Mystery Quilter!

Happy belated fourth of July or an even more belated Canada Day.  How about this?  Happy July!  This is a great month.  The heat is sweltering the entire northern hemisphere and we can for once all agree on the weather.  This is the same month my darling daughter was born.  She came a week earlier than her due date the same as I myself did, which was truly wonderful because I was more than a little sick of being pregnant at that point.  All circumstances considered (such as my post pelvic trauma and current disability for those of you non-followers) my most favorite OB-GYN was on vacation through my due date and promised if DD hadn't been born by the time he got back we would have a c-section August 3.  Oh yes please let's plan a big major deal such as having a baby on my Anniversary!  NOT!

Instead I had the most amazing doctor in the history of doctors.  She was trained as a midwife first and then became a doctor - how cool is that!?  I'd seen her in my office visits before then, but didn't see her for the amazing woman she is.

So now that you've had way to much personal information about me.  How about some birthstone trivia July birthdays have Ruby as their birthstone, my second favorite, only to my own Sapphire - which are really the same exact thing.  The only difference is that Rubys are red sapphires.  Hadn't you ever noticed that Sapphire come in every color except true red?  So now it's time for my MYSTERY QUILTER!  Here is an example of her quilting.  Any guesses?

How about Now?

It's DD!

Handmade Birthday

My husband made these for my sister's birthday!  Aren't they beautiful?  I was inspired by the beautiful blue of Dream Agate that I picked up last summer.  The chain is sterling silver with a lobster claw clasp.  From it hang five blue Dream Agate stones which range in color from rich royal blue all the away up to aqua.  The stone in the bottom right even had a bit of a geode in it.  Each stone is strung with a sterling silver head pin and two spacer beads.  The head pin was then hand wrapped back on itself several times to give each one a true finished handmade look.

The earrings are dangling posts that each have two dream agates held apart by another bright silver spacer bead.  It was hard to select stones that matched for this, but luckily I had enough to do so.  Over all the entire chain is nearly 19" long with the earrings dangling just about an inch total.

Believe it or not even this photograph taken in full sun does not reveal the true luster of these stones.  Hope she liked them.

She was in Labor on Labor Day

My mother hates that joke.  I can just see her cringe as more than once I have said "my mother was in Labor on Labor Day".  Now over the years she's learned to pipe up with "and I never worked harder a day in my life".  Of course she and I know that's not true as I wasn't even a big baby, unlike another child she had... 

Butterfly near the Quiet Pool

So anyway Labor Day babies pay dearly for their birthdays all through early school years.  Why?  Because  if you celebrate early - you don't get to invite your friends from school as school isn't in session yet and if you celebrate Labor Day weekend only your family can come and if you hold it a week or two late, you still end up being best friends with the family that is trying desperately to have one last family getaway before settling into the grind.

But what is great about being a Labor Day Baby is that when you start dating you can tell everyone to remember your birthday is Labor Day weekend, and then they will hit your birthday about 50% of the time.   So that's better anyway. 

Did you know there is a Tron Monorail these days?  Not really a fan of the movie, but hey I've seen it.

But this year my sister took all those less than ideal celebrations and threw them out the window with a delightful trip to Walt Disney World.  Oh yes that's what I said.  DH and I rode all the rides in the Future World of Epcot before noon, no waiting - no joke.  It was awesome.  Then my sis and I enjoyed splendid shopping all over Epcot.  We had Cloud Creams in Norway (call them cream curls, cream horns or Cloud Creams I don't care they were wonderful).  Pizza in Italy, a boat ride in Mexico, fish and chips in the UK (okay my sister had Fish 'N Chips I had Bangers and Mash), and then capped off the evening buying perfume in Canada. 

This was being written in the sky while it was just DH and I,
how sweet!

We stayed at the Polynesian which was wonderful.  I think the humidity is lower there, as it felt so nice to feel the sun's warm rays. 

