done--for real this time

Late Sunday afternoon I was celebrating that I had taken the last stitch in the blanket stitch on the blocks I had made for the row quilt assignment---just in time to pop them in the mail by Tuesday. Seconds later it hit me---I needed 48 inches finished in 6 or 12 inch blocks. DUH! (6) 6 inch blocks sure doesn't make 48 inches, LOL. Talk about being mathematically challenged---only took 4 days to realize that these were not 8 inch blocks.

Back to scrounging around in the fabric bins to make two more in two different color ways. I just barely managed to squeeze out what I needed for the background WOW; one had to be seamed. Any more than that and it would not have been possibly without more than one seam. Really, it didn't take all that long to pull, press, cut, sew, baste down and then blanket stitch but it did delay the celebration till this morning. I delayed walking till I got the last one done and the package readied for mailing on my way into town. (The color of the blocks is a tad off in these pictures as I have a flourescent type bulb in the desk lamp. )

The pink/rosy blocks use mostly Peppermint and Sassafras double pinks from Judie Rothermel line from Marcus Brothers about '94. I know this because I made my niece's Indiana Puzzle with those and had included little snippets in her baby shower card. The moon shape is a Hoffman though. The blues--mainly Smithsonian reproductions of the "Groom's Quilt" with a couple of recently acquired repros that I thought I might use for Gary's row robin, Maybe Wyndham Fabrics? I know a few pieces of the greens are from that line and again from the Smithsonian prints with a blade of Debbie Mumm and the stripe from a SW basket line coordinated, maybe from Springs---guess I should have turned that moon so the strips when the direction of the blades but it's too late now.

Continuing on---mainly a mix of yellows--one blade and the moon are 1800's repro, the center blade leftovers from last years round robin. Mix of both my red and purple fabrics.

The teals are a mix of the yardage I am hoarding from the quilt shop that is now closed but I think that blade on the bottom is some that my mom shared with me. Peach block is one that I had to cut and prep last night---just stash pieces except for that moon--that was a scrap left from something one of the Belles had made. It is a little light in comparison to the others but I thought it a better choice than bright orange stuff. A little of that goes a long way.

Joy's row and then mine atop it.

What you will find me doing till our next meeting 5/8---the ones on the armoire are to be quilted including a top I am supposed to mark with Baptist Fans for Theramae. The ones on the hamper are finished but there is no room in my closet---I need to call Linda S and get those over to her house. Wednesday is already shot as I have a nursing CEU seminar to go to--keep my license active even if I don't really want to practice. I keep busy enough at home, thank you very much. Catch you later----------

Happy Birthday/general chatter

Happy Birthday to my dear husband--though it really is tomorrow. Also one of my nephew's is the 29th and a dear friend's is today (you know who you are!) Actually he wanted to just skip it this year but I told him "no cake" in that case. LOL, he wanted cake. I told him what kind I would make if it were my birthday----so he had a couple choices. Come to think of it, I didn't get one as I refuse to make my own. I just finished frosting this---I used the banana cake recipe from The Cake Mix Doctor . (The author Anne Bryn was a first cousin to one the Bama Belles, now deceased.) I think I used a different recipe when I have made banana cake before--probably one that used some leftover buttermilk or some such thing. This uses a non pudding'd yellow cake mix as a base. It is topped with her "Quick Caramel Frosting" recipe which I have made before. Normally I would not mess with toasting pecans but hey, it is his birthday and the recipe DID call for them. DJ had to come help me top the cake while I worked to get the frosting on before it hardened. Stuff tastes like penuche or maple fudge.

He wanted to celebrate today by a trip out to the golf course--rent a cart, play nine holes and have me along as "caddie/cheerleader". I really should have taken my camera as there are some really pretty spots on the golf course with the "mountains" off in the distance etc. We got done in plenty of time to take a 2 lap (about 1 1/2 miles) course around Oxford Lake on a gorgeous, breezy day in the high 60's. He wanted to go to Cici's for pizza buffet. I didn't quite know how to take it when the manager rang it up as two "seniors" but DJ corrected him. I'm not sure what the cutoff is for the senior discount but I am reasonably sure I'm not quite there yet.

