things to make instead of dinner

family baby....again

2011-11-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

I have yet another cousin (his wife actually) that is going to have a baby....this one is a girl...just a few pictures of the quiltie that I sent off to them last week....I was really pleased with how this turned out....the gray, turqouise and pink :)

tutorial/pattern found at Ohfrasson.com (for some reason I can't link it right now!)

Hard to see but from the right, the second row....the 3rd fabric up (looks like 3 swirly flowers) that fabric was cut from a pillowcase that I took from my parents home when my Grandpa was moving out. :( I enjoyed throwing a little bit of nastalgia in the quiltie.

upclose

And here is an upclose shot of my little guy Jack, is this hat not the cutest? I did not make it, I don't know how to crochet or knit....a sister of a friend made it....we all love it.

I think she likes her quilt!!!

2011-09-12T12:14:00.000-07:00

a new baby in the family

2011-09-04T08:05:00.000-07:00

A cousin of mine had a baby on Wednesday, a little girl......

Can you guess her name?

2011 teacher gift

2011-06-15T09:18:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow is the last full day of school for Emily, finishing up the 2nd grade. Wow, where does the time go? Emily showing of 2 fingers for finishing the 2nd grade. :)

Every year I make Emily's teacher a patchwork throw for the end of the school year gift. This year all of the fabric for the top came out of my stash...only had to purchase the batting and backing using some coupon's of course so this really was an inexpensive gift to make, gotta love that!

....upclose...Em's teacher loves coffee so I have some pink and green Japanese fabrics with tea/coffee pots on them and I also had some nuetral fabrics with the abc's and also addition problems on it so that worked out well too, another way to personalize the gift. :)

The label, thanks Mrs. Cutshall for a great year!

The finished product, patchwork teacher throw 2011! Come on SUMMER!

pillows

2011-05-12T09:04:00.000-07:00

I have been making some pillow covers recently, trying to change things up a bit in the family room and my bedroom. I am an easy peasy girl, nothing too complicated or time consuming for me, all of these have an envelope enclosure on the back so I can just take it off, throw it in the washer or put it away and put a different one on, no ties, buttons, snaps etc. (not yet anyway)

This one might be my all time favorite, this is a picture of my nephew Garrett, oh my gosh this kid is a cutie!

Garrett

Here is the back, I love using chenille for the backing, so cozy

Here is a pillow I made a while ago, this was a feed sack that I had found at a local garage sale several years ago, I like this one a lot too because it has Spokane on it. :)

I got the idea for this one at a local quilt shop, this is a Moda napkin and all I did was use chenille again for backing....this one has a vintage drawing of Oregon and Washington on it, one of my brothers lives in Oregon {so does Garrett :(} and the rest of my family lives in Washington so it is fun to have a little hometown feel on this pillow too. :)

first fish

2011-05-02T09:50:00.001-07:00

A little boy went fishing with his dad and cousin yesterday.....caught HIS first fish....he caught THE only fish!

Jack enjoying the only fish at the dinner table last night

another baby!

2011-04-30T16:47:00.000-07:00

This little quilt is for the son of a cousin, so I guess the baby is my 2nd cousin? Little one's name is not being given out to the public until his birth (I hate that when parents do that!)My cousin, his wife and their daughter live in Colorado and were in town recently and were surprised with a baby shower that I could not attend. :( Never fear, Kristine is here!! I was able to whip this little quilt up for baby #2 last week......Baby (nameless) bedding is from pottery barn. (see below) up above is what I came up with, red, white, blue and brown, all from my stash except the backing.

The back of the quilt.

up close......I love this pattern, so, so easy but so fun to put together. Can't wait to find out what the little whippersnapper's name is going to be!

Congrats to Matt and Michelle on your new addition. :)

a special gift

2011-04-26T15:33:00.001-07:00

I have this friend Coleen. Coleen and I met a lonnnnnnnng time ago, back in the 90's ;) Coleen was the high school chum of a boyfriend of mine way back when I was 19/20. I dated that boy for a few years and over those years got to know Coleen better and better. That boy broke up with me (whatever) but Coleen and continued to be friends and hang out. Then I moved back to Spokane and Coleen and I still keep in touch......Coleen became a momma on March 9th to a little boy that she and her husband adopted. :) His name is Grayson Samuel...this is a picture of Coleen and Grayson (Mr. Grayson was very eager to meet his new momma and dad and decided to show up 5 weeks early and was in the NICU for 10 or so days)

This is the quilt I came up with for Grayson, I was really tickled with how it came out....there are 432 2.5" squares in this little blanket, the smallest patchwork I have ever done.

The theme of Grayson's room is monkey's....how lucky was I to find not only monkey flannel for the backing but monkey flannel fabric that coordinated with the quilt top.

(had to get a wee bit creative with the backing hence the strip of squares, someone (moi) was a few inches short when telling the gal at the cutting counter how much yardage was needed, oops...I think it turned out ok though.....

....I think Grayson thinks it turned out ok too! Welcome to this world Grayson, you are such a special gift!! And congrats Coleen, you are going to be such a great momma!!

a little sneak peak

2011-04-20T10:26:00.000-07:00

Well take a look at this.....I made a little something for a special new little someone....(don't know if the special someones mom knows I have a blog) so until I hear from the momma that the present made it to their home safe and sound...(hopefully tomorrow!!) this is all I am going to show of my gift for a new baby born last month who is the most special gift for his mom and dad who adopted this little one.

funky junk

2011-04-04T09:58:00.000-07:00

Yeah for junking!!! This weekend some of my gal pals and I will be going to a local junk/antique show "Funky Junk" can't wait!!!

where have I been?

2011-03-24T15:03:00.000-07:00

Jeezo I can't believe it has been a month since I last posted....I don't think I have ever gone that long w/o a post since I started blogging. OOPS! Truth be told....I took my quilting thing so far these past 3 years that I just got BURNED OUT. It only took 3 years but after finishing up all my WIPS, gifts, my large "to do" sewing list....I just could not even stomach looking at a quilt blog let alone even blogging about any more quilts....is there such thing as "quilt burnout"? Well if so I had it....started creeping around December....I did not even sign up for any flickr swaps and I used to be one of those flickr members that would be there, online just waiting for the opportunity to be first in line to enter another swap....yet more swap burnout....so along that line I have not sewn a darn thing in quite awhile and I am happy as a clam about it.....because now I have a new obsession.....my house!

This sounds really stupid but after stepping away from my sewing machine and actually spending some time in other rooms in my house....I started thinking about how much I have neglected my home these past few years....so...out with the old in with the new! I also became a wee bit addicted to craigslist! (yeah from one obsession to a completely different one!) We also are right now in the finishing stages of totally gutting the original 31 year old bathroom in our home to everything being replace, repainted...all new...here is a picture of Emily during the demo.

Soon....the before and after pictures, really soon....I might have to start sleeping in this bathroom...it is going to be so nice, so cozy(as cozy as a room with a toilet in it can get) I am just so excited about all this....

One more thing....I sold my Flea Market Fancy quilt in January....got just about what I asked for it so I was thrilled....and now...something else new....see the etsy box on the side of my blog....I am starting to sell some different things that have peaked my interest lately....nothing sewn yet....at least not yet....to be continued.....be back soon!

I love this kid

2011-02-24T20:44:00.000-08:00

my sweet nephew Garrett, born 1 year ago today....love you little buddy...love Auntie :)

wobbowee teef

2011-02-10T07:26:00.000-08:00

Our little guy last night, 1 month from being 5 lost his first tooth. I can't believe he is losing teeth already! It just seems like yesterday those little bottom teeth were starting to poke up through his gums.....Here he is, so proud holding up his "toof".

I LOVE this picture, so excited! He called Grandma and Grandpa to tell them the news!!!

I will be registering this little guy for kindergarten (KINDERGARTEN!?!?!?) next month. I can't believe that either. I am speechless about him going to school, and believe me, I am not speechless very often. I know people tell me time flies but it really has with this little dude. He has been my little buddy all these years, me and him while daddy is at work and big sister has been in school....2 days a week it is just he and I, no pre-k for those days, just hanging with dear ol mom, or MUDDER as he calls me, or Grandmudder sometimes too....don't ask...ok...my husband's "term of endearment" for me is Mother...yep...my family calls me Mother...so do some of my friends, but really I like it. :)

A Queen sized finish

2011-02-02T14:36:00.000-08:00

Last year (February 8th) was my parents 40th Wedding Anniversary. In 2008 I joined a block of the month club and ended up using those blocks to put together this quilt for my parents. I was at a loss of what to do to tie them all together (hmmm word to the wise, spend the money and buy the finishing kit next time, duh!) Because there were so many stars and points in the blocks I made a big ol' Ohio Star for the center, framed all the blocks, then sashed all the blocks and this is what I came up with. It still drives me crazy that after measuring, adding, subtracting, all of the things I don't like in quilting (yet another reason I don't make patterns, I buy them!) I set 2 of the rows a bit off, uhg.......

But I don't think my parents cared. :) (or noticed for that matter!)

Happy 41st Anniversary Mom and Dad, enjoy your Queen sized quilt, I am never making one that big again. :) Love your daughter :)

first finishes of 2011

2011-01-12T13:39:00.000-08:00

When I want something, I want it bad and I want it right now.....I wanted to get some stuff off my plate I guess you would say and have a clean craft area, no more unfinished projects, things I felt like I had to get done. So what I wanted I got, I am finished with all of the projects I wanted to make out of my SIL's Aunt's clothing, this was the last of the projects.....I think this might be the brightest baby quilt ever, YIKES, it is crazy busy and crazy bright!

I got the free pattern here. This is for a little girl coming this Spring, using once again bits and pieces of her Grandma's clothing and a little from my stash. I like how the back turned out...had some larger pieces of some pants left and were able to use them all up.

And then another baby quilt....this one is for my husband's co-workers Grandson...I don't even know the new baby's name but I just love my husband's co-worker so I wanted to make something special for them.

I am a wee bit burned out in the quilting department right now....I was thinking the other day I think for the last 3 years I have been working on at least 1 quilt or another....yikes, I am tired! Might also be why I have gained and kept on 15lbs in the last 3 years. Why can't sewing be considered an aerobic activity? If it was I would be a skinny minny! I am going to work on some smaller simpler things for the time being, a bag here or there, a few quilt blocks that I have always admired but been too scared to try and do and then just some stuff that I have had on the back burner for a while some fun pin cushions, pillow covers stuff like that. Maybe I will start moving a little bit more too, that is a good idea, maybe I can lose a few of those 15lbs by short season, not to mention swim suit season, ACK!

future quilter in training

2011-01-07T12:03:00.000-08:00

Emily got a little sewing machine for Christmas, she was so, sew excited! She has been begging me to show her how to quilt/sew for a long time. Here she is for her first "session" of sewing. I don't think she had sewed yet because once she pushed the petal and everything started doing it's thing, she got really scared about how fast the needle was moving.

This picture I only took because of blogging and scrap booking because I normally would NOT have had my eye off the needle/7 year old hands! But here we are mother and daughter, me helping her make a blanket for her other favorite Christmas gift, an American Girl doll.

