Three quilts and a baby!

 When I retired from my day job a few months ago, I realized that I need to make 5 baby quilts soon!  Two of our daughters, Emily and Hannah, were expecting babies, another family member was expecting too, and I was overdue on making baby quilts for 2 others toddlers.  Time to sew!

"Starry Starry Night" for Benjamin Prindle, our grandson, born two weeks ago! I had seen this design on Pinterest years ago, sorry I could not determine the designer.  It was fun to make all of these wonky, colorful stars!  I varied the background colors, inspired by the original design and also by the awesome way that Hannah painted the nursery's ceiling!

Doesn't this room look amazing?  Hannah and Danny used 5 different dark blues and swirled them together to create the night sky.  Then they used the handle tip of a narrow paint brush, dipped in white paint, to achieve the stars.  Hannah really has a flair for decorating!

Here is our newest grandchild, Benjamin Robert, born 2 weeks ago today!  He was 7 lbs. 14 oz., 12 inches long.  And oh, those cheeks!  We think he's pretty great.

We are lucky that our kids all live close by, so we can visit often.  I think I held Ben for an hour yesterday, it felt so good! 

"Sweet Dreams" made Hannah's sister-in-law's baby, who was born two weeks ago also!  Baby Natalie Rose was born one day before Benjamin, so Natalie and Ben will be like cousin twins!  Exciting times for all! 
I made these simple stars out of some leftover Moda fabrics I had (another jelly roll, I think), so soft and sweet.  I knew that the parents had painted the nursery a very soft pale pink so I am hoping this will blend with their decor.

"Pastel Hearts" for Emma, who is already 2 years old!  Emma is big sister to new baby Natalie, whose quilt is shown above.  These floral and dot prints were from a jelly roll I purchased a few years ago and have used for a couple of other baby quilts.  I love the pinks, greens, beiges, and grays.  The simple 4-patch heart blocks go together so quickly! It's a great way to use up scraps. 

Three baby quilts done since April, and two to go!  One is in progress, and will be for my other daughter's soon-to-be-born third child!  More on that quilt later, after the quilt is done and the baby is born.  Quilt #5 has not been started yet.

Quilt top finished, Hannah's birthday

Quilt top finished!  Simple design, 6" squares, in a streak of lightning setting.  All those Kaffe fabrics in the quilt are so gorgeous.

I got inspired when it came time to make Hannah's birthday cake this year!  I had seen Molly Yeh on Girl Meets Farm make a Barbie cake, and this is my version.  The cake and frosting were both delicious - lots of butter and cream cheese, what's not to like?  But it was difficult to frost the cut edges of the cake.  Oh well, the sprinkles helped, and Hannah loved it!

Happy birthday, Hannah!

Hannah and her little man, Henry, so handsome!

 

Hannah and Danny's Engagement Party!

We hosted a small engagement party for Hannah and Danny last night, and it was just so much fun! They are a perfect match, they have so much fun together, and their love just shines through, doesn't it?

Just before we cut the amazing cake, which I had made especially for Danny and his love of golf. Cake created at Kirsten's Danish Bakery in Burr Ridge, IL. 

It was delicious, too!  Yellow cake with chocolate mousse filling, and buttercream icing. Yummy!

Our special guests were my brother and sister-in-law, Chuck and Jean, from Burke, VA, who just happened to be travelling through town the same weekend as the party!

Scott and I with Hannah.  Love her new dress! 

Group shot (and my finger, too, I guess - oops!), featuring Hannah's friend, Katie, our daughter, Genevieve, her bf Dave, Emily's husband, Matt, and our daughter, Emily. It seems that Dave and Matt became best friends last night after sitting together!

Nice smiles from Emily and Matt!  You can see  everyone having a good time, which I love.  We decorated with sunflowers, Hannah's favorite.

My wonderful husband, Scott - the party happened to be on our 39th wedding anniversary!

The guests of honor! Their wedding in May of 2018 will be here before you know it!

Couple more finishes for 2017

"Oh My Stars" for a special baby-to-be! My daughter's sister-in-law, Erica, expecting their first, a little boy, has planned an adorable aviation themed nursery, with navy, gray, white, and gold scheme.  I had lots of fun with this!  Did NOT turn out as planned, but better!

After searching locally, I found this cute border fabric on etsy, and the quilt was planned around it.  Simple blue stars (mimicking propellers?), set off by smaller stars, centered with compass points. 

Love this little touch of yellow, and the two different gray/white prints in the background. Quilted flawlessly by Sue Pawlowski.

Soft and snuggly for the little boy! 

Fun at Erica's baby shower!  L-R, daughter Genevieve (due in December), daughter Emily (due in February), Erica, me, and daughter Hannah (getting married in May. Needless to say, I have lots of quilts to make!!!

"Eleanor's 4-Patch" for a dear friend of the family's second born, little Eleanor.  I was unsure of her color scheme, so I used some soft baby quilt fabrics from my stash, with splashes of lime green, my favorite, and a wide white border. Simple quilting finished this quilt in a hurry!

Gratuitous puppy shot! Our dog, Buddy, loves to pose. 

Quilt on my antique baby rocker, which held me, my mom, and my grandma!

Cute baby Eleanor, with her equally cute mom, Cara.  Irrestible!

