Crocheted Christmas Tree

This is a crocheted Christmas tree I made after Thanksgiving. It was crocheted with white Bernat Berella "4" afghan yarn using 2 strands. I decorated it with little ornaments I bought at Michael's.

I bought the red velvet skirt at Target. I think it cost more than the whole tree but I had to buy it because there were only 2 left and it looked so pretty!

Latest Projects

Here are pictures of the 2 quilts I finished this past week.

Catch up from Aug 25th

Click the following URL to see the rest of our vacation pics.

http://picasaweb.google.com/QuiltingB.W/CanadaTrip2008#

Time sure does pass by quickly... it's been 2 months since I have posted.

I can't think of any highlights of September except it was quarter-end at work which is quite busy.

Oct 7th was Luke's 13th birthday. He's officially a teenager now.

I joined the American Sewing Guild with a friend of mine, Barbara. We've attend 2 meetings and have enjoyed each one. The last meeting, the members shared easy Christmas gifts to make. I shared the quilted coasters pattern I learned to make from a website.

Joey, the cat, went missing a week before we left for vacation.

John & I visited Keith & Bonnie for a week. We had a wonderful time. John & Bonnie caught several salmon in the 15 lb range. I relaxed and crocheted a baby afghan. We shopped at a couple of quilt shops and went to town everyday. I got hooked on Tim Horton's wheat bagels.

The picture above was taken at the Black Fish Pub. We had fish & chips which was excellent. The fish served was salmon, cod, & halibut.

When we returned home from vacation, John opened the patio door and who greeted him? Joey. Who knows where he was but he was plump so we know he was being fed by someone.

This week is my birthday and Halloween. The holidays are fast approaching. We already have plans to celebrate Thanksgiving with Jeff's family.

BTW, Jeff is doing well but recently has been having headaches again. I pray all is well. He will be having another MRI soon.

Relaxing Weekend

This past weekend started out great, Nicki & had a 1 hour massage. We both were very relaxed.

Saturday morning, Toni & I went for our bike ride. I worked on sewing projects in the afternoon and completed my "Angelina Sunset" quilt, fixed the waistbands on 2 pairs of capris, and worked on a baby quilt. We had dinner with Jeff & Nicki that evening.

Toni, Alex, John, & I had breakfast at Seal Beach. We stopped at Trader Joe's on the way home. (TJ's is the best!) And, then, Toni & I went for a bike ride. I worked on the baby quilt the rest of the day and only have to complete the binding on it.

Tempest Fugit

Seems like I say too often, "Where did the time go?" and here I am saying it again.

Jeff is doing well with his radiation treatments and chemo although he is very tired. I believe he's in his 4th week of radiation which means he has 3 more weeks to go.

I took a week's vacation and completed the "O Christmas Tree" quilt. It's at Bear's Quilt Shop being quilted. I used my Janome embroidery machine to make 25 ornaments. I took a class at LeeAnn's Embroidery to learn how to make them. The class also taught me how to use my machine better. I still need to back the ornaments and tie ribbon to each one so they can be hung on the quilt.

This past Sunday, I took an art quilt class at LeeAnn's. I enjoyed it so much. It's fun to make a project that can be finished so quickly. The quilt is named "Angelina Sunset" because we used Angelina thread for the glistening water.

During my vacation, I sewed, read, and rode my bike. Toni, Alex, John, and I went to beach one Sunday to ride bikes. We rode, had breakfast, and walked the Huntington Beach pier. It was a wonderful morning.

Pretty Roses

Look at the pretty roses. I love the peach colored ones.

Joey followed me along while I was taking pictures of the yard.

Jeff's Pathology Report Results

The results of the pathology report showed that Jeff's brain tumor is called a glioma multiforme. It can double in size in 2 weeks. He is starting radiation treatments and chemo immediately for 7 weeks, 5 days a week. After that, he will be monitored by blood tests and MRIs on a regular basis.

I'm taking a new quilting class tomorrow morning. I bought the kit and cut the fabric for the class. The name of the quilt is "O Christmas Tree". It is an advent calendar quilt. Buttons (24) are added to the quilt to hang embroidered ornaments on.

The Month of June 2008

My goodness, the month of June passed so quickly.

The news is not good ... Nicki's significant other, Jeff, had been sick with headaches, disorientation, weakness, & many other signs of "something is very wrong". Nicki finally persuaded Jeff to go to the emergency room and after much testing, a brain tumor was found. They removed the tumor and Jeff is recovering nicely from the surgery. Today, he has a doctor appointment to find out the results of the pathology report and the treatment plan.

We celebrated the 4th of July by stopping at Russ & Lisa's before their party had begun and passing by the fireworks stand to pick up a box of fireworks for Luke that Rich had won in a raffle. We had a BBQ dinner at Mike & Susan's and, to end the day, we sat out on the driveway to watch Luke put on a little show for us with his box of fireworks. It was a nice day!

