News from the Nest

Home sweet home....

2011-12-20T14:53:00.000-08:00

Well....the quilt I've been working on for this past 6 months is finally finished and found it's new home at my Aunt Luanne's house. It looks GREAT!!!
We quilters know that sometimes it feels like "giving birth" when we finally finish a quilt. Only this time, it found a home with my Aunt.
It always feels so good to finally be able to send it in the mail and imagine the excitement when the box arrives and they get to open it! I couldn't be there this time, but I could picture it.
I'm so glad that I was able to make her wish come true for a new quilt on her bed. (That puppy looks like he's going to enjoy it too!)
Merry Christmas Everyone!
Chirp, Chirp,
Robin

It's been slow...but steady.

2011-12-09T05:28:00.000-08:00

Hi there,

I don't have any pictures to share, but still wanted to make a progress report on my Aunt Luanne's quilt I've been working on.

I'm happy to report that the quilting is finished and I'm sewing the binding. This is the by far, the biggest quilt I've ever made and it took me 3 hours to quilt it on the long-arm.

It's not going as fast as I had wanted, but I've been out of town the last two weekends and busy with work and getting ready for Christmas!

But I'm hoping to have it finished and off in the mail next week!!!!

Meantime, here are a few pictures of what I've been doing:

Last weekend, my youngest daughter, Corin, finished her first marathon at the Sacramento International Marathon. It was an awesome experience and I'm so glad I was able to be there.

Here she is looking strong at mile 20!

Finish line!!! Her time was 4:54:38

Her sister Erin finished her first marathon in Portland, Oregon on Oct 9, 2011.
Her time was 5:04:??

Here I am with my beautiful girls the day before the race.

And here I am 70 lbs lighter and feel'n great!!!

(I think it's about time to get some smaller jeans, those are looking pretty baggy!)

I LOVE Weight Watchers!

Well, I'll keep plugging along and get that quilt to my Aunt just as fast as my little fingers can sew the 400+ inches of binding!

Chirp, chirp,

Robin

Border Story....

2011-11-01T06:42:00.000-07:00

It's always so exciting when you get to the point in a quilt where the borders go on. This weekend at "Pieceful Days" in Ferndale, I was able to finish putting the borders on the quilt I'm making for my Aunt Luanne. Next step, get it quilted.....

Last border (there are three) going on.
Voila!!!!! The top is finished!!!
You can see how big it is because it took two people holding it sideways to see it.

Chirp, chirp,

Robin

My own "Runaround Bag"...

2011-10-15T10:34:00.000-07:00

I'm in love with the web-site, "Pintrest"! (Warning: It can be adictive!)
Yesterday I found a really cute purse idea and decided to buy the pattern from Anna Graham at Noodlehead. Then this morning I went to work using some super cute fabric I bought from Fabric.com. I was going to make some PJ pants out of it until I found out it was heavy curtain fabric instead of quilting fabric. Oh well...It made a super cute one of a kind purse.

Just thought I would share.

Chirp, Chirp,

Robin

It's on the Design Board!!!

2011-10-13T16:35:00.000-07:00

As any quilter can tell you, the day you get your quilt to the point it can go up on the design board, it's a red letter day!!! I think it's going to look GREAT!!!! Just wait until it has the boarders and gets quilted, it's going to be a STUNNER!!!
Still plugg'n along......stay tuned!

Chirp, chirp,
Robin

Making progress....

2011-10-12T19:14:00.000-07:00

I haven't had much time to quilt in the past few months, but I finally was able to make a huge dent in the quilt I'm making for my Aunt Luanne. I know she must think I'm REALLY slow when it comes to getting it done, but I've found that it's best to have the time to concentrate on a project so you don't mess it up.
Well that time finally came when I was able to go to Willow Creek for the weekend and sew with friends. We really had a great time! And I made lots of progress. I was able to square up all the half-square triangles and cut them into 3" segments and then rearrange them into the order I needed them for the block.
Then sew....sew....sew... and sew some more.

Now I'm putting all the blocks together and then I can put them up on the design wall and sew the top together. It's looking really good and I know it's going to turn out great!

Anyway....that's the progress report.

