Finally did it!!!

The last few months I have had trouble with the truck I drive. Fuel pump, water pump, flat tires, etc. My DH and I have went back and forth on whether to buy a new vehicle. It has been 4 years since we have had to make a car payment and really don't want to do that again. But the time finally came last week when the starter began to have problems. So to finish off 2007 with a bang, this is what we purchased this past week.



This is our new 2008 Dodge Caliber. I think I am going to like it, all except that payment each month. lol

Some things that have been going on!

It has been a while since I posted but I have a good excuse. I have been working so much!!! Actually between 60 and 70 hours a week. This is the first weekend I have had off since October and I really needed it. I was suppose to go with my DH to his family Christmas dinner tonight, but decided I just wanted to stay at home. It has been so long since I was able to just sit and relax at home. He didn't mind.

I have some really neat things to share (I think, anyway!).

I have been working so much that I didn't even decorate for the holidays. My son kept telling me I needed to put up a tree but I just didn't find time. So Christmas morning, when I came home from work, I was so surprised to find a tree sitting on my dining room table. I had to take a photo of it. My son is always coming up with something like this. He keeps me laughing! Don't you just love it! lol



Charlie Brown would have been proud of him!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I also received a wonderful gift from my Secret Sister in our Quilting In Indiana group. I really love the apron. I have been looking at patterns for aprons but just haven't had the time to make one. She must have had an inside connection with Santa on this gift. I love it!!!!


The wonderful apron-------------

Sharon, thank you so much for a wonderful gift!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hopefully tomorrow I can post more photos!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!

I just want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! May the Love of God be with you through out the holidays and the coming New Year!

Santa Arrived!!

My Secret Santa anyway! lol
I got a wonderful gift from my Secret Santa in the Quilting in Indiana Yahoo group. Joni Tracey sent me such an awesome gift! The FQ's are just spectacular! Thought I would take a photo of her gift and let everyone see (rather be jealous)!

The picture doesn't do the FQ's justice! They are absolutely gorgeous! What a wonderful Secret Santa I have this year!!!!!
Happy Holidays!

Round Robin Blocks

These are blocks that I did this week to add to a Round Robin quilt. The quilt is now heading back to the owner in Wisconsin. I hope she likes them! I would show you the rest of the blocks for the quilt but I don't think that would be right since they are other quilters work.
The patterns for these blocks are done by the Quilt Mavens.

Fabric Addiction

I will tell you I have a fabric addiction! No, I don't want any help with it! lol
The job I have leaves a lot of time at work that my co-worker and I don't have a lot to do. So we take in our sewing, knitting, cross stitch or whatever to work on. Melanie was a cross stitcher until recently. I taught her how to do fusible web applique the other night. She is totally addicted! lol
It is so wonderful when you can teach someone a new craft and they instantly become addicted. The night after I taught her how, she brought in fabric, fusible web and started her daughter a Sunbonnet Sue quilt. How awesome is that! She has even asked her husband for a new sewing machine for Christmas! Yes, I feel that I have done my job! lol
I decided a couple of months ago I needed to cut back on my spending for my hobby. I did really good until last Friday. Yes, I fell off the wagon! I purchased a Janome Jem Platinum 760. I love it! I take it to work with me. It is so light weight and does everything my Viking Lily does. This was my Christmas gift for the year. I bought it at Sharynn's in North Vernon, IN. The ladies that work there are so wonderful (Sharynn, Sue and Rose). Sharynn's is my favorite quilt shop by far. Not because of their huge fabric inventory but because the ladies are so great! If you ever have a chance to stop in there, tell them Rhonda sent you!

Some very interesting things!

I really have to tell you about some interesting things I have found out in the last few days.

The first is, my friend Debi has started her own blog. Debi does some awesome work in Altered Arts. Check out her blog. I am sure you will find some wonderful things!

The second interesting thing is the 2007 Angel Card project. This is a great way to give of yourself to someone in need at Christmas. It is all about sending cards to those that are in need of some extra cheer for the holidays. You can find out all about it and sign up to participate at The 2007 Angel Card Project Website.
Hope you will join me there!

