Quilting in the Panhandle

AFTER LONG ABSCENCE I AM BACK!!!!!!!!!!

2011-08-02T14:14:00.000-07:00

Well it has been quite awhile since I have posted on here and those of you who follow probablly want to know what has been up. Well, I have a new granddaughter from my son Jason and his new wife Ashley. Her name is Zoe Lynn Brinkley and she is a little doll. That is my son in the picture holding her.

I just finished up making an apron for the Flirty Apron Swap, this time it was a theme of Hawaii. I forgot to take a picture but as soon as my partner posts a pic I will steal it and put it on here. I chose a difficult apron and had to remake it but I think it turned out ok.

If you will look to the left I am joining the Bead Soup Blog party in which we send out a certain amt of beads to our partner and they will send me some. I then take what they have sent and make a neclace for myself and on the day of the blog party we all will post a picture of our jewelry. It sounds like fun.

It has been at and above the 100's temp wise for almost 6 wks now and having a water cooler is not the coolest way to go. My house stays in the 80's most of the day. I am so looking forward to Fall and than Winter.

Take care my friends.

Barbara

GIVEAWAY at The Girlhood Home Companion

2011-06-09T16:25:00.000-07:00

I wanted to write and tell all my readers about a really neat website. It is The Girlhood Home Companion Magazine and They are haveing a giveaway. (http://remembrencepress.com/?p=1605). This is a wonderful magazine that celebrates the Mother and Daughter relationship in a very sweet Chritian setting. They will be
giving away one of their magazines to 3 different ladies.

Also if you link to them like I did you will get a free pattern designed by another online friend of mine Linda Stubbs from Prairie Flower Farm. I put a picture of it above.

So hop on over and put your name in the hat, I have.

Barbara

SUMMER IN THE COUNTRY BLANKET KAL

2011-03-18T13:06:00.000-07:00

Man I can't believe I have been so neglectful of my blog lately. Well hopefully I will remedy that with my new Knitting KAL. I have signed up with "Firefly" Owner of the ever popular "I live on a Farm" blog, to do a KAL (knit along) on a summer blanket she is designing as we go along. It is alot like a Quilt Along but with this she is designing as we go. I have completed the first step which is a pretty seed stitch border. She just informed us that we will need to have a cable needle available because she will have a little cable running up alongside each of the 2 side borders.

This is going to be so fun. To me it is more like a Mystery KAL as each step is a new surprise. I have chosen a lovely Butter yellow collor and so far I like how it is looking, even though there is not a lot to look at yet.

Spring has sprung here in the Texas Panhandle and I have bought some Rosemary and Basil to plant in some pretty yellow planters. Do you see a theme going here? Yes, Yellow is one of my favorite colors the others being Red and Green.

I have included a picture of my starting seed stitch border for the Kal. If you have not visited Fireflys blog you need to go see it. She has some really pretty knitting patterns and a couple of freebies also. ( scrumptiousliving.wordpress.com )

Take care to all my blog watchers

Barbara

MY FIRST SHAWL FINISH

2011-01-11T16:46:00.000-08:00

I finished this shawl in November and it was given to a new friend in Houston as a thank you for letting me stay with her during the Houston International Quilt Festival. I thought it turned out really pretty. I am in the process of knitting a new one right now and this one is going to be FOR ME! I will post pictures in the next day or two cause I am right at the finish place.

Photo 365 days

2011-01-03T09:23:00.000-08:00

I joined a group over on Ravelry where we journal the year with a photo a day so this will be my first post. I am posting a pic of my sweet grand-daughter Savannah eating a creation she learned about from her favorite show " I Carly." Believe it or not it is a Spaghetti Taco. Thats one thing I love about her, she is not afraid to try something new. In her words " It's great Nana, ya gotta try it!" No thanks, doesnt look that good to me.

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-12-24T18:31:00.001-08:00

Well, I am not going to try to explain my absence, lets just say that LIFE GOT IN THE WAY. I plan to start the New Year on a new note and try to be more faithful to the 21 people who follow this Blog. Man you guys are all glutens for punishment aren't you?

At the left I posted pictures from last years snow, none to come for this year so far. Just really cold weather and wicked wind. We had a good day today, spent it with my Hubbys brother and wife. Kids got to open presents and eat some good food and then it was home to watch more Christmas programming with the kids. I plan to put them in bed early so I can rest before tomorrows Mayhem.

Hope all you guys are having a wonderful holiday season and have a Very Merry Christmas with family and friends.

Barbara and the gang! ! !

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAVANNAH!!!

2010-09-08T14:05:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to the sweetest grand-daughter in the world. Who knew that 10yrs ago when I held you in my arms you would turn out to be the Beautiful young lady you are today. I think I knew even than what a wonderful addition you would be to our lives. You have blessed these two grandparents with 10 yrs of love and joy and I hope the next 10 yrs goes well for you.

You are entering a time of big changes some for the good and some for the bad. I want you to know that your PaPa and I are always there for you and will be here to help you threw both the tough times and the bad.

Heres hoping that today is a wonderful birthday for you and I will see you in the park at 6pm.

CHARMING GIRLS CHRISTMAS IN AUGUST SEWING PARTY

2010-08-28T08:52:00.001-07:00

Today is the big day and I will be working on my project for the Charming Girls Christmas Party. I will be working on this little pin pillow that I plan on giving to a special friend for Christmas.

This pattern is offered at The Painted Quilt and is one of her First Friday Freebie patterns. Also for all you Raggedy Ann lovers out there she now has a monthly Raggedy pattern going on that is also free. I love Raggedy Ann so I am definately working on this one. If you will scroll down on my right sidebar you will see a button where I link to her and you can check out all her freebies for yourself.

I am off to check out a couple of garage sales and than I will be back also with some sweets to share with the rest of you. Who knows, maybe I will score a few Christmas items at the garage sales.

Looking forward to sewing with all of you.

Barbara

ROADSIDE RESCUE & NEW QUILTS

2010-08-09T17:56:00.000-07:00

As I was driving home from work one morning about a month ago I passed by this little beauty hanging out beside a dumpster. I could see that beneath her rough exterior was something beautiful waiting to come out so I stopped and carefully stuffed her in the side of my Van and brought her home. She now sits in the garage waiting for her transformation to start but the temp has been almost 100 with such high humidity that I am going to have to wait for cooler temps to get out there and start the sanding process. I am not sure how to do the back of the chair. I think I will just cut a plywood oval and nail on than I am thinking of a beige or white. I hung my new Shabby Chic looking quilt over it and I think it looks reall nice so once finished that is probablly where the quilt will hang when not in use. I bought some pretty pale blue gingham on sale that I plan to make cushions for the back and seat with.

I have also finished another baby blanket with a cowboy print for my niece and her new baby in Washington so I can cross one off of my goals for the next two months in The Charming Girls Club. Still need to start my weight watchers and only went to Gym once last week but it is a start. Oh I did do something for myself, I went to see The new Twilight movie and it inspired me to knit a hat like the one Bella wore in the movie for my grand-daughter Savannah.

Till next time - DAISEY

CHARMING GIRLS UPDATE

2010-07-27T23:49:00.000-07:00

I am now a member of the Charming Girls Quilt Club and I should have posted on here what my goals were for the next 3 months. I am late but here they are and I have to say that some I have actually been working towards achieving my goal.
SELF-CARE:

1. My number one on this is TO LOSE WEIGHT.
2. Take more time for myself. Going to a movie or out to eat with friends.
Go shopping and buy a outfit for every 10 lbs that I lose.
3. I am paying every 2 weeks on a membership to a gym but I never go.Sostarting
this week I will go and work out at least 1 hr, 3 times a week.

MY PROJECTS:

1. Finish my poor sisters wedding quilt. My goodness she is going on being
married for 4 yrs now and they are still patiently waiting.
2. Work on and hopefully finish my repo row robin quilt
3. Finish and tie my charming friends quilt for my new great-nephew
Jaxon.

I have some finishes to show but will put in a post for tomorrows entry.

