Newest off the machine

Wow, the year has just began and I find myself looking back over last year and wondering "what did you do?"  Seems that the older we get the faster the years fly by.  I started off this year with a quilt from some wonderful women from Alliance....I was honored when they asked me to quilt the top they worked so hard on....

On the machine

finished look

Corner....the ribbon border is amazing

close up of a corner with ribbon border and quilting motif

I loved this quilt when I first saw it and while I was quilting fell in love with it even more....I added some soft clematis flowers with swirls to soften all the hard points of the friendship stars....I really enjoyed quilting this quilt and really like the final product.  Can't wait to see it when it is bound and ready to go...  This group did a great job!

Happy New Year!!!

When I was much younger I would have NEVER thought about living in the year 2013...wow, here we are and I am loving life!!!  My quilting has become a part of my creative life...I truly love what I do!
This last year there has been some struggles, but have survived and come out the other side a much stronger woman....It has been a life lesson for me to realize that we are not in control ...God is and if we allow Him to guide our heart, life goes much better.  As soon as I start to try to control, look out!!!
My pray for all my followers is that you find the Joy that God has given you and that you see the beauty in each day....find the blessings in everything, even the pain!
With that I am wishing you a Happy New Year and Blessed 2013!!!

Christmas in a month.....

Wow, let me start by saying MERRY CHRISTMAS.....the month of December is rolling by.  I have been very busy helping others give wonderful handmade gifts for Christmas....I started getting things in Mid November and have gotten everyone finished in time for Christmas. 

 This quilt was in greens and cream.....absolutely gorgeous with all the hand embroidery on it.

 With all the winter scenes with snowflakes and snowmen...I went with an over all snowflake.  I used pearl shimmery thread.  You could see the thread shimmer once in a while, like dancing snowflakes fall on the quilt top.

This quilt came in for a baby...due any day. 

I decided on teddy bears.  This is the back...on top I used a tan-brown multi-colored thread.....

 This one is a Nebraska piece of fleece and so I had to use a fairly loose quilting motif....as I was afraid the fleece may over stretch

With the last name starting with an "S"...I quilted S's throughout....it didn't over stretch or loose its shape.  I was happy with it and the customer seemed to be thrilled with the outcome.

Mater for another....This little guy is going to Texas.  Nick loves the Cars movies and his bathroom is decorated with Cars Movie so adding Mater will be a snap. 
Now I will be working on family things....embroidery machine will be busy and my DM will be getting a little workout also.  I know that the Christmas Season is my favorite Holiday and hope for the joy of Christ in your Christmas, also....

Memory Quilts

I was asked to make a few memory quilts from shirts....I met with a very sweet lady, got the story behind the shirts and the need for the memory quilts.  I was honored to take on this project and found that I really enjoyed coming up with something special for her and her family---See they lost a son and brother and wanted to have something made of his shirts, so that is when I came in and here is what I came up with:

I started with a pile of shirts--about 25 and a pair of sleep pants.  Cutting them into 5 1/2" squares...sewing them into 9 patches and then cutting them in 1/2  top to bottom and side to side.

This is 2 of the 4 blocks

This is what it looks like after you reassemble it.

Here is one of the finished throws.  I just couldn't leave it alone....I had to add a little something to the quilt for the memory of the lost family member...

I decided to embroider his name on a pocket and sew it back on the quilt for her to put a note, picture or whatever in the pocket.  These are Christmas gifts for her family, so I wanted them to be special

Close up of the quilting design.  I used flannel on the back and a multi-color homespun for the binding to bring all the colors together. 
It was fun coming up with a Christmas gift that will surely bring a smile to another person's face.  They will be able to cuddle in and remember Doug as they warm up.

Surprising My Love!!

