Sunday, August 29, 2010

Headed to the 'doc' for a biopsy tomorrow. UGH!

I am not looking forward to tomorrow. The dreaded scheduled .....  biopsy.

But on a lighter note....in my blog reading I came across this great post! If any of you have a hard time organizing your stash....check our what this great blogger has to say. HERE!
I don't like to post without  pictures so here's today's pick.
 I needed a bright and happy picture!
This was our booth in Yuma a few years ago. The quilt on the left is my Whimsy Lane Pattern. You can order it HERE!
Another bright, shabby happy booth.
If I only had pictures of all the booths I've ever set up!
This is the quilt I made for my dear Auntie Winna. She is in her 70's...she just stood there and wept when I handed it to her at my mom's 80th Tea Birthday Party I put on for her last year. 
The quilt on the left is the one I made for my dear, dear friend Jenette. While making it I was praying so for her family...her husband was dying of cancer. She too came to my mom's 80th birthday party where I presented her with this. Our's is a 30 year incredible friendship! I love you Jenette!
Everyone always wants to buy my lamps at shows. Maybe I'm in the wrong business!
My sweet little Ashley hard at work. A few years ago she left her single life in Boise to come home and help with the business and go on the road with her dad while I was down on my back. Everyone still misses you on the road kiddo! I love you!

So that's all for today folks.
Get some stitchin' in!
Quilting Hugs,
John'aLee

New Pattern: Meet Me Under the Mistletoe

My poor honey...not only did he totally tear down the booth at the Rocky Mtn Quilt Festival for me....I begged him to take pictures of
Meet Me Under the Mistletoe... 
while it was hanging under good lighting. And.....he didn't forget!!
The Quilt
Close-up of the Hearts and Ribbons

I thought I'd posted pictures of this quilt in progress...
but can't seem to find them in my blog posts...
so back to the camera....
Trying out backgrounds for the center piece and working with the checkered border.
This was my first basket made with the Dresden Ruler
My new basket...liked it much better.

At This point I became stuck. Enter Marla!!
Close-up of the sign
Close-up of the Ribbon and Mistletoe
To pre order this pattern
go to our website @
The Scrappy Appleyard 

If you want to see more or the Design Process 
 Click Here!

Until next time my Quilting Buddies....
Happy Stitching!

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Rocky Mountain Quilt Festival

We made it to Loveland for the Quilt Show!
Here is Ken setting up the booth:
I know I am very lucky to have a hubby...
who diligently does all of this for me.


Now here is the Meet Me Under the Mistletoe...
being hung for the very first time:
The pattern will be ready at the end of September.
You can order it online for $19.99
If you  pre order it before its release of Sept 30, 2010,
we are offering Free Shipping.
To take part in this offer Click Here
(Thank you Miss Marla for all of your help 
in getting this finished for me!)


We are back at the hotel...after a long show day. I can hardly talk...my throat is raw from demoing all day. 
Thankfully we have kept very busy...
We almost always have a double booth,
but here we have a single...
and it has been very difficult
to give demos with
such limited room.

Just look at what a mess my demo table is:
I had 6 different demos going on:
The EZ Dresden Ruler, the EZ Scallop Ruler
the Needle Threader,
Mylar Templates for Grandmother's Flower Garden,
and my new Mystery BOM.

Quilters are thrilled with the 
Mylar Templates for the 
Grandmother's Flower Garden.
Several ladies have had the same
problem as I have with my stitches 
showing through to the front with the
paper templates, and are excited 
to see my samples...where none of the
stitches show through...
all because of the plastic 
templates.
If any of you are on a 'hexi' craze...
you have got to give these a try.
If you want to order them... Click Here!

Tomorrow I will take pictures of 
'quilts' hanging in the show
and get them posted in a few days.
Here's a Dear Jane...
 I'm always impressed with these quilts.
Until next time....
Happy Stitching
to all of my buddies out there!
John'aLee

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Bad News...Busy Day....Leaving for a show early in the morning....

My oh my...what a day.
I have been running around...
packing for our trip...
We are leaving for Loveland Colorado...
early in the morning for a show.
And since we went down to help my son
this last week...
we didn't leave ourselves enough
time to get done all we needed to.

So it has been rush..rush...rush all day.
I finished my sketch for the second block
of the Mystery Block of the Month...
pulled the fabrics for it...
managed to get  it transferred on to cloth,
into the hoop,
and even a little bit of stitching done on it.

I had to do the applique pieces 3 times...
At first, they just weren't drawn 
where I could get in the corners well enough.
Then I didn't mirror image my freezer paper...
have you all ever done that one before?

