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Showing posts with label Olivia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Olivia. Show all posts

Thursday, June 14, 2012

This quilt is big as a Panda Bear!

 
Olivia's HUGE Panda Bear Quilt. 

The pattern is for a crib sized quilt, but I added a row to both the top and side b/c I didn't want her to out grow it too soon.  Then when it came time to add the outside border, instead of adding a 3.5" one, I upgraded it to 6.5" 
Yep, I'm pretty sure she'll be able to use this on her toddler bed now, then the sofa and even take it with her when she leaves for college!!!
What little girl doesn't love pink & purple?? They're Olivia's favorite colors too!! This quilt isn't something that I think is pretty but she la,la,loves it b/c it's panda bears!! ... and that's all that matters - that she loves it. :)
Now I just need to see about getting it machine quilted for her - and I have enough pandas left over that I can make her a matching pillow case.  I'm hoping it will be ready for her bed when we move into our new home soon!
Love from Indiana!

Thursday, June 7, 2012

A quilt for Olivia

First off, I'm so thankful that I happened to have my camera with me today and was able to take these first two photos. When we got home and I noticed Paul Thomas running out to the street as he *LOVES* to check the mailbox and thought that what he was up to - but today he did something new.
He tugged and pulled on the garbage can until he had rolled it all the way up the driveway and put it back into it's usual spot by the garage door!  I snapped a couple photos and even video taped him pulling b/c it was just so cute! and so surreal that he's growing up so fast!!  I asked him when he was done how he liked it - and he gave a thumbs up and a sideways thumb, b/c he liked that he was strong enough but didn't like that the can was smelly. I've never smelt anything when pulling up the can before. Funny! :P
 
I know I've been away from my blog for a while now - and I'm so sorry!!  Summer is suppose to be a time of relaxing, sleeping in, and just doin whatever you want when you want....right? Well not with my kidos! We had 1 week of lazy days of summer, then as of this week activities have started and been keeping us busy each day and night!  Nora's been going to "Safety Town USA" school for 2 hours each day and swim lessons each evening. I'll try and post about that later and share photos.  She will "graduate" tomorrow night :)
Here's what I've been busy with today - not that I actually had time for sewing - I guess it's my kind of crazy to begin a new project when there are about 833 other things I need to be doing.  The twins turned 5 years old Monday - but the party/cookout isn't until Saturday at my MIL's home.  Guess what I thought she needed to have as her gift from momma.... yep you guessed it! A Panda Bear quilt!

The above photo was where I was - when suddenly I didn't like the looks of it. :(  The pink I'd chosen was just too loud beside the panda fabric.  And paired with the lavender, those 4-patches were looking sorta muddy, no contrast.  So then I got the idea to grab "Jack the Ripper" and unstitch a block, use some WOW fabric and make up a white & lavender block to see what that looked like.
 
I put it up on the design wall.  Stood back and looked - even took photos so that perhaps I'd ask my facebook quilter friends for their opinions.... then I noticed this (photo below)
 
A whole stack of "twosies" ready to be sewn into 4-patches.  I'd be NUTS to think about seam ripping all of those apart and starting over!  That would mean I'd be taking Jack the Ripper with me to swim lessons tonight and possible hanging out with him all night after we got home too!  Um, no thanks. Keep on keepin' on Bonnie!
So here's what the design wall looked like around 3:30pm today! This pattern is one that "Quilts for Kids" organization uses and it really goes together fast!  Only theirs is 5X6 rows and I wanted mine to be a little bigger so I made enough that it will be 6 blocks by 7 rows.  I don't want Olivia to outgrow it too soon!  Their pattern calls for a 3.5 outer border of the focus fabric, but I'll use a 6.5" size to grow it a bit more. :)  It's gonna look great!
That multicolored stripe wasn't even what I had planed to use - I had bought several yards of it for pillow cases - but it works! and helps to tie in that darker pink don'tcha think? :)
 
Here's another of the same pattern and nearly at the same stage of completion done up in blue, green and yellow.  I loved that yellow fabric when I spotted it on the "Spot the Dot" sale at Hancock's.  It was 75% off and I'm kicking myself for not buying all that was left on that bolt!  As I would have loved to make this one another row wider and longer too, but couldn't.
Monday I returned to the store and it was NO where to be found. :(  That's when I spotted the Panda Bears on the same table marked 75% off making it just over $2/yard. So I bought the rest of that bolt!!!  Should have enough for Olivia's quilt and pillow and a dolly quilt too.  She loves panda bears.
As for the inner border on this one - not loving it as much as I did when I had it laid out at the store, as from a distance it reads as a clashy green color. Oh well, it is what it is.  Who knows maybe after it's all quilted and washed up it will have grown on me??   It's just a shame that this one can't be for me to use on the sofa b/c it's kid sized... I so love blue and yellow together!

