A New Quilt for the Birthday Boy

I know that a quilt can't compete with a tractor, but it will come in handy at bedtime:)

  I wanted to make something special for our little grandson's 3rd birthday. When I saw this book by the author of the Pretty By Hand blog, I knew exactly what to make.

I  love this quilt! I was able to combine my love of embroidery and quilting.  Kristyne has come up with the cutest designs that can used in quilts and other projects.There is a set for girls and one for boys, but I used some of each to make it work for Tad.

And I remembered to make a label this time! I almost always forget to do this and we all need to put our names and a date on our quilts. Hopefully this quilt will be around for awhile. Or maybe it will get loved to death. That's OK too:)

It's a Jungle Out Here!

 That's what we said when we returned home from our vacation and saw the yard. We couldn't believe how much things had grown in only 8 days. But with all the rain and warm weather, everything (especially the weeds:) had rocketed up. I have spent the last week getting caught up and still haven't finished all the gardens. It has turned very hot and humid and I just can't handle working in it too long at a time.

So this was where we spent our little holiday - Siesta Key, Florida. Really the most beautiful beach we have ever been to. Add to that the perfect weather, condo, and food and we were in heaven!

The water was so clear and warm.

One of our favorite things about Florida (or anywhere, really) is the wildlife. We went to a state park and also to another island to see alligators, birds and sea creatures.

We waded into a tidal mudflat to see horseshoe crabs and other cool things.

I had to bring along a little something to work on while relaxing in the evenings. Can't have idle hands, you know! So I prepared a stitchery project. I'm not sure what I will do with it. Maybe a pillow? We'll see.

Saying goodby to our beach :(

We will add the memories of this trip to the all the others taken over the years. I wonder where we will go next. Mmmm....