Last weekend

Last weekend I met my brother Kelsey at my Grandma Allen's house in Co. Bluffs. The house has been sold and everything moved out, we just had to pick up a few things....I have a truck full of sewing stuff, a slate coffee table that Kristin wanted and a sewing desk that will be Sara's as soon as I make room for it in my studio. Kelsey remodeled her bathroom about 2 years ago so I thought I should show off his wonderful carpentry skills. He put in the floor, new high rise toilet, walk in shower and built shelves next to it and in the other corner is a new medicine cabinet and small sink. He did it so she could get her walker into the bathroom and still close the door. (yes my Grandma loved bright colors and butterflies.

I love this house and will miss it a lot, it was strange seeing it empty after very little changing my whole life. I will miss this dining room and all the stuff the china hutch held, I did bring home a lot of the mismatched glassware so Sara and I are going to do tablescapes and enjoy the heck out of the stuff! I also found her favorite pine cone tablecloth so as soon as my round table gets home I am going to do a setting with Kristin's dishes(she got the glazed brown set Grandma rarely used. ) My Grandma was very giving and anything I ever wanted she already gave me before she died. I will miss having a home away from home with her the most.

Sara and I had a great time with Kristin Saturday. She took us to see the children's play The Junglebook. She was on the light crew. I am impressed with college plays!!! She is the new Prop Master for the play coming up in November so we are gathering props for a 1930's rural poverty stricken set. She is going to shop at my house first and the farm second. Hopefully she can find stuff around here and keep the cost down for the school. I think we can find most of it except a wood stove and a stuffed rabbit that they can butcher every night........

We did a little shopping and Sara and I stayed in Sioux City at a motel, I was worn out and in no shape to drive so we crashed early, Sara was up before 7a.m. so she could swim in the pool and I got a little more rest.

This is the pile of quilts I delivered to Jay in Fremont. He has a project to take quilts to a nursing home for homeless veterans in Western Nebraska. I think that's an awesome thing to do and I'm glad I could help. I'm hoping to do a few more but the way things go around here it might be awhile.

I am on my way out to the studio now, things I brought home from this weekend got shoved in willy nilly due to them getting wet from the rain when I got home so Kev and Mile came out and helped get it out of the truck. I appreciated the help after such a long and stressful day. Sooooo off to sort and shuffle............................

whats going on part 2

I put this tractor quilt together awhile back knowing I would need a few gifts, if I ever get binding on it and make the matching burp cloth I have planned it will be ready for a new baby....yes I have one in mind who is due this winter, his grandpa would love a tractor baby quilt. Not gonna say who it's for because I have been know to change my mind and give a totally different gift after the baby is born.

This is #4 on my list from the last post, Linda's quilt. She is giving it to a granddaughter for her B-day.

This is #1 from my list, customer quilt. Now all I have to do is get it delivered!

I took a bit of time off from the studio to watch afternoon TV and take a shower, now it's time to finish dinner and head back to the studio.

whats going on today

Not much is going on today around here, two of the kids are home sick with headaches. I wouldn't be surprised if we all had a touch of something going around. Kev is getting ready to pick beans, he don't need my help yet so I'm going to mess around at home and be ready for a call to the field. I have a lot of quilting to do so after starting laundry and dishes I'm heading out to the studio. I think I need to make a list, write it down and keep myself accountable so here it goes...

1. customer baby quilt
2. Roseann's wallhanging #1 and #2
3. Roseann's flannel quilt
4. Linda's quilt
5. Maxine's quilts
6. Anna's B-day present(her B-day is in December)
7. Turning Twenty Sample
8. finish crochet purses

I also need to clean my studio so I can get something done out there, it's always the last thing I want to do so it NEVER gets done..........oh well.....

I work Thursday and Friday this week, and Friday night. Saturday I'm taking Sara to see Kristin and watch the children's play she has been working on. Sunday I head to Co. Bluffs, so today is it for home stuff. OK off I go..........

Sunday work

Spent the day getting ready for Fall, this is all the wood we had from last year. It's time to start cutting and stacking again. We have 3 wood stoves at our house and Mike and Lisa have 1 so there is alot of wood to be cut around here.

The guys moved both chicken houses and the new Bee shed. I gave all my rabbits to Kelsey and Helena so after they loaded up all the cages they set the chicken houses where the cages used to be behind the house. Sara is thrilled the rabbits are gone, she is tired of taking care of them.

And last but not least the swing set has found a new home! I am happy to have it out of the yard after 17 years of moving it around. I wonder if Kristin will notice it's gone.......

