My Joy is Quilting

Oh My Goodness!

2010-10-02T02:51:00.003-07:00

Well, life has thrown me some curves and I am dealing with them in my usual fashion...... eating and sewing! Whoo-Hoo!

Had totally put off the blogging for obviously WAYYYYYY too long!

I am now a divorced mother of 4 and working 2 jobs to keep my head above water! I have a wonderful new man in my life and we are working on a long lasting relationship. We are doing the whole living together thing as we have both been hurt by bad marriages.

I am starting a new venture in sewing and I will add to that statement soon. With the new venture comes a new blog site if you are interested. It is totally empty right now but I will work on that as I get things off the ground. It is here at blogspot and is called denis-designs.

I am hoping to get back into blogging and would love any comments and questions.

Love to you all!

Deni

Post Pajama Sale!

2008-11-09T11:18:00.004-08:00

Well, I finally got around to snapping a picture of my few purchases from yesterdays Pajama Sale. I am wanting to make a circle quilt so got a set of templates for that. Then of course I needed a small rotary cutter to go around the templates. Then a replacement blade. I also got 3 spools of thread. 2 shades of green and a large spool of cream. That's it. I was such a good girl!

Then of course I had to post a pic of the magazine I got. It is a very nicely done biography of my hero, Sarah Palin. Some of you know that I grew up in Wasilla, Alaska and knew Sarah and her family. So, you can imagine my disappointment with the recent elections. **SIGH** But I am hopeful that Barack will do a good job and not screw this country up worse than it is!

So, hopefully I will have alot of time in these coming weeks to get a BUNCH of sewing done. I have 2 tops in progress on my design wall. I need to crank these out soon!

Thanks for popping in!

Pajama Sale!

2008-11-08T07:52:00.004-08:00

Each November the Stitchin' Post hosts a Pajama Sale. You have to show up at the store at 6:30 in you pajamas to receive a 30% discount on your entire purchase. This was the first year I have participated but certainly will not be the last! What a crazy time! I got to the store at about 6:15 and got in line. Honestly, it looked like the lines in front of WallMart the day after Thanksgiving! There were women everywhere chatting and laughing in their cute jammies. There were even a few men. To the ladies the men belonged to: Way to go! You got yourselves some real winners! I decided to show some restraint and walked out spending only $31.00. But if you look at my last post you know that it is a good idea that I do not get any fabric! So, for your viewing pleasure I have attached some photos of the ladies waiting for the doors to open, the craziness in the store, and of course some of the token males! Thanks for stopping in and visiting. I promise to post a bit more frequently now that I am getting more organized...

What has gotten into me???

2008-11-03T14:31:00.004-08:00

So I decided that I needed to organize my fabrics to help me be more productive. I have 3 large cabinets filled (stuffed actually) with fabric, patterns, books, and STUFF! I have pulled things out and am washing like a mad woman! But things are looking better and I can see what I have now. I have attached some pictures to make me more excited about finishing soon! There is a large pile of fabric on the floor to be washed. Then in one picture I was showing some funky static thing that was going on. Then an almost filled cupboard. I have more work to do but am making huge strides!

My FEATURED QUILTER of the year

2008-07-14T07:54:00.003-07:00

I have decided to make a new special feature on my blog to coincide with the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show. My choice of *Featured Quilter of the Year".

I have noticed the rise in numbers of our youngsters getting interested in quilt making. This has impressed me so much that this year I chose Kaitlyn Boswell, a 10 year old young lady from Sisters, as my featured quilter. Kaitlin is just adorable. She made the fantastic quilt shown with this post and that is her adorable little self standing beside it. If you look at the quilt you will notice the 16-patches. Closer inspection shows that the corners line up perfectly! Amazing! The patches that make up the "medallion" also are perfect. Kaitlyn did a magnificent job on this quilt and that is why I have chosen her as my "Featured Quilter of the Year". Good job Kaitlyn! Hopefully I will see you at next years quilt show!

Quilt Show is coming up!

2008-06-30T12:05:00.003-07:00

Well, it is that time of year where most who live in Sisters head out of town! It is quilt show time and the highway gets shut down and driving through town is impossible. It is time for The Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show! The largest outdoor quilt show in the world! Visit the web site for The Stitchin' Post and get the calendar for all the events for the week leading up to the quilt show. That address is www.stitchinpost.com.

I got a call today from a lady in California who discovered me through this blog. She was wanting to get more information on another quilt show that was in the area. The Pineneedlers Quilt Show. This is a show that is being held on July 11th from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm-ish. The show displays products of fantastic workmanship displayed in an environment that reminds you of days gone by. Some of the quilts are for sale. There also has been a "fabric salad" area where you can buy a bag of scraps for $1.00. I am not sure if it is going to be there this year or not. But there is always the ever-popular potholders for sale! The monies made from the show go to fund scholarships for kids who attended Black Butte School.

I was going to post some photos but realized that my camera is at my parents house! So we have a photoless post, but hopefully it was full of enough information to get you interested in attending this years festivities!

Thanks for popping in!

Denise
P.S. I am working the ambulance that will be posted in the middle of town. We will have free water and first aid supplies. Pop in and say HI. I would love to meet you...

Baabaara's Wild and Wooly

2008-06-26T15:44:00.003-07:00

I took a trip to one of my favorite stores today. Baabaara's Wild and Wooly. The owner, Pam, is as sweet as they come. She is always interested in what's going on with the family. She is excited to show off some new items and raves about all of the talent that shops at her store. So go visit her website. The address is www.sheep2shawl.net/ or visit in person. Her soon to be **NEW** store is going to be located in the Town Square here in Sisters. Across from Allies Deli and in the old Silli Chilli's location. They will open the doors July 2nd.

Anyway, when I shopped today I just needed some wool for the core of a doll I am going to start tomorrow. It is just plain undyed wool. But I have all these wonderful other colors to "dress" the doll with. Arn't they beautiful?

I have not done very much quilting lately. It is WAY too hot to be covered with fabric.

I did finish the Jewels of Virginia quilting that was in my last post. Can you believe that my mom won the quilt in the raffle???? I was so excited. Now we just have to work out visitation for it! HAHA

So, that is about it for now. I have been so busy working that I did not have time for hardly anything. But now, I am unemployed except for some daycare here and there until Fall when I will be doing daycare 7 days a week. Yikes! Hopefully I will find time now and again to do some sewing!

Thanks for dropping in to check on me! I know some of you were thinking I had fallen off of the face of the Earth!

Something New

2008-04-10T21:14:00.003-07:00

Well, I have finally got the nerve up to try my hand, actually machine, at machine quilting. I was a bit nervous, but with the help of a few great friends I have started.

I have attached 2 pictures of my work in progress. This is the quilt I made for the raffle on the cruise. I had so many colors in it that I was directed to use varigated thread to prevent me from changing thread every 4 inches! Wise choice I think! AND I have not totally screwed up the top! I think it is coming out nicely.

