Sunday, July 28, 2013

Ruler talk.....................

I keep surfing looking at quilts, and reading blogs and finding rulers and tricks to make certain pieces easier to cut.  To make making those "hard" blocks easier. You know what I mean?
Every single time I see one of these oh so great rulers I think, hey I made that block! I guess I don't have enough sense to know I need a special ruler to make some cuts lol!
I am very basic on rulers. I still have the same four rulers I got when I started quilting. Ok I did replace one because the numbers had worn off. But here's what I use.....

 6x24 ruler
6x12 ruler
12" square ruler
8 1/2" square ruler

That's it....my whole collection of rulers. Oh wait, I think I have two of the Easy Angle ones somewhere but guess what? I never use them. I find that it's just as easy to use these four rulers to make any block I want.

I see quilters with tons and tons of rulers and I have to wonder if they all actually get used? Or is it just about having them?
I think I'd forget I had them! I know I've done that with the Easy Angle ones.

So what do you use? Do you have a ruler stash? or do you keep them to a bare minimum?

Now I'm NOT being quilt policey or judgemental or anything.....I am just curious.

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Almost done!

I worked all day on this and I'm almost done. That's a good feeling! Hopefully today I will get it finished. I need to stitch around the seaweed, scallop the top, and back and quilt it. Not too much more to do.

I also started cutting the pieces for this last night....
http://www.mccallsquilting.com/mccallsquilting/articles/Gosling_Go_Round_FREE_Flying_Geese_Quilt_Block_Pattern

I just LOVE Flying Geese for some reason and right now pinks appeal to me! I was able to pull everything I needed from my stash too! I remember when I first started quilting five short years ago.......I looked at pictures of other quilter's stash and was amazed. I didn't think I'd EVER be able to make a quilt from mine. Now I still can't rival some of those pictures but I can make a quilt from mine! I'm thinking this might be my first quilt to tie......I am not sure though. I can also picture big stitches around all those geese and something in those big pink squares. Isn't it just lovely?

Friday, July 12, 2013

Wall hanging for a friend....

This is the start of a wallhanging I am making for a friend. She wanted bright colors and it is going in her new home at the beach. So I thought an underwater scene would be perfect.
I am out of my comfort zone! I've got the background laid out so far. I have a plan for the rest of it....now I just have to figure out how to put it into action!

It definitely is some stress relief to escape away and work on this......dd's wedding is tomorrow! Family is coming in today! The house looks like a tornado hit it! Sunday I will crash I think.

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Wedding dresses are on my mind!

The time is fast approaching! Daughter #2 has her wedding in 2 weeks. I'm finishing up alterations on her dress this week. Let me say right away I am NOT a seamstress. I don't even like making clothes. But....a friend of mine who is marvelous at it is already making daughter #1's dress and I just couldn't ask her to do this too. So I am tackling it.
So we're going from this



to something like this....
The front of it isn't so bad but I have to tackle moving the zipper today and I am  NOT looking forward to that!

And here is my other daughter's dress made by my friend. DD took her a picture and she has copied almost to the letter! Now the front of it is not attached yet....this was the fitting to see if everything was going together right.



I think I'm going to have two beautiful brides this summer!
Some of these are not good pictures....my next cell phone whenever that may be is going to have a GOOD camera!

I also have the plan for the wallhanging for my friend. Here's the fabric for it. It will be an underwater scene and I am completely out of my comfort zone making an art quilt as much as I am altering wedding dresses! But picture sand and seaweed and bright fish swimming against a blue sea.

Monday, June 24, 2013

Just the binding left!

I can't believe the wedding quilt is almost done..and ahead of time! I need to do the binding and wash it. I'm pleased with how it turned out overall. My usual problem is with the back and this one is no different. No matter how well it seems I pin I end up with at least one pucker......But hopefully they will look past that pucker and just see the quilt and the love put into it. oh and excuse my very rough looking chair......that was intended to be my summer project...restoring the whole set but with two weddings this summer it seems those may be pushed off until fall!

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

TOGA is over for another year....

