To the zoo!

We had a great couple hours at the zoo this week with Chris and MB and Bode!  What beautiful weather out, it was perfect!  Here's Bode ...

 MB, Chris and Bode. We saw a few other animals this time, Bode liked going in the great spider monkey exhibit the zoo has.

 Bode with Papa and Grammy! The goats were a hit again along with the cow. It's always good to see things thru the eyes of the child so close to the ground as we stood outside the cows fence.....poopoo! yes Bode your vocab  is amazing!

And Bode's favorite place to be!  It's so cute he'll want DaDa and then says UP and pats Chris's shoulders.  Ears make the best handles too!

Curacao Clutch - Sew and Go

Well here is the long awaited class at ETC.... everyone's been waiting for this one!  It's the first 2 Tuesday's in March and both classes are almost to capacity!  We had to limit each class to around 40 as we only had that many top hinges for the kits.  Lisa has the kits done and we are ready!  Patterns are almost ready for printing, soon to be for sale, many prototypes have been done, I'll show you photo's of more soon!  So it's going to be a fun class for everyone, but also fun for us to show everyone how neat these little bags go together!  So here it is, the Curacao Clutch!    ( Curacao- pronounced curaso- is the tiniest little island in the Caribbean, over near Aruba - so our tiny little clutch is named the Curacao clutch!)

sewing night

 So we continue on with projects for my sister and nieces.  They all started new ones this week, I'll save the finished photo shot of them next week as they actually finish these projects but they were definitely having success!  Marcy is doing  pillow cases, wait until you see how cute they are coming out!  She's got some special people to make them for  at her house who are very short! :-)

 Alissa got a great start on her project, she's making an apron so was busy reading the pattern and cutting, she'll get to start sewing next week, it'll be darling!  She was getting so comfortable with it all and was choosing to rotary cut instead of use her scissors!  What progress!

Corissa had little ones fussy so she missed out but will catch up next time, but Jen had her second night at a machine and completed an entire pillow case, she just hums along like a pro!  Wait till you see the success!  Great sewing jobs from these 3!

Merry Go Round class

This was the second month to teach my Beyond Basic class of the Merry Go Round quilt. Last month's group ended and this month I had 5 students do the morning class and 2 at night.  Got a photo of Shari and Pauline working on theirs...

 This was Shari's, all fall colors...

 My 2 night time gals made the night class so much fun!  If you can have Lindsay and April in a class you'll have a blast! Here is Lindsay's all layed out.  She's the one that requested I even teach this class so I was glad to have a request.

 These 2 had a blast so I hope I see them again real soon in another class!  7 more pretty quilts almost done!  This ended that 3 week series and my Charming pinwheel class starts next Thursday in the Beyond Basics Intermediate class at ETC, day and evening.

boys...

Had a fun evening with my 3 biggest grandboys  tonight.  Ethan, Aiden and Garrett along with Amy came for dinner and a bit of play before heading to the airport to get their Daddy picked up.  We had fun outside while dinner was in the oven.  Here are 2 photo's of Ethan in the grapefruit tree, amazing how he can climb them this year, he's getting so tall!  We picked lots of fruit and they had fun looking at what is coming up in my garden and running around.  We had dinner and then some time for games and hide and seek!  Their favorite! They loved dessert... strawberries... and they each had a saucer of melted chocolate and whipped cream for dipping! It was fun catching up with them at the end of their busy week! Hasn't Ethan grown!

Sew and Go

Here is our project from Sew and Go this week, forgot to show you ahead of time, but if you missed it we are teaching the same thing next Tuesday!  This cute little table mat.  This one is mine, I really love this block and would like to do a baby quilt out of it.

 Here is Barbs...batiks of course...

 This one was so springy that Kathy did, she's a winter visitor and will be leaving us soon but she's anxious to stay caught up by mailing kits!

 Look how pretty the browns came out, some were talking about doing a pillow to finish theirs off.

 Nina's new at sewing, she did great!  This was just such a fun block to learn to do, 30 degree angles, they found out they weren't so hard after all!

You've been Bagged!

