August 19, 2015

I really didn't intend to be gone from posting, this long.  Now I am back, working on BoM blocks and are sewing on blocks one and two, then have another to download, and get the fabrics cut out and sewn.  That will bring me up to date on the BoM.

We've found that cutting scraps into Strips and sewing them in a chevron really makes a pretty scrappy quilt.  I have strips ready to make into a quilt top and then give to our Safe House, etc.

It's not hard to cut the fabrics using the Studio from Accuquilt.

I am dealing with shoulder, elbow, wrist and hand problems all on the dominant side.. Had surgery on all but the shoulder.  The cortisone shot didn't even help over night.  Soooo now it's a month of phys therapy  and back to the shoulder Dr. in one month.

Meanwhile the Spinal neurologist is back in the line of Dr.s I see, and I have an appt. coming up, I pray in the not too distant future. I think I have pinched disks or more deterioration above and below those already fused.and about mid-back.

We haven't been able to go out fishing much this year, and are out of fresh fish.  ROFL, I so badly need a fish-fry under my belt.  I'm hungry.  When the humidity is high, it is too difficult to breathe.

The car is holding up well, the new house windows look so very nice. 

The heat pack has been replaced.  Haven't seen a drop of utilities with all the hot weather, unusual for central NC.  it does very well at heating and air conditioning. It's nice to not worry.

This is a pict of part of Marintha's Quilt of Valor, which I was privileged to quilt.

Marintha is always ready to let me work on her quilts.  It's a joy as her piecing is nearly perfect.









Now that I've brought you up to date on our current life history, LOL, I can get busy on the long arm quilter, and piecing tops when I need a break from the long arm machine.

Toodledoo

SUNDAY                                                                    December 14, 2014

Not having kids at home to eat the candy, cookies and whatever else we make up, curtails the fun of making them.     And eating them!

We started to make candy the last 2 days and then remembered we had about 10 days to wait before they will be needed.  Of course we will be sending cookies and candies home with the kids, on Christmas Eve.

We get to have the family here on Christmas Eve.  That will be fun.   We've decided to kick the turkey and ham out of the  line up and have a big casserole and salad with a relish tray, and fresh rolls, for supper.  I really don't think the kids will mind..  Then I think Cherry, Mincemeat and one other pie, apple or pumpkin.  I'm overloading I guess as I want to make my version of a yule log.  For that I think I'm going to use a spice or carrot cake with cream cheese filling.  Chocolate icing and a dusting of powdered sugar.  I may even use a plastic holly leaf and flower to deco it.

We put some decorations out on the mailbox, and a couple of bushes by the drive...  Unless we get a bad wind, the cotton fluff I used for snow and the ornaments will stay there.  Out in CA if we did this, they would all be gone by the next day.
It's so much fun to not be worried about them, and pretty well know we will have them when the holidays are over.

Indoors we have the tree up and decorated, and that is about all we will be doing.  I use to decorate everything, the mantle, the nick-nack shelves, floor lamps, etc.  Not any more. I don't know if we don't have the things to do that, or if he just doesn't want to dig around for the box, up in the attic.  Some of the ornaments from when the kids were little, late 50's and into the 60's era aren't in the boxes he brought down.  It bothers me.  I know there should be more, and am praying the kids haven't lost theirs forever.

I'm hoping the kids will all come over early to mid afternoon on Christmas Eve, and play some cards before everyone has gathered for supper.  Having all the dishes out and serving bowls and platters, the flatware, napkins and table cloth, will speed things up for setting the table and serving supper.

The girls and grands are always happy to help with setting the table and a couple of us clear and put the food away.\

Most of the dishes will go into the dishwasher so the dishes are no big deal.

I think there will be 8 or 10 of us, depending on the grands and if they bring a boy/girl friend.  So far as I know, there are only two sweeties at this time.. should be 3 me thinks.

TUESDAY                                                         December 2,  2014


Well, It seems the holidays have hit us with the busy's.

Himself is working on more shaggy quilts, and I'm still working on the strip blocks as well as on a quilt for a friend that is several years overdue and in the making.

I can't believe how just the one med affected me, and how badly I was sewing, all the time thinking it was great and so pretty.

Thus the years overdue quilt.  A lot of frogging seams, and praying another assult such as it is getting now, won't wear the seam areas too much!

I've had problems getting this quilt done.. it just doesn't suit me, thus the frogging and resewing and removing quilted designs and doing it over again.  I pray the prescribed steroids I'll be on for several days won't hold me up on getting this done.  I'd like him to have it before Christmas.. Finally!!

