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My visit to Utah

Thursday, January 31st, 2008

Last week I was in Utah helping Jennie get settled in her new apartment. She is now living really close to Emily. I stayed with Emily and her family the first two nights and then I stayed at Jennie’s. We got an earlier start with me staying at her place. I didn’t get distracted by the grandkids. After three nights, Autumn told me this was enough, I was staying at her house tonight!

Autumn came over and spent a few afternoons with me at Jennie’s apartment. She was old enough to entertain herself so I could keep working. In fact, for awhile she was a good helper.

One afternoon Jennie and Autumn were getting bored of working so they went out and build a snowman. They were building it just outside the kitchen window and I happened to be working in the kitchen, so I was able to get some pictures of them hard at work.

The next afternoon Emily came over – and they all had a GREAT time playing with my camera.

THE BUBBLE BATH

Jennie has this really nice bath tub with jets in her apartment. Since Autumn’s house just has a shower she decided that she would take a bath one afternoon while over helping me. Well……….after putting the Joy soap into the water we turned on the jets and she had the BEST bubble bath I have ever seen.

Here she just stood up, we didn’t have to try and cover her up with the bubbles, there were so many it just happened.

Friday night we went out to dinner to celebrate Ben’s finishing everything on his thesis.

Autmn and Prairie hanging out at home on Saturday while I was getting packed and ready to go home.

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Christmas Catch up

Saturday, January 12th, 2008

I have all the Christmas decorations down. I felt bad that I did not find my new nativity set this year. I looked and looked but it just wasn’t up in the attic. (But when i was up organizing some boxes so we could put the Christmas stuff back in the attic, I did find it. I decided that I didn’t want to unpack it, so you can just look at the this link to see how cool it is.

https://secure.cherrylanekeepsakes.com/cgi-bin/view_image.cgi?img=25238

Autumn with a present at Nanan’s (The Ciccotelli’s Christmas party) house.

Hanging out in the basement – we had a great time having everyone (except Ben) home for a few days.

Pre-race activities
Here is our TEAM!!!!!!!
Proof that Imade it the first mile – I was not in the shape that I wanted to be, but I did go.

Here is the second mile proof that I am there.
I think I was probably one of the last one’s to pass this point. But, now I am ready for the final push. I see group of people a ways in front of us, I decide that I should be able to cathch up to them. When I did, I decided to go for the next group. Tom thinks that we probably passed 50 people before the finish line.
And I did finish. NEXT year I hope to do it in under 1 hour. I have now changed my walking route in Pelham so it is 1 3/4 miles. After I return to Utah I hope to modify it to 2+ miles.
I thought this a was great fun. I really appreciated our family putting forth the effort to come and participate in my crazy idea. I have been to both Time Square and now central park for New Year’s Eve. I do not have a desire to ever go back to Time Square, but I look forward to spending many New Year Eve’s in Central Park.

Stay tuned for the next Crazy idea(s).

Making the cookies I promisied Autumn we would make while she was at Grandma’s house.

The cousin’s hanging out together.

I made this beautiful BRIGHT frosting for the kis to decorate with. The color was GREAT, but it was MESSY. Grandma will have to rethink using it again.

Prairie liked decorating (or better said – eating he decorations) the best!

Autumn is old enough that she really got into doing some fun stuff with her cookies.

Maybe next year so can get into decorating (probably like Prairie does)!

Lot’s of sewing going on this night.

I am sorry to say, but I didn’t get any pictures of any of the finsihed projects! I know – BAD SEWING TEAHER!!!! I will try and be better this year!!!!!

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Jennie’s trip to Ouidad

Friday, January 4th, 2008

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Happy Birthday to me!

Monday, December 17th, 2007

Tom gave me these roses – 36 of them to be exact. They are truly beautiful. I certainly love my husband.

Nursery Christmas Gifts

This year for the Nursery children Tom and I made these little baby Jesus ornaments. This was actully plan B. We stayed up until 2:30am Sunday morning completing this project. (I am sure glad that my husband loves me!) It didn’t take long to make one, but when we have 28 kids in our nursery, it took awhile to make all of these. And then of course, they had to be wrapped.

