finished to flimsy

I knew when I last posted that I probably would NOT get my current top done that day or even the next. And I didn't. Between running a few errands and doing some meal prep work ahead my time was spoken for. I would sew intermittently and play on the computer in between----same as always, LOL.

Hot off the press----or rather after Quilt Holder got up from his nap. The Belles Scrappy Challenge Puss in the Corner flimsy is done. See who is looking for some dangling string down there?? I had put a couple more squares into the mix when I was cutting up the blue fabric recently. I found if I made two more blocks I could add an extra row for length. Kids come in all sizes, after all. We shoot for 40 x 60 and this is probably closer to 43 x 68 ish.

And speaking of the Skyler kitty, some of the fabric was cleared out with what WAS the dark to medium blue bin. He can get up on the shelf and "hide" if he wants and keep me company in the sewing room. Mostly he was at loose ends and didn't seem to know WHAT he wanted.

The electrician guys and the power company person were here this morning to fix the mast pole. He could hear unfamilar voices and that had him spooked for a bit----back under the bed. Poor kitty doesn't get any rest from the real and imaginary perils he faces lately.

And remember my saying that we are starting think we have been bit by a run of bad luck lately? The "what next?" phenomena? Well, we didn't have to wait long for the latest snafu. I had just finished preparing our lunch and about to sit down to eat when the postal person pulled into the drive and honked, handing me the mail. Janet said " I supposed you know that the mailbox is down" Ah, no, I/we didn't. I explained about the workers being here this morning and one of them probably backed into it. Odd that no one bothered to tell us that they hit it though. The nails holding it were about 4 inches long and completely pulled out so it had to have been hit pretty hard, DJ said. They will have to hold our mail at the post office if we don't get it fixed. Husband was NOT happy but will not call the guy(s) back. DJ is pretty sure it was the electrician because of how and where they were parked.

He had hopes that he could repair the thing but two things have occured over the years. 1) Termites got into the pole. 2) Screws holding down the metal box are rusted down and you cannot insert a screw driver. Off he went to Lowe's for a replacement deal. 38 bucks later, we have a new mail box that he will put in once the sun gets below the tree line. I did go out and help him get the post out of the ground though.

Here is to better days------------

unintended net break

 It is one thing to take some planned time off from blogging or your computer. That is not what happened in my case. I've got the pictures to show you why I was offline. First let me say, I know that this is so minor compared to what others went thru with the tornadoes two months ago. I am not complaining---it could have been worse---but relaying the story. 

DJ and I had just sat down to a bowl of homemade vegetable beef soup on Friday evening. As has happened fairly often this month, our area was under a severe thunderstorm watch/warning situation. It was getting darker and windy-er by the minute. A few bites in and off went the power and out came the candles. I don't know that I have ever eaten soup by candle light so I was just hoping that I didn't end up wearing more than I was ingesting, LOL.

About twenty minutes later our power came back on but the neighbor woman was knocking on the door. There is a tree limb from her tree in the back yard on our power line, cable etc. I don't know if you can see it or not, with the picture being so dark but that upright line in the middle of the picture above is the pole that is situated right on the property line. The other pole you see in the extreme right is across the road at the house you see in the distance. Back to the story..........

She had no power, no phone to call in the outage, etc. DJ's mind automatically leapt to the last time this happened, 5 years ago. (I probably even have a picture of it on here.) Why the tree assassin people did not cut half of this tree off, I do not know! They sure annilated many others around here. DJ said it was because it was in someone's back easement and they didn't want to drive their trucks back there. He may be right but there are a couple more limbs that come down and do this again---at 250 a pop and a 500 deductible on our house insurance so that is no help with the expenses. Again, he asks "what next?"

So anyway, the weight of the tree limb was pulling on our stand pipe. DJ was worried that it would break it off, tear up our roof and all that. We have cable internet and use Vonage for our phone---that is, when it is intact we do, LOL. The cable is broken off in all this mess you see in the picture to the right.