The morning sun filtering through the Kukui Nut Tree imported from it's native Hawaii

I do hope that you too enjoyed your Labor Day weekend.

They're Here!

I was thrilled when I won the giveaway Aunt Spicy was holding for a friend last week.  I was able to pick one item from Erica's Etsy Shop and of course I selected the rose studs, they are just the right size and I can't get over how fast they arrived, I wasn't expecting them today at all.

As a bit of an extra perk Wednesday is my birthday so the earrings will be something special I can wear while I celebrate.  I was torn between these earrings and her hair pins, so I might very well be back to her store before you know it.  Erica also has many beautiful photographic prints so why not head over to her store and take a look?  When I checked she has three different rose hairpins still, as well as the Coral Ruffle Rose Earrings that are like mine (except mine are pink)  Of course if you'd like to get to know her better pop in to her blog. 

Sew Much Backing!

I think I need a basting day!  Seriously today I finished two quilt backs.  One for the Freemotion Quilt-a-long and one for the denim patchwork.  I'd like to think I'll be up to doing all of that basting Monday or Tuesday, but only time will tell as my birthday is Wednesday and I refused to be pooped from basting.

Long ago and far away my mom took an oath never to make her own birthday cake.  I think it's the meaning behind the cake.  Perhaps that someone cared enough to make you a cake, or buy one as the case maybe.  I have no such qualms, as I'm sort of a "you want something done you have to do it yourself" kind of person.  Currently I have a Strawberry Cake Mix in the cabinet, but you know what sounds really good?  Angel Food Cake.  I can think of only once that I've made it from the box, every other time I have separated that dozen eggs and baked it completely from scratch.  I've done this so many times that I've begun to wonder if I make it from a box perhaps it will fall?!?!?

I have my Grandmother's tube pan -which is also called an angel food cake pan, you know the one with the drop out bottom.  When I bake angel food cake she is always in my heart guiding my hands.  Perhaps that's why my cakes never fall?

I'd like to serve my cake with whipped cream and strawberries that have sat in a sminge of sugar for about half an hour just so they start to get a little bit of syrup.  But angel food cake is good enough that sometimes I don't feel the need to top it with anything.

So tell me, would you make your own birthday cake and if so what kind would you make?  I draw the line at candles I think.  I will not be buying my own birthday cake candles.  Shoot then I'd have to count them out and light them all, and then deal with the wax because it took a while to light them...  UGH I think not!

Sunset

This evening I couldn't help but notice the night sky.  Before I went outside the entire sky was covered in clouds like these.  As my feet touched the ground outside I saw first one and then two - a double rainbow - of course by the time I had the camera in my hand all that was left to take photos of were the clouds.  Next time I'll be more prepared. 

I worked on the quilting Christmas Row Robin Quilt today and I should have all the stitch in the ditch that I want to do done either tomorrow or Monday.  After that my other machine will be home from the repair shop (it's third trip in two weeks) so hopefully I'll be able to wrap up the job with a bit of echo freemotion quilting.  Only time will tell of course.

DD had a great birthday and this was by far my favorite photo.  Those little hands are growing up so quickly soon all the of the babyhood left in them will be gone forever. 

Of course some of you might like this jumping for joy photo better, and be certain to check out my great new windows behind her!

What Labor Day Means to me, Today on my Birthday

I learned from living with my daughter that anytime is a good time to dress up. I also learned that if you want to wear a fancy dress on your birthday you should. So I did. Let's see I'm certain there are other delightful things I can impart. Being a Labor day Baby is a curse to all children. Yes you can torment your mother by saying "My mom was in Labor on Labor Day" but that gets old before you reach your 30's. No one can come to your birthday parties because all parents use the weekend before the weekend after and Labor Day weekend for a last huzzah to summer. That's why I cursed my own daughter with being a summer baby instead.

When you get a bit older it's not so bad. You can tell people that as long as they remember your birthday is Labor Day weekend they will always have a 50% chance of being right and as a bonus they will remember your birthday. This year they'd be wrong and the following year too, but come 2012 they'd be right for the next three years. Neat hu?

