Quilt Retreat Pics

Here's the proof. We really did work hard on our beach trip.

Wonderful Weekend

I had such an awesome weekend! I took a four-day trip with some quilting friends to the beach. We rented a beach house to accommodate all nine of us. We went with one mission in mind. . . .quilt, quilt, quilt! And quilt we did, from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. I felt like a college student again! We did do a few other things too like eat, watch movies and listen to music, all while working on our quilts of course.
As I packed for the trip I wanted to make sure I had plenty of projects to work on. I planned on making a quilt for our baby and I had a few projects that had just been sitting in my closet. I didn't have anything pressing to finish besides the baby quilt. I packed material and fabric for five quilts plus a felt book that needed to be cut out for the kids. I knew I was grossly overestimating how much I would accomplish in four days.
Taking inventory at the end of the trip, however, there was only one project I didn't touch. I finished three quilt tops, started another and finished the felt book. Combined with my other friends we finished 15 quilt tops in the four days we were there. Not too bad! It's amazing what you can accomplish when you don't have to make dinner, bathe children, clean the house, shower, get dressed. . . .oh, just kidding I did the latter two.
I'll be posting some pictures soon. I forgot to take my camera but a few people had them.

Normal People

I've really slacked in the blogging department since we moved to our new house. I can think of two reasons:
1. Our computer is in an upstairs location just outside the kids' rooms. So, when it's nap time I don't usually get on the computer anymore.
2. Life has been really busy!
Almost two weeks ago we took a trip to Washington D.C. I want to write more about that when I am able to download some pictures.
This past Friday Chris finished his residency. . . .just like that! After almost 12 years of knowing him he has finally reached the goal he had in mind when we met. It's been a long haul and we have had some ups and downs but it's finally here.
I was invited to attend the departments end-of-year luncheon. I made arrangements for Tristan to go to a friend's house and I took Kennedy with me. It was a nice buffet-style lunch with a lot of the people from the department there--mostly physicians, residents, techs and some support staff. Chris was awarded an outstanding research award which I missed because I was taking someone to the restroom. The residents presented him with a nice gift certificate to Orvis. Some of the doctors stood up to say some nice things about Chris. Then Chris got up to say a few words. He said he wanted to thank three people. He thanked me first and much to my surprise he got emotional. That made me get teary eyed too. Then he thanked one of the secretaries and his mentor Dr. Marks. He presented Dr. Marks with a quilt I made for him. Again, I will write more on the quilt when I'm able to download the picture. It was a nice day and I had such a giddy feeling in my heart all day long. So glad he's done.
He started his new job yesterday and had a fabulous day in the clinic. After almost 12 years of having smaller goals to reach and moving every 3-5 years we aren't sure what to do next. I guess just live like normal people!

Quilting Comfort

When my mom was younger she associated with a group of girls who called themselves "The Ten Old Maids". Throughout the years they have remained friends although they all married and went their ways. A few weeks ago one of the "Old Maids" passed away. One of the other old maids asked my mom to make a quilt in her honor. My mom cranked out a beautiful quilt in about two days. I didn't see it but she told me that in the quilting she had quilted an angel and the words, "Friends are Forever". Knowing my mom and the artistic talent she has I'm sure the quilt was beautiful. The old maids who were able to come to the funeral took part in the services and placed the quilt in the coffin before she was buried.
On Wednesday I had a phone call from a gal I go to church with. She called asking for my help with a quilt. Another gal in our ward recently lost a baby that was only about 18 weeks along. It was conceived by IVF and was the couple's first child. My friend wanted to present her with a quilt that she and those who came to visit could tie. That sounded like something I could do. The only problem was that she wanted it the following day. I looked around my sewing room and found some beautiful fabric and said "yes", thinking I could get some of my quilting friends to help me put it together.
I already had a busy morning ahead. I had agreed to babysit my friend's two kids all morning and they would arrive soon. I took my fabric and cutting supplies downstairs and called my first quilting friend. She offered to send out an e-mail to the rest. I thought that would save some time and agreed. I cut as many squares as I could while watching the kids play. By mid-afternoon there were no replies and I worried that my quilting friends would not be able to come on such short notice so I started piecing the quilt. By early evening it was evident that I would be putting this quilt together myself.
I worked on the quilt until about 10 p.m. and picked it back up the next morning. By 11 a.m. it was finished! I just had to run to JoAnn's to buy fabric for the back and also the batting and yarn.
I was amazed at how much I liked the quilt. When I first started laying out the blocks I wasn't sure if it was a good combination. I had just enough fabric for the border. In fact, I miscalculated and didn't have enough strips. I looked back through my stash and found another strip that was already cut to the size I needed! It was a miracle. This quilt was surely meant for this wonderful lady.
This is one of the reasons I love quilting so much. It is a service than not everyone can give and it shows love in a unique way. When I get the quilt back to bind I will take a picture and post it.