It was a great weekend if a little  hectic. We got to the church Friday and got set up. Our first class was t-shirt scarves. Guess what I will be making for Christmas gifts this year? Then of course lunch. There always has to be food!
In the afternoon we made thread catchers. Those things are awesome! Do you use one? I'd looked at them  and looked at them and just never took the time to make one. Why did I wait so long?
Then before we knew it it was time to leave for the day. Since we were done with the machines we loaded them up. Now comes the really genius move I made......I left my purse there! We got all the way to the motel to check in before we realized it too. So a mad rush back to the church hoping and praying someone was still there. Thankfully someone was! Needless to say by the time we checked in, ate supper and got back we were tired. We watched some tv and went to bed.
Saturday morning we made the fabric flowers to go on top of the thread catchers. They're really cute! My daughter though did a MUCH better job at making them than I did though! Mine looked kind of windblown.  Then it was time to clean up and head home.
We made it home safely only to discover we had left something.....again! My camera! Thankfully a couple that lives nearby found it and emailed me. I'll be meeting them later this week to get it back.
So no TOGA pictures till then!

But here's one of Miss Calikat this morning.....she was spellchecking for me! Taken with the webcam so not great...but see those earrings at the bottom of the pic? I got those last year at TOGA and wore them all weekend this year!


Monday, June 3, 2013

Camper time!

We're at the camper part of this week. That's what we will be doing most of the summer......going back and forth between weddings and showers and such.
It's rainy today so there is lots of quilting in my plans. Tomorrow is a trip with the camprground owner, her daughter and kids to go gold mining! Kids should love that!

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Wish List Machine!

4 years ago I had no idea that there was any other "old" machine besides a Singer. I definitely had no idea there were such beautiful "old" machines. It just wasn't something I thought about.

But now is a different story! I fell head over heels in love with the "old" machines! They are absolutely amazing to me. The fact that many have survived years of abuse and neglect and still sew a perfect stitch is just amazing. Not to mention the fact that they were (and some still are) things of beauty. When I look at the decals on them it makes me wonder why they ever started making plain sewing machines!

My first old machine was a Singer 127 with the shuttle bobbin. Many thanks to some wonderful ladies at TOGA who helped me get her sewing. That machine was promptly named Sally.....don't ask me why but for some reason it reminded me of something my Grannie used to say about "long legged Sally". That is still my favorite machine. I absolutely love to sew on her.

This past week I got a new to me machine. It's one I've been wanting for a couple years but everytime I've seen one for sale it's been more than my "frugal" self was willing to pay. Okay, okay my "cheap" self!  Then I saw the ad on Craigslist......I emailed. No response. I figured it was already sold. Oh well that's normal for me.....a day short and a dollar late. Three days later though the ad showed up again. I emailed again and got a response immediately! So plans were made to make the trip to go get it. I loaded up acouple of the kids and off we went!

When I got there it looked worse than in the pictures. I figured the decals were shot....cabinet definitely was. The cabinet wasn't important though as it would be going in my homemade multi-treadle table.

I brought her home and started cleaning. Three days later and I see decals! Well on the front at least. She actually looks pretty darn good! There is nothing but bare metal beside the shuttle cover which shows she was well loved. I like that.....the lady I bought her from said she belonged to her grandmother. I wonder what she made on this machine to wear the finish off? Did she make clothes or quilts?

I've got about a month to finish getting her cleaned up and then she gets to make her first quilt for me.


If you look close you can see the gunk still on her.......hours and hours of elbow grease still needed!



Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Has it been that long?

I didn't realize I hadn't updated this in so long. I've been busy. The wedding quilt is now a sandwich and is being quilted. I got a lot done this past Memorial weekend.
We went to the camper for "vacation" and the quilt went with me. The weather cooperated wonderfully and I was able to spend two glorious days sitting outside quilting....the end of May and it wasn't too hot.
Can you believe that?
I think I've gotten almost 6 rows done of the twelve. It was a wonderful weekend!
Sadly the river was up and too strong for the kids to play in....not to mention it was chilly with the wind blowing! But they still had fun. DD #4 didn't want to leave. She misses her Daddy so much during the week.

I did learn something this weekend. I really only like Gutermann thread for handquilting. It just feels better to me than others.

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Finished top!



Brit and Stephen's wedding present. Still need to piece the back and then start the quilting.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Rain, Rain go away.....