I was able to use my cell phone to get through to the power company on Stacy's behalf. I also got thru to the cable company but the out of state office. Typically, all bad repair things always happen on the weekend or when offices are closed, right?? We helped her out by stashing her things from the freezer into our chest freezer and found some refrigerator space so her food would be salvaged as well. She called her family to come get her so she didn't have to stay in a dark, hot house overnight.

Here you see the stand pipe bending over. The power company came in the wee small hours of Saturday morning to cut the limb free from the wire and get the neighbor powered up. This relieved a lot of the pressure on the line and kept this from bending clear over or snapping off.

Fast forward to Monday----still no cable guy, so still no phone, no internet. I was waiting and keeping the cell phone on my person at all times and charged up. I was promised that I was still "on the list" by the cable company. I was back up and running about 5 p.m., almost 72 hours without service. (and a 20 buck credit off my bill after the 3rd phone call reaching the local office, finally. ) Thank you, Mr. Cable Guy! He pulled out and the electrician guy pulls in to give us an estimate on what he will charge to fix the stand pipe.

Again, this is so minor compared to others without power, running water, no phone etc, no roof over their head. I did have a cell to use even if I missed being online. One more day and I would have gone into town to use the computers at the library. My biggest problem might have been my husband's impatience to have the phone back in service. I knew that I had done everything I could to get the cable guy out here. I was not the only one with this problem. The power company said they had about 35,000 people without power in a multi county area with that round of tstorms. Cable and the phone company, probably the same thing. We were guessing straight line winds, this time around?

Monday morning DJ used the cell to schedule the Power Company to be here on Thursday morning along with the electrician to repair the stand pipe. It does not appear that the shingles were damaged from down the ground anyway The neighbor's step-dad came and cut the tree limb into more manageable pieces but it is still on the ground on our property. We are still under a burning ban so I don't know if they will haul it away or what. DJ noticed last evening that there is another limb split on another of their trees but that one is actually planted right on the property line. We know it is theirs as the deceased home owner told us she planted all three of them from volunteers and nurtured them over the years. I am not even sure what kind of trees they are but none of them is in good shape.

The weather this year has been quite unusual for us. Something I read in the Sunday Anniston Star from Shane Harris, one of the extension agents for the Alabama Cooperative Extension System probably described this best in his gardening column. (He was talking about how it is hurting home grown tomatoes). He wrote "The first half of 2011 will be remembered as a time of crazy and weird weather. First was snow and ice in January. Then there was a very early spring in March, followed by record deadly tornados in late April. In late May, we had several days of very cool coat weather and frosts. Suddenly, the pendulum swung the other way, and June brought very dry conditions and extreme heat as if it was already August. Who knows what the next six months will be like?"

Got me but let's just say, La Nina was not a very nice girl!

Read more: Anniston Star - On Gardening Weird weather hurting home grown tomatoes

The next day's round of storms brought quarter sized hail. This morning's, just a little rain. Skyler is spending a good bit of time hiding under the bed with the alert radio goes off and the thunder boomers start. One bright spot, is that we are catching up with our rainfall totals a bit more. The grass is back and green from its earlier frying.

In the meantime, I did a little embroidery and read a couple of books. Sunday afternoon, parts of Monday, this morning, I worked on this Puss in the Corner or 4=9 uneven nine patch, as Billie Lauder would call it. (I am using her technique from her Quick Quilt Tricks booklet. )

I have a pile of blocks ready to add the last cut strip to them stacked by the machine. To keep from getting the sequence "messed up" and to keep my interest up, I did one row of blocks at a time and attached them. It is conceivable that I could have the top done or near done by days end if I wanted to push it. This one counts toward another Belles Scrap challenge tops for 2011. So does the diagonal 4 patch chain you see in the printout by the machine but I only have 2 rows of it completed (hanging under the PIC)

But in some ways, I really do not feel like doing much. You see, I have been having some balance issues again for the last two weeks almost. BPPV to use the medical name for it--benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. I wish it would go away like it has before but I guess that is the "paroxysmal" part of the deal. This time just turning my head or bending over is enough to set me off, rolling over in bed---ugh. I can't be driving and riding in the car is not any better, in fact maybe worse. Hills, curves and light strobing between the trees----not good. This has kept me pretty close to hearth and home especially if I have to take some meds for it.

