design wall Monday . . .

Happy Monday, everyone!

On Friday I saw a blog entry on Red Pepper Quilts that really caught my attention. She had a photo of some beautiful blocks she had done in the Star Puzzle pattern. I'd never seen that particular block before and it just made me HAPPY! I can't explain it; perhaps it was the colors/fabrics she used (they were happy, sunny colors). But I really liked the layout. So much so, that I promptly dug into the bag of Joc's wedding quilt scraps, and played around with the leftover triangles, to get this . . .

and this . . .

No doubt I will continue to play around with it until I'm just as HAPPY with mine as I was with hers! :) These would make fun throw pillows to put with the quilt. When it finally gets done.

Yesterday, at 10:30 pm, I got shop number 120 on the February shop hop! Whew, just in the nick of time. I won a $10 gift certificate in January's shop hop, to Block Party Studios. They do have some fun stuff . . . and I was willing to spend a little about my $10, and here's what I found . . .

This is *particularly* perfect for the door to the quilt room / office.

And I am a snail mail girl. I love to send cards and letters (and get them, too)! So it's no surprise that I found and purchased these . . .

The "Well-behaved women seldom make history," card really tickled me. Immediately my thoughts went to Eve (responsible for the fall of man), Rahab (the prostitute), and Bathsheba (the adulteress); all of whom are in the lineage of Christ! There's a whole 'nother entry in that thought!

For now, it's on to re-arrange fabric. And off to Hunter Road to prepare the house for sale!

Ever onward . . .

:)

weekend wedding fun in hotlanta!

This is a story about my dashing nephew, Michael Jr. . . .

and his lovely bride, Erin! They got married on Saturday, in Atlanta.
Actually, there's another story; the mini-family reunion that took place while we were all there for the wedding!!

My mom & dad (getting ready to celebrate their FIFTIETH anniversary) were there . . .

As were Todd & I . . .

The oldest of my younger sisters, Julia, and her husband, Michael Sr. They are the proud parents of the groom . . .

The second oldest of my younger sister, Cynthia, and her husband Ed . . .

And Cynthia with our youngest sister, Laura (she left her four young children at home with her husband, Joseph) . . .

Aren't we a great looking family????

There were two other married couples there, my oldest daughter, Jocelyn, and her husband Jason (they just got married in June)! James (my son) and Kim were there too, but I didn't get a good picture of them. Pooh . None of my pictures were great -- the settings on my camera were off. Plus it didn't help that we were in the dark, with mostly candle light!
Also along for the ride was Ben, brother of the groom (isn't he handsome? he's a freshman at Virginia Tech) . . .

Megan (Cynthia's middle) and Hazen (Julia's third) had fun kicking up their heels at the reception . If you look closely, you can see that Cecilia (Julia's second) is doing a little barefoot boogie . . .

Then Megan continued to enjoy the dance floor with a partner who was a little more her height (although, like Hazen, I think he was still shorter than her -- she had to duck when he twirled her) . . .

Hazen wasn't happy about being replaced . . .

Lucy (Julia's youngest) was happy dancing with her mommy and daddy. Julia has the look of a mom who's child is married and her responsibilities are DONE! (I know, I've worn that look twice, now!)

Nick, Cynthia's youngest, had a good time watching everyone carry on . . .

Whew! After the reception, and back at the hotel for the night, I had the opportunity to FINALLY get Julia the rooster wall hanging! I think she liked it! :) I had a special rod made just for it, using the same finial that I used as the basis for the weather vane.

I always struggle for a little bit naming/tagging my quilts. Naming this quilt was easy, though . . .

It's certainly ruled me for the last month! :)

The day after the wedding, Julia's family (minus Ben), mom & dad, and the six of us Alabamians, headed over to Copeland's for a lovely brunch. The food was incredible, but the time spent with family was even better. Getting a posed smile from Michael Sr. is tough, but I caught him chatting it up during the meal; or perhaps he's smiling at all those peel & eat shrimp . . .

Hazen really enjoyed the buffet. Particularly the Belgium waffles with strawberries and whipped cream, and the chocolate fountain. Once he was done, he settled in for some game time.

Lucy was sharing sugars to her right . . .

and then to her left . . .

Puckering up definitely runs in this family . . . !!!

Dad and mom, still a sweet couple!

There's my James and Kim!

And another of my Jocelyn and Jason!

A nice shot of Aunt Julia, Jocelyn, and Cecilia . . .

And a final parting shot of Aunt Denise, Jocelyn & Lucy . . .

We had a wonderful weekend, and celebrated the marriage of a darling couple. Memories to cherish.

Cheers!