Concentrating! I wanted her first project to be really simple so we sandwiched some chenille, batting and fabric together to make a little blanket then turned it inside out and sewed the hole shut so we (as in ME) did not have to do any binding.

Here she is turning the blanket inside out, note the tongue, concentrating very hard.

Emily was very proud of herself and promptly covered her doll in the fuzzy, warm blanket. I on the other hand do not think I make a good "teacher." :/ it was totally stressing me out! Hopefully the next project both she and I will be a bit more comfortable behind the peddle!

last big project of 2010

2010-12-31T16:56:00.000-08:00

Everyone in our home has a quilt on their bed made by me. :) Several people now in my extended family also have quilts from me now too. :) Last spring our 15 year old nephew came to live with us. It was a VERY hard transition for ME, not him but ME. Greg lived with us from March until mid June then moved back to his dad's. My husband and I knew it was a matter of time when Greg came back, not if Greg came back. Greg came back to live with us at the beginning of October and will be staying with us until he graduates in 2 1/2 years unless things really change at his former home. With all of this being said, I knew if Greg was going to be living in our house, he too needed his own quilt made by me.

This is what I came up with.
He loves it, I love it, I am so happy with how this turned out. I backed the quilt with fleece to make it extra snuggly and warm and it does. :)

I went through all of my stash and started pulling out fabrics with oranges and blues, I think it turned out really well. What I was most happy about with this quilt is my quilting, I made sure to use my walking foot this time and TAKE MY TIME. I have a tendency to rush myself at the end of a project, just want to get it done and zip through the quilting part and have had some big ol' puckers on the front and back for doing so. Not this one, I was so, so happy with it.

Greg's mom passed away last Thanksgiving, he has had for a 16 year old kid a really rough road, but the best thing about Greg? He is a GREAT kid and he is now one of my kids too, I always wanted 3 kids, now I do. :)

(Tutorial for quilt found here)

Happy Birthday to my MOM!

2010-12-24T12:19:00.000-08:00

My mom said growing up having a birthday so close to Christmas was a pain, I though find it even more special because in addition to celebrating Jesus's birth this time of year we also get to celebrate the birth of my mom!

Happy 66th Birthday Mom!

a gift for my Grandpa

2010-12-21T14:59:00.000-08:00

I posted in October about a special visit from my 91 year old Grandpa (seen here meeting the youngest Great-Grandchild, Garrett). My Grandpa lives in Florida so so far away.

Even though the temperatures are usually warm in Florida I wanted to make my Grandpa a nice throw, something to put over his legs on a "chilly" Florida night.

Looking good so far?

Here is my finished product, I wanted something that was bright and cheery for him to have in his home. I sent it off to him a little early, wanted him to enjoy it as soon as possible. When he received it the weather had been unseasonably cold down there and he told me he has been putting it to good use, yeah!!

Here is my label, it turned out really cute! I joined Sweetwater's monthly label crew club and with every months project you also recieve a personalized label. December's was perfect, all I had to add was a little personalization, iron and then stich it on and I was done. I was really happy with how this special throw came together. I only wish I would have made one sooner and sent it down for my Grandmother to enjoy before she passed in August. At least I did it soon enough for my Grandpa to enjoy. Merry Christmas Grandpa!

Jerry and Cathy's turn

2010-12-07T12:34:00.000-08:00

Back in August I did a post on 2 special quilts I made for Jenny and Lucy. Jenny is my SIL's cousin who had lost her mom to ovarian cancer in May and her daughter is Lucy.
After a busy summer with my kids and then getting back on track with our back to school routines I was ready to start on quilts for Jerry and Cathy, the husband and sister of Janet who had passed last spring.
This is what I came up with for Jerry. I used the pattern "fair and square" from Amanda at Crazy Mom Quilts. I LOVE this pattern, it was so easy and I think it really show cases the clothing and fabric that I used for his special throw.

(The only thing I KICK myself for is not using my walking foot, so stupid, I will NEVER do that again, I was getting a little burned out from a lot of sewing so I thought I would save myself a few minutes and just whip through this project with my regular machine foot. NEVER again.) Although after washing and drying this a few times I felt better about the finished product. :)

As I was cutting up Janet's clothing I was thinking of creative ways to get as much usable fabric out of all of it as possible.....above is a picture of one of the pockets from Janet's corduroy pants. I thought Jerry could put the remote in the pocket or some little snack like candy or just put his hand in the pocket like maybe he did when he and Janet would walk arm in arm on little strolls, maybe he put his hand in her pocket? I dunno, my little imagination working away, I was trying to think of things that might make him feel a little closer to her. :)

Next I did Cathy's quilt, Cathy is my SIL's mom, Janet's 1 and only sibling. I was at a loss of what to do.....then I started thinking about it and thought about a patchwork throw. Who doesn't love a nice snugly patchwork quilt? So patchwork it was. I was able to use more of a variety of fabric's with this one....pieces of clothing I had left and then a lot of feminine florals I had in my stash. I never had a sister. I only have brothers, or bothers I call them HA HA. I found myself thinking of Janet and Cathy laying under blankets or a patchwork quilt as young girls giggling and talking into the night.

Now Cathy will have something for herself made from bits and pieces of Janet's clothing to snuggle under and keep her warm while I'm sure she thinks about her sister and all the memories they shared as kids, growing up, as adults, parents and then the heartache of being apart.

Janet believed in Jesus Christ as her personal Savior as I do too. Although her time on earth was brief (as all of ours will be compared to eternity) I do hope for that the time Jenny, Lucy, Jerry and Cathy are still here on earth without Janet they do have a little bit of some physical things Janet had to keep her memory alive and to keep them warm.

P.S. Lucy is going to be getting a new baby sister in April.....ahhh how the circle of life goes round and round. :)

a little quilt

2010-11-30T13:34:00.001-08:00

P1060530
Originally uploaded by kristinemhanson

I have a friend who will be having a boy next week, I could not make it to her shower but I was able to whip this up for her and her little guy Elliott. Such a fun little project, I even like the lines I quilted on the top, I was too scared to stipple it, I am horrible at stippling! Go here for the tutorial. :)

mugs or jugs?

2010-11-05T09:17:00.000-07:00

Jugs of milk people, LOL!! I joined the "scrappy mug rug swap" on flickr for this current round, go over and take a peak at the photo stream of mug rugs, wow...there are some darling little quilties out there. My partner wanted a non-Christmas/winter themed rug and in a rainbow of colors....My original plan did not have it this large but.....if you are really thirsty you could put your jug of milk on this little one, and some left over Halloween candy, he he he. (never mind the empty mug, I can't drink milk, this was just for the photo op, if this was for me it would be filled with diet coke).
Here it is all by its little ol' self, I think it turned out pretty cute.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-03T12:55:00.000-07:00

A few pictures of my "trick or treaters" from Sunday.

Little Em showing some "cattidude"

ARRGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

This was the 3rd year in a row that we trick-or-treated with my brother, sister-in-law and niece (above as a witch). My brother lives two blocks from my parents so we are trick-or-treating the same neighborhood we grew up in.

This is my dad, answering the door at the house I grew up in, TRICK OR TREAT!

little red

2010-10-29T08:34:00.000-07:00

Last Halloween I had one little guy that wanted to be Spiderman and one little girl that wanted to be Little Red Riding Hood, jeezo I could not believe what the stores wanted for a LRRH cape, too much! "I can do that" I thought, so I did. I googled "hooded cape tutorial" and looked around for the easiest, quickest one I could find, of course I can't find it now, but there are several out there....trust me, this was so EASY!

I went to JoAnn's found this awesome crushed velvet like red fabric in the remnant section, yahoo even cheaper, I decided to add a little bit of ribbon to it so I found some nice Scandinavian like ribbon and added it, I must say both Emily and I were really happy with how this turned out.

After Halloween I decided I needed a little bit of LRRH up year round, so I made a wall hanging just for me, this year Jack is a pirate so I think I will be doing the same for him, arggggggghhh!

...this is what I came up with. I just printed one of my favorite photo's of Emily onto some Printed Treasures fabric paper (use a coupon!!) then used it for the center of my wall hanging, used some of my favorite little scraps and viola a little wall hanging for me to enjoy year round of my little Em as Little Red.

Then made a little something for Emily, so with the same picture I made her a little pillow to have on her bed, she just loves it.

I belong to a bunko group (so fun!!) and every October we all dress up, guess who I came as this year?

Happy Halloween!

full of family

2010-10-12T16:46:00.000-07:00

The beginning of October was so busy for me. We had a nice big family get together, most of which was spent at our home, which was fine with me....I would not have wanted it any other way. My oldest brother turned 40 on October 1st and for about a year we had been chit chatting and planning all of my family to be together for the weekend of his birthday. (my nephew Garrett wearing a shirt that his FAVORITE Auntie (that would be me) gave him that says "my aunt rocks".

Little did we know that during our earlier chit chats and planning that we were going to be blessed with a very special guest that weekend. My 91 year old Grandpa from Florida. (My oldest brother lives in Portland, OR the rest of us live in the Spokane area). My Grandpa had been the only care giver of my Grandmother for 10+ years and she passed away in the beginning of August...after she passed my dad asked my Grandpa if he wanted to come up for the "Birthday weekend." It was the best gift ever.

Months ago I saw a quilt pattern and I immediately had my brother in mind for it, he had no idea that I had made him his own "Auntie blanket" (as his family calls them) Christina from "The Sometimes Crafter" did the quilting on it, she did a great job, as you can see my brother loves it. (I also just won a book from Christina's blog, yeah me).
(not the best picture of my brother, but this is what he did after opening it, wrapped himself up in it. :)

The label :)

Michael's 40th Birthday quilt

up close of the stitching

So here is a picture of my Grandpa, I just loved the time we spent with him, I was so, so sad after everyone left on Monday, my house was so quite....during the weekend it was loud with laughing, stories, kids running around but like I said earlier I would not have wanted it any other way, I too was bursting at the seams but with happiness.

my little family

2010-10-06T21:47:00.000-07:00

Had some family pictures taken this past weekend. Had a very special person come visit us and gave my brother a special 40th Birthday present, hint hint...there is fabric involved....more to come :)

sprouts at Value Village

2010-09-27T13:36:00.000-07:00

Monday is one of my favorite days of the week....I go to Value Village after taking my little guy to school....I love looking through VV. First I start with the housewares, then the linens, then girls clothing, then boys and today....I stumbled up this shirt....before my eyes all I see is green sprouts from Denyse Schmidt's Flea Market Fancy line....(if you read my blog you know I dig this line, A LOT of people dig this out of print line).

At first I thought it was a home made shirt, but if you look closely you can see a tag inside it says (wonderboy) (even made in the USA it says, yahoo!).

I threw this baby in my cart and off I went to the women's section, I spent 2 hours in there today and then before I checked out I went back and forth in my head about buying the sprout shirt....should I? Shouldn't I? I thought about putting it back, even went back down to the isle I found it in, thought to myself...."should I take a chance, leave it here and get it next week instead?" But then I knew someone else might just snatch it up if I put it back and it was only 3.99! why would I ever have debated that in my head anyway?

I get home....get out some of my green sprout fabric from the FMF line...you can see this shirt had been loved before it was given away....a bit faded but it is so stinkin cute!

