Quilt Pictures

I wish that I could say that I made these quilts from start to finish because if I had, they would have stayed at my house! So many of the quilts I quilt for others I have a hard time giving back. As I work on them, I fall in love! Maybe tomorrow I will do some piecing as well as some quilting. I have been aching to make some Christmas stockings, those count as quilts if I quilt them right? Check out these spider webs! I love Halloween!

Can you see what the next quilt is? Hint hint...I quilted it in sparkle thread to make it shimmery.

The front of this blue quilt may look like something you've seen before.One of the patriotic fabrics in this table runner had stars in circles. I liked it so much, I used the design in quilting the border. (Click on a picture to see it larger.) This brown quilt had amazing sashing! Here are the answers... Nemo on Ice and Lap Pool

Life is good!

Yesterday my imac was in China and today it is on my desk! FedEx has amazed me for the first time ever. As promised here I am blogging.

This week I was really irritable. I am trying to blame it on pms but it was worse than usual. Here's why: The quilt stores here in Vegas are having their annual shop hop. I have known about it for a while and have been very excited about going. A friend and I had planned on hitting a couple shops Thursday morning. It turned out that one of my mandatory trainings for work was due and Thursday morning was the only time it was being offered. I found out early in the week and was emailing my friend to let her know. Turns out I got interrupted half way through and forgot that I hadn't actually sent the email. It was a mess and hopefully she has or will soon forgive me. There was no way to reschedule because I am at work all weekend. So lame that I planned so poorly!

I was still complaining to my husband tonight that I was so upset about not being able to go and being so inconsiderate to my friend. He said, "Life must be pretty good if that is the worst thing happening." I had to laugh, he was so right.

Milestones

My little girly has lost her first two teeth! She was so stinking cute about it too! She wanted to keep it a secret so she didn't tell anyone her bottom front teeth were wiggly. Tuesday at lunch the first one fell out and she announced it with a big grin!

Also she started kindergarten this year!!! She is one of those kids who just couldn't wait. She ran right in without even saying goodbye on the first day. It has been great to see her growth. The biggest change I have noticed is her penmanship. Praise be to kindergarten teachers who can convince young children to learn this daunting skill. I struggled this summer to get her to write her name well. I knew it was coming and wanted her to be ready. It was a challenge! Now she is writing all upper and lowercase letters with only some occasional help! I love you Mrs. Parks!


The first day of school!

Blogging

I have struggled to decide what my rules for this blog are going to be. From the start decided that if I was going to make any rules, the one to make would be that all my entries would involve at least one picture. Well that was a great idea. You see I have an imac that is one of the more basic versions. We bought it for photos, word processing and internet access. That was before I decided to make a website and do my own fliers. I have killed my imac slowly over the years by running creative studio. It no longer even opens photoshop. Because it runs so poorly, I haven't really used a computer much over the last few months and therefore all blog entries have been waiting for photos. My new imac is on its way and I can't wait to work on a computer that functions. So until then, it is most likely, the multiple blog entries accumulating in my post box will remain unposted.

Another blogging issue I have is that it is totally public. In the past I have been one of those people that can have a best friend and a few really good friends and be content. This public blogging thing is a little out of my comfort zone. Anyone anywhere can read it and once you put it out there, even if you delete it, it still floats around in cyberspace somewhere. I find that when my writing juices are flowing, I am passionate about a topic and state everything strongly. When I revisit something I wrote days or weeks later, I usually see things a little differently. I can be a pretty opionated person at times so maybe portraying who I really am is no big deal. A big part of life is growth and change so why can't a blog be opinated anyway? Do I have to completely agree with everything I write if I go back and read it later? I just hate to offend people.

So what is a blog for anyway? I think mine will continue to be a random assortment of topics because I can't seem to blog about just one. I don't have enough to say about quilting to limit it to that. Do blogs really even need to have a chosen topic or theme? Maybe all blogs do have a theme - a self centered cry to the world at large, "Hey look at me, I am important!"

A thank you to my parents

Yesterday was my mom's birthday and I totally forgot what day it was until 6 pm and my dad called to remind me. My mom works nights and had been sleeping all day so thank goodness she had no clue that I had forgotten. I was able to take cake and flowers to her at work and we had a little party there-grand kids and all! My mom wasn't always a perfect mom (no one is, espeically me) but she was dang good one. She loved me so much as I was growing up! Almost 7 years ago, she wanted to divorce my dad and so it happened. The divorce has changed her, she really struggled with depression for years and I felt unloved and used most days. She has healed a lot over the last year or two and every day I seem to get a little more of her back.

