Lots of pictures and a video

I have tons of pictures I want to share but I guess I will spread them out.
First, is my mom's baby quilt. She brought it up for me to take a picture for her. It is really adorable. I hope the recipients like it.

Close up...
My hubby is such a good dad. Not ashamed to have a little girl. Here he is laying in my daughter's bed brushing Barbie's hair. I'm surprised he could get in it with all the stuffed animals there.

We went to my father in law's work picnic. He retired years ago but he still goes and they put on a great picnic. M was so excited to ride a pony. "Mommy, it's a real horse!!!" Why, yes it is. Isn't she smart? :)

Finally, we finally got the video from her dance recital in June. She is the one on the very end to the right. Totally doing her own thing. They are all so cute!

I'll stop now and save some pictures for later in the week. My life isn't that interesting. I have to spread it out.

Is This Summery Enough?

Here is my Doll Quilt for the Good Ol' Summertime Doll Quilt Swap. I am so happy to be done (almost). All I have to do is sew on the name patch and my mom is mailing one to me tomorrow. I don't have a sewing machine with embroidery so she is quite helpful.
So, this is a dresden plate enlarged to 22 inches. I used the EQ5 program to get the pattern. Then I sewed on a back to cover up the yuck and I used a dinner plate to measure the center. The "seeds" are mini yoyos. I had to make over a hundred and then sewed them together. That's what took to most time. I know I said it was going to be a sun but I had to make some changes when it looked more like a sunflower than a sun. If anyone is interested, I would be happy to make a tutorial for it. It was super simple. I thought I would go crazy until I started and it was a snap. I am waiting for the patch for the other one too and then I just have to sew on the binding.
I have one quilt block cut for the quilting bees. Slowly I will catch up. :)

What to do in the hot sun???

We have had the most amazing weather this summer. Last summer we had like two and a half weeks of run through the sprinkler sun. This year- WOW! Like two and a half weeks of cloud and rain and that is all! We folks here in Bellingham do not weather well in the heat. Most places and homes do not have air conditioning. Here is what we do to keep cool.

We all cram into the kiddie pool. Oh, yes, I got in too. What a sight. Two grown adults and a small child crammed in the kiddie pool. But it was refreshing because the water was ice cold from the hose!

M is taking swim lessons again. I have to say its quite enjoyable for me too. Her swim instructor is a young 22, tan, quite muscular man. Nice. M loves the class. She is definitely a water baby. I just sit and watch and make mini yoyos for my doll quilt. I figure I have to make at least 100 and it takes forever. I think the mini ones take longer than the big ones! Oh and that ball she is balancing on. She woke up in the middle of the night crying because it popped and she was so upset. Kids are weird.
So I did a Favorite Things swap at According to Kelly. This is what I sent. Above all pretty and wrapped. M helped with the stickers. Below:All the stuff. I went a little crazy. I sent my partner 3 crayon roll ups with pads. She has three kids. I sent her a purse first aid kit. This really is my new favorite thing. We were at a friend's house and M skinned her leg and arm and they had nothing in the first aid department. Even band aids. I also sent some smelly lotion and soap, a butter cup bag, a list taker, and candy. Who doesn't love candy.

Here is what Jenny sent me:

Her new favorite book Hunger Games. I can't wait to read it but I have to finish a few things first. Yummy hot chocolate. I do love that. I am not a coffee drinker so she was right on the money. Some smelly candles. M wandered around the house sniffing them for hours. She also made some cards for me with her circuit. They are really cute and I can't wait to use them. Hurry up someone and have a birthday, or a baby, or do something deserving of a thanks. :) Oh, and some yummy chocolate. Yummy! It was a fun little swap and I was glad to meet Jenny. She's a nice lady.

And finally, for the end of my rambling. An image of over 30 envelopes ready to head out for two different quilting bees. I was lucky and got the same month. I'm going to mail them probably Monday. Its a bit early but I like them early for two reasons; one, I can procrastinate longer without feeling guilty and two, if I hadn't done the current month I can do them at the same time and am done. I'm pretty excited. My hubby, who has faith in no one, thinks its a scam. How did he ever get through life with no faith in anyone, I do not know. I have faith so phooey on him.

