Babies make life so much better

Have you ever noticed how babies can make you forget about your worries and pain? Now I don't know if it's true, but I really think that Quinn was pretty excited to be coming to visit me today. I snapped this picture as she was "talking and laughing" soon after she arrived. If I was the swearing type, I'd swear that she was telling me the story about what she said to Nikki when she found out she was going to spend the morning with me! (Okay, I know that is stretching it a bit because she's only 10 weeks old, but you can let me dream can't you? )

I love this picture and think it is my new favorite picture. Did you notice the hair clips trying to control the hair? I think they are adorable, and I can't believe that Quinn leaves them alone.

We were at the funeral home earlier today, and that sure was difficult. Ben was such a nice young man and had tons of friends. I feel so bad for his parents. I just can't imagine losing a child, especially one so young. I got an e-mail from Ashley's grandmother today and she said that the recovery is going slowly, but progressing. I'll keep her in my prayers.

I think about Ben and then look at Quinn and realize how precious life really is! While Quinn was here today, she took a long nap and I was able to just sit and watch her. (I should have been sewing; but hey, they grow up so fast that I wanted to just look at her.) I'm just guessing here, but I like to think that Quinn was dreaming about how comfy her quilts are and that they help her sleep more soundly.

I'm hosting a 13 mile training walk tomorrow and hope that we have a nice morning. We're starting at 8:00, so I hope we beat the heat. Speaking of walking, I'm going to be doing quite a bit of that over the next week.

Jack and I leave Sunday morning for Burr Oak. We'll be spending time with some of my siblings and their families until Thursday afternoon, when the men and children leave and Mom and the sisters offically begin the "Sisters' Weekend." Jack and I plan to walk, fish, read, and just plain relax. I'm taking my sewing machine and a couple of projects. I want to complete a T-shirt quilt that I'm working on and maybe get a good start on my Ohio Star/Rail Fence quilt. I just started that project, but it is pretty easy. The rail fence blocks are done, (71 of them - they are so easy) and I have four of the Ohio Star blocks done. The blocks finish 6" and I have to make a total of 72 star blocks. The quilt is for me, so if I don't get much done it's not a big deal. I'll add pictures when I return.

There is very little cell phone coverage and no internet access at the house we rent in Burr Oak, so I won't be able to post or check e-mail for a week. It will feel strange, but I think I'll live. I'll post when I return.

Have a great week everyone!!

Rough Days

Hi Everyone,

The last few days have been a bit rough. My ex-husband's nephew was in a boating accident and was missing for a couple of days. Lynn was at the shore when his body was recovered and that was really difficult for her. I know she is glad she was there, but it was just tough for her. The visitation is Friday and the memorial is Saturday.

Saturday morning, I am hosting a 13 mile training walk for area participants of the Breast Cancer 3 Day. We are meeting at the Rails to Trails trailhead on N. West Street in Norwalk and walking 6.85 miles to the trailhead on Sand Hill Road outside of Monroeville. We will return to Norwalk to complete our 13 miles. I sure hope a lot of people join us for the walk. It always makes it more fun to have lots of people walking. Everyone is welcome to join us. You don't even have to walk the entire distance!

In regards to quilting; I haven't done much in the last couple of days. I had hoped to get my Safe Haven Block of the Month block done, but I haven't even started it yet. Maybe tomorrow....

Jack and I will be joining a number of my siblings in Burr Oak next week. I'll fill you in with more information about that later. It is getting late and I have to be up early tomorrow, so I'll continue with this later.

Have a great day and don't work too hard.

I'm Back!!!

After two long weeks and very little free time, I'm back to updating my blog. Yeah!!!! I guess that I have been put to shame by my friend Rachel who started her blog about a week ago and she has posted every day and has even included videos. You rock Rachel!!

Well, I don't have video but I do have a couple of new pictures of Quinn.

She sat up in the seat tonight and joined us for dinner. She likes to wave to us and then laugh. I love the hair clips, don't you? I think they make her look older than 9 weeks.

I also love her hand behind her head in the bottom picture. She does that all of the time and I laugh every time I see it.

I've been busy quilting the last couple of weeks. I finished a quilt for someone who had 10 handpieced blocks from her great grandmother. She originally had 20 blocks but one ofher cousins wanted some of them so she split them up. She wanted a queen size quilt made out of the blocks to give to her grandmother (the daughter of the quilt maker). I decided to put the blocks on point and have a plain muslin alternate block since the blocks were hand appliqued on muslin. I embroidered some information of two of the blocks and quilted a feathered wreath 6 of the blocks. I then quilted a grid through the entire quilt. I really hated to give up that quilt! I took some pictures but don't have them downloaded on the computer yet. I will add them soon.

I have to get to bed soon because it is 11:10pm and I have to be at work by 5:30 tomorrow morning. I should have sent out the guild information tonight but I guess that will happen tomorrow. I only work until noon, so I'll do that as soon as I get home.

Good Night!!