Here is the birthday boy in his reading spot. (Jan, he said to thank you for the Patterson book---it saved us a stop at the library on the way home) Oh, he also said that he is going to start counting those birthdays backwards. I said he should repeat the last number again then---can't have him catching up with me at some point, after all!

Quilting wise, I finished up the last 6 blocks on Aline's "54-40 and Fight variation" quilt in those lovely batiks on Wednesday. Yesterday I pulled fabrics for my part of the row quilt that needs to be sent out by Tuesday. Joy had requested 6 or 12 inch blocks that will total 48 inches finished and had sent a section of Grandmother's Flower Garden blocks. The green she chose for the "paths" is similiar to 30's green but the blocks themselves almost had a jewel toned look to me so I didn't go with 30's colors but did chose a 6 inch pointy bladed fan that might be faithful to the period taht GFG suggests to me. Technically called "Mary's Fan" -- Brackman number 3328. The blades are all cut but I need to sew and prep the quarter circle thing that covers the base for applique---what do you call that thing????

Weirdest thing---the colors that to me seemed to "go" best with this project were some of my prized Civil War Repros and the Smithsonian "Grooms Quilt" pieces from 12 plus years ago. The stuff that I would rarely cut into. I raided my reds, purples and my quilt shop yardage in the tealy range that I would get a yard of each trip to a particular shop. Proving yet again, that fabric is meant to be used---not stored---and they will make more. Besides, I only had to rough cut about a 5 inch square of any of it---plenty left for something else. I'll get a picture when the project is done.

I'll get busy on the sewing after we have supper----another 20-30 minutes and I'll have to head out there start meal preparations. Seems like I just left, LOL. Ham, candied sweet potatoes (his choice) , green bean casserole (another fav). He only wants a pot of vegetable beef soup for the real birthday meal. I live to serve, LOL.

After I took the picture of Ms. Pippi she decided to flop on the rug in front of the door and soak up some sun. She always stops at the end of the hallway and looks towards the door as she approaches the living room like she expects something or somebody to be standing there. There never is, LOL. The catnip scratching pad is her "safe" spot. DJ had recently cut down the overgrown bush that was almost directly in front of the door so there is plenty of light streaming in. Not sure how we will get the stump out though----he already tried chopping it up a bit with an axe and destroying some of the roots. I vote that the next one he takes out is the other one that is blocking air, light and visibility from my sewing room. He was not amused---go figure.

I think that I have finally been around to all the blogs on my list, not always commenting. but just trying to get caught up with y'all. That's what happens when I get myself chained to the machine quilting---limited computer access and when I am done, I just want to get off my butt and rest my legs and back and not sit some more in front of the computer. You all continue to inspire and challenge me in ways you will never really know.............

meeting day

Today was the quilt group's meeting day and there were just a few of us there today for various reasons. I had brought 5 tops with me that I hoped to pin and Lois had a couple as well--hers are the ones I am showing today. Theramae and I were manning the pinning table while Judy worked on a motorcross top for the boys.

Lois had used this wonderful duck scene print on another quilt that I had quilted for the boys earlier this year and this was the leftover yardage. The front is a race car panel that my mom and/or I had fussy cut a few years back and the squares alternating blocks were the blue and white check fabric. Necessity was the 'mother of invention' here. It was a good thing I had kept the scraps of the kit included because they came in handy today! The backing was not quite wide enough for the top but she had extra length that she could spare. So if we pieced the duck fabric into to what we had of the check and took the end of the of the strip folds as many as we could we would have the length and width. A few of the ducks are flying upside down but we decided that was okay. Lois got busy sewing on her new little Janome and also prepped the back on the quilt below.


The BQ quilt is one that she started piecing at the sew-in two weeks ago. I had cut and kitted it up but she didn't have anything for the backing. We found a nice blue solid almost the same shade as the blue cars in the frogs in car print in the donation bin . I am going to quilt it for her and she'll do the race cars.

