Crosses of Ryan and Tarah BOM Block 4

The design for this month is fairly simple, and understated, but beautiful at the same time.

To download the pattern, click HERE

What a fun way to start my month!

My apologies (once again) for being a few days late here. It seems month end just always creeps up on me and always throws us some unexpected curve balls. I was actually all ready to post the new block for August by the first, but my 2 yr old son apparently had other plans. This past Saturday started like any other day. A friend from church came by at 7am to head over to the new house with my husband to do some electrical work so we can get utilities turned on. I was to follow later that morning when the kids got up and moving.  I was all ready to go but my youngest still wasnt awake, which is highly unusual for him. We went to wake him up and he stirred but never really woke up. I carried him downstairs, changed his diaper and clothes, and he still wasn't waking up. He couldn't stand, wouldn't even hold his head up.  I knew something was wrong, but not sure what. He was also very sweaty. I immediately put him in the car and headed to a nearby emergency room. My fear was heat exhaustion, even though he hadn't been outside in 3 days. His diaper from overnight had been dry so I also figured he might be dehydrated.

We arrived at the hospital and they got him into triage quickly. He was slightly feverish, but they were more concerned at his listlessness. The doctor guessed that he might have high blood sugar. They started him on a fluid IV and took some blood to run some tests. The doctor quickly came back and told me that his blood sugar was not high, but dangerously low, at 46.  They gave him some juice, crackers, and literally within  minutes he was perking back up. Not quite his normal ball of energy but vastly improved. The doctor advised he wanted to admit Jacob to the hospital for observation and further testing to try and find out what caused his blood sugar to plummet like it had. We gathered our diaper bag, and took a ride in an ambulance from this hospital over to Cook Children's in downtown. Now, in hindsight perhaps I should have went there first, but I have been in their emergency room once before, and it took us 16 hours to be seen, so I didn't go there this time in fear of having to sit with him in the waiting room for hours.

We were taken back into the ER quickly, and briefly looked at, questioned, etc. Then proceeded to sit in a room down there for the next 5 hours, waiting to be transferred to a room upstairs. Finally around 6pm Saturday we were given a room on the Endocrinology floor.  They allowed Jacob to eat dinner, so we watched Cars and Bolt and Toy Story 3 while he ate and cried everytime they came in to stick him for one reason or another. He was given a second IV that evening so they could administer fluids and draw labs at the same time without re-sticking him.

I finally got him to sleep sometime around 11pm, and at midnight the nurses came back in to check his diaper, temperature, and whatever else they do.  At that time I had dosed off and woke up not feeling right. My right side had gone numb. I asked one of the nurses to take my blood pressure and sure enough it was sky high.  I laid back down for another 30 minutes hoping I could get it to go down some, but the numbness turned to dull pain, and it was still high, so they put me in a wheelchair and took me across the street to another hospital ER. When I got there my BP was so high that they took me straight to trauma, but on the way there, a multiple GSW victim came in and they had to work on him instead. The next 5 hours were spent having a battery of tests, IVs labs, and medication administered. Everytime someone came in to do something I reminded them that I had a sick child across the street and I needed to get back there ASAP.

I was finally released and headed back across the street to Jacob's room. When I arrived back the nurses told me he had not been back asleep since I left. He'd watched 2 movies, was on his third, taken a walk around the floor, visited the fish tanks, etc. and generally entertained the nursing staff.  Needless to say we were both exhausted.  We managed a few more hours of sleep before another round of lab work was needed.  Since they were fasting Jacob he started getting hungry and asked the nurses for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a cupcake. (Emphasis on the cupcake). Finally around 3pm they let him eat, and his nurse found him exactly what he asked for. Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich and not one, but 2 cupcakes. I've never seen a cupcake disappear as quickly as I did then!  As soon as he was finished eating we had our discharge papers and were headed home.

Luckily through his fasting he never dropped low like before, but they do not yet know what has caused it. We left with a blood sugar monitor and a list of symptoms to check for while we wait for further labs to come back and follow up with an endocrinologist. We haven't had another episode so I'm thankful. Now to adjust to new medications MY doctor put me on. Thats always fun!  Of course, doctors tell you to eliminate stress...so much easier said than done!

JULY Freebie: Crosses of Ryan and Tarah Block 3

Sorry for the delay (again!) We went out of town for the holiday and it turned out I had no internet access other than my phone...which also suffered a crushing blow over the course of the weekend. My brand new Iphone crash landed on a concrete porch and now has a completely shattered screen. Of course it isn't covered under warranty, so I will have so suffer with it for awhile.

Anyway, without further ado, here is the July block in Crosses of Ryan and Tarah. This month's cross is in reflection upon summers spent at Falls Creek . Every summer from 7th grade through high school we would spend a week here with our church youth groups. It was always hot and humid, and we sat in an open air chapel for services. Right outside the chapel stood this very rugged, aged, wooden cross. It was a symbolic place for people to turn over their sins to God, confess, and be forgiven. If you felt compelled to do so, you could write your sins on a scrap of paper and nail it to the cross. Many many lives have been forever changed from the experiences at Falls Creek. Next year my own daughter will be old enough to attend for the first time. Even after I was out of high school, both Mom and I served with our church youth group as cooks for our group for a few years. It is a special place and many friendships have been forged there.

You can download the pattern and instructions for Block 3 HERE

JUNE Freebie: Crosses of Ryan and Tarah Block 2

Finally! My computer has not been agreeing with me!!! Anyway, without further delay, here is Block 2 in our "Crosses of Ryan and Tarah" Embroidered block quilt. I hope you enjoy it!

