In Honor of Daphanie

We sometimes get caught up in our own little world and forget that there is a bigger world than our own. A friend of mine, Karen, recently lost a very dear friend and family member of hers.

Daphanie was her quilt mentor, friend,loved one, inspiration and encouraged Karen to become the outstanding quilter that she is. A piece of my dear friend is now missing and I know that she is hurting and wishing things were different and Daphanie was still with her. I didn't know Daphanie, but I felt her spirit and inspiration every time I saw a new project that Karen attempted and most beautifully completed. Daphanie got Karen started into the crazy world of fabric and quilting. What Karen has done with that gift is nothing short of amazing and I know that Daphanie will always be proud of what Karen has accomplished and what she will continue to accomplish in the future.

So even though Daphanie is no longer with us, her spirit will live on in Karen and Karen will continue to be inspiration to those of us who wish they could quilt 1/10 as well as Karen.

I know that you are sitting on a quilted cloud somewhere in Heaven Daphanie! You will be greatly missed.


Anett

What am I thankful for?? Really Long......

On this beautiful Thanksgiving Day, I am thankful for many things. I will probably ramble on here, but feel a need to type it all out. I will probably forget something or someone, but not intentionally.

I am thankful to my Grandmother for teaching what unconditional love is all about and for giving me the wonderful sense of humor that I have.

For my Brother Dave for keeping us going when we were young and for giving me my beautiful niece and nephews who I love dearly.

For my brother Bobby for making me laugh at the little dance he used to do for me that kept me in stitches and for my other beautiful niece and nephews who I dearly love.

For my brother Mike, whom I am getting to know again.

For my husband for sticking with me even when I am at my worst, which has been often lately with all the work I am doing. For giving me a chance to be involved in raising his children, whom I couldn't even imagine what my life would have been without them. Thank you Maryanne, Anthony and especially Johnnie and Evan (Squeaky).

For my grandbabies and my great grandbabies whom I love most especially.

For my niece Deanna who makes me laugh and cry, whom I love with all my heart and sends me great pictures.

For Nikki and Serenity the best birthday present ever! I love you so much.

For Gary, Jean, Beth and Scott...how would we survive with out you all. I love you.


and...for all the wonderful friends I have acquired along the way in this life of mine. You are all dear to me...I think about you all the time.

Well......

I wanted my 100th post to be a give away and it is, but not mine!

This is too good to pass up.

http://pumpkinpatchprimitivequiltshoppe.blogspot.com/2009/10/its-happy-halloween-giveaway.html

I will be back shortly with a give away.

Almost there...and ramblings

It's hard to believe, but I have completed almost 100 posts. This blog has been the best thing I have done for myself in a very long time. It has helped me though some difficult times in my life over the past few months. It has been an outlet for my love of writing and has inspired me...along with many friends to do things I would not have normally done. So, in order to pay back what I have received....I will be doing a "Give-Away" in the next few days. I am gathering items and will post about it when I have it all together....well when I have all the items together...I doubt if "I" will ever have it altogether!

I have started to follow a lot of blogs. It is very inspiring to see what other women are doing out in the world and the best part is, they are from all over the world! That is the part I like about the internet the best...it allows us to communicate with people from all walks of life...similar interests...different interests, but similar philosophies and with people you have nothing in common with at all, but just like each other. I remember when I first got on the internet, I was afraid to go anywhere for fear of getting a virus in my computer....I no long have that problem. I am still careful where I go, but I would now be lost without the internet. I do most of my shopping on line..some of my banking and bill pay..how easy is that.

Some days it feels like...life sucks and some things are forever lost...and then you have a birthday and a new baby comes along and life just couldn't be better. My new little girl has given me a new perspective about life and what I want to do with the rest of mine. So thank you Serenity Rose for giving me a new outlook. I feel rejuvenated and ready to take on a lot more than I have been lately. John's surgery and his almost dying left me very depressed and tired....I haven't wanted to do anything. For the past few days, I have felt a great sense of hope and I am ready to tackle a lot of "stuff" that I have been putting off. Things are looking UP!

Thanks for listening and everyone have a great day...will be posting about the give-away soon

Anett

HERE SHE IS!!!

Here is my first picture of Serenity Rose.

Poor little thing got the Redding nose! LOL

Anett

Serenity has arrived!

