The snow continues...

Each day a little more falls. We all piled into the Suburban or 'Burb' as my husband calls his beast and headed out for a little shopping yesterday. We didn't really buy much but it was nice to get out.

We are enjoying spending time as a family all together for the first time in 2 years. The grandkids are a lot of fun. The 5 1/2 month old has found her voice and gives you her opinion of things every once in a while. I think she might be an early talker like her mom. The 3 year old is a busy guy. Keeps all of us busy! He got a kid sized snow shovel yesterday so we will let him burn off some of his energy today shoveling the snow that has come done over night! We need to do some work in the back yard so our little poodle can find a place to do her business! She is not so fond of snow touching her belly as she walks!

I have gotten some hand sewing done while here. I order some more of the "Recipe for Friendship" after my birthday and it arrived a day or two before we left. In the package with my order was a little pack of ten 1.5" squares of a fabric line (can't remember the name of it). They were so cute but not enough for something on their own so I added 6 more squares of some fabrics I had in the scrap bin and added some sashing and borders of another fabric from the scrap bin and made a mini quilt - all by hand. I will share pictures when I get back home to my camera.

I also have some Christmas-y grandmother's flower garden 'flowers' that I am appliqueing onto Christmas fabric squares that I will put into a quilt sometime soon. I was going to use the 'flowers' as my Christmas ornaments one year but didn't like how they were going together so I aborted that project and made something else. Now they will be repurposed into a quilt. I am hoping to get the hand sewing done on this trip and then I can get the quilt together when I get home.

We are possibly going to be bringing our grandson home with us to give his parents a little break since they are tentatively planning a trip over in a few days to visit some friends. The weather will be the determining factor I am sure.

Merry Christmas!

We are having a white Christmas over here in Eastern Washington! Each day a little more snow. Since our daughter lives at the top of a dead end hill the road is a bit dicey, even with 4-wheel drive but we don't have a lot of driving we need to do. We opened our presents last night as our SIL is already off to work this morning at the hospital.

Our 3 yr. old grandson got a little practice opening presents the night before for his birthday so he was doing a great job last night - even helping others open theirs. Our 5 month old granddaughter liked all the excitement too and thought the wrapping paper was pretty tasty!

Today will be pretty low key around here. Lots of playing with toys and visiting. Probably some eating will be added in there too!

Hope you and yours are enjoying a beautiful and fun holiday season!

Alicia

Still cold! More snow!

In fact, enough snow came down yesterday that we decided to delay our departure for an extra day. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate and let us get across the pass and Grammy, Papa and Aunt Rebecca will be able to celebrate the grandson's 3rd birthday a day late. He won't know what hit him - celebrating his birthday one day and the next is Christmas Eve and we will be opening more presents!

This first picture is of our old footed bathtub that someday will be a fun water feature, now nestled in its little alcove and full of snow. We got about 10-11" total I think. It is quite beautiful but with all the hills and trees around here things can get a bit messy!
This second picture is the setting sun shining on our Monkey Puzzle Tree. It is the same age as our son (well, we have had it that long but it was a tiny little tree (about 1" tall) when my parents gave it to him for a birth gift almost 19 years ago. It has been planted in this spot for 16 years and is now at least 20 feet tall I would guess. I looked out my sewing room window as I was doing my ironing and saw the snow sparkling in the setting sun so I had to go out and get a few more pictures. If you like snow pictures, you can see more here.

Merry Christmas!

It's a little early but I might not have a great snow picture on Christmas Day!

Time on my hands?

Not exactly! I have been running around like a chicken with its head cut off, that is, until yesterday when the snow just kept a-comin'! We ended up with about 3-4" which I know doesn't sound like a lot to those of you who live in places that get snow all the time. But, you have to remember that we live in an area with lots of hills and lots of trees on those hills and we don't get a lot of snow so we don't have a lot of snow plows so the roads don't always get cleared. So, all in all, it can get pretty ugly, pretty fast!

My week started with a busy Sunday including church, a Christmas party and a trip to the airport to pick up our daughter and her cat. They arrived around 11 pm so we didn't get to bed until about 1. We were all up before 7 and after a quick breakfast of oatmeal the father/daughter appliance repair team was on the road.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I helped with the Christmas program rehearsals at the small private school at our church. The program was supposed to be last night but was cancelled due to the snow. And the kids were just getting good! I am not sure if they will end up doing it after the new year or not.

Tuesday night was craft night so I made a German Chocolate Cake (my absolute favorite) to take over to celebrate my birthday one day early. The daughter came along and worked on knitting her second slipper. I received this lovely gifts. I already have a plan for the charm pack and yesterday I put together the puzzle.

