A/C, ABCs and 123

Our A/C finally quit on us! And boy is it hot in the house. However, thanks to my wonderful sister, we have a window unit in my room now, so we at least have a cool room and bathroom. The computer, TV and sewing machine are in my room as well, so we have all been camped out in here today. Which isn't uncommon, but it has been more consistent with the cooler air.

ABCDEFGHIJKLM.... yes, I'm singing. My son has colored blocks for all those letters now. We had a slight delay in the coloring with VBS and FlyLady Camp, but today he did 2 1/2 letters. I will probably trace a few more tonight so that they will be ready when he is.

123... I feel like I'm following a very easy step by step method on this quilt I'm making for my MIL. She was really sweet and took me to Paducah in April for the AQS show. She doesn't even quilt, which made it even more kind. While we were there, we picked up a pattern and FQ pack from one of my favorite stores, Pincushion. It is in CA and the FQ packs are called "sweet treats". You should go visit their online store... http://www.sweettreat.com Anyway, here is a picture of the pattern that I'm making. It is called "Stairstepper". The color choices I'm using are different, with dusty mauves and sage greens and rich burgundys, etc. I'll post pics when I can. I'll admit I haven't gotten very far yet. But now with the A/C going to be replaced I should be able to get a lot more done!

Even Hotter!

Sadly there was no quilting at the church yesterday, everyone is out of town. So, I was stuck at home in the heat. It was even hotter in the house yesterday. It is only two days into Summer and already this heat is too much.

No Flylady Camp today. My 4 year old is sick and can't keep anything down. So, perhaps before the heat is unbearable here in the house I can get at least 15 mins of sewing done.

Now, food for thought, does anyone ever come here? Does anyone ever read this blog or enjoy the pictures? I know a few people that do, but there are never any messages left. It gets lonely here, so please leave messages if you stop by. Yes, I know you have to sign up to be able to leave messages, but it really isn't that big of a deal and it only takes a moment.

Okay, I'm off to get a bite to eat and then try to get that 15 mins in before the heat takes hold like the giant flaming monster it can be!

Hot, Hot, Hot!

Oh, it is so very hot here! And my horrible home has a poor excuse for an A/C on top of not being properly insulated and sealed. So, we are all roasting here. And sadly that means no quilty stuff done for days now.
On Saturday, my birthday, I went to the church and started working on a bargello inspired quilt for my step-mom. Sunday, Father's Day, gave hubby the pillow case which he loved! It took him all day to work through the puzzles and find it though. LOL! Yesterday and today the kids and I are doing Flylady Camp. So, we have been not only hot, but very busy. Tomorrow, hubby will take over "camp duties" and I'll get to go play at the church and hopefully get some quilty stuff accomplished. I'll probably work on my step-mother's quilt, trace some more blocks for my son's quilt, or work on another Sampler of Psalms block. Wow, what if I managed to work on all three!!! That would be a good day!
Now, I recently found out, after the fact, that we had a tornado on my birthday, right here in Cordova. I knew it sounded bad outside, we had some power issues, but I didn't hear any sirens so I didn't worry too much. It was just a few miles away and I was actually watching the news at the time but there were no indications. It makes you wonder!

Head cold is weighing me down!

Yes, I have a head cold. It is no doubt something the kids have brought home from VBS. I'm still managing to get a bit accomplished though. I have been working on my son's birthday quilt today. Actually, I just cut up the freezer paper to adhere to the back of the blocks and traced some letters and pictures on a few... all ready for him to color. He is working on "K/King" block. He still doesn't know that I'm going to use them for his quilt and I still want the whole thing to be a surprise. However, he loves to open the container they are being stored in and laying them out "like a train", he says. How am I going to sew them up into a top when he wants to look at them all the time? Okay, so here is what I've decided to do... I'm going to have one row of blocks disappear at a time. He'll ask where they are. I'll say they disappeared, like magic, and that I'm sure they will turn up soon. He is only 4, he won't know any better. But, yes, I do feel guilty for fibbing to him. I'll apologize to him on his birthday... after I give him the quilt. :) I guess I should go throw the fabric into the washing machine so at least that part is done.

Saturday is my birthday, but I doubt it will be anything special, so I'll go hang out at the church and get some quilty stuff accomplished. I don't know what yet. I suppose it depends on whether or not I want to lug my machine over there. If not, I have plenty of cutting to do for various projects, definitely enough to keep me busy for a couple of hours.

