Little Dresses are for Twirling!

Garment sewing is just not my thing! I made my clothes for years, and the results never truly satisfied me. (Maybe it's the fact that my short body doesn't look like the drawings on the pattern envelopes!) Since I caught the quilting bug (and my case is terminal), I haven't made any garments at all.

But....God blessed me with a beautiful granddaughter who is now 2 years 4 months old. Her little sister will be born in the next few weeks. Nothing else could lure me back into garment sewing than little granddaughters!

I bought this fabric and pattern a couple of months ago, and they sat on my cutting table all that time. I became the queen of procrastination! However, when we had a request to babysit last Friday, I knew that would be my impetus to "git 'er done"! I finished the dress Thursday night, and she was twirling in it on Friday morning! What girl doesn't want to hear that she looks pretty? We loved hearing her talk about her "pwetty dwess".

Cuddly Bunny Went to the Hospital Today

This guy went from a medallion to a finished quilt yesterday. I actually machine quilted it, and it wasn't too bad. The pattern is another by Sindy Rodenmayer at Fat Cat Patterns. (It may be boring to keep reading that in so many posts, but I always want to give her credit for the great patterns.) I'm glad I got it done because it's heating up here again, and my "treehouse" sewing room isn't so comfortable for sewing any more, even with the air conditioning on.

I received the yellow fabric as a donation. I know you can't tell, but the print has rabbits all over it. There was plenty of it, so I used it for the back, too, and almost used it all up. There is a lot left in the donation bag, which makes me feel pressured! I feel like I have to use it, although none of it "turns me on" the way it would if I chose it myself. Still...you can't beat free.

Bunny went to St. John's today, and the staff said he'd be on a bed this weekend. Go, bunny--make someone smile!

Four Teddy Bears

This teddy bear quilt is ready to go to the hospital. The pattern is, of course, from Sindy Rodenmayer at Fat Cat Patterns. This is the second quilt I've made using the old pastels from my stash. (There is one more top from the same fabrics, but I need to do something else before I face those fabrics again!) Someone gave me a big piece of lavender gingham, so I used it for the back and binding.

We are enjoying unseasonably cool temperatures this week and loving every minute! My sewing room is upstairs and can be pretty hot in the summer, so I am taking advantage of the coolness and working up there with the window open. We have mature trees, and it's like sewing in a tree house!

Two Sweeties on Fathers' Day

My DH had a Fathers' Day visit from his little angel yesterday, so I thought I'd feature these two sweeties today. (I would love to show you her beautiful smiling face, but don't have permission of her parents to show it online so I cut it out.) I love the expression on his face, though! The man turns to Silly Putty when he is around his granddaughter!

Last week they came over for DH's birthday party, and there were four rabbits chasing around in our back yard. She evidently hadn't ever seen a wild rabbit and was fascinated. She and DH sat on the grass and watched them for a long time. She would put both hands on her cheeks and her mouth made a big "O". Well, as soon as she got here yesterday, she wanted to see rabbits! They searched around all the nearby yards, even shaking the bushes, but they couldn't find a single one, even though she called out, "I love you, rabbits!"

We are such silly, crazy-in-love grandparents! And just think...we get another little angel next month!

Tagged! Getting to Know Each Other

Brenda tagged me recently and gave me some questions to answer about myself. In turn, I am going to tag five people who have commented on my blog, asking you to answer these same questions on your own blogs.

Here are the rules, as stated on Brenda's blog:

Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

Now the questions:

1. What was I doing ten years ago? Oh, I remember that summer very well. For about ten years before that, I had been working in our school district's Title I program, doing one-on-one instruction in reading and language with at-risk kindergarteners, first graders, and second graders. I worked only when school was in session, thus giving me every summer off. In the fall of 1997 my son started attending a private university here in the St. Louis area. I learned that they offered full tuition benefits for the children of employees so I applied for and got a full-time secretarial job. Therefore, in June of 1998 I was working in the summer for the first time since 1973! Let's just say it was an adjustment! Also, the AC on my car wasn't working.

2. What 5 things are on my to do list for today?

Help DH cut down and bundle dead branches on trees in our yard.

Join blocks of I Spy quilt into rows and then join the rows into a top.

Hand quilt on teddy bear quilt.

Return video (The Bucket List--very good!)

Laundry

3. What snacks do I enjoy? I'm trying not to think about snacks! But since I must--I love chocolate chip cookies, Cheez-It crackers, raw veggies and the dip I make with fat-free sour cream and Lipton Vegetable Soup Mix.

4. What would I do if I was a billionaire? I would buy my husband the "hobby farm" that he has always wanted, with one normal horse for DH and two short, slow-moving horses for my daughter and me! I would make sure that it was within easy driving distance from our two granddaughters so we could introduce them to the horses and country life.

I would also research charities and donate money to the ones who used their money the most efficiently for causes that are meaningful to us.

I'd make sure that both GDs had college funds that could send them anywhere they wanted to go.

5. Where have I lived? I was born in Chicago. We moved to Calumet, Michigan, on the Upper Peninsula when I was four. When I was in first grade we moved to Centralia, Missouri, where my mother still lives. I lived in Columbia, Missouri, when I was a student at the University of Missouri. After graduation I moved to the St. Louis area and have lived in two apartments and two houses here. (I met DH here.) We have lived in our current home for 30 years! (Amazing!!)

Now...I'm going to ask Debi, Texas Jan, Myra, Jeanne, and Peggy to answer the same questions. Tag, girls, you're it now!

Designer Flipflops

This isn't the first flipflop quilt I have made with this pattern--in fact, it's the third. The two previous quilts went to the hospital where I volunteer and according to the Child Life Director, they were very well received.

One day about a month ago I was looking at the ads in the Sunday paper and saw an ad for fancy flipflops. These weren't rubber shower shoes! Oh, no, they were embellished with sequins, beads, flowers, and all sorts of things. I thought--with all the novelty fabric I have, I should be able to design some very cool flipflops. So this quilt was born!

I'm almost out of the applique background--it's a sandy beach dotted with little shells. I need some more of that!

Here's the story of the last flipflop quilt I donated: A mom was in her 17-year-old daughter's room at St. John's Pediatrics floor, very distraught because the daughter had been in a car accident and was in a coma. The Child Life volunteer showed her three quilts and asked if she'd like to pick one for her daughter. She chose the flipflop quilt because her daughter lived in them all summer and had a pair to match every outfit. The mom wrapped herself in the quilt for comfort. Fortunately, the daughter awoke and her mom gave her the quilt!

With that in mind, I will happily deliver this quilt on Friday and set it free to do its good work.

Tired of Thunder!!

This afternoon another big, nasty, window-rattling thunderstorm passed through the St. Louis area. Man, are we ever sick of this rain! I think I heard that we have gotten over 12 inches more rain this year than we usually do. Everything is so soggy, and when the sun does come out, the air becomes steamy. I guess by August we will be wishing it would come back--oh, no, there goes the weather alert again! (I call it "The Squawker". It's a radio tuned into the National Weather Service. I would love to bash it some nights!!) Another line of storms is headed our way tonight.





Meanwhile, another UFO has bitten the dust! If this looks familiar, it's probably because you saw it on Planet Patchwork. It was a Block of the Month series called "Galactic Twinkle". I ran out of twinkle in September of that year! While prowling through my UFOs, I found 8 blocks and the 9th one cut out but not sewn. (The brights are all Fossil Ferns.) Those blocks became this quilt for Project Linus, a quilt that I think a boy would like. There's nothing sissy about it!