These two fabrics were my birthday gift from my daughter. She got them up in Alaska and I love the colors and the salmon design. The ideas are also circling my brain for this fabric. There are two yards of each so I think I will make a new quilt for our bed. The jar is Sitka Rose Jelly from, you guessed it, Sitka AK. It is pretty tasty - we cracked it open last night at dinner.

Yesterday, as I said, I got to hang out in the sewing room and watch the snow fall. The results of my day there is 5 minis ready to have their bindings hand sewn on. The minis are my Triptych, Plain Jane and Favorite Things swaps for December. I hope to do the hand sewing today and maybe even get them to the post office if the roads aren't too bad.

Finished another

I managed to get another top finished today. These are the fabrics I received from my friends for my birthday last December. I have had them sitting in my sewing room awaiting inspiration. I tried one Disappearing 9-Patch for a doll quilt swap and was inspired to try a more planned out one so a few weeks ago I starting cutting and then got delayed in the sewing process. Then I realized I was sewing the 9-patch blocks together wrong so I had to do some ripping. Usually having to rip things out makes me want to put the project aside for some other time but this time I got right back up on the old horse, so to speak, and got the blocks together and then cut them and last night I laid them out and today I got them together. I am somewhat satisfied with the result but I think I will reserve further disappearing 9-patch projects to doll quilt size!

My next project is going to be sewing together my Road to Jericho blocks - I think I will make two smaller quilts instead of one larger one. I have to figure out how to split up the 141 blocks though!

One top done...

and I am pretty pleased with the results. It is about 69"X78" but I haven't decided if I want to add a border or not and then what the border would be if I did.

Last night when we got home from work the power was out so I figured I could at least lay out a quilt. I actually did two layouts and then I got started putting this one together since the power came back on fairly quickly. I had it into rows before I was done for the night. This morning I got the rows put together. I really love how it turned out! I am hoping that I will get the other top together today so I will have more pictures to show.

20 yards

This week I managed to get the rest of that gifted fabric washed and pressed and there were about 15 yards! So that makes a total of about 20! There were lots of 'double' pinks and pink and red fabrics so I think someone was going to make a Valentine's quilt. I don't think I will go that far but I think I will add either some brown or tan and put something together as I do not need that much red and pink in my stash!

Yesterday evening as I was working on sewing some more blocks made from my birthday fabric from last year I realized I was putting them together wrong so now I have to rip out what I had done so far and re-sew. Luckily I was not all done with the blocks and I don't have to rip them completely to put them together right. That will be one of my projects for today since I am not going to work with my husband as his finger is doing quite well.

I need a moment to catch my breath!

I have been going pretty steady for the last week or so, especially over the weekend. Thursday I drove across the state to help out when our grandson had oral surgery. I am glad I went since I think he appreciated having his grammy there for comfort. Why is it that when you give a kid a day to just watch as many movies as he wants he is contrary and wants to be up and going? Normally he begs to watch something!

As he was getting back to normal Friday evening I got a call from his Papa to let me know that he had managed to cut his right index finger badly enough to require stitches so I headed back home first thing Saturday morning. We went back to Urgent Care to have it checked that afternoon and then spent the evening doing most of our Christmas shopping for the grandkids. Man, was I tired!

Sunday I was able to have brunch with a friend and then watched her daughter's soccer game before heading home.

While I was traveling I got some birthday presents - three fat quarters of sock monkey fabric from my niece and three pieces of Northcutt's Flower of the Month Carnation fabrics from my sister. So that gives me two more quilts to make. My grandson was quite impressed with all the fabrics and thought the sock monkey fabric should be his so I will probably make a lap quilt for the grandkids to use when visiting here out of those. I am thinking that the carnation fabric might be used for a block exchange I am doing. I need to come up with a block or colors or something soon!

This last picture is the fabrics I received in the Mini Quilt In A Bag Swap on Flickr. They came from Bronwyn in Australia and I need to use them to make a little quilt for her. These just arrived today so I don't really have a plan yet.

So this week I am back to work with the hubby because of his finger. Today he was able to do all the work but we only worked a half day. Tomorrow we have a full day scheduled already so I may have to get my hands dirty!

Isn't this the cutest?

After picking up packages at the post office recently for my husband and daughter, finally I got one for me! This little darling came from Trisha from less than 50 miles away! Wrapped in the handmade dishcloth is a bar of handmade soap too! I still have several swap packages that should arrive soon so I anxiously check the post office each day!

Last week I got two boxes of fabric from a friend who doesn't sew. A lot of the fabric was scraps from a scrubs factory (not sure that is what it would be called but couldn't come up with another name), some was fabric I will use for LWR quilts but there was quite a bit of 'good' quilting fabric also. When I prewashed the white I bought yesterday I also prewashed the lighter fabrics in this group. There were a lot of 1/2 yd pieces and some fat quarters or fat eighths in the pile for a total of about 5 1/2 yards!!! After I get back from my little trip this weekend I will have to get the rest washed up to see how much I got all together!

