Surprise!

A special Christmas present for Eunzoo. I have never met her, but her daughter says she is a survivor. She has just beaten back breast cancer for the second time. I had fun with the ferns on the border. She has no idea this is coming her way. Can't wait to hear about her reaction.

Rain, Rain, Stay

Rusty here making a post for mom. She is upstairs making another quilt. When it rains around here, it really rains. The only good thing is that the neighbor's slobber hounds are in the house and not barking. Mom is keeping her eye on a big ol'pine tree on the slope. It seems to be leaning towards our house. The power men have parked all the trucks in front of our house, ready to go help cats all over town. We feel safe with them here. Yesterday we baked them cookies. Two more days of the heat up high, quilts for me to sleep on all over the house (I pretended to be really cold), and mommy stuck at home. I think I like rain.

Outside the Box Thanks to Tonya

I made this quilt from students drawings and added our town name. I sat at the sewing machine with my lap top at Tonya's website. I was super proud of this, especially the tilde over the 'n'. Congratulations Tonya! Can't wait to get the book.

Yankees Quilt for Lisa

After I had started this quilt for Lisa, her friend, my sister-in-law Patty, said, "How about a Yankees' quilt!" Well, this is about as far from Yankees as it gets. I hope it brings a hug from California to Lisa. And who knows, maybe the Yankees would consider new uniforms in turquoise and hot pink. The quilt was made with a layer cake.

Becca is Having a Baby

Becca teaches third grade and is the cutest little pregnant woman ever. I looked like the side of a barn. Her shower is tomorrow. I hope she likes this yummy fabric from Bunny Hill.

Halloween Haunt

This was my 12th Halloween Haunt; my school's biggest fundraiser. In lieu of a child's quilt, I tapped into our local love of all things USC and UCLA. The result was two table runners and baskets made by Longaberger. They both did really well at the auction.

All Grown Up

One of my favorite students of all time, Christopher, went off to college this fall. He will be studying marine biology. I surprised him with a quilt for his dorm room. I used 10 or so ocean prints and quilted it with ocean waves.

Surfin' Baby

This surfin" baby will be living in Alaska. I thought a little California sunshine in a quilt just might brighten up a very cold winter. It was made on a 5" grid. Charm squares and half charms alternated with 2.5" and 5" strips of Kona cotton. I may never do the channel quilting again. It took forever and shifted the quilt left to right more than I expected. The result, however, was a very soft hand.

Baby #2

Jenn will be having a little boy this fall. She lives in Alaska and her shower will be in Southern Cal this weekend. I made her a boy friendly diaper bag with travel themed burpies. There is a quilt too! I love this one. The colors are so much fun.

One, two, three babies on the way!

Katie, Caroline, and Jenn, are all due with babies in the fall. With three baby showers on the horizon, I decided to get busy and make diaper bags, matching burpies, and quilts. The first bag is for Katie. She is having a girl. Jenn's baby boy bag is up next.

Sweet Dreams

One of my students had us over for dinner. She made the entire meal herself. I was so proud of her! As a little thank you, I made the sisters sweet pillowcases.

Shannon's Baby

Shannon works at our school as a PE and recess aide. She always has a smile on her face and speaks in soft tones. The kids LOVE her. Mrs. Shannon, as she is known, is now having a baby of her own. We will miss her at LCE. She was mum about the baby's gender so I went old school with the 1930's fabric and some hankies.

Bon Appetit Bob and Roz

I made these place mats for my jet setting friends Bob and Roz. Captain Bob is a pilot with Quantas and literally is a jet setter! We love the opportunity to spend time with him and his beautiful wife Roz. Back home in Australia, they own a winery, hence the wine theme fabric.

Happy July!

School's out and I'm loving it! I adore the kids, love my job, but let's face it, having the summer off is pretty wonderful. I have been sewing every day and even managed to dust the family room yesterday and clean the kitchen. Today I am off to deliver some fabric tubs to a friend and surprise my Angel Kathy with a 4th of July table runner. It is nothing fancy, but will add a bit of color to her table.

Happy Day and Helping Paws

Just trying to get some work finished and Rusty had other ideas. Thanks kitty.
We celebrated Carly's graduation and met her lovely family.

Helping Hands Festival for Haiti and Chile

I had the best day today. One of Girl Scout troops held a fundraiser to help the earthquake victims Haiti and Chile. This same group held their first festival after Hurricane Katrina. I am so proud of these girls. They made gift items for sale, had music, a magician, a garage sale, games, and craft booths. The fire department came with the big hook and ladder truck. Even Miss La Canada made an appearance. I made a quilt and it sold right away. I love hanging out with 2nd graders, but watching them grow up is pretty cool too.

Isn't She Lovely?

We met Carly today. Billy never stopped smiling. She is smart, funny, talented, lovely, and she makes my son happy. We heart Carly.

Found the Camera!

My camera goes between home and school everyday. So does a tote bag for the computer, a lunch bag, a purse, and a bag of stuff full of what ever the kids and I are doing. The camera has been lost for almost a week. It was hiding in the bag I put away containing all the supplies for the Brownie troop project. I was so proud of myself for being organized, and the poor camera was buried under several yards of brown wool felt.

