~ Peace, Love, & Family ~

 The past few months weeks I have experienced the stress of work, the heartbreak over the loss of a dear friend/colleague, and, well, all the emotional ups and downs that go with life. Fortunately for me, I was able to spend this past weekend my family in Mississippi at our annual family reunion.

It is hard to explain/express what our annual family reunion means to me, as well as all of my family. Our annual reunions began about 40 years ago, or so, but for the past 35 years we have spent them at a state park in Mississippi. It is a beautiful area deep in the woods of Morton, MS. The first morning, I awoke to this beautiful view behind my cabin...

For some reason, this next shot is one of my favorites...perhaps because it has a fallen tree that has been there for as long as I can remember. Maybe it symbolizes to me the stability of my family, the long tradition of the reunions, or just that some things do remain the same...

Along with family and fellowship is lots and lots of good eating...



My dad's famous shrimp, served (of course) with his infamous Harper Sauce

My sister and I were given our great grandmother's quilting frame, which my dad estimates to be at least 100 years old. I loved hearing the stories my dad shared about how he would sit and watch his grandmother quilt by kerosene lamp when he was a young boy. It barely fit in my car, and made for quite an uncomfortable 9 hour drive, but well worth it. My sister was smart enough to take a picture of it, and I hope to post more as we figure out how to set it up (as we don't have a clue). As we will be sharing joint custody, I anticipate (with much pleasure) lots of quilting time with her!!

Have a great week!

~ Michelle ~

~ The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly...~

That pretty much sums up my feelings about this past week's quilting projects. Fortunately, I started the week with the "good." I made a couple of mini quilts for two of my school peeps who have been feeling the stress of work as I have these past few weeks.

I have really been enjoying making the mini quilts, and I think my friends enjoyed receiving them :)

Now...on to the bad and ugly. First of all, I hesitate to refer to anything hand made (and made with lots of love) as bad or ugly, but...

Over the last few weeks, I have been working on my first disappearing 4-patch. Instead of using contrasting darks and lights, I was hoping that contrasting colors would be okay. After completing my first block, I was feeling pretty happy...

...thinking the colors contrasted pretty well. So, I finished the remaining blocks and threw them up on my design wall (aka my bedroom wall...bless my husband and his patience).

I was really afraid I would have a seizure...way too "busy" as my son put it. I was hoping that adding sashing would calm it (and me) down.

Now, THIS I can live with :)

Hope you all have had a week full of just good!!

~ Michelle ~

~ Gruber's Revisited ~

Last week, I pulled out my purchases from my retreat at Gruber's this past summer. As I tend to be very cheap frugal, I did not buy too much (big mistake).  I quite honestly didn't think about my purchases very much, just grabbed a Comfort of Psalms panel and some fat quarters I thought would look "nice."  I don't really have that "shopping gene," and I don't really have an eye for fabric.

Well...boy did I ever learn something about myself. I DO have that shopping gene...it's just been well hidden. When I pulled out the "nice" fabric I had purchased, I just about died!!! First of all, It.Is.Gorgeous!!!! Secondly, I needed wanted MORE!!! I went online searching desperately for the line...FloraLane by Laura Bellinger for Marcus Fabrics. (I can, and have, repeated this in my sleep, many, many times). Unfortunately, I could not find it anywhere. I even went to Gruber's online store...no luck.  I was almost literally sick!!!  I was telling my friend at the LQS about my tragedy, and she suggested that I call Gruber's, as they cannot possibly put everything in their store on their website. Thank goodness for her wisdom!!! I called, they had it, I ordered it (without a thought as to whether I really needed to be making a purchase right now), and it arrived yesterday...

Oh, my GOODNESS, how I love it!!!!! And, as I told my sister, I CAN be passionate about fabric (another gene I thought was missing, which is NOT good for a quilter)!!!!

I also purchased a Gruber's mug, which I had really wanted, but again, too cheap to buy...

...which was perfect timing as today is National Coffee Day :-)

Have a great day!!

~ Michelle ~

~ Three Firsts ~

~ First mini quilt ~

~ First "holiday quilt ~

~ First time quilting without a pattern ~

Not too bad for three firsts; however, I'm not happy at all with the outer squares. But that's okay...I am already looking forward to tomorrow night and trying another one :-)

~ Michelle ~

~ Oh, The Possibilities... ~

There was no quilting in my house this weekend. I received a package from my sister (yes, I know, further confirmation that she spoils me), and I spent most of my time oohing and ahhing over all the wonderful goodies she sent me and planning for new quilts.

LOVE these charm packs!!



6 inch squares, and...





...lots of 2 inch squares





THIS I have plans for...





Beautiful Christmas prints





What every quilter needs ;-)


I can't wait to get started!!!

Have a great week :)

~ Michelle ~

 

~ Autumn 121 ~

I finally finished my husband's birthday quilt. Never mind that his birthday was in July. I guess I have fallen behind in many things :)

I decided to continue developing my skills in FMQ. I have read in most blogs that one should chose a thread color to compliment or match the quilt backing. So, I first selected a dark brown thread. I wasn't too pleased with the results...



 Perhaps it showed too clearly my inexperience in stippling. So, I switched to a lighter thread, which I was much happier with...

During my quilting, Devlin (of course) was right in the middle of things...

Out of desperation, I pulled out a quilt just for him...yes, he is as spoiled as I am :)

I do think, however, that Devlin was quite pleased with my efforts...

...as was my husband :-)

Have a great day!!

~ Michelle ~

~ Decisions, Decisions ~

After completing my first week back at work, I was finally able to get back to working on my husband’s quilt. I have to admit, I have been totally and completely frustrated with how the quilt is coming along. Midweek, I decided to give up and start another quilt for my husband!! Fortunately, I wasn’t able to do much quilting this past week, but was able to do a lot of stewing thinking. After much reflection (I still hate the word, but find the process very useful), and a pep talk from my sister, I realized that, yes, I CAN do this!!  So, I got back to what I have the most difficulty with…squaring the blocks…all 121 of them. I’m about half way through with this and thinking about how I want to lay out the blocks for the quilt. The pattern gives 4 possible layouts. While my husband was outside grilling, I quickly laid out the blocks in the different patterns and snapped pictures…

I'm going to have so many colors to place just right. Before starting the quilt, I had chosen which layout I was going to use. But now, well I’m just not sure. I love all of them!!! At least I have a little more time to make a decision J

Have a great week!!

~ Michelle ~