A quick finish...

This is what I did one day last week. I got the idea for the house and all from a magazine- I enlarged it- seems like I always make things bigger- even when I'm trying to go small. What do you expect from a mother of eight? (The colors/fabric I got at The Back Door quilt shop in Greenwood Indiana- a new favorite. They have tons of finished projects- and fabrics are everywhere- of every type from civil war repros to batiks. Yes, it is my happy-happy place.) Mom asked who I was going to give it to as the colors are quite a bit off my typical. The slate grey is one of my hand-dyed fabs. But I still like it and might keep it- at least for a while, until I find a better home for it.

Guess who's here?

Oldest son and his lovely bride are here for the weekend. We are enjoying them so much. He says he checks my blog every week and all he sees are quilts. Joe would like to see some pictures of home, so I am gonna try to post family and home pictures and news, each weekend. Just so ya know. We are planning a cookout for this evening- hopefully not too late as we have preparations to make for worship, tomorrow. "We" are babysitting my great nephew, Isaac, this evening. I say "we" because I have to fight my way through kids to get a chance to hold him. He is adored and adorable. Tomorrow we'll be fixing a big ole pot of spaghetti and then venison and noodles for Monday. That's as far as I can think or plan. Hope everyone has a lovely weekend. ~Nines

Pointless quilting...

Sometimes you need a little pointless quilting. I have been working with triangles a lot lately. I finished the Glory Bound quilt and moved on to something a whole lot simpler- time to change pace and play with something pointless. Virtually no points in this Dorm Room quilt pattern. About 6 hours to whip up a 70x100" quilt- from start to finish. How fun is that? Especially since I get to play with orange. My favorite color but not one I use very often. Thank you , Sarah. Sometimes ya gotta play. And it makes me smile.

Wayward Fabric Club...

meets at Applebees at 11:30am on Tuesday, May 25th. These are the blocks I made for Kathy- she provided the fabric. Batiks, so you know I loved it.

I had an epiphanal moment... is that a word? Well it is now. I wandered out to the quilting room right after breakfast- my habit. Ready to finish another UFO. Guess what? I don't have any! Gasp! Sure sure, I have a lot of projects that I want to start, but none actually started. Totally not like me! I can't imagine how this happened. I know most of you would be jumping for joy, but really, where does one go from here? I have to use my brain and come up with something new. Ouch!- that might hurt. I do have one of Sandy's UFO's but I'm not counting that one as I am not certain I will ever finish it- nothing but inset seams. It is starting to resemble a ruffled bowl.

Now I do have lots of quilt tops in the larder- afraid to open that box. But that takes money to finish- backing and batting. I need to make a plan about buying a backing and a batting every payday. Maybe that would eventually get me out of the hole that I am in when it comes to the final finish. I love quilting... that's not the slowdown on finishing them. Sarah and I used to laugh and say that we needed a rich benefactor to support our addiction, er, habit, er, hobby. Man! I love to quilt!!

Think Spring!!!

I figured out(with Mom's help) how to post a picture- that will last til next time. Hrump. I finished the piecing on my Little Bits paper piecing pattern for Spring. Still need to quilt it- story of my life. It is pretty small- about 17"x something-or-other. That's a technical quilting term. I don't guess it would take too much to get it quilted with a little meander... we'll see. That's Mom talk for "maybe, but not real soon."

Had a great day today. Started a bit slow, as it was raining when I woke up and doesn't that just take a whole lot of caffeine to counteract? Three diet cokes later, I'm bee-bopping through the day. Finishing things- I had a T-shirt quilt for a client that needed quilting. Finished. Then there were the two blocks that needed to be sewn up for the Wayward Fabric club meeting next week. I don't usually put that kind of thing off- as I enjoy doing it and I don't like having things hanging over my head. Can't say why I waited to get to it... I'll post a picture soon... we'll see. Then I got the borders on this Little Bits project. All in all, a productive afternoon. Might go do some laundry as I am fearfully behind. Plenty of time in between loads to get some sewing in...we'll see.

It's the little things...

Forgot how to upload a picture on the newer computer. Tried for a while and then gave up. It's just a little thing. Like my brain, these days. I used to be able to remember things that take more than 2 steps. Little things really,

• I have a toilet paper dispenser! First time in 10 years. What joy fills my heart- when I need it, it's right where it should be- not a mile away on the other side of the whirlpool. Never have been able to figure out the culprit. But having the toilet paper where it should be... a very pleasant little thing.
• Had a couple little "lesions" removed this morning. One smack in the middle of my forehead, the other on my back. They were really quite small. Getting them off has made me such a happy camper- euphoric almost. On a body covered from head to foot with freckles and moles- what's the loss of a couple, I ask you? I did mention it was smack in the middle of my forehead, didn't I? Now I have a little round bandaid in it's place- Bekah thinks that might be embarrassing. Dad says I look the part of a major Asian religion... it's the little things.
• Sugar-free vanilla syrup. Who knew they could bottle the nectar of the gods? A scant teaspoon in my Coke Zero... Yummo. If Bekah is making it, then I get several liberal splashes because if a little bit is good- wouldn't a lot be gooder? Not so. A little bit is perfect.
• I get almost daily phone calls from my little nephew- I will continue to call him that even when he outgrows me- which will be in just a few short years, I'd guess. We chat for just a little bit- What was his blood sugar and what was mine(we get competitive) and are we changing insertion sets at the same time and can we snugger Grandmother into making us one of those nifty insulin pump belts that stay put? Just chatting about the little things in our life and glad that diabetes doesn't have to be a big thing all the time.
• Starlings. Isn't that a lovely name for a bird? But if you live in the country or on a farm you know what a nuisance such a small thing can be. They've built a nest in my roof and their babies are very vocal- unlike my little angels who never made a peep. (Revisionist history is such a wonderful thing.) But I haven't the heart to destroy them- they are God's creatures, afterall. So when the little things fly the coop I have a young man who is willing and able to board up their roost. Just a little piece of wood will bring peace and quiet once more.
• Been sewing on some "Little Bits" patterns- paper piecing. What fun is that? Right now I am making tulips from the Think Spring pattern. They are about the size of my thumb. That's pretty little. Using tiny little scraps of batik- of course.

Well, that's all the little news fit to print. Hope you're having a great week!