Odd things with wings...

A little atc challenge that I decided to take part in...I even named them.."Phyllis Flies", "Don't make me break out my flying monkey", and "Am I late?"....Sometimes I get tired of vintage and pretty and just want to play with something strange... When I was making my atc's, the kids were also making projects...Andrew was especially proud to present me with his two "green" paintings..yep, green, all green...I will save them forever and Olivia made me a paper cuff bracelet...Also, drum roll......the bottom half of me is now in a size six again....The top half still needs some work cause I am still rocking the boobies...Why on earth would anyone want to make the dumb things bigger????? (just my opinion)Especially when you are five feet tall....

necklace, banner, and a friends giveaway...

I actually am a member of a Yahoo Group called Fiber Art Traders...I haven't participated in quite a long time, even though I have wanted to. There was a swap going on for house book necklaces..I decided to play..The idea is you use an actual book cover for the front and back and then they house the little pages...I used the cover of a romance novel by Jude Deveraux and went with a love gone wrong theme...I really enjoyed working in this little tiny format...the cover and back are 1.5 inches...I still have one more to make...I made a photo collage so it combined all of the pictures and if you click on it, you can see more detail...I also am showing a picture of the art banner that I got in return from a swap. I love all the colors and cant wait to hang it up! I also wanted to mention that one of my blogger friends, Tonya May over at http://tonyassewingroom.blogspot.com is having a 100th post giveaway and it is awesome....lots of fat quarters and sewing goodies....go see and leave her a comment...She is a great quilter and a good friend even though we have only known each other a short time! I also joined another apron swap...I know, I know, I am hooked....It is Hot Mama's Mama Mia swap inspired by the movie...I have some ideas and my secret partners wishes...We will see what I come up with. Val at http://yarnigras.blogspot.com is hosting.....It should be fun and give me something to keep my mind and hands busy..Thank you for all your support and encouragement everyone...It is so appreciated!!!

What the heck do You do?

I have had a rough week. Which for me, is not all that unusual...I am suffering self doubt and really doing some heart searching...I mentioned a while back that my daughter Lisa (the kids mom) was here and doing better and was planning on moving to Utah. The plan was to integrate her back into the kids lives and ultimately have them go back with her...It was scary for me just thinking about that....Scared for the kids, for Lisa and just plain being scared to have hope again that she is truly better....Last Thursday there is a knock on the door and we open it and there is Lisa at the door, she runs in and hugs me and then announces that she is there "to get her kids"....no warning, no nothing....Behind her is someone that is a very undesirable character..he and his wife have brought her to Utah to take the kids back to Portland. What his wife doesnt know is that this man is an unconvicted child molester...This is where Lisa plans to take the kids to live..Does she know his past? Heck yeah she knows, but feels it is more important to have the kids with her...They already had Olivia in the truck when they came to the door. The police were called, they came, saw I had gaurdianship and told them to leave...(I am leaving out all the screaming and namecalling) They spent the next day in court supposedly seeing the judge, (a big lie as I was in contact with the court clerk the whole day) and eventually filed court papers to remand the custody......Supposedly her defense is that "I tricked her into signing the guardianship papers..." Oh GOOD LORD...they had the courts location, date of the hearing and the request to give me gaurdianship on them and she signed them in front of a notary....I am calling this Lisa's law : I am an idiot, the person advising me is an idiot, therefore, you must be one too! So now I was served papers and have a month to respond and I am looking at a court fight. The hard part is I dont know what to do...My objection is where she plans on taking them (unsafe) and that she thinks Andrew will just be totally unaffected by being forced to live with someone he doesnt know and "he will adjust." How fair is this? Since she pulled this fiasco and of course involved the kids, he has wet his pants and the bed every day...He never has before...At the same time I feel bad for her,(Lisa) should her stupidity be held against her? I have to fight about where she takes them, but should I fight against her having them period? To me, this just shows druggie behavior even though she is currently clean...I see an attorney again on Wednesday and take the kids to see a counselor on Tuesday...Maybe I will feel more at peace then who knows..The sad thing is Olivia is all excited about going to stay with her mom...She thinks it is a summer visit and she is very angry with me for not letting her go...I am trying to just think of their best interest and trying to keep my own "soon to be broken heart if they go back" out of it... Other than that, what can I say...life goes on, I am trying to create normalcy..I take out my aggression on the treadmill and try to act like all is fine....thanks for listening (reading) and once again I ask for your prayers...i need guidance....bad....

