december's swap's a wrap . . .

One of the *many* highlights of last night's guild meeting was swapping doll quilts with my December partner, Barbara B., who blogs at My Joyful Journey.   I have to admit that I was a little anxious about swapping with Barbara ... I've taken classes from this woman!  Her quilts are always stunning in design and composition.  Of course, I've taken classes from Barbara, so I've learned some things about quilting from one of the best!

Barbara's doll quilt to me was a pattern from the Temecula Quilt Co. -- a sweet "mystery" they'd offered on their blog last year -- Twelve Days of Christmas.  

Each of the twelve blocks increases in the number of pieces it's made up of -- the first block has one piece, the second has two, the third has three, and so on, to the twelfth day.  Barbara's gift to me is absolutely darling and I was thrilled to death when I saw it!  I've loved the pattern since I first saw it made up (haha -- in her home) and I'd vowed to make one of these days!  LOL!

But wait, there's more!  Barbara had kind of figured out what I was doing for her, and with scraps from her beautiful It Takes Two quilt (you can see her finished top HERE -- it's FABULOUS), she made this darling little Shoo Fly mini-mini for me!

Isn't it precious?!?  I just love, love, love it!!  And here's me with both of my darling gifts:

Yay!  It was the perfect start to our Christmas guild meeting -- especially since we were having a Christmas show and tell!

Next up, Barbara opened up hers from me.  I loved working on this sweet little piece, though as usual for me, I spiced things up a bit.  

First, you might (or might not, at first glance) notice that the white print is slightly different.  I used a holly print with a little more white space in it for the 2.5" squares and used a little more densely printed fabric for the pieces that made up the half square triangles.  I really like the effect of it in the overall quilt.

I also had fun making loops and putting my label on the back -- I stitched them down into my binding, which gave them a nice finished appearance (I've always struggled with the label part of my quilts).   

And then there's the quilting.

One of the things I've learned with machine quilting with the shimmer metallics or clear thread is that if you're not using the same color or clear thread in your bobbin, you'll see your bobbin thread color in the quilting on top.  Typically one wouldn't think this would be a good thing, but alternatively, it can add a little pop and eye interest.  I used the holographic shimmer up top and a pretty, bright red in my bobbin.  I like the effect of the dots of red and the shimmer -- especially in the white print!

Here's Barbara with her gift . . .

I hope she's as happy with her piece as I was with mine!!

Gingerbread houses coming tomorrow -- tonight I'm headed to spend some time with Sawyer and June!  Or, as Sawyer put it earlier, "Guess what?  Neesey is coming to town!"

:)

busy, busy, busy . . .

Today will probably be my busiest day before Christmas, with lots of events.  I'm busily making these this morning . . .

Aren't they pretty?  And super easy.  The recipe can be found Cooking Classy - with a sprinkle of fancy.  I'm taking some of them to our staff party at the Madison Baptist Association.  Usually we do a pot luck kind of thing, but this year we are having lunch catered in by Connor's Steak House!  Whooohoo!!  Then we'll do a dirty Santa gift exchange.  I had fun putting together a gift basket of hot chocolates, Starbucks coffees, assorted teas, chocolates (Hershey's cordial kisses and Ghirardelli peppermint bark squares) and a cute mug.  Todd bought a 'man tool'.  LOL!

I'm also making some peppermint cookies to take with the oreo truffles to tonight's guild meeting.  It's our annual holiday meeting ... the board members all bring dessert and the hostess committee (of which I'm an unofficial member) does the program.  We're all supposed to bring a Christmas quilt for a 'merry show and tell'.  I'm bringing my Christmas Star topper and my Holly Jolly topper. It should be a fun evening!  Everyone who did the gingerbread house workshop is supposed them for a show . . . 

This is the one Karen (the hostess of our Stitcher's Etc. Christmas party) made.  I have my camera ready and charged (and will make sure I find out about a pattern, too)!  And in-between the two events?  I'll spend some quality time with my Ellie-belly-baby!  Yay!

I finished my doll quilt swap for Barbara.  This is the absolute earliest I've ever finished a swap!  Since Barbara and I are both local to Huntsville ... and in guild together ... and are friends, to boot, Barbara suggested we swap out at tonight's guild meeting.  I agreed, but the whole time I was thinking, "WOW!  I need to get BUSY!"  LOL!  

