My Grandson.

My Grandson Rhys, born July 6th.  Been keeping me really busy with baby sitting and making quilts and knitting blankets for him.  What a bundle of joy.  Most of my pictures of him are on my IPad and I couldn't seem to post the IPad pictures to blog.  Will have to figure it out. 

Some New Quilting and Cameron's Birthday

Cameron and Nikki are expecting a baby in June.  My first grandchild!  I made Cameron a large lap quilt for his Birthday, started last fall and when I found out about the baby, I made a baby lap quilt to go along with it.  He and Nikki were thrilled with the results.  My new grandbaby will never be cold lol.

I have also been finishing an embroidery that I started last Easter.  The cutest little rabbit pulling a cart with a baby chick in it.  It is from the Red Brolly web site.

Christmas stitching

I managed to get quite a few little projects done for Christmas. about 7 table runners and 4 little rug mugs.  One of the rug mugs I had a mug to match, so it made a cute gift.

This is the rug mug I made for Gail and I gave her a mug that had the Christmas 

                                                           writing on it

These two went to my brother and his wife and my Aunt and Uncle in Germany

10 minute table runners

This rug mug was made for my friend Catherine

These two are for Arnie and I

The

Catch up

I am playing catch up here and using my I pad to create these blog entries.  I'm not sure that I like doing it this way, I had a pretty neat system set up on my PC but the PC was reformatted  and I couldn't do my pictures the same way so I started doing my entries on a Mac. Well bear with me, if anyone even reads my blog.  So I will try to get some pictures on here.

I had 2 big zucchinis left I my garden so I made loafs and muffins.  Some of the loafs had raisins and cocoanut, some had orange and cranberries and some had chocolate chips and dried cherries.

I cooked a couple of small pumpkins and made pumpkin butter.  It's tasty on an English muffin.

Making a leaf bowl

these are the items you need.

Silk leaves from the dollar store, mod pudge, balloon, foam brush, tray to put mod pudge in, pot to set balloon in.

Cover balloon with mod pudge and apply leaves, covering them with mod podge and layering more over them. Let it dry for at least 8 to10 hours.   It will shrivel up a bit but that adds to the charm.  When it's dry pop the balloon.  The balloon will come away easily.

Finished leaf bowl

Baby quilts

A little girl that hubby and I have known for about 18 years (since she was in kindergarten with our youngest son) had a little baby boy recently.  I made her a really cute and easy pinwheel quilt.  I chose bright colours because that is the kind of person she is.  Bright and sassy!

I've also finished a little pink quilt that I started last year.  I saw this technique of sewing 4 strips together and then cutting them apart and inserting a strip into it on the Quilt Show site.

Won a basket

Back in April, my hubby took me out to the Boundary Bay Quilt guild show in Ladner.  They had a great show, lots of talent.  My hubby met up with an old buddy who's wife was also a quilter so he had some one to talk to while I was wandering around the show.  They had a raffle quilt basket and I won it.  It contained fabric, patterns, books, thread, rulers and all sorts of other fun things.

Birds in the Air

This is my Birds in the Air quilt that is finally finished.  I won the 8 of the blocks in 2003 in a block raffle from an online quilt guild.  I sewed the other 8 blocks in 2004 and then finished up the borders in 2005.  I then put it away until 2013 when I finally finished it.  When I started making it I had a queen sized bed, which it would have fit nicely, but now I have a king sized, so it is living nicely at the bottom of the bed.

My recent quilting

I haven't posted for a long time.  Trying to get used to doing things on a Mac.  Much different than my PC. PC is easier

This was made as a Christmas present for my daughter Nicole.  She collects nutcrackers.

A placemat and coaster for my Auntie

A rug and rug mug for my secret pal at Tops

A 10 year old UFO that is finally finished.  The name of the block is Birds in the Air.

Here are some of my latest quilt creations.

