last of the boy 9 patches

These should be the last of the 9 patches for my version of AmandaJean's quilt-along. This quilt will have a nice scrappy look to it.

more girl 9 patches

These 9 patches should finish off what I need for AmandaJean's quilt-along.



Next thing to do will be to cut the white sashing and get that sewed on. I will need to purchase the backing, batting, and binding for this one. Not sure what color backing/binding yet but I do know that I want to use cotton batting. I also plan to stipple quilt this one. I want the wrinkly effect this time.

Lots of rain and splashing in puddles

This past Wednesday we received A LOT of rain in a short period of time. We ended up with just over 8" of rain in less than 2 hours. It was a very welcome rain but it does cause some localized flooding. Specifically in my yard!

Our road was flooded...
Our back yard was trying to come into the house....
The river tried to eat my car...

Once the rain turned into a drizzle we let the kids and dog loose. All three were wantin g to play in the river.
Suzi the doggie absolutely loved playing in the water!

Robbie tried to wrangle her like a wild horse..

Mandy had no trouble letting Suzi romp through the water.

They wanted to go to the next intersection to see how deep the water was there.


Within 2 hours of the rain stopping, mother earth soaked most all of it up :) I was surprised how quick the "puddles" went away. Now our yard has piles of dead grass and snail carcasses strewn all over.

We are expecting more rain each day. A very welcome site since we are very dry here.

Boy quilt done

I finished my boy version of the OldRedBarnCo quilt-along. The pic is a bit sideways but it still looks nice lol.


I used the red bandanna fabric for the binding. I wasn't too fond of the fabric in large pieces but it does make a very nice binding. You'll see it in some more quilts soon too.


The backing is once again dyed wrinkly sheets. I dyed a couple more white sheets with a forest green I think. They did not come out as I imagined but still worked out fine. I had to piece the backing for this one. You can see that the two pieces were different shades of the green. Some pieces I left in the dye bath longer than others.

swap blocks

I've signed up for a couple quilt block swaps recently.


This one is for the launch swap over at the quiltblockswappers yahoo group. We each needed to make a 12 1/2" block of any design or color. I went for the simple 9 patch since we needed to make 20 blocks. I love the watermelon fabric and the neon green together. I might have to make a pillowcase in the same colors.





These are my 9 patch blocks for the Halloween Spooktacular Swap that Jane is hosting. We need to make 12 identical 12 1/2" 9 patch blocks. I used the neon green in these also. I like how they set off the dark pumpkin fabric and brighten up the block a bit. I also need to make a set of spider web blocks before I mail them off. I think I am going to do some hand embroidery on those. They can all be different so who knows what I will end up with. I'm hoping I can find some spider buttons to add to the blocks.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!

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Baking with Violet

Baking with Violet
Originally uploaded by rsislandcrafts

This is my June 2009 entry for ChristyNelson's craft challenge.

Violet loves to bake cakes. Since it is June she decided to make a wedding cake.

I used the box as the main form for the cake.

The toilet paper tube is the base of the round cake. I used the flower petals to line the cake plate.

The beads are used as a decoration on the cake and also as Violet's necklace.

I took the wire out of the ribbon and used it for the waistband and tie of the apron.

These were the supplies that were sent to us. At first I thought the toilet paper tube was there for shipping purposes but then I read it on the list of supplies.


I made a basic doll using a flower flannel that I had left over from my granddaughter's pj's. The purple and blue are from hand dyed sheets that I had left over. I used the beads as a pearl necklace 'cuz who doesn't do their baking wearing pearls?

I think the cake came out so cute :)

quilt-along finished

I finished one of my quilts for the OldRedBarn Co. quilt-along. I am a bit ahead of schedule by 2 or 3 weeks I think. I knew I was going to do a simple quilting on this because I used a thin blanket in place of the batting so I just skipped ahead.

I had some binding left over from another quilt and thought it would work well for this quilt too.


The back is an old sheet that I dyed a few weeks ago. It has some permanent wrinkles that I couldn't iron out, but I think it just adds to the character of the quilt.



I also made a quilt top in a boy version from the same quilt-along. This one will get the same treatment as the girls. A dyed sheet for the backing, scrappy binding possibly, and a nice thin blanket for the batting.

This has been a fun quilt-along! I'm planning on making a few more quilts similar to these.

Graduation Day!!!!

Our daughter Miranda graduated from high school recently. Two down and one to go. Her Dad and I are so proud of her!


Robbie wanted to try out her cap and gown of course. I think he looks good too.


My kids and their cheesy smiles. What a ham :)

We didn't get a chance to take any pics before she left with her friends so I had her re-gown when we got home so I could get some pics. It didn't take her long to get out of her skirt and into a comfy pair of shorts and tank top. (I love that we have gotten some rain and our grass is starting to turn green again)


There were 389 graduates this year. Only 11 seniors weren't able to graduate. Pretty good in my opinion. They no longer have Valedictorians/Salutatorians at our schools. Now they have Senior Class speakers. The first girl to speak graduated with a 5.66 GPA!! The next graduate was a guy and he had a 5.06 GPA. WOW!! They both were taking college courses at the same time they were taking their regular high school classes.


