Summer is On The Way

I was thinking of how the spring turns into summer and flowers bring such joy in the time we renew and find beauty in all the colors.  Lavender plants from a trip to Washington State lifts by spirit and reminds me the beauty of flowers can be renewing and they can leave behind the remembrance of that beauty to carry us thorough winter.  Lavender oil brings the senses back to the time when the plants were in the fullness of the beauty, but then leaves for us all the remembrance that all the beauty never leaves as it manifests itself in all new and different forms.

Small Bag for Little Girl

A friend wanted a bag for a young girl in her church to carry colors and coloring book with other items to keep busy during church services.  This was a simple bag with the initial on the front pocket.  This type of quick project is always fun for me and I'm always surprised at how those who cannot sew believe this is impressive.  A great girl fabric and a couple of hours.  Fun and fabulous!

PILLOWCASES MAKE FOR FUN SEWING

I love to make things for my adopted class at MG Ellis Early Learning School.  They are bright and happy 4 yr. olds who are my pen pals.  With school only having a few days left, I wanted to give them something that would encourage them to read over the summer.  I made pillowcases for each student and sent three books about going to bed.  The letter I sent told them how I like to read before I go to bed and I hope they read everyday in the summer and maybe before they to bed and other times.

I use the pattern for the "hot dog" method and after doing enough by that method it goes fast....if I could only find someway to speed up the cutting.  Cutting is the slowest part of this whole sew, flip, sew, flip process.
  Hot Dog Case pattern

I love the end results and the best part is I only used material from by stash. OK I have a big stash!  I look at my stash now and it looks like not a dent was made in it.

My next venture is to make pillow cases for the Million Pillowcase challenge.
  Million Pillowcases Challenge   Join in and find how you can help.

Girl's Weekend Cooked Up

Two classes, much fun and I love all there is about the women of this family.  When I think of all that I have been blessed with and I can say it is tons, nothing compares to the blessing of the family I received from God.  I am so proud, in awe and amazed at the Godly women this family has.  Thanks Lynn, Meg and Aurora for your love as a wife, mother and dtr/dtr-in-laws.  Now the pics of the food and fun we had this year.  Girl's Weekend 2012

Fruit Tart from Sur La Table class

Chef Stephen Ortiz

Pastry going in for crepes

Cooking steak

Apple and Goat Cheese canape

Aprons!!

Cooking onions for canapes

Sur la Table peach crumble top tart

Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival

I am packing my bags for a weekend at the 39th Maryland Sheep and Wool festival with hubby.  I have had this on my list to go and see what this festival is all about.  I am excited to just be going.  Will fly into Baltimore, Maryland and go from there.  No plans except to go to the festival.  I have expectations of lots of sheep, lots of wool and lots of people who love sheep and wool.  Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival

More to come when pics can tell the story about this festival.

Girl's Weekend Aprons

It is girl's weekend coming up this week and the plans are coming together at last.  It was fun to think of what would be fun for Dtr, 2 Dtr-in-laws and myself while hopefully learning something. I chose cooking  and as cooking is one of those things I'm not really good at, but can do enough not to starve, this put me looking for cooking classes.  I checked all the usual places and it was not easy to find just something fun.  There are several places that on Saturday do the learn to use a knife class  or knifing skills.  Now I'm not brave enough to think I would come out of the class and not end up in the emergency room getting stitches or worse....Sur La Table won the day with a class on tarts and Central Market won the evening with appetizers.  I am so looking forward to this fun day and cooking with my wonderful girls.

It was time to think of goodie bags.  I got a really great deal @ www.stitchsteals.com on these super bags.  They are just perfect. Tote bag with another bag that has items for scrap booking.  I am filling with aprons I made...So much fun.  Pattern:K103 Ellie mae designs for Kwik SEW   only one did I do hand pleating, all the others I used the machine ruffler...Soooo much easier!  But over all, they were fun to make and I love how they turned out.

