Kitchen tree and Santas

I still have to find a little topper for this tree. It's only about 18" tall so the optimum word is LITTLE!

Thomas Kincaid musical tree

This little tree is so cute and plays music as well.

It's beginning to look like Christmas

My DH and I have been sick for nearly 2 weeks and Finally today, I felt like getting some Christmas decorations put up. We drove yesterday to a tree farm to get our tree and then came home and I cooked a big breakfast, eggs, bacon, little smokies, hashbrown potatoes, toast and juice. We ate and by that time, as it was our first time out of the house since we became sick, we were both pooped and sat on the couch and fell asleep. (What lightweights, huh?). We were too tired to even get the lights on the tree.

Today, feeling a bit better but still not able to go to church as I was afraid I was going to cough all through the service, I baked a batch of cinnamon rolls, put swiss steak in the crock pot and proceeded to decorate a bit.

I'm Back

I know it's been a long time, but life just jumped up and had me by the throat. I have been battling depression and I think I have a hold on it now. I didn't want to post when I was such a downer. Why depress everyone else.

I have been doing a little quilting, too much working as I have been covering vacations for everyone who will lose their vacation time if they don't take it before the end of the year. This means more weekends which I really don't care for, but hey, I'm glad to have a job, many don't.

I feel kind of like this picture of Heidi, Fat and lazy today. We are getting over (hopefully) the flu and I decided that since I have the day off, I am going to just do nothing or perhaps just read or something about as strenuous as reading! Christmas decorations aren't even out of the attic. I think next weekend will be the time!

I hope everyone out there in blogland is gearing up for the season, remembering what it is really about and enjoying family.

The Witch is in

I saw this pattern on the back of the Keepsake Quilting catalog and just fell in love with it. I made it for my niece, who is well under 5 ft. and the little witch reminded me of her (no, she's not a witch, just short) besides, she loves Halloween. I got it all finished and a friend noticed that I had forgotten the T in Witch. I had to take the top section all off and do it over. Of course, I used fusible stuff for the letters, so couldn't get those off. I remembered having left over letters and just thought I had cut extra! NOT! Anyway, it's going in the mail tomorrow. I hope she loves it. Try to ignore the hands and all of the background stuff. I wanted to get this posted and don't have the time tonight to photoshop it. A photographer, I'm not!

Still no pictures,

I'm still having problems posting pictures so my blog is pretty boring, but these days, I think I'm pretty boring as well. The voice thing is still giving me fits. I lost my voice completely in August, then I got it back, but when I talk more than 5 - 10 minutes, I start sounding like a teenage boy who's voice is changing. Well, I thought I had better go see what's going on and the Dr. says it may be reflux, so he gave me meds (I hate taking pills). If this doesn't remedy it after a month, I have to go get a tube poked down my throat to see what's going on. This doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun, so I hope the meds help. I'm 2 weeks into it and so far, no dice. I still sound horrible. It's funny, but when my voice does this, people assume I'm contagious and start backing away. I have to stop and explain. With all the flu scares, I can't blame people one bit. That brings up a question....have you had your flu shot (s) yet? I work in health care (assisted living) so I get mine tomorrow. I have had them every year except last and have never had much of a reaction other than a sore arm and a slight yucky feeling for a day. I always have it in my right arm as I am right handed and a nurse once told me to have it in the arm you use the most as the more you move your arm, the less chance of soreness and by golly, it works!

I will post my latest projects when I get my ability to do pics back. Till then! Take care.

Ramblings

Fall has arrived in Washington with a bang! It is downright cold in the mornings and evenings and MAY warm up during the day if it feels like it, and it's raining. Well, isn't that what we're all about here in the Northwest? I think so!

I have been in a funk and when I'm like that I have trouble posting. I had this bug where I lost my voice, and my voice is still croaky when I talk much. It's like a pubescent boy where it goes along fine, then a croak. I'm pretty fed up with it. And my other voice, the computer, is still not functioning well either. HRH added a bunch of "updates" to it a while back and now, I can't seem to add pictures to my blog without the dumb thing freezing up. He's done this with every computer we have ever had and I'm pretty upset about it. He only uses the computer very rarely, but he thinks we need all of these updates and they NEVER work right and foul up other things. For some reason, he doesn't learn! By the way, he's a computer programmer so he should know better but once he does "great things" with the thing, he loses interest and doesn't come back to fix things. I will take it in when I get time. AARRGG! So moral of the story, no pictures till it gets fixed.

Have you ever wondered why moods seem to hit us out of the blue? I do. I can go along just fine and one morning I wake up all depressed or out of sorts. One of life's mysteries, I guess.

I finished my batik quilt and it's back from the LA quilter. I still need to bind it. I will either donate that one or the Double Delight to the cystic fibrosis auction in the Spring. I was trying to get it ready for the Fall auction then they cancelled it, so I have time. Now I am trying to do a small applique baby quilt for  co-workers first grandchild who was born early and weighed only 1.6 pounds at birth. It has little chicks hatching out of eggs and is really sweet.

Well, off to work, this is my work weekend and #3 of a 6 day work week. I'm not used to this and am already pretty tired and it's only half over. I hope it's a slow weekend.

Take care, Carline

Life is Busy! Too Busy!

Sorry I have been so negligent in  posting lately, life has been busy and not in a good way!

I haven't done much quilting, but I'm making a surprise Halloween wall hanging I will show a little later. (the recipient may read my blog). I did manage to finish my large batik quilt and send it to the long arm quilter. This one may be donated to a cause close to my heart. I still haven't decided which quilt to donate or since the Fall auction has been  postponed until Spring, I may just make another one. 

Then there has been canning. Our tomatoes have been coming on so fast I can't give enough away and don't want to waste them so, I'm making spaghetti sauce and canning it. It takes about 8 hours for the tomatoes and seasonings to cook down enough. I start with a huge stock pot FULL of peeled tomatoes, onions, celery, parsley, garlic, basil and seasonings and then cook till it is just a little less than 1/2 full. I have to stir it often so, no naps for me. We also got the cider press out, made and canned 100 quarts of apple juice. YUM! We make so much because we like to give it to friends and neighbors.

Yesterday was a work day and I got a call from my son needing to go to the emergency room. It seems like he tore a disc in his back or something similar. He was in a lot of pain. They said they couldn't do too much but did give him steroids, muscle relaxers and tylenol 600 mg. Not much in my not so humble opinion but he is doing better today so I guess I will have to relinquish my medical diploma!

Today, I have to make applesauce and finish canning the pears, give my husband a haircut, go to the bank and do the grocery shopping. Yikes, what a day off huh?

See you in the funny papers as my dad used to say. Have a good one. Carline

Where in the world have I been!

