Red, the Color of the Year

At least it seems to be the color for weddings. I have made two bridesmaid dresses so far this year. That right there is already a record. Both dresses have been red and in need of a major overhaul from the selected pattern.
The first dress I made was for Amy Davies in January. She was a bridesmaid just days before shipping out on her mission to California. The second dress was for Danielle Nay for her brother Anthony's wedding May 4th. She is pictured here (left end) with the bride & groom, other bridesmaids and groomsmen.

Curtis Bryce Howard

Many years ago Hillary went to school and became friends with an awesome girl named Shelly. I've known Shelly and her little brother Landen (who became friends with Roxanne) for years. They are great kids with neat parents, brothers and sisters so it was no big stretch to become involved when a fundraiser was being held for Shelly's older brother who had been diagnosed with cancer.

Like most fundraisers of this nature, it was held to generate money to help pay for medical bills. It did quite well. I crocheted several little hats and made this quilt to help the cause. I also went to the dinner put on to sell all the stuff they had donated.

Machine Applique' Class

November 18, 2010 I went to a Machine Applique' class with my friend Karey and her daughter Danielle. I'd tried my hand at it years ago without a class but just basically using a zigzag stitch around Character cut-outs on quilts I made my girls when they were little. That kind of applique is very visible. This class was for the invisible stitching and I welcomed something new and spending time with friends.

A couple things that are good to know before you start are to cut your block 1-2 inches larger than needed. (ie: 10-1/2” to 11” for a 9-1/2” block.) Freezer wrap shrinks when you iron it on so draw the appliqué pattern on the back of the block. Find the center of your block and put a dot on center back for squaring when finished.

As shown in the top picture, you first iron freezer wrap paper on the wrong side of your applique' fabric. If the fabric for the background of the block is light, put paper underneath for appliqué placement. Dark fabric needs a light box.

  Fold applique' fabric back over freezer wrap while taking little tiny basting stitches close to folded edge as in the second picture. Tack to block with dots of "Roxanne Glue". "Roxanne Glue" is a temporary glue that dissolves quickly. It's good for use in some applications but I personally don't like gluing some projects.  For instance, I would never want to put glue on a quilt I was making that I intended to become an heirloom. It's fine for any project you don't mind washing or having a little glue residue in the finished product. You may want to fasten your applique' to your block with fine pins instead of the glue.

      Now you're ready to machine applique'. Picture 3 has the settings to my sewing machine. Normally you would sew with invisible monofiliment (nylon) thread but we were sewing with a dark thread so we could see what we were doing for practice. Carefully sew around the outside of your applique' with a hem stitch so that just the stitch over catches the applique'. Picture 4 shows the detail while picture 5 shows the whole applique'.

        At this point you can remove the basting stitches. Then cut out the back of the block fabric 1/4" inside of the applique' stitching. Spritz with water to remove paper. Wah-lah! One block perfectly done.

They're Growing!

July 9th Richard borrowed a friends truck, rented a tractor and went to the property to scrape a fence line/firebreak. The job was not without it's trials and only got half done.
As you can see, the area can be a little rugged and there was the learning curve on how to drive this bucking bronco of a tractor but the biggest problem was that the tractor lost a tire. Yep, it shimmied and shook and the tire came off the rim. Can't do anything with a gimpy tractor. Richard had to stay the night knowing nothing more would get accomplished and pondering how to get the tractor back on it's trailer without damaging things further. Once morning came he got that accomplished and drove back to town, got the tire fixed and didn't even get charged for anything, including the use of the tractor! He'll try again later in the summer. For now, everything is going well with the plants. they are growing and a few even had berries which were quickly munched by the local birds and rabbits.

Planting Trees

This last weekend the family spent a good deal of time at our property. We went thinking we'd spend two days planting trees and bushes. That didn't happen. There was the mondo watering system to build first. That took more than the two days but on day three, there was enough done to start planting. This tree is a Nanking Cherry and was the first tree planted on the property next to that cute little emitter on the hose. Richard worked all day Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to get the watering system completed to where it actually waters. There have been many bumps along the way. There are 8 - 500' lengths of hose to plant along. We have 400 trees/bushes so they are planted about every 10' and we have two lines planted so that's about 100 plants with 300 to go.