Pat M came by about lunch time and invited us out to see how the home they are building is coming along. We followed her out in one of our cars so she would not have to come back to the meeting place. After we toured the house, we loaded up in her truck to see where the lake will be and where she has put in some garden space.

Nice little break but boy, is it hot today!! 80 and no real rain chance on the horizon. The weather guy says Birmingham is a foot behind on rainfall totals and we might be close to that. It was 60 when I got up this morning so I know I will have to start walking first thing. Wait till 9 or 10 and it will be a bit too warm.

I got 3 WTIL quilts quilted last week and one Marilyn asked me to do for pay. For the last three days I have been quilting Aline's 54-40 and Fight variation quilt that I showed you HERE. The stack was half gone till I came home with 5 more pinned tops. That's the way it goes, LOL. I'm almost done with Aline's though--just six more blocks to go--three near the border edge and the ones adjacent. I'm doing the ditch work and she will finish up the borders with handquilting or that is the plan. She'll be back from a trip "home" to Rhode Island on Saturday but it will definitely be done then. I'm taking the rest of the night off ---quilting can wait till tomorrow.

Shameless plug here: Ellen, the founder of WTIL notified us that she had posted 10 pages of quilts to the 2006 gallery pages and 5 pages for 2007. Every quilt that is donated is photographed--often you can get a lot of inspiration for blocks, colors or sets by viewing. Click HERE for 06 and HERE for 07. I know I always spot some old friends and some of you may see some quilts that you had a hand in.

this and that on a Friday

As usual, Earl and Opal Pickles are cracking me up--check the archives HERE for other recent strips if you do not get this in your local paper. What a hoot!

On my last note I was headed off to do some handwork--and I did. Two labels applied till I realized that I had no more numbers to put on them and not enough labels here at home to finish the job and also put them on the ones I needed to quilt. I figure that someone at our meeting on Tuesday will not bring their machine and will be looking for some handwork like labels or binding. I will happily oblige them, LOL.

At left or wherever it lands on the page is a top that Aline made for the boys that I said I would quilt for her. I am afraid that the tan binding will obscure the small green batik border she used so this is NOT its official picture for the WTIL gallery pages. When I first opened it up yesterday, because of the mix of blocks, I wondered how in the world would I go about quilting it. I hate to free motion, I don't have the nice pantos that a long armer would use and I cannot draw a wavy line to save me. Time to get a little creative.

I had DJ flip it over so perhaps you can see the quilting from the back on this one. I ended up marking a diagonal zigzag type line through the log cabins and cornerstones. That secured the perimeter blocks. Then I extended the lines around the two strips she put on the top and bottom of the quilt and the squares below them. Ditch work around the rest. Well, make that all but the diagonals in the pinwheels. I just did the square grid and it lays down nicely without felting it with too much quilting.

I am still trying to figure out how to quilt the BQ top I started quilting last evening for Lois' donation. She really doesn't like to quilt and she took on another project in exchange so she got to pick which one I did. Ginny quilted the one I had made in a cool zigzag but she has a Hinterberg set up to accomplish it. I thought I would lock in the blocks and then think some more. That will be today's project---mainly I don't know what to do in that big square that will not obscure the neat race car fabric she used. I'll think of something though.

Not too much else going on around here. DJ started the wash first thing this morning when I was still in bed. I let him go for it. I still have to hang up my stuff but he has done the bulk of the work. Off to the walking trail with me while he tended the washer and dryer. Pippi is back to her hiding place under the cutting/pressing table for her morning nap. It's weird because I can hear her making her kitty snoring sounds but can't see her. At the moment I am the only one vertical, LOL. And so it goes living the retired life.................

cats and quilts

Isn't this the cutest thing? Well, if you are cat lover anyway? What I can see of the dog is just as cute though and I think it will be featured in the next issue. Foundation pieced which I enjoy doing. Here is the link
http://quiltmaker.com/currentissue/115/project1/

Yesterday I quilted a grid pattern in a Green Bay Packer colored quilt (alternating green and golden yellow large squares) that Marilyn's niece had made on a recent visit. This is intended for her boyfriend Josh. Marilyn gave me her copy of the Quiltmaker magazine. She said she thought of me immediately and was done with her copy.

