My youngest grandson, Guinness, is turning 2 this week and we had a birthday party for him on Sunday. The theme was Spongebob and the food was unique. Liz, our family cake maker, made a very cute Spongebob cake. It was yellow cake and it really looked like a sponge. We also had Spongebob macaroni and cheese, Spongebob crackers, hot dogs for the kids, brauts and sourcraut for the big kids.

Ben, Angel and Guinness believe in family togetherness, and together they all got Spongebob tattoos for the occasion.

Friday night was Recognition Night for my Activity Day girls. My church job is to work with some 10 and 11 year old girls and it is called Activity Days. We have activities twice every month. It is the funnest church job I’ve ever had because I get to do girly things.

At Recognition Night we made paper dolls designed by Vickie Snow. Then we dressed them up and showed them off. The girls walked the runway showing their very stylish, modestly dressed dolls.  It was a lot of fun and the girls really enjoyed it.

We are getting our first Granddaughter!!!!!!!!!!! Woo Hoo!!!!!!!!!!!

This is Annie Zella Burton, Due in July.

Last night I finished my pink bird quilt that I started in a class at Bryce Canyon Retreat. I love this quilt! I decided that it will be Annie’s first quilt from Grandma.

The pattern is “In the Leafy Treetops” by Nanette Merrill of Freda’s Hive. The cat is my own creation.

Maybe if I can come up with a back I will quilt it today.

My son Ben got married yesterday.  It was a low key, informal occasion at the courthouse. They were married by the County Clerk who does it these days as there is no more Justice of the Peace. He was a friendly, happy, man and I thought he did a good job.  Ben and Angel were radiant and they seem so happy together.

Angel's Family

Ben's Family

The bride's bouquet was made by Sharon

Angel showed us her ring on Sunday.

After the ceremony we went to Texas Roadhouse in Bountiful for dinner.

My baby Brandon is turning 27 years old! We celebrated his birthday on Sunday with a St. Patricks Day Theme. Oh My! It was very GREEN!

Green Rice

Brandon and Sharon

Karson with funny teeth

Conner

Aidan "Tater"

Guinness

Logan

Kyler "Bug"

My granddaughter "Annie" due in July

Ben and Angel

Roxanne is my niece and she is having a baby boy in a month.  I found the cutest panel when I went to San Jose that suits Roxanne’s taste better than traditional baby blue stuff.  I pieced it into a top and just quilted it to fleece, no batting.  It was very snuggly and she loved it.

Sharon and Liz made her a diaper cake filled with baby goodies like onesies and bottles and such. Soooo cute.

It was such a fun trip to San Jose. I really didn’t want to come back. I traveled with my Daughter-in-law, Sharon, who was going to see her friends. Thursday they let me hang out with them. We met up with Sharia, did lunch and shopping.

Sharon and Sharia

Thursday evening Sharon’s long time friend Andrea joined us and we went to a hole in the wall Chinese restaurant with yummy food. I’m craving those pot-stickers.

Valerie, Sharon, Andrea, Sharia

Friday morning I headed out to meet up with Annie at Asilomar. The scenic drive on highway 17 was breathtaking.  I met up with Annie as the seminar was breaking up so there were only a handful of people there packing up. Asilomar Conference Grounds had the feel of girls camp with lodges and cabins in the woods, the smell of woodsmoke in the air, and deer and racoons running around.  It took about 3 seconds for me to know that I have to go someday and take classes there.  It looked like total fun.

My few hours at Asilomar were like deja vu, serindipity, and synchronicity all rolled into one. I hadn’t even entered the gate yet before running into Barbara Walsh, a friend from Utah. The first 2 ladies that Annie introduced me to were friends of Liz’s family in Danville.

Sharon Bangerter and Jan Barlow

Then there was Florence Evans and Lisa Brothman, friends from Utah, who were packing up.

Florence Evans and Lisa Brothman

Another friend from Utah was Josephine. I met her at Quilt Fest last year.  She was helping Dorothy Gross with the Quilts4Cancer.