Almost summer! Wow!

At times, this year seemed really to drag along..now it is flying by and I am not sure if that is good or not...It has been really beautiful here though and I have been spending a lot of time outside with the kids. I seem to be at the age where I am content to sit in a chair and watch them play...pretty scary...Julie and I got one of those big backyard pools and got it all set up...We also got a lock for the back door and the gates so it is safe with Andrew and Olivia....We go out there and float around while the kids play and splash. We are all brown despite sunscreen. I think the sun is pretty strong here because of the elevation. I finished my A R T banner and also did some "cute little goth girl" atc's..not sure how cute they are, and it is out of my comfort zone but it was kinda fun anyway...I also have been working on a queen size quilt for my oldest daughter..She graduates the thirteenth with her nursing degree...I already sent her a really cute outfit to wear so she had something special. Yesterday, Olivia's school had an "animal fair" her animal was a water buffalo...I had to go and take some pictures...She was pretty proud of her display...We made him out of Styrofoam. She is such a cutie anyway....That is about it for now!

Elvis the dog...

Here is a little commissioned pet quilt of a sweet dog named Elvis...He has gone on to doggie heaven and he is a gift for his owner, Mike....It is so strange when I do these, because there is always a point where it just isn't working and I want to throw it all away and say, "I cant do it, sorry"...then I walk away for a while, come back and start adding more shadows and highlights and it starts to work. This was the most extreme example...I actually fished poor little Elvis, the quilt out of the garbage twice. I got him as close to the real thing as I could and I think it is ok...What do you think... I haven't been around much due to some kind of nasty virus....Andrew and I both have spent a lot of quality time in bed with fevers...My sister Julie, (bless her heart) is a pinhead just like my daughter Lisa....here is a quote that made me laugh despite the fact that it hurt like crazy to laugh...."I would worry you had the swine flu, but you haven't eaten any pork"...so then I asked her how you got the bird flu...she said from eating chicken! Ok, Jessica Simpson...so now I give her updates on my "pork flu"....I have a ton to do today after being in bed for a week! Better get busy!

It is Finito!

I won't write too much, cause I have to get two little trolls in bed, but I got the big quilt done and even two pillowcases...And I like it again, I really like it! The kids do too, as you can see...Little Miss YaYa also had to have her picture in her apron..me holding it didn't do it justice...tonight they were playing so good and I went in the bedroom and there they were, in the toy box with toys everywhere..It looked like fun!

A lesson in Humility and new aprons.....

First of all, the humility part....Let's say you are a quilter and you think a pretty good one...Along comes this huge behemoth quilt that taunts you every day, laughing behind your back, snickering while you try to ignore it....The rule for this quilt is "if it can go wrong it is going too..." Finally I accepted that "it is what it is" and finished the thing. All I have to do is the binding and it is done. It is really pretty but boy is it a technical nightmare. If you came to my house, and you are any kind of a quilter...I would not show you this quilt...I have learned a lesson...Never try to put a quilt that is too big for the frame on a quilter...by too big, I mean it stretched all the way from end to end leaving nor room to do things like change bobbins....lesson learned..yep, humility...I was sure I could do it. In the "mommy and me swap Liv and I got the cutest aprons...I mentioned them a while back. I tried to pin down Miss Olivia to get a picture of us in them, but she is now a socialite and every moment is with her friends and of course, I wouldn't want to embarrass her!!!!So you get a picture of me holding Liv's and a picture of Cooper and Andrew and I...I am trying to get Coop out of the picture but he insisted...The aprons are the cutest things and totally reversible...They are a diamond shape with ribbon ties...so cute and I love the colors! She also sent liv a fairy necklace which she has never taken off, this adorable fairy cookbook and this cute card...I am always complaining about my curly hair so it is all just perfect! A big thank you to Cindy B from http://barker-family.blogspot.com

another quiltie.....

