English Paper Piecing

I have been working on this project for a while now.

English paper piecing is fun! I love this little project. I will be adding a tutorial for this in my next post. In the meantime, here are some pictures to show you one of the scenic wonders of this part of the world.

Yes....it is scenic Mt. Washmore!!! I have this huge pile of clothes on my sofa that need folding. As you can see, Cabalito has reached the summit. Ugh, I hate laundry.

Laundry makes me a little crazy.

See you next time!!!

Julie

SNOW DAY! (Last Week)

This is Jimmy and Cabalito outside in the snow. Snow is so rare in south Alabama. We close down everything and play outside, even if it is the wet, sticky, kind of snow. I am a little late posting this, the snow day was actually on March 1st. The interesting thing was that Saturday we had severe weather with lots of tornado damage in the area. Then Sunday was a snow day!
I took this photo above through my kitchen window. The snow transforms the yard and makes it look magical!

These last two were taken by John Owen, my son, as he was playing in the back yard.

What a difference a week can make. Today we have the windows open and the fans on to stay comfortable. Who knows what next week will bring?
Julie

Let the Holidays Begin!

We are finally out of school for Christmas holidays. I feel like it is REALLY Christmas now. Here is a photo of our tree. We put it up right after Thanksgiving (at my children's insistence) and have been enjoying it since then.
Here is Cabalito, the trusted assistant. He makes sure we do everything right. He is such a good boy! Oh, I forgot, he was a bad boy last night. He found a giant Hershey's kiss (the really huge novelty size), that my daughter didn't know was in her room, last night. He ate some of it and was running around with it in his mouth. It was almost as big as his head. Since chocolate is poisonous to dogs we were a little concerned and had to catch him to take it away. But he is fine.
I made this small quilt several years ago. I could not resist because it says "Joy" and my daughter's name is Joy. I love that the letters are made from Christmas objects.
Isn't my Christmas cactus beautiful? I bought it this year and it has bloomed constantlIy for about two weeks now. I have four different colors now. Red, fuchsia, lavendar, and white.
I found out last night that my SSCS benefactor is Jodie B. from Australia. I cannot wait to open my gift but I am holding out until Christmas Day. Jodie, if you are reading this, I cannot tell you how excited I am!! I will post photos of the gift as soon as I open it.
Julie

Caramel Apples!!

My kids love to do little cooking projects and caramel apples are so easy and FUN!! This is just a quick post to document the fun. I can't wait to post about the fantastic package I received in the mail from Rosanne in Tasmania. Stay tuned!!


Oh, and here is little Cabalito attacking his stuffingless stuffed animal, Hunch Punch!! He really knows how to show that owl that he is the boss.

Check back for photos of my fun package from Roseanne.

Julie

Obligatory Quilt Photos

It is August and school is back in full-swing now. It has been cooler for the last couple of days which has been such a relief. Our students are starting to come out of their shells, or, as we say, the honeymoon period is over! Sixth graders are such a challenge sometimes. They are cute, however, and I love to work with them. The interesting thing is that this year my daughter, Joy, is in the sixth grade. She is actually in my sixth period class! So far that is working out pretty well.
The top two pictures are of a Sunbonnet Sue quilt I made using a Little Quilts pattern. It was supposed to be redwork but I decided to use fusible applique. It was one of my very first quilt projects. You can see that the machine quilting is not the best but I love it anyway. It was so much fun to pick out the fabrics for Sue's clothing each month.
Here is little Cabalito in swaddling clothes. Joy was treating him like a baby and insisted that I take a picture. He is such a cutie and so tolerant of the kids. I think that is somewhat unusual for a Chihuahua. The photo below is for Candace. Here is the mother plant of the hen that I told you would get so big. Mine is in a falling-apart pot - but it is one of those 12 inch diameter pots so you can see how big it is. Actually it doesn't look that big in this photo! Oh well. The Secret Santa Christmas Swap information came for me yesterday. I am so excited and am already planning what to put into the package. The Stitchers Angel Swap should start one day next week and I can't wait to find out who my swap partner is. This will be so much fun!!!
Julie

The Block Scrambler

Here is the infamous "Block Scrambler." I like to lay out my blocks on my bed when I am working with them, even though I do have a design wall. Cabalito insists on jumping up and walking around on the blocks the minute I start laying them out. Soon they have a somewhat scrambled appearance! I know he thinks he is helping me and fancies himself to be quite the quilt designer. He seems to be doing a pretty good job here. I am pretty sure I will do the on-point setting for this quilt, even though this picture depicts a straight set. I love the wild colors and can't wait to have a complete quilt. I think I am going to do the "quilting in sections" method with this quilt. I would love to have it done, done by the end of my summer break. Unfortunately I have been sidetracked doing another scrappy bargello for my mom. It all depends on how much help I receive from the Block Scrambler!

Julie

Cat and Dog Wars

Here is my fearless chihuahua, Cabalito, confronting the neighborhood cat that had the audacity to hop up on our windowsill and look in OUR HOUSE! That cat has so much nerve!!! Cabalito took matters into his own paws and barked and jumped until the bad cat ran away. Now the bad cat knows who is boss. It is so good to know that we are protected by such a brave and fierce dog.
Julie