Barbara

GYPSY'S ROSETTE SWAP

2010-07-22T11:25:00.000-07:00

Hello here I am again and this time I have a neat swap to tell everyone about. I just signed up to be a follower at The Gypsey Fleamarkets blog and wanted to let you know that she has a neat new "ROSETTE SWAP" going on. I am going to join and see what kind of pretty flower I recieve. Hope some of you will think about trying this. One of my favorite things to do is blog surf at night and I have seen some really pretty rosette tutorials out there. There are so many ways to do these and I am really anxious to see what everyone comes up with. Now to put my thinking cap on. I have posted a button over on my sidebar that will take you right to her blog.
Ta Ta for now.

JUST 4 RAMBLING IS HAVING A GIVEAWAY!!!

2010-07-14T16:40:00.000-07:00

My new friend over at Just 4 Rambling is having a fabric giveaway if anyone is interested. She has alot of fabric left over from her shop closing that she is thinking of making into 3", 4' and 5" charm packages that she wants to giveaway to blogging friends. Go on over and take a looksie and be sure to tell her that I sent you. Her blog address is just4rambling.blogspot.com

Starting a New Cat Block of the Seasons Quilt

2010-06-26T14:44:00.000-07:00

I am starting a new Cat Block of the Seasons Quilt over at Ellies Quilting site. I have posted a link on my side bar. I have finished the first block which is SUMMER and I am posting it here. She offers it in embroidery or applique and I chose the embroidery. I have also been saving the Under the Seas block of the month, you can find it on my sidebar also and she is doing a special coloring technique using the Derwent Coloring pencils so I thought I would try it on these blocks. Being a lover of all things CAT and LADYBUGS this BOS was definately for me. I am posting my finished first block on here today. There are 4 main blocks each representing a different season and 4 corner squares with embroidery. There will also be patchwork blocks that seperate the 4 main blocks and maybe a center block, I am not sure but Ellie says it will be really cute in the end. Anyway without further ado here is my 1st finished main block. I havent finished the smaller block yet but will post them togather when it is finished.

Early Bird Christmas Crafting

2010-06-12T11:48:00.000-07:00

I am also going to join this 4-month group to try to work on some early Christmas Gifts. I have put the button here on the blog. It started June 1st so I am not all that late. Our first project was to decorate a Journal and than to make a christmas list of people I intend to make things for. I have a Compostition book I intend to decorate and have on here by monday nite. I work 12-hr nights for the next 2 days but will work on it on my down time and have it done on monday to post. Judith is helping us to organize things so we can have stuff done by the end of September. If I keep up and make the 3 gifts a month than I will have 12 gifts done by than which is quite an accomplishment for me since I always start way to late.

Take care and hope everyone has a great weekend.

Barbara

I'm Going to do the Charming Girls Quilt Along!!

2010-06-11T18:35:00.000-07:00

I am planning on taking part in the quilt along over at the Charming Chatter Blog to make this cute little quilt.

My sweet Great-niece is finally getting another child that she and her husband have been trying for for so long. After lots of prayer and fertility treatments they are expecting a boy in July. I plan to make this one for her but am using the Nautical and Nice charm packs from Sandy Gervais and what could be more fitting than Red White and Blue for a July baby. I am posting my fabrics on here so that others in the quilt along can see what I am using. I will put on an additional border to make it a little bigger and put sailboat blocks in each of the 4 corners. Here are the fabrics I am using.

The white with tiny pale blue spots is my background fabric and the light blue will be the outer border and the sailboat blocks in each corner will be dark blue with red sails and the white background. I think it will be super cute.

Have a great weekend to every one.

Barbara

Crazy spring weather!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-04-22T13:34:00.001-07:00

We have had a good beginning to our spring weather. For 4 days now we have had rain off and on and the night before last we got a tornado. I have included a picture. I was off work but it was about 4 miles from my job. I don't think it had touched down it was just skimming across the field but it looks pretty wicked.

One of the things I hate the most about living in the Texas Panhandle are the high winds that sometimes produce these tornados. We are educated at work and by the TV stations but sometimes when one is actually near I forget all about what I am supposed to do and give in to the fear that springs up in me.

I have been busy with my sewing, I am in a bag swap with my Snickerdoodle dreams buddies and my partner is in England. I am making a tote bag that is turning out to be much bigger than anticipated but hopefully she will be able to use it in some function. I have made a baby quilt and a lap quilt that I will post on here as soon as I can get some pics finished.

I took the kids to the park and came across some interesting sights I thought some of you might enjoy. First up is this sweet little bird. If you click on the picture you can see how he has puffed out his furry tummy. He was busy singing in one of the trees.

There is a lake at the park and the kids never miss a chance to feed the ducks and the swans. We also went by the Discovery Center which is a hands on museum for Kiddos and lots of the big people like it too.

When we started the walk it was clear than we were surprised by a big rain shower which is what drove us into the Discovery Center and when we came out there was this beautiful rain bow. Oh how I love rainbows.

I will finish up with the pretty budding trees. They are so many different colors right now, pinks and blues and white and lavendar and yellow. Oh yes Spring has surely sprung in the Texas Panhandle.

Thanks for taking this walk with us, I hope the sights and sounds are as pretty in your neck of the country.

My block for Little Anilias Monthly swap

2010-03-28T20:09:00.000-07:00

Last month I joined a swap with anilia at littleanilia.blogspot.com This month the theme of the block was home and my partner wanted something in yellow. I have made a sweet little yellow polka dot house with spring flowers. I hope she likes it as much as I enjoyed making it.

Balinda Washington in Maine, be sure to keep a look out for this block. I am honored to have sent your first block.

Barbara in TX

WEIGHT WATCHERS WEIGH IN & GRANDMAS BRAGGING RIGHTS

2010-02-18T21:18:00.000-08:00

First things first I have to post that I LOST 3.8 #'s this week and I am soooooooooooo excited. I have tracked everything I ate and followed the program to the letter and it paid off with a nice weight loss. I am not going to the Gym as much as I thought I would but I still was able to lose.

Being a proud Grandma I had to post this photo of my sweet little Josh in the drivers seat. Click on the picture and you will even be able to see his dirty little nose and beautiful blue eyes. That is all for tonight but I will get on this weekend and post some more.

I do have to post about something that happened yesterday about 2 miles from me. While I slept in yesterday, at about 7:30 am a small plane crashed into a nearby warehouse. Both the passengers in the plane were killed. The Warehouse was a Glacier Ice bldg and happens to be managed by a friend of mines husband. I didnt even know it had happened untill my husband told me as he was going to bed. My first thought was about Dick and if he was ok but it also made me think of how fleeting our very life is. I didn't know either one of the passengers but how very precious each day is that we are given and we should not take it for granted. I have friends who have family members who are in life and death struggles and they know how precious each day is in the lives of their loved ones.

I make a vow here that I will be grateful for every day that I am given and instead of grumbling about things that go wrong I plan to thank my Heavenly Father for the gifts he has given me that day. I am working on a Gratitude Journal where I can do just this.

I need to go to bed now so goodby to all my blogging friends.

Barbara

Weight Loss Wednsday a day late & Rasberry Rabbits Block finish

2010-02-04T21:15:00.000-08:00

First things first, I finally did it. I joined Weight Watchers yesterday and Golds Gym today. I completed my entire day on program and am so pleased with myself. I figure I have about 55 pounds to lose hopefully can do it with 2-3 lbs per week. I start back to work tomorrow but will be wearing a special boot to help with the sprain. Working a 12-hr day on that boot does not seam to be something to look forward to, but I will get er done.

I finished my first block from the Raspberry Rabbits Sentimental Journey BOM. I think it turned out real nice, it is at the top of this post. I wish I could figure out how to make the pictures go with the paragraph that is talking about it but this will do for now. I thought it was finished but I found some pretty little copper looking glass beads to put on it.

