Spare Time Quilter

Fish Tacos and a Finish

2012-01-03T19:26:00.000-06:00

I finally decided to cook this evening! Haven't really been in the mood to cook for several days, however I have been in the mood for fish tacos!

I can't get fish tacos made with corn tortillas at any restaurant in our area. I don't like flour tortillas so I was forced to make my own. So glad I did!
I did finish several quilts to give for Christmas gifts. One of them is pictured below.

I pieced this Carpenter Star for Brandon for Christmas. Richard quilted it using black thread and a pantograph called Symphony of Music. It measures 96x96.

I am blessed and God is good to me!!
Donna

Happy New Year!!

2012-01-02T13:26:00.001-06:00

I know I've been away for a while! My goal in 2012 is to post more often. Sometimes life seems to take over and blogging falls by the way.

2011 was like most years a few ups and a few downs. I must say the ups far out weighed the downs. We were able to attend two weddings of beautiful young ladies we watched grow up!! We were all healthy for the most part (I did have a kidney boulder) and are thankful for good health!! God really blessed our lives during 2011.

Our daughter met the love of her life!!! Brandon proposed to Jenna on New Year's Eve in an awesome proposal!!! What a way to end the year and start a new year.

2012 will definitely be a busy year for our family. Joel will have his senior trumpet recital in February. Jeremiah will graduate in May with his Masters. Joel will graduate in May with his Bachelors. Jenna and Brandon will be married in June. I'm thinking the next six months will be absolutely crazy! I am looking forward to every moment!!

I do have some quilting goals but not really sure how much will be accomplished between now and July 1st.

This is what is on my design wall. I need to make 22 more blocks. I have them all cut out so there is hope this might be completed soon!

I am blessed and God has been good to me!!

Donna

7/25/11 Design Wall

2011-07-25T17:48:00.000-05:00

This was on my design wall this morning. It is now a completed baby quilt for my daughter to give to a coworker. I will post a finish photo as soon as I get the binding on.

It has been really busy around here the past few days. Here is a quick overview. Jeremiah's surgery went well and he is recovering very well. All the swelling has about gone and he has some bruising around his eyes. He is doing fine and glad to have it all taken care of before school starts back.

Richard and I took off Thursday, Friday and today to get some things done around the house. Our goal in the quilt room was to get all three wedding quilts finished. As of right now all three queen size quilts are quilted and just need binding. When the time off started one quilt was about half pieced and the other two were not even cut out. I can't believe all we were able to get done. I think this is the first time ever we have accomplished all we wanted to during a period off work.

Photos of the wedding quilts will follow as they are gifted which will be a few months from now. What a relief to have them to the point they are no longer weighing on my mind.

I am blessed and God is good to me!!
Donna

The Heat Has Just About Won!!

2011-07-19T19:12:00.000-05:00

What a weekend!! Jenna was headed home for the weekend on Friday evening and she called us at about 10:00pm. Her car had broken down about 25 miles from home. We headed to pick her up and check out the car. Thankfully she had been able to exit the interstate and was at a truck stop. When we arrived it was quickly apparent that the car was beyond repair. The radiator had busted and messed up the engine. Richard had replaced the engine in November and it just wasn't worth it to keep putting money in an old car. So, as we were moving all her valuables into our truck the OHP pulled in and arrested a man just a few feet from Jenna's car. We made arrangements to get her car the next day and finally made it home about 11:30.

After much discussion it was decided that for our peace of mind something had to be done. Jenna has broken down coming home several times in the last year causing us to be stressed out each time she decided to visit. We finally decided to sleep on the decision and retired for the night. During the night I needed to go to the restroom and decided to "feel my way" without any lights so as not to awaken Richard. As you can guess that didn't go well and I walked into a door and gashed my forehead. Not a pretty sight as I can still attest.

The next morning we headed to our local Toyota dealer and several stress filled hours later we came home with the vehicle Jenna is pictured with above. She is so proud and we don't have to worry about her breaking down. We can actually take a phone call from her without holding our breath.

Sunday morning at 7:00am Joel phoned as he was leaving work to visit with us. As he walked up to his car he said "oh no" which is never good! His radiator had busted while he was working which is probably the good news as it didn't ruin his engine. Richard and Joel spent most of the day Sunday changing out his radiator in the extreme heat. It really zapped them! Thankfully it was fixable and another trip to the car dealer wasn't necessary.

Monday afternoon Jeremiah had an appointment with an eye lens specialist to see about some infectious type bumps on his eye lids. He has been to several doctors in the last 9 months or so trying to get these cleared up. Thankfully he was finally referred to a specialist who could take care of this. However, this had been going on so long that he has to have surgery on both eyes tomorrow morning. It will last about three and a half hours. Please keep him in your prayers.

I am blessed and God is good to me!!

Donna

Happy Friday!!!

2011-07-15T12:03:00.000-05:00

Hope everyone is having a great Friday. This is my favorite day of the week. So much anticipation of the weekend to come.

Jenna is headed down this evening to spend the weekend with us. Really looking forward to spending time with her. Richard will be working on her car a bit, but hopefully that will go quickly and they can get to what they are looking forward to. I think a "Lord of the Rings" marathon is in the planning stages.

As I am not "into" those films, I will be spending some time in the quilt room. Hope to get wedding quilt #1 ready to be quilted this weekend!

I am sure Jenna and I will work in some "retail therapy" at some point during her stay. I do believe we are on tap for chinese takeout Saturday evening! Since I have been watching my diet the past couple of weeks this will be a real treat for me. Working to get my cholesterol down has been somewhat of a "downer". I am allergic to all the medications, so that leaves diet and exercise.

I am blessed and God is good to me!
Donna

I Raised a Smart Girl!!

2011-07-14T07:14:00.000-05:00

Jenna's church has Vacation Bible School this week. Her first assignment was to clean up after the crafts. Yesterday morning she texted to say she had been asked to help with the toddlers.

So, I phoned her last evening to ask how it had gone. She informed me they had 13 toddlers and 3 adults helping with them. This is the conversation that followed:

Me: Do you have kool-aid all down your clothes and cookies in your hair?

Jenna: No, Mom! We gave them Cheerios and lemonade. We only poured them one drink at a time in the cups and then refilled them.

I am telling you she is smarter than I am! Who knew you could satisfy toddlers with Cheerios.

Hope Jenna has a great week with 13 toddlers!!

I am blessed and God is good to me!!
Donna

Happy 27th!!

2011-07-12T10:30:00.000-05:00

Happy 27th Birthday to our oldest son. Jeremiah was born 27 years ago this morning at 1:30am. What a joy he has been to us.

We thank God each morning for letting Jeremiah be a part of our lives (we are thankful for all three of our children). I don't want them to feel left out when they read this as we have been blessed thrice over with great children.

Hope you have a great day and thanks for being a wonderful son!! You make us proud every day.

I am blessed and God is good to me!!
Donna

Grasshoppers!!

2011-07-11T13:44:00.000-05:00

It looks like winter at my house. Between the heat, drought and grasshoppers I have leafless trees, brown yard and no vegetation is certainly doesn't look like summer.

This photo and the one below are of the lilac bushes on either side of my front porch. They are about five to six feet tall. You can see they are totally stripped and covered in grasshoppers. I have never seen so many grasshoppers before. When I walk across the yard I am just swarmed with them. When I get home from work in the evening the front porch is totally covered in grasshoppers. I have to sweep them off just to get into the house.

I don't think my magnolia tree is going to survive this onslaught. It was so pretty in the spring and even had a bloom this year. I am already looking forward to the fall. We haven't had to mow in 3 weeks and if we don't get rain soon I think we will be finished with mowing this year.

7/11/11 Design Wall

2011-07-11T06:07:00.000-05:00

My design wall changed a bit this week. I have three wedding quilts to get done so I took everything else down and started on one of them. This is for DH's niece who is getting married in December. I am taking a few days off toward the end of July and hope to get all three wedding quilts totally pieced and more done on the other 5 I have started. A little progress was made on the patriotic quilt so the count is as follows.

Patriotic quilt- 42 of 112 finished
Jenna's star quilt- 4 of 25 finished
Jeremiah's star quilt- 4 of 49 finished
Joel's swirl quilt- 20 of 121 finished
Richard and my star quilt- 3 of 25 finished

This also went on in the quilt room this week. Richard purchased some peg board and put on the wall to hold my rulers and other stuff. This really helped clear up the cutting table and he added blocks under the legs of the table to raise it and make it easier on my back.

We had a great weekend at home after being away the last two. I love spending time away but being home is always great.

I am blessed and God is good to me!!
Donna

6/27/11 Design Wall

2011-06-27T06:45:00.000-05:00

Not a lot of change on the design wall this week due to what went on here. We left on Friday morning and didn't return until Sunday evening. I did get 10 more of the little RW&B blocks finished, so my totals are as follows:

Patriotic quilt- 32 of 112 finished
Jenna's star quilt- 4 of 25 finished
Jeremiah's star quilt- 4 of 49 finished
Joel's swirl quilt- 20 of 121 finished
Richard and my star quilt- 3 of 25 finished

I will be working on the same things this week. I do most of my sewing on the weekends and this next weekend we will be spending time at our families homes so nothing will be going on here.

I am blessed and God is good to me!!!
Donna

Anniversary Weekend

2011-06-27T06:26:00.000-05:00

Richard and I spent the weekend in Dallas celebrating our 28th anniversary. I am so blessed to have a wonderful husband. We couldn't have asked for a better weekend. We stayed at the Adolphus in downtown Dallas. I have to sat that the staff really know how to treat their guests. We were congratulated by most every staff member we spoke with. Their attention to detail is unsurpassed.

We did sight see a bit but mostly relaxed and enjoyed time together with no obligations. The one attraction we couldn't miss is the Dallas World Aquarium. If you ever get the chance it is a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. Very much worth the price of admission.

Also worth a mention is the Twisted Root Burger place in downtown Dallas. The best sweet potato chips I have ever tasted. They do a great burger.

We had a wonderful time of celebration. Here's looking forward to the next 28 years. I really love the man God blessed my life with.

I am blessed and God is good to me!!
Donna

6/20/11 Design Wall

2011-06-20T06:55:00.000-05:00

Yea! So much sewing going on this week I had to use both design walls. You can distinctly see the 5 different quilts I am working on. I think this is really a good way for me to quilt right now. No time to get bored. Aren't those little bonus pinwheels just as cute as they can be! I am loving them!

I am going to record my progress here so I can keep track.

Patriotic quilt- 22 of 112 finished
Jenna's star quilt- 4 of 25 finished
Jeremiah's star quilt- 4 of 49 finished
Joel's swirl quilt- 20 of 121 finished
Richard and my star quilt- 3 of 25 finished

These are moving in the right direction and I am very excited about it.

I am blessed and God is good to me!
Donna

6/13/11 Design Wall

2011-06-13T06:48:00.000-05:00

There was a bit of sewing done this week, despite having a migraine for 3 days. I made a sample star block for my quilt (bottom left). I am using the same fabric line for mine and Jenna's just a different look for the stars. Mine will all have the same light fabric for the centers and Jen's will have different TOT fabrics from the "fresh air" line of moda fabric. Then I got started on the swirl blocks. They are so easy and fun to make.

Maybe I will feel better this next week and will make more progress.

Saturday was Jenna's 21st birthday so we spent the day at the Oklahoma City Zoo and then took her to eat after. What a wonderful day and how blessed we have been to have Jenna as our daughter. She has brought great joy into our lives. If God had let us walk through heaven and choose from all the baby girls there we would have chosen Jenna. God always blessed us with just the right children. So, just want to say one more time "Happy 21st Jenna" thanks for all the joy!!!