A little sewing, a lot of other

I thought having an empty nest would make my life less hectic but no, I just keep getting more involved! I have always been active at church but now I am doing some math tutoring for the small private school we have at the church. For the next two weeks I am also helping with their Christmas program and during one of those weeks I will help out in the office while the principal/director is on vacation.

I also need to get the trailer cleaned out for its new occupant who will be arriving on the 14th. I just need to wipe it all down and get the cushion covers back on and get them in there and I will probably get one bed made since she arrives at 10 pm at the airport.

I also need to get my Christmas ornaments made - I know what I am doing I just need to do it! Meanwhile, I need to get the 72 log cabin blocks put together into a quilt top and I have started working on a quilt using the fabrics I got last December from my quilting/crafting friends for my birthday. I hope to have the top done by my birthday in two weeks. I have had the fabrics waiting for me where I could see them frequently and I finally came up with a pattern I wanted to use that wouldn't require cutting the fabrics into really small pieces as they are larger prints. More pictures to come as I get more done. The funny thing is I bought brown Dimples and white Kona to use with the prints and have had them waiting also but I have used some of the white for some other projects that needed white so now I didn't have enough and had to go buy some more to be able to finish it off as I want it! Aaaaarrrrrggghhhh!

Tomorrow I head over to visit the grandbabies. The oldest one has to go to the dentist for quite a bit of dental work (poor enamel) so I am going over to try to be helpful. On the way I will meet my sister for lunch and give her a couple of boxes of holly for holiday decorating. She just happens to be crossing the state at the same time I am so we will meet in the middle. I need to cut that holly today while it isn't raining and also prune the grapes some as my daughter is going to make a grapevine garland around her living room for ornaments instead of fighting with kids knocking over a Christmas tree! Not a bad plan I think except for the part where I am cutting the grapevines!

Much to be thankful for!

We had a really great Thanksgiving with our son (home from college) and our niece. They both arrived around 6 pm on Wednesday and we headed out for dinner at the local Mexican restaurant and then went up to the mall so the son could get a new phone (his old one was giving him some problems). I ran in to the book store and got a few books to take over for the grandson next week when he has dental surgery.

Thursday morning I got up and cleaned up the kitchen from making chex party mix, dinner rolls and bread on Wednesday and started right in on further dinner preparations. I made sure the turkey was thawed and got it ready to go in the oven and slipped it back in the fridge and then got started on pies.

When the pies were done my niece and I ran a couple of errands and then came home and got started on the project for the weekend - fabric sorting. We got all the boxes down from the attic and sorted it out so that there was one kind/size/quality of fabric in each bin or box. This included sorting three bins of scraps!

Here is what we ended up with today when we were done.I found a couple more bins in the attic so I didn't have to use the open boxes and all of these went back in the attic but at least they are sorted and labeled so I can pull down one box at a time and work my way through them. Most of this will become Lutheran World Relief quilts but the flannel might be for Project Linus. I did have one box that is going to the thrift store and a small amount that is nice fabric either in larger pieces or scraps that will be incorporated into my stash. Some made it way to the trash because it was just to small. A box of corduroy stayed down to be taken care of soon and there was quite a bit that will become 1.5" strips for more log cabin blocks and lots for crazy quilt blocks.

Our Thanksgiving dinner was one of the best I have made I think (thanks to Katie's help) and the pies were, by far, the best I have ever made!

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Stupid people

Just got a call from one of our property managers about a tenant who cut a wire to the oven timer because it was clicking. Now nothing works and he gets to face his wife and tell her they might not have an oven for the turkey! And as a bonus - he gets to pay for the repair! Serves him right!

Quick Update

Again it has been almost a week since my last post! We left home Thursday afternoon for a visit with the grandkids (and their parents and uncle too).

Yesterday I spent most of the day talking to customers and getting them scheduled to get their appliances repaired. Why do people wait until three days before Thanksgiving to get their oven fixed that has been working poorly for 6 months? Why do people decide to self-clean their ovens right before Thanksgiving? Do they not know that when the oven is self-cleaning it goes up to 800-900 degrees and is more likely to break down? Okay probably they don't know that but they should! Self-clean your oven when you know you aren't going to need it for at least a month just in case it dies and needs a part that has to come from the factory!

Today we have had some calls but not as many as yesterday - thank goodness! Because of that I was able to spend most of the morning working on log cabin blocks. I finished the next batch so I have 35 finished now! I have the center squares cut for the next 12 so I hope to get some done on that this afternoon. There is still quite the pile of 1 1/2" strips to use up so I am hoping I will be able to make at least a total of 63 but I can't be sure. Since the blocks will be finished at 8.5" I should be able to make a fairly decent sized quilt with lots of layout options.

