Heart to Hand Quilter

Still Pluggin Along...

2011-07-17T21:36:00.000-05:00

This year has been very busy with school work. Coming up towards the end with only two more classes left this fall after this week is finished. I actually get a break from school for a little over a month the end of summer. It will be nice. Already planning activities with my 12 yr old son. Probably a waterpark with his friend, Valley Fair with just the two of us and other tasks from my to do list that I have been putting off. Including doctors appointments and such. I have not had much time for anything crafty or even looking at blogging on financial matters. Now I am in the process of investigating debt counseling as a career or maybe even just as a volunteer somewhere. For right now I am concentrating on staying focused finishing up my bachelor's degree. I will be glad when it is done but I am sure I will have some adjustment period of feeling like I should be studying! That has been my life for the last three years other than a short break after my associates degree trying to figure out my next step.

We have not done much of anything this summer yet as I had two classes which required much studying. Still have some studying to do tomorrow to finish up my finance class on Thursday evening. Just have to prepare my part of a presentation that so not too much stress.

I am so close I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I will be finished the week before Thanksgiving and will be officially graduating in December just before Christmas. Yahoo!!!!!!

New direction in life....

2010-12-06T21:49:00.000-06:00

Lately I have been considering changing direction in my blogging endeavors. I obviously have not been quilting for the last two years. With school and work I find I have no time for quilting. I also have no energy left for the creative process that is needed in quilting. My interest lately is in financial literacy or financial counseling. Actually I think this is an area that I have been refining for the last 5 years. It goes back to my banking days. They wanted me to encourage others to take out home equity loans and all I could think about is how that went against my views on debt. What I would rather do is teach others how to get and stay out of debt. Doing this locally would be great but talk about a scary endeavor!

Another Year has flown by!

2010-11-23T22:50:00.000-06:00

I can't believe a year has flown by! I have been busy with work and school. Oh and ballroom dancing with my hubby! We have been having fun with that since last summer. We don't look like those Dancing with the Stars folks but we are having fun. Gives us something to do together. I have about a year left of school for my bachelor's degree. I am very glad I made the decision to pursue the Business Adminstration degree at Northwestern College. It looks like it was the best decision for me.

Well just wanted to post something really quickly. Maybe my New Years resolution should be to get back into blogging. Lately it has been on my mind that I would like to pursue Financial counseling. So maybe in my quest to continue learning more about making, saving and giving money I can share some of my tips with whoever wants to read about it! I have will to ponder on that some.

Laptop home already!

2010-01-17T16:31:00.000-06:00

Well I got my laptop home already. They were quick! Had it one day and the repair was done that same day and sent back out Fedex that same day. It is nice not to have to sit in the office to surf the web anymore. Been studying taxes as I will be an AARP Tax Aide this tax season. Had to take a test and don't know yet if I have passed or not. Not too worried about it as I have been doing my own taxes for over 25 years now and am pretty comfortable with them at this point.

Well trying to decide if a nap would be good on this lazy Sunday afternoon or if I want to pick up some knitting and start another baby sweater. Such decisions!

Tuesday I head over to Northwestern College for orientation and to finish registering for the Spring 2010 semester. I am going to work on my Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and will be starting back up on March 15th. It is the last 2 years of my bachelor's degree and I will be done by December 2011. Was debating the social work degree and this Business Administration degree and decided the BA degree works better for my family situation in the long run. I would like to utilize these skills within the non-profit sector but I will wait and see what happens in the future. Everything can change in such a short time I am keeping open to all possibilities.

Crafty at last.....

2010-01-05T17:09:00.001-06:00

Well I have no motivation to get started quilting...yet. But I have been knitting instead. I have several pieces on various needles but these two sweaters were finished over the extra time off over the holidays. This first one, blue and pink is one that will be donated. Not positive which organization will end up getting it but it will go to a good cause at some point.

This second one was knitted with my new niece or nephew in mind. At the time I was not sure whether she was a girl or a boy but now that she was born on Jan. 1st we know she is a girl! This was actually the very first sweater that I have ever knitted. I have knitted many hats and prayer shawls but never a sweater before. I tend to knit tightly so it is probably smaller than it is suppose to be. I am knitting another colorful sweater and it may end up being larger as I used larger needles than the pattern called for (so far I think I should have gone even larger as it still looks pretty small). I don't even know where that sweater will be going, I am just enjoying the process immensly.

This weekend I will be starting my training for doing volunteer tax preparation so I may have to back off on the knitting for a bit to concentrate on that. Since school ended though I feel like I have tons of time to do not much of anything. It has been great!!!

My laptop computer needs some repairs and I have only about 12 days left on the warranty, so I am sending it in and will be without it for about 2-3 weeks. I realize how spoiled I have gotten being able to use the laptop in the living room instead of at a desk in an office chair. I do that all day at my job!

Happy New Year!

2009-12-31T12:26:00.000-06:00

Well only a few hours left of 2009 and then onto 2010. We are going to a friends house tonight to help ring in the new year. I have been enjoying my time off school so far and find myself less motivated to get things done knowing that I have more time to get it done. Does that make sense? I seem to be more motivated knowing I have less time available. Well they do say that if you want to get something done quickly give it to someone who is busy! I have been busy knitting in the last week or so. I have made about three baby sweaters and plan to make many more. I will post pictures of what I have made so far this weekend sometime. I am enjoying looking up free knitting patterns on the web. These sweaters will be donated to various organizations for layettes for newborns. I am sure some will even make their way overseas at some point.

Hope everyone has a wonderful New Years! Stay Safe!

Done with the Semester!

2009-12-18T16:17:00.003-06:00

Well I am officially done with the semester as of yesterday. Took my last final and now I can relax. I have decided to go for the Social Work bachelor's degree so have off school until September 2010. Maybe in a few weeks after I have unwound from the last 1 1/2 years of school and work I can start sewing again. Right now the most creative energy I have is to knit prayer shawls. Wow, that schooling really absorbs all that creative energy I use to have. I don't know maybe it is because I am getting older? I hope not.

I think I need to concentrate on getting all my affairs in order this winter in preparation for how busy I will be once I start school again. This could mean that I need to use up all that fabric that has been propagating in my fabric closet of my sewing room. It is bursting at the seams and if I open the door it will explode all over me. You may not be able to find me for days under the pile!

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions.....

2009-12-07T11:23:00.002-06:00

I feel for kids that go straight to college after high school not knowing what they want to do when they grow up. Even as an adult I am currently struggling with this. Tomorrow night I am going to go to the school where the social work degree is for a preview night. I can sit in on one of the classes with the other social work students and see what it is they are learning. I guess they are going to have some special speakers in class, one a graduate from their program.

I was trying to fill out the admissions essay for the business administration degree and it just does not feel right. I can't seem to get excited about attending business classes. I guess I have changed so much that I would rather study about people than numbers!

Everyone keeps telling me to go with my heart and my head just seems to get in the way all the time. I am way to sensible and also have a husband who is the same. I have never been a risk taker and this is causing a great amount of stress for me right now. I need to take that leap of faith and for some reason I don't want to take my foot off the edge! Being sensible does have its advantages at times but in this case it is very frustrating!

Well three more tests away from my Associates Degree and then it looks like I will get a break from school. It will be good for my family as I have been going pretty strong for about a year and a half now. Well back to studying....I have been wasting my day off on the computer. Can't lose my momentum now...I am almost done.

Light at the end of the tunnel.....

2009-11-28T15:32:00.002-06:00

Well if I look up from my homework I can start to see the light at the end of this semester's tunnel. I have three weeks left and only about 6 more tests/finals left to complete. I am studying like a mad woman and can't wait until this semester is over.

I have been having a slight breakdown in my future plans with schooling. I am not sure I want to pursue the Social Work degree anymore. I am looking at going to Northwestern College to their Evening degree program called Focus. I am really impressed with the school and lately have been leaning towards getting a business administration degree which was where I was headed before being derailed many years ago. This area seems to be where I am the strongest. My thoughts is that I can use this degree to work in the non-profit industry to further a cause of some sort. After my social work intro class I am not so sure I am up to working with people on a one-to-one ratio. I can not even seem to motivate my own children to do things I am having a hard time seeing myself as a motivator for others in need. I know I will always volunteer and do what I can to advocate for those less fortunate just doubting whether I want to make it my job. They say that when you do something you love and start to get paid for it that your enjoyment goes away. Kind of like making quilts for money for me. When I made a few that were for someone else for pay the enjoyment went away.

Well that is it for now. After this semester, depending on what I decide I will either have 3 months off (Busn. Admin degree, unless I start that speech class I still need) or have 8 months off (social work degree).

What a dilema!

School, School and more School

2009-10-16T16:06:00.002-05:00

No time for anything these days except school. I have Statistics, Psychology and Intro to Social Work and it is keeping me busy 24/7 when I am not working or being with family. I did pick up my knitting needles just the other day and started knitting a scarf. Must be the snow we got in the last week. I am feeling like keeping warm! I will probably donate this scarf I am sure, if it ever gets done.

I started volunteering at a Day Center for Homeless and other needy people. We make referrals for all the services in our local area but mostly focus on housing issues. They have a social worker employed there from West CAP which is a non-profit group that helps with housing.

I am enjoying school despite the hectic schedule. This semester is just especially challenging with the fast paced statistics class. I must spend at least 20 hours a week just doing homework for that class.