I am on my way to bed but wanted to at least post these two things. More snow last night, another 5 1/2". They are now saying there will be some more on Sunday followed by another round next thursday. I am really, really getting tired of this white stuff.

Have a wonderful weekendI

Barbara

SNOWED IN

2010-01-30T09:14:00.000-08:00

Well here in Amarillo we recieved a little over a foot of snow and I have had plenty of time to sew and stitch. Hubby has been happy getting an overdose of old westerns, currently he is watching "The Professionals" with Lee Marvin, Burt Lancaster and Claudia Cardinalie. I am busy working on my free BOM from The Raspberry Rabbits website and trying to get it finished by tomorrow because she will put out a new one on monday and the old will be gone. If you read my blog it is theraspberryrabbits.com I love all of her stuff and she is so good to put out the free stuff. I am working on something special to send her to thank her for all my freebies.

The pillows above are two different interpretations of her free "12 days of Christmas" pillow. The redwork one was done by a blogger in Norway and mine is on the right. The original is the blue one that was done by The Raspberry Rabbits blog owner. I put hers at the top as it is the original.

I still havent started the weight loss program but plans are still the same. I did join Golds Gym and will be able to swim and exercise and will hopefully start the Weight Watchers program on wednsday. Not much else to say or show. Will hopefully post tomorrow with my finished BOM the raspberry rabbits site.

Snowed in in Amarillo - Barbara

New BOM from Jenny of Elefantz - BOUQUET

2010-01-05T08:37:00.000-08:00

Hello again, wow 2 posts in one day. I am on a roll friends but I have to share the next two BOM's with you. I followed Jenny of Elefantz all last year with her Shabby Roses BOM and she has created a new one for this year. This one is going to be as pretty as the Shabby Roses one and I can't wait to start on it. Be sure to go over and have a looksie and tell her Barbara sent you. I have posted the button on my sidebar under BOM's.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2010-01-05T08:16:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it has been so long since I posted, but my vow for the New Year is to post at least weekly from here on in. I am hoping that everyone has had a wonderful holiday season and ready to get into the New Year with a bang. I have several things I am hoping to do with the NUMBER 1 being that I have have to lose weight. I will be joining Weight Watchers in the morning and also signing up for Curves. My goal is to lose at least 30 lbs by June which I think is a pretty measurable goal, it is only 5 # a month and if I am able to lose more than all the better.

My Goal #2 is to start saving more and spending less. I have to 6-shelf bookcases full of material and I plan to use it more and not buy as much. I have already pulled out fabrics to do 2 quilts with and have plenty of at least the material for one of my latest Quilt BOM's. In my next post I will tell you about one of them.

Every Wednsday I will post about my weight loss journey so there is my weekly post that I am naming Weight Watchers Wednsday. Take care my friends and may your journey in 2010 be the best.

Barbara

LOOKS LIKE ANOTHER MONTHLY POST!!!

2009-10-09T21:27:00.000-07:00

Well, once again it looks like its been another month since my last post. I have been busy with sewing quilts but it's not like I don't have time to get on the computer cause I am on here all the time. I just never take the time to to come over here andpost.

I have been busy blog hopping tonite and came across a GIVEAWAY over at Lila Tuellars site,

lilatuellardesigns.blogspot.com She has gone to market where she has a new line coming out.

It's called "Eden" and it is so fun and fresh full of yellow and lavendar. I have signed up but with 650 comments so far I really don't think I have a chance. I am a sucker for giveaways and after filling out comments for the last couple of years a finally won from BACK PORCH QUILTS back the first part of the summer and it was a big one. I think I posted on here if you want to look through the older entries.

Do you see the pretty black and white and pink string quilt above? That is the next project I am starting as soon as I finish my sisters wedding quilt and her new great grandsons blanket. Oh I forgot I also have to finish my daughters purple passion quilt which she will finally get for Christmas. Shhhhhhhhhhhh, don't tell her cause its a secret. She has waited so long for it that I think she figures she will never get it. Boy will she be surprised.

If I can get enoght people interested I am going to start a BOM embroidery quilts that is cats of the month. I have very few readers so if any of you know any people who would be interested can you send them over to let me know.

That is all for now. We are taking the kids to the punkin patch tomorrow so I can post some cute pictures tomorrow or the next day.

SEW AND TELL

2009-09-20T22:09:00.000-07:00

The nice lady over at Louby Lou is hosting a sew and tell so I thought I would join in with what I got finished this last week.

My new grandson Joshua is 2 months old already and I still hadn't finished his quilt untill this last week so here is a picture of it. I chose yellow, blues and green. I really like the fabrics I used in it so I am posting a picture of those too. I also chose to use the leftover fat quarters to piece the back as you can see. All in all I think it turned out very nice.

The other is a baby quilt I made for one of my husbands co-workers. I love the simple design of this quilt and use it frequently when I need to make a baby quilt fast. The material was a childrens cowboy and cowgirls. What is a better fitting quilt for a new little Texan?

This is my collection of quilts for this week. I hope to be as good at my sewing this next week. I know that my sisters wedding quilt is one I will get finished. My poor sisters has waited for 4 yrs to get it.

Take care to all of you and enjoy this next week. I am so glad that fall is finally in the air!!!!

Barbara

Getting to know my Baby Brother

2009-08-26T10:53:00.000-07:00

I am really enjoying how the kids are taking to their new little brother. Savannah will go outside and play for awhile but comes right back in and has to hold little Josh or feed him. Her mother has been pumping and saving some of the breast milk so that Savannah and Jake will be able to feed him a bottle once in awhile.

In the above pictures the one with Josh asleep on tummy is with his daddy. I have been busy sewing, I finished up Josh's quilt and will put up a picture soon.

Not much else to say for now. Hope everyone has a great time with all their projects.

Paper Bag Swap Goodies!!!!!!!!

2009-07-30T08:33:00.000-07:00

I signed up to participate in the Paper Bag Swap over at Snickerdoodle dreams a month ago. We decorated a paper bag and put in it a fat quarter, buttons, ribbon lace or rick-rack, and some embroidery floss. Once we recieved the bag from our partner we were to make something out of it and send back. Mine is winging its way across the ocean to her, so I can't post a picture till she gets it, but I recived mine on monday.

I recieved this beautiful Victorian Needle box that was handmade by her. I have shown it as the box and than what happens when you take off the lid. I absolutely love this thing. Inside that center little tiny box is a thimble that says Australia. She also sent this placemat, wall hanging little number with the 4 coasters. It reeks of Australia, don't you think? I am dying to post a picture of her wall hanging I made but since she is one of my followers I can't because it would spoil the surprise. I did send you some loverly bluebonnet something. Oh yes I got a nice block of Chocolate with cherries from Australia that I had to split 6 ways so just got a little taste but it sure was good.

I have signed up for the newest Old Red Barn quilt-along, this time it is a zig-zag quilt and here are the color choices I have picked. I am going to make it a bed sized quilt. The fabics are above. I still can't figure out how to add pictures to the correct paragraphs. Oh well, now there are 2 pictures of the fabrics I am going to use take care everyone. Next post I will post my strips all ready to cut into squares, my goal for today.

Barbara

2009-07-26T19:52:00.000-07:00

Someone on one of my quilting lists sent a link to a newspaper article that told about this car. Can you believe that someone made an entire quilt as a slip cover for her car? I am amazed at this and would love to drive something around like this that would shout to the world my love of quilts. This quilt is owned by Peggy Boggs Christenson and she brought it to her home of Port Townsend, Washington for her family reunion. The quilt covers a Honda Van. She calls this Van "Have Quilt Will Travel". Her answer to everyones reaction is "It's just the work of a small town 4-H sewing girl who grew up to become a crazy quilter." Hope this gives you guys a happy feeling like it did me.

SHOP HOPPING IN THE TEXAS PANHANDLE!!!!!!!!!

2009-07-24T19:16:00.000-07:00

The theme of this years shop hop is "The Fifties". Most of the shops had Elvis on the radio and all the stores had some of their crew in poodle skirts. My favorite shop had a display with a large pink toy cadillac and Barbie sitting on the back in a poodle skirt and Ken standing next to it.

