Happy New Year

A happy and prosperous year ahead, I hope, for all--parts of 09 were not so hot but other parts were good. In that regard, I am guessing that makes it like most years and differ only in that you are more likely to recall the recent events.

I took down the Christmas decorations yesterday but left the snow/winter things out for this coming month. It perks up the house a bit but I hope I remember where I put them come December. They probably won't go back in the Christmas storage boxes where they SHOULD belong. I hope to save myself from the treasure hunt I did this year, LOL.

Be Attitudes from last year

Pictures on the shelf were drawn by my friend Janet and set as Christmas cards. The mitten was added as a gift tag for Christmas gift I was given years ago. I made the snowman several years ago. The Quiltmaker's wallhanging is labeled "04" but I just sewed the sleeve on this morning. Actually I decided this morning as I stitched that one on that I am going to start sewing sleeves on everything that could conceivable put on the wall or displayed in a quilt show later. Phooey on doing it after the fact!

This wallhanging is from one of the Tonee White Appliquilt books--when I was in my homespun phase, I would say. Still have a bunch that should be stitched up in some manner.

The welcome sign has little pieces that switch out for the year so this snowman will be right at home. The tree wallhanging was made for me by a friend. Gorgeous hand quilting



I didn't get a whole lot of sewing done yesterday. I baked some bread and putting away the decorations took a chunk of the day I had not planned on as well. I did get the further cutting and sewing done for the way I wanted to do the sashing--- pre-sash or add those bits to the blocks or block pairs instead of sewing a long skinny strip to a long row. I got one row together though so I could see how it looked with the red "flower" that forms where the blocks join.



I like it! I had been debating about what to use for borders on this but it turns out it was right under my nose. I had purchased that aqua stuff for my half done Cheap Trick quilt but it will work here even better than my original plan. I also have just enough red left to use it for the narrow 1st border. The color is a bit off in the picture, thanks to the fluoroscent bulbs, but in person it works out fine in constrast to the blue-green flowers. I'll get cracking after lunch.

A special meal is planned for tonight . I baked the cream of coconut cake this morning and I'm waiting for it to cool enough to add the whipped topping and coconut. Spend some time with my sweetie this evening---hope you can do the same!

challenge quilts, edited

The Belles Christmas party was yesterday. This year we opted for a stress free celebration in which no one had to clean or decorate their home. No one had to make a potluck dish either as we had arranged for a large table at Olive Garden. Order what you want and we would go back to the meeting place for dessert, coffee and Show and Tell.

We always do the year's challenge fabric reveal at the party. Some are still in the planning or sewing stages including my bonus quilt from the leftovers. Come to think of it, I still have a bonus one from Marilyn's leftovers from LAST year's to make. I had to laugh though---one of participants asked if I had fabric for 2010 yet. (I do but I had left it home. ) One of the Belles' said, aghast, "Nooooo, not yet---I am not done with this years!" Like I would be piling on more---I try not to do that, ever. I did describe what it looked like though to whet their appetite and will pass it out in a month or two.

Thanks again to WTIL friend Kitty for sending on the fabric to use to use. This year's selection was a Moda print from 3 Sisters called "Mrs. Nelsons' 2nd Grade". It is the plaid lunch pail fabric you will see in the pitured and each used so differently. I can't wait to see what the others out there will look like!

Beverly chose a block called Squares Within Squares

Linda C used "Just Can't Cut It", a commercially available quilt pattern

Lois, our queen of scraps, selected the Bonnie Hunter pattern Scrappy Trips Around the World and used the challenge fabric for a border. Linda C loaded her up with a pile more ammunition to take home for more, LOL



ED. NOTE: I missed one on the initial posting. Sorry about that, Betsy! Betsy chose a framed food patches and said "this is some of the things you might find in that lunch box" Fun idea, right? She had quilted the neatest spirals on the block, just awaiting binding before mailing it out.




You may have seen this on the prior post--or not, LOL. I used a slightly modified version of "Picture Perfect" by Diane Weber of Sew Biz. Lois held it up so I could take the picture.


I will have other quilt pictures to show in another post later in the week but will include one more here since it is NOT a donation quilt.

The Belles were so kind to give me a monetary gift last year and have done so again this year. Aren't they sweethearts? Their only instructions is that it is to be spent on something for ME. In that spirit, I used my gift last year on the Williams Inn fat quarter fabrics for the "Be Attitudes" quilt which trust me, I would NOT have done without their help. Normally I would have made do with what was on my shelf or not made the quilt, most likely. It would not have achieved the same look that I loved in these quilts. Because many of them had not seen them as I worked on them through out the year, this was my "show and tell" piece. I laid out the mini- wall hangings how they would look as a whole quilt for this shot.



How will I use my gift from this year? Not sure but there are a couple of things I had looked at and admired. I'll figure it out, LOL.

Tune in later in the week for the donation quilt show---thanks for stopping by!

A finish

Woohoo! All done with the "Be Attitudes" series when I took the last binding stitches on December's and sewed on a little pompom instead of a button. I had them on hand so why not?