I missed going out to the sewing date last Friday. Betsy said that the plans had changed for Ben's QOV anyway---he has one from another source apparently. We will make him one once he is home from the rehab facility, I guess. I can hang on to the blocks or use them in one of the veteran's quilts or the next QOV. I am also missing our field trip today to a quilt shop in Mableton, GA. :-(

We all have physical problems and such. I try not to dwell on this. If this is how life is going to be, I best adjust and get on with it. Thanks for hanging in---------

What I have been up to...........

for the last couple days. Just in time for the deadline tomorrow. We were to make 12 inch finished Sawtooth type stars for Ben's QOV quilt. I used EQ for my patterns but some are available online so I will share the links if you want them.

SARAH'S CHOICE

NINE PATCH STAR
no pattern, I just drew up the variation

MARTHA WASHINGTON STAR

EIGHT POINTED STAR OR MOSAIC #19 VARIATION

If you are looking for a whole pile of 12 inch finished sawtooth star variations for a sampler or whatever, try this page at Quilter's Cache

http://www.quilterscache.com/QuiltBlocksGalore54.html

What's next?? Probably back to one or the other of my scrappy challenge quilts but first, the floor in here needs some attention. Threads and bits of paper are scattered everywhere and I have been dragging a path to the bathroom and bedroom. Good to feel productive again.

Design Wall Monday

Saturday I managed to get the sections sewn together for the Summer "In Seasons" wall hanging but so far, it remains up on the design wall with the pile of motif fabrics stacked up and waiting. I still need to mark the word "welcome" to the top and bottom border if I am going to stitch that on. You can find a picture of where I am headed HERE .

Since tomorrow is the official start of summer and I am not ready with the replacement wall hanging, I may shift a few of the wall hangings around as a temporary measure. I notice too that I still have a little rabbit hanging on the sewing room door that should be replaced with something more seasonal----like the flag motif maybe?? Flag Day, 4th of July coming up, after all.


After I took this picture, I finished cutting my way thru the smaller pieces of blue fabrics that I had pulled, doing it in sections for both pressing and cutting. I have squares cut for 3d bowties, enough to get started on a project anyway. Maybe red knots would be good?

I also cut for the
Skinny Strips project for my August bday party sewing date but I cut them wider at 3 inches. That way the leftovers can be used for another purpose later. Same thing with the 3 1/2 inch strips. I still plan on trying my hand at the Disappearing 4 patch but probably need more background strips cut than I currently have on hand. I may whip one of those up in a bit to try out the technique. Tomorrow though I plan to work on the star blocks for Ben's quilt since they need to be done by Friday, come to think of it. Better get my rear in gear here! I have a sewing goal it appears.

And so it goes----the only sewing I have done today is a mending job I needed to do. This being Monday, I had a few errands to run and some cooking chores to tend to. Two meals today rather than one, Sunday's stuff leaving us with no leftovers. The neighbor came over with some cukes and yellow squash so I need to figure out some way of working them into this week's menu plans. I am not crazy about the casserole recipe I have used before but am not sure which one to try next. Stir fry would be easier! Add in a few things to take care of for the quilt group today and the day is whipping by fairly quickly.

I hope you have had a good day in whatever you chose to do---------

Happy Father's Day! I love you--------

My dad, my brother Steve and me in 1954

reveal of a formerly top secret project

The FABS were finally able to gather in one spot long enough for our pal Cher to open her birthday presents.

Between a family illness, lagging participants, various people taking trips hither and yon we just could not get our schedules, particularly on a weekend to align. We had hoped initially that we would have a sewing project to do---like we did with the Jelly Roll 1600 for Pam's bday. Finally we just opted for an evening and even then one of the girls had just an hour window. Cher does have something sewing in mind (at least we think it is sewing) for us but it might be mid September before we can make it happen. She won't tell us what though!

Anyway, this is what I made for her. Gordian Knot VI. You may recall when I made Gordian Knot 1 shown HERE . The patterns were all designed Mary Whitehead. Our teacher Nancy Allain said Mrs. Whitehead had drawn up the designs before her passing but died before she could include the assembly instructions. The teacher spent 4 years figuring out how THAT part was done for the 9 designs.

