And I Think to Myself What a Wonderful World

It has been an exciting week.

My newest grandson arrived.

February 9

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Until Next Time-

I'm Ready Now

 With a new grand baby on his

way in just a couple of weeks,

reality had set in.

I needed to get a new quilt made

for this newest member of the family.

Just like it takes a baby 9 months 

to get ready,

I found a group of fabrics

that had been curing for 7 years.

When I worked at the quilt shop,

I remember someone sharing this pattern

that was from a McCalls magazine.

At the time it was current,

Now it's 7 years old from February, 2007.

I had the big alphabet fabric,

 the little alphabet background fabric

which were from Lake House fabrics and

a great stripe.

All I needed to do was
 dig out of the stash 

a few bright fabrics in primary colors.

Construction was easy.

I used The Angler on my machine

to save time from drawing diagonal sewing

lines on the squares.

The pieces were pressed and folded back.

I cut only one layer of fabric, leaving the 

base fabric for stability and for more accurate piecing

if the folded over piece didn't match up exactly.

Which can happen, trust me.

The fabrics were perfect,

 Bright and cheerful.

After adding the stripe,

and wide border, and then machine quilting it

 it was time to add the prairie points which will be

fun flaps for the baby to play with

or chew on.

I machine quilted it pretty much in the ditch

and a 1/4" around the letters

and some straight line stitching in the border.

All done

in plenty of time.

4 weeks until the due date.

Until Next Time-

A Bag of Tricks

 A good cook always has a well

stocked pantry.

A magician always has an extra

card up their sleeve.

A quilter always has a great "go to"

quick and easy baby quilt

stashed in the closet.

When a new member of the family 

arrives on the scene, a Great Auntie,

needs to be prepared.

I know most long time quilters,

generally,  have a couple of quick

"go to" designs that make wonderful gifts

for new babies.

Over the years fabric designers have

created some wonderful fun fabric panels

that can easily be bordered and bound.

I keep my eyes open for cute ones and

their coordinating fabrics and keep a small stockpile

for those special occasions. 

I loved this ABC flannel panel.

The coordinating fabrics were bright and fun.

Even if a quilt is simple doesn't mean

that construction techniques can be neglected.

 Adding the narrow inner border, 1 ", and 

the wider outer border, 5", 

still requires measuring carefully and  sewing

a close to 1/4" seam.

Even a simple quilt needs to end up a 

rectangle without wobbly edges.

A design like this also gives me a

 perfect venue to practice some simple

machine quilting designs.
These spirals aren't hard, but technique is still important.

We all know quality fabric isn't inexpensive.

Even this simple quilt will end up with a price tag of

about $60.

Keeping the width under 40 inches

is one economical thought.

So the idea of taking a preprinted panel

and surrounding it with a couple of borders is:

simple - yes

fun - yes

a place to practice skills - yes

inexpensive - not really

full of love to wrap the newest baby in - yes

 Until Next Time-

Howling Coyotes

 One thing I was looking forward

to on our mini retreat was

a full night's sleep.

But it was not to be.

What do crying babies

have in common 

with

 howling coyotes?

They both think

3:00 am

 is a good time to start.

They are both very good at a long

continuous howl.

And they both seem to do it

for no apparent reason.

 As I laid in bed listening

to the coyotes,

I smiled and knew the same thing

was probably happening in

Denver.

 Until Next Time-

Finally, The Stork Has Arrived

It's seemed like a long wait, 

but finally the stork 

arrived at the Wolfe den 

and left a precious little bundle.

 Meet Everdeen Kate Wolfe

7 lbs. 1oz. 19.5"

Everyone is doing fine.

  Until Next Time-

 

Baby Stuff

How many times have I said,

 "I could have (should have) thought of that and

 made a million dollars."

If you haven't taken care of any babies

for awhile,

there's some nifty

products on the market that are really great. 

One is

the Bumbo Baby Chair.

It was great for learning to sit up,

Sanford uses it like a highchair when he's not home

It's comfy and fun.

Remember the yucky diaper pails,

now,at least with disposable diapers, you can

use a Diaper Genie.

You drop the diaper in the top,

when the lid closes it twists the 

plastic liner to seal the diaper in.

When you empty it, you have a diaper sausage.

No mess, no smell.

 San, the man, is learning to use a sippy cup.

They use to be more drippy than sippy.

Now they don't.

It's a miracle.

San, is also enjoying feeding himself.

How does he do this?

With one of these,

a Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder.

Pop some bananas, avocado, inside the 

mesh bag and let him gum away.

 What a treat.

Old Nana, new babies,

and lots of fun stuff.

(helpful info if you have to go 

to a baby shower any time soon.)

