Merry Christmas!!!

I had a very quiet and enjoyable day today! I got a little quilt project done which I shall post about in a few days. It is a present and it has yet to be delivered and I don't want to spoil the surprise.....

Yesterday was my Mother's 88th birthday! It sure doesn't seem like it has been almost 25 years since I have seen her! Her birthday was on the 24th of December and she passed away on the 14th of February. All of her kids use to make sure that she received a birthday gift as well as a Christmas gift each year. One year when I was still home the 'older kids' pitched in and bought drop down ceilings for her living and dining room areas. 2 of my 3 brothers did various types of carpentry work so they put it up with the help of the 3rd which was a good 'gofer'.... It was up to us 'girls' to get Mom out of the house for the day. When we came home it didn't look any different, but Mom could tell there was a difference. Of course, us 'girls' looked up and could see the difference right away! I don't remember if Mom finally noticed or we ended up telling her after the 'boys' came inside. So after everybody left and Mom was happy as a clam we went into the living room to watch TV. When she went to turn the set on her knees got wet (Mom 'walked' on her knees because she had drop foot and it was painful for her to walk on them). We couldn't figure out why the floor was wet until we started looking at the 25 gallon fish tank. During their work on the ceiling someone had hit the tank with a hammer. This tank was one of the older ones that had the metal corners so the crack in the glass didn't show. Mom told me that I was never to tell the 'boys' what they had done and I never did until now :)! She didn't want them to feel bad after all the work that they had done putting up that ceiling.

I am thankful for my many blessings this year! The one that is on the top of the list is having my husband with me still, with a job, house and talents next in line. I have to thank my Heavenly Father for these blessings because without Him in my life these wouldn't be as sweet as they are.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Sharon

"Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor since 2009

A typical Saturday morning.....

Good Morning my fellow bloggers! As is my custom lately I am up way to early for a non working day. I have always been a night person and it is really odd that I am awake at 5, 6, 7 AM most mornings the past 6 months or so. No matter what I try I can not go back to sleep. I guess I just need to adjust my thinking, get out of bed and DO something! This morning happened to be a load of wash and visit all of my usual stops on the internet. Now DH is up and we're talking about going to some garage/estate sales. One of our favorite things to do on a Saturday! Then after that I want to get to my new 'toy' and finish my wall hanging I started last week. I ran out of bobbin thread and was to lazy to start back up after I re-loaded.  I will post pictures after it is done. 

I am off so that I can go see what others 'junk' will become my 'treasure'!

Happy Quilting, Sharon
"Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor since 2009

New 'Toy' problems and solutions

Happy Black Friday!! 

Today was the first day that I have ventured out shopping on black Friday in years. BUT, I had to have stuff for my new 'Toy'!! I received the parts I needed to get it going again 2 days ago and I was still having problems..... so I went to Jo-Anns to get different needles~~~maybe that was it........ While I was up in the area I figured I might just as well go to Hobby Lobby, so I picked up the Side Winder for bobbin winding, maybe that was one of the problems...... Nope, nothing seemed to work, besides the tension the top thread kept shredding. It was like something was catching it. Sooooooo, I went hunting! This is what I found:

This is a drive shuttle spring. It sits around the outside of the bobbin. The area that is circled is suppose to have a little loop, but this one had a rough edge and kept catching the upper thread and shredding it. This is what happens to your tension when this little piece of metal is bad. 

This is the top

 This is underneath

This is what it looks like when you have a working drive shuttle spring.

This is the top

Yep, this is freehand. Not bad, huh?

This is the bottom

Yahoo! I am in business! Now I need to get busy and get my supplies out and get a real quilt loaded. This machine is going to be such a DREAM to quilt with!

Happy Quilting, Sharon 


"Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor since 2009

Craft Fair

Drats! I forgot to get a picture! I even remembered to take my camera, but never even got it out of the bag! Well, we had a great day! It was cool, not cold, not hot, just a beautiful Arizona day. I will have to remember to get pictures at the next show we do in December.

I am still waiting on parts for my new 'toy'....... It's a good thing I have my ''Challenge!" going on right now otherwise I would just about be crying 'cause I can't 'bond' with my new baby! I keep saying, just a few more day, just a few more days! Now that the craft fair is out of my hair I am going to get the Advent Calendars done then I can have the time to play with my new toy.

