"I SPY" Christmas Gift Quilts

This year I decided to make each of our 8 grandchildren their own "About Me-I SPY" quilt. The idea being that I would select fabrics that reflected their favorite things, colors, activities, etc.

Each quilt would be unique in it's own right, and would definitely be identifiable to it's owner! The alternate blocks would be pieced blocks using each child's favorite color. And each quilt has a different pieced block.

I have been collecting, swapping, and buying fabric for these quilts for 2 years, and finally I felt that I had a large enough variety to get these projects finished this year :) Now, I must say when I first started these quilts, I wasn't real confident that I would get all 8 of them finished for Christmas...but HUGE THANKS goes to several people for telling me they knew I could do it...I did in fact get them finished:)

The kids were very happy with their quilts, and I was very pleased with them too. I had so much fun making each and every one. As I was working on each quilt, that grandchild was my only thought. It gave me time to reflect on each child's life thus far, and time to ponder their lives to come, and of course time to talk to God about each child and offer up many prayers for each one.

A wonderful experience that I will cherish forever.

End of October...Already???? So Much to Blog!!!

Absolutely unbelievable, it's the last day of October, WOW, where did the month go? I have so much blogging to catch up on...whew, it might take awhile :)



October at our house is full of celebrations, 5 Birthdays and 2 Anniversaries!!! Sometimes I think I need to start an "October Club" instead of a Christmas Club just to fund the month :) Needless to say I have eaten more than my share of cake this month, and the proof of that is on my scales! No I'm not sharing that information (LOL)





October is also the month that my Mother comes to visit :) She lives in Florida and very much enjoys the change of season we have here. All the beautiful fall colors and the crispness in the air, and lots of good food. We always do her Christmas shopping while she is here (saves on the shipping costs). And I get to see what everyone is getting *grin*. Just a little background on my Mom, she is one of those that is out of her PJs and dressed before she leaves her room, well almost, but definitely before she sets foot outside of the house. No, I did not inherit that quality...no, no, no...I am happy to stay in my PJs all day, if I'm not leaving the house :) Anyway, back to my Mother, I caught her really "vacationing" while she was here this year...and the proof is in the picture. Gotcha, Mom!!!!! There's no denying it now :) Yes, that is my Mother, in her bathrobe, outside!!!! Gotta Love It :)



The other big news at my house for October is the engagement of my baby boy. I saw it coming, but I still am not quite ready to let go of him. But he asked the question - she said "yes" - so here we go! But not for at least a year, or so they say :) I hope they stick to the next October date. Anyway here's a couple pics of him and the ring :)

Well, that's it for October, along with the next few other postings I did today. Looking forward to November, Thanksgiving, and much sewing to be done!!!!

Bumble Bee Petting

This fall has been rather unique here in our part of creation. We have seen some really strange and unusual things... We have seen some very, very strange looking bugs, flowers blooming out of season, the baby rabbits nest in our backyard, But the "Bumble Bee Petting" was the Best.

These pictures show my granddaughter petting a bumble bee, yep for real!!!

During the afternoon the temperatures were warm enough for the bees to go about their usual business. Then it would cool down quickly in the early evening, and the bees would become like they were "frozen" on the flowers. They would move very, very, very slowly and the kids could actually pet them. It was an unbelievable experience to take part in as well as watch! You can click on these pics to get a closer look.

Quilting the Psalms

Well...I've done it again, I've started another quilt. Just what I need, right???
I joined Carol Honderich's "Quilting the Psalms" group. We will be studying 1 Psalm a week and making a quilt block to go with it. I am so enjoying it! Our first block (pictured above) was for Psalm 1 and it is called Prosperity.

Block #2 pictured above was for Psalm 19 and it is called Rising Sun. Block #3 (pictured below) went with Psalm 37 and the block is called Patience.

I love doing the Bible studies and making a quilt at the same time. In case you are wondering about my Names of Jesus quilt...I have it about halfway quilted, now. I am hoping to get it done by Christmas (fingers crossed). But I have several Christmas projects (gifts) to get done first. Yikes!!!!! My "Countdown till Christmas" tells me to "get it in gear" NOW!

Dear Jane Secret Pal Gift

My wonderful Secret Pal continues to spoil me, and I'm loving every bit of it :) I'm running really behind on posting, this is my September gift. Thank goodness for cooler weather, because there was chocolate in this package, yum, yum, yum!!!! Also a beautiful little sewing kit case that has the Alamo on it, and two really cute magnets from Texas, one with a chili pepper on it and the other has the state flower on it.

