It's Almost a Quilt

On Memorial Day, we went to my youngest daughter's house for her annual Memorial Day picnic. This one was special as it was the first time that all three of my kids have all been together with me at the same time since July, 2000. Work schedules, other events, and distance have prevented it happening before then. Two live in the greater Atlanta area, the other lives in Phoenix, AZ, and I live in middle Tennessee so it's not easy for us to get together very often. This picture was taken in Angela's front yard and from the left is Howard (my DH), Carolyn -49, Angela-40, David-47, and me. They were in their silly mood and were trying to imitate a dance line without much success. We did all have a really good time. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get all of the grandkids that were there all together in one spot long enough to get a photo.

I did manage to get some quilting related things done that day too. I took the top to Allison's graduation quilt for her to see. Of course, I had to bring it back home to get it quilted. Still haven't decided how I want to quilt it yet. Need to go to the quilt shop and get the fabric for the backing and get it done soon. Allison is Angela's oldest daughter. She has already been taking some junior college courses during her last year of high school and is planning on doing something in the field of horticulture or photography or combining them.

It was a long day but a good one. The drive was 4 hours each way and because we are in a different time zone, we had to leave home at 5:30 am to get there in time to get the grill set up for cooking. Since the weather at home was for thunder storms, we took the two dogs with us instead of leaving them outside in the backyard. They loved all of the attention they got from all of the kids there. They even managed to get a hot dog and burger too. When we got home at 8:00 pm, we were so tired, we were in bed and asleep within about half an hour and slept until late morning. It sure is a good thing we are retired and didn't have to go to work the next day. We would have never made it.

Where did the sun go?

Yesterday was so sunny and bright and warm and today is so gray and gloomy. Even though the thermometer says 64 degrees, it sure feels a lot cooler. If I didn't know better, I'd say the clouds look like snow. No chance of that right now. It would be rain and I'm not complaining as we really need it after the past couple of years of drought.

Since it's so gray, I decided to dig back in the archives and pull out a quilt top that brings the sunshine back into the room. It's one of the UFO's that I really want to get finished this year. In this photo, it's on it's side, but it really doesn't matter as the blocks don't have any real top side.

The blocks are six inches finished. The pattern is called "Confetti" and I can't remember the names of the designers right off the top of my head. I'll find it and post it before I get the quilt finished. It was being taught as a class at a quilt shop in Cocoa, FL several years ago. I was there visiting my DH's brother and his wife. Cindy and I went to the quilt shop one afternoon and I just fell in love with this quilt. I wasn't going to be there for the class so I bought the book and the fabrics and made it after I came home. It's such a fun technique. Another designer has a couple of books out on a similar technique, "Stack the Deck". This is the final size in the book. It was bound with a narrow red binding. But, I keep thinking that it need a border so it would be larger for an older grandchild. Still haven't decided on that. I could match the colors in it pretty well as most of the fabrics are Moda Marble Botanicals. Have to think some more on that.

On a non-quilty note, DH and I went for a short ride today to explore the area around where we now live. We had heard that a winery had opened in our county about the same time we moved here. We found it and it's a beautiful place. Check it out www.delmonacowinery.com Of course we had to visit the tasting room and a few bottles came home with us. I wish that they had a good photo on their web site of their floors inside. They look like some type of inlaid stone that has a giant grapevine winding through the rooms. It's stained and highly polished concrete that has shallow groves in it to create the shapes of the vines and leaves. It is stunning. It's only about 10 minutes from our house so I can see that we will be visiting there again.

Since we've been home, Howard has been cooking dinner. He's made a large pot of chicken and dumplings. Yummmy. They are so good. I didn't realize when I married him almost 8 years ago that I was giving up my kitchen. But, he enjoys it so much that I don't mind at all. After all, I've been cooking since I was about 11 years old and I'm well into my senior years now.

I think it's time to go to my attic and visit with my fabric and sewing machine. Maybe I'll even do a little sewing while I'm there.