Time to get in the shower and head out to do some math tutoring. Later!

More log cabins

I finished off the first 8 blocks and then started and finished 12 more today so that is a good start on the next log cabin quilt. This one might end up twin or double sized or bigger depending on how many blocks I get.

Life has been very hectic recently. Lots of business calls to make, trying to get caught up on some things around the house, trying to get some sewing done, taking the dog to the groomer, dropping off and picking up sewing machines from the repair show, volunteering at the church, raking leaves, etc. Mix all that up with a nasty cold and you probably wouldn't be surprised that I am all worn out in the evenings!

I finished up 42 blocks for this log cabin quilt top over the weekend and got the top together yesterday. It was hard to come up with a layout I liked but I finally decided on this one.

Yesterday, I also got started on the first neutral and print log cabin blocks for the next top. I plan to go until I finish up my 1 1/2" strips. Once those strips are gone I need to work on my crazy quilt blocks so that pile gets whacked back again.

I have joined a flickr group for stash busting so this morning I took pictures of most of my scraps (well contained in bins for the most part) to show. This is inspiring me to haul those bins down and get it all sorted out one of these days so I have a bin of flannel, one of polar fleece, one of 'good' quilt fabric, one of LWR quilt fabric, etc. Then I will be able to just pull down one bin at a time to work with and empty. Maybe I can get Katie to help me over Thanksgiving if I offer movies and special beverages while we work?!?!?!

I realized that both of these minis have been received too so I can post pictures here now.

The first is my first attempt at a disappearing 9-patch and I am pleased with this effort but now I want to try a more planned one. I have the perfect fabrics waiting for a good pattern so I will get to that one of these days. This was for the Plain Jane Mini Swap for November.

This second one was for the 'theme' side of the Mini Quilt Swap for November. My partner loves roses and was pretty happy with my effort.

I think now I have posted all the little quilts I have sent out recently.

It can be shown

Here is the little quilt I had the honor of finishing off in Spring Fling Round Robin 2. It has arrived at its new home and will be well loved by Kathy. As I was doing the quilting it reminded me of Neapolitan ice cream and you would be very proud of me since I did not run down to the closest store to pick up a container as a snack!

Road Trip

I have been feeling crummy this week but it is Fabric Depot's sale weekend and I needed 60" black Kona so I sucked it up and headed south to Portland. I was really quite proud of myself. I didn't allow myself to fall in love with any fabric - my sewing closet just couldn't bear it if I did! I got my bolt of Kona, ordered a new needlethreader hookie-do thing for my Pfaff, picked out 17 lovely neutrals and 8 lovely reds and found the pattern I think I will use for the wedding quilt for June which will be made out of reds/maroons/golds/neutrals such as I purchased. The multi colored floral fat quarter is one I received with one of my October minis and was my guideline for purchases.

The best thing about the trip was the fact that dinner was in the crock-pot waiting for me to get home!

A little of this, a little of that

I have been a little under the weather so it is harder to get things done - I seem to just want to sit around! So Saturday I took advantage of that and got some computer work done and then I got the binding on one November Mini and got the labels done for it and my DQS5 quilt and even whipped up a cute little number for my second November Mini and got it sandwiched, quilted and bound. Since Chelsea took my one Pfaff that was working well I had to decide on another machine to use so I tried out my 1956 Singer 301. It was really amazing! So quiet and did such a nice job of stitching and even free motion quilting!

Saturday evening I was at a friend's house for a candle party so I didn't get anything more accomplished but Sunday I decided to do some sewing on log cabin blocks and got a good start on 12 more blocks using the black strips. When I was tired of that I went out to the living room and watched some TV and did the hand-sewing on the two mini's bindings and got the two labels stitched on.

Today I had to take my car in for an oil change and on the way home I picked up the mail - I had three quiltie packages! It was almost like Christmas!

This first one is my October Mini from Lin in Thailand! That is one of the coolest parts of all the swaps - you get packages from great quilters all over the world! I just love this little house.

This next one is from Marilyn in California. There are so many fun details in this quilt - the more you look the more you find. This is Marilyn's first month in the Mini Quilt Swap and I look forward to seeing what she comes up with in the future!

This last picture is my quilt from Another Little Quilt Swap 2. It came from Trish up in Ontario. It was definitely a 'pink' mail day. In fact, two of the 3 quilts were wrapped in the same pink tissue!

After I was done looking at all my fun mail I got 4 quilts packaged up and in the mail to their recipients. I will post pictures when they get to their new homes. I goofed a little in that I mailed my Spring Fling Round Robin 2 quilt today and it wasn't supposed to go out until next week but there's not much I can do about it now. I was worried it might get lost in the sewing room and not get sent at all!

