff Brumbeau, illustrated by Gail de Marcken. It is a children's book and it is soooo beautiful and the story is fantastic too! And of course, it is about a quilter! Win-Win-Win!! I can't wait to read it to the grandbabies when they come next month!I have gotten back down to the studio and I've got things moving along - the frustrating thing is when I haven't worked on something for a while, it takes me about an HOUR to figure out where I was and what to do next! Urgh. Happy Quilting!

Conference Weekend... (Again)

2011-04-04T08:36:00.000-07:00

It was conference weekend and it's just my favorite! We sit around all weekend watching and listening to our church leaders (on TV!). We eat yummy food and work on quiet projects - quilting is perfect! Beckham is pretty quiet: Shane came, but Becca had to work: (Shane is practicing up for being a daddy)Doug is already a daddy:Tricia got lots of cards made:

Between sessions I made an amazing coconut cake - we're talking 5 (!!!) sticks of butter between the cake and the cream cheese frosting. Thank you, Ina Garten! We all had some and then passed the rest out to family and friends so I wouldn't be eating it for snack, breakfast, etc.I got some hand-quilting and applique done, but since I mostly had the camera, no one took my picture. I also whipped up two baby receiving blankets, so I felt pretty productive, and relaxed - a great weekend!

P.S. In case you were wondering - I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Back in the Saddle Again...

2011-03-31T11:58:00.000-07:00

Well, I feel like I've been gone a LONG time. We were actually gone for 12 days, but it's taken me two days to catch up (partially) at work and at home with the laundry, grocery shopping, etc. It has also been hard for me to have to make my own meals, my own bed, etc. The trip was wonderful! The Caribbean was perfect - perfect beaches, perfect temperatures, etc. We got to Puerto Rico after traveling for 24 hours (But it was FREE). We got in early Friday morning and our check in time was at 3 p.m. We had a rental car, but we were basically homeless. Here are Shane and Becca, sleeping on the beach: (Okay, we were all dozing there in the shade for a couple of hours)

We had a couple of days in Puerto Rico where I got to practice my (very) rusty Spanish. It was beautiful - we went to the beach, a rainforest and slept a lot to recover from our travels.

Becca loved any biological creature she could spy: Did I mention we had a LOT of luggage?We were nice and rested when the ship took off on Sunday night. On St. Thomas, we took an open air taxi (a truck retrofitted with bench seats and a cover in the bed) across the island to a beautiful beach - the water was perfect for wading and floating around in. The trip over in the taxi was great too - beautiful views and a nice breeze. On Antigua we swam with the stingrays! This excursion was not my pick, but everyone else wanted to do it, and Heaven forbid I get left out! We took a nice little boat ride out to a sand bar and saw lots of sting rays, people were feeding them squid, holding them, etc. (NOT ME). One brushed up against me and it was pretty slimy. One swam towards Shane and he screamed like a girl. Becca was brave enough to hold one. We also snorkeled with sea turtles and near a sunken ship with lots of fish swimming around. Stacy and Shane bought a "drink card", which was $75 and included all the soda, milkshakes and 'mocktails' you could drink. They definitely got their money's worth. This is what all of the tables looked like after we left:

Did I mention the food was AMAZING? Well, it was. I gained 2.5 pounds and it would have been more if I hadn't taken the stairs everywhere and done a lot of walking and visited the gym a couple of times too.Shane put away 4 lobster tails:We met nice people from all over the world - lots of Canadians, escaping the cold weather. One thing I really enjoyed was with all of the other cultures, people were way less hung up on their bodies than we seem to be here in the US. There were lots of people of all different sizes, just enjoying life and the beauty around us.

Chocolates on the pillows every night. A great way to spend an anniversary,

now we just need to start saving our pennies for another trip...

Anniversary, etc.

2011-03-15T16:38:00.000-07:00

Hi All, just a note - yesterday, Mr. Handsome and myself celebrated 30 years of marriage! What did we do you ask? Well, we went and got some real estate papers signed and went to a dive of a Mexican restaurant that Mr. Handsome LOVES, then browsed at Barnes & Noble, then home. Before you start the pity party for me, we ARE leaving this week for a week in the Caribbean!!! So excited!! So I'll be MIA for awhile, since there is no way I would be able to figure out how to blog/upload pics from somewhere else - even if Shane & Becca ARE coming too and they could show me. (Old dog/New tricks - you know). Anyhoo - got lots of new books downloaded on my kindle and I'm off - toodles!
P.S. Did I mention that I LOVE that man?

