Still Here

Back from a super fun quilt retreat last week in Park City! My BFF Megan joined me and 73 other ladies to quilt our hearts out and eat lots of chocolate!  I finished one quilt top and worked on two others, I also took a little class on making a sewing machine cover to keep out the dust and worked on that - hopefully it will be done soon and I can show it.
Finished (after much cursing and muttering and un-picking):

I have been working on this scrappy around the world for a couple of years, but am ready to finish it, it is kind of fun, because I can see all the bits from all of the quilts I have made. I made 10 more blocks while at the retreat and have about 10-15 more to make:

I have been working on this baby for at least two years, but am on a mission to finish it! I only have about 100 units left to make, then I can put together the blocks and carefully put them together to make the (giant) quilt that has carefully placed lights and darks:

I bought this printed interfacing from Quilt Smart to attempt to make a double wedding ring quilt - the easy way?  I am planning on doing it in brights:

And let me tell you, after lounging around, eating chocolate, etc. while wearing my cushy/stretchy sport bra, the girls did NOT want to get back into the wire cage come Sunday! But, I forced them (you can thank me later)

So, back to life, as usual which is pretty dang good these days. I am down to working 3 afternoons per week! One of my favorite things is going to the movies in the afternoon - I'll go by myself if no one else is available, so I'm planning on doing that on one of my "extra" afternoons, as well as making soup, etc. - things you just can't do too easily while working 5 days! Toodles! -Brenda

Meandering Along

So I've decided that I'm tired of reciting my email address and phone number, and of course, I like to have people visit my blog, so I got cards made:

It was super easy to order them, with this cute design and I just put my name, phone number, email address and blog address on them.  I showed them to Mr. Handsome and he said - "They don't say what you do, housewife, quilter, chef, lover (he's funny, isn't he?), etc." I told him they are not business cards, just my contact information.  I love them! I am putting them on my luggage, my new Sew EZ table I got at quilt festival and, sure, I am giving them to new people I meet, that might need my information or seem like they would be friends, etc.
I did finish my "Selling Houses" wall hanging, but I don't like where I put it, it looks better from far away, and mashed here in the entry way by the front door, it is too narrow to see it well.

Of course, it helps if it is right side up too - I don't know how my computer, phone and camera all continue to outsmart me!!!!!!
Here is a before picture of a particularly messy part of my quilt studio:

Unfortunately, it still pretty much looks like that, but hopefully progress will be made SOON!  I'll keep you posted - that's a pun, by the way...

Hooray for Fall!

     It is so nice that fall is finally here! It's been a summer long enough and hot enough to try my patience (and my deodorant!).  It is nice and chilly at night and in the morning - yummy! I am baking some apples with cinnamon and it makes the house smell delicious and very fall-y.
     I finished quilting a quilt for a Christmas Gift - so sorry, no peeking yet. I am ready to quilt my class project of a log cabin cityscape from the class I took at Quilt Festival from Flavin Glover.  I will post it soon, my camera is visiting Amanda and I'm not that good with my phone yet.
     I took a class on "precision piecing" and I am sorry to say that I don't think I will ever be a "precision piecer"!  The techniques I learned seemed challenging and involved lots of pinning(bleck), and un-picking if it was not "just so",  so I think I will continue blissfully quilting speedily (and sloppily) along and giving my quilts to friends and family members who think they are wonderful and that I'm talented, etc.
     I also took a class on "panels", since we are having a panel challenge in our bee this year, I got lots of good ideas and we will see if I can wrestle down that EQ program Mr. Handsome bought me and design a fab quilt with the panel - hopefully pictures are forthcoming and I don't have to hide it in shame - it makes me a little nervous - I only have one panel - BUT - I guess if I mess it up, I can just use a little part of it -right, right??

     We've had our little baby pals over some - enjoying the last of the peaches - rather enthusiastically, I'd say:

     I am currently working on this project - and no, mine doesn't look like this (yet), this is the picture I took at the vendor booth I bought the kit from - mine is all cut out though...

     Looking forward to attending a quilt retreat at our bee later this month AND - going to working 3 days a week instead of 5!  AND Mr. Handsome is going to start improving my wonderful quilting studio!!!!!!!!!! We will be adding storage, painting, lighting and hopefully new carpet - yippee skippy for Fall!

Birthday Month!

     It's been a great month so far! For those of you who pay attention to the details, I have changed my age on my profile to 49!!! Had a (wonderful) birthday earlier this month.  Mr. Handsome got me a fabulous Baskin-Robbins ice cream cake (chocolate cake w/chocolate chip ice cream) and had them make it look like a quilt! What a guy!

     We had the "close by kids" come to dinner (easy quiche and salad), then had a Wii Tennis Tournament, which I promptly lost! Doug was the big winner, closely contested by Jeremy, but even with his superior reach (he's 6'6"), Doug prevailed!  Lots of wonderful cards (and some pretty nifty gifty's too) and just a lot of hearing from people and talking to the people that I love, it's what makes my life great! (No, I don't think my life is "great-er" than yours, just perfect for me).
     It's finally cooling off, at least at night, which is a huge relief! Fall is in the air, at least until noon or so, when it starts heating up.  And, of course the fun is just still happening - I head down to the Utah Quilt Guild "Quilt Festival" on Tuesday (Yay!!!!), can't wait, it's going to be lots of fun with classes and shopping and quilting and lunching and hanging out with my quilt-y friends.