Doll Quilt Swap 7

I need your opinion. Please forgive the awful quality of the photos. I'm in my office with fluorescent lighting and used my camera phone. Anyway, this is my doll quilt thus far for the Doll Quilt Swap 7. I used Anna Maria Horner fabrics and I hand embroidered the pictures. The tree design was inspired by the embroidery book, Doodle Stitching by Aimee Ray.My question is- do the pictures need more? I don't want overkill but I don't want it too simple either. Should I do another butterfly or some more bubbles? Or it being simple works out because the fabric is busy. Wow, the photos really don't give it justice. You have to check out the fabric at Anna Maria Horner's website. Its the Good Folks line. Aww man, its on sale now. Go, go fast!

So, my mom says redo the whole thing. She doesn't like the trees. The butterfly is okay. My office mates said they liked the whimsicalness of it so much they didn't care what they were. Now, I am more confused. Should I just leave it alone?

I am hoping to make the doll quilt for the Good Ol' Summertime doll swap this weekend. I have an idea and my mom and I (really she did all the thinking) brainstormed tons of ideas to achieve what I wanted so I am all ready. My mom even made me a pattern on her EQ5. So, I am pretty excited to do that this weekend. I am really avoiding the quilt blocks for the quilting bees. I had a blow to my self esteem with them (I made a couple bad ones and the lady, I know hated them)and now I just have to get back on the horse because I know not all of my blocks turn out bad. It happens right. I know my mom who has been doing this forever still have things turn out badly.

My Mosaic Thus Far

1. Simplicity Essential Patchwork Bag, 2. Yo-yo, 3. Not Yo Mama's Craft Fair Jersey City 044, 4. Yo-Yo Tree Quilt, 5. "my favorite dress" quilt, 6. Sunny Girl Mini-Quilt, 7. Abstract no.7, 8. Wash Day Mini Quilt, 9. Owl Mini Quilt, 10. October Mini Quilt Swap, 11. continuous: for mini quilt week, 12. "Outside the Box" Mini Quilt, 13. Abstract #5 Mini Embroidered Art Quilt - detail, 14. Spiderweb Mini Quilt, 15. mini quilt from Knit One Quilt Too, 16. "Enchanted Garden" Mini Quilt no.1, 17. AQB2--April Block for Chen 2, 18. Muslin Art Quilt, 19. Quilt Detail, 20. Doll Quilt for DQS2, 21. frame quilt #3, 22. Finished Doll Quilt, 23. I (heart) pink!, 24. DQS6 Finished Quilt, 25. DQS6, 26. DQS6 Quilt Received from Karen, 27. Jazynthe's Butterflies DQS6, 28. DSQ6 received, 29. DQS6 Received!, 30. dqs6 front, 31. Doll Quilt Swap 6- recieved

I signed up for two different Doll Quilt Swaps so I have been looking for inspiration. I think I found a few ideas. I just have to see if I can pull them off. I lack confidence in my skills but you will never know if you don't try- right? I think one I am am going to do some embroidery and the other I might make a yo yo quilt. I have over 100 made so hopefully the colors will be in the bag for what I am thinking or I will have to make some more. I wonder where I put the bag.

I also received these books from Amazon. Yea!

Jean Wells' Intuitive Color and Design. Its about creating Art Quilts. I am taking a class in November from her and I am totally excited. I'm glad I signed up a month ago too since its almost full and August just arrived. I even get to take a day off of work for it!

I also got Doodle Stitching by Aimee Ray. I am going to use some of her ideas for one of my quilts. I think the Jean Wells book may take some practice and cursing. :) I have an idea of one I would like to try. (I have my quilting bee blocks to do first.)

Well, in case anyone was curious, my week with my dad and his wife went horribly wrong on Wednesday (the 105 degree day). Kitty, my dad's wife, grabbed my daughter's arm swung her around and held her by both arms and got in her face and yelled at her. I had let a lot of Kitty's behavior go (I really wanted the week to go well) but that was not one I would. I yelled at her to let go of my child. I didn't curse. I did raise my voice. I didn't say anything derogatory. I told her if M wasn't listening to her to let me know and I will make sure she does it but that would not fly. My hubby showed up 10 seconds later and I pulled him aside to tell him what happened. We decided to stay (I was really trying.) We returned to the table and my dad told me I overreacted. Excuse me? A woman I am not related to, I don't like, I see once a year, who had already pushed the boundaries of parent child discipline (she interrupted me while I was disciplining M so that she could do it. uhh? okay? that among other things) - touches my child in a way I find inappropriate and I am overreacting? Let me tell you, I have run this through my head over and over again for hours and hours while I have tried to sleep and I did not overreact. In fact, I think I under reacted. I held my cool. Needless to say, I did not hold my cool when my dad said that. It pissed me off. I'm sure a lot of that was a lot of anger issues towards him in general. But again, he said it was my fault for the relationship that I have with him, blah, blah. Everything is my fault. Whatever. So I no longer have a dad. And he can explain why neither of his children will talk to him and say its our fault. (My brother hasn't spoken to him in 6 years.) Maybe he will grow up and say sorry for not being a better dad. He was pretty much out of our lives since I was 6. Yeah, it was my fault.

