A peek....

Well here is a peek. Hope my swap partner and family will enjoy this.

Hi...

The SSCS is coming along and lookin'to post some peeks soon.

Yikes...

I have been absent. Sometimes I feel that the ocean could have carried me away. hehehe
Much to catch up with on the blog, not that I have a following.
So pictures and updates soon.
And a new swap.
Ciao for now.

Going away....

To the beach here I come. Two off my girlfriends and I have rented a home in Bodega Bay for three nights. So that equals great sewing time and movies and margarita's and so forth.

So back soon with updates. No more takers on the Pay It Forward? O'well.

Take care everyone that stopped in for a visit.

Hi there...

Hope you are all having a great week. I have, it's been busy but good. Been working on some sample quilts for my friends store. Having fun while you work is always a good thing. While at the shop today I sold one of my very simple baby quilts for $50. I just need to put the backing and binding on and it is sold.

Well I have one participant for my "Pay It Forward" challenge so far. It is DaBookLady who will be my first recipient of a "just because" goody made especially for her.

Cheers until next post.

Gonna Pay It Forward with Missy and others...want to join?

I am a firm believer in paying it forward. Good karma, treat other as you would like to be treated. Well Missy has join up on the ban wagon as am I. Looking for the first three people who would like something handmade for themselves. Do you like fun, squishy mail? If answered "yes" please leave a comment and within a month I will send something to you. Then all I ask in return is that you host and post about this on your blog.

I have been lucky enough to be a recipient of Missy fine work during the Wizard of Oz swap. Have a look of the great bag with Dorthy pockets. The poppy pen has joined my vase of "flower pens", magnet holding up artwork of a nine year old. Chocolate made it into a couple tummies. And my new bag carries the library books. The pockets perfect for holding the girls library cards. Thanks again Missy for touching my life with your talents and kindness. And thank you Sherry for hosting this fun swap.

Ok..I'm here, the last hour before the new day....

Thank you so much Linda for hosting the Bag swap, I have been blessed with the fine stitching of my bag swap partner all the way from New Zealand. Pricilla is such a talented artists of fabric and embroidery floss. Due to quilting being a big part of my life these days I have been using the bag for my rulers, the one's that fit of course. And the fantastic yarn is going to become hand warmer's for our approaching winter.
The details of the yo-yo's, button's and more. Drool ladies and gents if there may be a need.

Tomorrow I will highlight my Wizard of Oz swap from Missy that I just got in Friday's mail.

In the mean time a new fantastic and favorite tool I carry with me to mark my rulers, scissors, rotary cutter, and many other items that I can. I have found that the rulers marked with "Sharpie" wear off over time and then you "loose" your quilting rulers. It is an Incriblio. It is a hand held, battery operated mini matchine that inscribes your items. As you can see in this bad shadowed picture that I put my initials on my goods.

Hi...poppin' in for a hello....

Got a another package of lovelies. Pictures uploaded on my other computer. Just popping in to say hi and that I am still here. So information and pictures up later on this evening. Oh and that SSC swap is coming along nicely as well. Found another small project to add to my parcel. "Til later on have a good day.

Sorry for the break....

My laptop is being borrowed and I had uploaded my swap pictures on it. Hope to have it back tomorrow so that I can show you my goodies I got from New Zealand. Yea for me.

Just got back....

Just in from Portland, Oregan. Got to go to Trends Show at a fabric/notion warehouse. So much fun. More soon on this.

Before I left I got to send my bag for Linda's bag swap. I made a bag for _________ and got it sent off to her country. Hope she has gotten it.

Tomorrow I need to work on the packageing for my Wizzard of Oz swap for Missy. What I made is all done as of last week. Just need to get it in the mail.

In fabric news.....

Yes, I am still still in touch with fabric. I mean when I have a free moment it is a choice do I work with fabric or do I blog? So it is obvious from a lack of blogging I have chosen fabric.

Going to Portland, Oregan this Thursday evening with my friend. She owns a fabric shop and invited me to this mini-convention. More on this soon.

In the mean time I have picture up dates.

My swap partner shall be receiving these goodies soon. Tomorrow I plan on going to get some edible treats to add.
And then behind the goodies is...

Making bags has not stopped with my bag swap partner. I came across a FREE pattern. I will scan it and share with you next time. So I made this tote using "Fruit Lady" fabric. I love it. In fact it is so easy that I have pre-cut six large ones and four smaller ones. The pattern does not call for pockets, so I just added these myself. Great beach bag, doctor tote for hand projects, grocery "green" bag with style even.
Got some squaring up to do on this Autumn Haze quilt and it will be ready for the design wall.Sorry for the poor picture. The fabric is light as it is on my design wall does not help.
This is such a fun pattern, that I am excited to say that I have finished the piecing. So I will squaring up and putting my rows together next.


Well until next time may you have some sweet fabric dreams.

Nature hunter....

Gabriella found herself a praying mantais. When she held it up to me to take a picture it looked like she was eating it. So I had her do it again so that I could take this photo. Pretty funny. Well I need to go and work on my bag project, nearly done and off in the mail soon. Then I need to work on my Wizzard swap. Off to fabric and thread.