It's been raining for days now...It's gray and dreary and depressing. The grass is growing like crazy but it's too wet to get out there and cut it.
We did see some sunshine yesterday and a little this morning.
Rain is in the forecast for today though and again this weekend........I'm sitting here now and the temperature is 44.....in May....in the south. So much for global warming! It seems spring cannot get a good foothold and stay with us. 

I've been busy on Brit and Stephen's wedding quilt. The top is halfway done. I've also realized the fabric I picked for the border does NOT work. So now I need to make another trip to the fabric store. That's not really a problem though!

We're also busy trying to get Nicole and Shane's wedding rolling. She is going in a million different directions though and I'm wondering if we'll get it all done in time.

I did sit down and draw out a wall hanging I want to make once I'm done with wedding quilts. It's been in my head for months now and finally it's on paper.

I'm also looking forward to TOGA. It's only about a month away! I so need some me time!

And just so I don't forget that it really is spring...........I took this the other week. I love the color here.


Monday, April 29, 2013

Registering for wedding gifts.......what an experience!

Yesterday my daughter, her mother in law and myself went to register her for gifts.
It was an all afternoon event! Three stores in all. The first two were pleasant experiences. We were going thru the stores joking and enjoying ourselves. The experience changed when we entered the last store.........
Bed Bath and Beyond is a popular place for registries. Everyone seems to like it.
I personally will never even set foot in one of their stores again, much less buy anything. The consultant was pushy. She said she didn't work on commission........well in all my years of being a consumer I've not met a commissioned salesman that was more pushy!
She was downright rude! When I "disagreed" with her on her selection of pots and pans that dd should choose it was tense. I finally asked her how much she cooked. It was an honest question.....I cook 3x a day for up to 8 people. I help cook at church for weekly meals. I cooked turkey at Thanksgiving for 160 people. I cook... a lot. So yes I have an opinion on cookware. She was apparently offended that anyone would disagree with her.
She proceeded to pull my daughter aside and tell her "she understood how stressful it was to do this with your mother and mil and she would be glad to reschedule her to come alone"......oh really! She was the one who made it stressful!
She finally left us alone and the stress level went down. I did file a complaint with the company. I will never shop there again, and I will tell everyone I know about our experience.
Oh and my daughter thanked me and her mil for going with her when it was all over. 

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Not much going on this week...

It is quiet here this week. The only big thing happening is dd got her license. That's big! She has made her first solo trip out alone too. Talk about a nervous mama the whole time she was gone!

On other fronts I am working on redoing our back deck. It has tons of junk the kids have pulled out all winter and left there, leaves, and bones the dogs have "buried" in the leaves. It truly is a sad neglected place all winter.

Spring is here though and I have dreams of dragging a treadle out there and sewing while the bees buzz all around my head.....(ok I am doubting my sanity some due to those bees).

I'm finally going to sand and repaint that fabulous outdoor set that belonged to my Grandparents. Remember these? I have two chairs that go with it also.

http://vintageindie.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/06/02/vintageglider_teal.jpg

I'm trying to decide what color to paint them......something bright I think......maybe red?

Then I will need some thin cushions for them. A good project to work on with the treadle while sitting out there I think.
Oh and my indoor plants need to go out there too. Dappled light coming through the big oak tree leaves, comfy chairs to sit in, plants all around.....and a treadle to sit and sew at.......sounds inviting right? Of course the treadle will be taken in nightly.
Maybe a radio on with soft music......sounds ideal doesn't it? Best part is I don't see traffic or other people from my back deck! I will post some pics when I get it all done.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

It's the simple things in life.....

that make me happy. I've learned that over the years. I don't need fancy cars or a big house. I don't need lots of jewelry or extravagant furnishings.
Instead just give me simple......a treadle sewing machine fulfills all my needs and is soothing. A nice summer day with a breeze blowing and windows open, a quilt to snuggle up under at night, the sound of the kids laughing and playing, birds singing.

I think I am just an old soul really. I've tried "keeping up with the Jones's" and honestly it about killed me.
Give me simple, give me "old fashioned", and just let me be. I don't want new.....I don't want modern. I don't want a schedule slam full of events. I don't want every new gadget out there. I actually like staying home.....

