Diary Block Tuesday

Today is the birthday of my third and youngest son, Colin. He has found a new passion in his life, hiking the Appalachian Trail. I was having a hard time doing a boot, so he is in sneakers here. The Mx on the right shoe is a symbol we use for our last name.

He recently got a tattoo. I think it is clever the way the "A" and "T" are incorporated.

Colin

He was always wanting to keep up with his older brothers. In this picture he has on shin guards because he wanted to play soccer too. He can also be seen clutching his blankie which was always by his side.
As time went on he became quite an athlete and masters every sport he loves.

Dylan, Colin and Johnson

This is my favorite picture of my sons. It was taken on a summer day, they had all just gotten out of the tub. Damp hair combed, all in their Jockeys (no air conditioning!) and ready for bed. Sweet smelling boys, at least for a while!

Jenny and Colin

Colin and his wife Jenny. The two of them are a perfect match!

Happy Birthday Colin!

Kelly

View From The Deck

To Blog Or Not To Blog....

that would be my question....
I am taking a little break and will be back in the next week or so.

Diary Block Tuesday

Diary Block #38 is not very exciting. I just am not into it this week. I used some colors I never use, gray and orange. That W looks pretty lame too.
This past weekend we had a block party in our neighborhood and it was lots of fun.

Everyone brought food and the weather was perfect. We stayed up late and even saw Chinese lanterns that some one launched, floating across the night sky. One neighbor thought it was UFOs, some beer may have been involved!

 Fallon and Maddy were wearing sweashirts by the end of the day.

There were a couple of mean games of Corn Hole, that has become a favorite yard game.
Hopefully later this week I will have something a little more exciting to show you.

Kelly

Getting There....

The halves are joined and I am breathing a sigh of relief that it went together quite nicely, no lumps or bumps!

Today I took Griffin, Elliot and Maddy to see the Odd Life of Timothy Green. I really liked it and got very teary! I think a lot of it went over the kids' heads, they were a little antsy. If you are in the mood to see a sweet story this is it!

Kelly

Napkins!

I am still walking down Suzy Homemaker's yellow brick road. I bought this fabric for napkins last week after I saw a tutorial on  Jan's blog called Be*mused. She made some cool ones with all different kinds of "food" fabrics.

I think this tomato fabric is so fun, the dots were just perfect too.

I used some fabric from my stash for the back, which would also be a nice napkin all on it's own.

I did a pretty good job of edge stitching and I feel it will hold up well to many washings. The tutorial was super easy with good instructions, you could make a bunch in an evening.

I picked this up at the library today. I was attracted to the cover at first, very Peter Max. Has anyone read this? I also want to read the book Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn after Barb's recommendation.
I have joined a family (well mostly) book club through Facebook. It is going to be interesting. My husband, Bob and his brother John are the only males in the group. Both are very eclectic readers and I think it will be interesting to read their picks too. The first book we read was Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons, I can't remember the author. Now we are reading The Litigator by John Grisham, Bob's pick. Are you in a book club and have any good suggestions?

Kelly

Diary Block Tuesday

Today's diary block is based on a flower in my garden called gompherna or globe amaranth. It is such a prolific flower and comes in a bunch of different colors too. I like the needle like leaves, it is very different.

This is about 4 plants all mushed together for a nice impact. I love how the look next to my black eyed Susans. They look like polka dots and I do think some people call this plant by that name. They can also be cut and air dried.

It is amazing what a little drop in humidity will do to a person! I was at home waiting for a plumber to show up and decided to make some tomato sauce from the tomatoes in my garden. I also picked fresh basil and oregano........

I made home made croutons from some leftover stale bread......

 banana bread................

I picked  fresh flowers for the counter. Don't you love the blue bucket against the yellow flowers? I was Suzy Homemaker on steroids!! Don't worry it won't last....

Kelly

Postcard Class

This past Saturday I taught a post card class at the Quilt Block. All of the ladies had a good time and really came up with some great cards. This one belongs to Diane. I like how she put the fabric on an angle. These were scraps she had from a previous project.

Jan is going on a quilt cruise and they are having a postcard exchange. This is the one she made. One fabric can make a really fun card!

Elaine made a cupcake with lots of frosting, as she said, "it's the best part"! I like lhow she broke the stitching around the edge. I think it highlighted the flame.