Proud moment....

Victoria was in two different competitions this past Sunday. She rode her horse Monet.
After riding the shows and untacking her horse she found out that she won something. In Victoria's case a first and then second place ribbons.

Back to school party for Victoria's class....

Have a look at this beautiful day this past Sunday afternoon. Victoria and her fellow classmates swam, ate and basked in the sun. A last summer blast!
The home is of fellow classmate family whom live in the Cloverdale area of Northern California. So below is the Sonoma County, California hillside with grapes. Great wines.



Working a little, so with getting the school routines jiving I will be posting some fabric related photos in regards to swaps coming up.

A party....

There is a party over at www.saltcreekquilts.wordpress.com, go and have a look.

I have gotten a hold of some fabric for my Christmas swap, shades of green, red, and off white. Going to be fun. Waiting for one more fabric to come into my LQS for Linda's Bag Swap. Then I can get started. All the other pieces have been cut already. My fabric for my Wizard of Oz for Missy has been cut as well. More time for sewing once both girls are in school. Is it the 25th yet? LOL I will be complaining in a month begging for school holiday to come so that I see them more. Vicious cycle.

Well this fabric below is going to be made into a quilt. Specifically the Autumn haze version. (the details I do not have with me at the moment, sorry) Well keep you posted.

Laundry....

The never ending saga of the laundry pile. The laundry is going to be worked on today while I wait for the TV tech to come by and fix our projector TV.

This is a quilted wall hanging that I made for my laundry room. I just love that it is a reminder of the laundry that was done over the generations of my decedents. My grandma was a line dryer and when I lived in Australia I also. Hubby has yet to put a line up for me. I mean sun kissed bed sheets, what I'm missing! (click on photo to see better close up)

The bulb died about two months ago. With it being summer and wanting to stay away from TV and the indoors we left it. So the highlights from the news and Olympics have come from the computer. I finally decided to get it fixed so that the kids can see the closing ceremony of the Olympics. It hit my eldest daughter the other day that she can do what her Auntie did. And that was go to the Olympics for riding horses. Victoria asked when the next one was and the conversation went on and on. Questions like when she was a toddler. Wow, I forgot how much I missed the out poring of questions.

So we shall see if her current drive is ready for London Olympia 2012?

Well the answer is Gabriella....

Well my youngest daughter started the fourth grade today. She had a good time and was excited. This is a new school for her. She hopes to meet many friends in the coming weeks.

Well from the two comments nobody picked correctly so with said I decided to have a drawing anyway.

I was able to put each of their names into a plam and Gabriella picked the left hand. The left hand held Sherry's name from If I Could Set My Soul Free blog. Great ideas over there. So go and have a look. And Sherry if you could send me your snail mail addy I will have squishy mail out to you.
g8galathotmaildotcom

I decided to wait until you recieve your mail Sherry before I show a photo of the goods. I was kind of bummed with only two comments. And I got the feeling of, "I'll send a comment if the prize is worth it." Anyhow thank you for letting me vent a bit here.

Well here is one of the many first day of school pictures for fourth grade. The 25th is when Victoria will start 8th grade.

School Day...

Well the first day of school started for one of my girls today. I have only gotten two comments. Hummmmm, well I will wait for the child that has school to come home and pick the winner. If I get any more entries then they will be added to the guessing game and win some squishy mail.

Ok, I am back...

I am doing a guessing game. It is of which daughter starts school on Thursday the 14th of August? Victoria age 13?
or would it be Gabriella age 9?

All the right guesses will be entered into a drawing. All you need to do is leave a comment. Pass along the information and good luck! I will reveal the answer when I have my first day of school pictures of...oh almost gave it away. Oh, did I mention there is a prize? I will post a photo once I take the picture.

Have a look at Sadie-Baby (on the left) and Mr. Tubbs exploring up in the trees. We have four cats folks and with each their very own personality.

Well I have two quilts in progress at the moment, the black and floral print are the "Amelia" quilt then the blue with brown tones is the "Orion" pattern using the two inch thangles. Love those cheat-cheats.


Have a look at this Wizzard Of Oz quilt I made my best friend. She is a 39 year old Oz finatic! By the way I have joined a swap that Sherry is hosting for a Wizzard of Oz swap. This one is going to be a blast. Oh my goodness that makes three swap, I think I need to get through these before I do any more.


Who does not love a great, easy pattern? Well I found one in the BQ pattern. The horse jumping one is Victoria my 13 year olds. Then the cowboy one is just a top finished waiting for someone special.



Finally....What do quilts and Mike Rowe from the t.v. show "Dirty Jobs" have in common? Well my friends; at my husbands work they were demolishing mobile homes and "Dirty Jobs" came to our town to shoot a t.v segment. So I took a quilt I made with batiks using the "magic title" pattern and had him sign it. The reason why is because of a non-profit that my girls are starting. WE (the family working together) are making quilts with fabric I have gotten donated and then getting autographs on them. Once we have a handful, the web-site will be up and running. The signed quilts will have a raffle over a duration of time, then the monies raised from each raffle will go to that *stars* charity. For example: Trace Atkins=F.A.A.N Mike Rowe=labor/trade, etc.