With the holidays right around the corner, I have been rather busy finishing up some quilts for Christmas gifts. I have one with the binding almost finished, one needing the binding just sewn to the backing, and 3 more ready to quilt. I really need to get busy and get those done.

I also made a few Christmas cards over the weekend. It has been quite a while since I had done any rubber stamping.
I thought I would share a couple of my creations from the weekend. Hope you like them!





Have a great day!!!!!!!

What are you doing?

I am so far behind I can't see daylight any longer. lol

I started a part time job about a month ago working 12 hour shifts on Saturday and Sunday nights. So things have been a little crazy around here lately. Things I usually did those two days now get put off to another day.

I am trying really hard to get some quilting done on the frame. I have one loaded right now. Only about 5 more to go. Hopefully, they will be done by Christmas.

I want to start a new project so badly so I have come up with an excuse to do so. We are having a group sewing day on Saturday and I don't have a project I can take to work on. I think that is a good enough excuse!!!

Our Yahoo group gets together occasionally to have sewing days. These are in Indiana so if you are in the neighborhood think about joining us. We have also set up a Weekend Retreat at the Leavenworth Inn during March. I just made my reservations yesterday. This is our first year doing this and I think it will be so much fun. I just hope we have a good turn out!

Have a great week!

Where has time gone!

I didn't realize how long it had been since I posted to my blog. It is hard to realize it is November and Christmas is just around the corner. This year is quickly disappearing!
I finally have all my swaps caught up and ready to be mailed. I have one last set of Round Robin blocks to make when they get here. I have decided to try and quit signing up for so many swaps. The cost of buying fabric each time one comes is getting too much. Not that any swap takes that much fabric but rather going to the quilt shop and buying way too much while I am there. I guess I have no self-control! How many quilters do though? lol
I have so many projects that just need quilted. I need to start working on those and getting them finished as several of them are going to be Christmas gifts. I hope to get the frame loaded with one of those projects today.
It hasn't helped that I started working again. Just part time but that part time really eats into the sewing time. It seems like lately I have something that I have to do every day. Doctor appts, banking, groceries, etc. I am sure you know what that is like.
Have a great weekend!!!

Sweet Corn

I know. It isn't a good picture. I don't know if it is me or the camera. It seems like all my pics are a little on the blurry side. The camera is at least 6 years old so maybe it is time for a new digital.
Anyway, this is the October BOM for Pat Sloan's group. The block is called sweet corn. I thought it turned out pretty good. I know though, how can you tell from the blurry photo. lol

Swaps

This is a photo of 3 blocks I got done over the weekend. These are for a swap I am doing in Deb Karasik's Quilt Mavens Yahoo group. It took me most of the weekend to get these 3 done. The larger one is 12" and the two smaller ones are 6". I am really anxious to see my blocks that are being done for me. I asked for nothing but red, white and black.
I have one more set of blocks to do for this swap and I will be done. I am also expecting a row swap any day from Mary L. Once that row is done for that quilt I will be done with that swap.
I have a grid swap to add a block to tomorrow. I like to get my obligations done and out the door as soon as I possibly can.
I also signed up for a Signature Block swap in out Quilting In Indiana group. Don't let the name fool you, we are not all from Indiana. We welcome everyone to the group, and it is a great group! I started on my signature blocks last week at Moms. I decided to use her embroidery machine and do mine. I only got about half of them done so she is finishing them up for me. I still want to add some embellishment to them.

Spirals!

This is my version of Rolling Spirals from the Quilt Mavens book. I used a different layout. I have had the middle of the quilt done for quite a while. I just couldn't find a fabric that I thought would look good as a border. That is, not until yesterday. With some fussy cutting and mitered corners I was able to finally add borders to it. I think it turned out nicely! What do you think?

It has been a little while!