They all had games to play and goodies to give away. I won a cute little pattern at one of them

was able to do the paddle ball and got another pattern and as you can see above made an idiot of myself trying to do the hula hoop. I remember being a pro at that as a kid but wasn't even able to keep it from falling down. Boy time sure changes things.

One shop had a pattern for a free apron, another a pattern for a potholder and the third had a pattern for a casserole carrier. I guess the free patterns theme was a Fifties kitchen.

We have the little guy Joshua and his mommy for the weekend. He will be meeting his great grandma for the first time on sunday. Big sister Savannah has been enjoying rocking with him. Josh curls up into a little ball like a kitten. I will get a picture and post tomorrow after work.

Take care to all and have a great weekend.

BABY JOSH IS FINALLY HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-07-19T14:17:00.000-07:00

Well the new baby finally arrived on July 17th at 3:30pm

He weighed in at 8lbs 11 1/2 oz and was 21" long
He has reddish blonde hair and the sweetest cheeks I have

ever seen on a baby. As you can see from the picture, his

sister is already in love with him, and so are Grandpa and I.

Just wanted my blogging friends to know he was here. I will be posting the quilt I am making for him in the next day or two. It is green and yellow and will go real good with that red hair.

My Little Super Model

2009-07-10T21:54:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to take a minute to post some new pictures of my grand-daughter Savannah and her summer pics. We had a day out togather since her new brother is due soon, I wanted to show her soom special time. We went to Justice for Girls and had a shopping spree where she bought the pink outfit. We went to lunch with her Aunt and another friend who is like an Aunt to her. Lastly we went and got her pictures taken. I thought she looked so cute in the special Pink Outfit and she just had to have that HAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are anxiously awaiting the birth of our next grandchild. My daughter is staying with us right now and she is waddling around like a miserable "Big Mama". The temperatures have been in the 100's here, it hit 102 degrees yesterday and I remember how miserable I was when I was expecting her 30 yrs ago as she was born the first part of July. Her due date is the 21'st but the last 2 weeks on her exams she has been dilated to a 3.

I am busy working on a baby quilt for little Joshua, finishing up a Paper Bag swap and starting a new stitchery BOM called portholes. I think I will put these onto a beach bag and maybe onto a nice T-shirt. I have added the sites to my side bar.

Take care and hope everyone stays cool, I know we won't. Oh I am officially now on VACATION for the next two weeks. Hopefully I will get alot of sewing done.

Barbara

GIVEAWAY FROM LATE BLOOMER QUILTS IS HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-07-02T20:26:00.000-07:00

I love to go blog hopping at night and especially love to check out the give aways. I post a message on every one I visit hoping to be a winner but never untill this last month. I posted a message on her give away post and wonder of wonders I WON!!! I recieved 8 of her patterns and a book. I love all her stuff so I will have to make something from one of her patterns and send her a picture. I am so excited to have all these to work with.

Today was quild meeting day and we got to learn how to do free motion quilting with our machines. I didn't do to well but I think once I practice some more and get some gloves to help hold the material I will do alot better. One of the ladies came up and whispered in my ear that she had gotten hers at Dollar Tree and they worked as well as the fancy ones you buy at the quilt shops.

After I left the meeting I stopped at an estate sale and bought a pile of handsewn star blocks for $1.00. I need to figure out how to applique them down on muslin. They are pretty old and fraying.

Well I am done for tonite. Take care to anyone who reads my blog and may the good lord bless you.

Babs

I found the cutest material yesterday at Joans Fabrics, it is a sewing room full of very naughty cats. I am going to post the pictures and I think I am going to make a jacket out of it to wear to my guild meetings.

ORGANIZING MY STASH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-06-24T21:09:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has been over 2 months since my last post. I guess I had better get this blog back up and running. I took my cats picture off and put on one of my favorites of all the baby quilts I have made. This one was made for one of the girls I work with who is a Cowgirl at heart. She has horses on their little spot in the country and she had a boy so I thought I would make a cowboy baby quilt for her. One of the other girls in Rehab crocheted her some little cowboy boot booties. I posted a picture of them in my older posts.

I picked up a very tall shelf for $14 off of freecycle yesterday and decided to take all my material our of the big plastic green storage tubs I have and fold them a neat way and use the shelf to store them. This is four of the tubs stacked neatly on the shelves. I still have 6-8 more tubs to unpack and fold and store. I don't know how to make the pictures go with each paragraph so if anyone who reads this knows how to do it please let me know. The pictures are above.

My daughters baby is due in about 3 weeks and I am trying to make space to put a bed and the bassinet in my sewing room. They will be staying with us for the next month. I put a picture of my sweet Savannah and Jakob and soon Joshua will be joining them. I can't wait to hold those sweet baby cheeks next mine. I love the smell of babies, after a bath when they are powdered and fresh. Bekah sees the Dr on monday and she said she was going to tell her she wanted the baby out as soon as possible. She is so big and is so uncomfortable.

I have added a video that I took the weekend before last. We had Zippety Zoo Day a special event meant to introduce kids to animals from other countries. There were 8 tents set up and under each were animals from that country. This little dancing fool was from the country of Australia and he was the favorite of all of us. I think I will post the video on You Tube also. I just love this little guy.

I will sign off here and show you progress of my stash organization as I fill up all the shelves.

My video of the bird is way at the bottom of this post so be sure to scroll down and check him out he will surely get a smile out of you.

MY QUILT INSPECTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-03-23T09:14:00.000-07:00

I thought I would change my header and put the picture of my cat Bonnie in my quilting frame. If my portable hoop is down she always gets in it and watches me while I quilt. I have named her my official quilt inspecter because this is her favorite place to nap. I usually leave the hoop next to my machine and she is usually there while I am sewing. Since this is a quilting, sewing and embroidery blog I thought it would be a good picture to have in the header.

Not much going on in the panhandle of TX except lots of wind and weather that goes from cold to warma and back and forth. The trees are all budding and it looks like spring is here which makes me very happy because it is my favorite season along with fal

I am busy working on finishing up a stitchery for one of my online swaps, sewing up another purse, knitting a shrug and a few birds for stuffing. I have a sweater I finished for my granddaughter to sew togather and I can include it in with the projects to finish. Take care and hope everyone sees lots of flowers this next week.

2009-03-16T14:35:00.000-07:00

I have just completed another finish for March. I am taking part in a row robin quilting challange with one of my online quilting groups and this is the 2nd row and second persons row robin I have worked on. She wanted everything done in coffee colors and is making it for her husband. Since he likes his coffee with cream there couldnt be any dark browns in it. I thought it turned out very well and all three blocks compliment each other beautifully.

I am busy at work on another purse and also finishing up a stitchery project I am working on as a swap for another group. I am involved with several groups on the internet and always seem to have a swap or challange going on.

Friday we had a nice little snowfall and it was cold on saturday but by sunday we were back to spring weather again and today it was 78. No wonder people around here keep getting sick but I do love spring. I got my picture for the header on one of the spring days last week and even with the snowfall and cold weather of this last weekend the trees keep bursting into blooms. It won't be long before I am planting my garden.

Take care and on to my sewing and cooking.

Barbara

First finish for March!!!!!!!!!

2009-03-03T18:03:00.000-08:00

I finished my first of many for the month of March. I have done #1 of Gail Pan's. Christmas block of the month. I started another purse, this one for myself, that is like the one I made for my friend Paula.

. This one is done in Lila Tuellars "Woodland bloom" line and is already looking so pretty. We have had such unseasonably warm weather here in the panhandle of Texas. It is almost like spring has already sprung. I am not counting on it though because we have been known to have snowstorms in April. The weather has me itching to get out and plant though. I am off the next two days and I may get out and clean the garage or work in the flower beds.

Have a great week everyone.

Barbara

Another finish for Febuary!!

