A Day Away...

We were gone all day yesterday to attend the funeral of the family friend who died a week ago. It was  a long day, but we were so glad we went. I took a quilt to his wife, my childhood friend. We made a day of it, stopping in Birmingham on the way and again on the way home.

I'm planning a slow day today. I think I'll play with the Farmer's Daughter's blocks to decide on the final layout. And maybe cut the setting triangles?

One of my friends recently bought the book pictured above. At first glance, I didn't think it was something in which I'd be interested. But when I flipped through the pages I changed my mind. There are so many CUTE ideas within! I'll have to put this on my future list. BUT NOT YET! I have so many irons in the fire at the moment. But this post will remind me (hopefully) that this would make for some fun future projects!

Have a happy day!

Stash Enhancement

I did a bit of fabric buying yesterday. I was a good girl and mostly bought white neutrals for scrappy quilts. This was a store I'd never visited before in Ellersbie, GA. The store was very bright and full of fun fabric. 

I was with some friends and afterward we went for lunch nearby.

The Farmhouse Restaurant is only open two days a week.

It's in a beautiful country setting. It was a lovely day to be out and about.

We're taking a quick trip to the lake this morning to unload Hubby's car, still full of storage unit stuff. We'll probably be back home before lunch. That's the plan, anyway. I'm not sure if I'll find time to sew, but if I do....maybe another row of Gardenvale? We'll just see how the day goes.

Have a sweet Saturday!

Marmalade Top DONE!

I put the top and bottom borders on the Marmalade quilt yesterday. Then I laid it out to admire... haha! Next I had one of those light bulb moments. If I leave the side borders off...it's a rectangle. If I put the side borders on, it will be square and I'll have to add another top and bottom border to make it a rectangle. Hmm...

It's not big, but it's big enough for a lap quilt. I'm going to call this one. Call it DONE! And so it will go into the pile to be quilted.

I have these pieces left over that would have been the side borders. And you know, I already have a plan for them...

Yesterday afternoon I took a few more things to the thrift store. I'm donating things I thought I'd NEVER get rid of. I have finally realized that it's not a good idea to keep storing (in the attic or elsewhere) things that I will never use again. If I keep them, our daughters will someday face the decision to keep or donate. I'm trying to keep them from having to make these decisions. If it's something I know they will not want, it's time to donate. Hopefully someone will need these things and get them cheaply at the thrift store. Oh, it feels so good to downsize! Let's face it...our kids will never want most of our stuff!

Okie Dokie...it's going to be a hand sewing day! I think I'll work on Bring Me Flowers...

Have a fun day!

Sewing and Sorting

I spent the morning sorting. Do you have old floppy disks? What do you do with them???? Almost all of mine went into the garbage, but I did save a few that might contain something I'd like to retrieve. Is there a place that you can send these to get the info? Have you ever done this? I googled and found that I could buy an external floppy disk reader from Amazon. And it's not much moola. Think I might have to do just that to see if there is anything worthwhile on these.

In the late afternoon I finally got around to sewing. I added a third row to Gardenvale. Two more to go on this.

Hmmm...what to do today? I think I'd either like to get another row on Gardenvale....or put a border around Marmalade. I also have a charity quilt I need to baste.... Should be a fun day!

I hope you have a fun one, too!

Empty!!!

It was a long, hot, sweaty, tiring day. But we managed to empty one of our two storage units. We didn't expect to get this done, but once we got going, we realized it was doable. Two more carloads to the thrift store, one load of trash, and one more load brought home for sorting. Plus Hubby's car is filled with stuff to take to the lake. Everything left in the unit? We moved to our other storage unit.

We swept our way out and got this one off our monthly bills -more than $200 per month will be saved.

We hope to empty the remaining storage unit within a month or two. 

I finished the last block earlier for the Farmer's Daughter quilt. And guess what I found in storage?

Of course I found the two missing blocks! This must have been the first one I made because it doesn't have that black and white stripe that I decided to use in all the blocks. So it will get put aside.

This scrappy block would be okay, though. And so now I need 18 blocks and have 19. I plan to lay them all out and decide on one more to put aside. Boom!

I found a few other sewing things in storage - my bin of extra binding turned up - this is a keeper! And a few other odds and ends.

Today I want to unload my car and sort through some of the storage unit stuff in the cool of our home. Ahhh....

And I hope to get a bit of sewing done, also. I want to sew another row onto the Gardenvale quilt.

Have a wonderful day!

Making Progress...

I sewed the first two rows together on Gardenvale. This is going so well - this quilt will be done before long.

What? Another project?

