Missionary Quilt

Chad leaves on Wednesday. I am so excited for him! But I am a procrastinator. He got all his things purchased, but I promised him luggage and still haven't gone to get it. Considering he has to pack tomorrow at the latest, I should put that on today's to-do list. Probably. I have known since July that he is going to a fairly chilly place, but didn't put two and two together until last week.He was told to ship his bedding stuff straight to the mission home and I was thinking "Oh, I'll just send the blanket that he has on his bed right now." Obviously I wasn't actually thinking, because he always has to put extra blankets on his bed in the winter because his quilt is so thin. So last week it finally penetrated my brain that his current bedding would not do, not at all. So I made him a new quilt.

     This is a surprise to him and he won't see it until he opens up his box in South Dakota. The little scripture quote is Jeremiah 16:16. I wrote the whole thing in a square with a fabric marker, but it's a little hard to read in the photo. When I asked what scripture Chad would want on a missionary plaque, this was his immediate response. He didn't even have to think about it a single second. Which, when I read it, it made me laugh. I guess hunting and fishing will always be in that boy's blood in some form. Anyway, when he gets it, he will know he is loved. And he will be warm.

Cabin Weekend

I look forward to this weekend for months. We try to head to the cabin for conference weekend. We don't get television reception there because it is too remote, but the radio in the truck picks up conference just fine. Here's what is awesome about conference at the cabin: everything.
No telephone reception, not even cell phones= no one can call and disturb the family.
Remote location= not too many things to get distracted with. (Okay, I know I'm not supposed to end a sentence with a preposition, but it sounds too stuffy to say "with which to get distracted".)
The colors of autumn are fabulous the first weekend of October=go for a hike between sessions.
Lots of food= people sit and visit more than they otherwise would.
Most of the time we don't get to go as early as we would like and we have to leave way too soon, but those are good things. A good family activity should always leave you wanting more. This is close to the last weekend that Chad will be home before heading off on his mission. I want it to be something for him to hold onto for a couple of years.

And to start the weekend off with a BYU football game... Could life get any better?

Awesome Tech Support

You know how sometimes you get on a website and go to the part that says "contact us", and you email them and you hear back three months later and maybe never? Today was NOT that day. I screwed up and downloaded a digitized design for my quilting machine, but I downloaded for the wrong brand of machine. So of course my machine wouldn't read the flash drive. After I figured out why it wouldn't work, I contacted the company, via email. I was pretty sure I wouldn't hear from them for a while and the quilt for my client was on the machine and ready to be worked on.  Within an hour, they had answered my email, AND sent me the correct download for my machine. I did my happy dance right then and there. Can you believe it?!! An answer in less than an hour!!! (I can't use too many exclamation points!!!) The name of this amazing company: Anne Bright. I love their designs and now I love Susan too. She was the wizard that fixed my mess up. Hooray for Anne Bright.com!!! Pictures of the quilts tomorrow.

Where did September go?

I finished up the last wedding dress for the season  the first part of August. I really thought I would just stock up on baby quilts while I was waiting for the Christmas rush to start. I should stop making plans like that. I did bottle a lot of peaches and apricots. There are BAGS of dehydrated pears. Pickles are in progress as I type. However, the stack of baby quilts for sale isn't really big enough to be called a stack. I seem to sell them before I have much of a stock. I do have a few new ones for sale, though. Pictures are posted. The cream/lavender stars quilt is silk; The other two are cotton.

The autumn is glorious here and quilting and canning belong to the autumn. Could life be any better?

Silk Baby Quilt

I have a little down time between clients and have been playing with silk. Of course, these silk quilts are for sale, either here on the blog or at boutiques that I attend.

Missionary Tie Quilt

This week I've had the chance to work on a really fun project. My niece found a bag of her husband's ties from his mission. Wow, I had no idea a missionary could own so many ties! Some of them are really sweet, like the Scooby Doo tie.  Happy Birthday Brian!

Children's Pajamas

Mackenzie

I'm finally posting pictures. Mackenzie just came to pick up her dress. It was so pleasant to work with Mackenzie. Maybe because she's a soft-spoken southern girl. Generally speaking, I don't make many dresses with chiffon. I've found it a little difficult to work with, until Mackenzie's dress. I really love the movement of her skirt and the softness of its appearance. I also loved the lace she chose for the bodice. It makes me happy to work with great fabrics.

Incomplete Projects

I could post pictures (because everyone knows that blogs are about the pictures), but all they would show is unfinished work. I'm working on a wedding dress that should be finished by this time next week. I'm working on some alterations that should be finished by Friday. I'm working on a quilt that will be finished sometime before the next decade (I'm being optimistic here, as I've already been working on it for a decade.) In July,
I did get to go to Nauvoo, Illinois with Mom and my sister. I didn't think to take a single picture however. Road trips with the girls are great fun. I bought tons of fabric, so fun projects are in my future. I'll post pictures when I have a finished product to show off.

Beets

Does anyone know some good recipes? I may need them!

Kelli

Laura

So this is what I've been up to while I haven't been posting: sewing. Who would have guessed that? One of Stacia's dearest friends is getting married and I got the privilege of making her dress. She was (and is) so sweet and lovely to work with. I love how her dress turned out.

Empty Nest-ish

Chad has been gone for about a week.There isn't cell phone service there,but he does have wi-fi. So everyday I check my email,hoping to hear from him. Several times a day. Like maybe he had time while he ate breakfast. Or lunch. Or dinner. Or before he went to bed. I guess he's just working really hard and doesn't have any time. He wouldn't ignore his mother,right? (In all fairness, he called 2 days ago from a phone booth. I'm just anxious for him.)

