Paynes Far and Wide: January 2011

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

What do you do while waiting for your baby to come?

Try making 7 quilts. It will keep you very busy. And it also will give you something creative and pretty to work on. Here are the quilts I made in December and January.

This one is how it all began. This used to be a duvet cover that sat in my closet not being used. so I ripped off the back, added a thick batting, tied and bound it. It became a favorite of my family's to use on the couch so that led me to this next one . . .
This was Gil's quilt that I had professionally "quilted" and ended up hating because it was so thin (no warmth) and I felt the back was itchy. So I thought I would pick out all the stitching, add a flannel back, put a THICK betting, tie and bind. This one was the most labor intensive and COULD NOT have done it without the help of Tatia and Diana - both who like to pick! Mom was a great sounding board. She picked out the two new borders to make the quilt larger for Gilbert. Thanks Mom! I think it turned out great!
This quilt I made once I got home from Utah, after Christmas. It is a quilt for Connie (Gil's Mom) for coming to stay with us so often and help take of the baby. I think she will like it.
This is Tanner's quilt. He said he wanted something warm so I put double batting inside. I found this pattern online and decided to try it. Their block was all one color repeated throughout. I decided to do three different colored blocks: red, brown, and yellow. I'm happy to see Tanner using it.
I made this mini quilt for Teo for his toddler bed when he is ready to move out of his crib. I don't know where he will be sleeping - either with Tanner or Lola, so I decided to make his quilt match Tanner's in case they share the same room so they will have matching quilts. Teo likes me to wrap him in this quilt when going on cool stroller rides or sitting on the rocking chair watching a video before bed.
Finally, I decided I probably should make a quilt for the new baby . . . so I made this horizontal rag quilt. I really like how it turned out. The hardest part was deciding the order of the fabric. It took me one day to sew, one day to cut and wash. It is very soft and I love the colors.
Last, I made this patchwork quilt for Lola Bee with little bow ties for the ties. I tacked them on with the sewing machine. The hot pink makes me happy. Some of Mom's old fabric is in this quilt along with curtain fabric from Tatia's old Barn Rd. house in Sandy. I kept it all this time.
I feel so happy to have a Mom who taught me how to make quilts when I was 8 years old. She cut the fabric and I sewed them together. It is a great skill to know. Thanks, Mom. I love you!

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Zippity-doo-da

Wow! Can we celebrate my half-birthday, too?
Thank you everybody for your lovely compliments ( and 1 disparagement) !

Last night I had my first CLOGGING class! So fun! A lady in my Relief Society had a group many years ago and she has agreed to teach us. We will perform at our RS birthday party in March.

TTFN

I LOVE Tatia!
She is an amazing mother to her children (and her dogs too). She is very creative. She writes well and plays the piano at all the family gatherings for the last several years. She wrote her ward's Christmas program and it was beautiful. She also directs her choir and gets them to perform their best Her choir is one of the best ward choirs I've ever heard. She maintains a great figure, much better than mine and I think she could get credit for it. I think it's too assumed that women with good figures don't really have any weight problems. Tatia has made a conscious effort to watch what she eats and has dynamite looks for it.
She has also done a spectacular job at managing her depression. She smiles a lot and makes those around her comfortable and happy. Her kids think she's great, but the real compliment is that her kid's friends think she's the bomb!
I like to hang around her and tell people "Yup, she's my sister!"
Happy B-day, Toshawatamus Incredibilicus!