In the Emerald Woods

Still Designing

2012-02-06T05:01:00.000-08:00

Progress was made and I spent quite a bit of time everyday sewing, although it's pretty hard to tell by looking at the picture this week vs. last week. I got all the border pieced and finished the first row of blocks. I am adding the border as I go to make my life easier and that is definitely what it is all about.

This quilt is too big for my design sofa and too wide for my design floor where it is currently sitting. I am thinking I may have to take it outside to my design lawn to find a place big enough to lay it out. I can just see me chasing all those little 2 1/2" squares down the street.

Time to get busy. Stop by Judy's blog to see more great quilting.

A new month, a new class, a new mat

2012-02-02T09:33:00.000-08:00

February is here and it's time to change out the decor for Valentine's Day. I have my hearts all over the place.

Our pastor started a Bible study for 2012 called the 3x5 club. We are reading the entire Bible in a year and doing it in order from Genesis to Revelation. We read 3 chapters everyday, except Sunday when we read 5 chapters. I did not know when I started if I would be able to stick with it, but so far it has not been a problem. I sometimes read ahead just in case I have a busy day and can't get to it. Genesis has always been one of my favorite books as there is so much to read about. We are now in the middle of Leviticus which is very tedious reading. It is a wonder to me that the church continued after God gave so much direction. I probably would not have been industrious or obedient enough to follow all his instructions. Of course, God probably would have zapped me like he did Aaron's sons. Our pastor seems to love to teach and really can bring some great insight into our reading. He has only been with us for 7 months and already has made a big difference.

My husband just went out a bought me a new plastic mat to go under my sewing chair. The old one had developed divots where the chair casters sat and the mat had cracked and pieces of the plastic had popped out making it nearly impossible to roll the chair. I can't wait to go try out the new mat and do some swirlies with my chair!! Yahoo!

Designing Monday

2012-01-30T05:33:00.001-08:00

I finished hand quilting the 12 Days of Christmas mystery quilt from Temecula Quilt Co. and got it bound while I was at my stitching group this week.

I was hoping to put together 1 block each day for the Eye Fooler quilt, but I was busy doing lots of things this week, so I only finished 2 completely and got the 3rd block nearly done. I am piecing the small fillers around the edge as I go so that I make sure I don't have too many of any one color. It is really a stunning quilt as the pieces go together. I love the high contrast of light and dark. My biggest challenge seems to be getting the seams pressed correctly and to lay flat. There are so many seams!

Happy quilting. Stop by Judy's blog to see what else is going on.

Monday Designs

2012-01-23T09:20:00.000-08:00

My design sofa is full of pieces for an Eye Fooler quilt. I have been making all these pieces since before Thanksgiving and I am getting close to having them all done. I enjoy taking my time and trying to get the colors balanced even though it is a scrap quilt.

I have made gaggles of these flying geese.

And a whole bunch of these.

Lots and lots of 4 patches.

Put them together and Voila! you have a block. Hopefully I'll get one or two of these sewn together this week.

I also got my 12 Days of Christmas Quilt basted and have started hand quilting it. I should be able to finish it this week.

Hop on over to Judy's and see what else is going on.

Up in Flames

2012-01-12T16:32:00.000-08:00

Our church quilting group meets twice a month and usually we work on our own projects. Today one of the ladies taught us how to make fleece mittens. She brought a couple of storage tubs full of fleece and a large roll of Thinsulate that she had bought on a closeout. She had made patterns and printed instructions for each of us and we were off and running. First we had to cut out lots of pieces of fleece and baste the Thinsulate to each piece.

Four of these.

And four of these.

Then we sewed all the pieces together and Shazam! I made a mitten.

Don't you just love the cool flames? I wasn't really sure I would use these mittens when she first showed them, so I picked a fabric that I thought a boy might like so I could give them to the school near our church since the kids there always seem to lose their mittens, gloves and hats. Our church knitting group has made dozens of pairs of mittens for them. However, now I really love these cool flames, so I may just wear them a few times before I give them away. Just for kicks!

Designing Monday

2012-01-09T04:43:00.000-08:00

I pieced together this top per the 12 Days of Christmas mystery from Temecula Quilt Co. It was fun to use up a few scraps.

My pile of blocks for my other quilt is continuing to build. This week I have been making HST's. Won't be long and I will be able to start piecing a block.

I'm off to the Y. Hop over to Judy's blog to see what other quilts are happening.

Monday Designs

2012-01-02T08:21:00.000-08:00

Temecula Quilt Co. is hosting the 12 Days of Christmas mystery quilt. These little cuties are 3-1/2" squares. Just one per day. How easy is that? I grabbed some scraps and made these during the commercials of the endless football games that are going on here.

Also am working on lots of HST's and finished up the Flying Geese I have been making for awhile. I cut hundreds of square to make the wings and when I finished making the Geese I needed, I still had tons of squares leftover. I'm not sure how that happened. Okay, I guess I do know, but I sure hate to admit it!

Gotta go. Watching the Rose Parade and then it's time for Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl game. On Wisconsin! Go Badgers!

Be sure to hop over to Judy's blog to see what else is going on.

Have a Happy New Year.

Have you Seen this Stuff?

2011-12-19T11:48:00.000-08:00

I visited a friend this week and she had some of this stuff called Deco Poly Mesh with Foil. It comes on a roll and it is very light and airy. It is kind of stiff and is great for decorating. My friend had used some with greenery to make a fabulous table runner for her dining table. She also used some with ornaments to decorate a table in her entry. I went to Stein's Garden Center and they had several different colors and widths. They had this mesh on a number of displays including as a ribbon on a ginormous wrapped package. They wrapped the mesh with lights to make swags. They used two different colors shaped to make a giant candy cane.

I bought lime green in a 10" width and used it on the mantle as a backdrop for all the stuff I have there.

Don't laugh at my meager decorating skills, but take in how fabulous this stuff looks and how it makes instant wow factor wherever you put it.

The Geese May be Flying South...

2011-12-19T11:27:00.000-08:00

But mine seem to have taken up residence on my cutting board. I have to make a skajillion of these for the quilt I am working on. I have been so busy with Christmas stuff that my flying geese are just sitting on the runway waiting to take off.

Be sure to check Judy's blog to see what is on everybody's design wall.

Hope you are getting lots of sewing time in. I am just enjoying the holidays.

Little Houses

2011-12-05T19:09:00.001-08:00

I am starting a subdivision in my sewing room. I saw this pattern last week and got busy this afternoon making these little cuties. I found a linen blend at Joann's and had a lot of fun finding colorful scraps in my piles to play with.

I hope to get a few more made in Christmas colors for our tree. These are destined for gifts.

It's Cookie Time

2011-12-02T14:18:00.000-08:00

Time to start making cookies for the holidays. I'm sharing my most favorite and easiest cookie recipe ever. They are also the first to disappear at the church cookie walk.

Here we go:

First start with these great ingredients.

Weigh out 10 oz. of almond bark and heat over low heat until melted and smooth. No lumps, please. Take it off the heat. Add 1/4 tsp. of mint extract and a couple of drops of green food coloring.

Once it's all stirred together, take one Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafer and dip half of it in the melted bark.

Place it on a waxed paper lined cookie sheet. Repeat until you have used up the whole box of cookies. There will always be one or two broken cookies. Dip those,too. Those are you treat for a job well done.

Melt 3/4 c. of your favorite choc. chips. I use milk chocolate. The recipe calls for mint choc. chip. Dark choc would be good too.

Put the melted chips in a ziploc bag. Cut off a teeny tiny piece of the corner of the bag. Squeeze the chocolate and move it back and forth across the cookies about 3 or 4 or 5 times. Whatever looks good to you.

Start about 1/2 inch away from the edge of the cookie and just keep the chocolate coming as you go the whole length of the pan and back. That keeps from getting big blobs of chocolate on the cookies. Not attractive.

Let them dry until the coating is hard. These are so yummy.

I also made Raspberry Ribbons which are also very yummy.

Hope you try some and like them. The hardest part of this recipe is finding a box of choc. wafers that are not broken and making sure the grocery checker and bagger don't maul them. I usually hold on to them the whole time and don't let the bagger touch them.

Designing Monday

2011-11-28T07:29:00.000-08:00

I spent some of my Thanksgiving weekend working on the last Jo Morton quilt top in the pattern package for this year's club. It is a cute little quilt and I really want to make a scalloped edge on the border. I am not sure if I have enough fabric to do that, so I am rethinking right now.

Just look at all those HST's!

We enjoyed having our son home for a week and are even more excited that he will be back again in just a couple of weeks after finals AND he will be home for a whole month. I hope I am still that excited at the end of that month. I sometimes forget what it is like to be so young and full of energy. He is really a great young man and I can't wait to see what the world holds for him.

Hop on back to Judy's blog to see what everyone else is doing.

My Good Fortune

2011-11-23T03:49:00.000-08:00

In the last few years, October has become known as Breast Cancer Awareness month. The NFL dons pink shoes and lots of people wear pink hats and pins. The bread that I buy, Healthy Life, sponsored a contest as well. On the back of the bread wrapper, there was a contest entry form for your name, address, and the name of a person who has been affected by cancer. So I filled out the form and mailed it in. Last week I got a call that I was a grand prize winner.

Yesterday I met my friend and the rep from Lewis Bakeries at my local grocery to receive our prizes. I received a 6 month supply of bread. Yum! My friend who I nominated received 12 months of bread plus a tote bag full of great stuff. She received gift cards for gasoline, bath & body products, spa treatments, a Visa gift card, a blanket and a whole slew of promotional gifts. Plus we each got a loaf of bread!! LOL!

It was such a treat to receive a prize and have my name pulled out of the drawing. But to be able to honor my friend, Joyce who has endured so much through 2 bouts of cancer was the real prize for me. She is one of those people with an indomitable spirit and incredible inner strength. We have been friends for over 30 years and this was definitely one of my favorite moments.