Chirp, Chirp,

Robin

Progress.....

2011-07-25T15:54:00.001-07:00

Well, I was able to start on my Aunt Luanne's quilt this last weekend. We had a quilting get-together in Ferndale on Friday and Saturday. Had a great time and was able to get going on the quilt. Here's what I did:

First, cut 8 - 10 inch squares from each of the 5 colors of maroon she picked.
Here they are.

Next cut 40- 10 inch squares of the gray background fabric.

Then, you have to draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of all 40 squares.

Pair them up with one of the maroon squares and pin them together.

Next, sew a 1/4" on each side of the drawn line.

Here they all are sewn and ready to cut apart.

Yep, you guessed it, here they all are cut apart.

Next, over to the ironing board to press them open.

Here they are all organized and pressed.

I forgot to take pictures of when I was cutting those triangle blocks into thirds, rearranging them and then sewing them all back together again. I'll try to remember next time I sew on them.

It takes 4 of those "half-square triangle" blocks to make one of these big 17" blocks that will make up the quilt.

We quilters really are crazy to cut up perfectly good fabric and then sew it back together again!

I did find one thing out:

You can't take a block that was originally a 4 1/2" block and double it and have it come out the same. It just doesn't work.

I think it's going to look great, but it doesn't look the way I thought it would.

Anyway, I got 4 out of the 20 large blocks done this weekend and now I just have to find the time to do the rest. It might be a while, but I know it's making progress!

Chirp, Chirp,

Robin

Birth of a quilt....

2011-07-01T09:28:00.000-07:00

My Aunt Luanne contacted me after seeing a quilt that I made for my Mom and asked if I would be willing to make her a quilt. "Of course I would!" I told her the best thing to do would be to let me figure out how much fabric she would need and then she could shop for it herself. Well, the other day I got this fabric in the mail. She wanted maroon and grey. I told her that "one man's maroon is another man's purple" so it was good that she picked out the fabric. I think she did a great job!

Here is the quilt I'm making:

She saw my pattern called: Windcatcher Charms and liked it, so I just tweeked it a bit and came up with this 87"X 103" version.

Right now my son and his wife and our grandson, Kellen are visiting, so I'm not going to be able to start it right away, but I'm going to post my progress here on my blog so she can see.

As you can see, we are having a great time! Time with Kellen is so precious that quilting will just have to wait!

Chirp, Chirp,

Robin

Catching up!

2011-06-18T06:30:00.000-07:00

I'm sure anyone that has ever read my blog and checked back to see what was going on said, "WHAT THE HECK!!!" Why hasn't Robin posted to her blog since Nov of last year!
What can I say?! The word "Slacker" comes to mind.
Oh well.....life has a funny way of just marching on, blog or no blog!
I'm just going to post a few things that have been happening. Nothing exciting, but at least it's not the same old post from last year!

I bought a new car this month. Isn't it cute!

We lost at good friend in the quilting world this month. Lori Dinsmore fought a good fight against the cancer they discovered in January. She will be missed by all of us that knew her!

Since January, I've joined Weight Watcher's again. I've lost 40 pounds and have started riding my bike to work.

Kellen is almost three now and LOVES the movie, "Cars".

I sent him a t-shirt for Easter.

He also broke his arm....AGAIN!!!

He's such a little trouper through it all.

"Doesn't EVERYONE get to have a cool red cast?!"

He's our little "Super Hero"!

Here he is wearing the hat that Oppa (Grandpa) gave him.
He's getting ready to visit Humboldt County in style!

In December, I got to fly to Las Vegas to my sister's and spend Christmas with my parents.

It had been since before I was married that I got to spend a Christmas with them.

Here's a picture of me before losing 40 lbs.

Hopefully it won't be 6 months before I blog again!!!

Chirp, Chirp,

Robin

I Am Thankful!!!

2010-11-20T06:49:00.000-08:00

It's always good when this time of year rolls around and we take extra special notice of all the wonderful things we have to be grateful for. Family, friends, jobs, faith....just to name a few.

Here are some of the people I'm thankful for:

My family Oct 2010

My Dad

The Dastrup Tribe

And KELLEN!!!!

Thank you all for being part of my life!