2011-03-10T08:22:00.001-08:00

This is the other project I worked on at the retreat last week:

It's called "Beckham's Stars" and is for the newest perfect grandchild.

You can't see it, but I quilted his name in it and now it's all ready to cuddle him up in. It matches his darling nursery too. It was pretty simple, but those darn stars gave me some trouble! First, I cut them wrong and had to go buy more fabric (it was a kit), then after I cut them (the right way) and sewed them together, 2 of the 6 star blocks were too small and I had to add a smidgen to one side to make them 6 inches - urgh!

Finished a Little Something...

2011-03-08T11:41:00.001-08:00

Yippee! I finished my fun lanyard! I love the tiny paper-pieced flying geese and the embroidery designs that my friend, Crystal, made for me. The "knott" is for our quilt group (Knott-heads, Knott-y ladies, you choose). I can't believe I made a log cabin block that small - wow, sometimes I amaze myself - he he.

Retreat!!!

2011-03-02T16:47:00.000-08:00

Today was the first day of our Quilt Bee's 3 day (all day) Quilt Retreat! When I woke up this morning and realized what day today was, I couldn't stop smiling!

This is one of the things I worked on today:

Tiny paper-piecing for a fabulous lanyard!

More to report later...

New Post about nothing, really...

2011-02-27T18:44:00.000-08:00

So, I've noticed that I haven't posted for awhile, I think I may be out of original and/or interesting ideas. Mr. Handsome mentioned that we just had a fun trip to the condo, my answer, "Yeah, but it's not much to blog about - same stuff, get away, watch movies, you golf, we do a little hiking in Zion - way fun for us but not too interesting for blog-land."
I'm working hard on my hand quilting project (well, sort of), and on my applique quilt, they're looking good. Lots of hot-tubbing going on - which is great with the cold weather. Work is going well. The little darling grandbaby is getting even cuter by the day and we get to see him lots. Quilt retreat next week with my "Knott-y" friends. We're heading to the Caribbean next month (yippee), Brooke, Ben and the babies are coming for several weeks in May - so life is good and very interesting for me and my family, but, for the rest of you - sorry. Hopefully I will have something fabulous to report/show after the quilt retreat next week - hey, a girl can dream...

A Good Day!

2011-02-16T10:21:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, my wonderful, angelic daughter, Amanda came and cleaned my house for my Christmas present, it looks and smells fabulous! I have Book Group meeting at my house tonight, so this was a great thing, to get it cleaned. AND while she was busily beautifying the house, I was working too, cleaning & sorting in my sewing studio! I dusted, vacuumed, emptied trash, etc, plus I got the rest of my applique ready to apply to my quilt from the last post, made two bindings for the quilts that are ready to be quilted, made a signature block for the past Guild President, mended Mr. Handsome's pajamas, and made a back for the quilt I am having quilted this week! Since money is a little tight these days, I didn't want to spend a lot on the back, so I used all of my scraps and pieced the back! It took a whole movie (The Blind Side - excellent) to get it done, but now it's ready and it was sort of free! I love it when I feel like I got a lot done - thank you Amanda!
And, of course, here is the front, which I think I have shown before:

I May Actually Finish This!!

2011-02-12T14:37:00.001-08:00

I have been working on this quilt for 5+ years! I took a class on how to hand applique when I first started to quilt. It was hard! I have actually used 4 or 5 different methods on this quilt. I was trying different ways to find the one I liked best. My favorite is the freezer paper method where you trace the shape (reversed) onto freezer paper, stick it to another layer (for thickness), then stick it to the back side of the fabric and use starch and an iron to fold a small seam allowance around the shape. After it dries/cools, remove the freezer paper. I then glue that sucker onto the background with a small dot of glue, let that dry and stitch it on. I have decided the real secret to hand applique is matching the thread closely to your fabric applique shape. If you look closely you will see that my earlier applique is very - well, let's call it: "Primitive" looking. (Okay, my later applique isn't too much better). I am excited that I am finally getting close to finishing this baby! These are going on the borders/corners:

P.S. Today, I went to JC Penney's and purchased some lovely elastic waisted black work pants - hooray for me!, I 'm sure I'll be wearing them 3 days a week from here on out...

