On the Design Wall today are my meager efforts from the past week........ I have one third of the blocks made for my challenge quilt...........

Last Monday was spent at the Dr's office because Lem broke his little finger and it needed attention.....

Tuesday was working in the yard and in the attic........

Wednesday was Guild and Lunch Bunch............

Thursday morning was more of Tuesday and Thursday afternoon was a trip to JoAnn's Fabrics.........

Friday was a funeral and lunch out with Jane and Beck.................

Saturday I got the final weeding done on the front of the house..........

Yesterday afternoon we loaded the golf cart onto Jason's trailer to be taken in for repairs..........

Busy week, little sewing.........

Now I am off to work upstairs till 10:00 and then out to mow the lawn.......  Whew........  When I get the flower beds established and the attic organized I hope to have more time for sewing...

Check out Patchwork Times to see what else is being made this week..............HERE

On The Needles Friday....

After last weeks post I had to get out the swift and get my yarn wound for my two purses.....

I was amazed at just how quickly these bags knitted up.......  I do have to sew on the cord and make that pleat in the side before they are felted..........

Now I have a new pair of socks on the needle.  Judy mentioned this pattern and has made a pair of socks using it.......  It is called Skyp and can be found  HERE.........   It is a simple pattern and easy to remember.  I am enjoying making these socks............  Go over to Patchwork Times to see just what else is on needles around the world.............

Design Wall Monday

A lot has been done since last Monday and only part of it reported on......... 

This is all I have to show for Design Wall Monday......

I have cut and made blocks using the fabric from the last quilt that was pressed and ready........  Now it is time to start pressing more fabric in the scrap bin and get a few more blocks made.........

Thanks to Kathy at Kathy's Quilts for the inspiration for this quilt.........  Three blocks almost complete and only 17 more to go.........You can see Kathy's quilt HERE

To see more of what is in Design Walls around the world visit Judy at Patchwork Times HERE

On The Needles Friday

I finally remembered that today was Friday and I want to join in............  Just stitch up the toe of the last sock and one pair will be complete...........  I plan to send these to a very dear friend for her birthday.......

Now I needed something to put on the needles for next week...........  I had planned to work on Kim's sweater but I could not find it........  I found her yarn and the instructions but the part that I had started is among the missing............  While looking around I found this..........

Someone made a felted bag and I just HAD TO HAVE ONE.........You know how that works.....  The reality of the time involved and the time you have to spend on said project at that time doesn't enter into the picture at all........  I just rush right out and get what I need for that project.........And when I get home it gets put aside until I have time.........  And so many other things crowd in on your time and you forget what it was you were making.....................

This project is just another one I HAD TO HAVE and now I have forgotten what it looked like.......  I do know that I wanted to make two of them...  One for me and one for Jean..........  When the socks are done I will get started on these Felted Bags..........

There is a collection of lovely things on the needle at Patchwork Times.......HERE

Little and Often

Monday morning I headed outside to get another area weeded and mulched...............

This is the area to the right of the back door........  I still have some work to do on the brick border but I do want to get the weeds out and the mulch in............

Now doesn't that look so much better?

I ran out of mulch so I could not turn the corner........

By then it was time to come in to fix lunch......  Georgina called and asked if I wanted to go to JoAnn's Fabrics...............  We headed out at noon.............

I found this fabric to make pillows for each chair on the porch..........  I got enough fabric for 12 pillows....  As soon as they are made I plan to make a few more in a coordinating fabric..........

Marilyn has a blue chair and a yellow chair.........  I got this fabric to make a couple of pillows for her.......

One done...........

and one ready to stuff tonight.............

Now to make a few blocks for my challenge quilt and cut out my porch pillows.......  I will head outside at 8:30 to weed the front flower bed..........  I can't do too much till we get more mulch.....

Lu, this picture is for you..........

 Jason came by on Saturday..............  He and Lem spent some time fishing... They have been talking about wetting a line together for some time and it finally happened.

I spent the weekend on my knees..........  I did not get the mulch spread in time and thick enough so the grass started coming up again..........

There is a lavender plant buried in there somewhere..........

Wade and I had the cart all loaded with tools and we got to work............

The left side of the porch is done and I have turned the corner........  The Jasmine is supposed to grow enough to cover the pergola in three years.........  They are the plants I am training up the strings to the columns.........  They sure do have a long way to go..........

Doesn't it look great?   I sure do hope I get it all done before July 4th..............

Design Wall Monday

 Well,I am back to Design Floor...........  I got the final border on this top this morning..............  I have enough of the fabric from the outer border for the backing and binding........  I am delighted to have another one ready to quilt..................

Since the one above is the wrong size for the Guild Challenge I am going to make one that is correct.......
I decided on broken dishes after seeing one someone else was making on Design Wall Monday........  The idea came from Kathy at Quilter Kathy on May 28th.

Check out Patchwork Times to see just what else is on design walls.......  HERE

I worked diligently to get this posted yesterday before I left home but  Mercury must have been in retrograde or something because I never could get the planets aligned to get it done......

So here it is, a day late.....  My Design Wall Monday........

Half of the quilt is done and I have begun to assemble the other half..............

Now backing up to last week....... The weeds are not too bad on one side of the porch ......

 But the other side is covered in grass that should not be there............  Somewhere in all that is a lavender plant.......

One side complete ............  That looks so much nicer.................

I still have lots to do in the yard but I hope to have most of it completed by the middle of June.