My model is stinkin cute too! He said he would wear this but we will see....I might have to cut it up and use in something patchworky.....what a fun find today, Value Village of all places!

And speaking of Flea Market Fancy....remember my FMF quilt I did? I still have not put it on my bed, it is just sitting there, all folded up on a chest on the end of my bed. I am thinking of selling it.....after all I did to get all that fabric, buying on ebay, buying on etsy, calling a few quilt shops all over the stinkin country from leads from a flickr group I had been in....getting asked to leave the same flickr group because I decided to sell some FMF fabric I found (AND HAD SWAPPED WITH OTHERS) (enter dramatic music) then to find out others in that group started selling fabric too on etsy (whatever!) anyways....after all that....I think I am going to put it on etsy...I don't know why...I just don't....I just don't LOVE it like I thought I would...I got so many nice comments on it on my blog, on flickr...I don't know....maybe I should put it on my bed and leave it on my bed for a few days....see if I fall in love with it...maybe I should have done more of a patchwork quilt instead of such a "modern" quilt...I dunno.....then I feel I would regret all the stupid time I wasted doing the above to get all the fabric....then to just not LOVE it.

Uhg....at least I found a cute boys shirt at VV that I love....and I can't even wear the darn thing....but I do have a pair of sharp Ginghers I can use to cut into that baby with. :0)

saying goodbye

2010-09-21T13:04:00.000-07:00

Last week our family had to say goodbye to a good friend, our black lab Lou. Poor thing had at least two strokes over the weekend and there was nothing the vet could do for the guy. My husband had Lou since 1998, he was 12 years old this month....

I will admit I am NOT an animal person, I can't understand how people pamper something that has four legs, all that hair and does not potty in a toilet....oh yeah and eats out of a bowl....but Lou was a package deal when I met my husband and he was such a good dog with our kids....I will spare you the heart breaking picture of my daughter saying her final good byes before my husband took him to the vet last Monday morning....Goodbye old friend...things are not the same around here....a lot quieter, a lot less hair, the floors are cleaner though but we all miss you running up to the car when we get home or barking at the front door when you wanted to come in.....you are missed even by this non animal loving gal....love you much. :0

back to school sew along part 2

2010-09-12T16:25:00.000-07:00

Several weeks ago Meagan posted on her blog about a "back to school sew along", perfect just what I needed for a little motivation with a pattern I have had for awhile....lookie what I made with it....Here is Emily "modeling" her new jumper...problem is....apparently she "just isn't into wearing skirts/dresses anymore" WHAT THE?????!!!!! There was a time that I could not even beg or plead or bribe the girl to wear leggings let along a pair of jeans (gasp!!)

Anyway....I had to bribe her to do this little "photo shoot" with some pumpkin pie...good grief, some people's children....

She chose the orange buttons which I was pleasantly surprised because usually everything is pink or purple or lately a little turquoise but orange was not what I expected when I asked her to pick the buttons.....AND...pay no attention to the gap in the middle of the jumper, I did not buy enough buttons but will be this week so the little scrapper can wear this when I beg and plead now that "she just isn't into wearing skirts/dresses" what the?!!!!!!!?!?!?!?

Somewhat of a happy camper...knowing she has pumpkin pie coming.......

today in my mail box....

2010-09-10T11:33:00.001-07:00

.....was this beauty!! This was made for ME from KarrieLyne.....I know I use the word "love" a lot in my blog, but I love this....in my application for DQS9 I mentioned I liked Ohio Star blocks....so not only do I have 1 big Ohio Star I actually have 6 to look at and swoon over....this quilt is amazing, KarrieLyne's stitching is breathtaking....I noticed that before I even had the whole thing unwrapped just by looking at the back of it as I was opening it.

Here is my assistant peeking out over the top of my quilt, showcasing the back....I sent KarrieLyne an email asking her what fabric line this is from, it is gorgeous and will be hung up today as some new Fall decor in the Hanson House. :0)

Thank you so much KarrieLyne, I am so spoiled by you and others who have been in swaps with me...it is so fun to get something like this in the mail, made my day!

favorite things

2010-09-09T12:20:00.000-07:00

I love being a girl....I love getting excited about little things....I love getting books in the mail from Amazon....today is one of those days! I can't wait to sit down with a blanket, a warm cup of something and start flipping through the pages of these new additions to my little crafty library....Embroidery Companion by Alicia Paulson and The Farm Chicks Christmas by Serena Thompson (if you look at my blog often you know I am a big fan of The Farm Chicks). This will be the 2nd book I have from each of these talented ladies....I like to look through the other books to get ideas or inspiration or just sit back and relax and look through the pictures.

How fun is this? At the end of The Farm Chicks book she has included some of her darling recipe cards and stickers, toooooo cute!

And talking about cute....have you taken a look at Alicia's studio makeover.......oh my.......talk about drooling....over a craft room...heavenly :)

giving back

2010-09-04T07:55:00.001-07:00

Yesterday our family made a visit to the Hospice House of Spokane. This time it was for a happy occasion. I have blogged about my in-laws before, both my in-laws passed away 6 months apart, both at The Hospice House in 2008. Not long after they passed my husband asked if I would make a quilt that we could donate, later we decided on making one for each of them.

My handsome hubbie with the special delivery yesterday.

In Memory of my Mother-in-Law Carol.

In Memory of my Father-in-Law Gary.

From our wedding October 2004.

I must admit it was a bit surreal pulling into the parking lot again, full of cars....I found myself remembering back to doing that so many times before, my husband mentioned he found himself looking for his brother's cars in the parking lot. We instructed the kids to be on their best behavior and to be so, so quiet when Jack realized what was going on he got a little excited and said "Grandma and Grandpa are here???" that broke my heart....It felt good to give back to the place that helped my in-laws so much during their final days. I found myself thinking about the patients that would be using these quilts and their families saying goodbye to their loved ones and so happy that my husband asked me to make something so special like a quilt that gives comfort and warmth to people just like his parents did to him. We miss you Carol and Gary so, so much.

disguising a DS

2010-08-31T19:15:00.000-07:00

Recently a little girl in our house got a Nintendo DS for her 7th Birthday, I'm told this is just the beginning of electronics (and expensive) gadgets for kids these days....lovely....anyways....I thought being the "sewing mamma" that I am.....hey....that is an idea for a DS game...they have Cookin Mamma....how about a Sewing Mamma?......anyways....

This is what I came up with for her to use to store her DS. I used some of my cutsie, girlie fabrics, lined one of the linings with batting for a little extra cushion when dropped and reinforced the handle with some cording I had from another crafty project....

Then to close the bag I used a good, sticky Velcro....works like a charm! I got this pattern from Sweetwater last year when I won 7 of their patterns off their blog...this one is called "little details" so easy and so, so quick. Speaking of Sweetwater.....take a lookie at their blog....they gave a couple "sneak peaks" at a new line they have coming out in 2011........holy cuteness! DARLING!!!

I did a little fabric shopping last week on fabric.com (gotta love free shipping all the time on any purchase over 35.00!)....got a few prints I had been eyeing for a while....these 2 are from the Robert Kaufman line "metro cafe" I did not know what I wanted to use it for so I only bout 1/2 yard of each....I have a feeling I should have ordered more.

for Jenny and Lucy

2010-08-28T11:13:00.000-07:00

About 2 years ago my sister-in-law Kim had told me that her Aunt Janet had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer, instantly I felt horrible for her and their family....Ovarian cancer is so, so nasty (what cancer isn't?) My Grandma Heeter passed away from ovarian cancer at the age of 80 so in a lot of ways she was a lucky one....she was diagnosed at 78 and fought it 2 hard years so to die at 80 that is still a really full life. Janet too fought it for 2 hard years and passed away in May at the age of 60. 60 to me is NOT that old. Janet had 1 child, Jenny. Kim (my SIL) and Jenny are cousins and very, very close. Kim and Jenny asked if I could make a quilt using some of Janet's clothing...I had never done anything like it before but I agreed and got a bag of clothing in July and Jenny got the finished product on Thursday.
Jenny liked the quilt I had made for my nephew Garrett so I knew what quilt block I would use and she wanted something modern, not real feminine, no florals, just something nice and clean but incorporating clothing of her mom with the other fabrics I had too. I used a lot of my Amy Butler stash, it felt so good to use it for a project like this.

These are some pictures of what I came up with. In the bag of clothing was a skirt that Jenny really wanted to have in her quilt, it was a bit stretchy and a little challenging to work with but I did it. I also used a pair of her moms brown/camel colored corduroy pants, a pair of linen capri pants and some hankerchiefs. At first I thought it was a little odd that Jenny had included some hankerchiefs but then she told me why. She explained to me in a little note that these were the hankerchiefs that her mom had worn while she was going through chemo (gulp, lump in my throat) but then she also went on to explain that when Jenny was growing up Janet her mom was a single mom, no dad, no help, no support EVER. It was always just Jenny and Janet. Janet worked in a fish cannery and everyday would wear a kerchief to work. (double gulp, lump in my throat) I found myself while sewing these blocks imagining being a single mom, working in a fish cannery everyday to support myself and daughter and realizing how lucky I am to be a stay-at-home mom. Janet did everything she had to/needed to for she and Jenny.

After thinking about the hankerchiefs for the chemo and the cannery I remembered that I have some "kerchief" girl fabric and I knew I had to use it in Jenny's quilt. Above is a close up of one of the blocks with some of Janet's kerchief.

I also used the last of my little scraps of Heather Ross fabric with the little fish in a few of the blocks too....it all worked out so well.

Just for fun I added a little Heather Ross banana seat bike just because Jenny was born in the early 70's and what kid from the 70's doesn't remember riding a banana seat bike? :)

Jenny had also asked if I would make something for her daughter Lucy from Janet's clothing.....I wanted to go more feminine/girlie for this because Lucy is just 3 years old....I used a few of the kerchief pieces left from Jenny's quilt, the same linen as Jenny's and then a white with gray polka dot fabric from a blouse along with several different pink, red and blue fabrics from my stash. I also incorporated some red "kerchief" girl fabric in Lucy's so she has that memory too of her Grandma going to work with a kerchief on her head.

Her is the back of Lucy's, I backed it with chenille, it is so cozy. Jenny sent me a message and told me how much she loves the quilts and that Lucy slept with hers the first night. :0)

I have enough clothing left over to make Jenny's step-dad (Janet did marry when Jenny was 18 I believe) a throw and Jenny's mom too....I am hoping that I will have enough after that to make one for my SIL and her brother also to have a little bit of Janet to remember her by.

{click on any of the pictures to see them closer up}

sweet girl

2010-08-25T06:57:00.000-07:00

Today is my little EmJem's 7th birthday...how time flies......we had a little family party last weekend, it was strawberry themed, she and I were really happy with how it turned out (I don't think anyone else noticed, ha ha!)
We found a little strawberry necklace at the mall, so cute!

She wanted pink (of course) cupcakes so we did 1/2 pink and 1/2 white and had little "7" flags and strawberry picks in them and some of the food trays. I had also found some fake strawberrys at Michael's so we put those out on the table too along with some strawberry candy and strawberry gum.