I have been thinking about what I want to do for my next "Challenge!". I do believe it is going to be at least in part getting papers cleaned up, pictures onto the computer and just sorting all of the 'goodies' I have kept over the years. One dear friend from church has sent me a home made birthday card for the past 10 years and I have saved every one. The sad part is nobody except me appreciates what that means to me. Once I am gone they will just be a birthday card someone sent to me and it will be tossed. I want to scan this type of stuff and put it on a thumb drive with an explanation. I also have old pictures and newspaper clippings I want to get scanned then I am going to pass the discs or thumb drives down to my grandkids. It will be my way of passing the family to them. I was lucky enough to have family around close, but now we are spread so far apart that it's hard to pass on stories.

Well, it has been a long day and I am going to hit the hay. See you all later, alligators!

Happy Quilting, Sharon
"Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor since 2009

"GO" cutter give away.....

I was not the lucky winner of this quilting gadget..... Oh well, I'll try again if it comes up!!

The weather has been great this past week or so. We are in the mid to high 70's during the day and going down in the 40's at night! This is why I live here!


Happy Quilting, Sharon

"Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor since 2009

"GO" cutter give away.....

I have been intrigued with the "Go" cutter. I have found a blog that is giving one away! So I just had to jump in with the other 400 plus quilters that would love to win a free "Go"!

Go on over and check it out!

http://lavenderridge.blogspot.com/

Happy Quilting, Sharon
"Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor since 2009

My new toy.....

Here is my new toy.....

Now, if I could only stop breaking things and get him to stop being temperamental, or maybe it's me being temperamental....

Happy Quilting, Sharon
"Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor since 2009

My new toy.....

Good evening blog surfers!!

Over the past 10 days or so I have found it hard to get on here and post about my "Challenge!" because I have been busy with my new 'buddy'. I have accomplished getting my 'buddy' level, oiled, leaders made, poles with velcro, bobbins wound, and a practice piece on. I was going to post a picture, but the only ones I have so far is my rotten tension issues. I have done everything I can think of to get my tension right and finally decided I needed some experts opinion. After posting on the Yahoo! group I went fishing through other posts..... I guess I should have tried that first. Tomorrow I will try what I read tonight and see what happens. Boy, will I be one happy camper if it works. So, for now, I think I'll put my fanny to bed so that I can be bright eyed and bushy tailed tomorrow to try it again....

Have a great night all!

Happy Quilting, Sharon

"Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor since 2009

It's FRIDAY!!!!

Good afternoon bloggers! 


My day has been really great! I finished one of the items on my "Challenge!" list plus sewed up a couple shirts I had cut out for my DH. I use to make all of his clothes, but now that he has his 'manly' figure back I don't have to do so much of it. I had 2 holiday scrubs cut out. One is a Mickey and friends playing in the snow and the other one is a Halloween design. I decided I had better get at least the Halloween one done since next weekend is Halloween, but managed to get both done! 


I am thinking about what I am going to do on my next "Challenge!". I would like to have 3--100 day "Challenge!"s in the year 2011. That way I could have a few days off between each "Challenge!" to decide what I wanted to accomplish next and just be able to take a break. Would anybody want to join me on one or all of these "Challenge!"s? 


Reviewing the comments made during the "Fall into Fall Giveaway" I was glad to 'hear' most of my visitors like my set-up. I keep the 'plain' look because as I have read other blogs with all of the fading and fancy background stuff I find it hard to read. Because I have family on both the east and west coast I started this blog to let them know what I am up to. Now that I have figured out how to 'operate' the tabs I am going to add a couple more. I like the option that my visitors can pick what they want to read about without having to read everything.


I am getting a new quilting buddy next week. I'm not sure if it is going to be a 'him' or a 'her'. I'll let you know when 'it' arrives. 'It' is in the mail as I write and I am almost bouncing off the walls waiting for 'it'. My DH bought me a mid-arm quilt machine for my birthday!!!! I have been thinking what I need to move and re-arrange to get my new buddy set up and running. Then I have to decide what I want to work on first, then, then, then. To many 'thens' to deal with..... 


Till 'then', have a great week!