Chirp, Chirp,

Robin

Kellen Turns Two!!!

2010-08-09T06:12:00.001-07:00

Our little grandson Kellen has had quite a life in his two years here on earth. It's been full of concerns and worries, but full of love and pride from all of his family. Kellen has made the world a better place for us. His sweet smile can melt his Grandparent's hearts. He's a special little boy that Heavenly Father saw fit to send him to two very special parents.

We are so blessed to have him in our lives and want to wish him a very

Happy 2nd Birthday!!!!

We love you!!!!!!

Chirp, Chirp,
Robin

Quilting Friends From Across the Country

2010-07-25T07:51:00.000-07:00

Designing patterns is so much fun! Especially when someone from across the country buys that pattern, makes the quilt and then is nice enough to share the final result with you.

That was the case when I got the nicest e-mail from Mary in South Carolina.

Here's what she wrote:

Dear Robin,

Last spring I visited a quilt shop in Madison, Indiana, and saw a shop sample for Charms Gone Wild, and I purchased your pattern. When I get into a "quilt slump", I enjoy fun projects with charms and jelly rolls. They make up quickly and some of the work has already been done (fabric selection and cutting).

At any rate, I am almost finished with my quilt top and have been so pleased with the process.

Everything is going together beautifully and quickly.

This project was so much fun that I have already purchased charm squares and border fabric to make another one from the same pattern. And after visiting your website, I see some more patterns that I would like to try.

Sincerely,

Mary

Beaufort, SC

Well....yesterday I got another e-mail from Mary and she finished the quilt! She also shared two pictures. And said this:

Hi Robin,

Just finished my quilt top and wanted to show it to you. I am so pleased.

This project was so fast and so fun! I will definitely make another quilt with the same pattern, as soon as I complete a few things on my "to do" list. (I have quite a stash of charm packs. They are addictive.)

I used "Wrapped in Paisley" from Moda for this quilt.

Happy Quilting to you!

Mary

Charms Gone Wild - Sewn by Mary in South Carolina

Thank you Mary for your feed-back and taking the time to share!

I just had to do the same.

Thanks again Mary!

Chirp, Chirp,

Robin

2010-06-08T18:21:00.000-07:00

Super Fast Jelly-Roll Quilt

Approximate finished size: 65" X 79"

A friend shared this idea with me.

I've written it up so I can share it. Enjoy!

What you will need: 1 Jelly roll

First border: 1/2 yard
Second border: 1 1/4 yards

Directions: Sew all the jellyroll strips end to end in random order. Cut the selvages off as you go. You will have a very long strip of fabric approximately 1600 inches long.

(40 strips x 40")

Important: Cut 20" off of the beginning of the long strip of fabric and throw it in your stash. You won't be using it. This will make it so your seams will be staggered as you sew them together.
Now find the 2 ends of the strip and put right sides together and start sewing!!!
Sew down the long side of the strip to the end and cut the loop at the end of the strip.

You now have a very long strip that is 2- jellyroll strips wide.

If you want to at this point, you can press them open, but pressing is really not necessary until you have the whole thing sewn. Remember this is supposed to be a fun and FAST quilt.
Don't stress over anything!
Next...find the two ends of this long strip again and put right sides together. Sew all the way down to the end and cut the loop at the end again.

You will now have a strip that is 4- jellyroll strips wide.

Now...find the two ends of this long strip and put right sides together. Sew all the way down to the end and cut the loop at the end.

You will now have a strip that is 8- jellyroll strips wide.

Again...find the two ends of the long strip and put right sides together. Sew all the way down to the end and cut the loop at the end.

You will now have strip that is 16- jellyroll strips wide.

For the last time.... find the two ends of the long strip and put right sides together. Sew all the way down to the end and cut the loop at the end.

You will now have a strip that is 32- jellyroll strips wide.

You are finished!!!!

You now have the center of your quilt... It should measure approximately 50" x 64".

Square it up.

Borders are next:

First border: Cut 6 - 2 1/2 inch strips. Join together. Measure and apply borders as shown.

Second border: Cut 7 - 6" strips. Join together. Measure and apply as shown.

Checking in...

