Needles n Notions

Card Exchange - January

2012-01-16T10:42:00.001-08:00

Our optional challenge this month was to do a unique fold. Here are my cards:

What fun to see what everyone did with it.

Check out the monkey card! So original!

So many cool details:

Well Hello There!

2011-12-15T06:00:00.000-08:00

I really have been gone for far too long!

We are fully into the Christmas spirit around here. We’ve done some things a bit different this year, and I like the changes.

I hosted our quilt group meeting for December on the 1st at my house, so I decorated earlier than I usually do. I think I might do this every year! It’s been so fun to enjoy my Christmas decorations for the whole month. (well at least up until this point!)

I just love to see the tree all lit up with so many fun ornaments from the years of handmade ornament exchanges. Besides the tree, my favorite decorations are the Nativities. So sweet.

Another thing that’s a bit different this year… we’ve just been wrapping and putting the presents under the tree as we purchase. Something I haven’t done in the past. With the kids getting older I am not so worried about the impact of Christmas morning. What am I going to do on Christmas Eve? I’m so used to wrapping presents all night after the kids go to bed!

I’ve done more online shopping this year. It sure has been nice to shop in my jammies! But it hasn’t prevented me from braving the stores a bit. My tip is…hit the mall right away in the morning before it gets too crowded!

I’ve spent the last couple days helping a friend with some Christmas sewing…a couple bags that will be the gift as well as the wrapping. They turned out so pretty.

I’ve got a bit more shopping to do, but I think I’m almost done! And one more trip to the post office. (I hope!)

Merry Christmas!

Card Exchange…the rest of the story

2011-11-09T10:28:00.001-08:00

Love ‘em! Thanks ladies!

Card Exchange–November

2011-11-08T17:06:00.001-08:00

Cards are all ready to exchange tonight! Can’t wait to see everyone and all the holiday cards that were made.

Pumpkins!

2011-10-31T17:31:00.001-07:00

Happy Halloween! I know these pumpkins have been around FOREVER, but I finally got around to making some.

They were very easy and I’ve always loved them when I’ve seen them around.

I gave all three of these guys away, so I’ll have to make some more for myself.

I can’t believe we are already into November starting tomorrow!

Tattered Flowers

2011-10-28T16:22:00.001-07:00

I’ve been having fun making these fun fabric flowers today from sew4home.com:

I made the one below with left over binding from a quilt project:

I like it a bit better because it’s not raveling as much as the others since it’s cut on the bias. I put it on my daughter’s backpack.

Her friend was over, so she got one for her backpack too!

And one for me:

These are so easy to make and so addicting!

It’s Baby Shower Time Again!

2011-10-25T16:02:00.001-07:00

Halloween Table Toppers

2011-10-12T14:17:00.001-07:00

You may remember I made this a couple weeks ago. I was supposed to put a piano key border on it, but it was just a bit crazy for me and I wasn’t sure I liked it.

So instead I decided to try again using mostly black and orange in the center and not using as many different fabrics. Then I added the piano key border in the purples and greens.

It’s still a bit crazy, but I like it better than the first version. I put it on my kitchen table, and it fits perfectly there. I think I need a table topper there alll year round!

I ended up just adding a purple border to the original table topper to help tone it down a bit and put that one on my other table.

Happy Halloween!

Cherry Lemonade

2011-10-07T11:33:00.001-07:00

I finally got a chance to make up this interlocking whirligig pattern for a doll quilt baby gift. I love how it turned out!

It was great using my design wall right next to my sewing machine, rather than having it laid out on the floor like I usually do. So much more efficient and within reach.

Since the color positioning was pretty complicated I printed up the pattern and colored it in with markers so I could keep track of all the color placement.

Once it was done I picked out a special dolly for this special doll quilt. Isn’t she cute?

Here she is all wrapped up and ready to go to her new home with a little baby girl that will be born at the end of this month!

2 Quilts in One

2011-09-30T13:38:00.001-07:00

This weekend I will continue to work on my 2 sided quilt. As I see the finish in sight, my son, for whom I am making this quilt, will be running in his first marathon. He’s excited for the race. And I’m excited to see this quilt come together for him.

The Other Side

2011-09-28T13:36:00.001-07:00

Working on the other side of the 2 sided quilt.

Wondering how the quilting will go on it when I get both sides done…with both sides being the same.

Hoping it will all work out and turn out perfect for my college boy.

Mumbo Gumbo inspired

2011-09-23T11:20:00.001-07:00

Remember that pile of strips from yesterday? This is what became of them last night at quilt group. Thanks to Jen for the fun project idea! (from the pattern here http://www.pieintheskyquilts.com/mumbogumbo.html)

Next meeting we’ll be adding a piano key border and getting it layered, quilted, and bound. (well probably not all in one night…but we’ll be on our way to finishing this up for a fun Halloween table topper)

Now it’s time to get back to my other project!

Fun, fun!

2011-09-21T17:32:00.001-07:00

Getting ready for a Halloween project…stay tuned….

Meanwhile I’m working on this:

Fun, fun!

September Card Group

2011-09-15T13:38:00.001-07:00

My card this month features art from a local artist…very local. Miss K Designs!

We had a challenge to include an animal on our card. We could choose to do the challenge, or not. Right away I thought it would be fun to have my daughter draw me a cute animal. She draws such cute people and animals.

She drew this cute winged dino, I scanned it in and cleaned it up a bit, and changed the color to match the paper I chose.

Check out everyone else’s cards this month:

Here’s a little detail:

Lots of us used orange this time:

There was also some pink and purple:

There were a couple cards that didn’t make it that night. I’ll post those when I receive them!

DQS11 Wrap Up

2011-09-14T09:48:00.001-07:00

I have been remiss in posting pictures of the wonderful doll quilt I received from my talented secret partner in the flickr doll quilt swap, Amy. What a busy time it has been! (more about that later!)

Each of the blocks is a mere 3 inches, with a finished quilt size of 12 inches. It so tiny and so wonderful! And she included some lovely extras too.

The back of the quilt is so fun, with this clever flying carpet label!

It was the perfect addition to my wall of little swap quilts! Thanks again Amy!

Doll Quilt Swap 11–Simple Thimbles

2011-08-03T14:02:00.001-07:00

Here’s what that pile of fabric became:

Love this little quilt. I cut out plenty of tumblers to make one for myself. No time to make one for me right now though.

I will just enjoy this one until it’s time to send it off to its new home.