My Granddaughter Nikki had Serenity Rose last night (my birthday) at 11:00pm. She weighed 6 lbs 13 ounces and was 19 and 1/4 inches long. I can't wait to see pictures....I am hoping some arrive via e-mail today.

Thank you my Nikki for this wonderful gift!


Gramma Anett

BABY UPDATE

Nikki is headed to the doctor....the mucus plug has broken and the baby may come yet today!

Yee Haw!!!!!

Anett

Happy Birthday to ME

ALTHOUGH I DID THIS ON SUNDAY, MY BIRTHDAY IS AUGUST 3RD!!!! SORRY FOR THE CONFUSION!

Today is my birthday and I really do NOT feel 55...but the calendar says I am. I was thinking back over all of the things I have done in my life, especially when I don't think I have accomplished enough yet, and I realize I have done a lot of stuff. I haven't traveled enough, but raised four step children and a grandchild. I have not maintained what I weighed when I got married, but have stayed married for almost 39 years. I haven't had the pleasure of actually meeting many of my "online" friends, but love them all dearly. I haven't quilted enough, but have made many quilts. I haven't learned a lot of piecing, but I have a lot of fun with what I do. I haven't learned to keep my mouth shut when maybe I should, but once I found my voice...I just have to say what I am thinking.

I have learned a few hard lessons...I have learned what it feels like to lose my parents and grandparents. I have learned that we can't always have everything no matter how hard we work. But the thing I think I have learned the most over the past couple of years is.....to live each day to the fullest no matter how it goes....love till your heart hurts and then love some more...and enjoy what you do everyday no matter what it is.

I have a fairly good life...I don't have everything I want..that new Brother Embroidery Machine or a 2 carat diamond, but I do have a husband that loves me no matter what, even when I am grumpy....which sometimes is often. I have grandbabies I love and am loved in return and I have many friends to count on when I need to just have a girl talk.

So for attaining the aged of 55, I feel pretty darn lucky in the life that I am living.

Happy Birthday to Me....

Anett

Gramma's Garden Quilt

Here is the Gramma's Garden quilt that I bought at the estate sale. This thing is huge...I have not measured it yet. I love the colors and it is a great addition to my growing collection of quilts.

Anett

Boy did I have a good Friday

Yesterday was a busy and long day, but it was a good one. We got up early and headed to an Estate Sale in town. I found 2 quilts and missed one. The first one which I will show you today is a beautiful needle turn applique in the prettiest colors. I also found a Grandmother's Garden quilt. Both of these were $25 each. While at the sale, I grabbed a bag of what looked like quilt blocks for $2.00...that is for another post. Anyway, here is the picture of the first quilt and it is a beauty. It will be going on my queen sized bed......as soon as this god awful heat lets up!

Off to sew more signature blocks.

Anett

Life is good when you have friends

A couple of days ago, I went to the post office and it was Christmas in July. I received a very special package of Civil War fabric from my wonderful friend in Canada....Pat. I have never been into Civil War reproductions, but I am in love with them now. Pat sent so many beautiful fabrics, it is going to be hard for me to figure out which ones I want to use for the signature blocks and which ones to save for some special project later on(adding to stash) no stash busting happening at my house yet. So thank you so much Pat for the wonderful package.

Next package brought some really cool fabric from Debbie in Tennessee, right this second I don't remember the name of the team it is from, but I love it and I thank you very much Debbie...it was a wonderful surprise.

Next came a very heavy box from my friend Sandi (A Legacy of Stitches blog). She sent a box FULL of thread for use with my embroidery machine. I can't believe my luck in getting this box. It has many specialty threads that I have not been able to afford to try and metallic thread, rayon thread and the most wonderful colors I have seen. I can't wait to get started using it...hopefully this weekend. That will depend on the heat. If it above 80, I am toast.

So thank you my friends for the experience of Christmas in July!

Speaking of the heat. It is supposed to be 107 here in Portland today. I don't even want to think about leaving my office today. When I left yesterday...it was like walking into a furnace when I opened the door. This is very unusual weather for Oregon. We normally get in the 90's this time of year, but never the 100's. Oy VEY!!!!

Have a great day everyone.....from Anett....where it is already 80 degrees at 6:15am!