I am blessed and God is good to me!!

Donna

6/6/11 Design Wall

2011-06-06T06:09:00.000-05:00

It has been awhile since I posted a design wall. I have been in the doldrums somewhat lately. No real reason that I can think of, just haven't felt a lot like quilting. I am hoping that I have moved past that.

I had signed up for a class with Bonnie Hunter in mid May. She was in Tyler, Texas teaching the her Cathedral Stars class. I was so looking forward to going (all packed and everything ready) when some things came up and I wasn't able to go. What a disappointment! I am hoping to someday take a class with Bonnie.

The blocks on the design wall are for several different quilts I am starting. The blocks on the left are for a pattern called "Criss Cross Applesauce" from Connecting Threads. The center star blocks are for Richard and my patriotic quilt. I only have 113 more to go. The blocks to the right are for my kids. The top block is for Jeremiah from Kim Brackett's book. The middle block is for Jenna from a Moda Bakeshop pattern and the bottom block is for Joel and from Kim Brackett's book.

I am hoping to work on these all at the same time so I don't get bored with any of them before the quilt is finished. Jeremiah's quilt will need 49 of those blocks. They are time consuming but not difficult. Jenna will need 25 blocks and they are all cut out. I will be making Richard and I one similar to Jenna's and some of it is cut out. Joel's quilt will require 121 blocks. I plan to cut out several for the boys and sew them between the large star blocks for variety.

I am blessed and God is good to me!
Donna

Finish #7

2011-06-05T15:26:00.001-05:00

"Patriotism on Parade" is finish number seven. It was finished on June 4th and presented to Joel that afternoon. Joel wasn't able to come home on Memorial weekend. He works nights at Walmart and can't get off on holiday weekends. He was greatly missed. He came over on Saturday to play in a gold tournament with Richard. They did pretty well placing third and in the money.

It was nice to spend a little while with him. Although it was a short time as he had to get home and take a nap before being at work by 10:00am. As I have mentioned before Joel is a trumpet player so most of his quilts have some sort of music fabric in them. This was not different although the photo isn't clear enough to really see.

So now all the kids are fixed for a quilt for the summer. Richard and my quilt is cut out and maybe I will get it done before the end of the month.

Quilt info:
Pattern-my own design
Size-108x108
Quilting pattern-For the love of music
Thread-YLI red, white and blue

I am blessed and God is good to me!
Donna

Finish #6

2011-06-05T15:15:00.001-05:00

Finish number six belongs to Jenna. I have shown this quilt before it was finished. "Patriotic Peace Out" had the binding attached and was presented to Jenna on Memorial weekend. I thought this was an appropriate time to present patriotic quilts to my children. Our family has had it's share of military men.

Both of our childrens' grandpas served in the United States Army and several of their great uncles did multiply tours in Korea and Vietnam. As a family we are very thankful for the service of the great men and women who defend our country and help keep the freedoms we hold dear.

Quilt info:
Pattern-my own design
size: 101x101
Quilting pattern-Alfresco
Thread-signature ivory

I am blessed and God is good to me!
Donna

Finish #5

2011-06-05T15:03:00.001-05:00

This is my 5th complete finish. "The Sound of Freedom" belongs to Jeremiah. He and Jenna came to stay for several days leading up to and through Memorial weekend. I was able to finish both their quilts and give them to them that weekend.

We had a really great time! Most of the time was spent playing games and watching movies. We didn't even do much cooking. Richard smoked some ribs and brisket and I made a couple of salads and we ate off that all weekend. It was a really restful and special time. Our children are not able to come for extended visits very often so when they do we really enjoy the special times together.

The border of this quilt was washed out in the sunlight. I am sorry it can't be seen more clearly. It is a blue background with white and red fireworks.

Quilt info:
Pattern-from McCall's Quilting Magazine (can't remember which issue or the name)
Size-92x108
Quilting Pattern-Fireworks
Thread-YLI red, white and blue

I am blessed and God is good to me!
Donna

Finish #4

2011-06-05T14:49:00.000-05:00

This is the 4th complete finish this year. This is the graduation quilt for the drummer in our church. I thought it turned out good. It is hard for me to get good pictures of my quilts. The light area is really a rich gray. The quilt is much richer in color than the photo shows.

The recipient seemed happy with it. I hope he gets many years enjoyment out of this quilt. He will be missed when he heads off to college in the fall.

I am blessed and God is good to me!
Donna

2/21/11 Design Wall

2011-02-21T10:55:00.000-06:00

This is the top that was on my design wall yesterday. I just finished putting it together, making the backing and the binding. It is now on the shelf waiting to be quilted. I spent much of the weekend cutting out blocks to be my current leader and ender project.

I am off today and plan to start on Joel's patriotic quilt. I don't have a firm plan, just think I will play around with the fabrics and see what comes of it.

I am blessed and God is good to me!
Donna

Exciting Week!

2011-02-20T08:36:00.000-06:00

I was so glad to find that Bonnie Hunter was doing a trunk show just a little over an hour from where I live this past week. I have followed her blog for numerous years and always been impressed by the amount of quilting she gets done. What a joy it was to meet her and see her quilts in person.

A friend and I went down and I have to say it was one of the most enjoyable evenings. Bonnie does a great lecture and her quilts are works of art. She includes some of the ugliest fabrics from her stash and the quilts are so beautiful the ugly fabric isn't even noticed.

If she is ever in your area and you get the chance to attend one of her lectures it is well worth the effort. Thanks Bonnie for a great evening and lots of inspiration.

I am blessed and God is good to me!
Donna

2/20/11 Stash Report

2011-02-20T08:19:00.000-06:00

I did have another addition to the stash this week. It won't be hanging around long! The drummer at our church is graduating this May and we always gift the graduates with a quilt. When I saw this fabric it just yelled his name so I couldn't pass it up. My numbers are as follows:

Used this week: 16.5 yards
Purchased this week: 2 yards
Used YTD: 34.5 yards
Purchased YTD: 60 yards
Net YTD: -25.5 yards

Maybe I will get in the black before too long, but I wouldn't count on it. The Dallas quilt show is just three weeks away and I plan to attend.

I am blessed and God is good to me!
Donna

2011 Ice/Snow Storm

2011-02-01T07:04:00.000-06:00

This is what we woke up to this morning. The freezing rain started at about 10 last evening, followed by sleet and then snow. The weather man says we can expect up to 8" before this stops. It would be beautiful if I could stay home but I will be leaving for work in just a few minutes.

My daughter called and said as she was trying to get her car ready to go to work, a car on the road in front of her place got stuck and now she can't get out. She just has snow but large amounts of it.

We still have power as does Jenna. We are thankful for that. Haven't heard from the boys yet this morning. Neither one of them have to go anywhere today so I am sure they are inside staying warm.

Will update later on in the day if I get a chance.

I am blessed and God is good to me.
Donna

1/31/11 Design Wall

2011-01-31T07:09:00.000-06:00

Not the best light but this is what is on my design wall today. 23 of 30 blocks for Jeremiah's patriotic quilt. I am so excited about the new design board. I can actually fit all the blocks for this quilt on the wall. It will be great when I go to move them around for the best placement.

Looking forward to a great week! I might not get as much sewing time as I would like as it is the first of the month and that is a busy time at my job. Maybe I can finish this in the next two weeks.

I am blessed and God is good to me!
Donna

Weekend With Jenna

2011-01-30T16:08:00.000-06:00

We really enjoyed Jenna's visit last weekend. I haven't had a chance to post about it before this. I started last week with a migraine and missed work on Monday. The remainder of the week was spent trying to catch up.

It was a treat to get a whole weekend with our daughter. She is very involved in her church and can't always get away for the entire weekend. She stayed until about 9pm on Sunday and then headed back home.

It was such a joy to get to hear Richard and Jenna sing together again. It had been awhile and the last opportunity wasn't joyful. They sang at Richard's dad's funeral last year. Their voices blend together really well and they always do a good job. The photo is of them singing at our church on last Sunday evening.

Thanks Jenna for a great time!

I am blessed and God is good to me!
Donna

New Design Board

2011-01-30T15:57:00.000-06:00

I have a new design wall. My old one was 4x8 and this one is 7.5x7. It is now wide enough to lay out a 7x7 block quilt if the blocks are 12". More if I make smaller blocks. 12" is the most common size I use as I usually make really large quilts. I snapped this photo just as we got it together. It is now full of blocks from what I am working on. There will be something new for my design wall tomorrow.

I am blessed and God is good to me!
Donna

1/30/11 Stash Report

2011-01-30T08:00:00.000-06:00

Thankfully the LQS sold out of the $1 per yard fabric, so no more temptation to enhance the stash. Some sewing went on this week but no finishes.

I did use some fabric to make a new design wall. So the numbers improved a little. I will post later with a photo of my new wall along with the link to the post where I got the idea.

Used this Week: 5.25 yards
Purchased this Week: 0 yards
Used YTD: 18 yards
Purchased YTD: 58 yards
Net Used: negative 40 yards

I am blessed and God is good to me!
Donna

1/23/11 Stash Report

2011-01-23T07:55:00.000-06:00

I had a couple of finishes this week. The first one can be seen here. Second finish used up a tad more fabric than the first and helped my numbers somewhat. However, there was a definite change in the stash numbers this week and it wasn't for the better. I innocently went to the LQS this week to pass on some information for our guild, and what did they tempt me with but fabric for $1 a yard. I am talking name brand good quality quilt fabric. So what's a quilter to do?

Enhance the stash of course. So all these wonderful bolts of fabric came home with me. I will have to quilt round the clock to overcome this deficit.

Used this week: 8 yards
Purchased this week: 58 yards
Used YTD: 12.75 yards
Purchased YTD: 58 yards
Net: -45.25

So back to the sewing room and no more excursions even near fabric.

I am blessed and God is good to me!
Donna

Finish #3

2011-01-22T13:12:00.000-06:00

I just finished Joel's quilt. I am now all caught up and the kids have equal quilts again. Jeremiah and Jenna received their latest quilts at the end of last year. Joel's wasn't finished at the same time and then the holidays came. So here it is "finish #3" for 2011

This is made from a pattern in the May 2008 McCall's Quick Quilts. The pattern is "Square Dancing" designed by Sandi Irish. If you are looking for something really quick this is a great pattern. If you are using fat quarters each pair makes two blocks.

I am blessed and God is good to me!
Donna

Finish #2

2011-01-22T11:03:00.000-06:00

Jeremiah purchased a Kobo, Border's ereader, and asked me to make a case for it. So, this is my second finish of the year. These little cases are fun and easy to make. The total process takes about 30 minutes.

I am blessed and God is good to me!
Donna

Family Night

2011-01-21T23:49:00.000-06:00

What a wonderful evening we had. We started with a little dinner and some catching up. I am so proud of our sons and daughter. It was great to have a little noise in the house again. There were several conversations going on at the same time all evening.

Dinner was followed by a very competitive game of Quiddler. If you haven't ever played and you love words this is a great game. It can be quick and amusing. I won! I wasn't even the score keeper so I can attest to it being a valid victory.

The guys had to leave but Jenna is staying the weekend. We are finishing out the evening with the movie Benny and Joon. One of our favorites and in our opinion Johnny Depp's best.

This has been one of our most enjoyable evenings in some time. Thanks to the kids all being here we have a few more memories to store away.

I am blessed and God is good to me!
Donna

I'm So Excited!!

2011-01-21T08:58:00.000-06:00

Just a short post to express my excitement. All of our children will be at our home this evening. It has been forever since we have had them all together at our place.

I am so excited I am having a hard time concentrating this morning. I went to buy groceries before work. It was COLD but absolutely worth it. I plan to leave work early this afternoon to go home and bake.

