Thursday, December 31, 2009

To End the Year - 2009

Today I am ending the year doing exactly what I want to do. 

Working on my BOM "Stars for a New Day" from the Quilt Show.  I am working on the month of May...I am a little behind. 


I am watching old Quilt in the Day video that I have recorded on VCR tape.  It's fun to get these old tapes out and watch (or should I say listen) while I am quilting. 




From me, Kclily, to you I want to wish you a Happy New Year.  My all our new years resolutions come true.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Christmas Blizzard 2009

The snow has finally made it into Central Oklahoma.  We are having a blizzard.  Central Oklahoma doesn't have blizzards very often so this is different for us. 

We are having wind gusts from 30-50mph.

Thankfully we celebrated Christmas last night so the family doesn't have to travel in this.  Many of the roads and interstates are closed in our area.  They are talking about calling in the National Guard to rescue people that are stranded on the interstates.  Lord, help these people get to their destinations safely.

As for me, I think I will get a cup of hot chocolate and go quilt. 
Merry Christmas everyone,


Sunday, December 20, 2009

5 Christmas Trees and The Christmas Story

Welcome to Mosaic Monday hosted by Mary at Little Red House.  Please pop on over to Little Red House to see more mosaics.

Today I thought I would share a little bit of my Christmas.

This year I have 5 Christmas trees.  Goodness they are hard to photograph.  My large 8 foot tree in the center has around 300 ornaments on it.  I have a 4 foot tree that is all Wizard of Oz.  There is a 2 foot tree in the sun room and another in the kitchen bay window.  The smallest, 1 foot, is in the bathroom.

I like to hang the ribbons that my family has won on the big tree. 


And I have several baseballs on the tree.  I can't wait until major league baseball starts again!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now for the true meaning of Christmas, the Birth of Christ.  Several years ago my husband put together this version of the birth of Christ taken from the Holy Bible.  On Christmas Eve my daughters, my husband and myself will each read out loud a piece of the story before we open gifts.  It has become a family tradition and keeps us grounded as to why we celebrate Christmas. 

The Christmas Story


In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. (John 1:1-2)

And in the sixth month the angel, Gabriel, was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou who art highly favored, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered in her mind what manner of greeting this should be. And the angel said unto her, fear not, Mary; for thou hast found favor with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his Father, David. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, how shall this be since I am a virgin? And the angel answered, and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall over shadow thee; Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin, Elisabeth, hath also conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. (Luke 1:26-38)

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was in this way: When, as his mother, Mary, was espoused to Joseph, before they had lived together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privately. But while he thought on these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary, thy wife; for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS; for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, Behold the virgin shall be with child, and bring forth a son. and they shall call his name Immanuel, which, being interpreted, is God with us. Then Joseph, being raised from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife, but had no relations with her till she had brought forth her first-born son; and he called his name JESUS. (Matthew 1:18-25)

And it came to pass, in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. And this was the first taxing and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria and all went to be taxed, everyone into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be taxed with Mary, his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her first born son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.


And there were in the same county shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, an angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were very much afraid. And the angel said unto them; Fear not, for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another. Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. (Luke 2:1-16)

Now when JESUS was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod, the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod, the King, had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where the Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea for thus it is written by the prophet, and thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not the least among the princes of Judah; for out of thee shall come a Governor that shall rule my people, Israel. Then Herod, when he had privately called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, go and search diligently for the young child, and when you have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. When they heard the King, they departed, and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him; and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts: gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. (Matthew 2:1-l1)

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)


For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever should believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (John 3:16-17) Amen.

To all my fellow bloggers I wish you a very Merry Christmas.

Until next time,

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Slowing Down

I have been running here and there, busy as a bee since Thanksgiving.  My life is finally slowing down a bit so I felt like I could take a minute to put together a small post. 


This is a new Kaffe Fassett Liberty of London fabric that I must have.



These are a few examples of how this fabric would look in a kaleidoscope quilt or stack-n-whack quilt.  I simple must have this fabric, every flavor of it.

My next post will be Christmasy.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Mosaic Monday - Quilt Top Finished

Welcome to Mosaic Monday, hosted by Mary at Little Red House.   Please take a moment to visit Mary's blog to see mosaics that fellow bloggers have also created. 


This week I purchased 4- 1/2 yard pieces of fabric at Oklahoma Quiltworks.  The fabric designer is Jane Sassaman.  I love her bright bold patterns and just had to start a stash of her fabric line.  This will be used in a "future" quilting project. 

   
This week I finished piecing my Springtime in Oklahoma quilt top made using Kaffe Fassett fabrics.  I will be using my Bernina to machine quilt it in sections using the Linda Milligan/Nancy Smith Divide and Conquer method. I saw them demonstrate this method on the HGTV show Simply Quilts several years ago.  I recorded the segment and have it on DVD.  I have used this method on 1 other quilt and it worked very well.  Wish me luck!

I want to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving.  Let us all give thanks for the many blessings we have received this year. 


Sunday, November 15, 2009

Mosaic Monday - Blooming in the Garden

I can not believe that I still have roses blooming in my garden.

It is so nice to have fresh cut roses in the house at this time of year.


We have had some gorgeous sunsets this week.  My husband usually says "Grab the camera, the sunset won't last long".  I also included mums, periwinkles, ruella and mini roses that are blooming.


Kaleidoscopes of Pineapple Sage that is in full bloom right now.


Sunset in Oklahoma

  This is my granddaughter standing on our bridge. 

