Lost and Found

Just when I thought I was going to do better at keeping up with my blog, I have fallen way behind. I was indeed lost but hopefully I have found myself. I seriously think if I would give up the gaming on Facebook, I would have more time for blogging. lol

February -
Books read: Sarah's Keys, Prayers for Sale and Not my Daughter.
Movies seen: Dear John, From Paris w/Love, Valentine's Day, Crazy Heart and Shutter Island,

I finished a quilt for nephew Keith's 40th birthday and made a trip to Orange to visit Mom and deliver the quilt.


March -
Books read: Parting Gifts, Easter Island, and True Women.
Movies seen: Brooklyn's Finest, Alice in Wonderland, Remember Me, Green Zone, The Bounty Hunter, She's Out of My League and Hot Tub Time Machine.

I finished a quilt for my sister-in-law, Sabrina's 55th birthday and got it in the mail to her.

April -
Books read: Bed and Breakfast and If the Devil Had a Wife.
Movies seen: The Last Song, Date Night and The Back-Up Plan.

I found a crewel embroidery piece that my mom had made for me back in the early 70s. For many years it hung in my dining room. when I changed the colors, I removed it from the frame and stored it in my cedar chest. Seeing all the wonderful hand work that mom had put into it I realized that it need to be seen once again. I trimmed the background fabric, added borders, sandwiched it with batting and backing and quilted it. I finished it and now have it hanging in my stairwell to be enjoyed once again.



Back in 2004, I participated in an International quilt project....."to be remembered". Each participant was to make a block and write a story. The block was to have fabrics, etc. that maybe brought special memories to mind. The story was to include information about special people or memories. The blocks were made into one quilt and the pictures of the blocks along with the stories were published in a book to be sold to raise money for UNICEF. 86 women and 4 men from 24 countries and 5 continents participated. I just received my copy. www.memoryquilt.website.ms

January 30

OH my gosh! January is almost finished. I guess it has been a productive month. Books read this month are: Land of Mango Sunsets and Fault Lines by Dorothea Benton Frank, Shanghai Girls by Lisa Lee, and Tallgrass by Sandra Dallas. Movies we have seen: Leap Year, The Book of Eli, The Lovely Bones, Extraordinary Measures and Edge of Darkness.

I finished the binding on a couple of quilts: The Texas Quilt and Dulcinea. And I made a tropical fish coin purses for gifts. They were a bit more difficult since I wanted to use Batiks instead of ultra suede. But I love the way they turned out.

January 6, 2010

I had a good day sewing in the studio today. The two receiving blankets (pale yellow plisse and rosebud flannel) were made previously. But I made the cute little flannel shows and hooded towel today. So my gift is all ready for the shower Saturday.

I know I have seen these little cloth shoes before but this is my first pair to make. They are so easy, I know I will make up some more to have ready for future gifts.

I always have a stash of flannel and plisse receiving blankets at the ready.

Welcome 2010!

We have now crossed over to begin our journey through a new year. This picture of the #1 man in my life, David, was taken Christmas Eve after services in Arizona. We left Ruston on December 22 before sun up and had a great day driving and listening to books on tape. We spent the night in El Paso, TX heading out before dawn the next morning. We had the most enjoyable trip driving through light snow in Demming, New Mexico to get there. It was fun watching the change in scenery from state to state. Making great time we arrived in Anthem, Arizona before 3 pm December 23.

First order of busines was taking my girls for manicures while we let Poppy relax in front of the TV for a while. Once back from having our nails done, we all headed to one of our favorite restaurants, Abuelos for the best mexican food anywhere!


Finally got the Voss family to sit down long enough for a picture: dog, Bridgette held by Caitie sitting in her dad, David's lap, my daughter, Aimee, dog Jack held by granddaughter, Alex. The girls opened their gifts from us and are already wearing their new pjs. We spent Thursday, Christmas Eve, making pies and gumbo. The girls love making pie crust for fresh peach pie, chocolate pie and Pineapple Chess pie. We all went to early vigil Mass before coming home to enjoy the delicious ChickenSausage Gumbo. We spent Christmas day seeing the Chipmunk movie and hiking. That evening we played games until time to get some rest before the long journey back to Ruston.