Summer is almost over!

2009-08-11T12:46:00.002-05:00

It has been a crazy and hectic summer. I had two online college classes over the summer and I now get a whole 2 weeks off before starting up again. I was going to try to get some sewing in but that has taken a backseat to putting together a DVD of pictures for my Dad for his 70th Birthday. I have scanned over 115 pictures already and I have about 10 more years of pictures to go through. Although not all those years will need to be scanned as I converted to digital camera sometime in the last 4 years I think. Those pictures will already be on my computer so I will need to just choose which ones. I am hoping that he will like the DVD as it will take me the next two weeks to finish it up in my free time. I have until 19th, as I look at the calendar that is only one week away. Yikes! This next semester I will have three classes, Statistics, Psychology and Intro to Social Work. Upon completion of the Statistics class I will have completed my Associates degree. That will be a good feeling even though I still have about 3 years of school left going part time for my major of social work. Things are crazy at work as our Associate Pastor left and the church now has to go through the process of finding a new pastor. Our senior pastor will be busy. We are working on getting an interim pt pastor and hopefully he/she will start in September! Fall is a busy time in a church office with everything starting back up. Lots of paperwork for us office ladies.

Well I really need to try to get better at posting in the future. Life seems to be a runaway train these days and I need to make better efforts in doing some of the things I like to do rather than all the things I don't!

Summer has begun

2009-06-01T15:44:00.002-05:00

Summer is here if I gauge that on my summer classes. I have two classes this semester and one began last week. My son is not out of school yet until next Tuesday but I am looking forward to the summer schedule! We bought a pop up camper and am planning on going camping throughout the summer. We are going this weekend just locally but we are going to do some fishing also. Looking forward to spending time with family this summer in addition to school work. I am going to try my best to balance the fun of summer, family and school work!

Long last few weeks....

2009-02-26T10:09:00.002-06:00

Well I thought I had come home from Mexico having not gotten sick. I was excited about that and then, bang, last Wednesday night I felt miserable. Luckily it did not last too long but Thursday at work was a really rough day. I had so many things that I had to get done for Sunday services and my co-worker is out on vacation so I had no backup plan. So, being the responsible person that God made me, I worked until I got everything done. It was a good thing too because I basically worked until I could not manage any longer. This week has been much better and I am getting back to normal (if I ever could be considered normal!)

Today they are expecting a big snow storm and I just heard they are going to close school early. It has yet to start snowing. Oh well the kids will be excited about being done early. I wish I could have a snow day and still get paid!

Pictures of Mexico mission trip

2009-02-16T11:28:00.003-06:00

http://community.webshots.com/user/tjgrayfamily

Here are some of my pictures from my mission trip to the orphanage in Mexico. It is in an album labeled Morelia, Mexico 2009

Amigo's in Mexico

2009-02-14T18:12:00.004-06:00

(upper left; All the kids at the mission with the staff) (upper right; Tonio and I) (Lower left; Fernando(left) and his younger brother Jorge(right) and I)

Here are some more pictures of some special friends in Mexico. Got home Saturday about noon and having gotten hardly any sleep the night before was so tired I just crashed for several hours. We took a 2:00 am flight and it is hard functioning on so little sleep. I should be recovered by tomorrow and then I can start in on homework. It is hard to think about that right now.

More Photos'

2009-02-12T15:34:00.004-06:00

More fun in Mexico. Don't you just love this little boy on the swing. This is Oscar and I asked him if I could take his picture and as you can see he thought it was a great idea. He is such a ham! I was showing Fernando (on left) my pictures from home along with a few other boys. I have sponsored Fernando for the last 3 1/2 years so I am really enjoying spending time with him this week. The last picture is of one of the babies with a quilt that someone from the Sunshine Online Quilt Guild donated to the home 3 1/2 years ago when I came. I am so sad that I have to leave tomorrow night. I am so glad that I was able to make it here this year. Gotta turn this computer off now and go play a game of spoons with the older kids.

Sunshine Quilts still in use!

2009-02-11T15:40:00.003-06:00

Here is a sunshine quilt still in use at the home. Thought that Sunshine members would enjoy seeing that they are still using the quilts we donated 3 1/2 years ago.

I am here!

2009-02-10T11:21:00.005-06:00

I am in Mexico at the orphanage. We have wireless internet and I decided to bring my computer to stay in touch with my classes, although it is very hard to even think about homework while here. I am having too much fun playing with the kids and relating with the people. I don't have the correct camera cable with me so only have a few pictures that others here emailed me. The wonders of computers and internet! Here are a few of the kids. I will post more photos when I get done with my trip. Just thought I would give you a taste of Mexico for now.

Leaving shortly....

2009-02-05T09:32:00.002-06:00

Well I am flying out on Sat. Feb. 7th for the orphanage in Mexico. I have been working hard the last few weeks trying to get everything done at home, school and at work. It seems whenever you want to go somewhere you always have to work extra hard before and then after! That is okay this will be well worth it! I will be unplugged for a week. Not because we have to (I could bring my laptop computer) but I am choosing to! It will be nice to be able to just concentrate on what I am doing there. I will have some homework I can work on without my computer but for the most part I worked ahead and can concentrate on helping the kids. I will post plenty of pictures after I get back! I am definitely bringing my digital camera.

Orphanage in Mexico

2009-01-24T12:33:00.004-06:00

This is where I will be going for my trip to the orphanage in Mexico. This is not the complete building but it gives you an idea of what it looks like. The home is really clean and the rooms we stay in are very comfortable. Two weeks from today is when I fly out. I have all my homework and plans for how I will get it done figured out. I will need to work on some biology when I am there but I think things should go well. It will be crazy until then but I just have to tackle one thing at a time and I will get through it. I am excited to be going back as I was there 3 1/2 years ago and most of the same kids are there only 3 years older! It will be nice to be someplace where I do not have to bundle up. There was an addition put on the backside of the building and we are going to finish up the space by decorating and such. Don't know if that involves painting or not but I am ready for whatever it may be. I wanted to brush up on the little bit of spanish I learned but I just won't have time to do that with all the homework this semester. I have a biology class along with a lab and they really load on the work! Fun, Fun.....

Cub Scouts Pinewood Derby

2009-01-19T18:43:00.003-06:00

My Son had his pinewood derby at Cub Scouts yesterday. He did a great job and came in 4th place in speed out of 17 cars racing. But the big thing is that he came in First Place for Design and that is what this very large trophy is for. He was very proud of himself and had a great time at the race. He can now go to the District races to race against the top people in the district. He is excited about it.

1 week down 15 to go!

2009-01-18T11:36:00.005-06:00

Well school started this week and my computer decided to accept some nasty malware on it. I spent the whole week seeing if I could get my computer going and finally decided to buy a new one and deal with the old one at a later date. So here is my new lap top that I can use to do my online college classes with. I thought it smarter to get the lap top as it would have more uses in the future. If my old one gets running then the kids can use it to play games or whatever. Now here is an important warning. The computer manufacturers are not selling computers with the discs to restore onto your computer if something bad happens (like what happened to me). I did not make my own restore discs as I was suppose to(I really do know better than this!). So now I have to purchase the Windows XP software in order to restore my old computer and get it running. The fix would have been so much easier if I had had these discs. So, if you have not made these discs yet DO IT NOW!!!!!!! That is my gentle warning to everyone reading this so that you do not have to go through what I have gone through in the last week. Now luckily I was able to save all my documents and pictures so I did not lose those but this was also a reminder that I need to back these up on a regular basis.

I like my new laptop and will get used to it but I really did not want to have to buy a new computer when mine served its purpose just fine. A definite lesson learned this week.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Receipe

2009-01-17T14:21:00.002-06:00

Someone asked me for my chocolate chip receipe if I wanted to share. I have used the same receipe for years and I would love to share my receipe as they make us really soft and chewy cookies.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Better Homes and Gardens
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups Flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup Shortening(I use butter flavor crisco)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/1 tsp vanilla
1 12 oz. chocolate chips (I use milk chocolate)
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (I don't use the nuts)

Stir together flour, soda, and salt. In a mixer bowl beat butter and shortening on medium speed of electric mixer for 30 seconds. Add sugars and beat till fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add dry ingredients to beaten mixture., beating till well combined. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Drop from a teaspoon 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 8 to 10 min. Remove; cool.

There you have it. These are the best, softest cookies and I get alot of compliments when I share them.

Baby Quilt

2009-01-11T13:33:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I worked on a baby quilt for a friend. It is for her grandson. She had her family design and color in quilt blocks and sign them for the new baby. The baby is actually about 6 months old by now but she was not in a hurry to get the project done. I figured with college classes starting up again tomorrow that I should probably get it done for her as the next four months will be very busy. It feels good to be done with it. I still have to call her and let her know that it is done. I hope she likes the work I did. I think it came out pretty good and I did not have problems sewing or quilting it.

I got some reading assignments early so I am working on homework today. And so begins the next semester's journey.....Biology of Women, Intro to Theatre, Wilderness Survival (in one weekend) and a Human biology lab class on Friday's. So this should be interesting to say the least!

