Where did June go?

Greetings Everyone. Here we are at the end of June already! I don't know where the time goes - it seems I got more accomplished when I was working. Truthfully, I don't care how much is accomplished and I'd rather be here doing nothing than working!

I did chat with some of our kids during the week. A classmate of Nate's was killed in an auto accident, on a country road. He was coming home from work about 12:30 a.m. A 17 year old decided to 'blow the stop sign'! That poor kid will have a load to carry for the rest of his life.

We are getting letters - yes - snail mail letters - from Anna Grace who is at a camp and is forced to write! She asked for Nate & Mark's addresses - am wondering if she will really write them!

Sunday afternoon we 'motored' out to Mark's and spent the afternoon with him and friends from the lake. We were on the pontoon boat and that is an enjoyable ride. We docked on the beach and it seems there were 30 to 40 people off and on that boat. Cooked hamburgers and hotdogs on the grill and lots of other good foods were brought by friends. It was hot out but being on the water it was a bit cooler and there was a nice breeze.

Tuesday a friend and I went to see Patricia Knoechel - sister of Eleanor Burns, the 'noted' quilter. We guessed there were about 50 people there. Patricia makes the quilts her sister designs but uses her favorite colors - purples. lavenders and greens!

Wednesday I had an eye doctor appt. - the cataract surgeon - oh, he's such a nice man and very handsome, too. Makes doctor visits a pleasure! (And I don't have to take my clothes off).

Thursday two quilting friends and I went to a shop the one gal had never been to before. I did find a ruler and a book I'd been looking for.

Friday I spent a lot of time and money at the grocery store. The cabinets and refrigerator were about empty - and Chet was sighing a lot, too! ! !

Saturday was a pajama day and I sewed all morning. I'd cut the pieces for the quilt during the week (when I had the energy) and began sewing. I managed to make seven rows and I've been at the machine again this morning. I'll need a total of 14 rows. This will not be a quick quilt which means it will not be a big quilt. I'm using the fabrics from the online swap (black on white and white on black) and have added a few batiks for a dash of color. I'm wishing now I'd have used reds instead. Equal Lateral Triangles are used and they are small so it's very time consuming. I know I won't be making another of these! Picture below.

Time to find something for lunch. Have a good and safe week.

Happy Father's Day

I hope all the "dad's" out there are having a good day! We are going out to Mark's this afternoon and will have a cookout on the beach - traveling by pontoon. Possible rain later this afternoon, so hope we don't get too wet! Predicted high is 87 and that's just not cup of tea at all - I'm a 75* gal. Nate came over and installed my window AC early last week and it sure makes a big difference with my sleeping and eating!

Chatted with Tracy for about an hour last week. Anna is at camp and I think Tracy is/was lonesome! She is planning a quick visit here July 7 to 11th. And Palmer & Lois will be in Michigan June 30 to July 13. Hopefully we can connect for a visit this time. Nate is planning his Bikers Boogie in the southern part of the state in mid July, they will take their motor home and be gone for about 12 days.

Thursday my block of the month group met in Rushville - assignment is block #7 (out of 12). Most of us seem to be struggling with the blocks for this quilt! I had a goof and noticed it two days before our meeting so managed to fix it quickly. And would you believe I made the same mistake on this block! It's corrected now - picture below.

That's it for this week. Stay well and cool.

Summer Struck

Yes, the hot weather and humidity have hit and I'm wilted. Today I will call one of my dear sons and ask them to put the AC unit in my bedroom. We've had a lot of rain and water standing in the field out back. Our neighbor's garden looks like it could take over their backyard and ours, too. They are on vacation and should be back this week. I've been watching their tomato plants and if a red one should appear while they're gone, I'll be a good neighbor and go get it!

Haven't been in contact with our kids, tried to call Mississippi twice yesterday and no answer. I know Anna Grace is at a summer camp in Louisana for a month (I think).