Hugs, Barb Mcf

Cars. tires and computers

I've spent most of the day on the computer getting my directions for the Attic Windows project written up and ready for the retreat next week. That's what I made the two attic window wallhangings for. Twice a year I get together with my sister-in-law and a group of her friends. I'm the "designated" teacher. I have to make it interesting for the very beginning quilter and also the advanced quilter. It's a lot of work, but I love it. I've often thought that if I could do it over again, I'd be a Home Economics teacher instead of a R.N. But probably not.

I did get some sewing done last night. This block is called "Next Door Neighbor". I made it for a swap coming up in April on Block Central. The colors are really brighter than they show up here. They are the Aunt Gracie's 30's prints with a white on white background. I like how easy the block was to make. I did modify the construction a little so I was using the connecting corners instead of cutting all of those triangles. The more I look at it, the more I think that I would like to make an entire quilt using that block set without any sashings so the corner triangles would make a secondary pattern. And, what if I used batiks in the many watery blue colors. Hummm, lots to think about.

Back to the title, had to get new tires on my car today. I have a 2008 Toyota Highlander and it has odd size tires, 19 inches and only two companies make that size tire, Toyo and Bridgestone. That means that there aren't any big bargains out there on them. Oh well, I'm just glad that Howard decided to take my car in to have the tires rotated and aligned yesterday. Turns out that the rear alignment was way out. Guess it was one of those potholes on I-40. The rear tires had worn so badly in places that the wire was exposed. And it hasn't been that long since the tires were rotated and checked. Now I have new tires to ride on on my way to Atlanta and then on to Alabama next week. The condition those tires were in, I probably wouldn't have made it.

I think I'm going to go now and make a large cup of hot cocoa. Even though it was a good 20 degrees warmer today than yesterday, now that the sun has gone down, it's chilly and a cup of hot cocoa sounds good.

Quiet Sunday Afternoon

What a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon, sewing and watching the NASCAR race at the same time.

The first thing I did was to take this block and take most of it apart so I could remake it. If you look closely, in the top center is a Flying Geese unit right above the large pink square. The other three sides are different. The top one is the correct one. I had already had to rip out a couple of the corner HST units as I had them turned backwards. At first I considered leaving it alone but realized that I would never be happy with it that way. So, this is the result.

It looks so much better with all of it's flying geese turned the right direction. The name of the block is "Crystals" and can be found on Quilters Cache. It's one of the blocks I've made for the BPS swap on Block Central. Each month a different person chooses the main and alternate block for that month. You then make the block in whatever colors you want and keep it for yourself. It's an interesting way to make blocks that you might never have done before. I've been doing the blocks in the 30s repro fabrics and have enough now to put together a good size sampler quilt. So, next month I'll start making the blocks in different fabrics.

In other sewing, I did put a narrow black border on my floral attic windows wallhanging. DH is holding it sideways but it still looks good. I still haven't decided if I'm going to put another border on it or not. I'm still thinking about that.

The huge snow storm just barely touched us. We got up on Sunday to about one inch of snow while people to the west and south of us had from 4 to 10 inches. It just curled around us as it made it's turn to stop heading south and turn to the northeast. It did bring in the cold air and wind. Even though it's bright and sunny, it's very deceiving as it's really cold. But, spring isn't far off as the neighbor's daffodills are in full bloom.

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.

Too many motorcycles

Last Thursday when I took my aunt out to lunch, we couldn't get near our usual place in the small town of Cumberland Gap, TN for all of the motorcycles there. This week was the "Honda Hoot" in Knoxville and Thursday was the group ride to Cumberland Gap and they had lunch there. You can't see much in these photos as we weren't allowed on the main street and had to detour around them. I took one picture fron the end of the street and the other from across the small park in the center of town. The town is tiny. The main street is only a few blocks long but it is pretty. The businesses there are mainly antique shops now and a wonderful restaurant, Webb's Country Kitchen. We had to go somewhere else but still had a good time spending the afternoon together.