View from a Beach Chair

2011-07-29T23:31:00.001-07:00

R is for Rocket

2011-07-27T12:51:00.001-07:00

Here’s what I’ve been up to: More 3.5 inch blocks.

This time we are doing an alphabet swap and I was assigned the letter R. Our assignment was to have something pictured that starts with the letter we were assigned, and the letter is supposed to appear on the block as well. So, I combined those things and designed this rocket. I picked up the background fabric while I was on that recent shop hop. It turned out to be a great fabric for this project!

I had these 4 blocks up on my design wall from quilt group the other month when we I was teaching the ladies how to make these stars. So when I needed a baby gift, I was able to grab them and whip up a quick doll quilt.

I wish I had a picture of the cute, bright pink stuffed hippo I bought to go along with it. She had pink and green toe nails and stars around her eyes.

I also recently finished up a group project that was a special quilt gift for a friend and got it off in the mail today. I hope she feels all the healing love it was stitched with when she receives it!

Now it’s time to clean up my work space and get back to my doll quilt for DQS11!

Doll Quilt Swap 11

2011-07-20T11:22:00.001-07:00

I can’t help myself. Whenever Doll Quilt Swap sign ups start, I can’t stop my self from signing up. I figure if I am one of the lucky ones to be chosen in the lottery then it was meant to be, right?!

And guess what? I got in!

Here are the fabrics I’ve chosen to make my secret partner’s quilt:

I picked most of them out on a recent shop hop.

This time around we are going back to our roots. We were starting to get some really cool art quilts in this swap, and they were getting a lot of attention. But this round, we are going back to the original ideal of the swap, which is miniature quilt with small pieces and it is supposed to be between 9-18 inches finished.

So I’m starting to cut into my fabric and I’m hoping my partner will love the quilt I’m making for her!

Bitty Block Committee

2011-07-15T19:53:00.000-07:00

I’ve mentioned that I participate in a 3.5 inch block swap on flickr. Recently we were swapping wonky stars. Here are the other monthly themes I’ve participated in:

Camping: (mine is the roasting marshmallow)

Black and White, plus one color (I had green):

Beach/Ocean: (mine is the snails trail/monkey wrench – to the right of the light house)

Trees on white: (mine is not pictured here-I wonder where it is!)

Houses: (mine is bottom left – owl house)

Font/text: (mine is top left – embroidered)

Halloween: (mine is the cauldron)

Modern Christmas: (mine is the pink present-everyone else’s had a pieced bow on it-I gave myself the reject)

and Sewing (mine is the rotary cutter at the bottom)

It’s so fun to get these little blocks in the mail. Each one comes individually from it’s maker – a little piece of artwork. Bitty blocks arrive throughout the month from all over the US, Canada, Australia, Brazil and Argentina.

These blocks are piling up. Do you think I could somehow get these all into the same quilt and it would make sense? Probably not.

July Card Group

2011-07-13T17:36:00.001-07:00

There were a few things that I was supposed to get done before I went on vacation. I was reminded when I got back that one of those things was my cards for card group. Eek! I had to whip something up real quick!

I remembered I had some coordinating paper scraps from a previous project that I could put to use. So I started cutting them into squares I could piece together to make the front of the card, sort of like a patchwork quilt!

I laid them out in stacks so I could feed them into my machine, sewing them to to a white cardstock base.

Then the next day I popped into the paper store and found the paper for the card and a cute bee embellishment for the bottom corner.

I’m happy with how it turned out. It was so much easier having the paper all picked out!

And as always there were lots of fun cards at the exchange last night!

Bitty Block Committee–Wonky Stars

2011-07-02T10:56:00.001-07:00

I regularly participate in a flickr swap that swaps 3.5 inch blocks. I just sent off these wonky stars for June.

And I’ve received these blocks back:

Just waiting for 3 more!

I have yet to sew any of these sets of 3.5 inch blocks together. So far I’ve participated in the themes: trees, camping, black white and one color, text/words, ocean/beach, houses, sewing, Halloween and modern Christmas.

They are so fun to make and to receive! But they’re piling up! Gotta do something with them.

june 30.family

2011-06-30T20:47:00.001-07:00

What fun this photo challenge has been for me. When else could I talk my family into going in the front yard and taking goofy pictures!

Now we’ll go back to our regular programming of sewing and quilting adventures!

june 29.trees

2011-06-29T21:39:00.001-07:00

Snapped this real quick so I could have a picture up for today. No time!

Only one more day left for this Photo Challenge. I’ve enjoyed it so much!

june 28.transportation

2011-06-28T17:16:00.001-07:00

My husband loves his bike. He recently started participating in mountain bike races, and won 1st place in his category this past weekend. He trains by riding his bike to and from work a few times a week. Luckily for him there are trails from here to there!

June 27.my weakness

2011-06-27T19:48:00.001-07:00

Hugs and Kisses from my sweetheart!

june 26.favorite color

2011-06-26T21:15:00.001-07:00

As you can see, my favorite color is red. I have it as an accent color in my kitchen. I carry a red purse, thanks to my niece. And I love my red dangle earrings I wore today. Red just makes me happy.

Photo Challenge

june 25.citrus

2011-06-25T23:39:00.001-07:00

My friend was picking grapefruit off her tree the other day when I stopped by. I ended up the lucky recipient of 5 large grapefruit from her tree. I mentioned to her that my husband and I love grapefruit, but that I never buy them. I thought about that afterwards. Growing up we had a grapefruit tree in our yard. I guess in my mind grapefruit should be picked off a tree, not bought from a store. Too bad I don't have a grapefruit tree, but at least now I know who has them to share!

june 24.love

2011-06-24T17:02:00.001-07:00

I’ve been shop hopping again today!

I {heart} going to quilt shops.

Today I’m featuring two things I love:

Hearts

and ladybugs.

Enjoy!

june 23.black & white

2011-06-23T16:44:00.001-07:00

This is probably not what they were thinking when they gave the assignment “black and white” for today’s photography challenge!

But how could I resist?

I went on a shop hop today.

We visited 5 stores.

And there was all this gorgeous black and white fabric!

Perfect for my subject of black and white today!

Fat quarters…

And bolts and bolts of it!

