Kody, Ava and Julianne

Here is Kody with his new baby cousin, Julianne. Kody is twelve and the oldest of our grandkids. He is in middle school and finishing sixth grade. He has two little sisters that look up to him. He likes skateboarding, video games and playing on the computer. He is growing up way faster than I think he should, but I guess I don't get much of a say in that. He is a real sweetheart! I am really proud of him, he is polite and well mannered. He is a good big brother and a good son and grandson. I love you, Kody!

These beautiful babies are two of my grandkids. We have five, and each one of them are absolutely darling!

Ava Grace and Julianne Marie are cousins. Ava just loves Julianne. She always wants to hold her and kiss her. She is so sweet and gentle with her it makes me feel so good watching her. She found this little elephant rattle and wanted to share it with Julianne. Julianne was intrigued.

Pinwheel Baby Quilt

When I found this pattern for this baby quilt, I knew I had to make it. It is from McCalls by Eleanor Burns. I made it with retro fabrics to give it an old time feel. I added the yoyos. The original pattern had just plain white squares but I thought they needed something. And I like the way it turned out. I just happen to know a brand new baby girl who's momma will love this quilt. In fact, my oldest daughter has put in an order for one of these in a lap size. I pieced it by machine and quilted it by hand. I am just not brave enough to try machine quilting yet. Think I need to practice on something small and insignificant. Anyway, I love the finished product here.

Mother's Day

First of all, Happy Mother's Day to all the mother's and all the ones who make them mothers! It has been nearly ten years since I lost my mother and not a day goes by I don't think of her. She was a stay at home mom back when it was the the "popular" thing to do. She raised six kids on one salary and one car. No microwave, computer or cell phones. No cable TV, no video games or VCRs. I wonder how she did it. Life was much simpler then. Plenty of kids in the neighborhood to play with. No sitting in the house all summer. We played outside until the streetlight came on and didn't want to come in then. In the winter, on snow days, we sledded on the neighborhood hill and had to be told to come in because we were too cold. Mom was always home when we got home from school. She always cooked our breakfast in the morning before school and our supper was served at 5:00 everyday. We had structure in our life and discipline when we needed it. Thanks Mom, for all the memories and all the love you gave us! I miss you!

Let's strip swap

I joined a swap on one of the online craft communities. This swap was kind of unique. Each participant made strips that were 44 inches long and 12 1/2 inches wide with at least four different fabrics. We mailed out to five different people, fabrics of our choice. What's really fun about it, is, we make a quilt top using these strips and post them on the site. We all vote and the winner gets a fat quarter from everyone else. It's going to be fun to see what everyone comes up with. These are the strips I got from everyone. I'm ready to get started but I have to come up with my own unique design. I need to let my creative juices flow.