And guess who wanted to race me upstairs?  PT is always shouting "ReadySETGO!" before I'm ready.  That little cheater, look at him with one foot already out the sewing room door!. lol
Love from Indiana!

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

not just for reading NOOK books - for reading my favorite blogs too!

Tired of hearing about the books I've downloaded or plan to read soon on my New Nook Color?

Well how about something QUILT related. ;) Take a look at the 3 blogs I've bookmarked on my Nook. They are the ones I check, and have checked in on EVERY DAY for the past... oh 5 years or so. Give or take a month. ;)

   

Don't they show up great!  and I can zoom in to make the words larger and just like reading form the computer I can tap the photos to open them up and see them larger too!  Now my 3 favorite bloggers are at my finger tips daily! :)  Do you recognize them?  On the Left is, JudyL at Patchwork Times, in the center is Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville and the one on the right is MaryJ from Mary Quilts.


They are my Go-To-Girls and the only 3 that I need to bookmark on my Nook.   Speaking of a go-to-girl... take a look at what I found when I went into the den. :)  Miss Olivia as Sleeping Snow White. Who gave her the poisonous red apple?  :)
Love from Texas!

Monday, June 6, 2011

Our new Build-A-Bear Friends!

I guess I'm as close as I can get to being 100% certified CRAZY MOM!  

What qualifies me as that you ask?  Well lets just say we celebrated the twins' Birthday Saturday and Nora's too... and we spent about 3 hours at Chuck-E-Cheese followed by a trip to the mall to go to Build-A-Bear! 

Yes, you read that right.  Both places. Same day.
A couple weeks ago, Mamaw & Papaw sent digital counter piggy banks to each of the kids with $20 included in each and they've since been busy around the house doing chores to earn a nickle.  I'm loving it b/c they are always ready to help!!!  I had promised them if they got to $10 each saved in their banks, we'd take them with us to Build-A-Bear and let them each make their own.  

While it was something the kids enjoyed, I do not recommend ever taking 3 kids to both places in the same day.  Not even just 1 kid.  Talk about melt downs and overload. Sheesh.  At least the 3 new fury friends we brought home - Spiky, Francine, and Souley are happy and not fussy. ;)

Love from Texas!


Monday, February 7, 2011

a little paper work during the Super Bowl

Yesterday afternoon while many were preparing and getting ready for a Superbowl Party, I was busy getting caught up on a little "paper work" ;) David got the kids set up with the new small TV in the computer room and DVD so that he'd have the BIG screen in the den all to himself and I was just ear shot away in the dining room sewing and keeping an ear out for the kids and also for David.... a handful of times during commercials he would laugh and I'd have to run in to have him rewind and let me see. :P
So have you heard about EQ's 2011 Bloc of the Month??? I hadn't until I stumbled upon it while blog hopping over the weekend. Thankfully the January Block (January Jumble) due date isn't until Feb. 17th so click over to take a look and find out all about it and jump in! :) I really wasn't planning to begin yet another project - but this little block looked too cute and I've been wanting to practice my paper piecing skills.
Each month they are giving away prizes to people who submit photos of their blocks. There is even a post that you can see everyone's Jan. blocks - I just emailed a photo of mine below this morning so it's not posted yet... but I'll be checking back later this week to see if they add it. Until then, here's a look at mine.
They have several examples for colorway ideas but you can choose anything you'd like. I grabbed some FQs and didn't really know how they'd turn out but in the end I'm satisfied! When I showed the hubby his reply was, "Nice. That looks rich." ??? I about fell over! That is nothing like his usual comments on my show-n-tell. :)
Maybe next weekend I'll be able to do some more "paper work" and get February Frolic made as the pattern is already posted and so are the February Show & Tell pics.
Here's something I started using - a baby wipe tub with the lid off to use as a table top trash can for trimmings and such. :) kinda like a trash bowl for when you're cooking. Also, I love my handly little nail brush to keep my cutting mat nice and clean from threads.
Besides paper work, I also had some other very important things to do last night. As you know Nora's in Girl Scouts this year and sold cookies for the first time last month. Did I tell you that out of her troop she sold the most boxes!? Saturday, David went with the leader to pick up the shipment and we now know what 234 boxes of cookies looks like! We can barely get out of the van when we pull into the garage! :P
I still don't have the sales sheet to know who gets what type, I'll get that sheet Monday night - but David did bring home her badges that she earned for selling over 140 boxes - the little owls, aren't they cute? I sewed them onto the back of her tunic along with some other fun badges she's already earned this year. I also sewed the center of her Daisy flower onto the front of her uniform for memorizing the Girl Scout Promise. :)
My little man was really into the game last night but don't let the FQ of fabric with footballs fool ya.... While Daddy's game was on the BIG screen, Paul Thomas' game was on the small screen of his new Leapster 2 game system. :)
Star Wars aka "boy power" game! :) Thanks Jessica!! :) For any of you mommas (or grandmommas) out there who's kids have these, you know that keeping up with the small cartridges can be a challenge. Well a couple weekends ago when we were at Joann's look what I found!
One of those DMC floss storage boxes. It works PERFECTLY! My kids take forever before choosing the game they want and of course have to see them all - this clear box is just the solution they can look thru the lid and decide then let me know - nothing gets dropped like when they use to toss them about digging for their favorites... and see the bottom right corner - that one spot holds Nora's new Leapster Explorer camera video recorder cartridge and under it 4 of those TINY games!
Guess what my little princess Olivia did.... crowned me "Queen Momma" just after the halftime show last night. :) It was so light weight that I forgot about it being there and didn't discover it until when I went to bed... what's that in my hair??? lol
What a fun weekend! :) Oh and I also bought a new camera!! I was on the fence between 3 different brands and price ranges... we've been Canon fans for the past 10+ years .... but since I jsut returned the one David gave me for Christmas b/c I wasn't happy with it... I decided to take the leap and go with the Nikon CoolPix S4000. It's very compact which is perfect for keeping in my pocket at all times - 2.3" x 3.8" and weighing less than 5 oz! and it's WAY faster processing between photos than the one I took back which was a lot more money than this one. It even has a touch screen... which is great for me, but not sure how I'll like that once the kids try to help take a photo?? I'm afraid they might delete unknowingly?