Practice Signature Blocks and long arm quilting

These are not perfect, but they are getting there. I love the fabric. I bought it at a quilt show this weekend. I bought a couple of different civil war fat quarters to practice with. I have a very dear friend who is sending me some civil war fabric and it should be here any day. She is a sweet heart for doing this, but I won't tell her that, as she will deny the whole thing. I also ordered a marking pencil to use on these that should be here tomorrow. I am looking forward to making some more of these blocks, but it will probably have to wait until next weekend, as we are in for some really hot weather and I do not do well in the heat. Next Saturday, I am going to have the opportunity to learn how to use a long arm quilter. Dennis, the gentleman that is going to teach me is probably one of the finest quilters I know. Right up there with my friend Karen in Florida. Well, he has a long arm in his shop and he is going to teach me to use it next Saturday. I am so excited, I can hardly wait. I have FINALLY worn him down and he is going to work with me. I have been after him for several years to teach me and I guess I caught him at a weak moment and I am so going to hold him to it. I am scared, excited and pee in your pants happy to have this opportunity!

Wish me luck,

Anett

Fabulous Giveaway

This is a very cute quilt and I would love to win it.

http://pumpkinpatchprimitivequiltshoppe.blogspot.com/


Anett

Accountability

This has nothing to do with crafting this morning....it has to do with some personal observations about people and the fact that I hold myself accountable for everything I do, as I was taught to by my grandmother.

When I first discovered Yahoo groups, I immediately joined a ton of them. Over the past couple of years, I have left the majority of them. The few that I still belong to are in the original group I joined and I dearly love everyone of them. This past year, after moderating one of them for a number of years, I was made co-owner of the group. This group has become a very special part of my life and the friends I have gained from it are priceless. On this group, we have always tried to maintain a level of integrity and accountability that you don't see on a lot of groups. We frequently host swaps, which we absolutely hold everyone accountable for completing. We had a member who consistently failed to complete her swaps on time, always had excuses for her actions and after a lot of consideration and thought it was time to remove the member from the group. The e-mails received by this person have been unbelievable....we have been accused of not being christian enough to understand her situation....although we gave her every chance to do what was right and she failed every time. Simple directions were beyond her comprehension and now we are the bad guys for removing her from the group. In addition to removing this member, we had another member quit the group because we were treating her "special friend" poorly. When in fact, in the end it was the member themselves that caused her to be removed from the group....we just tried to maintain a certain standard for the group. We have obviously been successful with the group, as it has grown by leaps and bounds.

I am not sure about how others were raised, but I was raised to be accountable for everything I did....good or bad. I was taught that if you make a commitment to something or someone you follow through with that commitment no matter what. So, I guess it amazes me that others don't have the integrity to do that also. I know circumstances make life difficult at times, but at the end of the day...you still have to do what's right.

I hope when I pass from this life, that what my friends remember about me the most is that I always kept my commitments and that I tried to be a good friend.

Thanks for letting me ramble and we will be back to crafting over the weekend.....those signature blocks are not going to make themselves....dang it anyway.


Anett

Can you say ""TOTALLY FREAKED OUT"

I have always worked on simple quilts...absolutely NO fancy piecing. I have a very dear friend who has been after me for some time to try some piecing. Are you out there Pat!!! So as you know, I went out on a limb and signed up for the signature block swap. I made one block tonight and also tried some half square triangles. I must be having a good night, a couple of Caramel Apple martoonies (martini's) after a really really long day really helped....both blocks came out great. The only problem is there are 70 ladies signed up for the swap. Holy cow dung...I am totally freaked out. Oh well...in for a penny...in for a pound. these are not the fabrics I am using for the signature blocks, they have to be civil war type fabrics. guess what I will be doing this weekend in 100 degree heat....starting on these blocks.

Pray for me everyone...I am going to need it.

Anett

Still on a mission

I am still on my mission to make a pot holder each week until September. This is this week's offering. I made this for my boss, Kathy, she is a flamingo nut. I am getting better at the loop, each new pot holders brings a new technique to doing the loop at the end. I am having so much fun and getting better and better at my binding. This will help with future quilts.


Have a great week.

Anett

Out on a limb

I have gone out on a limb and decided to join a signature block swap. I have never done this and I have always wanted to, so here goes. I found this on this blog
http://cornbreadandbeansquilting.wordpress.com/2009/07/10/sig-block-swap

and I have to say I am very excited about it. I am going tonight to get a Civil war fabric, which I totally don't own and will start my blocks this weekend. There are already 24 ladies, including myself signed up, so I better get busy fast. This is going to definitely test my piecing skills (which should be exciting in itself), so I am off on another adventure. I love the setting of this quilt and will be looking to do mine like this also, if I get enough blocks.

