Garage sale find of the day!

Isn't this the cutest little thing?  I found one exactly like it at a garage sale today.  The lady had $5 on the sticker (which I thought was a good deal).  When I took it over to pay her she asked me if I wanted to pay $5 to which I responded "five or less".  She asked me if I would like to pay $4.  Sure!

I found a few other goodies too but this was the BEST!!

Bad news requires action.

I had a call from a dear friend who recently received a devastating diagnosis.  In the course of the conversation she expressed how she MUST make the most of every moment and was going to spend all the time she possibly could making memories with her family. 

That prompted us to thinking...why do we wait and what are we waiting for?  Making memories isn't about stuff, it's about actions.  Certainly we won't be making a trip to Disneyland with the grand kids but that doesn't prevent us from doing things they aren't likely to forget. 

Here are a few of the components that made up our memorable weekend...

Hand cranking ice cream

Quilt fort on the swing set

Gathering nature goodies

BBQ!!

Checking for faeries in the garden

Picking, pitting and making cherry pie

Snuggles and napping with Ratchet

 

Praying for my friend and committing to making the most of every opportunity to create memories with those we hold near and dear.

Progress happens...slow but sure

Sunshine time is finally here.  Yay! June.  Potted up my baskets weekend before last.  It was so funny to hear my son comment on this one, "Oh, a fairy garden"...he knows about fairy gardens?...lol

Eclectic combination of plants I found at Lowe's and Wilco.  Moss roses, dusty miller, verbena, cascading lobelia.  I planted a lot of moss roses in our early years in Nebraska.  I hope they do as well here.

 

I can hardly believe I have eight blocks finished on the Spirit of Sacagawea quilt.  It will be done before we know it.

Contemplating another fun stitching project.  The center colored flower is a peony.  Hoping to find time to stitch it out on the 17th.

Spirit of Sacagawea - Compass

I don't recall the name of this block.  For now I'll just call it Nest.  Finished it during our camping trip last weekend.  Looking forward to getting started on the next two blocks.

The awaited e-mail!!

 

 

Dear Laurel,

 

Congratulations! We are pleased to inform you that your entry, Ah-ha Moment, has been selected to be judged in the quilt competition at the Pacific West Quilt Show. Your quilt will be on display during the show at the Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center, August 23-25, 2013.

 

Your quilt will vie for one of 60 awards totaling more than $25,000 in cash and prizes. We extend our sincere congratulations to you as a Finalist!

Too much fun!

It started out as an exercise to get more comfortable with a different machine but it turned out really cool and I had such a good time.  So here's how I did it:

1.  Enlarged a page from one of my Dover books to fit but not exceed 18x22 (fat quarter size)

2.  On the light box, traced the enlargement using a brown Micron pigma pen.

3.  Traced one of the flowers onto a printed piece of fabric, trimmed around the outside lines and fused it on top of the appropriate spot.

4.  Loaded it on the long arm (not mine) and stitched out the design in brown (spiced tea, actually)...elapsed time, about 10 minutes.  Then stitched out the background and accents in another color.

5.  Done!!  I can't wait to do another one.  So many possibilities, limitless really.

 

A little free time...

What an awesome weekend...I am so tired!!  Our son and his three children arrived Friday evening, just in time for pizza.  My oldest granddaughter, Alexis (14), joined me Saturday morning for the annual trek to the cemeteries.  My parents, grandparents and father-in-law all passed away before she was born.  At each stop we had the opportunity to talk about what kind of people they were, how they impacted us, and funny stories and memories.  She had great questions and we had some good laughs...especially when she asked why there was only one date on the headstone for her great grandma when everyone else had two....think about it!

Kiddos these days are so into their phones and computers.  Needless to say, Jacob and Alexis were not thrilled when I brought out the dominoes.  Less than half way through the twelve rounds of Mexican Train they were into it.  Probably they were humoring me at first but I know they will have fond memories of the weekend.  Do any of us remember the joy of surfing the web or playing a video game?  I think not.

I managed a little free time (while they were occupied with Grandpa, doing yard work) to add some sashing to my Spirit of Sacagawea blocks.  I took a picture with my phone.  It isn't a smart phone and I'm not smart technically so it won't be shared here until I take my camera down to the studio....but I think the sashing looks great.

I also worked at adding a few things to our ages old rake and pitchfork.  I think these may have been our original garden tools of thirty years or more.  They both gave up the ghost this year and are now outdoor wall décor.  A little more to do here, just not sure what.

No excuses...

Quilt show is over, it was great!
I'm caught up on my quilting schedule.
Samples are finished for the class I'm teaching at Quilt Expo in September.
Quilt Market....so much fun...also over!

Back to the Spirit of Sacagawea blocks.  It's hard to believe we're nearly finished with eight of the twelve, time has gone so quickly.  Nancy has shared her beautiful blocks on her blog, I think they are absolutely wonderful, so cheery and bright...happy! 

So here are my Horses.  The photo is a little bland compared to 'real life'.  They'll look better once surrounded by sashing.  Still deciding what to use for that.  My stash might need some help :)

Finished my Mariner Compass block today.  Evidently I haven't taken a picture of my Crossed Canoes block...it's just two colors, brown and tan, not highly exciting.

Our sweet boy, Ratchet, turns two this week.  Happy birthday, buddy!