Time for a change

Oh my!  I was getting tired of looking at those little chicks on my header - I think they are cute and go with the title "little bits and pieces"  but it's just time for a change.  So I picked this picture.  Not that I'm trying to brag about this baby quilt.  I just like how Violet is trying her best to look at it and Neptune is longing for the quilt to be hers.  Neptune is a great dog.  Except she likes to lick the kids faces - yuk!  Of course I don't blame her, the kids faces are at her face level and sometimes they have chocolate, or peanut butter and jelly or some other good thing smeared around their months.  I suppose I should be thankful - she keeps them clean.  And the kids don't usually mind. 

She has also taught the kids to eat at the table.  Yep, she's a good teacher.   If they are at ground level with food, Neptune gobbles it up! 

Blogger’s Quilt Festival – Fall 2010

Amy's Blogger's Quilt Festival has arrived!

I wanted to join the fun so here's my entry:  Violet's Quilt

 
She was just a bitty little thing, when I was working on this quilt.  She took one look at it and went gaga! She really enjoyed the contrasting colors I suppose.  So that weekend, I made the prairie points, and added the several different fabrics, that fuzzy stuff around the pictures of the cats and even used two different fabrics for the ruffle going around the quilt.

As you can see in the picture Neptune really did want it.  Poor girl.

That was 3 years ago and this quilt still graces Violet toddler bed.  She still loves it.

I think it's so much fun to look at everyone's quilts.  I love all the designs and all the color combinations.  There are so many talented and creative people out there.  Thanks Amy for getting it all together!  Now go check out all those quilts - they are amazing! And enter one of yours too!

So Many Good Things

One of the good things to happen to me is receiving this:

From Mama Pea.   Thank you so much Mama Pea!!  She has an interesting blog.  Please go check it out. You just have to see the cutest little HHalloween bags she's made. It' Oct. 28's post. She always has something of interest going on over there.  Besides with a name like Mama Pea how can you resist? 

Another good thing to happen to me is:

I'm the winner of this Aurifil Thread Pack from Pat Sloan! I'm really excited about this too because I want to use a better grade of thread.  I think for applique and for Free Motion Quilting it will make a difference.  Thank you Pat!!  Pat's been blogging about UFO busting tips.  (Good tips!)  I really want to get in there and do this UFO thing with Pat.  But I just haven't had time.  Which is why UFO get started in the first place! 

And finally my last good thing is I went away on vacation with my two sisters and my two daughters.  We went to Monterey, Calif.   We laughed and shopped, laughed and ate, laughed and played games.  It was GREAT.  Just the thing for reconnecting with family.  The only problem is I can't get my cell phone camera to upload any of the pictures!  How terrible! 

Monterey, Calif.  Just not one of the pictures I took.

And lastly last - which as you can see comes after last, I've been working and I do mean working since I stayed up until midnight last night on quilting my tablecloth.  I'm 3/4 of the way done!  Can you believe it?  My goal is to finish it this weekend.  I'll post pictures of it later.

So those are all the good things that I have to tell for now.  What about you - what good things do you have to tell?

First Quilt Quilted - Finished

I'm happy enough with my quilting. I like doing free motion quilting and lucky me I have a bunch of finished tops to practice on!  The day I finished it a co-worker's daughter gave birth to a little girl.  I wrapped it up with a little baby book and send it her way.  I hope she likes it.



Close up of quilting, not the best, not the worse! LOL!!



More Home Improvements

We used to have wrought iron like this one on our front porch.

It's okay but not really my style. And since hubby does wrought iron fences for a living don't you think we should have a custom one? Well I thought you would agree with me.

Check out this one!

Isn't it pretty?  This is our view from the front porch.  Hubby asked "What to you want Ivy?"  I said sure, I didn't really know and this is what he made.  I really love it!!!  I think he did a great job.


Here's another view looking at the porch.  This design is so much better than that other one.

And other home improvements include this olive tree and the boulders.  Those rocks weigh 250 lbs each!  and if you wanted to see something funny you should have watched us unloading them from the truck bed.  When the first rock fell - Hubby said "Well that much be where God wants it!"  LOL!! Because he wasn't going to try to move it. 

You can see a bit of the columns that he built - but they are not finished yet. He's going to put stone around them. So that will be a picture for another day. (After he gets the stone on!)  We also plan to paint or stain the concrete to match the walkway.

Our new neighbor

Maybe he's an old neighbor but I just met him last night.  My doggies barked at 11:00pm so I went out to see what was up.  At least this fellow is not as stinky as our skunk neighbors.  Doesn't he look a bit scary?  Well, maybe he doesn't, but it was eerie that he just sat there staring and wouldn't move.  He sat there long enough for me to run back into the house for the camera, take several pictures that were too dark, fiddle with the settings and snap a better one.  That's a long time.  Then as I was walking back into the house beside the pool a frog jumped into the pool causing a big splash and scared me silly!! 

Oh my good news is:  I have another paper written!  (I'm doing the happy dance!) The paper wasn't that bad, but I had to watch a foreign film and I really didn't like the it.  So it's nice to move on.  And I am. Right to getting my tablecloth pinned to be quilted. Yea!

Haunted Hotel Maid

This is what I picked up from the haunted house last Friday.  I'm so scared to go through haunted houses, but since my daughter is volunteering there I was forced to go through.  Yep. I screamed a  LOT.  But it was so much fun.   


She is one of the first people you encounter in the haunted house. She is dressed as a maid complete with a feather duster.

The people running it really put on a great experience.   So many rooms and twisted hallways, it was quite a maze. They have a bridge over water that is rigged to break - I got a bit wet, a ceiling that comes down and plenty of scary rooms filled with scary and sometimes funny actors.  To get out you have to pass by a man with a chainsaw (and the chainsaw is running!!)  and he chases you out. And sometimes he chases way pass the haunted house and into the park. Later I found out they take the blade out.  Whew! That's good to know, but I wish I knew before I had to pass him.  All the money goes to a children's charity - but I can't remember which on it is.