Reindeer Obcession

Cute little reindeer, yes I am obsessed with them! It started when I was a little girl. 

For Christmas I received the Burl Ives record "Rudolf The Red Nosed Reindeer" with a matching storybook. My Grandfather had made my sister and I a standup cabinet which housed a little record player. It was painted sugar pink and had circular cut outs in the wood with glittery little Christmas card scenes glued inside. A light inside shone through the cutouts casting a magical glow in the room while we played our record over and over. 

And so I fell in love with that cute little Reindeer, cried when he couldn't play in any reindeer games, and rejoiced in his feisty character and determination to beat the odds.

I never outgrew my love of reindeer at Christmas time, I love them stuffed.....

and in in all shapes and forms.

And so, many of my Christmas patterns feature a reindeer somewhere in them. 

And did you know that this year Rudolf is celebrating his 50 year anniversary? 

There are many darling reindeer and Rudolf quilt fabrics available now that would look perfectly sweet to use with my new pattern.

And with that being said, this week I am happy to introduce my latest design:

"Those Silly Reindeer!"

And silly, they are! They make everything fun while helping Santa get ready for the big day!

I hope you will enjoy this fun pattern now available on my web site.

It's only 137 days until Christmas!

On the road again....

Back from a quick weekend getaway! We visited long time friends on their beautiful ranch in Western Oklahoma. Talk about wide open spaces, I would need a panoramic lens for you to take in the scope of how beautiful the views were from every angle! You can see 30 miles away, and he skies are not cloudy all day!

We drove around the property, signs of an old homestead.

Lots of unique vegetation. I love these, they are thistle I think? We saw a family of deer and an armadillo on the way.

We gathered petrified wood, rocks and old pottery shards from land run days. If you have never been to Oklahoma you will probably find the red dirt interesting, it covers everything, even these pieces.

Martha and I on their tractor LOL!

Martha is a wonderful cook and she spoiled us badly, three fabulous meals each day. I am sure to hear about this for days on end now that we are home!

It was so great seeing them but some good things must come to an end while the next journey continues onward. Next stop.... Oklahoma City, a quick visit with our Oklahoma family where we picked up our Texas twin grandsons and drove back to Kansas with them for a summer break. 

And we are going to be very busy these next two weeks! 

New design just released!! Santa and some of his fun reindeer crew are featured on this cute Christmas wall hanging. Fusible appliqué, easy piecing, so fun!! Now available on my web site at www.cleoandme.com

Daisy was so happy to have us home again. I can't say enough about how quickly we have become attached to her, she is just the sweetest thing!

Time to get the boys started on bedtime... another full day tomorrow!

A Special Little Giveaway

It's here, it's here, and I am so pleased and excited! My quilt "My Cute Kitty" appears in the new special  childrens issue of Quiltmania. 

                               See, here we are on page 64, how cute is this table of contents! Everything is cute and adorable in this issue packed with 19 projects to make for that special little dumpling in your life, or heck, I might even need to make a few for me. 

A little peek at my quilt. My model traveled all the way to France and back for photography, I wish I

was able to go along for the ride! 

Quiltmania is a French produced magazine, they print their magazines in French, Dutch and English as well. I can not say enough about the beautiful quality of this magazine filled with exquisite photography, illustrations, easy to follow diagrams and instructions throughout. 

In the US it can be found at Barnes & Noble, Borders and many quilt shops. You can also subscribe to it here . Thank you Carol and Caroline for choosing my sweet quilt, it was a pleasure meeting you both here in Kansas City at International Quilt Market! 

And guess what, I have an extra copy, yes I do! One for me and one for you! Well, ONE lucky person that is. If you would like to enter my drawing, please leave a comment, it's that simple. 

Hubby will draw a name Wednesday June 26th so check back with us.

My latest pattern released this week. "Fa la la la la"(you will be singing this in a few more months) is fun, fast and easy to make. Simple piecing, fusible appliqué and check out those rick rack legs. How adorable is that! 

90's for Kansas the rest of this week. I'll be staying cool writing instructions for my next pattern, 

this one has a Halloween theme!

Stay cool and be merry!

Sum Sum Summertime!

Wow, who turned on the heat, summer time has arrived! 

Being as today was to be the coolest day of the week, a mere 87 degrees, Hubby and I decided this should be our outdoor adventure day, a picnic at the park. I made yummy egg salad sandwiches, I just love egg salad don't you? All packed up in my cute little basket with some sketch pads off we went. The quilt under my basket which you can hardly see is the 1st quilt I ever made 41 years ago! There was no pattern involved, or fabric purchasing. I used scraps of our 1st daughters outgrown clothing and sewed squares together with some applique tulips in the center of every other square, it was just a home sewing scrap project for her bed. It is now pretty tattered and has become the picnic quilt. What a nice memory of a cute little girl and all those sweet little sundresses I had made for her. 