Yes I do like some modern conveniences, like the computer, I like cell phones when the kids drive and head out on their own. But most of modern technology just escapes me...not because I can't understand it.....I am fluent at dual booting operating systems on computers and cleaning them of viruses, but because I simply don't want to!

I often wonder if I am the only person in the world like this. Then I find another kindred soul....usually online, and know I am not alone!

My goal this summer is to reclaim my back deck. To reconnect with the great outdoors. I start with cleaning it and moving hubby's tools out of sight. Then a gate to keep dogs and chickens off it when I want.
Then, plants......it needs flowers. I will plant hydrangeas around the railing.  I will bring houseplants out there. I will set up a table we can eat on more often, the grill will turn into a "summer kitchen" and last but most definitely not least, I will bring a treadle out there! I will set me up an area where I can sit and treadle away all summer! The kids can play in the pool and I can enjoy listening to them being happy. Ooh and my grandparents glider will get a new coat of paint and cushions.

Now doesn't that sound inviting? A nice little area to sit and relax with a glass of sweet, iced tea, and maybe sew a little?

You can't get much more simple than that! Oh no radio and no phone allowed!

Pictures will follow ........


Monday, April 8, 2013

I LOVE Spring!!

and there are signs of it everywhere! I spent a few hours outside today. Took down the shutters on the old part of the house so it matches the addition. They were falling to pieces anyway. Now to get a pressure washer and clean the old siding and paint the eaves. I did get a lilac bush and a hydrangea planted today. I so hope they do well! If so my whole front little bed will be filled with flowering plants. My butterfly bush always does wonderful.
Oh and my little shrubs I got at Tractor Supply last year have taken off! Now if only I could remember what they are!

There are two of these and this one in between them I'm pretty sure will bloom yellow.





I think this is Chamomile I planted last year...either that or German Thyme. Either one works for me!




and last but not least my Rosemary bush...isn't it just beautiful? I love the smell of it!


Now if I can just get my garden planted!!

Lazy Sunday afternoon......

well after prom dress shopping for youngest dd it was! We luckily found a dress at the first place we went and were home by 3pm.

So this is what I did all afternoon. I could've worked on oldest dd's quilt but I will have all day Tuesday to do that so decided to get a start on the next dd's quilt.

With two getting married this year I'm a busy momma! One eloped and the next one is in August but the one that eloped now wants a small ceremony for family.
 Daughter number two and the new sil want their quilt in greens....traditional style. So I've been looking trying to find a pattern that spoke to me......"I am their quilt!" I found it this past week.

This is their future quilt...............just one block drawn out. It will finish at 14 inches so I think about 36 of them will make a nice size quilt once I add borders.

 These will be the colors...

Lots of greens....these are poison greens repro fabrics and I need to find a blue....the crayon I used is called Prussian Blue. Maybe I will take it with me fabric shopping!

And last but not least progress on oldest dd's quilt.....I'm calling it Tropical Surprise for now.....it's from a pattern in the Jan/Feb  Fons and Porter Love of Quilting magazine and called Triangle Surprise.
I have more blocks done but not on the wall yet.

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Mornings......

It's still quiet here.....for a few moments at least. I need to get the kids up and moving. I need more coffee! I woke up this morning before the alarm clock and  as I laid there listening to the quiet....what a glorious sound that was, I wished someone would would bring my coffee to me.
Dh has been gone way too much lately and I've woken up by myself every morning. I miss mornings where we could sleep in just a bit and wake up together.
There are days too where I wish I didn't have to be so self reliant.......every once in awhile I'd like to be pampered too.
Ah well, enough self pity!
On the agenda today......church, home for lunch, and then prom dress shopping with my youngest daughter. Where oh where has the time gone? I'll post pics of her dress later!
Maybe, just maybe I can sew this evening.



What I'm so looking forward to this summer!

Thursday, April 4, 2013

On the agenda today.....

it will be a busy day! I have to take my daughter to work and then pick up milk, then home for several hours.
While I'm home I'd like to try my hand at making Orange Curd.....like Lemon Curd just from oranges. It sounds yummy and I have oranges and eggs....oh my do I have eggs!
We're getting close to two dozen a day right now. I never thought I'd see the day when we had more eggs than we could eat! We can eat a LOT!
Then there's bread dough rising in the fridge that will need to be baked. I LOVE being home and getting to do these kind of things!
Oh and I'm going to try freezing some of this abundance of eggs. I've been told this is a good way to save them.....I may even pickle some. Pickled eggs sound yummy and I've never even had one! I need to rectify that.