The Last Plants

 Yesterday Lem and I went to Plant and See for the last plants we are going to purchase this season....  I might get a few perennials in then fall but for now this is all I want to plant............  I can't get them in the ground today because of the rain........  We have had intermittent rain all week but today is a nice steady rain........  Parts of the yard are soaked and have standing water........  I might not get to mow the grass till Monday or Tuesday.............  Then I will have a lot of weeding to do.......  I also have 7 bags of mulch left to spread.........  I will be getting more mulch all summer long.........  I want to get the flower beds around the house marked and mulched to be ready for next spring........... 

 We also picked up this hanging basket for the front yard............  Lem has it on the porch along with everything else that might blow.......  Beryl has been downgraded to a Tropical Depression but one never knows........  She could go back out to sea and grow in strength again so he is ready..........

Fleming stopped by for a brief visit since she was out walking the dog...

Other than her visit we will probably see no one the rest of the day.......  That means I can sew for awhile and do some puttering around the house........... 

I hope you have a good day also..........

Plodding Along......

 Dinner last night was excellent.........  Ham....Pinto Beans.....Collards.....Deviled Eggs.....Corn Sticks.....
The Okra pickles were a gift from Jane as was the Chow Chow...............  Enough left for another meal or two and I also have the lasagna I fixed on Sunday night left over....  That is two meals already cooked..
Tonight will be beef stew..........  Then I won't have to cook for three days........

And can get on with the yard work and a wee bit of sewing...........

This is my latest Leader/Ender project.........  It is called Four by Four and the little tiny four patch blocks finish at one inch............  I need 194 sets of 4 four patch blocks.......  There are 10 small safety pins on each larger pin and 5 larger safety pins on the big one hanging from the basket handle........  When I get those full I will be ready for the next step.........  The basket on the left is from my drawer of 1 inch strips.........  In get them cut ahead of time and beside the sewing machine.........  It is always amazing how quickly I can get a block made.....

I have one third of the blocks made for my challenge quilt............  Of course I doubt this will really be the challenge quilt because the block count is wrong so I know I will want to make another one........

Oh well, you can't have too many quilts can you?

The Beginning...........

The first three blocks are complete of my Quilt Challenge........  I have a couple more all laid out and ready to stitch...........  The house is straight and everything is put away.........  I can sew all day with some breaks taken to weed the front flower bed a wee bit and of course the ubiquitous cooking.......

Supper tonight will be Pinto Beans ( I soaked them last night), Collards (purchased from a local farmer) and Ham..........  With deviled eggs for garnish...........  Easy meal with lots left over for another night this coming week......

Go on over to Patchwork Times to see what others have on their design walls.......... .HERE

Auction Gleanings

I managed to get a couple of blocks laid out for assembly........  If I get to stitch this afternoon I will have something on the Design Wall for Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times............

 Jane and Beck invited us to go with them to an auction in Institute, NC last night......  We had a grand time......  I found this coffee table and got it for the amazing low price of  $3.00..........
It is just the thing to put a drink on while sitting on the porch........

 This milk can was $10.00.....  I might try it on the front porch at some time........

 I put one of my unplanted geraniums in it to see how it looked.......  I will need a larger pot of geraniums but I think it will look great................

My final purchase is this oak desk chair........  Would you believe just $5.00?

We saw several friends there but came home at a reasonable time................

Moving Along Nicely

 My time with the Challenge Quilt is coming along nicely..........  I have the 4 1/2 HST all done.....

 And the 2 1/2 HST all finished............  It is now time to assemble the parts.........

 On Wednesday we were without our internet service.........  A bad storm on Tuesday night caused flooding in areas near us and damaged something important......  It took an entire day to get it fixed...........  Lem suggested we go for the flowers I had been wanting since he could not be online........ I picked up the flowers above for the basket pots I got for the front porch............

 And 4 dozen Impatiens for Jason and Kim's front yard...........  I even got over there to plant them yesterday morning.....  There are a few left to put in my front yard also..............  We also got a gardenia bush to put under my bedroom window.  I will get a picture of it when it gets planted........

 While we were in the area we stopped by the Fox and Hound Antique Shop.  I had seen a lamp there the last time we went and I wanted to see if it was still there and affordable..........  I found this silver tray for Mama's silver service.......  I know she had the trays for them but I have not found them so I don't know exactly where they would have gone.........

 There were a couple of Madam Alexander dolls there so I called Rebekah and she said to go ahead and get them...........

And here it is.........  The crystal lamp for my bathroom.........  Now I am on the lookout for a crystal liquid soap dispenser.........  Perhaps one day one will come along...........

I have mowed grass, sprayed for weeds..........  Spent time in the kitchen baking and mixing and generally enjoying myself..........Sewed every day for a wee bit..........And planted flowers..........

Now off to do more of the same................

Every year the Guild issues a challenge quilt to be made during the year and shown at the Christmas Gathering.
This is the challenge for 2012

A few days after receiving the challenge this magazine came in the mail......

 


I saw this quilt and wanted to make it.........Hmmmm.... 12 inch blocks .... Perfect....  I will just make 20 blocks and it will be may challenge quilt....... 

Well, I put it to one side and forgot the rules of the challenge but last week I started on my Challenge quilt anyway......

All cut out and ready to assemble.........  I am using my scraps from that BIG BAG of SCRAPS so it took time to press each piece of fabric and then cut it to the right size..........  It is now all ready to sew but I forgot that I only needed to make 20 blocks and cut out fabric for 25......  Oh well, I am still making the quilt and I will still use it for my Challenge quilt unless I find time to make another one with just 20 blocks.....  I do have another one in mind already.............