Tag Archive | Family

Deadline – come and gone …

May31

Well, my self imposed deadline has come and gone.  I do have all the blocks done for my SWOON quilt (as of last night!), and the embroidery in the center square is also completed.  It turned out great!!  I’m thinking of adding a few flowers and such, but perhaps I should just get this thing done and off to LiMa Sews.

My friend was married this morning.  She’s officially a “MRS” now, and I think she is in bliss this afternoon.  I’ll get a chance to see her tomorrow at a reception they are hosting for friends (they only had a small, family wedding today).

My parents are visiting this weekend as well, and will spend the night – all very exciting for the grandchildren.  They love it when Nana and GrandDad spend the night!  For me, that means I’ll be doing more cleaning in the next 18 hours than I have done all month…

Finally – I have signed up my family to be FOSTER PARENTS!  Foster parents to rescued kittens!!  I shared this little secret with my 4 year old earlier this week, but she blabbed already.  I was going to surprise my husband and son with them on Sunday.  I have missed having kitties walking around, under my feet, in my bed, laying on my computer, etc… for four years.  It is time.  We are fostering for now, but we will certainly plan to adopt later in the year.  I’m helping out with a rescue group called Dori’s Darlings.  You can check out their website here.  If you live in the Houston area and wish to foster as well, they would be glad to have you I’m sure!

Picture

Aren’t these the cutest?

Picture

They also help with vet needs for their rescued animals and have saved many lives from pain and agony.Picture

Plan of action – add sashing and borders to quilt tonight/tomorrow.  Piece the backing.  Mail off to the quilter on Monday/Tuesday.  Play with kitties.

Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Jennifer

It’s called “Schnibbling”

Apr13

I’m so excited to work on my first AYOS Schnibble project.  I received my layer cake of Lario (a new 3 Sisters collection by Moda) on Thursday.  Green Fairy has great online deals quite often (and if you come across them – they also do bids on eBay which can land you even better opportunities), and no shipping charge anymore (eBay purchases do have shipping)!  You should see my collection of green pens (you get one free in your order).  Can you say ‘office supply store’?

Here’s my progress on the first Schnibble of 2013 … Hat Trick by Carrie Nelson of Miss Rosie’s Quilt Company.  For more information on joining AYOS (Another Year of Schnibbles) – just click on the blog button in the right side bar, and it will take you to one of the hostesses of the progam – Ms. Sinta of Pink Pincushion.

I’m having fun pairing up the color options and even doing a little ‘controlled scrappy’ approach to the 9 patch units.  The instructions even suggest to go with the individual 2 inch square construction instead of strip piecing these blocks.  I’m getting great practice at both perfecting my 1/4″ seam allowance and using my seam ripper.  Then I discovered that ‘someone’ had slightly moved my needle position knob on the sewing machine.  That could make a difference – right?

image

A little closeup:

image

And a few complete 9 patches on the design wall, along with my 8 Blogger Girls BOM blocks:

image

Today, the family is getting ready to go out to the Houston Pet Expo this morning and peruse the exhibits and animals up for adoption.  Never been before.  I have my eye on two kittens that will be available for adoption soon, and they will be at the Expo today with their sweet rescue group, … Dori’s Darlings.  It’s been over four years since my last furbaby passed away and I have missed the company of a quiet, cuddle partner.  Let me emphasize quiet.

But – what’s this?  Another project waiting it’s turn?  … more to come…

image

Have a beautiful weekend!  Thanks for stopping by!

Jennifer

Weekend Finish and starting BOM … again …

Mar25

Hello again.  Been gone awhile – but it went by so very fast.  Closed another month of books at work and tried to be ‘in the moment’ with the kids the past two weeks.  Had to get some ‘me’ time in though still.  I have a weekend finish to my Avalon quilt top, although I may still embelish a bit when I go to quilt it.  Waiting on the Avalon yardage to come in (and another paycheck) to get the backing.

I decided to make excellent use of my California Girl fabric that I bought on extreme sale from my local quilt shop that sold out its bolts last year.  I bought several yards of each of the stripe fabric in three different colorways.  I picked the gray and yellow stripe to complete the border and 9-patch corners.  Very sunny and cheerful!  Turns out that it could now fit a California Twin (if they existed).

image image image image

Borders are my nemesis… and finding any place that I could possibly lay out a quilt to baste it.  I may have to wash down my driveway one day, pitch a tent to keep bird poop off and tape it to the concrete.  I just don’t have that much floor space!  Or… I guess I can bring it to my office and baste it after work one day by T-pinning it to the commercial carpet.  It all feels like dirty options.  Or tape it up on the livingroom wall?  I saw a tutorial one time where someone took newspaper to mask off the surrounding area and spray basted their quilts in the garage on the wall.  Maybe I could try that in the livingroom. 