I am going to Portland Monday after I get off of work. Christian is having his second open-heart surgery Tuesday morning. He is having his pre-surgery heart cath tomorrow morning (Friday). I will have my computer with me and updating his blog as we need to. That address is www.babywithefe.blogspot.com

Anyway... need to get back to the quilt and my movie. I am watching one of my favorites: Practical Magic. I have quite the set up here. My machine and a portable DVD player so I can be entertained while I am working. Ahhhhhhhh... what a life!

Take care!

Busy busy busy

2008-03-04T21:17:00.005-08:00

Well, I just got a comment from a new visitor to my blog and decided that I had better put something up before no one ever came by to visit anymore.

I have not been doing much sewing lately. I have been really hooked on making ATC's for swaps on swap-bot.com. You have got to go see that site! There is so many different swaps you can join; sewing, writing, reading, scrapbooking... the list just keeps on going!

Well, while Dave was gone to the coast and I was spending so much time sewing, I managed to catch a real bad bug. So bad that my neighbor called the fire department (where I am a medic) and they ended up hauling me off to the hospital! I was so embarrassed that they saw me in a weakened position. I even cried in front of them! How humiliating! But they never said anything but sweet and comforting things to me and treated me so wonderfully. I love the guys I work with! I got to come home the next day and everyone was calling and coming by to check on me. The fire department is a huge and wonderfully loving family. Dave kept trying to come home and I told him to stay at the conference, goodness knows there were people watching out for me!!! It has been a few weeks now and I am all better, Dave is home, and people are STILL asking me if I am OK... wonderful

Christian is doing so well. He has hit 9 pounds! What a big boy! I have attached some pictures of him. Nicole is in one too. She is just such a good mama.

Anyway, I will work on posting some quilting pics soon. I HAVE to get the Jewels of Virginia quilt quilted before I go on the cruise April 27th! I need to get my hiney in gear!

Thanks for stopping by!

Baby quilt

2008-02-03T02:17:00.000-08:00

I really love the Stash Basher club at The Stitchin' Post! I am using so much of my stash. Of course I have to suppliment sometimes with new purchases! I just finished my top for the next meet which is this afternoon. It is currently 2:30 in the morning for me and I have been a sewing fool for many hours now.

Hubby left this afternoon for a week at the coast. He has a conference to attend. I am left here at home with just one dog today and tomorrow I will have Kady back after a few days with my parents. I have trouble sleeping when I am alone, so it was the perfect time to do some sewing.

I fixed one of my favorite dishes for dinner. It is a recipe I got from one of the firefighters I work with. It is basically a fajita, but with a bit more "punch". Served with rice and Dr. Pepper you cannot go wrong! I was also able to watch an episode of HOUSE. I love that show! House is so obnoxious. He reminds me of, well, ME!

We are in the middle of a blizzard. We have had so many avalanches the past 2 weeks. Today the pass closed right after my hubby went through. But we have had some great sunrises and beautiful snow coming down. I really love winter.

Baby Christian is getting cuter and cuter every day! He finally hit 8 pounds yesterday! Big Boy! He will be 3 months old on the 13th. I am adding some pictures of him also. He sure does love his Pappy! Dave is so funny with him. And Christian is finally where he will smile at you when you talk to him. Just melts our hearts!

Ohhhhh, I got a new job. This is a paying job, too. I am the customer service associate for Collage Greetings. It is just 3 days a week. I still do daycare on Tuesdays and then my fire department job evenings and weekends and Thursdays. Just can never sit still!

Anyhow, need to get to bed. Thanks for stopping in!

Denise

I have a cruise to get ready for!

2008-01-07T22:34:00.000-08:00

THE MACHINE FROM HELL!!!!

I am going on a cruise the end of April! I am getting a free cabin in exchange for making a raffle quilt (Jewels of Virginia) and also teaching 2 classes. One is how to make a fabric postcard and the other is making a mini scrapbook. Anyway, I went today and applied for my passport. That got me all excited and ready to work a bit harder on weight loss. So this evening I decided to walk on my new treadmill for the first time. Hmmmmmmm. It is a bit different from walking around shopping. I can do THAT for hours and hours and not feel it at all! So I decided to set up the mini DVD player on the book rest part of the treadmill. I was going to watch a movie while I was walking. Easy. The time will fly by and I will catch up on my movie watching. I made it through the previews and maybe 2 minutes of the movie. Not sure what happened there. But my legs were all noodley after just 15 minutes! I had only walked 1/2 mile! So I celebrated with some chips and salsa! Yippee. Tomorrow I begin with the weight loss shakes and some dancing aerobics along with the treadmill. Maybe I can celebrate that with some ice-cream! HAHA! Seriously though, I promise to be better tomorrow!

Wish me luck!

Picture of the grandson

2008-01-06T21:23:00.001-08:00

What kind of grandma would I be if I did not post some pics of the baby? So we have one of him right after his first open heart surgery. Scary to look at, but I balanced it with a cutsie smiling one from last week. I also have a 5 generation photo. There is my grandpa, my dad, myself, Nicole, and baby Christian.

Christian is doing pretty good for now. He finally hit the 7 pound mark! And he is 8 weeks old now! He is all smiles when he is not fussing. He will have his next surgery in March and then his third one when he is 18 months old.

Thanks for popping in!

Denise aka Grandma Whee

My favorite thing to whip up quickly

2008-01-06T21:11:00.000-08:00

I love to make these cute pillowcases for a quick little gift. The special thing about them is that there are no exposed seams! All the seams are french seams. People are often perplexed as to how to make these but it really is easy.

I made about 20 of these pillowcases for Christmas presents this year. Not all of them were pink with black skulls! Just this one was. It is for my niece who loves skulls and is still a girlie girl who loves pink. It is perfect for her. But most of mine this year were made with really pretty Christmas fabric.

I am busy reorganizing my sewing room. I had to fit a treadmill in here so some rearrangements have to be made. I will take a picture when I am all done.

I have the neighbor kids here this evening as there was an emergency. I have the kids all snuggled in for the night. We had pizza for dinner and then the teenage girl and I shared hot tea and watched a criminal forensic show. The little boy is snuggled down in one of my guest beds and the girl wanted to sleep on the couch. We had 2 more guest beds she could have slept in! But we do have a cozy couch.

Anyway, I plan on washing up some fabric and choosing my next fabrics for Stash Bashers. I am pretty excited to be diving into my stash again after so long.

Thanks for stopping in. I love company.

Denise

The holidays are finally over!

2008-01-05T18:36:00.000-08:00

I love the holiday season but each year I am glad when it is finally over! I have some pictures of my recent sewing but cannot seem to find it on the computer. I will dig more on Monday and post some then. Until then, thank you for dropping in...

I am a grandma!

2007-11-14T21:37:00.000-08:00

OK... here is the baby info in a nutshell...

Christian was born Nov. 13 at 4:56 in the evening. C-section after 36 hours of labor! Poor baby. Anyway... 6 lbs. 15 oz. and 19 3/4 inches long. Perfect little baby minus the whole heart thing! I have 10 pictures posted on Christian's blog! He is too cute to not look at!

www.babywithefe.blogspot.com

Check him out!

I am in Portland!