Our families have been doing Thanksgiving together for many years. Joyce makes hot rolls from my grandma's recipe plus she makes the gravy. Now you know why she is my best friend.

News from the Marshall Islands

2011-11-22T07:25:00.000-08:00

Our daughter has been in the Marshall Islands for almost 5 months now. We get letters infrequently - once or twice a month. We have Skyped with her twice. The last Skype was last Friday night and lasted nearly 2 hours. What a joy! She is well and has adjusted pretty well to the conditions there - no electricity, no running water, no phone. There is a CB radio for emergencies or communication between the islands.

Before she left, she asked me to talk with our Sunday School director and see if the Sunday School would be willing to collect books for her school and use the offerings to ship the books. Our Sunday School leaders and children have embraced this mission wholeheartedly and we collected over 200 books. Most of the children cleaned off their bookshelves and found lots of easy reading material for the children of Imroj. I have mailed off two boxes already and the photo is the remainder. I have even thrown in lots of old National Geographics and Time and Newsweek magazines as the adults like to look thru them and see all the photos even if they don't read the text.

We have sufficient funds from our offerings to also purchase some bookshelves and mail those off, too. They have none to store all these wonderful books. I also continue to send her paper and pencils and markers and any other school supplies that I think she can use.

I was able to get a donation of toothbrushes from my dentist's office a couple of months ago and my daughter sent photos of the kindergarten brushing their teeth. She said they are so excited to have them and love to brush everyday.

My next care package has lots more toothpaste, bandaids, more Tylenol, and eyeglasses. She seems to be a dispensary for everyone on the island and the older people are grateful to be able to read and get some relief from aches and pains. I didn't realize when she left that we would become a part of this bigger mission to the whole island.

Our biggest concern right now is an outbreak of dengue fever in the capital which is now starting to spread to some of the outer islands. This seems like one of those diseases which I read about in school like scurvy and beri beri, that should have been eradicated, but not so. There is no vaccine or cure. The treatment is hydration and sometimes hospitalization. They have had over 300 cases in the last two months. The WHO, the CDC and the US Navy have all been brought in to help. The Navy is working on spraying to eliminate mosquitos. So far our daughter's island has been unaffected.

Turkey Fun

2011-11-17T05:11:00.000-08:00

I whipped up two of these placemats yesterday for my little niece and nephew who are 4 to have a special Thanksgiving surprise. I will need to get them into the mail today to make sure they arrive on time. I googled Dresden plate turkey and found several ideas. The ones I found were all in browns or fall colors. I remember as a kid making turkeys with all the primary colors in construction paper and my kids did too. So that's the way I decided to make these little rascals. The eyeballs look kind of spooky, so I may need to add some black dots to make them a little friendlier.

It was a fun and colorful way to spend the day.

Finished in Time

2011-11-15T09:24:00.000-08:00

I finished the quilting and the binding on the Star of David quilt for my friend. Now I am going to try to print out a label for it. I have not done this before, so it is a new learning for me. Yea! This quilt will commemorate my friend's Bat Mitzvah. The date is Nov. 26, so I need to get in the mail in the next couple of days.

I have a couple of holiday projects that I am starting today. With luck I will have them done in time.

Pieced at Last

2011-11-07T04:48:00.000-08:00

Remember this?

And this?

I spent yesterday afternoon piecing them all together and here is the final result.

Isn't it lovely? Even though I had a picture on the pattern, I really was not sure how it was going to turn out and just how big it would be. I absolutely love it. It was all paper pieced and I managed to pick out all the paper during the Packer game.

This is gift for a friend who is having a Bat Mitzvah later in November. I can't wait to surprise her with it.

I would like to quilt it with a thin, thin batting as it will be for the table or a wall hanging. Does anybody have a suggestion? I want something heavier than interfacing and flexible like batting.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

Prairie Points

2011-11-05T06:15:00.000-07:00

At our monthly quilting group this week, one of the members demonstrated continuous prairie points. We started with a piece of fabric that was 8" wide and 21 " long. We ironed a crease down the middle lengthways, then marked off sections and cut and folded and Voila! -- we had prairie points. It was pretty easy and fun to learn something new. I googled continuous prairie points and found a really good tutorial, if you are interested.

To make two color points, we started with two fabrics, both were 21" long and 4.5" long. We sewed them together along the long edge and used the seam as the fold line. From there the process was the same, except the points were alternating colors.

The solid color was a little easier to work with since there was no bulk at the fold like the two color one, but overall, I think it is a pretty nifty technique. The person who showed us how to make the points, also had a quilt that she was finishing that used the technique. Hers were all one fabric and came out great.

Little Quilt Finished

2011-11-03T11:29:00.000-07:00

I hand quilted and bound this little quilt over the last couple of days. I don't hand quilt often, but I find it a nice challenge from time to time. My stitches were pretty even altho not too small. I am happy to have it completed before next week's deadline.

(Guess I should have wiped off the chalk lines before I took a close up. Oops!)

Now back to my other projects.

Tonight the quilting group from my church is meeting. One of the members is doing a demo on prairie points that are continuous. Should be interesting.

Doll Quilt

2011-10-29T06:04:00.000-07:00

The November quilt for the Jo Morton Little Women's Club is a doll quilt. I used a collection of fabric that I purchased from Connecting Threads several years ago. The top is pieced. It is small so I was able to cut and piece it in an afternoon. I am thinking of hand quilting it.

A Fun Weekend

2011-10-25T04:37:00.001-07:00

Our weekend started with a drive from Wisconsin to Illinois to visit our son on Friday. On Saturday morning we stopped by his fraternity to pick him up and found a rusty red truck in the driveway with this on the roof!

A dead squirrel. Ewwww!

We also picked up his girlfriend and we were on the road to Indiana for the Purdue- Illinois football game. It was Homecoming so there was a lot going on. The Purdue band was huge by itself, but there was also an alumni band sitting at the opposite end of the field. They combined forces for the half time show.

The game was televised on ESPN so there were about a million timeouts between the team timeouts and the commercials. The cheerleaders and bands tried to keep the crowd entertained and there were trivia questions and other tidbits on the big screen. During one of these timeouts I was watching the big screen and saw a shot of the crowd. I thought - that guy looks like my husband and he's sitting next to a lady in a green coat. HEY THAT'S ME!! I screamed to my group, but by the time they looked up, there was something else on the screen. How funny!

After the game I gave my son's girlfriend a tour of the campus and we stopped by the dorm I used to live in. It was one of the oldest and prettiest dorms on campus. It was recently remodeled and a couple of girls from our church in Wisconsin are living there now so I got to visit with one of them and she gave us a tour. It was so fun to see. We had a beautiful living room with little sitting rooms off to the side. Everything was exactly the same - even the furniture after 35+ years. I got all misty eyed telling these young people about my memories of sitting around in the dark passing the candle and singing sweet songs for pinning circles. SAY WHAT? They thought this was hilarious. They had never heard of a pinning circle or any of the other old fashioned traditions I talked about. Our tour guide told us she had to accompany my husband and son thru the dorm, which is the way it was in the old days, too. So unlike my son's dorm at Illinois where everybody runs around like free range chickens.

We spent our day at Purdue with some of my old friends including dinner and a birthday party for one of them. My son and his girlfriend were good sports about spending their day with old fogies and hearing us talk about the good old days.

They weather was beautiful and we got a sunburn in the stands. Sunday we drove home under gray skies and rain.

Off We Go

2011-10-20T05:22:00.001-07:00

Finished with time to spare. Tonite is the next Little Women's Club meeting and and was able to finish quilting and binding this little piece two days ago. The pattern is called Redware & Harvest. I followed Jo Morton's color scheme and the name fits. It measures about 30" square. I did a cross hatch quilting with rust colored thread and bound it was a rust bias cut binding. I used LuAnn's binding tutorial ( LuAnn of Loose Threads fame) and it worked great. Thanks, LuAnn.

We are heading out tomorrow for a weekend with our son and to attend the Illinois - Purdue football game at Purdue. We have such a family rivalry going and I think Purdue might get creamed.

A Little Update

2011-10-14T08:07:00.000-07:00

I finished piecing this top on Wednesday and if I can tame the seams with my iron so it lays flat, I will get it quilted next week. We have company from out of town for the next few days, so we will be enjoying them and doing some sight seeing. Yea!

We Interrupt This Previously Scheduled Quilt ...

2011-10-10T11:36:00.001-07:00

I started sewing away on the blue & gold hexagon quilt from my previous post and then started thinking about the next Jo Morton quilt and realized that I better get hopping on it right away as I have a busy schedule for the next week. So, I did an about face and pulled out the pieces I had already cut and went to town.

Jo Morton sure does love her HST's. I had a handful left over from previous quilts and thankfully she has designed the series of quilts for this club using the same size HST's over and over. So I plopped some of the leftovers into this quilt and saved a little time.

I thought the HST's were a little drab until I added the large cheddar triangles and Shazam!-- they really brightened up quick. I love them. This makes such neat pinwheels. Can you see the pinwheels? I sure hope so or I really messed this up big time. LOL.

Almost There

2011-10-07T08:09:00.000-07:00

I have finally made it through paper piecing all the blocks for this quilt.

I have one of these.

I have several of these.

And I have a few of these. These were the last ones I sewed -- for some reason triangles always seem to get the best of me.

This quilt is for a very special occasion in a friend's life. Can you guess what it might be?

I should be able to get this all sewn together over the weekend. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

Where in the World are the Marshall Islands?

2011-10-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

This is usually the first question people ask me when I tell them our daughter is working as a teacher in the Marshall Islands. After spending lots of time on Wikipedia, I can tell you that there are over 100 islands in the country and they are located on the equator between Hawaii and Japan. During her first month, DD was training and living on the capital island of Majuro. There are large buildings and banks and resorts and schools and homes there much like most of the touristy islands we are familiar with in the Caribbean.

