Happy Thanksgiving

Where does the time go? It seems to slip past me these days. And with Christmas just 4 weeks away, I know my plate will be overflowing. But, that is a good thing. I have done some online shopping and maybe I am odd, but I find joy in searching for the best prices, putting them in my cart and then waiting to see if the prices drop. LOL Today, one of them I finally decided to go ahead and check-out as I think the prices were going to get as low as they were going to. And if not, that is ok, some shopping is done. Oh, and FedEx brought one present today, so time to start hiding. LOL

I'm so thankful for all of my family and friends. Everyone touches my life in a unique way and I'm so grateful for them.

Wedding picture cd's are here. Just about done organizing and labeling them. Hopefully I will get them posted onto webshots in a day or two and then next week I will get pictures taken of how our Christmas comes along. This will be the last year we will have the kids all home for Christmas for some time, so I'm going to try to relax and enjoy this next month as much as I can. If they want something baked, I will bake it. If they want something decorated, I will decorate it. It is all about my family, and especially my kids this Christmas.

Glen, Rachel, Mike, Kelly and Brandon. Amber wasn't able to get off of work for the wedding. We are hoping to get a family photo on Thanksgiving.

Houston Quilt Festival

Oh, I've been sitting, green with envy, this whole past week. All these wonderful quilters have been in Houston for Market, which ended yesterday. Tomorrow starts off the International Quilt Festival. Oh, how I wish I were there!! Imagine, all that fabric, the gadgets, the designers... all that eye candy!! I am going to Overland Park, KS in May for MQS, a longarm convention. So, I keep telling myself right now that that is what I'm saving my $$ for. Ü

I have gotten caught up on my customers quilts. Ü I have several to do for friends as customer quilts do come in. They aren't talking to me much (the quilts, not the friends) so I'm not sure how to quilt them. In the meantime, I need to get back to making a baby quilt as the shower is coming up the end of the month.

Fall has arrived!! I love this time of year!! We had a drizzling mist the other night, had a sheet of ice on the car Saturday. Today Ricky Tims posted on Facebook that his new Christmas CD will be available soon. If you want to hear samples of the songs, here is the link. http://www.christmasinasmalltown.com/ I'm anxiouly waiting to hear when it will be released. The samples are really nice!!

Today is a perfect day for stew, homemade rolls and apple pie. So, this is short and sweet as I need to get busy. My house is going to smell so good in a couple of hours!!!

Happy Fall!!

Kelly

Fall is in the air

Those that know me, know I don't do well with the heat. I am so looking forward to Monday when the temps will be in the 60's! YAY!!

Last Friday, 3 of us drove up to Boulder, stopped at a couple quilt shops and stayed the night. On Saturday we attended 2 tapings for The Quilt Show. http://www.thequiltshow.com/ What a wonderful day that was! I wish I could post who the guests were, but until they are posted on their website, my lips must remain sealed. I always find inspiration when we go to a taping, even if the guests technique isn't something I personally would do.

Rachel left Monday morning for New York. She helped a friend drive there. Devin's husband is returning state side from Iraq soon and he will be stationed at Ft Drum. They got there in time to sign the lease Wednesday and had all yesterday to relax and enjoy one anothers company. She is now past security and will be bording here plane shortly. Glen and I will be going up to get her in Colorado Springs. On the way, must stop at Hobby Lobby in Pueblo and Joann's in Colorado Spgs. Ü

Our guilds quilt show is tomorrow. We had a really good write up on it in the paper Wednesday! There is also Airport Fun Days tomorrow with an old car show. I saw a few of the cars in the Holiday Inn parking lot a bit ago. I told Glen he HAS to go!! He has to take pics for me so I can "see" the cars too. Maybe I need to make him a drool bib? LOL

Rachel sent this picture to Glen this morning. Mostly for the Harley's, but isn't the scenery pretty too!? She said the leaves are changing and she took pics. I'm anxious to see them. Maybe there will be inspiration for a new quilt in them. Ü

Till next time, Happy Quilting!!

Kelly

Wedding quilt and Bridal Shower wallhanging

In March I posted a picture of the fabric for Rachel and Mike's wedding quilt, the pattern is "Trip Around The World". I finished it a few days before the wedding. Our guild's quilt show is Sept 19th so she told me to hang onto it until then or I may not get it back. LOL I really wish I would have thought to have had it hanging for her wedding reception.

Rachel wanted hearts for the quilting, so this is what I did. She loves it! It's a California King, so quite large. It will definitely keep them warm, wherever they are.

For Rachel's Bridal shower I made her a wallhanging. I'm hoping she will let me borrow it for the quilt show. Ü These are a couple projects I worked on for the wedding, more blogs to follow with more that I did.

The red and pink fabric Rachel picked out when we had gone to Coloado Springs in April to pick up her wedding gown. We had no idea what we were going to use it for, but they were her colors and the rose print added to it.

Where have the past few months gone? Ok, I'm not complaining because I don't like the summer heat and I'm really glad we are now in the second week of September. Our temps are still reaching the 90's, but I know these days will be fewer and fewer. It seems like just a few weeks ago it was still light out at 9 pm, and I noticed yesterday at 7:20 the sun was down. Fall is around the corner and I'm thrilled. Ü

We spent much of the summer preparing for Rachel's wedding. A friend came down from Denver to take photos for us and she brought another photography buddy with her. Vicki and Julie have the same model cameras and they took hundreds of pictures. Ü Vicki has sent us a teaser....