Today we went to Lowe's and spent quite some time just looking. Since we are pretty sure that we are going to go with new construction, we decided to look at what's available in refrigerators, stoves, washers, dryers, dishwashers, ceiling fans, and such. I was amazed at the big price difference between the basic models and the top of the line with all of the bells and whistles. You sure could get carried away if you weren't careful. I don't want the absolute bottom model but I also don't want the top of the line either. I'm going to wait and see what the builder installs and then decide if I want to upgrade. But, all of that is assuming that we are going to have a house built and we aren't at that point yet. Guess you could call this, being prepared.

Howard and I are both big fans of all type of auto racing, including drag racing. He and my son have both been involved in racing at one time earlier in their lives. We were just heartbroken at the news today of the death of Scott Kaletta in the explosion and crash of his dragster. My heart and prayers go out to his family.

Contract on the house

We did it. This afternoon we signed the paperwork accepting an offer on our house. But, it's still not final. They have to sell their house first. Oh well, most of the country is in that position now so I understand that as we are too. Their house was listed a little over two weeks ago and they are already getting calls about it. It's a nice two story house in a very nice neighborhood and school district so it shouldn't take it too long to sell as that area of Knoxville has started picking up in real estate sales. Friday we are going to be looking at houses in the Mt. Juliet and Lebanon, TN area, east of Nashville. The agent there sent us an email with the listings of over a dozen houses that met the criteria we gave her. We are looking for a few specific things; a fire place, great kitchen for Howard, a sewing room for me, and a moderate size yard that is fenced for the dogs. So far we have seen two that we really like and another three that have possibilities. But, photos can be deceiving so have to see them in person. I'm going to make up a check list sheet for each house and have fresh batteries in my camera so we won't get confused about which features were in which house.

I did get a quilt block made. It's a 12 inch, Star in a Star block and is another of the lottery blocks for a retreat in August. The requirements were any star, 12 inch finished, wow or woc background and jewel tones, no batiks. I think I managed to meet all of them. This is probably my favorite star block pattern. I've used it frequently in quilts, especially for kids by substituting a novelty print for the star in the center. Makes a nice quilt.

Better go. I need to really get started on clearing out, sorting, and packing my "stuff", especially the sewing room. I'm excited about moving closer to family, but not about the packing and actual moving process. I'm getting too old for this. I'd rather be quilting.

Step 5 finished

I did it. I finished Step 5 of the Orange Crush Mystery yesterday and took a couple of photos to post here. Since I'm using lime green in place of the orange in the mystery sample quilt, I may have to change the name of mine. I also used pink in the center of the blocks instead of the indigo blue Bonnie used. I'm making this entirely from my stash. I decided that if it were to be a true scrap quilt, I had to use what I already had. So, that's what I've done so far. I may have to buy a batting but I think I have fabric for the back already, stored in one of the many boxes of fabric that I have.

The top block is of the whole block and the bottom photo is of the half blocks and corner blocks. From those, I'm guessing that the body of the quilt is going to be set on point. Will have to wait and see. I got carried away when I was making the unit in the corners of this block. Bonnie called them a "split 4 patch". They are a very versatile unit and are used in lots of other quilts. I have about 30 or so leftover so I have the start on another quilt. They were fun to make.

Much too busy

I was surprised to see that it's been almost two weeks since I posted a note here. Time sure is flying by in a big hurry. We did make the trip to Marietta, GA and back home on Saturday, May 24 to attend the graduation party for Christine. While I would have loved to go to her graduation and hear her Valadictory Speech, it just wasn't possible. For one thing, the graduating class was so big that families were given a small number of tickets so large families had to choose who could go and who had to stay home. As it turns out, it was much better going the day after as everyone was relaxed and there wasn't all of the fuss and nerves of graduation day. We were able to visit more and all had a good time. Here is a photo of Christine with her quilt. I'm sure she liked it as we were barely able to get one photo before she disappeared to put it on her bed. I just wish she didn't have that baseball cap on backwards. But, that's a grandmother speaking.

Since we didn't get home until after 1:00 am Sunday, I spent the next day recovering from that trip. I'm getting too old for these 450 mile round trip runs with a 5 hour break to visit and eat. Also, the gas prices are going to put an end to a lot of it also. It cost us just over $100 in gas to make that trip. I'm sure a lot of people are going to be like me and not make that trip very often. My running around sure is going to be cut back, especially now that Howard is retired and gas prices are so high.