2007-11-11T10:20:00.000-08:00

We are having a baby tomorrow! Nicole is absolutly HUGE!!!!! She got so big these last 3 weeks! I was so surprised.

I will update by Tuesday at the latest. I am sure I will be busy tomorrow!

Bye!

Still Waiting!

2007-11-07T12:59:00.000-08:00

My car is packed with everything I am going to need for 2 weeks in Portland. Now all I need is for Nicole to call and say she is in labor! That girl is just not working with my schedule! LOL

I will have my computer with me so I will be able to update my blog with pictures and everything.

Keep your fingers crossed for us. This little guy is going to have a hard start.

Had to throw this in

2007-11-02T21:17:00.000-07:00

Me with no makeup or hair fixed... Not seen to often! YIKES!!!!

My felted pumpkins

2007-11-02T21:13:00.000-07:00

Aren't they cute????

Wool Needle Felting

2007-11-02T21:05:00.000-07:00

Well, Wednesdays demo at The Stitchin Post was so cool! We learned how to needle felt. It was sure addicting. I went today and bought stuff to make a few projects while I am up in Portland.

For some reason I am unable to load pictures on the blog with this computer so I will try with my other laptop tomorrow.

We are still waiting for a baby. Nicole will be having it anyday now.

I will write more tomorrow when I load the pics...

Denise

Jewels of Virginia top is done!

2007-10-05T23:57:00.000-07:00

Well, here is the first complete quilt top done on my new machine! One photo is while it was in process and on my design wall. One is a full shot but the border looks so dark, so the third one is a close up of the border to show it is not quite as dark as it seemed. I really love it a lot. The top and the machine! Now I just have to sandwich the quilt and then try my hand at machine quilting! I am excited. I think I am going to donate this quilt as the raffle quilt for my mom's 45th class reunion. It is going to be on a cruise and I have been asked to teach some classes on it. I am excited. I will be teaching fabric postcards and also a mini-scrapbooking class. There are some perks to teaching on a cruise line! One of the perks I am looking forward to is the Chocolate Bar! Everything chocolate 24 hours a day! What could be better???? Well, hubby coming would be a start. He cannot join me so I will be sailing so utterly alone! :(

Anyway... tomorrow has me jaunting to Portland to meet up with 3 of my sister-in-laws and 3 of my adult nieces for a day and night of fun fun fun. First we meet for shopping and lunch and more shopping. Then (Sit down for this part) we are all going to go and get tattoos! Can you believe it???? My mom is having a hard time with it. She is not an admirer of body art. But I will post a picture after it has all healed and is beautiful.

Need to go and fold some laundry for my trip. BYE!

A Change of Pace

2007-10-01T22:42:00.000-07:00

Hopefully I will remember which order I put the photos on. All I get now is the long lines of numbers and letters!

I have attached a photo of my daughter, Nicole, and my mom, Sharon, when we went to a stamping party recently. We had a great time and I won over $100.00 in free stuff! Very cool. I also attached some pictures of some ATC cards Nicole and I made tonight for a swap at Swap-Bot.com. We had never made any before. I think they turned out wonderful. Nicoles had the butterfly wings and mine had tiny origami swans. They were a lot of fun to make. I also attached a pic of the goddess doll I made for another swap. I could not figure out hair for the goddess, who is Gaia (Mother Nature), so I glued moss on her head. Smells a bit funny, but looks cute I think. I also attached a picture of our new TV. Huge monstrosity. But it is high def and of course we had to upgrade our sat. TV. I am enjoying it a bit too much I think.

Anyway, I need to go to bed. I am so tired.

Thanks for popping in!

I am hostessing a swap!

2007-10-01T10:58:00.000-07:00

I have decided to take the plunge and host a swap on Swap-Bot! Nothing to do with sewing or quilting, but a postcard swap. Take a look at the following link:

http://www.swap-bot.com/swap/show/8002

Sign up! It's free (and addictive!)

Look forward to having a top swap pretty soon!

Denise

Another Project

2007-09-19T14:14:00.000-07:00

Well just for a change I decided to make this bundle to honor Mabon, the celebration of the second harvest. I am in another swap on Swap-Bot.com for these bundles. I thought they were pretty.

Today at Wednesday demo we made some yo-yo's with Clover's new yo-yo makers. We made the traditional round and then a heart. They were very cool! I think I may get the heart shape but feel like I can do the round ones faster without the tool. Anyway, there is a flower shaped one also but did not get to see as they were all sold out:(

We are in the middle of a cold spell and I have had the heaters on all day. YIKES! I am not sure I am ready for winter yet. I had to bring my tomato plant in as we were getting frost every morning. I have it in my dining room.

Thanks for dropping in!

Jewels of Virginia

2007-09-17T22:12:00.000-07:00

So, once again Stitchin' Post has begun another season of Stash Bashers! YIPPEE!!!! Sunday we got the new pattern assignment. It is called Queen of Tarts, but I renamed mine to Jewels of Virginia. Why, you may ask? Well, mom and dad went to Virginia on vacation and they brought me back a bundle of fat quarters that were all jewel tones. I have had them FOREVER and finally decided to use them in this new quilt. So today my wonderful friend Teresa came over for our regular sewing Monday and I cut out the pieces and then proceeded to sew 72 little hourglass blocks that will make up the stars. My back is cramping and my butt hurts. Trust me when I tell you that that is a lot of flesh to be hurtin'! But I am excited about this quilt and think it will be just beautiful when I finish it later this week.

I finished the binding on the snowman wall hanging. I am pleased that I finally finished something!!!!!!

Anyway, that's about it for now. I will post as the jewel quilt progresses...

Ready for Something New?

2007-09-10T22:06:00.000-07:00

I have become addicted to swapping. Take a look at swap-bot.com and see if there is anything there for you. I have just joined a fabric swap

I swap with Swap-bot!

I did a search of the site under fabric and there it was!

I have been busy working on some little things with my new sewing machine. I machine quilted a wall hanging and just sewed the binding to it. I still have to turn it and sew it down on the back.

I also attached a photo I took of a storm coming in. I thought it was pretty neat looking. Well this beautiful storm gave us a wildfire that forced the evacuation of 1,200 homes! Crazy. So I was busy working the ambulance while our crews worked the fire. It is almost out now and no homes were lost.

Anyway, that's about it for now. I am working hard on getting some new things for you to look at on this blog. Stick with me, OK?

Denise

Look what I am getting!

2007-08-26T11:06:00.000-07:00

Original IDTTM (Integrated Dual Feed) – absolutely even fabric feed from both the top and bottom. Fine fabrics, several layers – no slipping! Only Pfaff has the original IDTTM built into the machine.

• Only from Pfaff: German engineering and innovative design!

• Extra value! Purchase the ClassicStyle home 1529 and receive two extra presser feet that are must-haves for everyone who loves to sew for their home: the Welting Foot and the Twin Welting Foot.

• High presser foot clearance to make room for heavy fabrics or several layers of fabric!

• Free-motion sewing position! Use the special free-motion sewing position for the presser foot to get the highest clearance for your free-motion sewing.