I am not working on customer quilts that had been put on the back burner starting a month before the wedding. I had a lot of quilting to do for the wedding and that kept me busy in itself. I did manage to get everything done that was planned, plus an extra one I threw in, and I was thrilled with that. But, the week after the wedding I had no motivation at all. I guess I used up all my energy up till the wedding. LOL I will try to update this often with photos of what I did for the weddding and what I have in the works the next few months.

I need to get down to work on a quilt now, so I will end this for today. Today is 09-09-09, I hope today brings you some kind of special memory. Remember today is a gift. Yesterday is gone, tomorrow isn't here yet, today is a present.

A break in the heat

The past 3 days have been unbearable with the temps in the mid 90's. But, today is a nice relief with the low 70's. I'm watching and big storm southwest of us, it's moving our direction. Hopefully it will disipate some before it gets to us as there are 1"-2" size hail stones right now.

It has taken me a couple of weeks to get back to quilting. I'm now working on things that have been in the works so I can get started on Rach's Trip Around the World. I think I will be able to start that next week. Hopefully between now and then I will be able to get some of the sewing room and quilt studio cleaned up a bit. It's so easy to get disorganized down there. For it, it's disorganized chaos, but it's getting to disorganized for me now.

Will post some pics in a few days of what I've been working on. I do need to make a new bag, I need something bright and cheery. Time to pull out the binder with those patterns and pick one. Might have to squeeze that in this weekend.

Happy Quilting,
Kelly

Sure am glad April is over

For 22 months I have worked part-time at Curves, on an as need basis. So, there were times when I didn't work for a month. That was no problem. Until this past month. Twelve days at 3 hours a day doesn't sound like much, but as soon as I closed up Curves at 1, I came to the shop until 5. So, by the time I got home and did something for dinner, I didn't want to quilt or anything else. I did manage to do a little crocheting and knitting in the evenings. Anyway, as of May 4, I am no longer employed with Curves. I now can hopefully get back to the quilting part of my life. Ü

Maybe I need to start a "to do" list of things that really need to get done in the next few months. With our daughter's wedding coming up in August, there is a lot that needs to get done. I have the fabric for her quilt, and it's been washed, but nothing else has been done. And I'm just ITCHING to start on it!! I have 2 customer quilts to get done first, so those will go on the top of the list I guess. Must work before I can play, even tho quilting is playing. Ü

Until next time, Happy Quilting

National Quilt Day

March 21 was National Quilt Day. With our local quilt guild, we meet on the second Saturday of the month and in March we designate that as our charity work day. Our wedding anniversay is March 22. This year Glen and I spent the weekend in Colorado Springs and I helped out a quilt shop there. I'd never been to Ruth's Stitchery before but had heard wonderful things about it. Well, I LOVED that shop! Not only was there a wide variety of fabrics, but also needlework patterns and supplies. And the ladies working there were so nice, so friendly, and very helpful.

Our daughter, Rachel, is getting married in August. Our guild is also having a challenge to make a Trip Around The World quilt for our local fairs and mainly for our fall quilt show. I thought we had Rach's quilt planned, but then I found a print at Ruth's that just screamed Rachel, so our plan has changed. Her quilt will be a Trip Around the World with the fabrics picked out last weekend. I told her if she didn't like it that was ok, I would keep it. Well, I've been told I won't get to keep this quilt. Ü In the next couple of days I will be washing these fabrics and will start cutting them. I'm anxious to see this quilt top done, to see how all the fabrics play together. The pattern book is Eleanor Burns Trip Around the World. She has another TATW book, but Rach wants it more a tradional pattern.

Until next time, Happy Quilting!!

Crocs - are they a fashion statement?

I guess this is the ponder for today. DD's workman's comp Dr told her this morning that he heard that Crocs is hurting financially and may not be around much longer. I have heard and read the same thing this afternoon online. On a yahoo group it has been a topic for conversation. So, my question is "are they a fashion statement"? I know in the past couple of years their styles have expanded from the clunky looking Beach crocs. Well, I for one am not worried about looking stylish. I'm 50 years old and am more intested in comfort than looking stylish. I own numerous Beach and Mary Jane crocs and seldom wear anything else. Even my mom has commented on how ugly they are. I appreciate her opinion, but I am more interested in my own comfort. It's like when someone comes to my home. I sure do hope they come to see me and not the disorganization I have right now. I would rather be quilting than cleaning and right now I'm making money with my quilting, so I see more advantage in quilting then cleaning. When I'm wearing my clogs, I hope others will see past my feet and what I have on them. So, there is my 2 cents worth of personal information for the day. Ü Kelly

Been a long non-winter

Life does seem to get by me these days. It is mid March and we never did have a winter here this year. My quilting has picked up and I'm loving my Nolting. It's a great joy to take a quilt top and return a quilt to it's owner. I either need to find more hours in a day or manage my time more efficiently. Since we know the first isn't going to happen, I need to work on the second. LOL I've still not gotten into the blog thing, except to blog once in a while on the quilt show ( www.thequiltshow.com ) But, I'm hoping to get better at this. I know a few quilters that post twice a week, and I think I could do that. It's all a matter of time and how we use it, right? Well, for now it is about time to go to my other job and I also need to get my tax information finalized for my tax gal. I really do hate this time of year. Spring is coming, the birds are singing in the mornings and the trees are showing hints of green. I'm not looking forward to summer and the heat, but I sure am looking forward to the colors of spring. Till next time, Kelly