No quilting around here lately, just some sewing at work. I am getting behind so this week will be catch up in the studio. Now that I found my camera again maybe I'll remember to post some pics....

Summer's end

Summer is ending, Autumn is in the air today. The fields are turning gold and brown, harvest is starting this week and there is a chill in the air. I love this time of year, love to see the changes in the fields and love to snuggle into a sweater. I am going to miss my sandals(ok I wear them till November usually) and sleeping on the porch in the hammock during thunderstorms at night.
I am not looking forward to hauling beans this year, heck I still have 3 loads of corn to take to town this week!
I am looking forward to having my kitchen cleaned up and canning supplies put away for the year, after 3 buckets of cucumbers today I might be able to do that....
I am also looking forward to finishing up a few Christmas presents I have started, once I get pic's I will show them off here.
I am also looking forward to finally finishing my bedroom, I know I should of had it done two weeks ago but life got in the way...again! I am working on closets today and laundry, ugh!
I am teaching a Turning Twenty workshop next Saturday at work, it's an easy sewing day with tips on how to pick fabric's and how to chain everything so it goes quick! I have two samples made and I love making them because of the different fabrics and speed!
Well I'm gonna get busy..........

not much going on here

Not much going on here right now, pretty boring actually...I did get a few things quilted this week, no pic's yet. I counted my Project Pink quilts for Heartstrings Yahoo Group and I have 5 left to quilt in various stages of completion. I think I'm going to take them to my quilt group and get a little help finishing them up. I really want them done before October is over!
I am taking quilt frames to Neligh for a show, so if your in Northeast Ne. check it out on Saturday at the Legion Club.
I work Friday and Saturday at the quilt shop, looking forward to that, I miss not being there more than once a week now.....
Kev is taking me away Saturday afternoon, no idea where, just away......he said since we didn't go away for Valentines, our anniversary or anywhere this summer it was time to run off. Heck I didn't think he kept track of holidays or special days, what a softy under that grumpy shell.
I worked on my bedroom yesterday, moving furniture, dusting, sorting. I'm shocked on how much dirt those two dogs bring in!!! I have closets to do yet and hang all my stuff back on the walls. (the Goodwill pile is getting bigger) I have had a problem with the way I wanted it to look for the last year in there so I never finished it. (to much HGTV) I have now decided to make it comfy and use my favorite stuff in there, no showcase room for me! So I have a basket for magazines and books beside my bed, a good reading lamp and a large TV! I am going to hang my wedding pic's on the wall and my old mirror that I want to edge with seashells since the frame got busted up. I will add my grandma's shells to some candle holders left over from graduation decorations for in there too. I piled all my quilts in a basket and set my throw pillows on top of them in a corner, that way I can enjoy the quilts and if I ever want those pillows on the bed they are close and easy to reach. The only thing about moving my room around is that Sadie wouldn't sleep on my side of the room last night, she slept on Kev's side(on his pants he left beside the bed) not sure she's really happy that I threw her favorite pillow away and gave her a clean one.
So today I go set quilt frames and work on closets in my room.............

just a little sewing

I have done a little sewing in the last few weeks, but with my binding fairy AWOL not to much is getting totally finished. I did get the quilt that May from Heartstrings sent me for charity quilted. I am making the small quilt into a pillow to match the quilt. I love scrappy quilts!

I started this baby quilt a year and a half ago, it's ready for binding also.

I made this baby quilt out of flannel so it's nice and cozy, no binding here either.............

AND tonight I whipped up these fun pillows for Josh, his B-day is the end of October. I quilted the front (dice side) and the back is minky. I bought the pillows at the Goodwill, they were brand new in the plastic so I snatched them up thinking they would be good for Kristin's dorm but when I found the dice fabric they quickly got turned into Josh pillows. They will look great on his couch downstairs and comfy to nap on also.

I got 3 customer quilts quilted today also, think Christmas!!! ugh!!!

Surprise

Last weekend we weaned our colt Surprise. (yes everyone but me hates his name....I call him Baby Surprise!!!) Kev got the halter on him and leads him around the yard everyday, he is in a little pen in my in-laws yard right now. I go check on him and pet him at least twice a day and Kev messes with him after work. I think he's gonna be a sweetheart when he gets over being mad....he wants his mommy!

