Enchanted

Happy New Year! I hope 2017 finds you all well, happy and healthy and surrounded by those you love. I also hope that it is a year of enchantment for you.

May each day that greets you be filled with the sort of charm that leaves a smile on your face.

2017 begun at Tops to Treasures with a new quilt for Moda Bake Shop.

I believe that this is my 27th Bake Shop project. When I try to think of one thing that makes me happy, one thing that I can do....I always come back to writing patterns. I am more nerdy than even I thought was possible. I really do enjoy writing directions. My goal is to make a quilt "do-able". The directions should tell you what you need, what you need to do, when you need to do it, and maybe even what you should NOT do. In short, they should be directions. I'd have no UFOs on my watch! I hope that this one does not disappoint. 

The finish quilt measures 74 x 89 inches. It is just right for a twin sized bed. It can be made in a relatively short amount of time....provided you keep at it. I was able to make this quilt from start to finish in one week....with a little bit of help from my wonderful mom and husband. Construction wise - there is nothing more complicated in it than a small half square triangle.

I used Pondicherry by French General. It is everything that you have come to expect from French General...pretty, and sophisticated, a charming palate of airy prints and soft colors. It was a joy to work with. You should be able to find it in quilt shops next month. I suspect it would look absolutely charming in a Joanne and Chip Gaines renovation....lots of soft gray and cream.

If you are new to my blog, welcome! Feel free to look around. I have gotten a little off tract of late. My posts are not as frequent as they used to be. Just when I thought life would get more simple, with all of my boys packed off to college, it got more complicated. I am busier now than I have ever been. This is not how I imagined my empty nest. 

We have a new puppy.....check out #gulliversharp on Instagram....are planning a wedding....doing some home improvements....wondering when we got so old....living life. I hope your days are similarly enchanting.

Things change

I know, it sounds trite when someone looks at their kids and says, "Don't blink, they grow faster than you think. Next thing you know they will be grown". The older I get the truer the words seem.

Things change. Whether we notice it or not, things change. Summer gives way to Fall. Fall bows out to Winter. Winter melts away to Spring. Spring slowly out blooms itself and we are back where we started...but not quite. 365 days makes a difference.

Today my 23rd pattern publishes on Moda Bake Shop. It has been fun. I love getting to play with their latest lines. More than that, I love writing patterns. It is always, always time spent in my happy place. The only thing better than writing the patterns is getting mail from people who have used them.

So, my latest work is entitled Migration. I named it that because of the butterflies and feathers in the fabric line...and because the pattern of half square triangles make a funny path...a migratory path.

Just like the seasons, the pattern in this piecing appears to finish where it started, but not quite, and that is okay. It is normal, natural, a reflection of how God created our world. Things change. It isn't a bad thing, although it might be a bit sad. It is equally exciting. You never know what might lay just out of sight, around the corner, over the next hill.

I hope you enjoy my pattern.

I never would have guessed...

Remember this quilt? It was a quilt along with Clover & Violet. I took this picture in March of 2014. I love the embroidery, and the colors. It is one of my favorite quilts.

I made it just for me.

I would never have guessed where this pretty quilt would end up.

Look closely....that is my quilt under his feet!!!! Hmm. Not the best out come, but wait, it gets better!

My oldest son, Noah, has fallen head over heals in love with Maggi Jo! He brought her home to visit us last winter. She is adorable, fun loving, and very good for my boy. She makes him "more". I  don't know how to explain it, other than to say that when he is with her, he is the man I always imagined he would be.

She liked my quilt. MY QUILT, the pretty girly creation I made just for me in my house full of men. I thought that was nice....but thought to myself, "that was way too much work to give away to just anyone my boy brings home."

My boy is spending the summer with her family on the central coast of California. He is having a fantastic summer. And to make it that much better, he wanted to propose to her in a way that would include all of both of their families. As we are in Texas, it is a little hard to pull off....however, if she would say yes, and I finally got a daughter to share with, she could have the quilt.