Quilting progress

2009-01-09T12:01:00.004-06:00

I decided to spend some time in the sewing room seeing what I had in my orphan blocks and to try to clean up some of my unfinished projects. School starts on Monday so this is some of my last few days off. (Actually one of my teachers posted her stuff online early so I may start working on that this afternoon. I have the day off today and have been enjoying my morning at home with all the family gone immensely. All of these quilts will be sent to a quilting angel at Sunshine quilt guild and then will be forwarded to Wrap them in Love for the orphanages.
Most of these blocks came from members from the Sunshine guild over the last year or so. So this is what I came up with. My creative energy is very low right now so I was going more for speed sewing and getting things completed. Needless to say I still have tons of blocks waiting to be sewn into quilt tops. They are the disappearing nine patch blocks that I rec'd at least 1,000 of from the Sunshine quilt guild.

Sunrise

2009-01-08T08:02:00.004-06:00

This is a picture out my bedroom window looking to the east. My window faces south but standing at an angle I can see to the east. I thought this view was nice this particular morning. Not much quilting getting done at my place. I have a few more days off until school starts but will be gone Friday evening into Saturday afternoon. I did start working on a top with some blocks from the Sunshine guild that I still have to finish putting together. I have the rows done and just need to sew them together. I think I need to start getting realistic and try to make blocks only. I need to start thinking smaller, I guess. I do have Friday off during the day and I think maybe this will be my goal for tomorrow, to get some tops together and to sort through what I have in my sewing room to get forwarded on to someone that will be able to finish them up and get them to the kids! They are not doing any good sitting in my sewing room. Well off to work for today!

Short term Mission Trip

2009-01-04T08:44:00.003-06:00

I am going to the orphanage in Morelia, Mexico in February. The last time I was there was in summer of 2005. I have been looking for the opportunity to go back ever since. I visited the orphanage in the Baja in Oct. of 2007 but it was not the same as being in Morelia. They have about 30 kids currently. They have added an addition that is just about complete. I believe one of the goals is to decorate the finished areas to get ready for them to be used. It is going to be hectic with school and work but I am so looking forward to going for a week. The dates are Feb. 7 - 14th. I am not sure which airlines we are flying out on yet so I don't know how many bags I can take with me. My initial plan is to collect twin size sheet sets to bring with me as they always have a need for sheets. I guess the quality of sheets in Mexico is not as good as ours here in the USA. I also think I am going to make some chocolate chip cookies to take with me. They don't bake much in Mexico so the kids will really enjoy homemade cookies. Last time we went down we baked them there but the ingredients are different in Mexico so they did not turn out as good as when I make them at home. (I have a really good recipe for chocolate chip cookies)

Christmas Greetings

2008-12-23T16:48:00.003-06:00

Thought I would share some Christmas wishes through my son's Christmas Concert.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-23T12:51:00.003-06:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my readers! I finished up my semester at school and am currently enjoying my break until January 12th when I will start up once more. I was hoping to get some quilting done during this break but of course have been preparing for Christmas. We are unexpectedly traveling about 6 hours away to be with family. This will be a good thing but takes away time from the sewing room. I have been trying to get some prayer shawls knitted so now I will have plenty of time for working on those. I am enjoying the knitting lately as I can relax on the couch or with family and knit away.

I pray that everyone stays safe during the holiday's if you are traveling!
God Bless!

Quilts to the Ukraine

2008-12-06T09:15:00.002-06:00

A picture is posted at http://www.fireleann.blogspot.com/ of the quilts that the Sunshine Quilt Guild helped me make to send to my missionary friend in the Ukraine. Check out her blog for pictures of the kids with the quilts and also the kids with clothing that was donated from about 4 of our local churches. Don't know if we will be able to do that again this winter but I would really like to if possible.

Some quilting done

2008-11-20T18:28:00.005-06:00

Managed to squeeze in some quilting a few weekends ago. (took me this long to get the pictures done!) The top quilt was pieced by my coworker with some of my flannel strings and I finished it up. I have quite a few quilt tops like these waiting to be quilted. Next is a top done by a Carol E. from the Sunshine quilt guild. The third is more strings and then last blocks from a Sunshine block challenge I hosted last winter. I still have more of these blocks to get sewn into tops. Hopefully this winter I can manage to squeeze in some more quilting time in between classes. All of the quilts are going to WAS which is for kids overseas who get cleft lip/palette surgery.

Ukraine orphanage clothes

2008-11-09T14:55:00.002-06:00

I received word that the clothes were handed out to the children at the Ukraine orphanage. We sent 11 boxes of clothing and quilts to Leann serving as a missionary in the Ukraine. She has listed pictures on her blog at http://www.fireleann.blogspot.com. You can see the kids with their new duds!

I have had a few minutes of quilting since class started the end of August. I did finish quilting a charity quilt and now have 4 quilts waiting for the binding to be completed. When I am not doing homework and taking care of family I am sometimes too exhausted to think about sewing.

I have registered for Spring semester starting in January and now that it is winter I may be able to find some time for sewing but we will have to see how it goes.

School started

2008-08-28T20:43:00.002-05:00

Well, school has started for me. I have been busy this week with school work. I have two online classes. American Government and Politics and Interpersonal Communications. It is not easy taking online classes. You spend just as much time working on the computer as you would be in class. I already have to write a paper for communications this week with a group (not easy doing this online!) and also next week one by myself for communications and another for American Government. One of my writing projects for communications is blogging! As fellow bloggers you all know that I have experience in blogging! I just have to blog on specifics and not just random thoughts like this blog!

I got some sewing done last week before school started. I don't think I will be sewing much if my schedule is going to be this hectic with classes and working. Well I just have to keep my goals in front of me and remember that it will be all worth it in the end!

Non-Quilty

2008-08-17T08:58:00.002-05:00

It has been a wild summer of no quilting. I have lots to get done here but decided I needed to enjoy the summer with my family for the most part. Also in the last two months or so I have been researching going back to school. I believe I have finally narrowed it down as to where I will be going and what degree I am pursuing. As of right now, Monday I should be registering for a few classes at a local Communtiy College where I believe I will be finishing up my AA degree and then I will transfer to a four year college to finish up a bachelor's degree in Social Work. I know it will be a tough schedule but I believe I am up for the challenge. I just know that I need to do something to move forward at this point. I am sure it will take me longer than the typical four years but I am looking at accelerated learning options to move it along faster. I am excited about going back to school as I really enjoy the learning process! School starts next week for my online classes I am registering for and my kids go back after labor day so maybe once we settle into our routine again I can squeeze in some sewing time. I have blocks waiting for me to turn into quilt tops for Wrap a Smile and Wrap Them in Love.

Heartstrings quilts.....

2008-06-07T13:31:00.004-05:00

Ishowed a quilt picture to one of my co-workers using 2.5" strings and she really liked it and decided she wanted to help me by making some quilts for the orphanages. She has since given me 10 quilt tops for me to finish and send on. I provided her with some of my strings and the foundation fabric and she sewed the tops together. I have quilted four of them and that is these. Two of them are in flannels. She really liked working on the flannel quilts. Flannel is not my favorite to work with but these will make really warm quilts for some child in a cold place.!

Time goes swiftly by...

2008-05-30T12:43:00.002-05:00

Time really flies when you are having fun(or just plain busy in my case)! I have been working on some quilt tops that need to be quilted from my sunshine online quilt guild. Last count was 25 quilts for Wrap A Smile and Wrap Them In Love combined. I have been having tension difficulties on both my long arm and my off the frame machine. I finally gave myself permission to do some stitch in the ditch quilting to get these quilts started. I have about 8 of them done and ready to go. The pile is starting to look a little smaller. I don't have any pictures to post right now as I am at work. That will be one of my projects this weekend, taking pictures. Tomorrow I am headed into the cities to pack food for Feed My Starving Children so most of Saturday will be used up. I don't mind though as it is suppose to be raining out and it is a VERY good cause and I am happy to help. Well lunch break will be over soon!

Newsworthy....

2008-05-16T21:21:00.003-05:00

Wrap Them In Love is in the News in my hometown! If you are following my blog you have seen that I have been going into the classrooms and quilting with the kids. A week or so ago I went into 4 second grades classes and we did more quilts squares for four more quilts. These are all going to be donated to Wrap Them in Love when they are done being displayed at the local library in June. Well here I am with some of the students and one of the quilts already finished. One of the teachers submitted it to the paper and they ran it. It references the website for Wrap them In Love and also says that I accept donations of 100% cotton fabric for all the quilts I make. They did not give any contact info for me but I am in the phone book so if someone really wanted to find me they could. I was glad that these pictures of me actually are not too bad. At least acceptable for me considering almost the whole town will see it. I have submitted photos of the quilts in previous years but never with me in the picture, only the kids and the quilts. So this year being the fifth year of this project ended with 13 quilts and 13 classrooms visited. So I am pleased with the end result even though the process was a little more time consuming this year.

Working diligently....

2008-05-01T07:42:00.004-05:00

I am continuing to work on the quilts from the kids at school. I have a total of 13 quilts that will need to be done by mid May and so far I have 6 completed, one that needs binding and 6 more that need to be pieced and quilted. It is starting to get busier as it is getting to be spring. Although spring is very late coming in the midwest this year. I never know what I should wear for the day , spring or winter clothes! These quilts are looking really scrappy but I don't think the kids in the orphanage will mind too much! I helped to get some quilts over to an orphanage in South Africa and was told that the kids loved the quilts and could not believe that they could keep them even when they were old enough to leave the orphanage. Getting that kind of information is what keeps me going! These quilts will be donated to Wrap them In Love which hand delivers quilts to the orphanages. So, if you are ever taking an international trip and know that you can visit an orphanage check out that website and you could take some quilts over with you also!