I think today will be a hand quilting day, another block on the FAB friendship quilt is the goal. Next up to sew will be to get my queen sized Strip Twist blocks into a flimsy--last seen HERE a month ago. They have been sacked up in stacks waiting for me. Next up to cut, my Bama Belles challenge quilt though I best decide what pattern first! I'm waffling between two ideas but have compatible fabrics pulled so that's a start anyway.

Hope you all have a great day in whatever you chose to do-----

checking in

Well, I got the binding finished on the November "Be Attitudes" quiltlet and it is up on the living room wall. Most of the October one is done, minus one long side and the buttons that will be added to the dog's cute face. I'll post the October and December blocks when both are done.

I've been busy though with other stuff around the house. On
Tuesday evening, late and in the pouring rain the UPS fellow delivered my new KitchenAid mixer. I didn't realize just how tall these thing was going to be! And at first, I was not sure that I wanted it up on the cabinet top either. It is way too big to fit the spot that used to house the Oster Kitchen Center as well but there was sure a lot of nice storage room for the cookie sheets, muffin tins, wire racks and such!

Wednesday I set about to make room in the cabinets and found a spot by moving some things around. You just know that led to some serial cleaning, don't you? Yep, one cabinet affected three more and then the standing unit above the buffet. That led to some clearing the laundry room shelving where I store my baking stuff. Then on out to the storage room off the carport. What we didn't need was either tossed or delivered to the thrift store.

Mid morning today, I head out to the kitchen to find that DJ moved the KitchenAid back up to the counter from the lower cabinet. He had put the food processor down in its place which we had discussed doing. What a sweetie! He said he just knew that when I needed it, he wouldn't be around to hoist it up to the counter for me as he had offered to do. He didn't want me to strain my back lugging it out myself. A big plus is that the kitchen appliance cover that I had originally made last year for the food processor that was wayyyy too big, fits the mixer perfectly!

My manual came with just a few bread recipes but referred to some cake recipes that would help you adapt your existing ones for use with the KitchenAid. I joined a yahoo group and a sweet lady was able to share them from her manual. I spent some time adding those to my Mastercook software along with a bunch of others that I had accumulating in my email files. That and a mailing for the quilt group kept me busy.

Today I was able to get a text file from the kitchen aid forum but spent some time re-formatting it for my use, 200 some pages, LOL. The cake recipes were among them but lots of other good sounding things. There went a good chunk of the day today. I think I have a better understanding of how this works as compared to less high speed mixers after all that proofing, spell check and such!

So I still haven't actually fired the thing up yet, LOL. I really want to try one of the bread recipes though---maybe Honey Oatmeal Bread but the basic sweet dough to make cinnamon rolls looking tempting too! I may give that a whirl tomorrow provided I have all the ingredients on hand. I did notice that they called for using 2- 8 1/2 inch loaf pans. I only have one that size and another larger than that. I was not able to track down another at the three places I checked. The aluminum foil, yes, for holiday baking but all I seem to be able to find is the 9 and 9 plus. Two sized loafs, does it matter? What do you think??

The other thing I would like to get in coming days is filing the quilt patterns and printouts that have stacked up again. I think I should own stock in the sheet protector company as many of them that I use for recipes and quilt stuff, LOL. I see a run to the office supply store in my future.

Guess that's it for this installment---thanks for stopping by!

WIP Weds

Time for another addition of WIP Weds. What's up for today? Machine button hole applique around the latest and last prepped "Be Attitudes" quiltlets, shown in the "before" stage. "Be Forgiving" for October, "Be Grateful" for November and "Be Joyful" for December. Only a little behind here but that is what happens when I spend a goodly amount of time machine quilting. I am thinking I will quilt the November one first. If things get set aside a bit---that happens around here, a lot--then at least that one should be finished for hanging and decorating this month.

I have so enjoyed having these little projects to look forward to even though I have been playing catch up and working forward the latter half of the year.

I am thinking that perhaps my next year's fun project will be to work up the Amy Bradley "Seasonal Quilter" series which I have owned for a couple of years. Not only is the Quilt Diva character cute but the fun banners that she holds are perfect for seasonal decorating with birthday cakes, Halloween, St. Pat's,Valentine's Day, Easter.............well, you get the picture. There are 9 banners in all--a house block that says "welcome" is the one that hangs between holidays. Actually I already did the "Boo" banner as a quilt block, slightly resized, on someone's seasonal row quilt a few years back shown HERE--scroll down to Debora's top . I had considered the pilgrim block and St. Pat's for two other members of the group BEFORE I saw what they had already completed by the other participants. Yep, I think that is what I will do! Either that or Nancy Halvorsen's In Season wall hangings but I am leaning more to the monthly thing rather than quarterly.

Looking back in the archives for the link to Debora's top reminds me that I have not completed either my 07 or 08 Collinsville rower tops or come to think of it, my fall medallion round robin either. One of those had better go on my "hope to get done" in the coming year piecing to flimsy projects! Always something---well, just talking about it won't get it done, right?