Jordon, Lori and Chris in front of the Christmas tree in Ruston. We had a great Sunday Christmas celebration with them before leaving for the AZ trip. Chicken Okra Gumbo and Chocolate Pie! Ballgames and table games. And we all got to watch the Survivor finale together! What a day!

Gleaning every bit of 2009..............

As we approach not only the dawn of a new month but a whole new year, I am busy trying to enjoy every bit of 2009.

As always, we have made it to the movies quite a bit enjoying: Amelia, The Box, 2012, A Christmas Carol, Blind Side, Old Dogs, and Everybody's Fine.

Books read: Just Breathe, Ford County, A Quilter's Holiday, and Fox's Earth.

During November, I attended the Gift Shop in Orange, TX bringing all the aprons for the sale. It was so much fun getting to visit with old friends. The following weekend, we tailgated and attended the LSU vs. LA Tech game in Baton Rouge. It was really an exciting game. Tech made the Tigers work for that win!

I completed one of the sweatshirt projects purchased at the Houston Quilt Festival and have enjoyed wearing it several times.
























I have been working tirelessly on the handquilting of my Dear Jane quilt. Having completed all the quilting, I was able to get the binding stitched on and have it finally complete after all these years. How excited I was to make that last stitch.























It has been a busy month with getting decorations up, shopping, attending holiday functions, etc. We are looking forward to a wonderful Christmas celebration with Chris, Lori and Jordon here at the house then will travel to Arizona t see Aimee, David, Alex and Caitie.

It is getting to that time when everyone is thinking about New Year's Resolutions. Well, here is mine: I aim to do a better job of giving more attention to this blog.

Approaching the end of October............

I have been one busy little bee lately! In September I read Identical Harts and Black Hills and saw several movies: All About Steve, Whiteout, The Informant, Pandorum, and Surrogate. I stayed busy making aprons for several days finishing all 24 of them. I ordered the Simplicity Bias Tape maker and was so excited that it arrived perfectly for me to give it a good workout for the apron project. Aren't new toys fun? Accompanying David on a few business trip during the month was fun. On the 16, I attended a 50s theme party and couldn't resist dressing the part. It gave me a chance to wear my Pat Boone portrait pin with the little white shoes and a circular skirt. I always have loved playing dress-up!

October arrived with a break in the drought bringing lots of rain. I have read Sullivan's Island and am now reading 92 Pacific Blvd. So far this month, we have seen Love Happens, Invention of Lying, Couples Retreat and Law Abiding Citizen.

Last week was a time for fun. Yvonne and I attended a quilter's group in Jasper, TX and made tote bags called Sunday Satchels. On Thursday we headed to Houston for the International Quilt Festival. Oh my, what an adventure. We had so much fun shopping the 2000+ vendors, we didn't even get around to viewing the quilt exhibits until Friday. We made some excellent purchases and enjoyed seeing all the new products and creativity of others work.

This week I have been busy catching up from being away. I am looking forward to attending my Thursday sit and stitch group so I can put a few more stitches in Dear Jane. But the biggie is coming up............my 40th high school reunion in Galveston. I know the weekend will fly by in the blink of an eye. It will be great getting together with friends after so many years. We invited the class 1970 to join us so this should prove to be a very exciting time.

Although I didn't get a great deal of sewing/quilting done this month, I refueled my creativity and hope to enjoy productive time in the studio real soon.

September 2...........but wait. What happened to August?

Just when I think I am getting better about keeping up with this blog, I realize that I am further behind than ever.......two months worth!

July ended up being pretty busy after all. I read three books: River's Edge, The Girls from Ames, and A Thread of Truth. As always, we frequented the Celebrity Theater seeing: Public Enemies, The Ugly Truth, Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince, and Funny People.

We participated in an Employee Free Choice Rally in Little Rock, AR on July 11. It was a very moving experience as we heard speakers remind us of how far we have come in our struggle for equality. Our march began in front of the Little Rock high school where history was made and ended on the steps of the AR capitol building. Later we gathered on a huge tent to enjoy fried fish dinners and cold drinks.

