And a little something extra

I got the balloon quilt updated to my satisfaction last night and this morning got the border on and mitered. If I were doing it again I would make the balloons without as much background around them and add background as I put the balloons together. Luckily, it wasn't that hard to add more balloons! Tonight at craft night I will work on the embroidery of the name and vital statistics. I think I will quilt it and add the ropes that hold the balloons to their baskets after.


When I finished my mitered borders I again had some tails left over so I put them together into this frame. I think I will make one more balloon flying over some hills, applique it to the frame and put it together for an auction sometime.

Last night, while watching some TV I finished making 4-piece strips out of my 1.5" squares. Now I can put all those strips (192, I think) together for the borders of the Ludvina's Legacy quilt top. I ended up with at least 2 extra little squares which will have to be used on the label I guess. I may have more if I made too many strips. I might get around to laying that out tomorrow.

I finished sanding down that bed frame yesterday and my hubby got the primer coat on it. I bought the paint for it today but it is a bit rainy out so it will have to wait a day or two for the final coats. I look forward to getting it in the house and making the bed using some of my quilts! I think it will look great!

Center done

Got all the balloons together! I am fairly pleased with it so far, but I think I might applique a balloon or two on the lower sides of the central big balloon where there are big open spaces or maybe I will just make a few more smaller balloons and figure out how to piece them in there. I will use the balloon fabric for borders and then I can get quilting. Well, I do have that pesky embroidery to do also!

If I were to do this again I would make it wider and shorter and add some hills to the bottom. And if it wasn't a baby quilt needing name, date, etc. on the balloons I probably wouldn't make the three biggest balloons and just fill in more with the 1.5", 3" and 6" balloons.

Weekend Projects

Yesterday I got going on the baby quilt again. I determined that regular piecing was faster than paper piecing for this pattern and turns out just as nicely. I continued this morning and got the rest of the balloons done and got the layout figured out. Here is the first section put together. Once the top is together I will do embroider the ropes holding the baskets to the balloons and the baby's name, weight, birthdate, etc. I would love to have the top together today but not sure if that will happen.


My other project for today has been this bed. I have had it for 10 years or so. It was a bed I got when my godmother died. I have memories of playing in the room above the garage and that bed was up there. It has been stored in the attic and garage for all this time waiting for me to have a place in my house to put it. Well, since we took our son's captain's bed to my daughter's house for them to use I can use this one in my computer/guest room. It really needs a paint job so I started the 'fun' job of sanding it today. Under the paint we found these floral decals. There is no way to save them so we will just have to paint over them. I am not sure what color I will paint the bed. Possibly white but it will depend on what paint I can find to use. It is going to look great with several quilts on it!

And they're off!

I finished my Small and Scrappy Swap quilt last night. This swap was designed to use up scraps (though not so many since it is a small quilt). I actually already had the top of this one done before I joined the swap but it was all from my scraps and is actually a charm quilt too. I just knew that with the trip east to be at my daughter's I would never get another little quilt sewn and this one only needed the finishing. I hand quilted it with white in diagonals through the small squares and then did some squares inside the larger pieces using embroidery floss. I like how it turned out. In addition, in this swap we are each supposed to send 50 2" squares from our scraps. So with the completion of this little number, I have 5 little quilts to get in the mail today. It is a good feeling to be done with all of those!

Last night I also made 37 diapers for my niece from the bolt of diaper flannel I picked up at Fabric Depot. Okay, so 'made' might be a little misleading since all I had to do was rip the flannel into 24" sections and then serge along the two raw edges, but there were 37 so it did take a little while! Now I will use them as packing material around some other stuff that needs to be sent her way and then she will have more diapers. But that is a project for tomorrow or Friday as I have other things happening today.

My next project I think will be getting the back put together for my SIL's quilt so I can get that basted and get started on the quilting. That will require a bit of cleaning in my sewing room so I can use the table more fully! Once it is basted I will work on the baby quilt so GD gets it before she is 5!

I think I am back now

It has been a crazy couple of weeks and I am ready to get back to 'normal'. My time away was great, don't get me wrong. I do love my kids and grandkids and enjoyed being with them but I do love my regular life!

I came back to a garden full of weeds, flowerbeds with lots of dead flowers to remove and a few weeds and lots of sewing room projects that need finishing.

