Around here-- catching up

Look at what has decided to bloom this year with more blooms about to pop open.  I had cut back the gardenia bush quite a bit 2 years ago as it was impeding airflow a bit into the kitchen.  There was a bird nest in there so I had to wait to finish the job but it has taken time for it to rebound from my unschooled pruning/annihilation. Last year I think there were only two blooms for the entire summer but maybe it likes it hot and dry?


While it has been overcast for the past couple days, we have not really much measurable rain.  Rained on the way to supper last night and while we were walking into the restaurant but it didn't budge my rain gauge.   Rained for about 15 minutes this morning and just enough to dampen the street.   We are currently about 3 inches below the average amount and about 5 inches behind where we were at this time last year.  No wonder the grass crunches underfoot!

This top has been waiting for me since the Tuesday evening group.  Everywhere you see a blank space is where there should be a small pieced floating square.  Donna and I helped Stacy lay out a quilt top so she could begin sewing her blocks.  Marilyn and Donna were teaming up on a top too--Donna cutting, Marilyn sewing.  Margarita and I had our head's together  working out the backing for 3 identical bowtie tops.  She needed to get them larger in order to take them to the longarm quilter by Thursday when JOY Guild was to meet.  I elected not to drag my machine in and marked the diagonals on the stack of white charm squares for "Seas The Day".  Then I laid out my version of Floating Squares using a mix of Benartex Lazy Daisy and Brigitte pinning it to the vinyl table cloth and then hanging it up once I got home.

I've been busy!  Maybe busier than usual or just gone a lot, more like.

Thursday was JOY Guild day with a potluck lunch, sew and tell and a silent auction.  I delivered my two personal tops ( Prairie Sticks and No Bake Jolly Bar) along with Aline and my joint endeavor (previous post) and Charming Boxes from the retreat group and me.  Felt kind of strange to head out the door empty handed except for my "dish to pass".  I was waffling back and forth about what to fix but ended up making a Greek Salad with turkey chunks as one of my ingredients.  I had most of the ingredients on hand anyway.  Actually, I have a couple more turkey tenderloins marinating in Italian dressing that I'll bake in a bit as that worked out well as a replacement for chicken.


This was my Friday focus.
My neighbor Glynda had asked me if I wanted some zucchini the other day.  Yes!  Then I mentioned that if they found themselves over-run with the stuff, I would like to try to make some Zuke and/or Cuke/Carrot Relish this year.  Later she came down with three more.  I figured I would see how far I would get with the ones I had and adjust the recipe.  I called my parents to get some clarification on the recipe.  I HAVE made a batch once umpteen years ago.  Mom has tweaked it since then and gave me the updates.  Alum was added and more spices than the original.  Also some bell pepper, etc.   I  made one trip to the store prior to the phone call consultation and one the next morning for anything I was missing.

When the recipe called for larger stock pot than what I had on hand, I asked Glynda if she had one I could use.  She had two of them, one from her sister-in-law's estate and she said to take it.  Later I had borrow the other one so I could hot water bath without crowding the jars in the pan.  Oh, and I needed to get some more zukes.  After I ground up the ones Glynda had given me, I had to ask for the ones she had mentioned were in the fridge.  As she came back down to the beauty shop, she spotted a couple more.  Miss Kathryn was at the shop between clients and said she had one to spare too so I got that one too.  Still used 4 cukes to total 10 cups of ground zuke-cuke mix. Now that might be the last time I have to ask for zucchini as you know how that stuff is!  The joke about leaving some on your neighbor's doorstep, ringing the doorbell and then running away so you can get rid of the surplus?  LOL.

For being a nervous novice on this canning stuff, they all sealed.  I had to make another call to my parents to figure out just where to measure for headspace--from the top rim down?--but I got the job done.  I've delivered a jar to Glynda and Miss Kathryn.  When their brother (or son depending on who you are referring to) Paul saw the post I had made on Facebook, he chimed in and said he wanted a jar.  I told him he could have some but I had heard him say a couple nights before that he didn't particularly care for carrots except in pot roast.  Just teasing me, he said "I love carrots!"  He has some now too.  I may deliver some to two other neighbors on the block as well.

I mentioned in the last post that I had signed up for a basket weaving class being given at the Public Library of Anniston-Calhoun County.   This cute little salt and pepper basket was what we made.   The kit came with blue for the accent color but I have greens and yellow in my kitchen.   It was fun!  I love that wire handle even though I didn't get the wire bent back as tightly as I would have liked.  The kit of supplies had a set of needle nose pliers in it but not heavy enough for the job.  By then I had sort of stripped the black off the wire.  It is what it is!