During the time after the graduation trip, it seems that we've either been getting the house ready to show or going to doctor offices. Oh, I did teach a machine applique class at a quilt shop about 60 miles away. Until last year, it was the closest one to me. We had one open here in our little town last year. It's very small but has a decent fabric selection. I think their biggest selling item is machine quilting. They have two Voyager mid-arm machines and do machine quilting. They've done two for me, Christine's quilt was one. They do a good job and their prices are reasonable.

The house has been shown twice in the last two weeks and one person really seems interested. I'm not holding my breath but I really would like to have this house sold so we can get moved and settled before Fall. In the meantime, I try to do a little sorting and getting rid of "stuff" everyday and also to do some sewing as often as I can. My sewing and making quilt tops is what's keeping me sane while all of this crazy real estate stuff is going on. I've got Step 5 of the Orange Crush mystery just over half finished. I'll take a photo when I get it finished. The colors in it have changed. From the colors in the scrappy sections and the Spinning Star sections, I was going to call it Blueberry Crumble. Well, it's all changed. Where Bonnie used orange to pull it all together, I've used a mottled lime green and I used pink where she used blue. Now I have to come up with a new name.

Probably the most frustrating thing that has happened during the past week was me waking up Saturday morning with a splotchy red rash all over my chest, shoulders and back. Since all I was doing was being very itchy, I decided to wait until Monday morning to call the doctor but if I had started having any breathing problems or it had spread more, I would have gone to the ER. I got worked in yesterday afternoon and am now on a steroid dose pak, an antibiotic for the places I had scratched in my sleep, and a pill and cream for the itching. It's still there but not as red and definitely not as itchy. Sure wish I knew what I got into that caused it but since I haven't changed anything the doctor thinks it may have been something from outside, possibly when the neighbor was burning his fence rows. But since it doesn't look or act like poison ivy, I still don't know.

If any of you are doing Bonnie's Orange Crush mystery, have you tried the recipe she included for Pecan Cheesecake Pie? Howard made his second one tonight. It's to die for and so easy to make. If you haven't tried it, you have to. Gotta go now and finish my piece of pie.

A UFO finished

I couldn't decide on what to work on yesterday so I dug out this tote bag that I started almost two years ago. I first saw it at a retreat in Springfield, MO two years ago. They called it a "Barbara Bag". Since my name is Barbara, I just had to make it. It's made from a large square of quilted fabric, bind the edges, then sew two seams, fold the corners in, add the handle and you have a bag. That's just a quick explanation of how it was made but wasn't hard. I really wasn't pleased with the commercial yellow and white gingham binding so that's why it sat unfinished for so long. Since I'm going to the retreat in Springfield again this year, I decided to finish it. It's pretty large, the tiles it is laying on are 12 inches square. It sure can hold a lot, good for shopping.



I made the second Ozark Puzzle block, also for the retreat. This time it is batik with a black background. I really like how it came out but it sure was hard for me to sew. As I'm getting older, it's getting harder and harder to work with black and I really like how it makes the colors pop.

Today was the day we took my aunt out to lunch. She so looks forward to our day out and we enjoy being with her. I sure hope that if I live to be her age, 89 in September, that I'll be as active and alert as she is. She still lives alone although she does have house cleaning and yard help.

My neighbor brought over a handbag that she had bought at a garage sale a couple of years ago to see if we could take it apart and make a pattern from it since she liked it so much. It turns out that I had the pattern for it. If I remember right, it's called "Mary's Bag". I've probably had that pattern over 12 years. I bought it at the AQS show in Paducah that long ago. I've always wanted to make it up and just never got around to it. Now, it's going to get done. We are going to go shopping for fabric in two weeks and then make them together. She is just getting into quilting and is so excited about it.

This evening about 8:30, Howard got a call that a good friend of his had had a heart attack and was in the hospital. He took off to go see how he is and also to close up his office. He was at work when it happened and he left his computer on and lots of stuff on his desk that needs to be taken care of and put in a safe. He works in a high security area so certain procedures have to be followed. I have no idea what time he will be home but in the meantime, I'll sure be praying for his friend and his wife. I've been through this twice with Howard and I know how scary it is for the wife and family.

