Spring Vacation, Day #5

Yesterday was vacation day #5 and we once again had a very long drive. We drove into Chehalis to try to find another one of my grandchildren and were unsuccessful. We found the house and if that child is there, then she is living in a bad place. We have no more to go on than what the investigators are telling us when they track a lead down. The kids were great all the way there as we snaked our way into older areas where I knew she has known to haunt.

We also stopped by Burgerville and had a wonderful and relaxing lunch. I ordered the Anazasi burger which is a black bean burger with jalapeno cheese and a spicy sauce. I declined on the fries, ordered the kids kids means (chicken strips and the best hot dog ever I was told) and ordered a large chocolate cherry shake which we split 4 ways. Yummy!

I was a tad bit worried when we left town as it was snowing, but when we came home it was all rain. Around this part, you can go somewhere when it is snowing and wind up not coming back because the roads will close, but I was on a mission to find someone and the weather wasn't going to stop me.

We had dinner and I sat and watched American Idol! Oh my, Danny Gokey has such a beautiful voice and he always puts so much emotion into his singing, it was just amazing and then when I learned he lost his grandfather this past week, I was so sad, but I think he channels all of his emotions into singing!

We also set up the Wii fit and I way overdid when I did the hula hoop, but who can stop when you have 3 little ones chanting...go Ranny, go Ranny? Today, may back hurts, so I must remember fun and my back at the same time!

Spring Break, Day One

True to its name, Spring has come in like a lion here in western Washington and yesterday was no exception. While I was hoping to have a day of sunshine, we had a day of rain, sleet and some snow. Not a good day for the little ones to go out and play, but they had so much fun playing with cars and dolls and reading to each other.

Have I ever said how much we are blessed to have these 3 beautiful children in our lives? They just make a dark day sunny and yesterday was no different!

While they were playing, I took the time to sweep, vacuum and catch up on some sewing. Not quilting this time, but sewing!

I made 2 adorable baby dresses for our newest grand baby and think they came out adorable. I used a combination of applique and fabric paints to decorate them and make them a bit more special.

Here is the first one, it is a very springy and happy daisy pattern I chose just for this dress. There are 3 bows appliqued on it with yellow thread (you can see it really shows up well) and then I used blue fabric paint to paint on what looks like large embroidery stitches.

Here is a bit of a closer look at the bows. I thought this dress was adorable. I will pack up both the dresses, quilt, diapers and a few more things and send to them next week.

The children and I took a much needed break and headed over to Safeway to buy some fruit and yogurt. Oh my! Have you tried Yoplait's yummy new flavors? We bought Cinnamon Roll, Pineapple Upside Down Cake and Boston Cream Pie. Usually, I can only tolerate the thick and creamy, the texture of regular yogurt just makes me gack & forget the whipped yogurt, that is worse.
However, I tried the Pineapple Upside Down Cake which is a regular textured yogurt and it was fantastic with bits of pineapple. Simply yummy!!

Dinner was simple, left over navy beans with ham and freshly baked corn bread. Then hubby and I sat down in the basement and watched some reruns of Boston Legal before bedtime. It was just the perfect day even with the rain for the first day of spring break.

The second dress came out super adorable. It is Robins Egg blue with white polka dots and I added sparkly gold stars to it and appliqued it with gold metallic thread. The buttons are clear with small white flowers on them.

If you look really hard, you can see the clear white fabric paint dots that I dotted around all the stars. What I didn't realize is that the white paint I was using was actually called crystal white and it turned clear so the fabric paint actually looks like very tiny seed beads.

It was a wonderful day yesterday and today, the sun is shining and I am working on painting my sewing closet wall and a wall in the basement, so we can hang our new coat rack on it!

Fabric Crazy & February Handmade Purchases

What is it about quilters that if our fabric stash gets under 2 full closets full, we panic and think we are running short? Well, maybe we aren't that bad, but I have noticed lately that my large stash has dwindled by an entire bin full of fabric because I use my stash for quilts, pin cushions, childrens clothing, curtains, table runners, etc..

Yesterday I had the privilege of purchasing 100 fat quarters for $60, that is less than $1.70 each and with some fabric shops selling fat quarters at more than $2.00 each, sometimes I can't afford it. But this was an incredible opportunity and of being in the right place at the right time. The seller used to own a quilt shop and is in the process of remodeling her home so needed to sell some of her inventory. So, this first picture is of what 100 FQ's look like organized!

John and I sat at my kitchen table and the original plan was to try to keep the same color family together, however, I soon ran out of room in this container and realized I wouldn't be able to get the center tray or lid on. So we tossed the rest in and there are approximately three layers of fabric all nicely rolled up.

I really wanted you to get a better look at this amazing stash I came across, so I took them out of the container and placed them on a pad on the floor and now you can see how much 100 FQ's really look like. There are fabrics for so many different projects, it makes my head spin. Crazy Quilts, strip quilts, coin quilts, baby quilts, table runners, oh my!

Now, you would think that I had enough fabric to last, oh no, NOT me, I had to stop by Walmart (I know, a bad name to many quilters) and was looking for some fabric for the new baby when I stumbled across some wonderful springy/Eastery (I am sure this is not a word) fabric and the bells and lights and whistles began going off in my head.

As much as I love snow and rain, I think my body is telling me it is time to launch into spring fabrics and there were so many wonderful greens, yellows, purples that I had to pick and it was hard.

My diva girl had no problem picking out a fabric for a new dress, she wanted the one with the bunnies, but what shocked and floored me was that the Tom boy decided she really wanted a new dress and she wanted me to make her one with the cupcake fabric.
Since this is a rare treat for me, I gladly obliged and then thought of a spring quilt and how nice the colors would look and then I am getting ready to paint the sewing closet so I wanted a new sewing caddy and picked out the lady bug fabric.

Tell me honestly, could you have just chosen one fabric from this delicious bunch? The Easter eggs are fantastic, the Tulips, the small flower, all of these were just calling my name. Someone, please tell me to stay out of the fabric stores (like that will work) or at least tell me you understand this obsession with fabric.

I think it all comes from when I was a girl and going with my mom and grandmother to old Mexico where there were fabric warehouses and buying fabric after fabric for school clothes for 4 children, or the wonderful Christmas gifts my grandmother made for us such as coats, robes, night gowns, etc.

Just the feel of fabric, smell, look, just makes my mind say, buy, buy, buy! Like I need another project right now! HAHA!! I mean honestly, could you have passed up this adorable cupcake fabric even if you didn't have any immediate plans for it?

I would love to hear how fabric affects you, whether you quilt or not!