The thrill of holding my Grand Babies

I arrived here in sunny California on Thursday morning and could barely wait to get to my sons house to see the twins. The minute I walked into the door and saw their tiny sweet faces I knew I was in love. OMG! So many of you Grandmothers have told me that I would experience and incredible and overwhelming feeling of love when I first saw them - it hit me in seconds. Little Evita and DeAngelo are just so precious - I plan on cherishing every minute I have with them for the next 3 weeks.

Thank you everyone for your well wishes and congratulations. Mommy & Daddy are do in great and I know they will be the best parents in the world to these two precious angels. AS soon as I come home I will be sure to share another picture.

My Grand Babies Are Here!

As most of you know I usually do not post personal things here on my blog but....... I just have to as I am so excited!

On Friday afternoon, May 8th, my beautiful grand babies made their appearance into the world! Little Evita Ceilo weighed in at 4.8 lbs and DeAngelo Cruz came in at 5.8 - both healthy and beautiful. Mommy Evy is doing great and daddy Jason is off the wall excited... he takes after his mother LOL!

I am leaving for California on Thursday and can hardly wait to hold these precious babies in my arms - to be a Nana is a dream come true! May I present to you DeAngelo, who looks exactly like his daddy and Evita, ever so petite and pretty like her mommy.

Yipee! Back to Crazy Quilting!!

Gerry's naked CQ Block

Now that the Retreat is over I find myself with lots of spare time on my hands. I think it's time to get back into the groove of doing something I love - Crazy Quilting.

Last month I started in my very first CQ RR with the CQI group (Crazy Quilt International) I was so excited to get started with this group as there is so much talent and tons to learn! My block is now out of my hands and will be worked on by 4 other crazy ladies.

The first block I received to work on was from Gerry - her CQ block foundation was made up of some beautiful olive green fabrics - silks, satins, etc. Since I was the first person to actually work on it you can bet I was nervous. Gerry asked that the picture of the little girls be framed out in flowers - sure hope what I did was what she was looking for. I really enjoyed mixing silk ribbon, beads, and various threads for the outcome.

COF 2009 Retreat - What a blast!

COF 2009 Retreat Gang:

WEW! After a year of planning the COF 2009 Retreat is over - what a blast! I'm still not rested from all the running around and fun I had and think another couple days of sleeping just might do the trick... after all, I've got grand babies coming in about two weeks or so and Nana Nicki has got to be alert!

In Front: Quiltingnewbie, L/R: LisaTX, NickiLee, Irish62, IThinkSew, Brinnsmom & Ely

All in all the the Retreat seems to have been a huge success . It was so much fun getting to see old friends and meeting some new ones that we had been chatting back and forth with over the past year on the HGTV board. The weather was absolutely fabulous - for New England in spring it rated A++! The days were in the high 70's-mid 80's and the evenings were warm enough to walk around without a jacket.

2009 FQ Fabric for Challenge:

My FQ Challenge Project: The idea was to use just ONE FQ of the Challenge fabric and no more. You could however add any other fabrics or items to make your project.

This FQ Project was made by Marina in Russia - this adorable sewing bag was won by Bluesnail for having the funniest FQ Project.... Hers was a purse with utters.

Between the Bingo, The FQ Challenge, the door prizes, the fabulous Trunk Shows by members of Retreat - Quiltbea, Quiltaholic and Shawkl, lots of beautiful quilts were shown. All the girls also brought along with them tons of awesome Show & Tell items. The little COF Boutique was full of pretty things and I did my share of buying.

The 2009 COF Committee: Quiltingnewbie, NickiLee, OwenJulesMommy, Auntie Reba, Ely and Mrs. C

The committee surprised me big time by presenting me with a beautiful new candy apple red Nikon camera! Thank you girls... Have I told you lately that "I LOVE MY NEW CAMERA!"

Prior to the Retreat a lot of ladies from the HGTV board sent me some of their selvages. I used them to make a mat to frame pictures taken at past Retreats.

The trip to Keepsakes was a blast! The bus ride was made more enjoyable by our own comedian - Quiltingnewbie....and she keeps telling me she is shy - LOL!!!! I don't think so! Between Keepsake Quilts and the awesome bead stores we visited, I think the HGTV gang left quite a bit of mula in NH!

This year I kinda slept around - LOL! First night I slept with Elaine, second night with Kathi, the 3rd night with LisaP8 and then... back to Kathi. I had the best roommates! Kathi - forever roommates - I just love you! We both have the same sick sense of humor - I'll never tell as long as you don't! LOL!!!!!! Can you hear me now?????

Personally, I would like to thank each and every lady who attended this years Retreat. Walking into that conference room on the first day was the biggest gift anyone could give themselves - lots of hugs, laughs, and conversations.... I just wish I had had more time. Thank you to all the committee members who worked so hard putting this together and making it so much fun - your support and friendship over the past year has been so much fun and I look forward to our mini Retreat at Christine's this summer - bring on the BBQ!!!