This is the little sneak peek of the swap quilt I provided on the swap blog.  This is such a fun swap group!  It's open to new members, too, so if you have any interest, head over to Doll Quilters Monthly and check it out!

Okay ... I still have some gift wrapping and baking and quilt gathering to do, so I need to get on with it!  Have a GREAT day!  I'm linking up with Favorite Things Thursday!

:)

the wall o' design . . .

Okay.  Got a couple of legit things on the ol' wall today, not just stuff that's been there for weeks that I still haven't gotten to.  No, instead, this is new stuff that's been there for weeks that I am actually working on!  Isn't that exciting??

First up:

Yes, I started this in mid-October.  It's how I roll.  It will make a darling mini.

Second up:

Owlie in a Ring of  Fire.  Yes, I started this right after the one above.  It will definitely be ready by Halloween 2013.  I'm right on target.

Next up:

This really is a *new* project!!  I've got a stack of tumblers cut, and playing around with the fabrics I want to go with it.

Finally, I've been doing a little designing in EQ:

What can I say?  I like options.

The foot is healing.  I'm not having to constantly keep it propped, though I can tell when I've had it down for too long.  I can hobble along without the crutches, unless it's too close to the time when I need to pop some more Tylenol.  I think that constitutes as progress!

Got to spend some lovely time with my Sawyer and June yesterday afternoon. Sawyer doesn't stay in one place long enough to capture him in a photo any more, though we did enjoy a couple of snuggle moments watching the movie Up. It was the first time I'd seen it -- I was surprised by how GOOD it was!

But sweet Baby June?  That's another story . . . 

*Happy sigh*

Linking up today with Judy Laquidara's Patchwork Times.  Be sure to head over there and check out what up on design walls around blog land!

And don't forget, after a weekend break, the UR Priceless blog hop starts back up!  Today's participants are:

Read, quilt, cook, pray...
The Learning Curve
Bacon Then Eggs
Nati's Little Things
by Mary
Feltfree på Åsly
El Patchwork de la Abuela
Amy's Crafty Shenanigans
Maryjo J
s.o.t.a.k. Handmade
Chloeandme
Janice M
throw a wench in the works
Everyone Deserves a Quilt
A Stitch in Time
Sew Me Something Good

Happy Monday!

:)

november's doll swap to me . . .

Looking for the Harvest of Rubies review and giveaway?  It's HERE!

I had an early surprise . . . my November doll quilt swap partner, Kim, is way ahead of the game and has already finished and sent her offering, along with a darling card that explained her piece.

"This pattern is called darting birds - I made the center block for my 6 inch block sew along and it was 1/4" too small!  So here it is in your doll quilt -- enjoy!"

I most certainly will!  It's perfectly darling and the fabrics are gorgeous -- I love the rich, luxurious reds!

She also sent along a blank card for my use and enjoyment.  She told me that it's a picture of a quilt made in the town next to Poughkeepsie (which is where she's from)!  I love note cards -- and particularly note cards that have quilty things on the front of them -- so this was a sweet happy! Thanks so much, Kim!!

I finally did something with my little pumpkin stitchery and just cut it down and set it very simply.  

It's quilted, but again, very simply and so that you really don't see the quilting, but it does rather give definition to the lines of the pumpkin.  A mug rug or something.  It just really needed to come down off the design wall.  LOL!

And then what kind of day would it be if I didn't share something with grandbabies in it???! There is no denying the familial relationship between these two . . . 

Right??  It makes me laugh how closely they resemble each other!  Right down to their sweet little frownie faces . . .

Although she definitely has more 'feminine' features, and he certainly looks like a little boy -- which is as it should be!

The campground is filled with the sounds of boys again this weekend -- I love their happy shouts!  It's a gorgeous, cool and sunny day -- perfect for all sorts of games in the woods and on the trails.  The group is with us through tomorrow -- so tonight should be a fun campfire night.

I'm still staying semi-quiet.  Keeping the foot propped ... most of the time. Alabama Crimson Tide football comes on at two-thirty this afternoon, so it's pretty safe to say where you'll find me!

