Category Archives: birthdays

Birthday Fun

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This post is a bit of a mixed bag. I neglected to post pictures from my birthday on November 24, so here are a couple.

I was treated well on my birthday. I enjoyed a dinner cooked by my mother just before my birthday and dinner out on my birthday. I also was chauffeured to and from work by my DH on my birthday.

 

I also had two birthday cakes–one made by my Mom and the second made by my daughter. This heart-shaped cake was the one made by my daughter.
And no, I am not going to reveal my age. I will give you a hint though–I am old enough to know better and young enough to do it again!
I received a laptop for my birthday. This is how many evenings are now spent–the three of us computing on our laptops. This pictures shows my DD and my DH. I also will sit with my laptop but I am not in the picture because I took the picture. And no before you ask, we are not talking to each other on our laptops. LOL

This is Joey. Kids never really grow up. Although my son is way past his teens, he took some of our quilts and made a fort for the cat!
Good to see my quilts are useful!
The outside of Joey’s fort.

Happy Birthday Matt!

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Today was my DS’s 22nd birthday.

Tradition in our house allows for the birthday boy or girl to choose the menu for the evening. Matthew chose cannelloni with garlic bread and Caesar salad. For desert, an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen.

Matthew insisted on lighting all 22 candles himself.

He did have to put up with the rest of us singing, Happy Birthday before he could blow out the candles, though!

We gave Matt a membership to BCAA. We know if his older model truck breaks down or he runs out of gas, he is just a phone call away from help…..peace of mind for us as the parents! We also gave him the cash to buy new roller blades. Matt plays in a roller hockey league for fun. The exercise provides balance to his chosen employment in the computer field.


Happy Birthday, Matt!

Happy Birthday Dana!

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This is my DD, Dana. Today was her 20th birthday!

The tradition in our house has always been that you decide the supper menu on your birthday.

Dana picked Christmas Morning Wife Saver for her birthday dinner. This dish is a tradition in our house for Christmas morning and we rarely think about making it at other times of the year. If you are interested, this is the recipe:

Ingredients:

16 slices white bread, crusts removed

16 slices Canadian back bacon

16 slices processed cheese

6 eggs

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. dry mustard

1/4 cup minced onion

3 cups milk

1/2 cup butter

crushed Corn Flakes

Instructions:

Set 8 pieces of bread into a 9″ x 13″ buttered, glass baking dish. Cover bread with slices of back bacon. Lay slices of cheese on top of bacon and then cover with remaining slices of bread to make it like a sandwich.

In a bowl, beat eggs and pepper. To the egg mixture add dry mustard, onion, and milk. Pour over the sandwiches, cover and let stand in fridge overnight.

In the morning, melt butter, pour over top. Cover with crushed Corn Flakes. Bake, uncovered, 1 hour at 350 deg.F. Let sit 10 minutes before serving. Serve with fresh fruit and cinnamon rolls.

Both of my kids do not like cake. So for desert, Dana picked a desert from the New Joys of Jell-O cookbook called, Berried Delight.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Oreo cookie crumbs
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup melted margarine
1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
2 2/3 cups cold milk
3 1/2 cups Cool Whip Whipped topping, thawed
2 pints frozen sliced strawberries
1 package (6 serving size) Jell-O Instant Pudding and Pie Filling, Vanilla flavor

Combine: Crumbs and 1/4 cup of the sugar. Mix in margarine. Press mixture evenly onto bottom of 13 x 9 inch pan. (If desired bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes. Cool on rack.)

Beat: Cream cheese with remaining 1/4 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons of the milk until smooth. Fold in 1/2 of the whipped topping. Spread over crust. Arrange strawberries in even layer on cream cheese mixture.

Pour: The remaining milk into medium bowl. Add pudding mix. Beat with wire whisk until well blended, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour over strawberries. Chill 4 hours or overnight.

Spread: Remaining whipped topping over pudding just before serving.



Because the casserole Dana picked for supper is the type that you make ahead and store in the refrigerator, we were able to spend the entire day shopping without worrying about meal prep. Dana’s present from us (Mom and Dad) was a day of clothes shopping. We picked up Grandma in the morning and the three girls–Grandma, Dana, and myself spent the day shopping for clothes in Langley. This is Dana with all her loot!

