Playing Catch-up

So much has been going on these days - from the big to the small. In the big category one of our two boys graduated this week. I'm so proud of him! He has worked his behind off for this day. Yes, these are my boys, and long story short they just came into our lives a pre-grown so to speak! :) Aren't they cute?... ahem, I mean "handsome"... nah... CUTE!

Also, our Peonies are in bloom! I just love them and they are my favorite flower in the yard. The owners of the house before us lived here for at very long time and left us these beauties. They are so large and heavy that they just plop right down to the ground once they bloom - so we cut them and bring them inside to enjoy. That quilt behind the flowers is the first oneI ever designed and got me on my way to becoming a quilt designer. It's a fixture in our house, not only because I made it, but honestly it's one of my few quilts that has a hanger on the back!


Cars are a big part of our life - my husband is a lifelong car junkie and now restores them for a living. He recently acquired this beautiful 1964 VW Notchback (a pretty rare find) for FREE!!! A nice man had to move quickly for a job and wanted it to go to a good home. Well he found one! So my husband is restoring it for me... I tried to convince him to paint it a very girly, but tasteful mind you, pink. He was having none of that. How about Robin's Egg Blue? I'm even considering making custom door panels for it in a cute blue and yellow plaid. The girl mobile rides! Well someday.

Well, that's it for me now - sort of! Lots of quilts in progress that will be posted here soon. Later gators...

The Tao of Needleturn

Wow - besides a persistent cough and a froggy throat I'm back to "normal". Well, whatever is normal for me... ;) I sound like I've been smoking all my life - A voice we affectionaly call the "Weezy Jefferson" at home.

So, being the glutten for punishment that I am, I decided a while back to design this appliqued quilt that I have been particularly enamored with. Bunnies, berries, pinwheels - the whole nine yards. Then I decided that this quilt could only be done with needleturn - HAH! Each of the five appliqued blocks has 12 teeny berries on it - a total of 60 berries, and I haven't even gotten to the full on, balls-to-the-wall appliqued border yet. To top things off and to torture myself further, I got a bee in my bonnet about sewing this berries by hand rather than using my nifty little heat resistent "perfect circle" notions. My reasoning... I should be able to sew a darned circle by hand darnnit.

Well, drum roll please, I appliqued on the last of the sixty berries last night and in the process I acquired the trademark callus on my left middle finger.. Hmmm... not a callus from flipping the darned blocks off each time my circles turned out lopsided or flat on one side. While tempted to correct some of the more strangely shaped pieces I have decided for the moment that they add "character". That's quilters code for "SCREW THAT!".

I'll post some pictures of it when I can stand to look the blocks in the eye again. :)