Here she is with her DS (enter singing of angels here)

Last but not least I took Emily, her brother and my niece to Build A Bear yesterday so she could pick out a little something for "Cutie" her cat...oh to be 7 again.........

back to school sew along

2010-08-23T19:54:00.000-07:00

So a local gal...Megan....writes "crafty" articles for the Spokesman Review is having a "back to school sew along" thought I would join....gives me motivation to start and finish something with a time line, GASP!!! I have had this pattern for a year....maybe 2? Time to get crackalackin! Bad picture (I know!) but here is a picture of the pattern with the fabric that I helped Emily pick out (since this is for her) she originally picked a fabric with owls on it but standing in line at JoAnn's I kept going back and forth in my head about things she has that would "go" with the owls and it just wasn't happening....so on to plan "B"...the chocolate brown with all the colorful bubbles...perfect...

So here is the fabric.....it is 9.99 a yard...I needed 2 1/3 yards...had a scratch off coupon worth 70% off....got the fabric with tax for 7.87! YAHOO! I can't wait to get started on this....I was so excited too when I started reading the directions (always a good thing) and realized the buttons I was dreading to put on the jumper...just for DECORATION....Sweet! no button holes to make!!!

I don't know if I will get this done by the first day of school (September 1) but I know I will have it done by the cut off for the "sew along" in mid September.....

itching....

2010-08-12T19:13:00.000-07:00

I am itching to work on something! We (my little family of 4) have been gone for the last 5 days on a little vacation in the Seattle area....we had such a nice time...but it it SO nice to get home...I am itching to buy 2 new books tomorrow on Amazon after my hubs gets paid (yeah!) I am itching to finish up a throw for my SIL's cousin, Jenny....I am itching for a birthday party for a special (berry special) 7 year old in our house and I am really, really itching to do some sewing!!

henna garden rainbow

2010-08-06T20:26:00.000-07:00

I did a bit of fabric shopping earlier this week....I had to add to my "henna garden" collection. I love, love, love Sandi Henderson's fabrics, all of them...LOVE. The first patchwork quilt I ever made (for myself!) was from her Ginger Blossom line. Then she came out with a print in one of her collections that she calls "henna garden". I loved it the first time I saw it...had to have it...I don't even remember what color it was, the first henna print that I bought....She has several colors in it now. :) After my little fabric shopping earlier this week I THINK I have all of them now.

My most recent henna garden purchase.

Look at all of it...........a rainbow of henna.............SIGH, SIGH, SIGH :)

A close up :)

I am really thinking of getting this pattern....what do you think? With the henna print above? Or maybe the darker brown?

Eventually I want to make a quilt out of all of my henna fabrics...no hurry though....I have enough quilts in my house but there is always room for more....I am currently working on a special quilt for my sister-in-law's cousin. It is from pieces of her mom's clothing....her mom passed away in May and my SIL and her cousin (Jenny) wondered if I could make something out of some of her clothes....I am going to reveal it soon...I think she is going to really, really like it...I hope so!

berry birthday

2010-08-04T11:22:00.000-07:00

We have a berry special birthday in the house this month....Emily will be turning 7. My hubs happens to be out of town on a business trip on her actual birthday so we will be celebrating a little early this year...just decided this a few days ago...the date...that was it....until Monday night when I stumbled up some berry cute strawberry and gingham paper napkins and cups for .60 cents for each package at Michael's! I was so excited, they are so stinkin cute....I ran the berry idea past Emily and she loved it. Also while at Michael's I strolled through the clearance isle and what do I see? Two darling packages of strawberries (see below in photo) for 1.99 each....adrenaline is pumping, ideas running through my head, fun fun fun!!!

Up until last year for Emily's birthday we always had her parties at home, simple, had a few friends over but the $$ always adds up so fast for the gift, goodie bags, decorations, food, invites, the time, energy...it can get a little crazy....last year we let her have her party at Chuck E. Cheese :/. I will admit it was nice having someone else do the party, tell the kids what to do, where to go and the little goody bags were included so was the hefty price attached with it for food, etc. Emily really, really wants a Nintendo DS this year, really bad....so I told her she could have a friend party or a DS...decisions, decisions....she settled on the DS...we still want to celebrate her and her day so we are having just a small family gathering to celebrate her with some family goodies from Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins....keeping it simple and small along with the price tag for the theme....so far so good....I have also picked up some darling cupcake wrappers, happened to see some cute "berry sweet" ribbon on an end cap (once again at Michael's) and used a 40% off coupon for the paper/envelopes for the invites, these cost me next to nothing!

We are leaving Sunday for 5 days to Seattle then her party is a few days after we get back so I am trying to get it all out in my head what we are going to use for a little decor here and there and the goodies and food but I am keeping it simple and inexpensive, still gotta get that DS!!

back to school sewing

2010-08-02T08:26:00.000-07:00

I am looking forward to this, interested to see what tutorials there will be....I have made my kids a few clothing items, so I look forward to trying my hand at something new.

finally....flea market fancy finished

2010-07-29T15:02:00.000-07:00

(sorry about the bad lighting on this picture!) Here it is....the largest quilt I have made to date, my Flea Market Fancy quilt. Every fabric on this is from the out of print Denyse Schmidt line (Flea Market Fancy). I started collecting these prints about 18 months ago and last December started cutting into them...I am so glad I did, I am so glad I don't have all of that fabric just folded up in a drawer (although I did open that drawer quite often to look at the loveliness of all of it). (click on the photo's to see the quilting upclose) Now I am going to make a pillow or two for my bed, I thought about pillowcases but I think I am going to go with some solids for those and make some fun patchwork throw pillows instead, use up more of the remaining fabric. It felt so good to use this, when I was done I actually sold the larger pieces on eBay....I figured it was someone else's turn to enjoy it.

These are two of my favorite blocks. Honestly if I would have had yardage and yardage of these prints I could have seen myself making an entire quilt with just these colors, so pretty.

I did get all of the bindings done on all of my quilts, I only jabbed myself on my thumb a few times and under the nail of my thumb a few times less, OUCH that hurts! It feels good to get all of these projects finished up....now we just need to make a trip to The Hospice House to donate 2 of them. I am getting closer and closer to finishing up a quilt for my parents 40Th Anniversary (it was in February!) I hopefully bought the last of the fabric I need for the sashing, then after putting all of the top together will only need some yardage for a border or two then I.will.be.done.with.that.thank.God. :/

I had to go!!

2010-07-28T15:37:00.000-07:00

The Farm Chicks (Serena) has opened a little store close to downtown Spokane, "if you build it they will come!" I had to go!! So I did, this morning with my partner in crime, my 4 year old Jack. sooooooo cute, all the red, white, pink and blue!

Jack enjoyed playing with the vintage truck, he informed me he was putting this on his "list" for Christmas/birthday, good luck with that one son, this did not have a price on it, not for sale little one.

There were t-shirts, hoodies, baseball hats, (I am getting one of those!) darling paper items, candles, cupcake wrappers, posters, necklaces, coffee cups (want one of those too!)

They were giving out little coupons for free ice cream in the parking lot, darling ice cream truck huh? And it was YUMMO!

Here is Jack outside the store, check out the front door, it is covered in The Farm Chick's trademark cuteness!

I only bought these two items, I kept it under 10.00 (whoo hoo!) until payday and like I mentioned one of the hats will be mine!! I got myself a measuring tape because you can NEVER have enough of those and this vintage Kerr jelly glass container with lid, I love it...the color is not red and it isn't pink either, it is kinda a watermelon color....I could have bought a bunch of these but I had some self control.........this time........:)

To see way better pictures and a little article from another local blog, check this out

finished doll quilt swap

2010-07-25T22:30:00.001-07:00

finished doll quilt swap
Originally uploaded by kristinemhanson

It ended up a little on the smaller side, BUT I had never done paper piecing like this, I did not want to muck it up anymore then I did by cutting off a few of the points! All in all I am really happy with this little one and I hope my partner is too....included with the mini is a little something for a little someone in their household and some goodies for the quilter of the house too. :)

fabric shopping with a new friend

2010-07-19T19:50:00.001-07:00

I can't remember exactly when but some time ago (at least a year) a fellow quilter/blogger and I figured out we both grew up in the same little city, Spokane WA. (I live just outside Spokane, but I always say I am from Spokane) Leigh lives in Utah and was in town last week with her family on vacation. We were able to meet up for lunch and some fabric shopping....we both had a great time. I can't say I have ever shopped specifically just for fabric with someone before and I could easily see myself doing it again with Leigh....I don't recall many lulls in the conversations...we talked about blogging, family, kids, religion, Spokane, quilting...you name it...I had a great afternoon and we were both kid free! :)
Some of the fabric I picked up are these beauties....I LOVE LOVE LOVE these clocks!! So stinkin cute! I showed it to my husband and he immediately could pick out a clock that he remembers his Grandparents having....I already have set aside some of this for my doll quilt swap partner as a goody to go with her mini.

And these glasses, my daughter just loved them....she picked out a pair that look similar to hers.

If I am ever in Salt Lake I will have to do some fabric shopping with Leigh....it is more probable that she will be back in Spokane sooner then I would go to Utah (you never know though) and I hope we can do it again....it was so nice to put a name with a face and a voice and just chit chat in person....thanks Leigh!

moosh and goosh

2010-07-16T08:23:00.000-07:00

This is my nephew Garrett....OH MY!!!!!!!!!! I just love this little guy....my mom, sister-in-law, niece, my 2 knuckleheads (Emily and Jack) and I took a road trip to Portland earlier this week (that would be about a 7 hour drive) to see Garrett and his sister, mom and dad (dad is my older brother). I was holding Garrett in one hand for the picture, camera in the other, bit of a balancing act with a wiggly little guy. Is he not the cutest thing? ACK!!! My sister-in-law that lives here in town with me, we were trying to figure out a way to pack him up in our luggage and take him home....my niece on the other hand is going through the "terrible threes" right now and my brother can keep her for a bit longer. :)

I love being an Auntie......there is just something about the children of your siblings....so special....my nieces and someday nephew call me "Auntie" my oldest niece did not even know what my name was until about a year ago....I still don't think she believes anyone that my name is really Kristine....but I will take Auntie any day.....Garrett and I will be reunited again in October when our Portland family comes up here for the 7 hour drive (enter evil laugh here) Until then I will just drool over the photos that I have...maybe have my brother FedEx something of Garrett's so I can smell him again....no diapers though, he can keep those and the 3 year old LOL!

got binding?

2010-07-15T20:02:00.000-07:00

Over the 4th of July weekend I hooked up with my local quilter....they had 3 of my quilts and they were finally finished (I gave all 3 of them to them in March!) While in Portland earlier this week I was not able to meet up with my non-local quilter personally but she dropped 2 throws off at the hotel I was staying at....so I have 5 quilts or throws that need to be bound. I do like binding though....where to start? where to start? I am actually going to start with the quilt that is 4th from the top (the charm squares with the aqua and lime green sashing) that one is for me.....I bought the pattern and the charm squares 3 years ago at a quilt shop on the Oregon Coast...I figure better late then never....it had been on my "to do" list for, well...3 years and it is almost done, yahoo!!

