Rain Rain HAS gone away!!

"What do you do when".....The Beatles Song....ok so, when life gives you Lemons, you make Lemonade...or I always try!!....or if your life "gets out of tune"?......Dance.....maybe in the Rain...

Sprinkle Zoo Day

So, the last week we have spent with family..Sparklers, grinding flour to bake bread, visiting the chickens, watching Corn Grow......going to Lake Michigan, Kids Museum, Zoo, SB Chocolate Factory, Fireworks, visiting Cousins, to get rained out!...and back home.....BUSY! FUN! and the Best Time Ever!! So just enjoy the pictures for today and trust me....I AM going circles around you!!...actually, cutting circles out for a signature Quilt Dance With Me....LP's for my sons benefit 5K showing support for him and his family and Kidney Transplant future.....so!! I am going to be dancing with my Suziebell Longarm soon...but for now....circles to cut and applique....
And before they got here......build a porch, sort photo pictures, get my Quilt Shop in order.....yes, busy....so now I am coloring my hair and blogging!!.....important stuff too!!....Don't laugh....but the best is Family time.....lots of giggles!
and even a car that leaked power steering fluids all over my son in laws driveway!!..and a tow to be fixed....then a flash flood and so! NO we didn't go swimming with the cousins but we played in the basement and then had Donatos' Pizza before returning to Indiana....of which we had to stop 2 times due to STORMS!!....and possible flash flooding on the way back home.....so yes, we are a bit on the worn out side!!...but it makes for a great story!!.....and you just can not make it up!!.....

South Bend Chocolate Factory

Lake Michigan Fun

Our Beloved Chickens....August Eggs

Result of Lasagna Gardening

Close to the Kangaroo

Flash Flooding in Daughters Front Yard! (from my fixed car)

Rain?....play in basement toy room!

It All started with Sparkler Fun!! Happy 4th!

Grinding Wheat!...yum!!!

Disco Girls at Kids' Museum.....FUN!!

My precious Girls!!.....some of them!!

Saying Goodbye!!.....what a wonderful time!!

Quilted Blessings....and back in a few with a Quilt To show and tell about!!......Dance Girls!!!.....and make Lemonade if necessary!!.......Karen......thanks for joining us in our fun....week!!!!

Happy 4th!!

Wow, can it be.....the wheat is getting cut off....my hub and I have a joke....he said since he was a kid on the farm that it seemed when they harvested the wheat and baled that the summer seemed almost gone....so he points in the Spring at the green, beautiful wheat fields....then it slowly turns yellow...and we drive here and there and sometimes...point at the fields....thinking...oh my, time is flying....well, it is getting harvested now and soon baled...so summer seems to be going fast but I would not agree it is almost gone!! I have not even started to can or freeze yet....want to put up things this year....but!!....yikes!!!....now when the locust start their serenade summer WILL only have 6 weeks till fall.......OK!! STOP you say....

gorgeous colors

I am going to share a sweet Aussie sight that I visit when I can....she is just lovely...and as the years have gone by she has grown into quite a business.....now she even has developed a new line of fabric for.....you guessed it....our sponsor of Stamp It Up Blog Hop....Red Rooster!!.... she is heading to the USA right now to set up at a Quilt Convention.....but she shared her new line just before taking off...so just visit her link and enjoy her work.....you will get hooked, promise!!! Helen at Hugs and Kisses
Have a safe and blessed 4th of July Celebration....we head to Winona Lake tomorrow night with our sons' family to celebrate!!.....for now, Quilted Blessings!!! Karen

The End

It has been so much fun and amazing to see all the Stamp It Up work!!...just great!!.....God Bless Pig Tales and Quilts and Madame Sam  and last but not least  Red Rooster Fabric !!   
Please go to Madame Sams' blog above and check out the winning Stamp!!  Just so much Fun!!

