Here is the third pillow I made for our bed. This one is the best, I think. I am having such fun making pillows. I practiced my free motion quilting a bit more and it is getting better. My stitches are becoming more uniform and the curves are smother. I can see light at the end of the tunnel.

Karen is home today and she sounded so good when I talked to her this morning. I am sure she is enjoying being home with her family. In a couple of weeks she will go back to the doctor and they will make sure all is working properly. However she said there is one thing she can not do for 6 weeks that is going to be a challenge, she can not lift her left arm up. It could pull out the leads to her heart. I spent the day seeing if I could do that and it is really tough. No pull over shirts, no reaching for things in the upper cupboards and the list goes on and on. I hope it becomes second nature to her but I imagine it will be a real challenge for a while. Thanks to all of you who sent good thoughts.

Pillows for my bed

Today I finished a couple of pillows for our bed. I had such a great time making these. I made them with fabric that I have been hording and what better thing could I do with it than make something that I can see and feel when I want. I also practiced my machine quilting skills. One of the pillows I quilted kind of a square roundabout thing and I did some stippling on the other one. I am getting better but I still have a long way to go. I have also made another pillow top and it is ready to baste. The third one will be 4 smaller wonky log cabin squares sewn together. Now I have a question for all of you out there, when you machine quilt do you baste the quilt sandwich together?

Continued good news and pillows

Good Evening, I spent the day waiting for phone calls and making them. I am very pleased to say all is continuing to go well for my sister. The pace maker is in and now it is time for healing to begin. I am hoping that by doing this she can get back to life as it was. She should be able to drive again and be mom, wife and teacher. Fortunately she has the summer off with her family before she has to go back to teaching in the fall. She always puts herself last on the list and I hope she knows she is very important to so many people especially her older sister.

The photos in this post are of my new bed pillows in the making. I was reading Marilyn's blog and she talked about how so many of us sleep under purchased quilts and not our own which we have created. She got me to thinking about my bed which has nothing that I have created. So like her I thought I should start with some bed pillows. So here they are, they are ready to baste and possibly quilt this weekend. I hope to make a couple more since, much to my husbands dismay, I love lots of pillows on our bed.

I also entered a drawing for a box of Amy Butler scraps on Sherre's blog which I hope I am the lucky winner of.

All Went Well

Karen went in for surgery early this morning and has received her pace maker. I have been staying in contact this morning through text messages with her 15 year old daughter. All went well. I am hoping her and her family are all together and enjoying the resolution.

I will update this as I know more but so far so good!!!

Not such a good day.

For those of you who follow my blog you know all about my sister and then yesterday I posted good news of what is going on with her. Now things have changed this morning. She had an episode this morning at home. Fortunately the heart monitor that they put in her chest was still there. She recorded the episode and called the Dr in Montana, only to find out that her heart stopped for 15 seconds. Scary!!! She found out that they worry about it stopping for 3 seconds. So she is on her way to Billings for surgery and probably a pace maker tomorrow. Please send good thoughts north, south, east and west to her. I wish I could be there with her but she has her wonderful family with her and they will keep me posted.

Something New and Some Great News

Yesterday I tried something new. I volunteered to make a couple Log Cabin Twist squares. Here is the first one. This is pieced on paper. It was confusing when I first read about it and decided I would just jump in and give it a try. It was such fun. I have always thought sewing on paper was fun but sewing fabric on paper was even better. These squares will join 88 others made by members of the Gold Beach Quilters for a quilt to be raffled off to benefit CASA. CASA for Children trains adult volunteers as Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASA Volunteers. I really enjoy being able to do something I enjoy that will benefit someone.

I am also very, very happy about the news I got last night from my sister. For the last 3 months she has had to be put through a multitude of tests to find out why she passed out. First they thought she had a seizure and then they ruled that out then they thought it was an electrical problem with her heart and they have now ruled that out too. She has been unable to drive for the last 3 months which created additional stress. Yesterday she was given a clean bill of health and also a letter to the State DMV stating that the doctor feels she can drive again. She sounded so happy last night. The may never know what caused the blackout but we suspect that it was a medication which she was on and is no longer taking. I am so thankful that she is healthy and now HAPPY!!! Thanks for all of you who expressed your concerns. All those good thoughts were helpful.

9 Patch quilt-a-long

I have been making a 9 patch a day with many other bloggy quilters. Crazy Mom Quilts challenged us on April 27th to make one 9 patch a day. I now have 63 patches. I am excited about this project. Since I am a hoarder of scrap pieces of fabric it has been such fun to use some of them.
I laid them all out today and have been looking at them. I now have to decide if I want to put them on the diagonal or straight. I also have a pile of squares for a scrappy border. This is the first real quilt that may cover a bed. I am excited and scared about it. Once I get it together then the real job will begin, quilting it.

Quilting Again!

I have been practicing free motion quilting lately. It is one of the more challenging thing I have tried to do. I think this is going to be something that I am going to enjoy once I get the hang of it. It is going to require lots of practice!!!
Here is my helper. It seems like whenever I lay something down to photograph it Skittles needs to come and help...
Here is my first baby blanket. I had the piece of fabric that I used in the center and just loved it as it was so I chose to create boarders around it. It was very fun to do. I also decided I needed to try and do some free motion quilting on something other than practice pieces.

