Saturday, August 29th

The day began with overcast skies, humidity and about 85 degrees . The bride and bridesmaids arrived about 10 a.m. and did some last minute decorating, had their hair styled, and were, for the most part, ready when the groom and groomsmen showed up around 2:00 p.m. By that time, the sky was looking pretty grey. Please don't rain! The photographer took quite a few pictures of the wedding party for the next 2 1/2 hours. At about 4:30, we were told to take our seats and get ready to begin..... OH NO, rain drops, just a few, thank goodness. At 5:00, the wedding began with blue skies around us.

The first one down the aisle was this handsome fella.

He surprised his grandmother and I with the two flowers he was carrying. He laid one in the empty seat beside her, (in memory of his grandfather who passed away earlier this year) and one in the empty seat beside me (in memory of his father who passed away when he was three). Such a sweet, thoughtful jesture, totally unexpected and even as I type this I am doing so through tears.

They wrote their own vows, and neither one of them could get through them without having to stop to compose themselves a couple times. It was very touching to witness, you could see the love and total commitment to each other on their faces.

The newly wedded couple as they walked back down the aisle.

The whole bridal party.

Believe it or not, this is the first picture I have of my three children and I together. I'm usually the one behind the camera. (I'm the old lady with grey hair shining, in case you didn't recognize me. I didn't realize my hair was that grey...YIKES.)

It was so hot in those tuxes and long dresses that they told the bridal party to bring clothes to change into for the reception. Here is the bride and groom's first dance. Don't they make a cute couple?

I thought this was the first time I had danced with my son, until he reminded me I showed him how to dance when he was in the 6th or 7th grade and had a sock hop to go to. He really doesn't like to dance much and accused the bride and I of conspiring to find the longest songs for these two dances.

Here is a shot of my new daughter-in-law, her mother and her best friend line dancing during the reception.

So, now, the bride and groom are in Florida, on their honeymoon, and I am officially an "empty nester." It was a beautiful ceremony and a lovely day. I do believe everyone had a good time.

Hmmmmm, now I have to decide how to turn the extra bedroom into a craft/sewing room. Any suggestions?

Well, the top is finished, FINALLY

Good grief, where is this month going? It's already half over, the wedding is in just under two weeks, son is moving out this coming week, and mom is beginning to think she's going to be committed before it's all over with.

I finally got the top of the wedding quilt finished. It is looking like it will not be quilted before the wedding. There just will not be enough time with all of the family coming in for the wedding. My sister offered to quilt it for me on her long arm, but that would involve sending it to Kansas and I just don't know if I want to trust the mail system with this top.

Anyhow, here is a picture of the finished top, and a closer view of some of the blocks. And as usual, blogger is not cooperating and the pictures ended up at the top of the post in the reverse order. I do wish they would fix that little quirk in the system.

The top does still need a good over all pressing.

August Tag from CGQC

Kelly has tagged all of the Charming Girls again this month. I love reading the responses from the girls to these tags. It helps me to get to know them better. This time there are only three questions that need to be answered. Here they are, with my response to each.

1. Share your favorite quilting or sewing tip.

There are so many tips and tricks I have picked up over the years, but I think my favorite is one that came from my Grandma. Her advice was "quarter-inch seam, or scant quarter-inch seam, it really doesn't matter, as long as all seams are consistantly the same width in a project." She always used the edge of her pressure foot for a guide in her quilt making.

2. Share your best tip for managing time more effectively (what works best for you)!

I find I get more accomplished if I don't have to worry about stopping to prepare a meal from scratch. There are several ways to accomplish this goal. You can prepare the ingredients for a salad first thing in the morning and toss them together right before a meal. You can put ingredients for your main course in the crock pot, set on low and let it cook while you sew. Or you can do like I do and prepare meals ahead and freeze them. This method is known as OAMC (Once a Month Cooking). This past Monday and Tuesday, I did the cooking for this month. Monday was shopping and prep day (local grocer has a truck load meat sale once a month). Tuesday was a cooking day. The results? A freezer full of scrumptous meals for a whole month which will require very little time to prepare. Simply reheating, or in some cases, tossing in the crockpot to cook while I sew. If you are interested, there are a lot of good sites out there on the internet with recipes and instructions. The one site I use the most is 30 day Gourmet .

3. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Kansas. I know that's not a very exciting destination for most of you. My sister lives there and I would really love to spend some time with her. She makes beautiful quilts. One day, I will have to show you a couple projects she has made for me. Oh, the mischief we two could get into if we lived closer to each other.

I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the responses to this tag. So, what are you waiting for? Start blogging your answers, girls. ;^)

Another lovely giveaway for the quilters out there

I stumbled across a new blog today. And boy am I glad I did! It's called I Have To Say . Not only is it a lovely blog full of beautiful colors and projects, there is a giveaway involved! YAY! I love giveaways, and have been the fortunate person to have won several. The giveaway this time is bolt ends from the lines she offers in her Etsy Shop, as much as she can stuff into a flat rate envelope. (She says she has put as much as 8 - 10 yards in an envelope previously!) Head on over and get your entry in.

Quilter's Stimulus Package?

Elaine is having another of her fabulous Quilter's Stimulus Package Giveaways! Head on over to her blog to enter.

Heads up!

There is a quilt being given away here. It is gorgeous, in pinks and blues, and called Scrappy Happy. Head on over and enter. You can never have too many quilts!

Progress

Progress n. Movement, as toward a goal; advance.



This is a sneak peak at the quilt top made from the fabrics I posted yesterday. I got the main portion of the top finished. (Please excuse the lighting, it's still dark outside and I have terrible lighting in this house.) I have the borders cut, and hopefully will get them put on today. This picture does not do the fabrics justice.

The darker pink fabric is "Rock N' Roll" #2072 by Ro Gregg for Norcott Fabrics. The lighter pink is "Rock N' Roll" #2073 by Ro Gregg. The flower print is "Crystal Palace" by Exclusively Quilters. The small green print is "Daisy Vine" by Michael Miller. The green polka dot had no identifying marks on the selvedge. All of these were picked up some time ago, and I doubt they are still available, which really makes it difficult because I don't have enough of them left for a backing. Maybe a nice batik would work? What do you think?

August is here!

First, congratulations to all of the Charming Girls who finished their projects this month.

And it is time for another show and tell of the projects I will be finishing this month for the Charming Girls Quilt Club. I was unable to finish all of last months projects, so hopefully this month I will be able to finish those. In addition, these lovely fabrics will be taking a major role in the one project I definitely HAVE to finish this month.

My youngest son is getting married at the end of August. These fabrics will be the borders on a quilt top I have started for him and his bride to be. (She loves pink.) Anywho, this is taking priority this month, along with about 50 cry packs (tissue holders) for their wedding made of orange and white satin (He loves the Florida Gators and they are using blue and orange as their wedding colors.) I WILL finish this quilt this month, whether I get any house cleaning done or not (oh darn).

Good luck to the rest of the Charming Girls! Kelly, thank you again for hosting this club and helping motivate us to get the UFO's and WISP's finished.