And look what I found, a very old picture of our Melissa on her quilt with just a few of her stuffed animals lol. The photo quality is poor, what a long way cameras have come since then, but you get the idea! What a cutie :)

Well to tell you the truth Hubby and I just had to laugh. Our picnic lunch was great but sitting for a long spell on the ground was not as easy as it used to be so out came the soft fold up chairs. 

I brought an Annie to stitch, as you can see she is nearly finished. Fish were jumping from the lake and birds were chattering, it was a relaxing way to spend the afternoon. 

I have several projects in the works right now. This little reindeer wall hanging will soon be a new pattern, just as soon as I get a cover for it off to the printer it will go.

My next design arrived in todays mail, home from Brenda's expert quilting. I have to sew the binding on and start writing the pattern, I better quit goofing off now and get busy! 

Knit one, Purl one

My goodness, these days are blowing by as fast as the leaves are falling! Can you believe it's November, yikes, and that means December is soon to follow. I've been working hard to release this new pattern- "Reindeer Helpers". You sure can tell Santa is in the panic mode because he recruited those silly reindeer to work in the gift wrap department. This cute pattern is now available on my web site and you can find all the details there.
The weather has been gorgeous here in Kansas. We're getting a wee bit spoiled with bright sunny skies and 70s and oh how I wish it could stay this way all year long. Sunday we drove down to Lawrence/KU to take our son the birthday boy out to lunch. You surely must know by now I never get tired of a trip to KU. Not only do I get to see my boy, they have an amazing choice of great eateries and lots of fun shopping. Love it, love it, love it! Sadly I did not get to visit my fave fabric store this trip, I was hoping to stop in and pick up a selection of reds, pinks, dots and hearts, for a Valentines Day project I have in mind. But by the time Jon finished his BIG lunch we were running short on time. Awwww, but look how happy he is :)

This weekend I spied my knitting tote hanging from a peg in the laundry room. In it is a UFO that I have been knitting for 2 years, the second stocking for my twin Grandsons who are now 4! Well, they do have stockings, just not one of these gigantic stockings I have made for each of us since we were 1st married. So much to Cleos delight, the yarn ball is out once again and I am bound and determined to finish up this week, see I'm already down to the toe part!

Knit one, purl one, back to it, enjoy your week!

A new Annie and tools of the trade

Another wet week here in Kansas and I seem to get lots accomplished when I can't go outside and play. I finished the "June" Annie stitchery block, isn't she sweet! Annie has been berry picking, her apron is full of strawberries and she is excited to maybe make strawberry jam, or a pie :) I have decided to have a little drawing, next Sunday Cleo will draw three names, winners will each receive my new Annie June stitchery pattern card. So if you love to stitch leave a comment below. Boy is this going to be a darling quilt when all 12 designs are finished.

More sewing room spring cleaning this week. My keep pile is much larger than the pitch pile :( I have a box filled with sewing gadgets and tools alone. We all have a favorite tool, one we use all the time, and I'm not talking just rotary cutters but I do wonder how in the world did we ever live with out those! One of my most used tools are templates in all shapes and sizes, especially a circle template. I can not live without it. They make tracing those circles for penny rugs a snap, or critter eyes and berries, I use it a lot!

My second most used template is the oval one, I used it to trace all the eggs in my "Hiding The Eggs" penny rug. When I needed a really large oval shape I've used picture mats, they come in several sizes.

And these here are just not a stack of plates, oh no they're not, it's a stack of large circle templates LOL! My kitchen is full of templates, glasses, bowls, lids and plates in a variety of sizes, they have all been used.

I started sewing together rows of charm squares for my next quilt. What do you think of charm squares? I have a lot of applique work to do next on this project, now that is the fun part to me!

Oh boy, it is getting late, Cleo is sleeping at my feet. It's Monday already, have a happy day!

A perfect weekend

Another weekend gone by, and April is nearly over as well. My weekend was perfect, I was able to spend my time doing just what I wanted to do, a little drawing, sewing and shopping. Even the weather co-operated, dreary and raining off and on, a good weekend to feel content working indoors. My "July" Annie stitchery block is complete and ready to join "May" Annie on my web site, just as soon as Mr Webmaster can take his mind off golf and work his web magic.

"July" Annie wears her paper hat and waves her flag while she and dolly watch the big 4th of July parade. Wish I had a big glass of ice cold fresh squeezed lemonade to share with Annie, July is always so hot here in the Midwest.

