It's a girl! Kate makes her entrance!

It's a girl! Sweet granddaughter Kate, posing on her special quilt, So Many Hearts.  
Katherine Louise was born 5/14/2020, a full 3 weeks early!  Long story, but mama and baby are healthy and doing well!  The quilt pattern was a simple heart block, 4 squares (3 pink, 1 white) sewn into a 4-patch and set on point.  I think the squares finished at 2", and the simple white sashing finished at around 1". I did a loose meander for the free motion quilting.  The batiks for the hearts were all from my stash.  Many were from a jelly roll purchased about 5 years ago, to make mug rugs for Emily's bridal party.  Perfect use for the leftovers!  I filled in with other scraps I had - pinks, purples, oranges, and a few green/pink prints.  

All of the newborn pictures from the hospital remind us that Kate was born during the Covid-19 outbreak, so both mom and dad are wearing masks.  Even so, you can see the love and wonder in our daughter, Emily's, eyes as she holds her newest daughter.  Her 2-year-old, Ella, stayed with us a week during the hospital stay.  

And check out little Kate and her daddy, Matthew,  sharing a special moment together.  How sweet is this! 
Since Kate was early - and I was late getting her quilt started - plus the fact that Scott and I kept Ella here for a full week (we didn't get much else done that week), the quilt was not done in time for Kate's homecoming.

Emily had hired a painter to paint her nursery - but because of Covid and not wanting workers in the house, she ended up painting it herself.  She even added one wall of peel and stick adorable bunnies wallpaper.  So soft and pretty.

Pretty mama and sleeping baby - welcome to the world, little one!

Oh My Happy Star

Oh My Happy Star delivered!  It's a good thing, because baby Henry arrived 15 days early!  Quilt was done in time for them to use when bringing Henry home from the hospital. 
The quilt had a long journey to its completion!  Once the muse finally spoke to me, it was easy:

Simple squares and half square triangles in bright, fun prints plus pure white Kona make for a sweet and simple baby quilt.  At the time of its making, we didn't know the gender of the baby, but I did know the nursery design and color scheme (gray, white, and bright colorful accents).  But it didn't start this way. 

My first idea was pinwheels - bright happy scraps, leftover from another quilt I made for Hannah and Danny (parents of the baby to be).  I spent LOTS of time making this, pressing seams open, picking fabrics carefully, figuring out the math to add the sawteeth borders (ugh).  And after I got it all "done", I hated it.  Hated. It. It was just TOO TOO  - too bright, too big, too scrappy.  So while thinking of another baby quilt idea, I ripped apart the pinwheels. 

I trimmed down the pinwheels to a smaller size, added white sashing and soft gray cornerstones. Aahhh.  

I added some simple white borders, and this top is done.  This quilt will go to another baby someday.  But in the meantime, this quilt is hanging on a hanger, awaiting quilting.  

Baby quilt idea #2 for Hannah's baby.  I used a simple color scheme of gray, white, aqua, and peach, and cut lots of 60 degree triangles.  Nice and simple, and I loved the result.  For about a day.  Then - I started rethinking it.  I thought it was too scrappy for Hannah, and not modern enough for her taste.  

Triangle quilt, take two - nope!  this is not it either.  All of the pieces are in a box, and will work for another baby quilt someday, but not this one.  Thankfully, the muse spoke to me, and I ended up with Oh My Happy Star.  I think I finally made the quilt, start to finish, in less than a week - including free-motion quilting.   I work full-time, and teach 18 piano students a week.  

Baby Henry's homecoming day!  I think they both look super cute. I love that Hannah is using the quilt, and not just hanging it on the wall, or storing it away in a drawer. 

Oh My Happy Star at home in Henry's adorable nursery. 

Sweet dreams, Henry!

It's a boy!

We are happy to announce - Henry Lee!  Born just two days ago, 15 days early, but 6 lbs., 5 oz., mom and baby are doing fine!

We think he's pretty cute!  Of course we haven't been able to meet him yet, due to social distancing.  This is our first grandson; we have two granddaughters, both age 2.  I think Henry will be the little prince, lol!

Little Henry and dear Hannah.  So proud of her, she did good!

New dad, Danny, and his new love.  He's over the moon!