Quilts and Cookbooks

The Quilt is Done

The raffle quilt is done and we are selling tickets!!! Lynn and I are participating in the Cleveland Breast Cancer 3-Day walk again this year and since we EACH have to raise $2200, we are raffling off the quilt shown here. The quilt measures 81" x 99" and is machine pieced and quilted. All of the fabric used is quilt shop quality fabric. The drawing will be held October 18th, which is right in the middle of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Tickets are $1 each or 6 for $5. If you'd like to purchase a ticket e-mail me and we'll take care of you!

In case you aren't familiar with the 3-Day event, this is a 60 mile walk over the course of 3 days. We walk 20 miles each day, camp out for 2 nights and even though it is rough, it is such an emotional and amazing experience that I didn't think twice about walking again this year. Of course I think that the most challenging part of this entire thing is to raise the $2200, especially with the economy the way it is right now. Besides this raffle quilt, Lynn and I are having a fundraiser garage sale. We are asking for donations of unwanted items so that we can sell them and put the money earned into our fund. We have been getting a few donations, but could always use more. We are trying to clean and price items as we get them, and so far we are keeping up pretty well.

If you'd like to make a donation directly to our fund, you can go to our personal fundraising website provided by the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation. This site is secure and allows you to make a donation online. Go to www.08.the3day.org/goto/JoanneHubbard Just click on the DONATE NOW button and type in Joanne Hubbard from Ohio when it asks for the partipant's name and home state and you're all set. THANKS!!!

The Cookbooks are Published!!!

I am really excited because we picked up the Strawberry Cookbooks a couple of weeks ago and the timing is perfect! I think the book looks great and for $12 is a bargain. Sandy did a great job getting everything finalized for this project and I am just thrilled to see my name on the front cover!

Troy Mills Farms is my sister-in-law's farm. My brother John (who died unexpectedly in October of last year), Ellen and I had talked about this cookbook a couple of years ago and I started to gather recipes and experiment. It wasn't until Sandy said, "Hey, how about getting that cookbook published" that things started to get done! Anyway, there are 110 recipes in the book, all strawberry, and they have all been tested. Some of the recipes even have low fat or low calorie options added to them! There are a lot of interesting facts about strawberries included, some pictures, and even a few beautification recipes, like facial scrub and pedicure cream. Now I guess we just have to wait for the berries to ripen so we can get cooking and have smooth hands and feet!!!

The Sudoku Quilt

I made this quilt for a class that I taught in Lakewood at Kathy's Creative Sewing Center. The class was about color (value, intensity, etc.) so I made all of the puzzle fabrics a shade of green. The students followed suit and one used blues, one used purples, one used reds and the last one used a mixture of colors (and fabrics - cotton, silk, tapestry, etc.). Two of the students were relatively new sewers, one was a new quilter and the fourth was quite experienced in all forms of sewing, especially clothing alterations and construction. She was working on quite a few prom dresses and wedding dresses during the two weeks of class. She is very talented and my talents really pale next to hers. We had a very good time, sewing. laughing and enjoying each others' company. They all have suggested some other classes that they want to have, including the toothbrush rug. I told them lots of stories about Kare and now they can't wait to meet her!! No pressure there, right?!?

Pink Lemonade

This quilt is for a class that I am teaching at Sew Little Time. This quilt is from Eleanor Burns' Quilts Through the Seasons. I think this is the fifth quilt from that book that I have taught. I really like it when I can make a lot of quilts from one book and I know that customers like it also. If I spend $28 on a book, I sure do feel like I've gotten my money's worth if I make at least two or three of the quilts. I really like this quilt. Of course, I didn't use the lighter fabrics that Eleanor Burns did, but I like my colors. Below is a close-up of one block so you can see the fabrics better. I like that touch of purple in the center of each block. Of course I fussy cut those!

To quilt this, I stitched in the ditch around the center block and the two red flying geese units. I also stitched in the ditch around the small green squares that created a chain across the quilt. I stitched a small meander in all of the background areas. I had fun with this quilt and wouldn't mind making another one, only I would make it larger. I usually only make a lap or twin quilts for class samples, but I usually make at least a queen for home. Lately I have been making all king size quilts, but find that I have a hard time quilting them. Kare has reminded me that I am supposed to be at her place quilting those, so I guess I can continue to make them and expect to get them quilted. YEAH!!!

Speaking of king size quilts, I have one that is ready for binding. I was hoping to get it sewn on before we went to Chicago, but that didn't happen. Maybe I can get to it tomorrow. I also want to finish the border on my scrappy, bright Pineapple Blossom so I can get that quilted, and I still have not decided on the final border for my Carolina Crossroads. I guess I better get my butt in gear and get busy!

Goals, Smoals

Well, so much for my first goals! I was very busy today and when I started to inventory my projects, I got side-tracked. The good side of that is that I got two quilts quilted and one binding is half done! I'll take pictures and post them as soon as the binding is done. The quilt that I'm in the middle of binding is the one that I am going to raffle off as a fundraiser for my 60 mile walk in August. I should have had this done a long time ago, but since it didn't happen, I'll get it done now and do my best to sell tickets! No crying over spilled milk or late projects!!!