I was away on a quilt retreat when he texted to let me know he had picked a day for the big event. Of course, the day was four days from the day he texted me, and I was not home, and it was over a weekend. His daddy came to the rescue. Left work early on Friday so that it might have a chance of getting to him by Monday. $110 later, the quilt was there Saturday afternoon.

My boy planned a complete day for his sweet heart. As she went through her day she spend time with all the people that mean the most to her. She visited with her best friend (the one that introduced them), her mom and sister and brother...the last on her list was her Dad. He delivered her to the venue where she has always dreamed of getting married...that is where my boy had the surprise waiting.

If you look very closely, you can see the ocean on the horizon....and my quilt under the arch.

AND....she said "Yes"!

I have never, ever seen my boy so blissfully happy. I can not wait to make some awesome memories with the two of them.

Congratulations my Noah, and Maggie!! ..... and to her little man....our new little man....

Peppermint Garlands

My latest pattern is scheduled to publish on Moda Bake Shop sometime today. Hop on over and take a look!

If you are visiting from there, welcome! Feel free to wander around and read all about me and Tops to Treasures.

Time Flies

Time flies....sounds like obnoxious insects from Dr. Who. They suck up time when you are not looking. Once you look you can not see them, only the passage of time.

I can not believe how long it has been since I posted something here.  So much has happened...mostly good stuff at that.

Noah (#1, age 23; Ben #3, age 18; John #2, age 20)

My baby boy graduated from high school. He turned 18 yesterday. He will be attending St. John's College in Santa Fe, NM in the fall. I am envious of the adventure that awaits him, and look forward to hearing all about it when he comes home for the holidays.

My middle boy has made it to the starting line up for his college football team...provided his summer courses bring up his grade point average. He has worked so long and so hard for this dream. I hope and pray that it is all that he has dreamed it would be.

Maggi, Joshi, and Noah

My oldest boy is about to become engaged. Woah! When did he get old enough to do that?! We have met his sweet heart, and her little boy. I think they just might be a perfect match for my boy. Although, I must admit that it is hard to wrap my head around the idea of being an instant grandma. Good thing I have a year or so to manage it.

Joshi

Although, as sweet as Maggi and Joshi are, I do not think that it will be a difficult task.

My quilting business is going gang busters. On average I have as many quilts to do each month as there are working days in the month. It is not hard work...but it does keep me moving.

Add to all of that a new kitten....

He is a sable burmese kitten, about 5 months old.

and several new Moda Bake Shop patterns in the works,... and it is no wonder the time flies have a hold of my universe.

Dancing in the Stars

My latest pattern for Moda Bake Shop was published on July 25th.



Made with "Nocturne" by Janet Claire, quilted in "Avocado" by Anne Bright

The quilt is made from 3 1/2" squares and half square triangles and finished at 82 1/2" square.

I used left over fat quarters to make the back more interesting.

I'd love to see your version of the quilt if you make it.

(and yes, I am still avoiding that big quilt waiting in the wings....)

July 2015 in my rear view mirror

Better late than never....sometimes....I'm sticking with that today.

I am only a month late posting about all the going ons of July 2015.  

In between getting new floors in our kitchen and dinning area (and all of the furniture moving, cleaning, painting, and general mess that entails) 

and retreating (twice) to the best retreat center in the whole of Texas (Greenbriar Retreat Center)

I quilted 15 quilts for customers.

And enjoyed my boys being home.

August 2015 in my Rearview

It has been a busy summer....thus the infrequency of my posting....which wasn't that frequent to begin with...but has ceased all together this summer.

I thought I would take a moment (read stall to avoid that really big quilt I need to do today.) and try and catch up.  Starting with the most recent happenings...

August was a very busy month for me.

I quilted 21 quilts for customers (that does not include the previously mentioned object of my avoidance).

Got my oldest son moved into his very first apartment.