Now for the "mystery" quilt block... She gave me this clue to try and figure out the name of the block: "It's named after an important Texas emblem, she didn't know it had a relationship to the emblem, but was told by a quilting friend, "Oh yes, my uncle was one." Anyone out there have any ideas on the name of this block??? At first I thought Texas Ranger, but I don't think that is it. No matter, it is a beautiful block and she did a wonderful job on it. I am so anxious to get all the blocks and get them put together!!!! :) :) :) You can click on the picture to get a closer look.

Pumpkin Harvest

The pumpkins have been harvested and that means that my garden is completely done!

The pumpkin patch belonged to my grandson. He did very well for his first year of pumpkin growing :) He raised only the smaller pumpkins for pie making and did pretty well at selling most of them. Next year he plans to have a bigger patch, with bigger pumpkins, so he can sell more pumpkins!!! We will see *grin*

BOM Quilt Blocks Finished :)

These are the blocks for a 2005 BOM I am doing for a Christmas gift...so I thought I had better get them done!!! Especially since it is already OCTOBER!

The fall leaf block is for October.

This one is for November.

This is of course December.

And this is the finished top. This hand-quilting is also finished now. All that is left to do is add the binding.

Well, that's 1 Christmas gift finished :) Only 10 or 12 more to go!!!!

Quilt Block = Coaster???

I have several little Dear Jane quilt blocks in a box hidden away. Why you ask? Well truthfully, they just didn't turn out quite the right size or quite the way I had hoped. But I didn't want to throw them away, so I thought....& thought....and thought some more. Then the light bulb came on over my head!!!! Yep, sometimes I get an idea or two *grin*



I made coasters out of those little darlings! Here's a sampling :)

They are just the right size (4.5" x 4.5"). Now I'm thinking some of my larger orphan blocks may become pot holders/hot pads :) Just goes to show you, if you hold on to something long enough...you will find a use for it.

September BOMs

Where has this year gone??? I can't believe it is already September, ahhh.

I have so many Christmas projects to get done, Oh My!!!

Anyway here are my September Block of the Month blocks: This is my Basket Case BOM. I really like the way it turned out. I'm not much of an "appliquer", but I gave it a try. And of course this month 2 of the blocks were applique blocks



The fan block is for the 2005 BOM I'm working on. This was actually much easier than I thought it would be. I might make more of the fan blocks someday...sounds like another project in the making :)

And this Churn Dash Block is for the 2009 BOM I'm doing. This block I will be making more of, only it will be in a light blue and dark blue for a wall hanging for my bedroom.

Giftie From Rosa...

My dear friend Rosa sent me this so darn cute quilted postcard. I have heard about "quilted" postcards, but I had never seen one. Well, now I have one of my very own :) I love it....another new project to try my hand at!!! Thank you so much Rosa, hugs to you. And to my shock and amazement this postcard made it through the mail with no damage to it!!!! Congrats to the USPS :)

August Secret Pal Gift :)

I have the most AWESOME Dear Jane Secret Pal. This is the wonderful gift that she sent me in August. She says she is the one on the left in pink, so I guess I'm the one on the right in blue :) Love this block, I can't wait to get the rest of these oh sooo cute blocks and get them together :)

Love the Christian Faith bookmark and the note pad. As I have said before, my Secret Pal is certainly spoiling me, and I love every minute of it!!!!

The New Back Door Project :)

Yet another re-do project for our house. Time for a new back door :) Just a problem or two...do you see anything wrong with this picture??????

Well for starters there is a new backdoor laying on the ground outside, not in the opening in the wall of my house. Next...no husband around completing this project, ahhhh!!! And guess what he isn't even on the property, oh no, he left and went to town for a coffee
break!!!!!!!!!!!

There is a good ending, the door did get finished and my husband is still allowed in the house (LOL) . And this project only started last Christmas, that's when we got the new door...it only took him 9 months to get the door installed. I can conceive and grow and birth a baby in 9 months!!!! ROTFL

Craft Room Reorganize!!!!! OMG

This project of reorganizing, or should I say "let the FUN begin", my craft room actually started in August :) This could be the beginning of the most horrific nightmare ever *grin*

My crafting supplies were strung out in a kind of organized fashion in 3 rooms...then I got the "brilliant" idea of getting everything into to 1 room! (LOL) Did I mention that it is not only my stuff, but also my daughter's. This is going to be fun! So this is what it looked like once I brought everything into the 1 room. Now mind you my daughter and I both sew, we both scrap book ,and we both do all kinds of rubber stamping & paper crafting, so this is not just one craft/hobby...oh noooo, it's 3 hobbies times 2 people!!!! And this is the room where both of our computers are, AND the Wii game system. So are you getting the picture????

