Mother's Day pics and keeping busy........

I am way behind in posting photos of stuff that has happened the last few weeks. So, in an effort to get caught up and since nothing of note happened today to write about, I'll go back to last week and share photos from Mother's Day.

That's my daughter, Collette, and grandson, Jacob in the photo above, and in the one below, that's me and son-in-law, Daryl. We all enjoyed a great lunch at Ruttles in Mankato, a great little restaurant, known for the cars and motorcyclists that pull in for lunch. Sometimes you can see some really cool cars parked there!

Some of you have asked how I get so many things done. Well, I don't get all that much done but I do always have some stitching nearby in just about every room in the house so I never miss a moment to stitch. There's even a bag of yo-yo's in the car so that if I am somewhere and I find myself waiting, I can wait patiently because I have a stitching project to occupy my hands.

So, what's the project on the silver tray (actually it's cheap chrome)? An easter cookie? Nope, it's a little wool penny rug that is a project offered free through Better Homes and Gardens (go here for the pattern). I printed the pattern off more than a couple of years ago and finally decided to start it! One of the members of my Wooly Buddies group had made the little rug and reminded me how cute it was, so I decided I just had to get going on one, too. It's my kitchen counter project. The wool is painted with Setacolor fabric paints. It was a beautiful white wool that ended up with being this yummy pastel piece of wool and was perfect for this project. Since taking this picture, I have finished all the pennies and am ready to attach them.

My kitchen table project is this one..........

A quilting friend, Pam, gave me these pre-cut rectangles that she wasn't going to use and I decided to stitch them into rows and then will stitch the rows together and make a table topper out of the piece. I am stitching it by hand as this project is one I stitch on when I'm listening to my husband tell me about the next project he's planning (he's home for ten days of vacation and he's got lots of them planned). And since taking this picture, I now have only two rows left to sew. I want to finish this one by the end of the week as it will go on a table in my pink guest bedroom.

This Shamrock design is one that I shared on the March Tea and Stitches post and is my family room project. I'm embroidering the bow and have only the stems left to do and then I can put it in a frame.

The angel design in this basket is from a series of 12 angels that I drew in 2005. This one is finished now and I plan to use it on a totebag.......I think......or else a notebook cover. It was my living room project and because the handwork on it is finished, I had to start a new handwork project. In my "to-do" pile was the "Star Blooms" pattern by Pat Sloan. One night last week, I just took an hour and picked my fabrics, stitched up the background piece and then fused the star flower and basket shapes in place. I taped it to the wall and like the way it looks even before it is embellished with embroidery stitches. I am very happy with it and want it done ASAP! Patience, though, must have patience. I started the handwork and tonight I finished all the yellow star centers while we watched "Desperate Housewives". I'm going to get a lot done on this tomorrow night and Tuesday, as I'll be stitching on it while we're watching "Dancing with the Stars". Hope to finish the handwork on this one by the end of the week so that I can add the backing and finish it by the end of May. I have another Pat Sloan pattern that I want to start and I am not letting myself work on it til the "Star Blooms" one is done!!

I also have a Thimbleberries project that is waiting for a warm, sunny day so I can sit on the front porch and work on it. When that happens, I'll take a photo of that project.

Speaking of photos, some of those that I've loaded and haven't shared are ones taken at a couple of quilt shops. Those shops involve a gingerbread man, a firefly and a bit of wool. I will get those photos shared by the end of the week. Photos that I've taken and haven't loaded include ones of some sock related stuff for a Sock Swap that we are having in my Wooly Buddies group, plus more photos of Devlin and me working on this CD project he's doing.

Thanks to all of you that have joined my Seasons BOM group. I have a pattern to load there for the Grandma's Garden runner and will get to that in a day or two. Had a busier than expected weekend so didn't get it posted today as planned. Tomorrow is my yearly exam and, as noted, my husband is home on vacation all this week and has many projects planned and some require my help. I don't mind too much as some are little "to do" items that I have wanted done for some time.

That's all for now. Hope you had a great weekend and look forward to a great week. It is going to be near 80 degrees here on Monday! Yay! I may get to the porch to stitch!

Sandi

What's red, white and blue and being quilted?

