What I have been up to

Time has been flying by lately. It seems like christmas was yesterday. Mom and I have been working hard on the planing of our guilds retreat that is next weekend and I think that we have it all under control now. I only have a few things to get yet and then all I have to do is show up. Then we will have to work for about an hour to get things set up before we can kick back and enjoy ourselfs. The quilt is all planned out and copied, the gifts are all bought and put together. I have one more set of bags to do and then it will be all done till I have to load up my car next friday night. I think I need a small truck to haul all of the stuff I have to take with me. I finished buying my fabric today so I have to get it cut next week. I am using dark pink and light pink for my quilt. We have guild meeting tomorrow so I can answer any questions that any one might have about the instructions or fabric or anything else that comes up. I hope that everyone likes the things that we got them this year. I think that this year is going to be the best one yet. I say that every year though. It seems like it just keeps getting better and better every year. I can't post what the gifts are yet as no one knows what they are until the retreat but I will post them after. HAPPY VALENTINES DAY. Happy quilting Karen

A little sadness

Larry C. Hoy October 19,1941-Febuary 4, 2009

After a three week illness I am sad to say that my dad passed away last night. He was 67. None of us thought that this would happen when he got sick this time. The cold air always made him sick because he had breathing problems along with other things.

He is getting cremated and we will have a grave side service at a later date in the spring. We are doing it this way so grandma can go. She can't get around very well and going out in the cold and snow is not an option for her.

The picture that got left out

This picture didn't get put in my last post so I had to add it. It is the one that shows a little over 8" of snow. Make sure you read my last post.

Snowy day at home

This is just what to do on a snowy sat. afternoon. Gabby crawled up on the couch with grandpa and promtly fell asleep. So did grandpa for a while till Gabby made his legs fall asleep. We are getting a lot of snow. So far we are not getting any wind with it but that is going to come later this evening.

I had a brainstorm on how I could show how much snow we have gotten since yesterday so I stuck a ruler in the snow on top of the fridge we keep on our deck. It shows that we have a little over 8" at 3:30pm The other picture shows how much is piled up on top of it. Then I had to take a picture of our gate on the deck with the snow on top of the pickets. I think it looks like wide rick rack. Korey and Gabby just left and Butch Nick and I have to go to the store to get some things for tomorrow. We are having our family christmas at Elmwood where my Grandma lives. I have things to make for my covered dish but I didn't get our gifts for the exchange. My guild meeting for this morning was canceled. I hate when we have to do that because I always enjoy the me time with the ladies. But it was a big safety issue with the roads being bad. It was also a sewing day but we will have that at a later meeting. We are going to be making pillowcases for kids. They are fun to do and my grandkids like the ones that I have made for them. Time for me to go so we can get back here soon, have a great snow day and keep the sewing machines zooming through the patches so you can get that quilt done and on the bed. Karen

Christmas , New Years, Family and Kids

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I seem to speed through the last month and didn't slow down for anything. We had a very nice Christmas even thhough our family is falling apart and nothing will be the same at family gatherings. My stepson and his wife split up last spring and the weekend before Thanksgiving my stepdaughter came over to tell us that her and her husband is splitting up too. Their partners will be missed by Butch and I. They both were part of our family for a long time. The littles had a great time opening gifts. All 4 of them got leapsters from us and games for them from my mom. I was a little worried about getting Nick one because the age on them only go to age 8, which he is but the kids play with them every time they are here. We have discovered that they have games for up to 4th grade. My son is having another baby with his current girlfriend. A little girl so they say. I think he is trying to populate the whole world by himself. He is taking a trip to the Dr. when he gets his income taxes back. I am taking him myself!!!!! If that don't work I will do it myself!!!! We had all 4 of his kids here for christmas and Ryan got to stay with us for almost a week. That doesn't happen much. He is such a quiet little guy. Not like the other 3. This is a current picture of the 4 littles. Nick, Ryan, Korey, and Gabby.

Yes Korey has a black eye. It seems that he was jumping on something [Gabby's bed maybe] and fell on the corner of her toybox. He is lucky that all he got was a black eye. My grandma was with us christmas day and we got a picture of her with Shawn and his kids. We had 5 generations here that day.
It looks like Gabby is trying to give a look at her chubby leg. Hard to belive that for a little while she is our baby. She will be 5 in March. She is not the well behaved little princess that she tells you she is. It is time for me to go. I have to go back to work tomorrow after being off for 2 weeks. I am not going to want to get up in the morning. Have a safe and happy New Year!

Thanksgiving

Tomorrow is the big day. Turkey day! I can't wait to get up to put the turkey in the oven. It always smells so good while it is cooking. I have almost all of the pies done, I only have the banana cream one to do yet. The crust is all ready. I just have to cut the bananas and make the filling. I was going to make fruit salad too but I forgot to get the fruit. I got the nuts, grapes, and the bananas for it but not the canned fruit. Oh well I don't have room in the fridge for it anyway. Mom and Garry will be here to eat with us. They are coming early because Garry is working on the barn. I have to float the turkey in the tub. It has been thawing in the fridge all week and is still frozen solid. The tub is the only thing I have that is big enough for it. Nick gets a kick out of it and wants to give it a bath with soap and all of that. Last weekend I started sewing my flannel quilt but I didn't get very far, I had to make too many flying geese units. I got one border of the on it but now I have to make more for another border. I should have it done sometime this weekend. Then I have to get back to the retreat challenge quilt. Sometime soon I have to make some handmade christmas cards. We are exchanging them instead of gifts with some of my family. I just have to come up with a wonderfull idea for them. Now it is time for me to go for tonight. I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and remember that the Christmas countdown really starts now!!! Karen

Barn Bits and More

My update on my quilting barn is that my rafters are now braced up so that when we put in the drywall up my ceiling won't sag. I hate it when my things sag. Don't you?? I hope that this weekend Garry will put in my breaker box and wire my lights and put up the loft. I can feel it getting closer. My excitement level is getting up there again. To think that I will be able to leave everything out and know that I won't have little fingers getting in to everything and I won't have to worry about them trying to use my scissors and cutters. I won't have holes cut in sheets and pillowcases and no more quilt blocks cut in half!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have both fatty, fatty quilt tops done now all I have to do is quilt them and the binding. They turned out nice I can see me making more of them. Every fabric that I used was Thimbleberries. I ended up with 4 blocks left over. Or a start of the next one. I had to go back to work monday morning. 5:00 came pretty early after having 5 weeks off. I should have been born rich! Or married money! I guess we can't all be wealthy. I know quite whinning and be thankfull for what I do have. I am.Nick's quilt is on the left and his is a twin size. Mine is on the right and it is a king size, a big king . It hangs to the bottom of the box springs and all of the way to the floor at the foot end of the bed. I remembered that I didn't put a pic. of the kids on trick or treat night. Here it is. Nick, Korey, Gabby and Nick's youngest brother with his mom Ashton. They look pretty scarey. Ashton is the coyboy.

I found out saturday that I won a prize from the shop hop that I went on in October with my aunt. I have to go to Birds of a Feather in Avon to pick it up. I think we will do that on saturday. I don't know what I won I will have to post that later after I find out. Happy Quilting!