And just to add a picture here is Miss Daisy........having a catnip treat. she is hilarious when it comes to her catnip!
Seconds after I took this one she literally sprayed dd with a catnip sneeze!

Homemade Yogurt!

Oh this is just yummy goodness in a jar! A mason jar! I have a thing for mason jars lol.
Tuesday I made yogurt from fresh raw milk. My mouth thinks it has died and gone to heaven. The kids love it.
From one gallon of milk I got 5 quarts of yogurt, two plain, two vanilla, and a maple.
The maple is divine with granola for breakfast.
The part that really got my attention though is the cost. I thought that I would be spending more per quart of yogurt than if I bought it. I did the math and would you believe that my yogurt made with raw milk is only twenty cents more than the cheapest store brand? If you compare it to the organic the savings is astronomical!
One of my daughters cannot eat store bought yogurt. We're not sure if it's the lowfat aspect or the sweeteners they use. But she is miserable every single time she eats any. She can eat my yogurt without issues!
It's super easy too. I have looked at recipes and blogs of people making yogurt for years and every single time I came to the part about measuring the temp and then wrapping it I gave up.
Then I found this site..
http://moneysavingmom.com/2012/06/homemade-yogurt-in-the-crock-pot.html

Talk about easy! So now I am happily making yogurt I feel good about feeding my kids! No extra preservatives or chemicals at all. Just milk, sugar, and some yogurt added. I did buy some organic yogurt to start my culture but the next batch should be made using my yogurt and then the cost will drop even more!

And here's my yogurt in the fridge.....in my mason jars!

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Small blog link-up

Are you a small blog? This sounds like fun!


http://lilysquilts.blogspot.com/2013/04/fresh-sewing-day-and-small-blog-meet.html

Now to remember how to add that button!

Pure relaxation!



And oooh boy did I need it! This past weekend....Easter weekend.....was crazy!
We found out that our soon to be 22yo daughter had eloped........three weeks earlier! Yep, you read that right....3 weeks ago.

Talk about a shock to the whole family.....Sunday it really hit me hard and I was just out of sorts and grumpy.

Monday though life had to continue...the girls had Student Council. That's a two hour event so I always take something with me to do. The boys have fun running around and playing with friends and acting like wild people for those two hours.

The sun was shining, there was a small breeze, and the temp was close to 70. I pulled out my truck blanket and set up in the bed of the truck. Yes I am a true redneck girl.....just give me my truck and I can entertain myself for hours! lol!

I've finally decided on a pattern for the hexies. I saw a quilt similar to this online and loved it. So here's what mine will look like eventually....
there will be small diamonds between the flowers.
It may take me 10 years to finish it but one day....

Oh and I got myself a present, to cheer myself up. I've been drooling over these for ages now. I just love vintage sewing items! Every once in awhile I look at new machines and think one would be nice for a few seconds and then I think nah....my vintage machines do everything I need.
This is going beside the couch where I sit to watch tv. Then all my things are together in one place and hopefully the kids won't be "borrowing" anything! 
My sweet hubby doesn't mind me quilting a bit if I throw the quilt over him and snuggle up a little while quilting! 


Sunday, March 31, 2013

I know I'm supposed to be in a "happy" mood today...

it's Easter.  But the simple fact of the matter is....I'm not! I'm sure my attitude is just all wrong. But I'm owning up to it.
I'm tired. I'm low on sleep and I'm tired of being a "rock" for everyone. I'm tired of being counted on to always be there. What about when I need some support? Where does it come from?
I really hate having such an attitude especially today but I do.
I want a vacation! From everyone! No computer and no phone.....okay maybe the computer with access only to quilt blogs.
This picture just summed up my mood perfectly. I need Grumpy cat to sympathize with!