I will say, I am going to look to my friend Karen for some fabric advice, as I know nothing about civil war fabric and I know she does.

Pray for me....I am going to need it! LOL

Happy sewing,

Anett

Totally want to win this one

http://www.quiltqua.com/


Love the fabric.


Anett

Christmas in July Give-Away

Great blog and great giveaway.

http://barbscreations.blogspot.com/2009/07/christmas-in-july-giveaway.html

For the Cat Lovers

Great cat giveaway.

http://sewfunquilts-sewmeow.blogspot.com/

It's a simple thing....

This is a very simple tote that I made on Friday. I had a lot of fun making it and I loved the fabrics. I made this for Beth (my young friend that had cancer) for her birthday. This is the first tote I ever attempted. Since I didn't use a pattern, I have to admit there was a lot of swearing and fun going on with this tote. I used fusible fleece in between the layers, to give it some body and I really like how it came out. I want to do a couple for myself, only a little bigger to use as grocery bag when I go to the store. I try to lower my carbon foot print by using cloth rather than plastic bags from the store.

Have a happy sewing week.

Anett

Celebrate!

This is the Sunbonnet Sue towel I did over the weekend. I wanted it to have a 4th of July theme. I used some of my beloved Mickey Mouse red, white and blue fabric for her dress. This was all done on my embroidery machine and I really like the way she came out. I know most Sunbonnets have black shoes, but I really wanted her shoes to go with her dress~ LOL. I also made a pot holder for a special friend, but I didn't take a picture of it, so I can't post that today unfortunately. It turned out pretty cool and I hope she likes it when she receives it. It is in the mail today.

When I get closer to my 100th post, I will post about the give-away I plan on doing. I am not sure yet what I will be giving away, but I am sure it will involve three of my favorite things...a pincushion, fabric and stick pins.

Happy Sewing everyone,

Anett

Give Away

Wendy at http://stitchduchessscrazysanequiltingworld.blogspot.com/ is having a give away.

Take a look.

Anett

How many do we really need?

Sandi, at A Legacy of Stitches blog, put up a challenge on her blog the other day. We were supposed to make a potholder and she would enter our name for a give in September for whoever wins. The potholder in the upper left corner is the first one I ever made. It was a lot of fun and my mind got to working and I have now made three, with ideas for at least three more. I am finding this very relaxing and fun and it makes me laugh every time I finish one. Of course the first one I made, in case you didn't notice the loop is at the bottom, I laughed so hard I cried when I saw what I did. The next two came out like I wanted them to. So I want to thank Sandi for giving me the inspiration to try this challenge and I had a great time making these and I look forward to making some more.

Stitchin is better than B*tchin!

Anett

Cuteness

These are two of the gifts that I sent to my granddaughter Nikki this week for her baby shower. The first is a little bag I made in my embroidery machine. It holds a container of baby wipes and I love the heart quilting on it. The second is a rag quilt I made a while back for her, but just sent it this week. The other thing I sent her and didn't take pictures of it are some party favors for the shower. I embroidered on some sparkly felt the words "It's a girl" and it had baby feet on it and then the baby's name "Serenity Rose". They were bag toppers and I put together some bags of candy and then stapled the bag toppers to them. They were really cute. The last thing I sent was 2 pairs of peridot earrings. As the baby is supposed to be born in August and my birthday is in August, I will have plenty of presents for years to come to send to this little girl. I started with a pair of peridot studs, because they are going to pierce the baby's ears right away and then I sent a pair of diamond and peridot hoops for when she is a little older. I am still working on another Sunbonnet Quilt for the baby and some other things that will be finished way before she arrives. This weekend will be mostly devoted to finishing those things up.

Sunshine and hugs,

Anett

4th of July Giveaway

at: http://thepaintedquilt.blogspot.com/


Have a look...she is giving away great prizes.



