Autumn is the hush before winter....

I love to decorate for fall!  Probably more than Christmas....I have started to pull things out and hope to add some Halloween this weekend.

Wish I could take "magazine" photo shoots....oh well.  This is our dining room. 

Today, I am spending most of the day in the sewing room...machine quilting.  Trying to decide if I like using the nylon invisible thread...it hides a multitude of mistakes, but I am not sure I like the look.  I think I will do my next one with some other thread...any suggestions?   Hope to have a picture at the end of the weekend of the little quilt I made with the Broken Dishes blocks I made.  It turned out better than I had originally thought!

Hope everyone is having a fantastic fall day...there might be a light frost on the pumpkins tonight!

Vacation is over

Bummer...vacation is over!  We visited Disney World last week...a first for me! We stayed at one of the Disney resorts, Port Orleans.  It was a lovely place, and it was great to be able to ride the bus or the water taxi around to whatever we were planning to do.  Favorite rides...Tower of Terror,  Aerosmith rollercoaster, and Soarin'..... I loved it, wore myself out and managed to come down with a cold on Saturday.  So today is going to be a quiet day for me...maybe get a little sewing in once my headache calms down. 

This is what is on my sewing table, a small quilt using 3"  Broken Dishes blocks.  Hope everyone is enjoying a nice fall day!



Thought for the day

I recieved this in an email today, and wanted to share...it is so true!

Lisa Beamer on Good Morning America - If you remember, she's the wife of Todd Beamer who said 'Let's Roll!' and helped take down the plane over Pennnsylvania that was heading for Washington DC back on 9/11.
She said it's the little things that she misses most about Todd, such as hearing the garage door open as he came home, and her children running to meet him. She's now the Mom of a beautiful little girl, Mary.
Lisa recalled this story:


"I had a very special teacher in high school many years ago whose husband died suddenly of a heart attack. About a week after his death, she shared some of her insight with a classroom of students. As the late afternoon sunlight came streaming in through the classroom windows and the class was nearly over, she moved a few things aside on the edge of her desk and sat down there.
With a gentle look of reflection on her face, she paused and said, ' Class is over, I would like to share with all of you, a thought that is unrelated to class, but which I feel is very important. Each of us is put here on earth to learn, share, love, appreciate and give of ourselves. None of us knows when this fantastic experience will end. It can be taken away at any moment.
Perhaps this is the powers way of telling us that we must make the most out of every single day. Her eyes, beginning to water, she went on, 'So I would like you all to make me a promise. From now on, on your way to school, or on your way home, find something beautiful to notice.
It doesn't have to be something you see, it could be a scent, perhaps of freshly baked bread wafting out of someone's house, or it could be the sound of the breeze slightly rustling the leaves in the trees, or the way the morning light catches one autumn leaf as it falls gently to the ground. Please look for these things, and cherish them. For, although it may sound trite to some, these things are the "stuff" of life. The little things we are put here on earth to enjoy. The things we often take for granted.
The class was completely quiet. We all picked up our books and filed out of the room silently. That afternoon, I noticed more things on my way home from school than I had that whole semester. Every once in a while, I think of that teacher and remember what an impression she made on all of us, and I try to appreciate all of those things that sometimes we all overlook.
Take notice of something special you see on your lunch hour today. Go barefoot. Or walk on the beach at sunset. Stop off on the way home tonight to get a double dip ice cream cone. For as we get older, it is not the things we did that we often regret, but the things we didn't do.

Quilting the Quilt

This month, our Charming Gals Club is focusing on quilting...so far this is what I have finished.   This one is Reveille, made with Barbara Brackman's Civil War Homefront.  I quilted it with straight line grid quilting and put a small ric-rak border around the edge.  I decided that these little quilts are the perfect thing to practice my machine quilting skills with.  For this one, I used YLI Invisible Nylon thread on the top and cotton on the bottom.  I think I like the silk finish threads better for the bobbin thread, and will try that on the next quilt. To mark the quilt, I used the Golden Threads paper, and I do like that because it is easy to see and comes off easily.  Last week I ordered a new packet of border designs from them, and I am anxious to give them a try. 

And here is a little charity strippy quilt that I practiced machine quilting on.  Once again, I used the nylon thread for the top thread.  For some of the designs I used a washable blue marker and some I used the Golden Threads paper.  It turned out better than I had imagined it would...practice helps!

Jack decided he needed to model the quilt for me.  He likes to play in my sewing room while I am sewing, just give him some crayons and paper and he is a happy little guy!

This morning, I went to Caleb's school for breakfast, and to visit his classroom.  It was fun to see meet his teacher and tour his classroom.  I am very blessed to be able to participate in activities like this!

Hope everyone is having a blessed day...off to make an apple walnut cake and a pie or two...the apple trees are FULL of apples this year!

Back to school!

I wish I could show something new that I have made recently, but it just has not happened!  Last Saturday and Sunday, I spent the day in a class taught by Harriet Hargrave.  She does amazing heirloom quilting on her Bernina...she is not a long-arm quilter.  I learned a lot.  That being said, she tossed out the idea that we would not be able to master the art of maching quilting unless we practiced for the next 6 months, and did not piece another quilt top.  It is very hard for me to stay focused, so maybe this will sharpen my skills at being more focused.  I tend to get caught up in making blocks and quilts, and have not got as many quilted as I would like.  I can do free-motion quilting, but I sometimes think I would like my quilts to look more hand-quilted.  There are a few tubs of quilt tops sitting in the closet...guess I should dig them out and see what I can accomplish!  It is hard for me to decide what design I want on the quilt, then to get it marked so that I cans see it!  Patience...focus...right?

It was back to school for Jordyn...cannot believe she is in the 1st grade!  I love the dress she chose to wear for the first day of school, and this is her first year of riding the school bus. 

She loved it...she is very social!

Caleb started Kindergarton this year.  He has decided that it is ok...he has his own desk and most importantly,  they get two recesses!

OK...off to mark a little quilt to get some practice work done. 

Can't imagine that I will put piecing aside for very long, what do you think?

Evian Roller Babies international version

Just had to share these adorable babies!

Wednesday WIPS

This is what I am working on...I did not get very far today, but I got all the blocks sewn and now I am trimming.  This is another Schnibble, Reveille, using Civil War Homefront.  It really is a nice, easy little quilt to make, I just haven't been able to get a lot of time in my sewing room!

Today, I went back-to-school shopping with Caleb.  Where has the summer gone?  And an even bigger question, how did my little guy get so grown up and will start kindergarton in 2 weeks?   Caleb spent the afternoon learning to play Blokus with me....one of my favorite games.  He is quickly getting the hang of it!

Last Friday evening, we went to a birthday party for our little grand-daughter, Jenna.  She turned 4, another one that is growing up quickly!

This weekend, we are going to "The Last Rodeo"....Brooks and Dunn concert, can't wait!