The class was from 9 a.m. till we finished.  By the time I ran an errand on the way home it was almost 3:30 before I got home.  I stopped in at Miss Kathryn's to deliver her jar of relish as I was walking Oscar.  She said Paul and Carolyn would be by soon and said to ask me to go along for dinner with them if I wanted to.   They had served a light lunch at the class but I would probably be hungry enough to eat by the time we got our order.  He swung by to pick us up and the rain started coming down on the way. 

Paul decided on Zoe's On the Lake, not far from us, hearing no objections from us ladies.  I had eaten lunch at the restaurant before but they had not been there.  It turned out there was a class reunion going on there in about an hour and they were planning to send non-reunion folks to the upper dining room.   They set us up in a side room when I told the hostess we had one with some walking difficulties in our party.  (I was the first one in the door.)   We had finished eating by the time most of the reunion crowd was arriving but it still made getting out the door a little problematic.  Everyone was grouped all around the exit in the large room, hugging, talking, greeting each other.  We each saw someone we knew in the Jacksonville High School Class of 61.  (Me, a member of the quilt group.  Carolyn, a male first cousin and Paul and Miss Kathryn, their brother-in-law/son-in-law's aunt.)   More, hugging, talking and greeting.

My critters have barely seen me, LOL.  Still, it is good to get out a bit. 

What's on my mind creatively?   Couple of things.  Always!  I was reminded by a long ago seen quilt called
"Contrary Wife-Ornery Husband".    My perpetual quilting calendar kicked it off.  This crossing type block is called "Contrary Wife"  I kinda like the name, LOL.

Mary Hickey in a book published by Leisure Arts in 1997 entitled "Big Book of Small Quilts" apparently combined the Contrary Wife with a Shoo Fly/Snowball variation block (both are in the nine patch family 3 x 3 grid) to come up with a quilt called "Contrary Wife-Ornery Husband"  I really like THAT name!

Maybe you can see how these two blocks are similar but the coloration switched up a bit---and I eliminated a few extra lines when I drew it up in EQ,   If that link above won't open for you I know I spotted the quilt in a google image search.  Cool how it sort of makes like ribbons across the quilt top they way the blocks are rotated.

Then another quilt block that Lucy mentioned to me the other day in an email.  Circle of Squares from toefeather blogspot that makes a cool 12 inch finished block using 2 1/2 inch cut squares.  You can eliminate a line from this too.  I refuse to sew two squares of the same print together in a 4 patch when I can cut a rectangle instead!   She sent THIS link to a finished small baby quilt.   Cute, huh?

I got to thinking that you could probably use charm squares or cut squares from your stash.  You could cut the charms a bit smaller if you wanted and ditch the pinked edges.  Anyway, I drew it up in EQ7 a bit ago.

It would use one charm pack provided your background choice provided enough contrast.  I think as long as you work in a number easily divisible by three on that one you could cut the charms any size you want and re-size the block accordingly.  For example 21 inch blocks with 4 inch sashing, trimming the charms down to 4 inches and using the remainder of the charms  for the cornerstones would get you a 55 inch square quilt  2 blocks x 2 blocks. This  was calculated at 32 charms for the blocks, 9 for cornerstones.   I think it said around 3 yards of background fabric?  1/2 yard for binding.  I might just do this!   Mind you, there is nothing wrong with the original version but just another way to use a charm pack and their mix of fabrics in a different way.  The blogger on toefeather got their inspiration from a Circle of Wonky Star Tutorial, just simplified it a bit more when she made hers.    Just a thought!  I have lots of those, LOL.

Guess that's about it!  I need to run down to the gas station while I still have 10 cents off/gallon and I want to sew a bit.  Hope you are having a good day in whatever you chose to do.  THX for stopping by----

party and a plan

Yesterday was the Friendship Quilters' Guild meeting with installation of officers (I'm continuing on as secretary another year) and finishing up the program year business.  The highlight of the meeting to me, is always Show and Tell.  Not only did we have Christmas items on display but the Paint Chip Challenge items were revealed.  What fun!

Shown at left is the quilt that was made for Peggy, our outgoing president.  We were instructed to make a Sunbonnet Sue block and have it represent us in some manner.  My original block was misplaced and I had to hurry up and stitch another recently.  Unfortunately it did not have the same background though I was sure I had picked something that was like the original.  I was wrong----it sticks out like sore thumb down there in the lower left. 

