...On the rocks

Son-in-law visiting from Washington state had a goal of getting in some hiking/climbing while they were here over Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, the weather was pretty dismal for most of their visit.

His youngest and oldest brothers-in-law joined him early one morning ... drizzle and fog, but boys climbing on rocks are bound to have fun regardless of the weather!

I know, Rick, we don't have mountains to compare to what's in your own backyard. Shoot; how am I ever going to convince you to move East?!!

"On the rocks" HaHa ... did you think it had to do with alcohol?!!

Take your grandchild to work day

It was with great pleasure that I took Benjamin in to the office to meet my employer and co-workers. Of course, he was his usual pleasant, charming self and made quite a hit!





Your picture sits on my desk, Ben, and I look at it often, but it doesn't take the place of the real thing. Grandma loves you, big boy!

Rachel falls in love ...

DOES A GIRL EVER GET TOO OLD TO LOVE DOLLS ... ESPECIALLY WHEN THE DOLL IS THIS CUTE LITTLE GUY?!!





COME AGAIN, SOON, BENJAMIN ... WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!

Ahhh, Benjamin....

What a wonderful visit we had with little Benjamin. At six and a half months old, he is the happiest little guy you'd ever care to meet!



Everyone got in on the act of holding him and getting their picture taken. Well, everyone except grandma! Seems like I was always the photographer! Here Uncle Steven gives Benjamin a snuggle.



Auntie Rachel was absolutely smitten with his little majesty. They bonded really quickly. She wants to go with me the next time I fly to Washington.



We even got Uncle Jimmy to hold him ... and it didn't take too much persuading, either! He even stood in front of the football game and rocked Ben to sleep ... big softie!




Grampa and Benjamin got a lot of one-on-one time as they do share a common favorite past-time ... napping!!



I'm not sure when our next time together will be, but I can tell you this, it can't come soon enough!

Grampa's Birthday

What a nice birthday present that hubby should get to meet his first grandchild for the first time! Happy baby boy and tired parents got into Baltimore airport around 1 a.m. Okay, maybe it's the grandparents who were tired! Little guy is the friendliest sweetheart you'd ever care to meet; these four days are going to go fast, fast, fast!

Drum Roll Please!!! ...

AND THE AWARD FOR THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BABY IN THE WORLD GOES TO ...



BENJAMIN EDMUND NYE!!!



Okay, so maybe I'm just a little biased. But oh, my, goodness, couldn't he just win that prize?!!!

An awesome giveaway

There is an awesome giveaway that any quilter would love to win on the site cvquiltworks.blogspot.com



I didn't even know Moda put out such a thing as this sampler pack ... oh, my, fabric heaven!!!

I've not won a giveaway yet but I believe it's like the lottery ... you can't win if you don't play!

Weekend is starting off wet, surprise, surprise! Plenty to do indoors so best get at it!

October Works In Progress

I've been wanting to try my hand at these little wool felt candle mats and my last trip to the local quilt shop resulted in my coming home with $75.00 worth of materials ... and I only went for a spool or two of thread!!

I love the fact that these are all hand stitched, meaning I'm not totally tied to the sewing machine while I make them. No pattern per se for this one, just looked at a bunch and started winging it. I'm loving it so far!



I've had the fabric for this baby quilt for a while now and since the co-worker I'm making it for is now home on bed rest (baby not due til Christmas) I figured I'd better get my rear in gear (such a lovely saying :/ !!) So here is a simple disappearing nine patch all quilted and ready to bind. But do I have the right fabric for that little task? Nooo!! So a trip to somewhere that sells fabric is in the very near future.



I'm still looking for one more person to sign on for my Pay It Forward...c'mon, now folks...you have a WHOLE YEAR to make your three little projects. You know you don't want to miss out on this!

Pay It Forward

Okay, bloggy friends, this sounds like fun! I want to sign up for a Pay It Forward with someone I've "met" through my online quilting adventures and to do so, I need to put out the same offer. I will create something handmade for the first three people to comment on this post. The catch is that you first have to have a blog and create a post offering to do your own Pay It Forward. Now won't it be sad if no one comments?!! Boo-hoo!!!

p.s. I need to mention, you have a full year (365 days!!) to do it in, and you can do whatever you want whenever you want. Totally spontaneous! I'm eager to participate!

October Swaps in progress

October has been a busy swap month. But a fun one. The pink hexagons are for Natasha in Germany, a new venture for me, but I was intrigued enough to try them again for the Teeny, Tiny Quilt Swap. The little peek (since it hasn't been mailed yet; also on my to-do list this morning...)is a little Halloween quilt I made for Rachel Locke in MS (Mississippi?) and the star block is for Skipper (aka Stephanie) in Utah. What an awesome way to "make friends" all over the world!



