You Make My Day Award

Ashley and Christina tagged me with this adward. Thanks girls! I now get to pass this on to fellow bloggers who make my day. So I pass this award on to ...

The Kidney Bean

Don't Call Me Becky

Craft Blog

Chickpea Sewing Studio

And there are many others that I read daily, so I guess it goes out to all my blogging friends. Thanks for making my day!

Paparazzi photos

Last night I watched my niece, Anna, while my sister was at work. She is quite the handful, but we had fun nonetheless. We even made it through the whole night without her digesting any cat food or sticking her finger in the light socket. Pretty good, hunh? The paparazzi even came to visit, and look at all the cute pictures they got.

Eating dinner - "Yes mom, I ate all my vegetables!"

"Hey, what's that?" close up shot

"Are we done with the photos yet?"

Isn't she a cutie pie?

I also managed to take a few photos of my newly finished quilt. I mostly used fabric from the Katie Jump Rope line but threw in a few others. I love the way it turned out. I got the pattern here. I added a border and one more row of zags (is that what you call them?), to make it a bit bigger in size. I used the last of the orange fabric (donated by my sister) for the backing and have enough left over for the binding. I had lots of left over squares that were cut out for the half square triangles that I didn't use, so I used those for the backing to add a little something. I am going to try my hand at machine quilting so I will post more photos when it is completely finished. It is a very bright, happy quilt. And it cost me less than $20!

Utah Jazz and Yucky Weather

The weather has been out of control here. This is the view from my office and you can't even see the cars in the parking lot. The storm rolled in and caused havoc all over. The freeways were closed, there was a 20 car pile up, lots of crazy stuff. I was worried that we were going to have to miss the Jazz game because of the bad weather. But we prevailed and got to see an amazing game. Just in case you haven't notice, I am a Utah Jazz fan! My company has season tickets and passes them out amongst the employees. I had tickets to Wednesday's game (and we also have tickets for next Monday's game) but my co-worker needed to trade for Monday's game. You betcha that I was first to volunteer since it was a game against the Spurs. The weather looked like this all day so I was afraid we wouldn't be able to go. But we went anyway and boy was it worth it. What a game! We had excellent seats and the game was really evenly matched so we had to cheer extra loud to help them win. And they did! It was really fun and I'm glad we went. I even got this crazy picture. Can you see the two guys in the bottom right all tangled up? That looks painful.

Oh - I have finished the quilt I was making with my new fabrics. I just have the quilting left to do. I haven't taken any pictures yet, but I will. I am going to try my hand at machine quilting and need to get my sewing machine fixed, or working correctly, before I can attempt that.

Our Dear Prophet

The prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints passed away on January 27th. I am not sure what to say about him, but he will be missed. He was 97 years old.

I am so happy that he is now able to be with his wife. She passed away several years ago and he has missed her. I remember one conference when he said this about his wife.

As I held her hand and saw mortal life drain from her fingers, I confess I was overcome. Before I married her, she had been the girl of my dreams, to use the words of a song then popular. She was my dear companion for more than two-thirds of a century, my equal before the Lord, really my superior. And now in my old age, she has once again become the girl of my dreams.

I can't really remember a time when he wasn't the prophet. He has accomplished so much in his life and has influenced so many people. He truly was an amazing man. I know that the Lord has blessed him and was there helping him through every step of his life. And his faith and testimony will live on.

Yummy!

I didn't make this but I sure did eat it... and boy was it T.A.S.T.Y!
Have a good weekend!

New Fabric!

I'm so excited! I got some new fabric yesterday to go with this bright orange fabric that my sister donated to me. Isn't it yummy? I've already started a new project with these fabrics and I am almost done. It is a surprise, so you will just have to wait to see what I do with this bright colors. I guess it is easier for me to finish projects when I am really excited about them, because I can't wait to see this one finished! I just want to go home and sew, sew, sew. And then quilt, quilt, quilt! Any volunteers to come to work for me so I can go home?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNA GIRL!

My niece, Anna, is one year old today! We had a birthday party for her yesterday and it was very exciting. She is so smart and very good at opening presents. Oh boy does this little girl love clothes! Every time she got clothes, mostly it was the pink pants, she would smile and then start to rub the pants on her face. She was so happy to have new clothes. Then she'd scoot around the room showing everyone her new pants.
She did the same thing with the new toys I made her. She grabbed the toy and then started to smile and giggle and smash it to her face. So cute! I have been dying to show these, but had to wait until after the party so as not to give away the surprise. They are so cute and they were fun to make.
This is what grandma made for her. Isn't it the cutest!? It has a cute purple velvet collar and Anna is just adorable on it. My mom is so talented.