Here is the lovely quilt I received from Melanie of Australia. This was for the Doll Quilt Swap 8. It has 213 little triangles. Yes those little bits of color are pieced in. Yikes! I don't like to work this small, but I love it when someone does it for me! It is finished off with a narrow border of Kaffe and there are kitties on the back. All in all I would say this is a perfect quilt. Thank you Melanie!

Another late thank you is for the When, When contest Rusty and I won. Lynne and MIllie sent us yummy cat treats and the best chocolate I have ever had. I didn't get to be this shape by not knowing about chocolate. This stuff is amazing and they have a web site! www.vanotis.com

Busy, Busy Weekend

It is Sunday night and I am sitting on the sofa with my sweet kitty and I'm watching Celebrity Apprentice. I have been on a frantic schedule all weekend to finish up four projects. I'm pooped! Project One was to finish up a quilt for 2 year old Lily. I volunteered through Margaret's Hope Chest. Lily loves kitties. The quilt has animals and other things hidden in the stitches. She can sing Twinkle, Twinkle while she traces around the star inner border. It is ready to be mailed on Monday. I also included a stuffed kitty and some chocolate and bubble bath for Lily's mom.

Project Two was to embroider 7 aprons for the Lovely Luncheon Ladies at work. Every 6 weeks they come to school and make an extraordinary lunch for us. I bought the aprons and just added the names. The group is coming on Wednesday for a St. Patrick's Day Lunch. This leprechaun has a little surprise for them.

Project Three was to hem a wedding gown for a friend. Thank goodness she is a size 0 and that dress was narrow. I spent hours re-beading the hemline as all the beads fell off when I cut off the extra three inches! The gown is silk lawn and I have been keeping it safe covering every surface it touched with a sheet. I still need to hem the silk lining. The wedding is April 3.

Project Four is my Brownie sewing lesson. I will have 12 little sewers in my classroom after school on Friday. I make a small pillow with buttons on the corners. The kids will embroider a pillow topper which will button on. They leave with a finished project in about an hour. It takes me just a few hours :) to make all the pillows. Next month I'll have another troop with 16 girls.

Good night moon!

I took a class today in using Voice Thread. This was a practice with one of my favorite pups, Charlie! Try leaving a comment of your own! Charlie would love it.

Meet Carly

Billy and Carly at Disneyland. Billy and most of his friends have passes to the park. When Billy moved out, who became his room mate? Tigger of course! He is the nicest tiger you'd ever meet.

Little Red - Doll Quilt Swap 8

Little Red and her friend are ready to be mailed tomorrow. My partner had no real preference and told me to have fun. I did! I have quite collection of Little Red books, dolls, even jewelry. I wish I had made one to keep. I hope she will love her new home.

Really Irish

The State Department of Education is sending a team next week to see if we qualify for a Distinguished School Award. We are consistently number 1 or 2 in the state of California; it's about time we have the title. Everyone is sprucing up for the big visit. Our library always has interesting displays for the children. The librarian has an Underground Railroad quilt and asked me if I had an Irish quilt or anything green. Nope, but I can whip up something! I grew up hearing, "There are only two kinds of people, the Irish and those who wish they were." I guess I am really Irish. How else do you explain that I had all of this green fabric (plus more) and 4 yards each of 2 different leprechaun prints? Really Irish or really crazy.

Trysha

One of our teaching staff, Trysha, is battling cancer. She taught 6th grade language arts with great passion. I made this book themed quilt filled with wishes and prayers for her complete recovery. The pattern is called Piece of Cake from Thimble Blossoms. I used fat quarters, but the pattern goes even faster with a layer cake.

Puppy Sitting! Shhhh....Don't tell Rusty

I am puppy sitting for the long Presidents' Day weekend. I was supposed to just come and feed and tuck the little guy in, but he didn't do well the first night. So now we are together 24/7. I left him with Rob for about 30 minutes so I could spend time with the cat and Brody barked the entire time. He missed me! He had a baseball game today and 3 walks. Right now he is passed out asleep. Here is Rob meeting Brody for the first time.

Two Posts in One Day!

I came across this request for help. 9-patches are quick and maybe you already have some on hand? I do!

Bags for Haiti

My sweet friend Baumcat gave me the idea to make these little ditty bags. Ten bags went together very quickly and they are on their way to Mineapolis and then Haiti.

Craft Hope for Haiti

I donated one of my burp cloth sets and it sold! I'm very excited to see all the beautiful items for sale to benefit Doctors without Borders. The ladies at Craft Hope have set up and etsy site and are accepting donations. Scroll down their web page for instructions.

Truth

I need to make a confession. I like ribbon. I love ribbon. There I said it.
Love,
Rusty

Happy Birthday Rusty!

My little man cat is 15 years old today. We brought him home on January 5, 1996. The vet thought he was about a year old and had been living on the streets of Pasadena. We had to sign a disclaimer that he could be a "danger" because he bit the animal control agent. He has hardly been a danger! This kitty has been my best friend for 14 years and I'm praying for at least another 20! Happy Birthday Rusty!