Hello Again!

Hello everyone! I'm still here...just really busy the last couple of months. Thanks to all of you that have sent me emails checking up on me...you're all so sweet and I appreciated the concern. Everything has been going very well in my life. During the end of May, I started a new job at Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City that I really, really love! I'm so glad that I decided to take the job. I enjoy what I do and I'm lucky that I get to work with some really fun people. We all seem to get along really great. However, it's been a bit of an adjustment to my schedule with the additional drive time...still getting down a routine that works for me.

Another nice thing about my new job is that it allows me to take Trax to work, which has allowed me to read some books I've been wanting to read...I've even renewed my library card! One book that I read during the last couple of weeks was These Is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901 by Nancy E. Turner. I loved, loved, loved this book! If you haven't read it, I would suggest you add it to your list of must-reads. All the while reading the book, I was in such awe that someone could have such an amazing, action-packed life...because, of course, I thought it was the ACTUAL diary of Sarah Agnes Prine. Only when I reached the end of the book and read through the little Q&A section with the author did I find out that although Sarah Agnes Prine did exist, as did a couple of the other characters in the book, the majority of characters and events in the book are purely fictional. So, be forewarned...it kind of made me a little sad to find that out...that this amazing woman didn't exist as portrayed in the book. Well, I'm sure she was an amazing woman in other ways! =)

I'm requesting a favor of you...If you have any suggestions of good books to read, please pass them my way.

As far as quilting goes, I've been working on a few baby blankets, but haven't been able to find the time to actually finish them. This is unfortunate, as one of the babies was just recently born. I guess I really need to get stitching!

Well, hopefully now that things are starting to settle down, I'll be posting on more of a regular basis again. I did notice that I've flown right past my one-year blogging anniversary, so I'll have to think up a fun giveaway...stay tuned! =)

Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple Open House

Happy Monday!

If you're interested and you live nearby, or plan to be in Utah during the next couple of months, you can now make reservations to attend the Oquirrh Mountain Utah LDS Temple open house. To make a reservation to tour the temple during the open house, you can visit:

www.lds.org/reservations

Open house tours start on June 1st and go through August 1st, excluding Sundays, the 4th of July, and the 24th of July. We have our reservation for Wednesday, June 10th, and I am very excited to attend! We recently attended the Draper Utah LDS Temple open house a few months ago and it was an amazing experience...I would highly recommend you take the opportunity to attend the open house for the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple if you can.

If you want more information on temples of the LDS church, you can visit:

http://www.lds.org/temples/purpose/0,11298,1897-1,00.html

Thanks! Have a great day! =)

Two G's and One M

A couple of weeks ago, I took a fun class at Just Sew in Highland to make monogrammed letters from scraps and a fat quarter for the background. I have lots of scraps so I thought this would be a great way to use some of them (I even cut a few little pieces from the scraps I received in the scrap swap...leaving plenty to still make my project with them, of course). I made an M...obviously for my last name. It was so fun and easy to make and it went together so quickly, that I decided to make a couple of G's...one for my parents and one for my brother and sister-in-law...all with my maiden last name. I bought a few inexpensive frames at Wal-Mart and viola....

Such a fun and creative way to use scraps! Now, on to make some for my husband's side of the family. =)

Mail Call...

There was a week or so at the beginning of this month where we weren't home very much...we always seemed to be out and busy. In our neighborhood, we have community mailboxes, so it takes a little effort to go and get the mail...well, not so much effort as time...all of about 1 minute since it's just a walk about three houses down from us. Nonetheless, our mailbox went a little neglected for about a week or so. That is, until I came home one day to find this stuck in my door...

I immediately went and got the mail...writing a little note of apology to our mail carrier, too. What, you ask was causing my mailbox to be so full in only one week? Some great mail goodness...All of these wonderful scrap swap packages! These packages come from Anna K, Penny, Stacey, Emily, Lolly, and Jacquie. Anna K even included a cute little charm! Then, a few days later, I received a couple more scrap swap packages! These are from Sheree and Jenn.This was like Christmas for me...or so Rick said. I was so excited...oohing and aahing over all of the wonderful scraps everyone sent me. I'm so excited to start using them, but I need to find the right project first. I know it will be a scrappy quilt of some kind and I have a few in mind. One of the patterns I'm thinking of is the 'Oh My Gosh'. I saw the quilt made up at Broadbent's and it really is an oh my gosh...it's so amazing with all the scraps and the really tiny pieces. We'll have to see if I have the patience for that...I may go with something entirely different!

