broomstick lace

While the kids are busy using the pool, I am poolside and attempting broomstick lace. A very old technique only now instead of using the handle of a broom, a large, plastic knitting needle is used to crochet 'onto'.

I purchased this book which has step-by-step photos and wonderful directions. And such cute, cute projects. I would looooooove to try and crochet that beautiful shawl in the upper left hand corner........

This was my practice swatch and I loved the rippled effect that mimicked the waves in the pool. And this was so easy to do and the results are so amazing!A bulkier type of 'lace' but the feel of this in your hands is wonderful. I will have to say that trying to 'hold' the large knitting needle is quite awkward and I'm still trying to find a more comfortable way to balance that and the stitches that get slipped onto the plastic needle.

And honestly, these coasters took about 5 minutes to do. They were so much fun and easy to do!

plates of sherbet quilt

I must first of all, say thank you, THANK YOU to all of you wonderful blogirls who gave me your tried-&-true methods in properly adhering circles! You are all soooooo helpful and I extend to you xoxo for being incredible & inspiring......as usual. And thanks to the beautiful blogirl at knotgarden for (unknowingly*grin*) giving me the idea to name this quilt --> Plates of Sherbet.

The colors are so sherbet-y, aren't they?

Vivid, smooth & vibrant. Just the way our daughter likes things.


And as much as I freeze (okay, feel faint) when thinking about adding the backing, batting and getting this thing quilted, I actually feel a huge surge of I-can't-wait-to-get-this-done!
------
Phew.
-----
....it is a good thing I didn't have the 12 children that I first wanted when we got married. Imagine all of those birthday quilts needing to get done.

teen patchwork & plates

Our soon-to-be-15-year-old's birthday comes only 14 days after our son's birthday. And since I just finished his BuSy & BoLd airplane/baseball quilt, I have to hurry and get her quilt finished.

But I had help. She is so excited about receiving a quilt that she wanted a tiny bit of input into the design and fabric selection. She drew out her design and color scheme and went fabric shopping with me. After loading up our cart with her vast array of choices, I got busy following her colored diagram.

After I laid out the blocks we both realized that the quilt needed to be revamped and enlarged because she wants it to be huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge and fluffy.

We'll trace the dinner plates on corresponding fabric and and sew those down. Anyone have any savvy (read=simple, simple directions for my lack of mathematical ability) ideas on how to 'do' the circles??? I guess I am scratching my head about getting a perfect, precise circle and then how do I attach it? I don't want raw edges, but still desire something very uniform looking without it being too time-consuming.

Tagged. Again.

I have been tagged again with a new game of tag. QuilterSal, my lovely blogirl-friend, tagged me.

5 Things Meme
~~~~

The Rules:

Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

~~

1. What I was doing 10 years ago:


Standing in front of a classroom of giggly kindergarteners. And loving it.

~~

2. What 5 things are on on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):

1. pick up teen from 1/2 day of high school
2. pick up tween from full day of middle school
3. pick up fabric for teen's soon-to-be-birthday-quilt
4. pick up reserved items from the library
5. pick up...okay....you get the idea

~~

3. Snacks I enjoy:

Fruit slices. And no, not the grow-on-a-tree kind (although I do LOVE fresh fruit) I-sad to say- have a sweet tooth the size of Texas and candy is my secret downfall.

~~

4. Things I would do if I was a billionaire:

Ah. At last. My dream of owning a yarn store would come true. Now, just how much yarn could a person buy with a billion dollars?.....

~~

5. Places I have lived:

Wisconsin. Minnesota. Colorado. Georgia.
~~

Now, please visit these wonderful blogs of women that I secretly rely on/love their kind words/aspire to be just like them/covet their fabric stash/and have found a virtual & actual friendship with all of them:

~~~

dandelion quilts, knot garden, sewamy, life's free treats,

making dreams, quilted simple,

aj quilts, quilt nook, suzy's quilting room,

canton village quilt works, & tall grass prairie studio

contemplating

As I stand here contemplating the next block for this quilt, I am trying to think of something that will show the beauty of our trees with maybe a cardinal perched on a branch singing his melodic song.

But I am also thinking about my beautiful blogirl-friends and deciding whom I should tag. Because yes, I have just been tagged and want to tag most of you that leave such daily inspiring comments. I so, so appreciate your regular visits and come to look forward to/and lean on your uplifting words.

So I will list you for now, but not link back to you. That way if you don't want to be tagged you can email me and let me know that you would rather not play this time. Here you are:

Beautiful Blogirl-friends that I would like to tag (unless I hear otherwise.....*grin*)

Caroline, Dandy, Jackie, Jacquie, Suzy, Adrienne, Marie, Cath, Meggie, Kris, Cara & Amy

(and if you need it---look directly to your left on the sidebar for my email address)

~~

I'll be back soon-ish for the actual tag.

SpLaSh!

Just in time for this hot, HOT weather we are having & with the sound of our kids splashing it up in the pool---here is block #3 of the family quilt that I am making.

I was mighty scared to try and 'do' hair on these hand appliqued kids. The points of the girl's hair especially seemed impossible to do with fabric. How in the world would you needle turn such a tiny point? So to be safe, I did embroidery instead. And I must say, it makes the hair seem more like hair.

And hmmmmmmm...this boy looks remarkably just like our 8 year old.

And the girl certainly resembles our teen and tween daughter. Of course, our soon-to-be-15-year is rolling her eyes right now because she is 'so not like this little tyke pictured'! *grin*

As a teacher, one of my favorite parts of my job was doing bulletin boards. I loved designing them, cutting them out and seeing them come to life. Well, this is so similar to that. Only I'm using thread, needle and fabric instead of construction paper and staples.

we all scream for ice scream

Here is the 2nd block for my Family Quilt that I am putting together.

As a family we don't necessarily 'scream' for ice cream, but it is a family favorite of ours to drive on over to our local drive-in and order our favorite ice cream treats. The kids are convinced it should be a nightly destination for us, but ha! like that is almost going to happen....although when planning the weekly menu, that would be a nice way-out from cooking meals....

And I'm pretty sure there is no such thing as purple ice cream, but it seemed to go really well with the pink ice cream in the other cone and it fits so well with the rest of the color theme of this quilt.

A little bit of embroidery to accentuate the shape and it looks pretty realistic. Yum.

Here is the next block in progress. Yup. You guessed it. Swimming is big at our house. In fact the kids have already started swimming in the near frigid pool--not me!--and so I must somehow sew up a block that shows this favorite of our family.