A Day Off

I took today off from sewing. Today was grocery shopping and other errands and we managed to use up the entire day.

After breakfast, Howard went through the house and emptied all of the wastebaskets and trash cans. Then he and the two dogs went for a ride to the Convenience Center, aka The Dump. We do live in a subdivision but it is out in the county so we don't have city trash pickup. So, we can either make the five minute drive to The Dump, or contract with a private firm for trash pickup. Most of the people in the neighborhood take their own trash to The Dump. It's a lot less expensive and you aren't limited to one day a week.

After that, we went to visit with my brother and his wife for an hour or so. They live just over an hour away and he is recovering from a total knee replacement five weeks ago today. He's doing great with his therapy and walking really well. We took them a box of sausage patties that we have fallen in love with. It's made here in our town and is the closest I've ever found to the sausage that my grandmother used to make.

Next stop was a quilt shop in Lebanon. I signed up for a class to make a purse that has interchangable covers for it. I think my sister-in-law is going to take the class too. I saw the purse and it's a very clever idea. I've got my supply list and instructions for all of the pre-class cutting that needs to be done.

Finally we got around to the grocery shopping. Our favorite supermarket is Publix, a chain out of Florida that has recently started opening markets in Tennessee. The closest one to us is close to my brother, an hour away. We go there about every 3 weeks. Love their multi-grain bread from their bakery and the Savory Tarragon Chicken Salad from the deli. We always pick those two items up, even if we don't get anything else. Just needed the basics today but did get the bread and chicken salad. As soon as we got home, we both had a chicken salad sandwich. Yummmy. Have enough left for a sandwich tomorrow too.

Tomorrow, I'm going to get back to my sewing. May even unpack another box or two. Since we moved the middle of November, I had hoped to have everything unpacked and sorted out by now. Hasn't happened and I'm getting very frustrated. I know that we were gone more than we were home for the first six weeks because of holidays and an unexpected death in the family and then we were both quite ill with an upper respiratory bug for a couple of weeks. I need to be working on my project for the retreat so I'm going to concentrate on that and not worry about the boxes. They aren't going anywhere. Just going to sit there and wait.

These are the Happy Blocks I made for the March swap on Block Central. I think they came out well. I've been making an extra one to keep for myself each month and I think that I may be getting close to having enough to make a lap quilt for myself to use while watching tv. It will be interesting as each month is a different color and theme. But, these blocks are so addicting. They're just like potato chips, can't make just one.

Attic Window burnout

I have spent most of the past two days in my sewing room working on two Attic Window wallhangings. Neither of them have borders yet.

This one was made using the basic directions from Cheryl Phillips "What's Hiding In the Attic Window?" Instead of using the triangles and fussy cutting the window fabric, I cut large squares and then cut them on the diagonal once. I did this mainly because I was using scraps and if I had fussy cut, I wouldn't have had enough fabric for the windows and I was making a "test" wallhanging to check out the pattern. As a result, many of the aircraft are flying in weird angles. The blocks are a finished 4 inches so it is 16 1/2 inches in the photo. I'm still trying to decide about borders. The windows are 3-D in that they have a pocket on two sides. It certainly is an easy way to make an attic window block but the center seam is pretty bulky and really needs to be pressed open, as directed in the pattern.

This one is made using Mary Ellen Hopkins "connecting corners" on the dark strip so that when the light strip is sewn on, it imitates the look of a set in seam. This method does take a little more work, but uses less fabric and is much easier to get the images in the windows turned the direction you want it to be. This one is 40 inches square, without borders. I did add a black on back sashing between the blocks. I was hoping to get the impression of looking from the inside of the window to the outside in the garden. I'm not an art quilter so this is about as "arty" as I get. The blocks here are a finished 6 inches and the dark green in the blocks is much darker that it photographed. By the time I get the borders on it, it will be large enough to use as a tablecloth on my small breakfast table so it probably won't see a wall except for being displayed at the retreat.

These two may be the last of my adventures with attic window blocks. I can only think of one exception, becoming a great-grandmother, and I hope that's a long way off. In that case, I might do one in the I Spy quilt style with pairs of images scattered over the quilt top. But, like I said, I do hope that is a long way off.

We woke up to snow yesterday morning. Only an inch and it was gone by mid afternoon. It was pretty while it lasted. I know that in some areas, it is being measured in the feet and they are ready for spring. So am I. I don't like temperatures in the teens. Spring isn't too far off. I'm watching for the first daffodill.