Anett

Family

This has nothing to do with sewing...I just felt like talking about family today. This is my older brother Bobby. I am sure most everyone he knows calls him Bob, but he will always be Bobby to me. When I was younger, I spent a lot of time with my brother Bobby. He used to take me to the movies, with his friends sometimes and was always willing to spend time with me. He used to do this little dance for me that would totally crack me up...if I had to explain it now, I know I couldn't. As we grew older, we grew apart, but he really changed after being in Vietnam. He was never my happy go lucky brother when he came home. He saw things and did things that he would never talk about to anyone in the family. My brother has a purple heart (which I have never seen) and I don't even know why it was given to him.....he refuses to talk about it. The only reason I know he has it, is because he has the purple heart license plates on his car....you can only get them if you have a purple heart medal from the service. This is his second wife with him...he has two beautiful boys from his first wife and these two gorgeous children with Cherilyn. My niece Chelsea (in the above picture) is stunning. She has her own dance studio and is a very talented dancer. My nephew Casey (in the above picture) is a character...just like his father...the only difference between them, is that Casey is somewhat shy and that totally is not how my brother is. He doesn't have a shy bone in his body. To this day, my brother still cannot pass a mirror without checking himself out. It really is very funny and it has cracked me up all of my life. To say that my brother is vain, would be an understatement. The sad thing is, I don't think he has gained one damn pound since he was 17.....it sucks and it proves that genetics are not fair!

Have a great day everyone.


Anett

When Life gives you lemons

you suck them DRY! Lots of things have happened over the past couple of weeks...let's just say if I had any brains, I would have a nervous breakdown...but right now I just don't have the time or energy to do it! John is doing lots better and working on his rehab now. His therapist, that is coming to our home, is telling him that he is doing better than all of the rest of his patient's with the same condition. So things are progressing in that area.

I have been making some baby shower gifts for my Granddaughter. I am making some tags to put on bags of candy.....I will post a picture later. They are really cute. I have several things I am making on my embroidery machine also.."In the hoop" presents that I will be sending next week. I have another quilt to finish, but I doubt that will happen before the shower, but definitely before the baby is born. For some reason, I am really looking forward to the is Great-grandbaby, probably because she will be the daughter of one of my favorite grandchildren...I know we are not supposed to have favorites, but Nikki and I have always had a special bond.

Anyway....time to get to work again.

Have a great rest of the week


Anett

Amidst the chaos comes creativity

As my life has spun out of control for the past couple of weeks, I had to take a few minutes to get my head together and get back in to a more focused state. So this past weekend I tried something different again. I saw one similar on a friend of mine's group and had to try one. It is made with an old wooden spool in one of my favorite colors. I couldn't be satisfied with just one, so I made another one with a yellow thread spool and beads to match. Today on the yahoo group that I co-own....Crazy About Pincushions, I gave one of these away. They are very fun to make and now I am going to be on the hunt to find more old spools with thread still on them.

Happy creating everyone....

Anett

A special Thank You

First of all to my dear Karen....from Life at LeeHaven blog. Thank you for putting a special message on your blog about Elaina...I hope that this messages reaches many woman who have children and grandchildren about the danger of these batteries. I have received many wonderful comments and prayers from your post and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

and....next to all the ladies who have left messages on my blog regarding my sweet angel. I thank you for all the thoughts and prayers and I really appreciate every one of them.

My best to you all,


Anett

Who would have thought

This is my great granddaughter Elaina. She died a few days ago from swallowing a battery from a game. Who would have thought that a small game battery could cause the death of this sweet angel. If you want to read what happened...here is the link.

http://cbs4denver.com/seenon/child.battery.death.2.1017784.html


Anett

A little Sunday Afternoon Eye Candy

Here is a little pincushion and miniature quilt I did today. It was fun and I hope the person I am sending this too will enjoy it.









Happy Mother's Day.

Anett

I am trying something new

Like I really need to do that! This is a little penny rug that I started this weekend done out of a couple of wool sweaters that a friend sent me. No pattern, just making is up as I go along. I am really enjoying doing the hand work...it's very hard on my bad hand, but it is fun and good exercise for that hand.

I have the pennies cut...I have to do the stitching around and finish putting something on the tea pot. I have no idea how to attach the pennies, but I am sure there is a you tube out there somewhere to help me. that's how I found out how to do the blanket stitch and I am sure I can find out how to attach the pennies when I get all the stitching done on them. This has been a busy weekend and I had to do this to keep me sane!!! Not sure it helped!

I am also still test sewing designs for my friend...then next one is really cute....will post a picture when it is finished. It is on the embroidery machine now.