Our realtor called this morning and he has had two different people call him from out of state that they are going to be here over the holiday weekend and want to see the house. We live close to a large lake that is very popular for vacations so we get a lot of out of state people here during the holidays and summer. I'm not holding my breath, but maybe one of them is the one. Better go and make sure things are spiffed up and looking good.

They're at it again

Last year, one of our chickens decided to use one of the folding chairs on the front porch as her nest. She actually hatched three sets of eggs during the summer. We tried to move the eggs to a nesting box that we sat in the corner, just under the chair. No good. She just laid more eggs in the chair. This year we've been good about folding up the chairs at night. But, last week we forgot them for a couple of days. This year we have different chickens due to a raid by a couple of hawks. But, they also like the folding chairs. We decided to just let them have their way and make their nest there if they wanted to. The interesting thing about it is that apparently at least two different hens are laying eggs in the same place. If you look closely, there is at least two different size eggs in the chair. To me, it seems to be three different size eggs. As of this afternoon, there is 10 eggs. They won't start sitting and hatching until they have an uneven number of eggs, somewhere between 11 and 17. I just wonder which hen will sit on them or if they will take turns? It's going to be interesting. I'll try to get pictures later.



I did manage to get some sewing done during the past couple of days. The Happy Block theme for June on Block Central is "The Pond", whatever you would find in or around a pond. I just happened to have some scraps of a fabric with turtles on it left from a quilt I made for a grandson about nine years ago. It was just perfect for the center of the block as we really do have turtles in our small pond. Now to just put them in a safe place until the drawing in July.



I'm going to be going to a retreat in August and we always make blocks for a raffle. We will be making four or five different blocks. The retreat leader picks out the pattern for them. This one is Ozark Puzzle and can be found on www.quilterscache.com It's a large block with a lot of pieces but it's real easy to put together. We will be making two of these. Both will use batiks but one with a white background and the other with a black background. I've got the first one made and have the fabric chosen for the second one but it will have to wait for a really good day as these old eyes don't like sewing on black very much.

Around the house has been very interesting the past few days. On Sunday, Howard was bending over to pick up a shirt and heard a pop and couldn't straighten up for a little bit. His back went out. This happens every year or so and usually clears up after three or four days of rest and heat. He's been walking around crooked and spending lots of time laying on top of the electric blanket with it turned on, a giant heating pad. He seems to be a tiny bit better but if he isn't a whole lot better tomorrow I'm going to try to get him to go see the doctor. He keeps telling me that he's fine but I can tell by the look on his face and the way he's walking that he isn't. We are supposed to go to my granddaughter's graduation this weekend and I'm not sure he can take the 4 1/2 hour ride there, sitting through it, and the return ride home. Will have to wait and see how it goes. The seats in his new truck are heated so he could turn his seat on and use it like a heating pad. That just might work.

Mystery Quilt Update

I decided to document my progress on Bonnie Hunter's Orange Crush Mystery. It's a way of keeping myself on track and also to see my progress. So, I got all of the parts out it it's storage bag and took these pictures.



This first picture is of Part 2. They are all in neat stacks, waiting on the next instructions that will, hopefully, tell me how they are to be used.

This is what I made in Part 3. They look like I took some of Part 2 and split them in half. Maybe that's how they are going to be used, I wonder?????

This is Part 4. It was made using the large stack of four-patch squares from Part 1 and some yardage. As you can see from the colors of my star points and from the scraps in the other parts of this mystery, the name "Orange Crush" sure won't fit my quilt. I think I'm going to call it "Blueberry Crumble". I'm not completely sure of that as I don't know exactly what fabrics I'm going to use in the rest of the clues for this quilt. I know that in the fabric requirements, another color of yardage and an accent color fabric are used and I haven't chosen them yet. I'm just pulling the fabrics from my stash as I need them. So it is a true mystery.