Today has just whizzed by. It was a bit cool this morning so I didn't get out to walk till after 10. Delivered the quilt to Marilyn's house and chatted a bit with her and her husband. Their 2nd grandson was born yesterday and I got a peek at the digital photos of the little guy. Off to the bank and home just in time to fix some sandwiches for lunch. Then did some paperwork this afternoon and another errand after that. Next thing I knew it was time to fix supper. (Chicken enchiladas---I added some fat free sour cream to the meat this time and DJ kept saying how much he liked them tonight plus they weren't so "hot"--the age old argument. He thinks it is spicy and I don't, LOL)


If I do any quilt related activity today, it is probably just going to be some bluework or some blanket stitching on the "Dazzling Dogs" blocks. That and change out the machine to my Viking since that is what I normally quilt with. I did try the Brother for Heather' s quilt but that was because I was quilting it with a variegated thread as opposed to the monofilament that I usually use. I know how the Viking handles it but don't want to start messing with the Brother settings.

At some point I need to give some thought to what to do about the row robin. Joy has asked for 48 inches in length and either 6 or 12 inch blocks. Her piece is Grandmother's Flower Garden but not necessarily in the traditional colors other than the Nile Green.

And speaking of kitties, Pippi was sunbathing in the door way a little bit before I took the two pictures. Must have gotten too much sun as the next thing I know she was hiding "in the jungle" where she thinks we can't see her. Looks like I should change the water on the plant. The beta is long gone..................



I got a nice surprise in the mail that I forgot to mention. I had come back from an errand Saturday and met our fill in mail person at the end of the lane. Turns out he had left two boxes for me on the drive. I thought it might be the tops that Nancy had indicated she would be sending but instead it was from one of the Belles who has not been able to come to a meeting for awhile. 4 Snuggle Up quilts all quilted and bound--just need labels put on! Three will go to the girls and one is good for the boys. The other package was some books from my SIL (thanks, Jan) for DJ and I to read.

Oh, I guess I could sew labels on--that needs to be done and it's handwork, after all. Two from the sew in need them also--always somethin', LOL.

have ripper, will sew

In recent days I have been tagged for the "Thinking Blogger Award" by Darlene, Patti and Judy that I know of--I'm a bit behind in reading. Thanks so much for the "shout out", ladies. I just keep plugging along doing my thing but it is nice to be noticed for my efforts on behalf of Wrap Them in Love. I've been active with the group since the fall of 99 and consider it my mission to use my time and talents to make quilts for children in need. I don't know that I will tag anyone as I consider you all my inspiration and would not want to leave anyone out. Also, some who would have been my picks have already been tagged and some more than once.

Just a comment though in response to what Darlene and Judy posted. I DO make my own stuff just not often or most of my stuff is not finished. Until we get to the goal for the quilt numbers we need it will remain that way. Normally by late summer/early fall then I can pay a bit more attention to personal projects. This past year my time got sucked up doing commissioned work before Christmas. I'm not complaining though as that helped pay for a new sewing machine!

Okay, what are you looking at here? Warm Wishes, hot off the press. The link will take you to the full sized bed pattern but HERE is the crib sized version. Sorry for the blurry picture--I may need to invest in a tripod if I can't take a clearer picture than that. It is an old pattern used originally for Project Linus some years back but for some reason I never had made one---till now. Beth commented the other day that she was planning on making one too for a neighbor and from her description this one was in the same colors, more or less. I'll be interested to see how similiar they are.

Definitely busting stash on this one. The dark gray and white are leftovers from the aforementioned commissioned SEC quilts. The Dalmatian fabric is leftover from one of the Belles quilts from a few years back. The gold tone of tone? Well, I use that often and had a far amount of yardage from Ellen, the founder of WTIL---a fabric company donated two different colorways but that gold is my fav piece.