Another psuedo finish for this weekend was my Robin’s Nest BOM.  I did finish the center ring of red stars and stitched it to my appliqued hexagon.  Those star blocks finish at 3 inches!  3 INCHES!  This was going to be a challenge for sure.  I have my mini fit-to-be-geese ruler on order with Monique, but she is waiting for a shipment to come in…  I do have perfect acrylic templates that allow you to cut the shapes exactly as they should be, with squared off corners and all to make it fit.  Surprisingly, I got better results on this project when I made sure I didn’t skimp on the 1/4″ seam allowance.  Those seams seemed so BIG compared to the finished size of these pieces.

 image

 Look at those pitiful points and pinched connecting triangles!

image

image

I nearly cried when I put it on my wall and stepped away to view it.  It was terrible. !@#$!@#$ 

Calm down, not the end of the world. 

Except that I have someone special in mind for this quilt and I want it to be as perfect and beautiful and I know it could be.  Thankfully, Homestead Hearth provided enough fabric such that I could screw this up at least twice and still make another set that is worth a damn.

So… I ripped out all the stitches and salvaged the center hexagon.  The red stars were too distorted to fool with.

 

image

Here is “Take 2” on those stars.  They look better already.  Practice is making better (not perfect yet).  So, 2 stars redone and 4 more to go.  The next ring is 12 blue stars, done the same way.  Hopefully I will be a pro by then.

Therefore, I am still linking up to Sinta’s BOM Rehab since I technically did complete my block – at least once.

Finally – a gratuitous picture of my grandmother and daughter.  I took this last weekend when I was visiting my parents to celebrate my brother’s and my birthday week.

image

Thank you for stopping by today!

Jennifer

Just another Tuesday

Jan23

Hi there!  Thought I would drop off a couple of thoughts for the day.

Would you like a kitchen update?  Well, apparently I have been told that our house now smells like tar (I’m just about to leave work, so that’s the news from home).  Effort was made today to prepare the floor for the new construction.

Kitchen 01-22-2013

This was the floor today, after they ‘cleaned it’ and before pouring new tar on top.  They are leaving an 8 inch wide strip around half of the perimeter of the room, when (in my non-construction knowledged opinion), it would be obvious to take out ALL the floor first and do it fresh and not try to match up to anything else.  But, hey – that’s why I’m an accountant and not a builder of homes.

One positive that will come out of this is fresh paint in the kitchen and the removal of this border that went around the entire room…

Kitchen Border 01-22-2013

It just SCREAMS 80’s — right?  Yes it does.  Unfortunately, it is also in the bathroom, which isn’t getting painted right now.

One other item I would like to share tonight is a blog that was started at the beginning of this year by a woman named Tracee who works for McCall’s Quilting (if I’m remembering correctly).  She is on a journey to make 36 quilts in 2013, and blog about it and the special recipients along the way.  I am finding it very interesting to read – but you miss a lot if you don’t keep up each day!  She is making good progress, and these aren’t just little table toppers either.  Her goal is to do it all, including the longarm quilting.  Have a look! 

http://dailydog.typepad.com/my-blog/

I did get a few more leaves put on my tree last night and I’m prepped with the freezer paper for 5 more.  Perhaps I’ll finish one tree this week after all!

Enjoy your evening and thanks a lot for stopping by!

Jennifer

It’s not one thing … it’s another!

Jan14

Short post today.

Good news for quilting – I got my first block sewn together yesterday for Blogger Girls BOM.  Here is it on my design wall.  Ignore the background fabric beside it – goes to something else…  Picture is blurry, sorry.  Points came out great.  First time using the Fit to Be Geese ruler by Open Gate Quilts.  It worked just as promised and there’s less waste to this method than my rectangle with two squares method.  Perfect points and seam allowances.  However, it looks like I will be cutting off some of the points when I add it into sashing – when I trimmed it down to 12 1/2 inches, it took away more allowance than I would have wanted.   Don’t look too closely I guess.

BG Block 1 Done

I’m trying to close out December and the year today and tomorrow at work, so late nights.  However – after joining hundreds of other germ factories at the local Children’s Museum this weekend – my daughter caught a bug and ran a fever with sore throat last night.  She’s still asleep this morning (at 10:30 am).  Husband just sent a text message that son is also having odd symptoms.  SO… if it isn’t one thing, it will always be another.  Got to go and try to speed through my work, so I can go do some good cuddle time with the babies.