It's the quilt for Emma's Hope Fundraiser! Connie, Emma's grandma went to see the quilting-in-progress on her noon break and she just e-mailed me these photos. I should have downloaded and saved them so I could get them larger. Was anxious to get them posted. May try that later. So here are the ladies from Plato, Glencoe and surrounding communities who are doing the handquilting of the top made from blocks from so many of you!

And don't they look like a happy group? And who wouldn't be when there is fabric, needle, thread and friends involved?!!!!!

I love spring but.........

I made the mistake of walking Kaiser in the tall grass in the vacant lots and I ended up with some bug bites that are driving me crazy. It all started yesterday when I walked him at noon and there did seem to be lots of buglies flying about but it was sort of warm and windy. Thought nothing of it. Got upstairs and realized - wow! why are my legs, just above the ankle so warm and sort of stingy. Looked down and sure enough - bug bites, four good ones. They could be chigger bites or sand flea bites. All I know is they itch, they were red and they were hot. I tried alcohol, benadryl creme and even made a quick trip to the grocery store for Calamine lotion but nothing really helped. Finally, some aspirin and the passing of time have eased the itch and only one bite is still warm. I never had these kind of bites til we moved out here so I am not sure what little buglie is causing me grief but I do not like him (or her) one bit.
Now the good thing about this day is that the Yahoo group that I set up for my Seasons BOM and Snowman designs has really taken off! I am excited to do the blocks in the group format because there is interaction within the group and not just me posting a block. This is going to work really well. Thanks to all of you that said you read my blog regularly and then came along and joined the BOM group. I am having so much fun with this that it could almost make me forget those bug bites at times! LOL!
That's all for tonight! Good night, sleep tight and keep those bedbugs outa sight!
Sandi

You CAN go home again.........

Yes, you can go home again. It's never quite the same as when you were growing up, but if the people you knew and loved are still there, well, you can go home. I may live in Minnesota but Iowa is my home state, Lehigh was my home town, and when I found the little town of Henderson, it reminded me of my home town. I like small towns. Like the people, the conversation, the farmhouses, tractors in the field, the whole deal. And so going home to do a quilt program for the Lehigh Women's Club was like going home for me. There are still women in the group who remember my Grandma Golda quite well. She was active in the Women's Club as well as playing the piano at church every Sunday for 50 years! I don't get nervous when I do a quilt prgram there because they all know me and most of my family. And I still have family in town.......like my cousin, Patty, in the photo below. Before the Women's Club meeting started she brought out a couple of recent quilts that she had made and she really wanted me to see this one.

Patty helped me with the quilt show in the Lehigh Library last summer so to thank her, I sent her a pack of Christmas fabrics (go here and you can see them) and this is the quilt she made with those fabrics and others from her stash. Nice, huh?

The women gathered for the meeting...........

and President Jane took care of business and then I began sharing my quilts, stories, poems and songs. I'm working it all into a program that I can take to women's groups, especially church groups as the old quilts and the old hymns that I sing acapella, go "hand-in-hand". I love to tell the story of how my grandma played piano so my sister Judy and I could sing at church or for baby showers, etc. And I always share how fortunate I was to have the same music teacher from kindergarten through the twelfth grade. Her name was Mrs. Parr and she was a wonderful music and voice teacher. Maybe one day, I'll figure out how to do a video and can share a song or two and read a poem here on my blog.

I brought lots of quilts to share and my mother came along, as did my niece, Sue Ellen and mom, Sandy (yes, my sister-in-laws name is Sandy, so it does get confusing sometimes). Here's Sue Ellen sharing a quilt that Grandma Mary gave her. My mom picked it up at an auction for $1.00 and Sue Ellen loved it.

When the program was over I encouraged all the ladies to get a closer look at the quilts that I brought.

That's my cousin, Sharon, in the photo above as she studies the "puzzle quilt" as I call it. Everyone is always intrigued when they learn how the quilt is made. I took some pictures of the steps to make the quilt and I will try to get a tutorial up later in June.

