Some quilts at the Dallas Quilt Show

Me and KK, Carol and Betty are at the Dallas Quilt Show this weekend. There are some great quilts. I love this one called Spaced Lace by Sue Needle.

Bluebonnet sighting!

Spring is here! Bluebonnets have been sighted!

Cistern for rain water storage

We spent the day hauling a 12,000 gallon water storage tank to our place. It has a couple of holes but Richard is sure he can rehabilitate and recycle it into a giant cistern for our garden. After two years of drought here in Texas, we may never have to worry about watering our organic veggies again. This morning Richard and his brother Roy ( Roy pictured left) got it secured, then I played rear escort has Rich and I ventured across the country side to the Double Digit. After sniff approval from - Summer - our dog and Head of Security here at the ranch; removing it from the trailer proved to be a chore. It's out in the pasture now waiting for repairs, if you are going to ask me how we are going to set it upright, I'll have to let you know. That may be something I have to ask my farmville friends for help!

Another first quilt

This quilt is one of KK's first quilts. It was made by KK and her sister Connie in celebration of my daughters birth in 1981.

Big spool quilt thread adapter

I won two big spools of thread in Linda Taylors long arm class at the Houston Quilt show. Since I'm pretty sure that a long arm is not in my future, I inserted a small wooden spool into the throat of the big spool and it works perfectly on my Janome. No more thread breaks, good thread really makes a difference with the free motion quilting. Sweet!

Hot fix Swarovski Crystals

Part two of the Cheri Meineke-Johnson class at the Houston Quilt show last October covered embellished quilts. Cheri is known for her crystal embellished quilts and she has her own line of helpful products. Cheri's cool tool is not just a mini iron, it has five special feet and can not only be used to set crystals... it can press seams, heat fusible bias tape, aid with freezer paper applique and fusible ribbons. Before embellishing a quilt for the first time, I tried Cheri's gadget on a thrift store denim jacket. Cheri's advice to use the iron in my left hand and her special tweezer's in my right hand makes the technique really simple. Eight seconds of heat and we have bling. Cheri's little triangular tray is perfect for easy access to the crystals. I rate this four thimbles. Thanks Cheri. You can get your Cheri's cool tool at http://www.cheriscrystals.com/

My first quilts. Circa 1985

I made one quilt for each of my kids in 1985, after that my sewing machine stayed busy making household items and crafts for the next 15 years until I made my third quilt entirely by hand for my daughters college graduation.