The quilt at the top is a gift for a certain someone I know turning 40 sometime (that is all I am going to say about that) #2 and #3 are for The Hospice House in Spokane where both my in-laws passed away in 2008 (6 months apart) and we are going to donate the quilts in memory of them.
Quilt #5 at the bottom of the pile is my Flea Market Fancy queen sized quilt for my hubs and I bedroom....I am not sure how I feel about this one....you know how you feel when you REALLY REALLY REALLY want something....you get it....then you wonder why you wanted it so bad? That is how I feel about this quilt...maybe I will fall in LOVE with it after the binding is on and it is on my bed....I am nervous about all the white....I am sick about using a sheet for the sashing and not Kona cotton (that is my biggest regret with this quilt) I am afraid the white is going to get dingy and icky like a set of white sheets would get if Pigpen from Charlie Brown had it....I dunno.........right now I am in a sea of binding though....gotta go....wish me luck.....

a work in progress

2010-07-05T17:40:00.000-07:00

I am finally getting around to working on my blocks for Penny's "quilt as you go" quilt a long....OH MY GOSH, these are so fun!!! I was a little apprehensive at first....I thought the blocks would look a little strange but I have fallen in love with making these.....the biggest reason? You use bits and pieces of fabric and lordy, lordy do I have bits and pieces of fabric!! Several years ago I started taking all of my scraps and cutting them into 2" strips....so I had these BOXES of 2" strips...I am finally getting around to using them! I have had such a good time reminacing about projects, gifts, stores, friends, specific times in my life when pulling out these strips....some of this fabric I bought when I lived in Seattle oh so lonnnnnnnng ago. I am so glad I kept some of this fabric, just makes me smile....some of the fabric in these blocks are from my most recent projects and it might be laying next to a strip from a baby quilt I made 10+ years ago....when this project is done it will be like having a fabric scrapbook or photo album of so many of my favorite things. (I love that!)

I also like the fact that I don't have to send this off to be quilted, I am doing it as I go! AWESOME! This will be a work in progress, I don't have to finish it any time soon, I can work on a block here and there but I know already this is going to be a very special quilt for myself when it is all finished.

My husband, kids and I went camping for 4 nights over the 4th of July weekend. On Sunday my parents came over to our camp site for the afternoon. I love the fact that my parents are good sports about coming out "in the great outdoors" and spending time with my family. (Neither of my parents have ever camped) we (my hubs and I) are going to get them out one way or another even if it means renting a cabin in the same campground as us so they can expierence a weekend of camping. :)

This is my family with my parents on the 4th of July.

mini quilts

2010-06-27T09:08:00.000-07:00

A month or so ago I was at my local quilt shop and I spied the Moda teeny tiny charm packs, they are 2 1/2"....so cute!! I really like Kate Spain's collections, so cheery...this one is called Verna. These little charms are so cute, all of the line for only 4.00! I had to have them....this weekend I made up a few mini's using them with 2 1/2" squares of white fabric, cut them in half and walla....enough 1/2 square, or triangle squares to make a few mini quilts....this top one is for myself.

This one is for the Aunt of my Nieces and Nephew on their Mother's side....she is a quilter herself, in town for the weekend and thought I would make her a little something.....

Up close :)

not bad if I say so myself

2010-06-24T16:11:00.000-07:00

Lookie what I have been working on....thank goodness for great pictures with the tutorial....I believe mine is backwards from the way Christina shows you how to do it....but hey I am known to be a little backwards sometimes anyways. :) I am not supposed to send off my quilt swap until mid August, that seems soooo far away....I will just work on finishing this up and might have to hang it up in my own home and enjoy it before it makes its long journey to its new owner......

for my partner

2010-06-23T09:08:00.000-07:00

I joined the doll quilt swap again, this is the 9th round. (I believe this is the 3rd time I have done it) I decided to do a "circle of geese" mini for my partner. She likes bright cheery colors....after looking through her flickr pages and blog I decided on this color combo.

Oranges, aquas and pinks

Here is the paper piecing part for the block.......WISH ME LUCK! I have never done one before BUT I have faith and will be looking at this tutorial A LOT!

finishing up!

2010-06-19T09:01:00.000-07:00

I can't get this picture to rotate! BUT....see this cross stitch? I started this in 1994, yes 1994!!! I finished it a few weeks ago....only took me 16 years....good grief.....It has traveled with me through several apartment moves, several boyfriends, many camping trips or vacations vowing to work on it (hardly did hence the 16 years it took me to finish) now 2 kids and a husband....I had finished all of the pictures...oh let's say several years ago and when my kids both had H1N1 this past October it was the perfect project to dig out AGAIN to work on while sitting between the two of them on the couch for a week.....

At the beginning of every new year I always make a list of things I want to do for the year....I can't tell you how many years "finish cross stich" was on it....well it won't be for 2011! YAHOO! Several weeks ago I dug this baby out again and started doing all of the outlining...I really enjoyed it and I finished it!! YEAH

Now that I have most of my "to do" list done....I had a project of a friends "to do" to finish....my friend Leanne is a knitter....she thought she would try her hand at some fusible web applique towels and after buying the book, the towels and all of the fabric had not even started it and knew it was not for her....she gave me all of it because she knew I was "crafty". I got to them this week and I think they turned out darling....I got her address (she moved a year or so ago) and little does she know but I am sending the finished towels back to her....she has no idea...they were fun to make...I kept the book and might be whipping out more of these for gifts this year for some teachers....

Working on any "to do" things for you or someone else?

teacher gift 2010

2010-06-16T16:56:00.001-07:00

The school year will come to an end for Emily on Friday, summer here we come!! Once again we just loved her teacher. Last year I made her kindergarten teacher a special gift. This year it was Mrs. Brunton's turn. :) I used several Moda Sweetwater au.then.tic charm packs....instead of running to the store for one more pack I used up some of my stash....I think it turned out really well. During the school year I emailed the student teacher for her class asking her to snoop around for me and find out Mrs. Brunton's favorite color.....green.....lots of green in this quilt!

Here is a close up of the label....I even found some flannel fabric with green in it for the backing.

All wrapped up ready for a gift bag.

Here is Mrs. Brunton and Emily after opening her gift, all smiles by everyone. (Emily is wearing a crown because they celebrated her birthday at school today, it is not until August though)

dqs9 favorites

2010-06-14T08:54:00.001-07:00

dqs9 favorites
Originally uploaded by kristinemhanson

Ok partner here it is, my mosaic of some of my favorites....I am easy...I am really loving the blue, aqua, teal, green, lime green combos yet I love the oranges and yellows too....I like white too yet I have done a quilt in gray and recieved a few things with gray sashing and am loving that too.... Iam easy! Have fun! Take a peak through my flickr favorites to see more....I like the Ohio star block, log cabin, flying geese, patchwork....I could go on and on and on and on......

dear partner...

2010-06-13T18:07:00.000-07:00

Dear doll quilt 9 partner....I have not made a mosaic yet of my favorites....I will get to it tomorrow....I went camping this weekend without my children, just the hubs....talk to you later....Love, Kristine

pinwheel sampler top FINISHED!

2010-06-11T10:43:00.001-07:00

Wow look at me...no blogging in 2 weeks and now I have 2 blog entries in less then 2 days! :)

Here is my finished top for Rachel's pinwheel sampler quilt a long. The color combo is still not my favorite but I am really happy with how this turned out.....there are so many fabrics in this that I just loved and when putting it all together I just kept thinking "I don't usually pick black, red, gray" but I think it works....I am SO glad I made the mini pinwheels in the sashing....really tied it all together and just as happy if not more that I used more fabric and did the borders....

Here is an up close shot of one of my favorite blocks....love it!

Another favorite...the red floral fabric was one of my favorites in this....it is a Mary Jane Butter's print....there are 2 other of her prints in this quilt too.

It has been raining and so gray here the past few days...sorry about the bad pictures (click on them to see up close) but hey I am a quilter not a photographer!

I have no idea what I am going to do with this top....it does not go with anything in my house...no hurry to quilt it...might just put it in my closet until I figure out what to do with it....if you want to see more quilt a long blocks and finished quilts look here....there are some BEAUTIES!

quilt for "Cookie"

2010-06-09T12:35:00.000-07:00

I have these friends....they dated FOREVER, (7+ years) got married 4 years ago and tried, tried, tried to have a baby "the old fashioned way". Didn't work :( Last year they decided to try IVF....you get 3 chances and it is a lot of $ and still no guarantee of a baby.....the first two times did not work :(

But the 3rd time did!!! Yahoo!! A baby girl is on her way early August....right now they have named her "Cookie"....they will not name her until they see her darling face on her birthday!

Here is a picture that I stole off of the momma's facebook (I can do that right?) Isn't the crib set darling? The momma and poppa of "Cookie" are VERY outdoorsy, the type of people that camp in the snow (what? who would do such a thing?) and not in a camper! I wanted to make "Cookie" something special oh say like a quilt but I did not want it to be too girlie or too feminine so I went with browns, pinks and greens to stay with the nature theme of the bedroom. This is what I came up with....what do you think?

An up close shot, it is raw edge appliqued. I bought the pattern from Quilt Taffy (love these ladies) it is called Vintage Circle quilt by yoyomama designs. I don't know why I was so anxious about doing this....after it was all finished I loved it, at first I was FREAKED out it was going to look like crap.....you zig and zag all over the place and I was concerned that the back would be just a mess.....but smart me went with a very busy flannel backing and you hardly notice the stitching at all. No pins are used basting this quilt, you use spray on adhesive (dining room floor was a bit sticky) and glue sticks to paste the fabric pieces down then sew, sew, sew.

I think it turned out well, still a nice quilt but a bit more casual, no need to worry about getting it dirty, I want this to be used and loved and snuggled with.....I hope "Cookie" likes it....I sure liked making it for her and can't wait to meet her soon!

You can click here to see upclose pictures of the quilt :)

quilt for the camper

2010-05-27T09:04:00.000-07:00

I made another quilt this week, this one is for the camper.....I backed it in snugly, warm flannel. All the fabrics for the quilt front except the solids were given to me last summer from my bff's mother-in-law Cynthia. (Hi Cynthia!) I call Cynthia my fake mother-in-law, I guess faux mother-in-law sounds prettier. My mother-in-law passed away 2 years ago, so I adopted Cynthia for myself as her "sewing" daughter-in-law because her 3 daughter-in-laws do not sew/craft. Last summer she gave me a TON of fabrics from her stash, a TON! She also gave me all the left over fabrics she had from making a few of the grandson's camping quilts....so I used those leftovers for a quilt for our camper, ta da!!

All of the print fabrics are from the same fabric line. I was coming up a bit short after I had already started cutting so I ran to JoAnn's and found some solids that coordinated, I think it turned out really well. I'm sure we will put it to good use this weekend, it is supposed to be a bit chilly and damp.....but of course, it is Memorial Day weekend, why would it NOT rain! :/

Blogger's Quilt Festival entry

2010-05-24T12:31:00.000-07:00

This is my entry for Amy's online quilt festival (have you looked over there? Over 500 entries!!) This is a mini quilt I made for my daughter Emily, but not just any little quilt. I blogged earlier this year about Emily's first quilt. She made it out of construction paper at school for my 37th birthday in January. I was so touched that she thought of me with every piece she cut and pieced, just like making a real quilt out of fabric right? After I posted about Emily's quilt (and the story about me giving my mom my first quilt and my mom making her mom her first quilt) a blogging friend left me a comment, suggested I make Emily a mini quilt like the one she made me. BRILLIANT! Here is Emily holding the mini I made for her, she just loves it!

