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!!

:)

baby days . . .

Yesterday was such fun!  I got to hold and hug and love on my girl, Ellie, while Joc slaved away in the kitchen preparing for Saturday!  Don't you just love the sweet little rolls under her chin?!

I discovered that Ellie really, REALLY likes chatting with herself.  Jocelyn had gotten her a mirror that's about 8.5 X 11, and I laid Ellie on the couch and held the mirror over her . . . she talked and cooed and smiled and gurgled at the sweet baby girl in the mirror for hours!  It was great entertainment both for her and for Joc and I!  (Actually it was rather distracting for Joc -- I mean c'mon -- how in the world can you stay focused in the kitchen when you can hear your precious daughter cooing away in the next room?!?)  If I could have held the mirror *and* a camera I'd have gotten some video or pictures of it, it was such fun!  It was also fun to move the mirror -- her eyes and head had no problem tracking the pretty little baby in the reflection!

Joc did put me to work on stitching up a sweet little runner for her tea table.  She'd picked up this sweet, vintage-looking fabric and some lovely lace for the ends and I made short work of putting it together for her (while Ellie was napping, of course).

I didn't have the wherewithal to snap a picture of the finished product, but Joc gave me the leftovers (just what my stash needs, right?!) so I can at least share from that.  The runner will go lengthwise down the table over a beautiful old tablecloth handed down to her from Jason's family.  The table will be gorgeous on Saturday -- I *will* make sure I snap shots of it!

Today -- well really this entire weekend -- is busy.  And next week is the week of doctors.  Sounds fun, right?!?  Oh, and it's FRIDAY!  Happy Friday!!

:)

two finishes and a close third . . .

Todd went in on shift today so I got my giddy-up off the couch and put my workspace together and trimmed down my Christmas Star table topper, cut and pressed my binding and got it stitched onto my topper!

This was the perfect opportunity for me to use for the first time, the Wonder Clips I'd won at my last guild meeting. I had 25 clips and I figured my table topper was the perfect size to use them and use them all (and not need any more).

They went on really nicely -- and it was so much easier than the whole "clipping" action with the clips I typically use.

The open nicely and hold securely. I was really pleased with them. I got it clipped into place and ready to sew just as Jocelyn arrived! Since I was working on a Christmas topper ... and since I'd gone through my case of Christmas DVDs last night, I was really in the mood to put in a Christmas movie. Don't judge! LOL! I put in Elf, one of our family's favorites, and look what I ended up with . . .

A FINISH! (Finally.) Whew - that feels good.

I love this again -- I think it's beautiful and I can't wait to be able to use this in another couple of weeks!

And while I was stitching and stitching, Joc was busy, too . . .

She got her canvas covered with some pretty fabric (tacked down with hot glue) and then got her "E" on there to trace.

Once the E was traced onto the fabric, she went to work moving the buttons ever from her template to the real thing, hot gluing as she went. Look at that face of concentration!

Halfway finished -- it's looking good, Jocelyn!

Yay! A finish for Joc, too! Isn't she just beautiful? I didn't need so many pictures of the E, but I love my sweet Jocey!

Here's a closeup of the E -- this was really inexpensive and fun, as well as fairly simple and fast. She made her E big enough to fill most of the canvas, so I think she's not going to adorn it with flowers or anything.

I think it looks great just as it is! Ellie will love having this on her wall. For sure!

And the close third? Ummm, well that would be these no-bake cookies I made after lunch this afternoon.

We finished cooking them ... and worked very hard to not finish them off, too boot!

It was a happy day!

:)

so fast . . .

Can you believe that this young buck, who graced us with his presence just this morning:

Pictured above with his latest dining companion (who is pictured solo, below) . . .

Was this little guy, less than a year ago? I took this picture August 18, 2010.

They grow up so fast! The group of does that he's traveled with over the past year has finally kicked him out. He had too much antler for them. Hence his new dining companion.

I've got my fabrics laid out and ironed . . .

All ready to sew! The question I still have is which pattern?!? Can you believe I'm still undecided? Ugh.

One thing I did decide was that I actually liked my red better when it was wrong side up.

I like the more muted flower pattern, especially for this project. I'm headed back to the bunk room. I'm not coming out until I'm finished! (Or I have to use the restroom, whichever comes first.)

:)

patriotic design . . .

I played around in EQ7 over the weekend. I found a design I like. It's a simple pinwheel, but I like the look ... now it's just a matter of putting the colors where I want them. I've got five different samplings that I like. Now it's just a matter of deciding which one I like best. Hubby's already put in his vote. And I admit, I'm leaning towards a particular combination. But I'd love to hear what others have to say, too!

Block 1


Block 2


Block 3


Block 4


Block 5

Which one would you want gracing your table on Independence Day?!?

Oh, and don't forget to go and check out what other fabulous work is going on in the quilting world by visiting Judy Laquidara's Patchwork Times.

Happy Monday!

:)

design within reach . . .

Saturday evening I returned home from a long day out and about, and decided I needed to put away the red and pink and white quilted heart that had been adorning my table since February, and work on a more "summery" design.

In less than three hours, this is what I'd come up with!

Even with a cute little back -- I could probably reverse it if I ever felt so inclined! I'm so infatuated with orange right now. It's my color of choice. Why is that?!?

Ta dah! I love what I can accomplish if I put my mind to it. And what's even nicer is that this is an original Design by Denise. LOL! :)

My BOM's are what's on the design table cloth right now. First, here are the two blocks I completed just in the nick of time on Saturday, for a turn in win! (I'm determined to NOT use my Ooops! card this go 'round!)

So now there are ten blocks completed, six to go. I have two sashed and quilted and I need to audition the rest. Well, first I have to decide whether I'm going to do the four corners in the purple, or do the whole thing in the orange (like I'd originally planned). I just think the four corners in the purple would create eye interest.

I do believe that if I go with the purple corner, this block that I finished this weekend will be a purple candidate:

While the other block I finished this weekend will definitely go orange!

Head over to Judy Laquidara's Patchwork Times to see what other creative genius is flowing in the quilting world!

Last week I watched Sawyer on Thursday, so Kim could run some errands.

He's gotten so big -- he hardly looks like a baby anymore!

He was all about holding that spoon while he ate, too. He held it in his right hand, and ate with his left hand. I wonder if he'll be a lefty or a righty?!?

He loves, loves, *loves* his books! My favorite thing is to sit in the rocker in his room and have him bring me a book and climb into my lap!

Without a doubt -- Neesey heaven.

:)