Stone Cathedral - Designed by Heather Bostic

Have any of you heard of the website SeamedUp? It is a new social site where seamstresses of all levels and interests can come together and share projects, pictures, ideas and much more!

Pinball Machine - Designed by Jessica Brown

With the New Year, they began a daily block quilt along. They choose a block from the book, “Modern Blocks: 99 Quilt Blocks From Your Favorite Designers, and you can join in any day or days you like. You are able to link your project to the book and are able view all other projects linked by other members. It is fun to see how others are interpreting each of these fun and modern blocks.

You've Been Framed - Designed by Natasha Bruecher

I would love to complete a block every day. If only. I have completed a couple of them.

Riverbank - Designed by Tiffany Stephens

The best part of this project for me is the variety of techniques and patterns are really stretching my sewing ability. I have begun to focus more on my accuracy and the quality of my stitching and piecing. Up to this point, I have been so enthralled in the creative aspect of quilting, that I have not put any sincere effort into my precision.

You've Been Framed - Designed by Natasha Bruecher

This is an exciting turn for me. I really want to become the best I can be! I love creating this beautiful and most importantly, comforting art!

Blue Lagoon - Designed by Pat Sloan

One of the charity projects I am contributing to is through Hopeful Threads.  This wonderful site puts together monthly charity projects suitable for all ability levels.  This month’s project is providing solid colored bloomers to Annabell’s Wish.  Annabell’s Wish will be distributing the bloomers to an orphanage in China.

After searching blogland for over 2 hours, I was unable to find a FREE tutorial for bloomers that didn’t assume I had the child with me to provide needed measurements.  Fortunately, Hopeful Threads has teamed up with Create H.O.P.E., a group of designers who have donated a collection of lovely pdf patterns for the low price of $5 each.  I downloaded the pattern for 30 Minute Shorts and together with a very helpful tutorial from Hopeful Threads, easily transformed the shorts into bloomers!

It took me almost a week to finish 5 pair of bloomers.  I should have been done in a day.  Maybe it was my daughter watching television in my studio all week.  Hmmm.  Maybe it was because I was Facebooking while sewing.  Yea, that’s probably more like it.   I hope the bright colors will bring a little sunshine to those little girls.  A week is a long time to spend sewing 5 pairs of bloomers.   On the other hand, a week isn’t a very long time to spend praying for the 5 sweet little girls who will be wearing them!

I sorted out all the beautiful fabric I received and I am in love! Isn’t it beautiful? Now…what to do?

Via Flickr:
Free scraps donated by Pat Bravo for my participation in Quilt For A Smile. All quilts will be donated to Project Linus’ Miami Chapter.

Avocados

Limes

This time there seems to be a mystery fruit growing on our lemon tree.  While there were several normal lemons, some sort of jacked up on steroid lemon was growing also.  Any ideas?  I am almost afraid to open it up and eat it.  Truth is, I think it smells like a grapefruit.

Lemons?

I haven’t cut it open and tasted it yet because they are still a little green.  It’s been getting a little cold around here so we picked all of the fruit so it wouldn’t freeze and get ruined.

From The Same Tree

Who thinks they know what is going on with the mystery tree?

Stay tuned for a fun and exciting update!

Our church usually sends two teams of approximately 25 people down 2-3 times per year, but there were only 31 members of our church who left early Friday morning for Maneadero, a coastal town just south of Ensenada.  We usually build two houses, but this trip we were only scheduled to build one.

Due to financial difficulties, my family wasn’t originally planning on joining this particular mission trip.  God answered my prayers – just a week before the trip circumstances changed, the team made room for five more and  we were able to go!

The weekend before the trip we meet at the church for the prebuild.  This is a lot of work, but lots of food, fellowship and fun!  We prebuild the walls, roof and floors, then load them up on a large trailer to haul into Mexico.

We leave early Friday morning for the approximately 9 hour drive to Maneadero, on the coast of Baja California just south of Ensenada.  Friday night is a fun night of more food and fellowship with the families at Rancho Casitas.  Saturday it’s up before dawn for breakfast and then we head out for the build site!

Sunrise At Rancho Casitas

This trip we were blessed with a site near the estuary and a spectacular view of the ocean and Ensenada.  The cool ocean breezes throughout the day were much appreciated by all!  What a great team we had. Everyone worked very hard.  The young family who were receiving the home were onsite to see the progress of their new home!  The father, … and even the local children all pitched in!

Family's Children Help Paint!

Showing love to the people there is as important as building the house.  My friend Nick built a tree swing for the children out of some scrap wood and extra rope.

Neighborhood Boys on Tree Swing

Another friend of mine, Kathleen, built an extra, small table for the family and painted it a matching blue.  We made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and handed them out to all of the neighborhood children.  We played with the children and laughed with them!

They have so little, yet they are still so happy!  We Americans have so much, yet still always manage to be so miserable.

Raising the roof takes nearly every body’s help!  It is always a little scary.  It is so heavy and I worry it might fall on someone.  It is very exciting when that final roof is fit into place.

Once that is done, the finishing touches are added, like the stairs, curtains and cook-table.  We always donate sleeping bags, rice, beans, propane, and other small household goods to the families.  We also leave the extra scrap wood and paint for them to use for any projects they may like to add on.  By this time the neighborhood children are all running in and out of the house, excited to see what it looks like and wanting to play upstairs!

Once the house is finished we gather around with the family and bless the house in the name of Jesus, give the family a Spanish Bible and the key to their new home!  This is a moment of great celebration, filled with joy and many hugs and tears!  I always feel like I know the family by the time we are finished.

Building these houses for these families are a such a blessing for them, but the greater blessing is the changes that it makes in my life and the life of my family.

When we are finished we pack up, head back to the Rancho and have dinner, worship and testimonies – one of my favorite parts of the trip.  It’s a lot of fun to hear how the trip has affected the different people who have participated.  Many new, close friendships are made during one weekend of service!  I usually go to bed early, but my kids and a lot of the younger adults, enjoy time at the campfire before going to bed.

Sunday morning we get up EARLY and head home – every one of us changed for the better!

Thank you Jesus! Amen!

Postage Stamp Quilt close up - Tea Garden fabric by Dena Designs.

 I loved that I was able to compare my progress with others who were working on the project and to see the colors and combinations that they chose to make their postage stamp quilts.  Check out the other quilts in our group! Such a lovely variety of fabric styles.  The quilts each have their own individual personalities. 

Pink and Yellow Print for Binding - Stripes for Backing

I was inspired to try new combinations and my final binding and backing choices were really inspired by one of the winners!  She was so good that not only did she finish the piecing of the quilt top for the contest drawing, she finished the binding and backing and quilted it in simple parallel stitch.  I love the look of it.   The simplicity of the quilting goes well with the busyness (word?) of the postage stamp quilt.  So many small squares! 

I would like to try another one, but this time using all prints and no solids.  I think it will be beautiful!  I just need to pick out the perfect fabric!!!  Decisions… decisions!

Oh yeah, by the way…

I am going to start this Single Girl Quilt Along with Sew Fantastic in 10 days. 

I will be using this fabric! 

Can’t wait!  It is going to be beautiful!

I didn’t win any prizes in the contest giveaway, but I finished the top in the nick of time

Well I finished the top of the Postage Stamp Quilt!