Special Day

Greetings All ! Today is a special day for three special people! Our son Mitch, our nephew Chuck and dear friend Darlain, all have birthdays! We wish them all the best of everything and hope they are having a special day! We'll call Mitch tonight and have a chat!

Nate has been off work two weeks now - he works for a company that makes foreign car air conditioners and heaters. J.D. is still in Bloomington and taking it easy. . don't know his plans for the rest of the summer. Need to check in with Tracy this evening, too. Mark pops in and out - he is still switching cell phone batteries with me. He is working but some of the lines have been closed down - they make Toyota car parts.

We have had a lot of rain this past week. The field out back had water standing in it and it is just too wet to plant. The field across the road is planted and corn is peeking up!

Last Sunday Chet took a friend and me out to lunch at a buffet. We went to pick up the friend and I saw her poppy's blooming so I jumped out of the car, went up the alley and took a few pictures of them. Aren't they just so perky! Love poppies but haven't attempted to grow them myself! We hadn't called ahead for reservations but they took us in anyway! So much food - and such a small stomach! I think we were there for a good hour. The waitress told me they had over 500 reservations between 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. I'll bet there were some sore feet that night!

This windmill is on the restaurant lawn - it was whirling that day - but not creaking like ours did on the farm! Seeing the windmill reminded me of the milk house that butted up to ours - and then I remembered Dusty Miller scaring us and chasing us up the windmill, scampering around and sitting on the roof of the milk house - sisters - ringing any bells?

Last week while digging through the big closet looking for the box of feed sacks to take to quilt guild, I ran across a bag with a "project in progress" in it. This throw was started in a class I took in Fairfield, Ohio - when Mitch and family lived there. Now that was so long ago, I don't remember when I started it. Diane and her Mom from Upper Michigan and I took the class. I'm wondering if they ever finished theirs! I had most of it finished, had to sew the rows together and add the borders; and made the binding too. Now it is hanging in the closet with others to be quilted some day!

The flying geese quilt, aka: Goosey - Goosey - is now finished. I gathered up the odds and ends of leftovers from other projects to make the binding - six different fabrics in the binding! It was tossed into the washer and dryer and it is now a cuddly throw size quilt.

Yesterday I started a new project - a maple leaves table topper. Dug out batiks and other fall colored fabrics and cut out the three different size blocks I'll be using. 3", 6" and 9" blocks with spacers to fill in. Love batik maple leaf projects! The 3" blocks are finished - they are done first because they are difficult to handle at that size! Hopefully the piece will be finished some time this week.

Please notice I have corrected the date and year on my camera! It took a while - but I think it's right now! (The wind mill picture was taken before I changed the date.)

And that's about it, folks - till next week - take care.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY

We are having a lovely sunny day in Indiana.
Temps are not going to be too high, but the
sunshine sure makes it look warm out. Chet put
the new lawn swing cushions out but it's not really been warm enough to sit for hours and see the world pass by. I do have to keep an eye out for when our neighbor Paul comes over - the two guys have a beer (their cocktail hour) and I try to get a picture of them every year. They harass the poor mailman as he goes by, offering him a beer! He smiles, waves and goes merrily on his way!

Chet is taking Pat and me out to lunch at the Dutch Mill today. This is a buffet and has so much food, too many choices - I overeat and then get tired and crabby. But I'll do my best to be nice today.

Tomorrow my quilt guild meets and I signed up to do a lecture/demo of some kind. One of the gals suggested I tell about my scrappy look quilts! It's a wide open subject but I'm kind of challenged as to what to say! I'm taking a nice looking "multi-fabric" quilt and a totally ugly one; and also take a few of my scrappy quilt books. I am also taking a few of my feed sacks - we discussed them briefly at last months guild meeting. I knew I had a box of them but didn't realize how many there were. (No, I'm not telling!) The pictures below are a few of them - love that red on pink paisley print (upper left corner).