As most of you know there have been many things happening within our family....My husband has been really stressed and I wanted to do something special for him because he is such an amazing man.  God was in on my surprise....I opened my Facebook page and a site popped up that I didn't know I belonged to and low and behold there I see someone selling Broncos tickets for the game on Sunday....Remind you that he is a die hard Broncos fan and LOVES football.  I call the guy and find out the seat are not in the noise bleed section and he is willing to negotiate the price.  I am not one to wait on a "good deal", so I jumped at the chance to spend the day with my loving husband and do something for him that he has always wanted to do.  GO TO A BRONCOS GAME!!!!  I get the tickets and get a parking pass as a bonus, who can beat such a deal???  I am saying this was God's handy work because I could not have found anything like that on my own.

We made it to and from the Broncos game in Denver without any scratches---
 We got to the field and had a parking ticket for Lot M....a beautiful walk to the stadium....Thru all the tailgates, RV's with BBQ, music and lots of friends having a great time together.

 

 

 

 

 Empty Stadium...about 2 hours prior to kickoff.

 Manning going into the tunnel

 The statues outside the Sports Authority Shopping area....It was so pretty and peaceful.  There is so much going on outside the stadium....

We had a great time...He was really surprised with the tickets and he did all the "touristy" things.  I had him take a picture with the mascot, we had our sketch done by a cartoonist, we walked all around the stadium taking in all the sites.  It was a whole lot of fun and the vibe in the stadium during the game was amazing.  There had parachute jumpers come into the stadium during the pre-game and THAT WAS FANTASTIC!!!!

The game was exciting, worth the tickets, drive and crowds....The end of the game was just as exciting. 














Whenever you get a chance to spend time with just your spouse take it, enjoy and make lasting memories.  I took tons of pictures and video....thought this was enough to give you an idea of what we saw...if you haven't been to a pro-game everyone should go. 

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving for us started out a bit different this year...we had decided to postpone Thanksgiving day with our family to help out with our church families....this was the first year we wanted to serve the community a meal.  My husband and I jumped in and served, cleaned up and enjoyed the blessing we have (thankful).  We then find out that my husband's sister's life was turned upside down in a few seconds.....Her husband, Bud, was outside on a 4 wheeler and had a horrific accident.  Nobody know exactly what happen as no one saw the accident, just the aftermath.  We rushed to Casper to be with my sister in-law and family in ICU.  Things are difficult, but the power of prayer is surrounding them in comfort.  He survived the surgery that released some of the pressure on the brain...there are many things, but right now they are working on the skull fractures/brain injury.  He has a lot going on and we are blessed to know that God is in control of the situation and pray for recovery.  As of yesterday the Doctor has started to take him out of the coma (during the day) and the brain pressure monitor has been take out and a feeding tube put in.  He responded yesterday by holding his wife's hand. 
I am trying to hit the high spots as to not get too wrapped up in details, but we are asking for all the prayer warriors out there to add Linda and Dwayne (Bud) to your prayers....This Christian family knows about miracles and knows God is good!!!

Storage

Most of us know that it is vital to any sewing/quilting studio that we have A LOT of  storage.  I had a plan in mind, but was not able to find any prefabbed cabinets that fit my needs.  I was ready to give in to "whatever" I could find, just to have enclosed storage for the new area.  I mentioned it to my brother in-law and he asked what I wanted and wha la....he came up with a plan and I was thrilled.  He and my sister worked on building my cabinets and then they drive all the way down here not only to deliver, but to install the wonderful additions.....

All the cabinets are in (a corner unit and 3 double door on each side)....it is amazing.  Now that I have done everything BACKWARDS...I may not get the walls textured or painted.  I have gotten cabinets up before texture and paint have been applied.....moved the machines in and "What was I thinking"?  I am thinking about using some chalkboard paint or dry erase paint or even some cork board on a few of the door fronts, so I am able to write things down when customers call....sometimes the brain forgets what it is doing.  What a wonderful invention!!!
 I also have 3 large lights installed, 1 over the sewing machines, 1 over the quilting machine and 1 over the cutting table....with a window on the north...I think there is plenty of light...I am loving the area, but still have lots of organizing to get done.  Most of that will probably wait until after the Holidays.  I am getting backlogged with quilts needing to be done by Christmas, so organizing will have to wait.  Have a great Thanksgiving with family, friends and the blessing you have been given!!