• Constant needle piercing power even when you sew slowly, with thick fabrics or through several layers of fabric.

I decided not to go with the machines that have tons of built-in embroidery stitches and all kinds of computer stuff. Too much to go wrong! So I told the lady I am looking for a basic machine that goes forward, backward, zig-zag, and absolutly MUST HAVE a dual feed so I can do some machine quilting. She had just the machine for me! Pfaff 1529. I am ordering it today and it should be here within the week unless I decide to go to Salem and get it myself. It is just a 2 hour drive. Maybe I will do that...

Anyway, things are going pretty good here. We went to San Francisco where we learned that only 3 of the special surgeries that my unborn grandson needed had been done and not even one had lived through the surgery. So we were on the plane home the next morning. The baby will be born in October and have his first open-heart surgery within 10 days of birth. The second open heart surgery at 3 months old and the third one at 18 months to 3 or 4 years old. Then he will need a heart transplant sometime after that.

We had a fund raiser yesterday and made just over $2,000.00. We were stunned that we could make that much. We are very grateful! The kids can now pay some outstanding medical bills.

Anyway, that is all my news for now. Be expecting to see some real cool pictures soon of the things I am going to make with my new machine!!!!

Hugs!
Denise

Great News!

2007-07-31T19:57:00.001-07:00

Nicole and Bryan got the call today that San Francisco wanted to do the in utero surgery. We will know tomorrow what day, but they wanted her there the end of this week or the beginning of next week. We are so excited! Now I am needing to make a bunch of casseroles to freeze and catch up on laundry. I still do not know if we are going to fly or drive yet. But either way I am done with daycare on Friday. So I do not need to worry about that while I am gone.

Anyway, thats all for now. I will post as things transpire. Also, I will be posting to Christians blog while we are in San Francisco. www.babywithefe.blogspot.com

R.I.P. Barney and Remi

2007-07-26T23:06:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning we woke to find Barney and Remi dead in their kennels. They were somehow poisoned. We do not know if it was intentional or if they got into some poison wild mushrooms while playing in the yard. We will miss the horribly. We are still crying a lot but hopefully will pull ourselfs together.

Blog for Christian

2007-07-26T23:05:00.001-07:00

I made a blog for Christian. The address is www.babywithefe.blogspot.com

I will be posting to it as things unfold. Tomorrow is going to be a huge day for us. We meet with the pediatric cardiologist in Portland.

Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show 2007

2007-07-16T07:40:00.000-07:00

Well Ladies, finally a post with out too much drama! Thanks to you all for your kind and wonderfully supportive words. We appreciate them more than you know.

Saturday was great day for the largest outdoor quilt show in the world! Sisters was booming with over 50,000 people in town to enjoy over 1,000 quilts hung from storefronts, rafters, balconies, and entire buildings. Unfortunately for me I was confined to one small area on ambulance duty. But I did get to see some of the wonderful challenge quilts and also the kids quilting challenge quilts. They were all fantastic! The quilt that won Grand Prize in the kids catagory was made by the most adorable young man. A 12 year old boy from Sisters won. His brother won last year! I asked him if they were up for adoption but they declined my offer of good cooking and free use of my sewing machine. Hmmmmmmm. The penguin quilt is the one he made and won a new sewing machine! The fire station even has its own quilt that we take every year with us to display. people love it!

During my manning of the ambulance we had quite a few calls for assistance. Since it was 104 degrees there were many heat emergencies. Also we had many falls from people taking pictures of the quilts while backing up. They would fall off of the curb of the sidewalk. Poor people. We had to send one lady to the hospital in the helicopter when she suffered a heart attack. It was eventful. We also had a water dish for dogs since it was so hot. I have one picture of a visiting dog the really enjoyed our shade and was hugging the water bowl to himself. It was very cute.

Anyway, I am attaching some pictures of the area where we were parked surrounded by the quilts. If you have not ever been here for quilt show week you really should try to come. I have some limited space here in my home, but it is always free for my quilting friends. (I have 3 extra beds that can sleep 2 each)

Have a great day. I plan on quilting this morning and finishing up my tablerunners for the CycleOregon event coming up.

Happy Quilting!

Baby Christian David 7-6-07

2007-07-07T05:31:00.000-07:00

Nicole had her scan yesterday. The news was not good. Of course we were all hoping for the doc to come in saying it had all been a big mistake, but no such luck. The baby has a very large heart with small chambers. The valves are not working properly and the blood is backing up, going the wrong direction, and just not moving properly. SOOOOOO, if (BIG if) the baby makes it to birth they will do a valve replacement ASAP and let him grow a bit. Then he will be a great candidate for a heart transplant. But it all hinges on if he makes it to birth. Needless to say I have been an emotional wreck! I cry off and on all of the time.

But on a good note, the baby is a boy. His name is Christian David. Currently he is 10 inches long and weighs 12 ounces. Everything else seems fine with him. He is on target for size and his brain looks perfect.

Please keep us in your prayers and thoughts. We are going to need them.

I plan on sewing today as a way of taking my mind off all that is going on. I volunteered to make 5 table runners for the CycleOregon event. They will be needing those soon. I should be able to make all of them in aboiut 2 hours. I will slap on some earphones with some good ol' country music blaring and forget all my troubles for a short time. Then reality will come up and slap me in the face! At least I will have a little bit of time to forget.

Please check back now and again for updates on the baby. I will post as I know stuff. Also, I actually will get back to posting some quilting things! Thats what this blog is for. I got a bit off topic, huh? Sorry for that.

Hugs to all you who have sent well wishes and to those of you that have thought of us. It is all so much appreciated.

Denise

Baby Boy Christian David Ruwaldt

2007-07-04T09:59:00.000-07:00

Well here are some pics from the ultrasound for my grandbaby. Come to find out it is a boy! The bad news is that he has an abnormal heart. The doc was pretty grim but would not give much info since she is not a specialist. We have another appointment on Friday morning with the pediatric cardiologist. We will know more after that and I will post that information.

Needless to say we have been on an emotional roller coaster. I have bouts of crying intermixed with happiness because everything else seems perfect with him. I hate these emotions because going back and forth gives me such a bad headache! I am loving the Tylenol right now!

Bryan and Nicole are understandably distraught. Nicole is an emotional person like me, so we were crying buckets. Bryan is stronger but still had a good cry when he got home.

Anyway, I will post more as we know more...

Denise

Pincushion exchange!

2007-06-25T22:22:00.000-07:00

How fun can this be??? SO MUCH FUN! I have signed up for a pincushion exchange via this link... http://www.thecountrycellar.com/PincushionExchange.htm

Give it a shot! I think it will be a blast!

I am busy working 16 hour days 6 days a week so have not had time to post anything lately except for pictures of the new puppy. WHICH as it turns out is a girl dog! Funny story, but just know that you cannot take the word of someone giving away puppies and not do an inspection yourself! So, Remington (Remi) is doing fantastic and growing so much. She had a bunch of infections but has been taking meds for it all. She is really thriving now.

Anyway, come on and join the swap with me. It will be fun!

