I'm still here!!!

Hi everyone! I'm still here! I have to tell you that Mr. Mallard was here AGAIN yesterday afternoon. My son went and chased him away! It is just too weird to see a mallard here in KS...there aren't a lot of ponds/lakes...I guess he just loves our pool! ;o)

I read Amy's blog today and she wrote about her starting to quilt. I thought I'd share my story.

It goes back to 1998 when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. (the story is in this link, scroll all the way down to December 1st) http://gottaquilt.blogspot.com/2005_12_01_gottaquilt_archive.html 1999 arrived and my sisters were busy making quilts for kids that were graduating. To keep my mind off of chemo and to get me out of the house (winters in MN can get cold and long) they dragged me to the LQS with them. I found that they were asking my opinions a LOT about fabric choices and colors. I WAS GOOD AT THIS! LOL...

Then we went shopping again and I thought to myself, "I can do this!" It's just taking fabric apart and putting it back together in a different way. Kinda of like puzzles. SO...that is how it began...I told my sisters and they said sure I could do this!!! I started in June or so of '99 and haven't stopped! I also bought a longarm about 4 years ago so I could qilt my own stuff!

Quilting has enabled me to meet lots of neat people as well!!!!! One thing I have learned is that most quilters are great, kind, giving people! I truly am grateful for the gift of being a quilter!!!

Hugs
Laurie

Our first pool swimmer of the year!!!!

Last night I went to see KC & the Sunshine Band! It was FUN!!! Disco sucks but the dancing was fun and KC does have some good songs!!! (OK...maybe disco wasn't so bad!) My 2 girlfriends and I went to dinner first at PFChangs and then on to the music!!!

This morning I woke up, made the bed, then opened the blind. NOW...this is very UNUSUAL for me because I usually wait to make the bed until after I've jazzercised and showered. WHY did I open the blind this EARLY morning???? I think God wanted me to giggle!!! I was laughing so hard...you see, rarely do I see mallards in KS (in MN they are all over the place), much less swimming in my pool!!! He was just as content as could be. I yelled to DH to hurry up and come see this. By that time DH got to the window the mallard was on the pool ledge cleaning himself. DH went back into the bathroom to get ready for work and I said "HURRY UP!" again. DH got to see the duck...and the silly duck was looking for fish while swimming in our POOL!! ;o)

SO...this was my happy start to my day...and as Jeanne would say, I'm grateful for Matthew Mallard making me SMILE!!!

DH and I are off to Chicago today. We're going to go see our son. He has a girl he wants us to meet and a church service he wants us to go to with them. We will be gone until Monday. I'm looking forward to it!

Have a great weekend!!!
Hugs
Laurie

Ahhhhhhh...Easter Sunday and the Kids

When oh WHEN do we stop with the Easter Baskets???!!! LOL...well...here are my kids right before we eat! We had a great lunch together. DH is already gone to the airport. Kevin decided to buy an airplane ticket back to school tonight. So Dan and I will take him to the airport and then go to Old Chicago and get a snack at Sarah's table. (she's serving tonight) Joe will go home!

I hope all had a great time! The kids below: Sarah(almost 21), Kevin(19), Dan(17), and Joe(22)

Happy Easter

Lancaster Goods!!!

This is a picture of all the patterns and gadgets that I bought!!! I found a place that has gorgeous but simple floral applique patterns...bought a bunch! http://www.distinctivepieces.com Check them out. I found this fabric at Sauders. It is a striped coordinate to the fabrics that I bought in February and am doing the applique hearts with. The smaller piece is going to be the stop border. I included a sample of 2 of the heart blocks.

This fabric I got at Zooks. WOW...I just HAD TO HAVE THIS FLORAL!!! And of course with the prices so darn good I bought coordinating stuff as well! The bottom part of the pic is truer to color with the focus fabric. The fabric below the green is a deep brown/burgundy color! This is going to be YUMMY!!! But first...I have to figure out what I will do with this puppy!!!
Here is a pic of the bright batiks at $5/yard that I got. I figured as long as I was getting a yard of each bright that I might as well buy the mulit-colored batik as well and use it as a focus...I'm thinking bow-tie for this one...but that could change by the time I actually get around to making it! ;o) AND...last but not least...thanks to Laurie Ann posting her polka dot quilt...I decided I needed to start a new fabric collection...what better than BRIGHT POLKA DOTS????!!!!! Thanks Laurie Ann!!!
SO...there you have it...my Lancaster stash!!!

Last night my dh and boys went to see James Taylor. It was in a venue that holds about 2500 people...old and quaint...but HOT cuz the air conditioning broke yesterday and the high yesterday was near 90 degrees! But it was a very good concert and I enjoyed it! So did my boys!!!

Now to the longarm...I really MUST get something done today down there!
Have a great day!
Hugs
Laurie

Lancaster Quilt Show

It was a SUPER trip! It really only rained one whole day! ;o) Friday it rained in the morning but then was quite nice! The quilts were GORGEOUS! There are so many talented quilters out there!!