Decorating the Christmas Tree

On Sunday we decorated the Christmas Tree. I was feeling very nastagalic through this whole process. I guess it started earlier on my birthday when I remember the birthday just after my mother passed away. I was soaking in the bath tub and had dozed off. The phone rang and my first thought was – “Mom must be calling me to tell me happy birthday”. That would have been a REAL LONG DISTANT call. Anyway, I am going to share just a couple of the special ornaments that I have on our tree.

This orament was made by Emily a bunch of years ago.

Jennie painted this for me as a gift.

Just check Tom and I out at 2002 – now five years later we need six more of those little guys around us. Our family is a real blessing in our lives.

I can’t wait for Autumn to see this ornament. She is so in to all the princesses this year.

And last but not least, the ribbon birds. They were made by Russ’ sister(s) back in 1984 or 85. These birds always remind me of Jennie and Emily trying to decide (or maybe even fighting) who got to put them on the Christmas tree each year. Now that they have there own homes and are not here to help decorate the tree it does not seem quite right that I put the birds on. I was even tempted to save the birds and let them put them on the tree. But, I knew that Emily was arriving a few days before Jennie and that would give Emily an unfair advantage.

Sewing and Beyond Craft Project Week

Each year I have a craft project for my sewing students to make the last week of classes before the Christmas break. Here are a few of the students busy at work. Just after I took this picture we had a power outage. My studio was filled with complete darkness and five screaming girls. I had to get out the flashlight and they continued on working. One student even did some hand sewing because of no electricity.

This reindeer is the new project for 2007.

As the years pass by the students have more choices of projects. Here are a few of the other projects that I have done in past years but students choose to do them this year.

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Is it Summer or Fall???????

Tuesday, October 23rd, 2007

I keep thinking that Fall is here, and then we get another few days of HOT weather. This past week it got pretty warm but I just didn’t think it was right to turn the the A/C after the middle of October. So we did manage, if it would have been really hot I would have resorted to the A/C.

Halloween is coming pretty soon and some of my students want to make a craft project. So as I was thinking about it I decided that I would design a witch that stands up with bean in the bottom to give it weigh so it will actually stand up. I was pretty happy with her. I hadn’t thought about the green face and hands until I was asking my students for some suggestions of how they thought I should do the witch. One student suggested the green face and hands. So, Miss Witchy has green skin.

Here is Miss Witchy with the Halloween friend from a couple of years ago.

Saturday we went to Vermont to place the gravestone on Jayne’s (the boy’s mother who passes away last November) grave. The fall leaves were BEAUTIFUL!!!!! Made me even more excited to get back to working on a couple of fall wallhangings that I have going (either actually going or in my mind). I have done it again, I got alittle excessive in purchasing artifically fall leaves. I can make ALOT of wallhangings. Maybe I’ll have to offer a workshop or two and try and sell the leaves.

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October Summer

Monday, October 8th, 2007

One thing that I think I appreciate more since living in the East is the Fall weather. It is such a relief after just enduring the HOT, HUMID, and HAZEY summers that we have. The air feels crisp and it seems so nice to have the windows open. I added the above statment to my draft earlier this week -, little did I know that the HOT, HUMID and HAZEY conditions were coming back with a vengence. Needles to say – the AC has been going in our house these past few days. But, I have been comfortable down sewing this week-end while Tom has been at a Scout Training (Wood Badge) program. I watched conference on my laptop and have been perfectly happy. Here are a few things that I have been working on:

Here is a picture of the Hexabag that I just completed for Autumn!

Next week I am teaching the Color Wheel Magic workshop for a guild in New Jersey.

I have been playing around with some other ideas of how I can use this technique. I also like to have a few different ideas to display at the workshop. Plus this helps me work out the bugs in the pattern.

I have also been piecing a quilt top (twin bed size) for the Verteran’s quilt project that Village Squares Quilter’s is working on. In White Plains – Common Grounds is creating a half-way house for veterans. They asked if VSQ quilters wouls make quilts for each of the beds. They need about 50 quilts by mid-December. No picture as of now, I will show one when I get it quilted.

We received an email with these adorable pictures of our Grandson – Ty! Cutest grandson I have!!!!!!!!