And to top it all off, I've joined another virtual quilting Bee. Bee Crazy. Appropriately named. My month is still a couple away, so I have time to think about what I want to do and what fabrics I'd like to use. Fun, fun!



Don't have to go to work until 1:00 today. Then Friday night's rained out football game was rescheduled to this evening. Wowsers, my week is going to be all upside down! Hope yours is a good one.

It's a Great Giveaway, Charlie Brown!

Check out this awesome giveaway being sponsored through V and Co. I have a couple of nieces who have little daughters who'd make great use of Amy's patterns. And her new Marabella fabric line is absolutely gorgeous! Of course, as always, although I wish you luck, I so, so, so want to win myself!!!

FYI: They all grow up II

So I found this months ago and saved it for the baby. Didn't even know the baby was Benjamin at the time. And here he is, wearing it all ready!! I'd say "isn't he adorable?!!" but that's a rather silly question, isn't it?!!!

FYI: They all grow up !!!

My baby girl all dressed up for Homecoming.



Seems like yesterday she was just learning to walk ... and it wasn't in four inch heels!!

A beautiful wedding....

My nephew Brian and his beautiful bride Jessica exchanged vows Friday afternoon in a simple outdoor ceremony held at the Allenberry Playhouse. I wondered to myself why they chose to have the wedding on a Friday, as Saturday is more traditional. Maybe it was because Saturday turned out to be one of the rainiest days we've had in months...in fact, it's still raining!



Anna and Avery looked adorable in the pillowcase dresses Lisa made for them. The children were all very well behaved for both the ceremony and the reception. I'd say their parents are doing something right!



I was so pleased Shannon was able to come and meet some of Tim's family. He's right, he does look quite handsome, and Shannon looked lovely. Maybe the next wedding? Who knows!



It isn't very often that Steven has to fly solo, but Ashleigh couldn't get out of her field hockey match, so wasn't able to attend. He looks a little lost without her!



Here Brian and Steven try to "out-handsome" each other. Oh, those Weible boys! (And actually, Tim decided he was the most handsome of them all!)

Wedding Present

Old Red Barn Company Quilt Along 006
Originally uploaded by A peek at Donna's World

Now that the wedding gift has been presented, I can blog my finished product! Jess said that the colors will be perfect in their house. They seemed to really like it. I should get ambitious and make one for our house. Seems like for the amount of quilting/sewing I do, there isn't much here to show for it ... because I give it all away!

Ann's Wonky Red Stars for Bee Inspired .. 3 so far!

Ann's Wonky Red Stars for Bee Inspired .. 3 so far!
Originally uploaded by A peek at Donna's World

I packaged up five "wonky" stars for one of this month's Bee Inspired members. I had steered away from this kind of block because it just went against my grain to do something that was purposefully not "normal". Then I had no choice, because this is the block Ann from Denmark (I know, cool, huh?!!) chose. So I looked up some tutorials and found one that really worked for me. And lo and behold. These stars are made with about as much precision as you'd ever care to use in putting together a quilt square.

I started by giving some thought to how big I wanted the finished square to be. Ann requested a variety of sizes, but none bigger than 12 1/2 inches unfinished. The block is basically a nine patch, with the center block being a different color from the background blocks. Then you add various sized triangles to the outer blocks, basically using the flip and sew method. Assemble your nine patch block, pressing as you go, and voila! A Wonky Star Is Born! I've discovered that a little spray starch makes for a lovely finished product. These are going in the mail this morning on my way to work. Thanks, Ann, I've discovered a new favorite! (I like the name "Maverick" star as well.)

Sponsored Giveaway at V and Co

Vanessa Christenson has a pretty cool blog. I enjoy following it and reading about the everyday stuff she gets herself into. She's pretty amazing. And amazing would also describe the fantastic giveaway being sponsored by The Quilt Shoppe.



This is one generous giveaway. I've never won one yet, but there's a first time for everything, right?!! And I think it's like lottery tickets, "you gotta play to win!" So check it out and sign yourself up. And if YOU win, I'll pout a while, but I'll be okay.... and if I did this right, just click on the title to this post, and it'll take you right there!

DQS7 Received!

