And then there were three

When our twin grandsons were born five years ago we rented a condo in Minneapolis so we would have a place to stay when visiting, as well as having somewhere to host family holidays and sleepovers with the boys when they got older. After renting for two years, we decided to make the commitment/investment and bought a unit in a brand new condo development in Downtown East Minneapolis. It was a great experience; we got to choose our unit and pick out all the fixtures, flooring and cabinetry. We loved Minneapolis, which had become our second home since Kate went away to the University of Minnesota in 2000, and the location was wonderful, a 15 minute walk from the light rail station.

Eighteen months later, Kate took a job with White Wave Foods in Denver and moved there with her family. When they finally bought a house last July (the Denver real estate market is brutal!), we decided to sell our place in Minneapolis and buy a place in Denver. Our kids saw their grandparents only a couple times a year, and we want a closer relationship with our grandkids. We were in Denver for a week in July and found a place that met our needs and had an accepted offer on it before we went back to Houston. Our decision was cemented when we found out in August that Kate was pregnant...only one this time, thank goodness! August and September were quite the whirlwind. I went up to Minneapolis to put the condo there on the market. It sold for the asking price in less than a week. We got rid of most everything we had there, only taking what we could pack into our Highlander. We closed on the Minneapolis sale the day after Labor Day, drove to Denver the next day and closed on the Denver purchase the following Saturday. We didn't actually move in until Thankgiving, after paint, new hardwood floors and new furniture.

Harry

Our newest grandchild, Harold Adam Sommers, aka Harry, was born on April 9 at 4:50pm. Kate had a scheduled c-section with the twins because they were both breech. Men never ask for directions! Harry had the good sense to come head first, although he was 9 days late and his labor had to be induced. Once the induction was started, things progressed rapidly and Kate ROCKED IT! At one point she decided to get an epidural, but there was no time. Being a labor and delivery nurse, I have seen hundreds (maybe thousands) of births, but this one was the most memorable. It was hard to see my daughter in so much pain, but I am so proud of her for the way she persevered. She had the unmedicated vaginal birth that she had hoped for. Harry is beautiful and seems to be a pretty laid back baby. I did finish his quilt before he was born.

And here he is with his beautiful mama...

Wedding quilt

This is the quilt that I made for my niece, Olivia, and her husband. They had a very small informal wedding and I wasn't able to make anything as a wedding gift, so I made this for their first anniversary  I used fat quarters out of my stash (yay!) and quilted it on a long-arm at Quilt Your Own, which unfortunately has since closed. I was pleased with how it turned out, and she was thrilled with it. Up next: baby quilt for my newest grandchild.

One fewer W-I-P

I finished piecing this top from the Cabbage Rose mystery block of the month (ca. 2009) a while ago, but wasn't really motivated to have it quilted as it didn't have any place to go. I recently learned about a place here in Houston that lets you use rents you time on a long arm quilting machine. I have been intrigued by these machines at the quilt festival, so I decided to give it a try. There was a 3 hour orientation class, which I took last month, and then I used this as my guinea pig. It actually turned out fairly well. I did a kind of straight line spiral design. I had decided to give this to our son, Donesh, as a housewarming gift for the condo he just purchased in Milpitas, CA and I wanted to give it a more masculine feel. I must be a very linear thinker, but maybe next time I will try something with curved lines, or maybe will try a pantograph. I have another top done that I will be quilting on October 4, so stay tuned!

A couple of things...

I never think to blog about my sewing projects any more. I usually post them on Instagram, and forget that I even have a blog. But here are a couple of things I made recently...

This is a little (22" x 26") wallquilt/tablemat I made with a Sandy Gervais Giddy charm pack and the Cherry Season pattern. It was a birthday present for my dear friend, Nancy.

 

My niece has been hinting that she would like some sunsuits for her daughter (the one I made the Shy Little Kitten quilt for). I downloaded a PDF pattern and used some fabric I had in my stash, some left over from the Hungry Animal Alphabet quilts I made for the boys' first birthday and some I'm not sure where it came from. The downloaded pattern was kind of a pain to assemble, and the directions were a bit different than one would find in a purchased pattern, but I muddled through and must say it turned out very cute! It is fun having a little girl sew for again...

