St. George in January

January 27-30, 2011 Richard had a class to teach to a bunch of firemen down in Ivins, Utah. Since the classes were in the evening, he was free all day so I decided to go with him. We took our own car so I could have transportation for the 3-5 hours he was teaching. 

During the days we saw some of the sites in the area. One of the first places we went was to the Jacob Hamblin home. He had quite the estate. It's amazing what he was able to accomplish business wise with all the missions he went on to the Hopi and Navajo people.

There was lots of cool stuff in Jacob Hamblin's home. I've always had a love of saddles and this one is really nice and in great shape.

I thought this ceiling (which was also the floor of the loft) was very interesting in that the joists were not evenly placed. I wonder if there was a special reason for that or if they just didn't care or what.

We also went to the St George Tabernacle which is where James Cottam pumped the organ for the songs played during the 'Windows of Heaven' meeting.

There is a newer road in the area. It's called Snow Canyon Parkway and goes from Hwy 18 (better known as the road to Veyo) out to Ivins. Along the parkway there is a large round-about which has beautiful, life sized, bronze statues. I've always loved horses and this colt is beautiful.

 The Mustangs

Ed Hiavka, Sculptor

 I love this Indian Brave and his horse. Every detail of this piece depicts the strain of the chase.

 There is another round-about in Ivins. This just fascinated me how these big slabs of rock are held up by such a little one. It's more amazing in person.

While I was out on my own with the car, I visited the quilt shop Judy works at. Judy was on vacation somewhere but there is a lovely quilt she made up at Scrap Apple Quilts. She said it's the best shop in town. I went to a couple others and I have to agree.

I also had lunch with Joann. She's so hilarious and we had a great time as well as found a good Mexican diner.

 On our way home, we stopped at Cove Fort, just north of I-70. 

Christmas 2010

Sonia made lots if these cute aprons and Hillary is one of the proud recipients.

Adelyn was either on Shawn's lap or Marc's the whole time.

Gift cards mean new clothes for Marc who has lost about 50 pounds.

I'm sure this book will come in handy for me!

Gift cards and chocolate. What more does a girl need?

Tasha and Emma with their pillow cases that are a taste of the curtains to come. I found these fabrics just days before Christmas so they had to wait awhile for the curtains.

Sharing a secret look.

Books that came with a dolphin purse and necklace.

"I might even be a rock star!" Tasha is no longer a Hannah Montana fan but that is what popped into my mind when I saw this fun picture.

The quilt I made Sami

The quilt I made Adelyn

The nice luggage we got Marc to replace the kiddy one he's been using. His flights to New York to help with weddings are getting more frequent and he needed something more durable and roomy.

Opening the box of family presents from Roxanne and Leland.

Gifts from James were a big hit... almost literally!

This slinky from James was great. Adelyn has loved it and played with it constantly.

You can see how much Emma would love to play with this. Too bad breaking the lights is a problem!

Pretty necklace from Bar Harbor, Maine. Cruises are great for getting Christmas gifts that aren't the normal fare.

Now it's time for yummy food!

My massive Christmas tree. It's about time to start weathering it to plant out on our property.

Of course everyone visited the cutest Moseley couple in the world to wish them a Merry Christmas.

Thanksgiving 2010

For Thanksgiving, Roger and his kids came to town. It was great to see them all! What started out to be a small cozy and intimate gathering turned into quite the festive, chaotic celebration. I thought it would be way too much for our parents but they did fairly well. It took my Mother-in-law a couple weeks to feel fully rested though.

Benjamin, Matthew, Nate, Roger, & Lonnie;

4 Handsome Generations of Moseley men.

Everyone was trying to get Benjamin to be all excited over this beautiful turkey but he just didn't care.

Samantha, Natasha, Natalie, Emma and Adelyn

Meredith with Grandma and Grandpa Moseley

Marty and Roger. I love this picture!

Benjamin, Natasha, Natalie and Emma

Richard, Roger and Russ/Scott

Samantha with Uncle Russ' magnetic glasses.

Natasha trying to win a wrestling match with Marc.

Nate kept hanging and swinging from the table. It was so cute!

Cousins! Hillary, Matthew, Jamie, Jessica and Meredith.

The day after Thanksgiving a bunch of us went to Temple Square. Me, Meredith, Matthew, Emma, Natasha, Benjamin, Sonia and Tiffany with Nate and Adelyn in strollers and Samantha looking at them. We told Matthew to meet us up in the rotunda of the North Visitor’s Center where the Christus is. We arrived first and as we were waiting, we could look over the railing at all the people coming up that long ramp. Samantha and Adelyn saw past the ramp to a display of the Good Samaritan and begged me to “go see the dead guy”! What a hoot! Grandpa humored them and took them down. After walking around Temple Square and seeing all the fun displays, we all went out to dinner. Yum!

Meredith caught this picture of me doing the dishes on Thanksgiving. It turned out to be one of my best pictures.

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.

Hampton Remodel (August/September 2010)

Remodeling a home is no small feat. Nor is it inexpensive! At least I had a wonderful contractor that didn't charge me an arm and a leg. This is the house my dad bought back in the 70s. He rented it mostly to family. His Aunt Rita lived there until she couldn't care for herself any more. My sister and her family lived there for a little while and my dad lived there for many years too. My daughter Roxanne has lived there since dad passed away in 2004. We did a few things to fix it up with plans to do others but this last July Leland got a great job up in Portland, Oregon. With the house vacant, it was a good time to give it the over haul it badly needed. This is the original before picture.













These next two pictures are of the entry and then the living room. They are crisp and clean with new paint and new floorings. New walls too as the old wallboard was so brittle. We tore it down, put up insulation and then new wallboard.

 Now we come to two pictures are of the bedroom area. The first is looking in through the doorway into the living room. The furnace is one of two main items that are about the only old things left but we had a professional give it a check up. The second picture looks toward the bathroom. The cupboard is a nice addition. The bottom door houses the new water heater while the top door is a nice spacious area for towels, linens or whatever.

Be careful you don't fall down the 'stair' looking at these next two pictures! The half stair from bedroom to the bathroom, laundry and closet area has been a great joke in the family. My contractor had the plumbing brought up to code and turned in the laundry area so how the washer can face out instead of being sideways. I gave him free rein in the bathtub surround area and I love what he came up with. I still think it's amazing that there were tiles out to match the old bathtub. It's the old iron type covered with porcelain. That thing will last forever.

  

I love the plumbing company my contractor used; Day and Night Plumbing. I'd had the plumbing in the kitchen worked on before and that plumber couldn't make it any different than to stick out into the room. The picture here of the kitchen sink area shows the skinny cabinet that covers the plumbing that Day and Night was able to hide behind it. I love that skinny cabinet! Love all the new cabinets. Most were done prior to this remodel. The cabinets with the glass doors were added at my contractors suggestion and they look great!

Finally, the outside of the home. New soffeting, new gutters and drains, new door opening and new paint. It's a very nice little cottage home that my daughter Sonia now calls home.