Last week I posted a picture of a block - here's the completed quilt. Front and back. Another stash buster piece!



Since I finished a quilt from scraps I figured it was only fair to start thinking of a new quilt. And after using such bright colors, I got out a stack of about 12 fat quarters (18x20") and a few scraps from the first 'blended quilt' and thought I'd like to do another. The first blended quilt is now in Louisiana - tried to copy and paste the picture but it just would not work for me. But if you check out the Saturday, July 12, 2008 post and scroll about half way down and you can see it there. It's a kind of Shabby Chic style! The picture below is the collection I have. It will be a while before I find a pattern - maybe stars - any other suggestions?



Time to get busy here - thanks for visiting and have a good week.

Greetings from The Windy City

No, I'm not in Chicago! It's right here in Greensburg, IN. We are fortunate not to have been in the tornado path, it was North of Indianapolis. I've not looked out back to see if we have tree branches down and don't plan to for a while!

We have spent the week running - just errands and usual stuff. We did have an email from Mitch - I followed a car similar to the one he had during the last months of college. It was white and had a red door and a blue door and a blue hood! I did take pictures of it with my cell phone but alas, I did not do something right so no picture to remind him! I guess I should not be around electronic gadgets!

Didn't sew an inch all week so yesterday I vowed today I'd do something. My scrap basket had some bright fabrics peeking out and begging to have something done with them. So I pawed through the basket and found a dozen blocks made a few years ago and this morning they were stitched up quickly. Nice to find blocks already pieced! The picture is below - looks rumpled cause it's on my chenille bedspread.

While digging in the scraps I pulled more bright fabrics and decided to do a small quilt using them up. Name of the block is "Sweet Sixteen". The pattern calls for larger rectangles ( 3 1/2 by 6 1/2) but I cut them at 2 1/2 x 4 1/2 ". . . . daintier size for a baby quilt. I know I'll have to cut more fabrics than I pulled so it should be an interesting quilt. Not sure of the size - we'll have to see how far the scraps go. Photo below.

Back to the sewing machine. Thanks for stopping by and have a good week.

Big Weekend - Bricks & Stepping Stones - Test Blocks

No celebrating here this weekend but TV is all about the big Indy 500. Glad I'm not a fan - would hate to wait in line and battle thousands of people.

Mark and a friend of his, took Chet to "Carboration Day" on Wednesday. They were able to rent a golf cart so it was easier for Chet to get around and enjoy the day. They left town about 9:30 and got home about 5:30. They all had a great time - tired and a bit sunburned tho!

Mark had a 'gathering' last evening. He deep fried two turkeys and put out an open invitation. We didn't go - sometimes the people get a bit rowdy and I'm just not into that anymore. I'm hoping he had a bit of turkey left and will ask us out for leftovers! (I even have a can of cranberries.)

We had breakfast with Nate one morning this week. After we ate he came over to use the computer for some things at work. JD bought a car - sight unseen - and Nate was adding it to his insurance, getting it registered and all that monkey business one has to go through to make it legal!

I forgot to mention last week that Mitch had an opportunity to visit with his Aunt Donalean - she and a friend took a Mystery Trip and ended up in Green Bay. Mitch & Diane visited Wednesday night and took pictures; Mitch stopped Thursday afternoon and took her some Schneider promotion items (mugs and maybe a hat). Thursday evening he took Mandy and they stopped at Lambau Field gift shop and picked up a jersey for her. She's a Bears fan but her husband is a Packer fan! Think she changed teams ? ? ? ?

Haven't been in touch with that Mississippi gal for a couple of weeks. Must try to give her a call sometime today.

Chet saw a commercial for the Topsy Turvey tomato planter and wanted to try it out so we picked one up and also got tomato plants. Our plants are so puny, it's pathetic. The neighbor's are gorgeous.

I did manage to get a bit of sewing in this past week. I finished a quilt top using the black and white strips a group of us from the Fabric Stash Chat room. It's a Quiltville.com pattern - Bricks and Stepping Stones (3rd one I've made using that pattern.) I tossed it on the TV room floor and took the picture so it looks a bit rumpled! Pictures below.