Happy Quilting, Sharon 
"Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor since 2009

Good Morning bloggers! The winner has been chosen for the 'Fall into Fall Giveaway' from our magic green bowl!

and the winner is:

Jen W!!!

Congratulations Jen W!

See you all in a day or two with more things quilty!

Happy Quilting, Sharon
"Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor since 2009

The beginning of another year for me.....

This past Saturday was my umf, gulp, snort birthday. My DH took me to Jerome, AZ for the day and we had a great time. I just wish that Jerome was more of a ghost town than it is. I couldn't believe how much it has grown since the last visit. It seemed as though every building was occupied and  while talking with a gal in her shop she said she waited years to get a shop up there. I didn't find anything that I couldn't live without so came down off the hill without anything for myself. I was amazed that I didn't see any quilting products up there, not even in the antique stores.

After we hit bottom we found a great little 'local quilt shop' better known as LQS. Yep, we stopped----of course! I found some fabulous Laural Birch fabrics. I was going to post a pic, but the camera is in the car which is downtown Phoenix right now.... Laural Birch was a fabric designer that designed whimsical animals in bright colors. This pattern is very subdued in color for her, but the same famous design that happens to be horses. After I picked out the patterns I liked I decided what I wanted to do with them on the way home! Now, I can't wait to get them done! I will just have to wait a bit 'cause I have other things on the 'to do' list ahead of this!

Last stop up in the mountains was on the cross roads of I-17 and the road to Clarkdale. I didn't realize that there was a shop in the building with the Shell gas station that we stop at for a pit stop. I found 2 beautiful turquoise rings that I fell in love with! Every where we go I look at the jewelry, but usually with the price of silver so high I just drool, but this time I danced a little dance all the way home. I will definitely remember this little shop now!

Sunday we went to our old building for church. It felt like old home day! I had to chuckle because Carl has always had to wait for me to finish talking to go home and this past Sunday I had to wait for him! It was great to see friends and have a chat.

Well folks, I am off for tonight. Gotta' finish some stuff before DH gets home from his Spanish class.
I hope you all have a great week!

Happy Quilting, Sharon
"Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor since 2009

What a find!!!!

Good evening everybody! 

Thank you for all the comments from all of you "Fall into Fall" Giveaway posters!! I assure you that I have read and continue to read all of them and appreciate you letting me know what you like and don't like around here at Coyote Quilts. After the giveaway is finished I will report on a summary of all comments and check out your blogs if you have one. 

Today before I went to work for 1/2 day I was cruising the internet looking for a quilting machine. I do that periodically. Well, I didn't find a great bargain on a quilter, but I did happen on a listing on Craig's list for 3 'antique' sewing machines. Of course I had to go see them, even though I am not a collector, nor do I really want to be. I could tell by the pictures that one of them was a hand crank machine (they intrigue me) and when I went to check them out I found 2 hand crank machines. Yep, I sure did, I brought both of them home. The decals are not 100%, but fair and they sure need a lot of TLC. My DH was checking them out and noticed that the one with a wooden base had a drawer. He got that drawer open and I was sure surprised with the contents! The manual was in there with several feet, 2 shuttle type bobbins, needles and of course a few buttons! We couldn't tell what that machine was because there was no markings on it anywhere, but the manual says it is a "Gloria" Vibrating Shuttle Sewing Machine. The other machine is a Davis and is in rougher mechanical shape I do believe and we may not be able to restore it. One of the things I noticed was the tension wire is pretty rusty and we have not even opened them up to see what kind of goop is inside.

Here is Mr. Davis

Here is Miss "Gloria"

Aren't they just beautiful! So if the weather continues to be nasty out here (we have had bad thunderstorms with hail and tornadoes in areas) we may be staying home this weekend and doing a little 'cleaning' instead of traveling. Not a problem for me that's for sure! 

Happy Quilting, Sharon
"Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor since 2009

Fall into Fall Giveaway!!

AND the WINNER is:


Jen W!


Thank you all again for visiting my blog and participating in the 'Fall into Fall Giveaway'.
I had as much fun as all of you!
Watch for responses to the comments in later posts!






The last few days to leave a comment for the 'Fall into Fall Giveaway' are upon us. I thank all who have visited, commented and became followers. I have a few new things planned after the holiday season and would love you to come visit again. No, I am not going to spoil the surprise and whisper sweet nothings in any of your ears..... you'll just have to come on back and listen for the whisper after January 1st.....


