Flannel Monkey Baby Quilt

I made this quilt for a precious baby boy due Feb. 14. It is done in 100% cotton flannel. Monkeys and jungle animals everywhere. The back is done in solid brown flannel. His name was embroidered on the back also. Crib size. I may never handquilt again after using my new free motion quilting foot! What fun!

Dog outfit for my doggie niece

This is my doggy niece, "Fancy Pants" although she is usally called "Panties" Note the ribbin that says "Meow." She looks so cute in pink!

Another fleece "rag" quilt

I made this for a friend. It's a lap quilt size. He says it is very warm and usually makes him go to sleep. I put magic in each quilt, you know! ;-)

A day in the life of Princess Marie

I was really hoping to avoid the camera here in the bathroom closet, but the paparazzi won't leave me alone.

"Will you just leave me alone? I'm sick."

"Hmm I wonder why Mommy has a picture of Remy on the screen and not me. Maybe if I sit here she will notice me."

Lots of Bibs for a very special drooler

I did buy a new sewing machine this summer: a Brother ES 2000. My first computerized machine. I love the one touch stitch selection and the drop-in bobbin. These were my first projects on the new machine. The baby I made them for went through all six in one day. She's an adorable spitter-upper and drooler. ;-)

OK so not much quilting going on this summer

I have sewn a total of one thing since I last posted: one shirt. No quilting. I am on the search for a new sewing machine cause mine is on the blink. It is a cheap Brother bought at Wal-mart for $89.00 about 4 years ago and it was never intended to sew as many long hours as mine does.

Suggestions for a machine that will sew 4 layers of denim, quilt, embroidery, one touch buttonhole & costs less than $200?? Laugh, I know. I'm willing to buy used and refurbished. Someone point me to the right website (other than ebay...I'm searching there already).

I've also been battling health issues this summer: mono for the SECOND time in the middle of June and a migraine of migraines this past weekend.

Wear 'em to shreds, my friends

Yesterday when the recipients of the quilt below opened their gift, 3 other friends just happened to be standing there. One of them said, "I have one of Kelly's quilts."
"So do I."
"and so do I."

I don't remember feeling so happy about something I had done...not even when I received the ol' sheepskin when I graduated from college.

One said she was keeping hers for her daughter when she grows up. I said, "No! That's not why I made it! Let her have it!" Maybe I made a mistake making that one so perfect...with straight lines and new fabric and embroidered name & date? That it became a keepsake instead of a quatastrophe? For everyone who receives one of my quilts, please use them until they are worn to shreds and then use the shreds.

I have made 3 "taggies" for a friend's baby who HAS to have one to sleep. He has slept with all three and hugged them and dragged them around until they are almost in tatters, and he is only 2. (A "taggie" is a small blanket of about a foot square with ribbon tags sewn around the outsides. Babies love them).

Quilt Quatastrophes ARE MEANT TO BE LOVED TO SHREDS!

The biggest Quiltingest Quatastrophe of them all!

This is a true quatasatrophe. What started as a simple desire to make a lapquilt for a couple's wedding shower turned into this queen size (shown on a king bed) monstrosity of 100% recycled materials quilt. The bride is into recycling and is into anything "green." She even put "Please recycle" on her wedding invitations. I got the inspiration for this one when I heard they were engaged.
I started with the center...6" rag style quilt squares. Then I decided to place a border of dark denim. Finally I ended up at a garage sale buying 6 pairs of jeans to finish it in queen size.

It took 440 yds of 100% cotton quilt thread, and about 8 needles. I have to buy a new sewing machine! My poor cheap Brother can't handle this volume of heavy fabric even with heavy needles.

Remy likes it.

Monarch and Caterpillar

These are my latest projects. Took about 4 days each. Both are 18" x 24"

Monarch Caterpillar on milkweed. Oil pastel on paper. NFS.


Monarch Butterfly Oil pastel on paper. NFS.

Arts Festival

Today I went to the Paseo arts festival in OKC to hear my favorite band Grandpa Griffith.
http://www.grandpagriffith.com/

What do I want to be when I grow up?