I finished the eighth block out of nine for my next quilt. Don't you just love this purple and lime green. I am using the Asian prints from a few posts back and just loving the color combinations.

Sunday we did a little shopping for hubby. Strolling through the store to check out, out of the corner of my eye I saw this........ I would recognize that cute face a mile away.... Oh, Oh, Oh, my heart fluttered, whatever could be inside that cute box.

OMG..... it's a Hello Kitty bling, bling, bling watch! Just my lucky day to be shopping with hubby, it was meant to be. Pam Kitty Morning eat your heart out, she's mine, all mine! Happy Mothers Day to me :)

Hoping your weekend was perfect too!

Snowmen In April!

Yipee, my quilt top is back lickety split! These snowmen are absolutely happy and adorable I must say. Well I know snow is something many of us are pretty tired of by now. However Christmas and Fall projects are exploding in my sewing room. This is the time of year to design and stitch up new projects for the up and coming Christmas season. By the time Fall rolls around I will be working on Spring and Summer!
I send all of my quilt tops to my friend Brenda in Oklahoma to be quilted. I met Brenda when she owned My Sisters Quilt Shop in Edmond. As you know quilting is the icing on the cake and
I am always excited to see how she quilted my top. Brenda is one very talented lady and a new author as well.

This is her new book "Fabulous Fractures". Her quilts are truly amazing, so look for her book in your local quilt shop and check them out.

Anyway, back to the snowmen, here's a little grouping of three. I just love this color palette. I used up my stash of Deb Strains "It's Snowing" fabric by Moda. Her colors are always so bright and fun, I look forward to her next line of Christmas fabric.

One cute little snowman! I have yet to bind my quilt. The strips are all cut and ready to sew in place. I've spent most of the week working on the pattern instructions, so were moving right along.

On to knitting! In my spare time (?) I am working on Christmas stockings for the twins. Isn't this pattern adorable? I have to tell you though, this is one humongous stocking, a good 30"s long! I started making these for my family many years ago, now I make them for each new family member so they all will have matching stockings to hang on their mantle. I usually do this on road trips, a nice little way to make the hours fly by. Also much easier for me to knit in the car than at home with Cleo who so loves to "help". LOL and that is not a pretty picture!
Speaking of the twins, only 4 more days until I head to Dallas for a visit. I just can't wait to see my munchkins!
I guess many of you are getting ready for Easter. We have no plans this year, just Jerry and I, possibly Jon, our plans are up in the air.
Wiahing you all a great weekend and a Happy Easter if I don't get to another post before!

Just a little painting break

Boy oh boy, I can't believe how long it has been since I last posted! I have been really neglectful at blogging while Jerry and I have been busy with some spare room re-dos. First we decided to tackle the guest room, it was red when we moved in 5 years ago. 3 coats of paint later it is now a pretty cream shade. What a difference new paint can make! The room appears to be much larger and brighter now.
After the hard work comes the fun part, a little decorating. My sewing angel found a spot right away, close to the window for nice bright light and a chair nearby to sit in and stitch awhile if you please.
Jerry's Dad is our 1st guest this year, he arrives from Florida in 8 days. Eeeeeks! I doubt he'll feel like sitting and stitching in here LOL, I'll have to find a stack of crossword puzzles.

Of course I had to buy new bedding. I liked the colors and design in this set.

Next I dug out my penny rug model "Midnight Garden" from the "Quick & Easy Pennyrugs" book. I am going to frame it as I thought the colors would go perfect with the bedding and wool just adds such a nice cozy touch.

While in the groove I decided to tackle Jonathan's room. I had not even ventured in his room since he moved out in January. Woaaaaa! SCARY!!!! Just kidding, actually it wasn't that bad. A little cleaning up then back out with the paint cans for a fresh coat of paint. I chose a nice safe shade of beige. I have a heavy denim comforter I am going to use which looks nice on his antique iron bed frame. I hung this quilt I made quite a few years ago.

Here is a close up of the blocks, I just love the way it is starting to pull together in here with the tans, navy and reds. Now I am on a fabric hunt for curtains. pillow shams and dust ruffle.

Next up on the list is a little spring decorating. I am so done with winter aren't you?!
It won't be long before this little bunny comes hopping on by and isn't he the cutest! One of Hallmarks Easter promotions, he is musical, his ears spin around and move up and down, the kids just love him! I had to get one for each set of Grandsons.

In between sniffing too many paint fumes I continue to work on several sewing projects. My latest quilt is finished and on its way to Oklahoma to be quilted by my quilting friend Brenda Esslinger. Brenda has a new book out called "Fractured Flowers" in conjunction with Darcy Ashton. The quilts in it are fabulous so check it out if you come across it in your local quilt shop.