Ok, I give, I haven't been anywhere! It started with losing my voice, then I got sicker than I have been in years. I had this yucky flu like stuff for 11 days and then when I felt better, no energy. But I am feeling a lot better now and I'm ready to roll. I got a quilt top and back done and ready to quilt. I took it to someone Monday and will show a picture when it's done. I also canned (with the help of HRH) 56 jars of apple juice. We haven't even picked the majority of the apples yet. Those were the ones on the ground. The old apple press has been humming.  We like to put a lot of it up because it's so yummy for one and we also like to give a lot away through the year. 

We also made a huge oops with our corn. Remember, we aren't avid gardeners but rather novices. We waited too long to pick the corn and it was tough as a boot. Darn, we hated that. How DO you know when to pick it? Beats me! Anyone reading this know the answer, I'd appreciate hearing from you.

The other big thing in our lives is that son #3, the youngest is back home living with us for a while and it has taken some adjustment. He was disabled in a logging accident about 5 years ago and the employer wasn't paying his workers comp premiums so, no insurance! He had his back covered real well with things in other's names, etc. Long story short, son is in very bad shape and his wife decided she liked someone else, so he's with us until he can sort his life out. He and I are like oil and water a lot of the time. He's a slob, and I hate messes, etc. We are glad we can help him, but it isn't easy to say the least. I just need to get my attitude in order and get on with it!

So...no pictures of this stuff for sure, besides, the computer is rejecting my loading pictures.

What a cheery post, huh? Doesn't life come up and slap you in the face sometimes!

No Voice

Not only no voice, but no computer. Now that should NEVER happen, it's like stripping a girl of every outlet of expression!
Last week I made a trip to Eugene to visit my favorite niece (the only one I keep in contact with because I don't know where the other two are). We had a great time and she made wonderful food and snacks and we laughed a lot but when I woke up the next morning for another round of fun, I found that when I opened my mouth, nothing, and I mean nothing, came out. I had absolutely NO voice at all. I whispered all I could and it about wore me out. I had to go home around noon and I have been mute ever since! I'm about fed up with this, believe me. It has been a week now and a little improvement, but not much. Do you realize that you cannot go to a drive through bank, restuarant, cleaners or anything else. You cannot talk on the phone, yell at the dog or the noisy birds that annoy me early in the morning. NOPE, none of that, plus HRH seems to be enjoying it. Maggie just sits and tilts her head like what kind of game is this anyway, I don't get it.
Anyway, to top it off, my computer is down, thanks to HRH and his many "updates". Everytime he does updates, something doesn't work. I could just scream, Well, no I can't because I DON"T HAVE A VOICE!

Peach jam recipe

Some of you wanted the recipe for the jam made with jello. This is a favorite with all my family and friends and so easy.

5 cups mashed peaches (peeled anyway you like, blanch or just peal)

1 cup crushed pineapple

8 maraschino cherries,chopped

5 cups sugar 

1 large package jello, any flavor you like. Our favorites are raspberry and orange

Combine the first 4 ingredients and bring to a boil, cook for 25 minutes. (use a heavy pan and stir often)

Take off heat and add jello, stir to combine.

Fill jars, wipe around the lid with clean wet cloth. Put lids and rings that have been sitting in hot water on jars and screw tight. Invert jars on towel and let stand for 5 minutes, then set upright. The jam will need to set up for 24 hours or more before it really sets up.

Makes 4 pints

Enjoy

I've been trying to check some things off of my "quilting" to do list this month. I got an extra nudge from Kim at Kim's quilting adventure. One of the things I had to do was finish cleaning my closet and since there was a Quilter's garage sale last week in Battleground at Country Manor, I took advantage of it to sell a few things I needed/wanted to sell. I have more than enough featherweight sewing machines (I bid on them for someone else and ended up with them myself). Just the thing when HRH is so under employed after being laid off from his IT job. well, I sold my favorite white FW, Darn, and my serger that had been used all of 2-3 hours. I got it, then went back to work and couldn't take the lessons on how to use it, so there it sat. Now my piggy bank is a little bit fatter and some of those other things I didn't need, like some fabric, cutter quilts and antique tops that I didn't love have new homes. My closet looks a lot better too. I still have two featherweight's if anyone is interested, e-mail me.

Today, I made two batches of plum jam and bought another box of peaches to make some of the good peach jello jam. This is a very old recipe and everyone who tastes it wants the recipe. Let me know if anyone is interested and I will add it. Of course the peaches aren't ripe enough to make the jam yet so I checked out  Alexander McCalls latest book, Tea time for the Traditionally built. I love his books. So I just may find a comfy book and take a few.

Shopping under the influence

Kim over at Kims big quilting adventure bought a new latex mattress and it pushed me over the edge! Yes, it's all her fault. I went out today and bought a new Carrington latex king sized set. I have been getting less than 5 hours of sleep a night because my back hurts so bad from my super duper, highly over advertised sleep number bed! We went last spring to a boutique hotel (a gift from sis in law) and slept in the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in. I proceeded to tear the bedding off to see what kind of bed it was and it was a latex. Well, I used to have one way back when and remember that it was wonderful. (why did I have to have a bigger than queen bed?)

So I jumped off the bridge and in a week will have a new bed and since I am short (5'2") they ordered a lower box springs so I don't have to have a ladder to get in the thing. What a novel idea! I can't wait. And by the way, I went to a camera shop (a dying type business these days, and hard to find) and had them show me how to remove the dreaded date from my pictures. I also got the name of a place in Kansas who develops  Kodachrome film which nobody in the world except them will do.  I have 4 very old rolls of 8mm movie film I want to develop to see if it is anything of any worth. It has to be 25 years old. Probably a waste of money but what the heck. The man at the camera shop said they have enough developing fluid left for about another year then no more so this is my last hurrah! Piddly errand day for sure! Then I bought peaches for making jam this weekend. Now I'm too tired to even cook dinner! Soup from the home canned soup shelf tonight.

Date on Pics

I thought I had the date on of my camera figured out and erased, but low and behold, I'm a techno idiot and now all I have accomplished is to get the date to be 3 years old! Suggestions?? Anyone??

Man of the Corn Or Corny

Our corn is so high I can't believe it. (higher than an elephants eye),  I've never seen corn that high before. I asked HRH to stand by it so I could get a picture then noticed that he had his nerd socks and sandals on and I sure didn't want THAT in a picture so you can see how he remedied the problem and it wasn't by taking the socks off. I do refuse to take him out of the yard dressed like that, however!

Our garden is doing better than ever, I didn't get enough cucumbers or squash planted and we didn't do any root vegetables except three kinds of potatoes, red, yellow and russets because last year the bugs got all of them, or grubs or something. We will have a lot to share with neighbors which we like to do. Our tomatoes have given us three yummy slicers and are loaded with green ones. I tried a new fertilizer this year and swear by it already. I used it on the tomatoes last year and was pleasantly surprised. How is everyone's garden going out there in blog land? I know you southern gals have already been harvesting your bounty probably. 