In all seriousness Labor Day Weekend is a Holiday for Everyone I know. It's to recognize the efforts of all workers. It was first celebrated in 1882 (I was a bit early for being born on the 100 year anniversary, and if you know me you know by how much). Labor Day is ALWAYS celebrated on the first Monday of September. This date was selected because it's halfway between July 4th and Thanksgiving. So take a moment this upcoming Monday to thank each other as well as Peter J. McGuire (a carpenter in New York all those years ago) for a splendid day off. You deserve it for all your hard work and efforts.

My sister has plans for my birthday for this afternoon. I don't really know what she is planning other than I'd like to indulge in some bubble tea while we're at it.

What is bubble tea? It's this amazing concoction that was originally made by to sell in the tea carts to children after school. Now that means it must be good. The bubbles are really tapioca pearls that you sip up through a large straw along with your ice cold beverage. They are fully customizable to your likes, so the squeamish can forgo the pearls the cups are vacuum sealed so you can take it on the go with you. Still interested you can always visit wiki.

Advent

I've made another advent calender. I'm not certain if I'll be keeping this one. I really didn't like it when I was working on the Old English font, but I stuck with it, and I'm pretty happy with the results. This first one is how it looks on December first. All those pretty prairie points sticking out are reclaimed denim from Jessica's baby Jeans. Reduce and Reuse! Of course the one below is what it looks like on Christmas day. I suppose they could be swapped and done the other way around. I'm planning on putting good quality chocolate in each of the little pockets, one for everyday. I'm certain Jessica will really love something like that. Every time she walks past this one she talks about how pretty it is. The background is natural muslin and the red is leftovers from the red star quilt. Of course I put a label on the back.


I hope everyone is doing well. We're keeping things quiet here, it was a good sized weekend for my mom's birthday, I do hope she had a good time, it certainly seemed okay.

Tonight DH is cooking, his garlic smells just like onions, not certain if I should complain or just enjoy the fact that I'm not cooking... HHMMM the later for now.

We Might be Headed to Disney World

Thank goodness that doesn't say We might be beheaded! LOL, perhaps dreaming of Disney isn't the best dream with no outside income, oh well all the same, I found an amazing rate for the Double Tree Castle Hotel that my sister and I liked so much last time we went. For Labor Day Weekend of all things. And of course that works out to be my birthday weekend. Hey I'm not going to hide under the covers about my birthday! Seriously it's something to be proud of. I didn't make it to a month before my 28th birthday by skating through life. It's worth every hard moment, and each moment deserves to be recognized. So my sister might take me. She told me not to start planning out priority seating's yet, but I was thinking maybe just the two I'd like for September first might not be so bad... I can always cancel, or not. I'm sure getting right in somewhere on Labor Day would be a great gift to an unknown someone.

So I was thinking late Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare, and Dinner at my all time favorite restaurant in all of Walt Disney World House of Blues. Seriously I thought about it, and that's my favorite. I have wanted to visit 1900 Park Fare for years now, but have never made it. Sounds nice hu?

In order to keep costs down my sister and I are thinking we'll be doing lots of window shopping Downtown Disney. Key word here being SHOPPING, that does not equal buying no matter what everyone else things. I'm great at remembering what I like for a long period of time, and hey if I forgot I liked it, I guess I didn't like it very much in the first place. No trips into the parks this trip, just castle and shopping. :D Serve me up on a platter of happiness.

As a bit of a side, I'm hoping to do some autograph collecting for my autograph quilt. I have the following Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto, Goofy, Belle, Jasmine, Aurora, Cinderella, and Alice. The one I feel I'm missing is Daisy Duck. Any other's come out at you? Eleven isn't the best number to make quilt blocks with, but whatever I have I'll use. I'd personally love to have Mary Poppins, and Dick Van Dyke, yes, yes I know dreams... But at least Mary Poppins and her Chimney Sweep friend could be had at 1900 Park Fare. I thought I was missing bunches and bunches, but really I don't have to have everyone that Disney ever created, and I can always make another quilt if I get more.

