red delicious.

have yall heard of this???

have yall seen it around on other blogs???

well i was nosey enough to check it out.

{after seeing it a few times.}

and i LOVE it.

red delicious is a mystery block of the month!!!

how cool is that???

the coolest part...it's free!!!

yeah. i said free.

yall should seriously go check it out.

go here and you'll be directed to the pattern.

{and you'll see her beautiful version of the block!!!}

and don't lollygag.

on the 15th of each month a new block will be released.

{with the old block being removed.}

tell me what yall think.

{and if you're gonna join in.}

four seasons quilt swap 5. {post #2 for today.}

well i've went and done it again.
i gave myself another deadline.
haha.

i am gladly going to part of the four seasons quilt swap 5!!!
exciting i know!!!
seriously i think it's an honor to have been chosen to participate.
{thanks margaret.}

here's the reason i am writing a whole post about it:

{and don't hate on me for posting twice in one day!!!}

there is a 50 person sign up limit...but we are currently only at 25.
hi my name is rachel...

and i'll be your recruiter today.
*in my best semer fi voice*
"4sqs5 wants you!!!"
you get to be part of a SUPER fun swap.
and of course get an awesome little number for su casa!!!
did i mention you qualify for a sweet little button like mine???
haha.

seriously though...join...you'll be glad you did.
you can read ALL the details here.
{or click on the button in my sidebar.}

hope to see yall there.

who knows...maybe i'll be making your prize.

:D

"it's a major award!"

in the spirit of christmas movies i had to use that quote as the title!!!

{'a christmas story' is my 2nd favorite christmas movie of all time.}

now this little beauty was given to me by val.

it was a pleasant surprise.{thanks again val.}

the rules state that i get the pleasure of doing the following:

place the button on my blog.

link to who gave it to me.

nominate 5 blogs. {with links.}

& leave messages for those bloggers.

so with that being said...who am i gonna pick???

i love so many of yall's blogs.

{boo to picking...it's unfair...lol.}

but since i have to pick...here are my five:

#1:

allison at cluck. cluck. sew.

i am a new reader of her blog. as new as last week.

i was immediately hooked.

i seriously think she has the best taste of fabrics.

go look for yourself.

#2:

lynn at mollychicken.

i just started reading her blog the day before yesterday.

i freakishly landed on her blog, but it's amazing.

it seriously was love at first sight.

did i mention she has the most amazing tutorials on the planet???

{if you are into softies.}

seriously...check her out!!!

#3:

vanessa at v & co.

i can't leave blogland without reading her blog!!!

{in most cases i actually read her within the first couple of minutes!!!}

i know i've mentioned her before, but i really think that she's AMAZING!!!

why is she SO amazing???

many reasons. get to know her!!!

{you'll thank me for it later.}

did i mention we feel the same way about capital letters???

haha.

#4:

jo at vintage lane stitches.

her blog is such a breath of fresh air to me.

it's just SO beautiful to look at.

she works on the prettiest projects.

her little dog charlie is the cutest thing on the planet.

{i know that has nothing to do with blogging...but that's okay!!!}

just visit her...you'll see what i mean.

{please don't miss the pic of charlie in the bathtub. it makes me laugh!!!}

#5:

melissa at cornbread and beans.

first of all...gotta love that blog name.

{it makes me hungry.}

second of all...we totally get each other.

*wink wink melissa*

she makes me laugh.

she'll make you laugh too...just go see!!!

so there you have it.

that seems like it took me forever to do.

and this little number was given to me twice.

{i know...exciting!!!}

first by molly...then by donna.

thanks yall.

now the rules are basically the same.

{except this one wants you to list 10 peeps to pass it on to.}

i'm thinking that since i just named five...i'm good to go.

:D

so there you have hit.

p.s. i quilt is award winning!!!

i won't let it go to my head. promise.

haha.

my big brother.

so this is me & sean.

aren't we the cutest kids alive???

{momma is shaking her head yes right this second!!!}

i ♥ my big brother like crazy!!!

i am SO freaking excited to see him this christmas!!!

i hate to admit this...

but it's been FOREVER since we've laid eyes on each other.

the picture of me & him at the swing...that was the last time.

{jackson is in my belly!!!}

that was may of 2001.

I KNOW...WAY TO LONG AGO!!!

in our defense:

sean was in the national guard.

i live in ohio.

between our last visit to THIS christmas this has happened:

sean got married.

i got married.

sean has 4 kids!!!

i have 3 kids!!!

crazy huh???

and so this is me & sean at present time.

he took that pic of himself last week.

mine was taken twilight night.

just think...

pretty soon i will be posting NEW pics of me & him together!!!

how exciting is that???

so exciting that i just cried typing that!!!

7 years is WAY to long.

so now that i'm a crying mess.

{and calling my momma as i type!!!}
i'll make yall {more like myself} laugh about me & sean.

:D

it's funny though how much we are alike.
like the coolest/weirdest thing i love about us is this:
i eat with my left hand. write with my right hand.
sean eats with his right hand. writes with his left hand.
how nifty is that???

the awesome news is that:

i, rachel, get to hug my brother, sean, really SOON!!!

to be exact:

16 days and a wake up!!!

p.s. i don't think i've told yall...but momma's test results were perfect!!!

thanks for the emails.

yall are too sweet.

dr. nolan's quilt.

omg it's done!!!

it's really and truely done!!!

*deep breath*

this quilt has been a huge monkey on my back the past few weeks!!!

why???

well i had a strict deadline.

and i made it!!!

{thank god.}

the story about this quilt:

my momma...yall know my momma...

well her boss of years now, dr. nolan, is a great guy!!!

for christmas this year the staff wanted to give him a quilt.

*insert rachel here*

we went with a basic single irish chain.

we chose blue because that's the color of the staff's scrubs.

and in the setting blocks i hand embroidered the staff's names.

{i know...lots o' work!!!}

this bad boy is being mailed out tomorrow morning.

{express shipping to charleston, south carolina!!!}

to be presented to dr. nolan at the trident pain center's christmas party on friday!!!

{i cut that one close huh???}

don't get me wrong though.

i really did enjoy working on this quilt.

i mean hello...irish chain!!!

tehehe.

so now momma is waiting to hold it in her arms.

and 'test' how snuggly it is before dr. nolan gets it.

{haha momma.}

momma has already showed pics to the staff...

she has assured me that "everyone ♥s it"

and i realize that i am my own worst critic...

but what i'm really getting at is:

what do yall think???
i know that the hand embroidery is not the best, but it has character...right???
and at least i tired something new...right???

:D