It Warm's a Mother's Heart...

 

Not too long ago while working at the shop, I looked up and realized that all of my girls have become quilters ~ not just piecers, but I've got them all playing on the Handi Quilter machines too :) 

My oldest  daughter, Heather started making quilts back when she was in college.  But recently she has been working with me at the shop the last few months, and has really been quilting up a storm.

 This day she was quilting some placemats that she's made for shop samples.

My "newest" daughter Ashley (soon to marry my son later this month), has started putting in some hours in her free time working at the shop with us too!  Ashley's Grandmother Sharon taught her to sew, and she's made a couple of quilts in her younger days...

This cute little crib quilt is her first shop sample for us, and she even quilted it up with a nice and  even all over meander :)

My younger daughter, Lisa worked at the shop last Summer, and is putting in some weekends working with us when she can.  She's sewn for a few years now too.  This was her playing on the HQ machines a few months ago. 

...And one of the "wholecloth" quilts that she's made for her daughters when she was practicing. 

 

This one was for Abby :) 

...And slow but sure, I'm even getting Bob on the machines too (He's a good sport and let me take his picture when we were at Handi Quilter training in Salt Lake City).  Bob had been in Tech training for several days, but attended the Pro Stitcher training afterwards with me...and he's quite good at it :)

I'll have to see if I can get my son on the machines next...and then it's on to the Grand Children! 

 ...we're starting to work on Emily already :)

Enjoy the day!

~ Dawn

Back to Work After a Little R&R...

We just got back from spending an amazing week in the Smoky Mountains.  This was our cozy cabin in the woods that I'm now totally in love with.  (Note the Bernina sitting on the table inside ~ it was the perfect balance of getting out and about, and also staying in and getting some fun personal sewing done!)

This was my sewing buddy for the week.  He smiled down on me as I sewed away and watched T.V.  Together we put together some more Farmer's Wife blocks for the group swap I'm in, and of course we got more sewing in on the Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt :)

 ...And then there was the getting out in the fresh air ~ especially welcomed after I've spent pretty much all year indoors working at the Quilt Shop.  It was nice to drive through the mountains...

 ...and just breathe.

 And we got some hiking and exploring in around Cades Cove.  Simply beautiful :)

 It was the perfect time to visit Pigeon Forge & Gatlinburg TN ~ The weather cooperated, and we were able to drive through the mountains without icy roads, got all our Christmas Shopping finished in the towns decorated for their Winterfest Celebration (even went to a few quilt shops along the way), and enjoyed the National Park and Crafter's Community with very few tourists.  We're back home now, thankful, refreshed, and ready to take on 2015 :)

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

We Interupt this Busy Life for...A Turtle Rescue!

...Sometimes you just have to take time out in a busy weekend to rescue a little turtle spotted in the middle of the road...

 ...and bring him to a safe place by the pond :) 

 I'm giving thanks for some simple moments of pleasure captured on a pretty weekend afternoon :)

 ...I'm not so sure Butters was taking such pleasure though...

 

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

Sew Anyway...

...I've been away from blogging for a bit ~ and we've been so busy I'm not even going to try and catch up, I'm just going to plow forward and jump back into the swing of things.  One of the projects I had going in August, and I finished several weeks ago was the gift I was making for Heather's wedding.  If you're a Facebook friend, you saw my race to the finish in getting this one made up in time :)

This was a quilt that Heather had started cutting out for herself, but never finished. We're getting several of those types of collaborations on projects :) It's a version of my Chutes & Ladders quilt only made larger to fit her queen size bed.  Happy to have another UFO finished :)

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

Wedding Sewing & A Drawing Winner!

Along with some customer quilting, HQ set ups/service, and kiddie corralling this week, I've been playing with purple.
 

I've been cutting up and hemming yards and yards of Eggplant Kona that will become table runners for my daughter's wedding reception.  Purple is literally laying just about anywhere you look.