Next I  went out back to the shoppe,
where Ken was busily working away
making kits,
and asked him for the bolt of fabric
I needed.
It was gone.
He had used it up in kits.

"Okay", I tell myself, "breathe...John'aLee...
it won't do any good to get angry....
go to Plan B...
find something else that will work."

Which is what I did...
but I can't say there weren't
fumes coming out of my ears!

I stop and whip up my hubby
some breakfast.
Kill with kindness eh?
I then finish cutting all the fabrics
for 54  Strawberry-Li-Cious Blocks
for this new Mystery Block of the Month
 project.

The phone rings...
I look at the number...
it 's the doc calling...

"What in the world are they calling me for?"
I ask myself.

"You need to schedule a biopsy on the lump
in your left breast." The lady tells me.

I couldn't believe my ears.
I had a mammogram done in July....
they wanted more testing done...
so they had me come in for a sonogram.
The technician who performed the sonogram
told me he thought
everything looked fine.
That the lump was just a cyst.
And I'd totally put the whole thing 
out of my mind.

So boy howdy did this throw me in 
a tail spin.
What's a gal to do?
PRAY!!

So that's my bad news....
which will hopefully turn to good news
after the testing is done.

The mayor in town, who is a good friend
and customer,
just found out yesterday
that she has Stage 4 Lung Cancer.

I was devastated to say the least.

I immediately had the Guitar Man
pull out the soft Winter Roses Rag quilt
we take to shows...
I wrapped it up...
put some Mylar templates in the gift too...
for her to make some 'hexis'
while she is going for treatment...
and wrote her a letter...
telling her to wrap herself up in
the quilt when her days got
too much for her and to know that
she is so loved!!
Her name is Janet.....
please add her to your prayer list.
A project I am working on with my own 'hexi' templates.

I finished out the day by making
that knothead husband of mine
some tostadas for dinner....
went out and designed some more
Meet Me In Paris kits for him,
worked on my blog
and am now calling it a day.

Hmmmm...it's only 1:06 a.m.
And I have to get up at 6 and be on the road?
Mom and Dad are expecting us for dinner
at their house in Castle Rock...
so I am hitting the sheets!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Buttercream Summer (First Block in our New Mystery Block of the Month called Strawberry-Li-Cious)

Whew....it's done. I literally invested more than 250 hours into this one block. I promise....it won't take you gals that long. I just had so much to learn. And it was by trial and error the finished product is finally done!!

Here are some close ups. (I had a hard time getting a good photograph of this. The Guitar Man even brought in overhead lights and tried to help me. In other words...the photos don't do the block justice)
Now to share the 'Process' with you:
The Preliminary Sketch



















 After the sketch was done, I started commissioning fabrics. I played around with lines from Fig Tree:
And if you remember my post that showed you my first sketch for this block...
Which started out like this:
And then became this:
But let me tell you what was wrong with all of this:
The basket wasn't symmetrical...I didn't like the strawberries, the flowers were crying out for help...I didn't like how the flowers ate into the handle...and I felt it needed to be bigger.
So back to the drawing board:
And after a few drafts I completely made over the block:
Added a flange around it....
and still realized my strawberries needed some work.
Another whole block?? Geez....Louise! Was I ever going to get this thing  right?
And finally...yesterday....I took the last stitch:
 To sign up  for this Mystery Block of the Month
click HERE
Come and join us on this 'Design Journey'
we are taking.
See the process on my blog...
and look forward to your 
package each month 
in the mail
with the latest block.
Hurry...Limited Amount
of Sign-ups 
Available! 
 

Sunday, August 15, 2010

The BEST EVER Overnight WAFFLE Recipe...


If you are looking for a good Waffle Recipe...I have it for you girls.
This is the recipe I used while the kids were growing up...

Every Saturday night I would whip it up...
Set it on the counter overnight...
And then one by one, as they crawled out of bed
Sunday morning...
I made them each a hot waffle...
Topped with Strawberries and Whipped Cream...
Before heading off to church.

It worked out perfect...
And it will tickle your tummy....
It's so yummy!

The recipe comes from:
The Breakfast Cookbook
by Marion Cunningham
Raised Waffles
1/2 cup warm water
1 package active dry yeast
2 cups milk warmed
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
2 eggs
1/4 tsp baking soda

Use a rather large mixing bowl...the batter will rise to double its original volume. Put the water in the mixing bowl and sprinkile in the yeast. Let stand to dissolve for 5 minutes.
Add the milk, butter, salt, sugar and flour to the yeast mixture and beat until smooth and blended. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let stand overnight at room temperature.