Lazy Summer Days

What have I been up to? Really, nothing but reading good books. It has been record breaking hot here in the Northwest. Yesterday was 108 degrees. Unheard of around these parts where the natives, like me have webbed feet from the cool rain! We aren't prepared for this kind of heat for the most part and don't know how to function in it. Me? I just read. I found a couple of good Authors/books I'd like to share. Marie Bostwick wrote  A single thread and a thread of truth which I loved so I thought I would try another of hers, River's Edge. Great read and I highly recommend it. The other by one of my favorite authors, Debbie Macomber is the first in the Dakota series and it was also great. The third was a book by Beverly Lewis called the Shunning and I read it in one day!  When I was a little girl, I would read when things were troubling me, if I was sad or lonely as I was often, growing up with siblings who were out of the house when I came along. Mom said when my best friend and I would fight, we'd each take an end of the couch and a book and ignore each other. So reading has been my friend and confidant forever and I love when I can go back and immerse myself in good books. NOW, to find the second book in that Dakota series. I have the third, but have to keep looking for the second one! The library doesn't have it, Darn. 

Back to reality today, I have ripe plums and have to make jam so I have to get my head out of the books and get to work. Grab a good book and enjoy!

The dining fairies aren't with me!

I have to be on somebody's list and I don't mean a Christmas list, either. A few weeks ago, I met some friends at Applebee's for dinner. I sent my "rare" steak back because it was so done, I almost couldn't get the fork in it. When it came back, same thing. The waiter had me cut it in front of him so he could make sure it was good and rare. He even laughed. Everyone else in my party was almost finished eating at this point so I just declined further fixes and asked for a doggy bag to take it home to Maggie. (I hate over done meat)! To make matters worse, the waitress who cleared the table, dropped the entire tray on my lap. Someone had something with red sauce of some kind and it spilled all down the front of me and onto my slacks. (new slacks at that).   To make it right, they gave me two $10.00 gift certificates. (which by the way, didn't even pay for the pants which it turns out were ruined by that awful red stuff).

Fast forward a few weeks, a quilting buddy wanted to meet for lunch and I have these gift certificates so I said let's go to a different Applebee's just to improve my luck from last time.

I ordered a salad, enough for the steak thing! I had eaten about 1/4 of the salad when I bit down on something real hard and broke my tooth. I took the offending "hard thing" out of my mouth and it was a piece of fiesta ware type pottery. Applebee's uses these kinds of plates, the piece in my mouth was red, my plate was purple.  We called management and she was just appalled. She said they had broken a dish in the kitchen and thought they had got it all cleaned up. NOT! Well, I filled out an incident report, didn't make a big deal of it and left. Two days later, the insurance company called and told me to go ahead and go to the dentist, pay for the appointment and THEN, after they see the bill and determine IF it is a valid claim, they will issue a check to me. Such a deal, huh? Not to mention the time to take off work to go to the dentist. I think I am living under a dark cloud  as far as meals out go. SO, next week, to the dentist (I just had my check and clean two days before this fiasco)!  

I should just stay home and quilt, don't you think!

Baby quilt

Another Finish!

My best friend's son and DIL had a baby girl and I finished this quilt for her. I used prints from the Lakehouse line and  cut the letters out of a panel. I was kind of pushed for time so wanted something simple. Grandma is a librarian so I thought the alphabet was appropriate. I was able to find a sweet flannel for the back that has the alphabet on it as well. Lucky find. I tried to get a picture, but the light was wrong and it's too washed out to show the letters. Now back to more UFO's. I'm now working on a batik that I started over a year ago at a WASIQ (Washington State Internet Quilters) retreat. It turned out ok but I had a lot of Oops, intersections that I had to frog stitch and re-sew. That finished, I am now on to the borders. It's a king sized quilt so a handful. I will have my friend at Hattie and Me Quilting do the quilting on "Hattie" her LA machine. She also did the quilting on the baby quilt.

We've had a lazy Sunday, church, then a short nap and dinner with fresh peas and new red potatoes from the garden. Yesterday I picked rhubarb and raspberries and made a pie so nearly the entire dinner was "home grown. We had fish from Costco, so no fishing trip involved.

Blue Ridge Beauty

It's going to be 90 degrees today so I got up early even though it is a day off. I took Miss Maggie for a long walk and enjoyed all the flowers and plants in yards as I walked. I then came home and watered the garden (at least the part HRH didn't have time to do before he left. I picked a few pea pods to munch on, ate a few sweet raspberries and got Maggie soaking wet as she played with the stream of water. We then trimmed her too long ears and  went in for a little blog reading and quilt planning. 

I have been working on  Blue Ridge Beauty, a pattern of Bonnie Hunter's of Quiltville. I found it in Quiltmaker, Jan/Feb 08 and have been collecting blues/creams, cutting and sewing probably since then although it gets slipped in between other projects. Well, 2668 pieces later, 224 blocks are assembled, pinned in bunches of 10 and ready to sew into rows. I am so pleased with how this is going so far. I think I will love it. I won't let myself start the rows, however, until I finish one more UFO. I'm almost finished with a batik top and when I get the back done and ready for the LA quilter, Hattie and Me, I will show a pic.

Do any of you bargain with yourself when it comes to getting things done? I will put a load of laundry in the machine, start the dishwasher (my two favorite slaves) then let myself read blogs or read a chapter of a book I'm reading or quilt. This way, I get to do what I want and accomplish what I must as well.

I'm going to have a relaxing, although productive day. I hope you do to. Make it a good one.

Carline

Old Friends, good vibes

No pics today, but I just had to talk a little about how much old friends mean to me. About 14 years ago, I moved North, up I-5 away from the area I had spent all of my life. I had been close with friends who I went to school and church with since grade school. I felt like a big bird had picked me up in his talons and dropped me in never never land. (I remarried and followed HRH to where he lived). 

Well, I lost track of some of my dearest friends and because of cell phones, couldn't even get phone numbers from our friend, DEX.  Monday, HRH had to travel south for work and I just mentioned that I sure wish I could go to this town and look up Pam, who I missed so much. Surprise of my life when he came home that night and told me that he couldn't find her phone number, but found an address, so he drove way out of the way to go see her and he didn't even know her (had met her one time). Long story short, we had the best phone conversation, catching up on many years, kids, grandkids. ( I probably maxed out my cell minutes) Over our adult life, we have lived within blocks of each other three times, completely by accident. We got married a week apart in the same church, we each had two sons, about the same age. So many things in common. The last time we got together we each took a couch and a quilt and curled up and talked for hours.  I remember my hubby coming in the house and asking why we didn't go do something instead of just "sitting there" It was pure heaven and we were having a ball. Men have no clue about this kind of friendship.  We vowed to grab a quilt and do it again soon, even though we are 150 miles apart.