But when I got home and my blood pressure went down, I had my little amazon box to open and a box of fat quarters from Anna Maria Horner. The fabric was back ordered so it was a nice surprise for me. Sometimes I want to roll around in my new fabric. I don't have a picture of the fabric but you will see it soon enough when I make my doll quilt. I'm so happy. I love inspiration. Fabric and books excite me.

M did get to swim in a pool and swim lessons really paid off. I was so impressed by my little munchkin. And you will love this image. Imagine two grown adults and a child in a child's wading pool. Quite an image, let me tell you. We live in Washington. We can't take the heat. We will do anything to cool off. A salesclerk at Sears said there was a fight over a fan. It was the last one. I put a spritzing water bottle in the fridge to spray myself with cool water. :) Worked wonders. My hubby had to tackle the dog to spray her down. She hates water. I know she is part lab but I am not seeing that from her.

Hope you are staying cool!

Truck Bed Full of Goodies

My dad arrived last night so this morning he emptied his truck bed and gave us a ton of goodies. My Great Aunt Oska passed away earlier in the year and she used to be quite the sewer. He brought me her sewing machine which he thinks has only been used a couple of times. Its a White. I haven't played with it yet or gone through all the bags.... and boxes...

And boxes...

of stuff. It looks like there is probably 100 spools of thread. A ton of vintage buttons. Lots of bias tape and who knows what else. It should be fun to go through and figure out. Well, figure out where to put it. :) My Aunt Judy said she has left over fabric from my grandma she was going to send but I will just have to go get it.(My Grandma was a true fabric lover according to my mom. My mom was few to ever to see her entire stash. It filled a bathroom, a dresser, under the bed plus other places.)

M got a hand made grasshopper xylophone. Cute, huh? The little legs move when you roll it. M loves it already. My dad said he had to use every tool in his garage. Oh, Kitty loved the bag. The purse she brought was driving her crazy cus it was so big so it was a perfect gift. They just left for the camp ground. We are giving them some time to get settled and do some laundry we go bother them. I guess I should go find the directions. :)

Bag for the Evil Stepmother and a Fancy Nancy Party!

My Dad is coming to visit next week and well, we have had a strained relationship since he was non existent in my childhood. Since I have had M he has try to be more involved. Also, he lives so far away. Well, my stepmother (my dad's 4th wife) and I had a few words the first time we met. Apparently, it was my fault the way our relationship was and had nothing to do with me being 6 when my dad and mom divorced. Anyway, I'm not her biggest fan but we get a long well enough. I decided to make her a bag as a good will gesture. I hope she likes it. I barely know her so knowing what she likes is hard. This bag is from Artsy-Crafty Babe. Its called the Round Yoke. I really want to make it for myself using scraps for the yoke part. Its not the best picture. Its supposed to be really stiff and I folded it after I made it to put it in a bag so that it won't get hairy from the dog.

Also, M and I went to a Fancy Nancy Party at the Library. If you don't know Fancy Nancy you have to check her out. She is a little girl who loves all things fancy. She learns a lot of big fancy words through out her journeys through life and her acceptance that all things are not the way you want them like her parents not being fancy. Very cute. I think they need to come up with a Fancy Nancy fabric line. (I obviously like Fancy Nancy probably more than M.) Anyway, the party was for little girls and they got all dressed up, heard a story and got the make a Fancy Nancy craft. (Puppy ears from Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy.) It was fun and all the kids were cute in their definitions of fancy. M wore a poodle skirt and a dog scarf, a couple bracelets, sunglasses, a couple of Mardi gras necklaces, a shiny silver belt and a big flower barrette. Cute. Oh, she had a pink boa but it ended up in my hair. It was mine! She gave it to me for Mother's Day! :)

My Spring Table Cloth is Finally Done in the Summer!!

