What's been going on.

Show and Tell at the Quilt Guild Thursday night was great. These ladies are modeling jackets they made at last months workshop.

These are sweatshirts embellished with prairie points.

Memorial Day weekend was fabulous. Family came over Sunday and we barbequed, swam, and sat around talking and relaxing. It was a beautiful day. Baby Joey had the best time in the water with his Dad. The handsome guy in the picture is my #1 grandson with his dog Jelly. What's better than Fun, Food, and Family?

The month of May is coming to an end and it’s time to set goals for June. I finally received the final Block Party block kit from Calico Cat. I will get the quilt pieced this month and then I’m going to find somebody to quilt it. I want the quilting to be special like the fabrics and blocks. I’m also finishing up a special baby quilt for a friend. I’ll post a picture when it’s done, which should be in two weeks.

I’ve been quilting on my Sisters Twister quilt. I had about ¼ of it quilted and realized the thread tension was off and I had to rip it out and start over. I will finish that quilt in June too.
My BFF (sister-in-law from Oregon) will be here on the 4th to attend a family wedding. I’m taking the 5th off so we can play with fabric and plan my future in Oregon. She is co-owner of Sonja's Sewing Basket in Sutherlin Oregon. The plan is to join the partnership.

Wishing you God's peace. Have a wonderful weekend.

Blessed Event

Congratulations go to my friend and co-worker Renee as she welcomes the arrival of her first grandchild, Ella Shea. As special as every child is, there is something almost magical about your first grandchild. As many of us spent a great deal of time today hovering over Renee's desk waiting for that special call, many of us were remembering the arrival of our first grandchild. Ella Shea weighed in at 9lbs 12 oz. She is an amazing gift of God. Welcome Baby Ella.

Congratulations to Mom, Dad and all the other family members too.

Marvelous Monday

It was a marvelous Monday because I had the day off. It was a bit windy but in the 80’s and I sat with my feet in the pool and started reading a book that I’ve want to read for the past year. The birds were singing and I could hear a cricket off in the distance. There is a gardenia bush in the corner of the yard and the fragrance was captivating. It brought back memories of a trip my husband and I took to Maui and a State park we walked through that had fragranced flowers everywhere. There were pools of water filled by water falls. Back to reality, the book I mentioned is, Philip Yancey’s Finding God in Unexpected Places. I also found time to piece some quilt blocks. This was truly a blessed day in so many ways.

So here is the update on what’s been going on. I finished my cake decorating class. Here is a picture of the cake I did. There are more techniques I want to learn but I think I will wait a month before starting up again.

The wedding shower was fabulous. The lunch was good and the Kate got a lot of nice gifts. I had a great time and I really like Kate. My niece and her daughter did a wonderful job putting the shower together and it was held in a spectacular old private home. I think somebody said it was built in the early 1800’s. Here is two views of the front entrance.

It had rained during the day and everything was clean and fresh looking. I love the rain so it really made everything special. I'm not sure everybody felt the same.

This is a picture of the grooms grandmothers, the bride to be, her mother and the grooms mother.

I’m still waiting on a block for my Patch Work Party quilt but I started a baby quilt for a friend. I picked up some great quilt fabric at Quilter’s Quarters at 50% off and did some catching up. I haven’t been in the store for a few months due to my pledge to use up some of my stash before buying more fabric. Oh like that's going to happen. With our 9% sales tax I can't afford to buy a lot of fabric to store. I consider this purchase a very small relapse since the fabric was half price. The staff at the quilt store are great and I miss not seeing them regularly.

Mother’s day started at church where an omelet brunch was served after the service. How special was that? I got a great card from Brit, Brook, and Bree and a beautiful wind chime to hang in my kitchen window. Tami picked up some Christian music for me and we barbequed, which meant less mess in the kitchen. I hope you all had a wonderful Mother’s day too.

Until next time, wishing you God’s blessings.

Wednesday Weigh In

Yahoo, I’m down 2 pounds this week. I feel good and I feel motivated. That’s so much better than .2 or .4, wouldn’t you agree? I gotta tell ya, I was a bit surprised because I did indulge in a bottle of beer and some deep fried asparagus on Sunday, and Tuesday we went to Outback for lunch. I ate half of a prime rib sandwich and took the other half home to my Hubby.

I made this penguin cake for a lady at work that got laid off. She works 600 hours a year and is laid off until July when the new fiscal year starts. That schedule sure would work well in my life but not my pocket book. She loves penguins and her cubicle has penguins everywhere. She was tickled with her cake and before she cut it she carefully peeled the penguins off and stuck them on a plate to save.

I’m also working on 30 fondant roses for a cake I’m making for Thursday. Here is a picture of the roses. They aren’t hard to make, just time consuming. I will post a picture of the finished cake.

So, let’s recap the week. I worked on fondant roses, attended an eBay class at the junior college on Saturday and stopped by my nephew’s and showed is girl friend how to burn a CD, volunteered at the Asparagus Festival on Sunday and made more roses, went to the Social Security Office with hubby, made and decorated a going away cake, and made more fondant roses on Monday. There was no quilting done all week because I had to work, and that is a sad thing.