My sister made her this quilt. She even let Anna help with the quilting!

Quilts

I have been doing some crochet lately, but I can't show it yet. I'm dying to but it will have to wait. So, I thought I'd share some of the projects that I have made in the past two years. They are all baby blankets, and my husband would say that I'm hinting at something. I'm not. I just enjoy making baby size quilts because they are (1) fast, (2) cute, (3) I get to try out a new pattern and if I don't like it, I'm not stuck with a huge quilt and (4) cheaper because you don't have to purchase as much fabric. So these are a few that I have made. I love them all and couldn't bear to give them away for baby showers.

This one is the log cabin pattern. All the fabric was purchased at different stores, so I can't remember what lines or designers they are from. My aunt did the quilting on this one as well. I used the white for the background, and the red for the binding. I also put a tag on the back, which now I am so glad that I did. It was finished in November 2006. This pattern is called hugs and kisses. I made this from the Moda Fabric line that came out near February 2007. I saw it and couldn't resist. Then I decided what to make with it. I took it to the high school and had them quilt it (they have a quilting class that does machine quilting). The backing is pink and brown polka dots and is one of my favorites! This one also has a tag and was finished Feb 2007.

Finally, this was a project that was originally my mom's but she gave it to me to finish. It was a swap that she did over the Internet, where you make so many of the same square and then send them out all over the world, and you get that many back from people all over. So you end up with blocks are all different and unique. She didn't get all of them back so we ended up making a few extras. This one I actually quilted by machine (my first time) and it didn't come out so well, but it was my first and practice so I guess you learn as you go. I did the same heart shape along the border. I think it turned out cute, and my mom helped me so it has memories tied to it.

Fun new game!

Are you ever at work and wishing you were home crafting up something good? Or on the beach with a good book? Or shopping for yarn? Or eating cake? Pretty much doing anything else besides working? Well, that happens to me more often than I'd like to admit. But today was different. As I was sitting here thinking of all the great stuff I could make and not thinking about the cost of fire sprinklers, my co-workers and I started this fantastic game. I had just sprayed down my desk with Lysol (keep away germ bugs, I mean it!) and said that I really enjoyed cleaning supplies. And cleaning. And cats. And crochet. Then I noticed a pattern. Lots of things that I enjoy start with the letter "C". Here is my list so far.

Crochet
Cleaning
Cleaning supplies
Cats
Cameras
Computers
Crock-pot (not cooking, but if I have to cook, I love using the crock-pot)
Cake
Chocolate
Chapstick
Country Music
Church
Christ
Christmas
Christmas presents
Charity
Coke (more importantly Cherry Coke)
Creating Keepsakes Magazine
Candy
and
Peaches ~ okay, that one doesn't start with a C but I do love peaches!

We then spent the rest of the day trying to come up with stuff we like that starts with the first letter of our name. (Or at least my mind was searching for more stuff.) Some pretty interesting stuff was found out about each of us. I was laughing so hard at one point, I was crying. So, I was just curious, is there anything that you like that starts with the first letter of your name?

Teacher, the cat ate my homework!

Imagine this exact conversation happening.

Teacher - Why did you not get your quilt finished.

Me - Because my cat ate my pattern and I couldn't finish it.

Teacher - That is a likely story. Go write 100 times on the blackboard that you will never use that excuse again.

Me - But really, she did and that is why I didn't get it done.

As part of my new years resolutions, I have been trying to finish some of the projects that are unfinished. Of course, this is a perfect resolution for me because that means I can fill up the space with more projects but feel justified in doing so. This morning I found one that I really wanted to get done and out of the way. The house quilt. I took a quilting class form April 2006 - 2007. Each month was a different block and by the time it was over you should have a finished quilt. Me - I had four blocks. Now my cat really did eat my quilt pattern but that is not my excuse for not having this quilt finished a year or two ago. My excuse is that I hated this pattern to start with and I hated the class. There was no motivation and so nothing got done. And after quilting today for a few hours, I remember why I hated this quilt and why it never got finished.

I have learned a few things from this quilt though. And I think they are valuable lessons.

First - NEVER take a quilt class from that teacher again. She was never prepared. Her patterns were usually wrong. More than once, I had to figure out the pattern myself before attempting to make the block. And I only made four blocks! She told us that the quilt colors would be navy, maroon, and pink. We only had one pink fabric in the whole set and the rest of the colors were greens, tans, blues, and reds. So now I have one block that doesn't match at all. And I didn't learn anything new (like techniques) like she told us we would be learning.