Posted in Family, Hexabag, Quilt: Color Wheel Magic, Quilt: Turkey quilt | 2 Comments »

Family – that is what life is all about!!!!

Monday, October 1st, 2007

This is one of the projects that I am working on right now.

The Stone’s will be released from being temple president and matron at the end of the month, and I have always wanted to make her a quilt. So now is the time. One time when I was talking to her she said that she would love to have an Autumn wallhanging. So, hopefully she will like this.

(Left): Border (darker) w/leaves

(Right): Border (lighter) w/o leaves

Which border do you like the best?

I am using silk leaves for the “Falling Leaves”.

On Sept. 20 Autumn and I flew back to New York. She was here with Grandpa and Grandma for six days. We kept pretty busy. Following are some pictures of some of the things we did.

I love being a Grandma!

One day Tom took the day off work and we went to the Bronx Zoo.

I always love seeing the monkeys. I think they are so cute.

We had our own monkey with us at the zoo.

Feeding the Sea Lions

That is the cutest prairie dog’s head I have ever seen!

I think Grandma is almost to big for this slide, but Autumn didn’t want to go down alone.

Have you ever seen a turtle like this?
Or this?

Autumn feeding a goat in the Children’s Zoo.
Autumn wanted leave the Children’s Zoo because she wanted to eat her treats but there was no food allowed in this area of the zoo.
Also, she didn’t like the animals licking her hand.(See how she is wiping off her hand on her pants.)

The BUG carousel

Autumn choose this butterfly bench to ride on.

Nana showing Autumn some butterflies

What an adorable bumble bee!!!!

Autumn getting a head-start on dinner.

Autumn painting her Pinewood Derby car

Do you think she might grow up to be a doctor?

Pictures of Autumn at the beach on the Sound Shore

A few pictures from my Idaho visit

Prairie loves her Uncle Janardan

Couch of FAME!!!!
Emily really accomplished a lot!!!!!

Jennie made a couple of outfits over the week-end but we missed taking any pictures of them.

It’s great fun to have a few sewing days with my daughters!!!!!!

(any maybe someday it will work out to have my daughter-in-law(s someday) join with us also.

(whoops – I deleted the picture)

Autumn and Prairie in Idaho – 2007

What a difference one year makes!
Autumn and Prairie in Idaho – 2006

Posted in Emily's Projects, Family, Quilt: Falling Leaves | 1 Comment »

The BEST Nineness there is!!!!!!!!!!

Wednesday, June 20th, 2007

Tom and Mary Anne nine years ago today!
Has it really been that long?

The entire family (1998)

Now in 2007:
Chris (left) is a FDNY Firefighter, Brian is in Aruba for an internship, Jason is in Utah studying to become a physical therapist, Tom and Mary Anne are in Pelham, Jennie in Provo working and going to school, and Emily is a “Stay at home ecologist”.
We have added to our family one daughter-in-law (Christy married to Jason), two sons-in-law (Janardan to Jennie) (Ben to Emily), and three beautiful grandchildren (Autumn, Prairie (Emily and Ben’s daughters) and Ty (Jason & Christy’s baby).

Tom and Mary Anne walking off into the sunset to live happily ever after!

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The Bag Lady

Wednesday, May 16th, 2007

I am beginning to fee like the bag lady. Today I was out working in the flower beds and a lady stopped by and wanted to thank me for selling her an American Girl Doll pattern last year. She then asked if I had any patterns for a bag that she could use to take to the city. Just the type of question the “BAG” lady like to hear. I then went in the house and came out with my HexabagsTM. She liked them and wante to make one. Well, I told her that I am working on the pattern but it will be a couple of weeks until it is ready.

Yesterday I was wondering why I ever thought I could publish a pattern. I guess I want my patterns to be very well written and not leave someone scratching their head wondering what they should do next. Needless to say, this is a very labor intensive project. But, then later I printed out what I had done already and put the pages in one of the official plastic bags, and it looked pretty good.

These are two of my latest HexabagsTM. I have some ideas for othe bags but I keep telling myself that I need to complete the patterns that I am working on before I go on to another bag.