Sunday is Father's Day and in addition to making the pillow case for my hubby, I've made up a ton of puzzles that he will have to follow around to eventually find his present. I'm starting off with a jigsaw puzzle, well it is really a letter to him ending in a riddle that has been ripped up and needs to be put back together. Half of the pieces will be in each of the cards the kids give him. The riddle, when solved will lead him to a Logic Art puzzle. When he solves that it will be a picture of the place to find his next clue. That will be a rebus puzzle leading him to look in his inbox to find two e-cards from the kids. One will contain a cryptogram, the other a hint to get started. That puzzle will lead him to look all over the living room for a bunch of hidden neckties, each will have a letter attached, which he will need to rearrange to find the location of his next clue. That spot will contain the final clue to find the location of his present. I chose some of the types of puzzles and games so that the kids would be able to help too. I'll get back to you on how long it takes him to complete everything. I may go by the $ store and buy a few little things for him to find with various clues just so he feels like he is getting a bit of something on the way. ;)

All of this effort makes me wonder what, if anything, he has planned for my birthday??? Hmmm...

I've Been Busy!

I have several pics to add. I've been busy and productive! First of all I finished my daughter's garden quilt...

I also made my hubby a pillow case from some donated blocks. There are more blocks leftover to make a matching quilt later on... perhaps for his birthday.

I finished another UFO. This was from a stained glass class. My 4 year old has already claimed it for his room.

And here is that picture of the Bird's Nest block from my Sampler of Psalms quilt.

Memorial Day

Well, I have you completely up-to-date now on all pictures. Sadly, that doesn't cover all that I've been doing. There are some new projects I have started, others that I've worked just a bit on here and there. But the newest and main project I have going right now, aside from finishing my daughter's quilt, is my son's birthday quilt. He wanted an ABC quilt. So, I'm tracing letters and objects on fabric and he is coloring them. We have 5 blocks completed right now. He doesn't know that he is coloring fabric for his own quilt, so that will be a big surprise on his birthday. Today I'm going to go play outside in the sprinkler with my kids and if time allows, my son and I will do block "F/Fish" and tonight I'll be quilting on my daughter's quilt. I would love to be finished with the quilting part by tomorrow night and working on the binding. We'll see how it goes though.

Crazy Pillow

While this isn't a quilt project, I did use my "free-motion quilting" foot on my sewing machine to make it. It is a bit too wild for me, but is still lots of fun!!!

Daughter's Garden Quilt

My daughter designed the center part of her birthday quilt this year. She wanted different florals surrounded by different greens (no repeats) and sashed with brown for dirt... a garden! I added a fence for a border here is a picture of the quilt top before I added a final border of green (for grass). The quilt was basted last night, so I guess I'll be doing some quilting tonight. LOL!

Jacob's Ladder Swap

I participated in a Jacob's Ladder block and fabric swap this fall. I put the blocks together and have this quilt top now. I have not made any decisions regarding borders yet.

UFO #2 Snowmen

The second completed UFO was this snowmen wall-hanging. It is actually the 12th quilt in a calendar like series... this is for January and while I finished all the other months right away, this one took two years to get around to actually doing. LOL!

UFO #1 Heart

As part of a challenge to finish UFO's, I finally completed this little wall-hanging. It took so little time that I'm ashamed I didn't finish it sooner. LOL!

Christmas Placemats

Also for Christmas, I made my brother and his wife placemats.

Trying Twelve Finished!

I finished the Trying Twelve quilt for my sister and gave it to her for Christmas. As you can see by this picture with my niece and her family that my sister found a great spot for it.

Robbing Peter to Pay Jack

This past Halloween I started working on a new project. I have only one block done, but it is so cute it can easily stand on it's own.

Autumn Sampler Blocks

I have 5 more blocks done for my Autumn Sampler...
Mrs. Cleveland's Choice, Double Irish Chain, Contrary Husband, Wedding Ring and Album.

Sampler of Psalms, Blocks 9 & 10

I've completed three more blocks for my Sampler of Psalms quilt. I have pics of two of them here...
Block 9 Treasure Chest


Block 10 Footstool


I hope to post a picture of Block 11 as soon as I get one.

Long Time... No see...

Yes, I know... I've been away forever! It doesn't mean I've stopped quilting though. I have kept up with it, but at a much slower pace. I began home-schooling my daughter this Spring and well, that really took a huge chunk of my quilty time away. I'm back now though and I do have pictures to post. So, please forgive me for my absense. ;)

Katrina Quilts

I'm sure we are all terribly saddened by the devastation left from Katrina. Everyone is trying to find what they can do. Well, in my attempt to help, I'm making quilts... children's quilts first. Here are pictures of the first two I've made. I'm in the process of a third now, and also working with others at church in an assembly line fashion to make more.

Sampler of Psalms, Block 8

This is block 8 "Memory Wreath" from the Sampler of Psalms mystery quilt I'm doing. The block looks crooked in the picture, but it is because it wasn't laying flat when the pic was taken. :) It is almost time for the pattern for block 9 to be released. I can't wait!

More Sampler Blocks.

Here are two more blocks for my sampler...

Swamp Patch


Crow's Foot