Christmas project

While working on completing ufo's, I came across a couple of quilts patterns I started and, obviously, never finished.

Blocks for Kate Spain 12 Days of Christmas were hiding in a bag.

I must have started on the blocks and some other crisis took me away from completing them.

It's been fun to find these cheerful blocks and I hope to have it competed before Christmas.

How about you? Are you working on any kind of Christmas project for yourself?

Happy Quilting!

Fabric Tuesday

Bread for the Journey

Being thankful

It seems during this time of year, we are reminded to be thankful. And it's sometimes easy to forget to show gratefulness for an act of kindness.

Today I want to thank blood donors. I have never given blood, but I know many people who do. There are people who share their life giving blood, in order to help others, many times saving lives. And I realize what a special gift that is.

Two weeks ago I shared with you about my friend, Lin. She experienced a Class 4 hemorrhage, basically losing almost all of the blood in her body, after a blood vessel burst behind her pancreas. Her heart stopped three times because of lack of blood. She was given 25 units of blood. That's pretty amazing, as the human body has about 10 pints of blood circulating. She was losing it faster than they could pump it in.

So today I am sending my thanks to the many men and women who donate their blood. You have helped keep this wonderful woman alive. You have blessed many people by your sacrifice.

Bread for the Journey

Sweatshirt weather

One of the many things I enjoy about living in Florida is the weather. To be honest, I love the hot, humid, sunny days. What I don't like is when the days are shorter and the weather turns dry and cooler. But when it does, I dig out my sweatshirts and jackets.

 I am not a garment sewer. However, several years ago, I met my BFF at the Chicago Quilt Festival. We had a wonderful time together. We looked at all of the fabulous quilts and of course all of the vendors. At one booth, my BFF saw this jacket. She immediately wanted to make one, and said that I needed to make one too! Whoa-ho girl, I don't do garments! She finally convinced me and we purchased the pattern. As my BFF lives in cold country 1000 miles away, and I live in the south, we have to use our time wisely when we get together. BFF was coming to my end of the world and she said we were going to make these jackets! Whewww........ now I was in trouble. The first objective was to find a 100% cotton sweatshirt. Ha, ha, well let me tell you that it is VERY difficult to find any kind of sweatshirts in Florida! After much searching, we did finally come across sweatshirts that were 80% cotton. As I drove around, she had seam ripper in hand and tore out the cuffs and the neck trim.

We used Kansas Troubles, and Thimbleberries line of fabrics. I love the rich color combinations. My BFF worked diligently on her jacket and I followed along. It was a very fun project and we both came out with great looking jackets.

That year I decided to enter the jacket in the Florida State Fair. I have never entered any quilts in the State Fair before, but I felt the jacket was something a little different and maybe was worthy to show. To my amazement, the jacket took a second place red ribbon! What a wonderful surprise.
Here are some close up shots of the back and quilting. I also added a nice closure at the top.















Inspiring, yes. Warm, absolutely!

Happy Quilting!

Can I get a Whoop Whoop? 
Finished or Not Friday 

 Finish it up Friday 
Fabric Tuesday 

The library

I remember when I was a very little girl the first time my mother took me to the Library. We were living in a very big city at the time but the library was a very small place, situated upstairs. We climbed the stairs and entered into a place that was magic to me. I remember the low shelf next to the window with lots of colorful children's books. I must have been about 4 years old, because I was not in school and probably not reading yet. I sat by the window and looked through many of the picture books. I am sure we took a few books home with us that day. We went back to that library many times, as I still remember checking out books from that library while I was in elementary school.

Books have always held a fascination to me. They are your friends when you are lonely, sick, or when you just want to travel to a different place or time. The library is also a great resource for quilting books. I have a very healthy collections of quilting books in my own library, but sometimes, I just enjoy looking at other books for ideas. I have checked out Harriet Hargrove and Sue Nickels machine quilting books and kept them for the maximum time allowed!

Recently I picked up these little gems.














What fun to browse through these books and enjoy the amazing resource the library affords. Have you ever checked what your local library has available? You might be pleasantly surprised.

Happy Quilting!

First Blush

I'm always amazed when I've been chosen to win a prize. Especially when it's beautiful fabric.