I had 2 Jans in my class. This is what the other Jan made. She decided she wanted to make hers a little bigger than a typical size post card. She has a lot of stitching there too.

They were a nice bunch of ladie and they finished their projects!

I always enjoy seeing the things people bring to class. Diane brought this pin cushion that was her grandmother's, a hamburger, love it!
Thanks again for a wonderful day ladies!!!

Kelly

Summer Time!

View from the deck......And the living is easy.....

Amy Whatcha Want To Do?

Remember that song from the 70's Amy by Pure Prairie League (I think)? Well I think these Amy Butler fabrics are very retro and remind me of the 1970 era.
I spent the day with Carolyn, a friend from Penn Oaks and we stopped by the Quilt Block when I spotted these beauties and had to have them. For you locals it is in Exton-------95 Welsh Pool Road.

My tomatoes are starting to come in and they are so good. I want to make some salsa this weekend too. I may make some napkins with these beautiful fabrics, how fun would that be?

Kelly

A New Applique Challenge

Yesterday as I was reading some blogs I came across this new one called  The Chester County Criswell Quilt. I was so surprised to read about this because the author, Sharon lives in Australia but her quilt is from Chester County, Pennsylvania, where I live! This is a family quilt which makes it all the more special.

Sharon is going to reproduce the blocks on this quilt and offer them for sale. The first one is free, so go and check out her blog if you are interested!

I know I will be following her progress on this beauty! Love the red and green quilts!

Kelly

Diary Block Tuesday

Today's diary block is in honor of my son, Dylan's birthday last week. He turned 34 which is totally impossible for me even think about, where is the time going? Dylan is the kind of person everyone likes and wants to be around. He walks into a room and by the time he leaves he has talked to each person there.

This is the design that is on the side of his truck, can you guess what he does? Yes Landscaping. I like that it is a simple leaf.

I sort of free pieced this together and then cut out the leaf shape. It was fun to do and I like the organic shape of it as it progressed. This also fits in with his company's use of only organic products.

Dylan and Johnson

He was an easy going child growing up and adorable with his very blond hair and blue eyes.

Elliot looks very much the same as his dad at the same age.

Dylan and Griffin

This is one of my favorite pictures of him with his son Griffin. He was always changing his hair. In his teenage years he had blue hair, and then one day he had coal black hair, think Elvis. Yes complete with the sideburns too.

He is a wonderful dad who sometimes forgets that he is an adult. I think it's why his boys love him so much, he is always ready to play.

Mary and Dylan

He loves to dress up with the boys for Halloween, there is usually a theme involved. He also makes his own costumes!

I couldn't ask for a more wonderful son. I will always remember the birthday present he gave me many years ago. My birthday is in December and I love the movie "It's A Wonderful Life" my family, not so much.  Dylan came over that evening with a bottle of wine and the video of "It's A Wonderful Life" and watched the movie with me. Now that's a gift!
Happy Birthday Dylan!

Kelly

Miscellaneous Monday

I had my own little staycation this past weekend. My husband went on a motorcycle trip with his buddies to Niagra Falls and I had a few days to myself.
This quilt got completely finished (hooray) and will be for a 15 year old girl. They are mostly Amy Butler fabrics which I think should appeal to her.

I made some cherries for my red and white lone star that I have been procrastinating about....

Spent some quality time with the grandkids at the park.

My grandson Griffin was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes this spring. I am still getting used to it but gave him one of his injections.

Enjoyed dinner with my son, Dylan. More about him tomorrow...look at his big muscles!

Kelly

Seeing Red

Sarah's Revival by Susan Garman

I just really, really like this quilt. I am looking forward to starting it. There is just something about a red and green quilt that makes my heart beat faster. If you are interested in the pattern I got it at Honey Bee Fabrics.

I found some reds. They are a little bit more orange than what I like but I think they will work. I even snuck in a dot at my friend Suzanne's suggestion. She is making the quilt too. I will post some of her work if she lets me as well.

This is my high tech way of keeping track of the reds I have selected.......that herringbone may not stay now that I see it here......hmmmm.

The pattern had some good suggestions. One of them is to keep the patterns in a ring binder, now why have I never thought of that before? Now I will not lose them or have them scattered all over the place!

The patterns are not that big, 10 1/2" so very doable in a short amount of time. I like cut away applique because it is ONE fabric, not a lot of decisions to make and sometimes that is a good thing.
What are you working on this weekend?

Kelly