2010-05-02T14:49:00.000-07:00

Just didn't want anyone to think I'd totally abandoned my blog. I've been busy doing lots of things, but couldn't tell you what they are at the moment. Isn't that the way life is? We are so busy all the time, but then when you are asked to make an accounting of it, you are at a loss.
Here are a few pictures of Kellen and other things.....

Kellen and his Daddy making beautiful music together.

"I think I can reach it!!"

Another version of my pattern, "Charms Gone Wild". This one is made from the fabric line: Birdy by Moda

I've had a great time sharing some things with my friends over at the Quilting Board.

It's really fun to share and talk with other quilters around the country.

I just recently posted my free pattern for "Super Fast Jelly-roll Quilt" and it was a big hit.

Check it out: http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-44258-1.htm

View of Melbourne skyline.

The Great Ocean Road- Australia

We saw Koala's in the wild....

And kangaroos.

Western Australia

Now on to New Zealand........

The New Zealand Alps on the South Island

Museums were great for finding inspiration for future quilts.

There are more sheep than people in New Zealand. This little lamb is one day old.

We got to go to the place where they filmed part of "Lord of the Rings".

All in all we had a wonderful time. Saw beautiful places, experienced new people, new food and new places. We feel very fortunate to have been able to take this trip of a lifetime.

Now on to our sweet little Kellen.

Today he is 16 months old and finding new ways to bring smiles

to his parents, grandparents and all those that know and love him.

2009-07-01T18:46:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how long it has been since adding to my blog.

Well here's what's been going on:

I got my featherweight back from Joan, who repairs and restores sewing machines. She's a fellow member of our local Quilter's guild. She did an awesome job for a VERY reasonable price and it sews like a charm!!! Can't wait until the next Pieceful Day to use it!

Our little Kellen has his first teeth!! His Mom and Dad sent us this priceless picture of him showing them off with is big grin. If you look closely you can see the upper front teeth just below the gums. Pretty soon he will have a mouthful of teeth!

I got to go visit my Mom for a week. My niece Riley was there along with her new baby sister, Parker. Riley is 2 and Parker is one month in these pictures.

This is a picture of my Mom holding Parker. This will probably be her last grandchild, but the great-grandchildren keep coming! I've lost count....
Here's my Mom and my sister, Connie. Both are holding their new grandbabies. Connie's grandbaby is Ryan, only a week old.

After a wonderful week visiting with family it's back to work! We are super busy, which is fine with me. Just wish I had more time to quilt!

Chirp, Chirp everyone,

Robin

Beautiful Earrings from a very talented Etsy artist.

2009-06-02T15:11:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things to do when I have a moment is look at the wonderful things that people have made and offer for sale on the Etsy website.

Etsy is an online marketplace for buying & selling all things handmade. Their mission is to enable people to make a living making things, and to reconnect makers with buyers. Since their launch in June, 2005, over 100,000 sellers from around the world have opened up Etsy shops.

I have an Etsy shop where I sell some of my patterns. It's been lots of fun to get to know people from not only around the United State, but also around the world.

Anyway.....back to the earrings. Yesterday I was looking at what was new on Etsy and found this wonderful artist that makes beautiful jewelry. I clicked on her shop called:

Pamela's Jewelry Designs

I was taken in by her stunning and very affordable handmade jewelry and looked at everything she had to offer. There are lots of things I loved!

The best part was that she was doing a special promotion to get the word out about her Etsy shop by giving people earrings for FREE!!! No kidding...no charge. I decided to get these beautiful earrings called, Blue Sky Earrings. Aren't they just georgeous!!!!

Just as a little thank you, I wanted to let everyone know about her designs. Maybe you can get some of your gift list taken care of early!

I encourage everyone to take a look and pass the word!

Thank you Pam....