Wendy Shepherd of Ivory Spring recently hosted a giveaway for a fat quarter bundle of First Blush and the coordinating Aurifil thread. 

Did you hear me squeal when the package arrived? This certainly makes for Happy Quilting!

Bread for the Journey

Veterans Day

Honoring all those who have served our country. Today is also Armistice Day, the day the armistice was signed, ending World War I, so other countries are also remembering their veterans today.

Thank you!

Veterans Day

Update and thank you

Thank you to everyone who wrote to me concerning my friend. There were many dark hours that eclipsed since last Thursday.

Having suffered an abdominal aorta aneurysm that ruptured, my friend Lin teetered between life and death for many hours.

Her heart stopped three times, the last time for 30 minutes.  Thankfully one of the doctors would not give up and saved her from certain death. The rupture was behind her pancreas, so doctors tried for several hours to stop the bleeding with a less invasive method. That not working, they took her to surgery. These were very tense hours.

She has since been weaned off of the ventilator. She has no memory of what happened to her. She is in a lot of pain (her incisions is from her chest to below her belly button).

Yesterday she was given a new set of pain meds and was able to sit in a chair. Her family, coming from Alaska, the Ukraine, and lower Ohio, has gathered around her. There were many prayers that went up for her from all over the world. Nurses and doctors stop by her room and are in awe at this miracle that unfolded before their eyes. The one doctor who did not give up, stood at Lin's door and cried.

God's hand was certainly on Lin as she was pulled back from eternity. And I thank each one of you who took the time to say a prayer. Her recovery will be slow and perhaps long, but she is resilient and a fighter, but I truly believe that God's hand has been on her.  Her job here on earth is not done.

Sweet Roasted Nuts

Today I am sharing another goodie. These are great to make just to eat, but they also make nice little gifts as well.

My niece made these Sweet Roasted Nuts and of course we all loved them and wanted the recipe. She basically said she did not have a recipe but told me how to make them.

The cast of characters

1 bag of pecan halves (or 1 1/2 cups)
1 bag of walnuts (or 1 1/2 cups)

Melt 1/2 stick of butter, 1/4 cup of brown sugar, a pinch of salt and a little vanilla in a sauce pan.

Coat the nuts in the mixture and then spread on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. You will know when they are done when you smell them!

Cool on wax paper before storing

I found these little canning jars at Target, and they are the perfect size for gift giving.

Easy Peasy!

I hope you enjoy making these little morsels. They are so delicious to eat and you could make someone very happy :-)

  P.S.  If you are a no-reply blogger or are Google+, please leave your email address, so I can reply to your comment. 

Bread for the Journey

The phone call that rocks your world

This picture was taken several years ago when I was visiting my dear friend in Ohio. She and I visited so many quilt shops, enjoyed lots of wonderful meals and deep encouraging conversations.

Yesterday morning I received the kind of phone call that rocks your world. My friend was rushed to the hospital when she was experiencing extreme pain. The first hospital determined that she had a massive tumor in her abdomen. She was transferred to a larger hospital where the diagnosis was changed, first to hemorrhaging, then to an aorta aneurysm that had burst.

After several hours of doctors trying to stop the bleeding with non-invasive methods, her heart stopped and the procedure was not working. They were able to get her heart started again and gathered a team of surgeons. After many hours under the knife, they thought they had stopped the bleeding and felt that she was stable. But her heart stopped again, and again the surgeons went back in to find the bleed which was behind her pancreas. The doctors felt that this time they had stopped the bleed but waited 20 minutes, making sure it would not bleed again.

She has made it through the night, and her daughter was able to go into ICU and be with her a while. Her daughter relayed that when her mom heard her voice, she opened her eyes a bit and squeezed her hand.

Many prayers have been going around the world all day yesterday and today. If you think of my friend, Lin, please pray for her complete recovery. She has a long way to go, and the doctors have said she's not out of the woods yet. But just coming this far has been a miracle.

Thank you!

Fall Landscape

As the seasons change, I like to change the quilts around the house. This was the first landscape quilt I made a couple of years ago. It's perfect for this time of year.

Happy Quilting!