I arrived on Thursday and hooked up with my friends! Getting caught up was so much fun!!! Friday was spent shopping at the show and looking at all the gorgeous eye candy! I managed to get a few things at the show but spent most of my money Friday night shopping at the local quilt stores near where we stayed.

The prices there are AMAZING and the fabric is very good quality! $5/yard for BATIKS!!!!!!!!!! I bought several BRIGHT batiks with no design on them!!! WOOHOO...not sure what I'll do with 'em but having them on hand is NOT a bad thing!!!!

Saturday we stitched in the lobby and had show and tell. Then a few friends that I hadn't seen in a couple of years stopped by our hotel and we chatted for a couple of hours. We had met on the Alex Anderson message board a few years ago!

Sunday I was taken to the airport by Tracey and able to get home at 5:30 PM instead of 11PM!!! That was WONDERFUL!!!

Here is a link to the quilts that I too pics of!
Quilts
ENJOY!
Hugs
Laurie

I'm leaving on a jet plane

OH...that was a great song wasn't it!??!!! Today will be spent getting ready to fly out of KC tomorrow morning...BRIGHT AND EARLY...to head to Lancaster. This will be my 4th year in a row now of going to the Quilter's Heritage Show in Lancaster, PA. About 6 of us or so meet up there for a weekend of girl quilting fun! WOOHOO!!! I am using my NWA frequent flyer miles so that is why my flight schedule stinks. I don't get back until 11PM on Sunday night...but it's free! I'll live!

I am going to look for bright tone on tone batiks at the Friday night sale at Country Store. They sell their batiks that night for $5 a yard! And they are NICE batiks too! The price of things in Amish Country is amazing!!!!! It should be a fun time!

Here's a picture of an Amish Quilt...a little pre-show eye candy for you! LOL

I'll report my naughtiness when I get back!!! Have a great weekend!
Hugs
Laurie

Angel Quilt Delivered

Last night the Angel quilt was delivered. Marg was taken to Linda and Bill's house under the pretense that it was a retirement party for Bill! She was SHOCKED when Linda handed her a box. "WHAT IS THIS?", Marg said. "This is Bill's party". NOPE...She opened the quilt and tears flowed. A gentlemen, whose name I forgot, read the label out loud to everyone! There were a LOT of hugs and thank yous for me. One gal said "Thank you so much for being our angel. Bill and Linda said all you asked for is to keep you in our prayers...and you have them!" I cannot tell you how honored I was to be included in the gift opening/quilt receiving festivities!

The best part is that the treatment that Marg is receiving is WORKING!!! She has not had any chemo or radiation OR surgery! They are treating this with the same medicine I am on to PREVENT a recurrence! I guess Marg's success is proof that Femara WORKS!!! She looks great and healthy...

The pic here is of me, bottom left, Bill, Linda, and Marg (in the orange). Lots of smiles all around!!!
Hugs
Laurie

BTDT

Been There Done That
(BTDT)

:o)
Laurie

Back from Vegas

Hi everyone!!
Elton John was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!! TOTALLY AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He sang 110 minutes of his GREATEST HITS!!!!!!!!!!!!! He was phenomenal!!! What an entertainer he is!! He could've talked to ME for 10 mins and it would've been worth it! I hugged dh after the concert and said, "It was worth every penny!" He agreed!!!

I have learned that Vegas is NOT for me though. I've btdt and unless I want to see as how that is ONLY at Vegas, I wont' go back on purpose!

Now to get back to quilting!!!! I did get 4 heart applique blocks done!!!
Hugs
Laurie

MIA in Vegas

Hi Everyone! Thanks for the great comments on the Angel Quilt. I think that Linda and Bill are hoping to present it on Friday night. My Dh and I will be present if that is the time of it!

We left Sunday for Las Vegas. I've never been. We are actually staying at Ritz Carlton at Lake Las Vegas (about 17 miles from the strip). This place is so-so for a supposed 5star resort...but it's fine! Last night we went to the show "Blue Man Group" at the Venetian. It was strange, funny, unexpected, different all rolled in one. Basically I give it a thumbs up!

This afternoon we are going to explore the shops more. We have Elton John tickets for tonight as well! I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!! ELTON JOHN IN CONCERT IN VEGAS!!!!!!!!!!! Does it get any better than that????

I'll get caught up with everything later!
Hugs
Laurie

Angel Quilt is DONE!!!

The Angel Quilt is done. Linda and Bill have picked it up and will plan a day to give it to Marg. They want me there. I had to give them my dates when I'm gone so they can try to plan around it. ;o) Enjoy the pics! There will probably be one more post about this project (sorry if you are tired of hearing about it) after it is presented to Marg.
Hugs
Laurie

Angel Quilt is QUILTED!!!!!!!!!

I got the Angel Quilt done today. It went surprisingly well!!! I loaded it lengthwise so that it wasn't rolled too much. That was a light bulb moment! ;o) I also covered up the block with the mountain dew snippets on it with extra layers of fabric when I rolled it so that it didn't cut other angels or fabrics. All I have to do now is the hand stitching on the binding. I'll post a pic when it's completely done! Thanks for the good thoughts!
Hugs
Laurie

Angel top

I got the top assembled today and the label made. No pic of the label as of yet. Look for that later...when the top is quilted. I hope to load and quilt it tomorrow.
Hugs
Laurie

Happy Birthday Kevin and Angel Sightings!