I see by the clock that I better head on out to the kitchen. I want pizza for lunch and need to throw the crust ingredients together. This time out I think we'll go with a Tuscan Chicken version. I'm getting better at crusts but still keep trying new recipes to get the version I will stick with as my "tried and true", go-to recipe. If you like to experiment as I do, you might like THIS one from a recent Taste of Home issue for "Perfect Pizza Crust" I thought it was a slow riser and gave up on it and threw it in the freezer and used a different recipe for the meal. It turned out fine once thawed and rose nicely in the oven when I DID use it weeks later. Good flavor to the crust.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ED NOTE: May we please have a moment of silence as my stand mixer just died. Yep, just started to knead the crust and the motor gave up the ghost. I threw the dough in the food processor so I think I was able to salvage it but it's gone, gone, gone. Dead and gone. I had just finished saying to DJ "you know how old this thing is? No grounded plug" For months I have been telling him that if this thing ever gave up the ghost I want a Kitchen Aid and we know they are pricey.

Once upon a time it had a blender attachment. It died long ago. The Salad maker attachment was next--something broke off the head and it was shooting cabbage all over the counter. The bowl has been replaced once but has annoyed the living heck out of me as there is no pouring spout plus its heavy and hard to get batter out of it without wearing some of it or asking DJ to hold it while I scrap. NOT ergonomic, at all. But still, I have had it since the mid 80's and fixed a lot of good food with it. Out to the garbage it all went with the grinder attachments which did still work along with the beaters, bowls and dough hooks. DJ, being a guy, wanted to tinker with it to see how it works but he'll have to drag it out of the trash can if he is serious.

Now it will be scour the sales ads. Maybe since the holiday baking season is coming up they will be priced down. We'll do some research at the library in the Consumer Reports but I am open to any suggestions as to what models you use that won't break our bank. I have a hand mixer but that won't work for all my needs by a long shot.

Thanks for stopping by---------

completions--quilty and retreat notes

Just a bit of a catch-up post again. I've been a bit under the weather for a little over a week when the creeping crud upper respiratory thing decided to make its unwelcome appearance. But I have gotten a bit of quilting work done since my last posts (4 of them--gabby girl!) that chronicled my trip to OR. This note will finish up with my fabric purchases, goodies from the FABs and some of that pre- trip secret sewing stuff and post trip completions.

These placemats were what I was working on just right before I left. I said I was hand finishing binding, and boy howdy, was I! I implied to the girls that I was working on the binding on my Cheese and Crackers quilt but that was telling a little bit a fib. "I could tell you but then I would have to kill you", LOL?? I gifted both Pam and Cher with sets of 4 but was able to squeeze out a total of 10 of them with the available yardage that my mom sent home with me earlier in the summer. DJ and I get to keep a couple of them.



This was a gift from Cher to all the FABs. Cool quilt calendar, Sisterhood of Quilter panel from designer Jody Houghton along with a membership card to the Sisterhood and a note pad from Sisterhood of Purple. There is a free pattern on the website for an idea of how to assemble--the link will take you there. (The blue note pad is part of a some stuff she had set aside for anyone that wanted them). For my birthday gift, she mailed me the 2009 Sister's poster. The end cap popped off in transit but the poster was rolled up in the tube so well that it didn't dislodge, thank heaven's! THX again, Cher.


This photo shows some of the things that Norma gave to me, birthday and otherwise. Missing is a redwork cat pattern that she had found but it shows up in another shot. You can see that she was purging magazines and pulling articles that she thought each of might like. Saved some mailing costs down from BC. Home canned sockeye salmon that I can't wait to try next week. That wild orange, green piece of fabric on the left is designed to look like Allsorts, a black licorice candy that Norma had introduced me to in the past. She brought me two bags of the yummy stuff but we ate one at the FAB retreat. I can find them occasionally at a local drug store chain but don't dare go looking too often!

Doesn't the cat card look just like my Skyler? From a conversation about what a loonie was earlier in the year, I asked her to bring one to the retreat so I could see what it looked like. Guess it is mine now! I didn't know anything about their toonie coin till Mayvis stuck one in her card. She had also given each of the FABs something uniquely Canadian. Wrapped around two coffee crisp bars was the maple leaf fabric and holding it all together was a band with small maple leaf pin. Mine is stuck on my FAB badge--turns out it went through the wash with one of my tops, and unavailable when I took this picture. The 2nd coffee crisp bar only made if as far as the DFW airport, LOL.

This is some of the tourist-y type purchases. A cap for DJ, a thimble made to look like the Coquille River lighthouse for me, t-shirt for me. Some cranberry bog frogs for DJ and some treats from Cranberry Sweets. I shared those too----unfortunately some I saved for ME along with the allsorts were with those dratted ants!!!! I didn't need to be eating candy anyway but I didn't intend to feed them. Oh, well!

The postcards were some I picked up in case my pictures did not turn out or just because the professional shots are so much better than I could take. Lastly there are the agates and pretty rocks that Ed. Pam and I picked up along the Bandon jetty and the ocean.

This one shows most of the stuff Pam and I gathered or made to stick in the beach themed gift bags. Earlier in the summer Pam ordered the Elizabeth Studio Beach Diva panels and we each got the companion yardage. It started with us going to make tote bags for all 5 of us but that expanded to including summer themed items and such. She made half and I made half using the Tote Along pattern from Robin Gallagher at Two Wacky Women. It will fold up to about 3 x 5 to stick in your purse like a miniature quillow! I also made the matching neck coolers (pattern online) as well as the beach ball pin cushion and Victorian thumb cushion from Just Jennifer.

