Happy Birthday, Dad!

Today is my Dad's 73rd birthday! May God grant him many more!

Terry Dean, born July 7, 1935 in Flora, Illinois, the 3rd of 4 children born to Darrol and Mary Owen.

A Little Bit of This, and a Little Bit of That!

I've been working on some charity blocks for an online group. July's theme is "Red, White & Blue". Any 6" or 12" block in the theme colors will do! Blocks collected this month will be used to make blankets for veterans. I've been making these paper pieced stars, using fabrics from my scrap drawers.

Also, this past week, the mailman brought me these 2 great patterns and a packet of charm squares.

And, finally, I finished some blocks for an online swap. The picture is dark, but the fabrics are really very pretty...yellow and white...refreshing!

It's A Squishy Day!

It has rained so hard...and for so long...that the ground is soggy and squishy! We've already had 10" of rain in the past 2 days, with more on the way! Kinda makes for a gloomy day! That is until the mailman comes and leaves a "squishy" in the mailbox! I received a prize package in the mail, not only for having the messiest sewing room, but also for cleaning it up! As you can see, I received a fun Christmas charm pack and a pretty purple fat quarter!

As a result of cleaning up my sewing room, I was able to finish 1 UFO. This UFO was started several months ago for a retreat that I went to. We were exchanging mini quilts, and this is the second quilt that I made for the retreat. The first one is still a mini quilt top, and the third one I made was actually exchanged at the retreat! Why I made 3, I don't know...maybe I was feeling a little inadequate with my quilting skills (so many GREAT quilters at retreat and I didn't want someone to be disappointed). But this one will be used in my guest room, that has a 30's theme to it. The pineapple symbolizes hospitality, and says, "Welcome!". I hope my guests will truly feel welcome in my home!

Spring Cleaning

I've been cleaning my sewing room, thanks to a challenge put forth by one of the online swap groups that I belong to. I must admit, it was quite humbling posting a picture of my messy sewing room for all to see! But it was the truth! A big mess. I have spent the good part of the week cleaning it, putting things away, giving things away, throwing things out, dusting, and vacuuming. I even worked on 3 UFO's, finishing one of them!! The room feels quite a bit larger...amazing what de-cluttering your room can do!! Now to get busy and finish up my UFO pile! As you can see from the photo, it is overflowing! Also, I've included a photo of my finished quilt top basket. These gems are waiting to go to the quilter!

My Very Own Garden

Allyson wanted a garden...her garden! So Grandpa told her we would buy some flowers so she could have her very own garden. G.G. (Great Grandma), Allyson, and myself ventured out and picked out the necessary supplies, including dirt, shovel, watering can, gloves, and of course, the beautiful flowers, to make Ally's garden. G.G. asked Ally if she liked playing in the dirt, to which Allyson quickly replied, "No...it's too dirty!"(hence the need for the gloves! LOL!). With the flowers bought, we headed home to plant the mini garden in our pots. Ally had so much fun, and loves to water all her beauties with her watering can.

Train Up A Child In The Way He Should Go...

...and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Went fabric shopping with Allyson today! She LOVES fabric stores! This was our second outing to buy fabric, and as you can see, she found some treasures, too! She searched through a store full of fat quarters and found 2 that she just had to have! The clerk at the store asked her what she was going to do with her fabric, to which she calmly stated, "I don't know!"!! Spoken like a true quilter! On the way home, she pulled out her fabrics, and opened them up. As she held one fat quarter up in front of her, she exclaimed, "It's beautiful, Grandma!"!

Yep...I see another quilter in our midst!

Retreat Delight

I recently went on a quilting retreat with an online quilting group. One of the highlights of this retreat was a mini quilt swap. The minis could be no smaller than 8" square and no larger than 12" square, and must be made from 30's reproduction fabrics. Each person put their mini in a plain paper bag, and a number was assigned to each bag. Then, each person drew a number, and received the corresponding brown bag for their mini!

Here is the mini I made and swapped...










...and this is the adorable mini I received!