Love it all!

june 22.landscape

2011-06-22T21:21:00.001-07:00

This was the best I could do today for today’s assignment: landscape. I went up to the park and snapped as many pictures as I could while my son was at his music lesson. None of them were fabulous. But I did like the foreground of this one and the blue sky, and the different layers of color. So it was the winner.

june 21.macro

2011-06-21T14:42:00.001-07:00

I took a bunch of close up pictures of my flowers for todays challenge and I can’t decide which one of these two I like best.

Would you help me choose?

Do you like this one (1):

Or this one (2) better?

Please vote in the comments. Thanks!

june 20.water

2011-06-20T19:45:00.001-07:00

Dropping my son off for Karate today I noticed these sprinklers, so I jumped back out of my car and snapped this photo. I love how these photo challenges each day help us to notice simple beauties we may have missed otherwise.

june 19.summertime

2011-06-19T23:51:00.001-07:00

Today the subject was summertime. Barbecues, playing in the street, and flip flops. We had a great father’s day celebration today with good friends. Happy Father’s Day!

Photo Challenge

june 18.eyes

2011-06-18T22:18:00.001-07:00

My family’s eyes, all in one picture. One of us went to the beach today and got a sunburn!

june 17.bokeh

2011-06-17T22:32:00.001-07:00

This is not bokeh. I was not successful today in trying to achieve this effect. But I did like how this picture turned out of my sashiko pincushion and cute cupcake and mushroom pins I have, although not bokeh.

Wikipedia defines bokeh as “the blur, or the aesthetic quality of the blur, in out-of-focus areas of an image, or "the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light”

I thought maybe at the outdoor wedding reception I went to tonight I’d be able to get some good pictures. No luck there.

On the way home we looked for opportunities for pictures, but nothing worked out. But I had fun playing with my camera:

june 16.mason jar

2011-06-16T14:54:00.001-07:00

Doesn’t everyone take their wooden spool collection and keep them in old glass containers?

Well I do.

Photo Challenge

june 15.action

2011-06-15T08:30:00.001-07:00

Here’s my husband doing what he loves to do, mountain biking. He’s actually more of a climber than a jumper, but he helped me out here so I could get a cool action shot. I’m glad he has something that he likes to do that brings him so much joy. He’s got his second race coming up soon. The first one was a fifty miler. Crazy guy!

Photo Challenge

june 14.someone you love

2011-06-14T16:49:00.001-07:00

My first born. He’s going away to college soon. How can that be possible?

Photo Challenge

Thanks Mom!

2011-06-13T23:30:00.001-07:00

Unfortunately I don’t have a “before” picture. This is the best I’ve got:

My Mom was so kind and gave her old sewing machine and cabinet to Miss K. We’ve been giving it a new colorful life and today we reassembled it and put it to use!

Miss K is so excited! She already made a drawstring glasses holder for her brother today and has big plans to sew a make-up bag for a friend, and a skirt for herself.

She even loves it all closed up as a desk. She made herself a paper name plaque, she looks so official. Her stack of lined paper and a pencil pouch are all ready to be used. It’s not surprising, office supply stores are her favorite place to hang out! (She’s a proud owner of her own Staples Rewards Card!)

june 13.reminds you of childhood

2011-06-13T21:04:00.001-07:00

What reminds you of your childhood? There are so many things that I could have photographed. But I chose books. Especially Golden Books and Dr. Seuss.

It is fun to share beloved books with our kids, although my kids have outgrown these books a long time ago.

Now we enjoy reading the same books: the Hunger Games Series and the Percy Jackson Lightning Thief series, among others.

What books to you enjoy reading with your kids?

Check out the photo stream here: Photo Challenge. You may see some pictures of things that remind you of your childhood too.

This one brought back memories for me!

june 12.sun flare

2011-06-12T21:14:00.001-07:00

I spent all day Saturday working on this flowering plant in my front yard, cutting off all the dead parts. It’s amazing how long it took. But it looked so good when I was done! Now I don’t have to cringe every time I drive in and out of my driveway.

june 11.silhouette

2011-06-11T22:31:00.001-07:00

Today’s assignment didn’t turn out like I’d hoped.

I had visions of going to the beach and getting some really cool silhouette shots.

On our way I was taking pictures out of the car window just for the heck of it.

But the closer we got to the beach the cloudier it got, and the more I realized that there wouldn’t be any sun for the silhouettes.

Yep, no sun. :(

But still a beautiful beach; the trip wasn’t a waste.

june 10.animal

2011-06-10T16:26:00.001-07:00

When Miss K wanted to go to the mall with our family that is visiting for graduation, I knew exactly where we would stop first. So I grabbed my camera so I could get my picture for today.

Of course there were lots of animals to take pictures of, and I came out of there having taken 46 pictures. Surely something would work. This bird was the clear winner. Look at those colors! I couldn’t narrow it down to just one. So here’s a collage of three.

Photo Challenge

june 9.fresh fruit

2011-06-09T09:47:00.001-07:00

Yum! Makes me want to eat the whole container from Costco!

Photo Challenge

june 8.sunset

2011-06-08T21:41:00.001-07:00

It was a bit cloudy today. This was a more challenging assignment. Such a small window of time to snap the picture. Especially with the challenge of it being the last week of school with so much going on. This picture is taken as we stepped out of the restaurant where we were having dinner with family visiting for my son's graduation from high school. I may have enhanced it a bit :)

Here’s the original:

june 7.high angle

2011-06-07T14:42:00.001-07:00

Laundry. I can’t say that I enjoy it. But it’s one of those things that’s got to be done if you want clean underwear…and eventually any clothes to wear at all.

I really can’t complain. I don’t have to do too much sorting of clean clothes. It’s just the two of us. No guessing whose socks belong to whom, and does this t-shirt belong to you…or did you grow out of it and pass it on to #2?

Yes, I’ve still got kids at home. I’m just one of those mean moms that makes her kids do their own laundry once they turn 12. I’m not very good about making my kids do chores…but this is one thing I’ve been consistent with. That, and clean bathrooms and bedrooms on Saturdays.

But once summer break rolls around, which will start next week, chores will be a more regular occurrence around here. Gotta keep ‘em busy over the summer, right?

Photo Challenge

june 6.books

2011-06-06T08:17:00.001-07:00

I love treasures that have been saved and passed down in my family. Both of these books came from my grandpa’s aunt. It’s fun to look through them and find small items tucked between the pages and marks and notes in the margins. Makes me wish I could go back in time and meet the owners of these and other treasures and find out more about them.