I had the great honor of sitting in while Annie did podcast interviews in the afternoon.  The first one was with Elly Sienkiewicz, the leading expert on Baltimore Album Quilts. I’m so grateful to have been a part of that interview.  Elly is a sweet, gentle soul and I instantly loved her.

Elly Sienkiewicz and Annie Smith

The next interview was with a married couple, Kerby Smith and Lura Schwarz Smith.  They were there teaching a class on digital photography. They teach a technique of using images on the computer to print your own fabric to use in quilts. The delightful thing about this couple was their friendship with each other, kind of a mutual admiration society.  You don’t see that very often.

Kerby and Lura Smith

After the interviews, Annie and I were off for adventure.  The first stop was a quilt shop in Pacific Grove, and a very unique gift shop called Tezzuti Zoo. I loved everything in there. We ate dinner at Phil’s which is a converted fish market. Smelled just like a fishing wharf. We had yummy clam chowder in bread bowls.

Phil's Restaurant

Saturday Annie and I had a great day visiting quilt shops. We stopped at the Oakland Temple and took a stroll around the grounds.

LDS Oakland Temple

We went to Barnes and Noble to buy our dinner, Godiva chocolates, which we took to the movie theater and watched “Twilight”. It was my first time seeing it but Annie has seen it 5 times now. 

The best part of my trip was getting to know Annie’s family. Her husband, “Web Guy”, daughter Kirsten, and son Robin were all so nice and hospitible.  17 year old Robin is a budding musician and plays in a band. I got to hear them perform Saturday night and I even bought a CD and had Robin autograph it.

Kirsten

Robin and his girlfriend were so much fun to talk to.  I think I have new Harry Potter buddies.

Robin

I’m not as young as I used to be and I required ear plugs for the event.

When you figure in the time change it was a very late night and it was hard to get up Sunday morning. Annie taught a class at a local quilt shop so I tagged along to watch the master (mistress) at work. She is such a good teacher.

Annie Teaching

I had to leave the class early to catch my plane. We had a layover in Las Vegas and the flight was delayed. When you figure in another hour lost between time zones I don’t remember feeling that tired in a long time. We got home around 2 a.m.

Annie, it was so fun! It was just what I needed. I hated to leave. Let’s do it again sometime.

Goodbye, Annie

Yes, through Southwest Airlines. Tomorrow I’m off to San Jose to visit my friend Annie Smith. My Daughter-In-Law, Sharon, is going there to visit her friends and I’m going to meet up with Annie on Friday at the Empty Spools Quilt Seminar at Asilomar where she is the “Artist in Residence”. Then we get to play around San Jose for a couple of days and come home on Sunday. I plan to blog the whole trip including the class that Annie will be teaching on Sunday. I’m so excited to go! I’m coming, Annie, and I’m bringing brownies!

Annie and Me

Woo Hoo! The first block made with the new Challenge Fabric has come in! It was sent in by Joy Bemis of Salt Lake City. Thanks Joy!

Quilter's For The Cure, Block #1, Joy Bemis

I plan to post photos of the blocks as I receive them so check back often to see the beautiful blocks.

If you want to participate you can purchase a pink fat quarter for $5, use it to make a 12″ block in the design of your choice. These blocks will be displayed and voted on (with money) at Utah Quilt Guild Annual Quilt Fest in September. The blocks are then put into quilts and things and used as opportunity items the following year. Last year we raised $2254.60 that was donated to the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. That was a good feeling!

LaRae finished her charm pack hexagon table runner.  All the hexagons are folded, secured with a button, and hand stitched together. She said it was a !$#%&^* of a lot of stitches. Isn’t it cute?

LaRae's Charm Pack Hexagon Table Runner

This weekend I got a lot done on my “leafy treetops” quilt from a class I took at Bryce Canyon from Nanette Merrill.  Don’t you love the cat?

In the leafy treetops

I ran out of brown ric rac.  I don’t know what I was thinking, I didn’t have nearly enough.  I hope I can come up with more that matches. I’m going to border each section with a skinny brown frame to make it look like window panes.

The birds each have a stitched on wing. You can’t really see them too well so I’m thinking of a way to accentuate them.

One of those 180 stitches on my Bernina

This is one dang cute quilt.