Windows in the Attic

I call my sewing/quilting room "The Attic" as it's a fairly large room over the garage. The stairway goes off the hallway right off the kitchen and it's connected to the heat and air system. It has a cable tv connection and a window that looks out over the driveway and the front yard. If it had a small refrigerator and a powder room, it would be perfect. But if it did, I just might stay up there all day. The door is always open at the bottom of the stairs so the dogs come to visit every now and then. They just come in and sniff to make sure that everything is ok and then go back down stairs.

Here's a picture of them outside on the deck in the snow a couple of weeks ago. I know we haven't had snow like most other people have, but it sure was cold that day, about 13 degrees and windy. Jack is a 9 year old Jack Russell Terrier and we've had him for a little over 7 years. He's getting gray on his muzzle and has started slowing down a little. Daphne is a cock-a-poo that we really don't know how old she is. My friend, Virginia, got her when she lived in Savannah, GA about 2 1/2 years ago and the people she got her from thought she was about 5 or 6 years old. So, that would make her about 8 or so. She's getting some gray around her muzzle too so she may be older but she acts younger than Jack. We got her the middle of December when Virginia could no longer take care of her. She is a delight and so cuddly. She and Jack get along well together and that's good.

I went to my attic about noon today and stayed there until about 7:00 pm. I've been working on a project for a quilt retreat in about three weeks using Attic Windows. I think I've got it just about worked out. I made one small wallhanging that has 16 four inch square blocks in it. I used fabrics that were in my "left overs" box. Can't call them scraps if they are large enough to be used for something else. It's just a top at this point but I'll try to get a photo tomorrow in the daylight. I also cut out another set of blocks that will probably be a table topper. It uses floral prints. I hope it turns out like I think it will. I need to get the supply list sent out the first of the week so I'll probably spend tomorrow afternoon in the attic too. Of course, I'll have the NASCAR race on the tv while I sew. Can't miss the race. Go Tony.

I'm going to have to make a racing/NASCAR theme quilt one of these days.

It's a wonderful place

It's a wonderful place here. After living a little over 50 miles from the nearest quilt shop for 7 years, I'm now within 10 minutes of two and 20 minutes to a third one. We also have a Hobby Lobby and a very nice Hancock Fabrics. I love it. I don't have to worry about being able to get a new blade for my rotary cutter or needles for my sewing machine or fabrics for that special project. I can go when I want to. It doesn't have to be a special trip planned in advance. I really am glad we moved here.

It's taking longer that I had hoped to get things unpacked and sorted out but that will come with time. After all, we are both senior citizens. I hit a new decade back in November. No longer am I one of the 60 somethings, I'm now in the 70's. I'm just thankful that I'm in pretty good health for my age. I'm trying to do something about my weight too. Need to get some of it off if I want to stay healthy.

I'm going to spend most of tomorrow in the sewing room working on the Attic Windows project for the Red Rooster retreat in about 3 weeks. I love the technique but the directions for the quilts shown are sadly lacking, as in nonexistent. So, I've got to get it all written up. A few of the ladies could take it and go with it but most of them need a great deal of hand holding along the way and very clear directions. I've got my work cut out for me for the next couple of days.

BOM quilt block

This is the block we did last month. The original in the shop is finished by hand with a blanket stitch. A couple of us are doing it by machine. I still need to do the curly vine that connects the stars. Haven't decided what color I want to do the vine. The entire quilt is in these colors with a pumpkin in each block and trimmed or embelished for each month. As you can guess, this one is for July. I'm not sure which block we're doing tomorrow but I'll post a photo when I get it finished.

Weather Roller Coaster

The weather this winter has been just like a roller coaster and the past few days haven't been any different. Yesterday it was 73 degrees, cloudy, showers, and a tornado warning. Fortunately for us, it stayed in the sky and didn't touch down. Others weren't as fortunate. Today it only made it to 38 but was bright and sunny. Wonder what the weekend will bring?

I've spent most of the afternoon in the sewing room making sample blocks for the project I'm going to be teaching for a group of friends in a few weeks. We get together twice a year at a wonderful retreat center in Alabama. I hope to have a wallhanging or lap size quilt top made over the weekend so I can send them a photo with their supply list next week. I'll post a photo here too.

Tomorrow morning I have to go to a class I'm taking at a local quilt shop. It's a really nice BOM. I don't normally get excited about BOM quilts but this one just spoke to me and it's not even in the colors I usually work in. I'll see if I can remember how to post photos and get one in here of the block tomorrow.