Hello...Guessing Game....

I am coming back tonight to get some pictures and updates. School starts on Thursday for one of my girls. Which one? Leave a comment with whom it is. Victoria my 13 year old or Gabriella my 9 year old. A mini contest with goodies to win. Those with the right answer will be placed in a drawing for the goodies. Answer will be revealed on Thursday. Have fun.

Oh my goodness....

What a whirl wind since Thursday the 24th of July. It has been fun.

Will let's start with the 24th.
It was my precious daughter Gabriella's 9th birthday.

The day started off with phone calls from Australia (several family members), Peru (more family)wishing her well. Then a few errands to complete everything for the birthday party. Which was held a a candle store. The children made their own candles using colored wax and molds. They were able to pick out the scent and shape of candle they wanted. After making them we had a fruit basket cake and juice. Opened presents and once that part of the party was done the candle's were reveled. Beautiful!


I do not all the photos yet as I (panic) forgot my camera in the car that my husband took back to work. So until I got it back my girlfriend Kimberly (blog less) let me use hers. Thank goodness. Oh here is a group picture of the children and their candles.


I will not bore you with all the pictures of her and family and friends.

Then in the evening we went to a family dinner with my parents, brother and Gabriella's mom and dad. Big sister's was at camp and missed her party. Here are a few pictures of her.


Friday 25th.
There was a family outing to the San Francisco Exploratorium. This was a group of five adults and five children.

With a full day I was ready for a sew night. Thank goodness my local quilt shop was ready for me. It is fantastic-you pay $5 bring a potluck item and UFO's to work on. It was a nice 4 hour break.

Saturday the 26th..
It was time pick to pick up Victoria from camp. Then another family gathering to a lumber mill that runs using steam machinery. This was a fun to watch and see a let of the past working "today". The name of this mill is called Sturgeons Mill.



Sunday the 27th...
We were off to Fremont to a chili cook-off festival. Kenny has a couple friends who have a band. They were in a competition in the Colgate Country Showdown. They did real good but did not win. That's okay, big and better things for them coming down the pike.


Went to the outlet shops and on the way home we were stuck in traffic due to a huge fire in Petaluma.


Back home and safe we all had a sleep in, except dear hubby whom had to go to work. Quilting visual soon.

Busy Bee...

Well I have been a busy bee around here. Pictures, updates, swaps and more in the coming days. Lots to share. Quilts, pillowcases, fabric glimpes for bag swap and my thimble collection.

Take care.

updates..finally

I am so very happy to tell you that I, Kathleen am out of my time out. I was able to finally open my soft package waiting patiently for me by my desk. My swap friend; May Kristen from Norway blessed me with a fabulous pin cushion. Two in fact. The mini one is to be worn upon my finger for hand stitching. Pretty clever! Then the squeeze compartment held a thimble. I am partical to these treasures. In fact I collect them. Something my Grandma started me on. I will have to share some of those soon.
Here is my parcel...

Here is the secret hide away and timble.


Some past news...We went camping on the family property and had a blast. The girls rode bikes, go-kart and hiked. It was a great time. Here are some of the photos..Take notice of Victoria's fun summer pink tip hair.


I have quilt updates as well, but I think I will leave it for tomorrow. Victoria is going to camp and there is packing to do.

Hello...I am here I promise.

Having problems once again. I think it is time to settle down and invest in a laptop just for me. No, hand me downs. I am working on getting the photos, I hope tomorrow I will have pictures and updates.

In fact I recevied a package from Norway. I have yet to open it. My thought was since I was not a very good blogger I needed a "time out". So my parcel sit's next to me waiting for me to organize my time to make time for blogging and rewards of a parcel.

So I look forward to opening it up May Kristin!!!

Having fun....

In Tennessee!

I have meet Trace Atkins and he signed a quilt that I made for my girls'. They have a summer project they are working on. More about that when it comes together better.

Gone to Dollywood, and having a good start of summer break.

Hope to see a couple quilt shops tomorrow.

It's June 4th....

My goodness, summer vacation offically started today at 12:20pm. The 8th grade graduation was beautiful and I will be one of those crying parents next year. May God help me and not allow me to embarrass my Victoria too terrible much.

I have a couple photos to upload tomorrow of the final gifts made.

Working on my pincushion swap and will be doing some traveling soon. Who knows what I will find to make up a package.

Soon to be seen, whatever that maybe these days of summer.

Deli Bags..Oh My!

Just checking in, between pillowcases and these Deli Bags I am on a roll for getting teacher's gift's done on time. It's offical 4 1/2 days left of school. Then we are off on summer break. Will update with photos soon of the goodies.

About Gabriella's Good Deed

Well this past Saturday Gabriella decided it was the day to make a difference in someone's life. She had been taking about it since her sister did this good deed.

With tears in my eyes my little one donated nearly 14 inches of her hair to Lock of Love.

I was so proud of her, and doesn't she look smart?