I wanted that Dalmatian fabric gone so I pieced the backing as well but this time found a use for the gold with the uggy red vein that is also part of that same fabric donation. Click larger if you dare, LOL. The first time the Belles and I tried to pin a quilt that had a back pieced similiar to this we had to move that thing six ways from Sunday trying to center it. It was starting to get frustrating for the ones at the pinning table but a little funny too. We eventually got it figured out and the quilt turned out beautifully. Lois has done the sort of pieced back since, a couple of times so I don't think it will be much trouble now. I know, I know the purists would tell you to center the seam down the back etc but NOT for donation quilts and NOT when that means moving the quilt on the pinning table more than you need to. Start pinning in the upper left and take from there. All we worry about is directional prints and that the piecing seams do not land where the binding might go.

The piecing went pretty quickly on the Warm Wishes though we had an afternoon power outage of about 90 minutes. Oh, I had a few rail blocks that were turned the wrong direction and sewed one row on backwards. Have ripper, will sew after all. Better too that I caught it while still stitching. I had a block turned the wrong way dead center of the quilt on the Beetle top. You know I switched it back to where it should be.

If I were to make another one though, I would follow the instructions that my little voice had tried to tell me when I cut and kitted this thing up. Make the strip set and however wide the thing measures, that is the measurement to use when you sub-cut it into squares. Mary Ellen Hopkins works that way---it makes sense. I don't know if I had mis-cut the strips or am still working out where to set the seam allowance on my Brother but they should have finished 6 inches---it didn't.

This is going to sound like I am a perfectionist or anal retentive but I trimmed the dalmatian blocks down. I know that they could have been fudged in as they were not off but 1/8 inch or a hair more. The beetle top I just finished ? I had cut all the black squares too small. I used them anyway but in some cases where I had chosen to offset the undercut squares left me with too little a seam allowance and having to zigzag the seams to keep it reinforced for the wear and washing stress the quilt will receive. Double sewing? No thanks. Didn't want to do that again so soon.

Other than that---a surprise birthday party to go to yesterday but I had also gone to the "faux" one Thursday evening hosted by the quilt group in an effort to throw him off. Several of the Belles were there so we got to visit a bit. Walking was out today due to the cold, blustery, windy weather. We had hoped for a bit more rain that we received---many of our bushes are drying up on top due to the lack of rain. We are some 8 inches behind on precip totals so far this year. Some stuff he waters but the established plants and bushes he doesn't. Not a lot going on this week and I'll be back to quilting once errands are run tomorrow. My usual Monday, in other words. This is my 2nd stab at posting this---hope this time I don't lose it--my fault, not blogger, sorry to say, LOL.

post sew-in

Well, another two day spring sew-in has been completed. Since I had scheduled this right after Easter, we were missing a few folks or some could only come one day out of the two. 6 of us came on Monday and 10 yesterday.

We were thrilled to see our friend Sarah and her daughter Jane. Sarah had been seriously ill earlier this year but has made a good recovery, regained her appetite and is now able to walk with a cane rather than a walker and going through her rehab assignment. We all headed out to our recently opened Olive Garden for her long postponed birthday lunch. Yum--soup, salad and breadsticks! One carload of us stopped at the new little quilt shop on the way back--not a lot of inventory in yet but good stuff, nonetheless. A few patterns and some heirloom sewing materials.