You can download the pattern and instructions HERE

May Freebie! Crosses of Ryan & Tarah BOM Block 1

Our apologies for the delay. Mom had this all done on time and I just couldn't get the time in front of my computer to get it all loaded. Amazing what an out of town for 2 weeks hubby and sudden upheaval in your daily routines can do to you!

This month we are kicking off the first of 12 blocks in our first BOM. "Crosses of Ryan and Tarah" will be a series of 12 embroidered elegant cross designs, finished into a beautiful quilt top.

Our inspiration for this piece comes from my older brother, my mother's oldest son, Ryan, and his wife, Tarah, who have been married since 1989. They were junior high and high school sweethearts, marrying right after graduation. They have 5 children, my nieces Autumn, Summer, Winter, and Spring, and my nephew, Christian (aka "Goob").  (Yes, those really are their names!) This past fall, Autumn and her husband celebrated the birth of their first child, and my brother became a grandpa at age 40. (and yes, we love to tease him for that!) Through the years, Ryan and Tarah have been a living testament of a Godly marriage for all who know them. It seemed only fitting to celebrate that with this theme. Faith has certainly been a cornerstone of their family.  

We hope you enjoy our latest project and continue to follow us in the coming months!

You can download Block 1 HERE

April is Here!

Wow, we've been busy this month! I'll try to post more about what changes are coming soon for my blog. Needless to say several people have been working tirelessly to revamp and improve things around here so I hope everyone will be pleased with the results, which I'm hoping to unveil in the next couple of weeks.

So, Mom and I decided to change things up a bit here and cater to our love of needlework. Mom put her design skills to work and I got the pleasure of playing with my latest toy, PC Stitch Pro. This could get seriously addicting. SOOOOO much fun!

In honor of the arrival of Spring, both the season (and my awesome Niece who shares the name), may we present to you, "Spring's Grace"!

Our sample is stitched on 28 count linen, stitching 2 over, or the equivalent of using a 14 count fabric.  Finished size is appx 7.5"x 7.5" or 115 x 115 stitches.  We used some specialty threads in there, which are listed on the legend. Feel free to experiment. As always, we would really love to see your finished pieces, so please add them to our flickr group

The project is no longer available for free download but will be available soon for purchase.

March is available!

Wow, what a week this has been! Our apologies for the delay in getting the pattern posted like we had planned. This was really one of those weeks where life just had other plans!  I have updated the original post with more pictures and the download link. The project is no longer available for free download but will be available soon for purchase.  Also, if you are making our patterns, we'd love to see your work! Please feel free to share it in flickr!

March Free Pattern download Available now!

So I have some last minute tweeks to the pattern instructions I need to do, which I will get posted either later this evening or in the morning.  In the meantime, here's some pics to get you started.  Our apologies. Apparently deadlines don't matter to viruses and illness! Mom has been out of commission for several days this month, putting us just a bit behind, but she's all better now and back to work!

May I introduce to you, Flyboy Jacob! The project is no longer available for free download but will be available soon for purchase. 

Jacob is designed to be a center panel for a wallhanging or could be easily adapted into a crib size quilt. The embroidery section of our sample is stitched up at a finished size of 12"high x 16" wide, and appliqued onto a background of clouds, cut to 14 1/2" x 18 1/2".  There are 3 borders attached (Hope y'all like flying geese!) and will finish out at a size of 32"x36".  Since I'm married to an Airman, I'm particularly fond of this little one, named for my youngest son, who loves Airplanes!  Isn't he adorable??

Quilt Along with Rachel @ PS I Quilt

This was the first time I've participated in a quilt-a-long, especially one online. I have been a follower and admirer of Rachel's work for about a year now. You can check her out at PS I Quilt. In January Rachel had her 2nd quiltalong, this time a postage stamp quilt. Seeing as I'd had the desire to make one but just didn't get around to it (like so many other things) I decided to jump in and make a little something just for the heck of it. Here is my progress, start to finish (the top anyway):

My initial Strip Sets (I used 2 jelly rolls, Fresh Flowers by Deb Strain for MODA, and MODA Bella Solids Snow)

My strip sets after sewing them together:

Planning the layout of my blocks:

My completed quilt top:


I have a few strips left over, which will go on the back and into a matching pillow for this. Isn't it just perfect for these drab, cold winter days?

Catching up

Things have been crazy (as usual) around here, with alot of things going on. Some good, some bad. I won't elaborate on the bad, but as with anything major that happens in life, sometimes it can keep you so occupied that you just lose your ability to focus on anything else.

On the positives, There has been time to get acquainted with my Designer I to an extent. Now, I love the machine, do not get me wrong, but man am I not in love with Viking's customer service. Apparently they do not realize that us normal people do not replace our sewing machines every other year, so for them to discontinue support for a machine a mere 4 years after it is manufactured is beyond poor customer service in my opinion. My machine, while I purchased it "used" is brand new for all intents and purposes. Half of the feet, hoops, accessories, etc that I got with it were still factory sealed in their original packaging. My machine, in searching for other information online, I discovered had been part of not one but 2 different recalls. I contacted Viking about getting the recalled parts replaced, only to be informed that the recall would not apply to me since I did not buy the machine new...nevermind that the recall notice does not state anything about it being invalid if the machine transferred ownership. A quote on paying for the parts to be replaced on my own came back to me at 800.00 from my local dealer. I think that's a pretty poor way to handle a recall if you ask me. Why should it matter who owns the machine, if you know that it was manufactured with a faulty part?

Anyway, I digress. Mom has been stitching up a storm, trying to put ideas to pen and paper as fast as she can. We have a few other projects lined up for later in the year, but we have had amazingly positive feedback and responses to our free patterns thus far, and I know neither of us could have imagined that we would go from getting a few dozen hits in a month to over 15K in January. WOW. We are humbled and appreciative!