Today was the day to take my aunt out to lunch. We go once a week to the same restaurant, Webb's Country Cafe in Cumberland Gap, TN. It's a chance for her to get out and see some of her friends. We have never been there without seeing at least one of her many friends. We look forward to our days out together and have fun. Since Howard has retired, he has joined us several times. I think that I'm really appreciating the little pleasures in life a lot more as I grow older and one of those pleasures is spending time with her.

A good day sewing

Today was a busy day but a good day. Howard had to be away most of the day on business so I was home along. I spent it doing laundry, five loads of laundry. How does two people have so much laundry in a week. Like my mother used to say, we're either the dirtiest or the cleanest people in town. Oh well, won't have to do it again for at least a week.

In between the loads of laundry, I sewed. I was determined to get the latest part of the Orange Crush mystery quilt finished. The first three parts were very scrappy and I didn't even make a dint in my box of scraps. For this part, you have to have yardage. From the colors I choose, I think I'll call my quilt, Blueberry Crumble. I don't think it will have much orange at all in it. Now, it's all safely stored in a two gallon zip loc bag, just waiting for the next step.

I also did the blocks for the Block Party Surprise swap on Block Central. The top block is the alternate block for the month, Mississippi.

The lower block is the main block, Frolic Variation. I'm not real sure I like my color choices in this one but I do like the contrast in the top block. I just joined this swap this week and it's a different type swap, you keep your own blocks. Each month a different person chooses the main and alternate blocks. You have a month to make one of the blocks and post a photo of it. You decide when you have enough blocks to make a quilt. I think I may try to make some of the previous blocks as they are so pretty.

I probably won't get any sewing done tomorrow. I'll be taking my aunt out to lunch and then spending a couple of hours visiting with her. She will be 89 in September and still lives alone. She does have someone to do the yard and a lady that comes in every two weeks to clean house for her. Otherwise, she's on her own. I'm the closest relative to her, about 35 minutes away. Her daughters both live a good 4 hours away. We have a good time on our days out and we both look forward to it.

I think that on Friday, I'll spend some time straightening up the sewing room so I will have space to work without having to move "stuff" out of the way. I need to get busy on the graduation quilt for Allison. She is going to be graduating early sometime this summer. So, I need to get it done now instead of next year. She wants the Eleanor Burns Sunbonnet Sue quilt done in the 30's fabrics. I have all of the pieces traced onto the fusible interfacing. I just need to get my fabrics cut and ready to sew. Looks like I've got my sewing all planned out for the next several weeks.

Gift for Mom

Where has the week gone? It seems like it was just last Sunday and here it is Friday already. Between trying to clean out the kitchen pantry and cabinets and doctor appointments, the time has flown by. Here is a photo of some of the sewing I got done this past week. It's not much, but I'm sure proud of it. It's a pillowcase for my mom for Mother's Day. She had previously told my brother and I that she didn't want us going out and buying anything for her. All she wanted to do was to go to the new Longhorn's for dinner. So, we're taking her there Saturday evening. But, I just had to do something personal for her. Into my stash I went and I found a large enough scrap of the pansy print fabric for the border/hem of a pillowcase. Then I found the yellow that just matches the yellow in the print. I was on a roll. I really like how it came out and she may actually use it instead of putting it back to save "for good". By the way, her first name is "Pansy" so I think it's a very special pillowcase.




I'm thinking that I may make pillowcases as Christmas gifts this year. About three years ago, I gave each of the 12 grandkids a travel size pillow and two pillowcases for it. They all seemed to like them. So, I may make them both a regular size and a travel size pillowcase this year. May even put their name or initial on the hem. Will have to think on that but with the embroidery capability on my machine, it wouldn't be hard to do. I may have just planned out my summer and fall sewing projects for the rest of the year.

On a non-quilting note, Howard (my DH) called his supervisor at the supermarket and officially retired. He's been off since the last week of March due to the surgery on his wrist and hand so they are used to him not being around. And, he was 65 last August so it's time. He told me that after the summer, he might look for something a couple of days a week to have something to do besides yard work. He thinks we will have all of the "to do" projects around the house finished by then and he doesn't want to just sit around. We'll see what he really does. It's going to be interesting.