After her month of training, she was assigned to a remote island. It is very, very, very, very small. To get there, she had to fly from the capital island to a second island ( The plane goes once a week.) From there she took a boat that is owned by the islanders and goes whenever there is a need from the 2nd island to the island she is now living on. The boat ride lasts about an hour. There is no dock, so she was dropped off as close to the shore as possible with her bags and boxes and waded into shore.

The island she is living on has 150 residents, 50 of whom are students in grades K-8 at the 3 room schoolhouse. There is also a church. She is living with a family at one end of the island. There are no roads or vehicles.

There is no electricity or running water. No computers, no TV, no cell phone, no shower. It rains daily, so the rainwater is collected in large (900 gallon) plastic containers. This is used for everything. Drinking water is boiled. There is no store on the island, no doctor, no clinic, no dentist. The residents fish for their meals and eat lots of fruit and coconuts from the native trees. Spam is also very popular. Apparently it comes in lots of flavors. Who knew?? Pancakes and donuts are breakfast staples.

The kids like to play ball games, esp. volleyball. DD goes snorkeling and swimming a lot. There is almost no English spoken. Our daughter is the ESL teacher. So she reads a lot and has taught her host family to play some of her favorite card games, like Speed and Kings in the Corners. The sun rises and sets about 6:30 everyday and the temp is always about 83 - 85 degrees. Very hot and very humid. Lots of mosquitos, too.

Most of us think about owning our own private island or sailing off somewhere to get away from it all. After hearing about my daughter's experiences, I've decided to stay put in Wisconsin -- at least until the snow gets too deep or the freezing cold gets to me.

Check It Out

2011-09-30T12:13:00.000-07:00

Five minutes before we left for the Y this morning for our daily workout, a knock came at the door. It was the FedEx driver leaving my long awaited box of books from C&T Publishing. They had a warehouse sale over the internet several weeks ago and my book finally arrived. There were some great deals, so I ordered 5 book for $16.00. WOW!

Book One: Card Art by Susan Terry.

Such cute greeting cards and gift tags using fabric on cardstock.

Here are a couple of fall cards.

BOOK TWO: Puzzle Quilts by Paula Nadalstern

Here quilt designs are so fabulous. In this book she gives tips on design elements and shows the same blocks made with alternate fabrics. She is also very funny.

Samples from Paula's book.

BOOK THREE: Bella Bella Quilts

This is a book I have wanted for a long time and now I have it!! The author travelled to Italy and took photos of many mosaic floors and designs. Then she created some incredibly beautiful and intricate quilts from those designs. The book includes patterns for paper piecing. I hope I can focus on making just one of these quilts some day.

What beauty.

BOOK FOUR: Benni Harper's Quilt Album by Earlene Fowler & Margrit Hall

I love reading the Benni Harper mysteries and these are a collection of some of the quilts included in the mysteries.

One of Benni's quilts.

BOOK FIVE: Pineapple Stars

This is actually a packet of pattern pieces for creating a Pineapple Star quilt. Pineapple designs are some of my favorite traditional quilts. Paper piecing should make it a breeze.

Can you believe I got all this for $16.00? If you don't follow the C&T Publishing blog, you definitely should. They have frequent giveaways of new books and this sale was too good to be missed.

Busy Days

2011-09-28T14:56:00.000-07:00

Here is the alternate colorway for this wonky log cabin block. I have made several and am excited to see how the pieces are starting to go together.

I started back teaching pre-school Spanish today and have the Fiber Friends stitching group coming to my house tonight, so I have been busy cleaning house and cooking and reviewing lesson plans. Tomorrow I plan to get back to quilting.

Last night I went to a great book club get together. A local book store hosted Lesley Kagen, the author of Whistling In the Dark and the sequel, Good Graces. She came up from Milwaukee and talked almost non-stop for an hour and a half. She is very funny and the group was really caught up in her stories. FYI, she does talk to book clubs via Skype and over the phone besides her in person visits, so you might want to contact her if you have enjoyed reading one of her books.

A Little Progress

2011-09-24T09:26:00.000-07:00

I have made several blocks for the new quilt I am working on. There are 4 different blocks. One is made in two colorways. There are six of one colorway and 12 of the other. This block is a wonky log cabin. To keep track of the colors, I coded each paper so I can make sure I put the right fabric in the right place. Of course, I did manage to get one goofed up, but then it wouldn't be paper piecing if I didn't make mistakes like that.

Here is the finished block. It is pretty simple and goes together pretty quickly, as long as I pay attention to what I am doing.

A Fresh Start

2011-09-20T08:02:00.000-07:00

I'm starting a new project as a gift for a friend. She has a special occasion coming up in November, so I am starting now as I am a known procrastinator. If the FBI has a Known Procrastinator's List, I'm pretty sure I'm at the top of the 10 Most Wanted List.

I have been trying to find fabric for this wall hanging for months. Last Friday I made a trip to Appleton and made it to 3 shops there and finally found a focus fabric I like. In fact, I found 3 or 4 I liked and had to narrow it down. What a great surprise that was! Once I found the focus fabric, the other coordinating fabrics practically fell off the shelves into my arms. I was a little pressed for time, so maybe that hurried the process along. The good news is that so far, I still like all my choices.

Besides having such great luck at fabric shopping, the best part of my day was having lunch with a good friend who I haven't seen in about a year. We had a lot of catching up to do, starting with a tour of her new house.

Here is the first block which is the center. The rest of the quilt is paper pieced. Fortunately, I heart paper piecing.

A perfect day

2011-09-19T06:03:00.000-07:00

After the quilt show in Madison was over (this was a week ago), we made a mad dash to Milwaukee in rush hour and Brewers traffic to make it to the Bradley Center in downtown Milwaukee by 7 p.m. to meet our husbands for . . .

Yes, you guessed it! Professional Bull Riding. Huh?

This is one of my favorite things. Going to a quilt show and bull riding in one day? That's pretty close to heaven for me.

The guy in the white hat next to the bull's head is Cody Lambert. He is a rider from the 90's and is one of the original owners of the PBR.

Love these chaps!! Another guy had purple ones with purple fringe.

This is Flint Rasmussen. He is one of the top rodeo clown/ bull fighters. He claims to be a big Packers fan. Someone on the far side of the arena brought him a cowboy hat made from cheesehead foam. Very funny. He wore it for awhile and said it was very hot, so he had to take it off. Our friends brought him some Packer boxers. Here he is receiving the package and reading the note.

I think This is It!

2011-09-16T08:18:00.000-07:00

I have finally run out of photos from the quilt show. So this is it until next year.

OOPS! Sideways --- but you get the idea. This was made from clothing labels. See the detailed shot below. Very clever.

Last night was Jo Morton Little Women's Club and I was the only one who made the quilt besides the group leader. I decided to let it go and just enjoy talking with everyone instead of being frustrated.

Fall is setting in here. Had to cover the plants last night.

The Quilts Keep Coming

2011-09-13T05:24:00.001-07:00

I hope you can stand to see a few more photos of quilts. They are all so lovely. I can never choose a favorite.

Isn't this gorgeous applique? It is designed to look like a Morris print. Stunning.

On Wisconsin

2011-09-11T15:07:00.001-07:00

More quilts.

This quilt made me wish I had an embroidery machine. It is so creative.

Can there be too many quilt photos? I wish everyone could see these in person as a camera can never do them justice. One of the ribbon winners (shown at the top of my previous post) is by Marilyn Badger who is a machine quilter for APQA machines. Her micro stippling and overall machine quilting is always perfect and so creative. I wish I could photograph her work and capture it.

There were two of these red compass quilts. The one above is bright red and the other was a more muted red. Lots of discussion in the aisles as to the preference.

This quilt was a log cabin with wilderness prints in the centers. The quilter captured photos of her husband holding prize catches and incorporated them into the quilt label in the shape of a fish. How fun is that?

We couldn't decide if we liked this quilt or not. Two parts sweet and two parts disturbing.

Beautiful fall quilt with maple leaves and little helicopter seeds.

Cute Cherries in pink and red.

Gorgeous applique in lime green and royal blue. It was stunning and bright.

Quilt Expo

2011-09-10T09:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Quilt Expo - the annual show put on by Nancy Zieman in Madison, WI. It was so fun travelling with my friend, Joyce and spending the day together. We have been friends for 30+ years and because we are both busy, we don't get the chance to really catch up. First I started us off on the wrong highway because I just wasn't thinking, so we had some map time and GPS consulting and re-routed ourselves before I took us to Chicago. It seems we got busy talking right away instead of paying attention to the GPS.

The quilts were inspiring as usual. There are quite a few of the WOWSER quilts and plenty of the "I think I can make that" quilts plus even some for beginners. There were lots of drop in lectures and some classes and of course, an abundance of shopping opportunities.

I have lots of photo, so will try to share them all.

Only In Packer Country . . . . .

2011-09-08T05:58:00.000-07:00

Since Green Bay won the Super Bowl last year, the NFL is providing a free pre-game concert tonite with Kid Rock, Lady Antebellum and Maroon 5 prior to the season opener. To make this happen two main streets in that area are closed for 10 days to set up and take down the stage, street lights and stop lights were removed, as well as several trees.

3000 tickets for the concert were handed out which required those who signed up for them to stay at the concert site after the game starts tonite. A second concert will then be held outside the stadium and filmed for showing on TV at some later time (Watch your listings, ladies! LOL)

The good news is that some really nice things are happening too. A number of the Packers players are leading sessions of Play 60 to get kids active for 60 minutes a day. Some former NFL players and members are building a playground at a local school. Several retired Packers are to be honored and are participating in the pre-game and half time activities on the field. That is always a cool thing.

My Quilting Bible

2011-09-07T07:45:00.000-07:00

Do you have a quilting notebook? Or as my friends call it, my Quilting Bible. I took mine with me recently to a stitching get together and several people commented on it. So I thought I would share what I keep in mine.