No, not really. Well, sort of. Kind of. I guess.

Remember I had LOTS of extra triangles when I made New Bedford. What to do with them?

I found some solid black fabric in my stash and cut MORE triangles to go with them.

This will make a nice leader/ender project for the foreseeable future...

We drove around the neighborhood to see the progress in taking down all the PGA tour stuff. They, too, are making progress. But still a bit more to go.

We also spent a bit of time at the storage units. We hope to get one of them empty SOON! We took one carload of stuff to the thrift store. Tomorrow I'm going back to pick up more stuff to bring home to sort.

It's a rainy day here, so that means it's a bit cooler. Yay! Have a great one!

Is It Hot Enough For You?

OMG - IT'S SO HOT! I never went over to the Barbisol PGA event even though it's in our backyard. I just watched from our air conditioned home. And I read. And I stitched a bit. I'm making my way through this Farmer's Daughter block - almost done!! This week, for sure, I'll be cutting the setting triangles.

I forgot to tell you something yesterday about The Aurora Teagarden mysteries: these books have been made into movies starring Cameron Candice Bure (remember DJ from Full House?) on the Hallmark Movies and Mysteries channel. You know I love a sappy Hallmark movie on occasion... 

I saw this image of a pot yesterday and saved it - it might be inspiration for a quilt. What do you think?

Today I'm planning to work on Gardenvale. I really want to get another row done. I want to get some of the quilts in progress DONE! 

Ready. Set. GO SEW!

Books

So...I didn't sew yesterday. So let's talk books.

My daughter got me started on this series - The Aurora Teagarden Mystery series. Real Murders is the first one to read.

These are cozies - light and non-gory murders - well, okay...there's a bit of gory description, but the stories don't focus on that. The main character is Aurora Teagarden, who goes by 'Roe.' She's a small town librarian and is almost 30 years old and single. Roe is a very likable character and I would love to be her friend!

These books are read very quickly and easily. I really love them! I'm reading one of them at the moment (the second in the series) on my Kindle while I listen to a much deeper, heavier book via Audible. This is working so well for me. I listened to the 'deep' book yesterday while I drove to the grocery store and back home again.

Speaking of which, note to self: avoid going to TJ Maxx and the grocery store during a tax free weekend. Crowded!

Have a relaxing day!

Off Kilter

I finished one little section for the next Bring Me Flowers block. The center is a bit off - this will be covered with a small appliqué circle - thank goodness!

And I made a great start on this Farmer's Daughter block. 

I'm a bit off kilter myself today. A family friend passed away yesterday after being involved in a serious bicycle accident a few months ago. A sad situation. Wishing his family peace. 

Sewing! And Pat Sloan...

 

I finally got something done, sewing-wise, yesterday. I decided to sew the Marmalade rows together - yes, it's one BRIGHT quilt! I still have to add the borders, but I'm a bit disappointed in how small it is at this point. And it's square. I really prefer rectangular quilts. Hmmm....

I may dig out some of my Kaffe Fassett stash and see if I can add some top and bottom borders BEFORE I do the border around the outside. Or maybe I'll put the borders on and then add another border to the top and bottom. This will take some doing and thinking and playing. We'll see where it takes me.

Next I basted the next Rowdy Flat Library Quilt block (ready for hand quilting!) - no picture, but I promise it did it.

Last night was our guild meeting with Pat Sloan. I LOVED all her quilts.

She was entertaining (though she made fun of engineers, of which I am one- but I forgive her) and I enjoyed her presentation. 

We had a big crowd for the meeting. Pat is teaching here in town tomorrow and Saturday. I'm not taking her classes, but many of my friends are. I can't wait to see what they make. The classes are more techniques instead of a specific pattern - using lots of scraps. 

Today, today.... I think I'll hand sew. I've cut out another Bring Me Flowers block and the LAST I'm a Farmer's Daughter block. 

TGIF! 

Swimming...

Did I do any hand sewing at the lake? Nope. Not one little stitch. A couple of days off...really off.

I did swim with Cooper. He loves to swim with me. Or by himself. He just love to swim, period!

And I read a bit.

But that's it.

We are back home and...today...I will sew SOMETHING! I'm not sure yet what I'll sew, but I WILL SEW!

Pat Sloan is here in Auburn, sponsored by our guild and our local quilt shop. She'll be speaking at guild tonight - should be a good meeting!

Make it a great day!

Sunset!

I worked SO hard on Marmalade yesterday. In fact I finished all the little units! And then I sewed units into rows. The rows are pressed and ready to sew together, but I'll save that for later. We decided to come to the lake later yesterday afternoon and I forgot to take pictures of Marmalade before I left - use your imagination!