Chocolate vs. Lemon

My husband loves lemon...lemon bars, lemonade, lemon candy, lemon turnovers...you name it. If it has lemon in it, he's sure to be a big fan. When I first met my husband I was going to school and working in a little bakery in Salt Lake City. He'd often come in to see me...or maybe it was for the lemon turnovers. =)

I've always known about my husband's love of lemon, but I didn't realize how much he really, really loves lemon. About a week or so ago, my husband informed me and some cousins/friends we were with at the time, that lemon is the new chocolate. Lemon replace chocolate!?!? I don't think so! I know lemons are good for you, but chcolate can be too. The way I see it, chocolate will always be chocolate and lemon can never replace it. Well, I guess I'll need to find some recipes that incorporate both lemon and chocolate...then we can both be happy. =)

got scrap?

I'm participating in a scrap swap with some blogging friends and here are my scrap packages all ready to mail. Each little package contains at least 25 different scraps and each scrap is at least 25 sq in or bigger. I am excited to get a bunch of new scraps in return. Now, what to make with all those scraps? I've got a couple of projects I'm thinking about...

Enthusiasm

While shopping a few weeks ago, I came across a block of the month at Mormon Handicraft inside Deseret Book at University Mall. There are two blocks each month and they include fabric and patterns. I'm excited to do the blocks because they use Civil War fabrics and the patterns are based on blocks about Civil War love letters. I love Civil War fabrics and I also love learning the history of blocks...the meaning behind them...how they came to be. I purchased the blocks for January, February, and March and this is the first one I've finished - it's called Enthusiasm. I've been trying to find information/history about this block on the Internet, but I haven't had any luck. Does anyone know where I can find quilt block history...if it exists? I found a book about Civil War Love Letters online and I may just have to buy the book...I've been considering it.

Thanks for any help you can provide! Hope you have a great day!

Siggy Swap

Quite a while back, I signed up to do an international siggy swap on Cootie Bug 2's blog. I've been so busy, I completely forgot about it...until now. Good thing that we don't send in our blocks until April. I'm excited to do this swap...not only because I can use up some of my seemingly never-ending stash, but also because I'll end up with 60 blocks from all over the world - how fun is that! If you want to join in the fun, according to Cootie Bug 2's blog there is still room in Group 2 (I'm in group 1). Just head on over and sign up!

All Aboard!

While watching the Super Bowl last month with my family, I finished binding a quilt. My little nephew, Logan, asked me if that was his blanket I was finishing. I said "no", and then he asked, "Where's my blanket?". So I told him that I could make him a blanket and asked him if he wanted trains or bugs on his blanket. He immediately said trains. So, for his 3rd birthday last Sunday, I made him this train quilt. All of the trains are appliqued, with rick rack for the train tracks and smoke, and buttons for the wheels. I used a pattern called "Precious Cargo" from a Fons & Porter Baby Quilts 2008 magazine that I bought a few months ago. The pattern called for 54 appliqued wheels - I chose to do buttons instead to save time and add a little dimension to the quilt. I even added some fun appliques that I purchased to put in the trains - balls, puppies, and a frog. I also spelled out his name in appliqued letters and added a couple # 3's since he turned three. (Thanks to my dad for holding up the quilt so I could take a picture of it!) I did all of the piecing, applique, backing, binding, and even the quilting by myself. Usually, I send my quilts to the quilter, but I've been wanting to quilt them myself. So, I rented time on my friend Kristin's long-arm machine. It was so fun! Even though it may not have turned out exactly perfect, I'm proud of the fact that I am the only person that worked on this quilt...I did everything myself...and I think it turned out pretty cute! =)
Happy Birthday Logan, with lots of love from your Aunt Anna!!! =)

Draper Utah Temple Open House

A few weeks ago, Rick and I had the opportunity to go with my parents, my sister-in-law, Cheryl, and my little nephew, Logan, to the Draper Utah LDS Temple Open House. What an amazing experience! I'm so glad we went.

The temple is beautiful inside and out. We drove the back way from Utah County to Draper (not I-15) and it was so neat to come around a bend in the road and be able to look down to the valley and see the temple nestled in the mountains. The picture above is scanned in from the pamphlet that they give you to read while you're walking through the temple - it explains about the temple and gives descriptions of areas in the temple.

It was a really neat day. After you arrive at your assigned parking lot, you enter the church building for a few minutes to watch a short video about temples. Then you board a bus that drives you up to the temple. Then you get to go inside and you can't help but feel peaceful and calm. Even though the temple has not been dedicated, I felt the spirit so strong. When you are finished with the open house tour, you are led into the cultural hall of the church next to the temple for refreshments and the opportunity to ask any questions about temples and the LDS church. Then the bus takes you back to your parking lot.