First and foremost is a listing of all the local quilt shops that are usually included in the shop hops. There are some that are out of my range and others I get to frequently. I keep this info with addresses, phone numbers and business hours so I am always prepared to stop in if I am in the neighborhood.

My best use of this notebook is for tips and techniques that I find in magazines, like binding with no lumps ( I used to make a lot of lumpy bindings! GRR!) or

No waste Flying Geese.

LuAnn from Loose Threads sent me this info on sizing Dresden plates. She found it while cleaning up her sewing room and sent it to me. It was a lifesaver, so in the book it goes.

I also have info on calculating the amount of fabric to buy to make bias binding. That can be a stumper.

I save patterns or photos of quilts that I really like that I might make someday.

I also print out free patterns from the internet like this one from Bonnie Hunter's website.

I also have stitched out all the stitches on my sewing machine in purple thread on white muslin so I can see how they look in the pre-programmed size and then in altered width and length. This is great for embellishment so you have an idea of which stitches will work with the quilt or clothing design you are working on.

I keep measurements of things like the size of the mattresses in our house, window measurements, fabric ordering info for drapes or matching items. I also have info on the color wheel and some other little tips.

Finally I keep lots of blank paper - lined and graph paper so I can write out instructions or graph quilt patterns when I see something I want to make someday.

Have I missed anything? Maybe a cute cover instead of just green plastic??

PS Only 2 more days until I go to Madison for Nancy Zieman's Quilt Expo. Yea!

Here's What I am Working on Today

2011-09-02T10:50:00.000-07:00

I fused this applique several months ago and set it aside. Now I am zigzagging the edges of each piece. This is not a favorite thing as I am really a hand applique person and I am not very careful about the zigzag edges when I do this by machine, but I think it is a cute little piece and I love the bright colors. This is a freebie from Don't Look Now. She has several cute patterns as well. I bought one of my favorites at the Madison Quilt Expo last year. One of these days I will get around to making it.

Went to the Farmer's Market on Wednesday night with my hubby. This was indeed more of a party event than the Saturday morning market I usually frequent. Lots of people wandering around the booths and in and out of the stores and restaurants on the street. There were beer and wine vendors, a small stage for entertainment, belly dancers, and a large stage a couple of blocks away for late night entertainment.

I bought these little ground cherries. They are kind of new to me. I think I got some last summer too. They are from the same family as the Chinese lantern flowers and look very much like a gooseberry, only yellow. They are very sweet.

I put one next to a plum so you can see the difference in size. Have you tried these before?

I can't remember the name of this quilt

2011-08-26T05:16:00.000-07:00

I pieced this quilt several years ago. I liked this block (even though I don;t know the name of it) and I had lots of strips to use up, so I just got busy and made it. Then a friend had a baby and I thought this would be the perfect baby quilt, but I just couldn't give it up because I liked it too much, so I made another one just like it for her.

A group of ladies from my church have recently started meeting twice a week to quilt and invited me to join in. Wow! Twice in one week is a lot of sewing time. I do sew at home most everyday, but with this group, I feel inspired to really get things done. So I pulled this top off the quilt ladder and got it quilted and bound this week. Another item crossed off the to do list.

Now that fall is here the group is moving to once a week. This will be a nice incentive to keep those projects flowing and hopefully I will get a few more done before the end of the year.

Quilting in Progress

2011-08-22T09:05:00.000-07:00

I have decided to finish up some projects that I have in storage. Some are in boxes or on hangers in the closet. Some are in pieces on my cutting table. Some are tops that are hanging on my quilt rack and quilt ladder. I decided to start with the ones ready to quilt and finish some of those up before starting anything else.

So now I have quilting in progress. I feel like I am the world's worst quilter. I really like this part of the process the least as it seems that I am always pushing and pulling the quilt thru the machine and can't quilt a straight line to save me - even after I have drawn them on. So I put on my favorite music, open a can of Diet Coke and try to make the best of it. Maybe I will get better with practice. If not, I may need a new hobby! LOL.

Veggie Tales

2011-08-22T08:54:00.000-07:00

Saturday I made a trip to the Farmer's Market. We are fortunate to have a large one (about 100 vendors) on Saturday mornings. I would say about half are fresh food stalls and half are an assortment of crafts, prepared foods, and a variety of other stuff. You can smell the Kettle Corn being made from several blocks away. The blue and white tent tops are fun to see from a distance too. I usually see one or more people that I know so that is a bonus. It is usually a good time to be outside in the sunshine.

On Wednesday there is another large Farmer's Market in the late afternoon and evening. It is more of a party atmosphere as many people come to grab supper and do their shopping with a glass of wine in hand.

We are lucky that we have a Farmer's Market everyday of the week - a different location everyday. The other locations tend to be much smaller - 10 - 20 vendors.

This past Saturday I bought Lodi apples and got busy making applesauce. Tonight I am going to fix the eggplant - probably eggplant parmesan. We had cabbage last night. I bought one tomato and the man who sold it to me weighed it 3 times. It was over a pound and I think he thought the scale must be off. It will make some great BLT' s this week.

I also found some red okra. I love okra and this was definitely new to me. I haven't decided how to fix it yet. The vendor told me he had eaten it in soup and he could not tell any difference. Anybody seen this variety?

Do you have a favorite market buy?

Airing Out

2011-08-21T13:40:00.000-07:00

I am trying to bring a little order to my chaos while my husband is gone for the weekend. I was cleaning out a large closet and decided it was time to air out these old quilts and then store them properly.

I think this quilt is one that I would never make because the fabrics seem to clash so much and the green around the border makes me cringe. However, some of the fabrics are really cute. It was made by my grandmother's cousin. Her son gave it to my mother quite a few years ago. There is barely any lining, but it is quite heavy, I guess because there are so many pieces. Hey, it doesn't look so bad from a distance.

This quilt is an oldie. It is quite worn thru in places, but I love it and don't want to cut it up. I already have cats and bears and small quilts from cutters. I am just going to keep this as is and love it some more.

Finished

2011-08-11T04:05:00.000-07:00

I was thinking that I would put this quilt away once I had it pinned together and then quilt it after my son's visit. I forgot that he sleeps til noon. LOL.

So I got busy and quilted and bound it over the last two days. I was lucky to find some of the fabrics that were featured in the original Jo Morton fabric. They are so lovely and I would never have picked these out on my own. I think they are so beautiful, plus I found some others that I really loved too. My favorite is the background called, Covey Toile. It has pheasants running all over it. Unfortunately the pieces in the quilt are so small that a lot of the beauty of the fabrics is lost.

The other thing that is interesting about this quilt is that much of the fabric is of the same value, so everything runs together. I usually like more contrast, but this works well. It is supposed to be a Victorian style quilt and I think it definitely is. I like it very much.

A Little Piece of Heaven

2011-08-09T10:02:00.001-07:00

I made a special dessert for my son's homecoming -- a beautiful blackberry cobbler. I have no source for blackberries. Growing up, I spent many hot summer afternoons picking blackberries. I always enjoyed eating some off the vines as I filled up my bucket. The berries grew wild on our property and I would come back chigger-bit and scratched all over my arms even with long sleeves. My fingers and tongue were stained purple. My favorite get-up was my dad's red flannel shirt, his overalls, and his big rubber boots. I would clomp down the hill with a plastic ice cream pail and pick til it was full.

After my dad passed away, my cousin would come every summer and mow down the field behind my mom's house and the blackberries unfortunately, succumbed to the bush hog. So berries were few and far between in more recent years. I have lived in Wisconsin about 30 years and have picked blackberries only twice. The first time was at a friend's cabin and the berries were noteworthy. The other time was years later at another friend's home and the berries were too tiny to mess with.

When I was in Washington a few years ago, we found blackberries growing in the suburban lots that were empty. When we drove out in the country there were billboards advertising Blackberry Eradication Services. I was nearly sick. How could they destroy such a National Treasure? Don't they know they have a goldmine on their hands?

I am always on the hunt for a place to pick. I miss having a patch in the backyard like when I was growing up. Either people here in Wisconsin don't know where to pick or they aren't telling. I suspect it's the latter.

Progress Being Made

2011-08-08T08:49:00.000-07:00

I finally conquered the triangle problem and finished the quilt top for the next Jo Morton quilt. Take that you pesky triangles!! The top is pinned and ready to quilt. I hope to get it done in the next week.

Our son is coming home today. Yea!! He has been in summer school in Illinois. He had his last final on Saturday. Seriously, who schedules finals for Saturday??? I remember my freshman year having classes on Saturday at 7:30 or 8:30 am. I thought that was cruel and unusual punishment. Anyway, he is home for a week or maybe two and then back again to start his junior year.

Our daughter is off to the Marshall Islands and is half way thru her training. We have had two letters from her and a couple of emails. She has very limited internet access. No cell phone. No TV or computers. It is going to be a very long year. When did I get so accustomed to all these things? My husband and I are alternating writing letters twice a week. His day is Saturday and mine is Wed. I have already sent her a care package. She requested jerky and snacks. Right now she is eating mostly veggies and rice. So far no Spam, which I hear is like their national meat. She is also in need of children's books and school supplies, so fortunately I have been able to get to the Back to School sales and find a few things for her there.

Time to get back to cleaning. Hope your day is more fun.

I am so Lucky

2011-08-02T16:42:00.000-07:00

I was recently picked to receive a copy of this beautiful book, Welcome Home by Cheryl Wall. The book was featured on PickleDish.com and they generously sent me this book. I love the patterns which all feature houses. The directions are very clear and there are lots of step by step illustrations. One of the houses features an American flag. Cheryl, who is from BC, also included directions for a Canadian flag. I thought that was so great.

Here is the featured quilt, plus there is a table runner, a pillow, a framed piece, and 2 small quilts. What a treat!

Cheryl has lots of other patterns on her website at www.countryquilts.ca. Stop by and visit.