Photo Challenge

june 5.breakfast

2011-06-05T18:33:00.001-07:00

Today we had breakfast for dinner. We love to make homemade waffles with freshly ground wheat. Yum!

june 4.clouds

2011-06-04T09:40:00.001-07:00

I didn’t think there would be any clouds out today. Yesterday there was just blue sky everywhere.

I looked out of Miss K’s window to see if there were any clouds this morning. As soon as I left her room to get my camera she opened her window, took off the screen, and climbed out and sat on the ledge in front of her window. What?!

“Dad let’s me do it.” was her response. That girl! Anytime you let her do something once, then she thinks she has free reign! She’s a free spirit: climbing trees, singing at the top of her lungs, hugging everyone. That’s my girl.

Photo Challenge

It Arrived!

2011-06-03T14:46:00.001-07:00

The Mini Quilt I made for swap partner Janet arrived at her house yesterday, the same day hers arrived here!

So here it is:

The theme was Circles and Curves. I took the double wedding ring and tweaked it to come up with the design.

And I knew Janet loved machine quilting, she’s amazing in that area. So I tried to do more quilting on it than I would normally by matching the color on the front and having it show on the back….lots of different sized and colored circles.

You can check her post out here.

june 3.hands

2011-06-03T12:10:00.001-07:00

I’m getting braver with these kids learning to drive, turning the wheel over to them when it’s time to pick them up for school, go on an errand, or just to go exploring. Hopefully when school starts again in the fall he’ll have his license. But I’ll miss the times we had driving around together.

Circles and Curves

2011-06-02T12:23:00.001-07:00

I participated in the Mini QT Swap on Flickr for April/May. The theme was “circles and curves.” I mailed my 12 inch quilt out to my swap partner over a week ago and I’m waiting patiently to hear that it has arrived in Canada.

I don’t want to spoil her fun, so I’m waiting to post pictures until I hear from her…just in case she visits my blog.

But her quilt for me arrived today! I was so surprised…she sent it express, so it got here really fast! In keeping with the theme she wrapped it up in this very cool red/black/white fabric:

Wow, Janet is one talented quilter! How did I get so lucky to be paired up with her? Check out all the amazing movement in this quilt…and the detail in her quilting!

Here’s what was in the package: a personal note, a little book, a quilt pattern, and some fabric.

Here are some close up pictures so you can see the detail:

So much goodness packed into such a small quilt! I put it right up on my wall so I can see it every day.

june 2.your favorite shoes

2011-06-02T08:35:00.001-07:00

It’s hard to pick favorite shoes. I have favorites for exercise, for running to the store, for going to the beach. These are my favorites for dressing up. I wish I had pictures of the shoes I’ve loved through the years. I’ll always remember the ones I wore on my first date with my husband: olive green with metal on the tips of the toes and fake clock faces on top. I guess you’d just have to see them. They were sooo cool. (it’s amazing that I got asked out on a second date!)

Photo Challenge

2011-06-01T14:17:00.001-07:00

I came across this fun challenge on a blog I read: A Feathered Nest. Its called {30 Day} Photo Fun. Each day participants take a specific kind of picture and post it to the flickr group. The first day is a self portrait. Here I am trying to re-commit to staying active.

I'll be posting the picture to flickr and also to my poor neglected blog. Maybe it'll get me blogging again! Want to join in the fun?

May Card Exchange

2011-05-11T16:39:00.000-07:00

Here is what I came home with last night:

Some great cards!

May Card Exchange

2011-05-10T18:35:00.001-07:00

Did a simple card this time, not a lot of cutting on the Cricut. I cut the element behind the ribbon, and did a little stitching.

Added a little bling too. Love these colors with the grey/silver.

Going tonight to see what everyone else did this month, and enjoy some yummy food and great company!

April Quilt Groupbees

2011-04-23T18:31:00.000-07:00

At my local quilt group (we’re the Quilt Groupbees), there is just a small group of us, and for April we decided to sew up a little bag.

Everyone just loves this bag my sister made for me:

(I added the flower.) I keep my sewing goodies in there. And have gotten lots of compliments on it.

So when the Moda Bake Shop had a little bag featured, I thought that would be a good project for our little quilt group.

It’s not quite as cute as the bag my sister made for me…such cute fabric and shape. But I thought this option would be good for the beginners in our group.

I did all the prep work ahead of time so that we could just sew…sew….sew.

It took the whole time…and we even went a bit over…but almost everyone was able to finish their bag and I think they were happy with the results.

My camera battery died, but I did snap a couple shots that night of the ladies busily sewing away:

Let’s see, we’ve done table runners, and a little bag, what are some other ideas for small quilt projects we can do in an evening or two? Maybe a pillow!

Happy Sewing!

2011-04-21T18:08:00.001-07:00

Today I just hid away from everything and just sewed. It’s been a while since I’ve done that. I had some 3.5 inch blocks to finish before the end of the month for the flickr group I’m in, the Bitty Block Committee. I really need to do a whole post on that, but I’ll save it for later.

Each month there is a different theme, and you can sign up to do either 12 or 24 blocks. This month I signed up for the “sewing” theme. I couldn’t resist.

I decided to do a rotary cutter. I drew up my design on the computer and this is the result:

12 rotary cutters, one for me and the other 11 will be on their way soon!

It’s Here…

2011-04-11T21:06:00.001-07:00

This fun package was waiting for me on my doorstep today. As soon as I saw who it was from I knew which doll quilt was inside!

You see she posted a picture on the flickr pool of the doll quilt swap before she sent it off. And as soon as I saw it I said…”That’s my quilt!”

This is the inspiration mosaic that I made at the beginning of the swap:

She did good, right? And she even included this glass pendant necklace that matches the quilt!

And some great red fabric the quilt was wrapped in.

What a great package! Thanks Amy!

Doll Quilts

2011-04-01T08:12:00.001-07:00

I made up this little doll quilt as a baby gift. It went along with a pink teddy bear for a sweet little baby girl that will be born next month. I’m loving the colors here!

My doll quilt for DQS10 is going in the mail today! I’ll be anxiously watching the photo pool and the received thread to see when it arrives at my partner’s house.

And a little quilt will be arriving here too, sometime soon. I wonder which quilt will be coming my way!

We have Spring Break coming up this week. I’m looking forward to the week off school for my kids! And time spent with family.

Last Weekend

2011-03-29T14:49:00.001-07:00

We had a fun Saturday. We headed out Coronado Island for a work party. We enjoyed a catered lunch on the beach, sand castle building, volleyball, good company, and beautiful sights.