Above was shot I took just as I arrived - a storm rolling in.

And then we had white caps and lots of thunder.

And next we had a gorgeous sunset. The storm never arrived, just complained very loudly all around us for a few hours.

Of course I brought a bag of hand stitching with me. We'll only be here until tomorrow. Grilling out hot dogs today - yum! Hubby was able to get the grass mowed yesterday - I have some household chores this morning. My job is to go outside and tackle the cobwebs which have come back in full force since we were here just a couple of weeks ago and I took care of this same chore.

Enjoy your day!
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More Hand Stitching...Bring Me Flowers

Another Bring Me Flowers block complete - except for the flower centers. I have cut them out...

I've made six blocks so far. Yesterday I made the templates for the next two blocks - hope to cut out the fabric pieces later today.

And yesterday I bit the bullet and prepared the pieces for another Farmer's Daughter block. Another block made from Gardenvale scraps.

I got a few questions about why I'm making another block. It looks like enough in this picture?

IF I sew them together like this, I'll need HUGE corner pieces in the 4 corners - much bigger than the setting triangles needed along the sides. Do you see how the bottom and top rows have 2 blocks? Well, I need the bottom and top rows need to have 3 blocks, making those 4 corners pieces smaller. And if I make one more block that will work without sacrificing the size of the quilt. Hope that makes sense. 

I'm glad to hear that many of you have 2 books going at the same time. So far it's working great for me!

What are you working on today? I've decided to make it a marathon Marmalade day! Let's see how far I get!

This is a BIG week in our neighborhood - The Barbisol PGA golf championship is being held here. Very exciting! We have to have parking placards in our cars to get to our house. Hubby is volunteering once the tournament starts on Thursday, but the golfers, caddies, and families are already here, getting ready for the practice round. Note to self: stay away from the pool - it will be CROWDED!

Hope you have a fab day!!!!

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Need. One. More. Block. Ugh!

Yesterday morning I laid out all the Farmer's Daughter's blocks. And guess what? I need one more. Don't you hate that feeling when you think you are done and you aren't? I didn't have the heart or gumption to cut another block yesterday - maybe today? If it's worth doing...it's worth doing right!

Some of my fabric choices weren't the greatest - a few areas look like mush from a distance. But it is wonderfully scrappy and I do like that. And every single stitch is by hand. (Though I'll probably sew the blocks together via machine...)

I decided to work on sewing more quilted dresden blocks together - I now have two rows complete. Three rows to go - and many of these other blocks are already quilted.

We spent another late afternoon at the pool - even swam some laps before relaxing to read. That handsome guy in the pool is Hubby. I'm doing something new - I'm reading one book on my Kindle and listening to another book via Audible. Okay, not at the exact same moment - but I'll have two books going at once. They are totally different thank goodness. Do you read one book at a time? Or do you have multiple in progress?

It's raining here today - nice and relaxing. Hopefully it's cooling things off a bit.

Have a sweet Sunday.


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My Humps, My Humps, My Lovely, Lovely Humps...

I decided to work on this last full block for Farmer's Daughter yesterday. All was going well until...oops! I have two big humps! I'm glad I realized it before I got too far with this. I'd turned something the wrong way...it happens! Though I've made so many of these blocks that you'd think I'd have it down pat by now.

No worries - a bit of 'unsewing' and I fixed it. Boom! Done! Very ORANGE! I hope to cut the setting triangles over the weekend and get to work on them.

Not much else going on with me. Another quiet weekend ahead with a bit of golf (Hubby) and a bit of sewing (me, of course!) The doggies don't like the heat any more than we do - they are enjoying lazy days of sleep underneath a ceiling fan and only go out when necessary. I'm so glad quilting is an indoor sport!

Enjoy your day!

This and That and a Cake

It was one of those days - a bit of this and a touch of that. I finished the borders on that secret challenge project. And then I made a couple of more of these Marmalade units. 

And yes, I made a cake! I never had cake on my birthday - too full after dinner. So I made this banana blueberry pound cake - recipe HERE! I've made this recipe a few times - always delicious! 

And what to do today? I have a book that I'm determined to finish- just a few pages left. One of my birthday presents was a gift card to Audible - so I plan to set that up today so I can listen away to books. And I may make it a hand sewing day. I think I need one!

Hubby is headed to the golf course this morning for the first time in over a week. It's just been too hot. So off he goes and the dogs and I will stay inside.

It's your choice- so make it a wonderful day! And smile - it's contagious!