End of 2012

Here is the lot we purchased in Mona - preparing for retirement.  It's on the left, this is our view to the east.

On Veteran's Day weekend, Scott started tiling the master bath.  Brad agreed to help.  I didn't have to lift a finger - except I did make some cookies for them!  (Sorry I don't know how to turn the pictures)  It went from a mess tearing up the floor to ...

Cement board being laid - to ... (skip the next picture)

This was the fam at the Christmas party - bowling.  Everyone is checking the score - we are all very competitive.  I think Wyatt was the overall winner - the little ones were so good.  They are at a very fun age. I didn't take any pictures of what I made for them - swimming suits and towels for the 18" dolls (and Brad made tables) and diapers and crocheted blankets for the baby dolls.  I had such a great time making them.  I hope to do more.

To this.  I love it.  

Christmas was very enjoyable - albeit very quiet.  Brad was a great sport even when he was snowed in for a couple of days.  Grateful for technology that at least we could all talk together via the computer.  The decorations were off the tree Christmas night as we watched the final installment in the Batman series.  As of today, Christmas is put away - switched it out for the snowmen decorations - house is clean.  Time to start the cold and white New Year!  Looking forward to all of it!

It's been a great end to a busy summer. 

On Labor Day we went and hiked the river trail at the Quarry.  I missed having the boys with us but these lizards didn't - they still have their tails.  That's all the kids wanted to do when we hiked - catch the lizards so they would lose their tails.

 It was a nice hike - a good climb, this was looking back to where we had come from at Split Mountain Campground.

 This was our reward when we made it to Green River Campground.

 Another lizard on our way back.  He let me get really close without running away.

 Scott made my birthday an extra special one!?! Birthday cake at the neighborhood block party and then this nice announcement.  Kathryn Peacock and I were born on the same day in the same hospital - small world. 

 Landscape Project (LP) Week 1 - Thanks to Vicki and Lynn, we got a plan for the front yard and then we ripped all the plants and the cement around the island.

 LP Week 2 - Got rid of all the cement around the house and then the brick pillar.  You'll notice the cherry Coke can.  That was down inside of the pillar.  It has been preserved well the last 26 years.  That last cement pad was not near as easy as what was around the house and the island.  The rest will have to wait for another day.  It feels good to get outside and watch Scott work.  A cop stopped by last week and said we looked like him and his wife.  She wears gloves too so she doesn't get a callous on her pointing finger.  I should have asked him if he had some donuts to go eat or something.

Hope this beautiful weather (with some rain mixed in) lasts for a good long time!

FMQ Challenge July

Uggggh.  No one looking at this could tell any improvement from my first attempt in January, but I can while I am actually doing it.  I know that this will take a lot of practice which I have not done.  I hurry and do the challenge to get it done in time but then never try it again.  But my goal was to give it a try and it has made me do that and I hope in time I will practice more and actually do it on a quilt.  I think about the process while I am doing it, that I am doing something right (that lasts for .3 seconds) and then I see all the things I am doing wrong.  That is a good step for me.  At least while I am quilting I can start to recognize what I am doing wrong or right.  I am grateful for SewCalGal taking the time to do this for beginners like me.  It looks like a ton of work and it definitely has been of benefit to me.

Graduation/Lambeau/Door County

Click here to view these pictures larger

Graduation/Lambeau/Door County

Click here to view these pictures larger

FMQ May Challenge

This was fun to try.  I've gotten better at it since January but I still have a long way to go.

FMQ April Challenge

I loved this transfer method. 

Since I don't have an artistic bone in my body, I love quilting on the lines, and I feel like this is what I can really do more so that the FMQ with no lines.

People had mentioned that there was backtracking on the pattern in the tutorial so I went back to what I had done and backtracked on the leaves.

I did okay.  I can tell that I am better than when I first tried a few months ago but I still have lots of room for improvement.  But I do feel like I am ready to try something on a real quilt. 

The tree and grass were the quilting on the transferred lines.  The stippling, tree trunk and sky were for practice . Better but still need more practice.  I will use this method of tracing again.  It will be very handy for hand quilting also.

FMQ Challenge - March

Hmm, loops and swirls, the back doesn't look so bad...

The front looks really bad. I can see where this is going to take a lot of practice and maybe the hardest thing for me is how to decide what to quilt where.

Hard to see the loops, stars (didn't work at all), flowers (they were okay for first time) and swirls.

So this is my question here - How do you decide what to quilt on this one. It's a very small table topper and I want the pieced leaves to be the focal point. Any ideas?

February feathers - FMQ quilt challenge

Here's my attempt at the feathers for February. The most right one is my first attempt. Stitch-wise it is better than the other attempts because I tried a new foot and the fabric moved much more easily and I had a hard time controlling it. Lots of practice needed. But -- I tried!

Uncle Paul's Birthday

We had such a good time going over to Uncle Paul's (Christensen) home in Talmage to celebrate his 92nd birthday. Here's Jeannie, Veloy, Ramona and Dolly. Here's Paul. He told some great stories. What a great family!

It was a great month that just flew by! The last two Wednesdays I have gone with Scott's aunt, Jeannie, and a few of her cousins, nieces, etc., and done handwork or whatever you want to do. They get together every Wedn. and sometimes have a quilt on or just work on crocheting, embroidering or whatever. I have completed more in two Wednesdays then I have in two or three or four months. I started this redwork last week. Never thought I would finish it today (except for some embellishments).

Block 2 for my bed quilt. May do 9 or 12, have some more cut and ready to sew.

These are the first three blocks from the beautiful Block of the Month that Scott got me for Christmas. They ship every 21st of the month. I love the fabric and the patterns are so well written. It is going to be so much fun.

And my attempts at the Free Motion Quilting. Not great but it is a start and often the first step is the hardest. I need to try something for real. The month of February is feathers. Hmmm. That is going to be a real test.

The weather has been incredible for the last couple of months. We have very little snow on the ground and what is there is actually melting which usually doesn't happen till March. I think one year of very dry won't hurt us much. Odds and ends are getting done around the house - we have a lot of free time. We have two more months with Brock here. The house will be so quiet ...

FMQ Challenge

I have signed up to take the FMQ Challenge that sewcalgal is sponsoring. I am excited because after 18 months of owning a Bernina (and the BSR) I will put the foot to the fabric and learn to quilt. I have been too scared to try before. I live in a small town far from the nearest dealer, couldn't attend the classes, and by the time I got home I would forget what they had told me about the machine.

This was my first attempt. The design is leaves, not strawberries, but now I know how to do strawberries! I give myself an "A" for effort and finally trying it. (Don't you love Januarys?) I did it without the electronics of the BSR (still not sure how it works!). I would like to learn without first and then have a go with it. My next attempt was better, still have a long way to go. I have hopes for my skills by December!

Thanks to all those who are sharing their skills and all those wonderful people who are so encouraging on Facebook.

I did these 3 mug rugs for each of the two gals at work. I had a lot of fun doing them. The peppermint and the egg were patterns. The tree was my own design. My quilting is still a "work in progress."

It was so fun having all the kids home for Christmas. It was the second time in the last seven Christmases that we were all together. It could be the last one for a few years also. It was very relaxing. We played "Word on the Street" (lots of fun!)

and lots of Canasta.

Had to take the out-of-towners to the new visitor's center and Quarry.

Alicia spent probably four hours decorating cookies. It was hard to eat them, but we managed. She really has an artistic touch.

What a wonderful Christmas! Bryce and Alicia came back for New Year's and Grandpa and Grandma Burt joined us on Sunday. Lots more Canasta. A great way to begin the New Year!