Saturday I got one of the three Patch Work Party blocks I’ve been waiting for. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to quilt. After this week I will have time to start working on my quilt again. Looks like I won’t have it finished in April.

This Saturday I’m off to Manteca for a wedding shower. I haven’t been to a shower in years. This is my hubby’s side of the family and It’s been a long time since I’ve seen everybody. I’ve never meet the bride to be so that will be fun. She is marrying our great nephew, who is such a sweetie. I have their engagement picture and they are a cute couple.

I have more roses to make and two cakes to frost so until next time I pray your days are blessed.

Wednesday Weigh In

Yippee, I’m down .2 and what do they say? It’s better then a gain. I’m not feeling too successful right now. I’m going to get out my week one book and start at the beginning. I’m going to stop focusing on my “STEPS” walked and try some cardio. I’ll let you know next week how that went.

I’m waiting for three more Patch Work Party blocks. This is a first ever for me. I ordered my blocks when the party began and two of the shops are out of fabric. This gig must be getting very popular or somebody under estimated when they were ordering. These are the nine blocks I’ve completed. I love this fabric. I have them hanging on my design wall to admire.

This is a picture of my fall 2007 Patch Work Party quilt. I really like this one too but, because of Missy it’s better not to focus on dark colors, if you get my drift. I'm showing this off at a Guild meeting. That's my friend Jan holding up the right side and no, I'm not a midget, I'm holding up the left. It's the angle of the camera. Trust me on this.

Now, for Grandma’s bragging rights. This is a photo of three of our granddaughters. This is Brit, Brooke, and Breezy. Aren’t they the most beautiful girls you’ve ever seen? This is their Easter picture. There Mommy is so great about getting pictures taken for every occasion.

Now for the up turn on the economic down turn. There are rumors going around that the county is going to offer the “Golden Hand Shake”. One rumor is they are offering two years of service and two years age. If that happens, there will definitely be a career change for me in the very near future. How is that for redefined?

Film at Eleven.

Have a blessed day.

Fun Weekend

Saturday I got Joey's birthday cake made but not without a bit of disappointment. I was mixing color trying to get a nice true red. I used three different brands of coloring and couldn't make it happen, so his blue and red train is blue.

It was windy in the park but if you were in the sun it was very comfortable. I spent most of the afternoon chasing Joey as he was not going to stay in one place for more than 30 seconds. When it was time to open his presents he was happy with the first and had to be persuaded to open the next. Then it was time for the cake and the traditional birthday song. He covered his ears when we sang Happy Birthday and when that was over he wanted to play with the candle on his cake, until he got a taste of the frosting. I had forgotten how fun a two year old could be.

On Sunday my brother and his wife joined us for Easter services and breakfast at IHop. We and a relaxing breakfast and visit. Traditionally I have a truck load of family over for barbecue and socializing but since we had spent Saturday together for Joey's birthday I guess the family thought they had enough of each other, which was okay with me. I was ready for some R & R.

I finished two more Patchwork Party blocks and got some disappointing news from Suzanne's Quilt Shop and The Calico Cat. They ran out of fabric and are waiting for a shipment so I have to wait for my block kits. I was hoping to finish this beauty before the end of the month but that might not happen. I have the seven completed blocks up on my design wall to admire. I'm looking forward to this finished quilt.

Wishing you a blessed day.

So Much To Do and So Little Time

Here are four of my completed Patchwork Party blocks. Aren’t they pretty? I have the other eight blocks ordered and I’m anxious to get them so I can get started. If I do one block a day and finish my setting blocks in three days, assemble and add my boarders in one day, I can have this quilt top pieced by the end of April.

April is a busy month but I enjoy the challenge. The 11th I’m making my great-nephew’s birthday cake and attending his 2nd birthday party. On Thursday nights I’m attending an advanced cake decorating class. Then on the 25th I’m taking a class on using and signing up on eBay and PayPal.

The 22nd starts a new Bible Study at church. We are going to study 1st Peter.

I’m working the 26th at the Stockton Asparagus festival. Our church receives money for our volunteer hours worked. The other perks is free admission and a meal ticket. They have the greatest food and I guarantee you, I won’t be worrying abut my .7 or what ever. It’s only once a year and the way the economy is going who know how long this function will be around.

It’s Wednesday weigh-in and woohoo, .7 loss. If you don’t scream and shout and jump up and down you are reminded that it’s better than a gain and they are right. I will take responsibility for a .7 loss because I didn’t faithfully measure and weigh everything. I think I need some cardio in my life too. As I redefine my life, weighing, measuring, and journaling must become a part of my life.

A lady in our WW group said she read an article and at the end it instructed her to make a list of everybody in her life that is important to her. After her list was completed the article asked if her name is on the list. That was an ahha moment for everybody, including me.

Our Pretty in Pink Walk Across American Team are almost at Denver. As of today we have walked 2,450,239 steps. We are on the third day in the fourth week. This is a 10 week commitment. Yeaa!!!

Wishing you God's blessing.