The rest is fun stuff Pam and I found along the way---some sweets, of course. The purple containers have M&M's in one and chocolate covered sunflower seeds in the other; candy shaped like a hotdog and hamburger, a ring pop, a package of bubble gum. Other fun stuff-- battery operated fan, visor, pinwheel, fun nail polish, manicure set, lip gloss, drink cup with crystal light mix, that little sea creature squirts water, etc. There was also a Suduko puzzle book but I couldn't find it for the picture. We had an ice cream cone that held bubble blowing solution with the wand in the cone top. I left that behind for Alice but still have 7 cones worth of ice cream scented bubble solution here at home, LOL--- as soon as I find a wand I'm back in business. Can you see how all the sudden we had to have a bag to hold the original bag, LOL?? Pam also made up the FAB badges and also those cute luggage tags for each of the bags--she found a pattern she could use or adapt online.

Next picture shows some of my quilty purchases. Pam found one of the lighthouse patterns in her mom's things but I bought the other 3 for the ones I saw on my trip. Below that is the cat redwork pattern from Norma. I stuck the magnetic quilt in the sleeve to hold it but now I am not sure which friend gave it to me---Cher??

Most of the fabric you see I got at Fabric Depot---mostly landscape stuff for the lighthouse patterns. Closer to the iron is the yardage that might go with our "Baby, Its Cold Outside" challenge. That cool stripe and the black and white pieces were some that I got at Fibers in Motion the following day. I don't know if you can see the photo well enough to tell that it is pins and needles?

Okay moving right along----------
As I said at the start of the note, I did get a bit of sewing and quilting done this last 10 days. Slow going since I have not felt too red hot nor am I resting well with this croupy cough. Low, low energy levels. Still, I managed to get caught up with my "Be Attitude" quilt-lets.

I had the base of the July "Be Honest" done some time back but essentially had to wait all of July to get my Viking back to even think about machine appliquing it. By then I was busy making placemats. I took the final stitches in this on Monday evening and took its official portrait.

Actually I was sort of doing these assembly line, I guess. I prepped and appliqued the August "Be Prayerful" and September "Be Smart" blocks and then machine appliqued all three at the same time. Same with the quilting and binding application. Last stitches taken in the binding on Tuesday. I may wait to hang this in the living room spot till October and split the month with the fall themed one.

With the completion of "Be Smart" I am ahead of the game again. I had to miss the Bama Belles meeting on Tuesday since I was not feeling well but I did get some stuff done at home as you can see.

Yesterday I HAD to go to a nursing seminar. Even though I still didn't (and don't) feel so red hot
I also was not going to lose the money I had to pay to get those continuing ed units. I took Santa along with me and basically got that sled, tree area done while I had to sit all day. A few little spots still need some work but it is almost done. I am way behind on doing these one a month but that's okay.

Not sure what project is next though I am leaning towards completing my Cheap Trick/Two of a Kind top since I did find something for the outer border recently. My other choice would be to get back to the Strip Twist I started at the retreat.

Anyway, old friends and family thanks for hanging around through 500 plus posts. New friends and readers, good to have you along.

WIP Weds

I'm at it again, prepping t-shirt sections for a commission quilt, one of two for two sisters. Some of the shirts in the container were already whacked up as if someone has started to make the quilt though I had to trim them down and cut interfacing sections too. I'm at the fusing stage.

Unlike some of the others I have done in the past year or so, this will not have frames and shadows added. I considered doing the shadow part but there are too many black or dark shirts in the mix to have that contrast show up. The mother who requested the finished quilt wants pink sashing on this batch so I'll float the designs on the background.

And, here is what I just finished last evening, another of the Nancy Halvorsen's "Be Attitudes" monthly quilt-lets. Just in time for Father's Day. (Not sure why that won't click bigger but oh well!)

Nothing much else to report. It is hot than hot outside and humid too but what do you expect for summer in the South? I have been getting up earlier than usual to try to beat the heat and get my walking in. 67 degrees at 5:30 in the morning is not exactly what I would call cool, LOL.

Thanks for stopping by--------

Checking in

First of all, Happy Birthday to my Dad and my pal Helen--love to you both.

It is a cool windy blustery day that is more like March than April. Some of that cold wind is pushing down from Canada and we haven't even gotten out of the 40's today with dark clouds overhead. There is a chance of a freeze tonight which makes us wonder how badly the azaleas and lilac bush are going to get zapped tonight. Too bad as they are more in bloom then the picture I posted recently.

So what's been going on around here? In a word, binding, LOL. I took that last stitches in Judy's quilt that I was binding for her last night about 8. I had been stitching on it for three days off and on. Judy tends to neutrals and loves the blended quilt style, as you can see. Looks pretty good on my bed, I have to say but this will be be donated to the Salvation Army fund raiser for auction. The fabrics in it are more decorator weight than quilting weight though some of the prints at center are more typical quilting cottons. I am not sure what was used for backing but it was a very tight weave and hard to needle. My thumb, index and middle finger are all a little needle bruised at this point so I think the binding on my bargello quilt will wait a few days.

