It's a Seahawk Christmas!

Inspired by Seahawk colored ornaments on clearance at Walmart last season  and an exciting season, we ran with the theme for Christmas 2012.  So kids...this is a classy way to do a football inspired Christmas...

Click on any image to see a larger version...

Merry Christmas!

And, GO SEAHAWKS!!

Gandalf helps with the sewing process...

Trio of Pillows...

Seahawk Santa

Closeup of Seahawk Santa...

Finished Tree Skirt...

Table Topper...

Working the Seahawk quilt into the Christmas theme...

The tree, bedecked in blue, green and silver...

Close up featuring the football ornament...

Huh...I really thought I would be better at this...

Well, once again, it has been awhile...and my memory is hit and miss sometimes...starting to have senior moments.  At least I have some photos to jog my memory!

Weekend in Havasu

London Bride, Lake Havasu

The last weekend in February was an adventure...I packed up my little Honda and headed west to Lake Havasu City to visit my very dear friend, Linda Lou.  It was an easy drive at three hours, I had never been there before.

We had a very fun weekend!  She lives up in the hills over looking the lake, they bought the house just a year and a half earlier as a retirement home.  Only months after moving there, Barry contracted double pneumonia and, tragically, never recovered.  It was heartbreaking.  To work your whole life to retire and enjoy the good life and then pass away so suddenly.  Linda was devastated...and who cam blame her?  I thought she was very brave to come back this season alone.  She has been keeping herself busy and has a great support system.  We had many talks that weekend and got a chance to reconnect.  We ate too much, watched reruns of "Dancing with the Stars" and went on many drives around the Lake.  Very beautiful spot, I can see why folks retire here.  I am looking forward to returning next season...

The view from our seats...

Hockey Game

In March, my friend MIZ texted me out of the blue and asked me if I wanted to go to a hockey game...she had a set of tickets...I was game...

Little did I know, these were VIP tickets with a parking pass, special ticket holder entrance, gourmet buffet...the whole experience!  One of the unique things about the dining area was the windows that flanked the sides, during our dining experience the teams came through on their way to the ice...

That night the Phoenix Coyotes place the Vancouver Canuck's.  Little did I know, the team had been having a banner season and the victory we witnessed was a path to the playoffs later that season.  They made it all the way to the semi-finals this season...

My little sewing buddy...

Sewing Along...

The fabric and sewing obsession continues...but the good news is, I never have to sew alone...Gandalf is a curious little kitty...in this picture though, he is pretty tuckered out.  I finished two more quilts for Army Babies and started more projects...the not buying anymore fabric resolution was, well, pretty silly...I am still working on finishing projects, but new ones keep calling my name...

Brunch with the Gals...

Brunch with the gals...

On a beautiful March day, during Spring Break, Sue invited Debbie, Dorene and myself over for brunch.  For a long time, I had hear how neat Sue's house was, full of antiques and unique finds from her travels and jaunts through thrift shops and antique stores.  Each room had a theme and personality.  When people described her house, I always thought it was an older home, turns out she is a mile away from me in a subdivision about the same age as my house!  I always thought I had a good eye but she really has a knack to pull things together.  We had a wonderful fritatta and after lunch, we all busted out a project and stitched and talked and laughed...it was wonderful...she will be part of the cookie gang in December...I asked her for the  fritatta recipe the following week, turns out it was made with a pound of cheese and cream...no wonder it was so delicious...

Ashley Goes Back to School!

Practice makes perfect!

My darling daughter has been unemployed for over a year now.  Initially not by choice but her job search was half heated at best.  She has been on unemployment for a year and I think that played a part in the lack of effort for the job search.  During all this time there have been a couple of intense arguments about her actions and the financial impact of her decisions...not good times...I can only hope that her decision to get a marketable trade was at least nudged by one of these encounters and some serious self evaluation...

Graduated!!

In March, Ashley returned to school, Classic Beauty College in Phoenix, to become a nail technician.  She plunged into school head on and worked diligently at finishing her 600 required hours of instruction and practical time.  She even practiced on the weekends on friends and family to refine her skills...she did in fact finish her 600 hours in record time...