Went to a quilt show...more on that to follow.

Saw all three of my boys safely back to school.

I now have a Sr in high school (red shirt who is standing on his toes to be taller than his brothers), a sophomore in college (the boy in the middle) and a super senior (5th year) in college (sleepy boy on the right). I am honestly just a little bit frightened of what my days will be like next year when they are all away and it is just me in the house all day.

Sigh, I no longer have three little boys....they have become men.

May in My Rearview Mirror

I would love to go back to the time when days seemed to stretch on forever in front of me.  Time used to creep along at a snails pace.  Not so any more.

May 2015 saw 15 quilts cross my leaders at Tops to Treasures.

That is roughly one every other day for the month. This is not the norm for this time of year, but then neither is the massive amount of rain we have had. If you haven't heard Texas has been deluged with a flood of biblical proportions...thankfully, not on my block. Perhaps my quilty friends have been using the time away from their gardens to sew.

My college boys are both home for the summer...last night we all went to a ball game!

A Night at the Ball Park
(John 19, Noah 22, Ben 17)

The oldest is in the middle - don't tell him, but his brothers have darn near caught up to him height-wise. I am beginning to come to grips with the fact that they are no longer little boys, but really grown men.  Sigh. I hope some girl appreciates them as much as I do.

That last picture was just to make you laugh.  As I was letting my Basset Hound in this morning I noticed the dew on the very green green grass, and the trail she left behind as she inspected the yard. Or puppy is 11 years old and had tumors removed from her hip and eye brow, thus the cone of shame. I don't think there is anything more pathetic looking than an old hound dog with a cone around its neck.

Texas Never Does Anything in Half Measures

The news is filled with images like the one above.  Texas is indeed over it's four year drought (it officially started in October of 2010)  The land is green again....well the land that isn't under water.

This spring we have had more cloudy, overcast, and rainy days than we have had sunny ones; and more bad storms than I can remember there ever being in one season.

The forecast for the next week or so promises more of the same.

I have to admit that I am getting a little weary of the weather. That drought is looking better and better, but there is no putting all of that water back in a bottle.

On the upside, I and my family are fine. Our yard is greener than it has been in years. Water restrictions have been lifted. And the sun is shining at the moment.  There is no need for worry; however, your prayers are coveted for our friends and neighbors in the rest of the state.   

April in My Rearview

There are so many thought that go through my head, so many things that I would like to sit and talk about with you....and yet my blog goes for weeks on end with no word from me.  I have to chalk it up to the season of life I am in.  You would think that I would have been more busy before, when my boys were little and underfoot, when there were ball games and concerts, and teacher conferences to take care of.  Of course, that was before I met arthritis and its lovely relationship to monsoon season. Ah well.  It has been a busy month.

Tops to Treasures is busier than it has ever been.  April 2015 saw 25 projects cross the bars.  Some of them are delightful secrets for up coming weddings and graduations.  I promised those people that I would help keep their secrets....as if those people read my blog.  LOL  Anyway, the ones I can share are pictured here.

I also got to spend a wonderful weekend with my college boys and their friends.  My house was filled to overflowing with young men and woman.  Yes, you read that correctly. One of my boys brought home a girl. No, not that kind of girl, at least not yet. Time will tell.

I celebrated my 52nd birthday.  It wasn't terribly exciting after having all of the kids home.  I got them to share a cake with me while they were home.  My mum sent me a beautiful bouquet of flowers.

She had them make the bouguet "cat proof" as my fuzzy helpers like to eat the tiny flowers, and them spew them all over the floor and counters. It was a good thought. When they found the flowers inedible the cats tipped the vase over....left on our table over night the puddle created a mess of our kitchen table.  Granted the table was a mess to begin with.  We bought it 26 years ago and have many adventures on it.  However, it gave us an excuse to purchase a new one.  Our kitchen now looks grown up.

