Wednesday is WonderFULL...FULL of Grace!

Sean has finished his Mary.  Amazing to watch my husband create....And even more fun to see the progress.  The Coca Cola bottle is in Spanish, the rays are cut out of soda cans and the gown is fabric that was gifted to me by Char. Sean hemmed the entire border of the gown then placed a wire in it to enhance flowing and then painted gold. 

Sean is creating the Coca Cola crate from scratch.  Here he is carving out the lettering for Coca Cola from blue tape.  He then paints it white and when dry peels away the tape. VOILA!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!  The small coin on the bottom is still being worked in to the piece.  Noah and I love to visit a local coin shop and learn the stories and history behind coins and minting the money.  Believe it or not....This is a Coca Cola coin from Paraguay. YEP, GODWINK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And while Sean was crafting I was "making fabric" for a little doll quilt.  I visited Victoria's blog at Bumblebeans yesterday morning and was inspired all over again to dig into the stash and make a wonky little border...I love these little pieces because Roxy and I can practice and practice some more!

May your Wednesday be FULL of comfort......And........

Love, Em

"What if every neighborhood was this one?"....Friendly, Courteous, Cheerful, Helpful

Last week I fell in love with Gloria Loughman's book, Quilted Symphony, and now I begin the piecing journey....Her VILLAGE STRATA reminds me of Greco paintings that I saw in Spain years ago with the deep purples and sense of mystery or foreboding, can't you just see a very gaunt faced man in the bell tower of the church?...or perhaps a Title cover for PILLARS OF THE EARTH?.....but mine, I choose to CELEBRATE the brightness of summer that will someday arrive when the rains cease and the delight in thinking of a neighborhood based on the values of Boy Scouts.....Can't get home soon enough to start cutting and playing....

Little did I know that waiting for an admit can be so fun when you work next to a quilt shop and just HAVE to drop in a take a peek at the selection....

Speaking of CELEBRATING boy scouts, Have you visited Vesuviusmama for her scout outing of the past weekend?  Never a dull moment in this lovely lady's life!  Drop in and say HI to Erin. 

Love, Em

Have you ever added a little ditty to your quilt, just because?...

Porsche and I were out walking last evening and I found the perfect little label for my Triathlon quilt....Since water is the theme of this piece...seemed fun to add a piece of garbage aka "found item" in my neighborhood...Roxy didn't love sewing plastic but she placated my whim :).

Judi, Ms. Karate Quilter, here is the long awaited photo.....

The ultimate LOOT in the boots....Sweet little Harley in her pink cowgirl boots...I love this sweetie and can't wait to love her up this weekend when I travel to play with family and the horses! 

May your TOOsday have something TOO fun amidst its hours!!!!!

Love, Em

Voila! Celebrating TAOS blue and the final pic for Diane Hire-inspired quilt

Sean and I love pictures of colored doors from near and far and have brought the TAOS blue door into our southwest home.....and as I hung this quilt for the final photo of it bound...A cross, a Mary and some yummy blue!  I love the "flow"..... Next project starting when Porsche and I finish our walk tonight....

Sunlight showing off the quilting throughout.  

Thank you, Diane Hire and Green Fairy for the inspiration!!!!

And to you all who continue to visit while I post and more post this quilt.

Love, Em

Ripples....swirls....ebb and flow...Dancing water!

Just have to share the yumminess from my walk with Porsche this morning.  The neighborhood foliage maintainers are out manicuring the plants and they are working on the Rosemary plants...YEP! a walk of herb-alicious-ness!  THought I was at a spa for a moment and then my  barking ferocious scaredy cat brought me pack to reality as a sweet lap dog strolled by....The PATIENCE I pray for with each walk as I train this sweet pup....

The border is quilted and I decided to mimich the wave in the wonky border and add some spirals every so othen....

All the ripples from the center out.....

my back.....

Roxy gets a SOUTHWEST BEAUTY next to play with...I am hooked on this quilting thing!

May your Monday have a dance step to it!  And a puddle or two!

CELEBRATING the beauty of my little corner of Utah!

I never tire of this hike to the Emerald Pools in Zions National Park and this year the falls are especially breathtaking with all of our recent rains.  Serenity to you, can you feel the mist on your face as you look at this photo?

Such a wonderful weekend with family and friends.  Last night I fell asleep thanking God and Sean for the joy that our large trailer brings to our family as we can travel with loved ones and have lovely dinner parties in the evenings.....And yep!...Roxy and I quilted on the picnic table outside of the trailer while the boys cooked dinner and Lindsey's Triathlon is nearly bound!  I can't wait to show you the outer border.  I was scared to check it this morning because it was quilted throughout an evening of yummy beer spirits and laughter...PHEW! Roxy took the helm and I only unpicked a few lines....