I took this picture to show Norma the panto that Becky used on it. Not sure what it is called but it has a kind of fleur de lis feel to it. The local quilt shop in Oxford has a long arm machine and the owner does most of the quilting from what I understand. I have not had occasion to use her services yet but my pals sort of rotate between three area quilters and seem satisfied with the results. I was on the last edge when I could not convince Skyler to stay off of it. He really was not wanting to have his napping disturbed at that point either. To accomodate the size and weight of the quilt I had taken my sewing machine out of the table and put the table I use when I quilt in front of it but facing the opposite direction in the room. I'll do the same when I get to my own quilt.

I had a few errands to run this morning and one of them was to get something to replace the skirt on my sewing/pressing table. Between the iron cord and my waist rubbing on it, I had worn through a good bit of the fabric at the mid section of the skirting on the long side of the table. The short side was fine as I rarely have to cut from that end but it all needed to match. I was sick of that pink, burgundy and plaid stuff anyway.

I found a plain 200 count flat sheet for 3 bucks at Wal-mart figuring that I couldn't find yardage that cheap. They don't match the curtains but you know how they change decorator colors anyway. The curtains were bought 11 years ago so what do you expect? Since the sheets have some polyester in there, maybe it would hold up to wear better?? I was able to cut it in 4 sections to get the width and lengths I wanted so that worked out well. A little hemming on the cut edge and some stitch witchery to hold the folded edge under was all that was needed. The velcro is stitched down so that is enough to hold things together at the top edge. I was even able to re-use some but not all of the loop tape from the old panels so I got the job done for about 9 bucks once you got tax added in. Woohoo!! Nice fresh look in here. Of course, Skyler is quite interested in these and has been hiding and playing underneath the panels. DJ, bless him, vacuumed both the sewing room and bedroom for me while I was gone. That vacuum kills my lower back so he has told me NOT to even use it----I hate to vacuum in the first place so you don't have to tell me twice!

Before I had started on the hand finishing on Judy's binding, I had stitched it on both of my projects---"Be Kind" and the almost queen sized bargello. I will get the little bit of stitching done on this tonight after supper so decided to take the picture of it to post now. I won't bore you with the shot of it on the wall on its hanger. Easter will be here soon enough but I figure we can enjoy it for the rest of April anyway.

Other sewing plans for the week? Norma and I are planning on another "move it forward" day this weekend. I have h0pes of getting my 4 patch posie assembly finished up this time. May get a jump start on that before Friday but I hope to cut out a "Cheap Trick/Two of a Kind" top from the 30's scraps sometime this week. Sheila was kind enough to share the pattern with me but I may still use the sizes from the similar Two of a Kind I found in the APQ magazine a few months back. I drew it up in EQ mainly to get a feel of the color tracking and of course to visualize how many rows etc were needed for full bed sized. My sketch is HERE in a previous post.

Well, enough goofing around for me. Time to head out to the kitchen and get things rolling in there for supper. I had hoped to grill the pork tenderloin but it is looking even worse than it was a few hours ago so oven it is. The rest of the meal needs to be cooked inside anyway.

Thanks for stopping by---------

Tuesday rolls around again

My latest finish is shown at left. After taking time out for the TwSis class on Saturday and finishing up all the needed wedge and additional strip cutting on Sunday, I got back to the machine applique I had left to do.

I tried a different colored thread this time for the button hole work--"milk chocolate" Essentials cotton. I really like the color for the body of the work since the fabric has a greenish-brownish undertone. Not so sure about using it on the letters since it is a much darker fabric involved there. It looks almost gray there but the shade may be more ""forgiving" than the black? Less contrast for an errant stitch to show up around those letters perhaps. I might try matching the color on next month's mini-quilt.

Some hand work was needed to embroider the ant's legs but it did not take long to get the machine quilting done. After piddling around the better part of the afternoon yesterday doing everything BUT being creative, I did the binding hand finish while watching TV last night. Woohoo! A finish. I am having such fun with these quilts!

While I had the camera out, I had DJ hold up this sweet quilt that Pat turned in at the meeting last week. Love the colors and I am sure that a little girl will enjoy this s well.

So what is next? What is on tap for today's sewing, you ask? Back to my Cheese and Crackers, last worked on a week ago with plain inner border application. I had other fish to fry and put mine on the back burner.

Pam has taken to calling this "Cheese Spread" but I don't think she has publicly posted her top yet. Pat has gone a step further naming her version Blueberry Cheese Spread. I know in a later post she was working on her pieced border. Norma had her flimsy completed as of Sunday evening. She seems to be alternating in using the real name and the new Pam applied nickname but her daughter seems to have christened it "bug-eyed bunny" or the "Easter" quilt. Hey, it is a finished top and she can call it anything she wants!! I've just been abbreviating it "CNC" when writing about it. The Brother is set up for some "pedal to the metal" action so you what I'll be doing in my attempt to bring up the rear, LOL. If it is done in time for next week's meeting I will have the perfect spot to spread it out for it's closeup. How about that for a goal?

For those of you wondering, our little snow on Sunday did not last. The sun finally came out for the first time in what seemed like days and melted most of it off by mid afternoon. They started school about two hours late yesterday as a cautionary measure for possible road icing but it was in session. Sorry, kiddos! Of course the local paper was full of snow pictures from the newspaper staff and those sent in from the citizenry---just as DJ predicted. How much fell? Well, the airport which is the official measuring location for weather related things around here is not set up to measure snowfall, just rain totals. My guess would be about half an inch since that is what I had to scrape off my car windows yesterday when I headed out for grocery acquistion. It had crusted there in the changeover from rain to snow. From what I could tell other spots in the state got far more and then it moved on to Georgia, the Carolinas and up the Eastern seaboard to do its thing.

