Map Quilt cont.

The Map Quilt is taking on a life of its own . . .

In order to figure out what each block needed I decided to make a little notebook. 44 pages later I was ready to hit the road and take notes.

Cooper's Hobbies

Reading . . .

Gardening . . .

"What's this dirt doing in the flower garden?"

And, you know dude, biking . . .

Gardening is hard work!

A few flowers, a little water, a bush or two or dozens, what's the big deal? I think I could spend hours every day outside and not keep up with all the growing things around here. And then - smart me - I add to it!

My arms are tired. My legs are tired. My back hurts. I'm sunburned. No. Wait. I remembered the sunblock! I just feel hot. More water. But, I feel GOOD. AND my fingernails are clean. I love these gloves . . .

I've had lots of gardening gloves before, but my hands and fingernails always wound up dirty anyway. And I couldn't get my fingernails clean. I used to think it was the city dirt with gunk from the airport and all the cars. That maybe the dirt was a bit oily. But, no, country dirt doesn't come out either. And it's not like working with the horses. Your hands and fingernails get dirty then, too, but they come clean. And there's the bonus that they smell good. mmm, horsey smell. Back to the point - these gloves are awesome - I need to stock up.

And the gardening rewards . . .
These don't look so good. They seem to open and the petals fall immediately. But the scent!!!! I wish I could share it with you.

It seemed so easy

A quick patriotic holiday table topper. Such a simple design. Eight large 4-square blocks and eight large pinwheel blocks. Except the corner pinwheels are going in the wrong direction - I don't like the solid of the pinwheel sitting next to the solid of the 4-square. I didn't realize pinwheels could go two ways. Duh. And did you know that you have to take all four pieces apart to fix it?

So I've been doing a lot of this . . .
The good thing is that I could pick the pinwheel blocks whose points didn't meet up so nice but that I was too lazy to pull apart just for that. Now I have a reason to pull them apart!

And speaking of duh . . . I called my local quilt shop to talk to one of the owners and he wasn't in. I was told "he's in the field today". So I start thinking "Awesome. I wonder what cool quilt things a Quilt Shop owner gets to look at when they are "in the field"? An hour later, as I was digging up my garden, I think, duh, this is farm country, he's in the FIELD.

Mother's Day at Egg Harbor

Mike's there too, hidden behind Caycee I think.

Favorite Foods & "Why does my eye sting?"

Mmmmm, strawberries!

Mmmm, Pickle!

VROOOM, VROOOOOM

A cook

When I win the lottery, I'm going to have a live-in cook.


Wait, I like my privacy. The cook will have separate quarters but be available for any meal. And she should get plenty of time off so she still likes her job so there will have to be at least two cooks so they can switch off.


Anyway, the cook will fix me a hot breakfast. Eggs, hashbrowns, bacon and toast buttered all the way to the edges. Or waffles with strawberries. Or a Denver Omelet (or do you say omelette?) with English Muffins. And she is going to cut my grapefruit for me: in half, and around each piece so it comes out effortlessly with a spoon, a little sugar sprinkled on it, and a cherry in the center. Just like Mom used to do.


In the mean time it's cereal, toast and orange juice. Sometimes because I'm lazy. Sometimes because I want to hurry up and get on with my day and not waste time cooking. Also, I LIKE cereal, toast and orange juice.

The cook will also be in charge of remembering to buy the orange juice.

Flowers. Just cuz.

I received these flowers a week ago (just cuz :) ) and they are blooming away. Every day a few new blooms open. So pretty, so colorful.

And the binky . . . Scott just found that in the pouch on the back of his scooter. I guess Zak stashed in there in case of emergency when he was here last week.

Bright Frogs Baby Blanket

I've had this colorful frog fabric for a while. I couldn't seem to cut it up. This project was perfect for it. One off center strip of frog fabric. I can't really call it a quilt. The stitching on either side of the frog fabric just holds it to the flannel batting. The only stitching that goes through all three layers is the inside edge line of stiching. And I didn't bind it. Stitched around the edges and turned it. But aren't the frogs cute?!

I learned . . . .

. . . so much from my siblings. Now, I'm not saying I learned all these lessons well - I'm still working on so much. But they did teach me about so many things . . .

From all my siblings I learned about loyalty, love, duty, charity, respect and honor.

Thanks Mom & Dad for all these wonderful teachers.

All these things you taught me too, Mom, but as you always told us, the younger ones are watching and will learn from the older ones. It also worked the other way - the olders ones learned from the younger ones. So, thanks Mom, for teaching all these things to all your children so I could learn from them.

I love you.

Happy Mother's Day.

Craftapalooza

Mary made a lovely flower arrangement lickety-split for Kathy & Jay's deck. I know they will think of her whenever they look at it. Colleen showed us some great pictures that are eventually destined for a scrapbook.

Sarah finished a shirt and made several baby leg warmers . . . . little legs! I worked on my little girl quilt - those are pieces on the couch.

Karen & Col . . . mmm - food time.

Kathy made TONS of bracelets . . . and for a good cause. She sure notices the details; she's very particular, and quick.

Karen worked on her quilt idea book (good idea - my ideas are in scraps scattered all over) and Amy made several pages for a vacation scrap book - they looked great. Karen and Amy played nicely together with the shared scissors.

Colleen gave us all pretty post it notes to hang on the fridge. And Karen made us each a personalized goody bag. I already used the magazines for inspiration. I'm rationing the sweets 'cause the scale has been nice to me lately. I have a bit of chocolate in the middle of each sewing session . . . could life be any better?

It was a fun day. Thanks for hosting, Kathy.

My first completed applique project

I think I like the idea of applique and the look of it better than doing it. This was also my first attempt at echo quilting - I need lots more practice.

I like the way the quilting looks on the back.



I know loading this 12" X 15" quilt on a 10 foot frame was kind of like pulling a one horse trailer with a dually, but it's sooooo much easier to quilt this way.

Can you tell the kids were here?

The counters were clean and clear when I started. I always think I have it together before I start a meal. Two minutes into the preparation and I realize I need two more hands and eyes in the back of my head (like my mom had). There isn't even time to close the cabinet doors. This was the breakfast mess. It took less than thirty minutes to get this way. Can you spot the real tragedy?


That's right - the coffee pot is EMPTY! HELP!!!!!

Little Girl Quilt & Doll Quilt

Ready to bind.

The little girl quilt (36" X 36")

Close up of quilting.

Both Quilts


The Doll Quilt (12" X 12")



Close up of quilting on Doll Quilt.

Amy's Dogs - Cute, Aren't They?

And she says, "they do NOT all look alike!" . . .

with a straight face no less.

Photo by Jayci