The weather is forcing us to take a break but we hope to be back at it and get the rest planted this coming Saturday. Then we can start planning our play time!

My Latest Project

Material Girls is a fabulous quilt and crafting shop. They have patterns for all kinds of fun things besides quilts as well as what to do with quilts. (I'm going to have to ask about an afghan they have... I just love it!) I was there one day and up on their wall I saw a round quilt called Bare Feet Only. It was small and round like an area rug (but looked like an ugly pizza). It inspired me with what to do for some family members for Christmas 2010. I didn't like the pizza look so was on the look-out for a nice pattern that would make a pretty area rug. This picture is what I found. It's very easy and I have two tops of the four I plan to make finished. I'm planning to back them with a light-weight denim for durability. I'd also like to machine quilt them myself if I can figure out how.

Solar Panels or Bust!

Not long after James returned from AIT, he started going up to our property with dad. His friend and fellow soldier, Private Hemsley, went with them the first time. They put in all those bolt thingees you see in the picture.

Then on the second trip, the rails were attached and bolted in. This was all quite the project because this is a very steep roof on the shed. They also had more bolt things to put up. If I remember right, it took two trips to get all the rails up.

Then came the panels. Fortunately dad was able to take a couple days off of work while it was good weather. The solar panels took two days to get them all up, bolted to the rails, and wired into the electrical box that will run the solar pump down in the well.

After all this work, the pay-off was that when everything was bolted and clamped down, taped and screwed and the switch flipped, it worked and watered flowed at about 4 gallons/minute. Not bad for solar panels that hadn't seen the sun until they were brought out of their box and put on the roof.

Some of the funniest stories came out of the little Country Store in Fruitland. There is a little lady, Charlotte, that runs it. The Country Store also has tables and chairs if you'd like to sit and get a bit of lunch. Charlotte will come take your order and another gal makes it. Charlotte is so funny tho. She has quite a dry sense of humor and the best poker face around. She really likes people to enjoy their food and eat it all. Once James didn't eat all of his fries and she drilled him on why. Another time Leland ordered a very large meal and Charlotte told him he was too little to eat all that. She was right and she didn't let him live it down the next time he ate there... said she was gonna have to babysit him! She's quite a hoot.

Thar be cement in them thar hills!

Flowing water to follow, probably by the end of the summer. However, that doesn't mean a bathroom. This last Friday we met (and paid) three groups of men up at 'the property'. The first group were dirt diggers and movers. The second group were cement layers and finishers. The third was in a group by himself... he was the cement truck driver.

During the week, the cement guys had laid out the forms in the places we wanted. The dirt guys came early on friday to build up the dirt so that the leveled forms wouldn't have cement running out from the bottom. We got their while this was happening so James pitched right in with our rake and helped get the job done. Just in time too. The cement guys came about 10am and laid out the rebar to strenghten the cement then the cement truck arrived about 10:30am.

All the men were really nice, hard-working fellows. The older gentleman on the cement crew sure looked familiar to me (like maybe he was someone I met through my dads connections). His cousin captured our funny bones. This fellow was so fun and looked like he should be on one of those cowboy greeting cards. He told us funny stories like this one: "Dang it's hot in Missouri. Why it was so hot the corn started popping right off the cobs. So much corn popped all the cows thought it was snowing and do you know them cows laid down and froze to death!"

I took the opportunity to take some pictures of things I wanted. When I was out to the property after our family camp, I was looking for the birdhouse and birdfeeder that Natasha and Emma painted. James had hung them up just before we left that day and I didn't get a chance to take pictures. I hadn't been able to find them both for some reason and we'd been pressed for time. Friday I found them both. I'm not sure there are birds small enough out there to make a home out of this one, or the ceder one I'd bought but they sure did empty the bird feeder. Now that I know where everything is, I'll have to get more bird seed and fill them up.