My spring tablecloth is finally finished!!! I wanted something in the spring to brighten the house up and I needed a new table cloth so I decided to use these nice bright and cheery colors. I finished it a while ago but dreaded the quilting since it is like 85x85. Huge! Nice spring quilt at the end of the summer. :) I took it the the local quit shop again and I love the quilting. I had her put butterflies all over it. Since the lady uses a computerized quilter she doesn't go around designs or anything so on two of the fabrics I hate the quilting but I can get over it. I just blanket stitched the binding and the binding is really small since I had to bit and piece it. That'll teach me.Sadly, I like the back the best. Its just a vintage sheet I got at the Salvation Army for two bucks. Now I have to clean my table off!!! And a nice little summer photo to end this. A really happy little girl taking swim lessons. That grin is on her face the WHOLE time!

Book Review - Brief however

Occasionally, I have a chance to read. Not often but occasionally. There are a couple of movies coming out this summer that I wanted to see and if it has a book associated with it then I try to read the book first. I can watch a movie if I know the ending but I can't read a book. So, I am really excited about Amy Adams and Meryl Streep in Julie and Julia. So, I read Julie and Julia by Julie Powell. Its about a woman, Julie, whose life is stagnant and needs something to inspire her. For some reason she is drawn to Julia Child's first cook book called Mastering the Art of French Cuisine that she finds in her mom's kitchen and decides to cook all 524 recipes in 365 days and blog about her adventures. The book also includes a few letters written by Julia Child's husband but that wasn't the focus.

The book wasn't the most exciting book in the world. Infact, I hate to say a bit well, boring. BUT and there is a big BUT, there was something about it that forced you to keep reading. What would she cook next? How would it go? Would she actually make it to the final recipe? Would her life have some amazing moment that will make her what she wants to be? It kind of felt like you were following her blog. I have to admit my blog isn't the most exciting but I hope people come back. I have some sort of interest going. I know I read a lot of blogs that aren't the most exciting but I am there reading them.

I have to admit I cringed at some of the detailing of the recipes. I knew this before but gelatin for Jello is made from hoofs. Well, instead of buying a package at the store of good ol' gelatin she got hoofs and actually made her own. Not something I would ever do. She cooked plenty of other things we all would well, rather not hear about. At the beginning people thought she was crazy. Why this? Why now? Her mom thought she was nuts and would kill herself in the process but by the end people really supported her. They wanted to see her succeed. Even her "bleaders" (Blog readers). I wanted to see her succeed. Although I thought she was a bit nuts as well. But aren't we all.

This book was an easy read. Something you could definitely kick your feet up while the kids are in the yard and read. It looks like the movie is more exciting but I didn't realize this book is based on two books not just. I was wondering how in the trailer they show so much of Julia Child's learning to cook and in the book you only receive snippets into the woman she was and how her husband loved her but its a movie, they do what they want, right?

I still am looking forward to the movie. I think this is one of the rare cases that the movie will be better than the book. (I am currently reading the other summer's release "My Sister's Keeper." I was up way to late reading this book. I already read Harry Potter so I am good on that one. :) )

Mom's quilts

Since we were busy this weekend with nothing overly exciting I got nothing accomplished. I did put back all the fabric into my stash that I pulled out. That was an accomplishment. I kind of had to. My mom needed the guest bed to sleep on.

Here, however are some pictures of two of the quilts my mom made:

This one is a baby quilt for her boss. I wish I took a better photo. It was so bright I couldn't see the screen so I took them both blindly. It has little ducks playing in puddles in each square that she embroidered on. It is really cute. She doesn't know the gender (of the baby not the ducks) so she is hoping this is non gendered enough. I think it is and really it doesn't matter. You can have your kid swaddled in pink and purple and people will still call her a boy.

She made this last fall and I conned her into giving it to me for Christmas. Good mommy. Please excuse the lint and dog fur in the next one. We are people who use our quilts. (I wasn't going to use this one but she told me to use it!)

This is my favorite block. I love the tiny stippling which changes size with the picture and she used variegated thread that was perfect. My mommy is so talented.

I need to go take pictures of the rest of her quilts but she wanted the duck one taken before she gave it away and I had the black one right there so I grabbed it to get it taken. Honestly, my mom is short so this is about the size she could hold. :) I'll have my hubby do the others.

Hope you all had a great fourth!