A present for Mom in law

This is what I made for my mother in law. Today is her birthday and she just phoned to tell me she opened it so now I can share. I used a bunch of different fabric lines for this one and mainly in greens and oranges. It was quilted with a free motion pattern. This was the only picture I had and I was lucky it was on my computer otherwise I wouldn't be able to share. Pray for my pictures. Happy Birthday Sharon!!!!

A bit of sewing

Yesterday I got a bit of sewing in and worked on the owl quilt. The front is complete and I was putting together all for my scraps to use them in the back somehow. Can't throw them out. I cut them up into 1,2,and 2.5 inch pieces and then sewed them in a big line the length of the quilt.

For those of you I haven't talked to - my computer died a big death on Sunday. Soulmate had it torn apart into pieces trying to fix it when I came back from church. It had been getting really slow and although I am sure that I voiced that it took Soulmate trying to check something for him to really get the full picture. And speaking of pictures- from 2004-2008 I

have lost mine in the hard drive that is no longer working. So that will have to be sent away- so word out to you- back up your photos to disk or Flickr. I don't even want to know what that is going to cost. I am writing to you on the new laptop Soulmate bought for me so that I may stay connected to the world. Thank you Soulmate!!!!!

Morven Park and Mansion

Yesterday we took a little trip and went to a place we had heard about and seen from the main highways, just never been. We took a tour of Morven Park and mansion. They had some people there doing re-enactments of the Civil War times and gave us a lesson on life "back in the day" We toured the mansion on the lower levels and got a lesson on the Westlandmore Davis family. Towards the end of the tour both queens lost interest- but I thought the grounds and the building to be beautiful. Pictures posted on Flickr for those interested. Have a great day!

Our first week

We survived our first week of summer all together. We had the help of a couple of playdates thrown in there. Thank goodness for the pool and free movie Tuesday, both great cost effective ways of entertainment. Today we are going to take a family trip over to the Morven park and mansion and do the tour. Tomorrow I work in the church nursery and Soulmate might try and get some golf in. I have been working on the owl quilt and sent off something as a birthday gift so when that is received I will post pics of that. I am not going to do any swaps for the month of July. With the kids home and a project list that is growing I will work on that instead. Keeping the kids busy and out of trouble is a full time job. Hope you had a great first week of summer also. Picture above is of a fun sunset this week.

Time Flies

This is Dee Dee with Tyler, Jess, and Cody, her boys. When we went back for our trip to CA I was amazed at how big the boys......hmmmm....young men have grown. They all had the broad shoulders and manly voices that completely freaked me out, because I remember holding them as babies (tearing up now). The thing I love most about this group is no matter how much time has passed there is a easy loving relationship. This trip was no exception. I love ya man - I mean men. Dee Dee - good job!

Presidents Award

What a way to end elementary school. Queen 1 was given the Presidents Award for achieving good grades and SOL scores. We knew she was smart, but admit we were surprized when her name was called. We are so proud of her. Good job Queen!!!!

School is over and we are relaxing and enjoying the beginning of our summer. We went to the movies yesterday. Queen 1 is at a sleep over and Queen 2 is having a playdate. The bulldozers are behind us and next to us and I will be sooooo happy when the construction is done and the houses are complete. I got in a bit of sewing time yesterday and worked on the owl quilttop. Putting that puzzle together. Hope you are getting to enjoy your summer too.
Love.

What I sent

This is what I sent Kim in Oregon for the texture swap. As soon as I heard what the theme was I sketched this out and knew what I wanted to do. Most of it is done by hand. I used the machine for quilting. I used wooden buttons, thread, yarn, and cotton and linen fabric to make it. It was a joy to make and I really liked the outcome. I think the hardest part was waiting until Kimmie received it before posting the picture. I wanted to share immediately.

Texture mini quilt swap

This is the quilt I received from my swap partnet in Oregon. I will post what I made for her as soon as I know she got it. She used the poodle charms as inspiration and then found the poodle fabric. I like how she framed each of the poodles. It is very cute and fun so thank you very much Kimmie.