Barb and I are teaching this neat bag at ETC.  We've started a new class this calendar called "You've Been Bagged!" and we hope to have a class each calendar period featuring a new bag that is one of those cool ones you'd hesitate trying to make on your own.  This time "You've Been Bagged!" is going to be this Weekender Bag. It's a pattern by Amy Butler and so neat.  It's a great overnight bag and we'll help you tackle it and go home with a great bag.  Mine has feet on the bottom, ultra-suede handles- piping -bottom, little side pockets and a big chunky zipper.  We teach it in a 2 series class on Friday March 2nd 10:30-2:30 and then finish it up Friday March 30, 10:30-2:30.  

A few hours away

Denise and Linda and I escaped for a couple hours this week.  We decided to ride the light rail into downtown and have lunch!  It was fun, you always feel like you went somewhere different doing that.  It was fun to hang out in the downtown too, very trendy little stops we made!

 We went down Central to Pane Bianco which is a little hole in the wall.  I wish I would have taken a photo of the outside of these 2 places, if you don't know what they are you would never go inside!  Plain little front, rather run down and then you enter and realize, what is that wonderful smell of bread baking.  Crazy decorating of antiques and things you might have thrown in the trash.... a big chunck  of concrete was suspended in one corner as a shelf! We had wonderful sandwiches, sitting at long tables, the lunch crowd just joins you at the tables and it was FULL by the time we left.  A crowd standing in the outer part for take out and ready to eat at the picnic tables, and there was wonderful loaves of bread wrapped in brown paper  with the end poking out to buy and take home...we did!

 Next door is Lux.  This is the sign, you can barely see the name on there maybe 3 inches tall, it's a coffee shop full of people too!  An open door off to one side and you'd never know it was there, but the downtown crowd sure does!  Very eclectic seating, looks like it dropped from the 60's with old couches to sit on.  We got in line and got a whoopee pie to go, it was fun just experiencing the great things that Downtown Phoenix has stashed in unknown spots!

Home for this baby quilt

This sweet baby quilt I made for our All Cut Up class has found a home.  It's gone to "Miss Maisie".  I got the label on and Ken did the delivery. It went to our good friends who I've made a baby quilt for each of their Grands.  What timing as I guess it will be taken as a surprise for a party given for Miss Margaret Mary Jane....aka Maisie.... I  got very attached to this sweet quilt so I'm glad it's going to such a sweet baby girl!

Sew and Go hearts

Barb and I hosted 20 gals on Valentines day to repeat our valentine runner at Sew and Go, wow that was a ton who wanted to make this project those 2 weeks! We sold out on all our kits Lisa had made the first class and so she made more and I think we only have 2 left, wow!  Everyone wanted another to make for someone special! Here our 2 Canadian friends, Phyliss and Carolynn, are proud of theirs....but not as tickled as Barb over there on the side!  We've sure enjoyed our winter visitors who come to classes, they come back the next year and it's so fun to catch up with them.  They say how fun it is going home to show all the things they've made.   Sew and Go is each Tuesday and you never know what fun you might have there!

grocery bags

We are back to sewing classes at my sisters house and we grew by one student!  Yea Jen is joining us!  They decided to make these fun grocery/tote bags so everyone found some favorite fabrics and I got the mesh at ETC.  and here they are done and hopefully in use!  I think they all had plans for their bag so I hope they enjoy them!  On to a new project!  They are all learning lots!

Valentines Day

Hope you all had a very sweet one!

Thornberry quilt meeting in Feb.

Lorene hosted our Thornberry quilt meeting in Feb. and we had a great time.  Sue brought this beauty that she finished, it was her 2nd quilt she's made of our itty bitty tiny teeny 9 patches that we made...that we squared up to 2 inches.  It's darling.  But I havn't even made one yet...ho hum I have this huge bag of these crazy things, one of these days!.....

We had a fun lunch of the best tomato soup I've ever eaten, Lorene is going to post the recipe soon, lots of other yummies, everyone was into dippy things this time...it's always amazing what we end up with our little potlucks!

This cute little wool piece that Lorene did too.

And a few have made some of their 375 houses....one a day....aren't they darling and they are tiny, blue sky, yellow window, a few things consistant.....I did print the paper pieced pattern.....sigh....

And here are the yummy cupcakes that Lorene made us...she has this cupcake thing going, these tasted like a payday candy bar......ummmmm....

Oh and she showed me how to do a button bracelet, that was fun!

Charming Pinwheels

Here is the sample going up at ETC. of my next Beyond Basics class called Charming Pinwheels.  It's our intermediate level class that I'll teach in a 3 week series in March and then again in April.  Lots of fun things to learn in this one including pinwheels, the raw edge applique, how to make a pieced border fit and then the border has scallops and a bias binding.  Lots of fun! This ended up being such a happy quilt!