While we were having our refreshments and looking at all of the beautiful pictures of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and reading different things about the temples, I was so overcome with emotion that I had to step out into the hall for a minute. I am just so grateful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I am grateful that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me and knows me - knows my trials, my strengths, my weaknesses - everything about me. I'm grateful for my (our) Savior, Jesus Christ, and for his willingness to atone for my sins. I know that He lived on this earth and that He still lives. I'm grateful for temples and that families can be together forever, not just in this life, but for all eternity. I'm grateful to be sealed to my parents and to my husband. I know that there is nobody else I'd rather spend all eternity with. I am grateful for the gospel in my life...it helps me to be happy and to get through the rough times.

If you happen to live in Utah, or plan on visiting Utah within the next month, I would encourage you to visit the Draper Utah Temple Open House. Here is a link to the Church's website to get tickets:

http://www.lds.org/temples/openhouseinfo/0,12357,1921-1-590-2,00.html

If you have questions about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, temples, or what we believe, here is a link to a website that can help to answer your questions:

http://mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/

I hope that you have the opportunity to attend and feel the peaceful, calm, and loving spirit present there.

Hope you have a great weekend! =)

Another Finish

I have been working on getting my list of quilts on the sidebar finished. Hooray...finally finished the binding on this one, so another one to check off as complete!
This quilt was a block exchange that my quilting group, the Loch Lomond Quilters, did a few years ago. The focus fabric was the dark brown print (from the Nell's Flower Shop line) in the borders. We all had to make a 12" block and pull the colors from that print. You could use the focus fabric if you wanted, but you didn't have to...and you didn't have to use fabrics from that line, but you'll notice that many of us did. If you remember back to our Quilt Show last fall, this is the quilt that has the back that won an award.

Well...time to get working on another finish! Hope you have a great day!

An Award!

I'm so excited! I have received my very first award and Nancy was so kind to give it to me!

The rules for this award are:

1. The receiver is to copy the award button to his/her blog.

2. Link to who gave you this award.

3. Nominate at least 7 other bloggers.

4. Link to each nominee.

5. Leave message at the nominee's blog.

I follow so many blogs, and I think that you are all so creative, so it was really hard for me to choose just 7, so if you read my blog regularly consider yourself awarded! Here are the '7' that I am officially passing the award to:

1. My mom, Christina, at My Swede Life...she really is very creative making dolls, hats, quilts, etc.

2. Sherri at A Quilting Life...her projects and her blog are an inspiration to me

3. Rochelle at Three Turns to Home...she seems to have a talent for everything making quilts, stuffed animals, etc.

4. Kristin at Sadie Bird...she has such a great eye for color and creates some of the most beautiful and unique quilts I've seen

5. Penny at sewtakeahike...another inspiring gal that I think can create/make anything

6. Erica at Polka Dot Quilts...she makes amazing quilts too, among other things

7. Elizabeth at Silver Scissor Quilts...she is the fastest quilter I know and her projects always turn out beautifully

Thanks! Have a great weekend!

Finally Finished!

Since it's taken me so long to finish this quilt, I'm embarrased to admit it, but this is the very first quilt I ever made, and now it has finally been bound (only took 8 years) and I can call it done! About 8-1/2 years or so ago when I first started quilting, my mother and I bought this pattern called Yellow Brick Road because we were each going to make a quilt...hers was going to be blue, yellow, and white. I bought all of the fabric at Wal-Mart...before I knew that not all fabrics are created equal...nothing against Wal-Mart fabrics, though...I think the quilt still turned out nicely (even though it's not my favorite and that's why it's taken me so long to finish). Shortly after starting this quilt I discovered quilt store fabric and prefer to use that now.

I'm almost done binding another quilt, so I'll post that one soon!

Hope you have a great day and Happy Sewing! =)

Here Comes the Sun....

This last weekend, we went from this:

to this:

We took a trip down to St. George to cheer my dad on in the Half-Marathon he entered. It was such nice weather...so much warmer than we've had here...but still a little chilly in the morning. It was also nice to see the sun...we've had what seems like continual fog and smog here for quite some time now.


Here is my dad running in the race...Way to go, Dad!!!

I'll post more about recent projects soon. I have way too many things that I want to do...I almost don't know where to start. Hmmm, perhaps I should start by finishing my quilt list on the side bar.... =)

ZUMBA!