Saturday, March 23, 2013

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.....


 
well this one is! Friday morning I got up to make my coffee and found piles of what I thought was bloody urine all over the house. Not just one or two.....multiple spots. So I started isolating pets to see who was having the problem. That took most of the morning because cats hide really well when they're being sick! I finally though figured out it was Ninja and she was throwing it up........

Ninja came a long way to live with us. She's originally from western Pennsylvania and started life as a barn cat. DD #2 brought her home after a miserable summer job experience up there. Let's just say she's not a barn cat anymore!
She enjoys spending her days getting loved on and finding the highest hiding spot she can curl up into to nap. Whether that's on my sewing machines or the top of a closet.....
At night she's either on my bed (weeks when dh is out of town) or on ds' bed.
 If I'm working on a quilt Ninja is there. She even helps me baste!She LOVES quilting!
So see? No more wild barn cat. Although she wasn't really still wild by the time she came home to us. 
Last month Ninja made a trip to the vet to be spayed. That meant an overnight stay. Ds was so worried about her! Then her incision got infected and back we went to get antibiotics. More tears of worry from ds. Then all the mess yesterday......

Oh boy.......I was worried. Throwing up blood....especially that much blood repeatedly can't be good. The first thing I checked was my sewing machine. The thread was in the same position I left it. Now see, Miss Daisy our other cat has a thing about thread.....did you know you can basically toilet paper a whole house with thread? Well Miss Daisy can and does if I am not vigilant! The only thing I could think of that Ninja might've gotten into was Legos. There are Legos everywhere. You walk on them, they're in the bathroom, the kitchen, I've even found them under my covers on my bed!

So off to the vet we went. With severe worries that I would be coming home alone. That we would be racking up $$$ vet bills for surgery to remove said Legos or even worse. 
Imagine my joy when he said viral! He said he had seen several other cats recently with the same symptoms. Odd since our cats are totally indoor cats and never, ever go outdoors. He gave her two shots and took a chunk of change from me and home we came. 

Ninja does not tolerate meds well. We learned that from her spay surgery. When we got home she refused to come out of her crate. I took the door off and put water near her. She spent the rest of the day sleeping. Then last night when I checked on her more throwing up......ugh! She still wouldn't come out of the crate either. So I figured this morning we'd be back at the vet. She obviously wasn't better.........maybe there was a Lego after all.

I didn't sleep well last night. I dreamed about Ninja all night. Ds didn't sleep well. He ended up sleeping with me because he missed his kitty. I kept her in the laundry room so she didn't make a mess all over again. 

I got up this morning and went to check on her first thing, even before my coffee or the bathroom.......I fully expected to find a dead cat. When she not only meowed at me but came out of the crate to be petted I about cried! I took her to my room and put her beside ds right away and woke him to tell him to look who had missed him. That first pic is them in just a couple minutes. She obviously missed him as much as he missed her!

So Ninja feels better, ds is happy, and I am one relieved mama!













Wednesday, March 20, 2013

One of my favorite quilt books....

    I love this book! I saw it awhile back and had to order it. 

See that quilt on the cover?

                                    
 I would love to have that as my bedroom. Can't you just imagine waking up with that sunlight streaming in? On a nice chilly morning and you're all toasty warm under that quilt? Or a spring morning and the windows are open and the birds are singing? Needless to say there would be no sounds of traffic or modern life!

I was looking at it last night and oldest son came in. He really like that quilt too. He hinted not very subtly that he would like one like that......now what am I to do? If I make me one he's going to want it!

arghh! oh well I guess for now we'll just have to appease ourselves with looking at the book...since I am plugging along with the wedding quilt for oldest dd and if my "Momma Instinct" is right I think there will be another wedding in the family soon that require a quilt.
I do wonder though how this quilt would look as a scrappy?

Oh and if you want your own copy here's a link (I hope)

http://www.amazon.com/Country-Quilts-Linda-Seward/dp/0802114709

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

An unexpected day at home!

 Yesterday was supposed to be busy, filled with piano lessons, youth for the girls and a few errands. Instead we spent the day at home. Youngest daughter is sick. I think it's just a head cold but she feels miserable. Then youth was cancelled. So we postponed the errands and stayed home. I love being at home! Really! I am one of those probably few people who could go for weeks without leaving home. I have plenty to keep me busy! The kids though, well the girls at least would be bored. They like going.....and going and going.