Next Project:

2011-02-06T07:44:00.000-08:00

I got this baby all up and ready to hand quilt yesterday! I've been meaning to do it for a month, but I sorta dread getting it all put up (not to mention I always procrastinate making quilt backs- I don't know why - I mean how hard is it to sew two pieces of fabric together???) Anyway, Mr. Handsome helped me put it up, which is good, cuz he is good at measuring/squaring things up, etc. But - he is a little cranky about it - or maybe I am? Anyhoo - it's up and ready to quilt, I'm hoping to get it started during the Superbowl today, while I'm not eating homemade pizza and peanut butter M & M's - well I could probably quilt and eat M & Ms...
It's a throw size and it's headed for the condo when it's done, to hang in an attractive manner over the quilt rack that is sitting down there.

Why are Grandchildren Perfect?

2011-02-05T13:31:00.001-08:00

I was thinking about how incredibly perfect my grandchildren are and what a blessing they are in my life. It is a privilege to know them and to just be around them. I'm pretty sure everyone else thinks the same of their grandchildren. I know my mom thinks the same thing about her grandchildren for sure. I realize that they will have their struggles growing up and becoming who they will ultimately by, but still, I think they are just perfectly suited to our family and to be right here, right now and I am just thrilled to be around for this whole grandparenting thing! P.S. His name is Beckham Ray.

Another Perfect Grandchild Arrives

2011-02-02T18:50:00.000-08:00

He's here - sweet little boy. Born Feb. 2, 2011. 6 pounds, 11 oz., 19 inches long. So exciting!!!!
Here's the new family:Now, they just have to decide on a name...

Back from Sunny Southern California...

2011-01-30T11:08:00.000-08:00

And, I'm having grandbaby-withdrawals already! The weather was absolutely beautiful - in the mid to high 70's. We went to the park, for walks, AND to Disneyland! It was so fun to take Brooke and the kids - Shane and Becca flew down for the Disneyland day too! It was wonderful to see my parents, my sisters and their families and have a vacation. I am looking over my schedule in the next few months and I've decided I like to take a vacation about once a month - not generally big expensive ones, just little getaways.

It was seriously nice to bust out the ol' short pants and enjoy the balmy weather. Mind you, when I lived in California (for 40 years), I would be complaining about the warm weather in January - I mean really - when is it EVER going to cool off??? It was perfect for a visit coming from the cold though. Now I relish living where there are real seasons - I actually go for weeks at a time without sweating through my bra...

P.S. We went on "Soarin' Over California" where they have a scent in there while you're flying over a 'forest', everyone raves about it, but I just think it smells like bad bathroom spray. hmmm.

P.S.S. Forget getting your kids ready for a college education - train them for work at an airline - then you get to fly for FREE!

Super-Size?

2011-01-19T09:12:00.000-08:00

So, in my fabulous sewing studio (also known as 'the basement'), my great hubby hooked me up with a flat screen TV on the wall, I have a DVD player AND a "Roku" - a streaming video something-or-other. So, now I can watch "Netflix" right in my sewing room and I have been watching "Super-Size Me" about a guy who goes on a 3 meals a day from McDonald's for 30 days diet. I know this movie came out YEARS ago and I am hopelessly behind the times, but it is quite an eye-opener! Not necessarily about McDonald's per se, but just a good reminder about all fast food, etc. How too much fat and calories can really drag your body down. (Getting old drags it down enough!!) I know I have to face the fact that when I go out to eat, I eat more than I do at home - more fats, bigger portions, etc. - I don't even really eat fast food - all my kids are grown, so it's not such a go-to thing anymore, but it's so easy to overeat in society today. All of the commercials on TV are about food, it seems - although maybe that's just how it appears to me, with my preoccupation with food anyway. Mind you, the show is kind of gross - they filmed a gastric bypass surgery, etc. (I kept my eyes on my sewing project during that for sure)
So, I am keeping an eye on MY portions and keeping up on my goal for this year - hit the gym twice a week. Not that I didn't eat buckets of M & M this past weekend...(sigh)

Some Quilty News at Last...

2011-01-15T23:28:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in a long time - so until I find some brains and thoughts, here is what I'm working on for a birthday next month:
Toodles and happy quilting!