Incommunicado again!

My daughter arrived on Tuesday afternoon with my two adorable grandkids so time on the computer was limited to checking email and reading blogs. I also got no sewing done to speak of. I did help Chelsea with cutting out and sewing of her wool coat but mostly with advise, etc. - no actual sewing! For being a new seamstress and quilter she is really coming into her own. Not afraid to tackle most things. You can check out her new crafting/sewing/quilting blog here.

Today will be spend washing sheets, towels, etc. and getting the house back in order. I also have a fun lunch date with two friends.

The weather here has been very rainy so I have not done anymore raking, though there are now lots more leaves that need raking!

I hope I will get lots of sewing done over the weekend but "the best laid plans..."

VOTE!

Please exercise your right!

Another wedding quilt and another baby quilt

My niece (my brother's daughter) emailed a couple of weeks ago that she is expecting her 4th baby so I am starting to think about a quilt for her/him. I am personally hoping for a girl since she has three boys already! I will need to have it ready sometime around the beginning of May. I ordered a pattern today from Clotilde that I thought was cute so that might be it.

Another niece (my husband's brother's daughter) is getting married in June so I am starting to think about a quilt for her also. I am thinking something in this color scheme. Not sure what pattern I will use yet but I would like it to be more scrappy than not. Any ideas?

I got my names for the 6"-12" Mini Swap for November. I will be doing one with words (our theme) and one plain jane. I had a great idea for the word mini and got started and realized when I had the first letter done that it was backwards - I forgot about the whole mirror image thing when you are paper piecing!!!! Frustrating, but I snapped out of it and climbed back on that horse and now have 3 letters done correctly and I think it will be very cool! Hopefully my partner thinks so too!

Log cabins and baby carriers

I finished the 20 log cabin blocks on Tuesday but that is as far as I have gotten with that project this week. I played around with options for laying those out and there are some great designs. These are not 'traditional' log cabin blocks in that instead of using light and dark with all the same width strips, I used 1.5" colored strips and 1" black strips. You can see all of the layouts I came up with on flickr. It really adds a twist to the traditional! I need to make more blocks to get even a lap quilt but I don't know how big I want to go yet. Maybe until I run out of either my black or the blue centers. These blocks are 9" and will finish at 8.5".

Wednesday I spent almost the whole day running around. I got a lot done but not in the sewing room!

Yesterday I put together 2 baby carriers for a shower I went to last night for my friend Nadine's daughter. One carrier was for the daughter that is expecting her first in February and the other was for her sister who had her first in July (I wasn't able to go to her shower in June so I decided to make up for it). When she opened the gift she wasn't too sure what it was but I did a demonstration and they were both much more excited after that. I hope they get a lot of use out of them for these babies and any subsequent babies!

Today I am going to get my Out of the Darkness quilt in the mail to the quilter and then I think I will work on more log cabin blocks in between getting some bread made.

Lest you think I am a slacker

Since the computer isn't in the sewing room anymore I am not as good about posting what I am up to in there!

On Saturday I got the borders on my daughter's king-size t-shirt quilt and got a back put together. I also got the back made for my Out of the Darkness quilt. I am mailing that off to my friend to machine quilt this week some time. The t-shirt quilt I will be machine quilting myself once I have a day that I can devote to getting it basted. That will involve laying it out on the great room floor when no one will be around to step on it!

I got the log cabin lap quilt machine quilted with my philodendron design on Friday and got the binding on over the weekend so it is a beginning of a stock pile of quilts for sale, gifts, etc. This isn't a great picture but it is what I have for now!

After I had the backs done on Saturday I started going through my scrap drawers looking for anything I could use for 1 1/2" strips for more log cabin blocks. I finished sorting and cutting on Sunday and had quite a pile ready to use. Yesterday morning I woke up with a plan for the next log cabin quilt and got going on 20 blocks. I had too many errands to do yesterday to finish them so I hope to do that today and then I can post a picture of those first 20 blocks. I will need to make more blocks for this project and then I still have lots of strips left for more log cabin options.

I am nearly done with the hand quilting on the SFRR2 quiltlet and once it is done I will wash it with the two log cabin quilts and then I can get two more swap items in the mail - WooHoo!

Phil O. Dendron

That is what I could name this quilt. As I was doing the quilting, I glanced over and realized that the quilting looked just like the looooong philodendron in my sewing room seen here and here.

Here is a close-up of one corner of the quilt so you can see the quilting a little better. I used a variegated tan/brown thread and achieved just the look I wanted. I added two wavy lines down the print stripe as it seemed too puffy. I got the binding finished last night so now I need to make a label, wash it, and get it in the mail. I am hoping to get the larger log cabin lap quilt quilted today.