Looking forward to a great family evening of fun, food, games and catching up with the three most wonderful children ever to be born (I now there are those who would argue this, but I know God blessed me with the perfect children for me).

There will be an update tomorrow on the happenings. Maybe with photos if I don't forget in all the excitement.

I am blessed (triply) and God is good to me!
Donna

Design Wall 1/17/11

2011-01-17T05:53:00.000-06:00

This is my design wall this morning. I saw this block and thought it might be a way to use up some of my scraps. I am still trying to decide if I should just use blues and blue greens or mix in all the colors I have. I don't think it will turn into a quilt for a little while. I think this will be my make a block when I can project. We shall see what the future holds for this little block. It was a fun and quick block to make. I have been wanting to try some scrap projects. I have a hard time with being totally scrappy. I am way to controlling to be comfortable with scrappy. I guess one of my goals this year it to use what I have and be happy.

I am blessed and God is good to me!
Donna

1/16/11 Stash Report

2011-01-16T08:57:00.000-06:00

I had a finish yesterday so my numbers are looking better. You can see it here.

Used this week: 4.5 yards
purchased this week: 0
Used YTD: 4.75
Purchased YTD: 0
Net YTD: 4.75 used

I am still working on the black, red and white. When it is finished my numbers will look even better.

Check out Judy's blog to see what others have done this week

I am blessed and God is good to me!
Donna

Finish #1

2011-01-15T16:43:00.000-06:00

This is my first finish of the year. The blocks that were on the design wall on Monday are now this cute quilt. Richard quilted it with white thread and Dave Hudson's Meandering Stars panto. I am very happy with this finish. It turned out much cuter than I expected at the start. Below is the backing. It can be enlarged by clicking on the photo. The animals on this fabric are so appropriate for the back of a baby quilt.

I hope the baby it is going to enjoys looking at all these animals.

I am blessed and God is good to me!
Donna

1/10/11 Design Wall

2011-01-10T06:20:00.000-06:00

These blocks have been made for a while. They are for a new baby boy born into our church in November. I am running a little behind. Once I had the blocks made I didn't really like them. It seemed like too much white. Yesterday I pulled them out and pressed them and started playing. This is what I have so far. I am really liking this now. I now have the rows sewn together and have the first two put together.

My goal is to finish this this week and take it to the baby on Sunday. It is so cold here that I am sure it could be used right now. I am glad these blocks finally spoke to me as I didn't want to start over and be even later in getting the gift finished.

I am blessed and God is good to me!
Donna

What's Cookin'

2011-01-09T16:42:00.000-06:00

Although sewing has been hard to find time for, I have been doing a little comfort food cooking. The weather here is kinda nasty today. Started with sleet and turned to snow until it finally tapered off this afternoon. One of our favorite dishes is Shepherd's pie. I had put a roast in the oven before church this morning and it was so nice to come in from the cold and have a nice warm meal waiting.

After we had lunch I took the leftovers and made this wonderful Shepherd's pie. I have eaten this dish in many restaurants and I must say that mine tops most all of them in my opinion. It seems that most resort to ground beef for the meat. I think roast makes a much more authentic and tasty dish. I have at least two children who absolutely love this comfort food. I wish they were all here to be taste testers for me this afternoon.

I hope they are staying in and warm today! I love sitting under a quilt on a day like this with a good book. When I finish here I am headed for the recliner.

I spent a few minutes in the quilt room this afternoon ripping out a block and placing some finished blocks on the design board. Stay tuned for a look at the design board tomorrow.

I am blessed and God is good to me!

Donna

1/9/11 Stash Report

2011-01-09T16:28:00.000-06:00

No sewing going on this week. It was a long busy week at work, followed by a long day on Saturday. Richard had two customer quilts to get out and I had to do the year end books for church. Both are now finished and a little sewing might go on next week.

Used this week: 0

Purchased this week: 0

Used YTD: .25

Purchased YTD: 0

Net: .25 yards used

Next week's report will be more exciting I hope.

I am blessed and God is good to me!

Donna

1/3/11 Design Wall

2011-01-03T05:47:00.000-06:00

This is my design wall this morning. It has been on the wall for several weeks. I am making a lap size quilt for Joel. Jenna and Jeremiah were given theirs about a month ago and then life got really busy and I didn't get Joel's finished. This is the first project I want to finish this year. Maybe there will be time this evening to work on it. I have to take apart 2 of the blocks and resew and then make I think 10 more blocks.

I am hoping for a quick finish on this and then move on to something else. There were several UFO challenges set up to start on New Year Day that I was interested in. I didn't feel like I could join any as all my UFOs need to be finished at certain times. They are mostly for gifts and have time lines.

Head over to Judy's to see what others are working on.

I am blessed and God has been good to me!!
Donna

1/2/11 Stash Report

2011-01-02T12:22:00.000-06:00

Not a lot of sewing going on the week. Most of the week was spent cleaning. Richard and I took off for most of the last week and spent the time deep cleaning our home. If anyone want to drop by for a visit now is the time! We moved everything in the house to clean under it. All the appliances small and large are cleaned. I commented to Richard on Friday when we finished the last room that "the President could come for dinner and I wouldn't need to touch a thing". What a great feeling that is. I am hoping to have more energy for sewing if my house can stay clean.

I did make a case for my Kindle(you can see a photo and read about that here ).

So,

Used this week: .25 yards
Used year to date: .25 yards
Purchased this week: 0
Purchased YTD: 0
Net used: .25 yards

I am blessed and God has been good to me!!
Donna

Whatever Can It Be??

2011-01-01T19:22:00.001-06:00

Yesterday afternoon I was gifted with the most unexpected gift. An item I had no idea that I even wanted. Something that Jeremiah and I had spent several hours discussing in the last few months. Something that he had researched and couldn't decide if he would even use. Surely if he was undecided, being far more in touch with changing times than me, it would be a waste of money for me to own. Something I was sure I would never use. Something that seemed too techy for it's use. An item that might change the way I enjoyed one of my
most cherished hobbies. A change that I was scared would take away the pleasure I have enjoyed since a small child. A privilege I had made deals with my parents to enjoy. I had loved for so many years. However, when I opened the package and saw what was inside I immediately became overcome with excitement and knew I had found a new "best friend". I was looking at a Kindle!!

I have always had a love for books and carry one with me every time I leave the house. I take every opportunity to read. As a kid I begged to go to the library so often my Dad spoke with the librarian and she lifted the 6 book limit so I could take home 20 at a time. My Dad and Mom were as thrilled as I was. I am sure that one move saved them many hours and lots of money in fuel.

My Dad and I made a deal when I was very young that I could read as late as I wished but I had best get up at the first call. He never had to call me twice!! To this day I am an avid reader and have passed that along to two of my children. Jeremiah never leaves the house without 2 or 3 books. Jenna enjoys reading! Joel just never caught the reading "bug". Those who don't read really miss out on one of the greatest pleasures of life.

So, this evening I am enjoying my new gift to the fullest. Of course, being a quilter I had to make a special case to keep it safe. I will be able to take other things in my carry on in the future as I can now carry thousands of books in my purse in this tiny little bag.

It is very exciting to have a techy item before one of my children owns one. I am sure Jeremiah won't be far behind as he is coming to dinner next week to try it out. You can bet he will not leave with it!

Hope you all have a great New Year!!

I am very Blessed, God has been good to me!!

Donna

Design Wall 7/26/10

2010-07-26T06:17:00.000-05:00

This is my design wall this morning! The first block twelve. I have had the fabric for a while. This is for someone special in my life. Hope to finish it this week.

Prayer Request:
1. My friend "D" with cancer.
2. My friend "K" for salvation

Praise Report:
1. A great weekend spent with Jenna. So thankful she had a safe trip down. It was good to spend time with her. We ate her favorite chinese take-out and watched Friends on DVD. Had a wonderful time.
2. Wonderful uplifting church services this weekend. I am so blessed to have a wonderful church family and pastors who preach the Word.

I am blessed!!
Donna

Four Patch and Rail

2010-07-25T20:38:00.000-05:00

This is the top made from the four patch I showed on my design wall last week. I purchased some of this fabric last year in Houston at the Boline's booth. If you bought a 5 yard package they gave four patterns that could be used with the 5 yards to make a twin size quilt. The remaining fabric came from connectingthreads.com. This finished at 64x88 and I added a pillowcase. It will go to CSARA after it is quilted.

I am blessed!
Donna

Stash Report 7/25/10

2010-07-25T09:06:00.000-05:00

The sun washed out the top of this photo but I didn't have time to get another one. I am trying to get this posted before I head to church. This is a Rebecca Boline 5 yard quilt pattern called Tophat Tesselation. It was very easy to do and went together quickly. I will post a better photo when I get the backing, binding and pillowcase finished. Hopefully this afternoon. The second photo I tried to load disappeared. It was the one I really wanted to show. It was the finished top including the block I showed on Monday this week. I will post about it later today.

Stash Report:
Used this week: 10yards
Purchased this week: 0
Net this week: 10 yards used

YTD used: 131.75 yards
YTD purchased: 72.25 Yards
YTD net: 59.5 used

I will post photos of the other top when I get the backing, binding and pillowcase done.

I am blessed!!
Donna

Design Wall 7/19/10

2010-07-19T06:44:00.000-05:00

This is what I am working on. It is a simple 4 patch and rail design. It should go together quickly. It has no known future home. Maybe I will put it back for a quick gift or donate it to CSARA. I will see how it feels when finished.

We had a tiring but productive weekend. Jenna now has a car to get back and forth to work. It won't win any beauty contests but it does run. She will be coming home this next weekend so Richard can fix a couple of things for her. The main one being the a/c. It is very hot in Oklahoma right now and being without a/c is just miserable.

Prayer Request:
1. My friend "D" with cancer.
2. Joel's scholarship situation.

Praise Report:
1. A safe weekend of travel and a car for Jenna. God once again protected us and also provided.
2. Wonderful children. God blessed us with great kids. We so enjoy the time we get to spend with them.

I am blessed!
Donna

Stash Report 7/18/10

2010-07-18T07:47:00.000-05:00

I am so excited! I had another finish this week. Just a small quilt that will go to CSARA. An organization for abused children in our area. Our quilt guild keeps them supplied with quilts and matching pillowcases. This on just needs to be quilted and it will be ready to go.

We had a great evening with the kids last evening. We took Jeremiah out for his birthday. It was a great time.

Stash Report
Used this week: 20.25yards
Purchased this week: 1.25yards (pillowcase and binding)
Net used this week: 19yards

YTD used: 121.75
YTD purchased: 72.25 yards
YTD net used: 49.50

I am blessed!
Donna

Finished!

2010-07-14T06:27:00.004-05:00

Patriotic Peace Out is a finished top. It finished at 104x104. It is now in line to be quilted. I am excited to be getting so many tops finished. These have been languishing in the quilt room for too long. I am ready to look at new things.

We went last night to look at another car for Jenna. We will be putting a bid on it this morning. We are praying God directs us to the right car. We don't have a lot to spend at this time and she needs a car that will get her to and from work and church. She has been relying on he brother and friends for rides and doesn't want to impose forever. Our goal is to purchase a car by Saturday and deliver it to her. She will be thrilled with anything that runs.

I am blessed!
Donna

Baby Stars Finished!!

2010-07-13T06:33:00.004-05:00

Baby stars top is now finished. This has been on my design wall way too long. Now to get it quilted and to it's owner before she is grown. This is in line to be quilted after the wedding quilt that is late also. Being late with gifts seems to be my new mode of operation. I hope I can overcome that and start getting things done on time.