Starting over

It's time to start over on blogging. I do enjoy reading other people's blogs so it's only fair that I have a blog. I've been absent from this one since last June and lots has happened during that time interval.

During the summer months we concentrated on the landscaping in front of our house so that it would have "curb appeal" to potential buyers. It had been on the market for almost a year with only minimal interest. The biggest problem was that it was a large house on seven acres so that it was out of the financial reach of over 90 per cent of the adults in our county. That meant that it would have to be someone from out of the county. We kept making improvements on the house as we had to live there during that time. We added a new storm door, a screen door, a new water heater, and new laminate flooring. All things that really needed to be done whether we sold it or not.

In August we went to Missouri. While I was at a quilt retreat, Howard was visiting his neice and her family about 90 miles away. Unfortunately, the trip was cut short as he got a call that his uncle in NC had passed away. He picked me up on Saturday morning and off we went. We made a quick stop at home to unpack the car, repack the car, grab a couple of hours sleep and get back on the road. Home was almost exactly in the middle between the two locations and they were both about a 12 hour drive. We made it to Raleigh in time to clean up for the visitation at the funeral home. It was bittersweet. While it was a sad time, it was also good to see old friends from high school that he hadn't seen in over 20 or more years. We came home on Wednesday and both spent most of the next three days in bed sick with some kind of respiratory virus.

September we had a couple of good nibbles on the house but no offers so we were considering taking the house off the market in November so we could relax over the holidays and then putting it back on the market in the spring. Oh well, life is what happens while you are making other plans. The first week of October, we got a contract on the house and we had to start looking for a new house, fast. In five weeks, we accepted the contract, looked for a house, signed a contract on a new house, started moving things into a large storage unit in the new town, closed on both houses and moved on November 15. What a whirlwind. But, everything went pretty smoothly considering how fast it went. We were totally unprepared to move but we did it in a real hurry.

We love our new, smaller house, especially the smaller utility bills. One of these days we may have all of the boxes unpacked and things sorted out. But, downsizing is hard to do when you are going from 3,000 sq ft, a 40 x 80 ft barn, and two storage sheds, 16 x 32 and 12 x 16. Didn't have time to sort as we packed so we are having to do that now and it's taking time.

Also happening during all of this was Howard's nephew being hospitalized for drug abuse. He was found unconscious at least 3 times between June and the first of November. We thought he had been admitted to a program that would help him but we were wrong. On the last day of November, he overdosed for the last time. At the age of 36, he took too much and his heart stopped for good. He was such a talented young man but was so troubled with demons that no one knew about until it was too late for him. So, an unplanned trip to Florida interrupted the unpacking.

On a happier note, we went back to Missouri for Christmas and spent it with Howard's neice and her family. We had a great time. We took our two dogs, Jack and Daphne, with us. They were so well behaved and got along very well with their dogs. But, like August, we both came home sick with a repeat of the several days in bed with a respiratory virus.

Here it is, the middle of February and I wonder at how fast the time has gone. Howard has completely retired and has taken over the kitchen. As I've been cooking since I was in 7th grade, I'm not complaining at all. I have my sewing room in the bonus room over the garage. I have a real problem calling it a "studio". That just seems so pretensious to me when I'm not an art quilter. I make quilts for beds and occasionaly for a wall or table. I like to spend time there. I'm slowly getting it organized. I do miss all of the built in cabinets and book shelves I had in the old house, but I'm getting there. I have decided that I'm going to shop from my stash first when I want to make a quilt. Of course, I'm not going to ignore my LQS. After living 50 or more miles from the closest quit shop, it's heaven to have three here in town. The closest is only 5 miles away and is great. I'm going to try to finish up several of those UFO's living in those large Rubbermaid tubs and use up those scraps to make quilts for charity. There is so much need in the world right now with all of the disasters and making quilts is my way of helping someone who has lost everything.

I'm going to try to post photos of my progress with turning those UFO's into Finished Objects. I have several ideas of designs I want to try and new techniques I want to learn. I may have turned 70 last November, but the flame of learning is still burning bright. I want to learn something new everyday.

I will be away for the next two days as I have to make a trip to see a long time friend who is also my accountant and have my taxes done. While there, I will visit one of my children and several grandchildren and spend the night with a longtime quilting friend. I will try to post to this blog on a more regular basis, whether or not anyone else reads it but me.