Engaged

Skyler and Kelleigh got engaged over the holidays. It was not a surprise to us since Skyler had talked to us about it a couple of months ahead of time. He was actually very creative by making a scrapbook of some of their adventures and then leaving an open page for "when I proposed". The wedding won't be for awhile since they still have two years of college to finish but this gives us plenty of time to prepare.



Kelleigh and Skyler are both very creative. Here is a fun picture Kelleigh arranged.



I am excited about this new adventure in our lives.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Cookie Exchange and Kelleigh Bread

My friend hosted a mother/daughter cookie exchange just before Christmas. We were to bring 7 dozen cookies, six for exchanging and one dozen to share while we were there. I made the candy covered oreos which are so easy to do but a bit time consuming because you have to let them harden. And since you use a mold, you can't make them all at once. I just love how they turn out and it makes me look like I know how to bake.

We make Banana Bread quite often and we actually call it Kelleigh Bread. Grandma Brill renamed it because Kelleigh loved it so much when she was little. Every time she went to Camp Grandma's she would ask for Grandma's special bread. I found a recipe that I really like because it is so simple. My husband offered to help me one day when I was having friends over so I put him in charge of the Banana Bread. He added a secret ingredient and it made all the difference in the texture and taste of the bread. Now he is in charge of making Kelleigh Bread. It turns out perfect and slices very nicely.

My friend Ellyn and I made candy sleighs for a few friends. I decided since they were so cute that my girls were going to give them out as gifts. At first they were not too sure but then once they saw them, it was all good. They were super easy to make and using a little hot glue was the trick needed to keep them together.

Here are some other fun cookie pictures from the exchange...

This cold and rainy day makes me want to stay home and bake. I had already planned to hit a couple of craft stores and the book store so I am sticking to my schedule.

Bonnie Hunter

Earlier this month Bonnie Hunter spoke at the Garland Quilt Guild after she taught classes at Fabric Fanatics. She is an awesome speaker with lots of energy and wit. She had such wonderful tips to share and really made me realize how spoiled we are with our stashes. There is so much we can use and we don't utilize our scraps enough.

A couple of the girls in one of my small sewing groups took her classes and here is what Sarah completed. Isn't it fun?

Here is Bonnie's version. The venue was not that great...seating was tight and lighting was dark so the pictures are poor quality but you can see them on her website which is Quiltville.com.

Here are a few more of her lovely quilts.

Bonnie was such a huge success that I heard she is coming back next year to our same area. You can check with Fabric Fanatics about classes and there is a possibility she will be visiting other quilt stores in the area. Yeah!! Can't wait to here her speak again!!

Quilting

I am so proud of Kelleigh for designing another quilt and getting it done. She is entering it in a quilt show in Oklahoma. She has joined her own guild in Stillwater, OK while she attends OSU. These ladies have been so sweet to Kelleigh and she looks forward to her meeting each month. I think she did great on her design.

During the holidays I was determined to get my quilting machine set up to its largest setting. It is right in the living room but there is no other place to put it. Kelleigh was enjoying playing on it and she insisted Skyler give it a try. Well, he actually did really well and seemed to enjoy it.

All three girls happened to be hanging around when I was taking pictures so I tried to get a decent shot. It did not happen but this one isn't too bad. They were so silly that day that they could not stop laughing long enough for a picture. I tried!!

After Kelleigh left to go back to school, Skyler stuck around for a bit. I was trying to lay out a drunkard's path and had decided I was just going to do circles making it look very modern. Um...it looked very plain!! Skyler jumped right in and with Taylor's help, we came up with this design. This was a Marti & Me project.

The lighting was not good that day so the picture doesn't show it off much. Can't wait to quilt it and finish it off.

Texas Homecoming

Homecoming is always a big event in Texas especially with the tradition of making mums. Girls make garters for the boys and boys make mums for the girls...it is a tradition that we learned about 27 years ago when we moved here. I have no idea how it got started but it is huge here. Taylor's mum was the prettiest I have ever seen. Last year her sweet sister made her a duct tape one that was so cool and you can see it here. This year her date's mother made the mum and she did an amazing job.

Taylor made the garter all by herself and I think she did a great job.

These girls worked hard on getting the garters done. I am glad someone took charge and planned out a place where they could gather to make these with friends.

We have a favorite spot in town to take pictures and I am always pleased with how they turn out. Taylor and her date managed to match without even getting together to compare colors.

Time to hang up the mum and look forward to Homecoming 2012.

Raffle Quilt - Work in Progress

I am involved in a small Art Quilt Group that has branched off from our local quilt guild. It has been amazing to see the talent of some of these women and some day I will share some of what they have shown our group. But today I am showing you what we are working on for next year. Most guilds make a quilt to raffle each year so they can earn money for workshops and speakers. Two of the ladies in our group volunteered us to make it for next year. I have worked on the raffle quilt the last two years and decided this year, I was out. Well, it did not go that way but I have to say this is going to be a fun quilt to be a part of. We have met several times already just in the planning process and now we are making some progress.