I worked on a baby quilt on Saturday & Sunday. Will post pictures of my projects soon.

Lakers, Quilts, & Quarter-End

That was some game last night.... thought the Lakers had another win when the Celtics were behind 24 points, but the Celtics came back in the third quarter and won 97 - 91. I can't imagine the Lakers winning the finals at this point but one never knows! We'll see how it goes on Sunday.

I've been quilting, of course. I have the quilt top finished that was based on the pattern on the cover of Quilts & More. Will post a picture later.

I started another quilt top using a pattern called "French Roses" by Heather French. The flowers are machine appliqued and the appliques have raw edges that should fray when the quilt is washed. I'm using pastel-colored fabrics, many of which have roses on them.

Quite Busy the Last 2 Weekends!

This past weekend, I started a table runner for the Fourth of July. I cut the strips Friday night, pieced it together on Saturday, and Sunday it was quilted and bound. Here's a picture of the finished quilt.

We had a great time Memorial Day weekend visiting with Donna, Janis, Aunt Jo, Cindy, Robert, Terry, & Jack. Cindy & Robert are wonderful hosts, we always have fun visiting with them.

It's still hard to believe it has been 16 years since we saw Donna. The time just passes by too quickly. I don't think anyone will forget the big laugh over the toe-tripping double hug Jack & I had, I know I won't!

While we were in Simi Valley, I had to check out a quilt shop. It was very small, tucked away behind a little strip of shops in the front. I bought a quilt pattern named "French Rose" and some fat-quarters in beautiful pastels. Can't wait to start making it but I need to finish the quilt tops that I've already started.

41st Wedding Anniversary

We married May 17, 1967 on a whim while he was home on leave from Nellis AFB in Nevada.

As I look back, we didn't really know what we were getting into. We worked hard during the past 41 years to build a good, solid marriage and a happy home. Would we do it over again? You bet we would!

Tonight, we are planning on a celebratory dinner with our daughter and friends.

Mother's Day

It was a quiet Mother's Day.

I baked an apple tart using a plum tart recipe from Everyday Baking with John Barricelli & Martha Stewart. It was pretty tasty. The pastry was alittle different because it called for 1/4 cup of corn meal. The corn meal and some sparkling sugar made the crust crunchy.

My daughter made dinner. She had pork tenderloin, scalloped potatoes, broccoli with cheese, and salad. After dinner, we munched on the apple tart and visited.

I received 3 cards with wonderful sentiments.

It was a pleasant and peaceful day, what more could I ask for?!

Weekends Are Great!

I love the weekends!

My friend and I took a bike ride this morning, then hubby and I went shopping. I finished the apron in the picture above while my hubby prepared the fixings for burgers, potato salad, and beans. We invited my daughter and her boyfriend to have dinner with us. He used ground chuck for the burgers and it was quite tasty.

My daughter asked for the apron because she seems to misplace things when she's in the classroom and now she can use the pockets instead of setting things down. The fabric used is from Loralie Designs. It's the Cool School Panel and the background is Fun Dots.

Tomorrow, I think I'll get back to the quilt I started. Need to applique some hearts for a border.

Sweet Emma Rose Quilt

I love batiks and have collected them from many different quilt shops over the past few years. I finally found a quilt I wanted to make, the Sweet Emma Rose Quilt (Miss Rosie's Quilt Co).

I took the class at Leah's Quilt Gallery in Mission Viejo, CA in 2007. The quilt was quilted by Barbara at Quilting Thiemes Machine Quilting.

St. Columban's Tea Party

Nicole & I attended this year's St. Columban's Tea Party on Saturday, April 19th. We were Mary's guests. We enjoyed a fashion show and I must say, we love those little cucumber tea sandwiches!
Nicki won the bid for Angel tickets in the Silent Auction and she won the table center piece of a basket of pretty little yellow roses.

I Made an Organizer!

Nicole is decorating her kitchen in the Mary Engelbreit theme so I made this organizer for her. I used McCalls pattern #3560 to make the organizer, Janome Redwork Embroidery Designs to embroider each pocket, and Janome Quilting Designs to quilt the backing of the organizer. Click on pic and you can see the detail of the embroidery.

My next project is to make her a couple of placemats or a tablerunner using the Cotton Theory method.

Update on my new quilt

I took a couple of vacation days to work on my quilt and go to Fuzzy Slipper (a night at the quilt shop to work on projects with other quilters).

This is a picture of the new quilt I started last weekend. I think I'm going to add a border at the top & bottom that will have hearts on them and then a final border or two.

First Blog

This is my first blog... I would like to share some of my quilts and meet others who share my love of quilting.
This weekend I'm starting a new quilt with 30's fabric. I have been collecting 30's fat quarters for a long time so I have lots and lots of fat quarters to work with. The quilt I'm going to start will be based on a quilt on the cover of the Summer 2007 edition of 'Quilts and More'.