Well, it almost happened. I have been watching via blogs while other people decorated for one holiday after another. Since we thought we would be somewhere else by now, I have packed up all of my decorations.

This morning I took a picture to update you on the GFG progress. Almost five of 14 rows complete. Not enough was done on the Nine Patch to deserve a picture.

After the picture was taken I thought I would whip up a few holiday gifts and make a few ornaments. Several hours were spent in planning what to do and what to buy.

Then Common Sense prevailed. We will put out a sprig or two of holly and maybe pick up a poinsettia for the table but I will not begin another sewing project knowing that I will not have time to finish it and it will just add to the already too long to list items that are left undone.

Tonight after work I will go home, put in a few rows on the Nine Patch before cooking supper and then spend the rest of the evening adding flowers to my garden.

We had an interesting holiday. The weather was not the best. Overcast with occasional rain and terrible winds.

I did the usual cooking and we had a rather good meal. And we will be eating that meal for some time to come.

I sat down to work on my GFG and discovered that two of the flowers were missing. I turned my corner upside down trying to find them to no avail. While I thought about what to do I got out my Insanity kit and worked on that for several evenings. I made the decision to take two flowers from the last row and put them in place now and just eliminate the last row making the quilt 8x13 instead of 8x14. I had flowers left over that I could have used but I would not have enough of the hexagons for the pathways. All of that fabric is used up completely.

Last night I picked it up and looked at it one more time on the back where the numbers are written on the paper back. I had put two of the flowers in the wrong place. There they were all along. I have taken them off and once more I am stitching away on this quilt. Perhaps a picture tomorrow.

I even got about 4 rows done on the section I am quilting on the nine patch.

On Saturday night the heat went out. Glad it was only in the 40's here. We put on extra clothes, used a small ceremic heater where we were sitting and slept under lots of quilts. Someone came today and fixed our problem. How glad I will be to have heat again.

I have everything ready to fix for supper so perhaps I will get some stitching done tonight.

There will be no picture of the doggie sweater I knit for Wade Hamilton. It did not turn out well. It would not fit. I am sure I did something incorrectly.

I have given it some thought and I am going to try again. Perhaps this time I will be more successful.

I got Wade Hamilton's coat all made. Doesn't he look sweet? I could not get him to pose. I had another picture but somehow I deleted it accidentally. Oh well, you get the idea. I do have one problem however. There just is not a lot of room under him and when he relieved himself he wet the straps holding the coat on. I will have to rethink this. I think I have a plan re-make it a bit so that he can wear it without having to wash it each time.



I found this pattern at MiaandMaddie's blog and thought I would give it a try. It is almost completed. I keep looking at it and I am not too sure it will fit but time will tell. Of course this means that I am still not working on the two projects that I need to work on but I will get back to them soon.



The dishwasher has developed an occasional leak. Wanting it to last a bit longer I am now washing the dishes by hand. That meant I needed a dish drain. They sure have improved in appearance over the years. Lem and I went to TJ Maxx on the way to the grocery store this weekend. This is what I came home with. I paid for it and as we were leaving Lem suggested it could be my Christmas present................ For some reason I don't think that will work.

I will need to take a detour. The weather is getting colder and Wade Hamilton will need something to keep him warm on his nature walks. This is the pattern and fabric I bought last January.



After checking it out I decided that what I really needed was just something to keep him warm. All the extras could wait till next time. Here it is all cut out. Of course I did not have any interfacing or Velcro. I stopped at the shop on the way home from work yesterday. Perhaps this weekend I can get at least one coat made and the next time I can be more creative.


I will confess that I think it might be a bit large. Time will tell.

It seem that the GFG is growing slowly but growing all the same. I have been working on it while taking a break from quilting the nine patch. I hope that this weekend I will be able to spend a little time each day on the nine patch.


The section inside the blue tape is the completed section. As you can see I have a lot more to do.

This was too cute to pass up. Wade Hamilton likes to sit with his daddy every day and help him compute.

Today Rebekah and Robert are in North Carolina looking for a house. They will be moving in December. He reports for duty on January 17th. I really thought that we would be in North Carolina before they were but it seems that will not happen.

