A little Christmas Joy

We had our whole family here for Christmas this year, but we missed Brady, Ryley and Brenna! I'm glad we were able to see them at Maya's party and the dinner on Saturday. Here are a few of the highlights!











While visons of Sugarplums danced in his head....











Lisa, Maya, in her new apron, and Chuck opening gifts.











Melissa and Josh just taking it all in.
















And Soxie just trying to hide!

We all had such a great time together! I'm glad Christmas comes only once a year though. We packed a lot into 3days!

On Saturday we all met in Post Falls and had dinner at a Greek restuarant! A delicious way to end the week-end. MMMmmm!

I'm Still Knitting!

These are some wrist warmers I made from handspun yarn which I purchased from AutumnOak. You can visit her Etsy shop here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/autumnoak She also sells wonderful handmade soaps!

The wrist warmers are so cozy since the yarn is a wool and silk blend, they're great for driving.
I love them!

Me and My Sis!

I spent a fews with my sister in Denver last week. We had fun going to the Denver Art Museum, a very unique building, by the way! We also took in a concert of Ray LaMontagne, sort of a folk singer, down town at the Opera Center. We were able to have dinner with Josh and Melissa that same evening.

Here we are at the Cheesecake Factory just before the concert. We had the most delicious dinner!

Halloween Fun!

Yesterday, Josh and Dane carved a pumpkin together. They spent about an hour on it. I think the end result looks just like Batman don't you?

Another Project Done!

This is the wool sweater I finished this week for my neighbor. He bought the yarn and picked out the pattern and I had the fun of knitting it up! It took me about 9 months. He was very happy with it and I told him it looked very nice on him, like it was "made" especially for him!

Glad to be done with it. On to the next project.....!

Maya picks a Pumpkin!

Today we drove to Spokane just because it was such a beautiful day, and of course we could visit Lisa! She took us to the Green Bluff area, local farms north of Spokane who make it fun to visit. We took Maya in the maze and she got her farm work done on the tractor.

Then later that day, I asked for her best smile and this is what I got!

She is quite the little ham, oh I mean PUMPKIN!

One of My Favorite Summer Salads

We have this salad almost every week since there is an abundance of tomatoes and cucumbers right now. Start with cottage cheese. Add tomatoes, black olives, purple onions, cucumbers, and snip a few fresh basil leaves on top. OR leave out the cottage cheese altogether and just use your favorite salad dressing. Sprinkle with fresh grated black pepper and you've got lunch!

Today I pickled!

Here is a sampling of the pickles I made today. My neighbor asked if I'd like to pick his cucumbers, so I managed to get 11 pints of bread and butter pickles, and 6 quarts of dills!

Plus plenty left over just for eating. I'm about pickled right now! Help, I'm turning into my Mother!

Quilts For Comfort

The women's organization at my church is asking for 100 quilts in 100 days! These quilts will then be donated to local relief organizations, like Alternatives to Violence, or the homeless shelters. I am contributing two and this is my second one. I feel it is a worthwhile endeavor.

Maya in the tent

Maya and Dane had fun playing in Dane's Bob the Builder tent this week-end.
They got along very well together which made it much easier on Grandma!

A Picture of Happiness!

Maya gets a ride on the swing with the help of big brother Ryley

Jane's Red Dot Quilt

Here is a fun quilt I am working on for Jane in Australia. Isn't this the cutest fabric?

Lake Roosevelt Was Beautiful!

We enjoyed our family trip to Lake Roosevelt in north central Washington over the week-end. As you can see by the photo, it was a beautiful setting. This was our view from the cabin.

Dane made us blueberry pancakes for breakfast and was very accomodating! You could order small, medium or large! Also if you wanted chocolate chips, he could add those too.

Here is Ryley, Chuck and Dane on the tube! Looks like fun!

And of course little Maya was her happy, cheery little self.

What is there to worry about? We had lots of fun in the sun, plenty of food, and too little sleep! What more could we want? (A little more sleep?)

Meet Marge The Monkey

Last Christmas, I made a monkey like this named Magoo for my grandaughter, Brenna, who is 11. She said Magoo was lonely, so asked if I could make a girl Monkey. She named her Marge.