Jennifer

So Far, So Good

Jan4

My lovely husband went out on a limb at Christmas and took some wild guesses at what I might like for my quilting hobby.  He’s been there to see the streams of packages arrive from FQS and eBay sellers, and has witnessed my late night sewing sessions this past year as I really got back into the love of quilting.

He did well.  He got me two boxes of the Clover Wonder Clips, a couple of jelly rolls, a Fons & Porter large hexagon template/ruler, and a package of Marti Mitchell templates.  Amazingly – I did not have any of the items he got me and I’m thrilled with all of them!

I was able to put to use the Wonder Clips last night.

 

Clover Wonder Clips

They worked really well for holding the binding strip in place as I attached it by machine.  I did like them better than the hair barette type clips that I have and the Wonder Clips just have a good weight and feel about them.  They are pricey, so I had never taken the plunge to invest in them before.  But that’s what Christmas gifts are good for – right?

In a prior post, I had said that I was making my grandmother a quilted shawl.  I thought I was going to use the Swoon pattern, but I changed my mind and went with Flower Girl instead (both by Camille Roskelley).  I was able to make the shawl in time, but I didn’t get the binding on before Christmas.  I am borrowing it back now to finish it up and will get it back to my grandmother this weekend, all done and ready to party!

Shawl Binding Prep 2

 

Shawl Binding Prep

Notice on the ends of the quilt, the two pockets.  They are very oversized, and I think I may whip stitch them closed a little to keep them from gaping open.  The intent is for my grandmother to wrap this around her shoulders and be able to keep remote, tissues, etc.. in the pockets while she’s watching TV in bed or her recliner.  I can also see this as a bed runner with handy pockets for the same purpose, as long as it is on a queen size bed.

This was the first time I had worked with flannel fabric and the minky backing.  The backing did fine, although I now want to try the Snuggles (?) fabric from Moda to see the difference.  The flannel fabric is not my favorite.  My piecing accuracy went waaaaay down on these blocks and luckily, they were large blocks so you can’t tell the flaws as easily.  I probably won’t do flannel again anytime soon, unless it is a whole piece for a backing.  I’m glad I tried it though!

So, I have still done something quilty each day this year and blogged about it.  So far, so good.

Have a great weekend!

Jennifer

My children … living anecdotes

Jan3

Me:  “Nora, I love your hair now!”

Nora:  “Me too Mommy!”

Me:  “It has been a year and we finally have it all one length again and it is beautiful!”

<<Kiss on the head>>

<<Big hug from Nora>>

Nora 12-28-2012

Nora 12-28-2012

Maybe four hours later…

Husband … “Wake up from your peaceful nap that you never get to take, but for some reason you are being left alone for more than 15 minutes” (paraphrased)

Me “Leave me alone”

Husband “You have to see this”

Me  “Fine…”

Hair Pile 12-30-2012

Hair Pile 12-30-2012

Me… “Damn”

Nora:

Nora Post Hair Cut

Nora Post Hair Cut

 

Ok, so I have trimmed it off into a little bob hairstyle and I will admit that she looks cute that way too.  At least this time she didn’t cut it at the scalp level off the very top of her head like last time.

Rite of passage.

Have a great day!

Jennifer

2012 – Coming to a Close

Dec27

Overall, I would say that 2012 was a good year.  No one was injured or suffered any major illness.  We had enough to eat, was able to pay our rent and even enjoyed a few excursions here in Texas.

One of those excursions was last Sunday.  My Dad turned 70 on Christmas Day, so as a gift from the kids – we got tickets to the Texans game at Reliant park.  He had never been to this park or seen the Texans play in person.  Mom pitched in money to get herself a ticket as well.  So, the four of us (Stewart stayed home to watch the kids) went to the game, hoping to see the Texans play.  They never showed up (we lost something like WTF – 6).  We had a great time anyway.

Texans Game Family

Brother, Mother, Father

Texans Game Field

The kids enjoyed Christmas immensely and told these huge tales of seeing Santa Claus and describing what he was wearing and doing, etc…  They cut us a break at least and didn’t wake up until around 7:30 am.  I think I generally got up around 5:00 on Christmas morning, but then again, my birthday is in March and I had to wait a loooooong time before I expected some influx of big, new toys.  Both of my kids just recently had their birthdays, but they were still so excited.  Santa did good this year.