Breakfasts, dinners and suppers have been on the menu, with more to go.  I'm not sure what is going on tomorrow, but Thursday is a breakfast with Habitat for Humanity, I think Fri. is another dinner and Sat. is the Guilds Christmas Party!
They all should be fun, the last the most.. fun things go on, like Chinese Gift exchange,  Left, Right or Keep dice game of suffling Fat Quarters of fabric from one to another.  Last person holding a FQ wins the pile.  Each person contributes 3 quality FQ.

We won't need much time for finishing the shopping..  Just a few small items to go.  I will be glad to have that overwith, and just the wrapping and labels one evening.  When everyone are adults and "Just anything" or too very pricy for us in gift requests, and that adult mode is what composes our family, it doesn't take us long to shop.

Since we do have windows now, I'd like the top part of our tree put up, maybe 4-5 feet of it.. and am thinking of a "Tree Decoration for one of our trees.   It will be a 3D caricature of Santa or Rudolph.. not sure which, then would like to set up a nativity, just the bare basics since I don't have much time to try to get it done.  Just Mary, Joseph and ur Lord, Jesus
Christ !

Waking up at 3 a.m. (when I use to be going to bed)  has its drawbacks, I get tired about mid afternoon, and benefits..
Once this is finished, It's on to our Holiday Letter and Christmas Cards.

Must motate..

Praying everyone had a most blessed, peaceful, happy Thanksgiving, and remembered to be Thankful for the small things in life, which in a whole becomes mighty big.

Christmas wishes for Health.

Holidays

SUNDAY                                                         November 16, 2014



Prayers and thoughts went right together with the holidays approaching and being kicked off by Thanksgiving.

If we could truely believe and only knew how many blessings we are given, down to the very breath we take, or food we eat, care we get when needed, etc.,  and so on and so forth.. Everything we have in this world is a blessing to everyone in some way.

The quilting is one of the biggest things I have to be thankful for after God and family.

I've begun using the strips I've been cutting, the 2" and the 2 1/2"  For making blocks or long strips.   The chevron eats up the scraps, can be very pretty and give me plenty of blocks and strips to keep me busy with a blocks swap, possibly a quilt for our bed.

I think this will be a nice pattern for Quilts of Valor, as a thank you for serving to keep our country safe..

I will see if I can add some photo's later today or tomorrow.

This and that from............

Monday                                                        November  10, 2014

From the local little fair to Capon Sprigns and Farm and retreat in WV      October  2014.                                                    

It is going to be interesting to see what today has to bring us today.

I didn't do much yesterday.  Managed to clear my desk off a bit, and find storage for the 2 1/2" stips, and cut more.  Sorted out the blues and reds..

Now I need to get some 2" strips and 3" strips cut out of more to give us a variety.  Some are being kept for focus cut blocks, or fill-in pieces.

This next shot is of an entry I made at the Lee Regional Fair hosted by the Lions Club.

These beads are made from carrots, and I am selling them.. if anyone is interested, just post a note here and I will get back to you.

I will be posting beads made of potato's also for sale, some just sealed, some painted, and you can get them unfinished in any way.

 

This next Pict was taken at the Capon Springs and Farms Retreat in Oct.  Gosh was it fun.

 

Ok, to explain the pict.  I have literally dozens of UFO blocks, and want to be using them up in a scrappy quilt.

 

This particular one, was started with the top right block, a Dresden Plate block sewn and appliqued onto a white backing.  Our challenge was made by our Friend, BettyJane from one of the chat centers I belong to.  She so generously sent those who wanted them, sent two of the Dresden Plate blocks.

It has taken me far too long to get this one finished.

 

I didn't make any of the small blocks in this quilt, for this quilt.  They were blocks I made years ago, or blocks that were made by someone else and I got them in a "give away"  freebee by someone in the guild, or sent to me from others.

Thus a picnic basket, ice cream cone, two green 9 patch blocks, a Sun Bonnet Sue, a house, and so on.

 

 

Enough so far today, it's still young in the tooth, being only 5:45.. and we being retired as in old enough to quit work.  I woke up at 2:45.

 

 

Oh the Beauty of Autumn.

Sunday                                                        November 9, 2014


                                                                                                                                                                      
Oh the colors in the trees around here !

Since the freeze they are so bright, clear, pretty..

My mind isn't bad, or slow,  I've just filled it so full that it takes longer to sort through it to find the info needed.


This beauty I had a ball of fun working on.   I managed to get reasonably shaped Eagles into the 4 corners,  Made 2 blocks with colored thread to indicate the top of the quilt, and used half circle feathers in the empty white V blocks.  I used ruler lines on the colored blocks, and they are, I hope, made to form a zigzag of lines when finished.

Beautiful Quilt,  Adrianne

This is the view of the whole quilt.

 

This is one of the half circles of feathers.

 

 

 

Photo Catch Up Time

Thursday November 6, 2014

It may have been mentioned that the computer and the camera were in a long term battle. The camera won, at long last.
So, over the next several days photo's will be posted of quilt projects and other projects here in house.