Time for Jo

2011-07-30T05:35:00.000-07:00

The next quilt for the Jo Morton Little Women's Club is a Christmas quilt. We meet in September, so I figured I better get started now if I want to get it done. So that means lots and lots of HST's. I saw Jo Morton last Saturday on the Fons and Porter quilting show and she said that HST's are her thing and I believe it. She has a group of sewing friends that she calls together for a Sewing Saturday and they make all the pieces for her quilts. They make tons of HST's and then she sifts thru them to layout her demo quilts for the Club patterns or books or whatever. What a brilliant idea? I wonder who I can con/ bribe/ wheedle/ ask to sew for me???

This quilt has an interesting technique that is giving me a little trouble. You start by making 3 HST's and 3 triangles.

You sew these together to make a triangle. Rinse, lather, repeat.

Once you have made two of these you lay them face down on a slightly larger square of background fabric and sew on the diagonal like a HST.

Cut down the diagonal......

and press open just like a HST.

Trim to size. The only problem is mine came out skewed when I cut down the diagonal and there was not enough fabric to square it to size. It was supposed to trim to 4 1/4", but because it skewed, it barely measured 4". So I had to take it apart and start over. I had to resew the same seams about 4 times until I got it right. I ended up doing this over 2 days because I got so frustrated. I usually feel pretty confident when I sew, but this one small thing really got my goat.

It's That Time

2011-07-29T07:50:00.000-07:00

I pulled into the parking lot at the mall today and there was a long line of people.

What are they waiting for?

You guessed it. Peaches!!!!! One of the greatest joys of the summer. I can't wait for them to ripen up a little and I will be filling my freezer and my tummy with lovely fresh, juicy peaches.

25 years and Counting

2011-07-20T09:42:00.000-07:00

While we were travelling all over Eastern Canada, I realized late one night that it was our wedding anniversary. And it was our 25th - a pretty special one at that. My husband and I just laughed. We were enjoying our trip so much that we really didn't pay much attention to what day is was, let alone the date.

It is a standing joke for us that I can't remember our wedding date. I remember the events of the day very well, just not the date. We changed the date of our wedding several times for a variety of reasons. One of the reasons we changed was that my brother who was an Air Force pilot at the time got the assignment to fly to Antarctica on the date we chose. It was a once in a career opportunity for him, so how could I stand in the way of that? Plus he was walking me down the aisle and I didn't want to go by myself. I remember he and his wife and daughter decided to go to Door County the day of our wedding. The ceremony started at 4 or 4:30. I was dressed and ready to go. No brother. He showed up about 5 minutes before the ceremony started. He was in a new Air Force uniform and was still trying to pin on all that bric-a-brac they wear! This is so normal for him.

Anyway, I am lucky that someone made a needlepoint sampler for our wedding, because it has the date on it, so I can always check it -- which I do, because I truly cannot remember.

So, last night I fixed lobster and opened a bottle of wine to have a belated celebration.

Here's to 25 years with my favorite guy and a wish for 25 more.

She's Off to her New Life

2011-07-19T08:14:00.000-07:00

We took our daughter to the airport this morning as she took off to start her new career as a teacher. She graduated in May with a degree in teaching English as a second language. She is now on her way to the Marshall Islands where she will spend a month in orientation and the following 9 - 10 months teaching on a teeny, tiny little island. She is very excited, but a tad nervous too. Today she goes to LA, then on to Honolulu and then tomorrow, she heads to the capital city of Majoro. We have spent lots of hours on Wikipedia and Google Earth learning as much as we can about her new home.

What an amazing opportunity! I am trying hard not to be sad that she will be gone so long. Don't know yet if we will have a chance to visit. Her island is very remote with no hotels or any amenities, really. No computer, cell phone, TV. At least that is what we have been told so far. The real life may be very different.

My main task for the near future is cleaning out a lot of stuff in her room that she has left behind. It is kind of a disaster area.

When my son left for college, I was away for a couple of months taking care of my mother. My husband asked him to clean up his room and throw away anything he didn't want to keep. When I finally got home, I was in shock -- the walls were bare, drawers, closet, shelves empty! All his sports trophies and memorabilia were in a box. I didn't know whether to laugh, cry or cheer! I will definitely NOT have that problem with my daughter's room. LOL!

So not much sewing for awhile til I have found the carpet again in her room.

A treasure

2011-07-06T03:06:00.000-07:00

I fell in love with this sweet quilt at the Green Gables house. It is so simple and faded and hopefully was well loved. I couldn't really tell what color the solid squares once were.

The house also had this neat little sewing room. It would be nice to have a little room like this to keep all my sewing stuff in. But where's the stash?

Fly your flag

2011-07-04T05:14:00.000-07:00

I took these photos in Lubec, Maine. It is a very small town with a lot of heart.

They must have the highest ratio of flags per capita of any place in America. It is just the most perfect little town. It is located on the US/ Canada border on the way to Campobello.

We wandered around the town which was only a few blocks square and found the Masons were having a picnic and had live music on the bandstand. They were getting close to shutting down for the evening, so they fed us for free. They had wonderful barbequed chicken, baked beans made with maple syrup, potato salad, and rhubarb for dessert. What a treat!

We stayed in a small inn that had a restaurant on the first floor.

There were picture windows on two walls so we could watch the sunrise over Canada on one wall and the sunset over Maine on the other. The people were so friendly and nice. We sat down in the restaurant around 7 :30 pm and some rowdy guys came into the bar. They had already been kicked out of a bar down the street. I thought I would die laughing when the owner of the inn pulled out a yellow card and gave them a warning when they used some foul language. The owner was the nicest man. He gave everybody hugs and made sure the restaurant was closed down by 8 so the noise didn't disturb the people who were staying the night.

Today is always one of our favorite days and we try to make sure we are in town for the fireworks. They really do it up right. Hope your fourth is fun.

Happy Canada Day

2011-07-01T04:24:00.000-07:00

We have been traveling the last 3 weeks. We drove to Montreal to pick up our daughter who just graduated from college there and then spent 2 weeks touring the Maritimes.

We visited Green Gables.

We watched the tides rise and fall at the Bay of Fundy.

We toured Campobello.

We saw wildlife - moose, coyote, fox, bunny rabbits, eagles.

We climbed the highest mountain on the east coast in our car.

We visited friends and made a few new ones along the way.

It was so interesting and wonderful and tiring. The best part was doing this all with our daughter. She will only be with us a couple of weeks and then she is off to start her new life.

Moving forward

2011-06-04T10:21:00.001-07:00

This was a big week for us.

Our daughter has finished college and will be coming home soon before striking out on her own in the big wide world.

Our son turned 20 yesterday - no more teenagers! A bittersweet moment. He is still on his semester abroad, so we have not been able to celebrate these two great occasions with either of them. And they will home this summer at different times, so we don't even know when we will be able to have a family celebration!

I'm not sure I'm ready to let go yet of all the family togetherness time. I've had plenty of practice since our daughter left for college 4 years ago in another country, but somehow I am just now coming to grips that they will both be gone for good very soon and our ability to all meet as one unit is dwindling. Thank goodness for Skype. We would be lost without it, even though we have yet to figure out if there is a way to do a 3 way video chat.

I am excited for all the possibilities that my daughter sees in the future. I will be even more excited when she decides on a job location that does not scare the bejeebers out of me!

Something New

2011-06-02T16:43:00.000-07:00

I pulled out my Dresden ruler and got busy making a table runner. Except I had no idea how big the plate would be. I wanted to make a 12 inch block, so I guessed how long to make each blade and I guessed wrong. I looked on the Internet before I started hoping to find a chart that would help me figure this out, but no luck and there was not a chart with the ruler or packaging. So now I am trying to decide what to do with this. I'll just have to think some more. Anybody know where to find a chart like this?

Dresdens are so easy and fun to make and I love applique-ing them down. I made this pillow for my garden swing last summer or the one before. It makes it just a little more comfy when I am outdoors reading.

A DAY of FUN

2011-05-21T05:33:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we spent the day in Door County. Door County, Wisconsin is called the Cape Cod of the Midwest. About every 5- 10 miles there is another little town and each one if full of little shops, restaurants, motels and condos. It is definitely tourism at its finest. We usually go just before or just after the tourist season. Yesterday was a perfect day. Not too many people and the temperature was right around 70.

My husband has a birthday coming up so I told him I had a surprise for him. He went with a friend by boat to Fish Creek where the boat is kept for the summer. I picked him up at the dock and we spent the rest of the morning geocaching.

We stopped for lunch at Wilson's in Ephraim - one of the most picturesque towns. Wilson's has a soda fountain and booths and the little things on the table that you can put a quarter in and select music from the juke box. Do those have a name? I should have taken a picture.

After lunch was the big surprise. SEGWAYS in the park!!! It was such a blast and being in the park was really a bonus. We were in and out of the trees and the views of the bay are so fantastic. We have camped there and driven thru and hiked and biked this park in past years, but Segway is the way to go. There are miles of roadways and we could stop at every lookout and take a little break. They are incredibly easy to learn to operate. The only negative we found is that after awhile your legs and feet tire from being stiff. So the little breaks at the lookouts let us stretch our feet and get the circulation going.

After the park, we stopped at the restaurant owned by my high school classmate. Yesterday he had just taken delivery of an electric cart that he is going to use to pick up customers at the docks and bring them to his restaurant. What a great idea. My husband got to be his first delivery!

Fiber Friends

2011-05-18T05:31:00.000-07:00

Last night was the monthly get together for my stitching group. One of my friends just came back from a 10 day trip to Paris organized by SEW Many Places. It was a trip dedicated to quilters, although it didn't sound like there was any sewing involved. There were only 6 on the tour, so they got lots of personal attention from the tour guide and one of the people on the tour was Pam Holland. She created the 1776 quilt and is now creating a quilt of the Bayeux Tapestry, so of course a visit to the tapestry was on the tour. My friend had an absolutely fantastic time and really enjoyed the people she travelled with as well as the sights. I am definitely going to check into this.

I Climbed the Steps!