Monday morning I had stopped to take pictures of the turned in quilts, posted pics to the album, helped pin three quilts, etc, etc so I got a very late start sewing. Marilyn needed some help with a sashed on point appliqued quilt so that provided a break from the machine in the afternoon for a little bit but I was home for supper both evenings. I only managed to get one top done and I was bound and determined to stay till I did. I had gotten most of the backing together---it is the same building and car fabric as the borders but lacked about 8 inches on the length so I will complete that and the binding her at home. (Debbie Mumm's quilting project of the month for March---Pam and Norma have shared tops that they have done using this same pattern in recent posts. Here is my version. (Aline just about had two done but she still had some work to do on the borders so stay tuned for those in coming posts)

Below is the Delectable Mountain top that Jeanne sent to us for donation. All I did was put the borders on and quilt it and Pat finished up the binding since our last meeting. Thanks again, Jeanne. I know that she had a picture of this on her now defunct first blog so I cannot link back to it for you but her readers may remember it. Isn't this a stunner? Pat's husband was even commenting on the Southwest look, she said. They had lived for a time in New Mexico and had moved down there about a year ago intending to build. Plans has changed and we were thrilled to hear that they will be building about 6 miles down the road from one of our other members right here in Calhoun County.

The quilt below is one that Jane and Sarah teamed up to make. I suspect that Jane is the one operating the sewing machine these days since Sarah had her leg injury. Another fun string quilt but I like the idea of the scrappy print blocks between the strings to break it up a bit and the pieced HST's on just the two sides make the quilt a bit longer and add a bit of fun.

This is a top that Aline made for one of her granddaughter's. I am going to quilt the ditch stuff for her and she will do some hand quilting on the outside borders. Very pretty though this was one time when the hanging system didn't work as well with a bigger quilt than doorway, LOL.

Rosa came on Monday and was working on assembling a king sized scrappy batik star sampler. I really wanted to get a picture of it but she wanted to wait till the top was completely done. It is gorgeous! She also had brought a crockpot full of broccoli cheese soup for our lunch on Monday.

Always good to get together and see what others are working on. We all probably get more done if we stay home but it is the fellowship that makes this fun. I can and do sew by myself any other day of the week, after all. I came home with 9 finished WTIL quilts, one top I made that we had pinned and one that I am going to quilt for Marilyn's niece for pay. Stack those with the other 6. Bedroom looks like Quilt Central again, LOL. About time to take some over to Linda S' again and get a count of how close to goal we are. I plan on finishing up the beetle top and maybe piecing one more top (Warm Wishes that I have always wanted to try) Next week I'll be back in quilting mode for sure.

Thanks for stopping by---

isn't this the truth?

From today's "Pickles" syndicated cartoon---so, so true about that "cat-itude". Mine seemed happy to see me after I had been away all day but mostly she was meowing, and quite loudly, for a taste of our supper. She rarely meows but she was definitely being vocal and no way was she going to let you get away without noticing.

I'll report in about the sew-in tomorrow and have some picture of some of the finished quilts that have been turned in and maybe a few finished tops.

break time

Boy, has it gotten chilly down in my little corner of the Southeast! Down in the 20's at night and struggling to get UP in the 40's with a brisk wind. Those 80's of a week ago were too hot, too soon but what a contrast. I have walked the past three days in spite of it but today had to wait till 1 and it was only 40 by then. DJ said the azaleas definitely took a hit last night. I suppose it could be worse though--didn't Judy report some snow fall? All the golfers at the Masters seem to be bundled up in sweaters and long sleeves---DJ has been watching some of the tourament the past 3 days. The whole thing strikes me as being so pretentious--naming the trees and golf holes, sheesh. And that sappy theme music---please.

Here is the top I finally finished up Friday---lollygagging along. I had asked DJ if he thought it needed a border. You can see that he won that one, LOL. Its twin quilt is HERE. Since the two quilts will be headed to the same spot, I wanted them to be a bit different even though the fabrics are the same. I was able to get rid of some yardage from the donation bin for the backing and had some of the blue binding leftover from a previous quilt and just enough fabric left to cut the extra needed bits. Busting me some stash!

I am back to working on the beetle quilt. DJ came in and asked if those were ladybugs. I thought they were when I first bought the fabric but when I looked for it online at the Avlyn site, they called it beetles. The block is "Frosty and Friends" from Ursula Reickes' book More Quilts for Baby but I am approaching it differently to avoid seams in the white squares where the blocks WOULD join. I am doing it in rows and have 6 of the 11 needed done--pieced 4 patches alternating with plain squares rather than block to block as shown in the book.

