determination

little by little this swoon top came together...it was a tough road

I started in January and here it is the end of February.  Life happened.  Play dates. B-day parties. Gymnastics. Day trips. MOPS. Bible study. Every day things that fill up the hours.  You know those things we mommies go through.  Bills to pay.  Home improvements.   It keeps me occupied while hubby is far away at work though.  The good and bad are here,but it is what you make it and God will ensure I will BE OK.  That is how I make it through it.

  God by my side and Ayden there to make me smile. 

 And quilting!!!!!!!!!!  OH yes quilting!

Onto the quilting..........

another block...another piece to the puzzle in this quilt for that someone special to me

 red, white and blue, red being her favorite color

my lifesavers......the glue to hold those delicate seams in place, their fine points are wonderful, they need to be plentiful at all times in piecing

in the raw.....proudly showing off all its pressed quarter inch seams and pretty points as I pin the the rows of 3 to the next row of 3

I like this part because I know I am creating a top that will become one whole piece really,really soon:)

adding the framework....the white borders that will place all nine of the SWOON blocks at center stage

I added another 4 inch border with the blues that were incorporated in the top.  I am using a navy blue backing  and then she will be prepped for quilting!!

More to come;)

chicks

 

Filled the hand embroidery void I have been struggling with for the last few months.  I used one of my Mark-B-Gone soluble pens and the new Frixion pen to trace the design.  I like both pens,but the Frixion does give a finer line where needed sometimes.

The pattern was by Karen Pharr and it was called Blue Bird Cuties

This chick is part of a string of chick patterns I purchased at the Quilt market last month.

I completed it in under a week using three shades of Presencia perle cotton in blue for the body, a DMC variegated yellow for the spool of thread and more Presencia perle thread for the remainder areas.

I have someone special in mind to send this cute chickie to sometime soon;)  I may even turn it into a runner at some point.

THIS chick received some VERY pretty flowers for Valentine's Day!!  Thanks sweet hubby;)

Hope your day is filled with pretty things to make you smile.

Be my guest...............

I am over at Tammie's today showing off a Swoon block in honor of Sew Full of Love week------------->right here!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Saturday!

It's a win,win situation

In the last few days I have been..................

living in the land of HST's,triangles everyWHERE................

Craigslist finds......the lady had around 8 bags of yarn...I only NEED one to be honest...she had a lot of other things too including a sewing machine and the embroidery hoop with stand above.

How much for all of this?                 $20!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know the embroidery stand is an F.A. Edmunds and is priced at $60 online:)  I am really jumping up and down inside to use it!!

As for the yarn I can think of a few knitting projects for that as well.  I picked out a lot of the variegated skeins to add more fun too.

Here are some 5"x5" squares (approximately)  that are completed.  Pretty easy to knit.  I am thinking about the Purl stitch for the next square.

Top: Open Braid stitch
Bottom: Stockinette stitch

Since I was in the mood to do some cooking last night, we had a feast with a Pot Roast,Onions,Carrots and Mashed Potatoes on the menu.   I pulled the recipe from here.

Never have I made a roast this delicious and I have made a few roasts in life so far!  So tender,the onions melted in your mouth and the carrots very flavorful.  I used sherry and a bit of beef broth and BOY oh Boy was it divine!!!  Left overs are int he fridge ready to be devoured soon.  I can still smell the victory!!

It's Monday, make the best of it folks!!

 

Away I go!

The Quilting and Fiber Arts Marketplace was in town last month.

I haven't had the chance to go to one of these before so I jumped at the opportunity to beg my hubby to go;)

There were 3 aisles chocked full of fabric,notions,yarn,felt,sewing machines and lots of women trying to get their hands on all the enticing goodies!!

some basics I have been craving and an adorable embroidery pattern

I mustn't leave out that there was a stage in this gymnasium that was filled with more women (of course) and sewing books,fabric and notions!

Riley Blake,Caleb Gray and other fabrics AND some hand dyed embroidery thread-stunning

 There was some Lecien prints as well and other Japanese fabrics.  I was VERY good about that.  Secretly,though, I wish I would have grabbed some now:(

To top it off I had the whole morning and afternoon to myself!  Grandpa and Uncle took care of Ayden------lucky,lucky me:):)

 I know..........how dreamy is that?!!

I missed that little guy though so it felt good to be home.

A couple weeks later the sun was shining and Ayden decided he needed to take his bike out for a ride.

Ya  know us mommy's need our breaks......

And then we return refreshed to our babies!

Not your averageTonka truck

I am going to blog here and now-------------lol!  Too much slacking lately!


This will be a dedicated post to the fun we had a few weekends ago at a MONSTER TRUCK JAM where I live here in Fayetteville, NC!

I totally forgot my camera and as a result I am going to rely on pics from the website that threw this awesome show.  I may BE becoming a monster truck guru. 

this guy would drive around in circles 4-5 times and it was so loud,but so cool!

 Something about the revving engines and the huge trucks crushing things or something like that:)

Ayden loved every minute of it!

My kind of truck logo!!!

A small disaster,but thankfully the driver was unharmed and they even flipped the whole truck back on its tires with a forklift and the driver inside!

3 hours of  wild,crazy FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That is what I have been up to.

So no I am not just a quilter fanatic anymore! hehehehehe