:)

closing in on the countdown . . .

Blogs, journals, diaries . . . whichever one uses to express oneself (and in my case it may be all three), the end of the year usually finds entries full of retrospective comments, resolutions for the new year, and blah blah blah.

This one will be no different!

On the quilting front, I've had a marginally successful year. I started _and_ finished six projects, and started an additional seven projects that need to be finished! Plus I did a bit of regular sewing, too (like aprons, stockings, curtains, etc.) I also entered my first guild challenge, my first ever judged quilt show, and entered into my first swap (which actually won't be swapped until next month/year). I became more active in my local guild, took a bus trip to the AQS show in Knoxville, and joined a stitcher's group. Wow! Some of the projects I need to commit to finishing are the swap, first and foremost, because that has to be in the mail by January 18th (eeks!), and then my sister's Rooster (which is close), and then Joc's wedding quilt. I'll work on that non-stop at the Quilter's Retreat I'm going to in February, which my Stitcher's group (a quilt retreat -- another first)! Then there are grandbaby quilts!

I've also got things mostly figured out for quilting in the RV; once the Christmas stuff is down and put away, I'll be able to finish that up and get comfy in the space. I'm looking forward to it, though, and I have to remember that there are places like Patches & Stitches that have BIG tables and are gracious to share their space if I need to lay out a quilt top or baste a quilt sandwich! We also carried over my quilt books this week. I feel better. :)

Life held some MAJOR changes in 2009! I can't believe how fast it all flew by! I guess the whirlwind of activity causes that to happen. It's incredibly rewarding, as my own nest has emptied, to see my children begin to feather their own. Instead of feeling like I'm empty, or lost without the children around, I feel incredibly blessed to still be a part of their lives, and to see them grow and mature and live out the lives God's given them. I'm proud of them -- in a humble and praising God for it way! :)

Todd expressed it best in the card he gave me for Christmas . . . I'll have to repost it in its entirety. I read it and teared up; and then I wanted him to read it as if from me! Whoever wrote the sentiment it contained didn't get paid enough! :) Sharing life . . . I love sharing life with my husband. Our quiet moments, our accomplishments, our fun times, our memories, our future plans; I like living life with Todd. Thank You, Lord, for such a wonderful, wonderful man!

With the coming of 2010, I've now lived in four homes/cities/zip codes in Alabama. I've learned not to say (or even think) this is IT! because it rarely is!

Already 2010 is filling up . . . Michael Jr's wedding in January in Atlanta (and with it, another mini-Fowler family reunion -- YAY!); the quilter's retreat in February; a grandbaby -- Sawyer Graham Panter -- in March (along with lots of birthdays and anniversaries); Beth Moore live at Woodstock -- a mother/daughter trip -- in April; June is our 14th anniversary and somewhere along the line both Todd & I celebrate 30 years out of high school; and my parents silver wedding anniversary in September. So many wonderful things to look forward to! It would be easy to waste the year looking ahead to the next 'event'; but I am resolving to take each day and celebrate God's goodness in it!

So many thoughts; our ministry, our lives together, our family, our friends . . . .

May 2010 be a year filled with growth and a deepening relationship with God and my cherished ones. And praise Him for His goodness and overwhelming blessing in 2009!

WEDDING QUILT!

Ahhhh . . . the infamous wedding quilt! Jocelyn didn't want a guest book -- she wanted her guests to sign quilt squares. In theory, it's a great idea! Here's just a teaser from it.



















The hydrangea print will always form a complete square. Signatures went in the neutral fabric. I would *never* have gotten these squares finished for the wedding if my dear friend Tina hadn't joined the cause! Plus my sisters trimmed each block.

Joc did such a beautiful job picking out fabrics and keeping with her wedding colors! I'd like to use those fabrics in a quilt for me. Really yummy!

The last picture is the CAD drawing I did when I was making the pattern and putting the blocks together in different forms. I think I put it together about 5 different ways, and let Jocelyn pick which one she liked best. Option 3. Who'd have guessed? In another year or so I'll have all the signed blocks pieced together and have it quilted!



Finit (or not)!

:)

Happy 22nd Anniversary!

Today I am forgoing my usual Friday installment of "Everyday Pleasures", so that I may instead wish my sweet Husband, of 22 years, a very Happy Anniversary! (It's officially tomorrow folks, but I wanted to post it today, as I fully intend to be feeling 100% better, so that we can go off and spend the day celebrating somewhere nice!) Here's to another Happy 22!

Our wedding day, June 7th, 1986...


We had a harpist and a flutist play at our reception...


22 years and 2 wonderful children later... Best friends...