I have not been able to work on the Orange Crush mystery quilt hosted by Bonnie lately and am hoping I can get back to it at some point. I have most of the 4 patches completed but have not even started on Clue #2. And, I suppose the next clue has been issued but I am afraid to look as I will feel like I am very behind.

Hope you have a great day!

Knitted Hat..

2008-04-18T08:08:00.005-05:00

I finished my first knitted hat. I used to use the loom but decided I wanted to learn how to knit with needles. I am planning on knitting up a bunch of hats to be donated next winter to various causes. Don't want to think about winter at all but it will be a good summer project for when I am too tired to sew at my machine or for take along projects. I am really enjoying the process. I printed out a bunch of different easy hat patterns from the internet. This hat is slightly too small for me but I am thinking about modifying the pattern and making more as I like how it looks. Gotta run to work now!

Frame on the move!

2008-04-14T12:22:00.003-05:00

My frame was on the move this last weekend. We are doing some remodeling in the basement adding a jacuzzi tub in the bathroom. The bedroom that my frame was in lost a wall in the process. So I needed to move my frame to its new home in the other half of the basement. This is a room that is about 14 X 28 or so. The back half still has the family room stuff in it but my frame now sits in front of these wonderful windows. The light is so great and now quilting is so much better than when I was stuffed into that small bedroom. Plus I can turn on the TV to keep me company as I quilt. I have a charity quilt loaded on the frame and will be quilting it after I am done here. The lighting is not the greatest in these pictures right now but that is because this is a southern exposure which is why the view is so great. As you can see I am excited about my frames new space. I will post some pictures of the quilts I am currently trying to finish as I get them done.

Janet

Mystery Revealed!!!!

2008-04-05T21:16:00.002-05:00

Here is the Library Mystery Quilt that I have been working on for a few months now. The lighting is not the greatest on my bed but it is too big for my design wall. It took me all afternoon to finish up. Sometimes I think Borders take just as long as the quilt blocks do, or at least it feels that way. Some of my bed quilt is peeking out the bottom and is not on the new quilt. I still have to quilt it but it feels good to be done with the top. I have until April 29th to quilt it for our Show and Tell meeting at the Library. It will be fun to see the other fabrics in this quilt. There were two layout options and I liked this one best. I think after seeing this I am going to keep it for myself. You can never have too many quilts, right? I really like purple so it does not surprise me that I would want to keep it. All of these fabrics came out of my stash as I did not want to go shopping for any fabric considering I have tons to use up at home first. They suggest a diagonal quilting but I will probably load this on my frame and do an overall meander of some sort. There are stars in the quilt so I would like to star meander it but I am not good at that freehand yet, so maybe I can find a pantograph to use instead. I was thinking I could even freehand the stars on some paper and then just photocopy that until I have a pantograph long enough for the frame. I have some books so I might have something already.

HS Graduates quilts for Church

2008-03-30T17:34:00.003-05:00

Here is one of the graduates denim quilts that we are making at my church. We have 4 out of 6 done. Another gal is helping me work on the last two and then I will get them back to finish up the binding. They finished up at 50 X 80 and will be a good size for a dorm bed or where ever they use them. The denim is all jeans donated by congregation members. We had a sewing day this last Saturday and 8 ladies showed up to help out! I was excited as in the past it has not been easy getting help. The answer I always hear is "I don't know how to sew". I keep assuring everyone that there is lots to do that does not require you to know how to sew! Apparantly it finally sunk in. It was encouraging to me as I have been struggling with it.

Library Mystery Quilt

2008-03-24T16:23:00.002-05:00

Well I am making progress on my mystery quilt hosted by our local library. We are up to Clue #6 and I am caught up. I think the next clue comes out the end of this week. I was a little behind so spent the last few hours catching up. I have been accomplishing quite a bit today with my day off. Next I need to work on my "Nesting Robin" that my local guild is doing this year. It was going to be a round robin but instead of passing along your block for someone to work on it, we keep it ourselves and do the next required step. I have also worked on some more of the split 9 patch and animal blocks. Will post more of those pictures when the quilts are completely finished.

One finished, 8 To Go

2008-03-24T09:15:00.002-05:00

I put together one of the quilts from the blocks from the kids at school. I used some challenge blocks from my split 9 patch challenge I hosted with the Sunshine Quilt Guild (at http://www.sunshinequiltguild.blogspot.com) I really like the results. I have probably 15 more quilts to make with these challenge blocks so I am getting two projects done at the same time! This feels really good considering how little time I have these days. I think I am spending too much time on the computer and not enough at my sewing machine. I need to get these quilts finished by mid May to have them back to school for the kids to see. These quilts will be going to Wrap them In Love which donates quilts to orphanages around the world. You can read about that program at our Guild blog also.

Bonnie (http://www.quiltville.com) is starting a new mystery quilt and I am also going to start that project. I think I am an overachiever! But all these projects are soooo much fun. Well I better get busy and use my day off to its full advantage!

Need Motivation!

2008-03-10T20:14:00.003-05:00

My Son's block is the whale, or is that a dolphin?
Here is my son coloring in his block.

I have been lacking in quilting motivation the last few days or so. Today I went to my son's school and had the kids color in muslin quilt squares that I will then sew into quilts to be donated to http://www.wraptheminlove.org/ to go to orphanages overseas. This is my fifth year working on this project. I think so far I will have to make 9 quilts as I do a quilt for each classroom.

I have started knitting a baby sweater and I enjoy doing that when I watch TV or want to relax and do nothing. No babies in my house, but the church I work for puts together layettes so I am planning on donating there. I just like to have my hands busy, I guess.

I started working on some UFO projects today. I have miscellaneous blocks in ziploc baggies that are waiting to be made into quilts. I really need to get these done and out the door. I made the mistake of counting how many I actually had laying around. My guild is having a challenge of how many UFO's you can get completed and when I found out you can also include any charity quilts I decided to play along. I finished up one top and got the backing ready to go and now am working on another set of 4 patch blocks. I have four days off over the Easter weekend so plan on getting some serious sewing done then, hopefully.

Grand Prix winners!

2008-03-02T20:34:00.002-06:00

My son won 1st place in his Awana Grand Prix race today! He also won 3rd place

in Design! He did all the painting himself and the design was all his idea. My car placed 4th in the open class race. No trophy but my car ran a very good race and all four cars in the final race were very close! We had a very good day today.

Janet

Awana Grand Prix car's

2008-02-26T21:02:00.002-06:00

Well here is my finished car for the Awana Grand Prix race on Sunday. The painted car is my son's (3rd grader) and the kind of quilted car is mine. I used some fabric scraps that I rec'd from someone (sorry can't remember who sent it to me) Purple just happens to be one of my favorite colors and of course I love to quilt! My son spent alot of time painting his car and is very pleased with how it looks. Our race is this Sunday so I will let you know if either of us wins!

Fabric Panel

2008-02-17T17:24:00.005-06:00

I went to a quilt guild meeting yesterday. A guild that I am considering joining. They have meetings on Saturday mornings and now that I don't work Saturday's anymore this may work. I do belong to a guild but this guild has alot of members and it seems to have some younger members. Anyway I did some shopping while I was out. I saw this panel and decided I had to buy it. I have no idea what I am going to do with it but I am thinking I may just make it into a lap quilt for myself somehow. I like the colors and of course what it says just sings to my chocolate heart!

I retaught myself how to knit yesterday also. I have tried knitting in the past but could not coordinate my hands to work with the long knitting needles and always ended up getting my stitches too tight on my needles. I watched a video on how to knit online and I am starting with a prayer shawl. We will see how far I get before I have to rip it out. I have started and stopped only about two times and luckily I was only a few rows into it when I hap to start over.

Janet

New Job and progress...

2008-02-14T19:14:00.003-06:00

Well I started my new job last Friday as a Church secretary PT. It is going great and any hesitation I had about the job is gone. I am doing alot of computer work producing bulletins, monthly newsletters and power point presentations among alot of other miscellaneous clerical duties. My official title is "Communications Secretary". This picture is what I have been working on for the last week or so. I may have mentioned that I rec'd 644 blocks of the disappearing 9 patch block. I have 8 tops completed with one of those being completely finished. These will all be donated to Wrap Them in Love organization which donates to orphanages overseas. You could check them out here http://www.wraptheminlove.org if you want to see a fabulous quilt gallery and see what they do.

I have started collecting clothes for a missionary who serves in the Ukraine. We are collecting clothing for the orphanages she works in over there. Last year she did this clothing drive in five different churches and she ended up collecting 600 LBS of clothing. This year I told her I would help ship the boxes to her in the Ukraine. It will be lots of work, but God willing, many orphans will be blessed with new to them clothes! I guess in the Ukraine clothing is very cheaply made and what is available is very expensive. I will let you know know everything goes.

Janet

Awana Grand Prix race car...

2008-02-05T11:36:00.000-06:00

My son attends Awana club that holds an annual Grand Prix. This is similar to Cub Scouts pinewood derby cars. Anyway they have an open class where adults can make and race these little cars. I will be making a car this year again and I have decided that I want to make a quilt block and glue it down to the car. Now I just need to find a pattern that would work well. I have lots of scraps and could just do a scrap block and cut it to the proper size to attach to the car. We don't have the cars yet so I am not sure what size it is exactly but it is rectangle. I would guess it is only about 1 1/2 inches wide by about 7 inches long. Here are some cars from previous years.