How Long Does it Take to Make a Quilt Anyway?

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This is a picture of a quilt that I started a long, long time ago. I started this quilt before I bought my long arm and before I started keeping a detailed tracking sheet of the quilts that I make.

I got the inspiration to make this quilt from a magazine article. I needed to hunt down the article to determine exactly how long this quilt has been in the making. Luckily, I remembered that the quilt pattern was in an American Patchwork and Quilting magazine and so my search for the article was narrowed.

This quilt is made from 16 1/2″ finished blocks that are quilted first and then joined together to make the quilt. Once the blocks are joined together and the binding is applied, there is no further quilting required.

This is a close up of one of the blocks. I did not use Marti Michell’s technique as mentioned in the article to join my blocks together. I preferred the technique that is in Sharon Pederson’s book, “Reversible Quilts: Two at a Time”. Have a look at Sharon’s website for further inspiration and details about her book. http://www.sharonquilts.com/


These two pictures are scans of the magazine article: American Patchwork and Quilting , February 2003–the original inspiration for this quilt.


I am often asked how long it takes me to make a quilt. I find the question hard to answer. The answer is not necessarily based on how difficult the quilt pattern is, which is one of the things that could be a factor in total time to make a quilt. Sometimes, it is necessary to first understand what motivated me to start the quilt in the first place. In the case of this quilt, I was looking for a way to make larger quilts with my DSM. The idea of quilting a quilt in small blocks and then joining the blocks together to make the final quilt appealed to me. I was anxious to try the technique. Once I made a few blocks, the quilt sat–the technique was tried and the inspiration that motivated me to start the quilt waned. This quilt sat for a long time as a UFO. I had no original purpose for making this quilt other than to try out a new technique. Because there was no purpose for the finished quilt, there was no incentive to finish the UFO.

Fast forward to March 2008. We received an invitation to my husband’s Uncle’s 85th birthday party. An 85th birthday is definitely a milestone and very special. I thought this birthday required a quilt to commemorate it. I assessed my UFO’s and dug out the quilt-as-you-go UFO. Now with inspiration to finish because there was an intended recipient of the quilt, I finished the quilt in time for Uncle Aaron’s 85th birthday on March 29, 2008.

This is Uncle Aaron with his cake.

This is a picture of Uncle Aaron’s immediate family–at least those that were able to be present for the celebration.

This is a picture of one of Uncle Aaron’s daughters admiring the quilt.


How long does it take to make a quilt anyway? Sometimes it takes 5 years to make a quilt! *LOL*

Busy Times

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I haven’t posted in two weeks, but I have been busy working on quilting projects.

After working on my first Convergence quilt with the FABs on March 8th, I decided to make a second Convergence quilt the following day. This is my Sunflower Convergence.

I love the formula of using a large floral print fat quarter and three contrasting fabrics drawn from the colours of the print fabric to make this quilt pattern. I use up what extra floral fabric I have left from the fat quarter on the border and then pull one of the solid fabrics from the center to finish off the border. This is the second Convergence using this method of fabric selection and I just love how it turned out!

I ended up quilting this piece 2 1/2 times. I had it half quilted and I didn’t like the thread so I picked it out, then I fully quilted it and didn’t like the quilting design so I picked it out, then I quilted it for the last time which is the design you see now with the “sun’s ray’s” coming from the upper right hand corner.

Friday, March 14th was my Mother’s birthday. This is the Spring/Easter table center that I finished for her using the Spiral quilt pattern I have shown before.

And this is the Birthday Girl posing with her cake.

Saturday, March 15th was National Quilting Day. Did you know that the third Saturday in March is officially designated as National Quilting Day? Quilters love a celebration – especially when fabric is involved – so over the years, observance of National Quilting Day has unofficially been expanded to the whole month of March! To read more about National Quilting Day, follow this link: http://www.nqaquilts.org/NatQuiltDay.html

I celebrated National Quilting Day by working on my We Care quilt –started during our guild workshop on March 1st. (see earlier post)

This is me with my We Care quilt. My daughter took the picture just before I left for my guild’s monthly meeting on Wednesday night. Look who decided to get in on the picture taking — peeking out from behind the quilt!

I loved the fabric on the back of this quilt–dragonflies!