2011-05-16T18:21:00.000-07:00

I finished the Courthouse Steps quilt in time for the next Little Women's Club meeting that is coming up this Thurs. I enjoyed making this little quilt and I am glad to have a Butternut and Blue quilt in my collection. I was lucky to find the exact right color of red for the centers. I had just a small piece and used most of it up. I don't think this is one of my favorite log cabin patterns. I like the versatility of the 1/2 light, 1/2 dark blocks.

We got 6 yards of wood mulch today and spent several hours spreading it around. There is still a pile in the driveway and bare spots to fill so tomorrow is more of the same. It always looks so nice when it's done, but it is sure a lot of work.

Another block

2011-05-09T12:16:00.001-07:00

Here is another block for the courthouse steps quilt I am working on. I have 7 blocks done, but it kind of fun to savor each one. I love how the patterns form on the steps as you add one strip after another. Just a few more to go!

Next Jo Morton

2011-05-06T12:50:00.000-07:00

I just started the next Jo Morton quilt for the Little Women's Club. I got one block done and as it was developing, I could only think, " I love this little block. I love the colors and how they go together." So I scanned it in and here it is. I am really looking forward to getting these made and put together. There are about 30 different fabrics in it, so I hope all the blocks turn out as nice as this one.

Did you visit the Quiltmaker's 100 Tour this week? One of the questions was how much time did you spend looking at all the blogs? Once I added it up, it was obvious why I didn't get anything done this week.

Nine Patch Oldie

2011-05-02T04:50:00.000-07:00

This is a nine patch quilt made by either my grandmother or her sister. The nine patch blocks alternate with solid white squares.

I love some of the fun little fabrics in it, like the horses pulling the little carts.

And this one with dancers.

I remember having a doll dress made of this green check with gold squares.

There are 3 squares along one edge that are actually 16 patch blocks. They look like a square made of light purple print, but are actually 2 different purple prints cut into 16 little squares.

The borders are blue and yellow at the top and bottom of the quilt and light pink and purple on the sides. I love how she used a dark pink in the corner when she ran out of the light pink.

When I unfolded it, I could see that some of the black dye was starting to bleed onto the white squares. This makes me sad as the quilt is in really good condition otherwise.

Let a little Sunshine In

2011-04-29T04:19:00.000-07:00

I cleaned out my closet today where I keep my small quilts and I found this one on the bottom of the pile. I put it up right away because it is so sunny and after all of the rain we have had, we need a little sunshine. The blocks are from a desk calendar that features one block a day. I thought I could keep up making a quilt a week. That only lasted one week. LOL! When I start a new quilt, I try to learn a new technique each time. With this quilt, I made folded flowers for the center block.

I found a host of other stuff when I cleaned out the closet. I have no idea why I was holding on to some of it. So today I am taking a load to the Goodwill and some to our church preschool. I am moving some of my sewing stuff into the closet to clean up the mess that has grown like Topsy around my sewing area. Yikes!

A fun little project

2011-04-25T11:35:00.001-07:00

I had some leftover HST's from my last Jo Morton project, so I decided to make another little quilt. My first was pink and brown and this one scrappy. It will make a nice gift for a friend.

I've Got The Blues

2011-04-23T12:15:00.000-07:00

The Jo Morton Club met Wednesday night and 2 of us had our project done this time. A definite improvement. Our next project is a Courthouse Steps pattern. I am thinking I will do mine in Civil War colors. Blue & Butternut. I have some in my stash and I bought these blues because they are so pretty. Stay tuned.

Happy Easter to all. This is such a special holiday. I always love the beautiful music at church and the anticipation of the Easter message.

Goodbye Spring

2011-04-20T13:07:00.000-07:00

10 more inches of snow and it's all wet, slushy, heavy stuff. I think it is going to sit in our driveway until summer finally shows up. A mother interviewed on the local news this morning said that when she pulled the winter coats out of storage this morning, her youngster threw himself on the floor and had a tantrum. I know exactly how he feels!!!!

It's Bunny Time

2011-04-18T09:32:00.000-07:00

I realized yesterday that I had not hung my little bunny quilt yet and Easter is almost here. I received this as a quilt kit when my daughter was born 22 years ago. I finally got around to making it as a quilt when she was about 12 or 13. It is one of my favorite quilts and I had so much fun drawing in the faces of the bunnies and deciding how to make their 3D ears flop. Every quilt should have a fun element like that.

K6

2011-04-16T05:19:00.001-07:00

This was a pretty simple block and went together quickly. I like having the little arrows and stripes to work with.

I have been heading up a project at church and the first part was finished this week. Hopefully that will be the most time consuming for me and now I can do a little more sewing.

J5

2011-04-10T14:44:00.000-07:00

Another Jane block finished. That's 162, I believe. I'm really cookin'.

How did Jane ever come up with all these different blocks? Was she a math whiz? or could she possibly have been bored and needed some entertainment? Was she maybe trying to show off her skills? Or was she just terribly creative and able to just whip these blocks out?

Her work is not perfect, but she also didn't have the benefit of EQ or freezer paper or silk thread or the many other great products that we use. What a woman!

I 13

2011-04-08T08:16:00.000-07:00

When I wrote that number in the title it made me think of Bingo. I've been spending too much time playing games with pre-schoolers, I guess.

Another Jane block done. I believe I have 161 squares completed and a handful of triangles. I have a short list of do-overs, but I may not be as picky once I finish the remaining ones.

We are having some beautiful weather finally - into the 50's and maybe 70 by Sunday. Can't wait to see the snow go away and maybe a crocus somewhere.

H5

2011-04-04T14:28:00.000-07:00

It has been awhile since I worked on a Dear Jane block. This one is H-5. I love this red fabric. I bought it some time ago and it is the first time I used it in this quilt. I like it so much I bought it in blue too.

A Pink & Brown Little Quilt

2011-03-30T15:32:00.000-07:00

Thank you for all the nice comments about my red, white and blue star quilt. It was fun to make.

Here is the next quilt for the Jo Morton Little Womens' Club. All of the seams are ironed open, per the directions. Although it was time consuming, it made the quilt lay pretty flat. I have been wanting to make a pink and brown quilt so was glad to make this one. The overall size is 16 x 13. One of the smallest I have ever worked on.

I am leaving in a few minutes to have photos taken for our church directory. My hair decided to have a mind of its own -- It kind of reminded me of the wimple that the flying nun wore! Ha Ha. So an hour ago, I stuck my head under the faucet of the utility sink and started over. I am on the committee that is organizing the directory and had to call many, many people. I was amazed at how many people wanted me to use their photo from 10 years ago or could we wait until they lost some weight?! Too funny. Why do we fret over such a trivial thing as how our picture will turn out? Especially since 10 years from now we will wish that we looked as good as we do now. Amazingly, not one man that I talked to was the least concerned about the photos or his appearance.

Another Finish

2011-03-21T12:32:00.000-07:00

It feels so good to type those words 'Another Finish.' I really like that sense of accomplishment when the last stitch goes in the binding. I tried to get it done for the Saturday Jo Morton Little Womens' Club at the LQS, but got thru most of the quilting and had a do-over, so I was late in finishing, but not to worry, I was the only one in the group of 8 who actually brought the quilt in. Several people brought other things they had been working on and one lady brought quilt books to pass around and another lady brought pictures from a magazine of some Jo Morton quilts. This is the first time I have joined a group like this, so I am a little perplexed. I thought the point was to finish a quilt a month and share the results. So far I am the only one to complete either of the first two quilts. But it is still nice to meet some new people and see what they are working on. Anybody else have a similar experience?

I'm back again!

2011-03-18T09:13:00.000-07:00

As soon as we got back from vacation, I spent one day grocery shopping and getting caught up and by the end of the day, I was in bed with a cold. After nearly two weeks, I have finally gotten to the point of getting dressed and feeling well enough to face the world again.

I missed the Jo Morton club last week, so now I am quickly assembling everything to be ready for the alternate club meeting which meets tomorrow. I know if I get behind even a little I will never get caught up and then just throw in the towel. My mission is use up as much stash as possible, so I have to keep at it. This was a fun little quilt to sew, although the star piecing method was new to me. The colors Jo chose were red and green for Christmas, but when I see stars, I always think red, white, and blue.

Off I go to the quilt store to get the backing and binding. My stash will not be tamed!

Vacation Fun

2011-03-07T14:58:00.000-08:00

We are back from a week of travels to see family. We spent the last 4 days with two lively 3 year olds. What a fun time for us. Since our two kids are off to college we have forgotten what it is like to be around boisterous, loud and fun-loving kiddos. We played Burrito Baby and I Spy and Hi Ho CherryO and watched videos and had tons of fun.

Hope our next visit is not such a long time coming as the last one.

We spent our first four days visiting my awesome in-laws. We had lunch at the Heart Attack Grill in Phoenix and then got snowed in for a day or two in the mountains. It was so nice to just take it easy and enjoy the company. We talked quilts non-stop.

Somethings Fishy

2011-02-22T13:19:00.000-08:00

I went to the grocery this morning and since cod was on special, I bought cod. Imagine my surprise when I looked at the package and saw these pieces.

All I could think of was HST's. I must be spending way too much time quilting. And by the way, when did fish start growing in triangles?

Say Cheese!

2011-02-21T13:28:00.000-08:00

I spent my weekend learning to make cheese. Or at least making a big mess in my kitchen and pretending to make cheese. Since I had never done this before, I really had no clue what I was doing and I didn't find the instructions real helpful. My first batch I turned into cottage cheese, except it is tasteless and not at all creamy. So my second batch I did more experimenting and finally got some curds to press.

I turned the curds into cheesecloth in this little basket.

Then I put a wooden disk on top and then a little Tupperware bowl upside down on top of that.

Then I added a board and on top of that two bricks in a yellow plastic bag and then a set of ankle weights on top of that. Strictly low tech all the way.