I hope all of you had a wonderful time with family, friends, or even if it was spent with your cherished dog (like my MIL).  Have a great end to 2012 and a blessed start to 2013!

Jennifer

Just going along for now…

Nov29

Not much happening on the sewing front.  We have been busy with the preparation and celebration of my son’s birthday.  He turned 6 this week!  He shares a birthday with my grandmother, so it is even extra special.

Also, my grandmother (same one), suffered a heart attack a couple of weeks ago – and due to her age (she turned 88 this week), they were able to treat with medication and send her home after a few days in the ICU.  She seems back to her old self, but we know now that she has two large arterial blockages in the heart which will not do her any favors if another small blot clot comes floating along.

We got a second opinion from a cardiologist yesterday and we are moving forward with implanting stents into these arteries next week.  We are all hoping for a smooth procedure and recovery.  It’s just not her time yet!!  It does make me feel compelled to move up her quilt project soon.  I have received at least three quilts from her in my life and I want to make one to give back.  I’m still deciding which one to do…

Thanks for visiting and being patient during my absence.  I have the top and bottom borders to put on Nora’s quilt (FQS 2011 Designer Mystery quilt & finishing kit).  I’ll share pictures of that this weekend.  Going to try and FMQ it before  Christmas and give it to her as a gift.  Haven’t worked on much else lately.

All the best!

Jennifer

I’m at work and it feels like a VACATION!

Oct29

My 5 year old had fever and a sore throat on Thursday morning, so I kept him and his 4 year old sister home.  He convinced me that he was still not feeling perky enough for kindergarten on Friday, so we took another ‘sick’ day.  And then there was the full weekend of a kid’s birthday party on Saturday and pumpkin painting/carving on Sunday.  I am finally back at work today and it feels like a wonderful vacation!  I can sit alone with my own thoughts for stretches of time, drink my Coke in peace, type on a computer that hasn’t been converted against my knowledge to Windows 8 (another story for another day), and basically be myself again.  I love my kids and would do anything for them, but I do NOT know how moms who stay at home with theirs do it.  I didn’t even have time to quilt on those two days.  I did, however, get back into a groove during the weekend and made some progress.

We finally, FINALLY, got a cold front to move through this weekend as well.  Cold being a low in the 40s in the morning hours.  So, to celebrate I enjoyed my first cup of hot chocolate of the season (I took the pic after I had drank most of it :))

First Hot Chocolate

I like to make mine with as many mini-marshmallows as hot chocolate and it is super yummy and satisfying!

I was also able to finally finish my first block of the Away From Home BOM, using the Mill Girls fabric collection by Judie Rothermel.

Away From Home Block 1 – Done!!

Honestly, I am so glad to get this block done so I can move on to the next one.  I’m so excited to work with this fabric and I am ready to have a chance to cut up some more and play with other selections.  I did have a problem with getting the hair just right on the second mill girl in the picture (on the right).  I don’t know how anyone is suppose to do those tight little curves and cut-outs, but my first attempt ended with my trying to use a Sharpie marker to color in some areas, but then it smeared onto the face fabric.  Blech!  So, I tried again, this time cutting out the top hair section in one piece, instead of two and top-stitching it down by machine instead of by hand.  It is good enough to leave in – I’m moving on!  But not before I link up to Sinta’s BOM Rehab!

Hair Trouble

I did get started on Block 2, which amazes me.  I have about another week before Block 3 shows up in my mailbox.

AFH Block 2 Fabric

I really love these bright colors with the reproduction fabric feel.  Everything as of this morning is cut out except for the large scroll heart.  I have the freezer paper template made, but I’m still trimming it down before I press it to the fabric.  That one will take awhile to starch outline, but I should get it done this week.

AFH Block 2 Diagram – Birds

Well, it has been too long since my last post.  I actually finished and then started FMQ my Forget Me Not quilt, done using the blocks from Pam Buda’s sew along.  I added my own pieced inner border and a solid outer border from my left over scraps in her kit.  I was trying to get it completed for my mom’s birthday last week, but I couldn’t quite get it finished.  I just have the outer ‘solid’ border to quilt and then bind it up.  I’ll share my results in another post this week when it is done.

Thinking hard about going to the Quilt Show in Houston this weekend.  Perhaps talking my mom into going with me.  I only live 10 minutes from the convention center, so it would be ridiculous if I didn’t go – right?  Really wish I could have sneaked into the Quilt Market days with all of the wonderful designers and fabric companies.  It would be a real thrill to meet some of them, like Kristyne!

Hope all have a wonderful, wonderful day!

Jennifer