Take care!

Denise

It's a BOY!

2007-06-13T23:03:00.001-07:00

This is Remington. I picked him up when I went to the grocery store tonight to grab some snacks for Kyrsten's softball game. Dave was not too pleased at the time. Remi is growing on him!

I have been busy doing little things in relation to quilting but nothing too exciting. I will post some pics soon...

I need to go to bed. Bye for now...

Denise

Too Much????

2007-03-29T11:17:00.000-07:00

OK... so my mother went to the huge fabric warehouse in Portland recently for the Trend Show. That is where all of the fabric stores go 2 times a year and stock up for the coming season. It is a huge place and you go and spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars purchasing bolts of fabric, notions, books, patterns, and the list goes on and on. Anyway, since I have a business account I can go and take along any employees I want to. I could not go this time because I had daycare kids. So, mom and my friend Teresa went for me. Bless their hearts! I am sure it was pure torture for them. They went shopping for me and found huge amounts of fat quarters. When they fill a super capacity washer like mine, it is a bad sign. Well, good for me. So, now I have all of these washed and trimmed. I have to iron them and then see where I am going to stash them. They also were kind enough to buy me 20 yards of childrens polar fleece. Now, I can use that since I just found out I am going to be a grandma (!) in November. I have plans for that already. They also bought a Thimbleberries quilt kit for me along with a case of cream colored thread. All of that put me out $98.00. FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!! I am thrilled. Anyway, I will post pics of the fabric and kit later. I have babies tearing apart my living room...

Plaids top is done!

2007-02-28T22:54:00.000-08:00

This evening I finally finished the borders on my Plaids quilt top. It is a smaller top, baby size. I am thinking in all of the muslin blocks I am going to hand quilt an animal. Maybe a bear in one, an elk in another, then a moose. One block may have a cabin in it. Just make it a real "woodsy" feel. I have the binding all ready for it and it is leftover plaids that I am going to join in 6" increments. That will give it a real scrappy look I think. Any thoughts on that???

Today also saw me getting my new Keepsake Quilting catalog! It is like Christmas when I get these! I sat down and immediately ordered almost $100.00 worth of fabrics to make a quilt for my first grandbaby. We do not have one on the way yet, but Nicole and Bryan have decided to start working on a family. So, in anticipation of a new grandson, I am going to make a cute pirate quilt. I did check with the kids and they said they would decorate in a pirate theme if they have a boy. I also ordered the cutest pattern to make a penguin quilt. Still not sure when I am going to have time for that, but it may be something I work on occassionally when I am in a "funk".

I had to attach the most adorable picture of my buddy, Barney. Barney is my Beagle. He is just over 2 years old and is a total lap dog. He keeps me warm when I need it and snuggles like no other! He is spoiled rotten and I love it that way!

Anyway... need to get to bed and see if I can kick this cold I have had for a week now. I am so tired from not sleeping because of coughing and sneezing. I honestly did not know that one little nose could make so much snot! YUCK! I gross myself out!

Have a great day. I hope you all get to quilt to your hearts content.

Denise

Some kids...

2007-02-27T09:12:00.000-08:00

Hi again! I do not have any new pics yet to post. That will come later tonight after I get some borders on my plaids quilt. But I wanted to post some pics I got this weekend. The first is (left to right) myself, my oldest daughter, Nicole, and then Nicole's friend Gretchen. They came over for the weekend and we had a great time. Nicole's husband was also here and ran around with my hubby, Dave, and the dog looking for some turkeys (it is going to be turkey hunting season soon). The other picture is me when I am not quilting! Looks like a rough job, huh? For those that do not know, I do daycare everyday from 7:45am until 11:30pm. LONG days, but I do get to play with babies all day! The larger child wallowing on me is my youngest child, Kady. She is 8 now, but loves to sit on my lap still. Trust me, I will hold her as long as I can!

Nicole gave me some real exciting news while she was here. Her and Bryan have decided that they will work on having a baby now. Can you believe it???? Maybe soon I will be a grandma :0 I am so excited!

So, that is all I have for this morning. I will try to get the borders on the plaids and post a pic tonight. Depends on the attitudes of the babies today!

Have a great day and happy quilting!

Denise

New Project

2007-02-19T20:35:00.000-08:00

Well, here are the pieces and parts for my next project. Don't you just LOVE my directions? I had lost my original so copied Teresa's while she was here cutting her's out. Thank goodness I do not rely on straight lines in my quilting doodles!

Thanks for dropping by!

Denise

Tonye Phillips- Gifted Quilter

2007-02-18T14:50:00.000-08:00

I warned Tonye that I was going to put her on my blog. So here it is...

Let me begin by pointing out that the cross hatching Tonye is doing on the one close up is 1/4 inch cross hatch! Can you believe it? She is amazing!

Tonye is one of those quilters that inspire greatness. She has a style that makes you say "Hey, that's one of Tonye's works". You can always pick out her work from amongst a whole wall of quilts. She definitely has her own style. I love it!

When I began attempting to quilt about 8 years ago Tonye was always there to help me along. Questions... I knew I could go ask Tonye. She never made me feel inferior although I knew I was (and still am!). She could always be counted on to go "Oh my, that is beautiful!" even with my pathetic first attempts.

Tonye is a great quilter, but she is an even greater person and friend. I am honored to call her one of my friends.

Camp Sherman Quilt Show

2007-02-18T14:25:00.000-08:00

Today I had the joy of attending the Pine Needlers quilt show in Camp Sherman, Oregon. For those who have not been... YOU MUST GO! It is truly awe inspiring. This group of fun loving ladies host 2 shows a year! One in February and one in July. And this is the funny part; the husbands of the quilters serve food in the back of the building along with refreshments. They call themselves "The Pine Nuts". They sing little jingles and make jokes all day. They are a real pleasure to be around.

The show today was, I think, one of their best yet. The variety of styles, colors, and overall extraordinary workmanship was incredible. These ladies are a step above your ordinary quilters. Along with the quality is the fact that a majority of the quilts are hand quilted! You do not see that very often anymore.

Tomorrow I am having Teresa over and we are working on our next Stash Basher quilt. It is going to be a nice and easy 9-Patch quilt. Small enough for a baby. I have chosen to use some real nice plaids along with some Ecology Cloth for the solid background.

Have you heard of Ecology Cloth? Teresa and I just bought a whole bolt of it (40 yards)! It is an excellent dense muslin that we discovered while making Civil War blocks. The fabric, when on the bolt is VERY stiff. When washed it shrinks quite a bit and loses the stiffness, but has a great texture and is very easy to work with. It is originally $4.30 (I think) a yard but of course there is a discount when you buy a whole bolt.

So, I will be posting pics of more of the Camp Sherman quilts over the next few weeks. Keep checking in.

Happy Quilting!