And a close up below.




There are still quite a bit of strips left from the swap so I spent time looking for a pattern to use up the rest of the fabric. The block shown below is an experimental block. I don't think I'll make anymore and will look further for another pattern.



While I was paging through magazines I ran across a striking block and did up a couple of them. I just used green fabric which was left over from another strip swap a while ago. Like the block but very fussy sewing I'd use a large variety of fabrics but I don't think I want to make 32 of them.



Laundry is finished so must sign off for now. Have a good week.

May - Month of Birthdays

We have had quite a few birthday wishes to send out. Mine on the 1st, friend on the 9th, Mitch, nephew Chuck and another friend on the 17th and daughter-in-law Diane, on the 22nd. I'm glad I'm not the only one getting older!

We've had quite a bit of rain this month, too. The puddles in the field that butts up to our yard, are finally gone. We've had a cardinal visiting us a couple of times a day, comes right up on the patio. Such a pretty bird!

And of course Chet has been mowing - a bit more than necessary, I think. But it keeps him busy.

Checked in with the kids and all seem to be keeping busy and out of trouble! Monday a friend and I drove to Shelbyville to a quilt shop - she was looking for a special ruler and they didn't have it. But we did have a great omelet at Grandma's Kitchen! It rained on us - all day!
On Tuesday I had to do a 'sick girl run' - Tia has a terrible cold and was miserable so I picked her up and brought her home with me. Mark came to pick her up when he got off work at 4:00. I had him do a couple of quick projects here before I left him leave. . . oh, I did make Minnesota Hot dish for him!

Stayed put at home on Wednesday. Thursday I had my hair done and one ear re-pierced! Yes, the holes were not aligned! Friday a friend and I went to a flea market in neighboring town. A former quilt shop owner had a booth there and we had to check it out. I did buy some 'fat quarters'. No special plans for them but I do pet them from time to time. (Picture below.)

Below is a picture of the 6th block for the Rocky Mountain Sampler Quilt. This is a "block of the month" so it's getting kind of dragged out. 12 blocks total - so we're halfway through with the blocks.

Chet is taking a friend and myself out to lunch today (his idea, not mine.) We are going to the Iron Skillet - really a truck stop. They always have good food there and a fantastic buffet.

So time to sign up and finish dressing. Thanks for stopping by and have a good week

Late Post or Early Post ! !

The past two weeks have been a bit up in the air! I did have a nice Mother's Day - local kids were going to take us out to eat but Nate got called in to work early so he and Deanie stopped in for a visit. We picked up JD and met Mark and Tia out at the Brau Haus on The Beach restaurant. Mark arrived on his pontoon with another couple. We had a nice visit and the food would have been great had it been hot! Tracy called and we chatted for about an hour.

Our weather has been quite wet and strong winds, too. I fought a flu bug for about four days - I didn't even get to Quilt Guild on Monday - so you know I was really sick! On Thursday I did make it to Rushville for our monthly 'block of the month' meeting. Had a nice lunch afterward and came home and napped. The bug sure tired me out! Think I'm back to my normal self now.

Today I messed in my sewing corner and got the block of the month block finished - it's about 1/8" too small but I'm not telling anyone!

I found a 'confetti' quilt online and thought I had to give it a try. I called a halt to it after four rows. I need to sew the rows together and add borders. Photo below.

A group of gals (12) from the morning fabric-stash chat site are in the process of doing a strip swap. We are exchanging black/white and white/black fabrics. I can't decide on a pattern - I waiver! Photo below is a sampling of the strips I have so far.

This picture is the fabrics I bought to use with black/white strips. Colors are soft gray and a mottled red. (The green is my 'design wall' - a plastic table cloth)

Hope everyone is well and enjoying the warmer temps. Have a good week and thanks for stopping by.