Calling All Prayer Warriors!!!

Folks, we have a great need of prayer in my family. My great niece, Ayda Jo Grace Edgerly (a.k.a. A. J.) arrived in this world last Saturday, June 11, 2016 by emergency C-Section. Her mother, Maegan, was minutes away from death, due to sudden onset of Pre-Eclampsia.

A.J. is three months early, and weighs only 1 lb. and 6 oz., but she is a fighter.

Her chances are better than we expected but she has a long road ahead of her. She can't leave the hospital until she weighs 4.5 lbs, and that will probably take three months.  This first week is critical for her prognosis and we are praying there is no bleeding in her little brain.

We have witnessed a sequence of events (which I won't go into detail about here) that has proven to us that God DOES exist and He DOES hear our prayers.  There is no other explanation for both Maegan and A.J. to be alive.

Maegan has improved so much, that she may be released from the hospital today.  She has a long road ahead as well, living about 40 minutes from the hospital and having a toddler to take care of as well. She's gonna need all hands on deck for time to come.

If you are a believer, please help us pray that everything works out as we would wish, and that A.J. improves daily. If you aren't a believer, please consider the possibility that God is real. We have proof!!!  Remember to pray for Ryan, A.J.'s Daddy as he tries to support his little family at work, while wanting desperately to be at the hospital.

AWOL

Yes, I went awol, but I'm going to try to get back into the groove.  I believe that my hourly daily, ahem...scrolling on facebook took a huge amount of my time. Time that I used to read blogs and post on my own. I have decided to take a break from that monster of wasted time, and maybe I can get back to where I once was in blogging land.

So, what have I been doing you ask? Well, I've been REALLY busy.  My in-laws' health has slowly been declining and the hubs and I have spent a great deal of time helping them.

In February, my beloved brother-in-law, Tim, passed away in his sleep at the ripe old age of 57. We were shocked and devastated, to put it mildly.

Tim is in the middle.

We've been spending as much time as we can with the grands as well. They are such a blessing to us. Win finished his first year of school last week. Klaire attended Mother's Day Out, and Kyndall began walking. Where does the time go????

I'm so very proud of my kids!!!

As far as sewing/quilting/craftiness is concerned, I sort of fell into something unexpectedly. A friend of mine asked me to create a paper doll quilt for her granddaughter. When people saw it, I started receiving order after order. Wow!!! I know at some point, they will cease to be a "thing" but for now, I have several orders to fill.

I also created a Star Wars quilt for Win's birthday. He is BIG into SW and needed new bedding.

I purchased a new sewing machine in the hopes it would be easier to quilt on, (not being able to purchase a long arm for more than one reason, even if that would be a dream come true).  The one I bought has more decorative stitches, and a wider throat. The automatic threader works much better than on my old machine, and I like the adjustable tension on the pressure foot. Aside from that, it's not much better than what I was using. For what I paid, it should be magical. It's not.  But, I'm trying to be thankful for it. :)

Ok, I think I've caught up for now.

Another Year's Over, A New One Has Begun

Sorry, John Lennon's song is rumbling around in my head.  But, it is true.  Christmas was great and made all the more special by grandchildren.  The gifts I made were well received and I have plans for more home made gifts for next year, so the fun never stops. *grin*

The muscle car quilt for Isaac was a huge hit. Gosh, I even got an ovation for it by family members. That's never happened before.

At one time last year, LeLe made the comment she loved a bookshelf quilt she saw. Mom couldn't let that go unanswered, so here is her quilt.

Zippered, quilted and monogrammed bags for my sisters and nieces.

I'm working on something for my little Klaire's birthday, but no hurry since it's not until April.

Here are a few recent pics.

What a blessing these children are to me!!!
I hope and pray only good things for you and yours in 2016! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Neutral Christmas Quilt

I finished my Neutral Quilt and am pretty happy with how it turned out.

I quilted it as I went in strips and that was a challenge since there was no sashing. I'm not sure I'll do that again.

Don't look at the wrinkles, I had it folded up weird before I took the pic. I do love an Irish Chain pattern and love the softness of the palette. And I love how the embroidery made a simple square a bit special.

I also tried my hand at a design on the border, but just used my walking foot. It's not perfect, but after I washed it, you couldn't tell. Don't you just love how a quilt puffs up and hides imperfections after it's washed???

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2015 TO ALL!!

Aaaaannnndddd, We're Off!

Thanksgiving is under our belt...literally, and I turn my energies to decorating for Christmas. I'm just getting started, but have the last Christmas quilt I made on my bed. I had no idea I'd made that thing so big, but it's the perfect size.

More to do....

Christmas Quilt Progress

This is the neutral Christmas quilt I mentioned in my last post.  Row three is quilted and only two more to go. The first two rows I did are the outside edges with borders.

As you may can tell, it's an Irish Chain pattern. Here is a close up of one of the embroidered blocks.

When the rows are quilted, I will join them and then add a border strip to the top that matches the sides. I'll quilt that after I add it. I decided to try something a little different on the border and drew out a curved motif to stitch. When it's all finished, I will spray the ink to wash it out.

I'm anxious to get it finished and I know I'm going to love it. I've also decided to do a neutral tree this year. I'm interested to see how that turns out.

Finished Stuff

I've been working hard on Christmas gifts and hope I'm in the home stretch. Unfortunately, I usually add more on as I go, so...probably not. *grin*

I'm thinking it will be safe to post some of the gifts, as few of my family members actually read my blog. Doesn't hurt my feelings one bit, because I totally understand that they have other interests.