Now when her friend comes over, they will each have a Monkey to play with. Hope there's no Monkey business!

Diary of a French Braid Quilt

This is a fun pattern I am working on called French Braid. Begin with the center square, brown and green floral. Add strips to each side....Scroll down for more....

Continue to add more strips in the color progression:

Keep adding:

Then you will end up with one panel! After doing 4 panels, I will add seperator bands and hopefully by early fall I will show you the finished quilt! This is an easy pattern to follow, the hardest part is picking out the fabric colors, but that can be fun too!

Life Goes On.... And we're lovin' It!

Oh what a busy month it has been! We had a great week-end with our daughter and her family, as it was "community" day here in our little corner of the world. Charley was in charge of the car show again, while my time was filled up with our annual quilt show. Lots of work setting it up and taking down, but many hands make light work!
We enjoyed the time with Lisa and Brady and our special grandchildren, we are so blessed!

Here are Ryley and Brenna mastering the climbing wall!

And of course Maya had fun too! It was a great day...

The Little Reader

Isn't this the cutest little girl? She grabbed this book and wrestled it into the chair with her, so she could begin her study. She is so precious....

My Sewing Space

Some folks on my Etsy team have expressed a desire to see others' work space, so here's a little vision of my "world!" Kind of messy here, but hey, it's a workshop! It's here that all the magic happens........

What's in the Works?

This is a little quilt I am finishing up for one of the very special people in my life.
It is Mary Engelbreit's "Recipe for Friendship." Made from a layer cake, (precut fabrics),
it was fast and easy.

Maya's new dress

I just finished making this little dress for Maya. I found the fabric in February and knew I had to make it into a little dress for Maya.
It was fun to make, I can't wait to see her in it!

Multnomah Falls near Portland OR

Charley and I just returned from a fun week-end in Portland, Oregon where he attended a car swap meet and I enjoyed riding the MET and shopping! I caught this morning shot of the falls on way home. As you can see I was shooting into the sun, which we were happy to see after 2 days of rain.

See my new little quilt in my etsy shop today!

Quilt in the Works!

I am finishing this quilt up today, tommorow will get it on the longarm, then watch for it in my Etsy shop next week! It is full of spring colors, I keep trying to bring spring, but it just doesn't seem to be working!

Not so fast....

I drove to Salmon Idaho over the weekend and this is what I saw near Lolo pass crossing over from Idaho into Montana, on US highway 12. It was a pretty drive but had to pay attention with that winding road. It was raining when I took this picture and snowing on the way back!

My siblings and I were able to clean out my parents house and get it ready to sell. Sort of a bitter sweet time, but it was a success. Anyone looking to buy a house in Salmon?

Can it be so?

I was thinking.... I was looking.... I might be wrong, but seems like that might be tulips and daffodils peeking through the snow! Do you really suppose spring could be on the way? !!!

Oh my gosh let's HOPE SO! Wake me up when......

I just received a picture of our grandson, Dane doing his martial arts moves!

But here is my favorite photo, man that was hard work! Way to go Dane-O, just chill!

Work In Progress

Now that I finished the taxes, it's on to the next project! I've been working on this little baby quilt, it's easy and quick. With the new snow, it's rather depressing to go outside, so why not sew?

The purple and green quilt is coming along, top is finished

and ready for the applique. That may take me a little longer...

Maya and Her Baby go "Ni-Ni"

Maya settles In at Grandma's House

We had the pleasure of keeping Maya for a couple days over the week-end. My, what a busy little girl she is! While I'm trying to pick up the last spill, she's on to the next! I'm certainly not as young as I once was. What a pleasure watching this little girl grow. She is so smart!

Here are a couple snaps of her in action:

She loves the computer!

OopS! Now she caught ME!

Works in Progress AKA What I started at Quilt Camp

Last week-end I spent 4 days with our local quilting club at a Retreat in Pomeroy Washington.
We usually go as a group twice a year, and sew while our host cooks all the meals for us. We enjoy one another's company as well as provide compliments and inspiration for each other.

Here are a couple pics of the things I started: (What was I thinking?)

Here is another of 58 blocks completed, only 110 to go!