Closing down Blog

I have decided to close down this blog due to health issues. I am no longer able to do many things I've done in the past. I hope you have enjoyed visiting with me as much as I did with all of you. Blessings to all of you.

Signs of Spring

Ah yes - Signs of Spring are appearing every day. This morning I spotted a beautiful red cardinal in our back yard. The snow is gone and springs of green grass are showing more and more. We've had quite a bit of rain and the ground is saturated - and more rain predicted later today. I'm glad I don't have kids playing outside these days!

Chet had the riding mower out with his little trailer attached and spent an afternoon picking up twigs and small branches that came down in a recent wind storm. He was so pleased to be out riding and 'doing things.'

I've managed to keep as busy as I can and want to be. I still tire easily and end up taking a daily nap! I've been battling a slight flu bug the past week and am hoping it soon will be gone. I just don't like tummy aches and headaches! I did get busy at the sewing machine a few hours this past week. No pictures to show yet. Perhaps next week I'll have a few blocks done. I am making the parts now for the different segments in each block. The quilt is a large size but I'm not sure I'll have a large one in the end - it's kind of boring right now!

I went into the picture archives and found a few quilts I'd not posted pictures of before. Most are now out of the house - given to kids and grand kids and some were donated for fund raiser items.

Shown below is Majestic Mountains - a pattern from http://quiltville.com. It is not finished in this picture, I did add a border and had it quilted. Truthfully, I don't know if this quilt is here in the house or if I've given it away. (Pathetic soul, right?)

The piece below is in Mitch & Di's house in Wisconsin - she had a red sofa in the finished basement and I thought this went well with it - I don't remember how big it is but it is a good size wall hanging.

Next quilt is a multi-fabric 9 Patch with snowball blocks - I think my niece has this one but I'm not sure. A second one using this pattern but with yellow borders was given to a daughter in law who needed a baby gift. Not sure who she gave it to tho.

The wall hanging below was done in creams and ecru's, 6" blocks and donated to Relay For Life fundraiser. It was on display at school and one of the teachers had the winning raffle ticket.

The patriotic wall hanging below was also donated to Relay For Life as a fundraiser - the gal who managed the Bookstore had the winner raffle ticket for it. It hangs in her office at school.

I made a second patriotic wall hanging similar to the one above and donated it to church as a fundraiser for their annual chili supper and bazaar. The gal who had the winning raffle ticket wasn't too pleased with it - am thinking she gave it to one of her children. I hope the person who has it is happy with it.

Someone is in the kitchen rattling pots and pans and I think it's a sign to me! Till next week be safe and healthy and warm.

Sewing Again - Just a bit tho!

The snow is melting slowly and the back yard has a few broken branches and twigs scattered around it. Chet looks out the windows and licks his lips - I know he's chomping at the bit to get the riding mower out and clean up the yard! I know I'll have to ask the little boy next door to help him with the pick up because Chet's 'bending' ability has decreased considerably! Poor guy.

My bending ability is pretty good - it's getting up that's a challenge for me! Ah - old age has crept up on both of us. I did have good news after my last scan and blood tests - I am in remission and don't have to see a doctor till mid March. I'm still battling with radiation burns and the horrible itching of new skin growing back. I won't even mention my hair loss! Gaining weight is a battle, too - and I'm eating often. I am convinced it's as difficult to gain weight as it is to lose it! The ladies from church and another church in town have been bringing over meals - one on Wednesday night and the other on Sunday mornings. I have been cooking but these extra meals sure do help make things a bit easier on me. I'm stronger day by day and yesterday we ventured out to the bank, drug store, grocery store and Staples. I had a good long nap when we got home!

My fabric stash hasn't decreased too much the past few months. I did make two new sofa pillow covers. I found a Log Cabin block and made another, added backing and put the pillows inside. The covers are a bit too big but makes it easier to take pillow form in and out - am hoping the covers will shrink a bit after their first run through the washer and dryer. Photos below.



Picture below is of the small quilt I started a while ago - it was begging to be finished so I found matching/coordinating fabrics and finished it this morning. This will be a donation quilt.



Being house bound for the past five or six months has given me a lot of time to surf the Internet - I see so many pretty quilts and imagine them done up in fabric from my stash. . . so many quilts, so much fabric and so little energy!

This week I need to reply to Christmas cards and letters - am just now getting around to opening and reading them. And my lovely Southern Belle granddaughter, Anna Grace, had her 11th birthday last week. I did call her and we chatted a bit but I haven't sent her a card yet - that's top of the list this week!

Time to grab some lunch - Chet is shaking pots and pans! Have a good week, stay warm and well.

Posting Late - Good Excuse

I have a good excuse for posting late. Usually I post on Sunday morning but yesterday I took a grocery list and headed to the store! My first time out of the house (other than to the mailbox) since Dec. 21st. And I've not driven my car since the week before Thanksgiving! I managed to get the groceries and stop at the drug store for a few things. Chet was waiting with the door open - not sure if he was waiting for food or me! I was quite tired and took advantage of my nap by extending it a bit!