End of year teacher gifts

For the girls music teacher- embroidery pattern by Sublime Stitching. If you like to stitch buy this book. So much fun.

Lots of Lemon Cooler Cookies!!!!! 12 dozen so far with more to bake today. Great recipe from by Spinster Sister found on the internet and shared with me. I'll pass it along to you.

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup gran sugar

1/3 cup butter-i used salted

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla or lemon juice- i doubled the recipe and did one of each

1 1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 T water

Mix- roll into 1 inch balls or smaller on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 325 for 18 minutes and then roll in mixture of powdered sugar and 1/2 packet of Kool-aid lemonade mixture.

Three more days and counting! I can't wait for school to end!!!!!

Lu Lu , Ginger and Patriot - Oh My

Meet Patriot. He is a Beta fish that Queen 2 gets to keep in her room as long as she keeps it clean. I'm not above bribing my kids and so far so good. The fish is red, white and blue- thus his name. He is very relaxing to watch and I could have one in every room of the house. This scares Soulmate!

They are here. The tri color one is Lu Lu and the Ginger colored one is, well Ginger. Lu Lu is younger than Ginger by about four months. We are hoping that Ginger is not pregnant because she is really chubby, quiet, and likes to find the hiding places, including a log tunnel that she was too big for and gooshed out the sides of. That was funny.

In all the excitment and being over the moon for her guinea pigs Queen 1 fell asleep watching them. She napped like when she was a toddler with the mouth working and everything. Doll baby.

Our other poor babies had to be shaved down. They got really matted at the kennel and after trying to brush them out for two hours we decided just to shave them. Charlie got a cut under his armpit but the grooming took him to the vet to get his skin glued. Poor Baby! I don't think he could look any skinnier. Jack just looks like a cartoon character with his crooked mouth and buggy eyes.

Advent calendar and getting back

While we were on the plane going to CA I stitched some numbers for a advent calendar that is on my project list. I got up to 13 and found the fabric in the background at a quilting store in Sonora. That was the same day that I lost the keys to the rental car. Ever done that? First for me.... although I have lost my wallet and had my purse stolen on previous trips to Sonora so I think someone has put a curse on me. It was fine and as they say "all about choices". So that day I got to meet and ride with a very nice tow truck driver named John who towed the car to the dealership where I met some really fun guys that worked in the parts department. Hung out with them for about two hours while a key was being made and the car reprogramed. My kids were being taken care of by my best friend growing up, sisters and parents and had a great time fishing and we all met up again once I was done. So could have been much worse and I was only out $110.00. After that I chose to take my "dumbass" sign off my forehead.

We had a good trip. We got to play in the ocean and go to the aquarium in Monterey with Soulmates parents. We also got to go to a animal rescue for wild animals that they train for movies and TV. We ate out at some good restaurants, had grilled hamburgers one night at their house- yummy food. Soulmate stayed on with his parents while the girls and I drove up to my hometown of Sonora. We met up with my two sisters, cousin, parents, grandmother and aunts. We were busy! We had some great big family dinners at my sister Megans house, got to see my sister Leah's new home, went to Yosemite and of course my day at the dealership, kids got to fish.

Soulmate met up with us and we went for a hike around Pinecrest Lake which kicked all of our butts. We truly are flat landers now. My knees still need WD40. We had an adult dinner at the Casino's fancy restaurant 7 Sisters, got to see Dee Dee's new home with acreage and her growing boys I held as babies- total shock at the broad shoulders and deep voices.

I'm sure there is stuff I didn't mention but I'm still on west coast time and my clock is all messed up. So now we are back and making list for the next two weeks. School is out the 19th for us and there is plenty to do before that. I'm sure the girls will have work to make up. I did all the laundry yesterday and have to get some food in the house today.

I took over 300 pictures and you can find them on www.Flickr.com. Type in dena wayne and then go to people. There is a way to link it to my blog but I have yet to learn that so friends out there give me a call and lead me through that.

Take care- Dena

On Vacation

We are on vacation. Check back soon to hear all about it.