Chirp, Chirp

Robin

May Basket Auction

2009-05-28T15:29:00.001-07:00

I belong to our local guild here in Fortuna. It's called The Eel River Valley Quilt Guild. Every year they have a fund raiser where businesses and other members donate a basket full of goodies. They then have a silent auction where people put their bid on a sheet of paper. The trick is to come back and check a lot or someone will out-bid you. Most of the baskets go for lots of money, so I never get to actually buy them. I guess I'm a bit cheap. I did want to donate a basket this year. I filled with 4 of my patterns: "Charmed...I'm Sure", Criss-Cross Charms, Charms in the Car and my very first pattern, Sewdoku for Quilters. I put two charm square packs in there along with my famous "Taco Purse". There is some homemade stationary with birds, a "Deely-Bob-Scissor-Fob" and a pendant I made from a Scrabble tile. I also put some of my favorite things like: a "Purple-Thang", UdderCream hand lotion, quilting pins, a seam ripper and some chicken buttons. The duck in the middle of the basket is a recipe card holder from my favorite store, "Art and Old Things" right here in Fortuna on Main Street. I also bought the cute little bird that is sitting in a nest. I'm hoping everyone likes it and it makes the guild a lot of money.

Chirp, Chirp

Robin

Best Mother's Day Gift Ever!!

2009-05-11T15:44:00.000-07:00

My grandson Kellen gave his "other grandma" (me) the best Mother's Day present ever!

A special greeting card he made himself. Here's what he said in his e-mail.

deer granma

hav a hoppy granma day!

luv Kellen.

Look at the concentration.....

"Let me see....I think I spelled everything right...."

"Yep....it's perfect!!!!""I love you Grandma Robin!!!"

What a little sweety! Thank you Kellen for making my day!

Robin

Yum!!!!!!........Rhubarb Pie

2009-05-09T12:12:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful day here in our little world!! "Mr. Bird" loves his yard ( I think that's what I'm going to call my husband in my blog from now on) and was out side doing some gardening. Mostly getting rid of the weeds that have dared to show themselves in the borders and between the porch slabs. Every year we have to spray Round-up to kill them. I love our yard this time of year when it finally is warm enough to actually enjoy it.

I had noticed the other day that my Rhubarb plants were getting ready to harvest, so Mr. Bird pulled and topped them for me. I'm going to make two pies later today.

What a beautiful bunch of Rhubarb!!!

Since tomorrow is Mother's day I thought I would pay tribute to my Mom by sharing her Rhubarb pie recipe. My mother makes the absolute BEST Rhubarb pie in the world, bar none!!! Now that she's 80 it's harder for her to make pies, but I remember some Saturdays when she would make 5 or six pies at a time. We have a very large family (11 kids) and everyone wanted their fare share! Mom ran our family like a well oiled machine.

Here is the recipe:

Helen’s Rhubarb Pie

For one 10” pie-
Filling: Mix together:
4 cups raw rhubarb, cut in ½ inch pieces
1 ½ cups sugar
1 tsp cinnamon, or to taste
4 Tbs flour
1 scant tsp dried orange peel
2 eggs
Crust: Cut together 2 cups flour, ¾ cup shortening, and ¼ tsp salt. Beat together 1/3 cup milk and 1 egg yolk. Add to flour mixture and toss with a fork.
Add more liquid if too dry and less if too wet. Roll out dough for top and bottom crusts. Place bottom crust in 10” pie plate, fill with rhubarb mixture. Dot mixture with butter. Place top crust over all. Seal and flute edges and cut slits in top crust.
Bake at 450 degrees F for 40 to 50 minutes. Juice should bubble through slits in crust.

Enjoy!!!!

Here are my pies. The juice on top is the "bubbling" that has to occur before you know your pies are done. The house smells wonderful right now. I'm going to have a piece later on tonight when I watch TV.

Mother of the Year (with the cutest baby ever!)

I also want to send my awesome daughter-in-law a very special Mother's Day wish. This is her first Mother's Day and after all that she had been through since he was born, I want to nominate her as "Mother of the Year". Today our sweet little Kellen is 9 months old! He's been home from the hospital 3 months now. Time is flying!!!

Happy Mother's Day to all the special mother's out there!

Chirp, Chirp,

Robin

Kellen's Happy Dance

2009-04-29T13:40:00.001-07:00

My grandson Kellen has been through alot in his short 8 months (almost 9) of being in this world. Thankfully he's doing great since finally being home from the hospital these 2 + months.
You can tell he's really happy being the center of his Mommy and Daddy's attention.
Shannon sent me this short video of him doing his "Happy Dance".