I can post these pictures now of two of my October Mini Swap Quilts as they have been welcomed into their new homes. These were both for the 'theme' swap. This month's theme was Out of the Box - we could do anything so long as it wasn't square or rectangular. I had grand ideas before I got started but they all faded away when it came down to getting started. I was very happy with the results though. November's theme is 'words' and I have some thought about it but haven't finalized my plan yet.

DQS5

I have decided that this will be my quilt for Doll Quilt Swap 5, unless I change my mind because I am not happy with the quilting. My plan is to do this vine pattern for the quilting:

Now mind you, I will not be using black thread for the actual quilting, I just did it to see how the virtual design in my head looked in thread! I am thinking I will use a tan/off white/ecru thread for the quilting as it will be in the neutral stripes of the quilt. If I think it needs more quilting then I will do the same vines in the print stripes using a darker thread. If the vines go well on the little quilt I will use them for the bigger log cabin quilt also so those could be done this week if time allows.

I sandwiched this little quilt along with the bigger log cabin and my SFRR2 quilt yesterday. I got started hand quilting the SFRR2 quilt and it is going quite well. I hope to be done with that one this week.

I'm baaaaaack!

What an awesome time I had while I was gone!

First, I got to spend a few short hours with my grandbabies. The GS was so happy to see me and we had a good time reading and playing. The GD, at 3 months, is getting so vocal. She 'talks' and smiles and giggles whenever you talk to her. Holding her while she sleeps is just about heaven!

I got to the camp for our Cut, Crop and Quilt Weekend at about 12:30 after stops for gas, coffee and deodorant (the one thing I forgot to pack) and a quilt store I had never been to. I got all settled in and got my machine set up, etc. and then got started on that bag of 1 1/2" strips I got at the garage sale over Labor Day weekend. I cut some neutral strips and added them to the mix and put together 35 log cabin blocks using spruce green kona for the center square and making them as big as I could with the fabric I had. I got those together before my sister and I headed to bed at 2:15 am. In the morning I added a strip of the green around the blocks and then put together the rest of strips in Rogue River Log Cabin blocks and added them as a border and had my first project finished! A very short time later I had the top of a doll quilt done using the leftover border blocks! I think I will add a green border to that and will use it for DQS5. I have some fun ideas for the quilting.

The program director at the camp who was a big part of getting these retreats started had twins just a week or so ago - a boy and a girl. One of the quilters bought some fabric so that we could all work on a quilt for each of the babies. The quilts turned out so great as you can see and one of the grandmothers said that the quilts suit each of the baby's personalities perfectly! We were treated to a "Stroll by Viewing" on Saturday afternoon. We all kept our distance so as not to pass on any germs but it was hard!!!! I am looking forward to the next retreat in February when we might just get a chance to hold them!

I did three blocks for the ducky quilt and one strip for the bright quilt and then got to work on my scrap pile. I ended up making forty-seven 6 1/2" scrappy log cabin style blocks and my scrap pile did not seem to shrink at all! I am thinking that will be my project for the next retreat also if I don't get back to them here at home!

The room we use for quilting is in the process of undergoing a huge change. Each time we arrive for a retreat there are changes and improvements. The project is nearing completion and it is just beautiful! One of the first changes occured a year or so ago when they took out the old drafty fireplace and put 3 sliding glass doors on that wall so we could enjoy the view of Lake Coeur d'Alene. When the project is done there will be a patio outside the doors.

Here is the new alcove that houses a new efficient fireplace with lots of cozy seating hand sewing, reading, visiting and naps!

This last picture was taken after some quilters had already left and while others were packing up. We had the group of tables right next to the fireplace alcove. There were two 8 foot tables in the center that were raised up for cutting. The round table was used for laying out quilts and was used for the quilting on the two baby quilts. I think we had a total of about 30 ladies working in this room. Mostly quilters with a few scrapbookers too.

Heading out!

Today I leave for the other side of the state which means I will not be online until at least Sunday and probably won't post anything until at least Monday. This evening I will spend the night with my daughter, son-in-law, son and grandkids. Let's face it though, I will really be focusing on the little ones and not the big ones so much! I will only be there overnight and then I head into Idaho for my twice yearly quilt retreat with my sister and other friends.

I have several projects packed into my basket so it will be interesting to see what I actually work on. It would be awesome if I ran out of things but that never seems to happen! I will have most of Thursday, all of Friday and Saturday and part of Sunday to sew and visit and eat, eat, eat! I don't normally eat three meals a day but it is so hard to resist the good food at the camp!