Peggy made the rotary cutter holders for each of us.  LOL she said when her daughter spotted it she insisted she needed an eye glass holder.  Looks like it would work for that too!  Another person said she thought it would work for her cell phone.

Another member passed out the reindeer noses.  How cute!  One red ball for Rudolph, I guess.  The thread and between quilting needles were given to me as part of the installation of officers, the analogy being that a guild is like a quilt.  The president was binding, the vice president batting and the treasurer, backing.  Committee members were quilt blocks or as one stated, "blockheads."  Membership, charms and there was one at each table spot.

Of course, the potluck lunch was delicious too.  I didn't come home with much leftover peanut butter sheet cake but enough to keep DJ's sweet tooth tended to.  Aline and I were the only ones who ended up going from the north end of the county but we had a precious passenger come home with us.  Her great granddaughter lives with her mama and grandma in Pell City and grandma was moving this weekend.  Aline and Hans keep her a couple days of the week anyway but the phone call came and Lilly came back with us.

I guess Christmas is officially here as I got my hand crafted card from my friend Janet when I arrived home.  She paints and has the painting made up into a print for her Christmas cards.  I always look forward to this and of course, keep these and display them even into January when the snowmen and related wall hangings come out.  So pretty!

I was just exhausted by the time I got home as I had slept so poorly Friday night.  I tried to go to bed early but that just was not working.  DJ was up and the TV blasting.  The door being shut did not muffle it.  I think he needs his hearing aid adjusted again.

Finally by 9:30 I just gave up.  I knew that the historian would need the show and tell lists in order to post picture identification so I typed up the minutes.  Not officially in my duties but it helps her out since she is busy taking the pictures as people come in and hang their items.   (I borrowed her graphic for Peggy's quilt).  In viewing the pictures this afternoon apparently I missed a couple and will have to go back and revise my notes.   Beth said she missed a few that I had written on the list.  Next thing I knew it was 11:30 and I tried the bed again.  Thankfully, last night was a better night--still awake a little bit but not from 3:15 for good.

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I mentioned a plan, quilting goals as it were.  Of course my two immediate piecing goals are

• Allison's tree skirt and maybe stockings at some point.  She is not expecting it for THIS Christmas decorating time but I will get it done for her.
• Adapted Oxmoor House Christmas quilt top completion-----at long last get that going.  Hold me to it, okay??

I was digging around in the closet looking for a former Christmas project and pattern that I apparently no longer have.  I am tired of moving stacks of stuff around to get at a buried container in the small closet.  Or guessing at a boxes contents.   (I share closet space with the air exchange unit). 

Later in chatting with Norma.  I said that I really needed to get a handle on the stuff that I have in this tower unit and make some room so the stuff can come out of the storage area in the closet.  Some of the projects are personal items but most of them are donation items or even fabric that I have pulled from various sources that could maybe be combined in some manner. Some I know I absolutely do not want to do or will re-purpose.  I would rather piece than quilt, any day.  I came up with the name "kit it and hit it" ---get these tops done and moved on to a child who needs it!!

Norma's thorn in her side are the fabrics and kits that she has gotten as mementos on previous holidays.  Not just hers but some that her mom who does not sew has gotten along the way on the same trips.  Hey, she knows a quilter who has taken good care of her table toppers and seasonal decorating needs so why make it yourself?  Last year Norma's two kids BOTH got married within a few months of each other so you know where her priorities had to be!  2013 is a whole new ball game. She's in and will write up a list of ones she wants to do.

Sometimes we start off great guns and then get off track with the squirrel, shiny object syndrome.  You have to allow for those but we both made a commitment to get these things moved along.  Honestly, that is what helps keep interest up---try something else for a while.  Squirrels are therefore allowed in our action plan.  It is fine to share links and get excited about something new.  We both know we want to continue with our plans for the Halloween row x row.  Guild is doing one too and I am really excited about it.  One pro bono top a month, two a month??  I got all those pizza boxes packed with stuff too.  Save that for another year?

But just how many things are actually in that tower???  Is this even do-able, realistic?  Do we need to put a cap on the number or re-visit it in a few months from now> 

I pulled stuff out of there this afternoon and took a good look at the contents and made a list.  There are 13 items on it.  Actually I am going to make it 14 as I want to finish up that Criss Cross quilt I have started.  I could list them here but really what they are is only important to me at this point.  I'll do a list on one the page tabs if you are curious, LOL.