2009-02-26T07:58:00.000-08:00

Well I have something else to add for Febuary. I finished block #1 of my Verandah Views block of the month and will be starting on the second as soon as I finish block #1 of Gail Pans Christmas BOM. I am trying to catch up sinch more will be out soon. Here is a picture of my completed block with its border added.

I liked the purse I made for my friend Paula so much that I have started another for myself. I am using woodland bloom from Lila Tuellar designs and it will be very spring looking.

I just made a huge pot of chili and will sign off now to take it off to work. Wish me luck, it is for a Chili cook-off.

Barbara

My friend Paulas birthday!!!

2009-02-22T18:35:00.000-08:00

My bestest friend Paula had a birthday this last thursday. I had a gift in the works but hadn't finished it in time so I let her know she would have it by tomorrow. Well I finished it up tonite and really, really like the way it turned out. I used some of the leftover fat quarters of the blacks and reds I used for my nephews wedding quilt. I am posting a pic of it in the hopes she won't see it before I give it to her tomorrow nite. If you do Paula. please act surprised and believe me it looks much better in real life. Hope you like it my good friend.

I will be starting another one of these with some Lila Tuellar fabric that I have. It will be more of a spring oriented fabric. This one will be mine. I really love this pattern and it is so easy. You can find the pattern over at fredashive.blogspot.com.

My granddaughter was a junior bridesmaid at her Uncles wedding and she looks so good in this picture I had to post it. The other one in the picture is her new mama, Melissa. We are busy watching the Academy Awards but I need to get busy and start to work on another of my projects on the list to finish. Next on the list to complete is my sisters autographed wedding quilt.

Take care and have a great week.

Barbara in the VERY WINDY TEXAS PANHANDLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Winner of my quilt giveaway!!!

2009-02-06T23:11:00.000-08:00

I drew the name tonite and the winner of my quilt giveaway is Karen from karenskraftkorner.blogspot.com I will put the finishing touches on it and get it in the mail by tuesday if you will send me your snail mail addy at daisey_clover@suddenlink.net.

I just finished the best movie and if you haven't seen it you really need to rent it and watch it. It is called Fireproof and it tells how two people in a marriage are splitting and how with the Lords help they are brought back togather. It was sooooooooooooooo good I was crying at the ending.

Hope you enjoy your quilt Karen and that you have a little lady in your home who might like it.

Wedding quilt is finally finished!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-02-01T19:44:00.000-08:00

Well, my quilt is finished and my nephew is finally a married man. I hope the bride and groom like the quilt I finished to celebrate their love. Her colors were red, black and white which are also her favorite colors. They were the colors of the wedding so naturally I made the quilt in the same colors.

The bride as usual was beautiful and the groom as he watched her walk down the aisle had a look that was so full of love that I knew these two were meant for each other. Her choices of the dress and than the little bridesmaids all looking the same was pretty unusual to my point of view. I always thought the bride was to outshine them all but all in all it was a very pretty wedding.

I will have to add this finish as number 1 on my febuary list, with many more to come. The bride and groom leave on their honeymoon to NYC tomorrow.

Busy in my little sewing corner!

2009-01-28T14:17:00.000-08:00

Well I have spent the last week piecing my nephew Jason and new wifes wedding quilt. I will go to the quilter on friday and I hope to have it ready for them when they return from their honeymoon the following friday. They are going to the big apple for the honeymoon. That is one place I have always wanted to visit but never to live, it is just way to big. I really hope they both have a wonderful time.

The backing on this giveaway is pieced from several different pieces and patterns.

Here are the official rules for my giveaway. Each comment recieves 1 chance and if you mention my giveaway you will recieve an extra chance, post a link to my blog and you will have another totalling 3 chances in all. Giveaway will close at midnight next thursday, the 5th and I will draw the winner around noon on the 6th.

Good luck to one and all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

We had some cold weather come thru on Mon nite and it has been cold with a little snow for the last two days but it got up to 62 degrees today. I think tuesday nites low was 9 degrees.

Tomorrow I celebrate my first year of blogging and will be doing a giveaway of a childs sized lap quilt. It is done in pinks, light blue and black with a really cute cat print. I hope people will spread the word and I will get lots of visitors. I have posted some pictures with this post. It looks more red in the picture but is actually a raspberry colored pink.

Picture day for Nana!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-01-17T20:24:00.001-08:00

Well, I took my grandkids to the new picture place in town and came out with some really cute pictures. I have included a few in this post. Forgive me for whipping out the wallet and showing off my pictures. Isn't she a beautiful little redhead?

These two are my son's girls and the smaller one is our little preemie. She weighed in at 3.2 lbs when she was born and she is finally up to15 lbs and is now about 10 months.

I have spent the weekend working and will be quilting again by tomorrow nite. I definately miss my sewing when I am not doing it. I am working on another of my UFO's and will add it to my project a month challange when done. One more that I need to finish is my sister and her husbands wedding quilt. I recieved all her autographed squares 3 yrs ago right after her wedding and the top still sits and waits. I have it about 1/2 of the way finished and that will be on next months list.

Gotta go to work in the morning and have to go to bed. I will do another post in the next couple of days, till than keep stitchen.

Chanelle reminds me so much of myself at her age. My hair was carrot red and curly just like hers.

Girls Day Out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-01-14T17:34:00.000-08:00

I had a girls day out today with my SIL Sheila and best friend Paula. We went to see the movie

Marley and Me. What a wonderful movie, it celebrates the life of a dog with his family and friends and I heartily recommend you all to go see it, but bring tissues in your pocket because you will need them at the end. We went to On the Border first for our favorite, Tortilla soup.

We than hit a book store and target and finally the movie. I can't believe I sat thru that whole thing without popcorn or coke, but I was really full from the soup.

I am in a row robin with my online quilt guild and I worked on it last nite trying to get it done so that I can get it in mail tomorrow. I am also working on a wedding quilt for my nephew that will go on my one project a month challenge if I can get it finished in time.

I have seen all the pretty jewelry on ebay and etsy and wanted to try to make something. I went to the library last week and checked out some books on jewelry making and made this necklace yesterday. I am really quite proud of it. Now I must make something to wear with it.

Be watching my blog because next week I will be posting a giveaway to celebrate my first year of blogging. It will be a pink, black and blue kitty quilt that is crib sized. Take care guys and live life to the fullest.

inspired ideas

2009-01-07T16:11:00.000-08:00

inspired ideas - mouse creativity Journal

Sorry but I have to post just one more. This is a little mouse that would make a great valentines card.

inspired ideas

2009-01-07T15:42:00.000-08:00

inspired ideas - Valentine Hearts Wreath

Oh my, oh my, you guys just have to make these little wreaths. Click on the link above and it will take you to the article showing how to make these.

inspired ideas

2009-01-07T15:39:00.000-08:00

inspired ideas

I just found these cute little watercolor pictures that you can do with your kids. They would make cute little stitcheries also. This is an online magazine called " Inspire " and it is published each month. I love this little magazine.

Christmas Crafts

2008-12-26T13:26:00.000-08:00

I went to a special before Christmas crafting showcase last year and this is a sample of one of the things they made. These were the boots that my sister-in-law made and I think they turned out really neat. At the showcase we were taught how to take old thrift-store boots and repaint them into these and use them for gift giving. They had a bottle of wine in the one they showed at the showcase along with some tissue paper as an accent. My sister-in-law's boss wanted her to make a pair for her to wear this christmas but I don't think she ever got them made. I painted mine in blue and grey and they looked like a Dallas Cowboy boot.

I also participated in an embroidery tea towel swap with one of my other online yahoo groups and this is the towel I made for my partner. I still have not figured out hot to make the pictures go with each paragraph so the tea towil is above with the boots.

Finally I made a nativity wall hanging and it is also pictured in this post.

SNOWFALL IN THE PANHANDLE!!!

2008-12-10T06:58:00.000-08:00

We woke up yesterday to grey skys and before we even had time to take my grandson to school the snow had started to fall. I love snow, I just don't like the results which are usually slick streets and cars stuck on the side of the road. By the end of the day we had only had about 1" in our area so it wasn't too bad.

