Sometimes I'm In The Mood...

Sometimes I'm in the mood...

to do something different.

I actually took a little break from my machine quilting to create something. I made this little bag as kind of an experiment. I found this tutorial on this website-->P.S. I Quilt. I made it as instructed in the tutorial, but then made another one. The second one was a little larger. I want to use it to carry my scriptures for church. I also added some pockets inside for pencils, etc. (the only thing I would do differently is use a thicker batting.)

I know. I know. I went a little nuts with the quilting. On the tutorial it said, 'quilt as desired'...well this is how I 'desired' ...

I even went a little further and heatset some Austrian Swarovski crystals on it too. (from Cheri's Crystals) I know I'm a little crazy. But I like it. And if you know me...this bag is so me!

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Sometimes I'm in the mood...

to miss my son.

In July my son left for Auckland New Zealand where he is serving a 2-year mission for our Church. I'm so proud of him. He's such a good boy and is working hard. I must admit, though, there are times I miss him soooooooo much. Todd and I are have always been close. I call him my BabyBoy. But look at how grown up he is now:

Pictured above, he is on the right with a young man who recently got baptized. Todd is about 8,000 miles away. I know I shouldn't think of that, but I do now and then. How lucky he is to be in such a beautiful place! When he first found out he was going to New Zealand he said, "Wow! The Land of The Lord of the Rings!" Yes, that's right, they filmed all three of the Lord of the Rings movies there. Beautiful place!

Now here's bit of irony...or perhaps it's just a coincidence...

Just before Todd left he and his sisters and their husbands all went to Disneyland for the day. There they saw Sean Astin, the actor who portrayed one the of hobbits in the Lord of the Rings films. His character was named Samwise Gamgee.

He was at Disneyland that day visiting with his wife and kids. Here is my family with Sean Astin in the center. I teased my kids..."you went to Disneyland to find Mickey Mouse--instead you found a hobbit!"

Notice the matching shirts. Todd's sister made them to wear in honor of Todd. They shirts said:, "New Zealand, EWE should come. Farewell Todd!" This was one of the last times my entire family was together. They won't be together for another two years.

Now, stop missing your son so much Vivian, and get back to work!

The Republican Quilt Revisited

Hearing about the passing of Sen. Ted Kennedy reminded me of a quilt story. Yes, that's right. I didn't make a quilt for Sen. Kennedy, but many years ago I made one for one of his nephews, Wm. Kennedy Smith. I wrote about it on my blog a few years ago. Enjoy!

Read here--> A Nixon Quilt for a Kennedy

Make It Your Own

Recently I had the opportunity to machine quilt some amazing quilts. They were made by some very talented ladies. Let me share them with you.
Perhaps you are already familiar with the ever popular "Be Attitudes" quilt by Nancy Halvorsen of "Art to Heart" quilts. This is the 3rd one I've had the chance to machine quilt. Read about the last one here: 'A Quilt Comes Alive.' (I even got a nice email from Nancy Halvorsen herself! She got a kick out of my blog entry last fall.)

Well, let me share with you what another talented quilter did with this quilt. She made the "Be Attitudes" quilt, just as it was designed, pictured below:
Then she made a second one. And she made it her own! ...or rather, she followed her own pattern!

Following the basic layout of the quilt, she inserted photo transfers in the blocks. Following the lettering patterns, she appliqued other words. This darling quilt went to one of her daughters. Such a wonderful gift!
And here's another one. This beautiful "Hopeful Sampler" quilt, made by Sherri of the blog, A Quilting Life. (follow this blog! This girl quilts and quilts!) She did such a beautiful job of applique, embroidery, and piecing! I was amazed!
Throughout the original quilt as designed there are beautiful quotations related to "Hope." But look what Sherri did! She embroidered passages of Scripture. Here's one of my favorites:
And here's another favorite of mine:

As I machine quilted these two quilts I enjoyed seeing how these amazing talented ladies made the quilts their own. Sometimes in life we don't always follow the pattern. Cartoonist Al Capp said,

"Success is following the pattern of life one enjoys most."

