I had to fight a bumble bee for these....

and I won!!! I think Zinnia's are one of the best things about summertime, don't you?

It's certainly not the unbearable heat we've had the last few days. Too hot to get in the pool for more than a few minutes even, although the fountain we have in there now does a pretty good job of cooling off the water.
So I've been inside puttering around and making a few more JanieBright blocks.

These blocks are prepped for applique.

We had yummy chicken nachos for dinner last night...well I had the veggie version.

My hubby is a nacho artist...lol...seriously serious about how he builds them. Mine weren't quite as pretty as his. The tomatoes on top are from our garden :o)
Oh and then my friend Kathy, just home from a wonderful quilting retreat in Rogers, Arkansas, brought me over some early birthday presents (see I told you I like to celebrate for at least a month) and added to my ongoing problem with QADD. Here's the book that has me wanting to start a new project.

It's everything I can do to resist and if this week weren't Crazy Days in Stillwater (which means lots of work for me) I would give in and start a new quilt! There are scrumptious recipes in the book too!
Have a great week!
ranette

I'm pretty sure that I have Quilter's Attention Deficit Disorder....

or "QADD" as I call it. I find myself thinking of other quilts or projects before I'm even finished with what I'm working on and it's distracting. I also have at least 6 or 7 quilts that I would say that I'm currently working on (which does not include everything, btw). Oh my, that really is too many! Does anyone know of a way to get rid of QADD? If you do, please help me...lol

I have been working bit by bit on my JanieBright blocks...keeping them in the sewing area right off of the kitchen helps A LOT!

I now have 5 rows together and I'm getting ready to pick fabric for the next two rows of blocks. I am behind on triangles, but I may devote 1 month of sewing later in the year to making those.
The weather is HOT and HUMID so I think I'm due some pool time this afternoon, but as soon as I get in the pool I'll start thinking about all of my fabric and quilts and I'll want to come in ....lol

Have a great weekend!
ranette

Quilt camp 2 has come and gone....

and I didn't even take one single picture while my sister was here! Bad blogger, I know, but we were very busy! I taught Pam to applique and worked with her on embroidery and making templates...oh and how to do set in seams. It was intense...lol...but lots of fun was had and Kara and Allie even joined in most of the time. I think we are all looking forward to "quilt camp 3" next year, just wish it was sooner because I miss my sister!

I was the surprised and delighted recipient of this lovely quilt made for me by my little sister. Isn't it beautiful!!!

I am so proud of her and I'm thrilled with my quilt. I've set the thermostat down fairly low a couple of times so that I can snuggle with it :o)

Pam also brought my birthday present to me, my 50th is in August (geez how did I get to be this old?!) Remember this striking quilt on the cover of Quilt Mania?

Well Pam ordered the kit all the way from Den Haan Wagenmakers in Amsterdam. Just look at the fabric would you....

Even the box is awesome.

Thank you, thank you, thank you Pamela, you are the best!
And last, but not least my niece Caylee sent a present for me as well, four charm packs...only three are pictured because I am working on a table runner with one of the Fandango packs.

Caylee is a beginning quilter and is doing quite well. She is also new to blogging so if you like cats, cooking and quilting, you might want to check out her blog sometime. Thank you as well Caylee for the pretty charm packs!
My hope is to get some intense sewing time in this weekend and make some real progress on a couple of things I've been working on. JanieBright is progressing and I'll show pictures next post. Try to stay cool, if you're in the Northern Hemisphere or stay warm in the Southern.
Until next time, take care...
ranette

Wow...let's play a little catch up, shall we???

It's been a long time...too long really, but it's the same old song and dance from me....busy, busy, busy...so if anyone cares here is how the last month has gone.

First off this lovely, first born daughter of mine turned 22 years old (how can that be?!) and her daddy and I took a short trip to Lawrence so we could see our girl on her birthday. Good food and fun was had by all. Oh that's Joe, Emily's boyfriend in the KU blue. Hi Joe :o)

Next up my Mom had a procedure done on her heart and hopefully she will start to feel better and better because of it.
Then my sweet hubby turned 52 years old...yikes!!! I think he had a pretty good day and I did what I do best and I cooked Tequila Lime Chicken, homemade flour tortillas and Pico de Gallo and he requested a Fresh Strawberry Cake and so I made that too. No pictures because it all went very fast :o)

I had a HUGE garage sale....that took a lot out of me, but I was very glad to get rid of a ton of "stuff". Kara, Jacob and Jay worked on this with me and we did have fun.

Then it was Father's Day and all of the girls were here to celebrate their wonderful daddy.

Here's the whole family including Kara's boyfriend, Jacob after church on Sunday.

Yes, I am the one with the spare tire around my middle (drat!)...there has been a lot of good food around the last month and there will be more...lol
Then we had all of our carpet in our home stretched and cleaned. Tons of work, tons!
But now we're putting things back and cleaning things out. Here's a picture of my clean carpet in the living room...not that you really care, but it's soooo nice.

Now I am busy putting my sewing room back together because everything had to be packed up.

Oh do you see the Kaffe quilt on my design wall? Well every now and again I get the chance to sneak off and sew a bit (keeps me sane) Here's a full on picture of the design wall.

