Turkey Treats

 First, a little turkey talk! I saw this darling pillow on 

Anne's blog, Cottons 'n Wool. If you are ever looking 

for inspiration, you can always find it on Anne's blog! 

I immediately went to Buttermilkbasin.com to find the pattern for this sweet pillow. Check out Anne's version 

by following the link above. Mine still needs work. 

Better hurry, Thanksgiving is very close!

I saw this cute and easy idea on Pinterest for making little turkeys with these funny flat pretzels. I thought it would be fun to do with our little ones who are here visiting.

My daughter Polly and her family are here from Carson City, and granddaughter Becky and her family are here from Salt Lake City.  We love this little family of noisemakers so much! They dove right into this project with glee! And they did a great job! Katie, our nine year old granddaughter, supervised and assisted while the twins, 3-1/2 years old, created these cute little turkeys. It was really a perfect project for their age.

We melted white chips, but maybe they were too old. 

A can of frosting would have been better. 

Check out the cute blog, Worth Pinning, for directions. 

And remember, we are just amateurs having fun!

We are also enjoying a chance to cuddle with little August James. He is the happiest baby! Here he is at the park enjoying the tunnel! 

Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving with family, friends, pumpkin pie, and happy memories.

Good News!

Guess who has a new baby brother? If you guessed the twins, Grey and Micah, you are right! I didn't give it away by the photo did I? This little guy is August James. His weight was 8 lbs 9 oz, about the same as both twins together when they were born. 

Isn't he the cutest little bundle?! I can't wait to snuggle this little guy!

I have been having great fun working on the APQ Quiltalong. Have any of you joined in? The pattern is in American Patchwork and Quilting magazine, February 2014 issue. If you can't find this issue it is available to download.

This is Lissa Alexander's quilt, Tone It Down, as shown in the magazine. It is beautiful! For a real treat go to Lissa's blog for a display of several of these quilts completed by various designers. They are unique and awesome! You may recognize the design as a  pattern called Burgoyne Surrounded after a general in the Revolutionary War. Historically it has been a two color quilt, like red and white or blue and white. This scrappy version really appeals to me!

This is my version. Naturally I stuck with my traditional repro fabrics. I have all my blocks completed now and I'm working on the 9-patches and sashing. 

Follow this LINK to find info and to find the list of designers who are involved in this quiltalong. You can also find a hashtag board on Instagram at #APQquiltalong. If you follow me on Pinterest I have a board for Burgoyne Surrounded, the traditional name of the pattern.

The above is Burgoyne Surrounded that I made many years ago for my son and his wife. It is basically the same pattern. I added a checkerboard border to it. It has been well loved and used! 

Have a great week my friends, and I hope you get some quilting in! I hope I do too!

Happy Hands

 I got a sweet little card in the mail today from Grey and Micah. Plus a Valentine photo. Don't they have a clever mother? My granddaughter, Becky, is always creating darling little things to make life memorable! My mother, the artist, would be so delighted to see all the cute things Becky does!

i

 Some of you have been getting glimpses of these twins as they have been growing up. They are almost three years old, can you believe it? On Becky's blog she often shares conversations with the boys. For example:

Micah: I want a cookie!
Travis: You can have a cookie after you eat your dinner.
Micah: Hmm. I think you're tricking me.

Naturally, I laugh at everything they say and do.

More later, my computer is so slow today that I am done waiting!

For all of you out there in the frozen snow and ice, my sympathies. I put in so many years of that  and I know what you are going through. Thankfully I am in Arizona now and basking in a surge of winter warmth -- 85 degrees today!

PS: Happy Birthday President Lincoln! We still love you!

Hi everyone, I have been absent from Blogland for a while, traveling and spending time with family. Not much quilting going on with me, but nevertheless, I am hearing from people who have questions regarding my quilts.This makes me happy to know that someone remembers me, even tho I have not been "on the scene"!

I got a phone message from Sylvia in Australia asking about the fabric I used in the quilt Picks from the Past, above, published by American Patchwork and Quilting, Feb. 2012 issue. Sylvia did not leave a way for me to contact her, and I am not at home to answer the phone, so maybe Sylvia might read my blog. Like fruit, fabric does not stay on the vine very long. It is replaced regularly by something new. The fabric in that quilt was out of season by the time the magazine hit the stands. I can tell you that the fabric line in that particular quilt was called Civil War Chronicles, by Judie Rothermel, from Marcus Fabrics. And even tho that fabric is long gone, you can check the Marcus website and see that there are new, beautiful fabric lines available. For Civil War reproductions, Judie Rothermel always has a new, irresistible line available, as does Paula Barnes. Also Pam Buda is designing for Marcus now and has a great new line called Prairie Dobbies! If your LQS doesn't carry these lines you can do an online search of the name and find a store. 