I also took pictures of the trench that was dug. Part of the dirt groups job was to dig this trench from the well to the tank pad. We had three cement pads poured: shed pad, water tank pad, and a trailer pad for the trailer we hope to have someday. The distance from the well to the tank pad is about 210 feet. When I thought of a trench to lay pipe, I was thinking more of the type you'd dig through your yard to put in PVC. This thing is more like a war zone trench. It's certainly big enough to fit nice young soldiers in... just see exibit A where my soldier is in the trench. James was carefully chipping the cement casing away from the well so we can drill a hole for a pitless adapter. It's some dad-gummed thing we have to have to get water out of it and into pipes below ground level so everything doesn't just freeze and break.

EMT Graduation May 19, 2009

Last Tuesday night was certainly an interesting evening. A lot more people showed up for their EMT graduation, with family in tow, than was anticipated. "B" class just rocks that way. There were several references to the differences in the "A" and "B" classes. "A" class was apparently dull and boring so you know it had to be the kids cuz the teachers were the same!

James was asked to talk at the graduation. Since two of his JROTC buddies were also in the EMT classes, he incorporated Army values into his talk. It was interesting and well done. Nerves set in a little for the execution of the talk. Even though a couple parts were missed, James ad-libbed fairly well and I think I was the only one who knew anything was missing. Now he just needs to pass his state exams!

Domestic Divas Unite!

Man, have I been busy! Since my last post, I met with Sarah Marcrum who is the Magna Central's Stake Wardrobe Director. Our stakes were to combine for the three dances but our stake has almost twice the amount if youth as theirs. We decided just to divide the responsibilities so we have the German and Scottish dances and Magna Central has the Irish dance. It was fun to meet with Sarah and show her everything. A few days later we met with our Dance Coordinators, Kim and Melanee, and together we decided what the costuming should look like. Getting other people's inputs keeps making my job easier and easier!

I've managed to get a ward wardrobe coordinator for each ward and was able to have a nice meeting with about half of them. The other half I've had to rush through their duties which wasn't my preference. Last night we all went to the dance practices and measured our kids. Having each ward there made it go really fast because each ward only had 10-15 kids. Much better than trying to measure almost 120 kids by myself!!! There are still a few to track down.

We're going to begin sewing soon because the costumes need to be finished by May 9th. Flyers are going out Sunday to tell the youth what they need to provide for their costumes (everyone should have their own shoes, socks, etc.) and to ask for supply donations. I am hoping we have lots of material donated within the week because that is the most expensive part. (I can only imagine what was spent on the costumes we borrowed!) Everything has been going so smoothly and I'm excited about all the help I'm getting for this great project.

You're Gonna Be Hearing A Lot About This!

You see, about a month ago I was asked to be the Stake Wardrobe Coordinator. Since then, I've changed my title to Stake Wardobe Director because I'm having Ward Wardrobe Coordinators called (that means someone else figures out who can help and asks them for me) and it just seems more fitting that I direct them instead of coordinate them.

And why would I be asked to do such a thing? And beyond that, what would I do? And not really having a clue about this, why did I say 'yes'? I was really wondering that myself when I was asked! I was like, 'you've gotta be kidding!' Then, just a couple days later I was at a fireside (spiritual meeting in the evening, usually on Sunday) and afterward this lady comes up to me and says she's a costume designer and that she would be willing to help me with whatever I need. Wow... cool. Now the trick is to figure out what I need.