It is the first of October!!! You know what that means, don't you? It means that we all unveil our giveaway for the "Fall into Fall Giveaway!"


To be eligible for the giveaway I will, of course need you to make a comment about my blog. Make sure it is a comment and not just a request to have your name put in the drawing pot, please. Do you like it? Do you hate it? Would it be more interesting with more about my quilting or more about my life? Then if along the way you like my blog and want to follow that's okay too! Don't forget to leave a way for me to contact you!


Because I am a "Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor I want to share that with a lucky winner. I am offering ONE of Kaye's 'Starmaker' rulers with ONE of her patterns that correspond with that ruler. Total value is approximately $35.00!! 


I am sending you directly to Kaye's site for the choices here:


'Starmaker 5' ruler with either the 'Jumping Jacks' OR 'Windmill' pattern.
OR
'Starmaker 6' ruler with either the 'A-Maze-Ing' OR 'Stacking My Block" pattern.

OR
'Starmaker 8' ruler with either the 'Kaleidoscope' OR 'Blazing Stars' pattern



October 5, 2010 The links are fixed and working!!!


All names will be put into a hat and I will have my husband pull the winner on October 15th. When I contact you that you are the lucky winner I will ask which ruler and pattern you would like.


Don't forget to click on the 'Scarecrow' on the left to get to the list of other bloggers (143) and businesses (8) that are participating in this 'Fall into Fall Giveaway'


You have 2 weeks to visit all of us, so take your time and enjoy all that we have to offer!


There are almost 100 comments and we have 8 more days with this giveaway. Do you think we can make 150?


How is everybody doing with the search? I am getting geared up for the 15th, how about you?


Well, today is the 15th and the day to unveil is at hand. I will announce the winner tomorrow. Thank you to all that participated. 

Happy Quilting, Sharon 
"Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor since 2009 

"Happy Birthday" from miles away!

Good Evening gang! 

Not much going on around the Voorheis' house tonight. BUT I do want to say "Happy Birthday!" to a young lady in New York that had a birthday today!!! I just don't know where the years go. It sure wasn't that long ago that I was holding this kid and she wasn't any bigger than a minute! 

I think she's bigger than a minute now. 

Tomorrow I want to get a little closer to getting another item checked off the "Challenge!" list. Or at least get one step closer. I have one of the projects done and need to move on to another. Boy, does it make me feel good to actually get some things done ahead of time! 

I may get to meet a member of one of my forums tomorrow at, of course one of my favorite places--a quilt shop! I get to meet people from all over the world because we share the love of quilting.

I am off to find my bed. I sure hope everybody has a great day tomorrow!

Happy Quilting, Sharon
"Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor since 2009

Another September Birthday!

Good evening everybody!!! The first thing on the agenda tonight it to say, "Happy Birthday" to Ashton!!! Happy Birthday kid!! Now, you may stop having birthdays!!! If you don't have any more then I won't either!!! Love you!

Well, my "Challenge!" is off to a great start. I'll post pics when I get busy enough to take them.

I'm off to see what is going on with my forums. See you all tomorrow!

Happy Quilting, Sharon
"Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor since 2009

What is going on in my life the next 90 days!

Good Morning everyone!!!! 

Today I started my "90 Day Challenge!". I needed some motivation to get some things done before that big day at the end of the year. As usual I have way to much stuff on my 'to do' list, but I am going to try my best to get it done this year. Maybe if I post each day what I have accomplished (or not accomplished) I will at least get some of the most important things done! So if you want to join me you can comment here and we'll see what we can get done!!!

Happy Quilting, Sharon 

"Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor since 2009 

Condolences

I would like to extend my condolences to Kaye Wood with the passing of her husband this past week.

Happy Quilting, Sharon
"Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor since 2009

Afternoon one and all! 

A couple things going on that I wanted to let you know about.

On October 1st I will be hosting a 'Fall into Fall Giveaway' right here on my blog. The scarecrow to the left will be updated to go to another spot for the list of different blogs and shops that are participating in the giveaway. On the first of October we will all post what we will be giving away and any criteria that will be required to have your name put in for that particular giveaway. I'm not sure just yet what I would like everybody to do, but it will be easy. I already have a good idea what I want to 'giveaway' and that will be posted on the first also.