I had also hoped to finish quilting my nine patch before moving on to something else.That won’t happen either. My nemesis has once more become a problem so I must take a break for a bit. I made that decision this morning and since then I have been thinking of what to do next. I still have not gone upstairs so I am not sure what is ready to stitch and what needs to be prepped. Then I remembered my box under the end table that contains my Grandmother’s Flower Garden. That might just be the project I need to balance the hand quilting. Anyway, I will get it out tonight and begin again to assemble it and in a day or two I will do more quilting. Perhaps by stitching on one and then the other it will help. I am going to get some blue painters tape to mark the parts on the quilt that are done so a picture will show the progress. Lem has brought my computer and camera downstairs for me so I can get pictures loaded and online.

Home soon and a wee toes up……………Ahhhhhhhh

We have had people looking at the house again. One couple on Sunday and one couple yesterday.

That means the house is squeaky clean again. I actually got a good nights sleep last night for the first time in weeks.

I am still quilting the nine patch quilt. I have all the quilting done going in one direction except for the edge. I ordered the piece to put in my quilt frame for doing borders. I thought I would wait till all of the center was done before I put it in the hoop and do all of the edge at one time.

I haven't been upstairs to the studio in so long but I am still staying with the project at hand till it is complete.

I checked the calendar and found that this picture and the next one were taken over two weeks ago. I had gotten the house blessing done, and the cooking and baking complete and sat down to put a few stitches in this quilt.




I made a pot of tea and had a slice of Pumpkin Bread with whipped cream... There was soft music playing and even though it was raining outside it was nice inside. Little did I know that was the last time I had for several weeks.






By Tuesday I was under the weather. And also under the covers in bed with a good book and a box of tissues. Lem went to out to get cold medication and chicken soup. He came back with this too.




So I did exactly what the card said for the rest of the week.




I finished the previous quilt all but the final border. That will require marking and my chalk pouncer is already packed. I took that quilt off the hoop, folded it up and consigned it to the "to be done" stack. Then I got out the little nine patch quilt. I had planned to machine quilt this one but it is so heavy that it drags in the machine. It is now on the hoop and little by little I am getting it quilted. This is really a learning experience for me. I haven't been upstairs for weeks now. I just spend my free time on this quilt.



We had someone look at the house yesterday and someone is coming today to look at it. Maybe one of them will be our buyer.

Little Wooden Box

As I mentioned earlier, Joan stopped by for a visit and brought me a box that Bill had made. I saw a picture of one similar somewhere in my travels and thought it was just the loveliest thing.

Knowing that Bill works in wood, I made one of foam core to show him what it was that I wanted.

Dear person that he is he made four and Joan sold three of them at the Guild Quilt Show. I was the lucky recipient of the last one.


The handle slips off so that you can put spools of thread on it and it has a stop on one side. I had mentioned that I wanted to make a plaid and black quilt and I was beginning to collect small pieces of plaid fabrics. She was good enough to include quite a large bundle of fabric in the box.


Don't I have just the nicest friends?

My Design Floor/Wall

I know I was supposed to do this on Monday but life interfered. Since my design wall is too small I have to use the floor. After the picture was taken I managed to get three sides sewn together. I have enjoyed making this quilt. But then I always enjoy Judy's designs because they are so easy to follow.



Now this is what is on the design wall. I have been working on Bunny Hill's Tisket Tasket BOM and at the same time I have been working on Leanne's House. I enjoyed Leanne's House so much that it seemed natural to incorporate her method of making blocks into my Tisket Tasket quilt.




I actually found some graph paper and tried to come up with a design. This is it.


Now I am in the process of embroidery and assembly. This project will move slowly because I am no artist. I can only trace things. I am pleased to have my drawers with 1 1/2 inch strips to pull from when I begin to assemble the rest of this block.

The Weekend

When I got off of work this past Friday it was just to rainy and cold to try to get to the grocery store. I went home for a wee toes up instead.

I had my list of things to get accomplished this past weekend and it was a roaring success. We did the grocery shop Saturday morning before the rains came. Then home to finish the laundry and attempt to do a bit of mending. After all I spend a lot of time stitching, why should the hem be dragging in most of my slacks? I cut the shirt tails off of two blouses so they would have more of a jacket look since I wear them over a turtleneck instead of tucked in. Of course I did not have the EXACT thread to hem one of them. I was stitching them on the machine and I didn't have anything any where close. That meant a stop at the shop this morning on the way to work. I can finish that next weekend.