Odds and ends

I've been thinking about how great it is to have five senses... okay, maybe just about three of them. Every  morning I go  for a walk with a friend or two. I absolutely love how the trees are smelling this time of year. There's one tree in particular that smells just like water and honey and spring. (It has little green blossom clusters and the "helicopter" pods. If anyone knows the name, please share.) Out by the pond  is an enormous honeysuckle vine. And fresh cut hay is everywhere. I have also been loving the sounds. The birds are going crazy about the time we start walking. I also love the sound of the gravel crunching when I walk. Okay, the sounds of the cement mixers and the construction crews are not so enchanting, but I can't hear them when we go to the pond.  The other sense that is not to be skipped is taste (always I think about food). We've been doing Bountiful Baskets at our house for a while, and I love fresh produce. Possibly I am also interested in chocolate. The boys brought home trout from their camping trip and I believe there will be some on the table for Father's Day. Possibly something chocolate-y for dessert as well.

What's Cooking?

This is one of those things that I like to have on hand for gifts. (I need an adult size mannequin, obviously.)

Back at Work

After a very relaxing vacation to Mt. Rushmore, I am back at home and back to work. This is one of the projects since I've returned.

Kristen

Kristen picked up her dress today. I just love how the skirt floats around her.

Birdcage veil

This is what I've been up to today. I love making the funky roses on birdcage veils. Its a little hard to tell in this picture, but there is tulle bunched up in there with the dupioni. I've even done some with feathers in them. Tomorrow I will show you the dress to which it belongs.

I have a new gadget and have no idea how to make it work.

Quilt Market isn't Just Quilts

One of my clients designs patterns. These are some of the cute bags that I made for her to take to market this weekend. I love her Izzy and Ivy patterns. The hat finishes off the clothing collection made earlier this month.

Paige

I had a darling bride come in from California this week. I love working around people that are so pleasant to be with. She had the most adorable invitations. The vibe was 1940's and very classy. It is right out of a Cary Grant movie.

Emma and Grace

. Making baptism dresses is even more fun when the little girls are this darling.

Successful Saturday

This week I've been working on a wedding dress for Andie. She is so fun to work with. I love her enthusiasm and energy. I always stew over details that I'm not quite sure how to make, but this dress has insisted on doing what it should, whether I knew what I was doing or not. It makes me so happy. A dress usually gets put together half a dozen times before it's really together, so pictures of the process are difficult. They all are minutely different, which is hard to see in photos. So here is a pic or two of how it's coming.

This week is over!!!

No posts, no pictures. One word: flu.

No pictures again

Okay, I have much to be grateful for, and so do you. I've been watching the little girls while Mami and Papi are out of town. They are adorable. Yesterday I was feeling a bit bad about not having cleaned the house well while they have been here. Especially that the floor hadn't been mopped all week. I needed to cut out a wedding dress (that takes a BIG space) so I vacuumed and mopped really thoroughly. I cut the silk while the girls were playing house in the pantry. They went out to play and S walked in with muddy shoes. The silk was already cut, so mostly I was just a bit bugged because the floor had stayed relatively clean until I mopped, and within an hour it was dirtier than when I started. Then came lunch. Red Jell-o on the floor. Cleaning for the third time. They watched a movie after lunch . During the movie Q fell asleep. I was a bit surprised because she doesn't usually nap at my house. When she woke up, we went upstairs to get her a snack. Before the snack commenced, she got sick all over the floor. Red Jell-o again. Cleaning for the fourth time.Later, while I was cooking dinner, I  heard her start to cough, and grabbed her and ran to the bathroom. You guessed it- red Jello again. Now you ask what I am grateful for. Q was not sick in Grandpa's white recliner during the movie. She was not sick on the carpet. She actually made it to the toilet the 2nd time. The mud didn't happen until the silk was picked up. The floor was really clean when our company came for dinner. And what do you have to be grateful for? After all, this is a disgusting topic that I'm exposing you to. You are grateful that I have dead batteries in my camera!

There are no pictures today. I spent the day being busy with the grandkids. Tristan and I took them shopping for a bit, then T watched the girls while Mitch and I went to the temple. I went back to Boo's and we all ( Well, not Mitch. He had to go back to work.) went to Blickenstaff's. Q was asleep in my arms most of the time, but S had a ball. After I dropped Buddha and Budge back at their house, I took the girls to McDonald's to burn time before Sierra's Dance concert. S fell asleep on the way to Mickey D's, so both girls got a nap. They were dancing in the aisle at Sierra's performance, and slept all the way home. Sorry Juan, they went to bed in their clothes with (gasp) unbrushed teeth!

Ra'Shelle's quilt

I think this is the first quilt Shelle has ever made. She did a great job! I can't wait to see it in her brand new bedroom.

Spring wear

After my bridal fitting yesterday, a few hours were spent dabbling in spring colors and clothes. Here is the result:

pockets

I started a wedding dress today. Well, that's not quite true. I've been mulling over pocket trims for a couple of weeks. I sewed up a few samples to show the bride at her fitting. There are two colors of satin rattail trim, soutache, double needle pintucks, regular pintucks, and ribbon. I like the rattail best because it keeps the silk flatter. I enjoy working through the details of a dress. Doing little samples helps me to see exactly how the silk will behave.