So if anyone has any idea's on a quilt block that would look great on a car please let me know!

Library Mystery Quilt

2008-02-05T09:41:00.000-06:00

I am participating in a mystery quilt with our local library. These are my fabric choices. The quilt will finish at 70 X 84. I am thinking about doing a second one with christmas fabrics. I have holiday fabric in my stash that really needs to be used up. We are getting two clues a month and are suppose to be finished by April 29th where we will all meet at the library to show off our creations.

Below are the fabrics I am thinking about using for the second quilt. I could always shoot for getting two done in the time allowed but my concern is that it is taking on too much.

I start my new job as PT church secretary on Friday working 28 hrs a week. I have been home yesterday and today with my youngest son who is sick. They did not like it at my old job calling in but it can't be helped. I am not sending my son to school running a fever and trying to fight off a chest cold.

Small Arm Quilting setup

2008-02-02T17:42:00.000-06:00

Here is a copy of my quilt setup. I own the B-line quilting frame which is set up at 10ft and just recently purchased the WOW IV stretched Singer 201 while on vacation. I have completed one quilt top and some practice pieces on the new machine to date. I have owned the frame for three years now. I used to use the Babylock Quilters Professional Choice sewing machine which has a 9" throat. I am keeping that sewing machine to use when I want to quilt smaller quilts off the frame. Right now I have the mystery quilt that needs to be quilted by Thursday to put in my guild's quilt show. I am struggling however as there is tons of open space and I don't know what design to use. I am not good with quilting under pressure!

Signature Quilt

2008-01-22T18:48:00.000-06:00

Here is my brother opening his quilt that I made for him for his retirement from the Navy. I think he likes it. All the family signed the center of the stars.

Home from Vacation

2008-01-22T18:31:00.000-06:00

We are home from vacation. We went to Florida where the weather was warmer than in Wisconsin but a little on the chilly side for Florida. But when you think about it even at 50 that is much warmer than below freezing at home! We went down for my brother's retirement from the Navy after a 26 yr career. This picture is of my family and my Brother and his wife. We combined this family visit with some family fun. We had a good time visiting different museum's and a few beaches. One morning my youngest son and I were in our winter coats on the beach collecting shells. And that was a Gulf of Mexico beach. My family and I are sandwiched between my brother (in uniform) and my sister in-law.

I came home with a stretched sewing machine for my quilting frame. I bought the WOW IV machine that has an 18" arm. I am going to have to modify my carriage on my frame slightly to get the full 18" but I put a practice piece on the frame already. I want to do one more practice piece before I put a real quilt on but I may just put a baby quilt for donation on and give it a whirl. As long as I make sure to check the stitches when I get started I should be okay.

I also now have DSL and am loving it! I can't believe how long I sufferred with that slow dial up. Now I will have tons of extra time for quilting! Good thing too as I have lots of projects that I would like to get done.

Mystery Revealed

2008-01-06T21:18:00.000-06:00

Here is the New Years Day mystery quilt top finished. The quilting is not done as that will have to wait until after vacation. I already entered it into a quilt show in February so I will have to get it done when I get back. I used fabric out of my stash so it is not the colors I would liked to have used but I did not want to go shopping. My bedroom is purple so it will go well on my bed as I think I will save this one for myself.

Sewing Room

2008-01-06T19:05:00.000-06:00

These are pictures of my newly reorganized sewing/computer room. I spent pretty much all Saturday afternoon moving everything around. I have my computer desk on one end of the room and the cutting table/book shelf on the opposite wall. My room is fairly small so it still looks quite messy even though I know where everything is. Except I was making some pantograph's for my machine quilting frame and I can't seem to locate the rolls right now. I know they are somewhere but just can't remember what I did with them. I will find them eventually. My 9 year old son was watching me tracing stencils and he wanted to help so he is working on one for me. He is doing a good job also. I am going to finish up my last two borders on the New Years Eve Mystery and then will post a picture of it. We are leaving for vacation this Friday and then when we get back I have two quilts to finish quilting because I signed them up to be in a quilt show in February. I know I may regret committing myself but I really wanted to participate in the quilt show.

New Year's Day Mystery Quilt

2007-12-27T20:23:00.000-06:00

I am going to participate in the New Year's day mystery quilt on planet patchwork this year. I really enjoy online mystery quilts and have not been able to participate in quite awhile due to my schedule at work. They mystery is posted here:

http://planetpatchwork.com/Case126/Case126Part1.htm

These are the fabrics I have chosen for this mystery. They are not pink but I am hoping that won't matter in the final quilt. Is anyone else out there going to participate in the mystery quilt?

The med. fabric is actually a lavender but is looking more blue in the picture.

Bev, what do you think about the choice of fabric?

I start my new shorter hours at work next week. I will be able to be home when my youngest gets off the school bus so the teenager does not have to babysit anymore. They are still more hours than I really want but I am going to give it a shot and see how it works out. I have vacation in two weeks and will be headed to Florida with the family. I guess I can figure out whether I want to keep the job after vacation. What I would really like would be to quit and stay home and quilt!

Split 9 patch top

2007-12-23T19:11:00.000-06:00

I finished wrapping all the christmas presents today so took the opportunity to do some sewing today. I am currently offering a block challenge on two charity quilting yahoo groups I am on and I have started getting some blocks in the mail. This quilt was put together using some of the blocks. I got the idea from this blog http://snippetsofaquilter.blogspot.com/2007/10/charm-square-quilt.html

It looked like an easy block for others to do and I like the look of the scrappy quilt. We decided to make the middle block red for some consistency.

I have to work tomorrow morning until noon. We like to stay home for Holiday's so we are not going anywhere for Christmas other than church at 4pm.

Merry Christmas everyone!

"Quilts from Heaven"

2007-12-21T20:53:00.000-06:00

This is an early Christmas present from a friend at church. She wrote in her note that she thought of me when she saw this book. She is not a quilter but knows that I quilt alot!

The book is is called "Quilts from heaven" and is by Lucinda Secrest McDowell. There is a poem in the beginning of the book that I would like to share.

Pieces of My Quilt

If quilts could talk

I'd like to think I'd hear just what they'd say,

"I'll hold you close within my oflds and wipe your tears away.

I'll keep you warm and give you strength to face another day."

If quilts could talk...

If quilts could sing

I'd like to think I'd recognize each tune,

The lullaby or funeral dirge or wedding march in June.

Both sweet and haunting melodies I'd listen to them croon.

If quilts could sing...

If quilts could write

I'd like to think I'd read the workds they'd pen,

Of life and love and motherhood, of mystery without end.

And, oh, the drama they could share of everywhere they'd been.

If quilts could write....

If quilts could pray,

I'd like to think I'd feel each heartfelt prayer

Of thankfulness or great concern for those within their care:

Petitions to a loving God--the One who's always there.

If quilts could pray....

The quilt of my own life

Finds voice to talk, sing, write, and pray,

As it weaves a hundred stories in its own eclectic way.

And with each stitch of grace and hope my legacy is built:

All fragments finally made a whole...

the pieces of my quilt.

I have not read the book yet but I am looking forward to reading it in my free time. Work has been crazy lately and it will be nice when the holiday's are over and I can relax again.

Dresden Quilt finished

2007-12-20T20:38:00.000-06:00

The dresden plate quilt for my friend is finished! I am giving it to her at work tomorrow. This was ayear long project with two quilts with these blocks and two other tops that I put together so she could tie them. It feels good to have them done.

I have been researching upgrading my sewing machine on my b-line frame. I have looked at the Voyager 17, HQ16 and the funquilter by Nolting. I would like an 18" machine and have also been looking at the Nolting 18". It would be nice to get a real long arm but they cost so much money that my husband is not liking that option. I really want to practice my quilting stitches and was playing with feathers the other day. I think I need to put together some quick panel baby quilts and start practicing more freehand quilting. I guess after the holidays.

Orphans in the Ukraine

2007-12-09T13:58:00.000-06:00

Here are some pictures from a missionary in the Ukraine giving out quilts to the kids at the orphanage. Look how small their beds are! Last year our church Awana club did a clothing drive for clothes for the kids and I had some quilts on hand that I donated for the cause. I did not make all the quilts but did make some of them. The green quilt in two of the pictures was a quilt I made with an elementary school class. They colored in the quilt squares and I sewed them into quilts. I have been doing that for four years now and will also do it again this year. The kids really enjoy helping and I enjoy working with them. It is so much fun to see pictures of the kids enjoying there quilts. I am working on the opportunity to continue supporting these orphanages in the Ukraine. I am learning they have so little over there. There are about 150,000 orphans in the Ukraine and those are the ones actually living in homes and not on the streets. It is quite overwhelming the needs others have in other countries, including our own. I just want to help in any way that I can even though it is small.

I am going back to PT work after the New Year and am excited about that. I will have more time at home to tend to the family needs and so will be able to devote more time to my quilting!

PILE OF QUILTS!

2007-12-04T20:09:00.000-06:00

I am getting the quilts packed up for the Ukraine. These are all the quilts on my bed (I missed about 7 of them as they were hiding in plain sight in my sewing room).

The total count ended up at 40 for the orphanages. That is 40 children that will be loved through quilts! This project has been going since January 2007. I will be seeing the missionary this Friday as she will be speaking at a ladies Christmas dinner. I am looking forward to hearing what has been happening over the last year for her.

