I Am a Mother...

Today begins Studio 5's kickoff of the 10 Day "Motherhood Matters" Challenge. It's all about remembering and celebrating our most honorable and influential job...that of being a mother. If you haven't heard about it, I invite you to take a look. The challenge is simple, yet keeps in the forefront of our minds why we do what we do, and reminds us of how important motherhood is.

In addition, they are offering four printable quotes like the one pictured here for free. What a great and simple gift for a sweet mother or for yourself! I'm excited to get mine framed and displayed.

So, my friends...as we look ahead to Mother's Day and ponder on our own mothers, let's also celebrate our own role, whether we are aunts, cousins, sisters, daughters or mothers. We all have a vital role in the lives of each other.

I am a Mother...

Studio 5: Spring Fling Felt Purse, and Kim and Kris on Rachel Ray!

My sweet friends and "Wondertwins" Kim and Kris of the DIY Dish, You Can Make This, and SWAK Embroidery, never cease to amaze me! They were on Studio 5 this morning for a short interview, and will be showcased tomorrow on the Rachel Ray Show! I'm so excited for them! I have no idea what they will be showing, as it's all a little tight-lipped, but I'm sure it will be crafty genius.


In addition, Kris showed how to make this little felt purse that I designed for You Can Make This last spring on Studio 5. It works up quickly, is inexpensive to make, and is fun for the little girls and tweens in your world to express their creativity with. Oh, and don't forget...the download is free!

Take a look:

Hope your week is going well! Hugs to you all!

Exciting News! Please Stop by My Store!

Yes, Needle in a Haystack now has its very own Online Store! New patterns and products are being added weekly, so be sure to check in often. All Mother's Day Patterns and this School Days Pattern are 25% off the regular price from now until the end of May!




Each pattern you see on the site will be shipped directly to your home through the mail and can easily be paid for using your Pay Pal account.

Please stop by to see what's new, and be sure to drop me a line if you have any questions!

Happy Shopping!!

Reach for the Sunshine; Stand Tall

I love this family. If you've seen any of the crazy music videos on my blog, you may recognize some of these women.


Here we are seated at a restaurant on a recent outing together. I am in the back left and my sister Marva Lu is seated across from me. These other beautiful gals are her daughters and one of her three daughters-in-law. They are darling and hilarious, and simply great people. It is such a joy to be around them.


And is this the cutest baby quilt you've ever seen? Marva Lu made one like this for her daughter Kelsi and gave it to her at her baby shower recently. Kelsi is the baby of the family and having her first little boy here in a few weeks. When she opened this gift from her mom, Kelsi's older sister Annie exclaimed good-naturedly, "Well, we can see who the favorite daughter is!" (After five babies of her own, my sister had never made a baby quilt for Annie quite like this!)

Little did Annie know, but Marva Lu had in the works 6 additional baby quilts similar to this one to give to each of her seven children. She had planned on giving them to her other children in the near future when she was able to finish them. Well, when my other sister Pam heard this comment from Annie, she told Marva Lu that she needed to finish up each of those quilts to give to her other kids at a family gathering they were having in two days, so they would know they were all her favorites!

So like sisters do for each other, the three of us and a friend of Marva Lu's spent all the next day putting the finishing touches on each of those 6 quilts. It was such fun! We felt like we were part of an old-fashioned quilting bee. One by one the quilts got finished and wrapped with festive bows. She was able to give them all to her other daughters and daughters-in-law the following day, and each of them were so surprised.


One of the things Marva Lu loved about this quilt pattern was the cute giraffe of course, but the sentiment of "standing tall". She wanted each of her twenty-something grandchildren to understand what that really means in life. She wrote the sweetest letter to each of her daughters and daughters-in-law beginning with, "To my favorite daughter So-and-so". She then expressed her great love for each of them, and her desires that they teach each of their children this important principle.



She also added in her letter: "Standing tall means to be courageous in decision making, not compromising principles, not violating spiritual values and not shrinking from responsibility. Basically, standing tall is doing what is right. Jesus Christ is our perfect example of one who always stood tall. He is the one who personifies integrity, strength, and courage.

Gordon B. Hinckley said, 'Every one of us needs to STAND TALL and be strong and faithful and walk in the footsteps of the Master.'

Teach those little children to STAND TALL. They can be someone to look up to no matter their height. They can learn to stand tall for righteousness.

May the giraffe always be a reminder to 'stand tall' and 'reach for the sunshine.'."

I love all of that. What a sweet message for each of those children to grow up learning in a day when these pure and simple principles seem to be missing everywhere we turn. What a great message for me. After seeing these quilts, my own daughters were requesting one of their own to hang on their bedroom wall. I'm hoping I can get to it while it still has meaning for them!

This quilt pattern is available through You Can Make This and was designed by my good friend Kris, who is one of the brains behind the DIY Dish. She has simple instructions that even a beginner can follow. And if you need assistance, she is more than happy to help you, and I would be happy to help as well. Just shoot me an email at the address on my side bar. You can find the pattern here, and you can see the twins in crafty action here at their site. They never cease to amaze me.

Wishing you a wonderful week, and plenty of spring sunshine!

Missing "Jim"...