Mother's Day and Blogger Woes

Wow I have no idea why my banner looks so strange all of a sudden.  If anyone could enlighten me on this, I would be so grateful! Now read on as I gush about my lovely family. :)

Happy Mother's Day! Darling daughters:  Genevieve, Hannah, and Emily, and happy Mom (me)! It has been MANY years since we were all together on Mother's Day.  Oh happy day!

All gathered around the table - my preference over brunch in a restaurant at $40 each! My daughters can all cook, too!  Scott, Hannah, her fiance Danny (they just secured their wedding venue for next year!), Genevieve's boyfriend, Dave.

Scott and Hannah.  

Danny, Dave, Genevieve, Matt, and Emily.  It's a special Mother's Day for all of us because Matt and Emily just moved back to our area (Illinois) from Texas! 

There was a theme to this year's gifts:  the pool! I have a goal of going to the pool weekly this summer.  Tote bag and cool shades...

...nice big towel, plastic zippered pouch for essentials, shades again...

...coverup (maxi dress), bling-y sandals...

...best gift of all, a lovely dinner at home surrounded by my loved ones.

Now if someone could help me figure out the changes they have made to blogger! I used to know how to use it, really I did!  But now I can't figure out how to make my banner look awesome like everyone else's....plus it takes me forever to make each post, probably why I don't post very often.  Oh well, I know it's not a big deal, but sometimes it's the little things that can be the most frustrating!

I hope that all of you had a lovely Mother's Day! 

Birthday Fun!

Well I made it another year, and had a great birthday! New Year's Day is my birthday.  It's a great day to celebrate, and I also do some reflection, that's for sure.  Thinking back over the past year, and thinking ahead - thinking about what I want to accomplish in 2017. 

The girls made my birthday dinner, but I didn't want people slaving in the kitchen all day, so I said a store-bought cake was fine.  And trust me, this was MORE than fine!  It was "thanks for the extra five pounds" fine.  Yum!

We also had a nice girls' brunch the day before - first brunch, then mani-pedi's! Lovely daughters Emily and Genevieve.  It's always extra special when Emily is in town from Texas. :) 

Third lovely daughter Hannah and myself. 

More birthday fun! My awesome sister-in-law, Jean, sent me a CASE of Sofia sparkling wine!!! It comes in little cans, COMPLETE WITH A LITTLE STRAW!  It makes the perfect little pick-me-up after a long day of work and teaching.  Jean knows what I like!

This is random, but had to take a picture at Target.  These throw pillows are EXACT COPIES of some pillows we got as wedding gifts in 1978! Except ours were large, FLOOR pillows!  Super groovy, very '70's.


One more thing - I recommend you check out my cousin's new blog:
THE GOOD LIFE IN WISCONSIN - adventures of a city girl gone country. You can find it here.   Julie is on a new adventure, living with her dad and her son, on the family farm.  Julie is a poet, and an adventurer, and her charming style comes through her prose.

Photo challenge - love my spouse!

Our daughters - Hannah (25), Emily (30), and Genevieve (29). 

So - if you are on facebook, you might have seen a recent "challenge", where people challenge their happily married friends to post 7 days of photos about how you love your spouse.  When Scott and I were challenged to do so, I jumped at the chance.  My husband it the best! What follows is my fb post, and some of the photos I included in the post. 

Scott and Emily

Day 5 - Love Your Spouse Photo Challenge! Anyone who has met Scott Hudson knows that he has 3 daughters, and that he is crazy about them! He is the best possible father to our lovely daughters Emily Hudson, Hannah Hudson, and Geneviève García. 

Scott and Emily, dancing on Emily's wedding day.  What a joyous occasion! 

Genevieve, Hannah, and Scott at Emily's wedding.  Gorgeous bridesmaids, handsome father of the bride! :)

Our happy family!

Newest member of the family - Scott and our son-in-law, Matt! 

He has taught them - just by being who he is - what's important in life: the importance of being honest, and trustworthy, and working hard, and loving each other. It has been said that we don't have to like everyone, but we do have to love everyone - and Scott Hudson does that. Thank you, Scott Hudson, for all you have done, and continue to do, to be such a wonderful dad to our girls. Love you dear!

New beginnings!

Design wall progress - hourglass blocks from "Cultural Fusion Quilts" (book by Sujata Shaw, see her blog here) + hand-dyed fabrics by Vicki Welsh (see her etsy shop here) = fun baby quilt! Fabrics on the right side are being auditioned for border and binding/backing. 

Spring piano recital was awesome!  I had a movie theme - all the students performed music taken from the movies, from Harry Potter to Mission Impossible to Star Wars! They all got fresh popcorn from our local theater to take home and enjoy.

It was a cold and windy Saturday, but we were all glowing inside with happiness over Danny's (my daughter, Hannah's boyfriend) graduation from Illinois Benedictine University!  He got a degree in Business Administration/Accounting WITH HONORS.  He finished his degree in night school while working full time.  So proud of this boy! 

Speaking of proud, I am so proud of Hannah, buying her first house (with Danny) at the age of 25!  They found a cute 3-bedroom house just 15 minutes from our house, which is great!  So excited for them as they make this house their home!

Emily and Matthew were here over Mother's Day (yay!), so we went over and walked the property of Hannah's house (we couldn't go inside, they haven't closed on it yet).  Such a cute house, and it's all landscaped!  All she has to do it hang up her American flag and move in!

I LOVE spring! Bought all of my annuals for my pots and window boxes, potting soil, a new clematis, and a hydrangea for Hannah and Danny's house.  Happy spring!