HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY ONE AND ALL

I am 60 years old and I think this is the very first year I have ever spent so much time thinking about what Memorial Day means to all Americans.  With all the turmoil around the world and here at home in the United States, I have reflected back on what our fore fathers were thinking when they created the Constitution of the United States, including the Bill of Rights.  We are so very fortunate here in America to have the freedoms we do have.  I am sure there are other countries outside the U.S. that feel the same way we do.  But, on the other hand, there are many countries out there that would love to have even a small portion of the rights and freedoms we possess as Americans.

Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May  Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. soldiers who died while in the military service.  First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War (it is celebrated near the day of reunification after the Civil War), it was expanded after World War I to honor dead Americans from all wars.  You can read more about Memorial Day on Wikipedia .  While contemplating the day and its significance, I spent the morning taking pictures around St. George of some of the things that make Memorial Day so special.  Enjoy!!! Celebrate your freedoms and count your many blessings!!!

As I was out in my garden early this morning before it got too warm for comfort, I was thinking that when I moved here full-time just about a year ago from Colorado Springs I was going to hate it because of the heat that starts here in the month of May.  I managed to get through the hot season last year which lasted into October (air-conditioning really helps - LOL - something I never had in Colorado Springs).  This year, I think we have had it a bit cooler as my garden is still doing pretty good.  I am told that by the time it gets to be July, the garden pretty much is toast.  Sounds like a challenge to me!!!

Above is my artichoke plant.  I am thinking that there should be some kind of fun artichoke-looking thing coming out of the top.  Ya know, kinda like this:

I wonder, am I asking too much too early in the year???  Now remember, the St. George gardens start about two months before a lot of the country, so I would think my little plant should be looking sort of like Candace's by now.  Its the first time I have ever tried growing an artichoke so maybe I need a little patience!!!

Well, we'll see.  I'll keep you posted if anything does start looking a little artichoke-y.  On another note, I do have a couple of baby tomatoes on my tiny tomato plant, ready for picking in the next day or so!!  At least my little finger is pretty green!!!  :-)))

Enjoy your weekend!!

Kaffe Fassett FQ Give-A-Way!!!

This is my newest paper-pieced block (Block by Carol Doak).  It measures 5 1/4 in. by 5 1/4 in. finished without the white border.  I made it to use as a little pocket on the front of the camp bags we are making for the 15 young women that are going to girls' camp next month.  Those making the decisions on what we're are going to use decided they did not want to use the block so now I need to decide what to do with 15 of these darling blocks.

If you would like to leave a comment about how I could use these cute blocks (not necessarily with the white border) I will send a Fat Quarter of Kaffe Fassett fabric to the owner of the suggestion I use.  A winner will be chosen on June 15, 2010!!

Oh my goodness, where in the world did this past week go??  It just flew past me quicker than any week so far!!!  Plus, this weekend was full, full, full!!  Saturday morning was my great niece Lauren's last soccer match!  Alas, they lost but it it was lots of fun and with each game they get better and better!!  And the very best thing is that they are out in the fresh air and having fun.

This is Lauren after the game looking like a professional soccer play!!

Here are some action shots:

And here is the team at the end of the match toasting the winning team!!!
Good job girls, we'll see you next year!!!

After the match was over and Lauren showered so she could get the green out of her hair, Lauren, her Mom Michelle and I went off to a Mother/Daughterluncheon and craft day!!1 So much fun!! I only got a couple of pictures because I took so many of the soccer match that my battery just up and died on me. Here are some of the gals at the incredable lunch table filling up on homemade rolls, salads and cupcakes, plus a wonderful array of fruit!

And this is Michelle, Lauren's Mom discussing how to make sure all the girls got a chance to work on all three of the crafts they had planned for us!!

I only had time to make two of the projects. This first one is a necklace made from washers that have been punched with the letters of our choice. It took me a few pracice shots with the hammer to get the letters the way I wanted them and then I created these two darling necklaces:

Th other project I worked on was this darling ring made from satin ribbon that was singed on the egdes and layered with a jewel placed in the middle and a small hair holder cut to the size of the finger to be endowed with the ring and voila!!!

It was so much fun being around all these darling young girls and their mothers. I think there were a few grandmas there too!!!

Marjo van Oers - Nederlands

A little over a month ago I wrote about joining an International Siggie Swap. Well, I have received my first two siggies!!!  Some of the women who are in this swap have been collecting a siggie from hundreds of quilters all over the world. First of all, it is sooooooo much fun getting snail mail that is not a bill or an advertisement, and second, it is even more fun to see who the siggie is from and where in the world they live. With the two siggies I have received so far, each quilter sent a mini biography which I will keep with each siggie and then I am planning to put together a little journal-type book of all the bios once I have enough siggies to make into a quilt. Each siggie will measure 5 inches by 5 inches once it is part of a quilt.  This is a great way to meet the neatest people all over the world and a fun collection to collect.