Please enjoy our last day of this hop but be sure to check back for more Hops to come!!.....have a safe and wonderful July 4th!! ..... I have been sorting and cleaning now for a few weeks....LONG enough! for this obsessive Quilter, so I hope to get back to quilting....my DQM doll quilt is going to be Baskets this month....Fun!! ..... my heart also goes out to the fire fighters' families in Arizonia right now with their great loss; my hub was a fire fighter near the Dallas area years ago and I know the concerns that wives and families have as their loved ones serve us in that way.....and then our soldiers and families...my hub is also a Nam Veteran.....so I give prayers this week for those that serve us every day.....Quilted Blessings!!......Enjoy the Stamps!!   Karen

                                                     July 3rd

                                               Meadowbrook

                                               More Stars In Comanche

                                               Dachsies With Moxie

                                               Notion Nanny

                                               13 Woodhouse Road

                                               HeikesQuilt'

                                               Traveling Quilter

                                               Jackie's Art Quilts

                                               What About Rheema?

                                               From This To That

                                               Sew We Quilt 

                                         

                                       

Stamp It Up!!

It has been great!!!  Please stop by the blogs below to check out the ideas and projects.....so impressive!!.....I think Pig Tales and Pigs and Sew We Quilt will totally agree!!.....that Red Rooster fabric give away is also going to be hard to decide who the top winner is!! ..... Enjoy the Hop!!  Quilted Blessings!!  Karen

                                                                        July 2nd


                                                                   Sew and Sow Farm
                                                                   Fishkopp
                                                                   Scraps Of Life
                                                                   Meadowbrook
                                                                   Katie and Kwilts
                                                                   Ems Scrap Bag
                                                                   Grammie Q's
                                                                   How Art You?
                                                                   Bumleberry Stitchn
                                                                   A Stitch In Time

                                                                     

fun!!!

Granny Squares

Granny Squares

Just had to share what was in our mailbox today from Germany....I LOVE being part of Doll Monthly Quilt doll quilt swaps...she really outdid herself!! and Thank you so much!!!....  Quilted Blessings....come back tomorrow for our Stamp It Up Blog Hop List...Karen

Back is Sweet!!

Stamp It Up....Three Days Left

So much fun....the gals have done awesome work so far.....please enjoy hopping to the blogs below and leave a comment too....it  means so much to each one!!.....  Thanks Again to.....Pigtales And Quilts  and Madame Sam   !!!!

                                                              July 1st

                                                         Sew Many Yarns

                                                         Quilt Matters

                                                         Scrapbook-Chickadoodle

                                                         Patchouli Moon Studio

                                                         The Slow Quilter

                                                          A Loose Thread

                                                          Janes Fabric and Quilts

                                                          Selina Quilts

                                                          Debby Kratovil Quilts

                                                          Dancing Thru Threads

Have a wonderful day hopping through our Bunch of Stamp It Up Hop Girlfriends.!!  Blessings!!  Karen

Let Us Not Forget.....

I pause on this for a few days.....in honor of those that gave their lives...in many battles and wars....and are still serving us....protecting us......Blessings.....Karen

JUNE 28th.....Dick and Jane Stamp.....

Hi,         
  Thanks for stopping by today and we all hope you enjoy the Stamp It Up Blog Hop .... we finish after the weekend.....so be sure to come back on Monday....you will be blessed by taking the time to visit my fellow quilters on our list for today....so creative!!! THANK YOU AGAIN.....Pig Tales and Quilts and Madame Sam  !!!

Jane had Puff and Dick had Spot!