I just realized how long it had been since I posted to my blog. Shame on me for being so behind!
I have been so busy that things fall behind quickly.
We spent a few days in South Carolina at Fort Jackson. Jessica (DS's girlfriend) finally graduated from Basic Training. It was so great to see her! She left Indiana in July, so it has been a while.
Over 800 soldiers graduated that day. Jessica can really be proud of herself, I know we were.
While we were there, my wonderful niece Aimee and her precious little boy Zach, came to visit with us. Aimee brought me a wonderful selection of fat quarters from a quilt shop she lives near. Thank you Aimee!!!!!!!! They were great!
It was great spending some time with the two of them. Zach has grown so much! Quite a little guy!
I have managed to get a little sewing in since my last post. I have been working on a batik quilt from the book Stack a New Deck. I just have the borders left to add to it. Then maybe I can take a few pictures of it. That is if I remember to get some new batteries for the camera.

I know you are probably wondering what has happened to the scrap quilt I had been working on. Well, it kind of took a back seat to the batik one. The scrap quilt as well as the Coneflower wall quilt. I really need to get back to those and get them finished.

I had to go to Columbus yesterday so I thought I should use my 50% off coupon from Joann's while I was there. I have several quilts that just need quilted so I thought some batting would be appropriate for the coupon. Since they had a whole roll of the Warm and Natural, I just bought it. Now to get busy and get those quilts quilted.

Lots to do and not enough time in the day!

Wonderful Weekend

I had a great weekend! Most of it was a sewing weekend!
Friday evening I met with a few online friends at Sharynn's in North Vernon. The occasion was the monthly PMS (Pizza, Munchies and Sewing) evening. We had a lot of fun! I got started on a new quilt that evening. I don't see it being done in the real near future though. Just too much going on!
Saturday we held one of our Deputy Sewing days. Members of the Quilting In Indiana group get together to sew for the day at the church here in Deputy. I think we had 10 show up for the day. I had such a wonderful time with my friends!
Yesterday ended up being just a resting day! I did get some more sewing done. Went to church in the morning for a great Sermon.
I hope all of you had a great weekend!

Wall Quilt

I finished this wall quilt yesterday! I thought it turned out really cute. The pattern originally was for a table runner but by turning the blocks to go all one way it was easily made into a wall quilt.
The pattern came from the book Stacking a New Deck by Karla Alexander.
I think I will put this aside for a Christmas gift. Maybe make a pot holder to go with it.
Tonight I am going to PMS (Pizza, Munchies and Sewing) Friday at Sharynn's in North Vernon. A couple of the other women from our Yahoo group are going also. It will definitely be a fun night!
Tomorrow is our sewing day for the group. Occasionally we get together to sew, eat, etc. We always have a good time doing that!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Been Busy!

I have been so busy the last few days that I haven't had time to post. Not really much to post either.
Friday I had to take my son to Columbus to get his Birth Certificate. He lost his wallet and needed to replace his Driver's License. While there I had to stop at Hobby Lobby and Joann's. I didn't find a thing at Joann's but did get a quilting book from the clearance rack at Hobby Lobby. Also went to the Dollar Tree for some Scribble Pads for paper piecing paper. These are great for that purpose. At $1 for 70 sheets, a lot cheaper than paper piecing paper.
Saturday was my Step Son's 21st Birthday. A group of us went to Belterra to celebrate. Belterra is a gambling boat. No, I didn't win any money! I donated as usual. Between me and hubby, Belterra is $50 ahead. lol
Sunday, of course, was church. We have Fellowship Sunday every fourth Sunday of the month. Everyone brings in homebaked goodies and we eat after church. There was a really good pumpkin pie. It seems like forever since I had Pumpkin Pie. I took my famous Pecan rolls. One of those recipes that looks like you have slaved all day on them. Actually you use Pillsbury Crescent rolls.

I did start on a new project. The pattern is actually a table runner but I thought it would make a great wall quilt. I am hoping to finish assembling it today. Maybe I will have something to share with you tomorrow.