Denise

2007-02-07T13:42:00.000-08:00

Well, I finally have something to post here! My wonderful friend Teresa and I decided to make quilts for the fire department to raffle off. This is my creation. Let me tell you: I had a heck of a time deciding what to use for the inner border, but my wonderful husband decided for me. We went with the black. I am very pleased with the results! He has wonderful taste. (Well, he married me didn't he??? LOL) But now I have to do the backing and get it quilted and binding put on. I am excited. The photo does not show it very well, but I used a bunch of different whites and creams and then the blues are also a bunch of different blues. The reds though are all the same.

I have an easy quilt to do for Stash Bashers this month. It is a simple 9-patch and you actually cut the backing while you cut the blocks. It is very cool. I will post my fabric choices later this week. I have decided to go with plaids.

Did you all see the link for the potholder swap? Well, I signed up for it and have been e-mailing my swap partner. She happens to live just 25 minutes away from me. So, we decided that we were going to meet in person to do our swap. Isn't that fun?! So when she gets her potholholder done she is going to call me and we will meet for coffee and swap. I am very excited to meet her.

So, now I am working on another pinwheel quilt. This one is using scraps from the raffle quilt. I will post as I do things on it.

You all take care and stop in now and again to see what I am doing. Remember to post a comment so I know you were here...

Denise

Try something fun!

2007-01-29T16:29:00.000-08:00

My friend Simonetta sent me the information on this potholder and recipe swap. Click on the button below if you are interested.

Sorry for the delay!

2007-01-10T11:44:00.000-08:00

My wonderful friend, Teresa, gave me this clock for Christmas. Isn't it cute! I have hung it right above my sewing machine so I can keep track of the time while I am busy. I love it!

Not too much going on here. Teresa and I have been designing some raffle quilts for the fire department. Her husband is one of our volunteer Captains. But the department is wanting to do some fund raising and want a raffle quilt. Teresa and I have decided that we would take one of our Stash Basher patterns and make some. Easy and fast. AND we kill 2 birds with one stone as we also have to have the tops done before the next SB meeting! Good thinking on our parts huh???

The weather has been a bit crazy here. I was awakened this morning with the high winds blowing stuff around and hitting my house. It made a bunch of racket but when I went out to investigate I did not find any damage. Of course it was 4am and dark, but I had a flashlight.

The crazy weather has made for some spectacular sunrises lately, like the one I have here. This is my backyard. Notice that there is no snow???? Whats up with that???? This is January for Pete's sake!

Anyway, I will post some pictures of projects soon. My darling husband got me a new digital camera for Christmas so can add LOTS now!

Have a great day!

Denise

Browns is done!

2006-12-12T09:54:00.000-08:00

Well I finished the browns top and pinned the flowers on the "Smell the Flowers" wall quilt. I still have to figure out how to do the wonky alphabet letters that Tonya is know for (http://lazygalquilting.blogspot.com/). I am wanting to put Smell the Flowers on the bottom of the quilt. I am excited about this.

Today I am planning on sleeping when I can. I was on ambulance calls last night and did not get much sleep. ARRGGGHHHHH! But, that is what I love to do.

I am in charge of the huge Christmas Day community dinner at the fire department now. We serve the community a free meal for whomever wants to come eat with us. I am wondering if anyone has some real easy recipes they could share with me? I have decided that since I am new to this fire department tradition, I would shake things up a bit. I have changed the recipe for stuffing and am making a yummy fruit salad. Of course there is not much I can do for the mashed potatoes and regular trimmings, but the side dishes are another story all together! Oh, I am such a rebel!

Anyway, need to go and get ready for the babies to be dropped off for my love and attention. Hopefully they all want to take naps!

FINALLY!!!!!

2006-12-04T09:05:00.000-08:00

Can you believe that I sew with such a mess on my table? It usually is not quite so bad, but lately I have just been tossing things on it.

I wanted to post something so you all did not think I had quite this blog. But I am very busy babysitting 3 babies almost every day. My days are usually 15 hours of childcare. Thankfully not all at the same time, but it does make for a long day.

I am showing a quilt that I cut out and started sewing at midnight last night. I have always wanted to work in browns and tans. So, thanks to my "Stash Bashers" club at The Stitchin' Post I have begun one. Hopefully I will have the top done this evening depending on how the babies are. I will post a picture when it is completed.

I also wanted to post some pictures I took last evening at dusk. The moon was so full and the sky so clear. The picture was at a pasture just east of Sisters. The Mountains in the other picture are called The Three Sisters. They are part of the Cascade Range. These are south of Sisters. Then I have a pictures of myself and my sister-in-law at a Christmas party last Saturday night. I am the one with the huge smile on the right. Yes, I did get another haircut. WAY WAY WAY too short. Looked nothing like the picture I took in, but I keep saying "It will grow".

Anyway, I do need to go and get ready for the babies. I hope you all have a wonderful day and plenty of sewing time!

Hugs!

Denise

My Sesame Street personality

2006-11-06T10:16:00.000-08:00

You Are Bert

Extremely serious and a little eccentric, people find you loveable - even if you don't love them!
You are usually feeling: Logical - you rarely let your emotions rule you
You are famous for: Being smart, a total neat freak, and maybe just a little evil
How you life your life: With passion, even if your odd passions (like bottle caps and pigeons) are baffling to others

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

My new things

2006-10-02T23:03:00.000-07:00

OK Ladies, here are a few of my latest blocks. The tie shaped ones are just 2 of 20 that I made and donated to be used in auction quilts to raise money for breast cancer research. All the ties had to be pink and they had to be on a white background. They turned out very cute I think. They ended up getting so many ties that they can make quite a few quilt tops. I was thrilled and honored to participate in that "Quilt Pink" day at the Stitchin Post.

The Halloween patch is for a block raffle. The fabric in the middle of the block was given to us and we had to use our own fabrics to finish out the block. Next quild meeting we put our blocks on the design wall and our name in a basket. Whoever has their name drawn gets ALL of the completed blocks. I am really hoping that I get them since I do not have a halloween quilt. Well, I don't have any quilt for that matter since I give mine all away!!!!!

Anyway, I promised to put up some photos and now I have. I will try to get some nice ones of more tops I have not completed yet. Maybe this winter I can get something finished?????

Happy quilting!

Denise

Moved!!!!

2006-10-01T11:21:00.000-07:00

I have finally moved into my new home! We are still unpacking and trying to organize things.

I have my own quilting studio now and a huge design wall! Can you believe it? I am so excited. I am still arranging things there, but soon will have it just the way I need it.

I will post some pictures when I get a chance. PROMISE!!!!! I was internet-less for 3 weeks. Almost killed me! But now I am back on-line and plan on doing more with this blog.

Have a great day!

Denise

Had to make a change!

2006-08-17T20:03:00.000-07:00

Due to the spam porn that was sent to my blog as an anonymous poster, I had to change my preference where you could not post comments as an anonymous poster. I also had to make it where you have to type in the code before posting. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause, but my daughter checks this for me now and again. Maybe if these people took up quilting, they would not feel like looking and sending porn????? LOL

Denise

Fires, Fires, Fires

2006-08-16T21:26:00.000-07:00

Hello all!!!!!
I have been so busy lately. Fire season has finally hit with it's full force. Recently Dave (my wonderful hubby) and I have been assigned to the Black Crater fire. THAT one was too close for comfort but is pretty much non-threatening now. HOWEVER we have ANOTHER fire burning in the area. Just 5 miles from Black Butte Ranch and 6 from Sisters. Check out www.nuggetnews.com for fire information and some AWESOME pictures of the fires!

