Hello again :o)

I know I've said it before, but where oh where does the time go??? My days just rush by and I never seem to get enough accomplished. I'm pretty sure we all feel this way...right?
I have made some "quilty" progress in the last week though, so that is good. Here is the quilt that I just finished quilting. I made the top last winter and I think I showed it then, but I put off quilting it. Well I finally bit the bullet so to speak and just did it.

Yeah...another finish for me! I ordered this as a kit from Country Living and I just love everything about it.
Spring is really, really in the air here in Stillwater, Oklahoma and you would think that it would smell good, but it doesn't....lol...Bradford Pear trees smell rotten when they are blooming and the neighbor to the North of us has a row of them. They are pretty to look at....try to ignore the junky backyard if you can...lol

Actually you can see my Weeping Cherry tree better than the pear trees in this picture. Oh well. Here's a closeup of the pretty little flowers from the cherry tree.

I also redid my farm table that is my sewing table, again ignore the junk. It went from this

to this

and actually I didn't redo it...Jay did! Thank you honey!!! The laminated fabric really makes me happy and now I won't get splinters.
Oh and I redid the kitchen table just in time for Easter as well.

On the Klosjes front, I only made 5 last week and I probably won't get that many done this week. I need to get out more Civil War fabric to prep and I will very soon because I enjoy making the little spools.
Oh and Allie says thank you very much for all of the kind and sweet things you all said about her quilt....Have a great evening! ranette

I didn't make it, but it's a finish!!!

I just wanted to share this beautiful quilt that my daughter Allie just finished....I am so proud of her! She did a wonderful job and I think she has the "quilting bug" for good now. She's even been building a "stash"...lol

I don't have much to show lately...just plugging away on various projects. I should have a few finishes in the next few weeks...I am enjoying the warmer, more Springlike weather and on most days Jay and I can be seen touring around the yard to see the new life poking through the ground. I came home yesterday to this lovely bunch of daffodils. They smell so nice!

Thank you honey!
If the weekend is nice we'll have to do more than tour the yard...lol...it's time to get it cleaned up from the harsh Winter that we've had. FYI my daughter's gave me the set of tiny bowls for my birthday last year and I LOVE them :o)

Have a wonderful day! ranette

Great giveaway for you to check out.....

Look at this terrific giveaway that Abbey Lane Quilts is having to celebrate National Quilting Day. Good luck to you and to me :0)

ranette

You've got to be kidding me...right?!

Here is the view out of my back door.

And here's the view from my front door.

Oh well at least I get to stay inside and sew or read or watch television...which is what I've been doing all morning...just enjoying the day, my day, National Quilting Day. I've got a charity quilt to bind for the guild that I belong to and I've got a few other things to do as well.
Here is the guild "charm" challenge quilt that I made along with Kara, my daughter. Linda Farrall, my wonderful longarm quilter friend, very graciously quilted it for free. Thank you Linda!

If I'm not mistaken, all of the challenge quilts will be donated to the church where we meet to use in their ministries. Awesome project!
No klosjes done this week, but I'll try to fit in a few this weekend. I think my total is 20 and it may take a couple of years to have enough for a quilt, but that's okay with me.
I hope the sun shines sometime soon and melts all of this snow. It's not supposed to stop snowing until tomorrow sometime, Spring will come soon, won't it?!?!?!
ranette

Postcard cuties for Winter is finished!

Well it's not quilted yet, but I'm going to count this as a finish anyway. I think I started this little quilt almost two years ago. It really shouldn't have taken so long, but it did. Everything is hand stitched, but I used the machine to put the blocks together.

 

I'm hoping to quilt it in time for Christmas 2010...it will be here before we know it.

Speaking of time....how is everyone adjusting to Daylight Savings? I'm not doing so well with it. I feel out-of-sorts with the world kind of. I think I'm getting better each day, but I don't like feeling like this at all. I really don't notice the extra hour of daylight at the end of the day because I'm tired and it's been too cold to be outside for any length of time. Hopefully Spring will bring nice weather.

I have been busy sewing on my pies and tarts, quilting on Allie's quilt and sewing the binding down on a guild challenge quilt. I'll show pictures when I get these projects finished.

On a side note...it's been two years today since my Dad passed away and it's still so hard to believe that he's really gone. We're all doing fine, but I know that we all miss him so much. Here's a picture of my family as I will always remember us in my heart.