Julie and Steve and the baby left on Monday to go to Oregon...I have been pretty down the last few days..Trying to stay busy, but when I feel like this, I don't want to do too much..I still have been exercising a lot though..doing my two to three miles on the treadmill every day..Plus, we got a Wii fit for mothers day and I have been playing with that...my fit age is 33 and who can complain about that? I have lost twelve pounds since April...I can either diet and lose weight, or I can exercise and lose weight..I think I like to eat food too much to diet. Andrew eats once an hour all day long so it would be hard to limit myself, too much food wise...It is the stuff like getting dressed and combing my hair that are hard...I know things take time, especially the different stages of grieving so I guess it isn't going to hurt if I don't comb my hair...I did make another quiltie...I had a lop eared bunny that looked just like this when I was a kid..I kind of miss all the bunnies on Whidbey Island....

Art quilties....

What is a quiltie? It is a six" x 8" mini quilt with stuff on it....I was asked to join a new group for art quilts by Sanna http://sannasartmind.blogspot.com ...we are still looking for a few more people if anyone wants to give it a go...You pick a theme for people to work with and you swap with one person a month...It is an easy size to work with and at the end, you have these gorgeous fabric pieces to put together in a book or frame or whatever you choose. I am in the midst of a funk and that quilt (you know the one) is staring at me and I am choosing to ignore it...I decided to make little quilties...Just needed a change I guess...They are both radically different as you can see...The first one is my roller alien chick...Yep, that was a theme....aliens, circus, monsters etc.....the second one was vintage with purple on it somewhere. I just try to see how much stuff I can fit on one and move it around till' it looks right. I may make another tomorrow....

A good time to blog....

Julie and Steve took the kids to a park to play and I am enjoying some quiet time...I almost dont know what to do with myself! I have Julie's big quilt on the quilter and it is a nightmare! I go down and work on it for a while and then I get mad and quit. I decided to come blog instead...the problem is that it is too big for the quilter and it makes it hard to change bobbins or do anything...the quilt goes edge to edge to both sides of the frame. It is driving me nuts. I will say right now on the record that it is a hot mess....it will not be entering any quilt shows in the future...There are wrinkles and puckers and all kinds of wonkus things happening. The good news? Julie loves it! She keeps coming down and telling me how great it looks. I just smile thru gritted teeth. I learned a good trick from a really experienced quilter when I just started...she said" if it bunches up, just quilt the heck out of it." AMEN to that one. In fact, after it is off the quilter, I am going to put it under the regular sewing machine and do just that along the sides...So far I have used six full bobbins and it still isnt nearly done! The other day, I met a blogger friend when she brought over our aprons from the mommy and me apron swap! They are just adorable...I am hoping to get a picture of us in them tomorrow....I am posting a picture of a MOM" banner I made her to include with her aprons...I also sent her some chocolates and a little cookbook.....back to the quilt from hell....

Aprons for mommy and me swap done....

I used a halter pattern by Heather Bailey for the mommy, and for the six year old girl, I made my own pattern..I think they turned out pretty cute and I thought the colors would be nice for springtime...My models are Miss Olivia and my sister, Julie...She was feeling all shy, but I think she is adorable! The exciting thing is that I am meeting my partner here tomorrow to swap packages! I have never met another blogger before....It is actually my partners sister, but they both live in Utah too.. she is being an an Apron Angel and doing the aprons for my swap partner as her husband just had surgery and all didn't go as planned...I hope her package cheers her up!

two blog friends having giveaways!

Jean the quilting granny is having one for Mothers Day is having one for two pieces of silver jewelry that I am shamelessly promoting because first and formost, we are friends, and secondly, I would love to win one of these lovelies! you can find her at http://quiltingranny.blogspot.com go enter too and tell her Melinda sent you....
Also Jenna Louise at http://quiltcrazygaljennalouise.blogspot.com is having a giveaway to celebrate her blogaversary..She is a great fiber artist and quilter and has a pretty piece of art to give to some lucky person.

Wallhanging done.....

I purchased this as a kit three years ago at Sew Expo in Puyallup Washington....I finished it and gave it to Julie for her kitchen...It matches so great with all her Autumn colors up there. It felt good to finally get it done! Oh yeah, the quilt is straight, the photographer is crooked!

Lotsa stuff!