  I debated on a few ideas for my Stamp It Up Minature Quilt....our hometown was also the home of Tell Taylor who penned "Down By The Old Millstream:....to the young folks they may have never heard that old song....but I sure did.....probably weaned on it...along with paint fumes and varnish, as my Dad owned his own painting business and also refinished furniture for folks in his Man Cave....Shop at the back of our property....he was always singing, humming...he was part of a Christian Quartet and even competed on State level and they won the top ribbon at the Ohio State Fair many many years ago.  My Dad was a friendly guy, never met a stranger and made most people comfortable in all situations.  He would strum his right ring finger with his Lodge ring on the big steering wheel of the 57 Red Ford Station Wagon, as we ran around town to check on his jobs or run to the AW Root beer stand for a "treat"....he smoked his Lucky Strike cigarettes and sang the old songs..but I didn't go that route as you can see;  I wanted to share my roots abit with this stamp.....we grew up in the 50-60's, born in 49 when stamps were very cheap....I found a 2 cent one that I liked because it blended with the other colors in the Dick and Jane photo I copied with my printer onto   photo print fabric.  I asked my hub what was it that he remembered the most as he grew up on the farm...minus raising 4H steers every year and detasslling corn by hand all summer long...or going to the public pool whenever we could.....I was raised in a big family so there were always chores to get done with Mom.....but both of us just relished our time on our bikes....riding all over town to do errands, go to the library, go to the dentist...go to 4H meeting...ride our bikes to school....it was our time away from the work that our homes poured into our lives....so, along with learning to read with Dick and Jane adventures, we both had our memories of our bikes....our anventures as Gary and Karen....we met in 9th grade, so the first time Gary walked me home from school he had his bike resting in his left arm as we strolled to my home together that wonderful month of May of '65.....so if you have taken the time to read my little romance and history of my stamp you are a trooper!! and I give you a big quilted hug!!
....please accept my photos; they are not that great....but I did enjoy making the stamp....and I love my growing up years.... I only wish most kids today had half of the joy and security that we grew up under.....pressed between the love of family and friends........God Bless!!
  I won't even go into the fact that I grew up on Cherry Street and could have done a stamp in Cherry Blossoms and called it The Cherry Street Gang......I am just sayin'.........Quilted Blessings......Karen
                         JUNE 28TH
                     Robins' Fabric Nest
                     In The Sewing Basket... Me
                     Elizabeth Coughlin Designs
                     Just Quilt It
                     Annie Oak Designs
                     Buzzing and Bumbling
                     Kris Loves Fabric
                     Cherrys Praire Primitive
                     Hanging On By A Thread
                      

Time for the second day in Stamp It Up!  So many cute ideas so far!!  Red Rooster Fabric has given bundles to be given away at the end of the Hop....so fun!!......and yes, my own little Rooster is still trying out his new found voice...I think it surprises him!  Have a fun and safe quilting day!  I know I will try.

So, there is our price to run for this Blog Hop!!  Please enjoy visiting the blogs for today, I know you won't be disappointed!  Quilted Blessings!  Karen

                                                             Ruffhaven

                                                             Englating

                                                             Charlottes Creations

                                                             Moments

                                                             Feathered Nest Studio

                                                             Moose Stash Quilting

                                                             Janes' Quilting

                                                             Hill Valley Quilter

                                                             

Stamp On It

Please enjoy the Blog Hop.....Stamp On It!!   I am excited and anxious to see all the creative stamps that these blogs will come up with!!  I hope you stop by daily for the next few days to check them out!  Today, please travel to the Blogs listed below!! There are more each day thru next week, excluding the weekend.....Mine will be up on Friday....still working on it ... : )...... I woke up early this morning to one of our two new baby roosters trying to crow....it is pretty mild yet and I thought some animal was hurt.....I thought that was a good sign, as our sponsor is Red Rooster for this hop!...Love their fabs!!.....maybe by next week the Rooster will be in full voice!! You never can sometimes always tell !!!
                                                                       

Our Cheerleader for this Hop is Pig Tales And Quilts, you HAVE to see her Stamp!.....awesome!!.... and of course our Leader of This Pack......Madame Sam   Such great gals! sew so much encouragement ..... our lives and hearts so full of threaded thoughts!.....not all people understand where we quilters come from! but these two do!! ......  threads are our "sawdust".....