On another note, a quilter contacted me regarding my table topper, Calico Pennies, in the recent Primitive Quilts and Projects magazine (Summer 2013). She was having trouble  tucking in the ends by the tabs and didn't have enough fabric left to do so. Since the directions call for quilting the little top before tucking in the ends, I believe the quilting gathered up the fabric just enough to cause this problem. If you make this project you can hopefully avoid this by adding an additional half inch to the length of the back and give a 1/4" for each end to tuck in. I suspect that when I made my own I pinned it tight to prevent this, but the small additional length should help avoid this problem. 

Back to my actual life, my husband and I are in Arizona. He retired May first and then we flew here to spend some time and see family.

We were here to see our darling Danielle go off to prom. Yup, she was wearing HIGH heels, and I definitely was not! I'm the little short grandma! (OK, I may have been bending my knees a little for effect.)

We took a drive to Carson City, NV to visit our kids there. Kathryn, now 8 years old, was baptized while we were there.

We got to spend some time with Becky and the twins both in Nevada and in Utah. Here is Micah and Grey snuggled up under one of my old quilts watching TV. So fun to see them AND my old quilts! Notice that Becky had Grey's hair cut shorter so we can tell them apart. It really helps!

We visited Ellie and Isaac in Provo, Utah. They are our youngest and so full of life and cuteness! They loved watching Netflix on my i-pad. I miss these kids so much, I can't stand it!

Back at the house in Mesa we are delighted to have Mary, one of our oldest grandchildren, staying with us. She was slicing watermelon and look what she found! A heart was inside the melon! Must be a good omen for Mary, right?

My quiltmaking has come to a standstill for the past several weeks. I have been designing, and I have a few things that I need to start working on. I'm excited to get going on it all! 

That's it for now--more will be coming, hopefully soon!

Button Bandits

This is a little project that I made a while back and never showed, but now I am working on directions so I thought I would give you a peek. It is called Button Bandits. Did you know that crows love to find little objects and hide them away? Especially shiny objects. So Button Bandits seemed like the perfect name for this. Hopefully I will have a pattern all packaged up soon.

When I showed this quilt, Primrose Hill, last time I forgot to mention that my friend Mary Flynn from Quilt Hollow did the quilting for me. As usual, she did a fabulous job. The design is a beautiful overall pattern with flowers and swirls. It looks lovely. Mary always knows just what a quilt needs. It is a nice talent for a machine quilter to have, and one that I truly appreciate because I want my quilts to look their best. With Mary I never worry, and I have never been disappointed. Thanks Mary!

I was emailing with Libby today and we were talking about mis-matched things and how sometimes it is charming and sometimes it isn't. It made me think of my darling granddaughter, Becky. She doesn't want a set of anything. She loves everything mis-matched. She loves drinking out of canning jars, and no plates that match, etc. She cracks me up. The funny thing is that her kids match perfectly--she has twins! Ironic!

Here she is, the mother of twin boys. Sometimes when I look at their pictures I can't decide who is the cutest, Becky or the boys!

I am pretty sure that Micah is in the red and Grey in the gray. Don't quote me. They are 18 months old now, and wearing skinny jeans. Well what else? They are the coolest! Tho that is an ancient expression and I have no idea what the current term would be.

Later quilt buddies!

Knock-knock

 

 Knock, knock. Who's there? Heart. 
Heart who? Heart to hear you knocking.

 Ok, that was a funny one. I found this cute door knocker on Pinterest and today seems like a good day to share it. I hear my husband on the phone talking to our kids about doing an intervention. Seriously, Pinterest is that bad. It is like looking at all the best photos from all the best magazines without all the junk!


Well, here is something that you won't find on Pinterest. Our darling twins are 11 months old. My granddaughter, Becky, keeps a wonderful journal of their every growing moment on her blog. This is what she shared today, and I am sharing it with you, since I haven't given you an update in several months.

 

A wonderful sentiment! (I found it on Pinterest) LOL!

Light Up My Life!

I love this photo so much! Whenever I need a pick-me-up I just go to Becky's blog and my day brightens. I look at this photo and I think, "Joy to the world"! There can be nothing more beautiful than healthy, happy, smiling babies. These cuties just turned 9 months old.

Most of my readers know that Becky is my granddaughter and these little lovies are hers. She shares them with the world on her blog, which is sometimes educational, sometimes ridiculous, and sometimes hilarious. Just as we quilters are connecting with our blogs, young mothers are doing the same and offering support and information, funny stories and lots of photos. For grandparents who live far away it is the most wonderful thing! The first thing my husband does when he comes home from work is check Becky's blog for new photos. Becky loves to write and has a whacky sense of humor, plus, she has lots to write about. Also, she has been known to make things up if it is a slow day. I love my family so, so much, and everyone of my children and grandchildren is a blessing to me and so special in their own way.