It was snowing today and has been a quiet evening at home after dinner. The boys have actually been fairly quiet for a change. I was able to spend time reading lots of blogs to see what other quilters have been up to. Lots of great projects with wonderful pictures. My life has been so work centered lately that I need to do something else on my off time instead of agonizing over work related stress. It feels good to be in the sewing room again and getting some quilting done.

I don't know if anyone out there is reading my posts but I do enjoy reading everyone else's blog's as I do not get to socialize with quilters much anymore.

Retirement Quilt

2007-11-25T19:23:00.000-06:00

I have been working on a quilt for my brother who is retiring from the military after 26 years. We are headed down to Florida in January for his ceremony. We are turning it into a family vacation and are meeting my sister and her family there. We have not decided where we are going yet but I am sure that Epcot Center and possibly Busch Gardens will be in our plans. My husband likes museums so I am sure we will check out the Kennedy Space Center again. We were down there about 10 years ago and went to Disney World so I know we are not going there again, even though my 9 yr old has not been there.

So this is the quilt so far. I have been figuring it out as I go as I do not have a specific pattern that I am following. Now I am trying to decide what kind of border to add to make it longer. I was thinking about just doing strips of the blue but am also toying with the idea of doing half red and half blue with a diagonal seam. I will have to play with it on my bed to see what it looks like.

Anyone else have any suggestions? I could not get the corners on the first border to be uniform because of the odd numbers of blocks. Frustrating but I am not going to worry about it overly. This will be a lap quilt and so won't be hanging on the wall or anything. I hope he likes it. Oh I forgot to mention that the center of the stars is signed by family members, with messages for my brother on it.

Well off to have some ice cream and relax so that I can wind down and get ready for the week ahead.

Quilts for Ukraine

2007-11-20T17:54:00.000-06:00

This is a top that will be donated to the orphanages in the Ukraine. They are going to the missionary on December 7th. So far I have 42 quilts that are completed and if time permits I may finish up one or two more. I think that is being a little amibitous with my job right now but I can always try. Most of the tops were done by others and quilted by me, or else completed by others all way. I started this project last winter so it has been an ogoing project for a year now. It has been fun but I am not sure if I will take on that project for next year or not.

I started working full time last July and my husband and I are discussing right now whether or not I am keeping my job. I may try to find a job part time instead. This job is really stressful and being a Personal Banker for the new bank is not at all like it was for the old bank before we merged. This position is more into the sales and making sales goals. Not really sure being a sales person is what I want to do with my life right now with my youngest son being 9 yrs old. If I work only part time then I will be able to devote more time to my charity quilting! That would make me much happier.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We are having a small family dinner at home with my oldest son and his wife coming over for dinner.

Quilt completed

2007-11-11T17:35:00.000-06:00

I completed another quilt for a friend of mine. These are Dresden quilt blocks hand sewed by her Grandmother (probably 40 year old blocks). I made them into a quilt top and then machine quilted it. I am not completely happy with how it turned out but she is pleased with it. I know from this experience I will never make 16 in square blocks and set them on point again. I have one more quilt to finish for her using some more of the dresden quilt blocks. That quilt the blocks will not be set on point.

I am working more than ever with 48 hours last week working 6 days. I long for the days when I was part time or was able to stay at home! I am not leaving my job at this point but I think I see a change will have to happen sometime in the future. As a Personal Banker I don't really want to be a sales person but someone that provides customer service to our customers. The new bank is very aggressive in sales and I am not sure I like that. I will wait and see how things progress. We have a new branch manager starting on Monday and that may change things drastically. Today I worked on quilting a top that I completed a long time ago. I am giving it to a friend that is going in for hip surgery on Tuesday.

Orphanage in Baja, Mexico

2007-11-06T20:33:00.000-06:00

Pictures from the orphanage in Mexico. A sweet little boy in the nursery.
This are kids in a casa coloring in quilt squares that I will sew into baby quilts and then send back to the orphanage.

Above is in the nursery (cuna). Aren't they all just adorable. We spent the morning playing with the babies in the nursery. They really enjoyed reading the books.
This is the sign for the orphanage.

Back to the sewing room

2007-11-06T20:19:00.000-06:00

This picture is not a quilt but some art work by my youngest son in third grade. I really like his color choices and have hung this picture in my office/sewing room. I am finally getting some energy back after being sick from Mexico. My work schedule has been very demanding and has not given me much down time to recover. I went to a local quilt guild's quilt show and enjoyed looking at everyone's accomplishments.

I needed some motivation to get back into the sewing room. I am currently working on a quilt for my brother's retirement after 26 years in the Navy. We are headed down to Florida in January to go to his ceremony and I have some muslin squares signed by family members and am putting them into a red/white/blue quilt. I have all the fabric and started cutting and sewing tonight after a 10 hour workday. I am making myself work on it as it is the only way I am going to get going again. I am also finishing up an antique quilt for a friend so will post a picture of that in my next post. Well back to the sewing machine and then off to bed!

Headed to Mexico

2007-10-14T20:51:00.000-05:00

It has been a crazy and hectic summer and I can't believe how the time has flown by. This is the week I leave for the orphanage in the Baja, Mexico. I have stuffed my suitcases with over 30 quilts (I lost count!) and it will be interesting checking in my bags as I won't be able to carry them very well. I have to leave my house at 3:15 am on Thursday morning for a 5:30 flight to San Diego. Then from there we will drive down to the orphanage (http://www.ffhm.org) I am really looking forward to my visit. I have gone to the Morelia, Mexico home before but have not been to the Baja mission yet. I have been making quilts for orphanages for the last four years and am really excited to be able to hand deliver the quilts myself this time. I hope to come back with lots of pictures to share with everyone. I was going to get a picture of my suitcases full but am afraid if I open them up they will explode. For some of the quilts I used those bags that you vacuum out the air. I really hope this is okay at the airport and they don't want to open those packages up as without a vacuum cleaner I would never be able to get the suitcases to close again.

For those of you that pray you could pray for my safe journey to and from Mexico. Flying is not one of my favorite things to do but I would not miss this opportunity just because I am nervous about flying.

I will post photos when I get back from my trip!

August 25, 2007

2007-08-25T13:13:00.000-05:00

Here is a quilt that I completed for the Ukraine orphanages. I rec'd these blocks from others but I pieced and quilted the top. I have been really busy at work all summer long. Have been working 45 hrs a week on the average. I am hoping this changes once school starts. Things are settling down somewhat in the office.

I am going to an orphanage in Baja, Mexico in October for a few days. (http://www.ffhm.org) I am excited to to be going even if it is only for a short time.

July 19, 2007

2007-07-19T19:30:00.000-05:00

The above quilt is one that was pieced by Beth and quilted by me. This quilt is headed to an orphanage in the Ukraine at the end of this year. I finished up about 4 of them before I left for my mission trip to Chicago last week. This week I have not been able to sew but am hoping I will get the motivation to hit the sewing room this weekend.

Here is the group that I went with on a mission trip to Uptown, Chicago last week. We had a very good trip and accomplished alot of service projects. My son also went with so it was nice to be on a mission trip with him and watch him serving God throughout the week.

I am headed to San Diego and Baja, Mexico in October. I booked the flight last night! I will be visiting an orphanage in the Baja. I have been to the location in Morelia for a week and am looking forward to visiting the Baja location. The orpanage is Foundation For His Ministry at http://www.ffhm.org/ I am hoping to bring a bunch of baby or lap size quilts with me for the nursery. It will be a short visit but I also get to visit with my sister while in San Diego.

2007-07-06T19:16:00.001-05:00

Happy July everyone! Have not been quilting too much lately. But thought you might like to enjoy a picture of the fireworks we enjoyed on July 4th. I was playing with my digital camera and thought these pictures were cool. I did quilt last weekend and finished up the binding on three lap quilts for charity and then quilted one and pin basted another that is waiting its turn being quilted. I am headed out this Sunday for a week long mission trip with our church youth group. We are going to Chicago to work with a group there. Not really sure yet what we will be doing but that is okay. My son is also coming with so I am looking forward to being able to spend time with him. For the last five years we have been at Boy Scout camp during this week and this year we did not go. Actually he is ready to make Eagle Scout and probably will not be attending summer camp anymore. You know how it is when the kids get their drivers license and then they get a job.

Work has been crazy and this week is another week of overtime. The time off this next week will be nice. I am sure I will be working just as hard but it will be something different.

I will try to post some actual quilt pictures when I get back so be sure to check back!

New Job

2007-07-01T09:24:00.000-05:00

I currently work at a bank that has been bought out and we just converted over all our systems last week to the new bank. What a week! I have been working overtime the last three weeks and I was only the PT teller. As of Friday I am now the Personal Banker! One of the ladies put in notice last Monday and I am now taking her place. I will now be full time with hours anywhere from 36 - 40 hours. We have not worked out all the specifics yet as we are still trying to figure out if hours are changing for everyone with the transition. Of course with a new bank and new policies we are having to change everything. This week I will be working as Personal Banker with the gal that is leaving training me in plus helping out the teller line if needed. If last week was any indication I may be Personal Banker on my own as we have been very busy. That is normal for summer but the timing is not the best for all this transition stuff. I have not been quilting much in the last month as I have been working so much. I am going to have to figure out a new schedule for my life so that I can make time for my quilting time. I am sad to see my extra hours at the sewing machine dwindle but I am happy about my new position. I was a stay at home Mom for about 10 years and am now ready to get back into the career role. My youngest is going into third grade this year.