I am posting a picture of my new haircut.

I went from long and curly to short and straight! What a change for me. I have to learn how to use a straightening iron better, but it will be OK with practice. The back of my hair is really short and spiky. I love it! I went to Three Sisters Salon and Spa. Nicole was my beautician. She did EXACTLY what I wanted. I paid more money than I had ever paid before, but I think it was worth it!

Sorry I do not have any real cool pictures to post of quilts this time, but will have some after the weekend. My friend, Teresa, and I are going to the coast to see the Tillamook quilt show. Hopefully I will remember my camera! I have been such a ditz lately that I probably will forget it.

Anyway, I will update this site after the weekend. Thanks for checking in!

Quilt till you wilt!

Denise

Fun little quiz

2006-07-17T09:47:00.000-07:00

I am a
Snapdragon

What Flower
Are You?

"Mischief is your middle name, but your first is friend. You are quite the prankster that loves to make other people laugh."

This is so true!!!! Take this quiz and see what comes up for you!

Need to go and take my brownies out of the oven. I have the sheetrockers working in the house today and I like to bribe the workers with sweets!

Happy quilting!

Denise

Some more UFO's for your enjoyment

2006-07-16T11:58:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple more projects I just have not got around to finishing. I have this real cute table runner that I decided to do patriotic. I absolutely loved the backing fabric I found for it! It has a bunch of things that symbolize America. The tulip quilt is the product of a mystery class that took place over a month. I did not get to finish it like I was supposed to because we had a large wildland fire that I had to go work on. So I missed the last class. I did learn however that I really do not like checkerboards as they never some out even for me. I chose the colors to match a pillow that my daughter had made me for Christmas back in 2001. I loved the pillow colors and wanted to make something to kind of go with it. I have the pillow packed or I would have added a picture of it too.

I am very anxious to get into the new house with my very own studio and 2 (!) huge design walls. I bought a book about designing your studio space and different ideas for storage. I have a feeling that Dave is going to be busy making me some shelving units!

While working at the Stitchin' Post I bought some wonderful fabrics and also a real neat pattern called Memories of Sisters. It is all paper pieced which I do not know how to do correctly. My friend Teresa is going to help me with it. She also got the pattern. We are making a trip to a new quilt store in Bend that specializes in batik fabrics to get everything we need for it. I am excited.

I currently am working on some cross-stitched bibs for my niece. They are patterns of Eyore from Winnie the Pooh. They are so cute! She is due in October so hopefully I will have them done by then. With all the house stuff it may be close.

Anyway, just wanted to add something to this blog so people can hopefully inspire me to actually FINISH something!!!!!

Happy quilting!

Denise

Almost Quilt Show Day!!!!!

2006-07-07T15:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I have been working my butt off at The Stitchin' Post!!!! Talk about a ton of ladies that truely love quilting. If you ever get a chance to come to Sisters, DO! It is something like you have never seen before! An amazing experience. My last day will be Sunday and then I will require a few days of sewing to recouperate!!!!

I attended the Camp Sherman Pine Needlers quilt show today. Also, another show you do not want to miss. It is very cute and held in a historic building. Maybe you can find something on the web about them???? Give it a try. I am actually a member of the Pine Needlers Quilt Guild since I lived in Camp Sherman for 5 years. They are a fantastic group of ladies that use funds from the shows they do and the sale of pot holders to fund scholarships for local students going onto college. Very cool!!!!

I am adding some photos of a few of my favorite quilts that I saw at the Camp Sherman show. I did not write down who made them. There were so many cute things. I will add pictures as time goes on.

I also added a picture of some fabric postcards. I joined a swap through a yahoo group called Quilt-Europe. There was a flower swap and a heart swap. It was a lot of fun and I hope to do more of these.

Well, need to go to work!!!! Poor me. Having to cut all that fabric and talk to all those quilter from all over the world. **SIGH** I will just have to sacrifice and muddle through it...LOL

Hugs all around!!!!!

Denise

My coming week

2006-07-02T10:33:00.000-07:00

Good morning to all of you!
Yesterday was my first day working at The Stitchin' Post here in beautiful Sisters, Oregon! Check out their web site at www.stitchinpost.com. I was hired as extra help during quilt show week. What an exciting opportunity for any quilter! Yesterday was real busy and thankfully I had a short (3 hour) shift! It was crazy! A lot of ladies (and some men) have already arrived to partake in the classes being offered all week long as part of "A Quilters Affair". Seriously, ladies, if you get a chance to come to Sisters for quilt show DO IT!!!! It is an awesome and inspiring time.

I will post some photos when I have a little bit more time and let you see what I have been working on.

Hugs to all!!!!!

Denise

Some UFO's

2006-06-20T10:38:00.000-07:00

OK, I am worse than some and not as bad as others when it comes to UFO's (Unfinished Objects) in my quilting endeavor. I have decided to attach some photos of some that I have laying and hanging around in the hopes that guilt will make me finish them. The problem is that I do not know how to machine quilt so all of my quilting is by hand. It takes me FOREVER to finish something! I am thinking that I am going to hire a longarm quilter to do these for me and I can finally have something accomplished.

I had mentioned photographing my flag quilt with the Statue of Liberty freehand quilted on it. I am in the process of packing and apparently have it packed. So I will get that pic on later when I move and re-establish my studio. But I will tell you that it is one of my favorites!!!! Plus the backing is fabric with the Seal of the United States Army. Since I am prior Army, I take a little bit of pride in that, too.

Speaking of Army, OK, so this is a side note, my oldest brother is in the Army and was deployed to Afghanistan last week. His son is a Marine and currently deployed to Iraq. Please keep them in your thoughts along with their families.

OK, back to quilting... The first pic is just a scrappy 4 patch that I use (unfinished) as my tree skirt at Christmas! I do plan on finishing it as it will be easy to quilt. The second one is a Trip Around the World that I made to represent fire. It did not turn out as I wanted and maybe that is why I have not finished it? The third one is so fun. It is the result of my first "Stash Basher" assignment. I used so many UGLY fabrics and it turned out BEAUTIFUL! I love it. I am actually going to add some hot pink (my favorite color) borders and then bind it in black. It will be my snuggle quilt.

I am not going to post anymore UFO's today as I do not want to show all that I have in one shot. So, check back now and again and see what I have.

Another side-note for you. My new house is looking good! We are painting it this Saturday and it should be completed the beginning to the middle of August! Take a look at the progress on my family news site www.wheelersinor.blogspot.com

Have a great day! Quilt till you wilt!

Denise

Not much better

2006-06-05T22:28:00.000-07:00

Well, here is my chipmunk faced (post surgical) daughter holding my quilt out in the yard. Of course the wind blew right as I was taking the picture so there is a huge shadow. Oh well. You will have to trust me that it is beautiful.