Through a series of meetings which seemed to make me more and more confused and overwhelmed, I eventually got a clue. This production is not as huge as the 'Day of Celebration' I was a little involved with about 4 years ago but it's pretty big. We anticipate having 3000 kids just in the choir and probably twice that in the different dances. With two LDS temples being built in the Salt Lake valley, it was decided just a few short months ago to involve the youth (ages 12-18) in a celebration of song and dance. Now, this isn't any random song and dance. Each dance segment tells a portion of a story from when the pioneers first arrived here and found the indians who populated this region, to present day. That's a lot of ground to cover. There are about 15 different dances to tell the story. Our little 3-4 minute segment is a re-creation of a town social where a few of the immigrants who came here get together and show off their 'skills'. We have Scottish, Irish and German costuming for our number and that is where I come in. I've been swimming in costumes since last Friday when I picked up the costumes we have been blessed to borrow. I've been counting and measuring and sorting. These pictures show a few of the costumes. Here is the German costume from the back. The tie you see is from an apron that we have to shorten a bit because it totally takes over the front of the costume and you can't see the pretty skirt fabric. We may or may not use the wreath... I haven't decided that yet.

This cute green skirt with the shawl is our Irish outfit. We have a few costumes of another style that we have borrowed but I'm not sure if they will get used or not, or if the two styles will clash. The good news is I was able to pick up a lot of green material to make what we need, FREE! I sure hope we have enough.

The German guys will be in knickers with suspenders to simulate lederhosen like these fine men. Our Scottish guys get to wear kilts and I've been surprised by the number of young men who are willing to wear them. We have about 15! Making the plaid skirts for the girls and the kilts is going to be a fairly big job. I've got about 48 yards of plaid material for the skirts and am hoping for lots of donations (or dollar fabric) for the kilts.

Doesn't this sound like a lot of work? It is but it's so fun! I wouldn't have thought I'd be having this much fun a month ago. I think it's because I remember the other celebration so well and how much fun it was that I'm so excited for this group of kids to have this opportunity to celebrate having these new temples. It helps that James gets a second opportunity to participate in this kind of production. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and it's rare that he gets this second chance.

Scrappin Presents

A week ago Saturday I went scrappin with the girls. I hauled all my stuff over to Sonia's where Hillary, her friend Erika, Sonia and I set up all our scrap book supplies. I also took my computer and that was my downfall. I never did get to my traditional scrapping. However, having recently finished sorting the massive amounts of pictures from our cruise last summer, I spent the evening pulling the ones I wanted to share with Cynthia and uploading them to Snapfish to make her a nice book. Cynthia (on my left) was with a large group of women from her church who came on this cruise. She was very outgoing and was always delighted to see us. We had promised to share pictures but she doesn't have a computer so I'd decided to make her a book and with Snapfish's discount, it was as cheap to have them make this book as printing the pictures out. Plus, big bonus, I got another book free. That one is going to be someones Christmas present. Yep, I have already started on Christmas 2009 but only because I had a fabulous idea and Snapfish had a great discount and freebee.

Tutti Frutti Dresses: Part Deux

The dresses turned out great! They are so cute and I personally LOVE the sleeves on them... especially Addie's. Her's were a bit different on the pattern I used and I decided to go with them... so Q! So I made the drive to Syracuse today to take them and get pictures. I had no idea what it was like to be Auntie and have children swarm you but I found out today cuz Auntie wasn't there and I was. Oh my goodness! They made me laugh wanting me to do everything they could think of to do. I even played the High School Musical game (actually it was pretty fun) and made chalk pictures. Oh... and way fun for the girls was to have grammie eat lunch over... who knew?

Tutti Frutti Slide Show!

Americana Double Pinwheel Quilt

Grandma started this quilt some time ago. She's given me quite a number of quilts to finish. There were four double pinwheel blocks finished for this one and she'd planned to put them with some football blocks for a U of U quilt. To me, the two just didn't go together. I've given the football blocks to Sonia to make something for one of her avid football loving nephews. I made 8 more double pinwheel blocks and then took Sonia shopping with me for material for the sashings and borders. It cost a lot but I had the time to finish it with James and dad off snow caving. The top is all done now and looks great. Now on to the Tutti Frutti dresses and then to finish my Jacob's ladder quilt. (Sonia said I should add a picture so here it is. It's not a real good photo as light is behind it but you do get the idea. It will be bound with the blue border material.)