It will be interesting to see the building progress at the camp. They are in the process of remodeling the Chapel and the room we usually sew in is under the Chapel. The room had already changed quite a bit the last couple of times we were there. The biggest change was the addition of lots of windows looking out over Lake Coeur d'Alene! A great view to have out there when you look up from your sewing machine. I will take the camera and if the weather is good I will get some pictures to share next week.

Have a great 4 days and I will get caught up on Monday!

Two new toys

Or maybe they are tools, only time will tell...

I found an estate sale on my way to the mall today. It was at the home of my daughter's 3rd grade teacher. They are in the process of cleaning out her parent's home. At first I just found 4 books for the GS but then I noticed an old sewing machine. Again, at first I dismissed it until I saw the bobbins and then I just had to have it...don't you agree?

After paying for the machine I continued up to the mall and got my new cell phone. Hopefully, now we have things figured out with the various phone companies so we can get it down to 3 phones for 3 people! Well, beside the home phone, of course! After I got home I had the fun of putting all my friends and family into the new phone.

While I was out spending money, hubby was busy playing on his new project. I think he will enjoy the tinkering he gets to do on it! A little while ago he got the little stereo working and had the music playing loud enough for me to hear it in the house!

Our new project

Isn't she pretty? We got her today off Craig's List. She is a 1976 Argosy by Airstream and is in awesome condition for her age. If we wanted we could take it out tomorrow. But we won't. We figure we will use it for extra space when we have lots of guests this winter and do some work on it. There are lots of little things to do and the biggest thing is new flooring. The carpet is pretty gross and really not the best flooring for camping I think! We will probably put down vinyl or marmoleum.

This model has two double beds so I will need to make at least 2 quilts to keep in it and I think I will also replace the curtains and upholstery. Since it is from '76 and has a brown/orange/gold striped awning I think we will go with '70s earthtones for the interior too. I think it will be fun!

Neither of us really thought we would ever own a trailer, but now that we have it we are warming up to the idea of hitting the road with it occasionally.

3, 4 and 5 of 7 are done!

I have all my swap minis about ready to mail now. I think they turned out great but can't show pictures until they get to their new homes. It is hard to show just a peek of something that is only about 6-8" square as it is! I am also nearly finished with my SFRR2 border so I will have one large pile of packages to get to the post office sometime soon!

I did a little sewing this evening putting together a few more scrappy blocks. I ran out of one size of squares so I will have to stop at 27 blocks for now. I also worked on trimming down all my half-square triangles for whatever I do with them. I think they will be going with me to the retreat so I might have news in a week or so!

I am trying to decide what to use as the center blocks with these fabrics for log cabin blocks. One half of the blocks will be these prints, the other half will be neutrals. Traditionally red is used as the center of the block but several of the fabrics are pretty red so I don't think they will stand out as much so I was thinking yellow, or black, or even dark brown or dark green. What do you think?

Just call me Crazy!

I took those little leftover half-square triangles from yesterday's blocks and made four smaller blocks from the same pattern, put them together, add a border and WA-LA!you have this cute little mini quilt! This is just 7 3/4" square and took most of the afternoon to make!

Tomorrow I must get serious and work on finishing some swap items!

giveaways

I don't usually sign up for giveaways because I know I won't win but I found one I couldn't resist over here. Of course, this will probably negate those 16 pounds I lost painting the house but I think it could just be worth it!

Two of Seven done

I got to spend quite a bit of time in the sewing room today. I got started on my SFRR2 border but it needs lots of hand-sewing. I might be a little crazy but we will see. After that I moved on to my Fall Runner Block Swap. Came up with the design and made my 4 5.5" blocks. I really like the pattern and think I will use it sometime for a larger scrap quilt. Here you can see all four blocks I made and two possible setting layouts for the block.

I might get crazy and use the leftover half square triangles and make four smaller blocks - I know, these are 5.5" so how much smaller would they be? I am not sure as I haven't trimmed the little squares down yet, I will leave that for another day!

One of Seven Done

One of my seven swap projects for this month is done! This is for Another Little Quilt Swap 2. It is all washed and crinkly and ready to mail out next week. Tomorrow morning I think I will be getting some things done in the sewing room. I hope to finish the 2nd border on my next SFRR2 project and then I need to make 4 5-inch fall blocks for another swap so that should be pretty quick. Then I need to work on three minis for October. Two are for the 'theme of the month' which is Out of the Box which means they are not supposed to be square or rectangular. I have a plan for one of those and a possibility for the other. Then I also have a 'plain jane' mini to make so I will need to get cracking! My final swap projects is for DQS5. That swap is still open as of this moment so if you are interested in being a part of it follow the link and join up. That one I can't really get started on yet since I won't know who my partner is for a week or so. Also, the quilt isn't due to be mailed until December 1 so it is probably going to be on my November list too!