Well after, 1 full week of work, this is what the craft room looks like now, *sigh of relief* I can now work in the room on any of my addictions :) And everything is quite handy, being all in 1 room, when I can find it!!! That's the hard part, remembering where I put my stuff. (lol) Anyway, there is still a little work left to be done, but for the most part it is done!

Pay It Forward (PIF)

Hi There!

I was just visiting Rosa's World...And she is doing a Pay It Forward.

You all remember the movie "Pay It Forward", right? Where someone did an act of kindness, for no certain reason, for someone else, and all that was expected was that the recipient would do an act of kindness for someone else. Well that is what this PIF is based on :) I believe another quilter friend, Frummie, actually started this.

Anyway, here is how it works:

I, like Rosa and Frummie, like to give things to people just because...No Special reason, just because!!! It's just plain FUN to do that :)

So, I will send something homemade to the first 3 people who leave a comment on this post. Don't know what I will make yet, but I've got some ideas dancing around in my head. In return those 3 people will, hopefully, do the same thing for 3 others :) Pay It Forward!

Sounds like fun, don't you think? And besides fun, it's just a NICE thing to do :) Imagine what could happen, if everyone would just do 3 little Acts of Kindness, and those 3 recipients did 3 more, and those did 3 more...

Have a Wonderful Day

Terry

Civil War Block Swap

The past week I have been working on the blocks for 2 different upcoming swaps :) I have had a wonderful time working on them, it was a welcome break from the garden, canning, and freezing that was consuming all my time.

This set of blocks are for a signature block swap over on the Civil War Diary/Love Letters group. All blocks were to be made from Civil War repro fabric. We could choose any block or blocks we wanted to make. Well these were my choices. I have a total of 50 blocks made...now I just need to sign them!

Christmas Quilt Block Swap :)

These sets of blocks are for a Christmas Block swap over at Sylvia's Bridal Sampler Group. The white set is not for the swap, they will be my four corner blocks. The other three sets are for the swap :) Each set contains 5 to swap and of course 1 for me to keep! I might just have time to make a few more sets for the swap, before the mailing deadline :)

Yep, I joined another quilt group...imagine that!!!! LOL

Quote for the Day...

It's been a busy last week and weekend, lots of sewing done, which I will write about later :) But, I just read this quote and couldn't leave it off my blog!!! Read it and then think about it (LOL)

"Every time you give someone a little piece of your mind,

you make your head a little emptier"

Rosa's Give Away!!!!!

Okay, a dear friend of mine, Rosa, is having a Give Away!!!!
You can get to her blog from my blog list (Rosa's World).
Her Give Away is in celebration of her 250th Post :) Check it out.
Now I get 2 chances at her Give Away, because I mentioned her Give Away on my blog :)

My Wildflower Garden

This was the first year that I have tried my hand at a wildflower garden. My dear granddaughter helped with this project. I think we will be doing this again:) We will just have to do a better job at keeping the weed population down!

This was also the first year that I have had bouquets of fresh flowers, from my own garden. Loving It!!!!

The flower garden may just have to be expanded next year.

The Lillies have so many colors on them, purple, yellow, orange, blue. But NO leaves, unbelievable, I think they are sooo very pretty! Click on the picture to enlarge it and you will be able to see more of the color :)

The Bounty of Our Garden

Well this is what my garden looked like in late July. A very hearty garden it became, and it blessed us with an abundant harvest. This is why I have not had time to quilt, card-make or blog. I have been canning and freezing...and canning and freezing.

I was able to put up enough corn (frozen, canned, and frozen on the cob) to last us a year. Plus several bags of okra, 16 jars of corn relish, many bags of bell peppers, 26 jars of salsa, 8 jars of freezer pickles (so far) and zucchini...zucchini chunked, zucchini sliced, and zucchini in pulp form for bread. We still have pumpkins, watermelon, and cantaloupe growing.

We ate the green beans, turnips, and potatoes as they became ready. And of course tomatoes and cucumbers have been served daily!

The garden has slowed down, so we are now enjoying just eating from it daily.

But, I do have a basket full of peaches waiting for my attention, and then I will have a break...until the apples are ready in September, ummm, ummm, there's nothing like homemade applesauce :)

August Blocks of the Month

August has been soooo busy, but I have managed to get my BOMs done :)

My first one is the cat in the basket. This block is for the Basket Case Quilters group....I know why the name "Basket Case Quilters", if you aren't a basket when you join, you soon will be, some of these blocks are quite a challenge, at least they are for me!!!!

Next is the block for the 2009 BOM. And then there is the 2005 BOM, love the picnic theme for this one.