Lookie what I learned how to do!!

Take MUCH better product photos!

Isn't that much better? I'm super excited about this. Hey, it doesn't take much to get me going!! LOL!

Meanwhile the quilting bug is still in full force. Here is my grandmothers flower garden. This is too fun!

This photo was taken BEFORE I learned my new techniques!! LOL!

What have YOU been working on?

Basket Applique Quilt

I have finally really learned how to applique, and I am in LOVE!! I adore applique and I am picturing all of the quilts, wall hangings, table toppers, place mats, and runners I am going to make! Here is one of the pieces I am learning on. It is a quilt by Kim Diehl, from her book Simple Blessings. The quilts is called Baskets of Bloomers. 

Super Fun!!!

I already showed you the first block, but here it is again,

This is called Tulips. Here is the second block,

Gerbera Daisies

And the third block,

Pomegranates

They are all needle-turn applique. So much fun!! There are 9 blocks in all to make a square wallhanging. But I am going to make a throw for my living room, so I am going to add 3 more blocks. I am going to use the basket but put my 2 cats and my dog in them. Then it will be more of a rectangle, and a good throw size.

I'm lovin' it!

New dolls on TDIPT this month!

Meet Adaline!

 

This pretty girl is special to me; her hair was inspired by my own dd Isabel, who wears her hair with a side ponytail quite often. She also has naturally curly hair, something her sister and I are highly jealous of!!  AND, we just put in a raised bed of strawberries this year, so I made these little cotton and wool berries in anticipation of our future strawberries!! LOL! See all the details of sweet little Adaline here, at TDIPT!

After the long cold and snowy winter a lot of us have had here in the US, this little ladybug is here to remind us of the warm and wonderful summer days ahead of us!(we haven't seen much yet as we seem to be experiencing the "rainy season" here in the midwest). So think picnics and grilling and lemonade!! LOL! I think this little gal would look so awesome adorning a screen door this summer! Details and close-ups can be seen here at TDIPT.

So that is some of what I have been working on.

Thanks for looking!

3 down, 1 to go! Long post, picture heavy!

I don't know how it is for you in your neck of the woods, but for us May is an insane month, with a never ending whirlwind of activity! We had prom and fundraisers, the track season which is short and intense, the end of travel basketball, kids moving back from college, and a high school graduation! 

First of all, here is Isabel showing off her ribbons from track, she got a 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th!! LOL! all bases covered!!

We are so proud of her! She is such a determined athlete. I don't know where she gets it, I was one of those kids who cringed whenever someone threw a ball at me! LOL!

And next we have Aidan and his girlfriend Annaliese at senior prom. Aren't they a gorgeous couple? I wish I had better pictures but I ended up taking lots of pictures FOR Aidan with his camera and neglecting my own!

And then we have graduation! Yay!! 

Here is Aidan and Annaliese posing with Chelsea! Aidan is off to Western Illinois in the fall to study criminology, and Annaliese is off to Marquette! Wow!

So Isabel has about a week of school left, and then the summer begins. Lucas is going back to Marquette for the summer to work. This will be the first summer I don't have everyone home. :(
But as they say, "Birds gotta fly, fish gotta swim!"

And on the creative front:
I joined a quilt guild in March, and then subsequently have joined 3 little quilting bees, or mini groups. A Wool applique group, a regular applique group, and a Baltimore Album group. So naturally I have been doing some applique! I already showed you my woolie project in a previous post, so here are some of my applique projects:

Block 1 and 2 of my Baltimore Album quilt. I still have the embellishment to do on both of them.

Blocks 3 and 4 of my Grandmother's Kitchen quilt. I have showed blocks 1 and 2 in a previous post here, and if you want to see the entire quilt by Lori Holt of Bee in my Bonnet go here.

And this is block 1 of a basket quilt designed by Kim Deihl. I am thoroughly enjoying all of this applique and have become quite addicted to it!
Thank you for reading my blog and I will try to get back to posting regularly again now that all the frenzy is over and we move into the lazy days of summer!

Wool Crazy

 

I'm still working on Wool Crazy, this is my spring block. I am loving this project! I think I could just go on forever adding more and more embellishment. And I still have 3 more blocks to go! Fun!

TDIPT update and Easter pictures

This month on TDIPT I have some more wool pinkeeps for you. These are stuffed with crushed walnuts, which makes a weighty little pin cushion-I love them, they stay right where you put them, and they are so soft!! (Keep away from the pooch though!)

Well as usual during the months of April and May life is extremely busy! And with my 3rd kid graduating from high school this year we have all of the extra festivities around that too. Littlest daughter is still in basketball and her track season has kicked up with 3 meets this week! But in a few weeks everything will be done and we will be able to slip into the easier life of summer, ahhhh!!! I can't wait!

So just to catch you all up, we had a lovely Easter, how about you? Chelsea and I decided to get busy and make 2 Easter cakes, a sacrificial lamb cake (red velvet with cream cheese frosting! LOL!) and a lemon peep cake! LOL! We also made peep-tinis(martinis with peeps in them) and we molded some beautiful pascal lamb ornaments with our repro antique cookie mold that we got from House on the Hill. Super fun! So here are some pictures, a little late but still worth seeing I think!

Our lamb cake!

Our lemon peep cake-yum!

Beautiful ornament we made from repro antique german cookie mold from House on the hill. We molded it out of paper clay and then antiqued it. It is the pascal lamb laying his head down on the book of life in a gesture of perfect sacrifice! So kewl!! We gave these to our family and friends tied with a pretty spring ribbon!

Relaxing after all of our efforts with a Peep-tini! (this was really too sweet for me, but Chelsea and Gary loved them!) Sorry the picture is so fuzzy, we were trying out a new camera.

I have been MIA! So sorry!

But,

its only because I have been having fun! fun!fun!

  Here is an update on the unicorn sampler, I am still working on this row that has lots and lots of queen stitch!!

I am determined to get this row finished so I can move on to the next, less tedious band. I do love those french knot strawberries though!

MD1660 Unicorn Sampler by the Scarlet Letter

And I have also been working on the Pinkes Sampler by Darleen Osteen.

All of these flowers are done in reversable cross stitch, which actually has a nice rhythm to it once you get used to it.
There are these gorgeous white work dividing bands done in #12 perle cotton. My lighting was really bad, we have had a lot of rain and overcast days, so you can hardly see them. I will try to get a good picture when I get a better day. But trust me, they are really pretty the way they catch the light!

And last but not least, I have gone wool crazy!

I have spent a couple of nights with Joanne Mulally's Wool Crazy book, my favorite hero Horatio Hornblower, and some beautiful wool!

This is what I have come up with so far!

This is my first block of a 4 block wool crazy quilt. Each block is 24" X 24", and they are seasonal. this one is spring.

This project is fun, fun, fun! I can hardly put it down!!!

So thats what I have been doing in my spare time;  and in my work time I have been coming up with new dolls and woolie pin cushions for TDIPT at the end of the month, and new cross stitch charts to be released very soon! 

Thanks for visiting my blog, and I enjoy every single comment, so don't hesitate to leave me one!!

~Annie