We got out in the garage and pulled out the box with the christmas tree and set it up. I will have to go out tomorrow and try to find the lights, my christmas village and my sisters handmade Nativity set which is my special treasure. I don't think I have ever shared what happened between my siblings and I.

We were 5 kids in all. There were 4 girls and 1 boy ranging in ages from 16 mo - 6 yrs. My 2 sisters were adopted togather, my brother and the other sister were each adopted by 2 different families and I was never adopted due to health problems I think. I grew up in a Childrens Home in Seattle, Washington and I always remembered my brother and sisters. It was at Christmas time that I thought about them the most. All my life there was an empty space that I knew one day God would fill. I never doubted that he wouldn't let me meet them.

About 15 yrs ago I sent a letter to my father thru the Social Security department, mind you I am here in TX. Way across the country my sister had placed an ad in the newspaper looking for him on her end. It took almost a year and a half but out of the blue right after my husband and I were married I recieved a late nite call and the man on the other end told me he thought he was my father. It was wonderful to finally be in touch with him again and he filled me in some on my past. We were able to talk and get to know each other several times a week. About a month after we had found each other I got a call from him and he wanted to know if I would like to get to know my sisters. I was soooooooooooooooooooo excited. YES, YES, YES, I yelled. The next day I got a call from Charlotte and she arranged a 3-way call so I could talk to her and Amy. How cool was this, 3 people, one in Texas, one in Florida and one in Washington state were all talking trying to make up for lost time. With my first visit back home to Washington we went to the place where we were all seperated and with their help we were able to find the remaining 2. Now my life is complete and we meet as often as we can.

What I am trying to tell anyone out there is to never give up on your dreams and remember there is someone bigger than all of us and he is orchestrating all of our lives. I remember telling people who were doubters, he always answers our prayers just not always the way we want and it is in his time frame not ours.

Take care and I wish you all the best with your Christmas plans.

Thanksgiving and Christmas rolled into one post!

2008-12-05T21:03:00.000-08:00

Boy, I have been bad with my posting. It has been a month to the day since my last post. I get on and go straight to my emails and from one of the emails I usually go off on a tangent and start surfing, staying up till the wee hours of the morning. I will than go to bed with not a post on here.

I am involved in two different Handmade Christmas ornament swaps, and have been busy making these little rosy cheeked ladies. They are supposed to be the Little Russian nesting dolls. I thought they turned out pretty cute.

Feeling very Patriotic these days!!

2008-11-06T16:00:00.000-08:00

Well, with election day 2 days behind me I am sitting here having a chance to reflect on the process. I am ashamed to admit that this was the first election I have voted in for about the last 4 Presidency's. In the past I did not take the time to read up and know the candidates and because of that felt that I had no place in the voting process. In essence I would be going in and voting blindfolded, so I remained out of the voting process.

This election was a different matter. I took the time to read up and know the candidates and I knew that this would be one for the history books. Important for the blacks and women alike.
This time I went to the voting booth with trepidation and left with a feeling of pride in the process that we as American's are blessed with. I love this system that allows candidates to compete vigorously and disagree vehemently and than asks US to decide. Yes, we as American citizens choose who we want in that Big White House on Pennsylvania avenue. No matter what our backgrounds, each of us have one vote. The CEO of the big corporation has one vote. The single mom with her humble little house has one vote. The cashier at McDonalds has one vote. The President of the bank has one vote, and THEY ALL COUNT!!!!!!!!!!!!! How wonderful is that? And after it's all over, our nation has an awe-inspiring tradition of good sportsmanship, where the losing candidate swallows hard and yields graciously. This kind of system is not to be taken for granted and needs to be protected.

GOODIES FROM MY STITCHERS ANGEL!!!!!!

2008-10-30T15:22:00.001-07:00

I am a very, very bad MORTAL!!! I recieved these lovely gifts a week ago and never posted them on my blog. My angel was a very sweet lady from Norway named Marit.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Marit!! I loved all my gifts and even though I did not want to share I broke the chocolate into pieces and shared with my husband and grandchildren. They said that that was the best chocolate ever.

This swap has really been alot of fun and I hope that you and I can keep in touch. I will have a special friend now in Belgium, Australia, and the United Kingdom .

Savannah in her Scarlett O'Hara costume

2008-10-21T20:31:00.000-07:00

I can't resist a good garage sale and 2 fridays ago I came across a wonderful big sale and acquired several goodies including a Gone with the Wind type of costume for a little girl. It was only $3 and I couldn't believe what a find it was. I was sure that my granddaughter Savannah would want to wear it for Halloween. Unfortunately the lure of that little "Twit" Hannah Montanna is to strong. The only good thing about her choice is she wants to go as a DEAD Hannah Montanna. I at least got her to try the dress on and do a little modeling for me. I think she is sooooooooo pretty in it.

I have been busy trying to organize my material into bins where I can see everything that I have. I have 8 of the large plastic tubs full plus at least 5 cardboard boxes. I am trying to find a carpenter who can build me some open ended boxes to stack on top of each other on one wall. Man, I have so much material I could open a fabric store.

I also finished a baby quilt with some jelly roll strips I bought for half price at the quilt shop. It wasn't a full set but it came out pretty good I think.I plan to do a small inner border with the lime green and than do a white border and put some embroidered flowers on it. If any one has any other ideas please let me know.

Have a great week to all of you.

Savannahs got a brand new skirt

2008-09-19T20:21:00.000-07:00

I spent the day whipping up this little beauty for my grand-daughter Savannah. It was in the Christmas print fabric and I had a hard time finding anything to go with it but I finally found a Debby Mum in a cranberry background with little bells on it and the ribbons are the same color of green. I plan to make the top over the weekend.

I have set myself a goal of making at least 1 outfit a week for Savannah and myself. I have so much material and really do need to reduce some of it before I bring in any more, but its kind of like this outfit. I had everything I needed to make the skirt but had to go looking for something to match to make the top.

The Wal-Mart by me has all their fabric 50% off so I had to buy some of that, I mean " It was on Sale!"
I did have to wait till hubby went to work to bring it in. I got some pinks to make another of these skirts. This pattern is on the Grand Revival blog. I added the second picture to the blog so you could see how cute the two materials go togather. That is all for tonite. I will post the blouse and skirt togather I hope by Sunday. Have a great weekend.

Savannah's French Market Apron

2008-09-11T06:50:00.000-07:00

I found a pattern for a childs french market apron at, ( ihavetosay.typepad.com ) and yesterday I whipped up this little beauty for my granddaughter. I love the way these colors turned out. I have not had a chance to put it on her yet but will post a pic of her in it as soon as she gets home from school.

I have had so many projects going on but I think I finally have them finished up. I got word from my partner in the " Fall Apron Swap " over at My Byrd House. She got the apron and she says she 'Loves" it. I am really glad. This was my first swap with them and I wanted my apron to be up to their standards. Glad that you like it Nicki.

We went to the zoo after school this last week and here is a picture of the 2 grandkids on the giant turtle. I would like to be able to take them to a big zoo, this one in Amarillo is not very big. They enjoy it anyway.

That is all for this post but will get some pics of the kids to add to my next post.

WINNER OF MY PATRIOTIC QUILT AUCTION!!!!!

2008-09-02T15:43:00.000-07:00

Jill Miller is the winner of my Patriotic Quilt and I am proud to say that with her help we were able to raise $100 towards the Stephanie and Christian Niellson recovery fund. I say "WE" because without her I could not have raised that.

Jill if you will contact me at ryork6@suddenlink.net I will give you instructions how to pay at paypal and than once I have a receipt that they have recieved it I will get your quilt in the mail.

Once again, thanks again for that bid you made.

Barbara

AUCTION for Christian & Nie Nie!