Corn

This is what I make my kids do for fun...........ok I think it's fun but they don't!!! Brad didn't want to pose for my camera so I took Sara's pic alone. They were good help thru the whole process from shucking to bagging. We ended up with 9 quart bags and two gallon bags of corn on the cob. We shucked a bunch but half was to big to freeze so we fed it to the pigs, they were thrilled! I love home froze corn! I also made a batch of salsa the same night, I love the stuff uncooked, it will keep quite awhile in the fridge and the rest I freeze. I bought more lids and rings today, looks like my CCD(compulsive canning disorder) is kicking in...........

Shirts

Ok is this post worthy? I changed buttons on my white shirt today. I LOVE these old pink buttons and since I was fixing a hole in the shirt I decided to jazz it up a bit with a shot of color, I was picking out purple buttons till I saw 9 of these tied together in the mix and thought to myself 'why not?' I love pink and now I think it will be cute with pink jewelry and one of my many pink purses. The blue/green shirt had a small hole in it also so I took the time to fix it.

Just two more shirts ready to wear to work!

Projects

This top pic is the unfinished project from 14 years ago I mentioned in an earlier post. I made myself finish the stitching on the last 10-12 blocks today. I have 35 blocks but nothing to set it together with so it's on hold to finish till I work and find something I like to sash it with. I'm thinking dark/medium purple and yellow for cornerstones or maybe a light lavender. I remember now why I didn't finish this...............boring!!!!

This pic is the baby mat I made for a gift, it's flannel and puffy and will be great for throwing on the floor or in a changing table. I missed the baby shower last Saturday due to family being here and leaving for Omaha with my mom.

Shop samples

Just a few things I did for work in the last month. I know this pic is terrible but I still wanted to show the baby quilt sample I made up quick. I used 2 charm packs of Moda Basically Baby and added a border, the pattern can be found on Moda Bakeshop website. Please excuse the duct tape in the right corner of the pic, our window got a huge crack and this is the landlords fix. Needless to say we don't have a great display in this window because who wants to take a chance on anything getting ruined if the window should happen to break or fall in.

This bag is a Whistlepig Creek pattern, it's awesome! I can't wait till I can take this one home and use it! (I love the cell phone pocket on the front!)

This bag is a pattern from Moda Bakeshop website, I liked it so much I made 3 more bags(pic below) this bag is made with batik squares cut for something else at the shop so I made up kits for this bag, the 3 below are made with Moda Charm tins from different fabric lines.

I think its time to do some unfinished projects in my studio, I'm having a hard time motivating myself to clean and organize it so as I find things I'm going to finish them. The other night I finished quilting Maxine's quilt, made two baby quilt tops and worked on butterfly blocks I found that I started about 14 years ago. (I know it's been that long because Brad was a baby...ugh!)

I took mom to the airport Sunday morning, she is now a Florida resident!

Baby Bibs

These are what I made at work last week. The pirate fabric just came in and the hat fabric came a few weeks ago. I looked and looked for a bib pattern at the shop but I ended up making my own when I couldn't find one I liked. My pattern making skills are lacking.....so I have it all written up just not typed and drawn yet. I had baby boy on the brain because my friend Luanne just had a new grandson. Hopefully I remember to go to the shower tomorrow for them.

Didn't get anything to important done this last week, I did pick up my mom and get new tires before I went. I did take Anita to get her car. I worked Thursday instead of today so Kristin took herself to college, I will see her Sunday or Monday at school after I take my mom back to the airport on Sunday morning. She will be in Florida for awhile taking care of her aunt Sis and husband Al.
Tonight I am going to pick corn and tomato's, I was reading Simple Green Co-op this morning on the blogs.....I found out my disorder has a name. CCD Compulsive Canning Disorder (hehehehe) oh well maybe winter will cure it.....

It's gonna be a long week...

School started today for Josh, Brad and Sara. I love the first day of school because I USUALLY have the house to myself.....not this year.........Kristin is still hanging around, she don't go back until thursday. I have a load of corn to deliver to town, quilt frames to pick up an hour away and I want to make it to the Quilt Guild meeting in Norfolk tonight. Not sure if that will all happen today but it's my plan. I also need new tires on my Durango so I can travel safely to Omaha tomorrow to pick up my mom. Hopefully my tires are at the shop in town and he can change them today sometime. I am also taking my SIL Anita to Omaha with me so she can pick up some of her stuff and her car, it looks like she will be staying and living with my in-laws for awhile.
I made pickles and salsa Saturday with Sara, sent all the pickles home with Mike and Lisa, they were Bread and Butter pickles and nobody at my house will eat them. I have sauerkraut to can up this week also, it's finally ready. Brian ate some on his braut last night and said it was good! I also grilled my first time ever sweetcorn, it was good, I think I will do that again when Kevin fires up the grill. I also made squash,onion, carrot, pepper, and celery medley and put it on the grill. We ate well last night and it was mostly free from friends and family taking pity on me and giving me stuff since all my garden grew this year was pork!