So I'm 35 and still trying to figure it out. Call me crazy. Call me non-decisive. I thought I had it all figured out esp. after 2 college degrees. BTW I paid off my student loans last week!!! Sallie Mae won't let me go. She keeps sending me emails, but hey, now I can ignore them.

12 years ago I graduated with a Master of Arts in Religion with an emphasis in practical theology.

I just finished my first semester as an art student. I learned a lot from my professor even though he gave me a "B" for my "A" effort. It's hard to be a student when you've been a teacher.
Anyway, lately all I can do is draw/paint. Oil pastels. Some call it drawing some call it painting with pastels. Whatever it is. I can't stop. I have a muse. I want to be an artist. I want a studio. I want to earn a living with my art.

Finished Baby Quilt

Finished the flannel pastel baby quilt & gave it at the baby shower which I also hosted. Got some close ups of the quilting. I ended up doing some applique/quilting on it to make it more interesting. Most of the quilting, however, is by hand. Fluffy, thick batting and a flannel backing makes it very soft for the new baby girl that should arrive in late June.

Flannel Pastel Baby Quilt

I attend a prolific church...there are at least 2 baby showers a month! It was time to make another baby quilt, so I started hunting ideas. This pattern came from American Patchwork & Quilting Magazine this month. It is called Sun-Drenched Strips. Obviously I altered it a little...but I love the pattern & will try it again.

As soon as I put it in the frame for quilting & set it down, Princess Marie had to see if she approved of its softness. She approves. I will post a picture when I complete the quilting.

Top 10 to do before I die

1. See Garth Brooks in concert
2. Train trip across Alaska
3. Publish a novel
4. Biking trip across Europe
5. Open an art/sewing studio in the Paseo District of OKC
6. Drive up the Pacific Coast highway from southern California to the Canadian border
7. Own a 1966 Mustang
8. Put my kids through college w/o student loans
9. Go on a Sierra Club wilderness survival weekend
10. Refinish the wood floors in my house

My life in dog and cat years Part 2

Mickey 1
We got Mickey when Kitty met an untimely death trying to squeeze through the chainlink fence. She was a tiny kitten...so small she sat in Babie's food dish. She was sooooo sweet. She used to sleep cuddled up on my chest. She could catch mice, but occasionally lost them. Once she caught a mouse and had it by the tail and I killed it instead of letting her. I flushed the mouse & she cried all night about it. I should have let her eat it.
Lesson learned: Eat the food when it's in front of you.

Misty Lou
Misty was a beautiful dog, but looks can be deceiving. We had only been married a few months when a friend found her wandering around our college campus. I brought her home and surprised my husband. She was so innocent & sweet. WRONG! She tore up everything in the house: blinds, beanbag, ate a basket of Easter candy with wrappers, chewed batteries & sos pads. I could write books on her antics. Misty could not be confined. She was about 40 pounds and blonde...looked like a cross between a golden retriever and a greyhound. She could jump any fence, get out of any harness, choker chain, or collar. She would hop in and out of the neighbor's yards & I would find her racing down the highway. I finally had to give her away after many tears...to a friend who lived in the country where she could run.
Lesson learned: Don't let anything keep you from being free.

Mickey 2
It was 10 years before my husband would agree to another animal after Misty & her demon ways. So 10 years & 2 kids later I tried another surprise: a cat! Mickey was grey striped tabby cat. A vet friend had him & I thought it was a sign he was supposed to be mine since he was already named Mickey. He was about 3 months when we got him. Sweet. Not again. He liked to bite & scratch. He did not catch mice, but would watch them & then walk to his food dish like, "I think that made me hungry but I do not know why." My husband loved him as he is a cat person. Mickey would sit on the back of my husband's recliner and lick the back of his head. My two-year-old would get into the worst trouble of her life with Mickey. It usually involved dunking Mickey in the toilet. He grew to about 20 pounds so no one would dunk him then. He would fight anything that had fur. We had to give him away when we moved and he met an untimely death at the mercy of a large truck outside his home.
Lesson Learned: I'm still trying to figure it out.