2008-08-26T23:28:00.000-07:00

Over a week ago a young couple was in a private plane flying home. Their plane crashed killing their pilot and the young man, Christian, recieved burns over 30% of his body. His wife Stephanie is burned over 80% of her body. She is a fellow blogger and many in the blogging community have come togather to all do auctions to help raise money for the families medical care and childrens daily care. The couple has 3 young children that are now living with Stephanies sister.

I am proud to say that I too will be Auctioning something off. I have made a nice Turning Twelve Patriotic lap quilt. My auction will begin at 9am and run thru the following tuesday Sept 2. The quilt is above.

All bids should be in whole dollar amounts. I hope I will get lots of visitors to this site so I can have a good auction for them.

Barbara

Fancy Field Frock Silent Auction for NieNie

2008-08-26T14:46:00.000-07:00

Fancy Field Frock Silent Auction for NieNie this is a silent auction for some other blogger who with her husband was in a plane crash and is in critical condition in a burn unit. Her sister and some other Australian bloggers are encouraging other bloggers to create silent auctions of their own and send the money to be used for their medical bills. I will start tonite on something and hope to be able to auction it off by next week.
My prayers go with this couple as they begin the fight of their life.

Apple Orchard Overalls GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

2008-08-25T18:44:00.000-07:00

Apple Orchard Overalls GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

This is a cute little overalls giveaway handmade for either a boy or girl. This lady does bi-weekly giveawys so visit often.

ANOTHER GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!!!!

2008-08-25T07:53:00.000-07:00

Well I have been busy trying to get several UFO's finished the last few days. I got online during the weekend and found another lovely blog doing a GIVEAWAY! She has opened a new shop and is giving something away all week. One is a very lovely pattern for " Dancing Flowers."

I hope that anyone reading my blog will mosy her way and check it out.

syverkkstan-helena.blogspot.com

Grandkids started school today and were very excited to be back. The preemie is finally at home with her mama but she is not eating well so had to have a feeding tube put in her stomach. Doctors are saying that there is a good chance she will either have cerabel palsey or mental retardation. I am keeping her in my nightly prayers that our Heavenly Father will watch out for her and she will grow up without the disability but either was she will be thorougly loved by all of her family. I have not seen her since leaving the hospital but will try to post a picture as soon as I do. I need to get to work on a quilt for her now.

This last weekend we were busy getting our bikes ready to ride and with PaPa's help we finally got on the road. Here is a picture of my first family bike ride with the grandkids. PaPa is to lazy to go.

I'VE BEEN BITTEN BY THE KNITTING BUG!!!!!

2008-08-14T08:38:00.001-07:00

The compulsion to knit has caught me in it's grasp. It started with scarves, I think I have made a fuzzy one of those for everyone in my family. I am now working on a T-Shirt type sweater for myself. It's going pretty good so far but I can't believe I have forgotten so much. I used to knit alot when I was younger but I have really lost alot of what I knew. One of my goals is that before the end of the year I want to learn how to knit socks.

I found this picture of the two kitties on the internet, I call it " Best Friends". I love cats, I don't know what I would do If I came home and there wasn't a soft furry thing here to greet me. As soon as I come in the door she jumps in my lap, she is my Calico and here name is Miss Kitty. I also have Bonnie that is a grey tabby and she is my quilt inspector as you can see in my photo. She will lay on every quilt I make and if there is one in the hoop she sits in the hoop as she is doing in the picture. I will have to get a pictue of Miss Kitty so there is one of her on here also or she will feel left out.

We have had off and on rain for the last three days and I think we will get another round tonite. It definately cools it off some after but makes it very humid before we get it. School will be starting soon and I am looking forward to having my days to myself again. I may leave the 12-hr shifts to go to work at a Drs office. The work will be easier on my knees and a lot less stressful.

Guess that is all for now. Hope everyone has a great day.

Having a busy summer!

2008-07-26T20:17:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it is over a month and a half since my last post. I thought I had best try to post a little something even though I know no one reads this but me.

I've had a pretty busy summer so far, what with working and watching the grandkids. I have been busy with my quilting also. My sister and her husband have their 6th anniversry this weekend and I have had signed quilt squares for 6 years now that I was supposed to put into a quilt. Well I was on vacation the last two weeks and have worked daily on this and finally have one row and two borders left to go. I think is turning out very nicely, I sure hope they like it. I want to add a little embroidery to it since I am late now anyway. I am going to add a picture here so I have it to show off. I am about to go to bed so will close for now.

Bob and Char, if you happen to check my blog you will see that it is no longer quilt squares in a box. It is actually shapeing up to something very pretty. Wish you both a very happy Anniversery.

Barbara

Summertime kids!

2008-06-05T13:13:00.000-07:00

Well the heat of summer is officially here and the kids are out of school, at least Jake is. Savannah has to take 6 wks of summer school in order to pass the 1st grade. I got a good picture of them on Jakes bike the other day.

They left last friday to head to California with their dad. They called the other night and were all excited about seeing Knotts Berry Farm and wednsday they went to Disneyland. When we called last nite they were headed to Las Vegas and taking a slow trip home. I take care of them pretty much every day so when they are gone they are sure missed.

I am also including a picture of what the place I work at sits next to. We can walk down the end of the halls and look out the windows and the lake is what we see. If I haven't had to bad a day I will stop and walk around it. I think it is my favorite place in Amarillo. It has been so windy here, yesterday it was up to 60 mi an hr. My husband was the pallberer at a funeral yesterday. When we went to the gravesite after the service, there was one man on each of the poles holding up the tent covering the site. Hubby said that Morris was getting a good panhandle send off. After the funeral we went and saw Raiders of the Lost Ark. It was a very good movie.

I am busy cleaning my sewing corner this afternoon and trying to pull out some fabric for a couple of dresses.

I am so disgusted with my weight and the fact that most of my clothes are to small. Well I took the big leap and joined weight watchers today. My goal for this next week is to lose at least 3 lbs. Lets see how good I do.

Babs

Amarillo Breaks Old Record!

2008-06-03T09:01:00.000-07:00

Well yesterday Amarillo borke a record with a new temperature of 106 degrees. I was inside all day working but I did notice how hot it was in the building. I was completely shocked when I came out at 7pm and heard at that time it was 97 degrees. I am really worried about the type of summer we are going to have when already temps are getting up that high. We use a water cooler and it doesnt cool well if the humidity is high, thankfully yesterday there was no humidity.

Good news on our premie. She still has the central line but no longer being fed thru it. They allow her mom to hold her once a day and feed her. She is now up to 4 lbs and things are looking good. She will probablly be in the NICU at least 3 - 4 more weeks but I am glad that she has made a turn on her progress. I have been buying up premie clothes but she may be too big for them when she comes out.

I have been busy sewing and finished another baby quilt for a co-worker. This one is the split 9-patch and I am really liking how these turn out. I used my favorite material which are the reproduction fabrics. The lady holding the quilt is the new grandma. I am now using all my scraps to make a chinese coin for my bed so it will be colorful this weekend.

Take care to everyone and hope I post again sooner.

Babs in Amarillo

Our Angel Baby needs your prayers!

2008-05-15T23:28:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to post a quick note about my latest grandchild. She was born a week ago wednsday and mom was about 6 1/2 months. She weighed in a 2.9 lbs and is now in the Pedi ICU. She is not doing very well. They were tube feeding her untill tuesday when they tried to up her feedings by an oz. She had blood in her diaper the next morning. They shut off the feedings and did some X-rays and discovered she had an infection in her stomach. She is now on TPN for feeding, that is a high concentrated IV feeding. Her veins kept blowing so last night they put in a central line IV that is going into one of the main arteries of the heart. She has become listless and we are waiting patiently for her to pull through this. In the last 3 days she has had 2 blood transfusions.

I would like for anyone who reads my blog to please say prayers for her. She is so tiny and is fighting so hard to live.

Barbara

A Stormy Week!

2008-05-09T19:40:00.000-07:00

Well this week started out with a bang. Lots of wind and some rain on Mon, than tuesday rolls in with some more wind and rain. Finally on wed, the day of our big BBQ at work in comes the really nasty black clouds and lots of rain. Here are a few shots I took of the weather. These were some pretty nasty black clouds and out of these come tornados, I have posted a pic of one of those also. This was taken by one of the news storm chasers last year. When you get up close and personal with one of these it does get pretty scarey.

