Summer Heat...

Hasn't it been a hot summer? Good for my dad's tomatoes. I have had several tomato sandwiches a day for the past two weeks! Time to stop as the bloom has definitely faded... The little ones and I made salsa- does that get hotter as it sets in the jar? I thought I made a very mild batch but upon opening a jar...ouch. a tad hot. still yummy.

Took John to the free fair while all the other children were out of town. Child #5 sometimes falls in the middle and we had a great time with him. He and his Dad had a great time riding this particular ride- the Zipper. They enjoyed rocking the cage and would come off the ride dripping in sweat. We didn't stay too late at the fair- 90* at 9pm. shew. Stopped for a relaxing evening at McD's- great air conditioning.

I am making a sampler quilt from some of my stash. Need to use some of it up so that I can actually close the lids on my tubs! But I was at Sandy's, today. The last day of swimming in her pool. Anyway, that girl has some serious yardage! I have to tease her about it because we found the pattern she has been looking for- for a week- in the recipe cupboard! But hey, at least we found it! My sewing time has been spent on Bible flashcards. Almost done with a set. Already have a buyer.

Daniel- son #2- is coming home for the night. It was his birthday earlier this week. We'll be having an Apple Crisp to celebrate. Better get to it. Hope everyone is having a good week.

While the children are away...

the quilter will play. The children had a wonderful week at Grandmother and Grandfather's. I have been regaled with many a story of their time in the mountains and I am sure there will be many more stories to come. Abe is happy to be home. I think he missed his Mama. 6 years old and the baby of the house. Might need to do something about that. No, no more babies! How could you even go there? Just encourage the 6 year old to act thus. The girls seem happy to be home too, even if they do miss "the forest." And "the food." Grandmother is a better cook than I. And certainly a more prolific one.

I went to the Appleseed Quilt show in Ft. Wayne with Sandy and her friend Marsha and found some yummies. Sandy and I also hit a couple quilt shops on our way back through Ohio- it took us about 9 hours to make a 3 hour trip- had to stop and eat a couple times and then there were the quilt shops... you guys understand. So now my stash is enhanced with blues and earthtones. I need to get busy sewing because all of my tubs are overflowing. What a predicament.

I bought a little punch needle pattern and whipped up a tiny hen- think my loops are a tad long and that this isn't so much a hobby to which I could get addicted. And what's the point of having a hobby if I can't be addicted to it? Explains the whole quilting/sewing/crocheting tennis elbow thing. Lots of repetitive motion. The punch needle had that going for it, but it lacked room for...finesse. I bet John will enjoy it- I could always pass that hobby onto him. What's a mother for?

Funny thing...

How does a little band of velcro keep your entire arm from hurting? And how could I have tennis elbow when I haven't played tennis in 20 years? Nice to know why my arm has been hurting so much over the past month. Getting laundry out of the washer was almost impossible and even lifting my iced tea glass was uncomfortable. Sweet William was the one who thought of it- he has had it himself a time or two. Maybe I am crocheting too much. I certainly can't blame quilting as I have been doing very little of that. But I am certainly glad for the relief that a band of velcro affords- even if it is a tad scratchy.

Made some chocolate fried pies, this morning. Thought of my dear friend Donna. They weren't half bad even if I did use canned biscuits for the crust. The kids inhaled them and have made requests for another batch in the near future.

The little ones are getting ready for a grand adventure. Spending a week at Grandmother and Grandfather's. They have been packed for nearly a week- Abe packed his "Drifters" CD- so he can sing Stand By Me to grandmother. I don't know how we will get by without them, but it will be an adventure for us, also.

Simple...

A little simplicity can go a long way. I am usually the type that lives by the motto- "MORE IS MORE." But lately I have been down sizing and going with the "less is more" theory. I saw the "small change" quilt over at Julie's site- http://www.barnquilter.blogspot.com/ and I had this stack of little strips that I had mistakenly cut for a log cabin block. It always helps if you read the directions. Anyway, I had this stack of 2"x3.5" strips... made a cute wallhanging. Eva liked it so much she made a longer version for a table runner for a wedding present for her cousin. Wish I had gotten a picture of it, it was so sweet. Anyway, I was inspired by Keryn over in Australia www.artfulsister.blogspot.com to try to make a feather filler with no filler- no bouncing or curlycues- just feathers. Hers were amazing- mine are pretty pathetic by comparison- but one has to start somewhere. I about got it figured out as I was finishing Eva's! Still needs lots of work, but it was fun trying something new.

The table runner is made from my modern Asian fabrics. I fussy cut the center flowers, but just made all the blocks alike- in two colors- the orange and the aqua. I did a diagonal stripe in the quilting- not too regular. And it looks nice on the buffet.

Had a surprise visitor, yesterday...

My brother! David flew in during his trip home- to Georgia from Wisconsin. There is a little airstrip in the middle of a cornfield just a couple miles down the road. Of couse,everythig is in the middle of a cornfield in this part of the state. Including our home. It doesn't look too bad from a distance! It was a big thrill for all of us to get to see him flying overhead- "What's that noise?" He spent the night with us and we got to see him lift off and head on South. A very pleasant surprise.

A is for Alabama...

This is the first block in the 50 Fabulous Paper-Pieced Stars... next is Alaska. I had to do the Alabama star as I have a son and daughter there- blubbered just a bit. But ya know, I think I'd rather work on my Dear Jane blocks. Paper piecing is a bit tedious for me and I enjoy it on a smaller scale. These stars are 12"- you could small'in 'em down, but nah. I think they'll go to the back burner for a while and I'll pull out the DJ. I made this star with my hand dyed fabric. Always fun, but I am just not lovin' it- maybe it is the black. I might switch to navy. Maybe. I am in more of a cleaning mood and I reckon I better strike while the iron is hot as that rarely happens. House work over sewing? Well ya know, it must be bad! See ya on the flip side!

Cake done...

seems like a lot of weddings, lately... must be getting to be that age- where my nephews and nieces and sons and daughters of friends are falling in love and getting married. All my children are still too young... well, mostly. giggle. I know I'm too young!

This wedding cake I made for my neice Bethany and her beloved Travis. They are a lovely couple. The wedding will be a very simple one with just a punch and cake reception. I made an extra sheet cake- just in case. Wouldn't it be sad if we ran out of cake? And no sniggering about the orange flowers- the bride actually picked that color as an accent to her green. I think it a lovely combo- of course. The groom loves strawberry cake, so the top two layers are strawberry and the bottom two layers are yellow. I just used a boxed strawberry cake mix and added 1/2 cup of strawberry freezer jam to each mix. Yummo. Very moist. The yellow cakes I added 1/2 cup of mayonaise. The icing is buttercream/almond and my blood sugar says it's pretty tasty, too. Everything is ready and now we rest. Tomorrow is the big day.