Back to Bonnie's patterns

I am working on CrabApples from Bonnie's newest book, Adventures with Leaders & Enders.

I am so addicted to her patterns that I go through Bonnie withdrawal when not working on one of her patterns.

If you have a chance you will never regret buying her book!

http://www.quiltville.com

New Great Grandson

Just 24 hours old and look at all that gear on this young man! The nurses in the NICU says he is doing fine! And Amanda and Phillip are head over heels in love with all 6#'s of him!

Postage Stamp Swap & Star of Hope's progress

I am all done swapping out the 20 envelopes each containing 1,250 - 1 1/2" fabric squares. I know that sounds like a tremedous #. But to the swappers this is a treasure beyond measure!
It did take me two days to make sure each envelope had their proper # of patches to be returned to them. And not any of their own going back to them of course!

Here they are all sealed and ready for the post office. MaggieMae helped me tape them all closed. So, if you find some long white hairs in the tape, thank MaggieMae.I planned on mailing them today, BUT Amanda started her labor yesterday a month early. I am not at the hospital but am waiting here at home anxiously. Because of the H1N1 scare, I am not allowed in the labor room. Bummer as I have witnessed all these births!

I did get the Star of Hope to final border stage yesterday. Hubby graciously held this quilt up for me to take a picture of it. It is great to have a tall strong hubby.

Crochet patterns for the two baby afghans are in a Leisure Arts booklet published in 2003 called Pineapple Afghans for Baby. And another book published in 2001 called Keepsake Baby Afghans.

Catnip cleaning, some piecing and crochet baby afghans

I can now post the pictures of two of the three baby afghans I made for my Grand daughter Amanda's baby shower. There were lots of "ohhs and aha"s when she showed them. Mine were the only handmade gifts. But they are from the heart even if they are old fashioned.

I fell in love with this pattern while making it. I can imagine Logan's little baby fingers touching the bumps. It is a very tactile afghan. And these are machine washable and very durable. Use them up Amanda!

I also made two pair of booties. Not enough light in this picture....sorry!

MaggieMae is stoned on catnip. In fact, all five cats are on another level of awareness. Rolling and running and then stopping and enjoying their high.

We harvest our catnip in the fall and hang it upside down to dry during the winter. I decided to clean the catnip today. This is a major job. We had a 55 gallon bag of catnip bushes. Heavy glove time and I worked outdoors on my tailgate. Thanks goodness it was not windy. Tons of seeds and I only kept the blossoms. Lucky kitties!

All five cats were at the "trough" but by the time I grabbed my camera only three were left to photograph.

I am finishing up on the Kaye England pattern called "Star of Hope". I learned a nasty lesson yesterday.

DO NOT PRESS BIAS BORDER UNTIL IT IS ATTACHED TO THE BLOCK!

They fit perfectly with finger pressing. But after a tug from my iron they are too big. Kaye teaches no pressing until the block is complete. Finger pressing is enough. I forgot what she said.

So, here are my 12 center blocks. I had to trim some of the ends so my half rectangles are not the proper height. But I am happy with the effect anyway.

Our lawn is beautiful

My husband uses a home made recipie to keep our lawn at it's best.

you can see the ingredients on his blogspot:

http://jimmohr.blogspot.com/2009/05/jerry-baker-lawn-tonic.html

Not a weed in sight! EVER!

Dustin's Irish Chain & the chipmunks are awake!

Grand daughter Arika's boyfriend deserves a quilt. He admires all of my sewing. And he loves my Arika. As I said, he deserves a quilt. The border fabric will totally make this quilt his. The fabric has deer and Autumn colors. Dustin's BD is in June. I am on time!
I made this in two days. One day of a classroom sewing and the next day home finishing it up. My table vibrated when I or my table mate sewed. It was very annoying. Plus the room was way too warm. It was a rainy windy day...perfect for staying home and sewing.

Baby, Macy and MaggieMae waiting for a treat. They all love that barstool! I sometimes move it in front of the door so they can get an elevated view.

The chipmunks are out of hibernation mode. These little critters empty my bird feeders as fast as I can fill them. But this one was eating not storing. He/it still looks sleepy. And one of my sparrows was watching his closely.

Back view of the stool sitting waiting on treats. I caught MaggieMae yawning!

Kaye England Seminar in Indianapolis HELP!!!!!

I need help from any Indiana quilters going to Quilt College this week.
Having never been to the Hyatt Regency in Indianapolis I am having a panic attack. I printed out a Map Quest map. Seems too vague to me. I would love to caravan (follow someone) to arrive at 2:00 on Thursday March 4th.
Any help would be appreciated.
Subee in New Haven Indiana
http://www.subeesews.blogspot.com