   Until Next Time-

 

A Make Over

It was time for a makeover this past weekend. 

No,

 I didn't go to the Clinique counter at Macy's

 or the Mary Kay lady didn't come over.

 It wasn't a makeover for me. 

I haven't bothered with any make-up for a

few days because it's been so hot

I'm sure it would run right off my face!

No, it was for my grooven

mauve

cushion on my antique rocker.

Every new mommy needs a rocker, so

I wanted to make over the cushion for

my daughter who's due

in less than 3 weeks.

It took a couple of months to find the right 

fabric to meet her modern IKEA decorating scheme.

But we persevered doing online shopping

and finally found 

Basic Grey's newest

Christmas line from Moda

called Blitzen at

Fat Quarter Shop.

This particular piece of fabric in the line

sure doesn't say Christmas, does it.

She loves it and it fits in

perfectly with her IKEA decor.

It looks sleek and modern.

I even added cording to the edges.

I never liked doing that very much until 

a friend, who taught Bernina classes, said

"Why don't you use the cording foot?"

Dah!

What a difference a foot makes!

When you have the right equipment, 

the job can even be fun.

Well, I wouldn't go that far with

adding cording, but it sure did make

it easier to do.

Now the rocker is ready 

for the new baby and the new mommy

to rock and rock the night away.

Have fun!

Until Next Time- 

 

Onesies

When I was a Girl Scout leader 

I had a Brownie scout who would cheerfully come to each meetings 

and immediately want to know 

"What's the craft today?" 

She is still a friend of my daughter

and came to her shower last Sunday.

 She was thrilled to see we had a craft project planned! 

One of the hostesses bought onesies in a variety of sizes

 And the guests were asked to decorate them for the new baby.

 Being the control freak that I am,

 I volunteered to find the fabric 

And make some templates for ideas. 

 I got a layer cake of "Twirl" designed by Me and My Sister. 

It's really fun fabric.

 I chose the pieces that I thought would work best,

  used only half of the 10 inch square, 

and fused Wonder Under to the wrong side.

I chose a lot of pink, yellow and green.

 It was interesting how many of the 27 women's present,

both young and old,

 didn't know about fusible applique. 

So we had a couple of mini lessons 

And off they went.

 It turned out to be a fun and cute project.

 It gave everyone a chance to do something 

and visit, and laugh and create. 

My original intent was to stitch around the appliqués

to secure them better, 

But I think they'll be fine just the way they are.

 She might be graduating from college by the

time I finished.

 Now back to the fabric. 

 Remember I used only half of the layer cake. 

 I picked up this Schnibbles pattern and

 thought "Perfect".

  It should be cute using Twirl.

I know I will get this done sooner,

than if I had to stitch around the appliques.

 Until Next Time-

Hoping for a Break Through

Both my daughter and son-in-law are scientists.  

They are continually

working on projects and experiments

hoping that it will result 

in a break through for some disease or scientific knowledge.

Right now they are hoping

that baby Sanford will

have a break through soon and begin sleeping through the night.

His parents are looking a little sleep deprived.

This cute little boy can melt your heart,

but can make you crazy in the middle of the night.

I think he's afraid he'll miss something exciting.

Believe me there's nothing exciting at 1 am or 2 am.or 3 am

Those of us who have had children know that eventually

you'll wake up one morning, 

realizing you have slept all night

and the baby did too.

Until Next Time-

Baby and Quilting - deja vu

It's been a very interesting 2 weeks.

A new job can be exciting, challenging, tiring,

and can keep you on your toes.

Hey, 

I feel like I've had this job before.

Granted it was 27 years ago, but it feels like it 

was only yesterday.

 

But now instead, I get to be the 

Nana.

But I'm still trying to balance my obligations and

my desire to quilt.

I had forgotten how broken up my day was

going to be.

My little guy is not a good napper, but I have

stayed connected with this.

My I pad, obviously something

that didn't exist way back when I did this job before.

It's helped me talk to friends, listen to music,

and watch all kinds of programs.

Have you watched the first episode of

Why Quilts Matter?

Check it out if you're a member of The Quilt Show.

My music genre has been changed to 

toddler radio, the Itsey Bitsey Spider,

the ants go marching, and the wheels on the bus!

It's funny how the words are still embedded in the 

wrinkles of my brain.

When I did this job a long time ago,
I was very strict about using nap time as quilting time.

So far I've found hand work has been my quilting outlet.

Bindings has been my start and stop

kind of project.

It feel good to grab that needle during the day.

It's my Ahhhh moment.

So I have been sewing, 

learning how to use my I pad,

but mostly giving baby kisses to those sweet baby cheeks.

Until Next Time-