Sweet Sixteen

Well, I just finished NYB #16! This calls for a dance! A party. A true celebration. Although the blocks are not squared up yet, I couldn't resist laying it out as if I were ready to sew the blocks into the finished piece. It is just 9:00 here, not the best time to take a picture...but it will have to do for now!

Check it out, ladies....

Vacation - Day 6, we leave for home

I was hoping we'd make it back to Animal Kingdom, but when given the choice my #1 pirate said he wanted to go back to the pirate ride. That was fine and we had a great day of it. We were able to see the afternoon parade for the first time, and he was so precious. Clapping his hands, waving, calling to his favorite characters....how special. We also went to the Dream show at the castle. Lots of neat characters there including MM, Minnie, DD, Goofy, Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Capt. Hook, Peter Pan, Wendy, and the evil witch. Then we were off for home.

Sorry to tell you ladies, it seems we came back to the return of winter. My hopes of spotting a dandelion in the near future have nearly been dashed. You will have to hold on for a while for the giveaway.

Vacation- Day 5

What a great day. Bud was feeling better. He and I went back to Hollywood Studios and got all the characters we missed the day before and then some:

• yellow, blue, and red Power Rangers



• Buzz and Woody



• Sorcerer Mickey



• Tow Mater and Lightning McQueen



• The Incredibles



• June and Quincy from Little Einsteins



• Handy Manny

He was very photogenic and just wanted to know where we could go next. What a fun outting! Later, we met up with husband at Epcot and had a nice afternoon. Dinner was at Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Resort. That was loads of fun with all the characters, not to mention good food. We went back early to pack up.

Vacation- Day 4

We were off and running to Hollywood Studios. It seemed all day that we were a bit off. A bit late for this character, a bit grumpy, etc. Later, we discover little man had a very low fever. It never did turn into much, luckily, but what a bummer when you are on vacation. In true mama fashion, I had packed the thermometer and all medicine cabinet drugs. My husband had thought I was a bit excessive, until this happened!

Vacation- Day 3

On Day 3 we ventured to The Animal Kingdom. This is my one 'wish we had more time or another day'. It was quite neat. We took a safari into the wild and did get some good sights of lions, giraffes, and other friends. The Lion King Show was fabulous. Also, the lines for meeting Donald Duck, Goofy, and Brother Bear were short. We called it an early day and went back for some swimming.

Vacation- Day 2

Did I mention we were on VACATION??? Just teasing, girls. You're right we did have fun. Day 2 was great, it was the only really cloudy, could rain day. We lucked out with one ten minute light shower, which we ducked into a 3-D movie for. We had lots of fun at the Magic Kingdom again:

• Two thumbs up for the Buzz Lightyear ride....shooting bad alien guys, who could ask for anything more? Oh, I know! Did I mention we had only a 5 wait for this?


• The tea cups and Dumbo are classic rides you simply cannot miss.


• Mickey's 3-D Philaharmony Movie- was awesome. Little mister kept reaching out his hands to help Donald Duck. Too cute.


• The new Peter Pan ride was so neat. We were flying above London!


• It's a small, small world.


• Pooh had a fun ride or tumble, too.

Then we went to Epcot. There we went into the cool new NEMO and friends exhibit. It starts off as animation and then you are viewing real aquariums and fish....with Nemo still in them. Very fun. Afterwards you can tour several very room sized aquariums with fish, dolphins, shark, and other creatures. We finished the night by eating at The Coral Reef.

To Be Continued.....

Vacation- Day 1

Well, you may have wondered where I have been. VACATION! We had a lot of family fun time. I thought I would break it down by day for you. We flew into Orlando and headed for Disney World. Little buddy was just thrilled about the plane and seeing Mickey Mouse.

It hit us about the time we landed that we should have a reality check and be ready to stand in some lines. Having this moment of clarity, helped us lower our expectations some and just have fun.

When we got to the Magic Kingdom, we started by taking a train ride. Then we went to the head cheese's house. That was cute. Then we stood in line for 45 minutes to wait for said mouse. Not so fun....but, it all seemed good in the end. Little man was brave and gave MM a hug, posed for a picture, and wasn't the least bit shy.

I will hit the FF button through the rest of the day, but among our favorites were:

• dinner with Winnie the Pooh and Friends
  


• Pirates of the Carribean ride, that's right, mate we are big pirate fans here
  


• the night time parade, a light spectacular event in my opinion
  


• the best fireworks show I have ever scene, including Tinker Belle flying from the top of the castle down into the park.....dinner with Winnie the Pooh and Friends
  Pirates of the Carribean ride, that's right, mate we are big pirate fans here
  the night time parade, a light spectacular event in my opinion
  the best fireworks show I have ever scene, including Tinker Belle flying from the top of the castle down into the park.....wow
  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  

  To be continued.....

Dandelion Quilts' First Giveway Announcement

Dandelion Quilts will proudly announce our first giveaway upon spotting our faithful mascot, the dandelion. That's right, ladies. I am eagerly awaiting the first dandelion here in the spring thaw. It could be any day now! Here is a picture of little old me about 27 years ago frolicking with my favorite flower. Some may call them weeds, but I have always found them quite cheerful.