Tigger
A few months after we moved into a rent house that would not take pets we bought our own house. Mickey was offered back to us but my husband said Mickey was too mean. So we made the mistake of picking up a stray orange tabby female that we named Tigger. You cannot make an outside cat an indoor one. I knew that...duh....remember Kitty & her ripping screens? Chris (husband) was remodeling the bathroom & left a hole in the floor overnight. Tigger went out the hole. After that she came & went as she wished. She used us for food. Chris was not too disappointed when she did not come back one day...mostly because she had taken to using the dining room carpet as a litter box. We see her occasionally around the neighborhood & she puts up her nose & lets us know she can live on her own.
Lesson Learned: Don't try to make an outdoor cat an indoor cat

Oh I love this quote!

What was any art but a mould in which to imprison for a moment the shining elusive element which is life itself - life hurrying past us and running away, too strong to stop, too sweet to lose. Willa Cather

Lion Baby Quilt

I made this for a friend who was decorating their baby room in circus animals.

Quilted Tote Bag

I was inspired by seeing some quilted bags to make one of my own...here are the pockets before assembly. You will note some of the fabric I received for Christmas included....
Completed bag. The bottom is 13" x 11" and has a piece of template plastic inserted for stability.
Side pockets go all the way around. The end pockets are just the right size for a 12 oz. can or 20 oz water bottle. Currently this is holding my workout equipment but it could be used for just about anything!
View of the inside. Pockets included! I love pockets!

My Life in Dog and Cat Years

One of my favorite authors, Gary Paulsen, has written a book called, My Life in Dog Years...an autobiography based on the dogs he has had. I took his idea and wrote a little of my own autobiography:

My life in dog and cat years

Tracy

Looked like a white Shepphard but had none in her. Tracy May loved me from the moment I was born. All 70 pounds of her. I’m sure I cut my teeth on her ears. My brother took naps sprawled atop her.

Life Lesson Learned from Tracy: Protect the vulnerable.

Brandy
The dumbest but cutest longest eared beagle you ever saw. Whatever we thought about beagles from watching Snoopy, she ruined. No chasing rabbits. Only catching chipmunks and torturing them until they died. She loved to sleep in the clean clothes basket.

Life Lesson Learned from Brandy: Seek comfort whenever you can get it.

Babie
Babie started out as Lady but she was no lady. She was just a spoiled rotten mutt that wandered into our church yard one day. My dad immediately fell in love. No one could guess her breed. She had the worst tail chop job you ever saw. She had the best belly drum...got diabetes late in life and craved sugar. Between insulin shots, she could pack away a 10 lb bag of powdered sugar.

Babie: Uncondtional love…oh and lick the tears off a sad person’s face.

Kitty
Some cats we choose and some cats choose us. Kitty wandered into our yard one day and just never left. She was white and I tried to name her Snowball but who can call Snowball? She would occasionally gift us with her kittens…and could never be tied down to the house. She would rip screens and lift windows to get out. She hunted mice, snakes, rabbits, birds. On an especially good day she would bring home the bird heads for Babie and they would share a feast. One day she knocked an entire ham off the table and she and Babie finished it off.

Kitty: Seek Freedom above all else. Never let anything stop you from being free: not even a screened in porch.

To be continued...

OK, this is my quote of the week

"Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this." ~ Anonymous

so yesterday I toured some galleries

Yesterday my family & I went on the once a month open gallery tour of the Paseo district, Oklahoma city.

Wow. I want a studio and a gallery!!! We were standing in one of them that was piled high with materials along with stuff for sale and my husband says, "this is what you need! get it out of our room!" Wa-la!!! I said, "Honey, please rent me a studio."

If only.

Saw tons of interesting art. Had inspiration...for paintings, not for quilts, sorry. Maybe the painting will become a quilt too. One side of my studio will be drawing/painting, and the other side quilts!

Sigh. For now, I will settle for half of the bedroom and my blog.

Fabric for Christmas

My mother-in-law gave me a gift cert. to my favorite quilt shop for Christmas. After a hurried trip one hour before it closed for the weekend, these are my choices. I think all of the red, white, and blue will be in one quilt...the red and black scotties...I'm thinking of combining with red, black, and white solid...something triangular.