Williams Family Reunion

The Williams family (Mom's dad's family) had their annual family reunion picnic this Sat. in Mitchell. We had a great time and enjoyed the company of 2 great aunts and lots of cousins.
Mikaela got to see her great-great aunts for the second time, since we had visited them in May.
Daddy and Mikaela hung out and visited.

Mikaela was a tired little girl after lunch and needed a nap.

Grandpa Hugh and Mikaela hung out for a while in the afternoon. She even wore the hat Great Aunt Jane made for her (usually she throws it off). Her new little onesie says Grandpa's Girl. Cousin Molly was running the whole time. She's a very busy 3 year old!

Uncle Jim gave her lots of horsey rides.

Great-Great Aunt Mildred just had to hold her.

It was such an enjoyable day and we really had a good time. We even got to spend Sunday at Grandpa's house. I worked on lots of embroidery and hope to finish up a few projects in the next couple weeks. Daddy went hunting with my brother and dad. We'll be back there this weekend as it's open pheasant hunting weekend.

October Groovy Girls

Friday night was our October Groovy Girls night. We showed pillows and different ways to make the pillows. It was so fun to see all the variations to the pattern. 

We had a large group of ladies there for the evening.

Hannah was our helper and she showed how to do the tube turners to make the rosettes.

After it was over we stayed and sewed. We had a great time and really enjoyed visiting. I was able to get the borders on this UFO of mom's. It's going to the Terra Sancta retreat center.

I have to make a backing for it now and get it quilted.

Blush Top DONE!

Paul's been working in Pierre all week, so after I got Mikaela to bed, I had some sewing time. I was able to put all the blocks together for my Blush quilt on Monday and Tuesday nights. On Wed. I decided it needed the border extended down into the quilt, so I tore the seams and added pieces to the top and bottom. I love how it turned out.


I bought the fabric for the borders on clearance when I was in Dell Rapids, so I only paid $12 for the entire top! The jelly roll was won in a drawing Cindy from Blue Bird Sewing had. It had words and was very directional, so I cut the borders lengthwise. I measured all the borders and the entire top was sewn with the 1/4" foot. For those of you who know me well. I almost always sew with the walking foot and I don't always measure my borders the "correct" way. I actually took the time to do so on this quilt.

Thurs. night Paul was home, so he watched Mikaela so I could measure and get the borders put on. It's now ready for quilting. I just have to put the backing together, but I haven't been home long enough to do that yet. I do have all the fabric, so it will go together quickly!

Mikaela is 37 Weeks Old!

Mikaela turned 37 Weeks Old on October 5th! She's quite the little girl now. She's moving all around and getting into everything. She can't quite walk, but she's very close. She can walk if she's holding on to anything.
We've had beautiful weather, so we went outside for pictures .

I just love how her blue eyes sparkle.

She's so full of energy and doesn't like to sit still.

She's constantly moving and loves to crawl.

September Quilting Accomplishments

September was a very productive month for me! I made several samples for the store and even realized I'm missing a few pictures. I made this name tag holder for Groovy Girls.

This pillow is for Oct. for GG's.

Another Pillow for GG's

A QAYG baby quilt with prairie points sample for the store.

A Diaper Clutch for my cousin Molly.

Patti's block for the Friendship Block Swap

Bound a Mug Rug for Kim at work as I passed on the Atta girl award to her.

Bound a wall hanging my mom had done in a mystery quilt night at our quilt retreat last year.

Quilted Jenn's Hunky Dory quilt

Made Jacque's block for the Friendship Block Swap

Made two Diaper clutchs out of the sandbox fabric.

Made the blocks for the Crown Royal quilt.


I got 66 hours in and I feel like I accomplished a lot. I've already set goals for October.
I plan to make a baby blanket for our friend Jory's little boy Bridger.
I'm working on putting my Blush quilt together and would like to get it finished.
I'm finishing up a quilt for our daycare lady out of the Wanna Be a Cowboy fabric.
I'd also like to work on mom's Jim Shore quilt and my Mocha Meringue quilts. We'll see how well I do, since these are all big quilts.

Bits and Pieces

Last night I sewed the binding on this little mug rug for my co-worker Val. I'd been meaning to get it ready for her birthday last month, but got busy and didn't get it done. She loves it!

I also laid out the Blush blocks to see how I could put them together. I'm trying to see if I have the colors evenly distributed.

I literally did this after Mikaela went to bed last night, so it was a bit dark. I'll look at it again tonight before I sew them together.

I think with a border, it will make a great throw quilt. I have plenty of fabric to make a large border and pieced backing, so I think I'm good to go to finish this one this month.

This past weekend I made a quilt for our daycare lady from start to finish! I cut it out late Fri. night, made the blocks Sat. and put it together Sat. night, and quilted it and bound it on Sun. I'm working on the hand work, but since I don't have to have it done until Dec. I'm good to go. It's going to be her Christmas present.

It's that time of year to think about participating in my UFO Sew Down event. This year I'll be picking one UFO to work on and finish. It runs from October 10-November 11th, so if you're interested, let me know. All you'll have to do is write a blog post or Facebook post about your UFO and your progress in getting it done. The one I'll be working on is 3+ years old, but I just haven't been faithful in working on it and that's going to change. Who wants to join me in getting rid of at least 1 UFO??

Mikaela is 36 Weeks Old

Mikaela turned 36 Weeks Old on Sept. 28th.
She loves to move around in her crib. She can hang on and walk around things, like her crib, now.

She still has just the 2 front teeth, but she's usually smiling.

She crawls all over and won't sit still.

I just love how her eyes sparkle.



She'll be walking soon as she loves to pull herself up and walk around the coffee table. I've seen her balance a few times without holding on, so I know it's a matter of time!

5 Yard Wanna Be a Cowgirl Quilt

Friday night I didn't feel like working on the Crown Royal blocks any more, so I decided to start something new. I have had my scraps of Wanna Be a Cowboy fabric all in a box and I had planned to use it to make a 5 yard quilt, so I pulled it out and started cutting. I knew it was going to have to be scrappy because I didn't have enough of any of the fabrics left.

I cut it out and started piecing Friday night, sewed the first set of blocks Sat. morning, sewed the framed blocks Sat. afternoon, and laid it out Sat. night. I got the top sewn together and put the borders on Sat. night.

Sunday I pieced the back together and loaded it on the frame. I got a few hours quilting time in, while Mikaela napped and was able to get it completely quilted. I put the binding on Sunday evening and started the hand sewn binding. I love how it turned out and I think it will make a great Christmas present for our daycare gal. She loves pink/brown and horses/boots/cowgirls stuff. She's always curled up on the couch when I get there, so I think this will make a great snuggle quilt for this winter.

I used a pink/brown variegated King Tut thread on top and a medium pink Bottomline.



The fabric in the borders is also on the back. I cut the binding on the bias so the stripes would look cool.

Crown Royal Quilt 2

In September I got busy and worked on my little brothers Crown Royal quilt. I'd like to have it done before Christmas, so I started sewing the blocks together. I did pretty good sewing 6 blocks a night, for 3 nights, then I got bored! The first night I looked at the fabric I had to see how I liked it. I think it's going to turn out awesome!! Just 12 blocks left to sew and I can put it together. My goal is to have the top done by the end of Oct.

As you may remember I made my other brother one for Christmas 2 years ago. I love how they turn out, but the cutting/sewing/pressing suck because it's all bias edges and you can't use a hot iron or you melt the thread.

So it's coming along and I hope I can get it done in the next few months. It's one of those lingering UFO's I just can't get rid of!