Second - Cheap fabric will result in a cheap quilt. The fabric was provided each month with the pattern. It is cheap fabric. I know that fabric can be expensive but why would you want to cut corners on something that takes a long time to make and you hopefully will want it to be around for a long time. Cheap fabric does not result in a quilt that will be around for generations. This fabric pulls, stretches, doesn't match (that is another story in itself), and as a result produces blocks that are not even in size or color. Yuck!

Third - I will never make a miniature quilt. There were so many small pieces that were required to make these blocks. This just means there are more seams, more cutting, more sewing, etc. Not fun.

Fourth - If you don't like a pattern to begin with, don't attempt to make it. I hated this pattern from the beginning. Now all I can think about when I work on it is that I hate the pattern and hate making this. And who am I going to give it to because I definitely don't want to keep it.

With all my ranting and raving, it is a wonder I am still in it to finish this thing. I think that I want to know that even though I hated this whole process, something good can come of it. These are a few of my favorite squares. The red and gold one I even have plans to make a Christmas quilt using that pattern. That project is on the back burner though, because I have so many others. But this is what the blocks looks like, and then you are supposed to put log cabin blocks in between them, but that is not likely to happen.

Scrapbooking page

Since I have been mixing up my time in the craft areas, with my gimpy hand and all, I have been working on my scrapbooking. Here is a page I did of my neice when she was two months old. I know, I'm super far behind since she is almost one now. But I don't do scrapbooking to keep up on stuff, I do it because it is relaxing and fun. Just wanted to share. I think it turned out pretty cute.

Cross Stitch Quilt Blocks

My mom gave me these quilt blocks about a year ago. They were one of her unfinished projects that she wanted me to finish. Neither her nor I were fond of the colors, so I ripped them out and started again. Well, I ripped out the light pink and used a blue instead. Now I have had them in my unfinished project pile for a year and I am finally on my last block. The only trouble is that I am not sure what to do with the edges. Sorry, I didn't get a good picture of it, but there are smaller blocks arouhd the border of each block. I am not sure what color or colors to do these in. I am thinking that since there are only six blocks (I can picutre your jaw to the floor. I know what you are thinking, "It took her a year to even get close to finishing these, and there are only 6!" I know, I'm in shock too) that this will most likely turn out to be a wall hanging. I was planning on getting cordinating fabric to make sashings but I'm not sure about that now. So, I guess the point I am slowing making is that I need help, major help. What colors should I do for the borders of each block? Should I put sashings between the blocks or not? Should I try to find more blocks of the same pattern and make it big enough for a baby quilt or twin size quilt? Just teasing, that last question is not an option, I'm so ready to be rid of this thing. Help me!

New Washcloth

Not much new is exciting except for the fact that I am BACK TO CROCHET!!! My hand has been feeling lots better since I got the new ergonomic keyboard at work. I made this lovely washcloth last night. I got the pattern from the book my mom got me for Christmas (200 Crochet blocks by Jan Eaton). It is the pin stripes pattern (#37). It was super easy and I like that it doesn't have too many holes in it.

Yum -O!

I made this for dinner on Friday, and can I just tell you how wonderful it was? IT WAS YUMMY!! I had leftovers on Saturday and Sunday. I got the recipe here, and must say it is a keeper. I did make some of my own modifications, of course, and I used a little less butter, used the garlic and herb Lowry's marinade, and added mushrooms. I also only put in a little bit of pepper. My mouth is super senesitive when it comes to spicy so I had to hold back on that. I think my husband did add a little extra to his, but said it was still good. We had a side of cesar salad and garlic bread, and it was a fantastic meal. If you are looking for a good recipe, quick and easy, try this out. (This picture was taken before more cheese was added. Can't forget that!)

Still Alive

Just wanted to check in and say Hi! (Yes Mom, I'm still alive!) I haven't been feeling very good lately so I haven't been doing much. Still have a gimpy hand. No new projects to report, no new yarns to show off. I do have plenty of ideas whizzing around in my brain. Always thinking. I do think I have found a pattern for the inherited afghan. I saw a post on Crochetville and asked the lady where she got the pattern. I think it will help, if not, I'll just un-crochet a few rows and write it down as I go. Or make it up as I go. Either way- they are all good options.

On all the blogs I read, everyone has been posting their new years resolutions. I've enjoyed reading them and have also been inspired to make some of my own, or add to the list I already had. I do have new years resolutions, but I'm not going to post them. I'd rather keep them to myself. That way, if I happen to not accomplish them, I don't look so silly. And if I do accomplish them, I can share and be proud of myself. I have quite a few of them this year. Some are crochet goals, some are spiritual goals, some are intellectual goals, etc. So far so good, but it is only the 4th day of January. I'm usually really good at the start and then it dies down. But I have taken the time to write down what I want to accomplish this year and hopefully that will serve as a reminder for me.