 

Still here

I can't believe I haven't posted anything here for over 1 1/2 years! It's not like I haven't been on the internet...just haven't been in the blogosphere, mine or any one else's. Seems like Facebook and especially Instagram have taken over as quicker and easier ways to share. I will try to update things here more often and maybe even give it a facelift.

Here is my most recent quilt, Yellow Brick Road done in The Shy Little Kitten fabric out of my stash. I must have bought it before I knew I was having grandsons, because it has a lot of pink in it. I made it for my grand-niece Heidi's first birthday and sent along a copy of the book.  I just backed and bound it with pink Kona from my local Hancock Fabrics and did some parallel lines of stitch in the ditch. One of these days I am going to learn to do something fancier than that!

 

My next project is to assemble some Kaffe Fassett blocks of the month I made several years ago and recently found while cleaning out a closet...stay tuned!

Thrift Thursday 8.1.13

I spent a long weekend up in Minneapolis visiting our kids and grandsons, and my sister Jan was there as well. Our son and his girlfriend have a new dog who also came to visit. She is a very sweet cattle dog mix stray named Juniper. The boys were a bit wary of her to begin with, but they all warmed up to each other nicely.  

Yesterday morning we had some time to spare before heading to the airport, so I took Jan to one of my favorite thrift stores, Savers.  I always seem to find something there I can't resist.  This was yesterday's find...

KLM Delft houses.  These are given to customers flying in business class on KLM.  They contain a Bols liqueur that I have never had the nerve to try.  We have several from our trip to India and a trip Mike took to Abu Dhabi a few years before that.  These were $1.99 a piece, so I had to buy all of them.  Only one was a duplicate (I think there are close to 100 altogether).

 I also found this lovely piece from Les Olivades. I am not sure if it is a large scarf or a  small tablecloth (29" square), but for $1.99, I couldn't leave it there!

Thrift Thursday

Lord knows I don't need anymore STUFF, but visiting thrift shops is one of my favorite pastimes. Such a thrill to find a treasure for a little money.  My favorite shop is only a few blocks from here, and I go most Wednesdays, when their clothing is 50% off. Mike finds this very humorous.  Several years ago I joined a Flickr group called Thrift Thursday where we share our finds.  I thought some of you might enjoy seeing my finds as well, and maybe even join the group.  Here is what I found yesterday...

A gorgeous Laura Ashley dress in pristine condition for $5! Perhaps a bit dated, but I'm hoping the birth of Prince George will renew the love of all things British.

Vintage barkcloth curtain panel (folded in half for this picture) for $3!!! Hardly ever see these anymore. There is a sizable yellowish stain on the other side, but I am thinking maybe tea-dying it would make it less noticeable. Not sure what I will do with it, perhaps just add it to my stash and admire it.

My adorable grandsons

Arthur on the left, Charlie on the right. They spent the night with us at the loft and I got to dress them in the cute Scottie smocked rompers that I had bought (and their mother would never put on them :-)

They have matured so much since we last saw them at the beginning of May, walking everywhere, climbing, babbling and playing with each other.  Got home yesterday and miss them already...

Japan

We visited Japan in April. We were there once before, before I started this blog. This time we just visited Nara, where we stayed at Ryokan Kankaso, and Kyoto.  We just missed the height of the cherry blossoms, but it was beautiful nonetheless. You can see my 400+ photos on Flickr. This is one from Nara.

My Mother's Day card

Just wanted to show you how CUTE the boys are! Kate is now working for General Mills as a community engagement specialist for Cheerios.  This was at a birthday party for the boys.  If you look closely, you will notice the Cheerios on the cake and on their hats.

The boys are one!

And I made these cute Hungry Animal Alphabet cheater quilts for them...two more pieces out of my stash!

                           

If anyone still reads this blog, thank you! If you want to see lots more pictures, I am on Instagram @pamela_newberry.  Thanks!