Right now, the Side Saddle is working so well.. I do believe something was wrong with it from the start. I have Michaels Graduation quilt on the frame,, .. he graduated in 2012. I may be slow, but it gets done!
We went out fishing yesterday for the first time in over a week, and I just didn't feel good, so we came home early. This time I got skunked. Other guys gave us 3 very nice brim, and Roland caught 2 keeper catfish. We don't keep anything under 10 inches. Just not two bites out of each side.. we call them the "triple G fish: Gotta Go Grow."

We had a nice freeze the other night so our disciduous tree colors are a lot brighter, prettier if that is possible. The chestnut tree is nearly nude of leaves, and others still have plenty of leaves.

In the quilting department, I am trying to finish a quilt, "Buttoned Up". It was started for the retreat we went on, and I miscut some of the blocks, so had to wait until we got home and dug out the matching fabric. Anything we could buy, or did buy, was a poor substitute, so I waited.

I'm also working on putting some blocks together. Two other quilts that were started one day in the past.. maybe this year, maybe in the past. Eventually they will get done, all of them.. and there are others partly sewn and the fabrics to make more were given with them. I can get up to bed size I hope..

Wind is blowing leaves are flying, and it's 65 degree F. Other than piecing and quilting, I will be helping with the Farm to Table distribution site. That will take up about 7 hours.This first picture is of a Quilt of Valor I quilted for Mary up in NJ. It was so much fun, but it also took a long time to get finished. She said she was thrilled with it, and so was I both in the privilege of quilting it and deciding on designs to stitch in each set of 6 blocks.

 

These next 3 photos show just one set of 6 small blocks of different designs.

 

Until then

This Quilt of Valor was made by Mary.  What a lovely job !
It will certainly make someones heart happy!

 

Monday                 November 3, 2014

Ok I give, I know I've been lazy about keeping up to date. 
I've been having so much fun with the Side Saddle computer
quilting, and making blocks for a swap, and trying to get a
LONG over due quilt finished, that I really haven't thought
of posting.

Fishing was given up for a while.. We were too busy as well as
tired by night time.  Dr. appts. pot luck, guild meeting, planning
meeting with the Co-op gals,  and so it went.

Only 2  Dr. appts this week, can't think of any meetings or potlucks,
and that feels fairly good.  Would be better with no Dr. appts.

I've had a lot of fun with the Side Saddle computer quilting.
It's neat to see it stich a perfect backtrack and have beautifully
rounded spirals and curves.

I hope I will be able to post a few picts of the QoV I recently finished,
and the one quilt that is on the frame now.  It is so busy I used a
rather loose design, great for quilting evenly and no worry about it
showing up in that busy fabric.

More later.. have to see if cooking a thickened then runny batch of
tapiocca to thicken back up.  Really a puzzle.. it was fine pouring into
dry and clean bowl, then it just watered down.  Frustrating !

I wish the little signs I made to go with the Potato Chip Cookies had
been left out where they could be seen, and I think more would have been
eaten.

I hate it when I have to bring left overs home from a doings.

Until I get back when....

FRIDAY                        October 24, 2014

  Quilting is making progress that I can see and am happy with.   That feels very good.

  The QoV is finished, and I have a double layer of fleece sandwich on the frame and am going to use the Side Saddle computer to quilt it.

  Grandsons quilt, then one for Ann have to be on the frame next.. I need to make labels and need to bind and get picts of them.

  Fall has come and the weather has been dry enough that the leaves crunch.  Oh, how I love that.

  It seems odd that we now have the heat warming the house and not the AC cooling it.  I'm not sure which I like best.  I wish I/we could survive without either, but that won't happen as long as we have electric power.

  I am making up the blocks for an exchange, and have thus far, since the retreat, managed to not sign up for another Mystery Quilt.  lol... they are so much fun.

  Fishing has been terrific.  Earlier this week,  each of us caught a  15- 16" blue chanel catfish, and a couple days later, he caught a 19"  catfish, and a bit later that same day I caught a 22inch  catfish.

  We have decided to fish the lower pond and see how we do.   We've been fishing the pond above the dam.

  I saw something this week that upset me.   The new way of begging and getting money is to go to worship, then go out to the end of the driveway and beg for money, food, gas.

  These people make hundreds of dollars per day, and don't report any income taxes.. and of course we provide for them.

  A couple of weeks ago, an encounter with one couple (they always have a small child with them..) and they were driving a fairly new Chrysler Van, and we can't think of even pricing a used one!

  I hate dishonesty, I hate supporting these people, and I hate their looking like they worship the Lord by attending church, and giving the impression that they are Christians when they are only christians. ( note the Cap on Christians.)   I shall pray for them!

  The day needs to be started so I xhall sign off