Norma and I told Cher about our plans when she arrived on IM.  When I mentioned that a couple of the things I have were not even originated by me.  People donate things and somebody like me finishes them up.  Cher offered to take up to two of them off my hands.  You got a deal, girlfriend! 

Pictured above is one such item.  I think Anne was making a Hidden Wells quilt and a fairly good sized one at that.  There were 19 different strip sets already made up, about 3 yards of that gold tone on tone so that could have been for borders.   We are going to just split the strips sets and make a donation quilt for Wrap Them in Love.  I also had something that originated from my mom--or at least the pattern idea did.   Maybe one of the fabrics.  Anyway I thought it would be something less fussy than another one I kept with 1 inch finished strips in it!  Cher's skills are up to it but since she is a free form, design as you go kinda gal, I thought that might drive her up the wall.   It's on my list but not high priority.   I'll probably list a few personal items I would like to address too---there are probably 3 or 4 of those but just to have something to eventually cross off. 

Another part of the equation too is limiting fabric acquisitions to borders, background and binding, when possible.  I do not have much more room to put anything more in here.  Space is finite therefore something needs to be sewn and gone from this small room.  Right now personal items are in one drawer---they can wait for now.  The other 3 drawers, donation items.   I have a plan and will do my best to make it happen. 

I took the day off from sewing, cutting, knitting or embroidery.   My left wrist and thumb is a bit sore like I should have it splinted or wrapped.  Wrestling the crockpot around trying to wash it tonight did not do it any favors either.   Tomorrow I have an appointment to get my hair trimmed and later an eye doctor's appointment.  DJ will probably go with me as it is his doctor and he has some questions about his treatment plan plus I am reasonably sure they will dilate my eyes.    Then Tuesday is the Bama Belles Christmas lunch so my creative time will be limited but I never stay away long.

There you have it----hope you have had an enjoyable weekend. 

Sunday evening

I would give anything for him to tell me what he was finding so fascinating about the floor this morning! Oddest thing, a few hours later he was doing his "best Snoopy atop the doghouse" pose on DJ's desk chair.

This being Sunday both Cher and Norma were asking what project is next up on my list.  I took things easy last night, though I was on the hunt for a pattern which I eventually located.  Along the way I found something that may work for a guild "top secret" project so no hunt is without rewards.

I mentioned several things in response.

DJ's neck things did NOT get done last week.  He told me he was in no hurry.  While not sure that was such a good thing to tell me since I DID leave a shirt of his that asked me to iron for months one time.  I did the hand finishing on those two wall hangings instead.  Here they are finished up----one and a spare.  He's happy and I'm happy that it is out of the way.

 2nd choice was to pick up with the Prairie Stroll donation top, last seen HERE.  I was thinking about doing this at Bama Belles on Tuesday but have another plan now.  The machine is revved up from the neck things, the blocks are all done.  Assembly should not take all that long----nice Sunday evening/Monday project.

3rd choice----start back on Popsicle Sticks------I drug the fabric tote out but will need to see just where I left off on it.  Too much water over the bridge, LOL.  It is going to be a pretty quilt, I think as it will have all my favorites in it!

And then there is this------the veteran's home did NOT open in July as planned.  They totally messed up the floors in moving beds, equipment etc in from what we were told.  Now they are shooting for Labor Day weekend or less than 3 weeks away.  Margaret, the coordinator for this project and former state QOV coordinator had brought in about 10 quilts that will be donated by our guild members but we need to finish our binding first.  One of mine was among them.  Odd that it is one of the ones I made this year and not the one I turned in way back in September last year but whatever, Line Art/Skinny Strips will not be done in time for the opening though I certainly did my part to make that happen.   Craig Heyer of Over The Mountain Quilting in the BHM area quilted this one as he had volunteered his services for some of them at Margaret's request.  Since the backing is a golden colored print, he did rings of stars on it.    I believe you can see them from this angle.

  

I think binding this will be a good project for the quilt meeting since I will have far more table space to spread it out than I do at home.  As long as we get it delivered back over to Pell City later this month, it should be okay.  I believe Jane and Aline have one to take care of as well so we can probably make the run together.  Decision made.

The guild also passes out little quilty gifts in our birthday months.  I was one of about 6 guild members with an August birthday.  Here is what came out of the reach in and grab one----a bit of a fall feel, don't you think?  Not sure which project it will show up in but you just  never know!!

And sew it goes-------back to top assembly for me.  I woke up entirely too early this morning so hard telling how long any ambition will last, LOL.  Hope you have had an enjoyable weekend.