I have not fallen off the earth!

Boy, I didn't realize that it had been so long since I last posted! I've made a change in my life - I am now a full time student (as of last Fall.) I have one more year to go until I get my Bachelors - the month I turn 50! That is if I can pass this statistics course I'm in right now. Numbers have never been a strength for me.

I've wanted to get my degree for a long, long time but with moving so much it was pretty impossible. We are here in Iowa for a little while I think - so now is the perfect time. School has definitely cut into my quilting and beading time! But it feels good to use the other side of my brain. I am usually the oldest in my classes and it is hard to keep my mouth shut at times. I don't want to be the "old lady" in the class that always talks! It was especially hard last semester when I took a political science class!

Wish me luck in statistics!!!

Lots of Pillows!

Our old pillows were getting pretty shabby - so I decided to redo and give some of the others a little face lift. The material was from an old quilt top that had pieces in very bad shape - so I cut it down and free motion quilted the heck out of it and then made the top into pillows. The tan pillows were not in too bad a shape - so I put some applique on top of them from the same quilt top. I use regular bed pillows (feather) for the large pillows and put two padded pillow protectors on them to make them extra squishy. They are much more comfortable than the pillow forms you can buy at craft stores! Great for a nice nap on the couch! The small square pillow was made over from left over quilted fabric, denim and buttons.

Another Kitty Picture

I came into our bedroom and found another one of our kitties had adopted the little doll bed as his sleeping spot! This is Jasper - the little cross eyed one year old. He is such a sweetie. He definitely fits better than our big cat Tommy does.

Color Wheel

I am taking an online class from Machine Quilters Resource called Color and Design for Art Quilters. The first assignment was to create a color wheel. It was allot of fun to do and I also practiced free motion embroidery for the first time (the ladybug.) I have never been trained in color use - I just use what I love and sometimes it turns out well and sometimes it doesn't! That's the nice thing about scrap quilts - they usually turn out great no matter what you pick!!

Small Quilt

This is a 16" X 20" quilt I finished from a pattern that I bought at Little Quilts. It's by Lori Smith of From My Heart to Your Hands. I love her pattens! This is the first of one of her patterns that I have made - and will definitely be making more.

Little Quilts Visit

In June my husband and I took a drive down to Virginia and Georgia to see our girls and son-in-law. We had a great time and just reinforces my wish to be geographically closer to them! It seems most families are spread apart these days - I still don't have to like it though! Anyway, on the way back from Georgia - we drove right by Marietta, GA and had to stop at "Little Quilts." I love "Little Quilts", they were some of the first quilts I made.


I completely wore out my first book so I bought another at the store. I was able to get it autographed by Mary Ellen Von Holt,very fun! Here are some of the goodies I got!

Operation Support for Deployed Military

It's Christmas in July! I was at the LQS last week and saw a wall full of stockings - there must have been at least 200 of them. I found out that they were for the "Operation Support for Deployed Military" program. I have a soft spot in my heart for the military and their families, as my husband is retired Army. So I ended up making 9 stockings. The material was originally for sleep pants for my kids - I think about 8 years ago!


Check this group out - it is a WONDERFUL program -

Head Blogging

Hi! Weird title for a post isn't it! I can't believe it has been since Mother's Day since I last posted! But I have been blogging in my head! I am writing posts in my head all the time! I just don't seem to get them translated into my finger tips on the keyboard! Does anybody else do that? I'll try to catch up with what I've been up to in the next few posts.

Happy Mothers Day!

My husband brought over some tulip bulbs from the Netherlands last fall on a business trip and they just bloomed - they are so pretty! The last owners of this house loved to garden - so I am happily discovering all the beautiful perennials they planted.

100th Post!

This is my 100th post! I never thought I would blog this long - as I am not a diary person - but this has definitely been fun! I've "met" allot of great woman all over the world! In honor of my 100th post, I'm posting a free pattern for a quilt that I designed and made for my daughter and her husband when they purchased their first home. It is foundation paper pieced and the second picture shows it framed. Click here for the free pattern!