Saturday afternoon Joan stopped by with a gift for me. It was delightful to see her. I took the gift upstairs to get a picture but so far I have not done so yet. Perhaps tomorrow.

I did not go upstairs yesterday or again this morning. I had things downstairs calling my name instead. By bedtime Saturday night the house was clean, the laundry all done and we had a nice Sunday ahead.

Sunday brought wind and lashing rain. It was good to know that we could stay in. Lu came by for brunch on Sunday. I lit all the candles in the living room and turned on soft music. Lem cooked. He usually cooks breakfast on Sunday. After she left I sat and quilted and Lem sat and computed. I have the outside row of blocks completed on two sides. Two sides to go and then the two borders.

The Hour a Day quilt is on the floor upstairs waiting for me to add the border of blocks to it and the last four borders after that. I am half way through the handwork on Block Nine of Leanne's House. Seems as though there will be several finishes here soon.

Sunday it rained hard all day long.

Hour Seven, Eight and Nine

I have actually finished hours 7,8 and 9.. Were it not for obligations of hearth and home I could finish the top this weekend. Part of me wants to do that and a year ago I would have. I know that if I continue to work on it at a slower pace I will have a better finished product and I will enjoy it much more. That being said, I am going downstairs to begin the weekend chores.

Have a good Saturday!

Block Eight

Here it is.............Block Eight of Nine of Leanne's House. I am amazed that I am so close to the end. I must confess that if Hanne and May Britt had not encouraged me this would still be in the box it came in. These ladies finish projects and encourage others to do the same. I actually believe I will have this quilt together by the end of the year. Now to decide if I will have it machine quilted or do it myself........... That is the question.

Weekend Events

Since there was an open house, Lem and I spent Saturday and Sunday morning getting ready. We move a lot slower these days so it takes us longer.

I also worked on the Great Clothes Swap. We decided to only get out part of our winter clothes. We have more than we really need so I thought we would select exactly what we thought would get us through the winter and that is all I got out.

Then we rode around for two hours while our home was open to strangers. The weather was wondrous and we got some great pictures of Pleasant Bay in Orleans.


The tide was out.
and some people were clamming for supper



I sure would not want to pay the heating bill on the house on the hill.



After we got home I made pumpkin bread using Judy's recipe. I gave a loaf to our New Jersey neighbors. They are here for a few days.

The other one I kept for us. I hope to have a slice with a cup of tea when I get home.

On My Design Wall

My design wall is only four feet tall and four feet wide. It serves some purpose but I am not sure how much of one.

Wanting to participate in Judy at Patchwork Times Monday morning question I managed to get the blocks from Hour Seven of her Hour A Day quilt on the design wall and a picture made.

A Couple of Small Steps

I have several handwork projects going at one time. I keep them by my chair downstairs. That way if I run out of specific color of floss for one project I can move on to the next. If the project is applique and I need the light box to place the next piece I can set it aside until I go upstairs the next morning. There are also a few knitting projects in case knitting catches my fancy.

Here is Block Seven in LeAnne's House. I cannot believe that I am so close to the end of the handwork on this project. I have begun Block Eight but Thursday I ran out of green floss and had to put it aside till I could purchase more. I managed to get a skein yesterday and I can get back on that tonight.


Another one in my bag of tricks is Jan Patek BOM for 2008. When I added this to the collection of blocks for this project I realized that I now have FIVE blocks completed.

The old saying "Little and often fills the pot" is true. A few stitches here and there as time allows gets the quilt made. And a few dollars put aside each week and soon you will have enough for a trip to the fabric store.

The Weekend Cometh

and I have big plans. Probably a longer list than can possibly be accomplished but we will try. We are having another open house on Sunday afternoon. Lem and I keep telling ourselves that this might be the one that finds a buyer. Being Columbus day weekend this is really the last good opportunity till next year, but we are prepared to hunker down for another winter here with the promise of spring. That means the house will need to be clean and since I have been spending my time sewing and reading and resting I will have to get things done. The lists are made. I am a big list maker…….. I have a list of what needs to be done on Saturday. A list of the errands for Saturday afternoon and a list of things we can do on Sunday for the two hours we are out of the house. I am even hoping to get a few stitches done and maybe get some pictures taken so next week I will have something to report.