Our sandcastle, which Miss K sort of took over, was titled Poseidon's Palace. (Someone’s been reading the Percy Jackson series!)

Boys will be boys…

And girls like to take charge…

We are just so lucky to live so close to these beautiful sights!

DQS10

2011-03-21T17:05:00.001-07:00

Finished up my doll quilt for Doll Quilt Swap 10 on Flickr. Gotta collect up some extras to slip into the package and get it sent off. Hope my secret partner will be happy with it!

My first attempt at DQS10 was an experiment with the Fibonacci numbers. My idea didn’t really translate very well into a quilt. Unfortunately (or fortunately) I didn’t get a picture of it. But all was not lost, I used a cross-section of the Fibonacci quilt in the back of this quilt.

Once I get this in the mail I’ll start wondering when the little quilt someone is making for me will arrive!

Auction Fundraiser

2011-03-12T20:12:00.001-08:00

All three kids have camps coming up this summer. Tonight there was an auction at church to help them earn some cash to help pay for the camps. I made a couple items for the auction to help earn some money for them too.

The first project was a spring tablerunner. This one was quick and easy and I used what I had in my stash, so no extra cost! I followed this tutorial from Amy Smart.

Here’s the finished tablerunner along with 10 handmade cards packaged for the auction too.

And I tried my hand at a candy bouquet. Yum!

Whether or not we got some good money from these crafts, they sure were fun to create! And they got me back to my blog, which I’m happy about!

March Card Exchange

2011-03-11T10:53:00.001-08:00

This month I decided a butterfly would be the focal point of my card. I found the butterfly image online and used my Cricut to cut the butterfly out of some fabric I had on hand. I used a post from the same website to find out how to do it. I ended up fusing the fabric butterfly to a white cardstock base so that it would stand out from the background. The body and antenna is cut from cardstock and attached with glue dots.

Once the butterflies were assembled, I headed to the paper store to pick out the paper for the rest of the card.

The base card is brown on one side, and blue on the other, so I sanded it down at the crease and on the edges to make the blue show through a bit. I love the results!

Here are the cards I received:

Always a fun evening to be together, eat a yummy dinner and be blown away by all the fun cards! Thanks girls.

Wow

2011-03-09T17:13:00.001-08:00

It’s been a long time. I guess I took an unexpected blog break, although I was definitely slowing down before the break happened! Maybe I should have seen it coming.

Looking back I see I never even showed you Miss K’s finished quilt…oh yeah, it’s not really finished yet! I keep forgetting that it’s not really done. She’s had it on her bed for a few weeks now. There’s about 1/3 of the binding that still needs sewn down in the back. I need to snatch it back from her and get it done! But that’ll have to wait at least until next week!

Her room transformation is still going on. But I did go crazy during one 24 hour period while my husband was gone and decided to paint her room. It went from blue to grey. It actually went pretty well, and I was proud of myself for getting it all done from picking out the paint to having all the furniture back in her room before my husband got home. I considered it quite an accomplishment .

I’ve got a few projects in the works to share over the next couple posts. But here’s one I finished this morning. I had a birthday lunch to go to today, so I made up a couple zippered pouches for my friends with a small gift card inside. I think I’ve figured out how to sew a decent zipper! Yippee!

Don’t hold your breath, but I should be back soon to show you some more fun stuff!

They’re growing up!

2011-01-29T16:30:00.001-08:00

Miss K took this picture of son #2 and I taking a walk. She wanted us to hold hands and she would take a picture from behind. I ‘m glad she did.

January Card Group

2011-01-15T00:00:00.000-08:00

Can you tell which card is mine?

Yeah, the stitching always gives me away !

A New Quilt

2011-01-14T14:06:00.001-08:00

I feel like putting these trimmings (from squaring up my blocks) into a glass jar and putting them on the shelf. I’ve had that feeling before, but never followed through. I just love the look of all those slivers of fabric. I must have a sickness…ha ha!

These are the blocks I trimmed. Ready to put them together into a quilt for Miss K’s bed. She’s decided to redo her room in black, white and pink. She picked out these fabrics. I love her choices. Polka dots are the best!

Happy New Year

2010-12-31T16:27:00.001-08:00

I’m ready to say good bye to 2010 and say hello to 2011! I’m sure Miss K is too! We found out today that she has shingles! Poor girl. Hopefully she will be able to get over it pretty quickly and move on to better times!

Things have been slow around here in the crafting/ sewing area and blogging lately. I decided to look back at my 2010 pictures and make a mosaic of projects I’ve completed this year. I was hoping it would motivate me, and I feel like it has! I am happy to see that I did accomplish more than I realized this year. I hope to get back in the swing of things in 2011.

Lots of fun memories here to look back on!

Happy New Year to you. Hope it’s a great one for all of us.

Happy December

2010-12-16T19:52:00.001-08:00

I missed almost the whole month of November and it’s already the middle of December, wow! I’ve been gone a long time. Things have been crazy and a bit stressful around here. And now I’m sick. But hopefully all that is in the past and we can move on. I’m counting on 2011 being a better year than 2010.

I’ll try to catch you up by going through some pictures (in no particular order):

Miss K was an Oompa Loompa in Willy Wonka. That same week my grandmother passed away and I left right away to spend the week with my parents to help with the plans and attend the funeral. It was a special week to remember my grandma, to support my parents and spend time together as a family.

I sent off these house blocks to a couple special ladies who were putting together a couple house quilts for some other special ladies who were fighting cancer. What a wonderful project to be involved in!

I made these little sewing kits for some friends. (Diane, see that pink one..it’s yours. Still need to get it to you along with that video I borrowed from you so long ago!)

I took the nine patches I had from the three by three swap on Flickr and made up this quilt for my grandma’s roommate from the nursing home. This is the top, I never got a picture of the final quilt, darn. It was her birthday over Thanksgiving so we hand delivered it to her and my son was able to play happy birthday on his sax for her. I was so glad to find a great use for those nine patches and thank her for keeping a look out for my grandma!

My boys competed in the southern California band review and their band won sweepstakes for the 11th year in a row! So exciting and special because it is the only year both boys (senior and freshman) will be in it together.

I made 12 of these house blocks for the 3.5 inch bitty block swap for November. (more about that later!)

And I made this shabby chic cottage for Dawn for the Oct/Nov Mini QT (6-12 inches) Swap.