 It was rainy and gray all day. The temp I don't think ever got above 45. I got the wood stove going for the first time in over a week. Got some basic school done and then I got my quilting mojo back! YES!

My oldest is getting married in August and I promised a wedding quilt. We picked out fabric, and that is as far as I got! I did manage to make 2 blocks at the camper last month......2 out of 156......
I just have not been able to motivate myself to work on it. Instead I pulled out hexies and have been working on them!
But yesterday I sat down with an episode of Quiltcam on (Thank you Bonnie Hunter!) and I started piecing! I managed to get two whole rows completed and enough of the flying geese units done to make two more rows.
Today I will be out and about and right by Mary Jo's....yes I'm stopping! I love the blocks so far but I really need some more lights. Something sand color since this is supposed to have a beach theme..I'm seeing more jewel tones though.
What do you think?

Monday, March 18, 2013

Quilting, Baptisms, Snow......Hail!

Life has been busy....as usual! It seems it never slows down. But that's ok. I'm getting used to it. We finally had some winter weather.......in March. First we had snow and Reece thought it was great fun and ran around trying to get everyone to play with her......oldest son gladly obliged!





Then later the same day hail! The snowflakes themselves were huge and the hail while not as big as it is in the summer still stung when it hit you. The kids HAD to go out in it to check and see lol.  Youngest daughter even collected some.










Last but not least......daughter number 3 was baptised this month! Such a glorious day! All the family got be here for the event. We have prayed for this for so long now. I am not a crier but even I was choked up seeing her make this decision!
Oh and finally! Some progress on the wedding quilt.....not nearly enough but......progress is progress right? One whole row and another started. So many little pieces.......I need to declare a "quilting" day and work on nothing else.

Monday, March 11, 2013

Took the weekend off!

and it was exactly what I needed!
Saturday was a beautiful day. I spent the afternoon outside...watching my chickens and smelling the earth as dh tilled it up to start preparing for the garden. I just stood there with my eyes closed and smelled. There is something about good fresh dirt that is intoxicating! I got my hands in it......just stuck them in and felt the dirt. The earthworms are active even though the ground is still a little cold. I think I will plant some lettuce this week.
So I guess the old saying is true.....you can take a girl out of the country but you can't take the country out of the girl.

Oh and a funny for you....there's always something funny coming out of the mouth of my 16yo daughter....
She said, "The cats get catnip...aka kitty crack, and Momma gets dirt, so they're both high!"
Kids.....ya gotta love em!



 And a picture of last year's lowly Dandelion. Have you ever really looked at a Dandelion? They've a beauty all their own I think.

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Changes, changes....

We lost our old golden almost 2 weeks ago. She was 13 and had gone deaf. She was having accidents in the house and had lost 20lbs. I couldn't see keeping her in misery any longer so we did the most humane thing. It was hard! We all cried over her. This was her in November. She was still doing pretty good then.

The same week both cats were spayed. They had an overnight stay and youngest son was so worried about them. Ninja's incision somehow got infected which meant a trip back to get antibiotics. Son was not happy!




















They're both doing fine now thankfully and back to playing. We built them a new scratching post this week and to entice them to use it I got some catnip.
I created a junkie! Daisy will stop at nothing to get catnip! She will beg, scratch and bite in her quest for more. Ninja likes it but nothing like Daisy.
We finally set the container in the floor to see what Daisy would do......sorry for the lousy picture it was taken with my cell phone.
We spent a long time laughing at her antics!

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Rain, rain go away!

 and don't come another day....at least not this week.
We're at the camper this week and guess what? It's raining! Of course! EVERY single time we come it rains. Which means 4 kids trapped inside what becomes a very small camper.......all day long! That also means that my patience and nerves are shot by the end of the day.........
At this point I am ready to go home and stay there.
Doesn't help that dd #2 called me when we got up here to tell me she has the flu. I've been calling and checking on her to see if I need to go home and take care of her.

I think that if I hear a weatherman say "drought" this year I may scream. We have had more rain this month than most of the year already!

Sunday, February 17, 2013

I'm frustrated....

actually I am beyond frustration. I am just so tired of NO ONE in this house being able to pick up after themselves or do simple chores without constant supervision. My kids are not babies either! Two are teens and one is preteen.