It just kills me not to be able to hold him and love on him! What a cutie pie!

Robin

Happiness is.........

2009-04-19T12:38:00.000-07:00

Happiness is.....many things really. One of them is going to Ferndale to "Peaceful Day" and quilting. As you can see it was a beautiful day. Even the cows in the field behind the building were enjoying themselves!

Lots of us finished things that we had started, like Pam B. Here is her beautiful quilt from Sally Frey's retreat in Benbow. Pam does beautiful quilts, but doesn't like her picture taken.

Liz Scott from Scottie Dog Quilting finished a quilt she made for her sister.

She said, "If I had know how much I would like it when it was finished, I would have kept it for myself!"

It's always great to be able to spend time with some of my favorite people....like Brenda Lou from Scottie Dog Quilts, (Liz's Mom). She showed us how to make a braided rug that she found on Moda's Bake Shop.

I started the cute bear quilt for Kellen that I ordered from Connecting Threads. It's going to be super cute!

I also won a pattern using 36 charm squares. It was VERY tedious, but I managed to get this much finished. I just have to put the borders on. I will never make this pattern again, so I gave it to Pam.

Well, that's what I got to do yesterday. Friends and quilting. Life is good.

Oh...by the way...that sneaky Angie tried to get me to eat sugar by getting that cute little Cade of hers to give me a cookie! You have to watch that Angie like a Hawk!

Robin

The sugar challenge is on......

2009-04-14T15:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday when I was using the long-arm over at All Washed Up, Angie asked me if I wanted to join her in a challenge of giving up sugar for a month. I said, "Sure!!!".

So now the challenge is on........

Just to give us both some incentive, Angie suggested that if either of us gives in and falls off the sugar wagon, we had to buy the other one a Jelly-roll. That for me is keeping me commited.

I'm just going to have to turn to more healthy subsitutes when I get that craving. I'm really excited to see how it helps get some of these pounds off. (A never ending battle for me!)

I'm going to do some research and see if there are any non-sugar recipes out there. If I find any, I'll share them...

Wish me luck guys!!

Robin

Wonderful Neighbors

2009-04-07T15:45:00.000-07:00

It's great to have wonderful neighbors. We are blessed to have great neighbors on both sides of us. A few days ago our neighbor Linda and Jay showed up at our door with a surprise.
Linda had made me a quilt rack. It's beautiful!!!! She's been working on it secretly since Christmas after I gave her a quilt that she had admired. I never expected her to make me a quilt rack!!! I quickly found a place of honor just inside our front door and loaded it up with some quilts. She said she might want to make them to sell if there is enough interest.

I just ordered the cutest quilt kit from Connecting Threads. It's their brand new pattern called "Baby Bear". I'm going to make it for our sweet little bear Kellen.

It reminds me of one of my favorite pictures of Kellen with all of his "stuffed up" bears.

I also got a call from Kellen....breathing into the phone. He got the 3 soft books I had made from panels. His daddy says he loves them. I forgot to take a picture of them before I sent them, but hopefully they will take a picture of Kellen reading them.

I'm almost finished piecing the quilt I'm making for Shannon's friend's wedding. Just the outer border to go. Then I can go quilt it!

Chirp, Chirp,

Robin

April Fool.......on me!!!!

2009-04-01T14:21:00.000-07:00

Well...let’s try it again! Have you ever written an e-mail, filled with all the latest news and written with such flair and finesse that you thought you were the next NY best selling author? Then just as you were going to push “Send” your computer wigs out and you loose all your hard work? Well….it just happened to me!!!!!!! I was happily blogging along, minding my own business and then my computer locked up and wouldn’t save what I had already written. Grrrrrrrrr!
I’m sure it won’t be nearly as wonderful, but I’m going to attempt to post a new message.

I can’t believe we are in April already! Where did the days go? I’ll just save some time and wish you all a Merry Christmas now since it will be here in the blink of an eye.