Well, first of all, Lisa and baby went back to Portland. I am proud of how she has seemed to pull herself together. Her plan is to move to Utah in July once her programs are through and then work on integrating the kids back into her life. I am hopeful..As I said before, cautiously hopeful, but hopeful all the same. I see some signs of depression in her, and I just hope she continues to get help. I pray for her a lot. The kids were ok with her being here and ok with the baby. A little reserved but that is to be expected. We all cried when they left. A while back I won a prize on Margarets blog....http://aliceandcamilla.blogspot.com She had a contest to guess what kind of a stuffed animal she posted a picture of. I guessed a beaver, which was WRONG, but I won anyway! How cool is it to be wrong and win! She sent me these beautiful paper scrap roses and baskets...I already used two of them on my Paris tag that I am showing. I was pretty excited and the kids loved the cereal box she packaged it in with the Swedish version of cocoa puffs...Liv took it to school for show and tell..Thanks Margaret! You are a sweetheart and she is super talented too...I always ooh and ahhh over her art...Tamerie and Penny D also awarded me with two awards...both are great artists in different ways and I enjoy their blogs...I am posting the awards on the sidebar with their blogs...go look...They make pretty stuff!I don't have time tonight to forward them on so if you are reading this, consider yourself tagged....I also am posting the second part of the A R T banner....all in black and white and brown and I free motioned the R' on a piece of burlap...I finally got a picture of my cupcake pincushion...It really looks like one which is hard to believe since I hand sewed it and that is not my forte at all! Last of all, I am showing a picture of the Eggs that I got back in the Easter egg Garland swap..Aren't they pretty? We had them hanging in the living room for Easter...I have Julies big quilt on the quilter..I have two aprons cut out and ready to sew and I have started piecing another huge quilt for my oldest daughter who graduates from nursing school in June...I am still working though there are going to be some changes, still getting on the #@$$#$# treadmill, still using a straight iron on my hair and having long meaningful conversations with the three year old and the dog. That's about it for now...

Busy, Busy , busy and a new baby....

It seems like a long time since I have blogged...Usually when I don't, it is due to depression..This time though it is because I have been busy and having computer problems. I had to change my photo software cause it wouldn't pull anything up. I just haven't had the time to mess with it....Easter was great and relaxing, the kids enjoyed the day and the sunshine and then we had snow again for a few days. Very strange, but I guess it is like that here in the spring. I got my hair highlighted and the girl that did it also straightened it for me..she had it smooth as glass so Julie took a picture of it...(me with the kids..) I think it shows off my round cheeks...I dont have straight hair by any means and it was fun to have something new, fat face and all....That evening, we went and picked my youngest daughter up at the airport. (this is Olivia's and Andrew's mom). She also has a new baby boy. I have mixed feelings about this one, but he is a cute little guy. At this time, she is doing really well and trying to get back on her feet. She is in several counseling programs and going to Narcotics anonymous meetings. I am cautiously hopeful. She is visiting for another week and then going back to Portland to finish her programs and then she wants to move to Utah too...If she is serious about staying on the right path, she will get out of Portland. We will see...I have still been sewing a lot. I am working on a quilted wall hanging, I have been hand sewing little cupcake pincushions and I made this bag that I adore! I am posting a picture of it...It is big and roomy and I carry everything but a clean pair of underpants around in it! I took four days off from work and today was the first one...it has been strange being around the house without a zillion things to get done in one short day. Julie and I went to Lowes and bought a tree for the front yard and a bunch of flowers to plant. It is going to look so pretty out there! Olivia actually got sunburned today....this after snow three days ago...Like I said....strange!

Kids pictures and the start of an art banner...

Julie took the kids to get their pictures done..I really like them, especially the one where they are all looking at the bunnies...There were pictures with baby chicks too, but one pooped on Andrew so he was crying, and Jace was crying because Andrew was. Maybe next year. Take note of Andrew's kool aid mustache...(note to self...no red koolaid at least a week before pictures...) They thought having the animals with them was great, poop and all. I also started one of three banners..They will spell out A R T, when I am done and then they are mixed and matched in a swap. I am going to make mine all different just cause' I think it if fun that way. Gotta go get on that darn treadmill and then get ready for work! Have a great Thursday!

Molly quilt, Dagmar's heart quilt and pictures....