Cat for sale Cheap!

We've had quite a month with our cat, Heidi. She has been very prolific in her hunting endeavors to say the least. I came home one day to hear a squeak coming from behind the entertainment center. After further inspection, and the animal running out and being stopped by the dog and the cat, I discovered it was a great big mole. Now you have to understand that HRH has bought every contraption known to man to try to get the moles that are all over our yard, to no avail. He has spent almost as much money as I have on fabric (note, I said almost). Well now Miss kitty just saunters out to the back yard and plucks herself a mole! That wasn't enough, the next time it was a snake in the middle of my kitchen. I wasn't about to pick it up even though we don't have poisonous snakes around here. I put a big plastic bucket over it and put a heavy rock on the bucket until HRH could come home and deal with HIS cat's escapades. YUK and EEEWE! This was enough, but the final tally for the last month has been 2 moles, 3 voles, 1 baby mouse, 2 rabbits, 2 birds (feathers all over the house) and 2 snakes. Oh, lest I forget, yesterday she had a beautiful dragon fly. I caught it in time and got it outside. You know, catch and release! Why can't I teach her that method. The joys of pets and pet doors! I'm just thankful we live where the pests are creepy but harmless. I just hope we've found all of them and I won't wake up some night to discover one in the dark! (with bare feet)

  Have a great day

giveaway

Tonja is having a giveaway for her 100th post, take a look!

Tonjassewingroom.blogspot.com

A quickie baby quilt

I have a friend who was expecting a new grandchild, so I made them a quilt and wanted it to be #1 quick and #2 use fabric from my stash. This was the result. I knew it was a boy and that is the only thing I knew about the baby or it's parents. In a way, that freed me to do anything I liked because there were no expectations, they didn't even know I was making it and I knew that the kids had very little for the baby. When I make this pattern I always make one boat different. It signifies to me how different each of us is. It's also fun when the baby gets older to have him pick it out of the rest. Can you find it? Not too difficult on this one huh? I need a quilt holder, it can be wind free until I go out to take a picture and then watch out, it blows my quilts all over the place, 

Back from Vacation

We spent some time in Montana recently and saw two graduations. Our great niece "graduated" from kindergarten and our oldest grandson graduated from high school. I couldn't believe our niece when she did a little program, she recited ALL the books of the bible, the preamble to the constitution, sang America, played two songs on the fiddle, recited the 23 Psalm,  plus a few other things I can't remember off the top of my head. I couldn't do most of those things and never have been able to. Good old home schooling by a mom who spends the time necessary. What a difference it makes. Our grandson graduated on Sunday and the following Tuesday, left for a 3 and 1/2 month trip to Australia with his great uncle to mine for gold. He is a real outdoorsman, (see the  quilt with all the antlers, bears, deer, ducks, etc.) so he is going to really love being in the outdoors and camping a lot. He did this a couple of years ago in the summer and just loved it. He's a real good kid, so postponing college for one semester won't be a big thing. He will get a lot of education that he wouldn't get in the classroom.

We traveled with our dog and she was a trooper, she had surgery on her leg right before and had to wear the "Elizabethan collar" to keep her from tearing out the stitches, which she did once before we left. She was so good. She just sleeps all of the time we drive (like I did as a kid). HRH is a madman when he drives. He just doesn't want to stop for anything. We made the trip in 14 hours with stops for gas and to let the dog go potty. I think if it weren't for the dog, he would have handed me a cup and said "go to it!" I tried to push fluids on him, knowing if he had to "go" we'd stop. Some day I'm going to throttle him, I swear. We drove home at night and so the stops were even less. That and the fact that he likes to see how far he can go on a tank of gas. I think the last fill up we had only 1/2 gal of gas left. That's pushing it if you ask me.

A fun time was had and I'm back to work today. I could use a week to recover, but that isn't happening so here we go.

Another one bites the dust...so to speak

I finished another UFO and got it back from the LA quilter,  Kay from Hattie and Me Quilting. She did a beautiful job even though I had one side crooked. oops! This is a quilt that I started some time ago in a class and never finished it. Have you ever gone to a class that just wasn't too much fun? Well, this was one of those, the way she explained doing the flowers made no sense to me, we used a square in a square ruler and for some reason, it never quite gelled with me. I put it away and never looked back, until I unearthed it in the great archeological dig known as my stash clean up. I really wasn't too far from being done and had planned it for a wall hanging. It didn't look finished without borders so I added some and it grew too big for the wall I wanted it on.  I do like it now though. The picture was taken with quite a wind blowing and it makes the quilt look lopsided and it isn't. I really need to work on my photography skills so I don't have to keep apologizing for my quilts, don't I?

On another note, we were walking Maggie the other day and it was where other dogs had been and she was walking like a blood hound with her nose to the ground. I commented on it to HRH, saying that we could hide and she wouldn't miss us and he said, well, it's pretty much like what you do in a quilt shop. Ladies, it is true! We walk in there and the rest of the world just drops out of sight, doesn't it. I love the smell, the colors, the feel of every fabric. I sure wish we had more shops close.

Have a great quilty week! Carline

Am I getting old or what?

Last night about 11:00 I was woken by voices and then a crash just outside our bedroom window. HRH got up and went out with a flashlight and probably a weapon (he used to be a policeman) you go ahead and guess what weapon! What he found out there was a teenage girl who had been trying to climb over our fence into the backyard and broke the fence. She said a bunch of kids were just trying to get to the park (1 block away) as a game and were trying to do it without stepping on any concrete. He told her that she was lucky because he may have shot first and asked questions later. If I had been out there, I would have drug her sorry little butt in the house and called her parents and or the police. Tell me, what is in kids heads to make them trespass, break things, have no better things to do than this? I think I'm getting old. I can't get this out of my mind and am sure glad my kids are grown. The other thing I heard at the gas station a few weeks ago was a car full of young "ladies" using the most foul language and comments to the driver, (a boy) suggesting all kinds of "activities" they would like to do to him. You could hear them for a block away and they thought it was so funny, laughing and pointing at the adults that were shocked by this. I think morals are going the way of the Edsel. Heaven help us!  

I've been found!

I finally finished quilting this sampler that has been in the UFO pile for a few years. It sure feels good to get some of these done. As I mentioned a few weeks back, I have been cleaning my quilting closet and in doing so, found "several", well, many UFO projects that are in various stages of completion, from blocks to this one that was being quilted when I got discouraged because of thread problems. I had started it with rayon thread and I was doing each section or color with a different thread. The result was not good, so I frog stitched it out and started over. The only part I didn't have to re-quilt was the light background. My sister-in-law loves teals and so I thought this one should have her name on it. I still have to put a label on it before we go to Montana and deliver it. How's everyone else doing on that stack of UFOs? Any confessions as to how many are in your stash??? Carline

I've been lost under this!