This is my "In the Garden" paper pieced quilt. I participated in Quilt Art Designs quilt along and this was my finished quilt. I quilted it in strips and then joined them. I find it's much easier to do that on my little domestic machine. Unless I have something really special for a backing, that will be my norm from now on.

This is a quilt I created for my nephew. He loves muscle cars and told his Mom he wanted a muscle car quilt. Aunt Belinda to the rescue! I love how it turned out and it too is from Quilt Art Design patterns.

Close up of some of the cars.

I created some dresses for my baby girls, but they aren't gifts. I've already given them so they can wear them now.

Right now, I'm working on a neutral Christmas quilt that incorporates some tone on tone machine embroidery in some of the squares. There are five rows and I'm now quilting the third row. Can't wait to finish that.

I have plans in the works to make a paper pieced turkey quilt. I hope to get it done by Christmas, but it's doubtful. Still, it always gets me pumped to have a new project on my mind and I can't wait to get started on it.

Back to work!!

Oh Baby!

My sister is expecting her first grandchild. To say she is excited is an understatement, and we who are privileged to have experienced this phenomenon know exactly what she is feeling. I've been blessed to be able to provide a few little things for our little girl, who is pushing to come early, but being held back as much as possible. ( A sign of things to come??)

 Her name is Brooksie Kate and she will be amazing!

Here is the bedding I created for her, with explicit directions from her mother. *wink*

 You can see her beautiful mother there with me.
Little Miss Brooksie will be showered with gifts in another week, and this is what Aunt Belinda is offering for her comfort.

I very much enjoyed creating these little things...a cuddly blanket, a sleeper, a bib and a big girl dress for when she grows a bit.

My embroidery machine got a good work out but it held strong and enjoyed itself too.

I love doing stuff like this.

Ok, we're ready for you Brooksie!!

Working On Christmas

My friend Jan and I have started a tradition of making a Christmas themed quilt every year.  Together we decide what pattern and then choose our fabrics separately.  This year we decided on a log cabin and I really enjoyed the simplicity of the block.  It's easy, but has so many possibilities!  Normally, the center is red, to symbolize home, but I chose a light center with one side red and the other green.

I experimented with layouts, and wound up with this one. It was the popular choice of my friends. I love how it turned out and even my husband loves it.

I didn't want to spend a lot of money in the making of it, so I used all I could from my stash. I'm extremely low on Christmasy fabrics now!!! I didn't have enough of any one fabric for the backing, so I improvised.

I also did a veriation of QAYG. I quilted it in strips and then joined them. It was a lot easier and I will probably do a lot more of that in the future. 

Since I finished it, I've been seriously considering another one this year. I may not have time to finish it by December 25th, but I may start on it. I have an idea for a neutral colored quilt involving some machine embroidered bits....stay tuned.

Where I've Been

Life has a way of taking over if you let it. That seems to be what has happened to me in the last several months. Some of it very good, some of it, not so much.

I can't believe how big my babies are now! Win started Kindergarten, Klaire Bear started Mothers Day Out, and Miss Kyndall is 7 months old, sitting up, and creeping across the floor like a combat soldier. We are amazed!

My Beautiful LeLe has been on a journey of her own. Nearly losing her husband to sepsis a few months ago, and changing her entire lifestyle for better physical and spiritual health. She continues to take excellent care of both her men as well as herself. We couldn't be more proud!

Jared and Katy continue to seek the Lord's will for their lives and the lives of their two girls. We are so blessed! And it goes without saying, but I'm saying it anyway, we are very proud of the strong Christians they have grown to be.

Steve's parents have had some trials and we are both glad we are free to help them with their needs. His Mom has been diagnosed with renal cancer and will have some kind of surgery/treatment in the immediate future. His Dad's Alzheimer's seems to be at an even level and he doesn't seem to be getting any worse, but we know that could change in an instant, so we just take things a day at a time.

I continue to sew and quilt when time permits, and I have some things done that I can't show you. Christmas gifts you know. *grin*

I felt the need to post something today, but don't know if there will be any follow up posts in the near future. I try to take it as it comes, but if I get a notion to write, you'll be the first to know.

I Didn't Sew This One

Nope. God did. But I did make the gown. *wink*

Our sweet little Kyndall Hope was born last evening. She's perfect in every way and we are beyond excited to finally meet her. God did an amazing job, didn't He?!
Big sister Klaire wasn't interested in her much. *grin*

I can't believe Klaire is almost two and Kyndall is finally here. God is good!!
And just so I don't slight our LMW, here is a pic of him playing in the snow we received this week.

This stinker big boy will begin kindergarten in the fall. Where has the time gone?!

Wallet

I didn't intend to complete a project this morning, but I got started and was finished before I realized it. Love when that happens! I made myself a new wallet/clutch/whateveryouwanttocallit today.

It matches the purse I just made and it was easier than I thought!! I used this tutorial from Fort Worth Fabric Studio and added a couple of my own little extras.

It has places for cards, change, and $ bills/checkbook, but I wanted a pocket for my cell phone, so I added that to the backside, along with a little flap to keep it secure.

I also added a little fabric hoop so I could tie a strap onto it and carry it alone. I used fusible fleece for stability and instead of using magnetic snaps, I just used velcro to keep it closed, (since I had it on hand.) The button is a decorative addition.

I hope I like it as well as I think I will. You just never know with things like this, but I'm excited to use it and see how it goes.