Happy Birthday Amber

Today would have been Amber's 33rd birthday.  I can only imagine the birthday party in Heaven today.

We took balloons to her resting place this morning.  It's very windy and overcast here today.

I wrote her name in the sand while at the beach this past weekend.  Always on my mind :)

Happy Birthday sweet baby girl!

Mommy,Daddy and Jennifer love you!

Home Again

I am home again after a trip to the beach.  

This was Sunday morning before Isaac rolled in.  The weather was gorgeous during our stay. 

I am sure this is all under water now and has been beaten down by the pounding rain and wind.

Mr. Seagull wanted his picture taken.  I bet he has flown to higher ground.

I feel for the people along the Gulf Coast.  Hopefully everyone stays safe from Hurricane Isaac and he passes soon.

Sadly we lost another family member. My husband's brother passed away.  He had been sick for a few months.  His funeral was Monday.

I will share more pictures of our trip later.  

I didn't even use a computer while we were away so I have lots of catching up to do!

Thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Donna

Antique Quilts

I love all quilts especially old ones.  The ones that were made when quilting was a necessity. When loving hands stitched away every night to make quilts to keep families warm on cold winter nights. I could sit and look at the fabric for hours wondering if feed sacks were used or remnants from clothing.

This quilt top was given to me and I think it may have been my grandmothers.  It is all hand stitched and is badly stained in places.   Someone also loved purple that pieced this top!  

  It's in really bad shape and I am not sure what to do with it.  Suggestions?  If you are a quilter I need help!  Do I leave it as it is or "work" on it?

This double wedding ring quilt was also my grandmother's.  I've had it for years and I have always loved the wedding ring pattern.  All the tiny little pieces!  It is always on display on a chair in the piano room.

A closeup of the fabrics and stitches in the quilt.  It has about every color in the colorwheel.  Love it!

And finally another special quilt.

When my mother-in-law passed away last year this is the only thing my husband wanted that belonged to her.  This wonderful quilt made by his grandmother.  I thought it was so sweet that he would want a quilt ;)  He knew it would have a loving home in our house.  Of course I was a happy girl.  I washed it and it is in great shape.

It is in style now with all the aqua colors used in decorating these days.

When I took this pic I noticed right in the center there is another purple quilt block with sweet little flowers.

When I look at these treasures it makes me appreciate all the wonderful tools that is available to quilters these days!  I can only imagine how much time it took to cut each little piece of fabric for these quilts.  

Thanks for visiting!

Hugs,

Donna

This and That

I have been busy doing a little of this and that.  We were gone a couple of days last week and I am so behind on everything.  But even if I am at home I never get things accomplished I want to do.  

While I was out weeding flowerbeds I took a pic of my cotton I am growing.  Since I took this pic of the blooms I now have cotton bolls!  I'm growing this for fun and to use in arrangements or maybe a wreath.

And look what else I grew!  A little pumpkin!!  Last year when I took down my Fall decorations I carried my pumpkins to the backyard and plopped them down.  They rotted over the winter and this Spring I had this vine growing in my flowerbed and surprise I grew a pumpkin!  It is a miniature one but it is white and I love it!

I have also been working on my Great Granny quilt blocks.

These are fun to make and it will be a colorful quilt when I get all the blocks made and sewn together.

And finally I won a cookbook from Debbie over at Busy as Can Be.   The cookbook came in the mail yesterday wrapped in a tea towel .. so cute.  Quilters are the best cooks!  I love cookbooks and read them like books.  

And the sunroom addition is slowly coming along.  Extra electrical outlets are being installed today and I think I have decided on the tile floor.  Some people have asked if the room will be heated and cooled and yes it will be.  I want to use the room year round.  I will keep some of my smaller plants in the winter in there instead of the basement or my garage.  

Oh well that was definitely a little this and that!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Hugs,

Donna

Sunshine on a Stem

Everyone needs a little sunshine on a stem!

I think it was last year I purchased the sunflower watering can at HL on sale.  I love the saying on it and it is so fitting for me with the sunflowers :) 

With my sunroom addition coming along I thought what better than to make a sunflower pillow for a chair in the room.

