More Wonderful Winnings in the Mailbox!

As I said in my last post I enjoyed participating in the "Our Craft Forum Blog Hop" the end of February.  It was soooo much fun and I won twice during the hop.  Today when I went to get the mail there was a package from New South Wales, Australia.  YIPEE - it's for me!!!  In it were these wonderful handmade cards made by Gail of miss~nances life.  Take a look at her blog for more beautiful cards!

Beautiful handmade cards by Gail

Thank you, Gail - I just love them.
The blog hop was to let people know about the craft forum.  You can find the forum here scroll down the page to look around or register and join us.  It's a great forum.

Since my granddaughter has her new apron now my grandson(her brother) wants to know when I will make him one that is for a boy.  He asks me everyday!  Grandchildren can be so cute!

Have a pieceful day!
Karen

An Apron for a Sweet Girl and the Mail had my Winnings!

I won a giveaway on Nicole's blog here during the "Our Craft Forum Blog Hop" a couple of weeks ago.  Well, they arrived today and I love them.  I received this wonderful pincushion.

I also received this necklace.

She made both of these items and they are beautiful.  Thank you Nicole!

Yesterday, my granddaughter and I spent the afternoon together.  We were going to make gluten free cookies but she was pretty tired and fell asleep and slept for three hours.  She was sleeping on the living room couch and rather than move her I let her be.  My sewing room is just a few feet away so I could keep an eye on her while she slept.  I grabbed some fabric and whipped up an apron for her (my own design).  She woke up just as I finished it and was so excited that there were two princesses on the front of it.  Here she is in her new apron.   

We didn't get to make cookies but we will make them in a couple days and she can wear her new apron!

I have a close friend that lives in Japan and we have heard that she and her husband are fine.  We are praying for everyone that was affected by the earthquake and tsunami.

Have a pieceful evening.
Karen

A Fun Day!

Today I spent some quality time with my daughter.  Her kids (our wonderful grandchildren) were off to visit their dad for the day so we have spent most of the day together.  We made breakfast and talked (the way only mom's and daughter's can) and enjoyed a generally relaxing morning.  This afternoon I asked her if she would like to try free motion quilting on my Bernina.  She is very artsy and loves to do abstract art so I figured why not let her give it a try.  So, I made up a sample piece for her to practice on.  She had a great time.  She liked the back the best because you could see the designs and asked me to show a picture of just the back so here it is.

Pretty good for the first time and a lot better than my FMQ.  Maybe she can do all my quilts!  It was a great mom and daughter day.  I think I will call my mom now.

Have a pieceful day,
Karen

A Saturday in the Mountains and I Received Mug Rugs

On Saturday we drove up into to the north Georgia mountains to scout out a fly fishing spot for my DH and DS for a future fishing trip.  It was just beautiful outside and a great day for a drive.  The spot they were interested in was 85 miles away. Part of the drive is highway and the rest is country roads that are at times  curvy with very slow drivers on them.  We made a stop in a Bavarian town called Helen for lunch.  Here's a couple pictures of the town.

This is a mini-golf course and hotel at the edge of town.

This is the main street, lots of tourists and this is the off season.

It's a cute little village but very commercial.  However, it was a great place to grab lunch before getting back on the road.

Next stop was a place called Smithgall Woods-Dukes Creek Conservation Park, they have excellent catch and release fly fishing for trout.  So, we took a little hike along the creek to check it out.  The creek is not very wide where we were but apparently further downstream (2 1/2 miles) is where the 'big' ones are caught.  We've seen the pictures of the fish and some are 20" - 24"  that is large for Georgia trout.  Here is the best picture I got at Dukes Creek.

The water was crystal clear. 

It was a gorgeous day so it made for a great ride except driving back straight into the sun - ouch! 

When we got home there was a package for me from Ava.  Ava got my name in the Quilting Gallery Mug Rug Swap.  I received two beautiful Mug Rugs and in the mug envelope is some hot chocolate, a candy cane, and a little tag that says "cheer".  Thank you Ava!

These are just so sweet!

All in all it was a great weekend.

Hope you have a pieceful evening,
Karen

View from the Treehouse and a Heart Block

We are having incredible weather, yesterday it was 72 degrees outside and we were able to eat dinner in the treehouse.  I guess I should explain about the treehouse.  We have a wonderful screened in porch that runs the entire length of the back of our house.  It is especially wonderful in the summer when mosquitoes, bees, and other bugs are running rampant.  (Right now there aren't any such critters.)  We also have a wonderful view of the lake but only in the winter - once the trees get leaves the view will be gone.  When you sit on the porch you feel like you are in a treehouse, hence the name.  It is also where the name Karen's Treehouse Quilts comes from.

View of the lake at sunset from the treehouse.

Heart Block
First I cut my squares.

Next I put everything together and here is my heart block.  It measures 8" x 8".

I'm pleased with how it came out.  Now I have to figure out if I want to make more - I cut tons of 2" squares so I need to do something with them.  This was a fun block and really looks pretty when it's done.

So, sad to here about the earthquakes down in New Zealand. Please keep them in your prayers.

Have a pieceful evening,
Karen

A Lost Giveaway Received and My Mug Rugs Have Been Sent!