Being Busy (And complaining about it, as usual)

2011-01-05T08:17:00.000-08:00

I started working part time this past July. I work in the afternoons, processing commissions for my husband's real estate company, just down the street. I told him I could work from 2 - 6 p.m. It has mostly been about 2 p.m. to 4:30 or 5 p.m. It has worked out great, the afternoons have always been slow around here with the kids all gone, etc. I haven't had to give up any quilting bees, the guild meetings, etc. I would get home and still have time to make a nice dinner - and I may have mentioned that one of the conditions of going back to work for Mr. Handsome was that he would do the dishes on the nights I worked. (He has wanted me to work at "The Company" for the 7 years that he's owned it with his sister). Well, now that it is January, it has really picked up in the accounting office of which I am the sole occupant. I knew it would get a little busier, but I am getting a little more behind every day! Since I am taking the last week of the month off (Disneyland, here we come - grandchildren included!!!), I am feeling even more "behind". I have been getting home after 6, too tired to cook, practically too tired to eat! I made the mistake of needing to stop at the grocery store on the way home from work one day - it was a madhouse - and then for sure I was too tired to cook the stuff I had gone specifically to buy for dinner! Ergh!
I am hoping to go in on Saturday and "catch up", when no one knows I am in there and hopefully I'll be able to get lots done...
P.S. I don't want to hear about "going in early", I have that time all booked up with the rest of my life.
P.S.S. I am awed and amazed at all of the people who work full time and for those of you with families at home too - I am not worthy!!!

Christmas Projects

2010-12-24T09:46:00.000-08:00

So, now that it's Christmas Eve, I can show the Christmas Quilting I've been working on:

First - the quilt I made for Greg and Rose:

The quilt my hubby made for our son, Jeff: (Now he's made a quilt for each of the kids)

The baby quilt for Doug and Tricia (new baby boy arrives in February!!!):

And finally, my favorite project:

New Christmas Stockings!!!

I love how these turned out, but they took a LONG TIME. So, kids, they are not to leave the premises - EVER.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

Family Quilt Night

2010-12-15T09:28:00.000-08:00

Every Thursday night for the past few months, we have been having "Family Quilt Night". My daughters-in-law, Tricia and Becca, My niece-in-law, MC and Tricia's sister, Aly have all attended. We have a good time and are all getting lots done! Aly and MC are on their 2nd quilts, Tricia is on her 3rd and Becca got her curtains sewn for her new house. I am getting projects done too. I keep hearing from other family members that they would like to come, but I haven't seen them yet. (I know Brooke is missing them, living in Missouri - we miss her too!) We will be taking a couple of weeks off for Christmas, then back to work! I am sure glad that my studio is big enough for all of us!
We usually work from about 7 - 9:30 or 10, but we've been working late to get all of the Christmas stuff done... It is very fun to teach these girls to quilt - they are all excellent students - A+!

2010-12-09T09:02:00.000-08:00

On Sunday night, we had our "close by kids" come over to decorate Gingerbread Houses (Okay - they are really 'graham cracker houses" -but, whatever). Someone gave me a great idea - glue gun those little suckers together BEFORE the party!(My husband always asks why I need to buy SO MANY graham crackers - because they break!!)

Anyway - worked out great:

(Shane is here too - but he is hiding, as usual) Doug really got into the fine detail work on his house: And - I've managed to finish a quilting project (or 3 - but 2 are Christmas gifts - can't show them yet). This is my row quilt that our bee made this year -

I had to take off the last row and put it on the back, so it would fit on my table as a cute topper:

When I got out the Christmas stuff this year, I realized that I had given all of my kids their stockings last year, because I told them I would be making them new stockings this year!! I guess I have a little bit of sewing to do in the next two weeks! (It seemed like a good idea at the time)

Embracing my Inner Granny

2010-12-02T08:36:00.000-08:00

I have decided I am too old to wear high heels. I bought some cute high-heeled boots this season and wore them a time or two, but when I looked at them in my closet to possibly wear again, my feet just wanted to curl up and my back started getting achy. So, I gave them to my (young) friend (sigh of relief). Then I hemmed my pants. I also have no desire to wear anything that would entail sucking in my stomach - bleck! Better to go with camouflage. I still will get dressed, thinking I'm "all that" and then I'll catch a glimpse of myself in a mirror and realize I'm a kind of lumpy, middle-aged lady - oh well. I go to bed early now, because I don't want to wake up miserable in the morning - I know, pretty mature. I eat fairly healthy, I can no longer eat pop-tarts, coco puffs, etc. they make me feel nauseous - I used to eat them for days at a time. I complain about the high price of items in the grocery store - just like an "old person".