I almost feel like I should say, "This post was brought to you by the color RED!"

:)

docs, swaps, and hops . . .

My mom's surgery went well yesterday ... they started re-hab this morning. Gracious. I chatted with her this morning and she sounded pretty good ... though she's had a little trouble finding relief from pain without nausea. Bless her heart -- I know *exactly* how that is.  I don't do well with pain meds, either.  

Speaking of needing pain meds, it's been one year since my last ankle surgery.  I can hardly believe it!  Yesterday I had a check-up appointment with my doc.  The fusion is looking great, I have good range of mobility, and the donor bone, the grafting and reconstruction are all looking good -- which pleased me beyond belief.  He did see a little arthritis connected to the tibia--when he said it, I knew exactly the spot to which he referred--for now I'll continue to deal with it with an anti-inflammatory med.  I also set a date for a hardware removal surgery . . . 

Dr. DeOrio -- my *very* confident orthpaedic surgeon.  *grin*

The x-rays show that the screw heads are really sticking out beyond the surface of the bone--one more so than the other.  When he ran his finger along the bottom of my heel and saw me jump, he agreed a surgery was definitely in order.  The recovery time is pretty quick and it's an easy, outpatient process.  In fact, they only use a local anesthesia!  (Yikes!)  November 7th it is!

I teased y'all with some photos of pretty fabrics yesterday.  Here's the quilt I'm using as the inspiration for June's baby quilt . . .

lucky little me from mamas kram

Only it will be a little bigger and instead of "lucky little me" it will say "June Madelyn ♥"!  I think it's going to be darling!!  The blue print I showed yesterday will be the back, and is a perfect compliment to the soft aqua blue on June's walls.

I received this pretty little thing in the mail . . .

It's my September doll swap quilt from Andra!  Isn't it gorgeous?!?  I'd say she pretty much pegged the neutral colors of the RV -- and the colored squares are just perfect!

And don't forget to check out all the fall Leafs Me Happy blocks!  Not sure where to start?  Let me help:

Tuesday 2

Mrs.Pickles Garden

Gingersnaps Quilts

Petit Design Co

A Passion For Applique

Annie Oak Designs

Michelle's Romantic Tangle

CherrysPrairiePrimitives

Krislovesfabric

Scrapbook-ChickADoodle

Have a GREAT day!

:)

dis 'n dat . . .

Lots of busy work yesterday.  Sadly, a darling friend's dad passed away yesterday morning.  She isn't just a sweet friend, she's also my pastor's wife . . . which meant their family wasn't at church last night and so Todd stepped in to teach in our mid-week service.  He did a fabulous job -- he's such a great teacher!  But I spent a good portion of the afternoon helping him prepare.

I did get my flosses picked -- I think -- for Mr. Owlie . . . 

Unlike the Crazy in Color piece, where the floss was supposed to match the color it was outlining, in Mr. Owlie, I want the flosses to accent it, as well as outline some of it.  

In essence, the floss will lend color and depth and dimension, instead of just being a border.

I also got most of part three of a StitchMAP challenge completed. 

It's a "magic needlecase".  I've got it on good authority that it's really a fun finish ... but since you don't get the next installment until you've posted a picture of the finished current installment, I don't know yet!!  The challenges of StitchMAP are a lot of fun ... and not as intensive as the classes, but still aimed at teaching; whether a skill or a process.  I have it on good authority that a redwork class will be offered soon!!  I'm telling you - this group is one of the best I've ever been involved with!

And you may have noticed a little piece of flannel above, here's a better shot:

Well, it's as good as it's going to get for now, anyway!

I probably won't get a whole lot of stitch work in today, since I'm off to Jocelyn's.  I get to play with my Ellie-belly-baby . . . 

I'd take her over Mr. Owlie any day!

Have a great day . . . college football season starts TODAY!! 

:)

something old, new, borrowed, blue and quilty . . .

I've mentioned a couple of times that I'm participating in a monthly doll quilt swap.  It's lots of fun and I've received some lovely, fun things.  It's not too late to join in the fun, if you're interested...the button is on my right sidebar!