Now that I am working again, I realize how much time it takes to be a good blogger. I am trying, but it is tough. When I do get to do my own, it makes it hard to visit other peoples and see what they are doing. I continue to get better with my time management though. I think I may be even settling into some kind of routine. No more naps, I can tell you that much and I go to bed a whole lot earlier and get up earlier. I have religously been getting on the treadmill too...that is especially hard to make time for, but it is something that I just have to do. We are taking the kids to get Easter portraits done tomorrow. Olivia even picked out an Easter dress to wear...It is a white halter style with a yellow overlay and Andrew and Jace are going to wear yellow polos...The pictures are done with live bunnies and chicks. Hopefully Andrew won't squeeze one to death. (out of love, of course.)
When I get off the net, I have to give him a haircut and try to scrub the red koolaid off of his face. We have been working on it for two days..no lie...Oliva has been inviting all the kids in the neighborhood to our Easter Egg hunt so it may be totally out of control but it should be fun. I told her we will make cupcakes too. Since today was my day off, I made Sherry's mom an Easter present that she asked me to make for her...It is a pet quilt of her mom's dog Molly. She is a cute little thing. I also made a kind of a collage of some more pictures of my blog book that Sherry made me....Everything is so pretty. I still love to sit down and page thru it! Jessica from http://kidsnappingimscrapping.blogspot.com sent Sherry some lace on a tag and the cutest clay charm to her for me too and I guess she got it the day she mailed me the book...Sherry passed it on to me and I think it is so darn cute! I am going to put it on my pink charm bracelet. It is in the collage too. I also had to post a picture of the healing hearts quilt that Dagmar made....(her blog address is on the sidebar.) This is the quilt that I made a heart block for a little while back. Isnt it beautiful? I just think it is a wonderful gift for the lady who is going to get it and I hope it brightens her days. I have a zillion projects going, but not finished to show..I did find the piece to my quilting frame so I probably will get the big quilt going soon....That is about it for now...Thank you everyone for all your comments...I look so forward to them!

Huge quilt top done!

Just had to post a picture or two before work! This is my sister Julie's quilt. It was really fun to do because it was so unusual....I sewed it all in straight rows and then cut it into three different pieces, rearranged them and then sewed them back together..It then made all the straight blocks become "set on point blocks". This thing is huge! They have a king, and it is so big, you cant even see the borders...Jace likes it too and wanted to model it...I am hoping to quilt it on Sunday but I cant find a piece to my quilting machine......

Art Share......a giveaway!

I read about this on Tamerie's blog http://alittleofthisthatandtheother.blogspot.com It sounds like a great idea to me and the first five people to respond will get a piece of art from me. I wont tell you what it is, because I dont know and I havent made it yet. The way to play is as follows: 1. I make no guarantee's you will like what I make, but I hope you do! 2.What you get will be created for you, so you wont get something I already made. 3.It will be done sometime this year....(probably right away since I know me) 4.you will have no clue what it is until you get it! 5.The catch? Do all this on your blog too...Repost all this on your blog and then come back and post on mine and you are entered....Then when you get your gift, post a picture on your blog....Who will the first five be? mmmmmmmmm......If you play, you can put me at the top of your list too if you like! Post note...so far I have Tamerie and Sherry!

A wonderful surprise!

Wow! This week was a long week....work is getting a little easier on the feet and I got a lot accomplished. Glad it is over though and here is to starting a new one...I actually got home on Saturday after working a whole day and felt ambitious...It was great. I have been working on my sisters quilt, I made pajamas for the three kids and my craft room is still clean. How about those apples? To top it off in a big way, this morning I noticed a package upstairs leaning against the wall, and by gosh, it was for me! I opened it up and it is the most wonderful handmade scrapbook I have ever seen made for me by my good friend Sherry from http://ificouldsetmysoulfree.blogspot.com ! I am calling it my blog friend book and it is so wonderful....I am going to post some of the pictures tonight and some the next time I blog. She contacted some of my blog friends and asked that they send well wishes and then she made a page or two based around what they sent. Every page is layered with beautiful papers and sewn and there is ribbons and all kinds of pretty stuff. I had to call her today in New York and it is the first time we actually spoke other than on the computer. She is a great person with a huge heart and I just love that about her. I can tell she is shy too, but fun to talk too. Thank you again so much Sherry for being such a thoughtful and great friend. I have to thank everyone for all their love and support and the beautiful cards, atc's and notes that they sent along...You all are wonderful. I hope you enjoy looking at some of the pages and stay posted for more...Thank you so much Sherry, Jean, Laurie, Tonya May, Miss Marva, Val and Curly Girl, Michelle, Dagmar, Karen, Elizabeth and Terrie ...You all are the best....