I bought a cheesemaking kit and decided I wasn't going to spend anymore money until I knew I could make something that tasted like cheese. I really wanted to make cheddar which is our favorite, so that's what I did. Only now it has to age for 6 months. So I won;t really know if this was worthwhile until then. Hmmmm! What's wrong with this picture? Besides a misshapen piece of cheese.

Since Wisconsin is cheeseland, I have to wonder what I was thinking when I started this little project. I think I better stick to quilting.

My Fiber Friends

2011-02-17T06:22:00.000-08:00

My stitching group met last night at my house. We try to meet monthly, but sometimes life gets in the way. We each work on our own projects and mostly eat and gab. I finished the binding on a little quilt. Three were knitting, one was doing needle punch and the last person never got around to working, just talking. Most of us worked together, or at least worked for the same company a number of years ago, so that and the love of handwork ties us together. We are called Fiber Friends. How perfect.

Last night, Joyce brought this quilt that she and several others made for a Boy Scout fundraiser. It was designed on EQ by a shop owner. Three people did the piecing and the shop owner did the quilting on her long arm. There are pre-printed panels in the corners showing Scouts doing scout type things. The fabric is from a line of Scout prints. Really well done.

Barb E. brought this lovely needle punch snowman that she framed herself. When we went to the International Quilt Show in Chicago a couple of years ago, Barb found a vendor doing a closeout of needle punch kits. She bought about 8 and she hasn't stopped punching since. She is really fast and loves to do them. She is a new quilter, but has already finished 3 BOM's that are constructed like a pro.

My little quilt is for a Jo Morton club that is meeting tonite. It was fun to make. Can't wait to see which fabrics other chose for this little project.

On the menu was Taco Soup and Strawberry Shortcake.

I ♥ Hearts

2011-02-13T12:38:00.001-08:00

I love hearts. They are such an easy design to work with. Here is the quilt I have hanging for Feb. It is one of my first attempts at applique by hand. I can still see the pencil marks where I marked the heart designs onto muslin. I also drew the size of the square onto the muslin so I would know where to sew the squares together. That was before I understood the concept of a 1/4" seam or how to create a guide on my machine or before I had a 1/4" foot. In other words, I was really a rookie quilter.

Most Amazing Margaritas

2011-02-07T13:33:00.000-08:00

6 oz. frozen limeade concentrate

1/2 c. Triple Sec

1/2 c. tequila

lots and lots of ice

Place all of the above in a blender and whirl away. Use the limeade right out of the freezer or slightly thawed.

Salt or no salt? That is the question.

Enjoy!!

More Than You Ever Wanted to Know About Me

2011-02-05T14:00:00.000-08:00

LuAnn nominated me for the Stylish Blogger Award a few weeks ago. As a recipient, I need to tell 8 things about myself that others may not know. It has taken me this long to come up with something worthwhile to tell, as I am not very interesting. But, as I remember from a really great TV show that was on a few years ago -- Everyone has a story. You just have to dig deep enough to find it.

So here goes:

1. I love okra. It is my all time favorite vegetable. I esp. love it fried, but any other way of cooking it works, too. The bad news is that it doesn't grow well in our cold climate. The good news is that our local groceries started carrying it in the frozen food dept. about 10 years ago. Yea!!

2. I am an archivist at my church. I am mostly the copy and file clerk, but I love learning all about the history of the church and many of the people who have gone before and made our church the neat place that it is. FYI, our church is the oldest protestant congregation in the state of Wisconsin. How cool is that!

3. I am a fainter. I must be like one of those fainting goats. My worst experience was fainting in a mall while Christmas shopping. Everyone panicked and the paramedics were called. I was hauled off to the nearest hospital and had to have a couple of stitches in the back of my head. My funniest experience was fainting in bed. One minute I was alert and talking, the next I was out like a light.

4. I make great margaritas. My sister-in-law gave me her most awesome recipe and everyone loves it.

5. I go to the Y everyday at 8 am. I used to only go to there to walk in the winter, but after having knee surgery 2 1/2 years ago, now I go everyday like clockwork. It helps keep my knee and all the rest of me limber. Plus I talk to just about everybody there and it helps pass the time.

6. If I had a superpower it would be to understand every language. That way I could eavesdrop on conversations and be an invaluable resource in solving world problems and ordering food in foreign restaurants. I just tried to learn a little Mandarin on the MangoLanguage website. After the first lesson, all I could remember is how to say hi - which is "hey" by the way. I definitely need that superpower boost.

7. I love detective and mystery shows on TV. My latest favorite is The Closer and I like Monk

and all of the Law and Order Series.

8. I know how toilet paper is made. That is what I did in my work life before I retired to stay home with my kids. This is a wonderful conversation starter as we used to get some incredible consumer comments!

TaDa! This is the real me. Hope you enjoyed getting to know all my deepest darkest inner secrets.

Sock Monkey Fun

2011-02-02T07:02:00.001-08:00

I saw this recipe for placemats at the Moda Bake Shop during the Christmas season. You can follow this link to see the pattern: Personalized Placemats. I was glad to find the sock monkey charm squares last week so I could use them for my little great niece and nephew. It is always fun to sew for kids.

New Quilt Shop

2011-02-01T11:38:00.000-08:00

Last week I visited a new quilt store (new to me) about 30 miles from here. It is called Keep Me In Stitches. It was stocked with batiks and lots of novelty prints. The colors were so bright and it had a really upbeat feel to it. One of the women working there I had met about a year ago at a quilt show.

I found some cute charm squares with sock monkeys and bananas. Plus some beautiful navy batiks. They had a great quilt on display using the navy batiks with solid white in a churn dash pattern. It was so pretty. I can see making that.

As I was checking out, the store owner told me that another new quilt store called Going to Pieces had just opened a few block away. She gave me directions and even drew me a map. How nice is that?! Unfortunately I did not have the time to go then, but that just means another trip. Both are close to Primitive Gatherings - another of my favorite stores.

Where Was I?

2011-01-26T05:10:00.000-08:00

I decided to take up quilting yesterday. It has been so long since I have done any sewing that it feels like I am pursuing a new hobby. I got busy making a Dear Jane block - G13. I scan each block when I finish and I save it to a file with the year and month so I can track my progress. I was very dismayed to see that my last save was in July. How did that happen?

I am determined to finish this quilt in 2011. I started in 2008 right after I bought the book and thought I could finish in about a year and a half. Well I guess it doesn't really matter how long it takes as long as I get it done.

Go Pack Go!!

2011-01-25T15:07:00.000-08:00

As you can imagine this is a big week in Packer Country. The news stations are working overtime finding stories and making interviews with anyone and everyone remotely affiliated with the Packers or the area. The newspaper is jammed full of news reports on the Packers win and the NFC Championship. It is really an exciting time.

Some of the smaller events that interest me are:

1) My 84 year old friend, Don, made it to the Packer Pro Shop at 8 am Monday to get his new Packer Tshirt and hat commemorating the game this past Sunday. He was also sporting 1 green and 1 gold rhinestone on his earlobe. Too funny. You go, Don!

2) Green Bay and other Wisconsin food banks will receive a total of 18,000 cans of Campbell's soup for having the highest number of votes on the Chunky.com website. Our church food pantry is one of the fortunate recipients. Thank you Campbells. This is incredibly generous. I think Green Bay has won this every year. One of the benefits of being a small town franchise with a lot of heart and a great community.

3) Our church organist played the Packer fight song on the organ the last 2 Sundays at the end of the service. The pastors are now gearing up for Super Bowl Sunday. Can't wait to see what they pull out.

It's Here

2011-01-22T08:40:00.000-08:00

My new Super Duper washer is here. No more laundromat. YaHoo. I have run about 10 loads of laundry in the last 2 days and I still have more to go. It never seems to end. Of course, having our son home was like an explosion when it comes to dirty clothes. I sent him off to the laundromat last Sunday to do his own so he was all ready to travel.

He made it to England, but his suitcase was lost for 3 days -- no clothes, no toothbrush, nothing except his computer and his paperwork. At least he had the things that were most important to him. Ha Ha. We have had a few disjointed emails as his computer connection is not right yet. He has a lot to figure out and a short amount of time to do it as classes start on Monday. Right now he has all his classes on 3 days. A 4 day weekend every week. What a deal!

Yesterday was my parents' anniversary. They have both passed away. They were married in 1943 during the war and my dad was on leave. He was stationed at Ft. Benning, Georgia at the time so off they went to live there until he was reassigned and my mother came back to Indiana to live with her folks. I love seeing these photos of what they were like before I knew them. Happy Anniversary, Mom & Dad!

Changing of the Quilt

2011-01-20T19:04:00.000-08:00

Since it is January, I put up my snowman quilt 3 weeks ago when the Christmas things were put away. I made this quilt from a pattern in a magazine 8 or 10 years ago. The white fabric is fused and then I did the button hole stitch around each snowman by hand. Never again. I used fusing that was very thick, probably the only thing available at that time, and I fused the whole piece rather than just the edges. It is so great to learn new techniques over time. I don;t do a lot of fusing since I prefer hand applique, but it is so much easier and delicate now.

And He's Off

2011-01-18T06:15:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we drove thru the blizzard to O'Hare to put our youngest on the plane for a semester abroad. Doesn't he look happy?? He met up with a friend at the airport and they traveled together and are living in the same dorm, so at least he will have a support system of 1 for the first few days. He was very excited, but also very nervous as he started packing on Saturday. He was doing that leg jiggling thing all day on Sunday, so I knew he was close to the edge. What an exciting time for these two young men.

I am on day 15 with no washing machine. I was sick with a cold when it died, so my husband went out and scouted all the newest machines and came back with the facts, ma'am, just the facts. He made his recommendations and when I felt better we went back to the store and bought one. We are going with a front loader and there was even a promotion that gave us a free pedestal to put it on. Unfortunately because there was a promotion, pedestals are on back order and we still don;t have our washer. I have made several trips to the laundromat and sent my son with all his laundry on Sunday so he would be ready to travel. Have you been to a laundromat lately. This one was so clean and they had really big machines, but $2.00 for a little bitty load! Yikes. But I was thankful that it was there and close to home.