I have been busy trying to finish up some UFO's I found in the closet while cleaning it up. I found this sampler from who knows when and it was even partially quilted. I had been using rayon thread and was having trouble with it, so I folded it up and forgot it for a couple of years. I was using a different color of thread in each of the blocks and borders and whatever gave me those ideas, both thread and color, I'll never know. I ripped out most of the not too cool, machine quilting and started again. I was able to save a great deal of it but some was very poor quality and when I went to different thread, it improved greatly. I think I will take this to my sister-in-law or her daughter when we go to Montana next month. It feels so good to get some of these things finished. I will hand sew the binding this weekend and post a picture of the entire thing.

We are also trying to get our vegetable garden in. HRH has been tilling and planting what we can, peas and potatoes for now. My dad always said not to plant tender plants until after Mother's day and every year HRH listens to me, goes ahead and plants and then we lose the plants. This year, he thinks we will wait a while to plant. He won't admit, I may be right but I listened to my dad because he was a horticulturist, had a garden to die for that fed most of the neighborhood and I think he could plant Popsicle sticks and grow popsicles! We shall see how it goes. I'm not much of a gardener because I hate seeing worms, they freak me out. I don't know why but I've always been that way. I plant in pots where there's no fear of seeing one.

What have you all been up to?? Show off those projects. Carline

Ramblings

I took Maggie to get clipped yesterday and  since she's "friends" with the groomers' dog, Nigel, it was suggested that I bring her for the day and let them play while I ran errands. Well, I did and when I picked her up in the afternoon, she was just pooped! It tells me that she's not getting enough exercise since I had to go back to work. (well, neither am I) Maggie even went to bed early. She usually stays up until the last one of us goes to bed, but I looked in the bedroom and she was in her bed before 8:00 PM! So tonight after work, I came in, changed my shoes and took her to the park. I am vowing to do that every night I get home early enough. It's amazing how you just skip one night then it becomes a week, then a month, then you're fat! Hummm! Is that how it happened? Yup, just like that.

Easter as most of the world knows it!

Tacky as always, I know. I just get real bummed out about holidays that mean a lot in the Christian world, like Christmas and Easter, being corrupted to the point that the average person has no idea what it's really all about. This starts working on me as all of the decorations and candy start appearing in the isles of the stores. Now, I like the chocolate as much as the next gal, especially the coconut eggs, but we need to keep perspective here!

Jesus Christ died on a Cross to save us, he was resurrected and appeared to his disciples. This was and is life changing! He bridges the difference between what we can do and can't do. He paid the difference and continues to do so. For this we need to acknowledge him and his sacrifice for us. We need to live lives worthy of this gift.

OK, I'm off my soapbox for a while. I just had to stand up there and say what I needed to say. Let's try to have fun on the holidays like this, but remember what they are really about, teach our children and grandchildren the real meaning before it is completely lost in this scary 'ol world.

Have a wonderful Easter! Carline

Maya Angelou

I read these quotes from Maya Angelou and thought they should be shared. They are priceless.

A woman should Have... enough money within her control to move out and rent a place of her own, even if she never wants to or needs to...

A woman should have.... something  perfect to wear if the employer, or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour.

A woman should have... a youth she's content to leave behind.

A woman should have... a past juicy enough that she's looking forward to retelling it in her old age.

A woman should have... a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra.

A woman should have... one friend who always makes her laugh.. and one who lets her cry.

A woman should have... a good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in her family.

A woman should have... eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems, and a recipe for a meal that will make her guests feel honored.

A woman should have... a feeling of control over her destiny.

Every woman should know... how to fall in love without losing herself.

Every woman should know... how to quit a job, break up with a lover, and confront a friend without; ruining the friendship.

Every woman should know... when to try harder and when to walk away.

Every woman should know... that she can't change the length of her calves, the width of her hips or the nature of her parents.

Every woman should know... that her childhood may not have been perfect... but it's over.

Every woman should know... what she would and wouldn't do for love or more

Every woman should know... how to live alone..  even if she doesn't like it

Every woman should know... whom she can trust, whom she can't, and why she shouldn't take it personally.

Every woman should know... where to go..... be it to her best friend's kitchen table or a charming Inn in the woods when her soul needs soothing.

Every woman should know... What she can and can't accomplish in a day, a month and a year.

What would you add to this list?

Carline

Doll Quilts

I finished three little doll quilts to take to Montana with me next month. These are for my great nieces. I can just hear the squeals from them. They are so cute and I didn't want to show up empty handed. I had some pink and white squares left over from the Double Delight quilt and then decided to make two more for the other two girls and thought they should all be different so no fights break out. This way they can tell which one belongs to who???  We are going there for our grandson's high school graduation but will stay with my sister-in-law and hubby. We're looking forward to it.

Have a great "quilty week"

Bonnie's Lecture

Last Friday evening a friend and I had planned to drive to Olympia to a guild (not our guild) program where Bonnie Hunter was the featured speaker. Well, she bailed out and I really wanted to go, so I asked HRH if he would drive up with me (it's about 125 miles each way). We got a late start because he left his wallet at work (fell out of his coat pocket), but we got there just as she was being introduced. I had to slip in and sit way at the back of a huge chapel. I am so glad I made the decision to go, she is such a delightful speaker and her quilts are beautiful. She had one with 10,000 pieces in it, and I was going on about my DD which has nearly 3,000 pieces. The one I liked the best was a log cabin where the strips were 3/4" or so to start with. The blocks were about 2.5" finished. It was a LARGE quilt and I just fell in love with it. Maybe someday, I'll make one. If any of you get a chance to see her, take it. I was sorry I couldn't go to one of the classes, but since my car accident, I just can't sit and sew for more than a few minutes at a time.  Because I was sitting so far back, all of my pictures turned out too dark to see anything. Oh well, I have them backed up in my memory. (mine, not the computer!)

Have a great day.

Carline

Mail for ME!

I came home yesterday and found a package in the mail box that said "Royal Mail". I was intrigued for sure. I couldn't remember ordering anything, I couldn't imagine what it could be. Well... I had signed up for a PIF (Pay it forward) some time back and this was my gift from Karol-Ann from SewKalico.blogspot.com/ It is hard to see, but there is the cutest little purse with a beaded handle. A British quilting magazine (love it) some charms in a lovely shade of coral/peach and a postcard from Paris. I feel like Royality indeed! Thank you Karol. 

Now I have  to get busy on my PIF. I think I only had one sign up so I don't have to get too busy. 

Have a great quilty day!