This last picture is a top I finished up this week.
I bought a bundle of fat quarters last summer and finally found the perfect pattern. The fabrics are kind of shiny and have designs in them - kind of like damask tablecloths! If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you can see the designs. While cutting the pieces for the quilt I found some of the fabrics were two inches shorter than they are suppose to be (18 X 22") and I was quite disgusted - so I emailed the shop which is in Cincinnati! They promptly responded and told me they'd send me a coupon! Right now I'm not too sure I want to go there again. I distinctively remember asking the gal if the fabrics were 100% cotton and she said yes. Well, guess what - they weren't! Ask me how I know ? ? ? Polyester melts - and cotton doesn't! I went ahead and put it together and hope I can find a long arm quilter willing to work with polyester. Mark suggested I back it and put a casing in and use it as a curtain! A thought!

Time to get dressed for our lunch date - hope all are well and enjoying the warmer temperatures. Till next time - - take care.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

I had such a happy birthday this year. . . turning 71 isn't all that bad. Sisters sent lovely cards and gifts, brother in Arizona called, Grandson J.D. also called. I also had a lot of birthday wishes via email. Our three sons came for a ham, scalloped potatoes and veggies supper. We sat and visited and "harkened back" and had a lot of laughs. We did miss not having Tracy with us! Mark came over after work and helped me cook - bless his heart - work all day and still is energetic enough to cook. He searched the cupboards for a can of pineapple and brown sugar to put on the ham. . . I never thought of that! Nate & Deanie & J.D. sent a bouquet of fresh flowers - so perky! Mitch arrived at about 4:30 with a big hanging basket of flowers and they smelled so good. Before he left he straightened out the bent nail so the basket could hang safely! Photo of the hanging basket isn't good at all - but I stood in the doorway to take it - didn't have my shoes on, so couldn't step outside!

Chet and the sons took a friend of ours out to breakfast Saturday morning. This fellow picks Chet up for church and a weekly Bible study group. The four of them had a great time. Paul is 81 now, lost his wife a couple of months ago. Their two daughters live in Fort Wayne so he doesn't get to see them often. And I think a few hours with the guys did him a wealth of good. Mitch left for Louisville, KY about 10:30 to catch his flight back to Green Bay. Was great to see him, even if it was such a shoft visit.





We've had a lot of rain and everything is nice and green. I went out between the rain showers and had my hair colored on Tuesday. I'm envious of my sisters - see the photo and notice their lovely hair colors - all nature with them. My hair looks like a rusty, used Brillo Pad if I don't color them. This picture was taken a few years ago when I spent a week in Minnesota with the family. That was a great vacation for me but I do remember they wore me out quickly and I had to beg for Coke!

Wednesday I attended a quilt show, lecture and luncheon. Several ladies from my quilt guild went and it was enjoyable. I enjoyed the quilts on display, most of them were old. The luncheon was good, too. After we left the show we went to a quilt shop. No - I didn't buy any fabric but did find a pattern I want to make, so bought it. This will NOT be a scrappy looking quilt! I have a bundle of embossed cotton fabrics that are begging to be used and will start it sometime this week. I do need to find some solid black fabric to use with it.

I had an email from my long arm quilter, she has finished a quilt for me so we'll run up and get it one day this week.

Of course I have to have a quilty picture in my post - so here is a "multi" fabric quilt I made a while ago. Managed to use up a lot of odds and ends of fabrics - the lighter fabric is the same throughout the quilt. The pattern is from Bonnie Hunter at http://quiltville.com/.

Well folks - that's about it for this week. Again thanks to all of you for remembering my birthday. Have a good week and stay well. . . .

Lovely Weather

Here we are at the end of the month and having lovely weather. It's so nice not to have to bundle up to run out to pick up the paper and the mail! I'd like to find someplace where it is in the low 70's all the time! Wouldn't that be grand - no AC or furnaces running! ! Chet's in 7th heaven doing the lawns - ours and the neighbors! We've managed to keep busy this week. I had a perm on Tuesday and had brunch with a friend on Wednesday and lunch with Mark on Friday. And of course the usual grocery store run. Before I went to lunch with Mark I bit the bullet and went to Wal Mart to pick up a few things. . . oh, I so dislike going there. The store was remodeled and now I can't find anything. . . I guess I don't go there often enough, eh?

