Did I Mention....

....that these necklaces are addicting? I have made these over the last two days. Most of them don't have completed clasps because they are for friends and I like to measure them right to their necks. Some people like the choker style, while others like them a bit longer. What a great way to use up a stash of beads!

No One Can Make Just One

A few weeks, my Goddaughter and I took a beading class at Hobby Lobby. We learned how to make a beaded daisy necklace. You make it with number 11 seed beads. It has become an obsession! Whenever I have some free time, I find myself making one. They are quick, easy, and the color variations are endless. And best of all, you can make them while sitting in your easy chair...lol...

Grandma's Christmas Cutie

Well, ain't it the truth? Beckham celebrated his very first Christmas with us last night. Unfortunately my Grandson is not the party animal he appears to be. He slept through most of the festivities. When he was awake though, he was passed from person to person, gathering all the love a family can give. May your Christmas be blessed with peace, love and joy!

Beckham's Christening

So much has been going on lately. It must be the season. Among the celebrations was Beckham's Christening last Sunday. May God bless him always.

A Special Day

Another table topper. Is there anything I haven't said about them? I love, love, love them!

Today I got to spend some special Grandma time with Beckham. He was such a good boy. I can't believe he is going to be 1 month old on Saturday. Time is passing far too quickly.

Oh Baby!

While on retreat, Linda and I visited a local quilt shop. I was doing so well, thinking maybe I would get out of there without spending any money. WRONG! As soon as I saw this baby panel, I knew I had to make another quilt for Beckham. Two borders were added to the panel and voila, another baby quilt top is born.

4 Days of Quilting

Thursday morning I left home for a 4 day quilting retreat. It was held at a beautiful resort in Delavan, Wisconsin. Before my friend, Linda and I arrived at the resort, we stopped at two quilt shops along the way. Of course, I found something to purchase at each one. Once at the resort, I got to meet lots of old friends and some new ones too. It was such a pleasure to be able to share a love of quilting with so many others. The great thing about a retreat is the fact that everyone brings their own projects to work on, so you get lots of new ideas. You also receive feedback on your own projects. There is always something new to learn. I had a wonderful time and can't wait for next year's retreat. This table runner was my first project. I didn't have a pattern, so it took me a lot longer to complete. I had trouble figuring out that outer border of squares on point. A math whiz I am NOT! It still needs to be sandwiched and quilted, hopefully before Thanksgiving.

Come Meet Beckham

Today Jack and I held a party for our new Grandson, Beckham. It was a "come meet Beckham" party. Friends and family got together with us to share our joy and meet the newest member of the family.

Happy Birthday Matthew!

Today is my oldest son's Birthday. He is 30 years old. Matthew was born with profound cerebral palsy and wasn't supposed to live past the ago of 5. Way to go Matthew...you proved them all WRONG!!!! Happy Birthday Foof.

Beckham's Pumpkin

I never got to see Beckham on Halloween (he is in high demand these days). So, yesterday Ashley, Mike and Beckham came for dinner. I finally got to give him his Halloween pumpkin. Don't you love it? It is a kit that comes in a box. You provide the pumpkin, you also need an awl or some kind of poking tool and the kit provides the body parts. Kind of like a Mr. Potato (make that Pumpkin) Head. There is no picture of Beckham because Grandma (me) was too busy holding and kissing him to worry about taking pictures. Sheesh.

Everyday

Oh dear, this is a terrible shot of this table topper. However, I just couldn't seem to get a good photo with the true colors. Maybe if you click on the picture it will show better. Anyway, this table topper is for my daughter-in-law, Ashley. I made her a table topper for Halloween and I thought she might like one that matches her kitchen decor for everyday.

Aunt Shirley

I have an Aunt Shirley, who is also my Godmother. She only collects two things. One of her passions is collecting Hummels. Her other is collecting anything with cardinals on it. I found this fabric in my stash and thought it would be perfect for her collection. I hope she likes it.

Puppy Kindergarten

Maddy went to school. Not because she is bad, but because her owners (us) want her to be the best she can be. We want her to be social and have good manners. Just like when we had children, what they learn to be acceptable or not acceptable in our home is our responsibility. Maddy was the example puppy tonight. The teacher used her to teach commands to the group. Of course it didn't hurt that the teacher had a pocket full of Pupperoni to grab Maddy's attention. I now know our dog is treat-dependent and will probably need a doggy support group very soon.

Sweet

I don't think my life could get any sweeter than this week. My first Grandchild, Beckham Anthony was born last night at 10:01 pm. Then today my husband and I had our visits with our oncologist. Both of us are in remission. If you look up, you should be able to see the glow over our house tonight. We know how precious life is. We take nothing for granted. We are truly blessed and we know it.

Christmas Pillow

I have had this panel for the longest time. I always meant to do something with it. It worked perfectly for the centerpiece of this pillow. The hardest part was figuring out the dimensions of the fabric that surrounds the panel. I made a flap closure for the back. This picture is really dark, but if you click on it you will be able to tell that I used two fabrics for bordering.

When Will I Ever Learn......

.....not to buy directional prints for use as borders? This one was a beast (or maybe that should be bear) to piece together. When finished, the quilt will belong to my first Grandchild...who was due today, but is taking his time making his appearance!

Go Badgers!

Another 2 man bibs for Matthew. Go Badgers!

Table Topper

I had just enough of this black fabric left to squeek out one more table topper. Further down in the posts, I referred to this table topper as being octagonal. I guess I got my hexagons and octagons mixed up!

Burp

A while back, a friend of mine bought some fabric to make burp cloths for a shower gift. Buying the fabric was as far as she got. Boy, can I relate! Anyway, she asked me if I would like the fabric to make some burp cloths for Beckham. Heck yeah! The yellow duckie fabric was mine, but the rest was my friend's fabric. I got 10 burp cloths out of all that fabric!