Today I told 11yo ds to feed and water the chickens and gather eggs. An hour later it still hadn't been done. I commented on it. He went and gave them a tiny amount of food. It's cold right now.....there's snow on the ground for pete's sake. I plainly told him to give them extra. He didn't. He also didn't give them water or gather the eggs and supposedly we've not had any eggs for 3 days......hmmmm.
I went out to water.....not only are the waterers nasty because he doesn't clean them (don't worry I did!) BUT there were 3 days worth of eggs out there!

And the girls aren't any better.......I washed dishes for an hour today. I was out all day yesterday running the girls here and there shopping for a dress and a birthday present and so on. I even took them out to Olive Garden for lunch.
Today I cleaned out the cup of peanut butter they had sat on the counter.....3 days ago. I wanted to see if they would take care of it. Nope!

So here's the new House Rules:

I cook 3x a day...you eat then and I wash your dish right away
if you don't bring your dish you eat next time on a dirty dish....or you do without.....

No snacking...kitchen is closed between meals (that should get their attention!)

No Netflix

limited internet

and no fun activities because the taxi driver (me!) is busy being a maid!

oh and most likely they will loose phones ....I think that if I have to go behind my teenage children and pick up after them then I deserve a smart phone with a data plan! Sound like a plan to you? Does to me!

Snow!

Oh how I LOVE snow. We so seldom get any here in the South so when we do I am beyond happy!
The kids had a blast playing, the dogs had a blast playing, even the duck enjoyed it!
Yesterday morning was rain...lots of rain, then 40 something temps and sun. Out of the blue it started clouding over and started snowing. It was really coming down! We crossed over Lake Wylie on the way to take 16yo daughter to a party and we couldn't see the water or the end of the bridge. In an hour we had at least 2 inches! Daughter's party ended early and church was cancelled today. It hasn't warmed up like they said it would today either. It's taken until lunchtime to break above freezing.



Thursday, February 14, 2013

Quilting...the blood sport

So I'm happily quilting along the other night doing Baptist fans on my CW quilt. The first row was the hardest.....all those seams on the border. I was putting some real pushing effort into getting that needle though when I felt a drip. I pulled my hand out from under and saw this. First time I have ever stuck myself enough to bleed like this!



So I stopped and cleaned up and put a bandaid on.....I thought my finger would be really sore the next day but thankfully it wasn't.
Done with the 2nd row of fans too! I love the way it's looking. This is the back. I'm doing this freestyle.....no marks to guide me and this much I did without the hoop. It was too hard to get the hoop on the edge.

Oh and of course my quilting buddy.....she HAS to come and lay right beside me usually under my elbow every night when I quilt. There's usually some thread chasing that happens too.........silly cat! And yes I quilt on the bed.......I go to bed early and spread the quilt out over me and watch tv for a bit and quilt.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Ready to quilt!

It took some finagling....is that even a real word? But finally my CW quilt is ready to start on. I had planned on thread basting, that is until I actually tried thread basting a small quilt. No way I was going to survive doing this one. Problem though was it's so big I don't have floor space to pay it out and pin it. Problem solved! We found a way. A few strips of fabric, couple small nails, and some safety pins had the back attached to the frame and smooth. Then skirt hangers had the top and batting in place. We pinned the outside first and then the middle. We did have to flip it to do the bottom half but I think it was definitely easier on my knees to do it this way.
 DD was awesome and helped me get everything in place.
I am thinking about a pvc frame though that I could put together in pieces......one that would fit any size quilt. Sandwiching is always the part I dislike the most.

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Quilting with cats......and dogs!

I am thinking I will thread baste my CW quilt. It is going to take me a LONG time to handquilt it so not having pins in indefinitely sounds smart. Since I've never thread basted one I thought it would be a good idea to learn on a small quilt.
However I'm not quite sure how I will accomplish it with the help I have!

Miss Ninja decided that it was her job to make sure the basting thread stayed in place.........

 and Miss Reece thought the quilt sandwich needed to be held in place better.



Needless to say they were both VERY helpful! I finally gave up. Tomorrow night I will finish this.......on the kitchen table out of reach of helpful paws!