These are just the base blocks. The quilt will have pieced sashing and some applique in the borders. I am just so excited to see how the bright colors look on the black background. Here are my blocks.

This is my favorite. We are calling it the pomegranate flower because that is what it reminds us of.

Imagine these with some thread painting and soft embellishments.

This is the proposed layout which will have the pieced green sashing. The four corners will be slightly different flowers which are a little bigger because they do not have stems. I am sure we will make more changes but we had to start somewhere and we hope to have it off to the quilter sometime in November.

Marti and Me again.

I love how using the Marti and Me templates make me look like an experienced piecer. These templates are just amazing. This particular month we did a faux Carpenter's Wheel and boy did they make it easy. After cutting the pieces, I did not trust that they were going to turn out so I tried to lay it out by looking at the picture and couldn't do it. Then I had my 15 year old help and she gave up. The next day I placed all the pieces back in the order that I cut them and decided to follow the directions to see if it worked. And it did!! My daughter was even amazed out how it turned out since we couldn't even get the puzzle to fit together.

The difference between this and a real carpenter's wheel are the squares. The original block pattern have all the squares the same size. I cannot stress how much I love that Marti has done all the work for us.

This is going to be the center square of a Texas quilt. It would look spectacular using the recent block patterns that were given out with the Quilt Across Texas tour.

I love the red and aqua colors chosen for this one.

Here are a few more including a Christmas version.

It is so fun to go and see what everyone has come up with each month. One pattern can look so different just by the colors you use.

The Katy Trail

I am finally getting around to organizing pictures and wanted to share some of mine from our summer bike adventure. It was probably the most rewarding vacation I have ever had. I have been to lots of places including Europe and Hawaii but riding my bike along The Katy Trail was probably my favorite. I love a physical challenge and there is nothing that makes you appreciate where you live better than to be completely without the comforts of your daily life. We slept in hotels but that was because I did not want to haul all my bedding around. It was hot and a tough terrain and our fuel was warm water and Cliff bars. We did usually find a place to eat dinner that was your typical small town bar filled with smoke. We all had our Ipods which besides my husband and my friend, Mary, got me through some really tough spots. I found this shirt for Mary after the trip and knew I had to get it for her. We rode most of the last day by ourselves and it was completely uphill. We now know to start from Sedalia, MO and head to Dutzow, MO.

We tried to choose historic places to stay and the first hotel was Hotel Bothwell in Sedalia, MO. It was really beautiful and they tried to keep everything in its original state.

I love the look of old buildings. It is hard to believe that these were once thriving towns with lots to offer.

These are our loaded bikes. I managed to take a couple of jackets, a book and some sewing along.

Here is my husband conducting business as we wait for our train that was delayed two hours. We got a really late start our first day which made it very challenging.

Finally, our train arrives. The train wasn't even stopped 5 minutes and the conductors do not help you with your bikes. Charlie ended up leaving a bag behind not realizing the train would take off so quickly. He was intending to hop back off to get it but they are apparently on some schedule even though they were late to pick us up. It was a pleasant ride even though we did pick up some newly released prisoners in Jefferson City.

After reading other bikers experiences with The Katy Trail, it was advised that we not ride across the bridge from Washington to Dutzow. That was great advice! It was two lanes and no shoulder room at all. I had arranged for the bike store owner to give us a ride across and he was able to replace the things that were left behind in Sedalia.

Lunch was at 4:30 on our first day on the trail due to the train being late and the deli we had planned on eating at was closed. You can do that when you are in a small town...just put a sign on the door. We found a little bar that actually had wonderful cold water.

Our first night on the trail we stayed at The Doll House Bed & Breakfast. It was outstanding! The owner was super sweet and breakfast was delicious.

It was neat to be riding along and all of a sudden you see the State Capitol of Missouri.

...or deer running through the fields.

We stayed the next night at The Globe Hotel which had a lot of history to go along with it. The owner had most everything moved upstairs because they were expecting the river to flood. She had showed us the flood lines from previous years that were half way up the walls.

She had a lot of antique quilts and linens which I loved inspecting.

There were very few buildings in Hartsburg where we stayed but this one was so ornate.

Before we arrived at one of our rest stops, McBain, we came across Boathenge.

There were so many neat picture opportunities along the trail. We did not stop for all of them or we would have never made it to our destination. Next time we are going to allow more time to take in the scenery.

Our last hotel was Hotel Frederick in Booneville. Another historic place with lots of character.

The cafe there had delicious food!

We saw so many cool barns. I am passionate about barns, houses, and churches. I particularly like the barn with the quilt block above it.

Our last day was completely uphill. I have never been so sore in my life but I have never had such a sense of accomplishment either. I just loved our trip and cannot wait to try some more Rails to Trails adventures.