Finished Quilt

Ahhh, another finished project. I'm on a roll! Of course, I needed my mom's help to finish this one. It's a queen-size quilt and I won't even attempt to quilt one that big on my sewing machine. My mom has become an expert long-arm quilter. Thanks to her expertise this quilt is now finished and will be off to its rightful owner (Kimball and Julie Kelsey) soon.

Last summer Kimball and Julie hinted they would be getting married within the year. In July while I was visiting my family in Beaver, Kimball and Julie came down from Ogden to visit us. I told Julie I wanted to make her a quilt. I took her down to the quilt store in Beaver, where my mom works, and had her pick out some fabrics. She said she had a lot of Americana decor and wanted something along that line. She picked out some blues that I already had scraps of at home. She chose some red and background to go with it. We looked at some patterns and chose this one from Eleanor Burns' Quilts Through the Seasons book.

When I got home the red I had did not go well with the other fabrics I wanted to use in the quilt. I pulled out some red scraps and figured I had enough for this quilt. I started right away. The cutting instructions were very easy and the piecing went quickly. I had the blocks done in no time.

I did put the quilt away for a few months to work on other projects but finished it after the holidays. I couldn't have been more pleased with how it turned out. I hope Julie and Kimball enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it.

Conference Weekend

Another busy, but fun, weekend. I started off Saturday by having my hair cut and highlighted. My roots were only about 4 inches! I felt like a new woman. After I got home I took Kennedy up to the park for an Easter egg hunt. Some of her friends from church were there and they were able to play after the hunt. There weren't many kids there so Kennedy filled her basket.

After lunch Chris took Kennedy to the veterinary school in Raleigh for their open house where they had some activities for kids. I stayed home with Tristan, who slept most of the time, and quilted. I finished another baby quilt this weekend. I wanted to post a picture but it seems that some of our things have been packed away in boxes and the cord I needed to download will not be seen until we move into our new house in two weeks--you'll have to wait to see the quilt.

We went to see our new house this morning and were excited to see that we have several dogwood trees on our lot. The dogwood is the state flower. It comes out in spring and it's like lace for the forest. It is my favorite bloom here in the spring.

We also went to Duke Gardens. It was a beautiful, overcast, spring day. We have been having lots of pollen the last week or so and everything has been covered in a yellow powder but we had some rain the other day that helped wash some of it away.

We enjoyed listening to conference, well as much as we could. We have to listen in the office on the Internet. Gone are the days of relaxing in front of the t.v. At least we don't have to drive to the church to watch. I love listening to conference and always feel renewed and dedicated.

Well, back to the grind tomorrow. Now that I have this quilt finished I have to do something constructive, like packing.

Three Reasons to Blog

This is one of the reasons that I wanted to start a blog. I wanted to record my quilting experiences. I have a quilt journal but it's all filled up. This way other people can see what I have been working on.
I love to quilt. It has been a journey for me but I am comfortable now doing larger projects. I started out making small wall quilts. On occasion I would attempt a baby quilt. The first baby quilt I made took me three years to complete. It was a scrappy quilt, no two blocks alike and I hand quilted it which took me a really long time. I would get tired of it and put it away for several months. I finally finished it and there was no way I would let it go to anyone else. I'll have to admit, I haven't even used it for myself. It's beautiful but it's in my hope chest.
This quilt was made out of Moda fabrics from the line "Faded Memories". My friends found them on sale at a local quilt store but the sale was a 1-yard minimum cut so four of us pitched in a bought the whole line and each had a fat quarter of each of the prints. It's a very pretty line of fabrics.
The pattern is called "Twin Sisters". The pattern looked fun to me so I thought I would give it a try. I really enjoyed making this quilt. I even machine quilted it myself. I haven't decided who will get it. I might just hold on to it for a while.

This is the second reason I wanted to start a blog. My kids are growing and changing so fast I wanted a way that I could keep their grandparents updated.

Today I was on a walk with the kids in a stroller. Kennedy, aka Sweet Pea, asked me to let go of the stroller and push them into the busy street. I tried to explain to her that that was dangerous. "Why?" is always the next question. I explained to her that a car might not see them and run them over. "Then what would you say, Mommy?" I explained that I would be sad and that I don't like to see my babies hurt. Here's the kicker--"Then you wouldn't have a "P" and a "Q" anymore?" Then she pointed to Tristan and smiled and said that he was a cute little "Q".

Here is the third reason I wanted to have a blog: Recipes! I love sharing recipes and finding new recipes. This one is my sister's recipe and it is really good. Today I substituted the chocolate chips for Andes Mint Baking Chips. The cookies were heavenly!

Double Trouble Cookies

1 cup butter

1 cup dark brown sugar

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups flour

1/2 cup cocoa

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups chocolate chips or Andes Mint Baking Pieces

Cream together the butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla until fluffy. Add the dry ingredients and beat on a low speed. Add the chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until set.

Note: For high altitude, cut the baking soda to 1/2 tsp. and add 1 Tbs. flour.