Not Again!

GOPHERS!

No, actually, we've killed our yard (again) and have decided to put in all flowerbeds. So...the sprinklers have have to be rerouted. There's never a dull moment around here!

Fishing in Carrollton

Gail, Dawn and I took Terrance and James fishing Friday morning. 

We just went to one of the ponds here in Carrollton. 

James and Terrance had gotten fishing poles for Christmas, so we decided it was time to try them out.

Gail brought all the tackle.

James brought the snack...for himself.

I was the helper.

No one caught a fish, but Terrance caught a tree...oops. It happens to the best of us.

Possibly the most exciting part of the entire outing was seeing FIVE trains come by...with warning bells, flashing lights and moving crossarms at the nearby intersection.

We had a great time and will do it again real soon!

Memories from the Memory Makers Quilt Retreat - Feb 2013

For the second year, I was thrilled to get to participate in a quilt retreat in Quitman, TX with a wonderful group of ladies from the Temple area. We "retreated" for 5 days at the Stitchin' Heaven lodge.

Before I left for the retreat, I designed a few "logos" for the group. I thought the ladies might enjoy decorating t-shirts, sweatshirts, or whatever with a Memory Makers logo. I made each one different to try to accommodate personal tastes, so that everyone who wanted one might find one they liked. I took the designs on a memory stick so they could be easily shared.

While we were there, Diane (whose embroidery unit is portable---mine is not) stitched 3 designs on sweatshirts for some of the ladies. What fun!

This one is done on denim and is pinned to a t-shirt scarf:

This one is a "in the hoop" design which I placed on a sweater vest.

This one is a dresden done completely in embroidery. I put it on a navy vest.

This is the "in the hoop" design done in the 6" size and put on the front of a sweater.

This is also totally embroidered, but it looks like a little quilt. I put it on the front of a sweatshirt.

In January of 2012 I started the Craftsy Block of the Month Quilt. We made 2 blocks a month. I can hardly believe it, but I actually got all the blocks completed! Where you see flowers, it's supposed to be solid white. And where you see solids, it's supposed to be various prints. Oh well...I like it MY WAY!

I used it as my second project for the quilt retreat. The blocks were already assembled, but the sashings had to be installed and all blocks stitched together. I'm looking forward to quilting it now. Well, not now...maybe in a few months...when I catch up on my 

TO DO LIST.

This is the quilt that both Diane Venegoni and I made (two of them!). All the blocks are machine embroidered. We did them before we got to the retreat. In fact, this is the quilt I was working on when I broke the needle off in my finger and had to have surgery to get it out of my bone. I call it my $21,000 quilt.

The actual name of the quilt is Prayer Garden by Anita Goodesign. It's all garden designs, quotes, and scripture. I picked out the sashing colors and worked VERY hard in positioning each of the 14 fabrics throughout the quilt.

One of the things I've really, really wanted to learn was how to use the TWISTED RULER.

Well, Lou (my new friend) was making a quilt using the twisted ruler...

So I asked millions of questions. Because I was busy finishing my two quilts, I never got to try using it; however three of the other ladies did. Their creations were all quite different, but all beautiful. I am now planning a black and white Twisted Ruler Quilt--for sometime in the future...no scheduled date as yet.

When I got home, I told Maxey about the Twisted Ruler. It comes in multiple sizes, but each size is pretty expensive. So...he cut me 6 pieces of plexiglass 1 1/2", 2 1/2", 3 1/2", 4 1/2", 5 1/2", and 6 1/2". Then we etched lines in the bottom side of each piece then colored them black with a sharpie marker.  I bought clear dots that go behind picture frames to keep them from scooting on the wall, and we put them under each corner of each size of plexiglass. I figure I saved well over $100 and I have even more sizes than the stores have! Thank you, Maxey! It was a fun "family" activity.

The only thing left to do is "tack" the large squares in the Prayer Garden quilt. I'm almost finished with that. Here's a picture of me working...with my little helper.

FUN TIMES!!!!!!

A New Craft Discovery!

This is one of the neatest things I've learned in a LONG TIME.

I remember playing with horse apples (bodart apples) at my grandparents' house when I was a kid. In all my years I've never heard of a real reason for their existence....NOW I KNOW!

 BEFORE:  (As God created it.)

AFTER SLICING AND BAKING:

ARRANGED ON A KNITTED SCARF:

     

 BEAUTIFUL!

James' New Jeep

Our grandson, James, got surprised with an early combined Christmas present from his other grandparents and his parents. It's a SUPER JEEP. Needless to say, you can see by the photos...

HE LOVES IT!!!!!!!

I'm one happy kid!

Driving is serious business...and I'm really good at it!

Gotta check the oil...

Whoopee!!!!!!

Get out of the way, Mammy. I'm going this way!

(There's no telling what this means...)

Explaining the radio to "big brother", Terrance.

Cute Beaded Angels

I had a great afternoon...creating beaded angels!
Aren't they cute?
They're made with safety pins and a variety of plastic beads in various shapes.
Fun, fun, fun!

State Fair of Texas - 2012

Maxey and I took Eugenia, our new friend from China, to the State Fair of Texas yesterday. We had a delightful time!

Of course, everyone has to have their picture made with Big Tex!

 And a Fletcher's Corny Dog is a requirement!

 Eugenia enjoyed little Beaurigard...

 ...and Elsie!

The gentleman in the photo is Elsie's helper.

He welcomed Eugenia to America!!

I think it was a good thing the bees were behind glass.

Both "kids" enjoyed the petting zoo!

 

 This one has MY hairstyle!

 Of course we had to eat a turkey leg!!!

 Supper at the fair!!!!

 Maxey--Teaching Eugenia American table manners!

We did it!!

 Of course, we had o have cotton candy!

 The Midway!

 Beautiful!

 In the greenhouse...

 ...more greenhouse

What a lovely young lady!