The second thing that I wanted to let you all know about is my '90 Day "Challenge!" that I started on My Quilting Buddies quilt forum. This will start on the 25th of September and I will be sending out 'squishies' to the top 3 who do all of the posting that is asked for. 

So mark your calendars or follow my blog to join in all the fun that is going to happen the last 3 month of 2010!

Happy Quilting, Sharon 


 "Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor since 2009 


 www.coyotequilts.com

Good evening all! What a great weekend this has been. I have accomplished a couple things that have been on the 'to do' list for a long time. Some time ago a member of the church asked me to help her with a project and brought me the supplies to make her a couple 'Temple Bags'. Well, I managed to get one done right away and since then have dragged my feet. One thing or another got in the way as well as my ambition. I have also been working on the wine bottle shirts for the craft fair this November, so that helped get me motivated again. I decided I had better get the 'Temple Bag' done and out of the way BEFORE I went on to the next 'want and need to do' on the list.

"Path of Light" by Kaye Wood

About a month or less ago I read on Kaye's newsletter that they wanted several someones to test out the pattern, "Path of Light" and write a review on their blog. This pattern uses one of her special 'Starmaker' rulers. The magic of her 'Starmaker' rulers is that with 3 rulers you have every angle known to quilting and you can use them on all different patterns and you won't have to buy a hundred zillion rulers for each quilt you want to make. A picture of the pattern from Kaye's site and directions is above and when you look at it you may think, "Oh, that is sooooo complicated!" Well, folks, I am here to tell you different! As with all of Kaye's patterns it just looks complicated, but is very easy to do. I do a few things a little different than Kaye, but putting her patterns together is not one of them. Kaye only uses a dry iron, not steam because of the bias edges on her blocks. Steam stretches the blocks, so this is one place I follow 'the expert', another thing I do is to starch my blocks. Kaye uses 'sizing' instead of starch due to the 'burn' factor. As of yet, I have not had my starch burn on my fabric, but may change if that ever happens. As most know the female of the species has the prerogative to change her mind! I just did 4 blocks (used 3 in my project) and only put a single border around the blocks for a table runner. This project including digging through my stash for the fabric took me less than 4 hours and that included several short breaks to talk with DH, a few quick glances at the TV, photo taking, frogging a couple whoops, potty and drink breaks. Not bad for only glancing at the directions before I put it together, huh? Here are a few of the pics I took while I was putting this together.

As you can see I even made a couple boo-boos. You need to pay attention to the squares BEFORE you sew them together :)! Can you tell the difference in these two blocks?

Then here is my final project.

This pattern has 3 ideas with it. A pillow, quarter quilt and dresser scarf. I wasn't sure what a 'quarter quilt' was until I read Kaye's description. It is a quilt that is over the foot of the bed and would be a great decoration to spruce up your bedroom and give it a new fresh look with less expense. What great gift ideas!

I hope you all enjoyed my short 'tut' on Kaye's great new pattern, "Path of Light". To get your copy why don't you jump on over to her site and get yourself the pattern and ruler!

Now, before I go for tonight I have to add in a great picture of a couple of my grandkids and their new friend. I snitched several photos of my daughter and her family's vacation. This one happens to be one of my favorite of the collection. What do you think?

Do you think they pick good friends?

Don't forget to come on back on October 1st to see what I have on the list for the 'Fall into Fall Giveaway'!


Happy Quilting, Sharon
 "Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor since 2009
 www.coyotequilts.com

Just had to share this

I just had to share this with everybody. One of my friends from church sends me these cute jokes and I had to share this one.

One day, while going to the store, I passed by a nursing home. On the 
  front lawn were six old ladies lying naked on the grass, Millie, Nelda, Elma, Lacey, 
  Sippy and Vera. 
 
I thought this was a bit unusual, but continued on my way to the store. On 
 my return trip, I passed the same nursing home with the same six old 
 ladies lying naked on the lawn. 
 
 This time my curiosity got the best of me, and I went inside to talk to 
 the Nursing Home Administrator. 
 
 'Do you know there are six ladies lying naked on your front lawn?' 
 
 'Yeah,' she said. 'They're retired prostitutes. They're having a yard 
 sale.' 