Yvonne and Fish came up for a visit on the 15th. Since Fish forgot his golf clubs, our guys were a bit lost for something to do. David suggested that we follow them home so he could help Fish with a few projects at their house. So we sent the guys to Orange on Friday so Yvonne and I could enjoy a little girl time. Then she and I drove down the next afternoon. While there the guys installed a whole house water filtration system, repaired the sprinkler and built a deck and steps for their pool.

Once back home, I plunged right back into planning a quilt for our parish priest. My Thursday quilt group decided on the quilt pattern Fractions made in greens for Fr. Blane O'Neill. He had come by our group gathering one day hinting that he needed a new bed cover. We will present it to him September 17.

On July 26, David invited some of his union friends and their wives over for a barbecue. He prepared ribs and sausage. I prepared Potatoes Au Gratin, Ranch Beans, Saurkraut salad, garlic bread and peanut butter bars.

As always, most days are spent in my studio working on one of my many unfinished projects. On Thursday's I work on the hand quilting of my Dear Jane. Some day I will complete it!

August was here before we knew it. David spent a week in Pittsburgh. I miss him when he is gone on his business trips, but it sure gives me the opportunity to work and not think about cooking. As soon as he returned, we had to pack up and head to Orange to attend the 40th Reunion of the West Orange class of 1969. They invited the classes of 1967(which was David's),1968,1970 and 1971. We had so much fun.

To our surprise, Aimee and the girls had made a quick visit to Orange that same weekend and drove up to Ruston on Sunday just after we arrived back home. We had such a wonderful time having them for a few more days. Aimee and I took the girls to see Julie and Julia. Caitie says that she needed to see that movie since she plans on being a chef one day. They all got hair trims while here. We didn't do anything exciting but spent time and relaxed together. Well, until Thursday, that is. That is the day that we went shopping for the girls some school clothes. Oh the memories of shopping with girls! Caitie was quite entertaining; I enjoyed being in the dressing room and helping them. On Friday, Alex and Aimme went to see The Time Traveler's Wife while Caitie and I went to see G-Force. On Sunday, they had to pack up and head back to Austin. David and I went to see The Time Traveler's Wife to console us for having to face an empty house after our week of fun and games with the girls.

That Friday, David and I went to see the movie Inglourious Basterds.

I have been working on a Bulls-eye quilt with blocks from an online group swap. It has been so much fun seeing all the different fabrics everyone uses. I finally got it all together with borders. I kept needing more blocks because I kept enlarging the design.

For the past couple of weeks I have been working on a project in blue and white fabrics for a gift. Yvonne gave me a pattern for my birthday called Dulcinea that is a small wall hanging. I used that pattern but enlarged the blocks a bit and made it into a lap quilt. I have been collecting blue and white fabrics for several years. About a year ago, many of these fabrics were included in a box along with a center I made for a Round Robin I was participating in. Once my center medallion made the round and came back home to me, I was busy on other projects so just put it away. I pulled it out so I could start thinking about how I want to finish it. In doing so, I got the idea to make this blue and white lap quilt knowing that I had way more fabric than I would need to finish the round robin quilt. I can't say who this blue and white quilt is for because I don't know when I will get it quilted and don't want to let the cat out of the bag just yet.

We had another barbecue for union friends and wives this past Sunday. It was a lot of fun. David again did his famous ribs and sausage. I made homemade macaroni and cheese (I love it so), Ranch Beans, garlic bread, cole slaw and those peanut butter bars that David loves so much. His review of them states that there is only ONE THING better.................

So as I sit here mulling over the past few months, I realize that today is my brother, Mike's 60th birthday. Hope I can catch him on the phone later. It is very quiet here today as David is away on business for a few days. Sounds like a great time to get to work in the studio. But instead of working on any of my unfinished quilting projects, today will be my day to cut and plan the aprons for the St. Mary's Gift Shop in November. So I best be getting to work................