On Saturday I managed to get my beans weeded so we can get the poles in place this week. My sister and niece (with a little help from me) finished sorting what was left of my parents' things that have been stored in my attic for over 5 years into piles for the children and grandchildren. They took things home with them and we were able to deliver some to my brother's kids at the wedding yesterday but I will still have to ship some things in the next few weeks or so to my daughter in Alaska and my brother and his daughter out east. It is great to get all of this stuff out of my attic!

Speaking of the wedding, here is a picture of our niece, Sarah, and her new husband, Eric, with the quilt my sister and I made for them. They were very excited about the quilt.
It was a beautiful outdoor wedding and they had a lovely day for it down in Vancouver, WA. The day was bittersweet since my brother did not live to walk his daughter down the aisle (path?) but her little(?) brother stepped in and did a great job. It was good to catch up on news with the family. The groom is a chef so some friends of his did the food and it was wonderful.

Since we were in the area yesterday, we made a quick stop at Fabric Depot to pick up some items from the wholesale department and see if any fabric spoke to us (doesn't it always?). I got home around 10 and went straight to bed! I was pooped!

Today I need to get outside and get some garden work done, maybe some primering on the house will get done and I really need to get the labeling done on my 4 swap projects and get them to the post office. If I get that much done I will be happy!

As sand through the hour glass...

It is hard to believe my two weeks here are almost over! It has been chock full of giggles, bubbles, walks, trips to the park, reading books, playing in the dirt and most importantly, bubble baths! It has been so awesome being here with the new baby and getting to know her a little and spending time with the big brother has been a joy. He loves to make you smile and laugh! Not that he isn't a bit of a pill sometimes! Today we head to the doctor for the one week check-up for mom and baby, and there is the never ending laundry to be dealt with along with some house cleaning before I leave. And I will have to get as many cuddles in with both of them as is humanly possible!

I have managed to get my two mini quilts done for July. They just need labels once I get home and then they can go to the post office with the other two finished swap quilts. This morning I basted my Small and Scrappy Swap Quilt so I hope to get it hand quilted soon also so it can get in the mail too! When I get home I will need to work on the baby's quilt so maybe I can bring it next time we come over (I don't think it will be too long though since Pa-Pa hasn't seen the little one yet!).

Tomorrow Jakob takes me up to Post Falls to meet up with my sister and niece for the trip home. Sunday we will be going to our brother's oldest daughter's wedding and delivering her quilt.

Well, time to get in the shower and get ready for the trip to the doctor.

Big Brother and Little Sister

Big Brother
Originally uploaded by vetcw3

Here is a picture of the first time he held his baby. It was fine until she waved her little arm around and touched his face. Then he was done. That was a little too much contact! He is very interested in her and calls her 'my baby' but didn't want to hold her again yet.

The little pink cast is covering her IV. She isn't connected anymore now that she is nursing (like a trooper) but they want to keep it in a while because it is easier to keep it in that to try to put in another if needed.

Now that she gets food she is a very sweet little girl. Just cries a little when she wants to change position. Unlike her brother, she loves being swaddled and just lies there quietly looking around at this big new world.

She is so tiny. Her little face is so petite and she has dainty little fingers and toes.

Can't wait for her to be home!

She is here!

Little Clara Elaine was born today, July 10, at 12:38 pm. Pictures are available here if you are interested. Big Brother seemed to think she was cute and all but really wanted to get home so he could play in the dirt in his new shoes. Mom and baby are doing pretty well, though, as you can see, Clara has some small problems with breathing that they are working on.

See! I have gotten some sewing done

I have gotten my last two blocks for last year's shop hop finished. The tree uses English Paper Piecing and they supplied the little hexagons but I didn't like the stiffer paper as well as regular printer paper so I will continue just printing them and cutting them out myself if I do any more. I am not a huge fan of doing EPP but you do get nice results.



This little sailboat is cute but not my favorite pattern. I really don't like appliquéing those triangle points. I would much rather paper piece and get a nicer point.






Here is my Four Seasons Quilt Swap Summer Edition. Had fun with the yo-yos and vintage ric-rac (from my mother's boxes). I quilted in the ditch around the fence and then was at a loss for what to do up at the top. I decided on floss flowers in the background. Just need to write on the label and it will be ready to send.



