Great Giveaway!

Hopefully this awesome giveaway is still open to accept entries!! Jackie at Canton Village Quilt Works is giving away three great prizes to celebrate her 100th post. Go check it out today and leave a comment.

Happy Friday!!
Iva

There's No Place Like Home

Happy New Year y'all!

After two weeks of celebrating the holidays with MFG's family and enjoying the warmer climes of coastal Mississippi, we arrived back to the bitter Kansas cold that we had happily left before Christmas.

Cold though the weather can sometimes get here, it does feel good to be home surrounded by all that is familiar, cooking in my own kitchen (where I know where everything is, what is stocked in the pantry and fridge, and can cook whatever I want, whenever I want), along with sleeping in my own bed.

At some point in the future we do plan to make Mississippi our home. A few years ago we purchased four and a half acres in a brand-spanking new development, and this is where we will build our dream home and live happily ever after. With the economy tanking, that "future" is being pushed further and further out. As I told MFG, by the time we are able to make the move we're going be too old to take care of all that land. I'm not sure why we need that much property anyway. Except that after living in condos and subdivisions where your neighbors are right in your back yard, having all that space is really very appealing.

As it is though this is how we spent a portion of our vacation:

Four and a half acres, Honey!

Not to worry... MFG didn't do all the work, or even most of it. While he was riding the tractor on the back half there was brush and fallen limbs to be removed from the front of the property that is visible from the street.

Only a handful of nice homes have been built in this subdivision so far. But there are other property owners just like us who come in periodically to clean and sit and dream...

While these owners installed a place to sit and dream, Mother Nature provided mine:

Isn't this just the coolest tree you have ever seen?!! That is MFG's baby sister enjoying a relaxing moment.... before I put her to work.... LOL.... Love ya, Sis, for all the work you do out there!

But now that vacation is over, there is work to be done here at home. Although I don't make resolutions I do make plans. And my plan for 2009 is to finish some UFOs. Some of these have been around way too long and they need to be put out of my misery!! The oldest is this Ohio Star quilt:

It was the very first quilt I made (has it really been 15 years ago?? WOW!). Yep, learned a few things since then -- notice how the center of my stars stand out and the points disappear? And just too many other things to mention? I made this for my daughter when she was a teenager and apparently she thought since it was for her she could go ahead and use the darned thing. After a while it became so stained that I couldn't stand to look at it any more. I've toyed with the idea of removing all the quilting that has been done so far and putting new batting and a new back on it. But it's so close to being done that I'm even more tempted to just finish it and give it a good soaking. Any thoughts???

Then there's my second quilt -- a Triple Irish Chain. I made this one and started the hand quilting about a year after the Ohio Star.

But with a house fire, a marriage, and a move (or three), this poor quilt was also pushed to the back of the quilting closet.

Next came my Maple Leaf quilt.

Started sewing this one about 6 years ago and again got a little sidetracked. I finally finished the last of the blocks about a year ago. But it really looks like a good one for Siriporn to do her magic with on her long arm quilter. Maybe... still contemplating hand quilting though. Also, should I add another (wider) border? I'm thinking yes.

Then there is this quilt:

What was I thinking?! I don't really like blues that much!! But I saw a gal on Simply Quilts (again several years ago) do these blocks and thought how fun it might be to make. It's all squares and half square triangles, with endless layout possibilities. It's a pretty cool lap quilt... if I can just get past the blue and get it quilted. Maybe this would be a good one to practice machine quilting on (another of my plans: learn machine quilting)!

And finally the quilt I made for my precious granddaughter.

Two years is long enough! I need to finish it so that she can enjoy snuggling under it. While on our Christmas vacation I did make pretty good progress and got about a third of it quilted. So this one will be done soon and on its way to Oklahoma!

And while working on UFOs and taking care of life, I seriously need to do something about my sewing room. It has been horribly neglected lately! What do you think?

See that on the floor? Another quilt in progress (along with other stuff... good grief)!

One would assume that with there being a sewing machine in the room and the fact that, obviously, there are fabrics in same said room, someone must know how to sew, right? Then WHY are there no real curtains on that window?!!! One more thing to add to my 2009 plans.

AND, I need to try to incorporate a design wall so that the next time I have a quilt to show y'all you won't have to be looking at what's on my floor, or pieces of my furniture!

I'll keep you posted on the progress. Till then...

Happy Quilting!

Iva

Winter Wonderland, The Sequel

It's still gray and dreary here, and the sun isn't being one bit cooperative. But I promised you pictures, so here goes ....


Yes, those dark spots you see in the snow are ducks and geese. I'm telling you, it's the watery sunlight... it has nothing to do with the skills of the photographer.

Really...



No, these are not real children... in either of the pictures.


Though I have seen plenty of young'uns running around here the past couple of weeks in short sleeves, and even shorts! YIKES!!