I’m looking forward to some warmer weather. I know, I know...I don’t know what cold is, but it’s been cold enough for me!! It’s almost here…..
I got Erin and Joel’s wedding quilt finished except for hand sewing the binding. It took me 3 hours on the long-arm at All Washed Up. I’m going to call it, “Purple Bride” since Erin wore a purple dress for her wedding. The happy couple are flying to Europe as we speak for their belated honeymoon. I’m sure they are going to have a wonderful time visiting England, Ireland, Scotland and Paris.
Here is a picture of the finished quilt.

I’ve also been making another table runner from Angie’s pattern on Moda Bake Shop. (You’ll have to scroll down a little to see it) This one is for Jodi at work. I used two charm packs so that’s why it’s so long. Now all I have to do is get it quilted.

I’m also going to start a quilt for one of Shannon’s friends that is getting married. Their colors are blue and green. I’m going to use my pattern, “Sporting Chance”. It’s kind of a “sleeper” on the market because people can’t seem to see past the sporting theme. My friend Claudia LOVES this pattern. It’s fast and easy and turns out great no matter what theme you use. Here is the fabric I am using:

We got some super cute new pictures of our precious Kellen yesterday. Of course being the obnoxious grandma that I am, I’m going to share them with you.

CCFN, (chirp, chirp for now)
Robin

Let's have some fun....

2009-03-21T15:38:00.000-07:00

My mom turned me on to a website that you can do puzzles on line. You can also upload your own photos and turn them into a puzzle. Have fun with this one:
Jigsaw Puzzle Gallery - JigZone.com

Great Quilting...Great Friends

2009-03-16T16:04:00.001-07:00

For quilters, there is nothing better than getting to spend all day at your sewing machine! Well, that's what I got to do this weekend. Angie and "Weezie" at All Washed Up have been hosting these great sewing days for years now. It's so fun to get together with old and new friends, share, eat, laugh and have a good time doing what you enjoy the most.

I took Erin and Joel's wedding quilt top, (not quilted yet!) to share and show everyone. It was a great hit and everyone wants me to make a pattern. It's a rather large quilt, so the pattern would be a smaller version of it.

One of the things I worked on was a table runner that Angie designed for the Moda Bake Shop.
It's GREAT!!! It only takes one Charm Square pack (with 40 fabrics), and 1/8 yard for inner border.
It went together very quickly and I'm excited to make more of them!
You can go to the Moda Bake Shop and get the free directions.

Alayne shared the quilt she made at a retreat that Angie and Louise hosted.

Pam also showed her beautiful version of the same quilt.

It's always amazing how different and fun they all turn out.

As with all good things, they have to come to an end and it was back to the real world and work today.

"E" booked some tickets for us to visit Australia and New Zealand! I'm really excited and can't wait until this fall when we get to go.

Cutie Bear Kellen

2009-02-28T08:13:00.000-08:00

It's been pretty cold and rainy up here on the North coast. But a ray of sunshine came to me yesterday when I got this picture of Kellen sitting amongst his fellow bears. E and I bought this cute little suit for him last time we were there in anticipation of the cold weather there in Nebraska. He looks darling!!!!

The first year E and I were married, I bought him a small brown bear we called "Osito". Osito has been with us all these years (31 to be exact). Our kids all played with him and he's been a member of our family for a long time.

Now we have our own little cutie bear with Kellen. Maybe we could have a tradition that all the grand kids, (I'm thinking positively when I hope for more.) by having a photo of them in that cute little bear suit.

We are so blessed.....

Chirp, Chirp.

Robin

Home alone...

2009-02-27T06:13:00.000-08:00

My hubby has been gone for a few days and it's kind of lonely. At first I think of all the things I could do; clean the house, watch a "Chick flick", sew my brains out, to name a few, but it hasn't turned out that way. By the time I get home from work, tired and hungry, all I want to do is "veg" in front of the TV. I did make a trip to Eureka to get the rest of the fabric I need for Erin's wedding quilt and shop for FIBER!!!! My doctor said I needed more fiber in my diet. Why is it that all the things you look at that are supposed to be healthy, like wholegrain this and wholegrain that and they don't have any fiber! Why don't they just throw in a handful of bran into everything they make and up the fiber content! So I came away with some crackers that taste like cardboard. Yuck!
Wow! I must be going crazy home alone if I'm Blogging about fiber! Enough of that, already!
On to better things....
The other night the phone rang and when I answered it all I could hear was breathing on the other end. It took me a second, but I finally figured out that Kellen was calling me. "Hi Kellen, how are you?" "breath....breath...breath". Their is nothing better than getting that first call from your sweet little grand baby. He said that he had some new pictures that I would love and he was right!!! I love this picture of him after his bath with those great big eyes!
Tris and Nat have a new kitty. Tristan named him "Bowser". He's really cute and I'm sure he will have a wonderful home with them.