June 17, 2007

2007-06-17T13:14:00.000-05:00

Here are a few more quilts for Mexico. These are just cheater panels but I know the babies won't care. I am now ready to pack up a box and send the quilts onto Mexico. I am able to mail them to the headquarters in Southern CA and they have a truck that goes down weekly. Much less expensive for me that way. I would never be able to ship international. I think I will be trying to fit 30 quilts into the box. Don't know if the box I have is big enough but I am going to vacuum out the air in a bag and hope the box does not explode while in transit. The next few weeks are going to be crazy at work so I have not been working very hard this weekend. I did manage to machine quilt three more tops for my Ukraine project. Have not completed the bindings yet.

Summer is here!

2007-06-11T07:17:00.000-05:00

Summer vacation is finally here! The kids last day of school was last thursday. My 16yr got his first job and started last Friday. The called him on Thursday evening! So now I have had to scramble to make arrangements for my youngest for child care while I am at work. This week he will be going to summer school in the morning and then go to one of my friends house to be babysat by her daughter. We will be figuring this out week by week as we progress! My job is pretty hectic right now as we are in transition being bought out by another bank. Alot of training is going on and being a small branch that means I am working extra hours. The timing is not the greatest but not much I can do about it. I am hoping to get another position in the office if things go as planned. I have not quilted all this week but do have a quilt sandwiched and ready to go. I am working on the Ukraine quilts right now. Then I think I will be working on some more baby quilts for Mexico to take with me in October when I go out there for a few days. I am getting excited about going but do not want to wish summer gone just yet!

Heartstring baby quilt

2007-05-30T08:35:00.000-05:00

Here is a picture of the heartstrings quilt( http://www.heartstrings.blogspot.com )I finished for Mexico. I have tons of 2.5" strips and have just gone through my fabric closet and pulled out more fabrics to cut into strips. I could be sewing these quilts all summer long! I am sure I will have to put some variety into the mix. Right now I am quilting some of the tops for the Ukraine. Work is going to be busier in the next month as the bank I work for is being bought by a bigger bank and I will be working more hours so everyone can be trained before the actual transition the end of June. I am looking at going to the orphanage in Mexico (http://www.ffhm.org) in October. Don't have all the details worked out but checking out all my options. It will be fun to hand deliver all the quilts I have for them! As of right now I have 29 quilts finished and with the quilt pictured that will make it 30.

Question on a How to?

2007-05-24T21:33:00.000-05:00

I have been reading alot of blogs lately and I was wondering how you are able to get words crossed out with a line through them . Could someone please show me how to do this?
Is is something on the keyboard? Enquiring minds want to know!

Thanks!

Time Flies!

2007-05-24T21:25:00.000-05:00

Well time sure does fly! I can't believe it has been ten days and I have no pictures to share for quilting finishes. I do have three baby quilts in the dryer but these were just panel quilts that I have had sitting around here waiting to be quilted for Mexico. Don't have pictures yet even though they would be boring.

We are selling all our animals and have sold one horse and took two cows to market this week. We have one horse left along with two calves that will be ready for market in the fall.

We are headed out of town this weekend to visit family. Have to take advantage of my three day weekends when they happen. I have been working extra hours at work as our bank is being purchased by a bigger bank and we are all in training to be ready for "transition day" on June 23rd.

Hope to be able to post something very soon!

High School Quilts

2007-05-15T20:51:00.000-05:00

I finished the three graduates quilts that will be presented at church this Sunday. I really don't like working on denim quilts. They are better off being tied and I tried quilting them for speed. I am sure the kids will still like them but I am not happy with the results. I also worked on the Dresden plate quilt for my friend and got one of the tops pieced but will need to get a photo of it to post it. I had today off work and ended up not having much time to sew at all as I had a doctors appointment and delivered the last of the kids quilts to the schools.

Mother's Day Gift

2007-05-13T12:58:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we were out shopping and my Husband and youngest son bought me a weeping willow tree for Mother's Day. I was out flower shopping and spent the morning putting together some flower beds in the front yard. It looks pretty bad right now because grass seed we planted last year did not come back this year and we are trying to grow that right now also. I am not much of a gardener and need to keep things simple because I do not like to weed and spend alot of time on flowers and such. I think the weeping willow is such a graceful tree and once it gets bigger is should look great in the front yard. We have alot of wind where we live as you can see it was windy when I snapped these photos. Today I plan on spending the day in the sewing room both sorting and sewing in between baskets of laundry. So I best get on with it as the day is already half over!

May 10, 2007

2007-05-10T08:53:00.000-05:00

This is a photo from the orphanage in Baja, Mexico that has a special place in my heart! http://www.ffhm.org This quilt was one that I donated with the help of a group of online quilters that make quilts for kids in orphanages and also children that get cleft lip/palate surgery overseas. http://sunshinequilts.hypermart.net/

As you can see I really enjoy quilting for kids in need. About two years ago I went on a mission trip to an orphanage in Morelia, Mexico and so far have not been able to schedule another trip so I make quilts from home.

Baby Quilts completed

2007-05-07T20:21:00.000-05:00

Here are the baby quilts that I have been working on for the last month. There were too many of them to post individual photos so decided this would have to work. I am going to deliver to two schools tomorrow and take pictures for the newspaper. I am happy to do these with the schools every year but I am glad I can now move onto the next project which is to finish the denim quilts for the High School graduates at church. I only have three of them to make and one is already complete and the other two are in various stages. After that I can start to work on whatever I want for awhile. What is that? At this point I am not even sure!

Baby Quilts done!

2007-05-07T09:35:00.000-05:00

Today is a day to celebrate! I finished up the 14 baby quilts and the last three are in the washer right now. It feels great to be done with them. I will get a picture tonight and post it. I have to take them to the schools next week but may stop by a few classrooms tomorrow or Wednesday. They are also going to be displayed at the local public library in June. I am excited to be able to tell the kids that news.

Another Hobby

2007-05-02T17:20:00.000-05:00

With all my deadlines pending for my quilting projects I still managed to get away for a weekend of scrapbooking with some girlfriends. This was the first time I went with this group and it was a blast. It is with my co-worker and we go to her Mom's house about 2 hrs away. Her house is wonderful and we all had a good time. I actually finished 80 pages over the weekend. I like to keep it simple because I am so far behind in all my scrapbooking. I actually have a combination of scrapbooks and pocket albums as I can not keep up with all the pictures. I worked on my youngest son's book and also the middle child's Boy Scout album. He will be working on his Eagle project this summer so I figured I better get that album done for his Eagle Court of Honor which hopefully will be this fall. Our theme for the weekend was "Look, its a chicken" so we all brought small gifts for each other that fit this theme. I made the chicken pin cushions for all the ladies. I ended up staying up late a few nights before to get them finished. I guess the story behind this theme is that we have a tendency to be talking about something and then in the middle of it interupt ourselves to say something like, "Look its a chicken" and then continue our converstation like we never stopped. It has something to do with my co-worker and her family, but I can completely relate.

I am back to quilting this week trying to finish up the baby quilts with the colored in quilt blocks from the elementary schools. These need to be done by May 15th and I believe I can get them done no problem. I will post some photos when they are complete.

New addition

2007-04-17T14:16:00.000-05:00

Here is a new puppy we got this weekend. Her name is Pandora and she is a Dauschund, Rat Terrier/Chiwawa (sp?) mix. She is only 6 weeks old and is just adorable. She loves to be held and will sleep whenever you hold her. She especially loves to put her head into your jacket and snuggle. I have not gotten much quilting done lately as I have been both sick and busy all at once. Last Friday I helped with a 30 Hr famine with the youth at church. It was fun but did prove to be quite the challenge going without food for 30 hours. Definitely very rewarding though. The kids raised alot of money for World Vision for feeding starving children in Africa.

Fabric Markers

2007-04-07T19:39:00.000-05:00

I should have been working on quilts today but could not seem to get motivated so instead I colored in this quilt block for another quilt. I used the iron on transfers and then used fabric markers to color this in. It is the Noah Ark for a baby quilt. I am also working on some 6 1/5" blocks with animals in two's that I will add to the quilt. This will be the center block and the others will probably go around the center square. I have yet to figure out the measurements but will figure something out. I was in the mood to be creative but not to sew apparently. Other than working this morning it turned out to be a quiet day around the house. I did run over the to next town to check out a Ben Franklin store that is closing. Picked up some quilting notions at 25% off but did not get any fabric other than muslin. I am going to wait until the discount is much higher and go back to see if I can get a good deal on some fabrics for the charity quilts. It has been very cold this week and feels more like winter instead of spring. Tomorrow is Easter and we are having a ham dinner at home with the family. I am sure it will be another quiet day which will be nice. Other than serving breakfast at church and attending church services we will be home the rest of the day. I have a busy week so it will be nice to start it out quiet.

Happy Easter to all!

Baby Quilt top

2007-04-04T10:11:00.000-05:00

Here is the first of many quilts with the blocks from the kids at school. I used the warm wishes quilt pattern adapted to the number of blocks from each class. I like to make one quilt per class so they can display them in the classroom for awhile before we donate them. I am even thinking about asking if I can display these somewhere around town when they are done. Maybe even the library. Kids always like to see what they have helped make on display. Last year I entered a few of them in the county fair. Maybe I will do that this year too. I am having fun picking out fabrics from my stash for the rest of the quilts.