I still have a long way to go with my free motion quilting but I think I have jumped into it with both feet. Here we go...

There is no turning back.

I have also been working on the 9 patch a day quilt along and I now have 52 squares. I think I am a bit behind but only about 5 or so.

Happy Father's Day

I wanted to wish my father a Happy Father's Day! He and my mom came to spend a week with us and attend Stevi's Graduation for U of O. It was such fun to have them here and to share such a wonderful time with us. My father is very young at heart and loves life, as does mom. They are such a good pair. I guess there is a reason they have been married for 51 years.

Have a great Father's Day Dad. You are the best!

Seattle from the 76th floor

While Mark and I were in Seattle we were invited to a cocktail party at the Columbia Tower Club. This club is on the 76th floor of the Columbia Tower Building. The view of Seattle from this height was incredible. There were windows all around. It was such a wonderful evening and I was so happy I had put my small camera in my purse. To be able to watch the sunset and to see the city lights come on was wonderful. Now this last photo needs a bit of explanation. The ladies room in the Columbia Tower Club was unlike anything I have ever seen. As you entered it was just like a nice lounge with a nice view but as you entered the stalls there were sinks and this view, I was in aw.

I enjoyed my time in Seattle so much. It is such a busy city but such a nice one. We were able to stay downtown so we did not have to drive and I think it made the experience so much better since we walked everywhere. The sights and sounds of a big city were really inspiring.

Wordless Wednesday

Seattle

We have been hanging out in Seattle for the last few days. My husband had a conference in downtown Seattle and I got to tag along. I love Seattle and when the sun shines it is such a beautiful city and it has been shining. It has been such fun to wonder around and take photos and look at art. I have visited the Seattle Art Museum and got some great inspiration. I also wondered through Pikes Place Market, that is where I took the photos. I love the colors and shapes.

It has been a very interesting experience to spend time in a large city. I hope to use some of the things I have seen this week to incorporate into a quilt. I have also had some time to work on the embroidery on my Western quilt.

I am a very proud Mom!

I hope you don't mind if I take a moment to brag. Our daughter received her Bachelor of Arts in Art yesterday. It was a wonderful day for all of us. Her Dad, Brother, Grandma, Grandpa, Boyfriend, Boyfriend's mother, roommate and I were there to witness the occasion. I am so very proud of her. She was able to complete her degree in 4 years and is doing something that she loves. She is an incredible photographer and will be attending the Art Institute in the fall to continue her education. She also has a blog and it is called a Lovely Mess. If you are interested in seeing some of her work.

I hope all has been well with all of you in blog land. I have not been reading anything for the last couple of days and I am looking forward to getting back into the loop. Thank you for letting me indulge myself and brag...

A Cute Chef

Our Son came home to see us and his Grandparents and today he smoked salmon and ribs for dinner. MMMMM Good!!! He did a great job and we had such a good time.

I am also proud to announce the old laptop is in full operation as you can see it is working with my camera. I am ecstatic! My father was also able to retrieve all my photos and documents from my dead laptop... Oh, and our daughter found a summer job.

Can things get much better than this.

Old Lap Top is new again

I hope all of you are well. I am enjoying my parents visit so there has not been much blogging going on or quilting for that matter. My dad redid an old lap top for me and it is working beautifully. So I guess we will not have to purchase a new one for a bit. YAH!!! I think I may even be able to download photos again. I did lose my photoshop program but we will just have to use a different photo editing program. I also had a very pleasant surprise, my son came home for a few days and we are enjoying having his smiling face here.

Off for a walk! Have a good one!

Need a Ride

I found this cool site with old photos and just fell in love with this one. Being a bit of a doggie person it had a certain appeal. The site is Free Antique Images.

I hope all of you have a great weekend! Off to make cookies for DAD!

Good Morning! These lovely flowers are growing along my neighbors fence and they just glow in the sun. I love seeing these and fortunately they are somewhat of a weed, a nice one though (I think).

I am preparing for my parents arrival. They have not been to visit since we moved into our home here on the coast so I am very excited to have them visit. It is always such fun to see them and spend time hanging out. I hope to post here and there during the next week but excuse my absence if I do not since I will be having fun entertaining....

Here is my faithful companion ready for a road trip. Butch and I went and checked out a kennel yesterday and had a lovely day. I played along the way and stopped in a couple of gallaries and of course a couple of quilt shops. It was just what I needed and I hope to have a productive day today.

I did get up first thing and did away with those nasty gray hairs. Things are looking up!

Have a good one.

In a Funk

I am not sure what is going on but I am in a bit of a funk. I just seem to be running in circles. I think part of it is that I do not have a lap top. It is officially gone. I really do not like making decisions on electronic devices. Too much for me to think about. Since we live in such a remote area and have NO shopping I need to make this decision for what I find on the internet. So I am unable to make a decision so far....

I am going to take a little road trip of sorts today and maybe that will help. I need to go and check out a dog kennel where I am thinking about boarding my furry friend. Sounds like a nice place but I want to see before we use them and it is about and hour and a half north. I love to drive though so maybe it is just what I need. Some good music, a cup of good coffee and off we go.

The photo above is my wonderful daughter who came to visit a week ago with her boy friend...