My mom used to complain that her mom drove her crazy, etc. My mom does things that bug me sometimes, but now that I am getting older, I realize that I will do things (and probably already do) that will bug my kids, BUT, I don't care!! (Bahahahaha) It is a great relief to realize that I don't have to work hard any more to be "hip", because I just won't be and it's OKAY! I don't have to pretend to like things because they're 'cool', etc. I enjoy quilting, gardening, jigsaw puzzles, reading, knitting, etc. and I used to think all of those things were pretty "granny-ish" and I didn't want to advertise these pastimes, but it is okay, I'm fine and being a granny is fabulous!!

Why do I gain weight over the holidays?

2010-11-27T19:50:00.001-08:00

Could it be: (Butter!!!)

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Nevada, with family and friends. Deanna did a wonderful job as hostess, as usual! I hope she is resting with her feet up today!

Early on (Black) Friday, Stacy headed to the Walmart to see about some deals. He came back with 3 (!!!!) TVs. He did end up taking 1 back, but we kept the other two. One is for my sewing room - a nice little flat one so I don't have to have the big one in the corner - more room for my stash!

Later on Friday, we headed to Zion for a little hiking:

It was a mite chilly! I was glad I had my trusty bandanna, because the wind was cold! It was about 32 degrees when we started. We tried to do Angel's landing, but had to turn back after an hour or so, there was too much snow and ice on the trail.

We ate yummy Thanksgiving leftovers that Deanna had so nicely packed up for us, then, off to the movies! ("The Next 3 Days" - just okay - a little too intense for me).

Back home today, got a little Christmas shopping done, we're supposed to have a big snow storm starting tonight, so it's good we're back and snug in our little house.

P.S. I don't think I'll break out the scales until March!

Quilting Magazines...

2010-11-19T07:51:00.000-08:00

What is it about having a quilting magazine to savor is so enjoyable? Is it the patterns I fall in love with and fantasize about making? The peek into a famous quilter's studio or home decorated with quilts? The tips that will make quilting more fun/organized/better? The ads containing the newest designs in fabric and notions? The humorous quilting article that makes me laugh at myself and my obsession? I can't believe I have two (!) to read this weekend, I used to grab them out of the mailbox and spend part of the afternoon poring over them, but with working in the afternoons now, my free time is a little adjusted, so I actually have two "saved up" Last night, I snuggled up in bed with one, but it got late and I get up early, so I only got halfway through - that's okay, something to look forward to... (Now, if only "Quilter's Home" would come - it's my favorite!)

For the Babies...

2010-11-17T10:20:00.001-08:00

Here is Papal and the "wee-dog":

Here is Mamal and Uncle Jeff's dog, Carl:

Here is Uncle Jeff with Carl:

Here is the crew at the airport: (Including Shane, the anti-photo boy)

Shane and Becca, checking out Jeff's death-trap, I mean Motorcycle:
All-in-all, a good trip!

A project...

2010-11-15T12:34:00.000-08:00

I went down to California for a quick trip to see my family. My sisters and I got pedicures:
My sister, Heidi, comes to visit a lot (at least she used to...)and whenever she does, when she packs to go, her "straightener thing-y" is always still hot and she can't put it in her bag. So I thought I could make her a "straightener thing-y holder thing-y". And I did:

1. Purchased silver heat-proof stuff and batting at the quilt shop & borrowed Miss Amanda's old straightener that is held together with a rubber band (her emergency back-up straightener)

2. Put it with a fat quarter and free motion quilted it. Put some left over binding on the top edges. I then tried to figure out what would work best, I tried to make a two pocket thing-y so she could put the hot part in one section, then the cord in the other (this involved unpicking and a lot of frowning):

This was a little bulky and I looked at the left over part I had cut off and just sewed that into a slimmer pocket and that worked better. (No unpicking and no frowning)
My sister loved it and maybe she will come and visit again soon...

