Inspired by PINK!

I love this time of year, about a month after planting flowers, they are getting filled out and not getting that bedraggled look they get after a long hot summer. Here's a few from my yard...

Yeah! I got my hydrangeas to bloom, I just love them

Impatiens starting to fill in

Astilbe --such a soft looking flower

gerbera daisy--JoAnn's finest!  hahaha  these are in a metal pitcher in a place that is hard to get a hose, but yet I wanted color, so I cheated! It looks great from the road. I might have to re-think my planting next year and totally wipe out all that watering time. 

Inspired by the colors in my yard....I grabbed all my pinks, oranges, yellows and a bit of green here and there to make....

60 degree scrappy diamonds.  And then turned 40 of those into this.....

A baby quilt for some sweet little girl.  Next, I'm going to gather blues/greens for a boy quilt.  And my scrap pile is still as large as it's ever been! How on earth does that happen?

by the way, thanks to those who commented on giving me advice with my new Mac.  I'm loving it..I wish I could have unlimited time to sit and play with it. I've been spending a lot of time on it, but there is just so many hours in a day and too much to do. But I am making headway and learning something new each day and even teaching hubby a thing or two....

Sewing on samples

While I was in SC recently, I always pay a visit to my good friend, Pat who owns Quilter's Cottage in Garden City, SC. She was the former owner of Island Threads and decided that she really missed being in the quilt store business, even though she has a thriving long arm quilting business. I've made samples before for her and when I paid a visit to her, she mentioned that she really needed a quick sample made. So I carved out some time for her and made this cute little baby quilt.close ups of the monkeys...

Blog Action Day

First..on a 'quilty' note...this is for my new grandbaby, who is scheduled to arrive TOMORROW! I'll let you know all the details, but wanted to show the quilt I made for him/her this past weekend. I put Minkee on the back--ah, so soft! It's a bit hard to tell in the picture, but the middle pictures on the top and bottom rows, and the side panels on the middle row are made from chenille. Lots of fun colors and textures to stimulate a baby. :)

I'm joining in on Blog Action Day along with other Blogger's wanting to make a difference in our environment. I'm just one person, but I can make a difference in what "I" do. And the one thing that I had actively decided to do (starting this past summer) is to eliminate plastic bags and water bottles from my life. When San Francisco decided to ban plastic shopping bags, it made me start to think about not only the waste it creates, but the damage to the environment and animals. This quote is from Ecobags, "Starting with the simple step of bringing your own reusable bag to shop may seem trivial, but it creates a "mindset" that has a big impact on those who make that choice. Like anything, the more people who take this simple step, the more it seems like the natural and right thing to do." I went one step further and rather than buy MORE stuff, I decided to recycle all my canvas tote bags from the various quilt shows I've attended and a few others. I'm also making my own bags out of my old valances (I can't bear to part with anything! LOL I mean after all, it's still good fabric!) When I first started taking my 'bag full of bags' to the grocery store, I got some strange looks! Remember, I live in the Midwest. :) The baggers (usually young teenagers) kind of rolled their eyes at me, it makes their job a little tougher. After all, they just can't throw 1 or 2 things in a bag. They actually have to plan a little bit what type of groceries to put in each bag as not to squish anything. Remember the old days when a 'good bagger' was worth waiting in line for? Anyway, they are used to me now and I was so excited when I was shopping the other day, there were 3 other people with their own bags! I know it's such a small thing, but it really is true, once you make a simple step to start making a difference, it's easy to take other small steps too.

And water bottles! "using a premium reusable bottle like SIGG greatly helps reduce unnecessary environmental waste caused by plastic PET water bottles. Sadly, Americans add over 30 million plastic water bottles to our nation's landfills – everyday!
While not everyone is ready to purchase a hybrid vehicle, we believe every little bit helps. And thinking "reusable" instead of "disposable" is a great place to start. So, Rise Above Plastic – and consider the advantages of hydrating with a SIGG." although I have been using just the generic water bottles, these are so fun!

So, what are YOU doing to make a small difference in your corner of the world?

how time flies when you are having fun

Man, how does time get away so fast? In fact, my granddaughter was here last weekend with me and she was really sad at bedtime. She was crying and said that time always go too fast here! Catching up on things....playing and having fun with grandkids.....

This is Kai stuffing his pillow we made with his name on it. He spent a day and night with Nana, just us two....sewing, playing soccer, having a picnic at the park


working on my Quilt 24 Challenge Medallion....still painting....making baby quilts......and running my daughter to and from work for 2 weeks while hubby is out of town--it takes 2 hours out of my day--OUCH! But he's home now and I can have those hours back!
This is my Quilt 24 Challenge Medallion--as I had sketched out on paper. It sure looked better on paper! After playing with it, I changed the leaves on the vine to become flowers and added 2 more borders...I'm a little happier with it now. Since I'm using feedsack repros--I thought I would make more traditional style quilts, but with a little contemporary twist to them. In this case, I would make the medallion OFF-center. And fortunately I had cut too many squares for another quilt, so I added the extras as a border.

"Funky Monkey" quilt for my youngest grandson. He just loves monkeys and SOFT fleece blankets, so I put Minkee on the back of this. I gave it to him and we put it on the floor with the Minkee side up and he kept putting his forehead on it, sliding along and then rolling over...looked like a little kitty!

A baby with no quilt!

Right before Christmas, like on the 21st, my 6 year old granddaughter was with me when I made a run to the quilt store to pick up a quilt. While I was talking with the owner, she perused all the fabrics. Of course, she found some that she just HAD to have--at home, no less! And then, she got really excited--"Nana--come here quick!" I ran over there and she stood in front of a baby quilt and had a bolt of fabric in her hand that was the backing fabric. She went on to tell me about her new little baby cousin (on the other side of the family) and she DIDN'T have a quilt! Can you imagine? She reminded me that she helped me make a quilt for her cousin earlier this year (my grandson) and that we really, really needed to make baby Meghan a quilt. What's a Nana to say? Of course we bought enough for a backing. I was sure that I had fabric somewhere to come up with a top! ;) Of course that meant she had to come home with me and help me put this quilt together. She was going to visit the baby on the 23rd and we had no time to spare!
She helped me choose a few embroidery designs and the colors she wanted to use. She laid out the quilt all by herself, as usual. I suggested that maybe she spread out her yellows a bit more and she looked at me and said, "Don't you see the pattern I made with the yellows?" Oh, okay! :) I love that independence in her! I hope she keeps it. Staying true to what you believe in.

We sewed much later than she should have been up, but we were pushing the clock! I got up at 3:30 AM because I couldn't sleep, and ended up getting it quilted. So when she woke up, all she had to do was make the label and snip the extra threads for me. It was cute, she made her name really big on her homemade label and wanted to put it right on front, because she wanted everyone to know who made it! Not a modest bone in her! And she made it home on time by 10 AM! Whew--and I thought I cut things close!

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Gratitudes:
1. a fun granddaughter that loves to quilt!
2. a new project in the making (shh, it's a secret still)
3. dinner from the freezer (yeah, no cooking tonight!)
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