Favorite Picture

2007-04-03T18:49:00.000-05:00

This is a picture I received from a friend. She knows how I like to make quilts for charity, mostly children in orphanages. I have this in my sewing room and enjoy remembering my friend who gave it to me. She lives about 3 hours away now. I went to visit her this last weekend and we had a good time visiting. The rest of the family came with me so we all went bowling and had a good time.

Today I spent the morning in my youngest son's elementary school with the K - 2nd grade classes. They were coloring in some more quilt blocks for me to turn into quilts to be donated to Mexico. I think I now have about12 quilts to work on. Good thing they are baby quilts so should not take me too long. I have until mid May to get them completed. Should not be a problem. I will post pictures as soon as I get some of them finished.

Quilts for Mexico

2007-03-27T17:33:00.000-05:00

I finished up a few more quilts for Mexico. I am on a mission to get a box mailed out soon. I have about 9 more quilt tops ready to be sandwiched. I have to admit that I do cheat with these small quilts and use the envelope method and do not bind these quilts. I normally use a Stitch in the Ditch for the quilting also. I don't think the babies mind as long as they are warm! The quilt with the bird houses and light houses I had help with. Those blocks were sent to me by my many quilting friends online for the charity quilts.

Son's artwork

2007-03-26T17:34:00.000-05:00

This picture is not quilting but it is a picture my son did in Art class that was chosen to be in an art show at a technical college a few towns away. We went to the opening day to see his artwork on display. He is in 2nd grade. I am a proud Mother, of course, but I think he did an awesome job.

Quilt Squares

2007-03-20T18:24:00.001-05:00

For four years now I have been going into the elementary schools in my town and the kids have been coloring in quilt blocks for quilts for babies in need. This year the quilts will be going to Mexico to the labor camps babies. These are a few examples of what the blocks look like before they are put into a quilt. Today I went into 6 classrooms, K - 5th grade. There was a total of about 100 quilt squares colored in. I try to make a quilt for each class so that all the kids stay together with their classmates. Every year I tell myself that I will make the quilt design more interesting than just alternating a print square but last year I did about 18 quilts so I am also under pressure to get them all done. This year I am thinking about using the warm wishes design with these 6.5" squares. I have not gotten much else done on the quilting front as it seems I have been busy with everything else.

Baby Quilt

2007-03-07T09:33:00.000-06:00

Here is another quilt that I put together quickly for Mexico. It is nothing special but made from
swatches of fabric that came from a company that makes those lavander shoulder things. Don't
know what they are called. I have a whole drawer full of them that I can cut into about 5.5" squares to work with. I like the bright colors and I know that those in Mexico like bright colors also.

Baby Quilts for Mexico

2007-03-06T09:38:00.000-06:00

I am currently working on some quilts for Mexico. These are baby quilts for babies in the labor camps. My contact person there is a missionary in an orphanage. He says that in the labor camps the people have very little and if they are lucky they sleep on cement floors. This group puts together layettes for the new Mothers and their babies. You could read more about the orphanage and their outreach ministries at http://www.ffhm.org

I find that I have way too many ongoing projects in my sewing room but with determination and persistence I can get through them all. I guess as long as I have a project waiting for me then I will always have the motivation I need to keep going. Just like eating an elephant. One bite at a time!

Denim Quilts

2007-03-04T15:28:00.000-06:00

This is my latest project. I am making three denim and flannel quilts for the High School graduates at my church. Members of church donated their old jeans and we cut out 7" squares. I will probably just stitch in the ditch for the quilting. Last year I made rag quilts and I did not want to cut that many quilts this year again! Looking at this picture I should have placed the white denim squares better. Thats what I get for not using my design wall! The other two I will be making are for boys so they will be red and blue flannel. I will definitely have to use my design wall to get better placement of the colors.

Hand quilting

2007-03-01T20:43:00.000-06:00

These are some dresden plate blocks that are about 50 years old. My co-worker has asked me to finish them up and I will be making two quilts out of the 16 blocks. This will take me quite awhile to finish up I am sure. This is my very first attempt at hand quilting. I decided to make pillows as that way the back of my project will not show through. I enjoyed the process so much (even though it does not look the greatest) that I am ready for more hand quilting projects. I basted a Halloween panel that I will hand quilt for my Mother. I have had the panel for years and always meant to put it together for my Mother but never got around to it. This will be a great project to do when I am too tired or unmotivated to really sew or quilt. I have tons of other projects going but need a break quite often.

It has snowed here in the midwest and school was cancelled today and we are wondering what tomorrow will bring. It is suppose to snow during the night tonight. I have to go to work no matter what as we are already short staffed. So I am sure the country roads will be fun to drive tomorrow.

Figuring this blog out!

2007-02-28T07:28:00.000-06:00

Well no picture showed up on the last entry. Not sure what went wrong. Will try again. That worked better. My computer can be really slow sometimes.

I am back

2007-02-28T06:59:00.000-06:00

I had been blogging at my Yahoo 360 account for the last year but I think I will start to blog here also. I like the look of this blog. This picture is of a wall hanging with some blocks from a siggy swap with some online friends. I am going to handquilt it as I have just taught myself how to handquilt this last weekend. I have been wanting to do that for about two years and finally just decided to hand quilt a star on some muslin and I will make it into a pillow. I am going to make two of them for my couch. I continue to charity quilt and will share some of those quilts as time goes on.

Coloring Quilt Blocks

2006-03-01T09:46:00.000-06:00

Well I have been working on more charity quilts. I went to two elementary schools last week and am putting together 6 baby quilts for ABC Quilts (http://www.abcquilts.org) . I am an area coordinator for them and really enjoy working with the kids in the classroom. This is the third year I have done it. My youngest son is in 1st grade and I of course had to include his classroom in the project. I have 4 of the 6 tops sewn together and plan on finishing up all six of them by this weekend. Saturday I am hosting a scrapbooking/project night fundraiser for the orphanage in Morelia Mexico (http://www.ffhm.org) I believe I will be bringing my sewing machine and not my scrapbooking to the event. We are making dinner also so will have some interuptions but should be able to get them all quilted that night.

I took some blocks to my community Women's Bible study last Wednesday and they colored in some sunbonnet sue blocks. I wanted to post the picture of the quilt top as I think it looks great if I say so myself. Some little girl should really love this quilt.

Purple is my favorite color. I am taking the top to my Bible study tonight to show the ladies. I think this one will be sent to someone else to quilt for me and then forward onto Wrap Them in Love (http://www.wraptheminlove.org)

I will post pictures of the kids quilts next week when they are completed. I think I am going to enter a few of them in the fair this summer. The kids will enjoy seeing them on display.

2006-02-14T19:11:00.000-06:00

Well I finished quilting the NYE mystery quilt that I posted a picture of earlier. My picture is not the best but the quilt is so big and hard for one person to hold up. Does not help that my house is small! Oh and the one peeking out is my youngest son, Peter! Cute isn't he?

February 8, 2006

2006-02-08T08:19:00.000-06:00

Time sure does fly! I started a spanish class online and have been spending alot of time learning to speak in spanish. I am hoping that it will help me to communicate better when I am down there this summer on my mission trip. I know I will be able to read and listen to spanish but actually being able to communicate my thoughts is questionable. You really have to think quickly to be able to do that.

I have been working on some UFO's the last week. One is over a year old. I added borders and then quilted it. I am still hand sewing down the binding. I found the perfect backing fabric for it. The quilt is red/black/white. My husband likes it so I will be keeping this one. The other one is my NYE mystery quilt from just a month ago. I wanted to finish that one and use it on my bed. We bought a brand new bed this last weekend and so far it has been very comfortable. Our bed was only 5 years old but was really worn out. It is possible it would have been under warranty but we did not save the receipt so could not look into it.

Matt and his girlfriend were over last night picking up my old computer. They stayed for supper. It was really nice. It is amazing how his attitutude has changed drastically having a girlfriend! He actually told me he loved me as he was leaving! This is quite an improvement. My husband informed me that he is actually calling me Mom now instead of "your wife". Raising kids is sure tough work!

January 17, 2006

2006-01-17T09:37:00.000-06:00

Worked on some quilting over the weekend. I had to work Saturday morning but then was able to sew all afternoon. I have a pile of 7 quilt tops made from orphan blocks and crumb blocks. These are going to Wrap a Smile and Wrap Them in Love.

I registered for an online Spanish course this weekend also. It is a 6 week course and is suppose to teach you how to speak in Spanish quickly. I am sure there will be alot of work on my part but I am ready! I am headed to Mexico again to an orphanage in Morelia. http:///www.ffhm.org This will be my second year going and I am really excited about it. I am going in June with about 10 other people. I am in the process of organizing the mission team now.

My youngest son participated in his first Cub Scouts pinewood derby. He placed third in the entire pack and boy was he excited!! He almost placed 2nd as he tied a few times for that place but the other car finally ended up winning. He was really excited to place third place! He will get his picture in the newspaper.

Well that was my weekend in a nutshell. Back to the cutting board to make more charity quilts. So far I have worked on 16 quilts for January. My goal this year is at least 100. That would be about 8.33 quilts a month so I am a little ahead for those months I may not be able to do as much.