So tomorrow is my anniversary, I know, who knew with all that goings on about Disney. Five years it's been. I can't help but shake my head at little sometimes I feel like I just walked down the isle. Or that I was JUST pregnant. Right, sure. So the traditional anniversary for five years (HALF A DECADE!) is wood, what can you do with that? I'm hoping DH will build me an entertainment center for the bedroom our of wood. That sure wood be nice wouldn't it. I'm sure I'll get a more typical husband wood gift. uh, hu, you guessed it. No that's mean, he's currently in the bedroom working very hard on whatever it is.

My gift to him I've spent the past week working on. It's an applique wall hanging with a giant tree in the center on one side is hand embroidered "Like a Tree" and on the other "Our Love Grows each and everyday", and then I signed it. I even put some ribbon embroidery butterflies on it. Don't worry tomorrow's post should have the photos. I echo quilted the heck out of it, so the tree sort of expands outward. I think it looks very nice. Rather like ripples of life, and growing. A photo tom morrow I promise. My husband made a comment while I was working that it didn't have wood in it, so I went outside earlier this evening (in the dark all the same mind you) and ripped branches off my Maple tree until I had two that were long enough, those I ran through the wall hanging one at the top and one at the bottom to hang it from, someday I might redo the binding but for now I made my deadline (and it even has wood on it). Clearly since I'm here blogging to you.

The Blue Christmas Quilt (I showed you the fabrics) is coming along AMAZINGLY. I don't know why but I am constantly amazed by the art I've been making. Yes I see my flaws, but most of the time it really comes together. It's going together so fast I feel like I'm cheating, as if I could do that from a pattern DH and I DESIGNED ourselves, and fabric I hand picked. ;) It is currently more than half done, and I am glad to have finished the wall hanging so I can get back to it.

So I have a pain in my ear. No joke, let's see, SEVEN years ago this September (the anniversary of the beginning of my relationship with DH) I had a second hole put in my left ear. He bought a diamond for it, and I've worn it pretty much ever since. I don't really remember what event exactly it was that I felt I shouldn't wear it, but I took it out a while ago and the stupid thing has started to close on me. UGH! I'm the woman who has never had trouble with a piercing ever. My ears were done when I was 6 WEEKS OLD, and never a speck of trouble. Now here I am after seven years and I'm enduring the sting of having an earring back in it, yuck.

And on that note I'm off to see what the rest of the blogging world has done today, nice night everyone.

Quiet Post Birthday Celebration

Hello everyone, I've been on a bit of an Internet sabbatical while getting ready for Jessica's birthday. That of course was yesterday, and we all had a wonderful time. Of course there were hiccups, but that comes with it being a three year old's birthday and anyone who claimed perfection in that wasn't telling the whole truth, at least not at a "home" party. ;)

Jessica loves these photos of her "cake", she was so excited about blowing out her candles I had to hold her back while we all sang Happy Birthday.

I have wanted to buy the "Happy Birthday" wooden cake set for Jessica's play kitchen for over a year now, and never had the money to buy one. Well let me tell you want things happen for a reason. About a month ago now I was thinking about what's in that set. She has everything in that set already (from different sets that have been bought since I was a little girl) with the sole exception of the cake. So I told her father, hoping he would make one for her. I know you can't see it very well but he hand painted it with her name and some roses, he even painted it to be Tutty Fruity Cake! Sometimes it pays not to have money I guess! LOL

I remade the Green and Purple Log Cabin Block it's now the size she wanted and has the red center she wanted. Hey you know me I don't want anyone to be unhappy with the things I make.

Have you ever seen babies this little?

Wow, so much has happened I'm feeling a bit daunted as to put it down here (just think about how bad the Family Website must be if I feel that way!