Making a Positive Out of a Negative

This fabric was not meant for a bib. It was supposed to be used for the cuff on a pillowcase. I measured the cuff correctly, but didn't pay close enough attention to the print. By the time the cuff fabric was folded over, the trick or treaters heads were on one side and their bodies were on the other. Not very attractive. This fabric was so cute though that I couldn't just pitch it. I had to piece it, but I had enough for two bibs.

Pie Anyone?

All three of these octagonal table toppers were made the same way. You sew strips together to form a strata. Then you cut the strata pieces on a 60 degree angle to form the pie shapes. The bottom photo table topper is made with pieces cut consecutively from the strata. The top two photos are constructed of pieces that are cut the same way, but you use every other piece. If you click on the photos, you should be able to see the decorative stitches used to secure the piece.

Snoopy

Here is the last set of pillowcases for Halloween. This fabric reminds me of my childhood, when Snoopy, Woodstock and Charlie Brown were all the rage!

How The Heck Did I Miss This?

I had no idea JoAnn Fabrics had licensed 100% cotton fabrics in another spot besides the quilt section. Where have I been? I happened to be looking at the fleece that was on sale last week. I rarely go into any other fabric section besides the quilting section, just because I mostly sew with 100% cotton fabrics. Wow, they had all kinds of cool licensed kids fabrics like SpongeBob Squarepants, Scooby Doo, John Deere and Clifford The Big Red Dog. I guess I need to look around a little more. My husband will love that, like I don't buy enough already! :)

Three Weeks

It has been three weeks since we got Maddy. She is such a sweet dog. She is a fetching dog, which for us is a big deal. We have never had a dog that would play fetch. We found these small sized tennis balls that she can just barely squeeze in her jaws. The potty training is coming along. She is doing pretty well with the puppy pads, with just an occasional accident. But, I still keep my Little Green Machine handy. We have also been trying to crate train Maddy. We are to the point where the whining is barely audible and after a while she just gives up and settles down. However, she is a bit confused with the English language. She seems to think "good girl" translates to "I deserve a treat"!

Still Making Pillowcases

This is one of a set of pillowcases for my son, Matthew. This is brand new fabric. Yes, I did say I wasn't going to buy any fabric except to finish up projects. Well, that went out the window when I bought the body fabric to go with a cuff fabric that I already had. Then, I screwed up cutting out the cuff fabric (it was a very cute border print). That meant I had no cuff fabric. Back to the fabric store I went to get cuff fabric. So, I ended up with brand new fabric pillowcases. Go figure.

Beckham's Pillowcase

Since I am still working on clearing out Halloween fabric, I decided this pillowcase would be for Beckham, my Grandson, who is due in October. His parents can put it away until next year. The fabric is babies dressed for trick or treat.

Halloween Pillowcase

Once again, I put my serger to use. This time it was to get rid of more of that excess Halloween fabric by making a pillowcase. If you click on the picture, you will see the cutest little goblins fabric ever.

Baseball Game

September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. Tonight we attended a Brewer's baseball game sponsored by WOCA (Wisconsin Ovarian Cancer Alliance). The Brewers won 7 to 2.

I Love My Serger

This pillowcase went together so quickly. Now I wonder why I didn't try my serger sooner! The pillowcase matches a quilt I made for my Goddaughter a year or so ago.

The man bib is polar bears dressed for winter.

It Was 1995

Yesterday I dragged out my serger. According to the manual I purchased it in 1995. I'll bet I have used it twice. A few years ago I took a course at the local tech college to relearn how to use it. Again it sat. I want to make some pillowcases and I thought I would serge the edges for a cleaner look. One hour and two trys later, I finally had the darn thing threaded. So far the sample swatch looks great. Wish me luck.

I had a photo I wanted to upload, but Blogger appears to be having some problems. I will post it later on.

I Can Sleep Standing Up.....

....Or atop a bone that is as big as I am!

2 Yards Short

I'm sure you think I am referring to fabric. On the contrary, I am referring to thread. I was finishing up a bib last night and ran out of a particular color of thread with just a small section left to be quilted. Isn't that always the way?

Maddy is too small for the smallest sized dog harness. Therefore, we have been playing "come chase me" in our backyard. I have a friend who wanted to get rid of all her baby gear. This outdoor playpen was part of the booty. Apparently it works for puppies too!

Are You Adding?.....

....because I have lost track of the number of bibs that Matthew now has. I wish I could say this is the end, but I think I bought every fat quarter of cute kids fabric that ever existed! The pile of "to do's" never seems to go down!

Update on Maddy

This photo is our Maddy sharing a bowl of chow with her cousin, Zeus.

And Finally....

This is the last of the table toppers for Halloween...although I think I said that once before. These are addicting!

Walk For Cancer

Saturday evening, my family joined me in a walk for the Wisconsin Ovarian Cancer Alliance. I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in January of 2007. I had a reoccurance of ovarian cancer this past February. I am so blessed to have family that supports me.

Catch Up

Ever since Maddy came, I have been lax in my blogging duties. This was last weeks bounty. More man bibs for Matthew.

Welcome Home Baby

Today we welcomed a new member to our family. Her name is Maddy and she is a puggle. Maddy was born on July 8, 2009. Welcome home baby.

Almost Gone....

I am almost out of Halloween fabric....finally. I have a small amount left that is going to be used for pillowcases. That is, as soon as I figure out how to use my serger! These are the last of the table toppers. I made 3 from the Halloween/stripe fabric and 2 from the black, orange and green fabrics.

More Of The Same

Table toppers that is. I finished these two tonight. Personally, I'm not crazy about the one with the striped outer border. In retrospect, I should have used that stripe on the inner, smaller border. I think it would have looked better.