I have a heartstring quilt in the frame our Orchard group made a few months ago, Maxine got it put together, I just have to finish quilting it. I have 3 quilts that need binding but no one applied for the binding fairy job so I guess I'm gonna have to just do it. Ok off to start my busy week......

Heart Quilt

The Orchard Quilters made this quilt for a gal who was shot during a robbery in the hospital parking lot of where her husband was dying of cancer. Very nice lady and it's a shame some of the things she has had to endure the last few years. I know this quilt is gonna cheer her up and let her know people are still praying for her.
We all make a block or two depending on who has time, the person who thought of giving the quilt usually sets it together and I usually quilt it. I always hope we never make another heart quilt but it don't work that way because bad things or sickness is always happening.......

Gone

This quilt is gone...sold to Linda P. from my quilt group. She needed a wedding gift and this fit the bill perfectly. I didn't make any money on the sale, enough to buy more fabric but what more do I need? I am happy with the way it turned out for such an easy project and the colors are very pleasing. I try to have a few quilts around for such things as this, this time I actually had something already made that someone liked.
I took my mom to the airport Tuesday, we had a nice day together and hit a few quilt shops before she left, I did a little shopping then headed home. Stupid me forgot about setting up quilt frames for Knox Co. fair so I had to get home so I set them up Wednesday......took the kids and we shopped in Yankton a bit before heading home. I have to say it goes so nice when I have help to set the darn things up, those 3 kids are getting good at it. (Brad, Sara and their friend Kaylee)

Quilts

Josh helped me take a few pic's today of some finished quilts.

Here is two table runners I did last fall, I finally quilted them and the Binding Fairy worked on them last weekend. I will give them as gifts this year.

This is my Christmas Hanky quilt. Mom gave me the fabric a few years ago and I got it done this summer. My sewing skills were a little off on this one, everything I did was wrong and the seams don't match real good but after ripping a few times I gave up and just finished it. (I started wrong by trimming the blocks to small...) Just another to add to my Christmas Quilt Collection.

The Lighthouse quilt will go to charity, I think a nursing home will get this and a few more we have done with this fabric with our Orchard Quilters Group. This make 4 finished lap quilts.

And last but not least this is 1 of 3 pre-print baby quilts I quilted for quick gifts and charity when the need arises. I am working on a baby quilt stash and these make the best gifts.

We had Orchard Quilters group tonight and Lori from SD came and sewed with us, she's a lot of fun to be around and she sews fast too! (Thanks for the help Lori!!!) We got 32 string blocks done in dark colors, I will be setting them together within the next month and getting it quilted. I brought them home because Mom is heading to Seattle for her Uncle's 75th B-day. (Happy Birthday Uncle Jack!) Then she will be on her way to Florida for the winter, gonna be a great place to spend all the COLD months this year. Soooooooooooo if anyone out there is interested in the Binding Fairy job please apply here.........................................

Car/Train

This is a scary site to come upon on the way to work, no one got hurt! I always tell my kids to stop at the stop sign at the tracks, this is why. The van actually side swiped the train and it drug the van into the ditch, you can see the car tracks as it tried to swerve to avoid the train. The train driver was slowing down because he could see the van coming down the road but due to the tree's and bushes next to the tracks the train was not visible to the van. The only good thing they said about it all was it was a rental!

4th donation

This is the 4th time Sara has donated her hair to Locks of Love. She donated two years ago and grew 17 inches out this time around. I am sure there is some child out there with the prettiest blond streaked wig!

Friday

Well it's really early Friday here, I took a late nap due to a headache so now I'm still awake. Not to much going on around here this week. Josh had friends over last night, him and Kristin have Bible School every night this week and I had to save them after he ran his car out of gas. Kristin, Sara and I made a quick trip to Souix City for Bee supplies and a bit of shopping. The girls were seriously impressed with Heart and Hands Dry Goods quilt shop there. I admit it was a really good quilt shop! We now have more sock monkey fabric (Sara) and Kristin found hunky man fabric to make her friend Brandi more presents out of. I got two FQ's and Kristin got 4. I also bought them some school clothes off the clearance racks at Old Navy.
I spent some time in my studio also, made a few hot pads, a purse or two and sorted a few things out that I got from my mom.
I work all weekend so who knows how much sewing I will do the next two days.........I can't find my charger for my camera so another post with no pic's.......