Happy stitching,

Anett

Quilt Hutch

This one was really fun ....I used some variegated thread on the quilt and it really came out cool. You can sort of tell in this picture, but up close and personal it really looks great. I am having fun test sewing these and I can't wait until they are all done and I can put them together into something....don't know what yet, but I will keep all the test blocks and make something out of them.

Have a great week...

Anett

Spring.....maybe

Well, it was almost 80 degrees here today...but it's not going to last. We will be back to rain by Thursday. I don't mind 70 or 75,but when it gets beyond that...it's too dang hot.

A different view

This is the last one I am doing today...it is as cute as it can be. I love redwork. I can't wait for the next batch of designs to be digitized. We still have a little bit of work to done on the ones from this weekend, but they are pretty much done.

Have a great week...

Anett

My New Barn

Karen is really changing up the designs. This was so much fun to do. I was trying to figure out what to do with the windows and I still had some scrap fabric from a humbug bag I had made, waiting to go in the scrap bin...I looked down and say the kids faces and I was just hoping they would fit in the windows and they did. Off to test sew some more.

Anett

What a pain...

I have a friend who shall remain nameless had decided it's her new mission to make sure that I blog for 15 minutes a day. So here goes.

I have been test sewing some embroidery designs for a friend of mine this weekend. I met Karen several years ago when I was trying to find a digitizer that was inexpensive, but good. Karen is both. We talked alot during the time she was digitizing a project for me and I drove to Bremerton Washington to meet her and her family. She is one of the nicest people I have ever met and she is very talented quilter and embroidery digitizer. She has inspired me to continue learning about machine embroidery and she has also become a good friend. We haven't seen each other for a couple of years, but she is always there for me when I need a project done or just some advice on a project I am working on. So this weekend this is what I am doing..............

I love all three of these and they are going to make a beautiful quilt or wall hangning when they are all done.

My new Doll and my new little girl.

Some people have talent and some purchase it. I am one of those who purchase it. This is my new Sunbonnet Girl. A lovely woman, Carla from Florida, on my Pincushion group made this. she had posted one on the group. I e-mailed her and asked her what it would cost to get one. In the end I sent her the spool fabric and a little bit of money and Voila...my little girl arrived. Isn't she lovely....I can hear Stevie Wonder in my head....yes I am hearing voices tonight!

On to my other little girl. I have spoken to Nikki my granddaughter and they have picked out a name for the baby......Serenity Rose.....I would have preferred Eileene Rose or Mollie Rose....but I didn't get to pick.....maybe next time.

Have a good evening!


Anett

Blogging and new baby

I heard on the radio this morning that blogging or writing in a journal for a least 15 minutes a day will make you a smarter and happier, more mentally aware person. Hmmmm...not sure I believe that one, but I am willing to give it a try.

The above picture is the first one of my new baby. Nikki sent it yesterday and I am very excited. It's rather blurry, but you can still see lots of baby there.

I am going to attempt to make some burp pads this weekend...we will see...lord only knows how they will come out. I haven't made one since Nikki was born. She was the last grandchild I made them for. She is now almost 19.....oh my today in fact. I better call her before I forget.

This didn't take 15 minutes, but it's enough for today.

Happy sewing and blogging to all,


Anett

Fabulous Give-away

30..Count them 30 fatquarters. Wouldn't this be great to win. Go here and check it out

http://www.pigtalesandquilts.com/2009/04/give-away-time.html


Anett

I am on a mission

To make the best triangle(Humbug) bag I have ever made. I made a bunch of these a few years ago and I haven't made one in several years. I got started again a few days ago making them and now I can't stop! I am determined to use up a bunch of scrapes making these bags and save a bunch of them for something special later in the year. I have a ton of zippers and a bunch of scraps....I am on my way.

Before I made my first one, I fussed and fussed about the inability to put a zipper in. With the help of a very good friend and encouragement from many other friends, I made one and then couldn't stop. Now I am at it again and loving every minute of it.

Off to get my zippers,


Anett

Baby Quilt #1

This is the first baby quilt that I have finished for my new Great-grandbaby. Of course the first one had to involve purple. I love doing rag quilts...they are fast and fun. While I was planning this one this weekend, I planned out two others. One of them is going to involve some machine embroidery designs and some piecing. I am really trying to expand my quilting this year. I will never be a master quilter, but I do enjoy it and I have fun and that's all that is really important to me. Everyone I have made quilts for..seem to enjoy them, even though they are not like the quilts that most of my friends make. They are master quilters. You all know who you are too! I have a few of my baby things that I am going to include in the package with this quilt. My granddaughter Nikki is very sentimental and I am sure that all that I send her will be treasured and used for the baby.