Here is Emily holding the quilt she made me, I JUST LOVE IT, and her too of course! :)

I tried to stay as close as I could to the colors she used, those triangles were a bit tricky! Thanks Christina for the idea!

lucky day

2010-05-18T08:25:00.001-07:00

I never do 2 posts in one day BUT.....lookie....do you see my name? I won something!!! I have admired Lisa's work for a long, long time and I enter every stinkin giveaway she does....I was so thrilled to see my name for winning one of her pewter hearts!

30 years ago

2010-05-18T08:07:00.000-07:00

Mt. St. Helens, I can't believe it has been 30 years.....it actually scares me at how fast time goes by....I am older then my parents were at this time! What an event to experience, how I hope we don't have to experience it again! :)

block 7

2010-05-14T08:45:00.001-07:00

block 7
Originally uploaded by kristinemhanson

I have had these done for several weeks, I have block 8 done too....I have seen a few finished quilts in the flickr group with teeny, tiny pinwheels in the sashing....I have a ton of fabric left from this project so I will add the teeny, tiny pinwheels to my "to do list" now. Happy weekend!

gift revealed...

2010-05-11T02:19:00.000-07:00

This past weekend my hubs and daughter flew down to Arizona for our niece Cindell's graduation from Northern Arizona University. The following pictures are of her graduation gift. I made her a throw using the snowball block with Heather Bailey's Pop Garden and Bijoux fabrics, she loved it!

up close

Here is the quilt before it was quilted by Christina. I met Christina "online" about a year ago, I love her blog, her photo's, her quilts and she does some longarm quilting too. She lives in Vancouver, WA and I was able to meet her in person on my trip to Portland in March.....she did such a great job!

Here is Cindell after opening her gift last week, I am so glad she liked it! I thought the bright colors and feminine prints fit Cindell, so did she!

Congratulations Cindell!!

EDIT: top 3 photos are from Christina too, thanks!

Mother's Day

2010-05-10T11:32:00.000-07:00

I made my mom this pillow for Mother's Day....this is a photo that was taken last summer of my brothers and I with our spouses and children.....only person missing from the photo is my new nephew Garrett but he really is in the photo....he was cookin inside my sister-in-law. :)

up close, I used some of my Sweetwater au.then.tic yardage, I really like the way the black and white photo looks with the green....my mom liked it too.

Ever since my first Mother's Day when Emily was 9 months old I have had my husband take a few pictures of me with my child/children and I have a little "Mother's Day" scrapbook just for those photos...yesterday he took these of Jack, Emily and I....silly kids.

Here is a family picture of the 4 of us. :)

See those HUGE diamond earrings??? They were a gift from Emily....she really likes the bling! She bought these for me at Target, she was so proud of herself. (note to hubs....I would love a REAL pair of diamond earrings someday....no need for them to be this large though!!)

Hope you all had a nice Mother's Day!

for Miss. Doyle

2010-04-30T13:38:00.000-07:00

My daughter's 1st grade class has had a student teacher for the last few months....today is her last day....I wanted Emily to give her something so I had her teacher send me a picture of Miss. Doyle with the class so I could make her something she can have to remember them all by....this is what I came up with. This picture cracks me up....all these little first graders, not a care in the world! (That is my little one in the front row wearing pink, of course).

Here is the back, I hope she likes it, I sure did and it was so easy!!

jumping up and down

2010-04-29T07:46:00.000-07:00

I got a little something in the mail yesterday, I knew it was coming but of course had no idea what to expect. I ripped open the box, ripped off the wrapping paper and lookie what was inside!!! ACK!!! I just love it Pam! Thank you so, so much, it is so awesome!!! This is the placemat I get to keep, I get to keep this??!?!?!? from the placemat swap on flickr, I can't say enough about how much I adore this little mini and there is NO way this little number will ever be on a table with food on it (not with my family at least!) I have already hung this in my kitchen where all my favorite mini's go after I receive a new one.

This has so much detail (click on the photos) the grass is all patchwork and so is the sky. I have been wanting to make a mini like this but has been pretty far down on my "to do" list, now I don't have to! :) The clothesline is darling and Pam had such a cute idea....see that little mini quilt? That is the same fabric for the backing, I believe it is a vintage sheet, so cute!

Also included was fabric for my kids, 3 different cuts from a different fabric line for both of them....what to make what to make?

Thanks again Pam, seriously, if I did not have a big, ugly, clunky boot on my left foot I would have been jumping up and down. :)

getting used...

2010-04-26T18:50:00.001-07:00

......the quilt I made with the recipient on it.....my nephew Garrett. :)

love all the orange!

To Pam from Kristine

2010-04-22T10:56:00.000-07:00

I sent off the placemat for my swap partner Pam last week, yesterday I received an email that she got it, yeah it arrived safe and sound to Florida!
Pam mentioned she liked greens, blues and aquas.....after looking through her flickr favorites I noticed she liked the "wonky stars", stacked coins and zig zag patterns....so I thought to myself "self, I think I will make her a little sampler". This is what I came up with.

I must say I actually like it better vertically, Pam I hope you like it, I enjoyed making it for you!

not much sewing going on....

2010-04-20T08:18:00.000-07:00

So.......we went camping two weekends ago....ummmm.....well........long story short....coming out of our friends trailer I turned my ankle.....BAD....the sound my ankle made was just about as bad as the pain.....holy smokes!!! My husband was sitting by the fire and told me to "walk it off" the other husband (my hubs friend) came running to my aide, never mind that his wife was laughing...ouch, ouch, ouch!!! Needless to say I have not been sewing much this past week but there is good news....it was my left ankle not my right so I can still drive and use the foot peddle for my sewing machine....had an x-ray a few days after my spill....I get to wear a big ol clunky boot on my foot for the next 3 weeks....my husband felt really bad after that for saying "walk it off".

This is my son pretending to be Grandpa, if you knew my dad you would think this is pretty funny, even down to the coffee cup.

Emily and my niece, they are 11 months apart and right now they are missing the same teeth, pretty cute.

It has been beautiful weather here this past week, the kids even busted out their swim suits on Sunday afternoon, yeah for sunny April days!

The only sewing have done this past week was this little quilt. I mentioned this project in this post. It is not my choice of fabrics or blocks but it is not for me it is for a sick kiddo somewhere out there and I was happy to make this for them. All of the fabric was already cut up, all I had to do was sew the blocks, then sew them all together, add the borders....even the backing fabric was in the kit, so easy all it took from me was a little time, thread and a few prayers for a little one out there that will enjoy this.

pqs3 sneak peak for Pam

2010-04-09T09:01:00.001-07:00

pqs3 sneak peak for Pam
Originally uploaded by kristinemhanson

Yes I am done, yes you see a little Flea Market Fancy in the border, yes you see a few non fabric goodies....Pam (uberstitch) you will see this in a mail box near you soon. :)

pinwheel blocks

2010-04-07T13:46:00.001-07:00

I joined Rachel's pinwheel quilt along....I am all caught up ready for block #7. What will I do with this quilt top when I am done? I have no clue, but I think I am going to like it! I am not a big red and black fan, usually feels a little too retro to me....but I must say I really like how these blocks are coming together with the cream, gray, reds and blacks. block #1......I like both of them

block #2....are o.k. not a huge fan of the HUGE pinwheel but I can live with it, my points don't exactly match up and I am not doing it over which is a big deal for me, the sewing perfectionist. It is what it is.

block #3, LOVE both of them, my favorite block of all so far, love them!

block #4, really like these too....simple yet elegant. :)

block #5....mmmmm not my favorites....I believe after all the blocks are done I will do these two over....I picked fabrics that are too similar for the contrast....I dunno....it is what it is...maybe I will keep them too....

block #6, I love anything that is "flying geese" enough said.

I finished the binding on my special project that I had quilted while in Portland by Christina. I LOVE it. I decided I am not going to post pictures of it until the new owner has it....I don't think this person even knows I have a blog but I don't want to risk blowing the surprise. :)

I joined another little swap, I already have planned out what I am doing for this one too....this is the first time I have done a swap that is not a secret. I was able to chit chat with Pam about her likes, dislikes and visa versa, will be fun to see what we whip up for each other.

dear diary....

2010-04-05T12:54:00.001-07:00

How I spent my spring break...... holding this shoogabooga, my new nephew Garrett.....oh how he reminds me of my son at that age, what a doll!!

We spent A LOT of time driving....7 hours to get there....7 hours to get back...Emily got in some reading.... Jack got in a few shows....thank you Lord for portable DVD players for trips like this!!!

All in all....we were in the car a lot....going from place to place a lot, even snuck in a few visits to Ikea.....most of the getaway the kids looked like this.....so all in all we had a nice little visit.

Since I was gone from my sewing for almost a week I am dying to get crackin on something....I will post pictures of something that was quilted for me while in Portland.....met a peach of a new friend too! :)

she liked it!

2010-03-28T08:25:00.001-07:00

My BFF Cheyenne opening her birthday present I made her. :)

She loved it!

I finished another quilt top yesterday, this one is a special gift for a special someone in May. I am going to meet up with Christina while in Portland this week and she is going to quilt it for me. I know it will be a hard one to give away but I can't wait!

mini quilts

2010-03-26T12:20:00.000-07:00

I worked on a few mini quilts during my "quilt retreat" last weekend. I finally got around to making a munki munki wonky star mini. I am really pleased with it....love all the pastels together and I am not a pastel person. I really enjoyed making the "wonky stars" too. My favorite square is in the center, it is the bridesmaid/wedding fabric, I was a professional bridesmaid in my past life, have been in 10 weddings! :/
This is the 2nd Flea Market Fancy quilt I made. The first one I sent off to my partner for a doll quilt swap. I am really happy with this one too, I even used some selvage on it. :)

One I did not make but received last week in the mail.....

This was from my "angel" for the fall themed mini quilt swap. My original partner flaked out on me so was given an "angel". Cute little woodpecker, thanks Isabell!

pattern test

2010-03-24T10:18:00.001-07:00

Recently a friend of mine mentioned in her blog that she had a new pattern that she was working on, I volunteered to "pattern test" for her, is this not the cutest wallet ever!?
I really enjoyed making this, it can hold your keys, your id, several debit/credit cards and even has a little coin purse with a zipper. :)

I had never made anything before that needed a snap, I was a bit intimidated but after doing some pounding and a little bit more pounding (enter husband curious for the pounding coming from the sewing room) I got it finished.

I used up a little bit more of my au.then.tic fabric. You can buy the pdf pattern here.

1 million pillowcase challenge

2010-03-22T17:37:00.000-07:00

Several weeks ago I finished 10 pillowcases to donate toward the 1 million pillowcase challenge.

