lets have a parade.

i have a friend that was an amazing seamstress.  she made the bedding for both of my children's nursery's.  she made pillow covers and slip covers and cushion covers and all sorts of things for my aunt and for many people in this valley...  

people called her the fabric whisperer.  

you could show her a picture of something you wanted her to make and she would just do it.  

she was magic.  

she was an amazing person, kind, loyal, giving.  

in the days before she died she was working on a crocheted blanket that she was going to donate to the local Lions Club for their annual Christmas party auction.   

when she started to decline and couldn't sew anymore it was very hard for her.  when she asked me FINISH an order i had been prepping for her to sew, i was honored.

she said, "you are the only person i would trust to do it.  if someone else has to do it, it has to be you"  

it makes me teary thinking about it, remembering her.

these are a few of the pillows i finished up for her.  

sara jane parade on the front, 

sara jane balloons and just stay little on the back with a small fingernail ruffle.

there is another peaking behind there... white and blue and flowers... so pretty.

she showed me her secret to the perfect invisible zipper.  and i love her for that.

it is so easy i wondered why i always agonized over them.

i will and do miss you terribly betty.  xoxo

p.s.  

i have misplaced my camera, again.  aarrrggghhh

please say a prayer to the camera gods that it will show up, 

or my husband might kill me. ;)

swoon.

i have my first finish for the finish-a-long.

miss S's swoon quilt is done...

this was even better since i joined in the swoon-a-long also!

 all quilted by me... (with my malfunctioning walking foot...) 

on my grace. 

it was a chore. (notice the wavy stitch lines) 

grace's small neck space has solidified my intense desire to own This.  

i have already been dreaming of names.

 i am happy with it. 

i like how the quilting turned out.
i really love it.

this was my first try with pin basting and i was happy with the result.  

i liked how the quilt felt like it had some give to it, although that give resulted in a few puckers but you will NEVER notice once it is washed a few times.
i am sure it will be washed a lot because it is for miss s...
because she is 4... and swoon is white...

i do love spray baste though but, when you are out you are out. 

and when the pins are free... you do what you have to do to finish!

 i have to admit... 

she isn't bound yet. 

but Ferk serged those edges like a champ... 

therefore, it is as done as it is going to be for a week or two.

  now on to other important finishes... 

one quilt down, two to go...  

this should be easy~! 

xx

nicke

Versatile blogger... maybe

i feel bad that it has taken me so long to do this.  

bonnie gave me this award in may

then chelsea gave it to me in october

and then jacey in december.

apparently, i am pretty versatile!

to play along you are supposed to tell seven things that are unknown about you... 

a seven question get to know you...

so...   

1.  i have a hole in my head above my left ear.  i was born with it.  seriously, a hole in my head, it is very small and you would never see it unless i pointed it out to you.  i love it when people have said to me, you need that like you need a hole in your head.  i reply with "well, actually..."

2.  i am the youngest of 8 children. i was born the year that my oldest sister graduated from high school. my oldest sister had her last child the year i graduated from high school. I am sorry to say that I will not be having a child when my niece graduates… I am totally finished having kids.

3.  i learned the alphabet in sign language when i was in the seventh grade. ever since then i will randomly sign/spell out words instead of talking to myself.  i know weird...

4.  i learned the state and presidents songs when i was in elementary school. i can name all 50 states in alphabetical order and i can name all 43 presidents in order of service.  go ahead... quiz me.

5.  i love to sew! big surprise.  but i have a hard time going from one project to another without finishing it first.  if i am working on a quilt top i like to finish it before i start on the next thing.  (but i consider it done when the top is done... not when it is quilted and bound, which explains my pile of unfinished quilt tops)...  because of this my WIP list is actually really small.  on the other hand, my "want to make" list is ginormous!

6. when i was a kid i loved sleeping with my oldest sister (yes, the same sister mentioned in #2) when she came home from college. she was going to Ricks College in Rexburg Idaho (now BYU-Idaho) and i would wait up for her to get home late friday night.  she always slept with her back to me and sometimes when i would wake up in the middle of the night, i would be afraid that she would turn into a tiger and eat me. silly...silly...silly... i guess it wasn't scary enough to make me stop waiting up for her though...

7.   spencer and i have been together since the spring of 1998!  we were married in the spring of 2001 which means we have been married for 10 years... almost 11!  i love him more than i love sewing...

so.... i am nominating two people for this award...
1st... i am giving it to Katy. she totally cracks me up and she is uber talented!
2nd... i am giving it to Sarah, because she is super talented and i love her crazy cat.

happy birthday miss s.

my little lady had her 4th birthday last week.

she is so much bigger than this now!  these were her first ponytails.

 she is the sweetest little thing and can be a little shy.
i love watching her at dance class... (this is her teacher.)

 she constantly keeps us laughing.

four years old!  and soo smart. 

she can write her name

count to 75, with very little help

knows her address 

knows both spencer and my cell phone numbers.

she loves all animals, but not bugs. 

she stomps bugs.

she is so curious and asks 40,000 questions a day.

and she loves her little brother so much.

we love you angel face!  you make our world go round.

five quilts in three months...

My dear friend Rhonda is hosting a Finish-A-Long.  

I am really excited because i have a ton of stuff to finish.

and how awesome to win prizes for finishing stuff i should have finished months ago.

first on my list... 

swoon for miss s....

her birthday is thursday... i hope it will be finished...

i see a late night in store for me tonight and tomorrow night.

 only one block to finish although i think i will make a couple more.  i didn't think too clearly about the vision of this quilt when i started.  i knew i wanted to use the fabrics from her crib bedding but didn't plan the blocks before.  

they are heavy on the green/blue... 

i want options. and options means sewing into the late night tonight.  

i am ok with it.  i get more done when my family sleeps.

second... my dream on quilt top.  

i love the bright cheeryness of this quilt.  it needs to be finished.

i need to piece my backing, baste it, and quilt the crap out of it.

i still don't know for sure how it will be quilted but i think i will do 1/4 inch off every seam.

and lastly... 

fly girl!

the top is done.  the back is done. 

she needs basted and then i see random lines in her future!

three finished quilts... i think that may be doable since they are already almost all finished...

i have to say that it is my plan to start and finish two additional quilts during this time...

it is my goal to finish a quilt a month this year. i have five planned finishes for the first three months.

wish me luck!

xx

nicke.

p.s.  the holidays were really busy and i am endlessly behind with my google reader. i hope to be caught up with you all soon. xoxo