Spent the day with the grandkids today, I sure do have fun with them. We took them to the local dollar store and gave them each $5. Savannah bought a package of the tiny snickers bars, a red model wig that had a comb with a bow attached, a bunch of flowers to give her mom on mothers day and I can't remember the other. I am proud of her that she remembered her mom with that money. Jakob got a circus clown on a Unicycle that he promptly stepped on and broke, a little parachute guy, ball to knock over bottles with, a puzzle that he spilled water on and a water gun. Unfortunately he did not think of his mama.

I took them both to my friend who cuts my hair and she cut all of our hair. We all look quite nice in our new hairdos. Oh, I almost forgot. I gave the cowboy quilt to my friend at work who is really into cowboy stuff. Well one of the other therapists made her a little pair of crocheted cowboy boots. I think these are the cutest things I have ever seen and I had to post a pic on here. REMEMBER, I DID NOT MAKE THESE. SHE DID!!!!

Well that is all for now. There may not be any posts in the next three days. I am working sat, sun and mon on my 12-hr shifts. Hope all the mothers out there have a wonderful Mothers Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Barbara

Savannah Sews

2008-05-06T15:45:00.000-07:00

Well I spent the day vegging out. I ordered the movie PS I Love You on pay per view and sat and sewed and cried. This is such a good movie for anyone who hasn't seen it. One of the neat things about sewing is that when you are doing it sometimes those around you want to get into the act. Who am I to deny my beautiful granddaughter a lesson at my favorite sewing machine. We used a bandanna and made a pillow for her great-grandma.

I love my children and I never thought I would be able to love another child as much as I had loved them, but becoming a grandmother changed that. The love I have for these 2 children is so much different and so much more precious. It is a chance to try again at changing a part of their lives for the better. My grandson is a special needs child and I think his kisses and hugs are so much sweeter than others. He is a joy to be around as is my granddaughter.

Sewing on Wednsday!

2008-04-30T07:43:00.000-07:00

I have always had a problem with spelling and I think I spelled wednsday wrong, but oh well I tried. I was off yesterday but because I had a positive TB test at work I had to spend about 3 hrs at the place they use for chest X-rays. It turned out OK as I knew it would but it definately put a crimp in my sewing time. Today I have devoted to clearing off my sewing space and getting down to work. I have collected a bunch of green and pinks and I think I will put them togather into a turning 20 but I do it with 25 and it fits much better on our water bed. I am finishing up another baby quilt, this one is the split nine patch done in Repos.

My cats are my official quilt testers and Bonnie is the worst, geeze, you'd think she wanted to do the quilting herself. No matter what I am working on, if I lay it around she sits on it as soon as I do. I left my quilt hoop unattended and you see what happens. It's funny cause I always have to warn the people who get my quilts that they need to wash them before using. I like to give a nice pretty quilt before it is washed.

I came across a picture on the web of our famous bluebonnets and wanted to add them to a post so I will add it here. I wish I knew how to add it to the top under my title. I love bluebonnets.

Guess that is all for now. Hope everyone has a great day!

Barbara

Newest Baby quilt

2008-04-25T23:05:00.000-07:00

One of the occupational therapists at work is pregnant and they had her baby shower today. She is a real Texas Cowgirl and I wanted her little boy to have a cowboy quilt when he gets her so I put this little cowboy quilt togather for him. I have been making so many quilts lately that I did

not have the money to have it quilted so I tied it and made him a nice warm comforter. I made sure that all the prints were cowboy related. I tried to include a close up so you could see all the cute materials I chose.

I think this is one of the cutest I have made so far. I currently have two others I am working on and than I hope to be able to start some summer clothes for the grandkids and myself. Here is the other picture I took of the quilt. I guess I had best close out and go to bed. Hope everyone reading this has a great weekend.

Mothers Day Giveaway

2008-04-25T21:35:00.000-07:00

I don't know about the rest of you, but I love to cook. I love the feel of dirty fingers when I am breading chicken, flour on my hands when I am making bread and best of licking the beaters or the spoon when making cookies or cakes. The one thing I wish I had was an apron. I remember my Grandma in the kitchen when she cooked and she always wore an apron. Now mind you, I don't want an ugly apron. I want to look good in that kitchen and that is why I am going to tell you about this website I just found. Her name is Jan Carrell (I am pretty sure I have spelled that wrong) I she makes the prettiest aprons I have ever seen.

She is having a Mothers Day Giveaway and she is giving away one of her beautiful aprons, along with a teapot and teacosy and some cookie cutters. Her is the link but you had best hurry over because she is going to draw the name tomorrow around noon. I really hope I have posted this in time to be in the name generator. If I don't win, I am going to have to break down and buy one. The ones I liked were Taffy or Sweety but they are out of stock at the moment.

Here is the website maplelane-jan.blogspot.com/2008/04/mothers-day-giveaway.html

Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Busy in my little sewing corner!

2008-04-18T11:34:00.000-07:00

Well I have been busy in my little corner of the living room the last few weeks. Working the 12-hr shifts that I do, I am blessed to have my 4 day stretches off and I have been busy this week.

The weather has been pretty hot already so wednsday night hubby came home and togather we got the water cooler up and running. It was such a nice evening compared to the several warm days before. Well, wouldn't you know it, I guess we jinxed it because yesterday came in cold and raining most of the day. Had to tape the cover back up over the front of the cooler to keep the cold wind out. It is warming up today so off the cover comes again. It has been seen that some days you can see all 4 seasons in one day and I believe it.

I have been working on a patriotic turning 12 and got it all finished. Here are a few pictures of

2008-03-24T19:11:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted on here since early Febuary and it is almost the end of March. Guess I had better start doing better. I have been busy at work but than I go home and sew, sew, and sew. I have finished 2 baby quilts, 1 soldier quilt and a string quilt. As soon as I find my digital camera I will put them up and post the pictures. I am also busy trying to sew up alot of my fabric into tops for the summer.

The weather here in the panhandle has been cold, warm, cold and warm. It really doesn't know what it wants to do. I for one am tired of the cold. The daffodils are up and the blooms are on all the trees so I hope theat winter is finally over.

I will finish my post here and do another tomorrow or in a few days.

Barbara in Amarillo

Looking forward to Valentines Day!

2008-02-06T19:50:00.001-08:00

I just went and visited Garden Goose's blog and she has a Valentines give away going on. It is a very pretty pink vintage looking pillow. One of the requirements for me to be included in the give away is to post a like to her give away so here it is:

gardengoose.blogspot.com/2008/02/victorian-valentine

I want to win but I wish anyone who goes there from here good luck.

Barbara,Amarillo/TX

Winter Wonderland

2008-01-31T17:10:00.000-08:00

Today I woke up to a totally white wonderland and as quick as it came it was gone. We have had such wierd wheather here in the Texas panhandle this year. This makes our 3rd snowfall that has come and been gone in 24 hrs. The morning was 19 degrees with wind chill of -1 degrees and by this afternoon we were at 59 and most of snow had melted off. I meant to take a picture of the snow this morning and this afternoon but forgot. I had to go in and work for 7 hrs today, sure was nice to be leaving early. Not sure if I have any blogging friends yet but if you are out there hope you have a great day.

First time blog post.

2008-01-29T08:09:00.000-08:00

Well this is my first visit into the blog world and hopefully this will be the first of many posts. I am a 56 years young Nurse who loves to quilt and sew. I also like to do scrapbooking but at the moment everything is crammed into one room due to my daughter and her family living with me.

I have been to several of the quilting blogs on this blogging site and decided I had to make me one. My blog is still in the process of being completed so please bear with me. I live in the Panhandle of Texas, and I love and collect everything I can find having to do with Sunbonnet Sue, hence my title.

I will have alot of quilts to post once I figure out how to do this.