Make Way for Thomas

2010-12-26T13:27:00.000-08:00

Here is the quilt I made for one of my niece's twins as a Christmas gift. I tried to find a Tinkerbell panel for her daughter, but could only find a fleece one that I liked and it was the wrong colors and I don't really love working with fleece. So I will have to work hard this year finding a Tinkerbell or other suitable panel for a little girl.

I found this panel while we were visiting our son at college. When I parked at his fraternity house, he was gabbing with some of the guys in the parking lot. I couldn't wait to show him the panel of Thomas the Tank Engine. I was afraid the guys might razz him, thinking I had bought it for him. When I unfolded it, they were all ga-ga and wanted one to hang in their rooms at the fraternity house. They loved Thomas! I guess they are just big kids at heart.

Meet my friend

2010-12-20T06:08:00.001-08:00

I am so fortunate to have a wonderful friend. She is 92 and a lovely lady. We used to work on a church committee together, but she decided to give it up because her eyesight was not as good as she would like. Our committee required a lot of reading, but she is helping us in other ways. She loves to be involved, so we have found different things that she can do. Since she no longer drives, I visit her when I can and we went out for lunch to celebrate her birthday. The florist truck came to our house last week and lo and behold, my dear friend had sent me this gorgeous poinsettia. It really lights up our house. What a generous thing to do and it is just so like her! Aren't I lucky to have a friend like Evelyn?

Three French Hens??

2010-12-14T17:01:00.000-08:00

Or a partridge in a pear tree?

Would you believe six turkeys in a crab apple? Yep, they have taken up residence in our tree and our yard and just about everywhere else on our property. They are so funny to watch. They hop up and down trying to grab some of the crab apples off the tree. They really have to crane their necks to reach. They have cleaned out all the bottom branches and now have to sit on the fence or fly up into the tree to get more. We have a turkey parade everyday. Yesterday they stayed 5 or 6 hours. Today they came and went most of the day. The deer joined them for awhile, but one turkey got brave and chased them off. It's better than TV.

I got a picture of one turkey who was taking off in flight.

Monzu Birthday Cakes

2010-12-05T04:59:00.000-08:00

For my daughter's birthday, I bought two little cakes from a local restaurant. They specialize in custom cakes and have these adorable little cakes available daily in about 10 different flavors. Each type is decorated differently. I got a Double Chocolate Caramel Truffle (chocolate cake flavored with Butterschnapps with buttercream between the layers and ganache frosting) and a Java Explosion ( the same but flavored with espresso instead of Butterschnapps). There was even a coffee bean on top of the Java cake that was dusted in gold. These are so delicious and I sometimes give them as birthday gifts to my friends.

This was such a treat to be able to celebrate with her --the first time we have been together for her birthday in 4 years. We are having such a nice visit and are so glad to have her home for a whole month.

On your mark

2010-11-30T09:17:00.001-08:00

This is a Christmas Quilt I made last year or the year before. The pattern was generously provided on the Patchalot website, so I got busy and made a couple. It was a fun and easy pattern to put together during the holidays.

We are gearing up for our daughter's birthday on Thurs. She has declared no decorating or Christmas hoopla until we finish celebrating for her. I don't blame her. It is easy to rush into the holidays without really focusing on what is important.

It's a 32 Turkey Day

2010-11-24T08:51:00.000-08:00

I looked out the window this morning and saw huge bunch of turkeys gathered under the crab apple tree in our back yard. I counted 18 and watched for awhile as they jumped onto the branches, onto the fence rails and just jumped up and down pulling the little berries off the tree. They stayed for about 10 mminutes and then moseyed on down a couple of house til they came to the chain link fence. When they returned I counted again as they headed into the woods and counted 32. I could not believe it! Where was my net when I needed it?

Little Houses

2010-11-23T04:19:00.000-08:00

I finished this little wall quilt on Sunday. Even the hangers are on the back so I could use it right away. The patterns for the trees and houses came from a quilt-a-day desk calendar that a friend gave me several years ago. When I first got it for Christmas, I thought "Wow! I can do this. " There was a picture of a finished quilt on Monday and then each day of the week there were patterns for each block and additional settings. The next Monday a new quilt was introduced. I figured I could whip out a quilt a week easily.

January almost killed me and I got 2 quilt tops pieced and one of those got quilted. This is the 2nd quilt. I made up the templates for the quilting for the borders. The border at the bottom has the year. When I got ready to quilt it this past weekend, I saw that the year on the template was 2007. I guess it is a good thing I finally got it done! LOL.

I added little trees to the houses and some buttons for extra decoration. It still looks very plain to me, but I really don;t want to spend any more time on it. Now I can move on to sewing for Christmas.

Sneak Preview

2010-11-20T19:54:00.000-08:00

I got busy quilting a small wall quilt that I pieced together several years ago. I had made templates on freezer paper for quilting the borders. I decided that wouldn't work so I then copied the templates onto tissue paper. I did all this several years ago and was amazed when I found most of the tissue paper templates without much trouble as well as the freezer paper ones. I got the borders quilted today. Each one is different. The one above says "home" and has little houses in a row. One border says "heart" and one says" hand." The fourth border has the year. I have started the binding. Then comes a few embellishments. I will be glad to have this finished and off my to do list.

I have started cutting out pieces for my next quilt which will be a Christmas gift. It's always so fun to start a new project and I do better when I have a deadline, so it shouldn't take too long to whip this one out.

Dear Jane Pillow

2010-11-11T13:15:00.000-08:00

All of you Dear Jane fans, have you seen this pillow? My mother-in-law, who by the way is the greatest ever, made this pillow for me. It is a cross stitch pattern that she made for me as a Christmas present. I love it. I think it will even match most of the colors in my quilt whenever I finish it. Just don't ask me when that will be.

A Chilly Fall Weekend

2010-11-01T13:06:00.000-07:00

This weekend was the Purdue- Illinois football game. Our son is a student at the University of Illinois and I went to Purdue. We drove to Champaign for the weekend and went to the game on Saturday. It was windy and cold, but the sun was shining and we were sitting in the Purdue section with lots of other Boilermakers. Purdue lost miserably, but it was still fun to see all the colorful orange shirts and watch the bands from both schools and just soak up the atmosphere. We even took in the women's volleyball game in the evening. Next year, maybe Purdue will have a comback!!

Goats & more

2010-10-11T13:03:00.000-07:00

No trip to Door County is complete without a stop at Al Johnson's. It's a scandinavian restaurant with a grass roof and goats that keep it neatly mowed. They serve lignonberries as a side dish. What a treat! I have no idea what those guys are doing on the roof. They look pretty official with their clipboards. Maybe they are on goat patrol.

Saturday I took a machine quilting class called Beyond Stippling. What a humbling experience. I always think it looks so easy until I try it. I have a Bernina with a stitch regulator so my stitches usually are even, but I just can't seem to make transitions well, so my squared off corners are kind of rounded and my straight lines are kind of shaky. I know the secret is practice, so I will have to make time everyday for awhile to get it right. The poor lady next to me did not get a supply list before class, so came unprepared. She missed the first practice session while rounding up fabric. Then her machine broke 3 needles and she had some problem with her bobbin. She changed threads on top and in the bobbin several times to no avail. When we came back from lunch, she had packed up and gone home. I can't say I blame her. I probably would have done the same.

A Frabjous Day

2010-10-09T05:34:00.000-07:00

What a fantastic day! We drove to Door County today to check out the fall colors. We made the wine tasting tour which is always fun. Only I don;t recommend starting at 10:30 am (altho we were not alone since the parking lot was full, LOL), since I was already a little light headed when we left the first winery. Glad my hubby was driving. Guess I should have had breakfast. We took in 4 or 5 wineries and an Amish quilt show. Sorry no photos. There were about 40 - 50 quilts that were folded in half on two tables. Two ladies unfolded them one at a time and described the pattern, the quilt size, the drop, and any other pertinent info, including the price. All were handstitched, of course, and very lovely. There was one quilt that featured cherries, since Door County is known for their cherries and another was a white whole cloth quilt with a huge lighthouse stitched in the middle. The border had seashells, anchors and chain. It was really unique and well done. One quilt was sold while we were there. It had a black background with tan fans. At the edge of each fan, beautiful lace was inserted in an arc. Each quilt ranged from $800 - $1200. There were also lap quilts, wall quilts, placemats, quillows, potholders and doll clothes.

The highlight of my day was stopping for lunch at the Gibraltar Grill. The grill is owned by a former high school classmate. What makes this special is we went to high school 500 miles from here and we hadn't seen each other in 40 years. He took us to his house after lunch to meet his wife and daughter. It is fun to know that an old friend is nearby.

Triple Wedding

2010-10-06T10:29:00.001-07:00

One of the news highlights for our area this week is the coming of the triple wedding. The president of the local college has 3 daughters who are getting married this coming Saturday in one ceremony. A fourth daughter is serving as maid of honor to all 3 sisters. Each couple is having their own priest, wedding cake, attendants, processional and recessional. I don't quite know how the dad is going to walk all 3 down the aisle, but I'm sure they have it all figured out. Two of the 3 sisters lives away from here, so the one bride who is local is doing almost all the planning. The other two say she does a fantastic job of organizing and they trust her taste and judgment.

The local Fox news channel is interviewing a different vendor each day this week. Yesterday I saw the photographer who is bringing along 2 more photographers so they can capture it all. Fox is also interviewing the caterers, the hairdressers, etc. On Friday morning the brides and grooms are all to appear on Good Morning America. What a hoot. I don't know any of these people but I want to be there. It sounds like such a special event. Fortunately the local news will bring it all to my doorstep.

The dad has a wonderful blog that he has been keeping for the last year. Some really special and poignant moments.