She graduated in June with several other technicians in what was to be the last graduating class of nail techs from the college.  She has recently completed her state boards and we are waiting for a shiny certification to arrive in the US Mail...then it's time for her to find an RJ...a real job...

Update from Fort Drum

Mothers Day greeting from Josh...

Josh and Alyssa have been living the newlywed life in upstate New York for a few months now.  Alyssa found a job, not a glamorous one but a steady one.  Josh has had many opportunities to do some post MP duties including bike patrol...apparently with the summer months and the kids out of school, the mischief level increases in the parks and other community areas.  They put MP's on bikes to help curtail some of the activities.  He has really enjoyed the biking and the exercise.  In May, most of his friends from the 563rd deployed to Afghanistan, a deployment that he volunteered for, but they had enough troops to fill the quota.  He continues to be frustrated since he has not been deployed, I continue to be grateful that he has not deployed...the day will come soon enough, I'm sure...meanwhile, we are looking forward to a visit in September when they come home for a wedding on Alyssa's side of the family and we are also looking forward to our journey to NY in October to visit them...

Finishing up projects...

Finished Farmers Wife

One of the biggest craft accomplishments was the quilting of the Farmers Wife project.  I worked in this quilt for a year and was really thrilled to take it to the quilters one afternoon after work.  We worked for about an hour with patterns for the interior and the border.  She used two different colored threads for each section and it turned out beautifully...I was really, really happy with the final result.  It is now proudly displayed on my bed with coordinating pillows.  The cats love it too...thats OK, a house isn't really a home without a cat...or three!

Primitive Wool Project

I also finally finished the wool fall project that I started on vacation last year, it was in one of my first blog postings...while I don't have an exact spot for it at the moment, I am glad to have another completed project under my belt...

Ami poses with the shopping bag

Since Linda Lou will be putting me up for a week when I go to Seattle this year and she was a great hostess when I visited her in Lake Havasu, I made her a personalized Northwest themed shopping bag.  This was a fun project and I had everything I needed in my stash...The Northwest fabric was a great find two years ago on my trip home...

Random Photo 

My Dad and me...

I posted this on Facebook on Fathers Day...I really miss my dad...I think I was three in this photo...I just love the flat top hair do he is sporting and the stylish 60's decor...This November it will be 10 years since he has passed...time really does just keep going...the grief is gone and I can look back on these photos and just feel so lucky to have had such great parents and memories of them both...

Until next time...

More crafting and fabric...

Army Baby 9 Patch

The latest crafting obsession; the disappearing nine patch; simply brilliant, or brilliant in its simplicity.  I have decided that the fabric I purchased at the sewing festival will be perfect for a bed runner or simple throw for my room, the colors are perfect, the next Army baby quilt will also be in the disappearing nine patch pattern as well, it's a quick and stylish block.

Bedroom 9 Patch

I also cataloged all of the projects that I have in progress or have purchased fabric for; it's quite a list!  Debbie and I decided that this would be the year that we finish projects before we start another big quilt.  So, maybe by September we will be ready for a BOM or some community quilt project.  Let's see how that goes! 

One Saturday in February, Debbie and I did a out of Glendale shop hop, we started at 35th Ave, saw the Dudes, visited Zoe's and then visited a new place called the Cutting Edge in Chandler.  We stopped at a nifty bakery and split a Santa Fe club sandwich that was really good.  Again, girl time is always great!

Rio Vista Park

In February, I joined the Mile Club, it’s a Maricopa sponsored event, you walk, run, jog (yeah, right) and log your miles.  The challenge is 100 miles in 100 days…I was feeling ambitious so I signed up for 200 miles in 100 days.  I have really enjoyed walking the campus each workday.  We really do have a beautiful campus.  The sidewalks make great walking paths.  I also downloaded a spiffy app that tracks my walks…nerdy fun! I have the most challenge on the weekends because I need to make more of an effort to get out and walk…We have some nice parks close to the house that are great for that.  I really like Saturday mornings because you run into fun fit people that like to say hi and are truly enjoying the great outdoors!

Me at Harvard...yeah, I went to Harvard!