After the kids left we discovered that we had some other visitors.  It took one rainy weekend to extricate 5 scampering squirrels from our attic.  Oh my. They were cute little buggers, but I am glad they are gone now. (the squirrels not the kids)

 

And now it is May.  My quilting schedule is filling up again.  My college boys are in their last weeks, #2 has exam week this week. He should be home for the summer on Friday (SQueeeeeeee!) and #1 has exam week next week.  I can not wait to have my boys gathered around me.

March in My Rearview

I can not believe it is April already. I'd love to go where ever it is that time goes when it flies. Then I could sit and savor each moment all over again.

This year my boys all had spring break during a different week of the month.  I had three weeks in a row of spring break...each with a different son. As you can imagine, each week was as different as the boy! Each one was glorious!

I got to go to the Dallas Quilt Show. I really need to write a post about it.  For now I'll share a picture of my favorite quilt.

I spent many happy hours "playing" with my quilty friends.  Another post I should write...I've started a group of quilters at church. Oh my, it is a loaves and fishes sort of story.

And I quilted 12 quilts for customers and friends.

All of this pales when compared to the events that happened on the first Easter weekend. God made a way for all of the things that keep us separated from Him to be tossed aside. It no longer matters that we fall short of the mark.  We are too fat, too slow, work-a-holic, obsessed with ourselves, slow to help others, and quick to grab what we think we must have at the expense of those around us....and that doesn't matter one whit. He made a way. Our imperfect selves are welcome in his kingdom because of the work that Jesus did on the cross. All we have to do is accept his works on our behalf.

May this Easter be a time of blessing and remembrance for you....and if you haven't already accepted his free gift I pray that your heart will be open to it now. Easter would be a perfect time to become a believer.

February in My Rear View

It is always a sweet surprise to look back at a month and see all that I have accomplished, and recount all of the joyful moments. February 2015 does not disappoint.

I finally got my much awaited upgrades to my longarm.

It was a bit of a messy process, but the staff from Linda's Electric Quilters of McKinney Texas were wonderful. I love my upgrades - new computer, complete with the latest version of Creative Studio, new wheels and rails, and hanger for my hardware to keep my floor nice and tidy.

As messy as that upgrade was it had nothing on the upgrade to our wifi.  Oh my gosh what a circus. The wifi is faster and fairly awesome but it came at the cost of our land line phone.  For some reason the phone company thought that we didn't want it any more and turned it off. Then they told us they couldn't turn it back on and give us our number back. Then they could give it back, but it would cost us $100. Then they could wave the fee, and give us our number, but it would have to go through digitally and be added to our wifi...oh and they couldn't do it for a week. All of that to point out what a blessing the staff at Linda's Electric Quilters really is and to thank the people at ATT for the quiet week we had with no phone service. I should probably also thank ATT for the upgrade to our TV service....we now get even more channels with programming that we don't want to watch, but hey, we get all of them now.

My last baby is now a licensed driver.  No more car lines at school for me.  I seem to get a lot more work done, but I do miss my time with my boy. Even so, it is right that he should have the opportunity to learn and practice driving.

I played a lot in February.  There were 6 different occasions where I took the time to spend time with friends new and old. Why in the world I haven't been doing this all along I have no idea. This too has been a huge blessing. I'm now enjoying myself while I piece quilts - a phenomenon that hasn't occurred in a very very long time.

Women of the Bible BOM from Suzzette's Fabric

2013 Toes in the Sand BOM from The Fat Quarter Shop

(It was gifted to me for Christmas two years ago and I am just now playing with it.)

My oldest boy came home for a quick weekend. It was so fun to hug his big shoulders and stay up late (for me) talking with him.

We had a week of ice and snow - unusual for us, but it will bless the lakes and lawns when it melts eventually.....probably tomorrow....for today it is winter in Frisco.

All of that AND I quilted 13 quilts at Tops to Treasures. 

How I fit all of that into 28 days is a mystery.