Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Baby Quilt Top Finished!

Last night I finished piecing the quilt top for the new baby! I plan to get it finished by March 10 so I can take it to my quilt guild meeting for show & tell. Then I will give it as a baby shower gift - the shower is supposed to be about March 22. Today I bought two baby fabrics to make sheets for the cradle.
I decided to machine quilt it because time is short, but I haven't decided yet exactly what I will do. Deciding how to quilt something is one of the hardest parts for me. I guess by the time I get to the quilting part, I don't want to spend a lot more time. I definitely need to work on the quilting skills. I keep thinking that when I retire, I will be able to do things in a more leisurely manner.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Weekend Trip

This past weekend my DH & I went to Corpus Christi, Tx to visit our youngest son & DIL (they are the expectant parents). I had Monday off work and took 2 additional days so we had 3 full days with them. They wanted us to help them with some projects.

I had to include a picture of our "grand-cat" Robbie. Robbie is such a fun cat - we have cat sat for him and his sister Maggie, when our DS & DIL were deployed to the Middle East with the Air Force. This is where he sits when he wants to eat.


On the drive there and back home, as well as while there, I had a couple handwork projects to work on. Below is a doll quilt that I will finish up for our nieces little girl. The potholders are for my sister's birthday coming up. She wants some potholders like our Grandma used to make. My aunt also made them after our Grandma died.

My DIL wanted some help with a sewing project that she had started a while back. She knows how to sew, but finds it hard to figure out some of the directions. Fortunately, we made some progress (even though the directions really were pretty bad). I was going to finish up a curtain that her mother had started, but when I started sewing it on my sewing machine, my machine "ate" the fabric! Luckily, I was able to get it out without it tearing. I thought if I started it in the middle of the side that maybe it wouldn't eat it, but again it just pulled it right down! How frustrating! The fabric was shear and I was just hemming the panel for a narrow window along side the front door. I hope she will be able to get it finished on her machine. Time passed all too quickly and we didn't get as much accomplished as we wanted to.

We did take the time to visit a quilt shop that was really great. I bought the few fabrics pictured below. I wanted my DIL to pick out something with the colors that they would like in a quilt for their bed. When they got married I made a 60" x 60" throw, but now I am ready to do a larger quilt for them (that is, after I finish the baby quilt and a couple other projects). I will make them a Double Nine patch. I plan to try to find some reproduction fabrics for that quilt.


The baby is due in May and the doctor said he will induce labor May 5 at 38 weeks. Below is a picture of the cradle that my son is making for the new baby. My DH worked on it with him over the weekend (sanding, staining and putting together). Doesn't it look great? I am going to make some sheets for the cradle and will look for fabric with airplanes on it (both parents are pilots).
Today it was back to work!

Sunday, February 10, 2008

DH in Hospital for Two days

Wednesday night my DH got extremely dizzy with high blood pressure and low heart rate.  I took him to the ER about 10:15 PM and they did some tests and admitted him.  His heart rate was 38!  Long story short, after two days of tests, it was determined that his body had started reacting to his blood pressure meds that he had been on for quite some time.  He has new meds now and is feeling soo much better!  I think it came on slowly at first, but then he crashed - not all the way, thankfully!  

Luckily, I had some hand projects I could work on in the hospital.  I did some more on the grandmother's flower garden.  I got one block almost finished and now I can't find it.  It must have fallen on the floor in the hospital room, so I will call them to see if anyone found it.  It was made with the hexigons on the right below, with yellow in the center and a pretty turquoise blue next.
For some variety, I made yo-yos for some more trivetts.

Yesterday with DH feeling better I went ahead with my plans to attend the Four Score and Seven Quilts Ago quilt show in Fort Worth, TX put on by the Bear Creek Quilters Guild of Keller, TX.  A dear non-quilting friend went with me and we spend the afternoon being amazed at the beautiful quilts.  I especially wanted to attend the lecture by Brenda Papadakis, author of Dear Jane.  There were a few Dear Jane quilts on display also.  It's the first time I had seen one in person and they are wonderful.  I don't know if I will ever make one, but I think I will purchase her book when the new revision comes out this spring.  You can find out more about the story of Jane Stickle, who made the original quilt in 1863, at www.dearjane.com.  I would love to go to Vermont to see the original some day.  

There were also a lot of quilts made of reproduction civil war fabrics.  I think I've got a new favorite!  I'll have to wait a while till I get a couple other projects finished though.  Anyway, it was a wonderful day all the way around - even good weather and finding a good parking spot when the building was mobbed with men attending a gun show at the same time!