I dreamt a dream and so.....I played for 15 minutes!

Christmas was a time of celebrating in my home and I am still making my yummy noises and smiling as I recant memories of the past week. Favorites include the candlelight ceremony at the Christmas Eve service, Porsche anxious with all of our hooting and hollering over the incredible Seahawks Sunday night game and family time of games, laughter, pranks and moments of quiet and tears of humility for my blessings. Amazingly....this year was a year of fewer gifts and yet as I always say, "This was the best one yet......" I dreamt that I was piecing with Victoria and a couple of other women in New York and then awoke with the desire to choose a quilt from the 15 Minutes Play of Victoria's....below is my interp of my fav of hers, the charcoal gray with made fabric insets...Mod Style. I LOVE HER BOOK!!!!!!!!

This made fabric rainbow is a celebration for my friend who is having a birthday this week. Seemed like a young and whimsy idea to portray her as the Gold at the End of the Rainbow......she is my gem of a friend since moving here and spending many many soccer games together. Ever wished you could swing from a rainbow and watch the world below wonder at the miracle of prisms in rain?

And a treasure for my Chirstmas......Mom gifted me this quilt and I was taken aback with surprise!!!!! It is a favorite of mine that she has created and a special time in our lives when she pieced this. Most of the tiny scraps are from my stash. She created it while staying with me and Noah as Sean worked in Seattle last fall and as we were making the decision to start a new chapter in our lives.......How ironic that I would be gifted it our first Christmas in the Northwest! And through all of the joy of this season, my heart has missed Harley Dog whose dying anniversary was this Christmas season and the homesickness that often ailed my soul as I missed our dear friends and family in Utah. Life can be so bittersweet! Love, Em

Cuanto Cuesta?.........paws up if you love a furry friend

I have had a quilt in mind for a very long time and last night the first block took shape. As many of you know, my Harley dog was a love of my life. I will never forget our times and near daily still recant memories...in a healthy way of course. In the spirit of my Muertos Vllage, I have begun "Cuanto Cuesta".....How Much Is That Doggy in the Window?....a favorite childhood song of mine and a weekly singalong in our family during Family Home Evening. I will post each block on the blog and would love to know if you choose to create one of your own as a sort of sew-a-long....instead of doggies maybe you insert kitties or princesses or a little bit of whatever is in the stash. My next house is going to be a HOT DOG......with Unruly letters of course :). Here goes the bow wow! Em

Faith and Courage are Cornerstones

I cannot put in to words the grief I have experienced with this school shooting this week. I find myself distracted and crying at times I least expect and wanting to hide from the media. I have worked in psych for 25 years and my current job is the first time I have seen adult mental illness to this extreme and it scares me.....scares me that people have ill brains that can lead them to do horrible things that scar people for life......and to help me work through my grief I created this piece one night and so many tears stained the fabric. I used the text fabric for the message, Faith and Courage Cornerstones. I dedicate this piece to hope and healing and wish that I could do more......

Ooh LA LA! Fa LA LA LA LA! I love SELVAGES!!!!!!

A facebook post of the wine openers inspired the below......They remind me of ballerinas from the Nutcracker or little wispy angels. How does the creating brain work is my question for tonight.....because this photo above led to the below creative exercise tonight.

2 Selvages.....and text. Gotta love quilting and all of its fun and silliness! Merry Christmas season!!!! Em

Up up and Away with the holidays....Who do you relate to in the City Scape, "The Human Experience"?

Hold on to your hats, Ladies! The above quilt is a pattern from Sunday Morning Quilts from start to finish! My corner barista is due to have a son anyday and I wanted to whip up a little surprise for her babe. This is a great stashbuster! and a quickie is you are in a time crunch.

I cannot seem to get my fill of playing with my people fabric and Seattle theme. I have wanted to create a quilt that includes random people and this is a work in progress. Don't you love the dapper gent and the frugal homemaker?

Ever been fed up and said, "To hell with it!"......in this case, it was better to throw out the fish than the baby with bathwater....

And a small quilt to celebrate the love I have for the Southern Utah desert memories and my life in the NW.....Oh how I love quilting with Roxy on these little ditties. Roxy and I are busy getting on top of the stack of pieced quilts. With a day off and boys at work and school, we may just get something accomplished! And you? Love, Em

CELEBRATING the small.......small stitches, small quilt, small scraps, small babies...

I thank my mom and dad for teaching me from an early age the value and delight of the little things in life and compassion for others....May Day baskets on doorknobs, Secret Santa Helper for a friend in need of love at Christmas, homemade cookies that look like pizza in a deliver box and crafting while watching tennis and Cheers on tv......And with this love for the process of living and being present with those you are with..

CELEBRATING this beauty of mom's.....the colors are yummy but do you see? They line up perfectly and are all hand pieced. She calls it her picnic blanket and such a fun quilt it is! An amazing quilter and so versatile!

Do you recall the quilt posted below.....I have looked and looked for the fabric to create a second quilt and come up with no luck. My Aunt JoAnn is a ball of fire and when one is in her presence, her laugh is contagious and her spice is SPICY! Mom had told me that she enjoyed my Poppy quilt and I wanted to gift her a surprise. The above art quilt is a Bonsai. Used my tiny poppies to attempt to mimick aspects of the original. And of course, the text could not be more fitting! There is something so fun about finding just the right details for the recipient. Merry Christmas, JoAnn!

This quilt resides in Michigan and has yet to meet her owner. Jen is working in Costa Rica and had me mail the quilt to her parents' home. The stories that the blooms will soak up are kinda fun to think of. Some people come in to my life and there is an automatic click like 2 puzzle pieces that interlock....Maybe it was Jen's smile or her cowgirl boots, or just that she is an awesome inspiring woman. Hope to hug her again someday.

I was asked to create a baby quilt for a friend's granddaughter. There is something very fun about receiving a voicemail or email inquiring of a commissioned project....pays for those shop hops :).....As I have been perusing blogs, I was drawn to Victoria's recent challenge of made fabric from lights. With her ideas I created this filler and of course used the old fav, LOVE block. All from my stash and that is a good feeling! Roxy is ready to quilt her and then off to play with the stork.

Wishing you all a TOOsday with a little TOO much of something in it TOOday! Love, Em