My last three weeks

I flew home to Houston on July 20.  It was good to be home, although the Houston weather remains insufferable in the summer.  I was happy to see my cats, although they have settled into a routine with Mike.  As I posted on Facebook, my husband said something I never thought I would hear:  "Where's the Furminator?"  After three months away, it took me a while to settle back into things at home.  I worked the 24th, drove up to see my mom on the 26th, went to my niece's baby shower in Flower Mound on the 28th and drove home that evening to work on the 29th.  Whew!  In the week plus that followed I managed to work three more shifts, see my internist, get my hair highlighted and cut, pick up the dry cleaning and have a mani/pedi.  I was itching to sew something, but I knew I didn't have time to do much.  I remembered that I had this Mary Engelbreit baby panel, so I cut some binding for it out of her iconic cherry fabric and machine sewed it on.  Now I have some hand stitching to do.

We flew back up to Minneapolis last Thursday and took the light rail in from the airport.  There is a stop two blocks from our loft, and it only took 20 minutes to get here...sweet! Visited the boys (and their parents) Thursday evening and Friday morning, then drove down to Milwaukee on Friday afternoon.  On Saturday we attended the wedding of the daughter of a high school friend and on Sunday we got together with my BFF Marjorie's family.  It was wonderful to see so many old  long-time friends.  We drove back up to Minneapolis on Monday and had dinner at Muffuletta with our daughter, son-in-law, son and his girlfriend (and the boys!) Yesterday morning we rented Nice Ride bikes and rode them over the Stone Arch Bridge to have breakfast at Wilde Roast.  We are really enjoying the urban setting here.  Yesterday afternoon we drove down to Rochester to attend the retirement dinner of one of Mike's former colleagues.  It was held at the Foundation House of the Mayo Clinic, the former residence of one of its founders.  It was an awesome setting, and we were so happy that the timing worked out so well and that we were able be there.  We drove back this morning, had lunch with Kate, Kyle and the boys, and then I drove Mike to the airport, and he is on his way back to Houston right now.  He will be coming back for Labor Day, so I am on my own for the next two weeks.  I plan to relax, see the boys every day, do some reading and knitting, and enjoy the cooler weather.  And oh yeah, finish sewing this binding on!

Where Bloggers Create 2012

Somehow I connected with My Desert Cottage who is hosting "Where Bloggers Create 2012."  Scroll down her sidebar for links to a peek into so many creative places.  I am embarrassed that I am even included.  Of course since I am not at home I couldn't take any pictures of my crafting room, but I did post pictures a few years ago...it hasn't been that tidy since! Pretty much the only crafty thing I have done in the last three months is a bit of knitting...while sitting on my comfy new couch.

A few things that I have acquired while here will be going home with me next week.  My BFF Marjorie sent me this sweet crocheted piece for my birthday.  Somehow, after months years of wondering what I want my grandchildren to call me, I have become "Bunny." But no, I am not going to start collecting bunnies!

My daughter picked up this darling piece at a tag sale.  I said "Oh, is this for me?"  I'm sure there is a spot for it somewhere in the house...maybe on a throw pillow?

One of the things Mike brought up last week was the musical Fisher Price mobile that belonged to Kate  when she was a baby.  The boys were enthralled with the moving animals.  I am going to miss them so much!

Time flies...

Wow, the boys are 11 weeks old today!  I am used to seeing newborns on a regular basis, but it has been such a wonderful experience for me to spend their first 3 months with our grandsons. I will be returning to Houston (and work!) next week and can't even imagine how much I am going to miss seeing them on a daily basis.  

Mike was up last week and we have gotten settled into "the loft."  I did a lot of online shopping to get it furnished.  We have tried to keep it pretty minimal since we will only be here sporadically, but I did splurge on a few things.  I bought this sofa from Ballard Designs an am loving it...really comfy and the slipcover is machine washable!  Lots of stuff from Ikea:  chair and lamps...

Barstools...

Bedframe and mirror...

The Eiffel Tower print was left by the previous tenant.  I wasn't sure about it at first, but it's growing on me.  One thing that we did bring up here is the yellow high chair.  It was mine when I was a baby!  My brother and sister also used it, and then it travelled from California to Wisconsin to Texas.  When Kate was born, my father had all the metal re-chromed, and she and all my nieces and nephews used it.  My youngest niece will be 16 next week, so it had been in my parents' attic for over a decade.  Earlier this year I retrieved it (with the help of my brother).  Mike brought it up last week and we reassembled it.  Not bad for 60 years old...genuine mid-century modern!

They're not quite big enough to use it yet, but look who came over for lunch today!