I am adding lots of other goodies to the bags so our girl's cooking weekend will be remembered.
 Bon Appetite

EASTER TRADITIONS

Families have traditions and Easter is a time where traditions are part of what I grew up with.  I grew up with a mother that loved to cook and was a Martha Stewart of her day especially at holiday time.  She would decorate, cook and bring the family together for celebrations.  Easter brought the infamous lamb cake.  The lamb cake mold would come down from the cabinet and be made ready to receive the pound cake mix mother would make from scratch.  The cream cheese icing and coconut were in the ready to decorate the lamb.  Eyes were either raisins, chocolate chips, M&Ms, red hots or whatever was in the cabinet that would work.  Mom passed this last year and the lamb mold passed to me.  It was put in the cabinet and I had not thought of it.  Easter coming I made my list of ToDos and the lamb cake comes to mind.  Who would make the lamb cake?  I know nothing of making cakes let alone one in a mold but it was now mine to keep the tradition of Easter...so, thank goodness for internet.  Yes, there is lots of information about the lamb cake mold, especially the antique cast iron mold from the 50s.  Wow, just think something in my family that long and here I am, the holder of the tradition.  Me, really? Me?  I gave it a try my way.  Boxed pound cake mix, canned icing, coconut colored with green sugar used on christmas cookies (that's a whole other story) and lots of prayer.  The results?  The bare lamb and the iced cake.  The cake enjoyed by all and so the tradition lives on.  It was a really good Easter, Praise God.

Almost scary..very alien

Very cute, Perfect

PLAY BALL...IT'S A WIN

I LOVE BASEBALL.  I love the Texas Rangers and it is baseball season again.  The hopes run high that the elusive World Series will finally come to the Ball Park in Arlington and our Texas team can have a parade.  Last year I was taking a class on Cotton Theory™ Quilting ( ref=dp_image_z_0 )  and had some Texas Ranger material that was going nowhere fast I had gotten  free when a women in my guild brought it to give it away (so we raffled it). I was the lucky winner of the material.  When I looked for material to take to the Cotton Theory class I saw it and thought it would work with this quilt as you go method; red logos on one side and blue logos on the other.....very reversible.  I did not love it as a quilt because the material was very stiff and not good to use for cover, but it it a great wall hanging.  

Red Texas Ranger Logo

Blue Texas Ranger Logo

And opening day brings the Rangers their first win of 162 games.  One down, 161 games to go.

Crayola Holders for Adopt a School Pen Pals

I am a pen pal for a PreK class and the letters are so much fun to receive and send.  I try and send a gift each letter I send.  My last letter I send a Dora the Explorer book entitled Camera Contest and asked lots of questions about taking pictures on spring break or family trips.  The class has 29 5 year olds....I cannot imagine keeping 29 5 year olds busy and learning all day.  Teachers are my heros!  This next letter I will be asking them about colors and coloring.

These are roll up Crayola caddies I made for each child. 

I put a key tag on each one so they could write there name on it.  I know this will be a hit with them as they love to color.  I have coloring books I will send to them also. 

Each holder holds 10 colors then wraps up nicely for storage.  I had so much fun making these and of course they are so easy to stitch and stuff with colors that in one afternoon I turned out 30 for the class.  People at work saw them and so I made extras to give away.  It really does not take much to give  someone a smile and I find sewing gives me so much room to bring smiles.  I like to think these will color a student's world with a bright future. 

Happy Spring one and all

 http://www.ehow.com/how_5631581_make-crayon-holder.html

INITIALS for Baltimore

Do you like your initials?  I like mine a lot. MD  I think those two letters carry a lot of weight and look good together.  When I decided to begin a Baltimore Album quilt I knew I wanted my initials as a block.  I looked for lettering that would fit my vision and struggled to find a font that I loved.  I wanted formal, flowing, elegant but simple.  I decided I would have to draft my own to get my eye satisfied.  It was a good process and fun.  I went through a few renditions before settling on what I wanted.  I chose what I am calling my focus fabric to use for the applique.  Copying to material, cutting and stitching began with the thought that I would add ivy or flowers or something intertwining the letters.  I tried several variations of this concept and was not happy with any of them.. I have I think decided to let the initials stand along.  I envision these initials to be a centering for the quilt, but since I am so far from even being close to having blocks finished (have finished 5 not including the initials) all this could change several times before the quilt top is done.  Now... my initials