chenile baby quilt - the 'real' quilt

finally finished the chenile baby quilt that was supposed to be the quilt for the baby shower.

after this project, i really don't think i will ever work with chenile again. but now i have a walking foot for my old viking sewing machine, which made the task much easier.

teeny tiny peace sign baby booties

new (first) grandson is coming very soon so i made him this cute pair of baby booties with peace signs and a bright orange flower power design. i am in the process of tweaking the pattern a little and preparing to make more.

learning how to quilt

i am excited to have two grandbabies on the way - a boy and a girl. nope, not twins. one of each from both my son and my daughter!

yippee!

been working on making quilts since i found out that i was 'finally' going to be a grandparent. never have i made a quilt before.

this has been a real experience, but very enjoyable.

this is the first quilt: made out of fabric i had laying around. my very first quilt with many errors. unfortunately this quilt ended up being a shower gift for my future grandson because the 'real' quilt i was making for the baby shower created many headaches and wasn't ready in time.

i will blog on the 'real' quilt soon.

yummy gifts of food

i have always enjoyed giving gifts of food, and this year i am semi-retiring my fabulous rum ball recipe for something a little different. friends and family, don't worry, rum balls aren't gone forever!

CHOCOLATE KAHULA TROPICAL FRUITCAKE

who really likes fruitcake? well, no one in my family does. when i was a kid, my parents gave everyone a claxton fruitcake during the holidays. while the 'cake' part itself was tasty good, i could never quite enjoy those colored fruit things that were present.

so....this year (time permitting) i have come up with a tropical version of a fruitcake that i will be making in little loafpans.

lots (and i mean LOTS) of semisweet chocolate and lots of kahula with fresh dates (from my friend 'the date people' in niland, california), dried papaya, mango and apricots along with a hefty addition of georgia pecans (savannah georgia that is).

wrapping the little loaf babies in kahlua-soaked cheesecloth, with more kahlua poured over them every week!!!

whatdoyousay? fantastic or what?

This is the Beginning - Music Flashbacks

Been listening to quite a few different online streaming music selections recently and happened upon a station that was playing some tunes from the early '70's that brought on some old memories, things and folks that I haven't thought of or remembered for many blue moons.

So I decided to start a blog, which is something I have been wanting to do for a few years anyway. Maybe by keeping a blog, I can 'go back' one day and bring on old memories again. And I decided to name it This is the Beginning because one of the flashback songs I recently listened to (and quite intently I might add) was "Beginnings" by Chicago. (What a great tune still!) Pulling out the album and tossing it on the turntable this evening, for sure!

And, heck, every new day is a beginning.