And here is my quilt for the Doll Quilt Swap 4. It also just needs the label written on and it can be mailed.

I also have the first of my mini quilts pieced and I will work on it as time allows but tomorrow will be a bit hectic what with the baby coming and taking care of big brother. It will be interesting to see his reaction to the new baby since he is just two and a half and though he understands that there is a baby in mommy's tummy he doesn't seem to get that it will be coming out soon.

Thanks to my daughter and son-in-law for the pictures as I didn't bring my camera with me since both they and my son have much nicer cameras and will take plenty of shots of the new baby and the big brother.

Tomorrow's the day

After the doctor visit this morning and a pre-op appt. at the hospital, the C-section is set for Thursday, July 10 at noon. So check back for more info and maybe even a picture or two.

Still no baby!

Granted the due date is still two days away but there is no movement on that front! They go to the doctor tomorrow to see if there is any progress. If there is none she will probably have a C-section on Thursday. We have gotten a bit of organizing and cleaning done in the basement. Layden's clothes are now in the drawers of the captain's bed and the baby's things are in the dresser - well, as long as it is the expected girl the baby's things are in the dresser, if it is a boy we might have to0 scramble a bit. Chelsea also got the shelves painted that we brought over so there is more space to organize and keep things a bit tidier.

Having a great time with Layden in the meantime - blowing bubbles, reading books, playing Duplos, doing bubble baths, etc. He doesn't slow down except to sleep! One of his favorite pastimes is playing with his trucks and tractors in the dirt of the flower bed (nope, no flowers to speak of). This pastime is what leads to the bubble baths!

I have gotten a little sewing done. I have my Four Seasons Quilt Swap quilt done (just need to write on the label and get pictures taken and it can be mailed), my Doll Quilt Swap 4 done (just needs the writing and the pictures also) and have the top of the first of two mini quilts done - it does involve triangles. I might get that one quilted tomorrow during nap time and then get started on the other mini - I have ideas, just nothing concrete yet. I also have the top for the Small and Scrappy Swap done and need to work on the quilting of that so it will be ready for mailing soon. Unfortunately, the sewing time comes in small bits when that little boy is otherwise entertained!

Happy 4th!

The hubby, Princess Lucy and I made it safely across the state yesterday. We were all warmly welcomed by the little prince. He was especially pleased to see Lucy and she seems to be tolerating him more - there was even quite a bit of petting going on. He is a wise little boy and gives her a wide berth if she seems to be in a mood, however. It is warm over here - somewhere near 95 degrees I believe. The forecast does call for a cooling trend so it is only supposed to be in the 80s for the next 10 days.

Have a safe and sane 4th of July!

Forward into the past?

I was so pleased with getting this year's shop hop blocks done and made into a top that I decided to finish up last year's blocks and maybe get them into a top this summer also. So yesterday and this morning I got to work on them. I got 5 made yesterday and finished off one at craft night that I had started last year (just needed some yo-yo mice and now that I have the yo-yo makers that went quite smoothly). This morning I got three more blocks done and once I finish the applique and English paper piecing on two more I will have 20 blocks done and I can look into putting them together. I have ideas for the sashing but haven't made any decisions yet. That will probably be something I take along tomorrow to my daughter's to work on. You can see all of the blocks here.

Along with those I will bring supplies to work on the various swap quilts that I need to finish and get in the mail. I just need the label on the DQS4 quilt and it can go in the mail and I am handsewing the binding on my FSQS-Summer quilt but it might need a bit more quilting. Then I just need to write on the label and that is ready to go. I am taking the quilts and addresses with me so I can get them in the mail from Pullman. I have ideas for my two July Minis so if I don't hear from my partners before I leave they will just have to be happy with what I make!

Speaking of going to my daughter's - I am getting fairly excited. Just one more week until her due date so we should have that new grandbaby soon. Not only that, I get to spend 2 weeks with my grandson and I get to annoy my son for 2 weeks - that last might just be the best part! We will also be working on getting her basement a bit more organized so that it stays tidier. I will be bringing my camera and my laptop so I will be able to continue posting so keep checking for pix of my grandbabies!