I knew from the first time I read about this cause where I would donate my pillowcases. I donated all 10 of them today with my kids to The Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery. I took this info straight from their site to tell the story of why the Nursery was started:

Vanessa Behan was a two-year old child who died of severe physical abuse in Spokane on January 9, 1982. At trial, the alleged perpetrator of this crime, Vanessa’s stepfather, was found innocent when Vanessa’s mother refused to testify against him in court.
The outcome of the trial and the sadness surrounding Vanessa’s death prompted local businessman Bill Bialkowsky to mount a campaign to establish a place where children would be safe and removed from harms way. Through his efforts and the generosity of the Spokane community, funds were raised to purchase a 1920s-era home that was renovated and opened as the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery in 1987. In its first year, 427 children were served.
As the need for the Crisis Nursery’s services grew, it became apparent the existing home was too small. Another capital campaign was launched and a new and larger facility was built in 2000. Today the Crisis Nursery takes in approximately 3,000 children every year. Since the Nursery opened its doors in January 1987, it has provided a safe haven for more than 56,000 children.

If you notice there are 2 front doors, the one on the left is for the families, the one on the right is for business, we went in the right side door. Emily so wanted to go on the left side, see inside the facility, see the kids that were staying there, I did not even ask if we could. We walked in, met the employee whom I had been in contact with and gave them the pillowcases along with a baby doll quilt. It makes me happy to know that some kids whom for whatever reason need to stay there will have a fun, cheery pillowcase to use during their "visit" and if they want I was told they could keep them. :) Me being a momma that at times has felt like I was at the "end of my rope" for whatever reason just thinks it is so neat that there is a place, a SAFE, warm place that moms and dads for whatever reason can take their kids to if they need a break. I have never needed a break like that but what a service that is available! It is a sad, sad story of why this facility was started but to think of even 1 other life that was saved because of a place like this really warms my heart.

My pillowcases brought the total to 38,994. This was such an easy thing to do, pillowcases are so easy and FAST!! I also was able to use up quite a bit of my stash too, that is always fun to do, gives you an excuse to buy more fabric! :)

I will post later this week on my "quilting retreat" last weekend, a fall mini quilt swap I received, a pattern I got to "test" and some new fabric I have bought recently...have a good week!

quilts for kids

2010-03-20T22:31:00.000-07:00

Recently through the blog world of all places a former co-worker Amy and I reconnected, she saw some comments I had left on a blog and with a few clicks of her mouse found me. :) Tonight she did a post on "quilts for kids" oh.my.goodness.

All you need to do is request a quilt kit, make the quilt and send it back, that is it! You know how good it feels to give a loved one something you made just for them? Take a look through the pictures of these kids, it made me cry....some of them so, so sick and someone took the time to make a quilt for them, someone they don't know, will probably never meet made them something that will give them comfort, warmth and a little bit of happiness in their world. JUST DO IT. I can only imagine how good it will make them feel.

quilt retreat at my house!

2010-03-19T16:26:00.000-07:00

For the first time since I was pregnant with my oldest (7 years ago) I have the house to myself! No kids, no hubs, no nephew (that is an entire different blog post right there!). So what's a "stay at home mom" to do with herself? I am staying home and SEWING! YAHOO!!! I have a little list of things I have been wanting to finish, start, think about, brain storm you name it and this is the weekend it is going to happen. Yesterday I cut A LOT of squares for a throw sized snow ball quilt, I cut out all the pieces I need for a Heather Ross Munki Munki wonky star mini (say that 10 times fast). I am going to finish the borders of my own Flea Market Fancy mini, make 4 more blocks to join my 2008 BOM for my parents 40th Anniversary quilt (which I finished the second 1/2 of 2008 BOM several weeks ago, yahoo!) And if I get to it....I would like to start and get caught up with the pinwheel sampler going on over here.

Can you tell I am excited!? I get so burned out being home all the time with the kids, can drive a person mad but when you have the entire house for 2 nights, 2 days with NO ONE? Totally different story....well I must go, I am also in the middle of watching the Gonzaga Bulldogs play! GO ZAGS!

don't look!

2010-03-17T10:53:00.000-07:00

I made another one of these lovelies, "French Roses" soft edge applique quilt by Heather French. This is a birthday gift for my BFF Cheyenne who the title is written for. I told her not to look at my blog until after I see her on Saturday unless she wants to spoil the surprise....she won't look, I know it. :)
This is the 2nd one of these I have made. I made another one in August for my friend Nissa's birthday as well. They are SO easy and after several washings and dryings the edges of the raw applique just look so vintage and cozy. I still need to make one of these babies for myself.

All of the fabrics are from Heather Bailey's "Freshcut" line that is being discontinued, it is made up of lovely, feminine prints....all of Heather Bailey's fabric lines are lovely and feminine. :) There is also an Amy Butler dot here and there and a few other miscellaneous prints from my stash for the leaves, LOVE using stuff from my stash!!

Another raw edge applique quilt on my "to do" list is here. Isn't that awesome? I have a baby quilt to make for a former co-worker having a little girl in August, I have another raw edge applique quilt pattern up my sleeve for that one too...more on that later.......

Happy Birthday Kolby

2010-03-16T10:49:00.000-07:00

Today is my husbands 42nd birthday, Happy Happy day!!

doll quilt recieved!

2010-03-11T07:54:00.000-08:00

Opened my mailbox yesterday and what did I see? Something for me! This is from my doll quilt partner, Jessica. I love it....I love everything about it....funny thing is on the flickr site where everyone can post hints....I left a comment a while ago on this little baby....so happy with this! I love flying geese, she made some...I love the little "wonky" houses, she made some. I love aqua, she got some in there, love the letters (what fabric is that Jessica?)

One of my favorite things about this mini is the red, orange and yellow. Those were my wedding colors. :) Thank you so much! It really made my day!

I forgot to mention....the aqua fabric in this mini....it is my favorite from the Heather Bailey Pop Garden Line....you did an awesome job with all my tastes Jess!

this baby, this boy

2010-03-09T13:08:00.000-08:00

This baby was born 4 years ago today, March 9th, 2006 This boy has stolen my heart.

Happy Birthday Jack Garrett Hanson, oh how you are loved. :)

1/2 way there!!!

2010-03-03T20:11:00.000-08:00

In 2008 I joined a "block of the month". Don't ask me why, I had never done it before, don't know if I ever will again. :) The first few months I found it fun to get little padded envelopes in the mail....I never did anything with them other than open up the envelope look at the fabric, stuff it back in the envelope then throw it in a clear plastic shoe box. Then more months came and came and came...and if you read my previous post we had several deaths in the family and throw in the mix a hysterectomy for me at 35. So if you have caught on....I had never done anything with any of these blocks....until now. I have officially finished January-June, whoo hoo 1/2 way!!! At first I had to remind myself "why did I join this particular BOM?" (still can't remember) and "why did I choose this color way?"...the golds, browns, greens and blues, oh yeah....the other color way was pastels and I am NOT a pastel girl, I don't even decorate for Easter because I don't dig pastels (or the Easter Bunny for that matter).

After I finished the first block I was looking forward to the next, I whipped out 5 of these babies in 1 day (I had cut all of them out in January then stuffed them back in the envelopes until I was ready to sew, so glad I did, now I just empty the bag, look at the pattern and start going on it. Today I finished 1, and it was a pain!! it is the one on the top right of the photo above, June....I can't tell you how many times I sewed, ripped out, sewed ripped out, me no likie the June block.

So mom what do you think? I am actually really liking these now and think they will look great once sashed and put together for a big quilt, will this be good for the 40th Anniversary quilt I promised you? :)

If you want you can click on the photo to see up close....there are A LOT of triangles in these blocks, A LOT!

quilts for my in-laws

2010-03-01T13:37:00.000-08:00

In 2008 within 6 months of each other, both my in-laws passed away. My MIL in May and my FIL in November. Both of them passed away at The Hospice House in Spokane. Not long after they both had passed my husband asked me to make a quilt that we could donate in memory of them. It took me over a year to finally figure out what I wanted to do. I decided I wanted to make one for each of them, with their own label honoring each of them.

This first quilt is for my FIL, Gary. I used several charm packs of the Sweetwater au.then.tic line. My husband says this is his favorite quilt I have ever made. :) I also used up some yardage of the same line to break up the rows of pinwheels. This is a close up of some of the pinwheels. Twin sized, to fit a hospital bed, it was kinda weird making these quilts....I found myself thinking about both my in-laws A LOT while sewing these and also about the patients that will use them in the future, made me kind of emotional actually, but also made me feel good that they will have a snugly quilt on them while in the care of Hospice.

This is for my MIL, Carol. I wanted to use up some of my stash so I went through it all and pulled out a lot of blues/purples and then just did strips. Kolby thinks his mom would have loved it, I hope so.

Close up of my MIL's quilt

I know once I get these back from the quilters they will look AMAZING! I am going to have personalized labels made for them to.

*************************************************************************************

Totally random....picture of the kids yesterday on a "safari". (note Jack's plastic shotgun and Emily was taking pictures of the elephants)

favorite thing thrift find

2010-02-27T18:55:00.000-08:00

I was snooping through my local Value Village recently, when I came across this! OH MY! I just love it! There is nothing on the selvage to give me a clue to how old it is, but it is old. I even smelled it (NOT something I normally would do with ANYTHING w/o washing it first from Value Village). It smelled like someones Grandma's house, like my Grandma's house, this little number was going home with me!

Isn't it cute? I have no idea what I am going to do with it, but it had to be mine. I assume yardage from "back in the day" or at least this fabric was not 44" across like the fabric we get now. This piece from selvage to selvage is 35" across and 57" wide....quite a bit of fabric for this lovely vintage piece and it only cost me 3.99!

This is my favorite, the little coffee cup, creamer and pot, how about that darling "Home Sweet Home" sign. I have no idea what I will use this for, so for now it will go into my drawers of fabric and I will take it out on occasion and squeal, smile and pet it. :)

my family tree grew today

2010-02-24T21:55:00.000-08:00

I am in love. I have a new nephew born today, Garrett William Stauthie Botter, I can't wait to moosh and goosh on him. I am in love!! And I think he looks like a little boy I gave birth to almost 4 years ago, hmmmmmmm babies, love, love, love!!!

stack of au.then.tic

2010-02-22T07:45:00.000-08:00

Lots and lots of triangles, au.then.tic by sweetwater. I have 3 or 4 quilts in the making right now, this is for one of them. I love this line, can't wait to get my hands on their newest line, make life .

family fun?

2010-02-21T14:11:00.000-08:00

Several times a year a friend of mine gives us tickets to use in a suite at the Spokane Arena, last night was one of those nights....not our typical "family fun night" but we went to the monster truck show....hmmmm...very interesting place to people watch. This picture was taken BEFORE anything started, having fun, in a suite, free popcorn, pop, cookies, etc.

