Baby Girl Quilt

I showed you how the story began here. Now I will give you the happily ever after ending.

I was able to obtain the correct spelling of her name & get that embroidered on the remaining solid square in the bottom right corner.  I pressed the top & prepared my batting.  All this time I was planning on backing with a black solid & binding with either a bright pink or yellow. Then in my stash I spied the perfect green piece to cut my bias strips for the binding. That would look smashing with the black! Well, what if I were to back & bind with the green? Alas, my measurements were not sufficient for both. UNLESS -- ummmm -- (hence my decision to self-bind with the backing. Not as strong, I know - BUT IT LOOKS GOOD!)

Anyhow, with that decision out of the way, I decided to "save some time" and use my basting gun & tags. (Hands over your ears, 'cause this is where my "happily-ever-after" started to look like "happily-never-after" and I used some #@(*&^ words on that %+$#!@ gun!) Not going to mention any names, but if you were missing one, save yourself about $25+ & DON'T BUY ONE! (just sayin')

Did all the stitch-in-the-ditch machine quilting with not too many problems. I did use a black bobbin & every little mis-stitch shows up against the green!

Here it is with the binding all pinned in place - just waiting for my favorite: hand stitching...

All finished, but it needs to head to the washing machine...

Love my exclusive quilt display area? HA!

All finished

& here's a shot of the back...

Too many colors

My good friend told me last night that her husband has a recurrence of his colon cancer. Pray for Ray.

All three of my sons had a wonderful Sunday School teacher named Donna who was diagnosed with breast cancer before Christmas. She's undergoing chemo this week. Pray for Donna.

Another friend from church & fellow blogger has been fighting her ovarian cancer monster for more than 4 years now. Pray for Carolyn.

One of my 3-year old Special Needs buddies from church is wrestling leukemia. Pray for Treyson.

A year ago a long-time member from our Life Group passed away from liver cancer. (Miss you, Fred!)

pseudo card making

I needed a baby card to enclose with a shower gift. I'm not a stamper nor a scrapper. I do internet, Word, & hp printer very well.  (I find most of the graphics I love to use from the incredible generosity of the Graphics Fairy. I've utilized her images in several paper projects. On my computer there are several fabric projects planned for printing graphics to quilt & embelish...)

Anyhow - here's the front of the card:

(I had to hold the little pinafore closed with my finger so it wouldn't pop up in the picture...)

Totally ♥-ing the origami diaper!

The princess crown is the from the Graphics Fairy's blog.

Today I'll be linking to Brag Monday.

(credits: The template for the dress came from here.  The diaper I found here. The font is called "Bleeding Cowboys.")

baby shower gifts

Last week was a trifle busy with a couple little items for a baby girl due next month. I made her a hat

a headband

a taggy-head crinkley doll

and two burp rags.

Stealing my bedroom

I usually gobble up my Southern Living magazine as soon as it pops out of my mailbox.  Didn't open March's until this morning. So, second or third page turn - I find MY bedroom!

Granted, I would die kill give my first-born love to have white beadboard ceiling, walls & floor...  And that yummy chandy wouldn't work as well as my ceiling fan on hot summer nights... Plus the fact I don't have beige curtains & wrought iron rods for the windows...

When I started decorating our home 10+ years ago (ummm - due to 3 boys + 1 big man, my cutesy pink & baby blue Victorian/French Country decor needed to expire...) I could not find A.N.Y.T.H.I.N.G. in navy/cobalt tones. It was even hard coming up with decorator fabrics (especially in my budget range...) that would suit the applications.  When I found something I liked, I bought yards & yards. Such as my striped curtains & Jacobean valance:

Unfortunately, time & funds (did I say time?) ran low. I do have the Jacobean print partially quilted into a coverlet (even have the binding ready to go) but it's folded on a shelf in my sewing room with some salvage quilts.  I have one striped curtain complete (the other lengths are cut, just not stitched... and they lie folded on the afore mentioned stack...)

I even made an ottoman here to coordinate with my coverlet:

Therefore, in my quest for this blue & white decorating knowledge, I went to target.com/sabrina & got redirected to http://marketplace.hgtv.com/Promo/Target?ref=sr_shorturl_sabrina where I found these images:

I really need to finish my bedroom! Ya think?!? 

More things I'm loving:

I love this picture done by Olan Mills Studio in 2008. The photographer's instructions were for them to look serious. It makes me smile every time I see my youngest's fake frown & my oldest's fake smile...

I love "Desert Rose" by Franciscan. I also enjoy a Valentine tea party!

I have a passion for blue tea sets. My sister has brought me a few pieces from England & Lomonosov porcelain from Russia. (Of course, she gave me the Matryoshka nesting dolls holding tea items...)

Who doesn't love a kitty in a piano?

I'm again linking up to Paisley Jade & her weekly reminder that "I wholeheartedly believe that no matter what is happening in your life, there is always something that you can be thankful for... no matter how simple it is."

4 my Love

Just in case y'all think I was all take & no give yesterday...
I made WonderHubs his very own -- wait for it -- pillow!

He likes the graphic look of it (I think he means it's not too girlie or mushie...)

I was glad to try the sample design from Urban Threads. It stitched so very nicely!

♥

is what I found on my keyboard when I powered up the ol' PC in the dark this morning.  I turned it over to see this:

(When I see this embossing, I always know somebody had to go someplace special to get this...)

Totally love the card!

(Aren't the precious little love letters 2die4?)

Inside there is printed a quote from Shakespeare ~ "I do love nothing in the world as I do you."  The stock sentiment says "You are everything wonderful to me" in such wonderful calligraphy. (& no, I'm not going to show you what my love wrote...)

Speaking of, WonderHubs was working on somebody's server emergency ALL WEEKEND, yet he & the boys found time to bring me these:

(luvs me some fresh red roses!)

*sigh*

Sometimes I'm like the Old Testament Israelites --

in my hands I hold the evidence of God's gracious provision; yet I find something to complain about.  That's why I so  ♥  Paisley Jade's weekly link party & reminder:
"I wholeheartedly believe that no matter what is happening in your life, there is always something that you can be thankful for... no matter how simple it is."

So, here's my list for this week of "Things I'm Loving..."

I love it when our pleco cleans his own room!




I love it when this man comes home after a long week's work & rides bikes with our sons & then throws some patties on the grill & fires up some rings.  ♥ I'm thankful to be spending my 21st Valentine's Day with my best friend! ♥

I also love it when I find some low carb treats in the house. (I have to hide my "brownies" in the freezer so the boys won't scarf them down...)


Would you believe black beans?



I love it when the clean fluffy white dog smells nice. (Don't love it when his fur drags in every loose leaf & twig from the yard...)

My youngest son has dubbed my baby clothes model "James" and thanks me for getting him a new baby brother. (I wonder if James realizes that's a girl's hat he's wearing?)

It was a chilly 35° as I took my son to his service project for school this morning -- which reminds me to be thankful for embroidered scarves...

Thankful to be remembering His goodness to me!