Tracy and I chatted Monday night and all's as well as it can be there.

Mitch called Friday night while driving up to their cottage on the lake. He was going up to help his father-in-law with some trash hauling - last weekend they put a new roof on a building up there. While we were chatting three deer darted across the road - excitement a mother doesn't want to hear! All is well there, too. Mitch will be in Louisville, KY, on business late next week and decided to fly back a day later and some spend some time with us Friday night and part of Saturday.

Yesterday afternoon we went out to Mark's house - he hosted a Pirate theme party. I think there were between 45 and 50 people there - many in costumes - all sizes and ages. I came home with a tattoo transfer! I am not comfortable driving at night, so we left before dark and before the party got rowdy! Ahem!

Nate & Deanie were invited to Mark's party but they hadn't come by the time we left. So we need to contact him to tell them that Mitch will be here and they should plan to come, too.
I've kept busy at the sewing machine, The quilt shown is a "multi-fabric" baby quilt. I made it a while ago and just now got around to taking a picture. The back on this quilt is yellow with white polka dots - kind of perky!

I'm turning into a bag lady. These four purses were made this weekend. The first one is the same style as those I pictured last week. And the other three are from a pattern I found on the Internet. They are fun to do but after two it's a chore! I do like the perky colors - the white buttons are from my antique collection and the others are Wal Mart specials! ! !

Time to find something for our supper - so 'bye' till next week. . . .

Uneventful Week

Another quiet week has passed. On Monday I went to Quilt Guild - I was so pathetically lazy and didn't even take anything for "Drag & Brag." We had a lesson on hand applique, try as I might, my leaves all look like they have a blight! Chatted with Tracy for quite a while and Mark stopped in briefly - he's always on the run. JD called - he was riding the bus to his apartment after classes.

It's "greening up" out of doors - see the ivy coming in around the birdbath. We don't put water in the birdbath - I usually have a plant of some type in there. Love the Ivy Geranium but they are difficult to find. But then I could get to the shops earlier, I guess! Can you tell I'm not a gardener - unlike the other sisters and brothers in my family! Chet mowed again this week - wasn't really necessary but he likes to ride around! He also does the neighbors yard - neighbor is in his 80's now and slowing down! This fella mowed our yard a couple of summers, so it's payback time! We have good neighbors and are thankful for them!



Our neighbor, Gary, (the one I keep trying to get to run away with me) has started heavy yard work - he trimmed one of the trees in his backyard yesterday. We have trees that need trimming but someone in this house seems to be anti-pruning! Won't he have an interesting look on his face when one of the bigger branches snap off during a storm this summer!



Niece Kelli (or was it Karri - I keep getting them mixed up) sent a photo of the quilt she just finished - isn't it gorgeous! Quilting keeps her and her mom busy quite a bit of the time and they both do lovely work. My quilting sisters make many donation quilts!

I decided to do the Small Quilts Talk (A Yahoo online group) challenge quilt - I'm late getting it done but thought I'd give it a whirl. Six blocks were more than enough for me. Each finished block measures only 4" - yes, it's a small one. Not too pleased with it - but it's finished and that's what counts!

Surfing the Internet for quilting and other sewing patterns seem to get me into trouble. I visit a blog and then they recommend another person's blog - and on and on it goes. I happened upon a fun and interesting one - http://madebyrae.blogspot.com/ and found a cute purse pattern there. I'm going to see if I can find some fabric and stitch it up. Also need to find some interfacing to give the bag a big of "beef"! I've added her website and also the http://quiltville.com/ to my blog lists. Many of my quilt patterns are from Quiltville. This gal also has a blog and tells of her travels around the country; she has a massive collection of sewing machines - just an interesting site to visit. I'm giving you fair warning - both of these sights can get you into trouble! But oh, so enjoyable!

Till next week - take care.