A Blast From The Past: The Future Mrs. Love

Here's a blast from the past. It's Mrs. Love's kindergarten class in Penn Hills, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Love is on the right. A kindergarten teacher in a dress and high heels! I admire her. And who is the girl second row-second from the left. I think she's the only one not looking at the camera. A little girl in pigtails, staring off into space. That would be the future Mrs. Love
I wonder what she was thinking. Observations: crooked pigtails, crooked bangs and I think she has missing teeth. Was she daydreaming? Most likely.

Yes, that's right. My kindergarten teacher was Mrs. Love. I can hardly remember that long ago.

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I have no new quilts to show you. This is a favorite I did years ago. I enjoyed doing this one because of the lovely variety of colors in it.

And of course it has some heart wreaths. And they're not very good. I can do them so much better now. It's fun to look back at quilts I did when I was a beginner.

And here's one below I made for my hubby many, many years ago. I made it following the Eleanor Burns Quilt-in-a-Day method. That's how I first started piecing. And I quilted it by hand! My goodness, when did I have the time? If you look closely you can see where it faded in the sun and became discolored in areas. I like to look at this quilt and realize that I've become a better quilter.
"What you need to know about the past is that no matter what has happened, it has all worked together to bring you to this very moment. And this is the moment you can choose to make everything new. Right now." ~Author Unknown

A Quilting Confession: Bindings

May I share a confession with you?

The only part of quilting I do not like is the binding. There you have it! It's true. Many of my quilting friends love the binding. Not me.
Occasionally a customer will ask me to do the binding for them. I usually say no and refer them to other quilters who are willing to do bindings. (I've paid them to do bindings on my own quilts.) But when I took in this Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt, I found myself saying yes. Have you ever done that? Found your mouth saying yes, when your mind is saying no! And this one even had 2 of 4 sides curved! Yikes!

Making the binding wasn't so bad. I even made a biased binding. Attaching the binding wasn't so bad either...even along the curves! The next two parts I do not like: Attaching the beginning and the end of the binding together AND sitting and hand-stiching it to the back.

A quilting friend of mine has the right attitude. She says the binding is a way for her to say goodbye to the quilt...that's when it's completely finished. I'm sorry, I have not ever felt that way.

As you can see, I did get it finished--grinding my teeth the entire time! And it came out lovely. But I did not enjoy it one bit. Of course the Purse Dog loved me sitting with her as I did the hand-stitching. We watched a couple of good movies together.

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Do you know of a link you can share with me that gives good, clear instructions on putting the beginning and ending of a binding together? Or perhaps you would like to email me some good tips. Email: quiltswithlove@sbcglobal.net Or perhaps you can just pat me on the shoulder and say, "There, there Vivian, next time say NO!"

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Now get back to work, Vivian!

Get back to machine quilting...that's the part of quilting you love!

Taking A Look At The "Big Picture"

That's right. Sometimes you can't see the big picture, as you are immersed in the details.

For example, take a look at this lovely log cabin quilt. You see the beautiful fabrics and my freehand quilting in the pictures below:

Now take a look at the "Big Picture." Don't you love the layout of this log cabin quilt? I love the star in the center. I did the same freehand design throughout but changed the threads to match the fabrics. That way the star wouldn't be lost. A bit time-consuming, yes, but so worth it!
And this is the back! Isn't it beautiful? I enjoyed quilting this quilt so much!

And here's someone else who can't see the "Big Picture." The Purse Dog doesn't understand why it has to rain from time to time here in Orange County.

"Hey, my toes are getting wet!"

"Why do I have to make my peeps and poops out in the rain?"
"What happened to SUNNY southern California?"
"Let me in! I don't like this one bit!"

"Please? Pretty please?"