Anyhow, keep checking back in weeks to come and I will announce the start of the contest when I spot our faithful mascot!
Until then-
Peace, Love, and Happiness

Paper Pieced Out

I bet you can just picture me doing my "paper piecing is finally done" dance? Be thankful you aren't here to witness it. My poor husband endures a lot of my faults, dancing being one! Anywhooo, the paper piecing is finished and now I just need to complete the blocks. But first, I am going to take a break!

Look, I found the boy version

Here is that cute little boy backpack!

The Fighting Irish

Top of St. Patty's Day to ya! This is a picture from last weekend. Boys can make weapons and gear from anything...sand pail, kitchen pan....

Speaking of green, I've had a bit of stomach flu bug. Uggh.

Whahoo, presents galore!

Ta-daaaa! Thought I'd share a few smaller sewing projects that I finished up!
The brown bag is a Mother's Day gift for my mother-in-law. I think it turned out great...and it is definitely "her". It will be a big hit.

I recently finished this half apron. I really like the Moda fabric from Fig Tree Quilts. It makes me think spring. I may have trouble parting with it. While it sure looks cute, don't let it fool you. This apron was a major headache for me. I definitely learned that I will do a few things differently with this pattern the next time. After hours of things going wrong, I thought I was done. I put it on to show my husband, and those pocket cuffs fell off! I can laugh now, but I wasn't laughing at the time.

The backpack is for my girlfriend's daughter. It was a really easy project featured in a Fons and Porter kids magazine. Nothing beats a quick thirty minute project to feel a nice sense of accomplishment. I made 3 of them...2 girly ones and a boy version, which is packed up and stuck in some toy box somewhere. My son loves his "packbacks".

I'm still working on my NYBs. I only have 3 more arcs left, then I get to piece the rest of the blocks...that seems to be the hardest part.

Cupcakes

Well, we made Easter cupcakes this morning to take for a snack to daycare. I got a bit carried away with the pink, obviously. Oh well...the girls will think they are Barbie cupcakes instead of Easter cupcakes. My helper did a nice job though.

Horton Hears a Who

We went to the movies this afternoon. It was a fun family day...my favorite. All 3 of us really enjoyed the movie. It is amazing what they can do with animation now.

Guess what was in my mailbox???

New Fabric....feel the rush as you run inside to rip it open to see your presents...I mean purchases! Ahhh, it is so fun, so fresh, so fabulous, and it is going to be a TOOOO CUTE apron. Almost makes you feel like logging back on and buying some more. It is almost a disease.

Seriously though, Kimberly at The Fat Quarter Shop runs a fabulous business. Great fabrics, great selection, fair prices, good correspondence, and terrific packaging. Also, the blog there is having a word scramble right now with some free goodies. You should check it out...although #1 is really stumping me.

Progress

You can tell I have a 3 year old, when I have that Nemo song in my head....only changed....

Just keep sewing, just keep sewing....

I keep plugging away at my New York Beauty arcs. Don't forget about me. I am sure I will have something to show sometime.

A quilt giveaway that you should check out!

Sorry to say that I am not the person with this fabulous giveaway, however, she asked all her blogger friends to post a link celebrating her 200th blog-aversary. So, if you would like to be entered for a free quilt or other goodies then you need to head on over to http://oldredbarnco.blogspot.com/. If you mention my Dandelion Quilts blog, then I am entitled to some extra entries. So, please do! :) And congratulations to the Old Red Barn Company for her nearly 200th blog!

Tea anyone?

So, I needed some tea this morning, which got me thinking on an article from the recent ALL YOU magazine. It said that drinking black tea or green tea is proven to clear your mind for thinking. Look at the teas in my cupboard.

I like Irish Breakfast Tea with a bit of milk and splenda. Sometimes I go without the milk, it just depends on my mood. I originally tried this tea, oddly enough, because a fictional character in a book I was reading liked this tea served this way. I use the Decaf English Breakfast Tea when I need a decaf fix.

The Blueberry Mankind Green Tea is deliciously blueberry and doesn't taste so green. It also has awesome antioxidents. Try some today! Gee whiz, I sound like an ad.

Binding Away

So, I guess this has been a week of binding. You already saw the finished baby quilt; this is my nephew's quilt for his fifth birthday. You cannot really see it, but the brown diamond is actually football material. The long arm quilter quilted footballs on it. I am pleased with it. (Let's hope the 5 year old is!) Although I didn't notice the annoying blue combination in the center block until it came back from the quilter...of course. I was trying not to get stuck in red, blue, red pattern...ended up with a clump of blue. Oh well. I cannot undo it now.

I have been catching up on Friends episodes while stiching away! Oh, I just laugh and laugh! I am in midst of Season 9. It took me up to Season 8 to finally figure out that is one of the seasons I missed. What do I like about Friends? Is it the friends themselves? Yes, each one reminds me of someone I know. Is it the humor? Yes, it is some good writing. Is it the setting? I'll admit that I do love that coffee house atmosphere. I certainly enjoy laughing. I need to finish up another project so I have more binding to do, while binding.

Finished Baby Quilt

Well, right after taking this picture, I packed this quilt up along with a bunch of other goodies and shipped it off to our friends in PA. I had such a fun time making it and I just loved how the colors played together. Has anyone else made a cute baby quilt lately? I'd love to see them.