Another BEFORE photo, having FUN!This picture was taken right as the first round of trucks came in the Arena....I about wet my pants (so did my husband) from Emily's reaction as you can see here...(note little brother next to her having the time of his life, noise? what noise?)Jack, having a BLAST
We had a great time, all smelled a bit like gas (the automobile type) afterwards....will Emily ever go again? Verdict is still out on that one. :)

Emily's first quilt

2010-02-19T08:31:00.000-08:00

A week or so before my birthday last month Emily kept telling me about something she was making me at school. Everyday she would come home and tell me she had worked on this present. Finally she got off the bus one day and I noticed she had a little project in her hot little hands. She was BEAMING, so excited! I thought I knew what it was but just to be sure I said "tell me about it" (instead of "WHAT IS IT??") she was jumping up and down, it's a quilt! it's a quilt!! for you for your birthday! Emily's first quilt, for me. :)

This top photo is the actual project she put so much time and effort into. Look at all the triangles, look at all the nicely cut squares and the big rectangle, she was so proud of herself. She said she used pink in it because that is her favorite color and she used yellow in it because that was my favorite color as a little girl...the green, red and purple...that is because she is a 6 year old girl I guess, I think the pattern is cute too. I really love it. She had some time to kill so she did another "quilt" on the back. This larger one got cut down but I had to take a picture of it too. I have now framed my birthday quilt and have it in my craft room.

What I think is so neat about Emily's first quilt is that she gave it to ME. I think it was about 15 years ago my mom took a quilt class. The first quilt she made was a wall hanging, she gave it to my Grandma, her mother. After finding out my mom had taken a quilt class I thought to myself (no offense mom) "if my mom can quilt, then I can quilt" so I took a quilt class and gave that first project to my mom. Now years later my daughter gave me her first quilt, even though it is not made out of fabric it is made out of love and I know she was thinking of me the entire time she made it, I just love it.

I forgot to mention

2010-02-18T09:21:00.001-08:00

I got my Bernina back last Friday! I was so happy to see The Quilting Bee on my caller id!! I did not even say "hello" when I answered I just said "are you calling to tell me my machine is done?" the repair guy was taken a bit by surpris he just said very plainly "yes" then I said "yahoo!!" I asked if I just go up to the cutting counter to get it, another simple plain "yes".....he did not understand my enthusiasm for getting my other girl back, I have used her everyday since, nice to have her home!

Flea Market Fancy top ready to quilt

2010-02-17T13:36:00.000-08:00

Well here it is!!!! I have my FMF quilt ready to go to the quilter later this week! I can't wait to have it in my hot little hands after it has been on the long arm....now....what to do, what to do?? How would you quilt it? I am thinking an all over feather stitch but am up for suggestions..... Here are a few of my favorite blocks.....

And here is the back!

We had 2 of our bedroom walls painted this past weekend, we had a DARK red/merlot color before....now we have this darkish robin egg blue....I l.o.v.e. it, love it, love it, love it!!!!! Did I mention I LOVE IT?

Grow old along with me.....

2010-02-14T12:14:00.000-08:00

...the best is yet to be

My Valentines

2010-02-12T12:32:00.000-08:00

I don't really get into Valentines, I don't even decorate for it, probably should though because the kids sure like to celebrate it. Jack had a little party in his speech class today, I even got him to wear a collared shirt seen here waiting to leave playing with Lightning McQueen....
Emily had asked me to make her a Valentines dress, I did not want to make a dress....we met 1/2 way and I made her a skirt instead, I have to admit I think it turned out pretty cute. I also made her a matching pin for her shirt.

Here is another shot of Jack, this is from his regular pre-school....the parents sent them a special Valentine, this is him showing his off.

Have I mentioned how much I miss my sewing machine? UHG, this is like torture BUT I have to say I have had a lot of time to do a lot of cutting for up coming projects and get a little caught up with my scrap booking.

missing my other girl

2010-02-10T13:27:00.000-08:00

I took my Bernina in for a tune up on Friday.....it was time....they told me it would be 7-10 days...WHAT??? I have not been without a sewing machine set up at all times for 3 years, AAAACCCKKK! This has been torture!! I have so many things I want to be working on!!

I took out my Flea Market Fancy quilt top last night, measured it (95"x95") figured out the design I am going to use for the back and was SO happy to realize that the bolt of fabric I bought a few weeks ago on a killer deal at JoAnn's is ENOUGH to do the back along with a strip of the rest of my FMF strips.

I also have figured out what design/colors I am going to use to make two quilts to donate to The Hospice House in Spokane. Both my in-laws passed away there in 2008 and my husband asked if I would make some quilts that we can donate in their memory....so I want to get going on those too.

I did finish a Valentine's skirt for Emily last week, she has not wanted to wear it until her party at school on Friday so I will post a picture when she has it on all ready to head to school....

Now.......if I could just get an early phone call that my Bernina is done!!!

40 years

2010-02-09T07:57:00.000-08:00

Happy 40th Anniversary to my mom and dad! February 8, 1970, 40 years!!! I think my parents have done a pretty good job holding together a family, a home, jobs, crisis, good times, bad times, deaths, births, cancer, no money, money.....you name it, and some on this list, done it several times!!! they have done it and TOGETHER....thanks mom and dad for being such a good example to me, Michael and Steven....thanks for always being supportive of the things we wanted to do, (even if you had 2nd thoughts!) thanks for always standing by us when the things we wanted to do did not work out, thanks for saying the right things when we needed to hear them, thanks for not saying anything at the right time too.... 1st date at the Spokane Fair in 1969, 40 years later=3 kids, 2 daughter-in-laws, 1 son-in-law and grand baby #5 just days away....all because 2 people fell in love....

DQS8 finished

2010-01-31T14:19:00.000-08:00

I finished my doll quilt swap mini today...I am pretty happy the way it turned out...this was the first time I have ever done a project with so many points, might be my last. :) I can see now why the "wonky" style is so popular, you don't have to be so precise. Each of the little star blocks are 3 1/2", tiny! I hope my partner likes it. I will send it off in the next week or so, I need to go and find some goodies to send along with it.
Here is a lovely action shot of the kids "helping" me blow out my candles, Emily was really getting into it....I will post later this week a quilt Emily made me for my birthday, I just love it, and she was so proud of herself.

37 things about me

2010-01-29T08:56:00.000-08:00

Today is my birthday, January 29th 1973 I came into this world in Omaha Nebraska of all places (moved to Spokane when I was 2 1/2) I thought I would see if I can think of 37 things to say about myself.

1. I am the middle child between two boys
2. My parents still live in the house we moved into in 1975
3. When I was 5 I asked Jesus into my heart to be my personal Savior :)
4. I love brownies
5. I love to sew
6. I got my first and only tattoo at 20
7. I was a nanny for 1 year in Seattle
8. I like my hands
9. I wanted to be a nurse or a teacher when I was growing up
10. I have been w/2 people when they passed away (my Grandparents)
11. I have seen someone (my SIL) give birth (my niece)
12. I asked my husband out on our first date
13. I am NOT an animal person
14. I can not stand rude people
15. I don't wear a lot of jewelry
16. I had my first "drink" on my 21st birthday
17. I like to travel
18. I was in Camp Fire for 10 years
19. Yellow was my favorite color when I was younger
20. I have worn glasses for 25 years
21. I am getting lasik surgery in a few weeks :)
22. I don't like to exercise
23. I like coffee
24. I gained 15lbs in 2009
25. My brothers and I all have big blue eyes and so do all of our kids
26. I know how lucky I am to still have both my parents alive and still married (40 years next month!)
27. I love to subscribe to magazines
28. This is not as easy as you would think
29. 29 is one of my favorite numbers
30. I don't like clutter
31. I wear a lot of brown and black
32. I love being a mom
33. I love being a wife
34. I love my family
35. I like vintage/antiques
36. Autumn is my favorite season
37. I am going to lose the 15lbs I gained in 2009 plus more in 2010!

doll quilt, student of the month and the croup

2010-01-28T19:00:00.001-08:00

Emily was chosen as student of the month for her class, the attribute was "diligence". I had to have her tell me what that was! We are very proud of her, she was very proud of herself. :) I have finally gotten around to making one of the blocks for my doll quilt partner, this little guy is 3 1/2", so small!! I did cut out enough pieces to make myself one of these little quilts but for right now I am concentrating on my swap partners so I can get it done and off to her to enjoy.

I had a nice time in Seattle on my weekend away last week....I did NOT get nearly the sleep/rest I had hoped but still had a great time. I got home Monday to Jack having a bit of a cough....1:30 A.M. Tuesday was woken up to that "seal like bark" cough, a.k.a. THE CROUP....called our after hours doctor, then whisked him away to the E.R. After spending 2 hours with him there, got a breathing treatment then a liquid steroid, we were home a bit before 4:00. At 5:30 A.M. it was Emily's turn, but hers was even WORSE...this time daddy took her to the E.R....same hospital, same set of doctors/nurses...WOW....had never experienced that before and hope we never do again!!

vinyl pouches

2010-01-21T13:50:00.000-08:00

What an exciting title to an entry!! I remembered this tutorial when I saw a blog entry recently from these ladies. I had a big remnant of vinyl just waiting to be used so cutting away I went. After my first attempt at these I learned 2 things....#1 I did not like making these and #2 IF I ever make these again I will ALWAYS use a white zipper (hides the stitching and restitching if needed) If I had not already cut out the fabric, interfacing and vinyl for all of these I would have stopped at my first one (made that one for Emily). On all but 1 of these the vinyl slipped and got stuck in the zipper, uhg! So I had to cut away at the vinyl so they look like crap inside but none of my friends that I am giving these to are crafty kind of gals and won't notice anyways! I also used a little wax on the zipper to help it move back and forth because of some of the vinyl issues. I am going to put a few little goodies in these and give them to my roommates for Saturday night.

This one with the Heather Ross gnomes and mushrooms is for me. I was so proud of myself to finally cut into this fabric. Just like my Flea Market Fancy fabric it was time! I just love those little gnomes!

And speaking of my Flea Market Fancy quilt....I have all the rows sewn now with white sashing, yes I went with the white sashing option! Now I have cut out the white shashing that goes between each row, this is going to be a big quilt! I am putting it away for the weekend, hopefully have it all finished up next week then meet up with my "quilter" and get that project checked off my "to do" list.

I really enjoy these two

2010-01-19T07:32:00.000-08:00

I really do, they are at such a fun age....a lot of the time they actually have fun playing together, but then of course there are times they don't. Yesterday they were both out of school for MLK day, my hubs was at work so it was just me and these two knuckle heads. :) We made a visit to Grandma and Grandpa's house, went to Target and ate popcorn while walking around the store then used up all of our remaining Chuck E. Cheese tokens. No yelling, no screaming, no tears, we had a fun time. After we got home apparently I needed a little nap because I fell asleep on the couch, all snuggled up with them. I have not been doing much sewing this past week but I did get something off my "to do" list that I have been avoiding for YEARS....I finally went through and organized over 20 years of pictures and negatives, wow I had a lot of pictures and why did I always order duplicates? So glad that little project is finished. I do have some vinyl zipper bags that I will show later this week, to be filled for a girls night out coming up this weekend! :)

2010-01-18T08:35:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of my Uncle Gary holding my niece Gracie almost 3 years ago. 1 year ago today my Uncle passed away in his sleep. Oh how he is missed. I have so many things that I could say about my Uncle, what a guy he was, he was the best. This past year has been one of the most emotional years of my life. I had never experienced a death so sudden and so shocking before, it has been very hard. No saying goodbye, no last words. One thing I have learned from this is to say what you want to say, give that last hug....you.never.know. you don't. My Uncle has been gone 1 year, while we feel like it has been an eternity we find joy and peace knowing my Uncle is in heaven for eternity, until we meet again, dear friend and Uncle....love you much.