Made with love...

Back in January we were awaiting news about some health issues with my brothers wife.  We were all hoping that it would be no big deal.  But sadly it was not the news everyone in the family was hoping and praying for.  My SIL was diagnosed with lung cancer.  If there was any good news at all about this diagnosis is that it was caught very early and her doctors were able to remove it all with surgery.  All scans show everything is gone and the doctors couldn't be more pleased with how everything went.

 The waiting period between the diagnosis, the scans and the surgery was a very trying time for everyone to say the least.  It brought back a lot of memories of anxious moments that were had with Dad when he was still with us.  When Em found out how long her Aunt was going to be home after the surgery for recovery she was determined to make sure she recovered with her own special blankie, made with love.  A very determined girl she was about getting this blanket done as fast as possible.  2 1/2 weeks after starting, the blanket was on its way to its new home.  The blanket has been very much loved by a very wonderful Auntie, keeping her warm and snug during nap times and whenever she is relaxing.  Which should be all the time right now.  ;)  I know she can feel the love that went into this special gift just for her.  You should have heard the phone call when she was thanking Em.  So very appreciative for the gift that was made just for her.

We are just so very grateful that everything turned out as well as it did.  Now my SIL will have something that will bring a smile to her face every time she looks at it.

*

A bit off the subject, I was quickly reminded by my two little sweeties that dinner tonight was made with love.

Homemade pot pie.

I have just discovered my new favorite way of making this family favorite.  Baking it in a glass casserole pan instead of regular pie pans.  The bottom crust comes out so much better and the filling doesn't bubble out the sides and all over the place.  SCORE on both those points as far as I'm concerned.

I also have to think about what to make for dinner tomorrow because only 1/3 of the pot pie was left after the hungry hyenas devoured it.  At least that's a sign that it was tasty.

~*~

Sweet moments...

Can moments get any sweeter with our precious little Connor?

I'm not sure.

He had to be near Auntie Em or there was great discontent expressed.

Once the sewing machine was pushed out of his reach, work resumed and lots of laughing and babbling was heard from the little guy.  Our hearts melted.

Life is good.

~*~

Finally...

Pictures were finally taken of the quilts that I made the girls for Christmas.  I know.  Nearly two months after!  I do have my moments were I'm just not on the ball with things.  Yesterday things just kind of all fell into place for the photo shoot.  

Kind of like this;  I was walking through the house in the afternoon and noticed all the sunshine pouring in through the windows.  A thought ran through my mind about how awesome that was and Glenn being home and being the quilt holder.  But it was very breezy, chilly out.  And I was not about to go and stand outside myself.  So within a 2 minute span I had people running up and down stairs, ripping quilts of beds, placing a chair in just the right spot for Glenn and started snapping pics.  Poor Connor was over and didn't even have a clue about what the heck was going on.  I'm surprised he didn't get run over.

This is how it all turned out.  Forgive the bright bit of sunshine glaring on the quilts.  You get what you get when I start ordering people around here.

Each quilt was made using the Disappearing 9 Patch tutorial over at Quilt Story.  Love this pattern!  Very scrappy with minimal piecing.  Love that.

This one is Little B's made with the "It's a Hoot" from Moda.

Gotta love Glenn's little helper there in the corner.  :)

The second is Em's made with the "Just Wing It" from Moda.

Both quilts were made bigger than needed for now with the intention that they can be used for a full or queen size bed later.

 Hand stitching was done in all of the big blocks in a petal sort of pattern that I quickly drew up and cut a 'stencil' out of poster board.

I still keep going back and forth about doing more hand stitching on both quilts.  In between the blocks and around the edges.  After taking another look this weekend, I'm leaning towards the more idea.

And solid colored sheets were used for the backing.  And scrappy strip pieced binding was put all around the edges.

(I linked the quilts to Quilt Story)

*

I finally got to the 1/3 mark with Glenn's blanket.  It seems that it's taking forever to get it done.  It's to the point now that it has to lay on the floor as I work on it to make sure that I don't make identical squares for it.  So with it not being such a great thing to work on at the desk while the girls are doing school work I have to find something else that can be worked on while school is being accomplished.

That is were this pile of fleece and flannel come in.  It has sat around for a month at least just waiting for me to make them into pj/lounging pants.  Hopefully I can get them done quickly.

~*~

Getting something done...

Most of the morning has been spent going from one room to another looking to see what needs to be done around here.  I have to be quite honest when saying that I haven't done a whole lot the past couple of days.  For a few days the sun has shone brightly in the sky and the girls and I have tried to make the most of it by getting outside as much as possible to enjoy it and the 'heat wave' we have been having.  If one can call 50 degrees a heat wave.  For this time of year it's warm for us.  Little B has been complaining that she thinks that I'm trying to do her harm by making her go on long walks each day after school work.  Some how she thinks a couple of miles of walking will bring her harm.  I keep reminding her that she is still with us and all is fine.

But today is another story all together.  The weather can't decide what it would like to do for the entire day.  The clouds move in, they move out.  A bit of rain spits here and there.  Then it stops.  Not the kind of day we were all hoping for.  So much for the sunshine all weekend long.  So I have decided that I am going to get myself moving, straighten a few things up, clean a couple of things and then it will be right back in front of the granny squares.  It's the least I can do.  I think.  I don't want this whole stay at home mom thing to look to easy.  Everyone would want to do it.

Then somewhere around the time for dinner I will make some fish tacos that are a hit around here.  In honor of the glorious sunshine that we had the past few days of course.  Maybe this dinner will convince the sun to come back and visit some more.  One can hope.  Rain is good.  But sometimes days like today can be hard on someone that thrives on sunshine that streams through the windows.

I better go before I talk myself out of getting something done around here.  It's very easy to do.

~*~

Still stitching...

Lots of stitching going on around here.

There's a whole 24 big blocks made for Glenn's blanket so far.

120 more to go.  I had better get my tail moving.

Em finished a blanket she was working on for my Mom.

She drew out the design on graph paper and then made each individual square/rectangle.  Then each was stitched together in just the right spot.

She's one busy girl!

Busier than me right now.

She's already started another project!

Slow down woman!

~

I need to follow her example today.

Just one of those days when there is no motivation and not much is getting accomplished.

I'll get myself in the kitchen where some baking and cooking needs to get done.

That way I can look at my cute little arrangements the girls made me from flowers from a friends shop. 

Hope you are having a productive but easy going day!

~*~