And this is the fun quilt that arrived in my mailbox from my swap partner. Thanks Dawn!

Now hopefully I’m caught up and I’ll be able to be back here blogging and sewing ! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

November Card Exchange

2010-11-03T17:39:00.001-07:00

Here’s my card this month. It’s a gift card holder for Christmas. I used my Cricut and Sure Cuts A Lot software to design the folder and tag. The snowflake is from the Accent Essentials Cartridge.

And here are the rest of the cards:

details:

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T20:47:00.001-07:00

Hope yours was frightfully fun!

Great Mail Day!

2010-10-27T09:46:00.001-07:00

I participated in Doll Quilt Swap 9. Remember? I sent this quilt to Karen in PA. The mailing date was Sept 1 for international, and Sept 8 for domestic mailings.

Well, the quilt sent to me seemed to be taking it’s time coming to me, so I figured it was coming from an international destination. I was told it WAS coming. So I was anxiously waiting, and waiting, and waiting.

Finally yesterday TWO packages arrived on my doorstep. Almost 2 months later.

My DQS9 quilt came from Vancouver, Canada. It just got stuck along the way. Karen, from Canada, must have been going crazy wondering where it was!

What a cool quilt she sent. She was inspired by my flickr image galleries and created this wonderful work of art.

I love daisies and check out all those french knots she made for the center of the flower! I can’t imagine how long that took!

Are you wondering about the second package? Well, the swap mamas must have determined that they would send me an angel quilt since my LOVE quilt was taking so long to arrive. Can you believe both quilts ended up arriving on the same day?

Carol is the amazing artist who made this pinwheel flower angel quilt and sent it to me. Wasn’t that so sweet of her?

They are both up on my walls now.

Thank you again Karen and Carol! I just love them both!

Trick or Treat…

2010-10-14T14:06:00.001-07:00

Are you getting ready for Halloween at your house? Miss K still loves to dress up, so she loves Halloween (not to mention loving the candy!) This year she is dressing up as Wednesday Addams from the Addams family. We won’t be trick or treating on Sunday, but we will celebrate Saturday night and hand out candy on Sunday. She also gets to dress up at school, so that will be fun for her (the benefits of middle school)!

We decided to do a make-over on her bedroom door. She (and the boys) have left her valentine hearts on their doors since February!

She’s got a cute little witch:

and a spooky old house and a spider web:

We just googled “halloween svg” on google images and found all these cute things for free that we could cut out on the Cricut.

Happy Halloween!

Scrappy Pincushion Swap on Flickr

2010-10-12T14:32:00.001-07:00

I have a few things to share but I’ll just share this for now before I run out to pick up kids from school.

I received my scrappy pincushion swap package today from Australia! Mandy sent me this fun package wrapped up in a lovely polka dot fabric:

And here’s all the goodies I found inside:

A great key chain:

And this double sided pincushion in fabrics I’ve been coveting and in a lovely shade of red!

I’m so lucky! Thanks Mandy!!! I will add it to my pincushion collection and admire it every day!

Dear Jane

2010-09-30T10:56:00.001-07:00

I finished up the 2nd Dear Jane blocks that I started last week – M-8 Enchanted Square. Pretty straightforward paper-pieced block. I’m not looking forward to pulling all the paper off the back though! Someday when all these blocks are complete there’s going to be a paper removing party at my house!

I’m still watching my mailbox for my DQS9 quilt to arrive, and now a pincushion should be making it’s way to my house too. Lots of good mail should be coming my way!

Scrappy Pincushion Swap

2010-09-21T21:59:00.001-07:00

My secret swap partner for the Scrappy Pincushion Swap likes birds.

Originally I bought this book, planning to make something cute out of it:

There are so many cute projects inside these pages. I picked one out and was excited about it. But then I went to the San Diego Quilt Show at the Convention Center this past weekend and saw this cute pattern:

I loved the idea of it and the vintage salt shaker used as the base filled with small buttons. I bought it as a kit so it came with the salt shaker and fabric to complete the project. But when I looked back at my partner’s blog and flickr photostream I decided she needed a more modern approach.

I hope she will like my interpretation!

I am still waiting for my doll quilt to arrive from the doll quilt swap. It must be coming from a far away location…I keep checking my mailbox and nothing yet. Hopefully soon! The one I sent off was received and she loved it! Yay!

Dear Jane

2010-09-15T14:50:00.001-07:00

Having a couple Dear Jane days with my sister. Here are the blocks I accomplished today! M-6 Simplicity – one for her and one for me.

And somehow this card didn’t get in the picture from my previous post! So here’s a very cute baby card I received in the exchange!

September Card Exchange

2010-09-13T09:54:00.001-07:00

Once again, lots of cute details. Everyone just out does themselves each time.

Happy Monday!

Pink and Grey

2010-09-12T21:41:00.001-07:00

A pretty dresden plate placemat for a pretty awesome friend! We got to celebrate on Friday with lunch out.

I’ll take pictures of the cards tomorrow that I got last week and get them posted…sorry for the delay :).

Celebrating!

2010-09-07T15:43:00.001-07:00

Lots of deadlines met today. So I’m celebrating meeting them all and getting projects crossed off my list!

Tonight is card exchange and here are my cards, all ready to swap. My card drawer is seeming a bit empty. I guess I can blame that on missing card group last time (too much going on to participate), only swapping 1 card a couple times instead of 2, and giving away more cards than I am making! I’ve got to stock up for Christmas gifts! Not much time left for that.

Also got my DQS9 quilt off in the mail today! Now I’m watching my mailbox closely wondering when mine will show up. Can’t wait to find out who made me a quilt!

I also completed a little job I have of maintaining a craft show mailing list today and got the goods delivered.

Can’t wait to show you all the cute cards I get tonight.

DQS9 Update

2010-09-05T09:34:00.001-07:00

My DQS9 quilt has actually been done for a few days (well, all except the label). But we got the stomach bug at our house last week. So I’ve been a little preoccupied.

I’ve have a little fun extra to put in with it, but it might give away too much information to my secret swap partner if I reveal it :).

Hope my partner likes my little creation. It was fun to work with a different shape and get what was in my head translated into a quilt.

Since Monday is a holiday I’ll really be cutting it close, but it will be in the mail bright and early on Tuesday.