Where Did the Weekend Go?

It was used up in cooking and resting. I have most of the cooking done for the week. That should free up a little time for sewing but for the past several days I have been unable to leave the nice warm bed and go upstairs to sew. Not lazy, not really tired but the sun is not up yet and I tend to rise when the sun begins to shine. A good thing I do not live in countries that have loooong nights.............

I haven't been upstairs to the studio since Wednesday morning. I have an agenda to accomplish downstairs first. I want to get the house really spic and span before the bad weather sets in. There is also the winter/summer clothes swap to make.

I have tried to make sure I spend at least 30 minutes each day working on this quilt. It all began in 1989 with this book:


There was a fabric shop near the office and I decided to learn to quilt. This was it......... None of the seams are correct. If I had known then what I know now I would have done a much better job of trimming the excess. Boy was I off track.......... Then after it was all done, I sent it off to be basted. When it came back I trimmed it down and put the binding on. Then I decided I would quilt it....... Every few years I would pick it up and work on it till I decided that I would never finish it and put it aside again.

Recently I finished the nine patch quilt that I want to sit under this winter. I tried to machine quilt it but it is too heavy. It drags in my machine. After taking out all the stitching I had put in that was not done well I realized that hand quilting was the only option. That meant finishing this quilt first. I had the center complete except for the blocks on the outside. The star is the hardest part to quilt because it is not just a straight line. I am quilting it 1/4 (more or less) from each seam. This morning I turned the corner and I only have two sides of stars left. Then I will need to go back and do the strips.




I am such a beginner. I am just finally getting comfortable sitting at the frame.




There is a possibility that I might get this quilt finished this winter.

Since it had the binding on it and it was well basted there were a few times in sheer desperation that we have slept under this quilt. What a lesson this has been.





This is my basket of yarn. I found several skeins downstairs and put them in this basket to make caps and mittens. One skein was huge so I began a shawl using it. Some days I need to knit and some days i need to stitch. I keep both on hand just in case.

Oops...........

Recently we have been overwhelmed with unexpected expenses. Many of them major. It appeared that perhaps things were getting back on track when another problem arose.

Let me begin by saying that my dear husband is always trying to save. Usually it cost more in the long run when he becomes determined to save.

We had the brakes fixed on his car. There was one more thing the mechanic said needed to be checked but it was not major BUT........ The little clamp that held the battery in place was gone and we needed to see a welder to have it fixed.

Lem called a welder. During what is normal business hours. But we live on Cape Cod where people tend to work when they want to and some people don't want to very much. He left a message but the welder never called him back. Again this is normal on Cape Cod. Lem then decided to get a boat battery box and use that instead of having something welded. He drove to Chatham, got the box and brought it home. It would not fit. Then he decided that perhaps a battery tray would be better. He went back to Chatham to exchange the box for the tray. Last Saturday we tried to get the tray in place to hold the battery. One of the bolts holding the battery was too tall and kept the hood from closing. Remembering the premise that twist ties will fix anything that duct tape will not, he got a long piece of twist tie and managed to get it all held together and the hood closed.

Monday morning he called the mechanic to make arrangements to get that last little thing fixed. They said to drop it off that afternoon or evening and they could look at it on Tuesday. When I got home from work and had a wee rest we went out to take his car to the mechanic. It would not start......... We jumped it.............. It would not start.......... Oh well, that is why we have AAA.

I called them to make arrangements to have it towed to the mechanics and then began fixing supper. Lem moved my car to make it easier to get to his car. He also left it out of gear so it would be ready. Sad to say the emergency brake did not hold as well as he had hoped. Mainly because he forgot to put it on.

Yes, the car rolled down the hill and into the large rhoddy that we have in our front yard.

It isn't as big as it once was. The tow truck operator was able to extricate the car from the bush. The car sustained just a few minor scratches. The minor repair turned out to be another LARGE expense but other wise all is well.




It is getting colder here and I did not go upstairs to sew for several days now. Perhaps this weekend I can get some sewing time in.