Another Quilter In The Family....Hopefully!

Okay ladies I need some help! :) Tonight I was chatting with my sister, Chantal. She asked me that if she made a quilt if I would help her cut it out and stuff!! I was so excited! I honestly never thought that she would ever make one. She loves looking at mine and always talks about mine but I thought she was just being a nice sister! :) So of course I told her that I would be happy to help her out. So here is where I need some input...she wants me to find her some easy patterns to choose from. She wants something that does not have sashings, something easy for a beginner and she will be making it queen size to fit her bed. Any ideas?????? I would like to have her several different ones to choose from.
Kristie

What a morning!

What a morning!!! Quilting along on my frame.....needle breaks....and breaks off the tip of my hook down in the bobbin area!!!! UGH!! Called Bailey's and they are shipping me out a new one!!! Now I have to wait for it so that I can finish this quilt.....
Kristie

Looking Back...

Today my Andrew turns 17! If you know me personally or have read my blog for a while you know that my family means everything to me. Andrew has always been a very special kid, always full of love. He has always been my "buddy"

He is my oldest child and there is always something special about your first born. He will kill me for posting these photos of him when he was little. When he was real young, I dressed him in bow ties and suits, now the only time he dresses up is for prom. But that is just a typical teenage boy!

Here he is on Easter. Chantal is helping him hunt for eggs. If you look real close you can see his tiny glasses.
His father and I divorced when he was 5. I know it was hard on him but he seemed to understand why. Since we were on our own, we turned to each other and that only made us closer.

He went through a "Pirate" stage and that is all that he thought about was pirates. So what did we do??? We loaded up and headed to Myrtle Beach, SC so that he could "dig for treasure" He had such a wonderful time and I know that it was a trip that he will always remember.

Here he is on his first day of school. He was so excited about going but after he got there, like most, he cried and did not want me to leave. Of course, I cried the whole first week of school.
Here he is in our wedding! He walked me down the isle. He was so nervous at first but after we got up there he TALKED the whole time. Yep! He talked through the whole ceremony to Richard's brother. They talked about MONSTER TRUCKS! Everyone was laughing because he would not stop! But that was fine because we had a wonderful small family wedding.
This is when he went through his "chubby" stage! :) He will love this photo! This is right after Hunter was born. Andrew was so crazy about his new little brother but now all they do is fight but that is just brothers!

And this is him now!!!! This was taken right before Christmas 2009. Now he is a young man that is determined to have a successful life. He does great in school, loves his horses, dogs, and chickens. And in a few weeks is headed off on an adventure of a lifetime to Italy, Switzerland, and France!!!! My baby is growing up too fast.

Tonight we will be taking him out to dinner where ever he decides that he wants to eat. And then taking him to do shopping. I think he wants a new rod and reel and some other things. He loves to fish and I know he mentioned that he wanted a new one...

I love you Andrew with all of my heart and I am so very proud that you are my son!

Kristie

Sample Block!

I got up super early this morning and it was just too early to start up my quilting machine so I started with my regular sewing machine. I saw this pattern on another blog and just knew that I had to make it! It is called "Market Baskets" I have just made one block so far and probably will not make anymore until I have the rest of the blocks cut out. I have learned that it is best to sew a sample block because some of the patterns are wrong and sometimes after making one block I just don't like them anymore. :) But this one was fine and I really enjoyed sewing the block together.

Sorry the photos are so dark, not sure what happened there. This is the center of the block here...
This is what the final block will look like. I don't have the outer pieces sewn on yet, I just layed them there so you could get an idea of what it would look like.

Very simple and completely made from 2 1/2 inch strips!

Kristie

A Little "ME" Time...

We were finally able to get out this weekend!!! :) We had a warm day on Sunday and that melted most of the snow. Now it has set in raining and my yard and our little dirt road is such a mess!

First off, here is a link to a new to me blogger, named Pauline! I enjoy reading her blog and she just got a quilting machine and frame! So it should be interesting to see what all she gets accomplished! :) So take a few minutes and check out her blog.
http://meemawlovestoquilt.blogspot.com/

Our local schools were open today! So Richard, Andrew and Hunter all had to go to school this morning and that left me home alone! :) As much as I love having my family home with me, I enjoyed having some "ME" time this morning. I finally got my 124 string pieced diamonds finished! :) It feels great to have them finished but now the dreaded lattice strips need to be cut! :( The ends of these are cut at an angle so that makes it harder when cutting them and when sewing them to the diamonds. This will probably slow the process down a lot for me. But then again, quilting is not a marathon so I will just take my time and enjoy the process.
Richard and I went this past weekend and picked up a load of plywood for the house. This will be put down on the floor for the downstairs. Hopefully the weather will be warming up soon and we can get back to working on the house. We also bought the fuse box and 1000ft of electrical wire so we can start wiring the house. So I will be posting more house photos as we get the work done.

I just snapped this photo of Donkey. He likes to lay up on top of the entertainment center and pounce on everyone as they pass by. Don't look too close because I just noticed how dusty it is. Guess that is the price you pay when you heat with a fireplace.

Got to get off the computer and finish supper before the boys get home from school. They want to eat as soon as they walk through the door. We are having.....BBQ Ribs, mashed potatoes, broccoli with cheese, corn and some buttermilk cornbread! Maybe not a healthy diet for some but it will sure fill you up and put some meat on your bones. Giggle, maybe that is what is wrong with me...

Kristie

Now on the frame...

Like everyone else, I am so sick of snow! Winter is usually my favorite season but certainly not this year! I'm really sick of being snowed in up here, got everything we need, just sick of the snow. Anyway, here is what I currently have on the frame right now. This MY quilt!!! Actually, I have 2 more customer quilts waiting to be quilted but it will be a few days before I can get off this hill to pick up batting for them. I also have several ready to mail out, but again, can't get to the post office. Forecast says we will have a break in the snow for a couple of days so I think we are going to try to get out tomorrow.