     I got this quilt finished and gave it to my friend, who lost her son this month, he will be missed!

 

Happy September to all!!

The Beach

     We just got back from a quick trip down to California to visit family. We went down to see Jeff in beautiful San Diego and went to the beach while we were there. I haven't been to the beach for a long, long time! When we parked the car and got out and walked around the shops near the boardwalk (which, in California is not made out of boards at all, but is cement), before we even got that close to the beach, the way the air felt and the coolness compared to inland was heavenly! As we got a little closer I could smell that beach smell and hear the ocean and it was just wonderful! It made me feel so nostalgic for all the time I spent at the beach!
     When we were little, my mom took us to the beach each week, even though she hated the sand. She would plant a big pirate flag in the sand, so when we got to playing and drifting a little in the current, we could look up and see the flag flying and get back to mom.  She would lay out a big sheet and we were not allowed to step on it and get it sandy! We played for hours and had lunch there and just enjoyed ourselves!
     When I was a teenager, so much of my social life revolved around the beach, I would take a carload down nearly every Saturday and we would work on our tans, swim, play in the sand, and of course, flirt with boys - I remember us taking turns walking up to the lifeguard to ask him what time it was - so subtle! We had lots of church youth group activities there too, the men would fill up a big metal trashcan with ocean water, put it on the fire and fill it with corn on the cob, I don't know how sanitary it was, but it was delicious!  We also did some camping at the beach when I was a youth.
     When I became a mother, and my kids got a little older, I took them to the beach often, back then, gas was cheap and parking was free if you knew where to go, so we'd pack lunches and take off! It wasn't super relaxing, keeping my eye on all those little rascals, but it was fun.  As my kids got older, and got more involved in their own lives and friends, we didn't go so much, then when I was 40, we moved to Utah (nearly 9 years ago). Even though I go to California to visit several times a year, I surely don't get to the beach much. It was fantastic to go swimming and dive under the water and just be at the beach, the weather was perfect, the water was perfect (warm for California), I got a little reading done while feeling the warm sun on my pasty white self!  So glad we went and a big Thank you to Jeff (and Vanessa) for being great hosts!

         Here is a blast from the past, a cruise to Mexico 10 years ago with all of our kids!

What I did on my Summer Vacation...

     The last of my wonderful houseguests left yesterday morning!  It was a fun time around here for sure this summer! We had Brooke and her whole family here, my sister and niece, Jeff was here from California and all of the "close-by" kids were here hanging out with the "far-away kids".  Party on!
     We got a picture of all 6 of the grandbabies, although they were not all cooperating: Beckham cracks me up, lying there in the front where he was placed, not moving or smiling. Natalie had just woken up from a long nap and I believe a couple of the kids had thrown up this morning - ah well - life!

    
                   They did do a bit better with Grandma & Grandpa there to steady them. 

     A week into their two week visit, I decided that Natalie-Bear needed a twin sized quilt to go on her bed, now that she is in a bunk bed, so I whipped this baby up and managed to complete it before they left.  Of course, Brooke  completed 4 quilts out of my scraps and got them all quilted and bound and the binding sewn on before she left and she was only here for a week!(She was in Hawaii the first week). The funny thing was, she was digging in my scraps/stash and managed to use my new Block of the Month fabric that I had left sitting on the cutting table, she was mortified, but I just get to buy more fabric! No problem. Natalie was so cute, calling it her "qweelt", she  was super excited - very gratifying for this granny!

 

     I also managed to complete this throw for a friend's birthday, it worked out very well, the legos were downstairs in my studio, so the kids played down there a lot and I got some quilting done! Win-Win for sure!

     While my sister and niece, Katrina were here, Brooke taught her how to quilt, so she made a quilt from my scraps and her mom bought her a backing and batting and she completed her quilt - mind you they stayed up until 3 and 7 a.m.!! My sister's remark "Quilting is expensive!" (She bought her minkey for the back) In my frazzled state, I did not get a picture of her cute quilt.

     In July we had our family reunion, as mentioned and I got this picture from my sis-in-law:

    August is almost over and it is going to be Quilting Season!!!!!! My birthday is coming, 3 quilt retreats and cooler weather, could life get any better????

Mr. Rooster

     I finished the beading on Mr. Rooster tonight while enjoying the Trunk Shows at the Springville Art Museum this evening.  A big thank you to Mr. Handsome who took care of not only 3, but 4 of the precious grandbabies! They went to the "Splash Pad", then home for waffles for dinner.  Poor Natalie who misses her nap everyday while she is here got a little over-tired, but she is fast asleep now.

     Even though I am a bit bleary-eyed from early wake up nudges, I surely enjoyed the quilt show! It was so nice to just sit and drink in the beauty of the quilts and mingle with my fellow quilter friends. I have actually gotten a quilt quilted this week, will post soon when I get it bound.  Lucky for me my quilt studio is in the (cool) basement where the Legos also live, so the kids have been down there quite a bit, so I just join them and work on my quilting.
     Mr. Rooster is bound for the September Quilt Festival for the mini-quilts fundraiser, after I bind him and sew on his label.  Off to the community pool tomorrow for a relaxing hour or so before I dash off to work!