Carline

I slept funny

I woke up this morning feeling like I had been crammed into a little box in the night and wasn't able to move all night. My neck feels like this. Why is it that some mornings  you wake up feeling great and others you feel like you've been fighting all night? Well, I have too much to do on this my day off to baby myself. I want to do some quilting and playing today. I am going to start my Blue Ridge Beauty quilt. (Bonniyf Hunter's pattern) I have all the squares cut out. I did this as I was sorting and refolding my stash (I'm not quite done with that yet). 

I thought I'd post a picture of this miniature quilt I made a while back, it measures 11" X 15". Those little pieces don't give much room for error. I think I am completely over miniatures now. It was fun but one of those "now I've tried it" adventures.

I've been working on some doll quilts for my great nieces since we will be going to Montana in May, I wanted a few goodies to take to the little ones. I will post them in a day or so, when I get finished. It has been a fun diversion after that big quilt with all the tiny pieces (Double Delight). 

Happy Saturday

I had a rather busy week, at my job and at home on my days off. I am STILL sorting and refolding fabric from my stash closet. I almost with I hadn't started this but I'm in the middle of it now and so I muddle on. I have been folding for several hours a day for a couple of weeks and I'm still only half way finished. This is almost obscene to have this much fabric. I'm seeing so many pieces that I sure don't remember buying. As I fold, I think of projects and then when I can't stand any longer, I go through books to look for patterns for those  projects. I've made hundreds of quilts in my mind this past few weeks! Key words: IN MY MIND!

I know a lot of you have heard things like, Vinegar can cure (or clean) anything, well HRH came home from volunteering the other night and told me about a man who is 95 who looks 70 and was as fit as a fiddle. He told him that 10 years ago, he had to have help getting out of bed or up and down from a chair and he hurt all over. His arthritis was so bad he could hardly dress himself. Well, he read an article on honey and cinnamon cures (do a Google search on honey cinnamon) and he has drank this concoction every morning and night for a year and now he doesn't need any help, volunteers and gets around better than I do since this car accident. I snoped it and it is unproven, but what the hey, it's worth a try. So the last two nights I have mixed a small tsp. cinnamon with two tablespoons of honey in 8 oz of hot water and drank it. It's pretty sweet and a little hard to get down, but worth a try. I will report back with results, one way or the other! We shall see!

Well, I got my quilt back from the LA quilter, Hattie and Me, and got the binding done in two evenings. Binding has always been my favorite part. I find it so relaxing, well other than wrestling a monster of a quilt around on my lap and trying to keep the cat off of it. I like the pattern she used, it's called popcorn and it shows up real well on the dark brown border. My picture isn't too good as their appears to be light spots, their isn't. She used pink thread and it is real pretty. One down for 2009. I'm on a roll, trying to finish some UFO's. I sent the boxy squares to have it quilted so that should be ready soon too. YA HOO!

WARN YOUR FRIENDS, LADIES!

You've heard about people who have been abducted and had their kidneys removed by black-market organ thieves. Well, my thighs were stolen from me during the night a few years ago. I went to sleep and woke up with someone else's thighs. It was just that quick. The replacements had the texture of cooked oatmeal...Whose thighs were these and what happened to mine? I spent the entire summer looking for them. Finally, hurt and angry, I resigned myself to living out my life in jeans. And then the thieves struck again.

My butt was next. I knew it was the same gang, because they took pains to match my new rear-end to the thighs they had stuck me with earlier, but my new butt was attached three inches lower than my original! I realized I'd have to give up jeans in favor of long skirts. 

Women around the world, wake up and smell the coffee! Those plastic surgeons are using REAL replacement body parts - stolen from you and me! The next time someone you know has something 'lifted' look again..it may have been lifted from you.

This is not a HOAX. This is happening to women everywhere every night.. WARN YOUR FRIENDS

Boxy squares

This is the quilt top I made for my Grandson, Talon's high school graduation in May. His only request was outdoor theme. It doesn't show up too well, but the prints are all deer, ducks, trees, bear and the outside border is deer antlers on the black. It was a really fun, fast quilt to make. I cut way too many strips so I have enough to make another one. It's flannel so HRH may like one too. By the way, my hubby is holding it so it looks crooked. It is square though. We will get to go to the graduation in Montana  and also see my sister in law and her family as well. The great niece is the one with the redwork quilt in a prior post. I am also working on three doll quilts for the little girls when we visit. I don't send Christmas gifts to them but about midway in the year, I send or take a box with whatever I have decided through the year. I found three dolls at a garage sale that were like new, they are the porcelain ones with cloth bodies and that is why the doll quilts. I wish I had family closer. I need grand kid hugs more often than I get them.

Car Shopping

Well, my car was totaled and believe me you don't win anything dealing with insurance companies. I have been treated so badly by them and I have been telling everyone to switch over to Hartford as they have such good rates. NOT! I am debating on a Toyota Camry Hybrid and am just about sold. I haven't driven it yet as I'm still not wanting to get behind a wheel if I don't have to and it has been raining cats and dogs here for the past few days. SO.. do any of you have any experience with this car??? Consumer reports list is well so we'll see. I sure do not like car shopping, especially since the insurance company gives me 3 days to settle, big of them, isn't it.

Tomorrow, I am calling the insurance commissioner and talking things over, it may help, it may not. I won't bore you with the whole story, it's not pretty.

On a quilty note, I'm still folding and cutting scraps and almost have enough scraps for the Blue Ridge Beauty of Bonnie's, I think there are over 2200 pieces without counting borders and that's just the blue. I love it though and it hurts to sit or lay down so I stand at the counter and cut! Have a great Thursday, I have the day off.

Obviously, no Pictures of this one!

I recently visited with a friend who told me that she was having problems with her young son and his "aim" if you know what I mean. Well, this brought to mind a story my aunt told me many years ago, see, she was a first grade teacher and had a little freckled, red headed boy as the story goes, the little boy was making real messes in the bathroom and it was assumed that he was trying to see just how far up the wall he could hit, or whatever boys do in the bathroom to make such messes, the janitor spoke to him with no appreciable results as did the male principal. They then suggested that the teacher, my aunt, have a go at it and see if she could stop him from his new "hobby". She took the bull by the horns and after sternly addressing the boy, she looked at him and his lip was quivering and he said Mrs. Robinson, have you ever tried to aim one of those things (thangs) (insert Texas accent here). Well, she said, you've got me there and let him go. I guess he wasn't trying for the bathroom olympics afterall. Don't ask me why I think of these things. Sometimes I think my mind malfunctions rather than functions but I thought I'd give you a smile for the day. !