Till next time.....

Anett

It was Amazing

We had a ton of hail at our house tonight. We were watching House and we heard what we thought was ran....not unusual in Oregon...My husband got up and looked out side...it wasn't rain. It was hail coming down in sheets. These are the pictures I took.

It was amazing to see how it was coming down. It lasted about 10 minutes, but now it looks like it snowed.

Another Wool Project

I am having a really great time working with the wool. I made this needle book this morning. The little boy and girl on the front is from Sandi at the Wooly Buddy Yahoo group. She sent this to me for Valentine's Day and I thought it would make a great front for the needle book. My blanket stitching is getting better, but still a little iffy in places. I absolutely love doing this. It is so relaxing and I want to do some more next week.

Anett

I amazed myself...I did it!

I finally sat down tonight and got serious about working with the wool. Boy was it a challenge, but I did it. I made two small pins...I can't show one of them, because it is for a swap...and I can't get a clear picture of the other one..............but they really came out cute. I had so much fun doing the blanket stitch, I am going to try and make a pincushion tomorrow for some more practice. I still have to figure out the best way to start and end the blanket stitch, but I really enjoyed doing it and I want to thank Sandi from Wooly Buddies for getting me involved and truly interested in working with wool. I have looked numerous times for wool sweaters and jackets at goodwill, but they are always well over $10-$15 dollars and I think that is too expensive for me.


Anett

If Children are our Blessings

then grandchildren are our greater blessings. My Granddaughter Nikki, whom I love dearly is going to have a baby. Oh lord, that means I am going to be a great-grandma again. Nikki found out yesterday that she is having a baby girl....I can't wait. My mind went into overdrive last night thinking about all the things I want to make for the baby. I am heading out today to get flannel to make a quilt, I will be contacting a friend today to make a christening outfit, burp pads will be made and anything else I can think of. My daughter-in-law still has some of the things that I made when Nikki was born and is giving them to her for the new baby. One of the coolest things is the baby is due around August 8th...I told Nikki last night she was going to have it on the 3rd instead...that's my birthday and nothing would make me happier than to have a new baby born on my birthday.

I hope everyone has a great day and you know what I will be doing for the next four month's...sewing for the new baby.

Anett

Wooly Bully

For some time now, I have wanted to learn to work with wool. I have made some small attempts...using wool roving for some pincushion stuffing and making felted wool balls for pincushions....do you see a theme here! I have also wanted to learn to make needle cases and penny rugs etc. I attempted to cut some wool last night to make a small pin for a swap, I stupidly signed up for. Thinking I could do this was my first big mistake. Now any one that truly works with wool, will not understand my problem. My problem is, I realized I don't have the right color wool to really make a nice project. So...I will be off to the store this evening to pick up a few more colors. I belong to a Yahoo group called Wooly Buddies, where I am hoping to learn more about working with wool. So far on the group, I have found so many ladies that know their "Stuff" about wool. Sandi - Wooly Buddy Shepherdess is a wonderful over flowing fountain of information. She had a contest the other day, to win a bag of wool scraps...I actually won...I was amazed. I am very determined to make a penny rug...I have the pattern, but I haven't found the exact colors of wool I want to use.

Wish me luck, as I make another attempt at making the pin this evening!

Anett

It's a baby theme

I am participating in a swap where the theme is all things "Baby". I bought some old baby shoes a while ago on Ebay and thought now is the time to put them to good use. This is what I made with them. Not sure what my partner will think when I finally decide which one to send, but I had fun making them and leaned alot from the time I made the first one (purple one) until I did the red one. I love to embellish things and sometimes I tend to go over board, but I think this time I got it just right. As I have said before, I love yoyo's and had to add one to the red baby shoe. These shoes are very old and well loved by the looks of them. I just didn't want to buy new ones, as I thought the old ones would give the pincushions a better look. Let me know what you think.

Anett

Dress Form Pincushion

I had a few minutes to myself this morning and I thought I would try this. I have two other dress form pincushions that were given to me in swaps, but I have never tried one myself. I must admit that I cheated with this one and used an embroidery design that made getting this done super easy. Instead of just using fabric to make the dress form, I also added some cotton batting to make it firmer before I stuffed it with wool roving. I did a little bit of embellishing and now I can add this to my collection of Mickey Mouse stuff. This was really fun to make and my friend Susanne in Australia, basically challenged me to make one using Micky fabric....thanks Susanne!