I'm sure I'm the last one to discover zumba, but tonight I went to my first class and it was so much fun! I loved it...it was a really great workout...I haven't worked up a sweat like that in a long time. The best thing about the class is that even though you are moving all the time and really getting your heart rate up, you don't really feel tired. The class lasted an hour, so I'm still keeping my resolution to exercise 30+ minutes a day for at least 3 days a week...hooray! But, I think I'm going to be sore tomorrow...I can already feel it setting in.

Do you Zumba? If you want to go with me next Thursday night...let me know.

To keep up with another resolution, today I'm grateful that the tires on my husband's truck passed on the annual inspection to renew the registration. =)

Thanks for stopping by! Make it a great day!

My Resolutions

Welcome to 2009! Can you believe it's 2009?!?! The years seem to keep flying by faster and faster and faster. I've decided that this year is going to be a great year...and this is the year that I KEEP my resolutions. Here are my resolutions for this year:

1. Pay off debt and save more money - be more frugal
2. Cut down on my sugar intake (I wish I could say that I wouldn't eat any sugar, but we all know that won't happen)
3. Exercise 30+ minutes a day - 3 days a week
4. Finish the quilts I've started
5. Sew more and use the fabric in my fabric stash (I really do have WAY TOO MUCH fabric)
6. Be more patient (I tend to have little patience sometimes...unfortunately)
7. Donate blood at least 4 times (I'm O- so they like my blood)
8. Watch less TV
9. Adopt a baby (Unfortunately, I don't have any control over this one...maybe a birth mom will pick us!)
10. Start a business that I've been thinking about (out of my house and on the internet)

What are your resolutions?

My mom, has decided that everyday she's going to write down one positive thing - one thing she's grateful for. I like that idea, so I plan on doing it too! Today, I'm grateful that I have a job...and a loving, understanding husband to talk to on days when things are a little stressful at work.

Well, I better get started on those resolutions! Thanks for stopping by...leave me a note with one of your resolutions! Make it a great day! =)

New Iron - Problem Solved! - And Other Stuff =)

I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday season! We had a lovely Christmas...our families make it a lot of fun! My husband is also super creative, and in honor of the two kittens that I got for my birthday back in August, he wrapped me up a present (it was a new calendar for 2009) from them...here is the wrapping:

Doesn't it look like a cat!? I loved it...it even says from Clover and Metroid, our two cats...strange names, I know! =)

As many of you know, I've been having ironing issues lately, so when my parents asked me what I'd like for Chistmas, I said a new iron...please! They are so sweet to me...they got me a new iron. It's a Rowenta, and I love it! It's a dream to iron with...glides so smooth and it has all these little holes for steam...soooooo much better than my old iron! It makes ironing so much more enjoyable. And...no more marks on my quilt blocks...hooray!

With some of my Christmas money, I visited IKEA and bought this great desk to use as my sewing table (the old one has now taken up residence in the laundry room as a folding station). The top of the desk can raise to different heights and it can tilt, so if I'm tracing a pattern or something it won't be as much of a strain. It also has a glass top, with what I'd describe as an open drawer, so I can store a picture of the pattern I'm working on, or I can put a light underneath and trace...no more taping to the windows or the sliding glass door! I love this desk...it looks very scandinavian to me. (Sorry about the striped paint...I've wanted to repain this room for some time, but haven't done it yet...I think I'm leaning toward a robin's egg blue color...what do you think?) Also, after 10+ years of marriage, our old, cheap mattress that we bought as newleyweds was really needing to be replaced, so we bought a new mattress! It's a ComforPedic and it is so comfortable...no more waking up feeling like my back was broken. Our old bed was a queen size, but they were having such a great sale on this mattress that we bought a king...it was even cheaper than the queen! Of course that means new sheets, blankets, quilts, bed frame...so I've got some more shopping to do, but it will be fun to redo our bedroom. Here is a picture of our old bed, which we moved into one of our extra bedrooms (we took the daybed from this room and put it in my sewing room...I bought a great red and white duvet cover from IKEA for the daybed in the sewing room...to go with the Scandinavian feel of the desk).Years ago, my husband made the nightstand out of old wood he found...it's held up really well, and I like the weathered look. There is a bookshelf and a dresser on the other side of the room. We still need to hang some things on the wall and I need to make some different cushion covers for the rocking chair.

Since I've been making over my sewing room, another thing I bought from IKEA were some baskets to organize my fabric in...8 baskets to be exact. I thought for sure that would hold all my fabric stash...not even close! So, one of my new year resolutions is to use up the fabric in my stash this year...that will make for some fun scrap quilts - my favorite.

Well, I have many other new year resolutions, but that's a post for another day! Hope you have a wonderful day! Sorry for the lengthy 'catch-up' post. Thanks for stopping by! =)