Happy Sunday

One of the facilities I work in (I work in 4) is upscale independent living and they have the best events of any I've been to. Well, last Wednesday we had a luncheon and the theme was the Ladies of the Whitehouse or First Ladies luncheon, I can't remember but  all the recipes were from different first ladies and were excellent. Our chef used to be the chef on a cruse ship and she's GOOD! We served a dessert that was orange cake with raisins and creme cheese/orange frosting. It was to die for. Well, we couldn't have people go home empty handed so we sent them home with a little bundt cake of the same recipe and the presentation was so cute. It was on a gold plate (actually a coaster) with a doily and then put in a cellophane bag and tied with a pretty plaid ribbon and to go with it a tea bag was tied to the ribbon. Isn't this cute. I think this idea would be so clever to take to a sick friend or just to cheer someone up, don't you?

As to the accident.... I didn't sleep much last night because I feel like the heavy weight champion boxer beat me up. If I lay on one side, my hip hurt, if I lay on the other my neck hurt, I  tossed and turned all night and can't sit for more than a few minutes so wasn't able to go to church and sit on the pews for over an hour.  HRH went though and it doesn't hurt if I stand or sit in a recliner, so I will fold some fabric and get this mess FINISHED! I have been folding all week and only have one neat shelf to show for it. Mind you, it's a walk in closet so I've got a way to go. Have a great day!

What a week!

I'm sorry my posts have dropped off so drastically. This has been a week to remember, or rather one I'd rather forget. I had calls from two dear friends, one lost her mother who I was very fond of and the other a friend of HRH, woke up to find his wife had passed away in the night. She was in her 50's and had undergone gastric bypass about two years prior and was having one problem after another as a result, she had been back in the hospital on average once a month, so this death was determined to be a result. I have heard from the nurses I work with that the mortality rate from that surgery is very high. I feel so bad for these people as I know how it feels to lose someone you love so suddenly.

Then, as if this wasn't enough bad news, I was driving to work yesterday and got broadsided by a big 4X4 pickup, it hit on the passenger side, which was fortunate for me, but hit so hard that it knocked my shoes (yes, shoes) off and glasses and boy am I bruised from the seat belt. I am so glad I always wear it though. I woke this morning and I hurt everywhere more than anywhere else. What really woke me up was the bottoms of my feet hurting, strange, I've never had that one before. The sad part is that they will probably total my 1998 Lexus and with HRH being out of work most of the year, we really can't afford another car. My Lexie was all paid for and didn't have a trouble in the world, she ran like a top and as long as I have had it, I had Zero problems. We aren't sure what we are going to do, right now, I'm driving a horrible little rental that I really can't see out of adequately. Oh Well, I have much to be thankful for, I didn't get hurt too badly and life goes on in our house while for many it doesn't. 

I'll try to be a better blogger, maybe that brings me good carma.

Happy Valentine's Day

Well, as I'm folding red fabric today, still on my neatness quest and this is probably as close to celebrating Valentine's day as I will get so I got my mind all wrapped around Valentine's days of the past, you know, when we were in grade school and decorated boxes to  put on our desk and made sure nobody was left out when we addressed and passed around the cards. I had a boyfriend then named Leonard and he asked me to go to the movies with him on Valentine's day Saturday. My first date of sorts. I will never forget his mom driving, and him coming to the front door. My sisters, who were in high school, my parents all sitting around making fun of the day and teasing me. Anyway, he showed up at the door and had his hair so slicked down with something good smelling and oily. I do remember a cowlick that was no longer visible, so it must have worked. My sisters were laughing and then I noticed that the stuff was running down  his forehead an sides of his face. I have never forgotten that and it's been a hundred years ago. He opened the car door for me and we sat in the back seat as his mom chauffeured us to the movie, she then went in and sat at the back while we sat up front. I think I remember him trying to put his arm around me, but I will never forget that stuff running down his face. It has all been downhill from there. THAT was one romantic Valentine's day!

DD almost finished

How many quilters worked on the double delight by Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville? I wish we would do a poll. I finished mine and sent it today to the LA quilter, Kay Olsen, in Longview, WA. I can't wait to get it back. I did tell her that I am in no hurry, I know I won't be giving it away soon, so didn't want her to feel pressed but I am anxious to see how it turns out. It is such a busy quilt, with so many pieces (2976 to be exact), I didn't think anything too fussy would be seen so I'm just getting an all over pattern, I told her to use her judgement. I'm sure she does more than I do and knows best. The one time I chose what I thought was best, I didn't like it when it was finished.

Let me know if you are doing or have finished the DD quilt. I will post a picture when it returns!

Merry Christmas in February

Are we a mixed up family or what! Don't answer that! During December, we had snow so deep that we couldn't get around. Remember, we are in Vancouver, Washington where we must own one snowplow and it only gets used every 5 years so none of the roads were passable. My son lives 45 miles South of here and lives in the country, again, no plows and to top it off, he had a couple of trees come down on his house so had to work on Christmas (the real Christmas) day to cut the tree up and keep it from doing more damage. so, long story, short... we had our Christmas celebration yesterday. We had a nice day, little one here wasn't feeling too well, he had been in the hospital two nights before with an asthma attack and the meds were making him pretty  sleepy. He looks like he's been into the grog, but really, we only drank milk and water. I sure was tired last night from all the cooking but I love to do that. I also baked 5 dozen Snickerdoodle cookies to send home with my son for his birthday.

refolding stash

A few weeks ago, someone posted a video (sorry I didn't save the link) of a nifty way to fold your stash so everything is the same width and stores neatly. Well, today I was in  the mood to tackle it so I started. I worked for 5 hours and didn't even make a dent in things. This is going to take a while, I can tell. While I was at it, I cut the small pieces into 3.5" bricks, 2.5" strips and squares and 2" strips and squares. Of course I had a pile of crumbs as well. Last few times I had a batch of them, I sent them out to people on quiltville chat who requested them, but the last box was over $8.00 and I can't afford that so I may just dump them, not sure yet. I'm sure as soon as they get tossed, I will find something I want to use them in. Anyway, a productive day. I will post pics when I finish.  Hey, I even found a UFO I didn't remember having. I wonder what else I'll find in that closet.

Our wild scouts

My hubby and I are Weblo's leaders for our church scout pack and we meet on Wednesday evenings. Believe me, I'm too old for this. There are only four little boys 10 and 11 years old, but they are the wildest bunch. We have no control over them most of the time. they even get the dog so riled up she eats her "babies", just plain eviscerates them, stuffing everywhere.  Last night one little guy was so disruptive, I just quit what I was doing and sat and looked at him. He went on for 15 minutes and when it didn't look like he was going to quit before midnight. I stopped him and told him that he could lead the group next week and I would expect a real lesson. When my kids were that age they didn't run through someone's house like wild men and disrupt everything. They waited until they left home to be wild. (not always a good thing, I'll admit). We did get through the lesson, Talked about 1 room school houses and the times teachers used switches to punish (OH, for one of those now!) played some games pertaining to the lesson on education. Then I sat them by the door, told them to put shoes on and wait for their moms. This was one of the longest 90 minutes in my life and today I'm beat, just want a nap. I'm sure glad I didn't have to work.  I'm not sure where to go from here, perhaps ask our leaders to find someone younger. HRH doesn't have a clue either and the dog doesn't have many of her stuffed "babies" left. AAARRRGG.