Around the world ....to Italy

So it's been a couple months since we went on our "food quest" and this week we went to "Italy"!!!!! Ahhhhhh I can do that!  I was so excited, if you follow you know about this food quest so here we are at Rigatoni's in Tempe and look at this lucious meal....compared to Ethiopian, this wins hands down!  Yum and I even have lunch for tomorrow!

 So here are these two dragging me around the world!  Sarah and Denise!  Thanks for the fun evening girls!  I'm hearing Puerto Rican or Cuban is in my near future!

Heart Table Runner

Here is our heart table runner from sew and go this week.  We had 29 gals come and make it, they all came out so cute!  Such a fun easy project and everyone enjoyed the happy fabrics.  

 We've got to cut more kits as we sold so many extras for next week.  If you missed it, we'll be doing it again next tuesday at ETC.   They sure did come out cute!

Buggy Barn Bunnies Class

 We taught our Buggy Barn Bunnies class last week at ETC. and had 14 people come to make it.
Such a cute quilt!

 It was fun to see everyone's choice of fabrics and how cute all the bunnies were turning out!

 We had requests for the santas in the same book so we'll have to see what those look like to do for summer.  We do try and do one buggy barn class every 4 months.

 Everyone got quite a few done...

 This was the easiest Buggy Barn class we have done.

 Monica got hers put together even!

 Here's mine, I guess it'll get to hop on home with me now!

All Cut Up

We had our All Cut Up demo yesterday at ETC. and had a great turnout! I was finding chairs  for more people and if you've been to the big classroom you'll know that's a bunch.  34 came and enjoyed the project demo.  This is mine, I made the blocks into a baby quilt instead of the table runner, in fact I made another row and it's on the back.  It just flew together, a great project. If you missed it we'll have the patterns and charm packs we used for the table runner out for sale.  On to plans for the next one for next month...I think a jelly roll is next!  It's always the 2nd wed. of each month, we even had show and tell from people making last months project, was that ever cool to see, Barb and I get such a kick out of seeing people do these projects.  

All Cut Up

Ok, here is your big "leak"!  Today is our All Cut Up  demo at ETC.  This is the class that started in Jan. for the first time, we prepped layer cakes and made a quilt and pillow and it was s HUGE success, the layer cakes ( all gazillion of them ) are almost gone and everyone has loved the project. So here is the one we are doing today, it's this darling springtime table runner with a scalloped edge made from charm squares.  Remember this is a demo showing people all kinds of ideas of things to do with your precuts that you buy.  I think everyone will love this and I'll show you my version another time. I made mine into a baby quilt.  This demo is such a deal, $2.50, you get the pattern and then the $2.50 is refunded back to you with a purchase.  So the coupons are printed, the emails are flying back and forth between Barb and I getting the pattern ready to print, the same charm squares we used on this are ready to go, so we'll see you today at ETC at 11:00.  I'll show you more photo's and my version tomorrow.  

Finished UFO quilt

I finished another UFO quilt  from last year, a nice size fall quilt that was actually one of our Jelly roll race quilts we did while trying to figure out the class.  It started with a fall jelly roll and now I"ve got a neat quilt!  yea it's done. I can put it on my UFO list for my quilt group!  It didn't make it for last fall but I'll be ready for 2012!

Fun Day with Bode!

What a fun Saturday we had with Bode!  Chris was having a Daddy weekend while MB got to go away for some girl time so we headed to the zoo with Bode and Chris.

 What fun, the same tractor his Daddy played on!  We saw a few animals but mostly had fun watching Bode wander around checking out all the fun things you can play on at the zoo!

 He really liked the "moo"!

 And he enjoyed the goats!  We had a great view of the elephant and the giant tortoise.  By lunch we headed home so he could have a nap.

 In the afternoon  we met at Home Depot for a fun adventure of "sandbox building"!

 Bode and I kept each other busy so the guys could build him a sandbaox in his back yard!

 He was right in the middle of it with his tools and helping carry screws.  He loves being around all that.

 We packed up his tools in the wagon and went for a long walk around the neighborhood.

 We got back just in time to do more building!  The sand box was looking pretty good by the time it was getting dark!

W