Cruising up the final leg of a very steep hill in the middle of nowhere on the way to the trailhead, Guacamole.  Can you believe the waterfall pic is taken about 30 minutes away from where we are in this photo?  Love the dynamic beauty of the desert!!!!  I swore I would never ride uphill for miles just to get to a trailhead and funny how a determined youngster changes those princess mantras!  Love my dudes!

Holding dearest Lizzy close as she begins to fall asleep.  I am looking out the window and thinking to myself, "This little girl is so special and this is what it feels like to hold a little girl tightly..."

What a motley crue as we climb straight up a mountain....I got some teasings for the hiking boots but I reassured the people that these feet live in boots and when hiking through mountains for my job, an actual trail is cheating....

Playing in the trees with Noah at the top of a hiking trail..Noah is so proud to have his dad's racing jersey passed down to him...

Life is GOOD!

Nature, Family and Friends, MUSIC to my ears! 

Love to you all, Em

CELEBRATING Color and a Symphony....

A reward for a taxing day in the "office"....CELEBRATING with a fun post and a new book to inspire me for the quilting of the outside border of Lindsey's Triathlon....

and a new project soon...I get so excited wondering about a new one!

Have you drooled over Gloria Loughman's book, Quilted Symphony?

It is such a feast!!!!

Above photo is from the book on page 23 that talks of ability to override the temptation "to create what you see rather than what you feel....." and that the list of colorful inspirations is "infinite, but you must have your eyes and soul open to respond."

There is a fabulous Student Gallery towards the back of the book and of course I fell in love with this SURFACE ENERGY by Melinda Gibson.  Colors are so saturated and heat emanates...The quilting in this book is fabulous and going to be an excellent study for me as I begin the final leg of my quilt.

Hmmmmmmmm...what will Roxy quilt tonight? 

Thursday's Thought...

What is your soul open to today?

Love, Em

Rain makes for adventures....

My nursing big rig  is a muddy mess tonight...Is it strange that while I was sliding all over the road I radioed to my office,

 "Backup backup this is Em, do you copy?" 

"Em, this is Doug, I copy..."

"Doug, are the tires bald on this Dodge, I have no traction and am all over this road and nearly down a culvert....'

"Em, it's normal in clay...'

"OK"...I then cinched up the seat belt and thought that all is good...

Now I  think that this is ludicrous!!!  and I love the adventure of it!!!!

On Facebook tonight Griff posted this photo with heading,

"EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH PARKING AT MY OFFICE"....

What a funny job we all have at Second Nature....and on a serious note..

ROCKIN' in the wilderness with adolescents and young adults seeking peace and sobriety and we as staff get to be instruments of change in a very environmentally adventurous world!!!

Love, Em

Do you remember the project where you took your quilting to a new level...

I have been reminiscing about my beginner projects that were from yesterday years...I started quilting 3 1/2 years ago.  Kaffe Fassett is my first love with the jelly roll as a close second....I am sending the below Kaffe Fassett book to a "beginner" because of the wonderful quilts and how many of them are user friendly to the newcomer...Inside the cover I have attached  the below photo of my wonky version of Kaffe's Cover rays quilt...I still remember the day I bought the fabric with the targets in this quilt and how I looked for over an hour through every bolt of fabric looking for my keys...

Below is the cover qjilt that I patterned my version after...

And the below photo is me turning a leftover photo copy into a love note to whomever enters my office and reads the "fine print"....  Daer Friends, I wanted to send a "HI!" to you!  Love, Em

This mirror is part of my friendly shrine in my office.  I am excited about this photo becasue you can see the wall size map of our field area peeking in the background due to my office not having walls to the ceiling....Can you see the teeny arrow?  that is where we are going to mud bog and do physicals today?  Come along and play with me!!!

Love, Em

Ripple Effect......Beginning in the center and working my way outwards...HMMM, sounds a lot like learning to love oneself to love others!!

As I am quilting this piece, I am reminded of ripples because of the curves and also because I am working my way out from the center just as a ripple does.  A favorite post of mine was when we all CELEBRATED the ripple effect and am excited to have been reminded of it this morning as I began this POST.

I have had several people inquire about who is ROXY?  Well, here she is!!!

Have you ever bought a simple item and thought, "This is so brilliant....Why didn't I do it years ago?"...This is how I feel about my card table....I do not like to be hiding in my quilt room when the family is home and yet the bar in the kitchen seems so cramped....A card table was the answer!  I have set it up in the nook of our great room and the view and natural light is wonderful!  Fortunately we live next to open space so it is fun to watch the road runners, bunnies and Porsche all playing.  Roxy is hoping that the focus of the photo is on her...she's a little funny that way! 