Hubby and I going to the Christmas Party

Christmas Party

Hubby and I were invited to his company Christmas Party.  As he changed jobs this year, it was the first one we had been to in 20 years.  I had to go shopping for an outfit which was so stressful because I have lost 60 pounds in the last 4 years and had no idea what size I was.  Pleasantly surprised to find out that I am a 13 when I used to be a 2X .  I am so used to shopping in the plus size area, so I was completely out of my comfort zone.  I kept trying on clothes that were too big.  I was ready to call it quits and just stay home from the party.  Can you believe that shopping would be so much work!.  What should have been fun, wound up being hell.  I finally found this jacket and top, with black pants, and I must say I looked very nice. 

What I've been doing lately

Place mat made for a charity

 Still not 100% back to normal, but plugging along trying to do some sewing. The placemat was made from leftovers from my son's birthday quilt.

Parrot made from a mystery on Paper Panache web site

Witch also made by paper piecing

Busy summer

Arnie and I at Milestones Restaurant

Stephen and Briar

Briar and Me

Arnie with Briar and Stephen

It has been a busy summer.  We had our dear friends Briar and Stephen from Ontario staying with us, I had lots of Doctors appointments and tests, we had four family birthdays, a wedding and I did lots of quilting.

Yellow baby quilt

I made this quilt for my friend Sandra's next grandchild who hasn't been born yet, but yellow will do for a girl or boy.

Her daughter in law is crazy about yellow and wore yellow shoes with her wedding dress, so I know she will love it.  It was a very easy pattern but turned out quite striking.  At least I think so!

Sewing projects

I have done a few little projects lately.  Waiting for heart tests to be done and just feeling tired most of the time I haven't felt like posting but here are some potholders and a rug mug made for my friend Sandra's Birthday.

Michael's Birthday

Snow ball and nine patch quilt I made Michael for his Birthday

Still a kid at heart

Michael and Troy

We had a very small family gathering for Michael on his Birthday this year.  Because I have been ill and he didn't want me to go to much fuss we just made dinner for Michael and Troy and Jimmy.  It was a nice little party and he loved the quilt I made him.  I can't believe that he is 23!

Cherry Blossom Festival

Around this time of the year Vancouver, the place I grew up celebrates the Cherry Blossom Festival.  Vancouver has many Japanese Cherry trees and this time of the year many neighbourhoods in Vancouver look like fairy land.  I lived on a street where, when the trees were in bloom all you could see for blocks was pink clouds.  This picture is not my street, but that is what it looked like, even prettier. So as a homage to all that is Cherry Blossom, I did this little postcard for my daughter.  She is always making me postcards and as it was Easter and she has been really helping me out while I have been sick, I thought this would be cute for her.  She is truly an angel.

Nicole's Valentine

Love is in the Air

I made a cute wall hanging for my dear daughter Nicole for Valentines Day.  I thought it would be adorable in her apartment.  Her apartment is so girly and it fits right in.  The pink background fabric on which the heart sits is fabric from a flower girl dress that Nicole wore to my cousin's daughters wedding.  The pattern is from the Pat Sloan web site.

Baby quilt

This quilt is for a special friend of the family.  She is an RCMP officer and her husband is a Fireman. They are both special people for protecting our community.  And their baby Matthew is darn cute!  I originally put the quilt together and thought it was a little bland.  So I added a teddy bear in blue and yellow and did the binding with the same blue and I think it really jazzes it up.  The teddy bear came from the site Fat Cat Patterns.  She has the cutest applique patterns. And they are free!

Happy Valentines

My guild was having a guest speaker for Valentines Day, a fellow named Paul who makes modern quilts.  I have been looking forward to his presentation since September, but unfortunately I have had a virus and didn't want to spread to to my quilting friends.  So I had to give it a miss.  My hubby took me out for a fast Vietnamese dinner and it was very good. I had salad rolls, which I always enjoy and a soup which was a little bland and deep fried wontons and they were yummy.  He also gave me a dozen beautiful white roses.

Sometimes called "the flower of light", one of the meanings of white roses is everlasting love - love stronger than death, an eternal love, undying and all sustaining. White rose speaks of a love that is sustained more by loyalty, reverence and humility than by red-blooded passion. So, in its capacity to worship someone till death, the meaning of a white rose is unchanging loyalty that endures beyond all else.