These are a couple of pictures of the quilts made at the quilt retreat I taught in October. It was a mystery and they all got finished with their tops and seemed to really enjoy it. I sure had fun doing it.

Depending on the fabric they used, they all looked very different from each other. This group gets together twice a year, March and October, and I'm the "resident teacher". I toss out several ideal for the next retreat and they decide which one they would like to do. Then I work up a sample, fabric requirements, and write the instructions unless it's a published pattern or book and then they have to buy it. I have a lot of fun doing it.

Another wedding

Last Saturday, my youngest DD's neice got married. All seven of DD's children were in the wedding. I thought they all looked very nice in their "fancy" clothes. In order of age starting with the oldest, Daniel is in the red vest, Christopher is the tallest, Allison in green and Victoria in pink are the same age, Jeffrey is in the white shirt, Heidi is the tallest in blue, and Katrina is the youngest. My DD, Angela, made the blue dresses. She does a great job sewing, when she has the time to do it. My challenge to you, can you tell which three are adopted?

It's time for new Curtains

I've spent more time in the past few weeks looking for curtains for my windows than I ever do when selecting fabric for a new quilt top. I live in the country, far enough off the road and away from neighbors that I don't need them for privacy, just for looks and light control. I finally found some panels that I liked enough to get, but of course, they are way too long. I want my curtains to hang inside the window frames, not go to the floor. After all, this is a country house, not a formal manor or estate. So, I've been confined to the sewing room while cutting off about 1/3 of the length, sewing in hems, making tie-backs and valances for the windows. I've still got one large window in my bedroom to finish up, maybe tomorrow afternoon. Then, I have to decide what I'm going to do with the sunroom. I've never put any curtains or shades in there as it's on the back of the house and I love the view of the fields and woods. But, since we've rearranged the rooms and now have our tv in their, I would like to put in shades that could be pulled at night to help with the temperature control at night this winter. The problem is that I have 12 windows and 2 large sliding glass doors in there. Way too many to go out and buy special shades. Still trying to decide on what to do there. Have to think some more on that. Better get back to the sewing machine. Those curtains won't hem theirselves without some help.

Scrap Blocks, too much fun

I spent most of yesterday afternoon making Scrap Blocks for a swap I'm doing on another quilt list. I only needed to make 12 blocks to meet my obligations but got carried away and made about 30. They are so simple to make. You just start sewing scraps together until you get a piece large enough to trim down to a 6 1/2 inch square. They are like eating potato chips, one is not enough. This swap has been going on for several months now and I have a large baggie full of blocks, probably enough to make a pretty good size quilt. Need to start sewing the blocks together one of these days. In the picture, this is just a few of the new ones I made yesterday and are laying on my super size ironing board.

Tasty Chicken

I've heard for a long time about "Beercan Chicken" but never knew anyone that made it. While we were at my brother's last weekend, the two "Howard's" decided to make it. (My DH and brother are both named Howard.) For one they used a hot sauce mixture in the can and for the other a balsamic vinegar. It was so yummy and moist. They also cooked about 45 pounds of Boston Butt for bbq and then chopped it and put it in the freezer to have later in the winter. Of course, you can use any aluminum can you have, soda, beer, juice, or whatever and use whatever liquid you want for seasoning. They even have cookbooks out just for beercan chicken. They look so cute sitting up there that I'm thinking of seeing if I can work that into a quilt somehow.

On a quilting note, I did get to one of the quilt shops in Knoxville yesterday, Mammaw's Thimble. If you like '30's fabrics, this is the place to go. They have the largest selection I've ever seen in one place. I went for batting and wound up getting a dozen FQ's of the 30's to use in the graduation quilt for one of the DGD's. I just found out that she is going to be graduating a year early so I now need two graduation quilts in May instead of one. One wants a rubber duck theme and the other wants SunBonnet Sue. Better get busy.

Confetti quilt

Here's a photo of my "Confetti Quilt" that I made from fabrics that I bought in Florida. We were visiting my DH's family in Cocoa at the time. They have a nice quilt shop there. This was going to be a class and I fell in love with the sample. Since I wouldn't be there for the class, they showed me the book the pattern was in and of course, I had to buy it along with the fabrics to make it. In the book, it just has a plain binding on the edges. It's large enough for a throw or small child's quilt. Not sure if I want to leave it this size or add borders and make it larger.

New vaccum cleaner

I have a new vaccum cleaner. Went out this morning and found the perfect cannister vaccum for me to use. It's powerful but still light enough for me to use and it has a "bag". I've had a baggless one before and absolutely hated it. It cleaned well but emptying it was a real pain. It built up a lot of static electricity so that when you took out the container of dust to empty it, it got powder fine dust all over the outside of the vaccum cleaner and the surrounding area. For someone with allergies, that was totally unacceptable. I kept it and used it for several years until I couldn't take it any more and got a cannister with a bag. Now that one has died so in comes the new one. I was surprised by the colors available. In this model, I had a choice of white or blue. I took the blue one. It's not a navy, it's "Carolina Blue" for those of you from the south. Now those dust bunnies had better watch out. I'm coming after them.

This is a wallhanging that I taught for a group of friends at a retreat back in March. It's the Buckeye Beauty from Eleanor Burns book, "Quilts Through the Season". I think it came our very well, especially the stripe fabric in the border. It sure makes it look like I worked really hard to get all of those strips to miter when it's only one strip of fabric. Sometimes, a stripped fabric is your best friend.

A New Experience

This is a very new experience for me. I've never considered myself to be a computer nerd or even close to one but blogs hold a certain fascination for me as a way to share the things that are important in my life with others. Will see how this goes for now. It may be a good thing and it may not. Will just have to wait and see. I have a lot to learn.