Another Blog Hop & Cookie Swap

Yes, another wonderful holiday blog hop and cookie swap!  I posted about the Mistletoe Make and Bake a couple days ago.  Now, I just found a new one and a new blog to follow.  Buttermilk Basin is hosting this Home for the Holidays.  It's every Tuesday and Friday, starting on Nov. 2nd.  Between the two, I'm looking forward to finding some fun, new holiday projects and some yummy recipes!!  Click the photo above for more specific details on which designers are participating.  Too fun!!  I'm about a month into blogging here and I'm loving it...love the people I'm meeting and all the creative inspiration. 

Jacob Zane

Sometimes I long for the "good ole' days."  But, then modern technology really can bring wonderful blessings.  Today, is one wonderful example.  Here are a couple of ultrasound photos of our 4th child, Jacob Zane.  I'm just over 24 weeks and you can see he is already getting chubby cheeks.  He reminds me of my other three.  I can hardly wait to kiss those cheeks.

To us, he looks like he's smiling in this picture.  If you think differently, don't burst my bubble!!

Can you see those chubby cheeks?

Mistletoe Make & Bake

Check out the blog hop planned by Little Bits of This and That.  Click the photo above for the information.  I'm looking forward to the projects and recipes.  Love this time of year!!

Scrap Border Quilt Top

I posted a few days ago that I was going to use up some scraps by making this Pieced Border Scrap Quilt from Red Pepper Quilts.  I finished piecing the top today.  I am definitely not happy with my piecing on this and with the blocks made, I was quite disappointed in myself.  But, the finished top looks much better and it makes some of the flaws much less noticeable.  The tutorial is great.  I just didn't pay close enough attention to my seam allowances and that caused some me some grief.  Overall, I'm happy with it and am looking forward to quilting it.

I am debating on making it larger. I definitely don't want to make any more bordered blocks to add to it, as they ended up a bit smaller than they were supposed to be and I don't want to fool with trying to get more rows to match up to what I have.  I might do a double border....any ideas??

Bag Swap

Sew Mama Sew hosted a bag swap.  I wanted to share the handbag I made for my partner, Anita. You can check out her blog over at Rhinestone Beagle. I've been waiting until she received it before posting photos.  She also requested a photo of the bag with my dog, so meet Jenna!  She's prettier than the bag. 

The pattern is Amy Butler's Blossom Bag from her new book, Style Stitches.  Below are the inside and one of the side panels.  My machine had some difficulty sewing through some of the thick spots on the bag, especially the pinching and bar tacking the sides to hold the dividers in.  But, overall I love the pattern and love the bag.  My partner did too!  When she sends me my bag, I'll post some photos of it as well.

Free Photo Canvas

Alison over at Oopsey Daisy shared this information and a link to Canvas People.  They are offering a free 8x10 photo canvas.  Shipping is $14.95, but I thought this was still a good deal.  I've been wanting to get this photo done for awhile, but have been procrastinating.  Here was a great opportunity.  Click here if you are interested.

Here's the photo I chose and I'll post pics of the canvas when it arrives.

Baby Quilts

Here are a couple more baby quilts I've done.  I did the sailboat quilt for a friend, who was having a little girl.  But, she picked these fabrics and I love how it turned out.  I don't have any closeup photos, but it was hung at her baby shower for decoration.  She went with a boat theme.

The next one is a pattern called Card Trick.  I loved the fabrics on this one and had fun making it.  It was another quilt to practice some free-motion motifs on.

My Previous Quilts

While working on new projects, I thought I'd share some photos of my previous quilts.  This is the first one I made, the Baby Rail Fence which I found on Victoriana Quilt Designs. I made this in 2007 as a baby shower gift for a missionary family in Germany.


Though still very intimidated by quilting, I was hooked.  I loved quilting. So, I suggested a challenge to the ladies at church. Every year, our church in Stuttgart, Germany, Victory Baptist, held a large Thanksgiving fellowship.  We invited several missionary families to come in for a traditional American Thanksgiving feast and our ladies usually prepared gifts for the missionary wives and also for our own Pastor's wife.  In 2007, I suggested we make her a quilt and I ordered the following pattern, Monterrey Medallion from Atkinson Designs. We chose fabrics that matched the colors of her room, greens and orange/corals.  We pieced the top and since it was so large, we mailed it to the states to have it machine quilted by Ann Schuh of Quilting & More.  A lady in the church pieced the shams and I quilted and put them together. This was my first attempt at free-motion quilting. I did a motif to match the quilt blocks in the center and stippling on the rest.

NC Trip and More Quilting

Yesterday I drove to NC for my neice's 19th birthday. She left a couple weeks ago to work at Farmer's Christian Academy.  North Carolina is beautiful, especially this time of year.  I wish I had more time for taking photos, but I did manage to get a couple.  No fall leaves though! What was I thinking?

I stopped on the drive up there to take this photo.  I need to figure out how to edit my pictures so they are more clear on my blog.  But, here is the cotton field. I don't know why, but I'm drawn to cotton fields in full bloom. Very beautiful to me!



This next photo was taken on our drive from Asheboro to Troy.  We were taking Whitney out for a birthday dinner at Hometown Bar-B-Que. If you are ever in Troy, NC stop in for a bite.  I had the sliced bbq plate, with slaw and potato salad.  Good stuff!  Okay, back to the picture.  I couldn't resist taking a picture of this barn with quilt blocks.  Love it!


Last week, I finished the table runner I posted.  I had cut several extra squares before making it, so I could play around with the arrangement.  I took the extras and made these quilted coasters.  Again, I was able to practice my free-motion, by adding the flower motif to them.  Some day I dream of even stitches, and no slipping!  haha!