Looks like the UPS truck just pulled up. That means that our little phone router replacement arrived and I will be crawling under the desk hooking up the ethernet cords in a few minutes. It had crashed on Friday. At first I thought I had lost my high speed internet connection but we had TV service. It was storming and I was busy in the kitchen so I let it ride till after lunch. A call to Cableone got me back online but Vonage had to send out the equipment leaving us with cell phone only for a few days. I'll hit ""Publish" and get right on it!

tada---again

TADA--- a finish!

Here is the little quilt that has been keeping me out of mischief the past couple days! Sunday I cut and fused. I think I got the top wing set a little differently because my V is a bit higher than they show in the book. It doesn't bother me though---just sayin'. Yesterday, it was buttonhole applique followed by machine quilting. The machine was NOT happy by the time I got to SID around the letters. I cleaned and changed the needle and all that after I finished but I have a feeling it about ready for a trip for servicing. I use this one hard---and frequently. The Belles met today and I took the last stitch in the binding within a half hour of departure time.

Nice day today--we didn't get bogged down with pinning the greater part of the meeting. We had plenty of book, magazine looking and chatting.

This is one quilt that was turned into today, a heart memorial quilt for our friend Sarah. Actually the top is one that was made by Theramae who passed away as well. I quilted it and her daughter Jane did the hand finishing on the binding. I am in the process of gathering more heart blocks for HER quilt.

The dish cloth knitting continues in the evenings. I am half way through a 3rd cloth or as far as this skein of yarn will take me till I get one more. Tomorrow I plan on doing some preliminary cutting for Cheese and Crackers as Norma and I have talked about doing this one for quite some time. I'll pick something to sew on as well--- probably that string top I set aside last week to attack the scrap bag. For a bit tonight though, I think a few stitches in the next Santa redwork block.

Till next time---thanks for stopping by!

Sunday, its a fun day

…………..at beautiful US 30 drag strip. LOL an old radio ad slogan from my teen years in IL. Imagine the reverb.
But seriously what a gorgeous weekend we are having. What a blessing it is after the dreariness of winter days. It is downright balmy out as the warm weather pushes up from the Gulf instead of that Alberta Clipper and overnight temps in the teens a few days ago. We seem to have quite a bunch of crocuses up after a few appeared far, far too early last month. This is the time we expect them. The daffodils along the fence will be open soon as well. DJ made sure to point me to them when I was grilling up some brats for lunch. The camellia, as we feared, got zapped with the extreme cold with blackened blooms scattered on the ground.

Look who was surveying the scene as I was taking the flower pictures? Skyler loves it when the front door can be opened or even better, the windows. Currently he is up in the sewing room perch facing the front yard watching for birds and any of the neighborhood cats to come by. He has been chasing puff balls (pompoms) most of the morning and is a little worn out, thank you very much! He loses his ball, comes back meowing and hops up on the desk till I give him another from his container near the computer. In the mornings I go on Pom Patrol with the flashlight and yardstick to dig around under the bookcase, the couches and appliances for the ones that got away. No way is DJ going to do that for him!

I got the last of the scrap cutting tasks I mentioned in my last post finished up yesterday afternoon. 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3 as well as some 3.5 and a few nickel squares. Some of the two’s are cut to size for the rail fence blocks and Grandmother’s Scrap Bag. Amazingly there was room for most of them in their designated size containers, but just barely. The 2.5 didn’t have a home till I put them up in the large foundation pieced Pineapple Log Cabin bin. I decided that the smaller block PLC needs it own container since I have so many strips in the project bag---another 20 qt container on my next trip to town.

Immediately after finishing the strips I headed off to the kitchen to pick pecan nut meats. My friend Marilyn had brought me a large paper grocery bag half full of cracked pecans from her mom’s trees. The mom has three trees which outdid themselves this year. I filled a 1 1/2 quart bowl twice for my efforts. Considering that I can buy a 6 oz. bag of pecans for about $2.50 at Dollar General FREE is better, LOL. Because I was so busy dealing with these, I somehow managed to convince DJ that he could fix the ravioli in the freezer and heat up some marinara from a jar just as easy as I could. He turned down the request to help me with the nuts so I figured it was the least he could do. I kept picking and I guess he thought if he wanted to eat last night, he best help me out. Trust me, that is progress! The man does NOT cook nor does he re-heat if I am home and not ill.

Other than cutting scraps for two days I finished up my 2nd redwork block as pictured. The golf club cover is finished but I still need to make the pompom for the top.

Also I got one dish cloth knitted and another started. My mom emailed me the directions but I just found the LINK for it. It looks pretty cool, like a square “on point”. It almost appears that you are knitting “sideways” in just two basic rows, increasing till you get it wide enough and then decreasing down on the other half. Little thinking involved which makes it a good project for TV viewing time. The yarn company wants you to use their product when providing the free pattern to make it but I am using Sugar and Cream (well make that Walmart’s Peaches and Cream) cotton. Mom says you can get three dish cloths out of 2 skeins of yarn. I made my first one a bit bigger and may knit a bit looser than her but I guess I will find out.

