Grand Time

We have had some sweet little overnight guest lately.
Each enjoyed their own special activities. Belle and I made brownies and had at least three tea parties. 

We also went to VBS.  The water day was a big hit!

Pooh Bear wanted to do everything.  He loves to go for a ride, and when ever he got ready he would bring my shoes to me and say, "Mimi, ride?!"

He also loves being outside, and playing ball.  He can be pretty serious about that ball now.

He found where the lead glass cast a rainbow on the floor in the late afternoon, and was fascinated with it.

He kept trying to get the rainbow to stay on his sweet little hand.  I think he thought he could figure out a way to pick it up and hold it.  It's so much fun to watch their little minds at work!

Scooter helped me bake biscuits on her day.  Then she wanted to take the leftover dough and add ingredients to make her own recipe.  She kept asking, "Mimi, can we add a little sugar?  What about cinnamon?"  She kept going with ingredients until she thought it was good enough, tasting the dough as she went.  She finally topped her creation with blueberries and asked if I would put it in the oven.  

Of course I did, and after baking it we gave it a try.  It was pretty good.    We got up the next morning and she wanted to try her recipe again.  So this time we measured everything and I wrote her a recipe on a card for her to keep.  We called it Scooter Pie.


I'm looking forward to the rest of the spend the night company headed our way.  No telling what we will be up to next!

Another Attempt at Quilt Making

I'm far from considering myself a quilter.  I'm more of a trial and error  (mostly error) home sewer.  I hesitate to even use the word seamstress, but I love to make things for my family, because no matter how unprofessional they are they accept them with all of the enthusiasm they would if they were perfect.  This is the quilt I made for my daughter's newest baby due to arrive in August.

At first she wasn't going to find out the sex of the baby, so when I started the quilt I picked colors that could be used for a boy or a girl.

I decided to try a coin quilt,  but wanted to incorporate a few vintage pieces that my mom gave me, probably when my kids were little.  Have I mentioned the fact that I never get rid of anything?  The pieces of fabric had scenes with Sunbonnet Sue and Farmer Sam, and they went well with reproduction flour sack fabrics I have picked up along the way.  I'm always drawn to those prints because they remind me of the quilts both of my grandmothers had, and some that I grew up sleeping under at home.

Here's the back.  I embroidered two little puppies  randomly on the mismatched backing. 

We now know that the baby is a girl, and to be honest if I had known that when I started the quilt I would have chosen something different, but I still think it turned out to be a sweet quilt.

It will be much sweeter when it''s wrapped around a darling baby!

Another Diaper Bag

I'm not even sure how many of these diaper bags I've made, but so far I've loved how they have turned out. This is the one I made for my daughter. She is due in the middle of August. If I remember correctly the fabric is Amy Butler's August Fields.

Kisses from Heaven

I can't even begin to explain the love that a grandchild brings into one's life!  It is beyond words, and each time I am freshly amazed at the instant flood of love that overtakes me upon sight of a new grand baby!  Adrenaline junkies should have grand kids, because it just has to surpass jumping off buildings and such by a mile!

This is our new little wonder!  Momma and baby are both beautiful, and doing great!

Pooh Bear getting his first glimpse of his little sister.

Bell just can't get enough of her.  It's all she talks about, and she wants to hold her continually!

Spidey is in love with her too, he told me yesterday that even her sneezes are cute.

Of course, her parents are smitten as well!  Daddy's still a little apprehensive about what to do with brand new little girls.

You've gotta know I'm over the moon for her!  

                                                  It is certainly no accident that we call them GRAND!

You Say Tomato, I Say Oh, Yeah!!!

-tomato sandwiches
-bruschetta

-oven "sun" dried tomatoes

- tomato sandwiches

- tomato salads

-salsa

-tomato sandwiches

-tomato lasagna

-tomato gravy and biscuits

-yep, more tomato sandwiches

Yellow, cherry, grape, roma, plain ol' red tomatoes, I love them all! Excuse me I think I hear a tomato sandwich calling my name!

Diaper Bouquet

We had a family baby shower for our son and daughter-in-law a couple of weeks ago, and this is one of the decorations I made for it.

I got the idea from Pinterest, but I couldn't find a tutorial, so I just winged it. I used chop sticks for the stem and rolled the diapers around the sticks. I cut pieces of pink ribbon and stuck the stick through the center of the ribbon piece, then tied a smaller green ribbon to secure it all. Once the flowers were made I stuck them into a styrofoam ball covered with a piece of the extra wide mesh ribbon like the kind used to make wreaths. I used that as filler in the bouquet and stuck it all in a cute little pink vase. It was super simple to make, and I was really pleased with how it turned out.

I made a few other decorations too. I'll try to post those later. My camera was acting up so my daughter took some of the pictures with hers, and she hasn't had time to load them yet.

A Little Sewing for Another Little Blessing on the Way

I'm so excited by the fact that we will be welcoming two more little ones to our family this summer! The first is due to arrive next month, and the second in August. So I've been trying to squeeze in a little sewing here and there to prepare for these grand arrivals.

Here is a diaper bag I made for my sweet daughter-in-law. I hope she likes it as much as I do! I have made several bags by this pattern, and while it's a little tricky to get the bottom panel in just right, they always come out nicely, at least, so far they do.

I also made her a white on white wonky log cabin quilt. I'm not sure how well you can see the pattern in the pictures, but the contrast is very subtle. This it the first quilt as you go I've finished. I have another in the works, but stopped it to work on baby things.

I have a gazillion (is that how you spell it?) other things I want to make for these babies, but since I'm trying to doubly do every thing, this may be all I have time to make before the exciting arrivals!

Who would have ever thought one person could be so blessed, overwhelmed at times, but definitely blessed!

Hanging Around My House

Notice the little nest on top of the wind chimes.

If I were building a new home I don't think this would be my first site choice.

It's a little too unstable...

and loud...

but then, again, it does have a built in rocker...

and automatic lullaby...

the scenery is nice...

and the local social activity isn't too far away.

at least that must be what she thinks.

I think I'll spend a little time hanging out beside her right here.

Her babies started hatching today. It's so sweet to watch her feeding them.

Evidence of Spring

-baby bluebirds nesting in a new bluebird house

-snack time moves out of doors

-things planted in unusual places

I'm sure there is more to come.