"In My Father's House Are Many Mansions"

... and that's the title of the song and my quilt. Thank you for all the guesses at what song I was trying to depict. They were all good. I especially liked how Martha picked "We're Marching On to Zion, ... the Beautiful City of God," and then that song kept ringing in her mind all day long!

I had a goal of getting all the fusing finished by Monday, and now I've even done more than that. I think it's ready to quilt.

Stitching through Heat & Bond, Steam-a-Seam, and Wonder Under gummed up my needle, but I kept plugging away.

I took care of Georgi one day at the office. She is a full time job, let alone trying to do office work.

Georgi's umbrella reminds me of Sally in the Dick & Jane Readers.

Amy & Ashton fixing treats for the Girls Club.

Paul's sister, Miriam, was surprised when we showed up for her birthday.

It was a chilly evening and the fire felt good.

Those soft brown marshmallows were free for the taking and oh, sooooo good!

Miriam was tickled with her bicycle that Kenneth gave her. She brought it into the house so the rain wouldn't spoil it.

Recent guests in our home were Jerrel & Paula with Nic & Micah.

The Grabers wanted to visit with them before they left for home in Colorado.

Friends of Colonel Sanders at KFC.

After 2 games of Sequence, Gabriel (not pictured), Laura, Paul and I had 2 good games of ...

... Blokus.

A Gospel Song

I have continued working on my PTQ challenge quilt this past week.  Can you guess the gospel song I’m trying to depict?

...and it's not "There is a Green Hill Far Away" ... so far away that you can't see it!!!

Mansions, Wedding, and Family

This week I have been cutting out mansions and roofs and windows and arches and flags and much more.

I went fabric shopping with 3 of the Possum Town Quilter ladies to find something suitable for a block challenge. We came back to our house and got to work. Here’s Brenda cutting out strips.

Here’s Bobbi cutting squares.

And Sandi helping to get them all into individual bags.

Today we attended the wedding of Bryan & Emily.

Kirby & Stacy were happy to ride with us from the church to the wedding.

They had a unique square tiered wedding cake made of cupcakes.

White with chocolate icing or chocolate with white icing?

Friends, Mel & Carla are waiting to  help serve the guests.

Busy little Georgi sat across from me.

The bride & groom with the bridal party served themselves.

Do you want me to sketch your face?

Ryan with his puzzle gift for being a gift receiver.

This evening we had our children & families in for pizza. Kirby was glad to hold Tina.

And then Stacy wanted a turn too.

I was just hoping no one would get hurt in this romp and tussle game

~~~~~ Parting Shot ~~~~~

Momma makes Tina smile.

The Start of Something New

I have a clean slate this morning.

How can I make this project easy and undaunting?

See what others are making on Judy's blog.

Loving Libby

Libby Lehman's quilts have inspired me for a long time. I tried her techniques for the circles and ribbons and then cut it to pieces and made it my own. Now it's on it's way to Pigeon Forge for A Mountain QuiltFest.

On My Design Wall (Floor)

It's Monday morning and I'm still having problems with my quilt.

I started out with 2 separate tops and layered the dark one on the left on top of the lighter one on the right.

Then I made circles and cut out the top fabric inside of the circles to expose the lighter bottom fabric.

Next I added a gold satin stitch around the circles.

Then I started adding the stitched thread to make the ribbon. You can see how it is puckering and shrinking on the right side of the picture.

I decided to go ahead and finish the ribbon and went over it a second time with a slightly darker thread on the "big" edge. This caused more and more distortion.

So I decided to cut out the ribbon ... and now I need to decide what to do!

Happy Birthday Kirby and We Have a Winner

Can it be that our oldest grandchild turned 4 already? He got to go to Sunday School this morning and came back a smiling boy!

I remember when his daddy turned 4 and now he's helping his son cut the cake.

Great Gramma Lee helped Kirby with the Silly Putty and answered his many questions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today we have a winner for Barbara's quilt book Simply Triangles.

Thank you, everyone, for playing along. And the winner is ...

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

     23       

Timestamp: 2012-02-19 21:20:58 UTC

kittykats said...

I also found you on one of the linky mondays on Quiltville. I have followed
you for a couple of months already. You and your family create such wonderful
quilts.



~Parting Shot ~

Grampa trying to make Tina smile.

A Quilt for Tina

Tina's first picture with her quilt wasn't a happy occasion!

I started this quilt at our Sewing Retreat in Virginia and just didn't have time to get it finished.

Sheila calms Tina for a better picture. Somehow she knows if you are sitting and bouncing or standing and bouncing!

Years ago we bought the nice L-shaped desk under the window for my sewing machine. It worked great, only I wanted a hole cut into it to drop my machine down for a flush flat table. Paul thought the desk was way too nice and new to cut a hole in it. So, we moved it across the room for office, computer, & printer work. It's "his" desk now. Then since he didn't want to cut a hole I thought maybe one of those old time L-shaped desk with a drop return would work for my sewing machine.

My sister Emily found a used one in Virginia for me. When Paul came to pick me up he brought the pickup truck and we hauled it home to Mississippi. It sits so perfectly in the corner right outside of my fabric closet. And I've ordered a "Sew Steady" table to wrap around the machine to fit up against the left part of the desk. Oh my, I just need more time to make quilts!

We were glad to have Ed & Marti join us for pizza last Saturday.

Simply Triangles -- A Giveaway

This is what C&T Publishing has to say about my sister Barbara's new book, Simply Triangles. Barbara is graciously letting me give away another book.

So what do you have to do to be in with a chance of winning this book? Two chances:

1. Leave a comment on this post.
2. Follow this blog - new and current followers; leave a comment to let me know that you follow.

Drawing will be Sunday, Feb 19, 2012.
(Please ensure that an email address is available on your profile or is included in your comment - NO EMAIL ADDRESS = NO VALID ENTRY).

Simply Triangles—a new book and a new giveaway!

January 2nd, 2012 in Contests
By Lisa Fulmer

 

"Scrappy Stars"

Happy New Year—we hope you all had a wonderful holiday! And we hope you’re ready for some fresh inspiration to kick off your creative projects for 2012.

Barbara Cline has a brand new book, Simply Triangles—11 Deceptively Easy Quilts Featuring Stars, Daisies & Pinwheels. You will love learning how to work with paper-pieced triangles to make beautiful and complex-looking designs. Barbara will teach you how to use your fabric color selections to make your quilt sparkle and glow.

Here’s some of what Barbara shares about her background in the book’s introduction:

I was brought up with six sisters and a brother in a loving Mennonite home in the beautiful Virginia countryside. Sewing has been a part of my life since I was a little girl. Mother used her talent to provide practical and beautiful garments for our family. Her sewing machine kept humming long after the girls’ dresses were completed, turning out an assortment of nightgowns, caps, coats, and mittens for the growing family. My grandmother introduced me to quilting when I was ten years old. The world of fabric came alive for me when my parents purchased a fabric store in my preteen years. I enjoyed learning about different fabrics and color combinations, as well as working with people. Some of the store employees were expert quilters, and this further piqued my interest in the craft.

 

Barbara (right) with two of her sisters, Polly (left) and Julia 

My sisters have been another source of inspiration; they have inspired me to join a quilt guild, enter quilt contests, publish patterns, and learn new techniques. We also get together once a year for a sewing retreat. As our little ones grew up they started to join us, and it has been a great opportunity for them to focus on sewing as well as on building relationships and interacting with their grandmother, aunts, and cousins. The retreat has become one of the highlights of my year. Throughout this book, you’ll find Life Lessons—simple, inspiring stories from some of these important people in my life.