I saw this scrap buster tutorial over at Red Pepper Quilts.  I was looking for a lap quilt, which would be relatively fast and use up some of my scraps.  I thought this would be a good pattern.  I'll start sewing this week.  Here are my cut scraps.


I hope to have a finished quilt photo up very soon! In the meantime, I think in the next few days, I'll share some pictures of quilts I've already done. 

Table Runner

This pattern is the Garden Charm Table Runner from Moda Bake Shop. I didn't use Moda fabric, just some scraps I had on hand.  The directions also called for meandering the whole runner, but I chose to add a motif to the blocks.  Between both, I received more practice on my free-motion quilting.  This is the first quilt project in which I have hand-stitched the binding to the backing.  I did a search and found this Splityarn Tutorial on quilt binding.  It has great pictures and clear instructions!

October Morning

I awoke this morning feeling like I wanted to hibernate and close out the world. This is my fourth pregnancy and as usual, I have many rough, sick days. I tried reading Bible to lift my spirits, but I'll be honest it didn't help. I'm not sure my mind was even processing the words. So, as Kristy went out to do her morning chores, I opened the blinds and the Morning Glories along my fence were beautifully bloomed. There is no doubt about how they received their name and I longed to feel as glorious as they looked. I wanted to capture their beauty, so grabbed my camera and headed outdoors. 

I only intended to take a couple Morning Glory photos, but then I saw Kristy on the swing with Tater Tot. This is a usual morning routine for them. He greets her warmly everyday because he knows she is his biggest fan.  Today, she was loving on him while working on the G.I. Joe comic she is drawing and writing. Then the boys dressed themselves and followed us out.  You can tell Nate's style is greatly influenced by his older brother's. haha!

Around me was too much beauty to pass up; my children, the flowers, ducks, geese, chickens, and bees! Though my Bible reading left me unmoved this morning, God's creation did not. At every turn, I could see Him and His glorious work. I no longer feel like hibernating. I feel like I've received a hug from heaven, a much needed boost of encouragement. It doesn't matter how ugly I feel, God's beauty is present and I can glory in that.

Here are my morning photos!

Role of a Military Wife

Lots of moving...
Moving...
Moving...
Moving far from home...
Moving two cars, three kids and one dog...all riding with HER of course.
Moving sofas to basements because they won't go in THIS house;
Moving curtains that won't fit;
Moving jobs and certifications and professional development hours.
Moving away from friends;
Moving toward new friends;
Moving her most important luggage: her trunk full of memories.

Often waiting...
Waiting...
Waiting...
Waiting for housing.
Waiting for orders.
Waiting for deployments.
Waiting for phone calls.
Waiting for reunions.
Waiting for the new curtains to arrive.
Waiting for him to come home,
For dinner...AGAIN!

They call her 'Military Dependent', but she knows better:
She is fiercely In-Dependent.

She can balance a check book;
Handle the yard work;
Fix a noisy toilet;
Bury the family pet...

She is intimately familiar with drywall anchors and toggle bolts.
She can file the taxes;
Sell a house;
Buy a car;
Or set up a move...
.....all with ONE Power of Attorney.

She welcomes neighbors that don't welcome her.
She reinvents her career with every PCS;
Locates a house in the desert, The Arctic, Or the deep south.
And learns to call them all 'home'.
She MAKES them all home.

Military Wives are somewhat hasty...
They leap into:
Decorating,
Leadership,
Volunteering,
Career alternatives,
Churches,
And friendships.
They don't have 15 years to get to know people.
Their roots are short but flexible.
They plant annuals for themselves and perennials for those who come after them.

Military Wives quickly learn to value each other:
They connect over coffee,
Rely on the spouse network,
Accept offers of friendship and favors.
Record addresses in pencil...

Military Wives have a common bond:
The Military Wife has a husband unlike other husbands; his commitment is unique.
He doesn't have a 'JOB'
He has a 'MISSION' that he can't just decide to quit...
He's on-call for his country 24/7.
But for her, he's the most unreliable guy in town!
His language is foreign
TDY
PCS
OPR
SOS
ACC
BDU
ACU
BAR
CIB
TAD
And so, a Military Wife is a translator for her family and his.
She is the long- distance link to keep them informed;
the glue that holds them together.

A Military Wife has her moments:
She wants to wring his neck;
Dye his uniform pink;
Refuse to move to Siberia;
But she pulls herself together.
Give her a few days,
A travel brochure,
A long hot bath,
A pledge to the flag,
A wedding picture,
And she goes.
She packs.
She moves.
She follows.

Why?
What for?
How come?
You may think it is because she has lost her mind.
But actually it is because she has lost her heart.
It was stolen from her by a man,
Who puts duty first,
Who longs to deploy,
Who salutes the flag,
And whose boots in the doorway remind her that as long as he is her Military Husband,
She will remain his military wife.
And would have it no other way.

--Author Unknown

My latest quilt...

Here are some photos of my latest baby quilt.  This is a combination of projects I liked, including a baby quilt and appliqued pillow.  They were my inspiration for the emma quilt.  I'm still working on learning free-motion quilting.  It's a fun challenge.



Close-up on back of free-motion quilting




Another close-up of free-motion motifs

Birdie applique on bottom left corner



Yikes!!!

I am trying to start a new blog.  My previous blog was at Homestead Blogger. They switched some months ago to a different format and I took a break from blogging.  Now it seems there are limits and less flexibility, so I'm tackling a new blog and hoping I can figure this all out.  Here's to a new journey.