Relaxing Weekend

Hello and happy week-end! I am so glad this week is over .. sometimes it feels like the short work-weeks last longer than the regular ones!

This is the hubster's weekend to work so not a whole lot going on ... going out to dinner with the neighbors and while at the store yesterday bought a bottle of wine ... sounds like a good evening!

So i just made a chocolate cake and some homemade chocolate frosting for hubby to take to work tonight and while i was rinsing the dishes the most wonderful smell of rain came thru the kitchen window so i decided i'd do a lil post with some fall stuff.

Last night i dug out my fall quilt and threw it over the couch...it doesn't really match the curtains now, so i'm thinkin it's time for some different curtains for the seasons ;o) This morning i've been working on making some pinwheel blocks using the below fabrics...i'm testing out the way Vickie makes them in THIS tutorial before i do them in a large quilt which i plan to give as a gift. The tutorial says something about leaving bias edges so i figured i better make sure i know what i'm doing. This will probably be just a table topper or small throw.

When it comes to running out of bobbin thread, it NEVER fails to happen at the worst time for me! But check this out ... this is what was left when i finished one of my squares ... WHEW!

Have a great weekend!

My Year of Schnibbles....

The Year of Schnibbles was awesome! Thank you so much Sinta and and Sherri for coordinating our year of schnibbles....it was fun....we all ended up with great schnibs...and it was great to see what everyone did theirs in. You guys are fabulous!!! ,P.

So here is my Year of Schnibbles...

This is September 2009's Winter White. I did it in Frosted Memories...it will be perfect for Christmas!

October 2009's Cindy Lou Who done in some miscellaneous fabric that looks great together...much prettier in person ... pictures don't do it justice...

November 2009's Picnic ... this pattern was very trying for me because i just wasn't diggin in ... i did it in scraps of bright colors and feel it turned out ok...

December 2009's Tuffet ... LOVE IT!!! these were all pin cushions and i decided to 'super-size' mine. I made it out of scraps from my nephew's quilt so it's a big pillow for Matthew's bed...it's awesome!

January 2010's Madeline done in Rouenneries by French General...i love this schnibble...the fabric is so pretty and i love the pattern!

February 2010's Sunday Best ... done in red and blue scraps and it is so cute! I think this may be the first thing I've done in red, white and blue, but not for long ... i'm on a roll now!

March 2010's Roundabout ... liked the pattern ... loved the fabric ... had a difficult time ... i used the fabric for another quilt that i ended up taking apart so it made it more difficult to re-use the fabric, but i did and i made it bigger than the sample so i'm happy with it...

April 2010's Tagalong ... the pattern is adorable ... didn't care for the fabric, but would definitely make this again using different colors...

May 2010's McGuffey ... this was our choice and i picked this pattern because i had just made a large version of this quilt for my living room...i did it in scraps from the Kansas Troubles quilt i made for hubby ... i just love this fabric and this looks great on my husbands table next to his chair and quilt!!!

June 2010's State Fair ... made out of scraps from my large version of McGuffey ... the fabric was In The Pink II and i LOVE this schnibble...the pattern was fun and i love the look of this in my living room...

July 2010's Joy Luck ... done in Blush ... i bought this fabric VERY impulsively and afterwards i thought i'd never use it and i would end up giving it away, but then when i did Joy Luck in it ... i just love the softness of it and am so glad i made this purchase...thanks Kristin!

And finally ... August 2010's Plan C ... done in Zippity Doo Dah ... love the colors ... love things with stars and glad i made it thru the year of schnibbles completing every month ... on time ... and have a great assortment of table toppers for my home!!

Again, thank you so much Sinta and Sherri for all you have done ... you guys Rock!

August Schnibble ... DONE

Hello! Hope everyone had a great weekend! I so can't believe it is over!

I'm not sure where the month of August went because up until this morning all I had done on my schnibble was make my flying geese and the 4 patches ... then it sat on the kitchen table waiting to be completed...so this morning i squared up the flying geese and the four patches, assembled the center, then cut and made the border...I love how it turned out and I'm glad i used the border the pattern called for rather than a solid border. I selected the pattern Plan C and used Zippity Doo Dah for my schnibble. Hope you have a great week!!!

Happy Birthday Michael!

Hi Everyone! Well today was Michael's birthday! I feel like such a horrible aunt right now ... i worked 12 hours today and never even got a chance to call Michael and wish him a happy birthday! But ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHAEL! I will definitely be calling him tomorrow! Glad I got to spend a day with him last week shopping!!

So here are some pictures of Michael when he was still a little guy ... gosh, i hate that they grow up!

Just a happy boy in my exersaucer...

Trick or treatin with my my brothers ... that is Alex next to him ...

Michael's first birthday spent at the lake ...

My first birthday floatin in the lake ... what a life ...

Life is good....

Look at me ... I'm a happy baby :O)

Once again ... all smiles ...

Gosh are you cute Michael!

My brothers first day of school a few years back ... but i'm ready to go too ...

I hope you had a wonderful birthday Michael !!! Love you Bunches!!! Sahsan & Uncle Dave

Peaches ... YUM!

It's been pretty quiet around here this week with not much sewing happening ... i did make some flying geese for my schnibble, but that's about it.

Last weekend we went to a big flea market and they always have great produce vendors there so i bought these.... Added a bit of sugar, lemon juice and pectin....

and made this .... peach jam ... yum! It is so gooey and sweet ... i think i'm heading to the store this evening for some vanilla ice cream ... i'm thinking this will be the perfect topping!