Happy Quilting, Sharon www.coyotequilts.com

Time with my brother-in-law, Melvin

I have covered the Diamondbacks game and our trip to Tucson, so all that is left of Mel's visit is the Western Film Festival, visit with Kelly & family, visit with Wayne & part of his family. We also hit Pipe Springs National Monument Park, but didn't get any photos of the Mel and Carl there.

 Lee's Ferry Stone

Brothers crossing the old bridge over Lee's Ferry area.

                       

                              Cool dudes?

Colorado River close to the site of Lee's Ferry

A glimpse of the 'Stars' we traveled so far to see!

Waiting in line to have 'Breakfast with the Stars'.                      
                
                          Ferocious brothers?

Meeting the 'Stars' with Foster. Bridget Hanley and Lee Merriweather. 

                     Happy brothers?

Brian holding Cyrus, Carl, Ed Faulkner, Foster and the back of Bridget Haley's head.

                          


                                 Kelly, Cyrus and Foster











    Yolanda, Florence, and Jacynthia

All of the Brothers!

Mel, Wayne and Carl

As you can see we had some fun and enjoyed visiting with family.

Happy Quilting, Sharon

Photos downloaded!

Finally! I have all of my recent photos downloaded onto my computer. I guess I am way to fussy when I download because I try to put them in the correct file and name them. I am going to share some of the quilts that were in the quilt show at the 2010 Kanab, UT Film Festival here. Mel, I'll get the others up in the vacation tab.

The first 2 are antique quilts they had on display: 


This one has values to live by in it.

This one is hand quilted with the outline of the St. George Temple.

This is needle turn flowers.

This is the center medallion and a close up of one of the other blocks for the needle turn flower quilt.

This one was made with all different types of dots except the white.

Beautiful Texas star that I'm almost sure was made with a paper piecing pattern.

The center of this quilt is a new design. It is made with a 10 degree ruler. I picked one up with a book of patterns a few months ago, but have yet to work with it. This is giving me the inspiration to get busy with it....

Mayor House Sampler

These were just a few of the quilts that were there this year. I sure was happy to see a variety instead of all of the Stack and Whack that were there on my last visit. There were a lot more hand quilted items also. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Until next time, Happy Quilting, 

Sharon 

I found another one!


see more Oddly Specific

Happy Quilting, Sharon

I had to share this with you. I have been surfing the net and this site is a hoot! I'm hoping that the picture will load here, but am not sure.


see more Oddly Specific

Happy Quilting, Sharon

Goofing off again tonight!

Last weekend I was able to start working on Carl's shirt. Of course it isn't the same easy pattern I used last time..... I would have had it done if I hadn't had to re-work the whole thing. I guess the sizes on these patterns are a little small......... I sure hope the pants work out better, at least I made practice pair out of other material to check the fit. Time will tell. I was going to work on them today, but the sewing room was way to hot and I was just lazy. I'm lucky I managed to get the wash done (grin)....

I have been selling off some of the books I have collected over the years and never use. It is a slow and at times confusing process. I need to just post them on one site instead of getting in a rush and posting them on 2 different sites. Of course each one has a different set of rules and I sure am having a hard time keeping them straight. One you can't post more than 1 item in each category every 7 days, the other I can't find my listings easily. Just as long as I don't send the wrong book to the right person, or some such thing.......

Anybody interested in any of these? If so just drop me a line and I'll get back to you.

Quilting with the ladies at church this morning. I almost didn't go, but decided I had better so that I can at least get in a little service for this month. Then, on the way home I was thinking about digging out some of the blocks I have swapped over the last few years and putting together some lap quilts for Hospice of the Valley. Awhile ago Carl asked me if I would be interested in doing these types of quilts for people that are wheelchair bound. I have several blocks that are ready to be put together, just need the ambition to do them. I can't wait for the heat to go away. I can't take any walks or sit and dream in my sewing room. I don't want the year to hurry any quicker, just the heat. And, yes sister, it is a DRY heat!

Well, I guess I had better get to bed. Tomorrow is the last day for me to work this week and I need my beauty sleep LOL!

Happy Quilting, Sharon

Being bad tonight!