Looks like a magazine, right? Hannah is very clever and artistic, and she created this adorable nursery. The wall treatment is something she found on pinterest, she free-handed it just using a simple cardboard template.  My quilt is hanging on the crib; more on that later.

They'll be rocking little Henry in that chair pretty soon!  Sweet dreams, sweet Henry!

(Not) Wordless Wednesday

My view this morning!

Lovely neighbor created this to add some smiles.

Adds a little perspective, doesn't it?  The gentleman on the left could have been modeled after my dad, though he was in the Navy (including Pearl Harbor).  Kind of looks like he did, too, minus the baseball cap. Stay safe, everyone!

We shop, we cook, we eat

Scott and I have been cooking pretty much every day for the past several weeks.  I think we got takeout twice in all that time.  Here are a few keepers:

Recipe source:  Betty Crocker, purchased in 1978 (wedding gift!). My kind of recipe, one bowl, easy, and really delicious!

We had heavy cream in the frig, so we skipped the frosting and served with real whipped cream.  Check out my teeny stove!  Looks like we live in a tiny city apartment...nope, just a small mid-century ranch in the suburbs.

Now THESE are to write home about!  If you're ever in Minneapolis, consider visiting Al's Breakfast in the U of M neighborhood called Dinkytown.  There is but ONE counter, with about 15 stools.  That's it.  So you have to WAIT for your breakfast.  But oh, the food is worth it!  Here's a link to the recipe.  The recipe shows made with blueberries and walnuts, but I subbed in chocolate chips for the blueberries.  And you MUST use real maple syrup - pictured above is Anderson's Pure Maple Syrup, made by my godparents' family in Wisconsin.  They carry it at my local grocery store!

More proof of our tiny kitchen. Scott is backed up to the refrigerator, and to the left of the stove the counter takes a left turn and there is the sink.  It's a "step saver kitchen", that's for sure.
Scott is working on a quick pasta dish I saw on "The Kitchen" (food network).  They had a "pasta drop challenge" where you had to create a pasta sauce in the time it took for the pasta to cook!
Here is the link for Sunny's Quick Bolognese sauce.  We used 1# hamburger, crumbled and browned with olive oil, salt, and pepper for the meat, and pasta sauce for the pizza sauce.  It was clean-your-plate good.  

More recipes next time!
Stay safe, everyone!

Keeping busy!

Welcome back to my blog! Although I am busy - I've decided I've time enough to get back to blogging.  So here we go!

Although some folks are home with lots of time on their hands, I am home - but I am still working at both of my jobs.  I do customer service for a heating parts distributor, and I also teach piano lessons.  Since the stay at home order, I've been teaching via FaceTime, which has worked very well!

My home office setup.  My workplace brought over my computer and phone and got everything connected for me.  I've been here for just over 3 weeks - first using some vacation days, and now working from home.  The commute is great, but I miss my friends from the office.  Best to be home and try to stay safe.

Over the weekend, I made enough masks for our family, using some batik fabrics.  I used a design found online by Kaiser Permanente, see here.  Very clear instructions.  I made my masks with ties rather than elastic.  Models are my daughter and granddaughter.  Of course we miss our family, but if staying apart will keep us all healthy, it is a small price to pay!

Our other project lately has been painting our kitchen!  Good-bye green, hello white!  Going for a fresh new look.  I enjoy painting - but it's taking longer than I expected!  We're very good painters - but not very fast!

Finish - Erica's baby girl surprise quilt!

Wow I was pretty quick on this finish! Bought the fabric on vacation in Winterset, Iowa early July, and had quilt finished for a baby shower mid-August. That’s warp speed for me!
Six simple stars, with fussy-cut sheep centers. The quilt coordinates nicely with the nursery, and the mom-to-be loved it!
Sorry these photos are out of order, I’m posting from my phone bc our laptop is in the shop.
Happy quilting!

Finished quilt top on the design wall, auditioning the binding fabric. Does anyone else do that?

This cute sheep fabric was in the bundle I bought in Winterset, Iowa.  Set the tone of the whole quilt, and also harmonized nicely with Erica's decorating theme.

Quilted it myself with a simple meander. I always wash quilts before presenting them.  It looked better in person, not the best photo.  I'll have Erica take a photo with the baby, after she arrives. :)

Close up of one of the star blocks.  

Love the bunnies on the selvedge!

Ready for gifting!