this and that

It has been sort of an odd couple of days, sort of like waiting for the other shoe to drop---what next?  Life's little annoyances and detours, I guess.

• A well used, ancient casserole dish somehow fell off the microwave stand and shattered.  A friend saw the picture on Facebook and offered to give me an extra she had in the exact "Spice of Life" pattern.  I just got back from meeting Shirley to pick it up near Pell City.  Lovely day for a drive!  
• Last night I managed to leave the house to go sew and shut Oscar on the WRONG side of the gate.  I could have sworn he was in the living room.  That probably was okay though since the storms we were expecting came while I was away.  Rain and thunder are not his thing so he probably found a spot under the bed to hide out.  I haven't found any piddle spots----yet!
• Couldn't sleep last night so at 1230 I put the 2nd half of my quilt up on the design wall.   Some spots need re-working.   I was robbing a charm pack and doing some cutting and fiddling till about 0145.  Next thing I knew it was 9 a.m. and I needed to get cracking if I was to meet Shirley about 11.

I was able to sew on Sunday afternoon a bit.  There was one spot that needed a piece replaced and since the blocks, not the rows, were the only thing joined it was a good time to fix it.  I started to put it back up on the wall and thought "just sew the rows together".  The top half is done so this mess is the bottom half.

At sewing last evening I joined the blocks for rows 5, 6 and 7.  I don't know if I got them out of sequence on row 7 or what but there was too much aqua and the same prints far too close to each other to suit me.  I needed to see the long view and what I wanted to replace.  One whole block I am re-doing on the bottom row and there are 6 or 7 other spots with the replacement pinned to it.  I swear that once the re-sewing is done, I am NOT messing with fabric or block placement anymore on this project!!   Move one and you move half the quilt.  Still, I am liking this quilt.

The group on Tuesday evening has 3 less experienced but eager to learn quilters.  Donna was helping Janice make a Self Binding Baby Quilt using a tutorial from Missouri Star Quilt Company.  I had helped Janice cut out the flannel pieces that last time I was there but need to watch that video.  Margarita needed some help with her cutting as she was preparing to sash and corner stone her block of the month quilt (trees, houses and stars from last year's quilt shop offering).  We discussed how to "pre-sash" the blocks rather than do long skinny rows of sashing as her pattern showed.  I would have sewn the cornerstones to the sashing fabric WOF and THEN sub-cut it but it was too late.  Aline was sewing the setting triangles on the Ribbon Candy quilt from our Bama Belles Sew-Day.   The top looked really cute but one block had gotten rotated. She was wanting to add a small outer border yet so I didn't get a picture of it.

It was raining and lightning when I got home and I just left the machine in the car rather than linger.  I'll get it set up and get to rippin'.  Maybe one of these days I can share a completed top!

I've got quilt guild tomorrow and one of our friends is having a birthday.  Some of us are going out for lunch to celebrate it before the meeting.  Then I think I'm done running around for a few days anyway.

 I have got to get back to my walking routine which illness and bad weather have circumvented.  My neighbor's son/brother had asked me and Oscar to walk on the trail with him and his dog Monday afternoon which I did do but I have not followed through on my laps.   Paul on t  Bad girl!!  That needs to change, after Thursday.  I prefer to go 1st thing in the morning especially in the hot months.  Paul, on the other hand, is recently retired from a long stint in 2nd shift and fits his into the afternoon.  Oscar was stopping to smell and water way more than Baby did, LOL.

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Here is who was waiting for me shortly after I got home. 

 Oscar came in from the backyard and Skyler met me at the front door.  Both were fed--again.  Skyler unfortunately got sick this morning within minutes of getting his wet food so he had torn into his crunchies.  Of course, I was running behind this morning so carpet cleaning was the last thing I needed/wanted to do.  Always the case, isn't it?  Oscar, for his part, was just sure we were going to go walk and kept running back and forth from the kitchen doing his happy trot.  I think some time in the back yard changed his mind as he is now conked out in his little bed on the couch and Skyler is velcro'd to my leg, LOL.