I chose the pattern for Cher as it reminds me a jigsaw puzzle and I know how she and her sister love doing puzzles together. Also there are 5 "rings", one for each of the FABS and used her favorite bright clear colors to make it. I hope she likes it.

It was not an easy for me to piece since the black edging is so narrow. It would have been far more simple to have made the double sized quilt rather than the half sized one, let me tell you. However, I was shooting for a small wall hanging or table topper. At one point I was drawing up sections in EQ so I could foundation piece them more reliably.

So there you have it---one secret revealed.

WIP Wednesday

I don't know if I am really doing what you would call "work" today, LOL. I did go thru one of my dark blue storage bins and pulled most of the fabric, organizing it a bit for cutting.

The pile on the left is smaller pieces so I am just going whack up the whole thing into 2 1/2 inch strips. I want to do a staggered Skinny Strips quilt for the veteran's home project that I spotted in Quilts and More for my FAB bday party in August. There is a free pattern online at the APQ website under the patriotic quilts---- click HERE if you would rather not go hunting. If I can get some 3 1/2 inch squares out of the deal, fine. Those are always good for 3-D bowties.

The pile that you see on the right is bigger pieces so I am shooting for 6 1/2 inches squares for a Disappearing 4 patch like the one my pal Pat has made shown HERE. Well, that or a Carrie Nelson "True Blue". Jan has a wonderful multicolored version on her blog post HERE . Another idea that I keep coming back to is "Fall Frolic" from one of Evelyn Sloppy's books. HERE is one that I found on a google search. I like the plaid, homespuns idea though so maybe not in blues. ARGH! I hate when they tell you to work in something as limiting as patriotic colors, like every service person wants to be draped in a flag. I can make plenty of masculine looking quilts and never limit myself to RWB or "flaggy" fabric. I rebel!

Having said that, I also need to do a couple blocks for a comfort quilt for a quilting friend's grandson who was injured in Afghanistan and still in critical condition though they hope to begin his rehab in Tampa, Florida soon. Without my getting into specifics about the type and extent of his injuries, please keep young Ben Tomlinson in your prayers if you would. The organizer and fellow Bama Belle Betsy wants 12 inch completed Sawtooth Stars--the "rules" are pretty loose other than that. We are meeting later in the month to assemble the top. I selected a couple of blocks in the variable star section of EQ and printed them off to foundation piece them, just to produce the size needed more than anything.

These plans by no means deplete my supplies of blue fabric---there is the "started years ago" Massachusetts Cross and Crown project after all. Some fabrics are set aside with that one. Some these could go in with it but it's fine that it moves on for something else.

I think I told you that my quilt group was being displaced from our regular meeting place again this summer. The church fellowship hall we use is being used by the ARC camp thru our dates for June and July. Linda C had us to her home yesterday---relaxing day, good food and company. Even better, leftovers so I don't have to cook today unless I want to ----and I don't, LOL. It is up in the 90's again today for the umpteenth day in a row.

Oh, I also said I would make a couple of Overall Bill blocks that will go in a friendship quilt for a friend who will be relocating this fall for another quilt group. I know her so I am happy to help out. She has two grandsons so I said I would do two boy blocks. The organizers will be using the patterns from the Eleanor Burns Sunbonnet Sue book and I had some leftover marked interfacing stuff that they could use.

I was looking thru my quilt library for a trip around the world book that I thought for another quilting friend this morning. I have two books, one the more old fashioned way of assembly and Burns' strip piecing one. I found some other ideas and things to look thru at bedtime reading time. I was also on the lookout for a recent pattern from the June APQ---what size yo yo did Terry Atkinson use in her cover quilt? Nancy has an accu-quilt and was wondering about a die for circles. Answer was extra large clover yo yo circle or use the circle template in the magazine pull out section if you want to do the more conventional method to finish at 2 1/4 inch diameter. They look bigger than that in the picture, I think.

And so it goes---maybe I'll fire up the machine after supper and get back to giant 4 patches, non-mind taxing sewing. Stranger things have happened. Have a good evening in whatever you chose to do.