Last things first that way you will be up to speed even if I don't do a full recap. BABY BIRDS! My cousin has a baby Cardinal Nest it can't be 2 feet from her house. The boat my husband works on is in dry dock this week and he's one of the very very few men trained to stay on the boat during that time. Just think of him as a Doberman for the boat. And here's hoping no one would be stupid to try and do anything with the boat while he's there. OH! Sorry, the point is, he's staying with my cousin for the week, and was able to take photos with his camera phone for all of us to see (I did get to see them at little Tommy's birthday party on Saturday, but had no way to take photos).




Aren't they just precious? I have seen smaller babies just this morning in fact, they were baby spiders on the back of the moma spider in dd room, and hubby was taking them far far away. I tell you what I completely need an exterminator. Trivia: Who else knows that about halfway through raising their babies a Cardinal Mommy will go make another nest and sit on the eggs, which dear dad finishes them to weaning? Early like this they seem to switch off because the day I was there it was the daddy about 60% to 70% of the time, but today my husband tells me today it's been mostly moma.

So next things next. We have a month free with Netflicks thanks to my mom (if you want a free month too be sure and let me know, no commitment mind you) We get three movies at a time as many as they can ship back and fourth in a month. I suppose I'm lucky I signed up yesterday and my movies were in my mailbox this morning (I have an early mailman). My dear husband told me this morning that I should rest and take some time for myself when our daughter when to nap. I did and watched the first movie, Stepford Wives. The best part about the movie I would have to say is the fact that I felt well rested when it was over, and was able to get more stuff done. ;)

I am on a mission with my quilt. Here's the breakdown. I need 36 hearts and 13 starts (they are quilt stars which I always used think looked funny, but since I altered the pattern to my own liking, I simply love them. The stars will be the cornerstones of the quilt so the FULL/QUEEN (yes I decided aren't you proud, that I can make a commitment?!?!) will be a square and will wear evenly on all sides. The stars are right side up no matter what what you look at it. Trust me it will be lovely. Ahhh, but here's what I have. 21 hearts (the 22nd is nearly done), and 3 stars! That means I need 15 more hearts and 10 more stars. I suppose when I look at it here it doesn't seem like that much, But trust me that's not even half way. That's rather a large downer when I had thought it would be a twin and was 60% done. :( So I'm working like a crazy woman to get back to that 60%, hehe. It also didn't help that I decided not to do the sashing between the blocks, which I'm sure I will later curse myself over. But for now I truly think it will be a twist on tastefully traditional. You should see my little sketch! :)

Oh so backing up some more, the play I took mom and my sister to was simply a riot, I loved it. Well worth the money. My sister who is only 20 didn't get as much out of it, but she said she wanted to come so I bought her a ticket. Dim Sum carts was simply marvelous. There was something wrong with the sticky rice, mom and sister thought it was undercooked, but I found out a LONG time ago, that I don't like floaties, not in my drink and certainly not in my rice, so I didn't have any. Oh ick! hehe, yesterday we did see Made of Honor, wonderful chick flick with enough silly to keep a husband's interest, depending on the husband of course, all afternoon I kept trying to pull it into the conversations with dh knowing he would have thought them funny, only to remember it was part of girl's afternoon out. There are great dim sum cart scenes in that movie, though the glitch is that they show fried food coming out of the steamer trays, and that just doesn't happen, I wouldn't have even noticed the glitch if I hadn't just been out having it though.

The children had a great time at the birthday party, fyi Tommy is 2 months nearly to the day older than my dd. Jessica's party will so not look like that, it was like planned chaos! Something you would plan out in a card game or a game of war, not in real life, but as always my cousin Meghan pulled it off with fansese (I'm sure I've spelled that wrong but neither blogger nor google knows the proper spelling or I'm so far from it, there's no telling).

I think that's more than enough to bring you close to speed. I'll be missing my hubby this week, so who knows maybe I'll pull my nose out of the sewing machine to reach out. hehehe, take care everyone, till next time!