Had my yearly physical today. The best news is that I lost 16 pounds since last September. In actuality, I probably lost most of it painting my house the last couple of months! That can really take it out of you! I had a wart removed from my right ring finger (on the pad of the tip) so that is a bit painful. I might have to stop hand-quilting and work on my Cathedral Window again as it isn't quite as hard on the hands!

Back to regular life

I had fun yesterday in my sewing room! I just couldn't resist since it was so tidy! I got started on my ALQS quiltlet. I had already decided on the fabrics I was going to use - a grab bag given to me by a friend after a road trip she took - so I just had to decide on a pattern. I looked through my faves on flickr and decided on 3D pinwheels. I got it all cut out and the top put together and got a back out of the leftover fabric. I pin-basted it thinking I would hand quilt it but after several tries last night I changed my mind and this morning I machine quilted it. Had to be careful so I didn't catch the little flaps of the pinwheels. Now I have the binding on ready for hand-sewing at craft night tonight.

Today I have several errands to do so not sure I will get much more done but one never knows. I will have to get my laundry folded before I can be allowed to have fun though!

What a weekend!

We had such a good time the last 4 days with Larry's sister and her husband. They flew in from Ft Collins CO on Thursday and as we were giving them the grand tour of the farm, our daughter and her two little ones drove up also. We spent the rest of Thursday visiting and enjoying the grandkids. Cathy loved her quilt and ended up taking home another small quilt I had that was in colors she likes and I am not a huge fan of - a win/win situation!

Thursday was a bit rainy but Friday a good weather day was predicted. Those weather people got it right for once! We took the ferry from Bremerton to Seattle and it was really pretty warm even out on the deck. We got to Seattle in time for lunch at Ivar's Acres of Clams and had time left on the meter to do a little looking around at the World Famous Ye Olde Curiosity Shop (a must for every tourist!). We then all piled back in the faithful minivan and managed to find the Space Needle - doesn't seem like it should be too hard but those hills in Seattle can hide anything - and the Seattle Center. We found a parking spot in a lot and headed up the symbol of the 1962 World's Fair. What a gorgeous day! It was almost too hot up there on the sunny side and we could see the mountains to the east and the west! Did a little souvenir shopping and then headed home in rush hour traffic which wasn't as bad as it can be! The kids did so well, GS was well behaved in the restaurant and never complained in the car and the little GD just slept and ate the whole time!

We got home around 7 and by 9:30 we were all in bed - pooped!

Saturday morning was again beautiful so we headed out again. This time thinking we would look at a few antique shops and find a beach somewhere. We managed to hit one shop before the menfolk and the nursing mother felt it was time to head to Red Robin for lunch. The boy was again very good in the restaurant - unlike the child whose mother took him out screaming not one, not two but three times!

As you can see we found the beach over at Twanoh State Park. The boy first got his feet wet, then he ended up laying face down in the water, playing with the rocks. We stripped off his shirt and once he got over being shirtless he enjoyed the beach. Before going back in the car he was stripped down and redressed in a dry diaper and a shirt. At our next stop - a thrift store, his mom found a pair of pants for him - thank goodness he is a skinny boy! We stopped at a couple more shops and at the last one hubby found a sewing machine he just couldn't resist. It is a model 66 from 1941 in a cabinet. The cabinet is actually the same as the one for my mother's 301 but does have a locking drawer. I also found a cute lamp to hang over the head of the iron bed frame that got painted this summer.

We got home early enough yesterday to see the mountain (Mt. Rainier, for all you who have never been here) glowing in the sunset and then have a wonderful grilled salmon dinner.

Today we had to leave at about 9:30 to get to the airport and the kids left at the same time. They should have had a wonderful view of the mountain as they took off from Sea-Tac. Hubby and I got home and within about half an hour I had everything pretty well cleaned up and the first load of laundry in the washer!

In the washer

I just finished the quilt and it is in the washer getting crinkly!

Getting Ready

So far in my quest to have a house that won't embarrass me for company I have not gotten too far. Yesterday I canned the beans I picked on Sunday and I did get my computer room tidied a bit. The shelves now have toys and books where the grandson can get at them but other things are put higher!.

Today the dog goes to the groomer and I hope to get a good start on the sewing room so tomorrow I can do some baking. Unfortunately that includes ironing!

I am getting close with the SIL quilt. I just have three more sides of the border - very simple pattern that goes fast - that have to be done. If I get the two smaller inner borders done too that will be gravy and not necessary.

oopsie!

It was brought to my attention this evening that I have neglected to propery acknowledge the receipt of my August Hand Sewn Mini Quilt from Beth. Isn't it great? It looks very cute hanging on the wall in my computer/guest room. Along with it was a quarter yard of a blue and white print that I am sure will come in handy. Thanks again Beth!