My next goal is to finish Jenna's Patriotic Peace Out quilt. It is pictured below and just needs two borders. One being a piano key and the other just a plain border. When I finish the borders it is on to Jeremiah's patriotic quilt. It doesn't have a name yet but it soon will I hope. It was my goal to make each of my children and myself a patriotic quilt before July 4th this year. That didn't happen due to circumstances.

I plan to get them finished as quickly as possible and move on to fall quilts.

Hope everyone has a great day!

I am blessed!
Donna

Design Wall

2010-07-12T06:03:00.003-05:00

This is still on my design wall. I hope to finish it this week. It has been here entirely too long. The baby it is intended for is already almost two months old.

I have several ideas for new quilts but won't let myself start them until I finish a few things already in progress. If I can finish this I will have three others I have started to finish and then on to new things.

Prayer Request:
1. "D" a friend of mine for healing for cancer.
2. A car for my daughter (explanation in praise report below).

Praise Report:
1. 26 years ago today we were blessed with our firstborn Jeremiah. He has been a blessing and a joy to us. We are so proud of him and what he has accomplished in life. He is in grad school and teaching at the university he attends. We will be going up to see him on Saturday and celebrating this milestone with a family dinner.

2. On July 4th our daughter wrecked her car. God was so good to her. She rear ended a pickup and her car went underneath the pickup. There was much damage and the airbags deployed. She walked away without a scratch, bruise or any signs she had been in an accident. It was as though God wrapped her in cotton. Her boyfriend had a jammed finger and a few burns on his arm from the airbag, the people she hit were fine. God richly blessed everyone in this situation. We will forever praise Him for his protection.

I am blessed!
Donna

Stash Report 7/11/10

2010-07-11T18:13:00.002-05:00

I finished binding a couple of quilts that had already been counted in the stash report earlier in the year.

The top photo is a patriotic quilt for my parents. The pattern is from a McCall's Quick Quilts magazine. I think it is from a couple of years ago. I finished the top last year and Richard finished quilting it this week. The binding is on and it is ready to take to mom and dad when we go up next.

This is my hexagon quilt. The binding is on, it has been washed and dried and is now on my bed.

This is a finished top I can claim in my stash report today. The top and binding are finished and hopefully Richard can get it quilted this week and we can get is delivered to his nephew who married in June. We are running a little late with this gift. Check out my earlier blog entries for an explanation of the holdup on productivity this summer.

Stash Report:
Used this week: 14 yards
Purchased this week: 0
Net this week: 14 yards used

YTD used: 101.5 yards
YTD purchased: 71 yards
YTD net: 30.5 yards

My hope is to finish another top this week. It just needs borders.

I am blessed!
Donna

Sad Times

2010-06-29T01:16:00.002-05:00

This post explains my long absence from the blogging world.

On May 3rd my father-in-law suffered a stroke while eating breakfast. This caused him to choke and pass out. He was without oxygen for 10 to 20 minutes when the paramedics arrived. They were able to get his heart beating again and get him to the hospital.

After several days and numerous tests it was discovered that he had no brain activity at all. Life support was removed and Raus passed away on May 16, 2010. His memorial service was held on May 20th. He will be greatly missed!

It seems we have had a hard time getting to our new "normal". I know from the death of my brother almost 2 years ago that is takes time to get acclimated to what the "normal" will be without a loved one.

Raus was always a wonderful father-in-law to me. He did so much of the work on our home that there is not one room that doesn't have a memory of him. For 2 years he came every Friday and stayed until Saturday evening helping us on our house. He also came and spent weeks at a time when Richard took vacation to work on the house. Raus was always a pleasure to have around and we cherish the memories we have of him. I was blessed to know him!!

Please keep our family in your prayers. As most everyone knows the pain of loss doesn't just disappear overnight but takes the peace of God to get through.

I am blessed!!
Donna

Good Times!

2010-06-29T00:54:00.005-05:00

My dad turned 70 on April 28th this year. We celebrated on May 1 with a fish fry. We included all the fixings and lots of family and fun.

In the first photo is my dad getting help opening his gifts. The helpers are my sister's granddaughter Catherine and Aunt Pat and Uncle John's grandson Calvin. They managed to get the gifts opened in record time.

This is Uncle John and Aunt Pat. I have mentioned them before. Uncle John makes great quilts and Aunt Pat is his pressing queen and helps with color and fabric selection. Their other grandson Jordan was there also

This is Jenna and her boyfriend David and Nadine (my brother's wife). You get just a glimpse of my Mom to the right.

This is Lindsay, Joel's girlfriend, Joel and Jeremiah. It was a wonderful day filled with great family time. My sister Mary and brother Jim were there along with my niece Justine, nephew Alec and John Paul. We had such a great day!!

I am blessed!!
Donna

Busy Birthday Week

2010-04-29T07:16:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday to me!! Today is my 46th birthday. Or as Joel refers to it "39th for the 7th time". Gotta love a kid like that! Gotta love all my kids, as they are the best!!

Joel's Jazz concert was Tuesday evening and well worth the drive over. The opening piece was Gospel John and Joel started it off with a solo. He hit all the high notes and did a great job.

We have been out of town each evening this week with late returns. I am getting too old for late nights and early mornings.

Last evening we took Jenna's car back to her. It had been in the shop for major repairs and wasn't ready as early as we had hoped. But it is now fixed and rides great. It is always good to see the kids for any amount of time we can get with them.

We also stopped by Jeremiah's last evening on our way out of town. He had made some wonderful pesto and wanted to share. It was collard green pesto and the taste was awesome. We didn't have much time with him, but will be seeing him on Saturday. We will be meeting him at the farmer's market on our way to my Dad's birthday bash.

Dad turned 70 yesterday and we are celebrating on Saturday with all the family and a fish fry! Can't wait for that. Looking forward to spending the day with my children and all the other family!

I am blessed!!
Donna

Design Wall

2010-04-26T06:09:00.003-05:00

This is the quilt I am working on now. I have two more rows of blocks to add and then the borders. I am naming this one "Patriotic Peace Out". The floral fabric in the middle of each block reminds me of a 60's/70's peace and love fabric. This will be Jenna's when it is finished.

I have cut out all of Jeremiah's patriotic quilt and it will be the next on I start working on. I have made one block and I really like the way it looks.

Joel's is still in the planning stage. I have a panel I want to include and I am still deciding how to bring it up to size.

We had a great weekend! Jenna came thru on Friday and spent the evening with us. We watched a movie and had a good visit. She then went on to Texas Bible College Saturday morning for a preview weekend with some friends. She will be back thru this evening but we will be out of town and won't be able to see her then.

Prayer Request:
1. Unpublished request
2. R.A. an eleven year old girl with cancer

Praise Report:
1. Jenna and those with her had a safe trip this weekend and have been blessed by God during the services they attended.
2. Time spent with Jenna on Friday evening. We don't see her very often and we miss her.
3. Wonderful weather for the weekend.

I am blessed!!
Donna

Design Wall

2010-04-19T07:06:00.002-05:00

No photo today as there hasn't been a lot of sewing going on. I did spend some evening last week cutting fabric. I am trying to get two quilts cut out so when I have sewing time I can just sew. I have all the blue cut for both quilts. I will be moving on to the red this week.

I didn't sew at all this weekend as Mom and Dad were here and after they left I started with some kind of sinus stuff. Richard had it for 2 weeks before the rain and I started when the rain started. I guess we are affected differently by the pollen in the air.

Prayer Request:
1. Unpublished Request
2. Brown Family-comfort over the loss of 17 year old son in car accident

Praise Report:

Great time with Mom and Dad. We played games and laughed until we were worn out. We also made some vacation plans for the summer. We have rented a home in South Carolina for a week in June. There will be 12 of us going so it should be a great time!

Wonderful missionary service last evening with a missionary from Egypt. He really blessed our hearts.

I am blessed!!
Donna

Parental Visit

2010-04-17T17:59:00.003-05:00

Mom and dad came down for a visit yesterday and stayed of until today. They came so Dad and Richard could work on my parents' motor home and get it running. Dad is wanting to sell it so he can get a stitch regulator for his longarm.

However, the weather didn't cooperate and we don't have a place out of the weather to work on a vehicle, so we spent the time in a more enjoyable way. We couldn't complain at all since we really need the rain and we had more fun than would have gone on working on the motor home engine.
Mom wanted me to help her figure out the wondercut ruler so we spent a few minutes doing
that. We didn't spend long at sewing as we had other things to do.

They hadn't seen Isadora, so after an introduction from Richard, Dad took over and stitched a row on the quilt we had in. He really wants to get a stitch regulator after trying out ours.

The most fun had was at the kitchen table. I must say the meals were outstanding even though I cooked them myself. I made chili verde, cheese enchiladas and vegetable enchiladas for Friday evening. The meals on Saturday were awesome too (once again I cooked them)! I surely can't be expected to talk bad about my cooking.

The meals were no the most fun we had!! We played many games of "42" on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon. When the weather is bad what else can you do? I hope Mom and Dad had as much fun as we did. The should have as they won the most games! We had a great visit and enjoyed the games. Hope they come back soon!!

I am blessed!
Donna

Design Wall

2010-04-12T06:57:00.002-05:00

This is my "design shade" this morning. I pinned the blocks to the window shade in front of my sewing machine so I could keep the top block straight in my mind as I sewed. The top block is the start of Jeremiah's patriotic quilt.

The bottom block is the start of Richard and my patriotic quilt. This little star quilt is six inches finished. I will need 110 of them for our quilt. This may be a slow process but I did so enjoy making this tiny block.

Prayer Request:
1. Unpublished request
2. Richard's dad (Raus) needs a healing

Praise Report:
1. A great weekend with Richard. He spend Saturday morning golfing and then we headed out to a couple of quilt shops. The first I had visited once before and the other was a new one to me. Both were filled with wonderful fabrics and people. We had a nice drive and then dinner out.
2. Friends and family who are quick to have an encouraging word when I need it. My husband wrote a song several years ago about God's peace when "our world is crashing around us". It seems there are times when everything falls apart at the same time and God is the only one who can send peace to us. Sometimes He uses those around us to give encouragement and I am thankful for people like that in my life.

I am blessed!
Donna

Stash Report 4/11/10

2010-04-11T14:58:00.002-05:00

Stashbusting had increases in the incorrect column this week. I am in the process of making patriotic quilts for my children and I have had to purchase fabric to fill in with what I had. So, even though the numbers don't look good now, they will be better when I get these quilts finished.

Stash Report:
Purchased this week: 15.5
Used this week: 0.00
Net this week: -15.5

Purchased YTD: 71.00 yards
Used YTD: 87.5 yards
YTD net: 16.5 yards used

Still in positive numbers but not as positive as I would like.

I am blessed!
Donna

Design Wall

2010-04-05T07:04:00.002-05:00

This is my design chair this morning. I am working on patriotic bed sized quilts for my kids. This one is for my daughter. She saw a charm pack in my sewing room and fell in love with one of the fabrics. It just so happened that it was a Moda line that was a few years old. I scoured the internet and was able to fine enough to do a quilt for her.

We had a great day yesterday! We were able to see Jeremiah and Jenna for lunch at my parents. We had a nice afternoon with family and a wonderful meal. It was great to see all our kids in the same weekend. We probably won't see them again until May. The guys are really busy with school as the semester is coming to an end. Jeremiah commented yesterday that he could use 6 weeks instead of the 5 he has with all the things he has to get done before semester end.

Prayer Request:
1. Unpublished request
2. Mr. B with cancer

Praise Report:

1. God's great love for me that he would lay down his life that I might have eternal life. The most precious gift that could ever be given.
2. Wonderful day spent with family.