I think I will get out my “Be Attitudes” book and cut out the fusible shapes for the February block, Be Loving. MELINDA had read my post about working on this quilt and shared some pictures of one she had just beautifully quilted. It seems that Tiny Stitches where she works in Marietta, GA had done the quilt as a BOM last year. You can see the blocks “up close” on her blog. Thanks, Melinda! Naturally I will post my version when I am done with it but you can see where I am heading with it, LOL. I rarely try to duplicate a quilt exactly but I am as much as possible THIS time as I love the fabrics. My birthday/Christmas money made it possible too. I have already swapped out machines as I like the buttonhole applique better on my trusty Viking and prefer to quilt on it as well. DJ wants me to cut his hair tonight so I best get crackin’.

Hope that you have had a wonderful day where you are. Thanks for stopping by……..

WIP Wednesday

Pat always writes up a "work in progress" post and I'm decided to follow her example. Maybe if I make myself more accountable for what I am working on I might see some progress towards completion? I like having different options of what to do, depending on my mood that day. That is okay but then it takes longer to get anything done. LOL, guess you can't have it both ways.

Today I washed and ironed some more Williams Inn yardage for my Be Attitudes mini-quilts. The Bama Belles were so generous at Christmas time that they have a good stake in this quilt. I also cut out the WTIL challenge quilt top using a pattern from Quick Cozy Couch Quilts specifically Quilt #2 (Christmas gift from DJ). I drew it up in EQ because I wanted to substitute 2 1/2 strips for the 3 1/2 inch ones the author used and resize the quilt for Wrap 'Em needs. I have my calculations scribbled all over the margins of the printout for how many strip sets (strips) to cut and will file that with the book for future reference.

In the foreground of the picture above, some binding I had just made from the WI yardage for the next mini quilt still in need of pressing and rolling. I also cut out and sewed up the Be Loving base and tabs. I rough cut the applique sections while I was at it. Even the backing is cut and readied. I am stash busting some old fabric from a donation quilt for that purpose and can probably get a 3rd one backed with it. It is an odd color, not quite tan and not quite pink. Scraps of it might work for flesh colored tones if reversed to the back side.

I am still considering which long set aside project to pick up next. Far, far too many choices there! I am leaning towards a Lazy Girl Designs Towne Purse that is half done OR that Rosy Red St. Nicholas redwork piece that hangs off my shelving units. My notes got cold about the border on that one. I had been considering foundation piecing it as the sections are sorta small for my fumble fingers. I drew that up in EQ way back when so would need to do some printing. See what I mean about getting distracted? Both of these are personal projects which might explain why it has been waiting, antiquing.


But back to what I am actually working on, this actual day. A few more stitches in a Bird Brain Santa block so I am making a some progress . After supper and during TV viewing time I'll put a few more stitches in the 3 wood cover. I did just enough of it on Monday evening that the ribbing pattern is established and the needles are not going to fall out in my lap.

Our guest arrived in the early morning hours yesterday so the boys got in 18 holes and Herb some practice shots at the nearby old Army golf course. He left first thing this morning for the next leg of the journey. It has been raining most of the day and they had not planned to play anyway. Back to normal with just the three of us. Naturally I am counting Skyler in that number.

So that is what is going on around here---thanks for stopping by!

Tada!

I have a couple of reasons to celebrate!  First, today is my 10th anniversary.  DJ picked up these lovely tulips for me on Saturday.  Second, I have a couple of finishes to report.
The FAB “Summer in Winter” challenge was completed on Thursday and set on its merry way to Norma.  I also finished the binding on a bonus project on Friday but I can’t show that to you yet.  Yeah, another secret.

Next up in my sewing/creative schedule was the “Be Warm” Be-attitudes mini quilt.  I fused the motifs, machine buttonhole appliqued around them and machine quilted it. The directions call for just “birthing” the mini quilts but I have never been pleased with the results when I have tried that.  It was my choice to do the more conventional binding even if it meant more hand finishing.  UGH!

I had forgotten that some hand embroidery for snowflakes was needed along with some bead embellishments so I have some threads showing on the back that could not be hidden.   Oh well!  IIWII.  I’ll read a little closer next time.   I just finished that needed handwork and beading plus sewing the tabs on with the buttons before I sat down to right this. 

Hot off the press!   I should have used the darker red check for the letters and will do so on the rest of them now that I got a bit more yardage in.  I can’t wait to do the next one with the Valentine theme---Be Loving.

DJ and I went out for our anniversary dinner at one of our favorite catfish restaurants where they run a January special for about 3 dollars off the usual price---its their anniversary too.  His golfing friend is due in sometime tonight.  When I got word that he was coming and DJ told me the dates ”ah, that is our anniversary, honey.”   I insisted that he call him right back and tell him we would be unavailable till later in the evening.  That supposedly would work better for him anyway as he would not feel rushed to get down here from central Illinois. 

Other than cleaning house and working on Be Warm there is not much happening around here.  It is time for quilt group to meet again tomorrow. The boys will head off to the golf course, provided it does not rain.  It is in the forecast but that is nothing compared to the cold and ice that I see forecast for the Midwest.