The skies here in my neck of the woods today are cloudy and gray, heavy with intermittent rain. It is dreary and I want to crawl under a blanket and do nothing but watch movies or read (not happening, by the way). The sky mirrors the mood here in Utah after BYU's defeat to Florida in the Sweet 16 NCAA tournament game last night. Certainly, not the bleakest of events occurring in the world right now, but one in which BYU fans were hoping for a different outcome.

All the "Jimmer" and BYU fans in our house felt a little beat down and sad for the ending of a great run---even with all the setbacks the team had throughout the season. As I checked my emails before bed last night, I noticed my sister had sent my siblings a memoir written by her husband Gary about my dad--also named James who went by "Jim" (pictured above) in his younger days and was a gifted athlete. I mentioned him briefly in my last post, but my brother-in-law's words made me a little misty-eyed as I reflected on this great man who is no longer with us. I wanted to share a few exerpts:

24 March 2011 Thursday

Dear Dad,

We were thinking about you today: basketball, March Madness, hoops, Final Four. BYU is playing Florida tonight. Jimmer Fredette is making Mormons proud; he is quite the scoring machine. Many of your progeny find great joy in getting “jimmered”.

It's not 1948, nor will we be gathering around the radio to hear you play. Great-grandma Wray would get so upset when the commentators would talk about your aggressive plays and fouls. University of California-Berkley lost that final four game; but you played in Madison Square Garden and gave your family bragging rights for decades, that you played on the national sports stage- you, just a farm kid from Idaho. We have the newspaper articles and pictures of you, (sorry you didn't have Air Jordan’s in the 40's); we've heard the stories; for some of us we've seen your athletic prowess. You are gone, but your legacy continues.

You would have loved this BYU season- it would have been so great for you to walk from that little white brick home on Fir St. to the Marriott Center. Not like that first year when BYU had a 0-25 season...it did get you on a mission though; no sense staying in Provo to watch the cougars lose!

There's been a whole nursery of babies born since you and mom left us, but, you know that, don't you. Most of us are trying to do what you taught us, and are teaching our children; and our children are teaching their children. We hope you are proud. We are taking care of your name.

Our faith is strong. Oh sure, there are those little things that try our faith, that keep us relying on God: tsunamis, the economy, earthquakes, floods and famines, potato harvest, etc.

Well, we just wanted to say hello- we thought of you playing in the March Madness tournament. We miss you dad; we miss those reunions where we tried to keep up with you; we miss how you and mom worked as one for our benefit. We miss your competitive spirit. Tonight we will yell and raise our blood pressure for 'the Jimmer'. You are our “Jim”. We miss you dad. We wish you were here.

Love eternally,
Your Posterity



Missing Jim...

Rainbow Jello and Jimmer...What Could be Better to Celebrate the Tip Off of March Madness?

I love having something to look forward to. It prevents the doldrums of life's daily grind from taking over, doesn't it? Today I'm so looking forward to those two things: Rainbow Jello and Jimmer. Rainbow Jello is a pretty-much-once-a-year-tradition for us, since it takes some prep, and coordinates so nicely with St. Patty's Day. Just not something I get around to much at other times of the year, but definitely something to look forward to in March. I love how it looks, the creaminess from the added yogurt, and the melding of all those rainbow-y flavors. Yes, it's a St. Patty's treat for sure! Visit HERE for the recipe and the how-to's, along with some helpful photos.

And Jimmer? We've been a fan for a while now. Our family had the opportunity to see him play in person last year when he was still a somebody, but not quite the SOMEBODY that he is today. Jimmermania struck our house early this season, and we've loved seeing how he has taken the NCAA by storm.

It helps that basketball is in our family blood---my father played in the forty's in the Final Four for the California Bears as a guard; my hubby was a guard in the eighty's with his high school team that took the state championship his junior year and finished third his senior year; and all four of our tikes have played since they could hold a ball. Our oldest was shooting baskets almost before he could walk. This year all four were on teams...one on the junior high team, the others on city league teams with my two boys playing together. That was the highlight of my week, seeing each of my kids grow and learn on the court. Even my little gals became quite the scrappers and shooters; my littlest one scoring her first basket in her last game (she was the only girl on her co-ed team), and my older daughter scoring the winning points in overtime of her last game. And watching my two boys joke, laugh, pass, assist, and score together on the court was completely heart-warming from a mom's perspective. I am convinced that there are metaphors and plenty of life's lessons that are gained on the court and from participating on a team.

And... it helps that I am a BYU Alum. I couldn't be more proud of my Cougars and the way they have handled the intense media revolving around the highs and lows of their season. They are a class act team, and we're cheering for "Freddy Cougar" (my boy's nickname for Jimmer) and his posse to get further in the brackets than ever before.

So, find something to look forward to today. Make yourself some Rainbow Jello and enjoy the Jimmer Show and the rest of the March Madness entertainment. I'm certain that neither will disappoint!

Basic Hand-Embroidery Stitches

The website allpeoplequilt.com has some great tutorials and images for learning ten basic hand embroidery stitches: some that are in my own tutorial, as well as a few that are not. Check it out:

Basic Hand-Embroidery Stitches



In addition, they have a myriad of tips, techniques, videos, and FREE project ideas that could keep me busy for decades! My kids have so many team jerseys, along with sports and souvenir T's...I am in love with this t-shirt quilt!