Thanks to all my wonderful blogging friends for your kind words and prayers in recent days. It means so much to me to know that you would take the time to write and send your love. 

Lots more good stuff coming up!

Marcie

Update! Please!

I just noticed that my post from yesterday did not update so I am trying again and adding a cute picture to boot! Be sure to see the post previous to this one!

  

Aren't these guys ridiculously cute?

Smiley Babies

I haven't shared photos of the boys lately. Granddaughter Becky posted exceptional photos today on her blog, so I swiped a couple. I can't wait to get my hands on these babies! Isn't this a cute family photo?

 

 I love this one because they are both smiling at the same time and they always smile with their mouths wide open. They just turned 7 months two weeks ago. They are such happy babies! Just don't ask me which is which.

On another note, I was in the LQS, What's Your Stitch 'N Stuff, the other day and they have a darling kit for sale. It is of the ever popular tumbler blocks, pre-cut with the Accucut Studio Cutter. Very handy, don't you think? It is mostly from the Howard Marcus Quilt Collections for a Cause, I believe. Lovely shades of pink and brown--a personal favorite of mine! Give them a call at 757-523-2711 if you are interested. The quilt will finish at 54" x 72" and sells for $79.99. And it is all pre-cut! Just thought I would share, since it caught my eye.

 I am still putting in lots of time at the computer doing so much busy work. I am dying to really spend some quality time in my sewing room. How do I cut the cord to the computer I want to know? When I first got it I never realized that it would take over my life!


Have a happy day!

The Joy of Reading

I have spent far too much time playing with my Ipad of late and consequently have not read as much as usual. I enjoy my books too much to let them be overshadowed by ever changing electronic gadgets. Not to say I don't enjoy my Ipad. I do! I also enjoy reading books on it, but it is not the same as gripping an actual book and turning the pages. Plus I haven't outgrown the need to peruse the shelves of bookstores, or scan through the best sellers at Sam's Club or Costco. Many times my husband and I read the same books, and then I often send them to my dad or my children. Good books are meant to be shared! 

Recently I finished reading Dreams of Joy, by Lisa See. This is a great book! Fascinating and frightening in its historical setting in Red China. It follows the journey of Joy, the daughter of Pearl and May in the book Shanghai Girls. You really must read Shanghai Girls first! Lisa See is an American of Chinese descent. Her family's history is amazing (On Gold Mountain) and she draws on this history and their experiences in her writings. I often see books reviewed on blogs that I read, and I find that helpful and enjoyable, so I thought I would add my 2 cents worth.

And then there are QUILT STORIES! I love them! I read two good ones on blogs recently. There are probably lots more out there, but I am not straying very far afield these days. Check these out for good reading, I know you will love them:

• Sweet Home Quilt Company by Melisa Morrison
  
• Bunny Hill by Anne Sutton

Please let me know if you see other stories I can add to this collection. 

And here are those darling twins again. Can you believe how they are growing! Coming up on 5 months old!

Progress

Can it actually be July 21st? I just returned from Arizona, land of heat waves and dust storms and also my family. I have a very nice LA quilter there who finished up three little quilts for me. This one I made years ago and uncovered it recently and decided that my new little granddaughter could use it while she is still so small, then later have it as a doll quilt. It is 30" square, so she will not use it for long, probably. The quilting is adorable and really makes it, so I hope you can view it close up. I hate to see unfinished tops languishing in boxes. The colorful border gives this just the right finish. It makes me smile to have it done!

 Also, thanks to Carol at Brown Quilts, I got going on patriotic pillow cases. After making a couple to send Carol for her friend's cause (distributing to hospitalized soldiers) I decided my grandkids needed them also. You know how easy it is to make several while you are on a roll? I bought some fabric and used up some from my stash. That wavy flag fabric has been around for years! If you would like to use up some of your patriotic fabric for a good cause, hurry and make a pillowcase or two to send Carol.

 My main purpose in going to Arizona in heat that is over 100 degrees was to make some decisions on a house that we own there. Our renters moved out and since we are so close to retirement we are fixing it up for us to move into...eventually, but not immediately. This is what it looks like now. We tore down a wall here and really opened it up. I was trying all kinds of paint colors and I finally chose one that I hope will work. None of those in the photo, however. I seem to know what I am doing with fabric colors, but when it comes to paint I am a disaster. It never looks the way you expect it will and then it changes to different colors as the light changes. I seriously am praying that I picked a good color because they are going to paint all the walls in the whole house that color!

Meanwhile, the twins passed their 4 month mark! We celebrate every day with new pictures on Becky's blog. (Oh right, so today she doesn't have any!)

Most of the country is under a heat wave, so stay cool my friends!