I am blessed!!!!
Donna

Stash Report 4/4/10

2010-04-04T08:38:00.003-05:00

This is the quilt that took up our time this week. It is in the frame and quilted about half way. This is the graduation quilt for a wonderful young lady in our church.

Stash Report:

Purchased this week: 10.22
Used this week: 10
Net this week: -.25

YTD:
Purchased: 55.5
Used: 87.5
Net: 32 yards used

I went to my favorite quilt shop yesterday and wasn't tempted by a thing. The yardage added this week is for specific projects that I am working on and will be used quickly (I hope) as I want to give these gifts by the end of May. I did have a nice lunch with Joel yesterday. We made it into the town he lives just in time for his lunch break so We were able to spend 45 minutes with him. I am not sure how he ate as he talked nonstop. It was great to spend a little time with him.

When we get out of church this morning we will drive 2 hours to have lunch with my parents and Jeremiah and Jenna will be joining us. It will be nice to be able to see all the children this weekend. It was not planned just a spur of the moment decision, so I am looking forward to seeing everyone. My brother and sister will be joining us along with my nephew, niece and great niece. Should be a wonderful afternoon for all.

Happy Easter!!

Today reminds me that I am most blessed!!
Donna

Design Wall 3/29/10

2010-03-29T07:41:00.002-05:00

This is what I am working on currently. I still have to decide on and add some borders. It is a graduation gift for a girl in our church so I want to get it completed this week.

I hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine wasn't real productive as I wasn't feeling very well. Hope to be feeling better quickly.

Prayer Request:
1. Unpublished request
2. Mr. B with cancer

Praise Report:

1. Jenna made a trip to Missouri this weekend and we are very thankful that she had a safe uneventful trip. When she called to say she was home, Richard and I drew deep breathes and relaxed for the first time since she started planning this trip.
2. I am so thankful for the arrival of spring. The winter was longer. wetter and colder than any I remember in Southern Oklahoma and I am so glad to see the sun and feel the warmth.

I am blessed!
Donna

Stash Report

2010-03-28T10:23:00.003-05:00

This week's stash report:

Fabric Purchased this week: 0
Fabric used this week: 5 yards
Net this week: 5 yards used

YTD:
Purchased: 45.25 yards
Used: 77.75 yards
Net: 32.5 yards used

This is the first quilt to be quilted by Isadora. It is going to a local charity. Richard did a wonderful job on it. I will get the binding on this week so I can take it to quilt guild with me next week.

The second photo shows a close up of the wonderful quilting done on this.

I am going to try to publish this post now. I have been working on it for over an hour. Our computer has some major issues and I think we may be forced to take it to the shop which is 75 miles away. I have tried to wait and see if it might fix itself, but alas, the Norton virus protection doesn't seem to be working. I don't know why I bothered to purchase all the high dollar software to stop viruses and repair damage as I think it was a waste of good money that could have been used more profitably at the local quilt shop.

I am blessed!
Donna

Design Wall 3/22/10

2010-03-22T06:44:00.003-05:00

This is still on my design wall. I have lost interest in it at the moment. Maybe inspiration will return this week. Not a lot of piecing going on right now. Hoping for more get up and go this week. Maybe Isadora will be the inspiration I need to get me started again.

Prayer Request:
1. Unpublished request
2. Mr. B with cancer

Praise Report:
1. Wonderful services filled with God's spirit yesterday. What a refreshing feeling it is to have God visit!
2. Time spent with the boys. We had such a great time with them on Thursday!
3. A safe trip to get Isadora and get home on Friday evening. As we drove home we could see the clouds and lightening in front of us. We were blessed to get home and unload before the rain hit.

I am blessed!
Donna

Stash Report and Isadora

2010-03-21T08:11:00.002-05:00

The stash report this week wasn't the best as there hasn't been a lot of piecing going on. There have been other things in the works around our house this past week.

This Week:
Purchased: 0.00
Used: 3.5
Net: 3.5 used

YTD:
Purchased: 45.25
Used: 72.75
Net: 27.5 used

With it being spring break week, Jeremiah and Joel both had some free time. Jeremiah has friends close by so he came and spent some time with them. On Thursday Joel drove over and joined Richard for a day of golf. Jeremiah joined them in the afternoon. They ended the day at home with me. We had a great steak dinner and played a game of liverpool rummy. What a great evening it was. The guys also helped us move out my old quilting machine to make room for the Friday evening's new arrival.

And here it is!!!!! ISADORA!!!! Just in case you haven't seen How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, this is my dream diamond, aka. dream quilting machine.

As you can see Richard (who does most of the quilting in this house) is giving it a trial run. I don't think he will be doing all the quilting any longer. This is the machine I have wanted for a looong time. I just hadn't figured out a way to get it. On Monday of this past week I checked Craigslist for quilting machines as I do about once a month. To my surprise (and I still can't believe it) This Gammill Premier Plus was listed at an unbelievable price. A price I just couldn't pass up! So I contacted the seller and the fun began. We were able to go get the machine on Friday evening when we got off work.

We were able to get Isadora home and in the house before the storms and snow arrived. There will be a bit of a learning curve for both of us but we are looking forward to the challenge. Richard is very excited to be able to quilt a 14" area instead of the 6" area we had before. However I should say that there are a couple of things we will miss about the old machine and I don't want it to feel like it wasn't appreciated as it did an admirable job for us.

I see many happy hours in our future with Isadora.

I am blessed!
Donna

Design Wall Monday 3/8/2010

2010-03-08T06:23:00.002-06:00

I know this is the same photo from last week and
it looks as though nothing was accomplished. However, there was progress. I have 4 blocks completed and all the components made for the other 12. My goal tonight is to get all 16 blocks finished. Think I can do it? I don't know but if I don't try I sure won't.

Praise Report:
1. Wonderful revival services this past week. The minister preached the most beautiful message I have ever heard on the love of God yesterday morning. If you don't believe in the love of God hearing that message would make a believer out of anyone. There will be cd's available and if anyone wants to hear it just comment and I will send you a copy.
2. God kept my kids safe as they traveled this weekend. I had 2 who traveled out of state and I am so thankful that they were kept safe.

Prayer Request:
1. Unpublished request
2. Uncle John is in the hospital with fluid buildup.
3. Posey family-they have lost several family members the past few months, and lost another one yesterday. This family needs your prayers.

I am blessed!
Donna

Stash Report March 7, 2010

2010-03-07T07:27:00.002-06:00

Nothing has changed from last week. I have been sewing a bit but haven't finished anything this week. It has been a busy week in other areas. The first week of the month is always busy at my job and this week had other added events.

Wednesday evening Joel had a spring concert and we drove over for that. The symphonic band sounded very good and we had an enjoyable evening. It was nice to spend a few minutes visiting with him and Lindsay after the concert. Although we weren't able to stay for long afterward as we had to drive home. Got home at 11:00 which is late for us.

Our church started a revival on Wednesday, so we were in service on Thursday and Friday. The minister has really touched our hearts.

On Saturday Joel came over and played golf with Richard and then came to the house for lunch and visited for a while. We really enjoy seeing the kids when they get the chance to come. So, as I said my week has been busy with other things. Maybe the sewing room will see my presence more this next week.

The numbers are:

Purchased this week: 0.00
Used this week: 0.00
Net this week: 0.00

Purchased YTD: 45.25
Used YTD: 69.25
Net YTD: 24 Yards USED!!!!

I am blessed!
Donna

2010-03-01T06:36:00.002-06:00

The large stars are my current project. The blocks measure 16 inches finished. I had purchased the fabric for these over a year ago and I am as pleased with it now as when I purchased it. There will be 16 stars in all when it is finished. I hope to make progress on it this week.

The second photo is a small baby stars quilt for a baby due in June in our church. I finished a larger baby stars top this past week for my great niece. It is in line waiting to be quilted. I will post a photo after it is quilted and bound. I am using this smaller on as a leader and ender while
working on the large stars.

I am finally getting all the 1930's fabric from my stash. I pieced all the leftovers into backings last week and when this top is finished they will be also. I think 1920's fabrics make up into beautiful quilts, but I have found that I don't really enjoy working with them.

Prayer Request:
1. Unpublished request
2. Revival at our church-starts Wednesday night

Praise Report:
When I got to my parents home this weekend, I thought there was something different. It took me a couple of hours to figure it out. I can be slow sometimes! My mother wasn't using her oxygen. I was surprised and very pleased. She has been on oxygen 24/7 for several years. She didn't tell me that she hasn't had to use it since her surgery except during the night a few times. It was so wonderful to see her not weighted down by that when we went shopping. I want to say THANK YOU JESUS! IT WAS THE BEST SURPRISE!

I am also thankful for a safe uneventful trip. And another surprise, my Aunt Ruthie called while I was there and we had a nice visit. I really have missed her recently, even though she has lived away from Oklahoma for many years and we don't see her often, it seems I have missed her more in the last couple of years.

I am blessed!
Donna

Stash Report

2010-03-01T06:28:00.002-06:00

This report is a day late since I was out of town this weekend. I went to one of my favorite quilt shops and spent about an hour browsing around. The ladies who work there were so shocked when I walked out of there without purchasing anything. They were even more shocked when my mom walked out without purchasing anything. We spent a nice weekend with family and enjoyed our visit.

So, on to the report:

Fabric purchased this week: 0
Fabric used this week: 27.5
Net fabric used this week: 27.5

Fabric purchased YTD: 45.25
Fabric used YTD: 69.25
Net YTD: 24 yards used!!!

I spent some time piecing backings and making bindings this week for several tops that I pieced last year.

I am blessed!
Donna

New Mattress

2010-02-16T06:47:00.002-06:00

Richard and I have been talking for several weeks about getting a new mattress set. Ours was about 13 years old and wasn't a top of the line when we bought it. It seemed as though we woke up all night with arms, legs and hips either in pain or tingling, so we thought it might be time to upgrade. He was off yesterday and I took a day off and the plan was to quilt all day, however when we woke up more tired than when we went to bed, it was decided that yesterday was the day to buy a new mattress.

The town closest to us with furniture stores has four places to buy mattresses. We decided to look at each one before we made a decision. The first place had one I kinda likes but only the floor model in stock, the second place didn't have anything we like and we had never heard of the brands they carried, the third place had a mattress I really liked (I had looked at the same one when Jeremiah was looking for a mattress) and we had just about decided on it, when we reminded ourselves that there was one more place. We had agreed no purchase until all the mattresses in town had been tried. So, off we headed to the last place. This store only sells mattresses and they had three we liked. Our favorite was an ECOmemory and it felt wonderful, however it retailed for $4,500 and we decided that was too much mattress for our $800 bedroom Suite. So we decided on one of the others at the last stop. We came home and got the trailer and went to pick it up.

When we got home and got it on the bed the bed was so tall I couldn't get up on it. It measured 37inches from the floor. Richard took our bed apart and put a metal frame on the floor and put it back and that lowered it 5 inches, so I can now at least hoist myself up on the bed. The photo above is how it looks this morning. I also purchased a set of bamboo sheets with a quilted top sheet. They are so soft and I think I will like them. I will report later on how they wear and feel over time. It is so hard to find soft sheets that will stay on the bed.

I will finish the saga of the beds later, as there is another story regarding the old mattress yet to tell.

I am blessed!
Donna

Baby Stars

2010-02-15T07:27:00.002-06:00

This is my design wall this morning. I am making
two baby quilts. These blocks are 8 inches finished. I don't usually make blocks this small. One of these quilts will go to my great niece. The other will go to a lady in our church who has a baby due in June. These are made with the 1930's fabric left over from my hexagon quilt. I am somewhat tired of working with them. These quilts should use up the remaining fabric and I can get them out of my stash.