Taxes

I just love this time of year, don't you? Tax time. I am very organized and throughout the year, I keep everything in one place, neatly sorted. Well, I am just steaming because HRH, had one transaction, ONE, where he cashed in a small 401K (well, it was small by the time he cashed it in) anyway, he has NO record whatsoever of that transaction, he vaguely remembers about the approximate value, time he thinks he cashed it in. Get the words, vague, approximate, thinks. How am I supposed to deal with this one. I know we can claim a loss but finding out the amount is another thing. In the mean time. I'm looking through everything and he is relaxing with the cat on his lap and watching TV. Do "they" ever get excited about anything like this. I guess as long as "she" gets the taxes done, "he" doesn't have to do a thing. What is wrong with this picture?

I think I'm grouchy mainly because I worked yesterday and today and came home to "him" on the couch in front of the TV, waiting for dinner. AAARRG! Believe me, dinner wasn't anything to write home about. Should have been arsenic soup! 

My baby is 39

Wow, I feel old today, my youngest child, Dan, turned 39 today. I remember the day he was born like it was yesterday. It was a Saturday and it was his grandparents 23rd anniversary. I was also 23 years old. That tells a story, doesn't it. This son has given me a run for my money, I'll tell you. If there was trouble to find, he found it, from the time he was walking, no, before. He would be tooling around in the little walker and when I heard a screech, I had better run, because he was about to hit either his older brother or the dog. He always let out a warning sound, like some alarm system that was built in. His dad died when he was 10 and from then on, no warning sound, but plenty of trouble. He now has 3 sons and 4 step children and one of the sons is giving him the same treatment he gave me. I can only pray that perhaps the grandson can learn from some of his dad's experience, but something tells me, he will have to go through it himself. Life rolls on, doesn't it.  Happy Birthday Dan, Mom loves you.

Little cutie

This is my great niece and her quilt from "Auntie". I had forgotten to take a picture so my niece sent this yesterday. I told her that if I had sent a gunny sack it would have looked good with that little darling under it. Isn't she just the cutest thing? We sure think so and she has two older sisters who are just as cute. She lives too far away, (Montana) for us to see very often, that's the bad part of this equation. Carline

TA DA! Finished top

I'm free at last, this quilt has kept me tied to the sewing machine (s) for 24 days. I've been a woman possessed! I just couldn't leave this quilt alone. I haven't done much else besides go to my job and church. My Bernina went bonkers during this quilt, started breaking needles and thread so she had to go to the shop. I got out my Pfaff and dusted it off and finished tonight. We didn't even have dinner because HRH had a late lunch and he knew there was cherry pie coming out of the oven. I am really happy with the end result of the top. I will get a back made this week and send it to a LA quilter.  I do have to say that I did walk the dog and do laundry, so I'm not a total slob but the rest of the world just kind of had to wait. I also got half the blocks made for a square in a block flannel quilt that I was doing as a leader/ender project. So hopefully, I won't neglect my blog as badly as I have been doing. Thanks Bonnie Hunter for the wonderful pattern. The picture isn't great and the quilt came together perfect as far as being square. Each side was equal to the 1/4th inch.  That doesn't always happen.

I forgot to do this last week because, well, last week was the week from you know where. but I was tagged by Amy of Not always with thread and I'm supposed to pick a picture from the fourth folder and choose the fourth picture, then explain the picture and tag 4 more blogs. I pick Calamity jane'scottage.com

warmpiewarmhome.blogspot.com  , mountainwoman@heart.blogspot.com and Ree@Pioneerwoman.com. 

This picture is a picture of (believe it or not) Maggie's 1st birthday  party with some friends who also had a standard poodle pup. We had hats, SEE MAGGIE , treats and a birthday cake made out of, you got it. Alpo! I really hate to admit that at my age ( a tender 39) I do things this silly, but now you know! Maggie's birthday is Dec 6 if anyone wants to put it on their calendar for next year. It is the social occaision of the year! She'll be 3 then.

Carline

Home stretch with help

Sunday evening I finished all the blocks and got time to lay my Double Delight out. Well, let me tell you, this wasn't the piece of cake I thought it would be, thanks to the quality control inspector. This cat has a mind of her own and it wasn't going to do any good to try to get her off that quilt. She gave her approval, big time! I like the way this turned out, I never would have put those colors together but it works. Thanks again to Bonnie Hunter for the pattern. How to quilt this one is another puzzle. There are so many pieces (I'll have to count them) that hand quilting is out for sure. I am making a flannel quilt for grandson #1 who graduates in May from high school in Montana. He loves all things having to do with hunting and nature so I'm using the group of flannels with deer, bear, fish, etc on them. I have the day off and just finished my Monday a.m. conference call so the day is mine.

Carline

Steps 3 and 4
Slow and steady, I'm getting this quilt finished. I'm sure I'm behind most of the other mystery makers, but I can only do about 6 blocks at a time before my back is aching. This is going to be a great quilt though. Thanks to Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville for the design. I have half of the brown/blue blocks and a third of the pink ones done. 

I come home from work and after dinner, I hit the sewing machine. 

I have been listening to 50's and 60's music as I sew and boy does that take me back. My older sisters and brothers listened to the 50's and so I got familiar with that as well as my 60's music, what fun! Makes sewing go smoother. Remember the sad songs like Tell Laura I love her and the silly ones like Blue, Navy Blue and Sha, Na Na! Great lyrics! LOL.

Framed Orphan block

Dresden Plate multi-generational quilt

This is a "multi-generational quilt. My great grandmother made the "plates" and they were "discovered" in a cedar chest when my grandmother passed away. My mother brought them home, put them on blocks, embroidered them with a feather stitch, put them together and hand quilted it in beautiful tiny stitches. She, unfortunately used what I think was too bright colors, pinks and turquoise, not typical for the time the blocks were made. It was probably something she had on hand as she was very frugal out of need not social conscience. I came along and found the quilt unbound so I put the binding on it and am enjoying it in my collection. The back is white, as I loved to see the stitches and encouraged mom to use that on any quilt where she asked my input. I think I love this quilt so much because of the fact that it brings together family that really were not together when they were taking on the project. It is too bad my great grandmother never saw the finished product, but I like to think she is in heaven discussing it with Mom and knowing how much it is loved. I had one left over block and I had it matted and framed. If any of you have orphan blocks, this is a great way to showcase them.