Judy Lindsay - Lacey, WA USA

I wish I had seen this picture last week for Mother's Day but I figured better late than never!!! We went to my great niece's soccer game this morning and I had a chance to chat with her mother Michelle. I love this girl as my niece but I love her even more as a Mother. Since I have no children it is always fasinating to me to watch the Mothers of the world. And, as I watch Michelle and her hubby Brandon raise their kids, I am always in awe at ALL there is to do with kids. Michelle and Brandon have four kiddos, each with a totally different personality, and they seem to be able to figure out what each child needs to make them the best little human beings they can be. Now don't get me wrong, Michelle and Brandon have their challenges but I'll tell you what - their kids are the neatest kids in the whole wide world!!!

A belated HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all the Moms in the world - it is a tough, tough job!! I'll take the ease of being an attorney or a CEO or a doctor over being a Mom!!!

I started quilting about 6 years ago.  I made a quilt top out of some fun kid type fabrics and  I also learned to paper-piece.  Sue Baddley of Summit Creek Quilts and I became friends some time in 2004 when we both lived in the San Francisco bay area and she introduced me to paper-piecing and the Dear Jane quilt by Brenda Papadakis. After finishing the top and getting a couple of Dear Jane blocks and a a couple of Nearly Insane blocks, my life went into a tizzy and I stopped quilting for about 4 years. Once my life settled down a bit I started my little eBay store The Quilting Garden and I started out by selling Aurifil thread because I loved how it made my blocks look so good and because it is a two ply thread, the seams in my little 4 inch blocks did not bulk up like they did when I used other threads.  Then I moved on to selling some fabric and I made little quilt kits.

Now that I am essentially unemployed because I am helping my Dad these days, I decided to go big time and I am now selling some of the nicest fabric out there - Kaffe Fassett and some of the fabrics I have been collecting over the years.  While I was opening boxes and cleaning things out, I found my first quilt top!!!  It was so fun as I had not seen it in years and it was like opening a present on my birthday.

I sent the top up to Sue Baddley and she quilted it quickly and got it right back in the mail to me.  It took me a few days to get the binding on it but now it is done and I am going to hang it over at my studio!!!  How fun!!!  My very first quilt is finally complete, complete, complete!!

Hope you all have a wonderful week!!!

Oh boy!! I just got a new shipment of Kaffe Fassett fabric. This is the most yummy feeling fabric I have ever had the pleasure to run my fingers across!!! I also got one piece of Jacob Phillips line of fabric. It is just as yummy as the Kaffe Fassett fabric and the colors are exquisite (bottom piece)!!

This is a good picture of the Jabob Phillips piece - it is called Varigated Ivy!!

I have always been intrigued by the beautiful appliqued Baltimore-style quilts but I have always said that it looked like too much work and too difficult for these old eyes to do. Well, Nancy from The Tatterd Garden gave me permission to share the gorgeous Baltimore-style appliqued quilt top entitled Aunt Millie's Garden that she just completed and is deciding how she wants to quilt it. Nancy tells that she has spent years on this quilt top but as far as I am concerned, the years of work was so worth the result. I told Nancy I could not wait to see it quilted and that I would love to see the quilt in person. Well, maybe some day I will get the chance to see it in all its quilted glory!!

I was so inspired by Nancy's quilt that I ordered the book this morning and I look forward to receiving it next week!! Thank you Nancy for letting me share your exquisite quilt with my readers.

My brother, Greg is truly my inspiration for all the fun I am having creating this blog. When I talked to him a couple of nights ago he said he had not been to the blog for about 6 days. Well, when I chatted with him this afternoon, he said he had been on and thought all my changes and new things were all great but he was sorry I had removed the picture of the suprized kitty from the top of the home page and simply made it a blog post. I promised Greg I would make it a permenant picture on the side bar so we could both enjoy it each time we visited the Quilting Garden - hence, the new and improved surprized kitty picture on the side bar at the top of the page . . .

Hey, how did it get to get Thursday night already??? Who is the stealer of time?? :-)

Also, Happy Birthday to my Mom, Hazel, who would have been 92 years old today if she were still with us!!! Happy Birthday, Mom!!

The Young women's auction last night was a huge sucess!! They made twice as much money as they were planning on making!! We had a great auctioneer that poked and prodded and everything up for sale was sold. There were hand-made quilts and afgans; framed prints and original poetry; cookies, dinner rolls, cakes and one pie - mine!!! My pie sold for $35.00!!! Hoo! Hoo! And the German Chocolate cake sold for $25.00!!

It was a fun night and the girls did a great job!! Dinner was hamburgers and hotdogs cooked on the barbie with chips and all the fixin's for burgers and dogs!!!

Now the girls can go to camp this year and have a wonderful time!!! Gosh, summer is right around the corner!!! Where did the first four months go???

Tonight is the fund-raising dinner the young women in our Church are having to make enough money to go to camp this summer. Part of the fund-raising is an auction where they are going to auction off services of the girls (such as babysitting or housework or gardening) and goodies made by the members of the Ward (such as knitted afgans or quilts or food). This is the Scandinavian Pecan Apple pie that I made - it is my own recipe and hopefully it will bring a good price!!! :-)

The German Chocolate cake is made from scratch and is a recipe from The Joy of Cooking - Yum!!!