Prayer Request:
1. Unpublished request
2. Spring revival at our church

Praise Report:
1. The 7 inches of snow on Thursday has melted and the roads stayed clear.
2. We had a safe trip to Durant to see Joel and enjoyed the time spent with him. Also, he has moved into a new apartment with a new roommate. We were thrilled to be able to walk into his apartment and see that he was comfortable there. His last roommate made things so uncomfortable that Joel spent all his time gone or in his very small bedroom. He assured us that his new roommate and he get along great. Joel had paintings done by Jeremiah on the walls and the apartment was decorated and looked lived in and comfortable. We had been so concerned about his living conditions before. We never felt comfortable at his old place and I left crying every time we visited. Joel is such a social person it was hard for me to see him living like that. He seems so much happier even though he is still in a very tiny crowded two bedroom apartment.
3. Thankful Jeremiah had a safe trip to see Nan and Pop. He goes to see them about every other weekend. He had a good time and made them a quiche for dinner last evening before he went home.

I am blessed!
Donna

Off the Wagon!!

2010-02-14T07:56:00.004-06:00

Yesterday the wagon tilted and off I fell with a big bang. I had been so proud of my purchasing will power so far this year. Of course when I fall of the wagon it is usually with an excuse. Maybe it was the weather. Southern Oklahoma has seen more snow this winter season than ever in history I do believe. Maybe it is because I haven't been anywhere but work, grocery store and home since Christmas. Most probably the reason for my drastic fall is that Joel gave me a gift card to the quilt shop in the town he lives for Christmas. Yesterday Richard and I went to see Joel and I went to the quilt shop to spend my gift card. Then the shop owner conspired against me and had an awesome 50% off sale. I didn't pay more than $4.50 a yard for any of my purchases. It is really hard to pass up a good sale on wonderful fabric. See all the dots, I have been wanting to get some dots for a while. This shop is an awesome shop. This was only my second time to shop there. The staff is very friendly and helpful and the selection of fabrics is large and varied. I really could have brought home much more, but alas the pocket book sometimes dictates my spending. I think I should be grateful for that as I could be drowning in fabric if the pocketbook wasn't limited sometimes.

So here are the numbers:

Purchased this week: 38.5 yards
Used this week: 19.25
Net this week: -19.25

Purchased YTD: 45.25
Used YTD: 41.75
Net YTD: -3.5

I will do better. Just don't let me into the shop in Durant again for a long while.

This is a photo of our home when we got home from work on Thursday. Seven inches of snow fell during the day on Thursday. Thankfully the roads stayed clear. This was such a wet snow that it did cause roof damage in the area. If you enlarge the photo you might be able to see our boat in the background. The snow was so heavy it tore the cover in several places. Hopefully we will be able to patch the tears. We will be putting the boat up for sale in the very near future. I know many of you get much larger snows than this, but southern Oklahoma is not an area that sees this very often. In fact, I have lived in this area for 26 years and this is the first winter we have had more than 1 snow. This is our third this season.

I am blessed!
Donna

Finish # 3

2010-02-10T07:03:00.003-06:00

The hexagon quilt top is finished. Richard and I finished it last evening. I was thrilled to have it ready for the quilting frames. I will piece the backing maybe this evening.

We have a city wide memorial service this evening to commemorate those who lost their lives last year when an F4 tornado tore through our little town and to thank God that more lives were not lost.

I am looking forward to the next quilt. You can be sure it will be something quick and easy after the last one. I am thinking large stars.

It's time to leave for work, so guess I will get out the door.

I am blessed!
Donna

Design Wall Monday 2/8

2010-02-08T06:38:00.002-06:00

Nothing new on my design wall today. I am still working on the hexagon quilt. This one has been very time consuming. Richard and I both worked on it over the weekend and it still isn't finished. He pressed while I sewed which was a tremendous help. We hope to have enough energy to finish it after work this evening. I will post a photo when the top is complete.

This post also doubles as my stash report for yesterday. The numbers are the same as last week. This coming Sunday should show a great improvement in the numbers.

Praise Report:

Jenna was given a full time position at the bank this week. She will be transferring to another branch. We are so thankful she will have insurance again after 90 days.

This week marks the 1 year anniversary of a tornado that tore through our small town and killed 8 people. Such an unexpected event to happen in February. There were many homes and businesses destroyed. I am still so thankful that we were spared. The tornado went just 2 miles from our home. There will be a city wide memorial service on Wednesday, Feb. 10th, which is the exact anniversary day. We will be in attendance to commemorate the ones who lost their lives and thank God that many more were not killed that evening.

Prayer Requests:
1. Unpublished request
2. Maya who is a missionary waiting on her visa. Pray God speeds up the process so she can rejoin her husband.

I am very blessed!
Donna

Design Wall Monday 2/1

2010-02-01T06:49:00.003-06:00

This is what is on my design wall. Well, it was laid
out on the living room floor. Furniture had to be moved to get all the pieces laid out, so after this photo was taken we picked up each of the 28 rows and labeled them. It will take a few evenings to get them sewn together but I hope to have it done by Friday night.

Praise Report:
We had quite a storm here in Oklahoma on Thursday and Friday and many people are still without power. I am so thankful that all my family was kept safe and never lost power.
I am thankful for time spent with my husband this weekend. We had a very relaxing three days at home together.
Joel is moved into his new apartment and we are very thankful that God opened up an apartment in his complex.

Prayer Request:
1. Unpublished prayer request
2. 14 year old girl with leukemia

I am blessed!
Donna

Stash Report 1/31

2010-01-31T16:38:00.002-06:00

This week's stash report looks no different than last week.

Fabric used this week: 0
Fabric purchased this week: 0

Fabric used YTD: 22.5
Fabric purchased YTD: 6.75

Net used: 15.75

There has been sewing going on! I just haven't finished the current top so I can't report it as used. Next week should be good as I plan to finish the latest top this week.

Richard and I took off on Friday, which was very fortuitous for us. It sleeted and snowed here all day and we were nice and warm in the sewing room. Richard quilted the BOM and Lucy. I have the bindings sewn on one side and am on my way to the sewing room now to finish them up before the Grammy's. I worked on the hexagon quilt both days and I finally have all the pieces done and ready to sew into rows. There are 28 rows so it will take a few evenings to finish.

We had 5th Sunday at church today. We had a wonderful Mexican Fiesta at noon and then one service after at 2:00. The great food was followed by an awesome visit by God at the service. Not only were our physical bodies fed, God fed us spiritually thru His word and the moving of His spirit. What an awesome time we had.

I am blessed!
Donna

Design Wall Monday 1/25

2010-01-24T21:08:00.004-06:00

This is my design floor at the moment. I started collecting fabric for this quilt in October 2008 when the pattern appeared in McCall's Quilting magazine. I need 196 hexagons and I think I finally have enough fabrics. I have cut all the strips and sewed them together. Some of the strips have been pressed and cut into the pieces that form the hexagons. I made up a few to see if I was going to like it before I made 196 and I do. This will keep me busy for a while. I think it will make a nice spring quilt for my bed.

Praise report:
My mom went to the doctor this week and he was very pleased with her progress. He felt sure he got everything and according to the tests all looks good.
2. Saturday evening we were on our way to prayer meeting on the 4 lane divided highway that runs a mile from our home. The division is a two lane wide strip of grass. As we were traveling east we came upon a car my husband decided to pass. As we went around the car a pickup in front of us suddenly cut over all the way to the shoulder of the highway. I was watching him trying to decide why he had done that when I turned back to the highway there was a car in the wrong lane heading straight for us. I screamed at my husband and the called JESUS! We had not gotten all the way past the car we were passing when this happened. It was just the hand of God that we were able to get over out of the path of the oncoming car. We still can't figure out how this car got on the wrong side of the highway. The division is so wide and the signage is very good in that area as it was right in front of the police station. All we know for sure is God was looking out for us on Saturday evening.

Prayer requests:
1. Continued prayer for the unpublished request.
2. A 14 year old girl with leukemia.

I am very blessed!
Donna

Stash Report Week 4

2010-01-24T07:20:00.002-06:00

This report doesn't really reflect all the work going on in my sewing room. I started out reporting yardage used as I made blocks, sashed, made binding and so on. That method turned out to be too time consuming for me. So I have decided to report yardage used when the top, binding and backing are all pieced.

Fabric purchased this week: 2.25 yards
Fabric used this week: 3 yards
Net used this week: .75 yards

Fabric purchased YTD: 6.75
Fabric used YTD: 22.5
Net used YTD: 15.75

there will be a peak at my current project on tomorrow's design wall post. I don't anticipate a finish on it anytime soon.

I am blessed! Look for my praise report tomorrow to see how really blessed I am!
Donna

Saturday So Far

2010-01-23T13:31:00.005-06:00

Richard and I both have been busy this morning. I finished the Lucy quilt top, the binding and pieced the backing. I have decided this year to do the binding and the backing as I finish the top. Maybe this will help the total number of finishes I have this year if all the pieces to the puzzle are done first. I don't know if it will work until I try, so try I will. This is a photo of the finished Lucy top. You can't see the border very well but it is a chocolate brown. I will be binding it with the bright blue.

Since Richard has been so busy on the house he hasn't had time to put a quilt in the frame and start quilting. I can't in all good conscious ask him to stop the house work to further my quilting habit, so I may have to try my hand at the quilting again soon. It has been at least 2 years since I have done any quilting on the machine. I know I will be really rusty as quilting requires a lot of practice to keep the skills up. I will try to be back later with a photo of the house work going on.

The bottom photo is part of our lunch although we didn't eat all of this. Richard put some pork butt out of our freezer in the smoker last evening. It smoked for 14 hours and came out looking and tasting wonderful. We used apple wood and the taste was great. This made the best pulled pork. We will be having pulled pork sandwiches for dinner and sharing some of this bounty with friends this evening. The white pan is peach cobbler made from some frozen peaches I had. It was the first time I had used this recipe and it turned out good. I will be making this again. Well it is back to it for me. Hope to check in later. Have a great afternoon.

I am blessed!
Donna

Christmas Quilt

2010-01-20T06:34:00.003-06:00

I have been meaning to blog about this gift since Christmas.
My mom and dad gave each of their children a large quilt for Christmas this year. Mine is 105x105 because I have a sleigh bed and I like my quilts large enough to tuck into the rails on each side.

I absolutely love this quilt! I think it is beautiful and not something I would make for myself. The story that led to these quilts is interesting and a testament that you really can "teach an old dog new tricks". So, here is the story.

My parents have very dear friends of 45 years, they have been a part of our family as long as I can remember. All of us refer to them as "uncle" John and "aunt" Pat. They have always been the best of friends. About two years ago Uncle John had some health issues and was no longer able to be outside doing all the things he had always done. He was put on oxygen and really couldn't do much in comparison to the active life he had led for years. He and aunt Pat were at my parents one day and uncle John was complaining of being bored. My mother suggested that he take up piecing quilts. He just laughed at that idea and went home. Several days later he came back for some lessons and Mom got him started with some supplies she had. Uncle John has never looked back. He learned to quilt at around 70 years old and has made I don't know how many quilts over the last 2 years. My Dad thinks the number is getting close to 100 quilts. Dad quilts all of John's quilts and he has lost count. Uncle John is blessed with an ironing queen in Aunt Pat. She does all his pressing for him.

What makes this quilt extra special is my Mom and Uncle John pieced it, Aunt Pat did a lot of the pressing and my Dad quilted. So, not only is it beautiful, it holds a special place in my heart. I just want everyone involved in the making of this quilt to know I will always treasure it.

