Tops - and 1 finished quilt

I had completed a few tops and then set them aside. I pulled them out this week to get backs and batting worked up and to the quilter. Here's the 4 in work...

2 with black backgrounds

2 with white backgrounds

I still have TONS of 2.5 squares and am thinking of making some of these patterns again... maybe some different background colors...like red?

And here's a quilt I finally finished and hung on my curtain rod in the dining room. It's really for the family room and to hang differently...

The middle is a pattern and uses pictures taken by us on two separate trips to the Grand Canyon. On the 2nd trip, I found the postcards on fabric (2 different sets). I love them on the sides! That part, I made up.

LOTS of stuff in work

I'm working on a few things at once...nothing complete to share. I've been reading patterns and trying two different ones. I did piece a backing for a table runner AND repaired a pair of jeans for my DH. The iron-on patches were not sticking to the jeans. I took a class for my new sewing machine and asked the instructor for advice (she made clothes as a living) and she told me how to sew the patches. Worked so well, my DH put them on for yard work!! Plus the class was EXCELLENT! I'm really excited about classes two and three.

We did take a break a couple of weekends ago and went skiing/snowboarding one last time in Big Bear. We had colder weather and more snow (plus 8-10 new inches of snow overnight) than we did in February when we went.  Here's DH and DD heading out for a couple of afternoon runs.

Here's a view from across the lake from February...

I loved the break - I took my laptop and EQ6 book and worked with the software for quite a few hours. I'm getting a handle on it now! I took a class but it just didn't stick. Maybe I just needed to do things in a different order than the instructor taught them.

DWTS

Are you watching Dancing with the Stars this season? I'm loving this cast! I don't know who to vote for yet - there's so many great personalities and surprises! It was sad that Mark Ballas had to do a "show" piece instead of the basics. What a fun number that was - would have been great for a freestyle!

Who are you voting for? It's hard to pick just one!!

When in rains in California...

I had a g-r-e-a-t weekend! I actually had several pockets of sewing time (rain is nice)! Without intentionally trying to, I've been working through the items I bought on a quilt run in March. The run was 16 stores in one weekend in San Diego county. I guess I bought the correct amount of tools, patterns and (yes) fabric to work through most of what I bought... This is a pattern I bought...

I was going to order it through a catalog, but when I found it at a local store PLUS they had a great sample at the store so I knew it was EXACTLY what I wanted, I snapped it up. I had several yards but only 10" of a border print left over from another project.

Since the pattern cuts down to 8.5", it worked perfectly. Here's one runner with my lovely looking (and smelling) daffodils.

 Here's the funny thing... This runner took under an hour to make... it's sooooo easy! It took me the better part of a day to make the backing for it, and that was using a 30" pieced square of fabrics from the same project!! Needless to say, it's not complete...

Here's a close up of the corner piecing. Super easy project! LOVE love LOVE the way it's looking!

 And here's a close up of those daffodils. They are my favorite! My DH bought them for me from a fundraiser at work. They smell wonderful still (it's been almost a week too and they are still this gorgeous!)!!

More Projects...

A friend and I went on a quilt run earlier this month. I bought two sets of kitchen towel fabric. Here's one of two strawberry towels:

 Here is one of the second set....roosters. These will be finding a new home with a good friend.

 Here's a shot of my helper... He makes sure my seat is warmed up and sometimes helps test my quilts before I finish them.

 I thought it was a great picture the way he was covering his face!!

If you go to stonewingsdesign.com and read about "my sister's beads"...I'm the sister who is now the proud owner of these fabulous pieces of jewelry. I made the hanger out of a dowel and some 3M stick-on hooks. Here's the shot of the entire length of necklaces and bracelets.

 The next three are close ups of the center, left, and right sides. This is in the upstairs hallway so that my DD and I can share...

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the way they've turned out. My sis is so talented!! Love ya Laurel!

Woodland Creatures Baby Quilt

I had a request to show off this baby quilt. Made for a great young lady/mom to be that I've known since she was 13 and her husband. Their theme is Woodland Creatures and they are having a BOY!

The embroidery files came from Embroidery Library. I didn't follow their color guide, but did use the same blue for all the overalls...and used up the spool.

The backing fabric is a great batik I found during a weekend trip to Bir Bear in February.

Friday night move night

Last night, DH and I went to the movies again. We saw The King's Speech. Another two thumbs up! Great movie and Colin Firth totally deserved the Oscar. DH and DD kept waiting for "pirate" lines from Jeffrey Rush (he was awesome too).

I've been looking for a couple of photos from our trip to Brian Head in January and I finally found them.

Here's the end of the plowed portion of Hwy 148 from Brian Head. See how high the snow is? They had 100 inches before we visited in January. That's our rental Suburban for scale...

 After leaving Brian Head, we traveled down to Cedar City and then came back up that way to Cedar Breaks. So here's the same road from the opposite end and where they stopped plowing it... crazy amount of snow, huh?

 And here's my DH showing you how high the snow really was in the little parking area near the end of the road. My DH is 5ft 7in...so you know the scale.

I'm working on some projects and nothing to post yet. I've got a couple of quilt tops complete, so I'll see if I can get some photos taken of them to upload. In the meantime, here's an oldie and goodie. The quilt that started it all...my mother's Tree of Life (at least, that's what I call it).

When my mom passed away, this was just a quilt top. It took me 10 years of classes and making my own quilts to realize I couldn't finish it...but I did have access to someone who could. A great long arm quilter quilted this and I bound it and it now hangs in a spot of honor in my home. I hope my mom would be proud that it's done.