Just before cooking the waffles, beat in the eggs, and the baking soda, stir until well mixed. The batter will be very thin. Pour about 1/2 to 3/4 cup batter into a very hot waffle iron. Bake the waffles until they are golden and crisp. (My hubby likes them crisp...I actually like them barely toasty and brown).
This batter will deep well for several days in the refrigerator.
Smash up some fresh strawberries, add a little bit of lemon juice and about a tsp of sugar.
Whip some cream...and
ENJOY!!      

A week away to play....

Last week when my son and son-in-law came up for the day...
I had no idea
we would be heading back to their home
with them in St George to stay 11 days.
I have never in my life stayed 11 days with anybody!
Dad drilled it in to us kids growing up...
"People are like 'fish'...after 3 days
they start stinking!"
And it has stuck!
So this is a milestone.
I was so afraid we were staying too long...
but each day my son, asked us if we could  stay
just one more day...
until it became 9...then 10...then 11.
He was swamped with work...
and seeing we didn't have any 'shows' planned...
the dear sweet hubby of mine...
went down to help.
He appreciated the work too.
This morning as I was changing our sheets and scrubbing 
the bathroom for my daughter-in-law...
it was her...who eased my mind...
 maybe we weren't being considered
like fish.
This is what she said to me...
"I really hope you don't feel like you have worn
out your welcome.
You actually have inspired me...
I have done more sewing in the last 8 days...
than I have in the whole last year.
(I was working on my embroidery Mystery BOM
every day without fail. Sitting on the couch...
Sitting outside while the kids swam...
sitting on the bench up in the pines where 
we all went one afternoon.)


I had no idea I was being 
inspirational...
I was just desperately trying
to get it done! People are chomping at the
bit to get their first block.)
You also inspired me to cook again. I've gotten in a rut
of just picking up something quick.
One of the nights, she was up every
hour and a half with the baby...
When I got up the next morning...
she looked so tired...
it took me back to my "Texas" days...
of raising 4 little ones...
feeling like I was going to be
tired...
the rest of my life!
SO.....
I asked myself....
"What can I do to help?"
I told her I was going to make dinner for everyone
that night to give her a break.
Fried Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli Salad,
Homemade Biscuits.
It was good....
if I must say so myself.
But...did she sit on the couch and wait to be served?
Oh no....not Melissa....
she was in the kitchen the whole time helping!
And assured me ...
"Really it has been good to have you here."
She said it with such sincerity...what's a gal
to do? 
It sure sounded better than the thought of....
stinky fish!!

My darling little grand daughter Emily
helped me wind my embroidery threads
onto cards.
She saw me working on my embroidery sketches...
and she wanted to sketch.
So I had her go and get her uncle Heston's
cartoon drawing off the fridge...
and set her to work.
I have to share a few other pictures from the week...
My newest grandson...baby Heston
Ashley teaching baby about her love of the piano.
My two littlest...grand boys.
My two grand girls...
The gang!
We really do love each other...


Today around 4 p.m. 
I was sitting at Barnes and Noble...
and once again the 'boys' found me.
"Oh good... I was just thinking about you guys...
and how wonderful it was going to be...
to have you watch all the kids tonight...
when I take the girls out to a movie!"
"Not me!"  My son said emphatically.
"Yes you, darling!" I said sweetly
But he wasn't having any of it.

"Now son...you have a gold mine in that
wife of yours!
I know she doesn't complain...
but she needs a break once in awhile too!
She will get burned out...
giving, giving all the time..."
"I know you guys are tired from painting all day,
but I'm sure Ken will help....'Won't you hon'?"
I turn to him and ask pleadingly with my eyes.
The champ he is ... he agrees.

One thing about my son....
he may not always agree with me...
but I must say...
he does 'THINK' about what I say...
and usually comes around.

I'm kind of feeling guilty as I write this right now...
That knot head kid of mine
did stay up late last night
after working all day...
to help me with my new pattern cover.
Thank goodness I didn't think of that when they
found me at Barnes and Noble!

(In all reality I am so proud of him...
I can hardly contain myself!)

Now Heston....my son-in-law agreed readily.
He had been painting all day too.
He's such a love!

So...I took them to see...
EAT PRAY LOVE

What a great flick for 'Girl's Night Out'

Ashley, my daughter said,
"I was close to tears through the whole thing.
It really makes you think."

Melissa said, 
"Oh I want to travel!!"

And they both were so happy.
To just have a little bit of time...
without little ones vying for their attention.

We all need time to ourselves.
We all need family.
We all need to take the time to 'spend' time
with our families!
Who knows...we might think we are a 
burden...
yet...
all the while...
we are spreading blessings...
unknowingly.

Eat   Pray   Love !!