Well - I have things to do so I better run for now... I'm happy that as I work I can take photos again! :) Pink Project, here I come... again!
EDITED TO ADD - I just found a blog of one of the EQ BOM participants Joann - over at Thread Head. She is the organizer of the new quilt along... have you seen? Click the logo to take you there. :) So pretty using 1800's fabrics.

Love from Texas!

Friday, January 21, 2011

my girls ready for bed

After bath time tonight Nora asked if she could get something out of the "Happy Room" aka sewing room.... When I unlocked the door she dashed in and grabbed up these two quilt cutups rabbit and cat. I found them at a yard sale long ago for only a DOLLAR! For both of them!

So letting her have them to sleep with totally made her heart happy and isn't that what life is all about?! :) Little sister, Olivia is clutching onto her "Chocolate Pillow" 1 of 4 throw pillows for the sofa that she la,la,loves to rub on while sucking "chocolate milk" out of her thumb.... so she tells me...

Thank goodness we have 4 of those pillows... 1 for the den, 1 for the van, 1 for her bed in the twins' room and 1 more to keep in Nora's bedroom for the occasional nights she wants to sleep with her big sister in the BIG BED. :)

And speaking of the Big Bed - aren't they cute... all snuggled up and ready for books and prayers.



Love from Texas!

Monday, January 10, 2011

Is the box better than the toy??

Well according to Olivia, playing while INSIDE a box ranks up there pretty high too! :) Santa brought her this VeggieTales SweetPea Beauty DVD and play castle and she's spent many hours playing with it the last couple weeks. Perhaps being in the box protects her from her brother's random hit and run episodes? ;)

Click the link to see a youTube preview of the movie! It's truly a great message for girls of all ages - that teaches of what true beauty really is... We checked it out from our library many times and have bought it for birthday presents for the girls in Nora's class at school... I'm so happy Santa brought us our own copy to keep!


Love from Texas!

Friday, October 1, 2010

Playing in the dirt seemed like sucha fun idea

This flower bed is over on the other side of the driveway and we have never bothered planting anything in there. Why bother b/c the cattle come up and eat the shrubs and make them look terrible!

So today David gave them permission to use their sand pails and shovels and have at it. I don't know why we didn't think of this months ago - it would have kept them out of the flowerbed along the house and then they wouldn't have messed up the mulch so bad.

They were having a ball! UNTIL.....

see that little frog statue beside Paul Thomas.... see that sand pile by the frog....?

FIRE ANTS!

Oh NO! Everyone outta the dirt!!! Stop playing! No more fun for you :( Daddy has to treat the fire ants and we have to stay outta this new fun area for the next day or two :(

But little sister didn't listen.... she SNEAKED back over to the dirt when we weren't lookin and stepped right into them :(

OUCHIE! :( She screamed and screamed, there were 5 or 6 bites at the most... where as earlier this summer PT had over 100 over his two feet and legs.

Can we say, "Does NOT handle pain well at all" You would have thought she was dying!

I had this and used it but could not tell that it gave her any pain relief at all. Although she did like holding the bottle.

Hopefully now that Olivia has had her first taste of FIRE ANTS she'll listen and obey us next time.

10/1/10

Love from Texas!