Back in December 2007, I bought a new Brother SE-270D sewing/embroidery machine. My heart ached for this machine for at least 2 years prior to its purchase but life and all that goes with it takes priority over trivial wants. My patience paid off in the end. One evening I made a trip to the local Wal-Mart for yarn and found my heartthob on sale-50% off! There were two machines on the shelf, so with heart pounding I made a mad dash to the checkouts deep down thinking that the shelf label had to be a mistake. It wasn't!...and away I went home with my brand new toy, happier than a kid with a double decker ice cream.

It took me about a half hour to unearth this darling new toy from its wrappings, only to realize someone else had purchased the machine before me. Not only had they used it, but they cannabalized the accessory pouch before returning it to the store. :-( A quick call to Wal-Mart to ask (beg!) them to set the second machine aside until I could return and away I went back to the store broken-hearted. The exchange was a bit of a challenge in that the store manager actually accused me of stealing the missing accessories! Thankfully, we live in a small town, and although we are relatively new here, the lady who worked the fabric and crafts section of the store stood up for my honor. After 45 minutes of inspecting and comparing the contents of the two boxes, the store manager finally agreed to let me exchange the "damaged" package for the intact machine. A mad dash back home with not only my new machine but a mean stress headache to boot, I proudly placed my new Brother on the kitchen table and called it a night, hoping for a clear head and renewed sense of untarnished happiness for morning.

Having never quilted anything in my life, I rather skeptically began picking through my material stash for what would eventually be a stroller quilt for my new nephew, Caleb. Having spent many days and hours researching the how's and what's of quilting, I decided to start small and easy...a rag quilt. They are forgiving if a stitching mistake is made and I wanted something that would be soft and comfortable for a new baby. The resulting baby blanket surely did have a few mistakes, but in the end, it was worth the effort. It was completed on 5 January 2008, in plenty of time for Caleb's birth in April.

A few weeks later, my husband mentioned that one of his co-workers was going to be adding to his family, also. As I was in full-blown creativity mode and still super excited to have my new Brother, I went round 2 with rag quilting. This one came out a lot better and the family mentioned, although it's been a few years later, that the little boy it was made for still loves and uses his blankie. There is no greater thanks than to see someone use the little something you made special for them.

Being delighted with the outcome of the second rag quilt, it dawned on me that my three nieces in Texas would love personalized doll blankets. Stitch, stitch, stitch, snip, snip, snip. Three identical miniature doll blankies were created in pretty pastels, the first of which was completed by 30 April 2008. It was with the creation of these little cuties that I realized you could "nest" the seams as you are piecing the rows just by ironing the seams in opposite directions. What an epiphany that was! :-)

Burnt Orange Sky

1 July 2010 2041hrs


Captured these images of our evening sky a little over a week ago.
It was the most unsettling experience as not only the sky and clouds turned orange quite suddenly, but it seemed as though the air itself actually held color.

The transformation passed quickly, inside of five minutes at most, but it was a spectacular experience that I hope to repeat again someday. Never again will I believe that the desert is the only place to experience a truly breathtaking sunset.

Motorcycles, Barbed Wire and Candy Kisses

It's been just over 20 years since I left the Vegas valley to travel the world. At least, that was my intention. While world travel was never achieved, I have been able to see about 2/3 of the United States while bouncing from one duty station to another. Yeppers, this here is one proud member of the United States Navy doubling as the road weary wife to an Army Ranger. I've traded my Airedale days for diapers and deployments and Craftsman tools for cooking utensils and quilting paraphernalia. It's been an interesting and often hectic life moving around from one base to another every 2-3 years, but I wouldn't change it for the all the chocolate at the Ethel M factory.

The best part of military travel is being able to see and experience different parts of the country. Every set of PCS orders is another chance to taste new food, live in a new house, make new friends, and in some cases, to take a stab at a new language. (Deciphering Deep South and KY/TN/VA Hillbilly accents and terminology should earn us college credits!) There are some bases I wouldn't mind going back to (Fort Campbell, KY) and others that I'd give my left leg to never have to look at again (Fort Polk, La.). Thankfully, we are near every career soldiers' dream...retirement!, and we've pretty much decided that the North Country of Upstate NY is where it's at.

At first, we thought we had all four seasons here, but after 3 years we've learned that we have Chilly, Cold, Oh-My-Goodness-I'm-Gonna-Die Cold and Spring. For instance, today is 1 July. Today's high was 62. 62! I'd love to say that this is abnormal weather but last year on the 4th of July it was a whopping 55! Am I complaining? I know it sounds like it, but no, really I'm not. I've done my time in hell (temperature-wise) and even though I abhor snowmobiles, I do love snow.

Three seasons of chilly/cold/subzero temperatures is perfect quilting weather. My wonderful husband even let me talk him into heating the sunroom-turned-sewing room so that I could have year-round access to all of my toys. I kind of feel bad for confiscating his favorite room in the house for my hobby, but he has been compensated generously for his loss by means of his own personally designed hand stitched quilt that he takes on deployments.

His quilt is proof positive that hand-crafted goods can in fact be "manly". Motorcycles, skulls, flames and barbed wire just scream masculine and he incorporated every one of them into his fabric selections. I love this quilt simply because it is my first large hand-quilted project. When it was completed, I realized I had a new found respect for the Amish and ladies of today and yesterday who use this technique for every quilt they make.

Hand quilting is relaxing and almost meditative. Rocking the needle back and forth through the layers has the same calming quality as swaying on the front porch swing, at least for me. I loved it so much that even though I promised myself I'd take a break from the sewing room for a bit after the Motorcycle quilt's completion, I immediately started hand-quilting my very own favorite "Country Lane" throw.

Out of all of the crocheted, cross-stitched and quilted projects I've made, there has only been one that I completed for myself, until I came across RJR's Country Lane collection, that is.
Despite the nasty little case of carpal tunnel I gave myself with crocheting, I couldn't resist using up the Wal-Mart bag of pink baby soft yarn I found stashed away in one of my numerous craft totes. So low and behold, I created a pastel pink afghan for the back of my sewing room recliner to use during afternoon naps. Cozy!

Now, as for my Country Lane, I'll get back to that one again, maybe tomorrow...or the next day, or the next day... :-) No need to tell about all of the fun stuff in the first post, eh?

On to today...

Introducing "Candy Kisses". I'm making this quilt as a friendship/thank you quilt for an old high school friend in Nevada. Today I finished piecing the top and began designing the backing. Normally, like most quilters, I would simply use one type of fabric to cover the back and be done with it. This quilt is a bit more difficult when it comes to the backing because the colors are not what I would call "typical" colors, meaning I'm not able to find a darned thing to match one single color in the whole quilt top! So, I've decided on a pieced backing using the remaining fabric from the fat quarter bundle along with lots of antique cream muslin. Keeping my fingers crossed that my creative eye doesn't fail me on this one.