Tuesday, August 30, 2011

My Scrappy Star Surprise

Recently, I have started loving scrap quilts.  Precuts had barely been introduced when I first started quilting.  They were so easy to sew with and all the fabrics matched.  It was fabulous!  Most of the quilts I have made have been from one fabric line.  I still get all excited when I see charm packs and jelly rolls.  But, as I was browsing quilt blogs a few months ago, I came across this blog.  There on the computer screen was the exact same quilt my mom had made in the early ‘80’s!  I fell in love with it then and it is still one of my favorite quilts. My grandma and mom started cutting out hundreds of little diamonds to make scrappy star quilts.  Every star was made from a different fabric.  Many of the fabrics had been used in pillows, dresses, doll clothes etc.  It took them years to trace, cut out, trace 1/4 inch sewing lines, hand sew the stars, piece together, then hand quilt the quilt. Not many people do that anymore!.  Anyway….  after seeing that someone else was making a scrappy star quilt the same way as my mom and grandma, I remembered something.

Scrappy diamondsScrappy diamonds 2

Scrappy diamond stacks

scrappy stars

Yes!  My mom gave me all of the leftover scraps from their quilts years ago, and I had totally forgotten!   I pulled them out and found I have diamonds, already cut out, for about 80 stars!!!!!  I found fabric from dresses I wore as a kid, a pillow my grandma made me, scraps from my mom’s clothing, and many more I recognized, but could not place.  It’s all so very nostalgic.   Guess, what I’m going to start making?!  I don’t have a picture of my mom’s quilt. (Will have to get one soon.)  But here is a link to Crazy Mom Quilts so you can see what I’m talking typing about.

One day I’ll have my own scrappy stars quilt.

Stormy

Monday, August 22, 2011

Summer is officially over

First day of school

Yes, school started today.  My monkeys were excited, nervous, scared, happy, anxious….. you get the idea.  It’s such a big day.  I think it’s as hard on me as it is on the kids.  They might disagree though. 

We had a fabulous summer.  I thought I’d recap a few of our favorite summer past times.

kids swimming playing in the rain

We swam and swam and swam and also did a little playing in the rain.  Yes, our family likes water.

Fireworkswatching the fireworks

Of course we watched fireworks.  Twice.  We had a great cousin sleepover with fireworks and camping in grandparents back yard.  Then we had an awesome breakfast and our annual marshmallow war!  The next day we went to the city fireworks in the rain.  It was great fun!

marshmallow warHannah and Sierra with marshmallow

Watching the elephants at Hogle ZooRock sittin at Bridal Veil Falls

We went to the zoo.  We walked the trail up to Bridal Veil Falls, then played in the icy cold water.

Midway family home

We visited old family homes in Midway, UT and stayed in a condo at Park City where we took family pictures.  (Thanks Shellie and Matt!)

sleeping in the afternoon

And, the best part of summer was staying up late watching movies, sleeping in and taking naps whenever and wherever we wanted.  It was wonderful…..

Stormy

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Sister’s Quilt 2009-10

Every year my sister’s, mom, and sister’s-in-law have some kind of  “Sister’s Quilt” project.  One year each of us made seven of the same 12” squares every month.  Then we would give one square to each of the other women involved.  That way, every month we would get seven different squares!  Another year we started a row quilt.  The first person would make some kind of pieced row, then pass it along to the next person who would add another row and so on….  This year we are involved in a block of the month.  Everybody is making the same blocks, just using their own choice of fabric.  I seem to have a hard time actually finishing these quilts.  They are great fun to be involved in, but once my finished top gets passed back to me, they kinda just sit there.  That’s why I’m so excited to finally be finishing one.  I just received it a month ago, and it’s my first finished “Sister’s Quilt”! 

Finished 2010 Sister's Quilt

2010 Sister's Quilt

2010 Sister's Quilt 2

Sister's Quilt 2011 2

Because it’s a bit small, I think it’s home is going to be draped over the back of my armchair in my sewing room.  It’ll be the perfect lap quiltSmile

Stormy

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

A shopping I will go…

After spending a little too much time on Pinterest, I was in the mood to do a little shopping.  (Go figure!)  So, I dragged my hubby out with me to a couple of antique stores.  Both of them were closed on Mondays.  Arggghhh!  I had to go somewhere!  I needed to shop.  I was in the digging/sorting mood, so the best places I could hit in my current mood was Marshall’s and Ross.  I almost always find cute dishes at one of these places. I was right!  Look what inexpensive treasures I found.Nesting Bowls

Nesting Bowls 2

Nesting Bowls 3

Luck was with me that day.  All of these adorable bowls were separated and priced as individual items.  I can’t believe they were all still there for me find.

Next, was my trip to Marshall’s.  I found some pretty nifty goodies there too.

 

Little Bowls

Blue polka dot bowl

I haven’t come up with a purpose for these cute dotted bowls yet, but I did figure out what to do with my last find.

Ribbon bowl

I’m going to replace the ribbon with something to match my sewing room and use it for a safety pin holder.  Cute eh?  Now, I just have to find the right ribbon…

Stormy

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Texas Rain

I love love love rain storms.  Unfortunately, Texas is in desperate need of rain this year.  So it’s extra exciting when we get it.  Especially in the daylight hours. (Most storms during monsoon come at night.)  So, of course my kids jumped at the chance to run go play in it.  I couldn’t say no.  I remember the joy and excitement I felt as a kid when my mom would let all the kids get soaked during a good storm. 

Even my eleven year old isn’t too old to get a little wet.

Don’t you love to watch toddlers run?  Especially when they are giggling and screaming because they are having so much fun.  I do.

Good times!

Stormy

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Four patch baby quilt

I’m pretty excited to be showing you this adorable quilt for my new nephew.  He is almost two weeks old and I’m super excited to be living just two streets away so I can ooohh and aahhh over him as much as I like.  (Well almost, I have to compete with my daughters.)  I always find it a little harder to make quilts for boys, because there is just not the selection out there compared to the girl fabric available.  But, I found this great fabric (while in Utah, of course)  and I thought it would make a perfect boy quilt. 

Boy baby quilt

 baby quilt back

baby quilt rolled

I love making baby quilts.  It’s so satisfying to start and finish a quilt so quickly.  Then you get to give them away to sweet little babies for cuddling.  Sigh….

Stormy