Spring Fling block...

While sitting around waiting on storms to develop and playing on Facebook, I found where Carol Doak added a new free paper-pieced block. It was too cute not to make.

It only took me about 15 minutes to sew it together. We won't talk about how long it took me to pick out the fabric!!!

Here is the block. It is called Spring Fling.

(Sorry for having to turn your head almost upside down to look at it. It is right side up on my computer and I couldn't figure out how to edit on here!)

After I made the one block, I felt the urge to make three more.

Then came the decision of what to do with those four 3" blocks.

Hmmmmm....

After thinking about it overnight and waiting up nearly all night for the storms since we were told there would be a very high chance of a very large tornado outbreak, so who could go to sleep???? Hubby can and did just that!!! And no we didn't have any tornados, just lots of wind and rain. Very thankful for that.

Anyway, I thought about it to keep my mind off torandos riping my house apart and taking all my precious fabric away and depositing it all in the trees around here, I came up with this!!!

It is small and fits on this little wall just perfect.

Now I am going to tackle blocks for the Farmer's Wife quilt. Don't hold me to it, but I might hand piece the blocks!!! I feel sure after one block I will be machine piecing them but I can at least try. Anyone want to take bets on how long it will take me to make all 111 blocks?? :)

Until next time!

Sharing time...

Going through pictures today and just wanted to share a few.

Spring seems to be here and my yard not only needs to be mowed but

also needs some new flowers and plants

...and leaves mulched

...and trees trimmed

...and bushes groomed

...and  ...and  ...and it never ends until winter hits again!

But let's not think about winter!!!!!!

 My garden/flowerbed DEMANDS that I make this!

Too cute and so easy.

I saw it on Funky Junk Interiors website but now can't find the directions.

It is very easy to do though and will be done here.

Maybe if you find it you can leave a comment for me of where it was!! :)




I found this picture just browsing through old folders.

Grandpa and Hayley last summer checking out the dirt around the pond.

One very happy girl when she is 'schliding'!

And as you can see in this picture daughter and Hayley are happy now.

And safe!!!!!

That is all we can ask for.

Later!

Ang

New Project

This is the new project I just started as I needed something I could do while watching TV. Bird Brain Designs has some really cute patterns.

It is a really cute pattern but I didn't realize that when I ordered it, it really isn't that small. :) The finished design is 11" x 22", but I love it!!!

It will take me a little bit to get it all completed but I already have a spot picked out on the wall for it when it is done. (Don't look too close or you will see a couple of dog hairs trying to get into the picture!!!! LOL)

Until next time!!!

Ang

SHE IS NOW SAFE....

It has been a very long time since I have posted anything and I am hoping now that my life seems a little more less stressful that I can post more often.

Over the last year we have been dealing with how to get our youngest daughter to get out of the relationship she was in due to abuse. They were engaged to get married and two weeks before the wedding last August we, meaning me and her dad, were able to sit down and talk to her. She broke down crying because she thought she was hiding it so well but she was scared! She left him and came home for three weeks only to go back to him thinking things would change. Long story short, they didn't! January 14th her boyfriend had to be gone for a month for his job, probably the best thing that ever happened for her! He left and her and our granddaughter, Hayley, went back to Texas for a week with me to see family. She had not been home in three years because of this monster! We had a blast! While there I could tell she was more relaxed but also thinking, about what I didn't know and she wasn't sharing. We returned home and that next weekend she went out with some of her best friends that she hadn't been allowed to see and she shared with a few of them how her life was. They all were livid with just part of what she shared. This really got her thinking plus she was watching her best friend and her fiance and what they had she had always wanted but was finally realizing she never would. She went home that night and on Sunday called us and told us she was leaving him for good. No tears this time at all. We knew she meant business. She started packing up all of her clothes, all of Hayley's clothes and toys and came here. Her sorry a** boyfriend called her one night drunk like always about three days before he was to come home and this was the door she needed opened for her to tell him it was over and she would not be there when he got home. She left this idiot with only her clothes, all of Hayley's clothes and toys, but no car. She wasn't allowed to have a car of her own!!!! Once he came home he realized she meant business too and started his "I will change, it won't happen again" stories. She didn't buy into them this time!!!! They finally agreed that she could have Hayley's furniture, all her stuff out of her office/craft room, a TV and a dresser, BUT the catch was that he was going to pack all of that up for her, which he did. We went yesterday and loaded all of this up thinking he would leave when we got there but he didn't. I wouldn't even look at him, our oldest ignored him but her boyfriend talked to him I think because he knew someone had to try to keep things civil. Hubby couldn't go because he had to work and it was probably best because he still wants to kill him. We got everything. We got her moved in with her sister and her boyfriend and she is now safe and I can already see my baby girl coming back out and being who she has always been! Hayley has taken it all in and has been fine. Luckily she is too young to understand or know what really was going on. It has really been funny that once everyone knew she was leaving him for good her phone started lighting up with text messages from people she hasn't seen or heard from since meeting him all tell her how proud they are of her. She has said that going back was stupid but she wasn't ready to leave him at that time plus she needed to see if he would change and he didn't. She can now walk away knowing she tried her best. We are extremely proud of her, extremely proud of our oldest daughter and her boyfriend offering to take her in when she knew the door here was always open (I think she needs some sister one-on-one time right now), and are very thankful she is now safe with Hayley!