Went to guild last night. It was nice to see everyone and just visit. The owner of "The Fat Quail" in Laytonville was there to show us some of her favorite things from her shop. She also shared a great way to make "Cathedral Window" quilt blocks with no piecing. It took a while to figure it out, but once someone else showed me the trick, I was able to go around to some of the people and help them out. Debbie Bowles, the owner of The Fat Quail was helping people too, but it was slow going, so I helped too.
Well....that's all for now. Can't wait for my sweetie to come home and the weekend!!!
Chirp, Chirp!
Robin

Let's go...Mad4Plaid

2009-02-22T08:39:00.000-08:00

It's finished!!! Yeah!! Mad4Plaid is published and on it's way to my distributors. I'm really pleased with how it turned out and hope that it will be a hit with all those quilters out there.
I've had a busy week getting things done and also going back to work at my day job at the Dental office. After the doctor being gone for 3 weeks it was weird to have to take myself away from what I love best... and that is quilting.
Another thing I've done is start Erin and Joel's wedding quilt. Erin wanted Purple, Black and Gray and have it based on a math book she has, so we found a great design and I adapted it for her quilt. I have the first block finished and it's going to be great.
Don't have much time this morning so this is going to be a short one.
Hope everyone is doing something creative this week and enjoys life a little!
Chirp, chirp.
Robin

Nice time away

2009-02-11T15:20:00.000-08:00

We just got back from a quick trip around Northern California. We had been wanting to go somewhere exciting for some time away, but that didn't end up working out. Instead we went to Sacramento to visit our daughter Erin and her new husband, Joel. Because we weren't there for the big event at the courthouse, we took them out to dinner to celebrate. Corin and her boyfriend, Christopher came as did Aunt Maria. We went to a very fancy Sushi place. I can tell what a "country bumpkin" I am because I'm not used to waiting to go out to dinner, much less the hour that we had to wait. I really don't like big cities. Too many people!!!
Anyway after our visit with them we drove through the beautiful Napa valley. It reminded me of Ireland.
Then we headed up the Hwy 1 on the coast to Fort Bragg. The coast was beautiful. It reminded me of some of the Maui Coastline. (Much colder mind you!) It suddenly occured to me that we have some of the most beautiful places on earth right here in our own backyard and why should we spend a bunch of money to fly somewhere to see the same things!! Duh!!!

Mad4Plaid is coming along nicely! I have the top finished and put on zippers so I can quilt it tomorrow on Angie's longarm rental over at All Washed Up. Won't be long......

Kellen is doing great. His Mom and Dad are the ones that are having to adjust to being home with all there is to do with a sweet baby that needs extra care. They are tired most of the time, but then what new parent isn't!!!
Well that's all from the very cold and rainy end of the state.
Chirp at you later,
Robin

Kellen is going home!

2009-02-03T06:58:00.000-08:00

What better way to start my blog page than to start with great news.
After nearly 6 months, our little grandson-Kellen gets to go home. He's been in the hospital since his birth on August 9th, 2008. He was born with transposed vessals in his heart.
His Mom and Dad have been great through this whole thing and now get to have their sweet boy
home.
E and I hope to go see them sometime in the spring and again on his first birthday, but for sure in August. We never in our wildest dreams thought we would spend so much time in Nebraska, but we have grown to love it now that our boys and their wives are there, not to mention the extended family.
We would move there in a heartbeat if they could just do something about the heat and the snow. Get on that will you!
Hopefully, I will be able to add to this blog from time to time and share what is going on in my Nest.
I have a new pattern I'm working on that is going to be great. It's another Jellyroll pattern. Here's a Hint: Mad4Plaid.
Chirp at you later!
Robin