It was a very nice ceremony.

Centennial Park

Our daughter recently graduated from high school (yippee). Two down and one to go. While we waited for the graduates to come outside to do the cap ceremony, Robbie and I decided to wander around the fountain area of Centennial Park. We found lots of fun things to look at.


We saw a squirrel running around. Of course Robbie wanted to follow him all over.


I love this clock. Don't know why...I just like it.


We found this giant airplane propeller hiding in the bushes in the back of the park.


I'm not sure what Robbie was thinking here but you just have to let the kids be themselves...no matter what that looks like :)


I've always loved the Banyan trees in Fort Myers. Robbie loves his cherry Dr. Pepper that Daddy bought him from the concession stand. I was surprised that they didn't over charge for the drinks like some places do. The 20 oz bottles of pop were $1.25 just like in a vending machine. The candy was another story though. A small bag of candy was $2.00. Sorry Robbie...no candy for you today.


A view of the river. It rained not long after we left. It was pretty windy while we were waiting too. At least it cut down on some of the humidity.


After chasing the squirrel, this was the first place Robbie wanted to check out. He was thrilled when I let him touch the rifle lol. Later we found out that Mandy and her friends also took a picture here. My kids all think alike.



A few family members were waiting for their graduates around the fountain.


There were a few animal statues swimming around in the fountain. Here are a couple manatees....
and an alligator. Plus another famous Robbie expression lol. There were also some fish and turtles too.


It was a great day wandering around in the little park...

Week 7 girls...

Week 7 boys

Preprinted Cross stitch pieces

Over 10 years ago I found some preprinted cross stitch packs at Walmart (when they still had a nice craft section). I was big into cross stitch back then. It was set up that you would buy a 2 pack of pieces and then buy the coordinating floss. I think they were only $1.99.


Recently when I was going through my closet, I came across them again.


Frosty is so cute in this piece.


Rudolph and the Christmas tree are my favorites.


This was the last one that needed to be finished.


I finished the last one recently. Since they have been sitting for so long, they are a little bit dirty/dusty. I'm hoping they won't run if I hand wash them in the kitchen sink.


I want to put some borders around them and then turn them into a couple wall hangings. I have a bunch of Christmas fabric in my stash that needs to be used up.


Has anyone seen anymore like these around? I don't remember if I bought all of the available ones or just the ones I thought were cute.

Thrift store finds

On a whim, I recently stopped in one of our local thrift stores (Kiwanis). I love this particular store because 1) it's just down the road and 2) it has a nice little crafts section and 3) the prices are reasonable. You never know what you might find at this store.


I saw this cute little cross stitch panel. It is meant to go in a frame but I think I might turn it into a quilted wall hanging instead. I want to add beads instead of french knots. Hoping it will give it a bit of sparkle...


I found another duck panel. Once again it is only the backs. What are these people doing with the fronts of these guys? I thought I was going to make one stuffed duck but I will have to either make another two placemats or find a nice backing fabric to make two stuffed duckie pillows. I'll probably make them into pillows.


The bright colors on this vest kit caught my eye. I really enjoy bright colorful vests but don't get the opportunity to wear them often down here in sunny and hot Florida. I figured even if I don't turn it into a vest, it is still a nice piece of fabric.

Have you found anything exciting at the thrift stores lately?

Week 6 girls...

A crib bumper turns into a quilt (or 2)

My daughter and I went thrift store shopping recently. We were on the hunt for a basic black skirt for her HS Graduation (yippee!!) on June 7th. She isn't the type of girl that has a closet full of dresses. She prefers khakis, jeans, and dress pants. The graduates are required to wear dresses (girls) and jackets and ties (boys). After we found a perfect skirt ($1.99) we wandered around looking to see what else they might have. This particular store no longer carries craft items but they do have a nice size area for linens. I spotted this cute crib bumper pad right off. It was a jungle of brightness up against a bunch of drab sheets. I thought it would make adorable baby quilts.

I took off the binding and ties and ended up with some long pieces of fabric. I thought I might be able to use the batting inside but it is too rough. I never took apart a bumper before and was surprised at how stiff and scratchy the batting was. I'll put it away for another project that doesn't need to be so soft.

I cut the panels down and ended up with 8 pieces. I had a nice bright green fabric that matched in my stash too. It was a sheet that I bought at Walmart for $2.50 for another quilt project. I just cut a few strips the width of my ruler (6") and added them in between the panels. Now I have two baby quilt tops that only took me a couple hours. I spent more time with the seam ripper than I did putting them together.



These guys look like they are having fun!

I love all the monkeys on this fabric! The pic above is the most accurate in color.

I'm using Hubby's work camera since mine finally died. I don't really care for the way it takes pictures. For some reason every once in awhile it washes the colors out :(

Baby froggies and a little parrot.



I swapped the order for the second quilt.

This yellow monkey is too cute.


A baby tiger for Hubby..his favorite animal.


A bigger baby parrot...

Week 6 Boys

boys.....