Another Project

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

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?

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!

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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!

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????

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!

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...

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

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

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

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