I was thinking today about how glad I am that she stuck through being married until I had grown up and moved out. I have cried on my husbands shoulders so much about it over the years. I know at times he just wanted to roll his eyes at me for getting so worked up about it over and over but he has been really patient and helped me heal from the pain of losing my relationship with her.

Now that the background has been established, here is why I am thankful to my parents today. Growing up my parents always told me how great I was and that I was so smart that I could be or do anything. And being the little blank slate that I was, I wrote it all down and took it as fact. They gave me a foundation of self-confidence that has really made me who I am today. I have always been one to stand up for what I think is right and to reach for any dream I whip up. If my parents had gotten divorced when I was a child, I would have been so busy coping and worrying about it that I may have written over that important message. Thanks mom and dad for giving me the security I needed as a kid to be able to succeed!

And a big thank you to them for giving me the best childhood they could give me. It really was great.

Portland

I am sitting in the Portland airport listening and watching a brilliant pianist play Phantom of the Opera while waiting for my flight home. Portland was everything I expected it to be and finding this special treat at the end of a great trip only deepens my love for the northwest. I think I drove my husband crazy asking every few hours, "Can we move here yet?" He would laugh and say, "I'm working on it." He is currently in the middle of a masters degree so for another 18 months leaving Las Vegas is completely out of the question. I can still dream though. Leaving Las Vegas would be difficult. I have lived most of my life in Vegas. I have such great friends and neighbors. I have a love for the wonderful people in the local quilting community and for my co-workers.

We planned the trip for one of my husband's friend's wedding. Congrats to Jason & Lindsey! We figured since we were going anyway, we may as well spend a couple days and enjoy ourselves.After the beautiful wedding, we were off to a great find my husband scoped out before we left town. The Grand Lodge was a huge old masonry lodge revamped into the perfect party place. I was a little hesitant when my husband first described it as only having a room with bunk beds left. "Oh and by the way there are only public restrooms," he casually said. This eccentric place was full of live music, alcohol, a hot soaking pool, party rooms and history. I has a great time and it will be one of those places that stays with me for a long time. I would love to go back for a family reunion or with another couple or two. Here's me looking down one of the hallways of rooms. By the way, the bathrooms were actually great-very clean and with large shower stalls. I did enjoy showering while listening to a voice singing in the next shower over.
The next day we were off to drive up the Oregon coast and oh was it worth it!This is my good looking hubby pondering deeply and quite frustrated that I am interrupting by asking him to turn his head this way and that. Thankfully my die hard Kodak camera finally gave up the ghost and he bought me a SLR camera as soon as we got off the airplane. Literally we drove straight to Best Buy (there is no sales tax in Oregon).

I did get to stop in this darling quilt shop, Center Diamond. They had a gorgeous window box pouring over with flowers.

We also stopped at a ton of markets! This lady made delicious crapes. And of course I had to stop to take pictures of the well arranged berries and pineapple tomatillo. Has anyone ever tasted these? I wish I had while I had the chance. I am still wondering what they taste like. We found a hiking trail in the middle of a neighborhood that lead down to this water. Along the way, the forest was full of wild berries. Unbelievable! Can you imagine this for a backyard? And of course, I couldn't get enough pictures of the flowers. They were gorgeous!

Another thing I loved about the northwest, was the people. Everywhere we went we found educated, friendly, passionate people. Along the way, we drove by these two ladies on a bench outside an ice cream shop. They were eating their ice cream like nothing else in life mattered. They made it look sooooo good. We stopped to get some and walked across the street with it to enjoy it on the beach. Really, does life get better than a waffle cone full of strawberry cheesecake ice cream on the beach?


Overall, I give Oregon fabulous reviews. We liked it so much, we are visiting again for Christmas to see what it is like in winter. Maybe my reviews won't be so upbeat when everything is covered in ice. But who knows, maybe my heart does belong there.

So today was definitely a Monday...

I went to sleep unable to find my cell phone last night and so I spent this morning in a panic. My personal cell is also my business line. How in the world were people going to get a hold of me today? I had quilts waiting for customers and was sure people would be calling.

While I was frantically looking all over my house, my mom knocked on my door. Moms must have an ability to tell when their children are in a panic. Thank you mom! I began to walk her through the events of last night when I remembered having my phone last. We had gone to the neighbors house to visit so I decided to go over again. They were at work so I kindly let myself in. I had the garage about half way up when my neighbor pulled up. Busted! If my wonderful trusting neighbors are reading this, I will not be offended if you change your garage code.