Saturday

Me, the girls and mom spent the morning at the Farmer's Market. I took honey, purses and hot pads. Mom had peppers and dill. Anita sent summer squash and hot peppers. I enjoyed the weather except my feet were wet from the dew and cold in my sandals! Kristin and I did a little crochet while we sat there and visited with people also. Not a lot of sales but next week will be better I'm sure once people think about it and expect us there. I work next week but Kristin said she will go down for me and sell.
I'm going down to moms to help clean the garage, a lot of stuff to go thru and get rid of. I also have to get Sara, she has been there for 2 days. I got 2 bags made at work yesterday but my camera is dead so no pic's yet..........work tonight and tomorrow.......

More purses

Hey I know all I make is purses lately.........I'm on a roll, or in a rut, not sure which. I made this top purse for a sample at work, it's a Whistlepig Creek pattern #1126 Made with Kansas Troubles by Moda. It's made with a charm pack and a FQ-how simple! The pattern also shows a tote bag and a cell phone bag. I love the curved pocket on the front and I got to use some of my old buttons on the handles. If you can't live without one of these for yourself go to quiltcandy.com and order the fabric, I'm sure the boss would love to send it out!

I had a few squares left over from the top purse so I made a quick bag for a gift-just added lining, handles and tap fabrics. I like this bag a lot and will probably make more like it. I do wish the handles were a bit thinner and a tad bit shorter.........hmmmmm.. ...maybe next purse...
This one will be a gift for my mother-in-law, her B-day is in October. (if I don't forget or misplace it by then)

Tomorrow I have 2 or 3 more purses planned to make for samples at work, I love this part of the job! I also got the instructions done for a baby quilt sample with a little computer help from Sara, it's bad when the 12 yr. old knows more about this computer than I do!

Ty-dye fun

Sara and her friend K. did some Ty-dying this week. K. had a fair project to do and Sara just wanted to learn how so they spent the afternoon playing. Not sure how the final projects look yet...

Purses

I gave away one of these little purses in the door prize bag at quilt group the other night. Linda P. won it and she loves it. (it was dk brown, tan and cream) Well she called this morning wanting to know if I had any more made. Soooooooooo I finally drug my sorry ass out to the shop and finished these 5 little darlings. (I'm keeping the top left one with the butterfly pin) but the rest are up for grabs. Linda told me she wanted 3 but I have a feeling she'll take all 4! I know I started these for Christmas presents but if I have a chance to sell a few I'm gonna do it, I can always make more.........

Kristin's Art

Kristin made these magnets for the girls in her cabin at Bible Camp this week. She is counseling for her first time somewhere in Iowa. Her friends Kathy and Becca have an older sister who runs the camp and they asked if she was interested in the job. I got to keep one because she used my supplies and Sara kept one because she bent all the little tabs down on the metal studs Kristin applied with hot glue. She was going to add a bible passage to each one, I thought she was going to write it out but instead she will just put the book and verse on it. I hope she has a great time!

Last Tuesday

Me, mom, Linda and Lori had a great time touring Ashfall Fossil Beds and lunch at Winnetoon. I love the natural paths and flower gardens they have in the downtown area. I really loved the outhouse collection.

Here are 51 blocks the 3 of us sewed in the afternoon. I love to get together with energetic sewers and crank out blocks. The quilt will be finished by Linda and given to her granddaughters classmate who is fighting cancer.

4th of July

We had a really nice holiday, Kristin, Anita and Brad watched the sky from the porch......

The smoke just hung in the air from Sara's sparkler..........

Brad and Kristin with just a little attitude..........

and the finally of the night!!!

Mom's quilt

Go check out the quilt my mom finished that the Orchard Quilters helped make a couple of months ago. My mom is sending it to her cousin in Missouri who lost his home. First the winds took his roof and before they could have that fixed a tornado came thru and took the house and their dog kennels. They are now fighting with the insurance........and living in a camper.......and no kennels so their business is shot too.......I hope they like their new quilt and I hope it helps cheer them a little to know we're thinking of them. flicshasews.blogspot.com

Wedding

The wedding of my little cousin Brian and his new bride Brenda was beautiful last weekend. The top pic is the kids having fun at the end of the reception. V, nephew #1 and Sara had a great time dancing and running. And no the beer is not theirs......they took over the head table at the end of the night and the cans are empty!

The pic is kind of deceptive, I call him my little cousin but in truth he is 6'7 and his bride is 6'0. I think its funny that the grooms cake is Big Bird, that is his nickname from childhood. Now they just call him Bird. I think Brenda and her son will be a great addition to the family!