And I also get a chance to go into my downstairs sewing area and work on these little babies sometimes.

and another one.

and in the evenings, if I'm not too tired, I work on these little lovelies.

I am enjoying the Life is Beautiful embroidery patterns by Helen Stubbings. Not sure if I'm going to make the quilt like she does or do my own thing. I'm using different backgrounds from my stash for an aged look.
Well that just about sums it up for now. Sorry I've been incommunicado for so long and I probably will be again as we have my family (mom, brother, sister and families) coming to our house this Saturday and Jay's entire family coming for a family reunion on Sunday. Also Emily and Joe will be home for the weekend and then on Monday afternoon my sister and I will begin "Quilt Camp Two".....I can hardly wait I'm so excited!
Thank you to everyone who has sent emails checking on me....I'm fine, although Jay is still unemployed at the moment. We're doing good though. It's amazing how God works through all situations and this trial has really drawn our family closer together.
Oh and I'm sorry for the picture heavy post...I like pictures on other blogs so I hope you all do to. Enjoy the week.

Blessings....ranette

Just checking in...

Hello friends! Again a week (or more) has gone by without a post...I try, really I do, but life is hectic and boring for the most part. I do have a beautiful quilt to share with you all today though. This quilt was made by my little sister, Pamela, for our Mom's birthday.

Isn't it gorgeous! She did a wonderful job on it and she has only been sewing/quilting for just under a year!!!! Good job Pam, I'm excited to see what you come up with next!!!

Oh and I finished my Pie's and Tart's quilt top completely!!!

I'm not sure how I want this quilted yet so this will go into the quilt closet for a little while. I started this quilt in February 2009 and finished May 2010 and it was a bom that I did through Sue Daley. I added in lots of background fabrics from what was sent and even added other fabrics, just to make it more my own. I really enjoyed making this quilt and I'm a little lost without having it to work on :o)

Right now I'm working on some embroidery blocks in the evenings and a little Kaffe in my sewing room. Love that Kaffe Fassett fabric and his books too. I think I've got them all. They work very well as coffee table books, as they are so beautiful!

Here are some pictures of our yard. Everything looks so pretty...Jay really has a knack for laying it out and keeping things beautiful.

Hopefully the summer won't be too hot and dry and we will get to enjoy all this without running the sprinklers all the time.
It's a 3 day weekend coming up in the United States to honor & remember all of our service men and women who've died while in service to our Country. Thank you to them and their families for the sacrifice. May you have a Blessed Memorial Day weekend. Be safe! ranette

Very stressful evening in Stillwater, Oklahoma...

Well in many parts of Oklahoma, actually. Springtime in tornado alley...gotta love it! With the advance of technology we now know days in advance that the weather will be "ripe" for tornado outbreaks and let me tell you last night it was just that.

It's not very often that the weathermen tell the good people of Stillwater that we've got a huge super cell coming right down the main highway for miles and miles and miles, but we did.

I did not take this beautifully scary picture, but my daughter Kara's friend Sean McGuire did and you may have even seen it on The Weather Channel.

I didn't take this picture either, but it looked like this right over my house, which is just over a mile from where this was taken. It was tense for a little while, but God tells us in His Word that we can calm the seas and I believe Him, so we prayed and believed and we were still scared, but thank you Lord, we were alright!

Stillwater only had minor damage and it happened less than a mile from my house. A fast food restaurant lost parts of it's roof and maybe part of the building, trees broken and twisted and the high school may have had some minor damage, but we're not sure...Allie is really hoping school will be canceled today, but I'm sure it won't....lol

A friend of Kara's named Alex Davis took this picture....it reminds me that God always keeps His promises and that makes me glad!

Have a good Thursday...I know I will :o) ranette

So it seems that I've lost the first two weeks of May...

Actually the last 3 or 4 weeks have been a bit of a blur! First thank you for the nice emails checking on me. My 96 year old Grandpa passed away the last week of April so I had to help deal with all that goes along with that. I really think it was his time as he outlived his wife and both of his children and that made him so sad. I believe that he is now at peace though.

However there was a lot of work to be done at his farm in Southeastern Colorado to prepare it for sale. It hadn't been lived in for 7 years and nothing had been thrown away for 60 years. I didn't take many pictures, but here's one of my brother burning the old grainery.

The wind was calm and quiet when we started, but it soon turned very windy and ugly outside....

Luckily my brother and Jay were able to keep it under control...whew! The farm did sell, although there are still some things to deal with.

I didn't sew one single stitch for almost two weeks....gasp....which means I didn't meet the April sewing goals that I had set for myself and even when I got back home I was just too tired for a few days.
But I finally made myself get back in gear and kept on going with the Pumpkin Quilt and here it is....Finished....finally....well at least the top is done.

Now maybe I can get it quilted before Fall. I'm actually pretty pleased with how this turned out...working on it was something that I usually had to "make" myself do and I'm not sure why.
I'm still stitching on the Pie's and Tart's quilt...it's just slow going. I've been fighting off the urge to start something new and then this arrived in my mailbox yesterday and the battle is over....I will be starting something new very soon.

So much inspiration!!!
It's a rainy, stormy day here in Oklahoma, wish I could just stay home and sew, but nope I'm off to work in a bit. Have a great weekend everyone!

ranette