Anett

Memory Quilt

My boss, who is also one of my best friends gave me a great idea before I left on the NYC trip. She told me I should make a memory quilt out of photos and fabrics from NYC. The above fabrics are some that I am going to incorporate into the quilt I am going to make. I am also going to incorporate the wall hanging pattern that you can see in the picture on the left. I know the Eiffel Tower fabric has nothing to do with NYC, but it is also on my bucket list of places to see, so I figured it belonged in the quilt also. I took picture of all the places that I saw, so I am going to put them on fabric and try to tell a story with the quilt. I have tons of ideas floating around in my brain...now we just have to see if I can make them come out of my fingers. Stay tuned!


Anett

A New York... State of Mind

The above picture is the M&M Store in Times Square

I spent the weekend in New York City and believe me I will never forget this trip. I arrived Thursday night about 9:00pm, dropped everything in the room and hit the streets in search of a good piece of New York Pizza. It took me nearly 2 1/2 hours, but I finally found a wonderful little hole in the wall place to get pizza. Now it was not that it was hard to find pizza, it was hard for me to stop looking at everything and ev eryone I came across. My hotel was in Times Square and not for one minute was I afraid to be out in the street so late at night. There were thousands of people out and about. I heard numerous different languages being spoken, saw street hawkers for just about everything imaginable, more New York Souveiners than I ever thought I would see and had more fun than I have had in a very long time. The people of New York are not rude and grumpy, I found quite the opposite.

On Friday, I was up and hitting the streets for my day of shopping. I was going to take a cab, but started walking and found myself right where I wanted to be. Along the way, I saw St. Patrick's Cathedral, Rockefeller Center...ABC...CBS and NBC studios. I accidentally found the Ziegfeld Theater, where so many vaudeville performers such as Fanny Brice, Burns and Allen...and so many others performed.
I perused Tiffany's...which has 6 floors to peruse, Bergdorf Goodman's and of course The Disney Store....numerous dollars left my wallet here. I tried to see Sak's, Bloomingdale's and Macy's, but they were having a make-up give away at all of these stores and there were lines of people for miles trying to get into the stores and I was not about to spend my time trying to get in. I walked around Central Park, said a rosary at St. John's Cathedral and throughly enjoyed my time shopping.

As I am still having trouble with my left leg, I hobbled back to my hotel and took a long nap with my feet up. In the early afternoon, I decided to hit the Garment District in search of a quilt store that I had found on the internet. I took my first cab ride and believe me it was memorable. I can't say I was impressed with the Garment District, but the quilt shop was wonderful and again..many dollars left my wallet into their cash register. My cab ride back was just a memorable and what you see on television happening with the cabs, it what really happens while you are in them. I tried to add a new set of brakes in the back of the cab ....I don't think the driver appreciated my attempt to alter his cab!

I could live in New York...I absolutely loved it. There are so many things to do and see and for the most part you can do and see things 24 hours a day. It is very expensive and the taxes are unreal. The food is to die for and the availabilty of so many different types of food, desserts, healthy, non-healthy etc is amazing. I had cheese cake from Junior's (which was right across the street from my hotel)....a chocolate eclair at Lindy's...also known for their cheese cake and fabulous pizza. I had a scrumtious bagel at the Carnegie Deli and tasted some Peanut Butter/drizzled with white chocolate popcorn from Dale's popcorn house. I hit the Hershey Store, the M&M store and found a Lindt Chocolate store accidentally.
I am sure I am a few pounds heavier, but it was worth it! I walked by Sardi's (well known from many old movies).

I didn't get to see a Broadway play....it was way to expensive, but I saw all of the theaters and that was great for me.

It was a trip of a life time and I know I will never forget it.

Anett

Great Bag give away

here.

http://imagine-dream-create.blogspot.com/2008/08/blossom-bag.html

Great give away and time to pay it forward

This is going to be an opportunity to sign up for a bunch of give away's and the opportunity to possible participate in a Pay it Forward Project....I have signed up for both.

http://alittleofthisandalittleofpat.blogspot.com/2009/01/okayenter-big-giveaway-today.html

Great Blog also.


Anett