Last week I received this wonderful quilt pattern from Terry Atkinson of Atkinson Designs  called Four Square Farmhouse.  I won it in a giveaway in the Fall-O-Ween Blog Hop last October and it had been lost in the mail.

I am so happy it has found it's way to my house.  Thank you, Terry!

 Yesterday was the last day for mailing my mug rugs for the Quilting Gallery's Mug Rug Swap.  I finished mine in the wee hours of the night before (I have a good excuse).  I ended up with my two grand kids in tow at the post office to mail my mug rugs across the pond.  I have never mailed anything overseas before so I didn't know what to expect but it was much easier than I thought it would be.  It was actually harder to keep the two grand kids in one place than it was to mail the mug rugs.  The grand kids were fascinated by the post office.  Here is a picture of the mug rugs I sent to my secret swap partner I really hope she likes them.

Oh my excuse for pushing the mug rugs right up to the deadline - our granddaughter has had pneumonia for the better part of four weeks.  She finally made it back to preschool yesterday (Monday).  She seems to be doing much better but is still on antibiotics (her third course), two inhalers, and her nebulizer.  Our grandson (her brother) had a ear infection with a ruptured ear drum.  So, two previously unhappy, grumpy, sick grandchildren are happy and healthier again - YIPEE!!!

Have a pieceful evening,
Karen

Keeping busy

I've been keeping busy by participating in and enjoying the Moda Bakeshop Progressive Dinner which ended yesterday. It was so much fun hopping from site to site to see all of their blogs and projects. Yesterday, I found Block A Palooza at Quilt Dad's blog.  Today is day two but if you're interested hop on over to the Quilt Dad blog and you can get started.

TEA TIME
Three of us have a tradition of going to tea at a local tea house.  So, last Saturday we all met to go to tea.  One friends sister was in town so there were four of us which was just perfect for tea.  Our tea house is called Tea Leaves & Thyme - a perfect name if you ask me.  We opted for full tea.  You pick a main item; we all chose the chicken salad on a croissant and then you also get a three tiered tray with fresh fruit, fresh baked scones, miniature tea sandwiches and miniature tea desserts (you get lemon curd and Amaretto cream to spread on the scones).  Of course, there are specialty teas served in beautiful tea pots, and teacups on saucers.  It is just such a wonderful experience.  Here we are:

From Right:  Tammy, Me, Sandy, and Priscilla (Sandy's Sister) 

We were celebrating our friend Sandy's birthday. Sandy will undergo hip replacement surgery next week her surgery was postponed a couple of months while she took care of her husband who passed away the beginning of the month (Jan.) after a lengthy illness.  She wanted to be by his side at all times and slept on a cot in the hospital the whole time.  She is an amazing and strong woman.  She is always taking care of everyone else.  We use to work together at a church and she was just a joy to work with.  She has so much compassion for everyone.

We exchanged gifts at tea and I had made her a little mug rug.  She loves animals so I made her this.  She was thrilled - which made my day!

Well, I really should be sewing.  We will have the grand kids all weekend.  Our daughter will be an adult counselor for a Sr. High church retreat this weekend.  So, Nana and Papa are in charge (or we like to think so).

Oh, I thought this was funny - my DH was reading my posts one day and I like to sign off with 'Have a pieceful evening'  or something like that and he says 'You know you aren't spelling peaceful right don't you?'  Duh!  I said 'Honey, it's a play on words, you know piece like in pieceing quilts'  he didn't get it.  I'm assuming everyone else gets it?!  I really do know how to spell except when my head and my fingers are not working together.   So.....................


Have a pieceful evening :)
Karen

The Snow that Captivated the South!

It has been a fun week.  The snow that came last Sunday and stayed all week is just about gone.  We didn't get out of our driveway until late Thursday afternoon .  There is over an acre of gravel driveway between us and the street and it was covered with snow and then a layer of ice until Thursday.  Friday we had a memorial service we needed to go to for a friend of ours so we had to chip out a lot of ice and snow.   Although many people complained about the snow - I thought it was beautiful and enjoyed being home.  The grand kids thought it was great!  Now there are just patchy areas of snow left in the shade - so life is back to normal - sigh.

 The sun had hit the flat areas of the driveway so my DH took his John Deere lawn mower out (no blades going, of course) and drove it back and forth to break up the snow so we could drive on it. To tell the truth - he was having a lot of fun!

Our daughter and grand kids built this igloo yesterday (Saturday) when the snow was melting.  You can see one of our Shih-tzu's Bandit. He thought they made it just for him!






I opened my email the other day and found out I had won a giveaway from Linda at Stray Stitches for the following cookbooks from Quilting Gallery.  I quickly went to Linda's blog since I hadn't been on any blogs in a day or so (I was playing in the snow) and there I was - WOW!  Thank you Linda!!  And thank you to Michele at Quilting Gallery.  I love both cookbooks.  You can purchase both of these cookbooks at the Quilting Gallery .

If you want to participate in the Mug Rug Swap at the Quilting Gallery you have until January 18th,  2011.  It sounds like a lot of fun!  Just follow the link below.

 

Have a pieceful evening,
Karen