Category: Life

Blogroll, Family, Grandson, Life

Weeds and things

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Life has so many ups and downs, and twists and turns. This summer so far for the most part has been wonderful. My little grandson is a total joy and I love the warmer weather and the gardening and being outside! I do love summer.

Over the weekend, Erik and I did a little shopping after seeing his youngest daughter off on a school trip to Cuba and later we were at a birthday party for 2 friends, one 60 yrs and the other 50 yrs.

Sunday had its challenges which leads me to the weeds…… I spent a good part of today pulling weeds and when I say a good part of the day I mean hours, awesome therapy for a mom who needs to pull some weeds from life and sort things out and carry on.  It was super hot today which made the job a bit more challenging but in a way a lot more rewarding. There really is something about weeding the garden that soothes me. I think all the weeds are dealt with for now…

3 of my girls knew how I was today and they all showed up and spent time with me. I am truly blessed and of course my eldest brought my little man 🙂

My little cowboy wearing his Canada Day Cowboy hat from a friend of his moms, his little Onesie  that says My Mommy’s Canadian Hero and his little John Deer Cowboy boots from him Mamie. He has a Onesie that says Made in Texas as you’ll also see.

We had a nice visit with Sarah’s Mother in law and her parents who came up from Texas for a little visit. It was so nice to meet Jerry’s  Mamie and Papa and to see Kathy again.  Sarah’s new family is so lovely that is makes it a little easier to let them move south….though I wonder how I’ll really feel when the time comes. My Mom and Dad are to the right of me, 4 generations happening in this picture.

I really love this picture, Jerry is held by his Great Grandmother, Mamie and Kathy Jerry’s Grammy is to the right. Do you think my little guy will grow up with a strong accent too?

and one last picture because how cute is he?? hopefully I’ll be back to my quilting soon, I just haven’t felt my creative self lately but maybe now that the weeds are pulled it will return!

Oh and I am still running and walking almost daily (almost 4 weeks now) I can really feel the difference it makes. I highly recommend getting out there….one step at a time!

Blogroll, Family, Grandson, Life, Summer, Uncategorized

It’s My Favorite Month…

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and it seems to be flying by!

Our Little Man has already been here for a month………

One thing about living in Canada is that we have a year of Maternity leave, most of the time the Mom uses the full year but parents are allowed to split the time off. Now I realize not all countries have this but we do and now that I’m a Grandma I really think we Grandmas should also get at least a 6 month leave from work to enjoy our little bundles…..or better yet retirement with full pay/benefits etc  so that we are available to enjoy and help out.

He has stolen all of our hearts of course,  especially mine…

And what can I say about his Mom.  I am so proud of my daughter, what a wonderful Mommy our little guy is blessed with!!

On other news We have been to Duluth twice in the last month, first for Erik’s Birthday (just the two of us) and a second trip as a day trip to take the girls shopping.

We took these pictures at Gooseberry Falls, they were amazing! We visited last summer and there was hardly any water compared to this

We’ve also been busy with other projects that have been keeping me outside.

and I’ve always wanted to run….so I’ve been working on that this summer at this point my runs are half walking and half running and I’m out for about 45 min. I think its best to work my way up and avoid any injuries. I’m really enjoying myself!

In less than a month we’ll be heading off on Vacation….a very exciting trip for sure!

for now though I’m still working my full time job and then fitting in everything else and for the last month my quilting has been on  a hiatus but the itch is there and it won’t be long before I get back at it.

I hope everyone is enjoying their summers too…


Family, Life, Quilting

Another Wendy Day

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I didn’t spend as much time in the studio on my play day 3 but I did manage to get a quilt loaded on the longarm and the squares cut out for the half square triangles needed in my latest quilt.

 

My daughter Sarah asked if we could go for groceries together in the morning which we did. I think I’ve mentioned before that she’s an amazing cook. Well when we brought the groceries home she suggested that we clean out the fridge first, the two of us working together made pretty short work of a fairly big task and when we were done she put the groceries away and made us a lovely lunch and later made Mexican for Supper (a healthy version I might add)

 

I had planned to sew all evening but the girls talked me into going to the show with them.

It was opening night for The Last Song; this movie is a big time Chick Flick! If you are going to see it make sure you bring along some tissues!

 

 

All in all it was a great day!

Blogroll, Life, Quilting, Uncategorized

The Pink Purple and Red Quilt

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This little quilt was made for my friends 3 yr old daughter Brooklynn. I had made a quilt for her when she was born but her mom wanted to use it as a wall hanging. One night I was on the phone with Brooklynn and she told me that she can’t use her quilt because its a “Only on the wall quilt” so I asked her if she would like me to make her another one. Yes she said, and would you make it Pink, Purple and Red so mommy won’t hang it on the wall. How could I resist.

I had originally planned to add a red block but instead I settled for


After making my Madeline Schnibbles which I haven’t posted the finished picture yet, I wanted to keep making those little star blocks. I added a few more blocks to make the quilt bigger. As you might have noticed I love Carrie Nelson’s patterns “Miss Rosies Quilt Co”. In previous quilts I’ve used the technique shown in her patterns for making the flying geese blocks but they can have a tendency to come out a bit wonky. This winter a friend of mine taught me a new way to make them and they turn out perfectly each time. I’ve told a few people about the technique and promised a tutorial so I’m working on that and will hopefully post it later today.