This semester I am taking US History.  Even though I have been exposed to this information many years ago, I wanted to take it again.  I feel that now that I have logged in a few years on the planet, I can appreciate things in a new way.  Especially after my trip to Boston a few years ago which seemed to have renew my interest in the topic.  I still marvel at the historical sites that we experienced.  I like to say that the whole city is steeped in history…I would love to go back…

Civil War, new BOM and tutu's...

The last month has been busy, craft wise anyway...

Finished Quilt Top

First the big finish...I finished the Civil War quilt top!  After one year of Saturday morning blocks, I have finished the blocks, chosen my favorites and sewn them together binded by pale gold stars and faded black sashing.  I chose the faded colors to compliment the Americana palette and give an old and faded look…it turned out nothing short of fabulous, in my book anyway!  The one-year sewing journey was memorable as well.  2011 was the year that Josh was to be deployed for the first time.  We found out in December of 2010.  With a year to prepare, I felt lucky that we had this time to deal with imminent deployment.  Each passing week, I would log on to the Civil War quilt blog and read stories about the men and women that fought and sacrificed so much during the tumultuous times of the Civil War.  I could not help but ne moved by the words and could also not help thinking about Josh…this was my most personal quilt so far, I felt very connected to the sewing sisters that came before me…

BOM

Feeling empty with no block of the week, I web surfed and found a free block of the month program that uses half square triangles…at this writing, I have finished two blocks and rally can’t decide if I want to stick with my color choices or the program…because in the meantime, I have found another great group of fabrics that I want to use in my crisp blue and white quilt.  The color combo is quite appealing to me…stay tuned…

In January, we made the annual trip to the Arizona Quilting and Sewing Festival.  This was a Thursday off from work that starts at this funky little breakfast joint called “scramble” the food and atmosphere are pretty urban, but also serves as a nice change of pace.  Debbie always has the biscuits and gravy, she needs to sneak in her carbs, Dorene has the vegetarian burrito and I had the bacon and eggs with the rosemary potatoes…We spend the day shoulder to shoulder with other crafters as we wind our way through the displays and see all that there is to offer…quilts, wools, sewing notions, machines and even items that you may find at a swap meet…the event is held at the fairgrounds, this year it didn’t smell too bad!  I made a couple of purchases and of course added to my to do list…I can’t say how much I enjoy my friendship with these wonderful women.  It is truly a blessing to have such good friends.  The following Saturday, I returned to the event with my wonderful new daughter in law who had always wanted to go but never went.  We had a good time and got to know each other a little better.  Although she admitted sometime later that it really should have just been called a quilting show…   

To be young, crazy and wearing a tutu!

Later that evening was a new event for me…a tutu party…this was something that Alyssa and her cousin Juli have done in the past.  It is essentially a costume party and you get to drink and be a little crazy…since I had not worn a tutu since the third grade, I did feel a bit conspicuous and was not sure about the whole thing…I decided to go with a Seahawk theme and that at least made the experience a bot more fun…so we spent hours on Friday tying netting to elastic bands…at then end of the party, I was glad I did it…

Gandalf...

The tutu party was in a sense Alyssa's goodbye party.  On January 23rd the Army movers came, packed up her condo and loaded it into a truck headed for upstate New York.  Ashley and I went over one Saturday morning and helped her organize a few things for the move, there was quite a bit of stuff.  The movers arrived in New York the day after Josh left for Phoenix.  He was only in town for a few days, they did some last minute errands, Alyssa traded in her car for a brand new one, we had some family time together and then, they headed for New York to really start their life together, just the two of them.  They made it across the country in three days with her two cats and , praise the Lord, no bad weather, almost two weeks later, the moving company brought the boxes to the house, now, she is a real army wife!

It's Been Awhile!

Looking back, I have been remiss in my postings...

In October, we found out that Josh's deployment to Iraq was canceled.  Whew...I was flooded with such a sense of relief...but overwhelmed as well by the sheer sound of disappointment in his voice...he had pretty much just returned from a two week training stint at Fort Bliss, TX...the reality of the Army is that he will in fact at sometime he will deployed...

The Happy Couple!

In November, all of our efforts, energy and emotions thoughts were poured into the wedding of the year.