After the wedding in August, I can envision some quilts being backed with purple in my future :)

***And the good news for the day is that we have a winner from my Celebrate Summer Table Runner Tutorial post!  The Random number generator picked number 5 ~ Faith from Doodle Time Designs ~ I'm emailing you Faith for your address and your Red/Blue fabric bundle from Fabri-Quilt Fabrics will go out to you soon!

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

Squeezing a little Garden in

I love this time of year!  Even when it's crazy busy with work and family events, I can take breaks and squeeze out some time to play in the garden.
 

This week in between things I've been getting some lavender harvested.  This is what's currently drying in my laundry room right now.  Some day it will be in some pretty sachets :)

Elsie and I also potted up all of these little plants this week to use as the favors/centerpiece for Heather's wedding shower that was at my house last weekend.
 

 Surprise, surprise...yes we went with a gardening theme for the shower :)

It was a special day, and I think everyone had a wonderful time sharing best wishes with the bride-to-be :)  Now, Operation Bridal Shower is over...back to some quilting...  

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

Dreaming of Warmer Weather...

It's that time of year when we start dreaming of Spring and warm weather activities.  My son got together with his buddies, and used his week break from school between his Winter and Spring Semesters to finish making these in preparation for warmer days...

...Cornhole boards (Yes, they're Maryland fans!)  I'm pretty impressed with the job they did ~ and I like how they hung up the Maryland flag as their sample to model after.  Now bring on the warm sunny days :)

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

New Little Helpers

The New Year has brought new schedules.  I've been busy keeping up with work and quilty jobs, but mostly I've been trying to keep up with these two ~ my new little helpers.  Over the Winter Break they moved back up here close.  Their Mom started a new job, so I've been on Grandma duty, spending time with my little Cutie Patooties during the day until other daycare arrangements are made.  So lately my days are full with going to the bus stop, sing-a-longs of songs that I thought I had forgotten, and pondering deep mysteries like: How many socks can two little girls own...and why can't they keep them on their feet?...and fitting in some sewing here and there during nap time and other stolen moments. 
 

My new helpers and I don't have any sewing that we can show right now, but we do have some more Mountain Baby Blanket donations that we're adding to our box that's almost ready to ship out!  Pat Wyatt, a Baltimore Applique Society friend, donated two of these cute little quilts along with children's books to the cause.  We should have enough to ship out another box to the Appalachian Mountains soon :)

Enjoy the day!
Dawn

I've Been on R&R...

...I took a little vacation, did you miss me?  Bob was competing in his first National Rifle Match in Butner, NC so I decided to take a little break and tag along.  I actually left my computer at home, and enjoyed myself immensely! 

There was a whole lot of this going on.

...And of course on a rainy day I got some hotel room sewing in :)

Among other things I worked on piecing swap blocks for multiple swaps that I'm participating in.  (And some handwork for a project I can't show you just yet.)

We did have some lovely weather too, and enjoyed a beautiful day at a local lake (This is a little corner of Lake Holt). 

It was so peaceful and I played with my new camera a lot :)

We ate at a little Restaurant/Bait Shop there, and had the best steak and cheese ever...and there were baby geese!

I was surprised at how peaceful it can actually be on a gun range.  It was a wonderful little vacation with no crazy site seeing scheduled in, just lots of taking it easy and enjoying the moment...and of course a little applique and knitting :)

Now I'm refreshed and ready to get back to work...

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

Here's to a Delightful 2012!

I've taken my annual holiday sabbatical from the computer (and it was glorious!), but I'm back now with a little snapshot of some of my favorite projects from 2011 and I'm fresh and ready to take on 2012!

I did hop on the computer to do quick little things, and read some of my favorite blogs, (and I have been working, sewing, and doing a little planning), but I've spent most of my time this last month with family preparing, worshiping, celebrating, re-fueling, and generally enjoying moments like this...

Abby and I want to say thank you to all of my blog friends for your support, friendship, and sweet  comments in 2011, and wish you all a 2012 full of moments to delight in! 

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn