Vickie's Blocks

Vickie has decided to make her quilt with 9 blocks and a fabulous border.

They are all so lovely, it is hard to pick a favorite.

This house will have ribbon as the window sashings.

The center of this block will contain the credits..........

Another wonderful block.

And another............

And another.................

Doesn't she use color well?

I saved my favorite one for last.

List of UFO's

There has been some discussion of late about making a list of your UFO's.

I still have the list from the last 3 times I tried that exercise. The list just gets longer. I seem to begin two for each one that I finish.

My life is more along the lines of the above picture. Lots of ups and downs. Right now I am occupied with other happenings in life and I am able to stitch very little.

The Pickle meets tonight so perhaps there will be some "Quilty" content tomorrow.

While I Was Away

First let me give an update on Mama. She is doing better each day. She has been moved to The Laurels at Willow Creek, a lovely rehab center in Richmond, VA. My dear sister and brother-in-law live close by and keep careful watch. I appreciate all the prayers and kind words from all my friends in Blogland.



This is the side of our house after the fence was removed and the little bobcat pushed the dirt around to make it a more usable space.



The light colored shingles in the corner are where once a small shed stood. It has now gone. The post hold up the roof of what was once the screened porch. (The light colored shingles will age to look like the rest of the house.)

And here it is today. The roof shelters a small grill. The bulkhead has been painted and the patio is now a lovely herringbone brick pattern.



I enjoyed sitting there this morning before going to work. I was able to place a few threads while I enjoyed my coffee. You can see the chiminea on the left. Rebekah and I will be sitting out there tonight with our knitting and a lovely fire to take the chill off.

Home

I arrived home late Saturday night. I left town rather quickly and I left many things undone.

My dear mother had a heart attack last week and my dear sister needed me to be with Mama while she and her husband found a rehab facility for Mama to stay in while she recovers.

As of this moment she is improving however slightly.

There were things I was checking on for a blogger friend in Ireland. I will be in touch with you soon.

There was a gift that needed to be mailed. I will get to that also.

I do try to answer all the comments and if you sent one I will answer it one day if you are not on noreply.

I ask for your patience and understanding while I gather myself together and get things done once more.

My daughter is visiting me for several weeks and we are clearing out the basement and garage. So much to get done while she is here to help.

Perhaps tomorrow I will have a picture for you.

Traveling

Just to let you know that I will be away for a week.

I am traveling to Virginia to see my mother.

I will catch up with everyone when I return.

Heartstrings

All I managed to complete this weekend was 5 Heartstring Blocks for Judy's August Challenge. I am using the fabric scraps that Peg gave to me.

It seems that by the time I get done with all the Honey Do and Gotta Do and some of the Aught to Do that the Wanta Do gets lost.

Lem and I did get one section (small) of the garage de-cluttered. We are gathering up many boxes for Rachel once more.

From My Dear Friend Peg

Peg found this little gem at an estate sale. The kit is from 1976. The original owner had cut out all the blocks and paper clipped them together. Sad to say that some of them had rusted and I am unable to use that fabric. The quilt is supposed to have 30 blocks but I will only have 20. Unless of course I find a way to remove the rust..... I have "Whink" and I know it would work but I do think if I get 20 done it will be salvaging enough of this project.

I have my Grip Mat out and I am marking the pieces 1/4 inch from the edge. I do not know why this project surfaced but it did and I am enjoying it.

Quilt Show

Yesterday I went to the Bayberry Quilters Show. I managed to find some tools and such that I had been unable to locate locally. I also had the pleasure of taking the "Tin Lizzie" out for a test drive.

I originally thought that I would have to learn to machine quilt before I purchased a long arm but I am now understanding that the two are different enough that it is not necessary. After all, you don't have to know how to ride a bicycle before you drive a car. This is the first one I have seen that I thought I could actually save for. Each week when I get my little paycheck, I put a portion of it into a savings account and this is what I am saving for. It had enough bells and whistles to make it easy to use but not more than I would ever use. There is even a storage area over the garage in our house plans that seems to be the perfect place for a long arm. I am planning on skylights in that area for additional light.

After all, it never hurts to dream.

First One Block

Done............ Now if the owner of these blocks will send me her mailing address I will send them on their way. I will have one of three done................. I will begin work on the second set soon.

And Then Another

Block four is now complete. I will be so pleased to get this project on its way.

My Wonderful Husband

I was able to take the pictures for today's blog and post them all by myself today. Usually I take the picture and then pass the camera along to my wonderful husband. He then emails the picture to me at work and when I get my break I can post my pictures. Last week he mentioned that the price of cameras had gone down quite a bit since we bought our first one. At which time I said that I had always wanted one of those cute little cameras for my very own.

Yesterday he emailed me that the mailman had brought me a surprise. I thought it was the beads I had ordered to finish the ornaments. Little did I know that he had ordered a Canon SD 1000 complete with extra battery, picture card, carrying case and mini tripod..............

This morning I was able to take my pictures and download them myself........ Isn't he just the best........................

Two to Go

This morning I began the next two blocks. I got the freezer paper pattern cut out and ironed onto the fabric. Tonight I will begin marking the pieces and putting them together. It seems that I will be able to finish this project this weekend. Then I will only have two more to finish and that project will be complete.

Moving Right Along

There is one person out there in Blogland that will recognize these blocks. Several years ago I began a Row Jane swap. It has been great fun most of the time............. As is often the case life intervened for some people and I just said "Oh, send them on to me and I will finish them for you." The last ones arrived here about two months ago but I was in the middle of other obligations and could not get to them right away. Now the time is here to put paid to this adventure..... This Row Jane was for 5 blocks in each row. I have completed these three and now on to make the next two.

What’s Wrong With This Picture?

Could it be that the urn is sitting crooked?

My appliqué instructor taught us to trace the design on lightweight interfacing and baste it to the top of our fabric….. I recently decided to eliminate that step and just use a light box for placement… That worked well for small blocks but not for the larger ones. You can see the results….. It is going to take me longer to remove the urn and re-attach it that I would have spent making the tracing. I am putting this project aside for now. I just can’t face it currently. Other obligations are pressing and I must get them done.

I Won

Our local Curves gives a prize each month. If you exercise 12 times in a month, they place your name in the hat and draw one out................

They have other contest going on all the time but this is the BIG ONE........ If my name were in the hat 99 times and someone else's name was there 1 time, they would be drawn. This is not a complaint, just how things are.... Having come to that realization, I have stopped entering drawings.

Boy was I surprised when I got to Curves and found out I was the big winner for July. The envelope contained a gift certificate for $50.00 and there was also a small box of chocolates that I forgot to add to the picture.

I joined Curves in the middle of October last year and so far I have lost 22 inches and 21 lbs. I feel so much better and hope to live longer so that I can make more quilts.

Let Me Tell You Darlin

I just stopped in on Sunshine Quilts and once again Judy has hit the nail on the head. I am not good with expressing my self on paper....... this is the closest I come.

I will agree with most of what she has said. There is one other wrinkle. Without someone making me accountable, I tend to wander.........from one project to another............nothing gets finished.... Now I am faced with saying good by to lots of projects that I never got a round to...... Hanne got me started with the idea of finishing what you start.... She even got me started blogging. As usual I began one but it went the way of all else......... I stayed excited for several weeks and then never went back to it............ One day Hanne asked me why I had stopped blogging. That gave me the momentum to get back on track.

My friends out there in Blogland keep my interest piqued........... There is always something new to learn or try or another design I must make......... I do feel an obligation to DO SOMETHING each day so that I will have something to share. That keeps me motivated.

I still spin like a top from one thing to another but the count of items finished is growing each day.

Let Me Tell You Darlin……………………

Last week was fraught but I am tackling this week with the help of my Heavenly Father so I know it will be better.

Here at last are the pictures of my first flimsy from Judy’s Hour a Day project for July. The second one is still having the borders added. I am slow on adding borders, just not a lot of space to pin them on and I really like to pin them on before I sit to sew.

Upcoming events will include more pictures of my lovely stamps. I am trying to get my list organized with my plans for charm quilts.

I finished the first block for the Shade Garden but there is a big OPPS and part of it has to be redone. I am planning to put that one aside for a wee bit of time and focus on something else instead.

This weekend I began making the connecting ladders for the Guild Gifts. I have a dozen ornaments finished and now I have a dozen sets of ladders complete. I do not have enough seed beads to complete these ornaments so I put that to one side and began looking about for something mindless to work on. I found a quilt that my dear Peg gave me. She found it at an estate sale. It is a red and blue star on a white ground. Thirty blocks have to be made so I just sat and stitched for the short hour I had left. I promise more pictures later.

Break time almost over so I must get my sweet little nose back on that grindstone.