Cutest Photo Ever :-)

This is first daughter (expecting a baby boy December 20th) holding our little grandbaby, Cole...


Cole patted her stomach and laid his cheek on it as if he knew his cousin was in there--ADORABLE!!

Marilyn

Quilts-I-P

Works-in-progress would pretty much describe my entire craft room at this time, so I'm narrowing down this post to quilts-in-progress!

The quilt top for Doll Quilt Swap 7 came together this week.


My (secret) partner said she/he likes blues and pastels and is relaxed, not formal...


...so I used a collection of blue Kaffe Fassett fabric and linen. I hope she/he likes it:)


There are only about two more weeks left for this swap and many have already completed and sent off their quilts--some real beauties...you can go here to see them.

I also made a block for my Sew Connected 2 quilting bee group...


This is for Alissa who requested straight lines, no triangles. I had a lot of fun with her fabrics--little tadpoles and frogs in those jars!

Yesterday, I received fabric from Terrie for September's Stash Busting Bee International blocks...


Her request? Haunted Halloween wonky houses!! How great is that?!

Marilyn

What? Me, EARLY?!

I usually don't give much thought to Halloween in August, but this year is different...thanks to Shawn who told me about Sarah's Vintage Spooky Tag Swap.

And not only have I thought about it, but I finished my 13 tags today, ready to mail to Sarah on Monday.





I like that I'm now in a 'spooky' frame of mind and ready to start on my Sweet & Sinister tags. My supplies are out and that little space on my table is cleared off. I might even have a couple of ideas left too:)

Marilyn

Putting the Pieces Together

This week I've been clipping, snipping and dyeing--sounds like a hair salon--and pasting to make Halloween tags for Sarah's Vintage Spooky Tag Swap.


Sarah is going to make tag books from everybody's tags (due 8/28), tying them together with a ribbon...13 swappers, 13 pages...how's that for a Halloweeny tag book?! I can't wait to see it!!

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Here's another fun tag book swap...

Sweet & Sinister Tag Swap

It's still open for sign-ups if you want to jump in!
(Tags aren't due until October 10th.)

You can go here or here to sign up.

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This next picture may quite possibly fall into the same category as watching paint dry...


I'm coming right along on my 1000 piece puzzle. But not without help...second daughter and her boyfriend were here last weekend. The three of us worked on it Sunday morning while Rick was cooking up a delicious breakfast--he's not a puzzle person:) But he is a fabulous cook and I swear he added some magic to our breakfast--we really knocked out a lot of this puzzle after we ate!
(edit - 08/22/09...finished this baby last night--yay!!)

Marilyn

Ephemera and Fabric Scraps--Things That Make Me Happy!!

Yesterday, I received a delightful piece of mail from Mary...it was her July Giveaway package that I was so lucky to win!


Vintage book pages and postcards, a variety of game cards--including Logomachy, vintage calling cards and other bits that are perfect for ATC's and tags, etc.


I was surprised to see that Mary also included a packet of charms--so pretty and unique! These will be great for paper projects too...and/or fabric projects.


As you can probably imagine, lingering over this package of goodies has been muchos fun! Thank you, Mary!!

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Today, I was back in front of the sewing machine and it felt goood!!! I made blocks for Rachel in my Stash Busting Bee International group.

She wanted Wonky Stars, either 12.5" or 6.5". I made five 6.5" blocks...


The centers are fabric


Rachel sent from her stash.


The points are from my stash.


Except for this last one, which is made with scraps from her fabrics.


I'd forgotten how fun it is to make these stars--just about anything goes!

Hope you're having a good weekend:)

Marilyn

More Guilty Pleasures

Ten days post-op and feeling amazing. Minimal pain and, of course, less energy but I'm not complaining. It's a good time for things like coloring...


I love to color! I especially like coloring books that I can get from Dover and Bellerophon; and also mandala coloring pages that can be downloaded from different sites online.

But I really love my prismacolor pencils!


If you use colored pencils, you know what I mean...laying down color with these is practically effortless and even meditative:)

And puzzles...the dining room table is currently covered with 1000 puzzle pieces. Seeing the table reminds me of my grandparents who frequently worked jigsaw puzzles, although I think they used a card table. Guess they used the dining table for crazy things like big meals or something!


So far, the outside border and the cornflakes box are put together. No rush, it's a process, lol! The part of the process I really like is when I walk by the table, pick up a puzzle piece and magically drop it into its proper place! The part I don't like is having 100 or so pieces that seem to all be the same color--green, in the case of this puzzle!

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The fabric I ordered for my Doll Quilt Swap 7 quilt came in the mail on Tuesday. I'm excited to get started!

Marilyn

Home and Doing Great!

Thank you, everyone, for your good thoughts and well wishes--I took them all to heart! Everything went very well, I came home Tuesday afternoon and feel considerably improved with each day!


Family and friends have spoiled me with flowers, cards, gifts and meals.


(I even got my own box of Skittles Crazy Cores, like the ones I sent to my mini quilt swap partner.) And how do you like this pretty bicycle horn?! The card reads "Beep for service"! Hehee!


I've had one moment of inspiration this week...while reading a new quilt magazine, I got an idea for Doll Quilt Swap 7. It's all sketched out and I've ordered the fabric from Hancock's. Can't wait to get started :)

Now.....this is where I must tell you about Rick suggesting that he take a picture of my stitches for the blog to show you my 'stitching' for the week:) LOL, what a goof! (Get your own blog, darlin'!)

Actually, the rest of my week was mostly spent with what I would usually call guilty pleasures--things that just fill up time, nothing more--crossword puzzles, magazines, movies, NAPS. I did manage a little crocheting and stitching, and snipping ephemera, and then more NAPS! But no guilt here, not this week:)

Speaking of ephemera...Lucky Me!!...last weekend, I heard from Mary that the random number generator picked me for her July Give Away! I'm very excited--Mary can come across some really incredible ephemera!!

One last thought...isn't it interesting how different one year can be from the previous year? A year ago Monday we left Kansas City headed for a week in Eagle Nest, NM. Rick and I have had the best time this week remembering that trip. The photo album has been out on the coffee table for us to refer to and things have come to mind that we hadn't thought about since returning home. It really can be a lot of fun!


For example, a year ago today we spent the day in Taos, NM...a perfectly gorgeous day! We ate the most delicious lunch and the sights, the sounds, the smells were the kind that fill my soul! And now, recalling it all, I'm filled again:)

Hope you're having a good weekend...

Marilyn

I'll be away.....

from blogging for a bit. Hopefully not too long--I'd miss seeing what you all were up to!

I'll be having some surgery tomorrow--a hysterectomy. (Too much info??) I anticipate that everything will go well and that I'll be feeling like some computer time again soon. My doctor is going to be using the da Vinci robot and recovery is supposed to be quicker, with less pain. Also, I should be in the hospital only one night--a very good thing, I do like sleeping in my own bed:)

So, take care...see you all real soon!!

**Hugs**

Marilyn

*{P.S. Don't forget to go check out The Pink Artists Drawing - Part 2!}*