Blogroll, Christmas, Family, Life, Quilting, Uncategorized

Gypsy Rose

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I made this quilt as a Christmas gift for Megan, she is Erik’s youngest daughter. I love making quilts for the girls. It thrills me that they all love their quilts.

My goal is that each of the girls will have a queen size quilt to add to their collections. I have a couple planned for this year. I made Megans quilt using Miss Rosies Quilt co pattern Summer Wind and The Gypsy Rose collection by Joanna Figueroa. Katie really likes the pattern so I’ll make her one, I’ve already bought her fabric and hopefully I’ll get a chance to start hers soon. This next picture is of Megan with her lap quilt that I gave her 2 Christmases ago to go with her bedroom that she’d recently decorated. She is changing rooms soon and her Gypsy Rose quilt will look very at home with her new decor.

I have been quilting for Tara from almost the beginning of my machine quilting business. She has been such an encourager and has also provided me with awesome quilts to work on. This batik quilt was a joy to quilt, I used a rainbows thread that really pulled the together into the border. It was quilted with a pantograph called wildflowers.

These kitties belong to my daughter Emily, they are all living with me while Emily attends University. They couldn’t resist this box and at one point the smaller kitten had opened the lid just enough to slide into the box and keep the lid on…..never a dull moment!

Blogroll, Christmas, Family, Life

Time is Flying!

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I remember thinking that I would never be a grown up. I also remember expecting my first daughter thinking that she’d never get here…well she’s here and has been for almost 24 years and not only that but before I know it she’ll be a mother and I’ll be the Grandma! And guess what? Its A BOY! 2010 will be a very exciting year for sure.

On the quilting front I’ve been very busy with customer quilts as well as allowing myself some piecing time. I was able to reach all my goals for Christmas quilts. I still need to take some pictures of the gypsy rose quilt that is now living on its new owners bed 🙂 so I’ll have to add those soon.

My Emily really loved her Faith, Hope and Love quilt

and Shilo Loved her I Believe in Santa Quilt

My Madeline Schnibble is ready for quilting

I am planning to make myself a queen sized quilt with the Rouenneries collection. I’ve decided on the pattern now I just have to wait for the rest of the fabric to arrive and to make the time. Sarah (the soon to be mom) has also requested a baby quilt made with this line.

I’ve been having computer troubles lately but hopefully thats resolved and I’ll be able to share more about my life and times this year.

Blogroll, Christmas, Life, Quilting

Its that time again

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I had some time to kill today after work, while my youngest had her hair done so I did a little shopping…and what did I come across? I couldn’t believe that I’d actually forgotten all about them, I enjoyed them so much last year! Christmas really is coming!

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I’ve been really busy with customer quilts esp lately and I’m also working on some personal projects. My Gypsy Rose Summer Wind quilt is coming along, I did have to order some more fabric but so far I’m on track with my plan for this quilt. ( this picture makes me a little seasick but the colour turned out the truest in this picture compared to the others I took)

I added an extra little project last week for a co worker, she needed a baby quilt, and I am in the mood to make baby quilts

I just know I’ll be making up a few more quilts like this, what a great way to use up odds and ends and I always have tons of 4 patches from using them as leaders and enders, something I learnt years ago from Bonnie Hunter.

One last picture that my youngest took the other night…

Blogroll, Family, Life, Quilting, Uncategorized, WEather

Summer Wind and Fall

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Summer Wind (Miss Rosies Quilt Company) is among my top favorite patterns, I made it about 5 years ago using the Seaside Rose collection. When I saw Nicoles version in Wuthering Heights, I knew I needed to make it again. I’m making it using the Gypsy Rose Collection as a Christmas gift. The extra challenge I’ve given myself is that I’m using precuts to make it, so far so good.

I have several quilts in mind that I want to get working on, but with my day job and quilt jobs my time is limited so I’ll see how far I can get.

Fall is truly here, I took these pictures a couple weeks ago (our Thanksgiving weekend) when we tucked the flower beds in for the winter. (I’m hoping that the spruce boughs will discourage the cat and other critters from their activities)

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I’m including this pic just because I like it
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this is what I learnt how to drive today
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The weather has definitely shifted jackets are out and the summer fun is put away for another year.

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the garden is covered up waiting for spring, hopefully next year will give us a better growing season

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One more picture from Thanksgiving weekend, Katie sure loves to drive!
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Blogroll, Life, Quilting, Uncategorized

Procrastination

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I’ve been watching for a new collection for a while now, patiently waiting for the fat quarter bundle to become available, which it did this week. Did I order it right away, no instead I just kept it in an online shopping cart. For 3 or 4 days. Today was the day I had decided on everything I was adding to the cart and then guess what? yep they sold out of it and apparently Moda is totally sold out.
I searched for awhile and luck was on my side Fabric.com had some and they still had 20 left last time I checked.
This collection is so beautiful and inspiring. I’m planning to redo my bedroom based on the colours in this collection……lesson learnt (I hope) so which collection? Rouenneries by French General

rouenneries

Blogroll, Life, Summer, Uncategorized

Tori

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We have often visited the Heritage Site in Finland MN and have heard about the festival they hold every August called Tori. This year we decided to make a day trip down and see it.

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There was a market with different crafts for sale, beautiful woven rugs which are a favorite of mine, though I’m not sure why I didn’t get better pictures.

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The food was yummy even though it wasn’t really the Finnish food we’d expected. There was entertainment, but we had hoped for some Finnish flavor, it was enjoyable though.

The booth that caught our attention the most though was the black smith. He and his wife were in costume and so informative.

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