Anyway, for the month of June my swap partner was none other than Jane of GrandMama's Stories.  Well, for those of you who don't know, Jane and I are real life friends.  We've gone to church together and been in each other's homes ... and in fact, twice when my family has come from Maryland/Virginia/Texas to visit, Jane and Roger have graciously allowed us to use their pop-up camper!

So since we were practically neighbors, we decided instead of putting our swaps in the mail, we have a "sewing" play date and swap up in person.  Ummm ... good plan in theory.  If you've read either of our blogs, you know that we're both pretty busy gals.  And here it is, end of August, and we've still not gotten together!  Yesterday, I got a surprise package in the mail ... you guessed it ... from Jane!  LOL!  I guess she's given in to the demands of her world ... and send on her swap.  Before I send mine to her, here's a sneaky-peek:

The theme was "Something Old, New, Borrowed, or Blue".  Definitely a wedding-ish theme.  So it seemed only appropriate that I "borrowed" some of the scraps from Joc's wedding quilt.  I'll share the whole thing and the poem I included with after Jane shares!

And here's the darling little piece I received from Jane:

Sweet little Piglet!  One of my favorite "Pooh" characters!

And as if that wasn't enough, she included two darling little bag holders.  I've wanted one of these for ages, and I've already put one to good use!

I thought the owl was perfect for the RV!

And this fabric in the top of the red one -- Jane, what was this??  Love that pink and red geometric print!

I'm off to Joc's today and church tonight.  Tomorrow I want to share a bit about the Color Theory Class I'm taking.  It's really wonderful!

:)

swap received and feline flashback . . .

Yesterday's trip to the post office yielded quite the prize!  In our box was a yellow slip . . . that means *package*!  I handed my slip to the postal clerk and tried in vain to see who the packaged was addressed to/from, but she was holding in so I couldn't see!!  Finally she handed it over and it was for ME!  From my July doll swap partner, Viv!

As soon as I got home, I opened up the package.  Another package!  I love unwrapping, so I was having fun.

Isn't this beautiful?  Just downright gorgeous!  Viv wrote me that it's a pattern from Kathleen Tracey's American Doll Quilts book.  

And I don't know if the photo shows it or not, but there's a sweet hint of glimmer in the star fabric. Y'all know how much I like bling!

The back is a fun print, too -- and she did a great job with the stripey binding, too!!

And as if this beautiful quilt wasn't enough (it most certainly was!), Viv also tucked in this charm pack of Moda's Sandhill Plums . . .

Oh my.  I flipped through the squares ... what scrumptious, scrumptious fabric!  Thank you, Viv!

My feline post today is a flashback tribute.  Gwenevere joined our family way back in 1994, as a spry two-year-old. She had been a farm cat ... but as much as she enjoyed being outside, she really preferred being the pampered pet.  If there was a blanket of any type around, Gwenevere claimed it . . . 

Stretched out on the couch.

Peek-a-boo!

What do you mean this isn't my bed??

Settling for tree skirt. "This is as close to the great outdoors as I'll get today!"

Gwenevere was full of what I lovingly (usually) refer to as "cattitude".  On the one hand she could be incredibly spicy, but she also could be tremendously loving and she was a dear part of our family.  She passed in January of 2009 . . . it was a sad time . . . but we have lots of fun photos, fond Gwenevere-memories and hilarious stories.  I'm pretty positive this is not the last time she'll make an appearance on Feline Friday!  Speaking of which, I'm linking up to Sarah Did It! and her Feline Friday post!!

Be sure to check back tomorrow ... it's Crafters' Campfire day and I've got a marvelously quilty project/technique to share that's just perfect for the theme!!

TGIF!!!

:)

family, fun and fabric too . . .

Oh my gosh, what a marvelous evening we had last night!  It was so terrific to have my mom and dad pull in and catch up!  And any time my dad and my son are in the same room, hilarity is not far behind.  I laughed so hard last night I considered that I might need to purchase Depends to make it through the rest of the visit!

It was fun to introduce Ellie to her great-grandparents, too.  My dad caught this shot . . .

Four generations of Fowler girls!  Okay, so they're Fowler-Panter-Merkel girls.  You get the idea!