So hubby stopped at a local country market today and picked these up ... they are going in the freezer so i can make some more jam this winter :O)

Hope you are having a great week! Mine is flying by as i've been very busy at work so i haven't done much of anything else...but this weekend hubby works so my plan is to get my schinbble done, especially since the end of the month is next Tuesday ... UGH!!!

Where has August Gone!

Hello! How have you been? I'm not sure where the month of August has gone, but I can't believe it is more than half over and and I have done about no sewing!

One evening i cut out my fabric for my schnibble and the next started to sew together some pieces, and here is how they looked ....

So after messing with my machine for about an hour i gave up and went back to it later ... messed with it some more and she finally worked perfectly ... i keep telling my husband this is why i need a nice bernina or pfaff or any one of those nice big fancy machines ... i just haven't convinced him that they are worth the $$$$ ... but i'm still working on him!

So here is the fabric i am doing my August Schnibble in ... it is Zippity Doo Dah and I love this fabric ... i've had it for some time and decided Plan C is the perfect project for it!

So last week I took my youngest Nephew Michael out to lunch at Graffiti Burger and shopping for his birthday. While I was in Columbus I decided I needed to stop by Red Rooster Quilts just to browse ... no plans on buying ... but i just couldn't pass up this fabric ... how adorable is this?!?!?! I have nothing Halloween but decided this would make a cute table topper ... the yellow stars and the mouth and eyes on the bats glow in the dark! I can't wait to whip something up with this ... who knows, it may be just pinwheels, but i think it's adorable!

If you don't have this book, you definitely need to get it. I LOVE THIS BOOK! It has so many cute patterns and i can't wait to make a few larger quilts to go with all my schnibs!

And finally ... this ... i came across this pattern in the Better Homes and Garden Quilt Sampler Spring/Summer 2010 issue ... it's called Perfect Harmony and i think it will look awesome in my kitchen once i get it painted. I'm going to do the walls in a deeper tan color and paint my chair rail a deep barn red ... and i think will go perfectly! I'm going shopping in Amish country with my cousin in September so that will be the time for me to shop for fabrics....

So ... i've been up to absolutely nothing, no sewing, not much shopping, just lots of working and a bit of house cleaning ... but hopefully this week i'll be able to knock out some of my schnibble and have some pictures to post.

Until then I hope you have a wonderful week ;O)

My Poor Tree

My poor tree ... let me tell you a story ... i'll make it short.

When we moved in our house 18 years ago, there was one small shrub up against our house and my husband tied a rope to it, tied the rope to the back of his truck and removed the shrub ... so for years i kept saying i wanted a tree and i wanted shrubs ... and after enough nagging, we planted 3 shrubs, a pine tree and my flowering tree ... well i think my flowering tree is going to die...from the weight of the branches, the left side of the tree is touching the ground and there is a crack down the middle of the trunk ... hubby said he stuck his hand in the truck because there is a hole in it now :O)

So here's a picture of my pretty tree in bloom and i'm hoping she makes it ...

I planned to do so much sewing this weekend but really haven't done much ... i put a stocking quilt together, but decided i don't like how the sashing lined up, so i'm going to take that apart and try to fix it and i was going to put binding on 3 quilts/toppers and haven't done any of that ... hope you are having a better sewing weekend than I.

Joy Luck Schnibble Done

Woo Hoo ... my July schnibble is done! I wasn't planning on finishing it tonight, i had planned on working on it tonight and tomorrow night, but it went so smoothly tonight that i just finished it. I absolutely LOVE the way the border on this pattern is done .. the rails are so cute!

I did my schnibble in Blush by Moda and i love the colors ... it will look great in our living room. I think next time i go fabric shopping ... if i come across some yardage of this line i'll definitely have to purchase some for a bigger quilt ... it's so pretty!

Well now i'm off to bed and tomorrow night i'm going to work on some more stocking blocks for my stocking quilt and i want to make a few stocking runners as gifts for a few girlfriends....have a great week everyone!

Cough ... Sniffle Sniffle ... Ah-Choo!

It's been a crazy week around here! Who gets a cold in July?!?! Well I just happen to be the lucky person :O) It started last Saturday ... i hit the wall with it on Wednesday and spent the day in bed ... and today i'm feeling great ... still a bit congested, but i can handle that! So that means no sewing has been happening around here...I have my schnibble cut out and ready to get sewn, so hopefully i can work on that Monday and Tuesday when Dave is working.

It has been so hot this week ... 96 degrees with a heat index of 106 ... i could sure go for some of this right now (don't think hubby was too excited about it at that time) ....

Have a great weekend!!!

Travel Pillow Cases

Hope you are having a great week! I haven't done much sewing this week because my 'real job' has become crazy busy ... tis the season ... but i did get a chance to make 2 travel pillow cases for my SIL's niece and nephew. Jack likes fish and Kate is girly so I hope they enjoy them :O) It's hard to see but Kate's pillow case has flip-flops on it and they are bright fun colors. Have a great day!

Strawberry Jam ... YUM

It's been a few years since I've made any strawberry jam so this year i decided to make some and am so glad i did! I made a batch in early June and by the time I shared it with friends and family it's about gone! Since I'm going to see my brother and his family this weekend I decided to make another batch so i can send a bunch home with them since they have 3 boys ... and i'm sure go thru lots of PB&J sammies.

This batched turned out very yummy like my first batch, but just a tad thicker ... buy it's still soooo good!!!

SO...7 cups of sugar...

Plus my strawberries and pectin...

made this yummy stuff ..... mmmmm ....

I have enough strawberries in the freezer to make one more batch of jam and am hoping i don't have to do that until at least January.

By the way ... if you are doing the Year of Schnibbles, how is your July Schnibble coming? I haven't even started mine but i think i'm going to do it in the fabric line Blush!

Have a great Day!