We are expecting ice/rain overnight! They even predicted power outages - hope it doesn't happen as we are total electric! Good thing I have a stack of quilts to help keep us warm.

Picture below is Chet with his Colts throw - a gift from Tracy and family. Anna Grace has been waiting to see this!

I have been keeping busy doing one of my favorite things. After digging through my stash I found enough fabric to put borders on the Wabash County Brick Wall quilt. Both border fabrics were used as backings for other quilts and there was quite a bit left over! (I love leftovers - be it fabric or food)! So this quilt is ready to go to the long arm quilter gal in Rushville. It measures approximately 45 x 55".

This little goodie just had to be made! ! I saw a photo of a doll quilt in one of Kathleen Tracy books. (Kathleen hosts a Yahoo group called Small Quilt Talks. Visit her at her blog: http://sentimentalquilter.blogspot.com) The half-square-triangles are leftovers from another quilt - we call them bonus triangles. It measures 13"x 16" - or there abouts - and I even hand quilted it - not a lot tho!


Till next week - stay well and warm.

Must Not Complain

Oh this snow and cold is getting to me. I've not been further than the end of the driveway to set out trash and recycling bins, pick up the mail and newspaper. Someone just came to the door, I opened it and the cold was sharp! (Poor guy is looking for tree trimming jobs. I told him to check back in Spring and he told me that was not the time to trim trees! Oh well!)

Nate and Mark brought in a supply of groceries so the 'larder is loaded' for a while and there is no need for us to go out on the snow covered streets. Mitch calls weekly to check in with us and we don't dare complain of our snow and cold - Green Bay always is colder and snowier! No sympathy from him! Tracy tells us it's cold in Mississippi when it's 65; at least she doesn't have to shovel snow down there! And she gets no sympathy from us!

I've been back at my sewing machine a couple of mornings this week. I finished putting together the brick wall quilt top - center portion of the quilt, this morning. Feels good to use up some of the left over fabrics from the bigger quilt. I did have to go into the stash and cut more but it was a pleasure to dig through the fabrics and find coordinates. Now I need to see if I have enough of something to put a border or two on this quilt. Right now it measures about 36 x 44" and adding borders will make it a nice throw size. Picture below.



I'd not used my camera since Thanksgiving and found this picture - Anna Grace, Mitch and Jonathan - I don't remember who's teaching who and I don't know what game they are playing - but it is a nice picture, isn't it?



Thanks for stopping by - stay well and warm.

Sunny Sunday

Another week has passed and I'm proud to announce that I've been back at the sewing machine. I decided it was time to try and use up fabric from my stash. I did a "Brick Wall of Wabash County" quilt almost a year ago (March 7, 2010 post) and there were a lot of left over rectangles so I started laying them out and cut more from my stash. It was to be a small quilt but it seems to be growing in size and I imagine it will be a lap robe or sofa throw size. We'll see just how far the rectangles that I have cut will go. Hopefully I'll have a picture to show next week. (I tried to copy and paste it but it wouldn't work!)

Chet is sad because of the Colts losing the football game last week - I think he's cheering on the Packers now. He's not gone out often because of the cold and snow. Mitch and Chet have been chatting after the football games. "A bonding opportunity" is what Mitch calls the phone calls!

Nate, Deanie and Mark are off to an ABATE get together this weekend, expect them back some time today. I know they told me where they were going - but I forgot! And that's okay - cuz I'm old!

Tracy celebrated a birthday on the 13th. Visited with her for quite a while one morning - her doctor/boss was out of town so she had some free time to chat.

Till next week - stay safe, warm and well.

I'm Back - I Think

It's been a while since I've posted - have been dealing with health issues the past three months but I think I'm on the road to being myself again. I'm not sure if this is good or bad! We'll see - right? :)

Our holidays were spent with family and friends. They brought in the food and we enjoyed a lot of the traditional dishes. The sons have been doing our grocery shopping - not their favorite thing to do and we certainly appreciate them doing it. There is a long list on the table now and Chet keeps coming up with things to add to it. He does enjoy eating.

We had snow but it all melted when we had temps in the 50's. Yesterday we had a couple of inches of fresh snow - looks so pretty out there but it's cold and windy. Our wonderful neighbor shoveled our driveway sometime this morning.

No sewing here since October except for the final block of the month block - I thought it was finished but someone pointed out to me that there was a mistake in it - so I took it apart and redid it. I've been too exhausted and shaky to use the rotary cutter and ruler. The other day I did pull out a kit and fondle the fabrics but I put them back in the cabinet.

I dreamed I turned on my sewing machine and it made odd noises, spit sparks and moaned and groaned. I woke up after that dream! I haven't turned it on to check it out!

Chet is ready for the Colts game tonight - wearing his Colts shirt, a gift from Mark and has his Colts throw, a gift from Tracy, on the sofa. I will have to sneak a picture to post next week.

Perhaps I'll have some other pictures for the next post - something quilty. Till then, be warm, happy and healthy.