Busy Spring

Sorry I haven't blogged for awhile. Our spring has finally arrived, and there is so much to do. My honey, (Pete), decided our backyard needed some gardens. So this is the first one he has been working on. Its huge and he will be placing walking stones through the center, so we will be able to do fun things like weeding.

Also we have a fireplace in the yard, which needs to be repainted again because these things rust so easy. So we needed a little patio area for this. We laid out the stones which took some time. We felt we were doing a challenge from the tv show survivor. Then we had to lift all that sod and cover the area with gravel. Now as soon as we have a nice day we have to move the stones over to the patio. Yes, we took a close up photo of the stones, just in case we forget how to put the puzzle back together

We will need something to sit on while we sit by the fire in the evening, so we figured a couple of adirondak chairs would be nice. It is my job to put them together and stain them to protect them from the rain .Right now they are still in the box.

We have purchased lots of perrienals for the garden, but with the risk of frost lately, we will have to wait to plant them.

What's on my design wall?

This quilt top is done. Just waiting for me to decide how to quilt and color of thread.

This one just needs the border finished. The pattern called for one fabric to be used, and I thought I would try for a scrappy border instead so the border wouldn't dominate the center.

And lastly I would like to wish all Mom's a Happy Mothers Day. My daughter and her boyfriend sent me this, and I love it . It will be right on my sewing desk, since that is where I spend so much time.

Can't Wait For Spring

I'm tired of my blog heading picture. As soon as this snow leaves I'll be changing that. After finding the blog Living Life at Leehaven, I have fallen in love with civil war fabrics. I have a list of quilting things I like, to help my husband when he is shopping for me, and I put those fabrics on the list. He is such a good man. He is very good at putting fabrics together when I'm planning a quilt. I, on the other hand have not mastered this at all. And he loves the way Lee 's fabric choices go together so well.

This is the project that I am currently working on. There will be small flowers appliqued in each of the four corners. I just can't decide on the fabrics for the center. Maybe I need to alter the pattern in the center with something other than the eight 2 1/2 x4 1/2 strips. I also think if I finish the applique, the center will come to me. And now that I look at the picture, I'm not sure I'm happy with the corner blocks. Oh, when will the madness end.

Have a great day,

Karen

My New Sewing Machine Cover

I have been looking for a pattern to make a cover for my sewing machine and I found one. It is from the Button Bush Quilting Company. This was my first time trying embroidery and I think it turned out not to bad. I've got to say that I think I could become addicted. The pattern called for prequilted fabric, and since I didn't have any, I made my own.


I love my sewing machine and did not like the vinyle one that came with it. I have had my machine for two years now, and am still finding new things she can do. One thing on my to do list is to make a sample of all the fancy stitches for reference. Here is my machine.

Have a very nice day.

Karen

Baby Quilt

If you haven't seen it yet, run over to Joy Patch. She has designed the cutest baby quilt with pinwheels and pandas. She is even going to draw for a copy of the pattern to those who leave a comment. Also she is looking for a name for the quilt. I personally like Pandamonium. It is so cute, and she did a great job.
Have a great day

What happened to December

Wow! I just realized that I missed a whole month of December on my blog. It was busy, but I will try not to let that happen again in the new year. I hope everyone had a great Christmas. My husband and I were sick with a cold over Christmas, but we still managed to enjoy the season. Santa was very good to us. Santa even started a new collection for me. These are called vase heads. The heads are hollow to allow you to put flowers in them. I love them.

Lots of quilt stuff as well. Its going to be so much fun working on all these quilts this year.

A couple new hangers for some small quilts. So cute.

My girls know Mom loves her quilting. Thanks girls.

More fabric. Can't wait to come up with quilts with these.

I love these quilt kits. I always have a hard time choosing fabric and always bring my husband along, as he is very good with color. He picked these out and he did a super job. Thanks honey.

I don't know about you girls, but I love magazines and pattern books. Sometimes its just a chance to dream, or wonder how they are able to put the perfect fabric together for their quilts or actually make some of the patterns.

My step daughter and her husband gave us this beautiful book for Christmas. We absolutely love it. It is filled with pictures of their family. She did it on line and then they shipped the hardcover book to her. It's amazing what you can do on the computer. She did a fantastic job and we love looking through the book. Which we have done quite a few times already. Thanks Melanie and Bill.

Well as you can see Santa knows me well. I hope you all have a wonderfull and healthy New Year. See you next year.

One More Thing Tonight

My husband was reading my blog tonight. He loves his 1969 Plymouth Fury. Right now it is covered up and put to sleep for the winter. It doesn't even go out in the rain. He wasn't happy with the little picture of his car. He wanted it BIGGER. So here honey, just for you.

My New Design Wall Is Up

It turned out great! My darling husband mounted it to the wall with screws and washers. Well that just wouldn't do. I couldn't have those screws showing so I glued large wooden buttons over the screw heads. Now it looks great. I wasn't sure how big of a design wall I needed, but hubby says you may as well go all the way. That's why I love him. It measures 8 feet by 4 feet.

I also have been busy making little stockings and mitts for the Christmas Tree. We have six grandchildren and so I thought to make them more personal, I would embroider their names on them. And of course put a little surprise in them. I just finished them last night. Here is a picture of three of them. I think they turned out quite well.

Here are a couple of quilts I haven't shown yet. Have a great weekend.