DQS7 Received!
Originally uploaded by A peek at Donna's World

So today was like Christmas. The FedEx driver was at the front door while the postman was at the backdoor. The postman brought me back my Old Red Barn quilt-along quilt which is now ready to be bound and washed/dried/crinkled and gifted to my nephew at his wedding in two weeks. And the FedEx driver, well, he got away before I could tell him how much I loved him ... brought me the most amazing package from Tiffany (aka: Tigglegiggles) with a beautifully feminine doll quilt that is embellished with yo-yo's and buttons, a matching pillow that is every bit as gorgeous no matter which side is up, a pincushion from the same fabrics, a honey-bun of Moda Object of Desire fabric strips, a canvas tote bag embellished with yo-yo's, a yo-yo maker (I can make some, too!), beautiful quilt themed greeting cards, and burp cloths for Benjamin! (Whew, that was quite the run-on sentence!) When I saw pics of this project in process on flickr, I'd think, wow, if only I could be that lucky. And I was! Thank you, so much, Tiffany. I am thrilled.

Tranquility by Moda

So I'd never purchased a "layer cake" before. You know, the Moda pre-cuts that are so much fun to work with. Well, these projects all came from one Tranquility (by Sandy Gervais) layer cake (for Moda). 40 ten inch squares, one from each selection of fabric design in this particular line.





The best part ... I still have enough left to make something else! Maybe another table runner; maybe another purse, I'm not sure. And I think I want to make a little pin cushion to include when I send out the friendship bag. Ahhh, isn't crafting fun?!!

Bee Inspired September- Karla's turn

Bee Inspired September Karla 006
Originally uploaded by A peek at Donna's World

Karla chose disappearing nine patch blocks from the Botanical Pop fabric line. I love the fabric and I love making disappearing nine patch blocks. And I couldn't resist taking a picture of my new camera (birthday present from my eldest and her family) to show how it matched Karla's fabric! My sixteen year old said yes, mom, you'd do that! Other pics on my flickr. Now I'm waiting for Ann's red and white fabric to arrive for wonky stars. Hip-hip-hooray!! And now this old lady needs to get some beauty sleep!

Friendship Bag Swap

I signed up for a swap that started from a tutorial Rachel Griffith of p.s.iquilt had done for a friendship bag. Well, you know me. I took the original idea of how to construct a bag/purse, whatever you want to call it, enlarged it, embellished it, and this is what I came up with.



I do like the ruffled pocket on the front, if I do say so myself! Ashleigh said her mom would like it, so I'm thinking of doing another one, even bigger, for her birthday in October. We'll see...

Christmas Block Swap All Received!

Christmas Block Swap All Received!
Originally uploaded by A peek at Donna's World

I now am the proud owner of twelve assorted scrappy Holiday blocks that I intend to make into a tree skirt. This was a fun swap to be involved in. Such a diverse assortment of fabrics were used, way more than I would have come up with within my own stash. That's what makes these swaps so great. Now to figure out how to lay out the tree skirt...hmmm? Any suggestions?

September Swaps Completed

Terri, from California, wants snowmen and Christmas blues and greens for her blocks, so this is what my stash yielded. Not snowmen per say, but snowmen accessories! I hope she likes it.

Susi in Germany wanted polka dots, so this was my version. It'll be interesting to see what the recipients do with their blocks. Only one more month [as two people dropped out :( ] and then this swap will be finished. I've some other projects to be working on, a friendship bag swap that I need to double-check the send date on (Got my SIL Peggy involved in that one ... her first swap!) so no problems staying busy.


Show and Tell A quilt for all.September 001
Originally uploaded by A peek at Donna's World

September's swap blocks for the Show and Tell Quilts for All are now done and ready to be mailed. I've discovered that you can't send internationally from the automated machine at the post office, so I'll get these packaged up and head out to work early Tuesday. I have one to Germany and one to Canada as well as a couple within the U.S.


p.s. Ooops, Rachel, no, I didn't forget about our Bee Inspired swap, but I haven't even received the fabrics yet, so obviously can't be done with that one! Eagerly awaiting..... "No, Mr. Postal Delivery Person, I am most certainly NOT mentally unbalanced!"

A fashion statement

Rhonda bought Steven some fancy outdoorsy britches for his birthday and when I caught that he was wearing them, I thought I'd grab a picture for her.



And these were sitting on the step at my elbow, so I thought, why not? So here's a little taste of Autumn color soon to come...



Of course, according to Steven, the photo SHOULD be of his new gun. The first one he's purchased all by himself (so now he's officially a registered gun owner.).



He came home from work on the run, said "Brian (his cousin) wants me to meet him at the state game lands in Newville. They're supposed to have the best dove hunting in the state!" And before I knew it, he and his dad were both geared up and out the door! I just shake my head and say "whatever." !!