Happy Easter

Greetings friends and relatives! I hope everyone is having a good relaxing day - and not over eating! No special plans here today. Mark stopped in yesterday with a pot of lovely white tulips! He's spending his day working at his home and getting ready for a party next weekend. Nate & Deanie & JD are spending the day with her family. Chatted with Tracy for quite a while the other evening - she's getting along fine. Kids are good and her work is hectic! Had an email from Mitch & Family - they didn't "say" anything but the photo below was attached. It's Paul after receiving awards for his participation in DECA. Congratulations Paul - we're very proud of you! (I'd like to say "doesn't he look just like Mitch" but I said that a couple of weeks ago, didn't I?) JD said he'd stop in for a while before he goes back to school, he had a five page English paper to write this weekend so imagine it'll be a very brief visit.

We had a slow and quiet week so I spent quite a bit of time sewing - made some Ditty Bags and a couple more baskets to take up to the beauty shop for my hairdresser to display. The little bags are so cute! I made six of them and two more fabric baskets. Such fun.



Continuing on my mission to use up fabrics in my stash, I started another big quilt. I've been working on it all week. Shown below are some of the blocks - unpressed! I have twenty finished and pressed and am working on another thirteen blocks this morning. I'm aiming for a total of 42 blocks - so the end is in sight. Will need to pull more fabric and cut more strips to get the last few blocks. This pattern is from Bonnie Hunter at quiltville.com I've decided to refer to my stash quilts as "multi fabric" quilts - it seems to sound more classy than "scrappy look"! Grinning big, here!

Back to my sewing corner - have a good week!

Hi to all our kinfolk and friends! We've had another quiet week - nice! Weather is changing daily - I hear rumbling in the distance and it's very overcast out there. We were without electricity twice within 24 hours last weekend. . . hope this isn't a sign of future service! We played cards by candle light to pass the time. I won't say who won the most games! Okay?

I've been hearing the kitchen cabinets and drawers opening a lot, and a lot of sighing, too - Chet's way of letting me know it's time to get groceries! So I made a quick run out to Wal-Mart this morning and picked up some groceries and zippers. (I have a drawer full of zippers but not the right sizes and colors - anyone who sews knows about this.)

Tuesday afternoon Mark picked up Chet and they went to a JoAnn Fabric & Craft store in Greenwood, a suburb of Indianapolis. Mark is reupholstering the seat cushions on his pontoon boat. After shopping they went out to eat, Chet treated and was surprised at how expensive it was. He couldn't (or wouldn't) tell me where they went to eat but later Mark told me they went to Hooters! Chet's age really shows when he notices the menu prices before he notices the waitresses! Right? From there they went to see a Pacer's basketball game. A client had given Mark tickets, 3rd row and center seats. They enjoyed the game - and the Pacers won by only two points! Both enjoyed the night out.

Had to make an emergency run to Rushville to the quilt shop. I bought fabric and pattern there to make a cute little purse. For the life of me I couldn't figure out the "finishing touch" and had to go back to the shop and ask the gals for help. I have only been sewing for 45 years, so as a newcomer it was to be expected! ! ! Actually, if I'd have read more carefully I could have figured it out. Goes to prove I need to read all directions before I start the project and then read again, out loud! A friend went with me (yes, I left Chet at home) and we had lunch and then came on back home. I napped and then finished up the purse - and made a second one like it. Photo below. For interested stitchers, this pattern is from the Moda Fabric company and is made of 1 1/2" strips, their Honey Buns! This pattern is also online at the Moda site, in the Bakery Section.

I took some of my "goodies" to the beauty shop and she requested I make smaller size bags, coin purses, etc. So I made a couple small coin purses, the strip fabric ones on the right. On the left are two rectangular type cases, can be used as sunglasses case or cell phone holders or digital cameras. The pink one in the center is a "Humbug Bag" - triangle shaped with a zipper. I need to add closures to some of them yet. (Reminds me - I forgot to buy hook & loop tape while at Wal-Mart!) I'm planning to make a few more of the Humbug Bags, they are cute and fairly easy to make up.

Next picture is three stenographer notebook covers - made from the fabric I showed last week.

And this last picture is of two more baskets. The shop owner asked for more of them - with Easter just around the corner, they could easily sell out.

Ah - the kids and grand kids are fine - I think. Have only been in touch with Mark this week. So the "No news is good news" adage is in effect!

Storm is coming - lightening and thunder, so must get off the computer. . . till next week, take care.