The Purse Dog doesn't understand that when it rains at her house, this is what happens in the mountains. This is the Big Picture! Believe it or not, these are the moutains not far from Anaheim Hills:

And these are the mountains in the distance behind Yorba Linda and Brea:
I took these pictures from Bastanchury Hill not far from my house. This was the morning after a rain storm we had a few days before Christmas. The mountains look like they're floating in the air! In the foreground of the picture below, you can see the burned hills of my hometown, Yorba Linda. So sad. Hard to believe we had those wild fires just about a month ago.

Yes, sometimes it rains here, but the result is a beautiful scene in our mountains! That's the Big Picture!

Just Because...

Oh my goodness! I've been so busy quilting. And I'm trying to survive the Christmas hustle and bustle too. But I just wanted to take a minute to share some quilts and thoughts with you.

Just because....I love feathers. I've been doing them a lot lately. On just about every quilt these days. Where are the feathers? How about a closer look? It was hard to photograph feathers red on red. Hope you can see them.
Here's some more feathers...
And more...
Here's a lovely quilt that came all the way from Connecticut. Lovely feathers throughout.
I really do love feathers!

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And a couple of weeks ago my husband took me to an L.A. Lakers game. I loved watching #16. Why?

Just because...he's a Spaniard!

Yes, that's right. Have you ever heard Pao Gasol give an interview in Spanish? It will make you melt. Oh, that Spanish accent! I love it! Just hearing it takes me back to Spain. There's nothing like it. It's like music to my ears. Oh, how I miss Spain! (and, he's a pretty good ballplayer too.)Ok, I didn't just go to watch Pao Gasol. I also went to take pictures of the stars. Here's Dyan Cannon below...a loyal Laker courtside fan. Can you believe she's 71? From where I was sitting she looked like a teenager!

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While I've been quilting these days, I've had Christmas DVD's playing on my TV. They have to be movies I've seen many times. That way I can quilt and not focus on the movie. I just listen to the movie. Here's one of my favorites: The Family Stone.

Why do I love this movie?

Just because...of Diane Keaton. One of my favorite actresses.Go rent this DVD and enjoy Diane Keaton!

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And I'm nervous and probably won't sleep tonight. Why?

Just because...I have a hard time saying no.

No to what?

I should have said "NO" to playing the organ at church tomorrow. It's just a little part--a descant--so it's not a solo. But I've never played the organ really. I took piano lessons from the age of 9 to 18. When I was 16 my piano teacher wanted to teach me the organ too. She worked with me for two lessons and then I rebeled. I told her I didn't want to learn. I refused. I only wanted to play the piano. Here I am kicking myself. Why didn't I take organ lessons? Ok, I'm not accompanying the Mormon Tabernacle Choir! But still...I will not sleep a wink tonight! I hope you're enjoying your holiday season. "Feliz Navidad"---Do I sound like a Spaniard?

Enjoying the Holiday Season

In between the Christmas rush I have been trying to enjoy the Holiday Season. I hope you are too!

Here's a cute Nativity quilt I finished quilting recently. Cute applique, don't you think?
I love the way the stars frame the scene in this quilt.

One of my family's Holiday favorites is going to the "Brea Nativity." It is an outdoor live Nativity scene put on by members of our church. As you can see, a large screen is projecting beautiful pictures above the scene:
Beautiful music was being played and sung. Below you see the choir of "angels" that were up on the roof of the church building singing. They even had trumpets as props.

Who is this below? Why, it's the Prophet Jeremiah prophesying the birth of the Messiah. (He's an Old Testament prophet.) Hey, wait a minute! That guy looks familiar! Yes, it's my husband making his acting debut. Look for him at the Oscars!

Now who wouldn't be a star without fans and paparazzi? Below is one of his biggest fans, Daughter #2:

And below is "Prophet Jeremiah" pictured with another one of his fans. That's my BabyBoy. I think he was asking him for an autograph. I was the paparazzi, of course!

I love this annual event our church members put on. Not only does it feature church members, but it also includes community leaders too. The Wise Men were played by the Brea City Council.

I love it because it reminds me of the real reason I celebrate Christmas. It's nice to take a little break and remember that.

(...now get back to work, Vivian!)