Remember those coats Pam? What's with Kevin's red cowboy hat?! And that sweater of Dad's...lol
Here is a picture of my Dad a few years ago...still a great looking guy!

I love you Dad! ranette

Some people are so nice!

A few weeks ago Janet showed these practice blocks for the Stars and Sprigs quilt she is making and she called them "orphan" blocks. Well I said those pretty blocks should come home to Mama Ranette and guess what?! She sent them to me!!!

Aren't they pretty....Janet does incredible work and I've been just dying to see her applique up close and in person. Now I have my very own examples and let me tell you, it's perfect. Janet also sent along a souvenir kitchen towel that she picked up on her recent trip to New Zealand and a beautiful card. I thought those might be mosquito's on the towel, but Janet tells me it's the Kiwi bird.

Thank you so much Janet. I just love the blocks and I will make something out of them one of these days after I finish studying them.

I've also been making just a few Klosjes here and there. My only real plan with these darling little blocks is to use civil war fabric scraps and the first bag that I pulled out has a lot of red in it, but I will use all colors.

 

I love having these prepped and being able to pick one up when I have a minute or two. I know this will most likely be a very long-term project, but oh well, what's one more...lol
Emily and Joe have been here this weekend and it's been fun to have the whole family around. They are going back to Lawrence tomorrow though and we will miss them. It's Spring break here in Stillwater, but someone forgot to tell old man winter because it's been cold and gray all weekend. Here's hoping for some nice days this week!!!
Ranette

My sister Pamela....

Today I'm going to tell you about my little sister Pamela. Here she is with a quilt that I gave her almost 2 years ago. She didn't quilt then, not at all.

But she was starting to get the "quilting bug", I could tell.
First things first though...she didn't have a machine. Well a birthday took care of that last summer. Here she is with her new machine...

We had an intense two or three day "learn to sew/quilt camp" at my house in July and then she had to go home to Nashville. She has really taken off with her sewing and I am so proud of her. Pam has finished a couple of quilt tops that I would show you, but she sent them in an email and I can't get the pictures to show up here and she has also taught her daughter Caylee to sew.
Here is one of Pamela's finished projects....

Isn't it cute?!!!! She was scared to cut the bias binding (we didn't get to bindings in our quilt camp) so she sent it to me and I did it for her. But look at the small pinwheel blocks and square in a square blocks. I know people that have sewn for years that can't do them.
Anyway I just had to brag on Pamela...she is a wonderful and beautiful sister and I'm so proud of her. Pam....I love you!
Ranette

I think I'm in love....

Either that or I've caught a fever....spool fever that is!

I've been seeing these darling little spool blocks pop up on blogs all over the world and I wondered about them.....I watched Supergoof make her spool quilt and my interest was peaked, but I was concentrating on my red and white Nearly Insane and other projects....then Janet of Quiltsalott fame started talking about them and I just knew that I had to try it. Well I shouldn't have because I love them. I've only made two so far and I won't be able to dedicate my Saturday's to making them like some quilter's in the Netherlands and now all over the world (I love the quilting community, it's really such a small place), but you can be assured that I will make a couple here and there and I will have a "to go" case filled with the makings of spools, so if I do have a few spare minutes I can whip one of these little babies out. It makes me happy, what else can I say?!

TGIF....ranette

And the winner is....

Kaaren of The Painted Quilt fame!!! Kaaren is a very talented artist and pattern designer and I do believe she is also a major scissor addict, like me :o) Congratulations Kaaren and if you'll email me with your address I'll get your prize out to you tomorrow.

Not much time this morning, but I'll be back soon with another give-away because I just realized that my two year anniversary on this blog is next Tuesday...wow time flies!

Later,
ranette

It's time for a small give away!

Don't you think it's time? I do!!! Here is the prize....

It's the fabric, all of the floss, cording and the pattern needed to make a punch needle picture of gorgeous lily's. I think the finished project is about 8"x8", but you also get a pattern for a quilt and a tiny punch needle project in the instructions.
Here's a blurry picture of the project.

I'm pretty sure I already gave away my punch needle, but I'll have a look around to see if I still have it. I bought this kit in Paducah where it's easy to get "caught up in the moment"....lol....I really like this pattern, but I will never do it I'm sure. I will probably throw in some other goodies as well. Just leave a comment on this post and I'll pick a winner on March 4th.

Have a happy Monday! ranette