Sewing Update

2010-08-28T16:06:00.001-07:00

Looking back I realized I never shared these 3.5 inch blocks I made for July/August bitty block committee on flickr. The theme was ocean/beach. So I decided to make these snails trail blocks since they remind me of waves. Here are 9 of them, but I made 13 in all.

And here’s my doll quilt for DQS9 so far.

This is the top. Just need to quilt it and get it bound and labeled. You can check out the amazing doll quilts that are being made here. One of them will be mine. Can’t wait to see! The mailing deadline is Sept 8, but lots are already in the mail.

I finished up Mockingjay. It was just the perfect way to spend my time for the first couple days the kids started back to school!

Katniss, Peeta and Gale…

2010-08-24T08:36:00.001-07:00

This book was downloaded to my Kindle on my Droid X this morning. I didn’t even have to leave my house to go purchase the book! I love it. I can’t tear my self away. Too bad the kids start school tomorrow and not today! I’m going to have to show some restraint.

Gathered Clutch

2010-08-13T23:28:00.001-07:00

This pile of fabric…

Turned into this tonight!

See the wristlet? And the gathers!

And the pockets?

That was fun!

Check out the tutorial here!

Little Cowboy

2010-08-11T12:13:00.001-07:00

Here’s our quick baby quilt we made for our friend’s baby boy who will be named Ryder. Miss K thought this would be the perfect fabric.

And just so the big brother doesn’t get jealous…Miss K made this “B” pillow with a pocket on the back for him.

Summer Sewing

2010-08-09T14:31:00.001-07:00

Today we’re working on a project for a friend who is having a baby boy. Miss K is at the sewing machine right now as I type this.

And here’s what I did last week. I had fun designing this block and figuring out how I was going to piece it. It is the beginning of my DQS9 doll quilt. I’m still working on what the rest of the quilt will look like. I have ideas, but I haven’t made any final decisions. Hopefully the rest of the quilt will work out as well as the center did!

Priorities

2010-08-04T12:05:00.001-07:00

Summer has changed my usual routine. The kids have been home and we’ve been doing summer things: trips, camps, swimming, beach, playing with friends, and just spending time together… so needless to say, I’ve been away from my computer. And I’ve been away from my blog.

Here are some pictures from my phone to show you a little of what we’ve been up to:

biking and geocaching

swim team and playing in the pool

Camps

and beach days.

And my oldest has been in Europe on a band tour, and is back now.

I can’t believe it’s August! Orientations, Registrations and Band Camp are almost here.

I will miss all the fun, but I’m looking forward to getting back to my sewing and regular exercise, and more of a routine!

“Grandma’s Charm” Eye Spy Quilt

2010-07-20T17:22:00.001-07:00

Well, it’s taken me a bit longer than expected to get these pictures posted! It might have something to do with my new Droid X….Here’s the quilt that my sister and I made for my Grandma’s 90th birthday with 90 different fabrics.

We thought it would be a good idea to make it fun to look at by using bright colors and whimsical “eye-spy” fabric for her. She is in a nursing home.

It was great working with all the fabrics, half from my sister, and half from my stash. Lots of different memories from quilts past.

It’s finished off with a poem that I actually wrote for her 80th birthday charm mini quilt. I think the squares were 1 inch finished.

My Mom asked us to make the quilt for my Grandma’s birthday along with the matching reversible kleenex box cover. It was great to be able to be there for for my Grandma’s 90th birthday. My Mom made it a very special day (and week) for her!

Surprises Can Be Fun!

2010-07-12T15:13:00.001-07:00

Well, we didn’t really get to see the sunset because of all the clouds, but it still was beautiful!

Just Miss K and I went to enjoy the sunset and read her book together, but she and Dad were being a bit sneaky and she brought along the GPS and the geocoin and travel bug from Canada. So we got to do a little geocaching and find new homes for the trackables.

And what a lovely spot we found for them!

I didn’t really appreciate the cliff we had to walk along to find them! But we survived. I had to be the brave one and walk closest to the drop-off for Miss K. The things we do for our kids!!!

This was the container for the geocoin. Perfect fit. And the second one worked out great for the larger travel bug with attached shell from the east coast!

I’ve got the quilt layered for my Grandma. The simple pattern of rectangles went together quickly. Better get back to it. Gotta have it all done by Wednesday. Be back with pictures hopefully soon!

Summer Fun!

2010-07-10T18:49:00.001-07:00

I couldn’t resist posting another picture from our trip. This one was from my phone. I just can’t get over how beautiful it was…this is our view from our hotel window at Lake Louise! I could go back there and spend the whole week! I just love the color of that water!

My grandma is turning 90 next week, so I’m working on a couple gifts my Mom asked me to help with. Here is the reversible Kleenex box holder:

I used Ayumills tutorial. Hers was for a large size box, so I modified it for a smaller shape.

We are also making a 90 patch charm square lap quilt for her. My sister is cutting out half the squares from her stash and sending them to me. So as soon as I get them I’ll start putting it together and I’ll be sure to post a picture.

Today was Miss K’s first swim meet for her summer pre-competitive swim team. I was very proud of her and her efforts!

Now we’re off to watch the sun set on the water at the beach! Happy summer!

Happy 20th To Us!

2010-07-09T23:23:00.001-07:00

I’ve been back from my vacation for almost a week now, and I’m just getting around to posting about it. For some reason it’s an overwhelming task. We had such a great time in Canada…flew into Calgary and spent the following 4 nights: at Lake Louise, Banff, Kamloops and Vancouver.

My husband was the amazing organizer of our vacation. The five of us went to the airport Monday morning, flew out within 30 minutes of each other…the boys going to Salt Lake City, and the rest of us on a flight to Canada going through Phoenix. We dropped Miss K off with some good friends who met us at the Phoenix airport and we were off to Canada alone to celebrate our 20th anniversary!

At the end of our trip we took separate flights out of Vancouver within 30 minutes of each other to retrieve our kids. The next day Miss K and I arrived first to the San Diego airport and the boys arrived 15 minutes later. We were reunited and drove home together!

Not only did he schedule all the flights, but also all our hotels and activities for the week. We had a busy, fun filled week admiring the beautiful scenery all around us in Canada. Hiking and geocaching were our main activities.

Here are some pictures from our trip. We had many animal sightings. We enjoyed all the beautiful scenery! And geocaching made our long drives fun and exciting!

If you ever get a chance to go to the Canadian Rockies, do it! It’s so beautiful!