The trespassing did not result in my phone but while I was out, I noticed that the garbage man had already come. This got me thinking about last week. I was missing my favorite scissors and asked my 3 year old if he had seen them. After thinking a minute, he suggested that I look in the trash. Now, why would he think my scissors were in the trash? I can only guess. I did look through the trash last week but all I found was thread, lint and needles. My scissors are still missing.

Immediately I ran into the house, cornered my little dude and asked him flat out if he had put my phone in the trash. I was trying to breathe deeply ... the garbage man had already come! His sweet little face denied throwing my phone out. I still wasn't convinced and looked in my empty trash cans. Then it dawns on me, I took the trash to the curb last night. I had set my phone down on my husband's rear bumper because my shorts lacked pockets. I then washed my hands and had forgotten to pick up my phone. By now though, my husband had already driven down town to work.

Now, I am a pretty lucky person. I won a Bernina 220 2 years ago at the Las Vegas shop hop and in high school I won a stereo in a perfect attendance drawing (yes I've always been a nerd). Things generally work out well for me so I didn't give up hope. My mom and kiddos piled into the car while I left a note for my customers to call my mom's cell. Thankfully no one came over while we were out searching! We drove all 13 miles staring at the pavement and arrived at my husband's truck with my phone still on his bumper. What a way to start the day!

Bean Salad

I love that the Internet makes information so easily accessible. We had the neighbors over for dinner last weekend and I found some amazing new recipes online. Great food and great company- Does life get any better?

Healthy Garden Salad

Ingredients
5tbs red wine vinegar
3tbs grape seed oil- I used olive oil since it was already in my cupboard.
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro- I am not a professional chef so I used some dried cilantro and it tasted fine to me. The grocery store was out of cilantro so unless I wanted to stop at two stores with two children the fresh just wasn't happening!
2 limes juiced- Never go grocery shopping on Saturday! No limes either! I just bought a bottle of juice.
1 tsp white sugar
3/4 tsp salt
2 cloves of garlic minced
4 green onions thinly sliced
1 lb frozen shelled edamame (green soy beans)-My kiddos had fun shelling our soy beans because that was all I could find. It was actually pretty easy once cooked.
3 cups frozen corn kernels
1 can black beans drained and rinsed
1 pint cherry tomatoes

In a large serving bowl, whisk together the red wine vinegar, grape seed oil, cilantro, lime juice, sugar, salt and garlic. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the soybeans and boil for 3 minutes. Add corn to the boiling water and continue cooking for 1 more minute. Drain very well, and pour into the bowl with the dressing. Gently mix in the cherry tomatoes, green onions and black beans. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving to chill and blend the flavors.

Tres Leche Part 2

This cake recipe is from Alton Brown on Good Eats but because he measures in ounces, I am posting my easier to use version using teaspoons and measuring cups.

Preheat oven to 350 F

Ingredients

Cake:
1 cube butter
1 cup sugar
5 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp powder
1/2 tsp salt

Milks:
12 oz can evaporated milk
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup half and half

Frosting:
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Cream the butter and sugar until thick. Add the eggs one at a time blending well with each egg. Blend in vanilla. Mix dry cake ingredients and add to butter mixture in three slow additions.

Smooth flat in a greased and floured 9 X 13 inch pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes until cake is lightly golden and is 200F internally. Cool for 30 minutes on cooling rack. Then generously perforate the cake. I like to use my meat thermometer. Stir together milks and pour them over cake. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, blend the frosting ingredients together slowly at first then at a medium-high speed until the mixture comes to stiff peaks. Spread over cake and enjoy!

Custom Quilting

I quilted this quilt for Joyce Carr and I absolutely fell in love with it. She made this special quilt for her husband. After binding and washing her quilt, she brought it back to me so I could take photos and share it. Thanks Joyce!

Tres Leche Part 1

Tonight I am staying up late to make one of my favorite cakes of all time, Tres Leche. This is a cake you have to make in advance because it has to soak up the creamy liquid like a sponge overnight. We are having a big neighborhood celebration for the fourth tomorrow so the cake has to happen tonight. I can't wait to see my kiddos watch the fireworks. Talking to my three year old tonight, he doesn't seem to really remember fireworks from last year so it will be fun watching him discover them all over. I find so much pleasure in watching my kids experience new things. Last week we went to Lake Powell and I loved watching the kids enjoy the lake. My husband always says people find happiness in progression. I have to agree, watching my kids learn and get better at things is one of my favorite parts of life.

