Finished Quilts, WIP

This is the quilt I worked on the day Brayden was born. I saved the binding project for the delivery day 'cause I knew I would need busy hands while waiting. The chick was handpainted by Buck's brother Steven. I disassembled a toy from Wal-mart to get the book and the teething rings. (and the squeaker in the chick) Can you tell I'm an Early Interventionist? This is one stimulating quilt.

This the Meghen's quilt. My mama taught me this block. It was probably the only one she knew. She HATEDHATEDHATED sewing. I made a quilt for Matthew when he was born using this pattern.

Here is a quilt I made using one of Marcia's patterns again. This is her woven ribbons pattern with a little tweaking by me.

These is a rail fence. He need floor quilts. It is flannel.

This is his crib quilt for my house. It is a serger quilt. I found the pattern online. It is a quilt as you go pattern. Each side is the same.

Last week of October? Already?!

I can't believe this year has flown by so fast. I have less than a month before I will put up my Christmas tree!!! Have I bought any gifts??? Yes, 3. 3 trucks for the littlest boys on my list. The 3 who still like gifts, no matter what they are!!! I'd better get into gear.

We had our 3rd annual family pumpkin carving contest Thursday.

Jenn proclaimed herself the winner. She says she made the cutest pumpkin this year. I have to agree. He's adorable!

We always have lots of fun.

Brayden and I made Hot Chocolate while everyone else carved pumpkins. Who can ask for a better helper.

We had an off year. We usually carve more pumpkins than 8. Too many conflicting schedules.

I was shooting these pics in the dark. I don't know how to improve the quality.

Sundays

Good Sunday Morning to ya'll.
We've already had a breakfast of french toast. Vanessa is off to work. Her boss is going to get fussed at by his mother-in-law because Vanessa can't have Sunday dinner with her granny today! Vanessa works at a local grocery store managed by her Uncle Bradley. Granny is going to fuss because Vanessa had to pull a shift today. Bradley is very good about not favoring V, and she works very hard for him. BUT Granny doesn't seem to think she should have to miss Sunday dinner.
(A bit of southern vocabulary - ya'll is the plural you, rhyming with ball; dinner is the midday meal, supper is the evening meal, children eat lunch at school)
David raced last night. He was top 5 in the feature with 14 cars in his class. He was able to drive the car on the trailer, and nothing was destroyed. All in all, it was a good night for us. We put Brayden's name on the car. David refused to allow me to even order it until Brayden got here safe and sound. Our graphics man, Michael James of Apple Signs, didn't charge us. He said first grandbabies were on the house.

Martha

The joys of Fibromaylgia

It is finally cool here in Louisiana. The low last night was in the 40's. We will be in the upper 70's or low 80's today. Later next week, the temp is expected to stay in the upper 60's!!!
HOWEVER, along with the cooler temperatures, I am having a major fibro flare. I have over taxed myself this week and am paying for it now! We had that cold front move in Thursday while my K class went to the zoo (zero parental support, NO chaperones came, NONE), I attended the LAECA conference out of town Friday driving about 6 hours, and today will go out of town again for the races another 3 hours in the truck and being outdoors 5 or 6 hours. I can't leave out babysitting Brayden last evening.
I have a good pain meds on hand. I think I'll go down and find something to help ease this pain. I'm going to have to go for the big guns today. I always try to dull the pain without taking the heavier meds in order to be able to continue to teach. I will not take my more powerful drugs and go in to teach. I want to know I am not loopy or going to become loopy in the classroom.
I'm not going to whine anymore. I'm just going to go away.

Martha

This and that

Things have been very busy in our neck of the woods lately. Brayden is here now. It's wonderful to have a brand new baby in the family. It's been a while since we've had one. He weighed 8 lbs, and is 20 inches long. He was born Oct 8. Brayden in his Moses basket. Buck and I babysat him on the 15th.
Brayden and Aunt Vanessa
Buck has my quilter built. I have to learn to use it now. I'm just a little scared to try machine quilting with the frame. The carriages roll very easy. I've been practicing tracing a pattern with the "stylus" without stitching. I just have to take a deep breath and give it a go!

There is a surge protector mounted between the 2 cabinets. The machine and the light plug in there. The machine can go from end to end without any tangles. The foot pedal reaches the floor. I guess I can nudge it along as I quilt. Or maybe it needs its own carriage and track, too.

I guess I'll see the design flaws as I begin to use the quilter. If anyone sees something that needs to be changed, please let me know. I will appreciate the experience you can bring to me. I don't have to reinvent the wheel, or make a mistake someone else has already worked through. I don't intend to make quilts bigger than about 4'x6'. I think that the space around the lower pipe will accomodate the batting needed for a quilt that size.
Details of the stylus: Buck will never use this screwdriver in the shop again!!!

Side tensioning devices: eyebolts, bungee cords, and clamps on a keyring

The camera didn't like the light, but it is really very well lit. The light clamps on the pvc pipe almost anywhere I want it. I can see the design I printed from Simone Struss' website very easy. (Yes, you do see staples in the design paper. I didn't have any tape in the house except duct tape or electrical tape. I'm just practicing moving the machine over the design right now, not stitching yet.)

The carriages:

This is my bonus room upstairs in my house. The contractor told the appraiser that it was a completely finished room AFTER we signed the papers to build the house. So... I got a completely finished room instead of an attic storage space. We built our house in 2005. Remember Hurricanes Katrina and Rita? Yep, they delayed our house. In fact, the bank stopped the "45 days until closing" timeline because of them. We were blessed not to have any damage to the house from Rita. (We didn't even get rain from Katrina in our parish.) But the door factory in south La was literally blown off the face of the earth, and our carpet could not be delivered from the mill in Georgia.

I am converting this space into a combination guest room and sewing room. I had been using my son's room downstairs for a sewing room until I got to buy a baby bed and a rocker for Brayden.

I moved junk all weekend.

The cabinets are red oak with a raw plywood top. I don't know what I want on the tops yet. The cabinets were in the kitchen of the house we used to live in before we built this one. We tore it down before it fell down. (The upper cabinets are in the garage.)
Don't you like the decorating theme? It is truly Early American Attic!! It includes one very ugly, but comfortable recliner from Buck's grandpa.

I think we are racing this weekend. David did very well the last time he raced, 2 2nds and a 4th.This is David's car. Buck and David built the body on this car from sheet metal. It is a Chevy Camaro with original hood and trunk lid.

This is David. I also have pictures of the things a mother of a racing son finds in her way. David's engine blew up this summer. He bought new heads for the new engine.

This is my ironing closet. This is a bonus closet underneath the stairs. The framing crew foreman refused to allow the contractor to leave this space unfinished and without a door. It is perfect for my ironing board. It can stay out all of the time.

Under my ironing board is a set of heads for the racecar. They could not stay in the shop overnight. They could not be left in the garage either. They had to be in the house. They stayed in the house until they were put in the engine.

Brayden William Jones

It's official! Brayden will be born October 8, 2008. The OB was shocked when he saw how big Jenn was. She measured 49 weeks. Yep, that's FORTY-NINE weeks.