One that Cher made and donated to WTIL in the past was my inspiration for the quilt. I don't think she would mind my showing the picture I have on file of it. Looks the same but mine has less seams is all.

The spring sew in is coming up on Monday and Tuesday. Joy and I started these in the spring and fall back in 2000 so I guess this is the 8th Annual event. I am not at all sure what I want to work on while there. Trust me there are no shortages of possibilities but it just that I feel it best to do the whole project on the same machine due to the variances in 1/4 inch seam allowances. So pull one of the kits or something that I know for a fact was started on the Jem probably is my best bet. Cut another kit or two so someone who didn't bring anything to work on can get busy?? Bring the cut squares?? Working on personal projects is allowed so I know some will do that.

I best get out to the kitchen and see what I can scare up for supper. Slim pickings this close to grocery shopping day and often a cupboard meal. I will have to go tomorrow to get groceries since I will barely be home for two days. Pippi and DJ will have to fend for themselves.

some production

I have been getting a little production done, though somewhat slowly since I last posted. Not completely stalled out but not really raring to go if you know what I mean?

I made a few more blocks for a 5 x 7 block set of a Heartstrings quilt for the Bama Belles and I. It sat overnight as I tried to decide if I needed to add some borders. LOL, you can see that I thought it needed them if only to carry the red color out to the edges and frame the quilt. I think that any bias pull was probably stabilized on the edges by the muslin backing but I think the next ones I do will be on old phone book pages. I am a foundation piecer from way back so pulling the paper doesn't bother me all that much. I do want to do some diamond shaped ones so have been saving my old used color catcher sheets to do some like Norma shows in her recent post.

Strings are the ultimate in stash busting, aren't they? I hope that the boy that gets this one will have fun picking out the dogs,cats, M & M, sports figures, etc that are hiding in here. The backing is some that I pulled out of the donation bin at the church. The binding is more of the red since it will go with the backing print.

I also managed to finish up the July bluework snowman while watching the Civil Rights Baseball game Saturday night and started on the August one. Those dinky little stars were not easy to stitch making me wish that I had decided to use little buttons or whatever to embellish this block. One finish, however small, for March on the personal quilting front.

Here is the kitty picture for the post. I wanted a quick stitching project but by day two all I have done with this top is all the blocks and three rows joined though Pippi is parked on just two at the time. Bad kitty Mama moved the quilts Pippi had been dozing on to use the pressing surface. This is a series type quilt using the same prints as the quilt seen HERE--just switching things up a bit to make the top bit different. I may border it with gold print to make it a bit bigger. Normally I don't make square quilts but this will be an exception.

That strip hanging there is a cat toy, BTW. She had taken some token swipes at it just before I took the picture. Naturally, being a cat, she stopped.

Around the house---DJ finally got to play golf after taking off a week due to a procedure he had done. I am keeping up my committment to walk 5 to 6 days out of 7 though today was one day I took off. I think all that pollen is finally catching up with me and I've got the headache from HE** this morning. We just got back from getting me a new pair of walking shoes so I guess DJ is doing his part to encourage me in my endeavor. I hope this will put an end to the blisters that have alternately been popping on my heels from my old pair.

Our spring sew-in days will be next week---Monday and Tuesday right after Easter. I would like to cut out a Building Blocks top or two though I have plenty of other things that I could work on while we are there including the beetle quilt I had started last week. I think that the Belles would like the pattern is they saw how quickly it goes together. Pam whipped up three of them in no time flat making them a good sew-in choice.

I had gotten a call about possibly sitting with a couple next week--the husband is critically ill but the wife who is the primary caregiver has to have a surgery that cannot be put off . Just found out that the family stepped up and have help her make other arrangements. That's okay. It would have been hard from me to be gone away from home for 5 days (counting the sew-in) anyway. I was just going to do it to help out a friend of a friend, more or less.

About time to heat up our lunch so I will close and hopefully catch up with you later this evening-----