Even though I didn't get my quilting organized, I did work on getting the basement organized. We are having a fundraiser garage sale June 11th and 12th so I was in the basement going through some boxes of holiday decorations, etc. to see what I haven't used for a couple of years and what I'm willing to get rid of. I'm pleased with the outcome so far, although we need a lot more stuff to make any money. The re-organized basement will also be a storage for some of my lesser used quilting supplies and fabric. I am trying to figure out a better system for storing fabric so that I can bette see what I have in my stash. I'm thinking that shelving in the basement might be the answer. I'll still have my tubs of fabric and works in progress in the sewing room, but I'll also have fabric downstairs. I'm thinking that I'll put my batting down there also, since it is so bulky.

Jack and I have a luncheon tomorrow and we probably won't be home until 1:30. I also have to work from 3-7. I've been trying to exercise and walk every day as preparation for the 60 mile walk, but it sure does take time. I shouldbe walking 5-10 miles a couple of times a week, but there just never seems to be enough time. I have to buckle down or I'll be paying for that come August!

A Goal

I've set a goal for myself! I want to get all of my pieced tops quilted by the end of summer. I first have to make my list and then prioritize. There are some tops that I know I will never quilt myself, so they will have to be sent out for quilting. I have quilted some king size quilts before, but I don't generally find that fun and end up frustrated and not very happy with the finished product.

I know that I already have backings ready for some of the quilts, but I've just put them aside thinking I would get to them later. What that really means is that I found another project that I just HAD to do and the quilting was just going to have to wait.

After I have the quilting done, my next goal will be to finish or decide what to do with my UFOs. I have been working on them, but I still have some. I've been really good at using my stash for any new projects and I know that a couple of my UFOs just need borders added, but that I don't have enough fabric to do that. I know that in order to finish some of the UFOs, a trip to the fabric shop will be needed. Oh darn!!! Anybody want to join me?

I have a couple of quilts that I can use for our guild challenge quilt. We had to use a fat quarter bundle or multiple fabrics from our stash. There were a couple of other requirements, such as it had to be at least 24" x 36" and at least one of the border fabrics had to be used in the body of the quilt. My black and white quilts pictured in an earlier post both fit the challenge rules, and they were both completed after the challenge was issued. I have pieced a couple of other tops since the challenge that could work, but I doubt that Ill get them quilted and bound before the June meeting. I guess that trying to get them done is another goal for me. Even though we only get the $10 prize for one quilt, what the heck, I'm going to try to get more done. What did I call this earlier..."finish up mode?" I think I want to finish things up so I have to go shopping for more fabric and notions.

I've been playing around on EQ and have come up with a couple of new projects that I want do. I'm going to try to be good and wait until I get some other things done. Who knows, maybe getting these quilts done will allow me to give some quilts as Christmas gifts.

I read a cool blog today. http://quiltingcowgirl.blogspot.com She's pretty fun and is having a drawing to celebrate her 300th post. What a cool idea! Since I'm new at this, I'm a far cry from 300 posts, but maybe I'll do something special for my 100th post. Check out her blog!

I'm running errands tomorrow, but hope to get some quilting done as well. I should have most of the evening to get my list started and organize my projects. I'll post my progress soon and perhaps a picture of the "Need Quilting" and "UFO" piles. I'm also sure I'll have at least one "What the heck did I do" quilt and will have to decide if it's worth keeping. Wish me luck!!!

Busy Day!!

Today was pretty busy. I got home much later than I had planned last night and it was after 10:oo PM when I started baking the 10 doz. cookies needed for the bank order. It didn't take too long to get the cookies done, but I was on the computer until after 2:00 AM. I had to have the cookies delivered before 9AM, so I didn't get up until close to 7AM.

I made 4 different kinds of cookies and was prepared to make 5, but I had exactly 10 dozen with the 4 kinds. The bank doesn't usually care what kind of cookie I bake, except during major holidays when they want at least 1/3 of the order to be cut-outs. I don't mind making the cut-outs, but I don't like to frost them! Fortunately there were no cut-outs requested for today's order.

After I delivered the cookies, I had to get some paperwork done here at home (pay bills, etc.) and I had a couple of packages to get ready to mail. I did a quick "pick up" cleaning of the house and then I did some mending and a small amount of sewing. I had to be at work a 2:00 and I wanted to make a couple of stops on my way in. I worked until 6, stopped to see Nikki and Quinn and then came home to spend the evening with Jack watching the baseball game. It was another good game and we just relaxed and enjoyed ourselves. Lynn was at the game so we kept looking for her on TV. She and her friends were on the last time they were there, but I didn't see them. While they were on the way home, a friend called them and said he had recorded the game and he saw them. Pretty cool! Fortunately they were doing anything stupid like picking their noses.

I have a guild meeting tomorrow, but I am going to go work out first. I want to be there by 8 so I can get home and shower before the meeting. We are supposed to sew after the meeting, but Idon't want to take my machine and I don't have anything ready to bind or have any other hand work. Maybe I'll go find something to cut out. Decisions, decisions!!! I know, I'll start a new black and white quilt!