P.S. Amanda said I could keep the straightener, since when her puppy chewed the cord off of her "good one", the back up one just would not do at ALL and she bought a new one right away.
P.S. S. - I am always taking a "quick trip" - maybe I can't commit...
P.S.S.S. I am thinking I could have just used an oven mitt from Wal-Mart...

Back from Aspen Grove Quilt Retreat!

2010-11-06T11:22:00.000-07:00

I'm back and it was fabulous, as usual! Seriously, I have an amazing life and am so grateful for all of it!

(My life certainly isn't perfect, but quilt retreat pretty much was.)

Wednesday - arrival, set up, start sewing!

Lunch, classes, dinner and more sewing! We made these cute needle cases:

Thursday: More of the same - fabulous food, classes and more sewing!! We made these adorable chicken pin cushions from paper-pieced log cabins that we'd made up before hand:

Friday: Repeat (Plus I got a massage - wonderful-ness!!). We had a lecture that night (while we did handwork) so I needed my "far away" glasses and my "up close" glasses - I think I really need to go and get me some bi-focals...

Saturday - packing up, a little more sewing, breakfast and back home to Mr. Handsome. It IS a great life - (plus - time change tonight, an extra hour of sleep!!!!!) I did get two quilt tops done and some applique - I will post later this week... (If you are able to get to a quilt retreat, I highly recommend it - save your pennies, it's worth it!!)

As Promised

2010-10-30T16:32:00.000-07:00

Here is my latest quilt-in-progress: The blocks are in a random arrangement, some are "side blocks" and "corner blocks", so that there will be secondary pinwheels throughout the quilt. I am also going to add some purple, to spice it up a little.This is "Quick Strip Paper-Piecing" from a book by Judy Martin. I took this class at Quilt Festival and it was very informative! I am actually going to make a WHOLE quilt with paper-piecing! (Which I NEVER thought I'd want to do - folding, ironing, trimming and then starting all over again with the next little piece!)
You just cut your fabric into strips and go to town, no folding, minimal pressing and trimming - very quick indeed!

P.S. (The Cutest Pumpkin in the Patch)

2010-10-29T22:40:00.001-07:00

Grandbabies!

2010-10-25T08:20:00.001-07:00

I just got back from a quick trip to Missouri to visit Brooke and Ben and the perfect grandchildren...

Here is the Bear:

The Boy:

And, Babygirl:

I got to babysit them while Brooke and Ben had a fun date (we had fun at home too), we went to the park, read stories, went toy shopping and just generally hung out and snuggled up! The night before I left, Babygirl was crying inconsolably and begged me to "just go home and get Grandpa and come back". I went to the airport and watched all of the little videos I took of the family and got a little teary at the airport. We need to go back and visit soon!

Quilting News - I am making a beautiful quilt with a new technique I learned at Quilt Fest - I will post pictures and details in a couple of days...

Marital Relations...

2010-10-18T21:10:00.000-07:00

I've been married to Mr. Handsome for coming up on 30 years this spring. He makes me laugh, he takes great care of me and has been a wonderful provider, husband and father, etc., etc. (I could go on). We just got back from a wonderful weekend at our little condo yesterday - we went hiking, shopping, to the movies (RED - I highly recommend it!), eating out, sleeping in (for me) and golfing (for him). I have noticed that a lot of our humorous times revolve around sexual innuendos, sly smirks, and flirty remarks. It is a lot of fun. It's not anything you can share with others, because frankly that is gross, crass, inappropriate, etc. Sometimes friends and I touch (very) lightly on the subject of how much fun it is to be married - nothing too personal, because that would be gross, crass, inappropriate, etc. It is just another thing that binds you to each other - something private and special. I think that many, many married couples really enjoy each other and that aspect of their relationship and I'm glad for all of us! I love being married and highly recommend it to everyone I know. That is not to say that it is easy, always fun or even right for everyone, but I am grateful that it is working out for us. I was 17 when I got married and I am amazed that it has all worked out (work being the operative word here).

P.S. Please don't think we have a 'perfect' marriage (whatever that is) - I couldn't even write this post on certain days of the month, if you know what I mean - but most days it's pretty great!

You Might be a Quilter If...

2010-10-09T23:36:00.000-07:00

I was at Fabulous Quilt Festival this week and it led me to ponder: