911 10th Anniversary

I cannot believe it has been 10 years since the terrorist attack on the USA. Today, as a parent of a firefighter, I am even more in tune with that day. Firefighters, police, and paramedics all rushed into the terror of the Twin Towers as they were collapsing. I cannot even imagine the fear that these men and women felt when doing their job at a level that I hope they NEVER have to experience ever again in their careers.

As the mother of a firefighter, I say THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for the job you do. I remember where I was that day. Do you?

Wedding Quilt

My niece and goddaughter got married to the love of her life on Saturday, June 18th, 29 years to the day that I married the love of MY life! Steve and I were thrilled when Jackie and Greg chose their date and we now share an anniversary!

Jackie grew up in MN and is a huge Twins/Vikings fan. Greg grew up in WI and is a huge Brewers/Packers fan! There is a lot of fun in their house when it comes to sports, although the Twins/Brewers only play each other once a summer. My sister and I decided to make them a tshirt quilt that depicts this division! LOL I had to scour 2nd hand stores for more Twins/Vikes shirts (not hard to find in MN) and Packers/Brewers shirts (CHALLENGING) in order to make it work! Here is the final product!!!

Here are Jackie and Greg after the rehearsal and opening their gift! They LOVED it and I know it will get a lot of use/love! It's always a thril when the quilt/gift is appreciated!
And here is a pic of Jackie and Greg after cutting their cake. They were a beautiful couple and the day was perfect! I hope they enjoy many happy years together...just like Steve and I have!

Mini Messenger

This pattern came to me in the May/June McCall's Quilting magazine. The designer is Darci Wright. It's just an adorable way to tote your Ipad/Kindle or any other small electronic device. It can go across the chest so there's no falling off of your shoulder, making it a great purse for a shopping trip too!!! There's plenty of room for a small wallet as well. This is the one I made for myself.
Isn't it nice and springy?

I also made one for the caretaker of our condo building! Kathy saw the one above and fell in love with it! I was sneaky and asked her what her favorite colors were. She said purple and she always loves earthy tones. YEP...I found fabric for one! This is the inside. I added a pocket for the cell phone but if I do it again, I'd move it up higher on the back. I wanted to conceal the one seam into the base of the holder not realizing how deep it would be. Oh well...live and learn!

Cute? I think so!

I hope she likes it!

Water damage...

Well, this is one time I'm glad this happened in a condo and not in a single family home! Our homeowner's association will pay for the damage...which started with dripping water last night...a slow drip but dripping nonetheless! This morning the adventure of where it was coming from began! It started out with this small hole cut into our soffit...this told the men that a plumber needed to be called. Later in the afternoon, the plumber shows up and decides he needs to make the original hole bigger in order to see better. That didn't work so well so he had to make a HUGE hole above the microwave. (this is an interior wall) He's still not 100% sure about where the source of this water is...

He has made a big mess so far though...

He decides to make a smaller hole over to the left and now he's convinced that the drip is between hole #2 (in this picture) and hole #3. Hopefully, tomorrow he comes and replaces a large portion of the pipe and puts in a new one. More demolition to follow!!!

Our temps here in MN were sub-zero to barely above zero so I stayed inside and quilted!! I bought this fabric the last time I was in CA to visit my friend Laurie. I appliqued the hearts and finally put it together! I figured it was perfect for Valentine's Day! Here's a close-up of some of the hearts and the border fabric. I think I like it!!! Tomorrow...a backing for it!!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Big City girl

I am a big city girl. I grew up in Rochester, Mn which was a medium sized town. Since then...St. Paul, Apple Valley MN, Burnsville MN, Overland Park KS and now Minneapolis MN. I love love love big cities! Chicago is a place near and dear to my heart as well...did I say I love love love big cities???!!!!!!!

There is always so much to do. Concerts, great restaurants, shopping, public transportation, and so much more. Plus...in a large city you always have the suburbs to explore. You can also find peace and tranquility as well!

For example...when I left MN for KS, I missed the great quilt stores. BUT...I did find a couple that I liked a lot. One of them was in Lawrence, KS called Sarah's. She had fabric along with a lot of other stuff. Lawrence is home to the KU Jayhawks which we became fans of. I miss KS!!!

I love Mpls though too! We have great restaurants nearby and walk everywhere. Steve walks to work and we got rid of a car! Rush hour traffic doesn't exist for us anymore! YEP...it's a BONUS!!! What I do miss about urban living: a house, a deck, a yard, and not sharing walls with people. Nothing in life is perfect...but my life is!!!

Special Quilt...

Our favorite bartender at Old Chicago in Roseville, MN is moving to Atlanta to be near her sister and her sister's family. Jess has such a warm and welcoming heart and we are truly going to miss her. When we got the news I told Steve, I'm going to make her a quilt! Jess LOVES Spiderman so I ordered some Spiderman fabric for the backing! Here is the backing with a large WoW fabric for signatures! That is Jess!
I used Old Chicago World Beer Tour tshirts from Steve's and my supply to make the top...the border fabric is beer mugs/steins on black background...PERFECT!!!
Jess and I with her quilt!
This is Jess opening her quilt...stupid blogger uploads the pics in the reverse order of choosing them! SO...you saw the gifting in reverse order!
Jess is gonna miss us and the feeling is mutual! GOOD LUCK JESS!!!!!!!!!!

Happy New Year to anyone and everyone who reads this blog! I hope that 2011 brings your family good health and happines!