I write all of this because I just needed to get it out. If I would have had my way yesterday when we picked everything up, I would have literally taken Buddy on myself. He has hurt my daughter in ways that don't show on the outside. The stories that she has told me would curl your toenails! Stories that I will never be able to tell her dad for fear he will hunt Buddy down even though he is out of our lives other than when we might have to see him on Hayley's birthdays. The anger runs deep right now for me and I hate that feeling more than anything on this earth. I have prayed that God will help me forgive but right now it is all too fresh I guess. I just keep telling myself that I am very thankful for the following:

• Cassi and Hayley are safe and happy.
• All the things that Cassi didn't get can be replaced.
• I will never have to pretend to like Buddy anymore.
• Buddy will never be sitting our table eating with us anymore.
• And that I have a God who will help me deal with my anger and my hurt for my daughter.

I am hoping now that I know that both of my daughters are safe and that I have a future son-in-law there watching over them both and protecting them that I will now have time to quilt again. That desire really hasn't been there even thought last December I finally got my Tin Lizzie and frame so I can quilt my own quilts and maybe some for others if I ever get good at it. :)

If you are reading this, thanks, and I hope that all my future posts will be fun stuff to share like quilts, cooking/baking, gardening, but most of all Hayley!!!

Until next time!!!

Ang

I decided tonight to make cookies using mom's chocolate chip cookie recipe, which is absolutely amazing!!

They are easy to mix up

Easy to bake

Look really good fresh out of the oven

Even Bristol was waiting on hers

And this recipe makes a ton but.....

They did not taste like mom's. :(

They are good and I swear the reason mom's are so good is because of the bowl she mixes hers in along with the wooden spoon she uses.

I guess I will just have to wait until Christmas to get the real thing.

Ang

Almost six months....

Wow, it has been almost six months since my last post! A lot has been going on but it is only things that would bore you so on to the stuff that has to be shared.

First on the list is Miss Hayley.... a NaNa has to do what a NaNa has to do.

Hayley is now six months old and boy does the time flies faster now than it did when my own were little.

She thought it was fun to sit in her dirty clothes hamper.

First time at the state fair and she would just giggle when that bunny touched her toes.

This is her starting a career as a yoga instructor.

Now that I have gotten that part of my system, but if provoked I have a ton more to share, I will share something I just finished once I found the background fabric.

Not the best picture I have ever taken but you can get the jest of what the tablerunner looks like.

This is a close-up of the block and the background fabric that took me about a month to finally find.

I have not had much of a chance to sew lately but did get the tablerunner in and now just have to get it quilted.

I am working on another sample for a quilt shop in Texas that requires a lot of embroidery work and then pieced blocks. The fabric they sent for the quilt is gorgeous!! I will share more of it as I get more done. This one I am going to ask to keep when they are done with it because I really, really like it.

Last on my list of things to share right now is the newest member of the family.... Bristol.

She is 5 months old now, we got her about a month ago. A breeder was cutting back and she was one of the puppies left out of a litter she did not have time to market to sell. She contacted me to find out if i knew anyone who would give an Australian Shepherd puppy a good home. I wasn't looking for a puppy because my main concern was making sure Indy was healthy as she has had some issues come up, but when this breeder sent me her picture I fell in love and David said go get her. She was free by the way, which was even better. When I picked her up she came with a trizillion little hitchikers (ticks) attached to her little body, enough that it made my backseat of my truck like it had a ton of dirt on it after I got her out. First order of business was a bath of course and a call to the groomer. She went to the groomer two days after I got her and the vet the same day to be checked out and to get something for the ticks and the few fleas I saw. That same week she went back to the vet to have her little girl surgery. Poor thing thought she lived there! She is turning into the awesome Aussie that she is, but she will never be as good as Princess Indy.