I have been sooooo bad this evening! After Carl came home from work we went to his favorite Chinese restaurant for supper.  They have a buffet and we can pig out all we want. After we pigged out we came home and I jumped on the computer. Well, one thing led to another and I found myself surfing for quilting blogs. So, two or more hours later I found a couple that do giveaways and decided to try for this one, 44th Street Fabric. You get extra chances if you put a link on your blog, so here I am. If you want to join in on the chance, just follow the link and the rules and you will have a chance or two to win also! The contest winner will be announced on August 2nd, so get over there quick!

Carl has to work tomorrow so I will be on my own in the morning. I haven't decided if I want to go on our weekly estate sale trip or stay home and sew. I do know that I need to finish my wash so we don't go naked next week!

Speaking of naked, it reminds me of a time when we were trying to teach our oldest grandson the alphabet and words. We play a game called 'The Alphabet Game' while driving. You start with 'A' and find a sign that has an word that begins with 'A', then say 'A is for whatever the word is'. Well, Ashton was on 'N' and when he found his 'N' he said, "N is for, Pa I don't know what that word is." Pa says, "Spell it for me." Ashton says, "N. U. D. E., what's that Pa?" He is told, nude. Next question, "What does nude mean?" Yep, you get the picture.

I am trying to get rid of some of my 'stuff'. You know the 'stuff' that you just had to have and never have had the time to do anything with. Well, I have lots of books, patterns and other goodies hanging around that I seldom look at or even use that I want to get rid of. I would rather have other quilting stuff that I just might use! Of course I went to a quilt shop sale the past 2 weekends and picked up some more fabric. Just what I needed, huh? Well, I did manage to get the material for Carl's 1800's shirt I need to make for him for the Western Film Festival the end of next month. He has shrunk so much everything is way to big on him so now he needs some new duds. I have his shirt 1/2 done and his pants cut out. I'd really like to get them done tomorrow, so that may be what I will do. I'll let you know how that goes, but for now I think I'll finish posting on 44th Street Fabric to get my chances to win that Moda Bake Shop gift pack.

Happy Quilting, Sharon

Good Evening Everyone!!!

I decided to review my blog tonight to see what quilts I have posted and what I have rambled on about over the past year or so. While doing that I found a link to a sew-along quilt pattern  that I have been looking for! Yippee! I won't be getting into the drawing, but I will be doing the quilt for sure. I like all of the blocks posted except for 2, so I should be able to deal with that. I bought my extra fabric I needed right after I saw the post, so I am ready to go with that. I also found another pattern I was looking for the other night and thought I had lost. So, now I have 2-'to do's'.......

I dug out an old 'to-do' this past week and started working on them. In 2006 I join a Banner of the Month club and got all of the patterns. It also included the buttons and fabric, which was nice. I loved the banners, but didn't love the technique, it is applique, which is hand work, which is not my favorite thing to do. Well, I only have 3 banners left to do the hand work on, but 8 to sandwich, quilt and bind. I AM going to get these finished! I did all the prep work this past week and am starting on the 'yucky' part. I will then put the patterns on the internet to sell. I would love to make these again for a present, but know I won't do it. Mine have taken me 4 years to complete, what makes me think I'll get another set done?

Here are the banners that are complete. I will be so happy when I get all of them done!

So, on with the blog review...... Last year was a series of ups and downs and I am so glad that I had Heavenly Father along for the ride. I do not know how I would have survived one day to the next without His help!! Thank you, Heavenly Father for all your support and love you show to me and my family!

I thought I had shared a picture of the 'Star Wars' quilt that went up north to a grandson. Two years ago he was learning to read and I told him that I would make him a quilt when he reached book number 150. Now, you have to understand that he was 5 at the time and his mom was trying to encourage him to read. Well, the stinker worked his tail feathers off and finished a lot sooner than I thought he would. He read me book number 150 one day in August that year. A little while later I took this picture:

I thought I had one with a happy smile, but could not find it. It must be on a disc in the drawer.....

Well, enough of the blog review, it's getting late and I do believe that the body is telling me to get to bed. Besides, I need to get my beauty sleep so that I can go shopping tomorrow at a local quilt shop (better known as LQS). They are having a Christmas in July sale and it looks really interesting!!

So, everyone have a great night and better tomorrow!

Happy Quilting,
Sharon