I am going to dig through my finished quilts and find one I am especially proud of. It is a patriotic one that I did right after the horrible events of September 11th. The quilt has an outline of the Statue of Liberty that I hand quilted freehand. It is really awesome if I do say so myself! So check back in a few days.

Until then...HAPPY QUILTING!!!!!

Denise

REAL BAD pic of a beautiful quilt

2006-06-04T21:26:00.000-07:00

This photo really does not show how beautiful this quilt turned out. I will take another photo tomorrow out in the yard as long as it is not raining!

So, this is the quilt top I made with those batik's I showed a few days ago. I started it yesterday and did not get too far before an ambulance call postponed my sewing for the night. (Remember, I am with the fire department). I sat down and sewed all afternoon and this evening and just finished it. I tacked it up on the wall in my "studio" (aka: the guest room) and snapped a pic. I think in natural light it will look much better. I will say the quilt did not turn out as I had pictured, but it is still very pretty. The variety of prints is lost in the photo.

I will go for now. I worked all morning on the new house and am pooped!

Let me know what you think!

Denise

New Project

2006-06-01T15:16:00.000-07:00

I belong to a group through The Stitchin' Post called Stash Bashers. Each month we are assigned a new quilt to make and we are supposed to just use fabrics from our stash. Well, I have such a hodge-podge stash that I did not have enough of "Like" fabrics. SOOOOOOO... I just had to go and get some fabrics. Ohhhhh, the sacrifices I make for quilting! I chose to make this top with Batik fabrics. I have never used them exclusively for a top before. This should be interesting. I attached a photo of the top layout. I have seen it done and it is wonderful. Measures about 59 inches by 59 inches.

Anyway, I am beat and have things to do. My middle daughter just had surgery day before yesterday so I should go and check on her.

Happy quilting. Thanks for stopping by!

Denise

2006-05-22T08:05:00.000-07:00

This is a quilt I purchased at a garage sale! Can you beleive it????? I was so thrilled to see this. The maker is a friend of mine and so I asked for the pattern too. AND GOT IT!!!!! This is SO my style! It is hanging up in my sewing room for now. I think when we have the new house built it will go into the guest room right above the head of the bed. I will not even tell you how much I paid for it, but I am sure she did not even recover her fabric costs, much less the time involved in the HANDSTITCHING of the applique!

I am a huge fan of a local quilt store. You may have heard of it...The Stitchin' Post. (www.stitchinpost.com) I belong to a group that meets once a month called Stash Bashers. The reasoning behind this group is to help us dwindle down our stash by assigning a new quilt top to make every month and also to help us organize our stash. It is wonderful! I finished another top yesterday but have now decided to add some borders. It is a HUGE quilt! Made out of Civil War flannels. It is gorgeous even though it is not very bright. I attached a photo of when I had it all laid out on the floor so I could number the strips. Needless to say it looks better now that it is all sewn.

I belong to a group on the internet called Quilt-Europe. (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Quilt-Europe/) We share ideas, coordinate swaps, and just support other quilters as friends. It is wonderful. We are currently involved in a fabric postcard swap and also a block swap. I am behind as usual but plan on sewing all day tomorrow with my good friend Teresa. She also belongs to the group.

I have made a wonderful friend in Italy through one of my other groups. Her name is Simonetta. We have been writing almost everyday now for months. She is a fantastic quilter and sweet as can be. She has a blog at http://myquiltdream.blogspot.com/. Take a look. She has a lot of talent.

I need to go and get ready to work in my daughters classroom this morning. I love teaching 1st graders how to do math! What fun. Maybe there are some future quilters in there??? We can hope.

Have a wonderful day. Make sure you do some quilting!!!!!

Denise

Hello! Welcome to my new blog!

2006-05-19T09:26:00.000-07:00

Hello! Welcome to my new blog!
I am going to start this new blog with an introduction of myself! Not that I think I am soooooo wonderful or anything. I just want people to know who they are reading about.My name is Denise Wheeler. I am 37 years old. I have a wonderful husband named Dave. I also have 4 children. Nicole is 18 and married, Jake is 16 and currently resides with his biological father, Kyrsten is 12 and in the 7th grade, and Kady Jean is 7 and in 1st grade. We have 2 dogs. Barney is our Beagle and 16 months old. Gunny is a Black Lab mix and is 13 months old. Gunny is my husbands pride and joy as he is an excellent hunting dog. Barney is my dog and is very good at cuddling. We also have a Gold Fish name Big Bird who is 3 years old. I am a volunteer with the Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire Department as an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician). My husband is the city's fire marshall. He also is an excellent firefighter and a paramedic. I do many crafts but quilting is my passion. I have been quilting for 7 years now. I am not very good, but I enjoy it a lot. I am working on improving my techniques. I do not have a lot of time to sew but do what I can. I like to watch movies while I sew or listen to books on tape. I enjoy country music and also some opera. I read a ton of books.

Well, thats me. Nothing too exciting.I am doing this blog just for my quilting and ramblings. I have another blog with family news and tons of photos if you are interested. It is http://www.wheelersinor.blogspot.com/ . Check it out if you are interested. There are a lot of photos of the house we are building right now.

For those die-hard quilters out there that live in the states, you are going to appreciate this...I live in Sisters, Oregon! Home of the largest outdoor quilt show in the world and the world famous Stitchin' Post! (www.stitchinpost.com) This is a quilters heaven!!!!! How lucky am I?????Well, I will be adding pictures on this blog as I get them. Check back often and be sure to say HI!Have a wonderful day...

Quilt till you wilt!

Denise

My Joy is Quilting

Oh My Goodness!

Post Pajama Sale!

Pajama Sale!

What has gotten into me???

My *FEATURED QUILTER* of the year

Quilt Show is coming up!

Baabaara's Wild and Wooly

Something New

Busy busy busy

Baby quilt

I have a cruise to get ready for!

Picture of the grandson

My favorite thing to whip up quickly

The holidays are finally over!

I am a grandma!

I am in Portland!

Still Waiting!

Had to throw this in

My felted pumpkins

Wool Needle Felting

Jewels of Virginia top is done!

A Change of Pace

I am hostessing a swap!

Another Project

Jewels of Virginia

Ready for Something New?

Look what I am getting!

Great News!

R.I.P. Barney and Remi

Blog for Christian

Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show 2007

Baby Christian David 7-6-07

Baby Boy Christian David Ruwaldt

Pincushion exchange!

It's a BOY!

Too Much????

Plaids top is done!

Some kids...

New Project

Tonye Phillips- Gifted Quilter

Camp Sherman Quilt Show

Try something fun!

Sorry for the delay!

Browns is done!

FINALLY!!!!!

My Sesame Street personality

My new things

Moved!!!!

Had to make a change!

Fires, Fires, Fires

Fun little quiz

Some more UFO's for your enjoyment

Almost Quilt Show Day!!!!!

My coming week

Some UFO's

Not much better

REAL BAD pic of a beautiful quilt

New Project

Hello! Welcome to my new blog!

My FEATURED QUILTER of the year