We attended dance lessons, sewed dresses for the little girls, a pillow for the ring bearer and hot glued sequined trim onto flip flops.  Relatives came from both coasts, we ate, drank and were very merry.  On November 7th, Josh married the wonderful Alyssa in a fabulous and super fun wedding...Even with a Bridesmaid that broke her arm the night before(she's better now), a toppled (and fixed) wedding cake and the three year old ring bearer that would not go down the aisle, it was the most fun I have ever had at a wedding...Even with the challenges, the important thing was Josh and Alyssa.  Everybody agreed, they had some great stories from their wedding!  A benefit of the canceled deployment is that Josh and Alyssa will be able to live together sooner than expected.  As soon as Josh returned to Fort Drum, he got his name on the housing list.  He moved up pretty fast, he got the call just before New Years that there was base housing for Mr & Mrs Evans.  Timing was good as she flew back east for New Years and got to see the house...the movers arrive in Phoenix on 1/23/12 to pickup her stuff...

Family Portrait

Later in November, Aunt Jo and I traveled to California for Thanksgiving...what a great four day weekend...and the beginning of eatingpalooza...Time with the cousins is always alot of fun, their home overlooks the ocean, what a treat for us desert dwellers.  It was great to see the cousins and visit and, yes, eat too much...Maureen took us to a posh resort on the bluff called Teranea, it was gorgeous.  We had a fabulous lunch and we washed it down with cucumber margaritas. 

Gandalf

In the meantime too we added a new member to the new family, Gandalf was put out of a car in Glendale, fostered by Dorene for the weekend and then adopted by us on a Monday...if you were to tell me that morning when I woke up that I would have a cat by nightfall, I would have said you were crazy!  He has been a great addition to the family and he gets along well with Ami and Ichigo althoug, he has some strong alpha tendencies...

During the Fall semester, I took an English class, ENG 102, the research paper class...it was online.  Online does not mean cut and paste easy...online means time management and seeking other resources so that the material sinks in.  It was a lesson learned.  Grammar and the finer points of writing have always been difficult for me...But, I got through OK...my research paper just squeaked and A and I got a B in the class...glad to put a fork in that one!

Happy Halloween!

We dress up for Halloween at work, this year it was on a Monday, not as many folks as usual dressed up so it was a bit subdued...Justin looked really creepy with the acid green contact lenses...

Support the Troops

Christmas was OK, had a rally hard time getting into the spirit of the holiday this year...I didn't do my normal decorating...I did get together with Dorene and Debbie and bake cookies...we started a new blog to archive our recipes and crafting expeditions.  For donations we donated fabric to a quilter in Hawaii that assembles quilts for Gold Star families and gathered items for care packages to the Troops...

Seahawk Sunday!

New Years Day was Seahawk Sunday!  We headed to Scottsdale to jump on the party bus for the match up with the Cardinals...we were, sadly victory challenged but had a great time anyway...

The holiday break of course, was not long enough...I ate way too much and made too much lazy...

Aunt Jo made the trip over for my birthday, we went out to lunch and had Indian food, later that day, Ashley took me to the movies in a trip that was funded by Steve...

The drama at work was back burner-ed a bit but we will see what happens in the next few months with moving, the new college president, the start of the semester and the HLC visit...

Wedding Quilt

As for my crafting...I finished the kids' wedding quilt and found a great lady to long arm quilt the top...it came out beautifully...I finished all the blocks for the Civil War tribute quilt and picked out fabric for sashing and border...

Farmers Wife Quilt

In addition to Christmas pillows, a tree shirt and coasters I put the borders on the Farmers Wife...it just needs backing and off to the quilter it goes...I am determined to finish some projects before I start new ones or buy more fabric.  Well, that is just crazy talk but, I put bindings on the Jo Morten panel quilt and one of the Army baby quilts, these are my watch TV and hand stitch projects...as for not buying new fabric, I started a new, free block of the month program.  The hook is all designs are done with HST's, the first

HST Block of the Month

Pillow Quartet

finished block is 12.5 inches, good sized...I was going to use my wine fabric scraps but, I don't think I would have enough to do 2 blocks...I have always wanted to do a blue and white quilt, its such a smart and crisp combo.  So, I went to 35th and picked up some fat quarters, this will get me started and I can redo the January blocks and enhance the stash throughout the year as I go along...

Happy New Year...