Thank you Mary for hosting Mosaic Monday.  Please be sure to visit her blog Little Red House tosee what mosaics other bloggers are creating.
Until next time,

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Mosaic Monday - Centennial Wind Farm

We took a little 2 day trip this week up through the Oklahoma panhandle, to Garden City Kansas.  Just outside Ft Supply, OK is this mesmerizing wind farm.  If you get close you can hear the swosh swosh...sound that the turbines make.

This is the Centennial Wind Farm owned by the electric company OG&E.  There are 80 turbines and they can produce a total of 120 megawatts of power which is enough electricity to supply about 36,000 homes. The wind turbines are computer-controlled, with peak turbine performance at about 25 mph. For safety, the turbines automatically shut down if wind speeds exceed 55 mph. 

We definitely have A LOT of wind here.  In fact, the wind is about to drive me crazy right now!!  At least it is blowing most of the leaves off the trees.



A few kaleidoscopes I created from the same photos.



 Thank you Mary for hosting Mosaic Monday.  Hope you feel better soon.  Be sure to visit her blog Little Red House to see many (last week there were 90) mosaics from around our nation and globe.
Until next time,

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Quilty Goodness


It is finally that time of year when I can do a little quilting.  Except for falling leaves the yard is not requiring much attention.  Below is what is on my design wall.

I took my first beginner quilting class in October 1989 at Hobby Lobby.  In the last 20 years I have only finished 7 quilts.  Raising kids and a career were my priority.....BUT now I am retired and an empty nester!  I decided it was time to start fresh so in October 2009 I took another beginner quilting class at Oklahoma Quiltworks.  The purple quilt above is the sampler doll quilt that we made in class.  The red/brown quilt top is a Disappearing Nine Patch that I will use as a table topper.  Below that is a Ricky Tim's convergence that is an experiment.
Next Friday I am taking a Free Motion Doodling class.  I hope to use that knowledge to quilt and FINISH these 3 little quilts.


This is the BIG quilt project that I am trying to finish.  It is a twin size.  I am attempting to do some straight line quilting and it is just so-so.  I need more practice but that is how you master anything right...practice, practice, practice.

This week we traveled through the panhandle of Oklahoma.  I always check the Quilters' Travel Companion book to see what quilt shops I might find along the way.  In Turpin, Oklahoma I visited Prairie Trails Quilting.  It is owned and operated by Janet Lewis.  I throughly enjoyed my visit with her.

Of course I had to buy something.  I bought 2 Moda Glory charm packs and the X-Blocks Land book to go along with the X-Block ruler that I purchased at Houston IQF 2008.
And lastly I finally got up the nerve to cut into my Kaffe fabrics.  On Wednesdays I am attending Sit-n-Sew at Oklahoma Quiltworks.  It is so nice to devote an entire day to quilt projects.  This is a quilt that was featured in the Quilt Sampler Magazine Spring/Summer 2006.  It is called Springtime in Oklahoma and the designer is Verlinda Magby. 
That is all the quilty goodness I have to share for now.
Until next time,

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

New Toys

My husband bought me 2 new toys that I wanted to show you. 

Yes, a riding lawn tractor is a toy to me.  It may seem like a strange time of year to be purchasing a new lawn mower but I needed it for bagging all the leaves that are falling.  The mower is already this dirty and I had only had it 1 hour.


He also bought me an early birthday present, a HP Mini computer.  As you can tell it is smaller than a magazine and only weighs 2.5 lbs.  It came loaded with Windows 7 and so far I have not had any problems with the operating system.  This will be the computer I take on trips.   It actually fits in my purse!!


On a gardeny note, my spoon mums have started to bloom.  If you look really close you can tell that the petals form spoons.  They are my favorite mum and they were given to me by a friend which makes them extra special. 


Until next time,








Sunday, November 1, 2009

Mosaic Monday - Last Chihuly Post

Hello everyone and welcome to Mosaic Monday.  I want to thank Mary at Little Red House for hosting this event.  Please visit her website to see her mosaic plus many others from around the globe. 

This will be my final mosaic showing yet another Dale Chihuly exhibit we have run into in our travels.  We found this exhibit while we were visiting the University of Washington in Tacoma. 

The Tacoma Art Museum hosts the Chihuly Glass Cellphone Tour.  Part of the tour is this Chihuly Bridge of Glass.  The quality of the photos is pretty poor.  The glass is behind glass and there was a glare in the sunlight.


I like this picture because it forms it's own mosaic. This is just a small section of the Chihuly Glass that is exhibited on the bridge.  This is literally a bridge that crosses a busy street. 

I hope you have enjoyed seeing and possibly learning a little bit about this amazing artist and his glass art. 

I have been taking a quilting class so my regular blogging schedule has been interrupted.  I have a few new things to share so look for a few new posts this week. 
Until next time,

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Mosaic Monday - Chihuly Arizona

Hello and welcome to Mosaic Monday.  Mary at Little Red House is our host.  Please visit her blog to see a variety of Mosaics from around the globe. 

Last March my husband and I went to Phoenix for Baseball Spring Training.  I am a huge Texas Rangers fanatic.  While we were there we visited the Desert Botanical Garden.  Much to my surprise they were exhibiting Dale Chihuly's glass all throughout the gardens. These are mosaics I created from the pictures I took in the garden.




These pictures don't do his work justice.  It is breath taking in a garden setting. 

Below are 2 kaleidoscopes I created using the picture in the first mosaic top left corner.

















Thank you for visiting my blog. 
Until next time,