So I got out my fabric and cording and went to work cutting and sewing.

I saw the sunflower graphic on The Graphics Fairy blog site.  I copied the image onto transfer paper and ironed it onto the fabric.  (I reversed the image on the printer.)  I had everything in my stash so the pillow cost me nothing but my time which makes it even better!  I had to search my stash for the cording but eventually found enough to make the pillow.  A person who sews usually has all kind of fabric and such in her stash ... at least I do.  After years of sewing I think I have a little bit of everything in my sewing room :)

Now I have found another image that is the "sister" to this image.  I may have to make another pillow for another chair.  Can you ever have too many pillows?  My husband thinks so :)

Thanks for visiting!

Hugs,

Donna

I am joining Linda at Coastal Charm for NTT and Brenda at Cozy Little House for Tweak it Tuesday.

Pure Bliss Quilt Top

I have been sewing while watching the Olympics at night. I finally have something to show for it!

I finished sewing the borders on my Best Friends quilt top I made with the fabric line Bliss.  I adore this fabric!  It is so happy and cheery with all the pinks, reds, greens and aquas.

I posted about it here.  

The pics aren't the greatest (it's cloudy) but it's hard to get my husband to keep holding it up while I try to get a better pic. :)

I love the combination of prints with the flowers that make up this line of fabric. I made each block different to use every design in the collection.  I have enough of the border pieces to make a pillow to match it.  I used a layer cake to make this quilt.  

I am going to bind the quilt with one of the prints I bought on sale at my local quilt shop a few weeks ago.  I have white fabric which I will use for the quilt back.  

I have also been busy making Granny Squares and a sunflower pillow which I will post later.

Thanks for all the sweet comments on Jennifer's birthday.  I don't normally post pics of myself but I loved this one of us together.

Thanks for visiting!

Hugs,

Donna

Happy Birthday Jennifer

My baby girl turned another year older today and that makes me feel really old!

I LOVE this girl so much!!

God blessed us so much when Jennifer was born. She decided she would come into the world a few weeks early on a Monday 31 years ago.  Yes ... she is 31!! 

Jennifer had to work all day today (13 hours) so we celebrated last night at her house.  Her daddy and I took her and hubby to dinner and then had birthday cake.  I think I gained five pounds last night.

We surprised her today and drove nearly an hour and a half to the pharmacy where she works got a hug and drove home.  Yes we did ... I just needed to see my girl on her birthday!  Love you Jennifer!

Now I am going to cut me another piece of birthday cake and watch the Olympics!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Hugs,

Donna

Sunroom Progress

I couldn't show you an ugly picture to open a blog post.   So while I was outside this morning I took this picture of a sunflower opening up in my backyard garden.   I love growing sunflowers!

So now on to our sunroom update.  Ugly picture next ...

My husband began tearing out the screen porch before I could snap a picture.  No let me be real honest and say that I took the first swing at the screen!  I tore the first hole in it ... something I have wanted to do for a long time.  This porch has been like this since 1994.  Here it was in all its ugliness. The screen and some wood is already down at this point. Our deck with all my stuff piled on it at this point is to the right in this pic with the garden sign.

It's looking better!  I am standing on the deck where you enter the sunroom.  The carpenters put in the windows and door on Monday.  Looks much better now.  Progress finally!!  Please ignore the stickers on the windows and door.  The siding has been added and trim will be added around the doors and windows.

It is a work in progress but this looks so much better!  (We have the windows open from the top and the window screens are not straight in this pic)  I am going to love this room.  We enjoyed the screen porch but being enclosed on two sides it was so hot in the summer.  It became a place to pile stuff.  It is right off our dining room where the bay window is in the picture.  We originally thought about using all glass but  I wanted to have fresh air in the Spring and Fall if I want to let the windows up.

This will be an ongoing project for a few weeks.  There is tile to be laid, painting the ceiling and adding a couple more electrical outlets under the windows.  We will be doing the work ourselves and take our time.

And now to leave you with another pretty flower .. a pink zinnia!

Thanks for visiting!

Hugs,

Donna