So, here we go!! please enjoy the creations and drop a line to the gals!  Thanks for your visit!....you might as well start out with that first cup of java or tea.....kick your heels up......Praise God for the rain, (if you are getting it; we did and it is wonderful!)....  Quilted Blessings today!!  Karen

                                                          Marjories' Busy Corner

                                                          Life In The Scrap Patch

                                                          Pig Tales And Quilts   

                                                          Little Mushroom Cap

                                                          So Sew Green

                                                          Thimblemouse and Spouse

                                                          Just Let Me Quilt

                                                          Words And Stitches

                                                          In Stitches And Seams 

                                                          

Sweet Doll Quilt

WOOOHOOOO!!!
I received my doll quilt from California today....it is perfect!!....a barn that reminds us of our cabin....and flag trim.....she got it right.  I do like so many colors and styles of quilts.  I do want to paint a barn quilt for each end of our gable end cabin....I have enjoyed walking into the modern quilt movement of late, and it has been fun......I will never leave my Civil War period of fabric or Dear Jane....it is rich in colors and prints.  Since I was away for awhile, it was a nice surprise in my mailbox today....Thank you Doll Quilt Partner in California!!.....

Love It!!!

You gotta love barns!!......Quilted Blessings!! Karen

Manly

Reminds me of flying geese too......

I just found a great manly quilt on Pinterest.....I do like chevrons and I KNOW the kids do too....so it may be this for our son.....smaller. There is also a Civil War Signature quilt pattern that was used frequently in the 1800's.....he is doing research with his brother and sister from letters given to U.of Michigan written home by their GGGreat Uncle on their fathers' side;  so they are very much into battles fought in Tn and Ga and any history connected to that period...and so that would be appropriate also.....
I just wanted to share the chevron quilt....it is very "cool"....as we use to say!!
But I do like the houses....people can sign the doors with their names.....another person suggested a book quilt and let them sign their name where the title would go.....
The journey goes on!!
  Quilt On!!  Karen

I am Thinking.....

I am thinking this is the quilt I am going to make for my son....he has KD and is on the transplant list now.  My hub goes tomorrow morning to do the labs to see if he could be a live donor for him....the family in Ohio is having a K5 run/walk for him in July, so I thought it would be nice for him to have folks sign a quilt on his kidney journey.  He is something!! So proud of him.  He has a family...precious wife and 2 little gals...and is finishing up his Grad Program at IU....starts that final project in January.  So, the kidney disease was a detour he was not expecting.....so I am thinking this house quilt would do....I don't know....I may change my mind into something modern but we will see....I bought the PDF pattern and have to get some manly prints for the  houses....he is such a social person...a sheer blessing!!Cluck Cluck Sew

Just Love It!!

We just got back from a work trip.....that is all done for now....I am not going to talk about it but renters can be a very bad thing......some can be good and blessing....we did not experience that....we went to this farm and saved it!!...8 work days.....so I really need to purge my mind of their way of life and dirt and do something really full of joy....and that would be our son...something for him......
Quilted Blessings!! Karen

Growing UP!

Yes, it is up! that is what Grandkids do....they grow up!!....and experience new things on their own...become such gorgeous young ladies....who love God and smile from the heart....even in all her trials with Juvenile Diabetes this Grandgal has just done so well.....when it attacked her life when she was a young 6 year old we would go out to eat and she would inform the waitress that she had diabetes and that she had to watch what she ate and drank.....she has just been a trooper and we all are amazed!!  Her Mom and her sister that is just 2 years younger has stood by her side....She recently went on a trip to DC with her eighth grade class....she did so well.....the nurse on board helped her with her insulin pump and changing of the tubing while gone....she does look more grown up now....her first bites into her personal walk and journey....we praise God for Maddie....her outlook and all her hard work in schoolwork also.....May God lead her More and More is our prayer....Maddie is on the end with a brown flowered dress and white sweater....Love her so much!!  Dobs

now really did we look so grown up n 8th grade?.....just sayin'!  Have a blessed day!!

Ellies Roses

Yes, 136 Roses......just sayin'.....I love Ellie!!

A field of Dreams.....or of Roses.....

WE were all tickled pink.....or since the roses are antique white we were all tickled "antique white"....when her quilt turned out like she wanted it too and more; especially after it was put on her precious bed, in her beautiful room on a gorgeous street in a sweet town in Ohio....it is all good.....no it is better than good....as God said It was Very Good!!....it is fantastic!!  So, Ellie, enjoy your new Rose Garden, free from thorns...no weeding....just enjoy it!!.....Sweet Dreams!!  Quilted Hearts Together, Always.....Dobbie