Until next time,

Ang

One week ago today....

This is what we got one week ago today after only 6 hours of labor....

Hayley Dawn

6 lbs, 7 ozs

17 inches long

She is truly adorable!

Sleeps 4-6 hours at a time.

Is awake to say hi to Nana and Poppa and Aunt Amanda without being fussy.

And slept through her mom giving her a mohawk!!!!!

Mom and Hayley are both doing wonderful.

Sew & Tell Friday

I have sat back and watch my online friend Heather do this Sew and Tell Friday that she discovered at Amylouwho's and figured since now I have started taking half a day off on Fridays that I would jump in when I could too. :)

I actually got to sew today on this:

It is actually a lap quilt for Batiks by Design as a sample for her shop. Patti, the owner, and I have been emailing and sending fabric back and forth to each other since October of last year trying to get the right colors for this. We finally settled on these but we had picked out a dark green with some tan batik for the border but then decided after i got some of this all up on the sheet over the closet doors, aka design wall, that the green would blend in with the arches, so we went on a search again. LOL We came up with a tan that will be gorgeous and the green we are going to use as fluers appliqued on the border. I cannot wait to get it done!!!

I have a granddaughter due in April and I have yet to make her a quilt!!! Tomorrow will be spent on just that instead of this quilt above. :)

Thanks for checking out my Sew & Tell Friday. I hope to be back next Friday with more.

Ang

It Is A Granddaughter!

She is due April 12, 2010!

The ultrasound was the coolest thing I have ever seen! So different than the ones I had when I was pregnant 23 yrs ago with this daughter who is having this baby girl.

Can you see her little nose? This is the profile of her head. Her little feet and hands were so cute and she never stopped moving, which was just like her mom! LOL

Of course had to go baby shopping after the ultrasound and now my head is going 90 to nothing of baby quilt ideas and little knitted sweaters and booties. :)

Am I Dreaming???

This was the most scariest thing I have ever had to go through with my daughters.

My youngest, Cassi, calls me at 11:30 on Friday night hysterical. All I could understand was "fire". I finally got enough out of what she was saying to get "apartment", "fire". At that time I said, "Me and dad are on the way!"

We jump in the car, I call Amanda as I know she can get to Cassi faster than I can and then I call Cassi back. At this time she tells me her dog Rhett is still in the apartment and the firemen were trying to find him. I just talk to her to try to get her to calm down because she is almost 5 months pregnant and this was the last thing she needed to be doing.

About 10 minutes later once we reached Tulsa, Amanda calls to tell me they had gotten Rhett out and he was okay. Scared, wet and smelling of smoke, but okay. At this time is when I felt my heart calm down and my body stop shaking.

In this picture you can see both of my daughters, Amanda in the grown jacket, Cassi bending over the dog in the white coat. Cassi's nose is bright red from crying so much but they were both so happy to get Rhett out and Rhett was so happy to see his momma.

Today was spent trying to salvage what we could and get them moved into another apartment. They lost a lot of things but those things can be replaced. Before leaving Cassi and Buddy's (her boyfriend) apartment I had them a bed made with clean sheets, 4 fluffy pillows and a nice warm quilt. I know over the next several weeks they will discover things that we were not able to get out but they are both just thankful that some of the high dollar items were salvagable and working when we plugged them in at the new apartment. I know I will be washing about 100 loads of laundry for them as they have other things to worry about right now than getting summer clothes clean or things that they just hardly ever wear but feel they have to have. Tomorrow will be spent taking Cassi to buy some new shoes as she lost all of them in the fire.

I know by now everyone is asking how it started and the fire department is still trying to figure that out. They have determined it started on their balcony outside but by what they don't know yet. They were not home at the time but like Cassi said driving up to your apartment on fire about 5 minutes after the firemen arrive is not the best thing to come home to.

I am just thankful my daughter is fine, my grand-puppy is fine and the baby she is carrying is fine too. It could have been worse because she almost did not go with Buddy and his friends and she would have been home when this started and probably have been in bed asleep at the time.

Wow! Wish this was really a dream and I would wake up to everything being okay but I smell like smoke and I'm pretty sure this is not a dream.