Anyway, back to the quilt! This is my scrappy bargello that I made a while back. I really love this pattern and of course it comes from the Quiltville website. Most of my quilts are scrap quilts but that is because they are my favorite. Trying a new quilting design on this one, so I will let you know how it turns out. I always practice those on my own quilts. But I think I'm going to like this one.
This is a customer quilt that is waiting to be mailed out. Very pretty fabrics in this quilt. I quilted it with the "Chantilly Lace" design. I really like this quilt, the neutrals look great in it.

Here is a photo that I took of Hunter the other day. He needed a haircut in the worst way, so Richard cut it!!!!! Hunter loves it! That is about it for today! Need to clean house and hopefully get this quilt off the frame in a little while. Like I said I hope to get out tomorrow and pick up batting for customer quilts and I want the frame empty when I get back so I can load a customer quilt on. The batting that I used on my quilt is a low loft poly and my customer quilts need warm & natural that is why I didn't use it on my customer quilts...

Kristie

Another Customer Quilt

Here is a customer quilt that I finished a while back. It is a Sunbonnet Sue and I used the "Fleurs" pantograph on it. I really like this pattern and can't wait to use it on a lot of my own quilts.

The backing is a pink "Minkee" I just love how wonderful that it quilted. I was a little nervous at first because I had never used it before but I just love it.
I have more customer quilts to show as soon as I can find the other camera cord. Right now I am making a costume for a wonderful friend of ours. He will be "Peter" in his Church's Easter play. I have part of it made, but I will post photos of it when it is finished.

Just fixed spaghetti and garlic toast for supper. Got the laundry and dishes finished and I hope to settle down with the family to watch a good movie tonight. Waiting on more snow. The forecast is calling for 4-6 more inches!! :( I am so ready for spring, just like I'm sure everyone else is too.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Kristie

What a SHOCK!

What a shocker! I log on to our local news online to check the weather forecast and what do I see on the headline news??? There was a terrible accident on US 23 involving a coal truck and a pickup, so I click on it only to realize that the pick up belonged to my UNCLE. I'm watching this video and then I realize that the coal truck that he hit belongs to the company that my hubby worked for right before he was laid off. The coal truck driver is one of hubby's best friends. My uncle, after hitting the coal truck in the butt, spins and hits another big truck.

Watch the video of the accident scene, it doesn't show anything terrible only the truck and the helicopter, but can you believe that he has been released from the hospital with 6 staples in his head and a few scratches!!!
http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/84224707.html
Richard talked to his friend and he wasn't sure exactly why my uncle hit him, but he was pretty upset about the whole thing too.
Kristie

Just Looking Back...

Still snowed in! :( Cabin fever is really settling in on me. I do love being home but this is getting crazy! Haven't really accomplished anything at all today! Have you ever had one of those days? I have been busy all day but nothing is done, except for the dishes.

Still can't find my camera cord to upload new photos, but I have posted a couple of photos of some older quilts that I have made. I found them digging around in my photos on the computer.

As you know I LOVE scrap quilts! This one is called "Pieced Tulips" I made this one several years ago, way before I started my blog. I do love this pattern and have often thought of making another one. It was quilted by my friend, Sandy.

This is one of my favorites! It is called "Road To Dixie" It was also made several years ago! And it is still NOT quilted! :( It is on my long list of tops to quilt. I just love the border fabric on it. It is navy paisley and the paisley fabrics are my favorite! This is one that I would love to quilt soon.

Anyway, I made a big pot of chili for supper! So everyone has a full belly and we are settling in for a good movie! The boys still do not have school tomorrow and Richard does not have school on Fridays.

Kristie

Update!

Sorry that it has been so long since my last post. So much going on here, nothing major just little things. Anyway, I had been having internet problems. Could not connect to my blog or email. I could pull up facebook and my local news station. Last night I did pull up my bloglines for a little while. Right now it is working fine, finally got my DSL back working again! :)

My mind has just been in a whirlwind lately. I guess I am just getting cabin fever! We are snowed in and doesn't look like that will change for a while. They keep giving more snow for this area. My house is a mess and I swear, I can't keep the dishes clean! :( They just keep eating! :)

Anyway, I haven't been doing any sewing for myself at all. I do have 3 customer quilts that need to be mailed out as soon as I can get off this big hill and get to the post office. Can't even get off the hill to get to Church but I'm sure the Lord understands that, I just miss getting to go. Oh and I still have 3 more customer quilts to quilt. Two of them I need to pick up batting for so that will have to wait until the snow melts a little too. I will have photos of some customer quilts as soon as I find the camera cord. Too many cords at the computer and can't find the one that works the camera!

Now on to the farm news....the horses are loving the snow, can't keep them in the shelter, they want to run and play. Dogs are loving it too, well at least to some extent. Dozer, Andrew's great dane, loves to play in it. Andrew lost 3 hens the other day. He went out to feed them in his chicken coop, found 3 hens dead and in their nest was a BOBCAT! She was curled up asleep, I guess she got her belly full after eating a big meal. He came back in the house, got Richard and when they got out there it was bouncing off the wire walls trying to get out! Long story short, they took care of it and nobody got hurt. The scary part is, the chicken coop is only about 20ft from my kitchen window. I hate the thoughts of them coming in this close to the house. I guess it is just where it is a bad winter for them and they are looking for food. We always here coyotes all the time but they seem to be coming in closer this winter too.

Should be back in a few days with some photos!!!!
Kristie