June Special!

Here is my latest web special!

Spring Quilts

Here are some of the beautiful quilts I quilted for others this Spring

Scrappy Fonts

A good friend kindly told me about ScrapNFonts and emailed me their ad for free fonts! I liked them so much I am passing them on to you. Enjoy!

Summer Fliers for 2009

Summer in Las Vegas is here with long warm days and lots of swimming! With each change in season, I create a new flier to advertise my longarm quilting.  I spent many hours creating the front and back of this summer's flier and I am anxious to get them back from the printer. I am going to get them out to everyone on my mailing list and to the local shops as soon as they arrive! I always have a monthly special and hope you enjoy these specials. If you are not already on my mailing list, I would be happy to send you one. Just drop me a note with your name and address to Jen@WagnerQuilting.com.

With summer, comes the heat and it has already hit in Vegas. Here I am with my two little ones and the neighborhood kids at Easter! I love Vegas weather!

Quilting Retreat

This weekend I attended my first ever retreat... yes I know it is quite strange that I have never attended a quilting retreat before. I never could justify the weekend time and money before but this one I just couldn't miss! It was so wonderful to sew without dishes or laundry or children! I only brought one project to work on not realizing that without interruptions, projects move! Of course I quickly got through what I thought would take all day and had to go shopping :) The first store I visited was Scrap Apple Quilts. They had a beautiful selection of batiks, but I was on the hunt for baby panels. I love baby panels for last minute baby gifts because I can add sashing, quilting and binding in an afternoon or two if I am determined. The employees were so kind to open the boxes in the back they had just received to let me look for more baby panels! 

Superior Threads was closed on Saturday but after hearing us knocking, they let us in! I tried to keep my hands in my pockets. I have soooooo much thread already and was in heaven walking through their warehouse. There were so many shelves packed with different threads, if only money grew on trees! I walked out with only one spool of glitter thread. I have been wanting to buy some to see if it will run as a top thread in my gammill.  I will soon find out! 

The retreat was hosted by the Las Vegas Quilters guild and Ida Connors of Teacup Quilts organized it. Thanks Ida! We stayed at the Hilton in St. George, UT and they were very accommodating. We had a wonderful turnout. I really enjoyed getting to chat with the many talented members of the guild! There was much laughter and smiles throughout the event. Saturday night Ida asked for a show of hands of people who would be interested in attending next year and it was unanimous that this event will become an annual gathering!  

So now I love quilting retreats and am happily planning on attending next year with more than one project to work on!

Quilt, Quilts and more Quilts!

The last couple weeks I have been flooded with quilts to quilt, a big thank you to everyone who is keeping my studio busy! One of the great things about being a longarm quilter, is seeing a vast variety of projects. Here are some of the most recent things I've been quilting...

Las Vegas Quilters Guild- April 8th at 6 PM

The Las Vegas Quilters Guild meets monthly at the West Charleston Library. This guild is only one year old but is already 100 members strong! Come check us out!

At this month's meeting, we will be playing Quilto- a quilters version of bingo! Bring two fat quarters to get your cards. The blackout winner takes home the stash!

There will also be show and tell as always and a demonstration on how to make minature blocks!

See you there!

April 8th at 6 pm at the West Charleston Library

Circles

Water World by Willow Leaf

The machine quilting patterns that flow and loop are my favorites. This lead to the title for my blog. The more I thought about it, I found that there are a lot of circles in quilting.Along the Way by Anne Bright

Yo-Yos, buttons and beads are some great circular quilt embellishments. There are also blocks that use circles such as drunkards path and double wedding ring.

I have to say though that my favorite circles in quilting are circles of friends! It is always great to quilt the day away with friends!

What circles in quilting do you enjoy?

More Calendar Quilts

I forgot to mention about the calendar contest that if you have a quilt we have quilted in 09 and have a great picture of it, please email it to me! I would love to post it here and enter it in the contest! Email photos to CalendarPhotos@WagnerQuilting.com

Here are some more quilts we have fallen in love with! Too bad we don't get to keep them!

Here are a couple sunbonnet sues quilted in Sunbonnet Sue, Double Hearts and stippling!



This darling Snowman quilt has blocks with hand embroidered little snowman faces! We quilted it with Snazzy Snowflake.




This last quilt was unbelievable and huge! We spent several days doing the custom quilting. If you look close you'll see that some of the blocks are actually folded like origami! We decided to keep the quilting simple and only used this little Candy Twist block in different sizes, but it took thousands of them!