Next up in the sewing department-- I have a WTIL challenge quilt I want to cut out and sew.  I had left 4 tops at the meeting place to pin so may come home with them but quilting can wait.  I am also thinking about which project box to pull off the shelf and get that moved along a bit.  4 patch posie, I think. 

I know I have some knitting on the horizon too.  DJ came in with a 3 wood cover that had 3 holes in it.  I had made a set of head covers for him maybe 5 years ago.  I believe he thinks I can mend anything and everything so he was hopeful that this would be an easy fix.  It would be easier to just knit him another one.  Naturally I had already passed on the yard leftover from the covers and had to get some more.  Mom sent me a pattern for a knit dishcloth that I want to do as well—can never have too many of those.

Guess that’s it for now----thanks for stopping by.

Quilty content?

Not much sewing going on around here though I did make this base for the “Be Warm” block and rough cut the pieces for the snowman applique for the Nancy Halvorsen designed Be Attitudes mini quilt.  Notice how I left them in a safe place? 

I also whipped up a “Twin Sisters” block from Eleanor Burns’ Quilting Through the Seasons mostly because I was curious what sized block you would get if you used 3 1/2 inch strips instead of the 2 1/2 directed in the book---answer?  8 inch finished.  The little 5 1/2 inchers are cute, I must say and the two blocks at a time is nice but sometimes so are fewer blocks!

I finished up the quilting on my FAB challenge on Monday, the binding has all been applied by machine.  While watching the inauguration events I got started on the hand finishing part.  I would estimate that I am a third of the way done and inching closer to mailing these up to Norma.  Other than that, I went through both the 2 inch and 1.5 inch strip boxes and straightened those out while pulling any novelty strips for Norma as she is making one of those calendar strip quilts.  I can stick those in the box with her gift when I mail it out hopefully in a few days time.  I’m pokey when it comes to binding, I admit it.

Let me show you the latest in cat toys--mouth sized pompom balls.  For several days we could not find either of his sponge bouncing balls.  His beloved puff balls have been gone for ages though I found one under the stove after the fact.  He was moping around the house obviously wanting to play but none of his usual toys were doing it for him.  At one point DJ tossed every cat toy from the basket near the fireplace on the middle of the living room floor trying to interest him in something.  Nada. He was like an over-stimulated Alzheimer patient with too many choices.  It occurred to me that I had pompom’s leftover from a craft project and dug them up.  BINGO!  It kept him busy and playing, chasing, carrying them around in his mouth. The problem is that he loses them under the couch, the beds, appliances, dressers, the wheel of the kitchen cart--you name it.   At times it seems like he hauls them off deliberately to bat them under the bed.  No problem!  I bought another big bag of them at Wal-mart and pulled out the preferred mouth sized ball keeping them handy by the computer.  He knows the container is up there and provides an almost unending supply.  He loses one and then comes in meowing and hopping up to bat at the container.  Would he even need me if he had opposable thumbs??  Hours of entertainment on both sides.  (DJ just fished out 4 of them from under his dresser as I typed up this paragraph, LOL)

Well, I promised you quilt top pictures from our last meeting.  LOL, just in time for next week’s meeting.  I came home with one pinned top that I volunteered to quilt for Lois and the 4 tops I had taken were left behind for another meeting.  Lois and Judy had first dibs on the pinning table as far as I was concerned.  (I was exhausted from too little sleep and had to go home early that day)

Judy made this sweet little quilt for a friend who just had their first child after several years of trying to get pregnant.  Nine patches in 30’s repros.

Judy also made this top which she calls “Gypsy”  I love the bright colors in it though she said she was working a bit out of her comfort zone.  It will be donated to the kids when finished.

 

Lois’ top from about 11 years back from a Trudie Hughes workshop.  “Flying Geese in the Cabin”  from More Template-Free Quiltmaking. Her original plan was more borders or maybe even the pieced border shown on the cover quilt of the book but Lois though it best to move it along and donate it as is.  This is the one that I brought home to quilt for her---any ideas of just how to go about that?  Remember, I stink at free motion.

Another of Lois’ tops--- she probably used a pattern from either Burns’ Egg Money Quilts or Quilts Throughout the Seasons.  The star block is a variation of “54-40 or Fight” or “Garden Walk (or Garden Path)”. It alternates with the “Snowball”  block which when combined, gives the illusion of curves.  I would probably call the quilt “Tennessee Waltz” as this combo of blocks is termed that in Judy Martin’s Scrap Quilts

Lois may have stumped me on this one.  It could be Strip Bow from Trudie Hughes’ Template- Free Quiltmaking.  Maybe Love Knot? The block in two colorations is really a chevron or quarter log cabin block and the blocks set on point when the top is pieced.  I’ll ask her next time I see her or perhaps one of you knows the answer. 

Lastly, here is Lois’ version of Disappearing Nine Patch.  The JOY guild used this one month as their block of the month raffle. 

Guess that’s it for now---I need to get dressed and run an errand though it is quite chilly again (16 degrees when we got up and up to 25 right now----brrrrr.  We live in the South so where are our milder winters right now?)  Back to binding the rest of the day between meal preparation.  Thanks for stopping by------------