Closeup photos of our progress on this Diane Hire inspired piece... I added a simple wave to the white striped piece that reminds me of ripples....... and then in the blue curvy strip is you double click you can see how I added a ribbon with bubbles above and below, WAHOO, a new try for me and I LOVE IT!!!

This quilt was  originally titled LIPOSUCTION because I am cheating on creating the curves...but now it is ...Lindsey's Triathlon..

.

My dear friend, Lindsey, is staying at our home this weekend while we go ""camping at Zions National Park and she is participating in a local triathlon.  Seemed like the perfect THANK YOU gift with all of the swimming blue and haphazard roads...twisting and curving and nothing quite lines up..MUCH LIKE PARTICIPATING in A SPORTING EVENT LIKE THIS!!!!

I am outlining all of the different patterns in this floral fabrtic and it is making the different flowers and leaves POP!  This is a secret of mine for being new at FMQ....outline a beautiful busy fabric and it looks like you know what you are doing!  I encourage you to try this is you are newer and scared...Much less daunting then a solid color that you want so badly to put the perfect feather in...AND YOU MAY JUST BE THAT QUILTER that does it and all of us happily envy and CELEBRATE you!

Off to play in the woods after a lovely spring walk with Porsche....May you Wednesday be wonderFULL!!!!!

Love, Em

iec

Do you want to take a peek? Humor me, I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS!!!!!

I have been playing with Roxy this evening and envisioning Judi Green Fairy at her long arm machine as I stitch on my Janome and I am going to go out on a limb and say......"Judi, I love you and miss you and I dedicate this quilting to you and your example and teachings to me!"  She has marvellous  quilting of Sherri's Moda quilt, Stepping Stones, on her blog that she did for MARKET....SHE IS MY HERO!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope you enjoy pics of my Diane Hire pieced top that I am now quilting..

This is a signature pattern in this orange of Judi Green Fairy's and I have looked at it so often on her blog and on my own quilts that she has done for me and so I tried it tonight.  WAHOO!!!!!!!

I always wanted to pebble like Judi to make florals poof! and yep, coming along... I love the shells in the blue and the color of blue is definitely my favorite in this quilt.

I think if you double click on this photo you can see up close.  LOTS of different designs in the different parts.  I toyed with idea of simply quilting in circular motion but I am determined to build muscle memory and so I chose designs for each segment.

Lassoes and kitty cats and dots...LeeAnn, I think of you when I see this dotty fabric and the fun I had CELEBRATING you with dotty games when you had gone DOTTY! yourself....I am smiling big as I think of you and your fun-ness on your blog. GO VISIT LeeAnn at http://niftyquilts.blogspot.com and ENJOY!!!!!  You may even get a little Gwen Envy when you see who she got to play with!!!

And that is all for my sneak peek tonight....I can barely contain myself at how excited I am at my progress....I hope you enjoyed the pics and that they inspire you to try a little ditty on your quilt that you have never done before but always admired....Jump in and be ok if it isn't perfect!

Love, Em

SEW HAPPY! what a fun selvage I trimmed for my collection and sums up my heart tonight!

CHEERS!  I am so excited to have had the time to piece a whole quilt top this weekend!!!! It has been a long time since I have made a quilt that measures larger than 12" block and a real treat to make a piece inspired by a pattern/ book!!!  ROXY, get ready because here I come!!!

Roxy is still giggling with her ride on the luggage carrier.....And I am tickled with Melinda's surprise!

Border #2 pieced..I LOVE LOVE the curvy corner!  I can't wait to quilt this!  So much fun thinking about the quilting designs for it as I am piecing...And all of the fabrics from my scrap bags remind me of other quilts.

Do you see the golf course in this piece......I just arrived home from a wonderful date weekend with my husband...AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!  Each spring Sean plays in the OLD FART GOLF TOURNAMENT that is characterized by tom-foolery to the FULLEST! 

Yesterday morning was a riot!  I was sewing on Roxy appliquing all of these curvy embellishments and a group of friends- all males- were borrowing my sewing tools and rippling fabric and stitching here and tucking there...The treat of the tournament is the dressing up and the decorating of the golf carts...CRAZY fun!!!! 

I am not sure what got more attention this trip, Roxy in all of her sweet CELEBRATORY glory being delivered to my room by the bell hop or Sean's Faux hawk and Roman costume...SO FUN!

I giggle as I interpret this little ditty that is a work in progress as the epitome of golfing in this tournament...off kilter, not very sobering and a heck of a lot of hills and windy challenges...and in the end, COLORFULL memories are what are to be had until the next year!

