Captain Adorable - Chase Austin Ruffner

This was a challenge but such a blessing to make. It's now ready to quilt.  I am hoping to have it finished before my surgery on March 5th.  "Captain Adorable" as one of the little one's shirts said.....I smile when I think of the little guy whose time on earth was very short, but will meet up with his mom and dad at the feet of Jesus one day.

Chase's Quilt

I've really been going to town on this baby!  That center piece was a bit of a booger.  This one is going to be so thick, I'll have to be careful when quilting it.  I think it is coming along nicely.

Yum-O

Today is Souper Saturday.  I always love to make homemade soup on Saturdays.  And this one is my fav!  Chicken, mushrooms, wild rice, garlic, onions, celery, a little flour, butter, and olive oil, chicken broth, heavy cream, and of course salt and pepper. Yep, that's the recipe.  With a big piece of home made honey wheat bread -- wonderful on a cool, but sunny day.

New Remembrance Quilt

I started this today.  It is for a sweet young mother who lost her baby boy a couple of years ago to SIDS.  The blocks are all made from his little clothes. I've got all the blocks pretty much made and am working on the trim for the smaller ones.  I am going to put the center in blue with his bibs and maybe do an outside border in blue also.  I've never done this before, so it has pushed me a little out of my box.

Laundry room makeover - before and after pictures

A couple of before pictures.

 And now ta-da!  The after pictures.

I love it!  Now I have a nice place to fold laundry, wrap presents, and do crafts.  I also have more great storage space for canned goods and extra pantry items.

Remembrance Quilt Ministry

By the way, my visit to the oncologist yesterday couldn't have gone better.  The last biopsies were normal, and nothing wrong with the bladder.  He still wants to be sure there aren't more bad cells hiding somewhere deep so I have a hysterectomy scheduled for March 5th.  It's all good.  Each day is a gift.  I am trying to see the lesson in this for me.  I fully trust in the Lord and his sovereign will.

Almost finished

Wasn't today a great day? I walked an hour and worked most of the afternoon on my friend's memory quilt from her late husband's shirts.  Each day is a gift.  It was nice to sew upstairs with the window open.  The birds were doing some of their spring chirping.  It was great.

I quilted this one using Plummage from Willow Leaf Studios.  A great wonky feather pattern. Working on the binding tonight.

The last few days

The last few days have certainly been like a roller coaster ride.  I'm not off yet, but hopefully the end is in sight.  All I can say is Praise be to God!  A fairly routine test last Wednesday led to a biopsy.  I got the call on Thursday morning.  The call no one wants to get.  Can you and your husband be in the office in two hours?  Although most of the tissue was normal, there was a small indication of cancer.  A D&C was scheduled for Monday to get more tissue to see where this cancer is originating from.

I prayed, and called out to the Lord.  On Tuesday I got the call that said all the tissue was normal, and there were no abnormal cells in any of it.  The doctors went over it a half a dozen times.  They are baffled.  I told them the Lord had healed me.  I still go to the oncologist tomorrow and will probably have more tests.  I suppose there is a chance that the Lord had them find this so they can find something else in time.....I don't know.  I just know that He is in control, and no matter what the final outcome I will praise his name!

On a lighter note.....

 The turkeys were back today, and Jesse enjoyed watching them.

They really are beautiful creatures.

Valentine's Day

Thangles Buck-a-Block

I am late getting these done, and I'm not that thrilled with the setting package, so I might just hang onto them and do something different later on.

I've made so many shirt quilts that I have lots and lots of 4 patch strips. I put a few together and am thinking of what I'll eventually do with them. Love, love, love scrappy quilts.

By the way, I had a great visit today with some fellow quilters - Trish, Nancy, and Vonda!  Thanks for coming over today and letting me give you a quilt show!

Ready for second border

Got this memory quilt ready for the second border.  My friend came over today and picked the inner border and we decided on navy for the outer border.

 Ronnie was a big fan of the local sports teams, the Yellow Jackets, and their colors are orange and blue.  The emblem is from one of his shirts. I need to figure out how to incorporate it into the quilt. If I can get border fabric that is very close to the emblem background, I may put it on the front in a corner.  Ronnie would have liked that, I think.

Winter or Spring?

Aren't we supposed to be in the middle of winter?  My daffodils don't think so.

Progress and Supper

First the progress....it is coming along nicely.

 And supper

I also put some pan fried chicken tenders on top.  Yummy!

Then for dessert I made some chocolate chip cookie dough dip.  Some time ago I purchased some "off" brand graham crackers.  The hubby didn't like them.  Finally, I found a great use for them.....