PFFFTTT....

that's the last of the steam escaping my weary body. Man, oh man, am I tired! I'm going to be a brat, today and just loaf. Ahhh, now doesn't that sound like a plan? Of course, Dh and 2 of the boys are off hunting, so they might bring me home a whole bunch of work- and I can't really wish otherwise. A freezer full of venison would set us up pretty for the winter ahead.

Aren't those birdhouses lovely? I love anything old and worn looking- which is a bit odd, perhaps, because I like anything shiny and modern, too. At any rate, the really wonderful birdhouse on the far right, my Papa made for me. It is made from an old tree that had a hole in it. Isn't that cool? I wish all of you guys could know him. He is the sweetest, dearest, most ingenious of men. And the one next to it that looks like an old corn crib- for you country folks that might know what that is- Dh Bill made for me for Xmas, years ago. As well as the tiny wren house next to it. The blue bird house on the top, my Uncle Carl made and I won at a family auction- woo-hoo! The other I picked up, somewhere. They sit, in the little cubby hole that Dh made above our coat closet in the living room. He drilled a hole through the bottom and put an electrical outlet in the closet so I could light it up. I think I like the fall leaves, best.

Well, I'm off to loaf. Hope everyone has a nice relaxing weekend- full of joy and thankfulness- 'cause, wow, don't they go hand-in-hand?!

Raise your hand if you're sure!

Bekah drew me this little picture of her hand. You know how children do. They lay their hand so carefully on a sheet of paper, and with tongue stuck out at just the right angle, they trace around each finger. Bekah then embellished the little hand as she tends to do. I am afraid that there is no help for it- she is part gypsy and plays the role well. DH's mother wears rings on every finger and earrings large enough to make Xmas tree ornaments from them in a lean year! And of course, the nails are pink. Her favorite color. I made a copy of her picture, cut out the hand, drew it onto the fabric, appliqued it down. Quilted it a bit. Embellished with metallic thread and beads. And now I find it difficult to part with. sigh. You see, we have a friend who is a school teacher and she has been wanting something made by me and I thought the little raised hand would be fun. Her birthday was Monday and the little wallhanging is still in the quilting room... Oh, I hope I'm not a bad person, but I am contemplating sending her a postcard. Ok, maybe a collection of postcards. This little hand is a simple piece and I could duplicate it... but I hate doing something twice. That would explain my annoyance with housework. What? The dishes need washed...again?! So Jennifer, if you're out there and you're reading this... I have come upon a solution. You can have it the next time you visit. Fair enough? In the meantime, I'll try to get that postcard in the mail!

Best Friends for 21 years...

...married for 19. September 21, 1987. Seems like a long, long time ago. I heard a preacher once speak of how Jesus learned obedience- and I wondered what he meant- as Jesus never disobeyed. Yes, he knew what obedience was...But he learned obedience- even death on a cross. Learned obedience to a whole different level- all the way to the breaking point and beyond. Marriage can be that way. Sure, you love them when you're saying, "I do"... But over the years, when you struggle together and suffer loss, sharing more than you thought you could ever bear... that's taking love to a whole other level. You learn love. Bill has been my very dearest friend through the best and the worst moments of my life. He's the life of every party and the rock everyone can lean on. And I thank God every night when I lay my head down on my pillow that I have been so blessed.

Contrast can be a good thing...

or it can make a decent picture impossible. I tried 4 different times to get a good picture of this quilt, but each time, it ended up blurry. I tried to encourage the boys to stand still, I got different boys to hold it, and I tried standing very still... Finally, I realized that it is just the contrasting fabric and the busy-ness of some of it- that keeps the camera guessing about where to rest. But it is interesting- especially for a black and white quilt. And even out of focus, I think you get the general idea. Tanya, from The Quilter's Toybox, made this quilt using Blank fabric and their pattern. It is very sharp. She is entering it into the guild challenge- the rules say it has to be black and white with one color (she's using copper.) I quilted it- White on white and black on black and a lot of mental conversations about keepin' it in the lines. You know, quilting that way is a lot like riding a bike. You see that ditch coming up and you think to yourself, "Self, stay out of that ditch. Don't go in that ditch. That ditch is bad...Ah man, why'd you go in the ditch!?!" It really works a lot better if you say to yourself, "Self, stay on the road. The road is great. The road is where you want to be...not in the ditch. Ah man..." And as silly as it sounds, I sweat up a storm when I'm concentrating that hard. No, it isn't strenuous, but the AC has got to come on when I'm concentrating on staying in the lines. My eyes and elbow are very tired! And that outer border is quilted by making lines running back and forth about 1/8 -1/4 inch apart, the width of the border. Back and forth. And the only way I know of doing this, without a big "ah man!" because I overlapped my lines or took too big of a gap, is to use my finger as a guide. I just run the hopping foot up against my fingernail-like I'm drawing with my nail. After the 500th pass, you start to notice a weird smell- that's your nail burning. Leaves a lovely groove- ah now, nothing as "lovely" as you handquilters have on your middle fingers! I thought it was funny how I got to quilt a loose and flowing quilt and then a pretty rigid one, right after.

I have a busy and full week, this week. I am feeling a serious urge to play- but duty calls. Baby boy's birthday celebration is tomorrow. That should be simple. Our anniversary is this week- I can put that off until next week. We're having company for dinner, Friday. House needs cleaning and food needs baking. Oh, and I'm quilting another quilt for the show. I'm intimidated by it- it isn't big, but... it's just needing some free-hand stuff that leaves ya all hangin' out in the wind- and for a show, no less. Of course, what do I care if I don't impress? I'm certainly not looking for more business, but I don't want to let anyone down, either. I just need to get a little bit cocky and say, "I can do this!" And if it doesn't work out... "Wahhhhh" that's me, whinin' like a big ole baby!

Psychodelic dude...

This quilt top was made by my cousin's 16y old son for his girl friend's birthday. (You have to know my cousin, Grant. He is adorable- with a 12" blonde afro. Completely natural. He had his driver's license picture taken in a tie-dyed shirt.) This quilt top is wholecloth- measuring 60x90". He tie-dyed it and I quilted it for him. I think it was such a cool idea. I am hoping I can talk him into making me a smaller version- maybe 45x45", which I could put a fun border on. Blogger is giving me grief, this afternoon. I had to go around the barn to get to the front door!! So there is a picture following this post of the backside of the quilt. I didn't have a lot of time to get it quilted- one afternoon, so I kept it simple. Hope he likes it.

Miss Scarlet in the sewing room with the quilting machine...

and Mom, before you start in again about me needing that nap, I must say that I did indeed take a nap. And it is perhaps owing to the nap that I was a bit foggy headed and thus injured my poor noggin.

First, proper respect must be shown to quilting machines. They are very powerful tools and if you are careless, you might end up sewing your finger to your quilt. While it is really fairly painless- I know this from experience- there is the risk of getting blood on the quilt. gasp! Until today, I had always considered quilting machines rather harmless when the power was shut off. Like any other appliance.

I was cleaning the dust out from under the frame when I decided that I needed a rag, instead of the broom. I went to stand up and hadn't realized that I had moved directly under the quilting machine carriage. I stood up with such force that I actually lifted the machine off it's track- it weighs about the same as a 50 pound bag of wheat. And that little, very sharp, edge on the carriage tore a hole in my scalp. It dazed me for just a minute and I dribbled blood all the way to the bathroom- with the children all crying behind me- they are so funny. My own eyes watered a bit. And now... I have a nuisance of a headache and I'm thinking... two naps? Perhaps.