I am blessed!
Donna

Design Wall Monday

2010-01-18T06:36:00.003-06:00

Lucy is still on the design floor awaiting 15 inches of fabric. I
will stop in at the LQS sometime today and pick that up. It is my goal to finish Lucy to the flimsy stage this evening. I didn't get a chance to sew at all yesterday. I spent the time between church services getting all my end of year reports ready for the annual business meeting. ALL REPORTS ARE FINISHED AND JUST WAITING FOR THE MEETING!!!

House update: I mentioned in an earlier blog that my DH was working on getting some rooms in the house finished. I should comment that 90% of the total work on this house was done by Richard, Joel and Raus (Richard's dad). My dad came several weekends and vacation weeks to help. This house didn't even have a foundation when we bought it. It was sitting on bricks, wood stumps, blocks, just whatever was around I guess. So, everything has been replaced starting with a foundation and all the way to a new roof. The roof in another post altogether. Mostly what is left is finishing work and the kitchen. This weekend DH trimmed our bedroom, painted the doors and rehung them. All that is left is to patch the little nail holes and then paint.

Prayer requests:
1. Our unpublished request
2. One of Jenna's part time jobs decided not to work with the other job and let her go. She needs another part time job or more hours at the bank

Praise report:
1. Mom's pathology report came back great. Cancer was the size of a marble and contained in the thyroid. All the lympnodes were clear.
2. Our heater waited until the weather had warmed considerately before going out. Richard will try to get a new part today.

I am blessed!
Donna

Stash Report Week 3

2010-01-17T07:36:00.003-06:00

No photos with this post. I didn't get anymore sewing done last evening. I did press some strips already sewn together and the remaining fabric for the next project. After the marathon ironing I did manage to cut out a few more 2 1/2 inch strips. I discovered I hadn't purchased enough fabric, so I guess I will be adding to the stash short term. I am trying not to buy unless I intend to use on the project I am working on.

So, the explanation for the fabric purchased this week is: 1 yard of blue for BOM quilt and 1.5 yards for Lucy.

Fabric Used this week: 14.5 yards
Fabric purchased this week: 2.5 yards

Fabric Used YTD: 19.5 yards
Fabric Purchased YTD: 4.5 yards
Net Fabric Used YTD: 15 yards

The next project should clear lots of yardage from my stash. Photos will be shown when blocks start coming together.

I am blessed!
Donna

Quiltathon

2010-01-16T15:54:00.006-06:00

Well, once again I can't get the BOM photo to load correctly. It should be turned the other way. The first photo is a quick lap quilt for my niece. She loves Lucy so I purchased this fabric last year and didn't get around to making it up. I started it earlier today and got this far. I am 10inches short on having enough yellow to finish. How aggravating but I can't do anything about it until Monday when the LQS opens. I also need 5 inches of the blue for binding. I will get them both then and hopefully have another finish before bedtime on Monday.

The second photo is my first finish of the day. It is the BOM I have been struggling with the last couple of weeks. It seems when I don't care for the fabric in a quilt I have a hard time getting motivated to finish. I wouldn't let myself start anything else today until it was finished. Top is done, binding is cut sewed and pressed and backing is pieced. Maybe Richard can get it loaded this next week and quilted before next weekend. Although I am not sure I want to interrupt
what he is doing right now. He is painting the door frames
and doors in our bedroom. We bought this house in 2002 and had to totally gut the inside and start over. We moved in before it was finished in 2003 and have struggled to get it finished ever since. The upstairs is probably 95% finished but we don't have one finished room in the downstairs. Our room is downstairs and will be finished as soon as the doors are painted, YEAH!!

I am going to put dinner in the oven and get back to sewing. I have another project to start (actually I have numerous projects awaiting my attention) and I will check back in later with an update.

I am blessed!
Donna

Design Wall Monday Week 2

2010-01-11T06:40:00.002-06:00

The photo is sideways and I don't have time to fix it. As you can see my BOM is sashed and the first border on. I am piecing the second border and will them add another red border. I hop this top gets finished this week. Last week I was asked about the size of the the blocks. They are 15 inches finished. I am looking forward to a quieter week and maybe some extra sewing time this week.

Praise report: My mom came through her surgery just great. She was able to talk in recovery and the doctor was very please with how well she did during surgery. She has COPD so surgery can be a little tricky. Jenna is recovering well from strep and will be able to go home and to work today. God has blessed us greatly this week. We made several trips, some of them unplanned and he kept us safe through them all. What an awesome God we serve!

Prayer requests:
1. We are still praying for our special need.
2. We are asking God for a clear pathology report for mom this week.
3. Jenna's continued improvement

I am blessed!
Donna

Week 2 Stash Report

2010-01-10T10:20:00.003-06:00

Week 2 didn't go as I had planned. I had to buy 2 yards for borders on the BOM. I did get a little sewing done this week, but not as much as I had wanted. Mom had surgery on Thursday, so no sewing, Friday I was beat and went to bed early after work, Saturday, Jenna called and was horribly sick. We had to make a trip to get her, take her to the doctor and bring her back home with us to nurse her back to health. So, as you can see the sewing took a back seat toward the end of the week. The numbers are:

Fabric in this week: 2 yds
Fabric used this week: 2.5 yds

Fabric in YTD: 2 yds
Fabric used YTD: 5 yds

Net: 3 yds used

Still in the plus!! May not stay that way this week. The Oklahoma City annual quilt show is this next weekend. I hope to be there and maybe I won't find anything that begs to go home with me.

I am blessed!
Donna

On My Way to Bed!

2010-01-05T22:17:00.003-06:00

Just a quick post before I head to bed. I surely didn't mean to be up this late. Just logged on for a moment and spent a little time updating by blog look. I realized I had never added any photos or updated information, so tonight I took a minute to do so.

Richard and I went to New York this past summer to take our daughter to catch her flight to Austria. She was in NY with us the first day and evening and then flew out the next day at noon. We saw Wicked with her the night she was there. It was a great show, more enjoyable than I had anticipated. Richard and I then stayed on through the July 4th weekend. We had a great time! We saw 9 to 5 on our last evening. It was an okay show but not near the caliber of Wicked. We look forward to visiting again someday in the near future. I have loaded a couple of pictures from that weekend on my blog sidebar. They brought back wonderful memories! Hope you enjoy them.

I am blessed!
Donna

Week 1 Design Wall

2010-01-03T20:55:00.004-06:00

The photo with eight blocks is on my design wall. There are 12 blocks in all and my design wall wouldn't hold them so the last four (which are actually the first four made) are on my cutting table. These are the blocks from the BOM that I had to get finished this weekend. I haven't decided on buying the finishing kit yet. I am not sure I want to finish these blocks with a kit. My daughter has liked these blocks from the beginning. She thinks they have a patriotic feel in a country kind of way. I may look for some way to set them together with a more patriotic fabric and let this be her patriotic bed quilt, since my goal this year is to make several patriotic quilts. I
very glad to finish the last of these blocks this afternoon. This was my first BOM and I think it will be may last. I tend to like one or two block quilts. I can make them so much quicker. It really slowed me down having to stop and cut for each block and then follow diagrams and instructions for each one. I did once again reaffirm my dislike of set in seams. I never liked them when I made my daughter's clothes and I still don't like them. Just because the block is in a quilt didn't make me like them any better.

I have decided that I would report my prayer requests and praise reports each Monday, so I will include them at the end of my design wall report each Monday.

Week 1 prayer requests:
1. Remember my mother on Jan. 7th-she will be having surgery to remove her cancerous thyroid.
2. My husband and I have a special "unpublished" request which God does know.

As these weekly prayers are answered the praise reports will be included.

I am blessed!
Donna

Week 1 Stash Report

2010-01-03T12:18:00.003-06:00

This is my first ever stash report. I read the reports each week last year and decided this was my year to join others at Judy L's weekly reports. I spent Friday and Saturday working on a block of the month from last year that I need to get finished before Wednesday. I was only able to work off and on as we had family stopping by on Saturday evening and I hadn't cleaned house in a long time. So, Richard and I cleaned house, did laundry, cooked and he watched football in between while I sewed.

We set up a sewing area in the living room so I can sew and still be with Richard as he watches tv. It worked really well!

I finished all but two blocks and will work on them this afternoon. So, on to the numbers.

Fabric used this week: 2.5 yards
Fabric purchased this week: 0
Fabric used year to date: 2.5 yards
Fabric purchased year to date: 0
Net stash busted: 2.5 yards

While this doesn't look impressive, I am at least starting in the positive.

I am blessed!
Donna

Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010!!

2010-01-01T17:42:00.002-06:00

Hello?? Anyone still out there? I won't be surprised if your not. Things seemed to just run away from me the last part of 2009. I could say life was so busy I just couldn't keep up, but the truth is I just lost my verve of life. My husband and I did make eleven quilts to give as Christmas gifts, but it was such a chore, I had a hard time finding joy in the creativity. I can't really explain what was going on in my life that I didn't feel like talking with anyone because I really don't know what the cause was. So, I am glad 2009 is out and pray that 2010 sees me with more joy in my life.

I do want to report that the vacation with my parents in October was one of the great highlights of 2009. We had a great time eating our way through Louisiana. It wasn't hard to do as there are numerous wonderful places to eat in that great state. The time spent with mom and dad was full of great memories and I wouldn't have missed it for the world. We are planning a trip to South Carolina in June with the entire family (15 of us to be exact) and I am greatly looking forward to it.

2010

Our family is starting the year with a special prayer request. My mother has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer and will have surgery on January 7th. Please remember her in your prayer between now and then and especially on that day.

I don't usually make many new year's resolutions, but I think this year I will. Maybe this will keep me accountable to myself at least. So, here they are.

Spiritually:
Read my Bible through
Pray 15 minutes a day
Be more open to the needs of others

Personally:
Exercise 30 minutes 5 days a week
Lose 20 pounds
Clean one room a day
Have friends over more often

Quilting:
Sew 1 hour each day(at least)
Make the following quilts:
1930's quilt
Black and red star quilt
Gold, black and white nine patch
Circle round Texas patriotic quilt
3 patriotic quilts
Red and white quilt
Gordon baby quilt
Double Delight
Carolina Christmas
Many others to be listed as I come across them

Wishing everyone a blessed and happy New Year.

I am blessed!
Donna

Band Review

2009-08-28T06:56:00.003-05:00

The first photo is of Joel and his girlfriend Lindsay. She is a great girl and I think they look sweet together. They do have playing trumpet in common along with other things I am sure. Lindsay has assured me that she is not as into trumpet as Joel. That is his major after all! She is a nursing major. I am in awe of anyone who can do nursing. I get very woozy at the sight of a needle and don't even let me see blood.

The second photo is of the band on the field at half time. Guess which one belongs to me! The awesome trumpet player in the middle of course. If only I could have recorded so you could also hear how awesome he is. It has been a couple of years since I have seen and heard him play on a football field. The last university he attended didn't have a football team (so no marching band). I was pleased to realize I could still pick his playing out of all the others. He did an awesome job last evening. The band as a whole was a pleasure to watch. They are under the direction of a new band leader. I think the halftime shows will just improve as the year progresses.

We were really late getting home last night. The game was delayed 30 minutes due to lightning. We just stayed through halftime and them came on home. It was still after 11:00 before we pulled into the drive. I am tired this morning. Hopefully I can wake up before I get to work!

I am blessed

Donna

Design Wall Monday

2009-08-24T19:49:00.006-05:00

My design wall is not very full this Monday. This is one row of a Christmas quilt. I still have to cut out the remaining blocks and sashing and get it put together. I should have been working on this today! Instead, I made the top in the first photo. The light wasn't true so the colors are more autumn than they show. I had the opportunity to shop at a quilt shop this weekend in the town two of my children are living in. The shop was having their annual fat quarter sale. It was a really good sale ($1 fat quarters). I couldn't wait to cut into a few of my purchases. The top in the photo was the result. I just finished it and my DH was good enough to hold it for a photo. I think it turned out really nice. So, this is my post for Design Wall Mondays at Judy's.