Sawyer would have NOTHING to do with my dad.  To the point that it was quite humorous!  He warmed up a little by the end of the evening, and the remote controlled fire truck they brought him helped a little.  Of course, it didn't help that Sawyer had just gotten up from his nap ... and that's his clingiest time.  

He was okay with Aunt Joc and wanted his picture taken with her and Ellie.  Easy enough!

I have a couple of projects I'm auditioning fabrics for, but they're both 'secret' projects so I'm not sharing yet.  I can share the April doll swap quilt I made, now that it's safe in the hands of its new owner:

I so loved the fabrics for this little piece!  Luckily I had enough left over that I'm going to make a smaller one for a table topper for the RV.   I've got the beginnings of it up on my design...window (really).

I think that's called having your cake and eating it, too!

Head on over to Judy Laquidara's Patchwork Times to check out other inspiring design walls!  As for me, we're having a Mother's Day luncheon at Emma's tea house and then we may head over to JoAnn's to peruse the fabric section.  Mmmm.  Then tonight we're having a fish fry up at the camp tonight -- should be another fun-filled day!!

:)

stash report #18?!

I can't believe I'm this far behind on stash reports, although really it's okay, since I haven't had anything different to report until this week anyway.

Used/donated this week: 2.5 yards

Used/donated year-to-date: 12.25 yards

Purchased/added this week: 3.0 yards

Purchased/added year-to-date: 56.25 yards

Net used/donated for 2012: -44.0 yards

My in and out were pretty even.  It was nice to finally have *anything* be able to go into the "out" pile!   As ever, linking up with Judy Laquidara's Patchwork Times for the weekly stash reporting!  :)

It's been a very crazy couple of weeks which involve stomach viruses, losing a hard drive, overnight stays at the hospital with fractured sinus cavities (my son), and some *very* good things too, which I'll share soon!

I did manage to finish up my April doll swap quilt, but can only show a smidgen of it here, until it's received by its intended!

And it's nice to be back, too, by the way.

:)

granddaughters, doll quilts, and diets . . .

Oh my!

I had a lovely, lovely day with my darling little Miss Ellie Pearl yesterday.  She just keeps getting more and more personable!  I swear I could just sit there and chat and coo and smile and grin with her for hours!  Yesterday, between naps, she showed me how she plays on her mat with her toys (especially Jacque le Peacock).

And then she gave me that Mona Lisa smile that usually precipitates the full blown grin . . . 

Gracious but I could eat her UP!

Today, after Todd made the run to the post office, I had a lovely treat!

I had forgotten Barbara (from Cat Patches), my swap partner this month, had told me it was on the way!  Isn't it darling!!  I love the mixers and beaters!  And I love the quilting on this too.  And the back view  . . .

And the tag (and the postcard greeting she included)!

I love, LOVE it Barbara:  thank you *so* much!!!

I had a good--and encouraging--visit with my doc yesterday.  Sunday is the start day.  We're celebrating Todd's birthday (the big five-oh) on Saturday (it's actually on the 17th) and didn't want to start a diet before then -- his birthday cake-of-choice is a Carvel's ice cream cake.  Definitely not on the Phase 1 food list.  LOL!

On my way home last night I noticed that one of the small grocery stores was advertising split chicken breasts for a dollar a pound.  Since we're going to be doing a lot of chicken for the next several months, I decided to pull in and get some.  I got four, four pound plus packs of chicken breasts (four breasts per package).  That's a LOT of chicken!  I knew I didn't want to stick it all in the freezer like it was, so this is what I did.

I opened up each package, pulled out the breasts, pulled back the skin, and filleted off a 4-6 ounce portion.

 

I then pulled the skin back over what was left.

I laid the fillets out and covered them with press and seal to freeze them individually.

 

I put the rib pieces in a casserole dish to bake (I mean there was still 10-12 ounces on each breast). 

Covered them with a little garlic and onion powders, a little rosemary, and a little salt and pepper.  When they finish baking I'll pick them -- portion out the cooked meat into 1-1/2 cup portions -- and then boil the rest down for stock.

I feel like the frugal housewife!  Yay for me!

Tonight we have campers coming in, and the weather will be glorious for them!  I'm so looking forward to it!

HAPPY Friday!

:)