A Bowl of Oranges

Yum!  GK (my husband) brought these home from the grocery on Friday.  They are SO good.  I have been snacking on them all weekend while sewing.  The nice bowl they are sitting in was handmade by GK.  Yep, he throws pottery.  Really cool pottery.  I especially love this bowl.  I have been working on a couple of quilted throw pillows that I should have finished later this week.  I'll post pics as soon as they are done.  We had such nice weather this weekend in Dallas.  I really meant to get outside and get a nice long walk in.  Rex The Wonder Dog could use some exercise!  But, I got so excited to get my new quilted pillows finished that I never got that checked off the list!  Does anyone else make impossibly long lists of "to do's" every day?  I make these lists of things I want to do each day and if I looked at them honestly, I would KNOW I could never get all of that done in one day!  The progress in my life is that I no longer feel guilty if I don't get to check everything off the list.  There is always tomorrow, right?

I decided that the Black and White quilt needed something so I added the narrow pink border and a wider black and white border.  What do you think?  Should it stay?  I need to get this one layered up and quilted so I can get it to the gal that ordered it.  She has already ordered another one, so it would be nice to get this one delivered.

The Black & White Quilt

With hubby and his daughter off camping, and the Olympics on the television, I got the top pieced to my commission quilt this weekend.  I left work on Friday night and stopped to pick up a little sushi to bring home for dinner.  After seeing them off, I settled in for a little "me" time.  It is always nice to have the house to myself for a little while.  No one else to worry about, I can leave the bed unmade if I want and eat when and what I want.  I can stay up late and sleep in.  Of course, I was really ready to see them roll back in this afternoon.   The operative word here is.....a "little" alone time.  I lived alone for a couple of years before remarrying in 2008.  I was happy during that time and had a busy, full life.  But, I have to say I love being married to my husband.

We had a joint birthday celebration tonight for my husband and his daughter.  Their birthdays are about ten days apart.  I made a birthday cake from a recipe that has been in Glen's family for a long time.  It was his "Grandma Mac's" recipe that she entered into a contest.  It's his favorite cake and he wants it for his birthday every year.  Here's a picture of it.  That's not purple icing, it was a shiny purple streamer I hung from the light fixture for the celebration!

Anyway, I'm so happy to get the quilt top pieced.  I am thinking that I will do straight line quilting for this.  I like the contemporary look of that type of quilting and I think anything else would get lost in the patterns of the fabric.  This quilt pattern calls for random placing of the squares and that is very difficult for me.  I find myself wanting to "arrange" the squares so that each fabric is evenly placed.  This time I made myself just grab the next square in the stack and sew it down.  I'm undecided about the end result.  It does look better in person, the picture doesn't quite do it justice.  I'm open to comments, let me know what you think.

Teaching

I used to teach sewing and quilting at a shop out in Hurst, Texas and I really loved it.  It was so much fun and extremely rewarding.   Things changed in my life and I went back to work full time and then shortly after that I moved into Dallas.  So, I haven't been teaching in about 4 years.  And I have missed it.  Recently, I have really felt like it might be time to put myself back out there as a teacher.  It really amazes me that when I listen to that "inner voice" and start to put one foot in front of the other, things start to happen.  There are still details to work out, but it looks like I might be teaching again soon.  I am putting together supply lists and creating patterns to teach a beginning quilting class.  I would be teaching the placemats that I posted about here.  I can't tell you how excited I am at the prospect.  I hope we are able to work out all the details on this.  I'll be sure to let you know as soon as things are final.

I have been busy sewing a tote bag for a gift.  The recipient requested an oil cloth tote for her birthday and here is what I came up with.  I had great fun coming up with the design and putting it all together.  I hope she likes it!  What do you think?  I think I'll make her a small makeup bag with the leftover oil cloth.

Snow! Glorious Snow!

Wow!  We had the most amazing snow storm here in Dallas on Thursday!  It was so beautiful and it lasted all day long.  I believe it was a record amount of snow for the Dallas/Fort Worth Area.  I have an extremely talented husband and he took these amazing shots Friday morning and there's a great one of Rex the Wonder Dog on Thursday afternoon.  Take a look at what we got in Dallas!  It will likely be a long, long time till we see shots like this again here!  I'm grateful he had the idea to get up early and go get these shots!  It was amazing to see!  Love the shot he took at Cafe Lago (a great neighborhood bistro!)

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My First Commission Quilt

So, someone has asked me to make a quilt for them!  These are the fabrics I'll be using in the quilt.  It's for my hairdresser's daughter.  I was so excited that she asked for a black and white quilt.  I have been dying to make a Black & White for years.  The fabrics are all prewashed and ready to be ironed and then let the cutting begin.  I hope to be well into having the top pieced by the end of the weekend.  We are supposed to get cold and yucky weather tomorrow and I am praying for a "snow day" on Friday!  Then, I would know that I could get the top done!

I finished another placemat to go with the other two, I'll post a pic of it tomorrow.  I like it better than the first two!  I think I might make some more just like it.  I want to end up with a set of 6 of the placemats, but I'm afraid I'm going to run out of the main background fabric.  It's called "Quilter's Tweed" by Robert Kaufman.  I bought the last of the bolt, so I'm really hoping that City Craft gets another bolt of it in the store!  It's just really cool stuff.  It looks like tweed.  I mean, REALLY looks like tweed. 

Okay, I'm off to bed.  I promised myself I would be asleep before midnight tonight.

Torn Between Two Loves

Well as you might have figured out, I love, love working with fabric. I have since I was a little girl. I can't walk by a bolt of fabric or even clothing without reaching and touching the fabric to see how it feels. I love the colors and the textures and the way it drapes and falls. I like to sew clothing, curtains, pillows, purses, quilts, you name it. It is my "first love" of crafting.....and then.....about a year ago, I discovered fused glass.......and now I am often torn between the two loves. I like the sound glass makes when you cut it and I love how it looks one way when I place it in the kiln and I never know exactly how it will look when it comes out. I don't own all of the equipment necessary to create in glass, but I take classes at a local art center once a week. So, I go to class and make my creation. Then, when I come back a week later.......surprise! Here are couple of examples of what I have done in class. It is loads of fun and I am having a blast playing with it, but in the end my heart will always belong to the fabric! And like a true best friend, the fabric is always there patiently waiting for me.

Rex The Wonder Dog

So, I thought maybe I would introduce a beloved member of my family.....Rex the Wonder Dog. I found Rex outside a Pets Mart in 2000. He was up for adoption and it was "love at first sight". He has been a faithful companion since that day and I believe he is a wise old soul. He was rescued in Rhome, Texas from under a house with an entire litter that had been abandoned by the mother (shh.....don't tell him) He is so smart and eager to please and sometimes when he is sitting looking at me whilst I am speaking to him...I swear he's going to open his mouth and say something to me! He is a "hybrid" of what appears to be a Border Collie and maybe some Corgi. You can't see it very well in this picture, but he has the shortest legs with nobby knees! So cute! Just look at those eyes!