On another note, Jeremiah taught his first college classes today. All went well and he thinks he will enjoy this chapter in his life.

Jenna started classes today and thinks it will be a good semester. We are all hoping for that!

Joel started classes last week and plays at the first football game this week. DH and I will be traveling to that game on Thursday evening. Thankfully he is just over an hour away from us. I will be back on Friday will photos and rave reviews!

I am blessed!

Donna

Still Tired

2009-08-18T21:27:00.002-05:00

We had a great but tiring weekend. Jeremiah has been moved into his apartment. It is a nice place and very roomy. He is able to use his second bedroom as an office. Most all the weekend was spent on the move, but I was able to stop in at the quilt shop in my home town. It is a really great shop with awesome displays and wonderful fabric. The selection of extra wide backing fabric is the best I have ever seen. I purchased backings for a couple of quilt tops I have ready to quilt. Hopefully we can get one in the frame this next week.

We will be going up on Saturday to take the last of Jeremiah and Jenna's things to them. They are going to be living just about a mile and a half from each other. I think they are both looking forward to that. Classes start for them on Monday. Here's wishing them a great year!

Jenna got her job and is excited about that. She will finish up her job here on Thursday and then move to her apartment for the year.

Joel started classes this week. He is in the band(go figure) so his time is at a premium. I am sure we will be attending a game this season just to hear him play and watch him march. It has been a couple of years since he was at a university with a marching band. He is always happiest when he is playing. He had the opportunity to play with a band a few weeks ago with a couple of other trumpet players and he plays at different churches for special occasions. I know I am his mother so I might sound biased but he really is good! We are looking forward to the concerts this year.

I am blessed!
Donna

Exciting News!

2009-08-11T21:20:00.002-05:00

No photos this evening, just a couple of pieces of great news.

Jeremiah found an apartment this afternoon and will sign his lease tomorrow. This means we can move him in this weekend and he will have a full week to settle in before he starts grad school and teaching.

Jenna has a job interview tomorrow at 11:oo (say a prayer for her). This is the story there. She has been going up on her days off the past 4 weeks to look for a job. She hadn't found one so we began to pray in earnest. She really wanted to work at Mardel's as they are closed on Sundays and she wouldn't have to miss church. She went there first when she started looking and was told they were not hiring but she filled out an application anyway. She hadn't heard anything so she went by today just to see and was again told that they were not hiring. Late this evening our home phone rang and when I answered it the manager of Mardel's asked for Jenna. She wasn't home but I took his number and she called him right back and now has the interview. God knows her need and is working on her behalf! We give him all the glory!!!

Joel is enrolled to start back to school this fall and we are thrilled.

I am blessed!
Donna

Back to Quilty Things

2009-08-10T13:51:00.002-05:00

Sorry to have been away so long! This has been an extraordinarily busy summer. Not a lot of quilty things going on. I have been working on the quilt in the photo most of the summer. It just needs borders and I am going to start adding them as soon as I get this post uploaded. I am going to join Judy's Design Board Monday's in hopes of prodding myself to get some things done. I have a full list of quilts needing to be finished before Christmas. I am thinking I will have more time in the next few months than I did in the last 3. Just in case anyone might be interested here is a quick rundown of the summer.

Moved Jenna home fro college

My niece Justine's Wedding

Flew with Jenna to NYC and spent a few days after she flew on to Austria

Jeremiah was accepted to grad school and will be teaching a couple of classes while he gets his masters (we are so proud!!!!)

Helped Jenna find an apartment for the fall

Celebrated Jeremiah's 25th birthday

Saw Joel several times this summer (moved him in Feb. so he was taken care of for the summer)

Moved Jenna to her apartment

Jeremiah is looking for an apartment this week so will be moving him next weekend

Cleaned out our storage building and took several truck loads to different places

I think things will be quieter in the coming weeks. We are taking a vacation with my parents in October and looking forward to that. We are going to Louisiana for a few days and ending our trip at the Houston quilt show.

I am blessed

Donna

Mother's Day!

2009-05-11T09:18:00.003-05:00

I had the best Mother's Day ever yesterday. Joel had to work, Jenna was staying on campus to study for finals and Jeremiah hadn't mentioned coming home, so I was okay with not seeing them as I know their lives are busy right now. Richard woke me up at 7:00am and insisted that we get the house vacuumed and the dogs bathed before church. I thought that behavior was a little strange but went along with it without too much complaint. We managed to get the house in order and get to church just a little early. Jenna called to let me know she was on her way to church (she attends a church about 35 miles from campus and calls me to let me know when she heads out for each service, so there was nothing different there). When I finished speaking with her I complained to Richard that she didn't even remember it was Mother's Day as she hadn't said anything. I was visiting before church with a few people and happened to catch a glimpse of a dear familiar face and was so shocked. Joel had come for Mother's Day. I was thrilled and still enjoying the surprise when I looked toward the back of the church and in walked Jeremiah and Jenna. What a wonderful surprise to get to see them on this special day so unexpectedly. The total surprise made the joy even greater. They and Richard had been planning the surprise for several days and they were thrilled to pull it off. I am usually very hard to surprise as I seem to have a mother's intuition. We spent a wonderful (but short) afternoon together. Joel had to be at work in the afternoon and Jenna needed to get back, so the time was short but very dear. I have such wonderful thoughtful children. I am very thankful for each of them. Nothing makes me happier than to spend time with them. The most special gift in all the world is time with those you most dearly love.

Thanks Richard, Jeremiah, Joel and Jenna for the best Mother's Day you could have ever given to me. I love you all very much!

I am very blessed!
Donna

New Computer

2009-05-05T21:42:00.003-05:00

We picked up this computer on the way home on Sunday. It seems that lightning once again came through our phone lines and fried our old computer. That is the second computer this has happened to in the last 5 years. I don't know what is causing lightning to be attracted to our phone lines. We never had that happen until we moved here. We can't keep cordless phones so we have just decided to use our ones that plug into the wall and forget the cordless variety. We will also unplug this computer from the phone line until our son can come home and get the wireless internet hooked up. Our internet provider had to come and replace some outside filters this evening and we had to get a new DSL modem, so, I didn't get internet access until about 8:30 this evening. It is great to be reconnected. I am going to love this computer. It is so much faster than the old and I went from a very old 13 inch monitor to this great 20 inch flat screen. I can see, I can see!

The other great news is my new camera. Richard bought me a Nikon Coolpix in purple. It is really cute and takes better picture than my outdated Kodak. I am looking forward to using it when we go to New York City in July.

I managed to get the binding on all 5 quilts last week and they were all delivered to their new owners during the weekend. Mom and Dad really liked theirs. It was the first I had made for them. They put it on the bed the very evening I gave it to them.

This is my busy week at work so I don't know how often I will get to post but I will be back soon. Lots of quilting to get done this next 10 days. Hopefully photos of finished quilts will follow soon.

I am blessed!

Donna

Lion King

2009-05-02T20:43:00.003-05:00

I was asked where Lion King was at in OKC. It is at the Civic Center Music Hall until May 21. There was an insert in the program last evening letting us know that there were still tickets available. The best tickets can be found for the Tuesday and Thursday performances. It really was an enjoyable performance. My husband and I saw it on Broadway in New York City last June and this presentation was very comparable. The stage in NYC was larger so the cast was also larger, but the OKC performance was still very spectacular. The number for tickets is 800.869.1451.

I can't say enough about the costumes. They are so innovative and "show stopping".

My BIL decided that my computer really has died. So, on the way home tomorrow we will make a stop and see what we can find. I hope to find a really good deal as I don't like to be without an internet for long. I can use my computer at work after hours, but really don't want to rely on that for long.

We had a wonderful day at my sister's house. The food was great but the time spent with family was the best. Joel's new girl friend fit in nicely. We enjoyed out time with her. I hope she enjoyed herself. She is an only child and we are quite the rowdy fun-loving group. There is always something going on. We play games, visit and generally have a great time. Today we continued out tradition of watching the Kentucky Derby. If you missed it try to catch a replay. It was an awesomely run race by the winner. How many times do you get to see a 50-1 horse come from the very back of the pack to win? Calvin Borel did it again! It was a great Derby day!

I am blessed!

Donna

Computer Woes!

2009-05-02T09:32:00.002-05:00

My computer bit the dust on my birthday. We won't be getting another for a while so my posts will be sporadic. Richard and a friend will look at the old one when they get time. I am at my parents this weekend, so I am using theirs for the weekend.

We all went to see Lion King last evening in Oklahoma City. It was a great performance and I highly recommend it even to those who don't care for the cartoon version. The costumes are out of this world! We had a great time!

The kids gave me my birthday gifts last evening. They were very generous! I received 2 seasons of the Waltons on DVD and a fiesta pitcher with glasses and a new color of place setting to add to my collection. I am looking forward to getting home to use them.

I best get off here and get busy. I need to go pick up a few groceries and get to my sister's to help her get ready for the birthday shrimp boil! I will try to get pictures and report when I can.

Have a great Saturday!

I am blessed!

Donna

It's My Birthday!

2009-04-29T06:30:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday to me! I am 45 today and I wonder where all the years have gone. I don't remember living 45 years. I know I did as I am here to write this entry. I am looking forward to a great day. Although, at work I have already been reminded twice that I have hit a magic numbered year and the prize is higher insurance rates. The upside to that is I still have insurance and with God's help I won't have to use it much this year.

Richard got another gift quilt off the frame yesterday and I got the binding on. A picture will follow after the weekend. We put the last gift quilt we need for this weekend in the frame last evening. With luck it will be finished tomorrow evening and I can get the binding on and get it wrapped. It seems there are always gift quilts waiting to be done. There are 2 graduation qulits needed by May 17th and my niece is getting married in June so there is a wedding quilt still needing pieced and quilted.

Jeremiah stopped by on his way back home from a weekend with friends last evening. He couldn't stay long but it was good to see him for a few minutes. He didn't bring my birthday gift, something about waiting until Saturday. I ask you is that fair? I don't think so. Well, he has a birthday this summer. I wonder how late his gift might be? He knows I am a softy so he doesn't have to worry about a delayed gift. I should clarify that he and his siblings went together to buy my gift and they all want to give it to me. So, Saturday it is.

Gotta go to work, have a great day.

I am blessed!
Donna

Jenna's Quilt

2009-04-26T16:20:00.004-05:00

This is a T-shirt quilt for Jenna's dorm room. It is really much brighter than the picture shows. Jenna loves bright and eclectic. She also likes frogs, so there are several frog shirts as well as a couple of Scooby Doo. Richard used a frog and dragonfly pantograph for The Pattern Man.

Here's hoping they all like them. Hope your weekend has been a great and productive as ours.

I am blessed!

Donna

Joel's Quilt

2009-04-26T16:13:00.003-05:00

This is a quilt for an hour pattern from Judy. The colors in this are not so washed out. Joel favors blues and greens. I thought this turned out to be a rich looking quilt. It measures 100x103. It is large enough for Joel's queen size sleigh bed. He wanted it to tuck into the side rails so the sleigh part of the bed could be seen.

I am blessed!
Donna

Jeremiah's Quilt

2009-04-26T16:07:00.004-05:00

This is the most recent quilt for Jeremiah. It is a pattern from a vintage quilt magazine. The original quilt was in patriotic colors. The lighting has washed out the color on this quilt. It is burgandy, green and gold. It was too windy out today to take pictures outside. This quilt measures 100x112. It is large enough to fit a queen size sleigh bed.

I am blessed!

Donna