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The weather has been glorious and spring is well on its way here in Raleigh, North Carolina.  I got the urge to hang some artwork on my walls to liven them up a bit.

I kept finding little quilts and unframed paintings to hang in groups.  

These are the ones at the top of our stairs.

On the sunny golden walls of the kitchen I have bright watercolors and mixed media pieces.

On another kitchen wall I hung some of my grandchildren's paintings as well as some of my own.

Speaking of grandchildren, they were all here this weekend.  We had so much fun playing outside.  We have a pond behind our house that is a very good fishing spot.  All the kids caught one.

We have a large paved driveway that was the scene of hopscotch and chalk artwork.

My son got a new truck, and we gave him a cover for the bed.  The men got that installed yesterday.

And the big box that the cover was in became a slide for the three oldest kids.  I think their ulterior motive was to ride it all the way into the pond!  Fortunately that did not happen.

I love my family and warm spring days!

Grandchildren, Journal Pages, Easter...Fun!

It has been a busy couple of weeks for this sewing/painting grandma!  I had our two oldest grandchildren here in Raleigh for a few days last week during their spring break.  Since I also babysit for the littlest one on Mondays and Tuesdays, it was a fun time for me and the little cousins.  You might understand why I have not had much time for blogging!

We did lots of painting and sidewalk chalk art.

I took them to the sculpture trail at the North Carolina Museum of Art.  It was a beautiful day to be outside.  Little Charlie saw this giant sculpture and must have thought it was a big patchwork quilt. She went running up to it...

but when she touched it, it did not feel like a quilt at all!

At the end of the walk there was a sidewalk full of pulsing fountains to cool us off!

We have lived in a rented house in Raleigh for close to two years, but never tried fishing in the pond in front of the house until recently.  My husband got two fishing rods for his birthday in March, and we discovered that we have a perfect fishing retreat right at home!  Lily caught a fish right away.  Most are bream, but I caught a little bass.

Now everyone wants to go fishing all the time!

Lily wanted to do some sewing while they were at my house, so we started a patchwork project.  I had a lovely floral block made for me by my friend Tama.  Lily loved it, so it will be featured on her tote back when it is finished.  She picked out all the coordinating fabrics and colors.

I had to take the big kids back to their daddy on Wednesday, but on Thursday we went to our cabin in the North Carolina mountains for Easter weekend.  Dave, Emily, and little Charlie came too.  It was a wonderful family weekend.

We have a family compound up there.  My sister and her brother-in-law also had all their grandchildren there!  We had a giant Easter egg hunt in Katy's back yard.

Here are Lacy and Holly checking out the treasures they found.

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Then there were sack races across the yard.  I think there were lots of good memories made that day.

 Okay, so I have not had much time for sewing or painting, but I am still trying to complete the 21-Day Art Journaling Challenge that I joined on Facebook.  Here are some pages I have made according to the daily prompts.

Paint Over a Photo

Kitchen Kapers

Hearts and Wings

Map It!

Home is Where the Heart Is

I have also been doing lots of printmaking while watching the weekly video lessons from Traci Bautista on the Strathmore website.  The lessons are free.  It is a messy process.  I will share some of my printmaking attempts next time.  I'm not sure it is my thing...but it's lots of fun!

Missing Them Already

It has been a whirlwind adventure, keeping my two pre-school grandchildren for almost two weeks. I feel like the quote: "The reason young children have so much energy is that they suck it out of their grandparents." That's okay, I will gladly deal anytime with household messes, lack of sleep, sibling rivalries, and the three P's (pee, poop, and puke), to be around my little darlings. Last weekend we took them to our cabin in the mountains. They absolutely loved the Gator, fishing in the pond, and wading in the creek near the dam. I think Avery will definitely remember his visit with us, and hope that two-year old Lily will. She acted so much like a big girl!

I just mailed a big box of stuff that I forgot to send home with them. Somehow I am just not as organized as I should be to pack up two little ones for a road trip!

To all of you young mothers who still find time to pursue your passions of quilting, artwork, or even blogging, my hat is off to you. Don't know how you do it!

Thanks for your patience as I totally abandoned All Things Quilty for All Things Kiddy the past few weeks. After I finish cleaning my house and car, I have lots of projects to write about.