Dear Jane-ing

2010-06-24T13:59:00.001-07:00

(One of my doll quilts was featured in a top five favorite list over on the doll quilt swap blog. How fun is that!)

Believe it or not, I’m working on my Dear Jane blocks. (I know, shocker!) It’s slow, but eventually we’ll get this thing done :). Summer has been so busy, running my kids around, that I haven’t had much time for sewing or much of anything else!

Here’s a block I worked on yesterday.

I only had a little bit of the fabric left to make the second block, and I was worried that I was going to run out. Luckily my sister had a bit more of it she would send to me if I needed it.

Amazingly when I got done piecing the center there were 2 strips left over and they were the perfect length for the outside borders.

Here are the scraps I had left…nothing big enough to do anymore piecing with. I couldn’t believe it worked out just perfect!

I just love it when things like that happen!

Happy Father’s Day!

2010-06-24T13:29:00.001-07:00

My husband is a mountain biker. He didn’t want a big gift for father’s day. So I had to get creative.

I’ve been wanting to get him a vinyl sticker of a mountain bike for the back of his truck for a while. But I didn’t know how or where to find one. My initial searches were unsuccessful.

Then I thought: Hey, maybe I can make one!

I searched for a graphic online but couldn’t find one I liked so I decided to make my own.

I took a picture of his bike in front of the garage so I could get good contrast.

I brought the picture into Inkscape and used the trace bitmap feature to create an outline of his bike:

This took me a while of trial and error and figuring out how it all worked. But finally I was successful!

I brought the vector outline file that I created into my Sure Cuts A Lot software so that I could cut the vinyl sticker. I didn’t think it would work the first time I tried, but it did!

He loved his gift and thought it was pretty cool. The white is pretty bright. I may get some grey vinyl and re-cut it.

I just love it when I have an idea and I work really hard, and I figure out how to do it! So fun!

Doll Quilt Swap 9

2010-06-13T22:37:00.001-07:00

has begun! There’s been a lot of chatter going on at the flickr group as sign-ups, acceptance, and matching up has been going on. The anticipation has been building, and today we found out who our secret partners are. Now the stalking, scheming, plotting and designing begins!

There are 200 of us participating so you can imagine the logistics of getting all those quilters organized and matched up. The swap mamas are doing a fabulous job!

I’m excited about my secret partner! I’ve been checking out everything I can about him/her. He/She’s given me some good stuff to go on, so hopefully I can make something that he/she’ll love!

This is the 6th round that I’ve been able to participate in and it’s always so much fun!

Here are the quilts I’ve made for my partners in previous rounds:

1. DQS4; 2 DQS5; 3 DQS6; 4 DQS7; 5 DQS7 (angel quilt); 6 DQS8

And here are the quilts I’ve received:

1. DQS4; 2. DQS5; 3. DQS6; 4. DQS6 (angel quilt); 5. DQS7; 6. DQS8

The deadline isn’t until September, so we have all summer to decide on and to create the perfect little quilt. And it will be so fun to check out all the sneak peeks that are posted to the Doll Quilt Swap flickr pool. That’s one of my favorite parts! There are some really talented artists involved so it’s so fun to see all the wonderful creations.

This swap, like so many others, has a button that participants can put on their blog. Each round there has been a new button, and this time there was a contest. Anyone who wanted to design a button could submit it to be voted on. That sounded like fun, so I submitted a button and it ended up being the winner!

So I’m looking forward to a fun round. I’ll keep you posted on my progress!

Promotions

2010-06-07T22:55:00.001-07:00

We have 2 Promotions in our house this week. Miss K from 5th grade. And our son from 8th.

We always like to hang streamers in the bedroom doorway to celebrate birthdays and such. So here’s what I did for Miss K.

She was happy to wake up to her graduation streamers. She has been at the same elementary school for 8 years: 2 years of preschool and then K-5. She’s always reminding us! So I made a sign for each year and a graduation hat and scroll for each year.

For our Son I did a different graduation cap and letters spelling congratulations going down the streamer.

Hopefully I didn’t wake him up taking a picture :D

Time Out

2010-06-03T11:16:00.001-07:00

Sometimes Moms need a time out too!

This is MY kind of time out! I forget to get out and enjoy the beauty around me!

What a fun time out…thanks friend!

Skirt Sew Along

2010-05-28T11:31:00.001-07:00

I participated in Randi’s Skirt Sew-Along, although I was a day late! It was really fun to sew something for myself. Thanks Randi!

When I saw Randi’s post I knew I wanted to participate. But when it came down to picking out the fabric that was hard! She has so many beautiful fabrics to choose from in her shop.

With a some help from my sister Trisha I picked out Joel Dewberry’s Dogwood Bloom in pink from his Modern Meadow Collection.

Here’s the final result.

Makes me want to try sewing more for myself. This was a pretty simple pattern. I was able to cut the pieces with my rotary cutter and ruler following the dimensions on the pattern. Something I’m more comfortable with, rather than using pattern pieces. And it came together very nicely.

Thanks Trisha for helping me pick out the fabric! You did good!

Blogger’s Quilt Festival

2010-05-20T23:22:00.001-07:00

I love Amy’s Blogger’s Quilt Festival. Thanks Amy for setting this up for us! You can be sure I’m cruising around the Internet checking out all the fun quilts!

Here’s my entry…but first a little history.

This is my fourth year having the tremendous opportunity to help out at the elementary school by making a quilt! My favorite way to “help”!

2007 – 2nd Grade

Every year each of the classes create a wonderful piece of art which is auctioned off the night of Open House.

2008 – 3rd Grade

The funds raised go directly to the classroom and the Educational Foundation at the school.

2009 – 4th Grade

This is my last year at the elementary school. My youngest is moving on to middle school in the fall! So this was my last quilt to make for this annual event.

2010 – 5th Grade

I had 31 kids artwork blocks to work with this year, so I had to be creative with the layout.

I’m happy with the layout and even happier that I got to use fabric I had on hand that I had received from an amazing seamstress that passed away last year. It was perfect!

View Full Album

I had fun with the quilting too, wavy lines and bubbles added to the whole feel of the quilt.

I’m sorta sad for this chapter of my life to end. I’ve been a mom at that elementary school for 12 consecutive years. But at the same time, I’m excited for what the future holds for my family. Two in high school next year: a senior! and a freshman. And my youngest starting middle school. I’m sure I’ll have many more years to help out by making quilts…I’ll make sure of it!