I was so tickled this morning when Jackie from Canton Village wrote to me guessing that it is a Diane Hire inspired piece before noting that it was...Something about an accomplished quilter and peer complimenting my work as I learn this hobby!  Thank you, Jackie!

This page is from Diane Hire's book, Vivacious Curvy QUilts and I wanted to show you this page becasue it is the inspiration for my border that I am working on.  I love the inspiration in this book and encourage all who love color and fun to indulge and treat yourself to this book! 

Have you mdae a quilt from the nspirational book?  If so, I'd love you to email me a photo so I can post this week..A sort of TRIBUTE to a talented quilter...ANd you know me...Maybe a fun prize at the end of the week!  And if you haven't done a specific Diane Hire quilt but one with curves, wonky colors, pure fun...Send me a photo and let's CELEBRATE!

Speaklin of COLOR AND CELEBRATION.....I arrived home to my fabulous boys who had the house cleaned and no odor of cat litter...and..... MELINDA's block she made the Victoria Block Swap, Something from NOthing 12" blocks....Something special about receiving a part of someone else's heart and soul that you have never met!  And the intersecting quilting is so fun and reminds me of the Hire piece with intersecting heres and theres!  I am curious if the binding is from the recent colorful CAT LINE that I adore and if so...how apropro considering my quilt room is the kitten play room..HMMMMM....and just one more connection!

Do you spy the bee iin the middle of the hexagons?....Do you think Melinda purposefully sent this card knowing that Utah is the BEEHIVE STATE?....

Thank you, Melinda, for the joy that I came home to and thank you friends for visitng me!!!

Here comes Monday right around the bend...

Love, Em

Ooooh, COLOR!!!!! So much energy just playing with the colors.  Off for weekend getaway with Sean and looking forward to quilting while he is golfing...Love to you all!  Em

Yorkie Mom....This sweet little sea otter wants a home!

This sweet little sea otter is one of many adorable little projects in the book, Countryside Softies by Amy Adams.  Yorkie Mom, please email me your address so you can receive this wonderful book that is your giveaway prize.

YUMMY curves!!!!!  My stash is about to be raided!

  Isn't it fun to have a coupon for a book 40% off?!

Anything but curvy!

Curvy flowers and straight pinwheels...

CELEBRATING weekends and grey skies! What is Monday's Mantra?

Just had to play with the Batiks one more time this morning while giggling at the clowns of kittens and knowing I need to get to work.....This is to CELEBRATE my lovely walk with Porsche this morning in drizzling rain and little sunbeams imbetween fluffy gray cloulds.  I took this photo to show how I am leaving the sun rays free other than stitched at the top where they come out of sunshine.  Fun to think of the sun tickling us with wisps of rays as they peek out of the gray.  Few gold threads outlining the rays..

WEEKENDS..selvage title for this piece...

My weekends are full of bike rides with my boys nowadays and I could not be a happier woman for this!  The sweet bicycle is such a hallmark in my life from younger years to current fun and I could go on and on......And to think that a blind date with my husband all started as us needing a biking partner...Well, that bike ride turned out very well as you can all see!

If you were to write on this dry erase board, What would today's Monday Mantra be?

Happy Monday!  Em

Sunday's Sunshine Serenade......

As the sun has set....my Mother's Day mini quilt is rising....

I was excited to find the selvage for the title of the piece..

"SUNSHINE SERENADE"

Serenade is defined as a complimentary performance to give honor or express love to another...

Today is that day if there ever has been one!!!!

While I was quilting rays of sunshine with yummy shiny/ metallic threads...

I squealed a little squeal of delight...Kathy from Material Obsession wrote me a sweet email about  my sunshine quilt in my sidebar of this post....I had written to her thanking her for this wonderful pattern I had used as inspiration and my spin on it with the addition of stems and foliage...She wrote of it being a garden full of sunshine with the yellows I chose and I was BEAMING all over!!!!!!  Sunshine from a quilting hero of mine! 

While I was stitching and reading sunshine...Sean was busy....

Sean is creating a Mary for his tattoo artist who loves Coca Cola....There is something very wonderful about crafting with my dear husband and having those moments where I look up and just watch him....An artist of a man, husband, father and individual!  Sean is cutting these rays out of soda cans and tacking them in place.  Mary is taking a nap since I didn't get mine in today.

Ray is defined as a narrow line or beam of light or other radiant energy...

I wonder if you are working on a quilt project as you read this post that has a ray in the design, is a ray to your day as you get to sit down and work on it, will be a ray to someone's day when it is complete and in a squishy mailer, or have a design in mind that is just a few quilts away from being started...

From a little ray of sunshine in Southern Utah!

Charlotte, thank you again for the fabrics!

Love, Em