Maybe tomorrow the sun will be out, AND the snow will still be pretty.

For now though, I'm staying inside with a cup of hot chocolate!

Yes, I Do Intend To Maintain This Blog

It has been a week since my last post. Shame on me! But in my defense, it has been a bit busy around here getting ready for the family's arrival this weekend in anticipation of an early Christmas celebration. That is if the weather cooperates and they can all get here!

The snow from last week melted away before the weekend -- just in time for MFG and me to get our Christmas shopping finished. YAY!

But last night snow began to fall again and we awoke to a much more beautiful blanket of white than what was bestowed upon us last week.... aaahh, how pretty. I'll share pictures with you tomorrow.

The little ones whose back yards meet ours are outside romping in the fluffy white stuff. So fun to watch! Maybe I'll also have a snowman picture to share with you.

For now though I have to go brave the streets (and the local drivers) to run my errands or there won't be any turkeys to fry on Saturday! Oooh, things could get really ugly, so I'm outta here!! Bye...

Winter Wonderland....

well, almost.

On this cold and blustery day we received our first real snow of the season. Woo-hoo! One day last week the clouds just spit a few snowflakes at us and called it good.

But not today.... no sir-ree Bob!

By about 9:00 this morning this is what it looked like in my back yard....

Of course this picture was taken from the warmth of my living room. Kansas wind, on a 30 degree day, with lots of snow thrown in.... just does not make for a pleasant outdoor photo shoot. I love ya'll -- just not that much!

The house in the background on the right? That's the snow making it look like my camera was out of focus!

At noon the landscape was beginning to take on a more wintry appearance....

And by 3:00....

And still the snow continued to fall. For about another hour. So the accumulation was a tad bit more than you see here. Not quite a winter wonderland, but hey, it's not officially winter yet. There's still plenty of time!

This has put me in the mood.

For Christmas, of course!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.....

Mint Chocolate Chunk Quilt

One Christmas gift to check off my list.... several more to go.

I made this quilt for my older son and his wife, Kevin and Lisa. These were the colors Lisa specifically requested. And because it reminded me of Mint Chocolate Chunk ice cream, that is what I'm naming it.


I swear, I'll never eat another bite! Never!

The gal who does my machine quilting, Siriporn, is a true artist. Throughout the entire quilt she did the beautiful feather stitching that you see in the chocolate outer border. It's one of her "basic" quilting designs.

Last year I made this "Four Sisters" quilt (from Eleanor Burns' "Still Stripping..." book) for my mother-in-law (who is one of four sisters). Not that you can see it, but Siriporn quilted it with another of her basic designs that, to me, was pretty amazing. Can't imagine what one of her intricate designs might look like!

Everybody else will be getting store bought gifts!!

Enough Already!

What a weekend.... the stars must have been in some chaotic alignment. Well, now that I think about it the moon, Venus and Jupiter are jockeying into position for a "spectacular night scene" that we are supposed to be able to witness tonight. So maybe that is what has caused recent events?

Last night I received a call from my daughter. Shannon wanted me to know that she had been in a car accident the night before (now why did she wait almost 24 hours before calling her mama??? Gonna have to have a talk with that girl -- when she's feeling better.). Apparently the other driver must have been in a hurry to make a left turn and ended up hitting Shannon's car head on. Although badly shaken at the time and now sore and a bit bruised, she suffered no serious injuries -- for which we are extremely grateful, and just as grateful too that the boys weren't with her when the accident occurred. But once again she is without wheels. So along with offering up praises to God for Shannon's physical protection, please pray too for a fair and quick insurance settlement and another safe and reliable vehicle for her and the boys.

About 30 minutes later I received another phone call... this time from my older son Kevin. He had taken himself to the emergency room. For several years he has endured neck pain as a result of some accident, and for the past several months it has at times become debilitating. After various attempts to get a diagnosis and some relief, a doctor finally confirmed that Kevin has developed a form of arthritis in his neck and recommended steroid shots to help relieve the pain. The first shot was given almost two weeks ago. Shortly afterward he began to feel some tenderness around the injection sight but chalked it up as normal since the needle used was, in his opinion, a pretty big one. Over the next several days the intensity of the tenderness increased to the point where last night he was in enough pain he felt a trip to the emergency room was necessary. Kevin was sent home with prescriptions to help relieve the pain and inflammation and a recommendation to contact his doctor. While we are praying for Shannon, let's also please offer up prayers for greater wisdom for Kevin's doctors that they will find a treatment to eliminate his pain.

When Kevin was leaving the emergency room he saw his grandmother in the waiting room. Mom had brought my stepdad in because he was having chest pains again. Ken is now resting comfortably in the ICU. Once he is stabilized the doctors will perform surgery to remove blockages and do some repairs. Again, prayers for the doctors and for Ken.

Since things supposedly happen in threes we should be done with crises for a while.... right???