Quilted Crayon Roll...

I found this pattern in a Better Homes and Gardens Quilting Ideas magazine. (Page 108) It is a quilted crayon roll.

It holds 12 favorite crayons. I made this one for my niece for her 3rd birthday. I paired it with a Princess coloring book for a sweet little gift.

This is the back of the crayon roll: Here it is all rolled up and tied! It was quite a simple project only taking me an hour or so to cut the fabric and batting, assemble, and sew!

In the Meadow We Can Build a Snowman...

Sleigh bells ring....are you listening...

I've been busy with family, home, work, and crafting...that is why the big blog break.

These are a sampling of some projects I have in the works. I am spending the rest of my free time snuggling with my kids and hubby so blogging continues to be sporadic (at best)!

I wish you a happy, healthy, and above all joyful season!

Praying for Jaymun's Family...

He lost his fight on Earth this morning....Please pray for Jaymun's family.

http://www.jaymun.com/

Fall Simple Little Table Runner...

I was inspired by finishing the Halloween table runner last night with the machine binding so I got up this morning and finished hand sewing the binding for my Fall table runner! I am participating in Show and Tell Friday's at Cindy's today and thought this the perfect thing to share! We had a great crisp October morn. here in North Texas just perfect for an outside photo op of the newly finished table runner.

The fabric used is Gobble, Gobble by Sandy Gervais for Moda.

The pattern is for the Simple Little Table Runner by Camille Roskelley and came from the Moda Bake Shop. She has a great tutorial on the site for it!

The back of the runner is shown above.

The table runner was quilted in pumpkins and vines using burnt orange thread. Quilting was done by Becky at Old Town Quilts in Keller. I hope you enjoyed seeing my newly completed table runner! Go visit Cindy and see more fun items shared!

Halloween Table Runner...made from the Moda Bake Shop Pattern...

Today I finished the Simple Little Table Runner by Camille Roskelley from the Moda Bakeshop !!! How fitting for October 1st! The fabric is Spooktacular by Sanae for Moda.
Here is a picture of the back: The quilting was done in designs of bats, witches, ghosts, the moon, black cats, etc...all Halloween-y things!
Below is a close up of the quilting:
It was such a fun little project. I highly recommend it. I did the binding on this one all with my sewing machine. I started a table runner with this same pattern using Gobble, Gobble fabric by Sandy Gervais for Moda, but I still lack like a foot on the binding where I am hand sewing it around to the back....I just need to get on it! I will post pictures of it when I have it completed.

I Remember...

*Photo courtesy of Seth Hollady Flickr page

This morning I had the most in depth explanation thus far of what September 11, 2001 means with my 8-year-old daughter. I have always talked about it with her on this date, but this morning the conversation was more understood by her so she had plenty of appropriate well asked questions. I admit that I shed more than a few tears by the time we had ended our talk. It is not that it was laden with crying and blubbering but I find it impossible to talk about those planes that crashed into the buildings and the other that our brave 'everyday' brothers and sisters crashed into the field in order to spare other innocent lives on the ground without my emotions bubbling to the surface.

I remember exactly what I was doing on that morning. I was living the 'American Dream'. I was a first time mother, fortunate to be a stay at home mom; my 6 month old baby daughter was playing on the living room floor and I was sitting with her. We had just come in from a walk outside, me pushing her in the stroller enjoying a 'peaceful' morning. My husband had left for work. I had not even turned the TV or radio on that morning...and then my husband called. He asked if I had seen the news and that I needed to turn it on immediately and keep up with what was going on...Our Country forever changed...

We live very near a major airport so the sound of planes flying over is an hourly occurrence and a sound you really get used to...it just fades into the background, so that day, as planes around the country were grounded, the silence was truly deafening.

For some reason I have been more cognisant of this day this year. Perhaps because my innocent 6-month-old baby girl is now an 8-year-old little girl who is gaining more and more insight on the realities of life and what it is to be human and what it is to realize loss and fear and that things like 09/11 chip away at the idea that mommy and daddy can fix every single problem. Perhaps because as we spoke of 09/11 this morning before school, she asked some very adult questions and honestly, after 8 years, I still don't have the answers to give as I too ask those same questions.

We prayed for the families that were immediately affected, we prayed for our troops that are still fighting the fight, we prayed for our leaders, and we thanked God too that we live in such a great Country and that by living here we have the right to speak our minds, our fears, our thoughts, and our prayers....

We will never forget....

*Photo courtesy of The Road Here Flickr page.

First Day of Third Grade...

This week The Princess started Third Grade! I cannot believe how fast times flies...feels like a moment ago I was walking her to Kindergarten and now we are already 4 years in! I made her favorite 'special breakfast' of homemade Monkey Bread! I did all the prep work the night before and then popped it in the oven in the morning first thing. She was so excited!

Of course I had to take all the obligatory 'first day of school' pictures. She did not want me taking the camera to school so I snapped all the pictures out in front of our house. And my how things have changed...here she is in front of our house on her first day of Kindergarten:

And here she is this week on her first day of Third Grade!!!:

She came up with her own unique hairstyle for me to fix for the first day. It was a little braid to keep her hair out of her eyes and then pulled back into a pony with the rest:
My little sweetheart is growing so fast! She did want me to walk her in the first day and I was more than happy to do so. I love living so close that we can walk around the corner to school!

I have some things in the work for fall and winter quilting/needlepoint projects and hope to post some of those this week! We have just been so busy with first week of school and back to dance classes, etc., etc.!