Happy 19th Birthday Kevin!!! You've brought a lot of joy into mine and dad's lives!!! Have a great day!!!
ANGEL SIGHTINGS!!! Here is a pic of 6 of the angels that I got. Can you say "OVERBOARD EMBELLISHMENTS???? I'm a bit worried about how some of these are going to roll on the longarm. This one is too cute! Love the doll hair on it!
This one...OMG...the angel wings are done in snippets of a mountain dew can and the pieces are STAPLED on...YES...STAPLED!!!!!! I'm going to have to make sure I protect the quilt from being cut.
This one has so much glue on it that the area where the shells are is very stiff...I'm afraid I'm going to lose some of them when it's rolled on the longarm!

Tomorrow I'll attempt to put the blocks together! Pray for me! God has to be watching over me on this one!!! ;o)

I asked Bill and Linda if they knew when they'd give this quilt to Marg and they said not yet. That was to be brainstormed. They did say they wanted me there if at all possible! I said I'd be honored (but I'll feel weird!). Remind me not to speak to strangers in Joann's again! LOL...

I did tell them that this quilt will not be washable. I did NOT tell them that it isn't going to be snuggly either. (sigh)

We're off to eat dinner for DS's bday! He wants to go for KC BBQ! YUMMY!!!

Hugs,
Laurie

I cranked up the Longarm today!

Well, I think my longarm was getting rusty! GOSH...It had been a long time since I had done a quilt on it! It was fun! My sister sent me this quilt...it will be a sample in an LQS in MN. She wanted random circles and I said let me try this spiral! WOW..looks like concentric circles but it was MUCH faster! I am pleased with the outcome!!!!! This is from the Circle Lord...www.loriclesquilting.com Judy loves their Baptist Fan...and I'm thinking this spiral is going to be my new best friend! ;o)





Now I want to get an applique project prepped! I'm getting addicted to this dreaded "A" word! LOL

Hugs
Laurie

WOOHOO...1st Applique project is ready for quilting!

I got the borders on the "Survivor" wallhanging! I just LOVE how it added life to the wallhanging! I'm pretty happy with it! Now to find time to quilt the darn thing! Just wanted to share!
Hugs
Laurie

Retreat Applique Project and more...

I haven't posted something quilty this week so here goes! This is the finished applique part of my 2005 applique retreat! I still want to enhance it with beading or rhinestones or something like that. Also, I am going to do a striped border that I will cut on the diagonal and add some pizzazz to it as well. As you can see, I struggle with picking fabrics that stand out on this background. I could have trouble picking out fabrics on a cream background! LOL...one of my challenges with the dreaded "A" word in quilting! Here is a closeup of a couple of the flowers using bias to highlight the petals. I really liked this method because I didn't have to worry about things shifting! Just butt the pieces up to each other, baste them in place, and attach the bias that I made.
I put a pink ribbon from another breast cancer fabric that I have in the center of this flower!
The ribbon was done in pinks for my being a breast cancer survivor. I think I'll hang this in my sewing room when it's finished! IF it gets finished! ;o)
Lastly, these are 3 of 40 applique blocks that I am going to put into a patchwork quilt. My friend who went on retreat with me last year and again this year, and mysel bought 5" squares of this gorgeous line from Moda. We just fell in love with it. I knew right away that I wanted to applique them into hearts. I found a gorgeous deep red and a buttery yellow (the pics don't do the colors justice) for the backgrounds. I don't think I will sash them...but I'll wait and let the quilt talk to me when it's done. It's nice to have something simple to applique on at night.

SO...there ya have it! Something quilty from me!
Hugs
Laurie

Yesterday was a sad day for baseball

If you're not a baseball fan you can skip this post. I am a Minnesota gal and Kirby Puckett is synonymous with MN and Major League Baseball. He helped the Twins win 2 World Championships. He had an infectious personality and smile. He was always SMILING...always having FUN...until one day he woke up and couldn't see out of one eye. Glaucoma had taken his eyesight and his ability to play the game he so loved. There's so much more I could say about Kirby but will stop here. Kirby died of a massive stroke at the young age of 45...soon to be 46 next week. He leaves behind a son, daughter, and fiance.

Minnesota lost an icon in the baseball world. Minnesota lost a friend. Minnesota lost a hero. The nation lost an amazing human being.

RIP Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett
#34

Put your sunglasses on! LOL

Here is the tshirt quilt that I assembled this weekend. I had a MAJOR redesign when I was pressing the interfacing onto the backs of the shirts and found I had one that wasn't included in the design...

It's the western on in the upper middle of the quilt. I had to make a pyramid type deal at the top instead of having all the squares and the Hello I love you shirt in one row. It turned out nicely...but it's wild...the girl wanted stripes and dots...so she got them! ALL FROM MY STASH!!!

Hugs
Laurie