Sue Ellen was a very good helper and you can see her placing my various penny rugs on the table for everyone to see. Cousin Patty is laughing because she has just said that with her Irish heritage she is going to run off with the Shamrock penny rug. LOL!
Following the meeting there was time for visiting and a bit of a snack. I really enjoyed doing the program and everyone enjoyed seeing the quilts. One member said she wasn't really a quilter but she "sure enjoyed hearing me sing the old hymns". Now that would make my dad and my grandma really happy.

I have more to share about the Iowa trip and other stuff from the past week but that's it for tonight.....except for these last two photos.......

I shared this quilt at the program and it was made by my mother in 1970 when our daughter was born. I took this photo outside one day last week and it's not really very good but it's the best I could do. My mom loves to embroider and she made the blocks then hand-quilted the crib quilt and sent it off to us in Japan where we were stationed when Steve was in the Air Force. During the time we were there, she sent me a good sized box full of all her embroidery patterns which I traced and then mailed back to her. I still have all the ones that I traced! I am amazed that they survived the trip through the mail. As much as I love fabric and do enjoy quilting, I really love to embroider and do handwork. My mom is the same way.

I also took a photo of the "Puzzle Quilt" and it looked lovely blowing in the wind. This is one that my dad bought at auction in about 1999 and then my folks gave it to me for Christmas. It was bought at auction in Dayton, Iowa, and is a youth size quilt. My dad just loved this quilt and I realized this past year that perhaps it reminded him of his mother because in my Grandma's things, there were just a couple of quilts that she had made and one of them is a large version of this quilt!!

Time to turn out the lights!

Sandi

Rhubarb Cobbler coming up!

I've used that heading before but it deserves repeating. Last year my friend Audrey gave me some fine rhubarb stalks to plant. The other day when I was in the back yard taking pictures of quilts and I looked over and "wow! look at that rhubarb! " I said out loud! Right away, I thought "Rhubarb Cobbler coming up!"

If you'd like the recipe for my Grandma Goldie's most excellent Rhubarb Cobbler then just go here and you'll find the recipe on my post from last May. I had only been blogging for four days when I posted the recipe. I can't believe all that has transpired since then! I began blogging to help me cope with the overwhelming sadness at the loss of my dad and all the things that go along with loss. And I began blogging because I had wanted to for a long time and my son encouraged me that "mom, you can do this". That first day of blogging was May 26, 2008. That means I have a one year blogaversary coming up and I have to get busy and think how I will celebrate. I want to celebrate all the new friends that I have "met" and those who have tagged along faithfully as I learned how to maneuver in blogland and all the "ins and outs" of loading photos, setting up links, offering giveaways, all sorts of stuff. It has been such a fun experience and I am sooooo much smarter on the computer than I was a year ago and yet, I have soooooo much that I do not know and so there is more to learn!! So, I will put on my thinking cap and figure out how to celebrate and say thank you to all of you who read and follow my blog.
Sandi

P.S. That cobbler recipe is great with any kind of fruit and if you take it to a picnic, know that it will be gone before you get to the table to cut a piece for yourself!

Is there snow in the forecast?

No, but there is wind and rain expected in Minnesota today but it's not going to turn to snow. So, if it's snow you're looking for then you'll find it in this month's Snowman block. Actually, it's a Snowlady.

She's wishing everyone a Happy Mother's Day and I think she's me. :-) One of the favorite things I used to bake was chocolate chip cookies (read about it on my blog http://teastitches.blogspot.com/) and sometimes, I'd tie my hair back with a scarf when I was cooking or cleaning. I wore aprons in my early years and still have the half dozen or so I made back then. Not one of them fits anymore and I wonder "where did that slip of a girl go to"? Why I know..........she ate too many chocolate chip cookies!" LOL!!!

If you want PDF files for this block or any of the past months, you'll need to join my Seasons BOM Yahoo group (click on this link ........ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SeasonsBOM/ and then click on "join") to continue to receive the free blocks. I will be sending an e-mail to those of you that joined in January and February and will send you the blocks and ask that you please join the group. This change will make it far easier for me to load and provide the blocks to all of you. Thanks for your patience with this.

Sandi

I wish you a .........

Happy Mother's Day!!

Have a great day,

whether you are

mother or grandmother,

or sister or daughter,

aunt or cousin

or mother-in-law...

just enjoy the day!