Have a great day!

What would you give up?

Last April I quit my job after having worked all of my life. I guess I really needed a break from working full time. I miss it now but don't regret quitting that job. At that time I knew I would have to cut back a lot on my spending. So I sat down one day and looked at all the bills to see what we could live without. I knew I wouldn't be able to live without buying more fabric. So I cancelled the movie channels that the kids thought they had to have. Called the phone company and got a different package for the DSL, phone and long distance. I knew that wouldn't be enough though. Then it hit me! The Coke, Sprite and Dr. Pepper would have to go. That would be quite a savings! Now, I know that if you know me I don't drink those. The kids do by the cases!

What did I give up for fabric? Nothing yet! But the kids are not happy campers! LOL

Rag Baby Quilt

I spent Sunday afternoon making a Rag Quilt for one of Greg's cousin's. Her baby is due October 5th but they expect her to go anytime. They know it will be a boy if all the tests are correct. Here is a not so good photo of the quilt. (My camera is just not what it used to be.)




These Rag Quilts are so easy and fun to make. No batting and no quilting! Made completely out of flannel (which makes it nice and cuddly!). If you ever need a quick simple gift this is the way to go.

Busy Weekend

Good Morning!!!
I am so ready for a quiet week.
My daughter had her birthday party Friday evening. 20 teenagers from age 16 to 18 invaded our home for 5 hours. I am surprised that I have a mind left to write this with. Times have definitely changed since I was that age.

I didn't get much sewing done this weekend. We ended up closing the pool on Saturday. That is an all day job that I was happy to do. The weather didn't cooperate much this year for keeping the pool warm enough to swim in. Some advice--Don't believe your kids when they say,"Mom, if we get a pool, we promise to take care of it. You won't have to!" I won't miss the weekly trips to the pool shop for chemicals or the cost of those chemicals. This year is the first year since we got the pool that we had an algae problem. I have friends that have said that also. $250 that month for chemicals. More advice--Don't buy a pool!
Can you tell I look forward to next summer? lol

Went shopping!

Yes, I did it again. I went to Crafttown Fabrics in Salem again. I love that place!
I went with a plan and the plan fell through. lol
I was just going to buy some batting and backing for a quilt. I did buy that plus some fat quarters (6), some patterns, a baby quilt kit and some thread. No, it wasn't as bad as last time!
The patterns I purchased were mostly applique. So, can I blame that on my friend Sandy!
We are going on a short trip to South Carolina next month so I had to have some patterns that would include handwork. I don't like being in a car for that long without something to do. What better way to travel 10 hours. I think that justifies it!
I think another think that justifies it is--it is an hour drive to get to Salem so I need to make the most of my gas costs. Good one, huh?
I am going to try and get the rest of the main section of the quilt finished today. Then I will start on the baby quilt. Greg's cousin is having a baby boy really soon so I picked up this rag quilt kit to make for her. I don't have baby fabrics or flannels in my stash so the kit is the way to go. The last three baby quilts I made were from kits. I don't know about you, but picking out fabrics for babies is hard for me to do. The rag quilts go together so fast and easy they are perfect for a baby gift.
That's it for today! Have a great day!

Autumn is here!

Several months ago, I finished piecing a quilt using patterns from Carol Doak's book, Sensational 9 Patch Stars. I am finally getting around to quilting it, so I thought I would post some pictures of the quilt on the frame.





Here is the quilt on the frame. The fabrics used were Thimbleberries Sugar House Collection.








This is the Janome 1600P sewing machine I use. It has the 9" throat that makes it easier to machine quilt with on a frame. One day I hope to own a machine with a larger throat.

Chilly!!!!!!!!!

I love the colors of Autumn!




It seems Autumn is creeping upon us here in Indiana. The low for last night was suppose to be 45 degrees. This morning the thermometer said it was 46 degrees. That was at 7 this morning. Soon it will be time for the Oktoberfest in Seymour, Old Court Days in Madison and Old Settlers Days in Salem. I used to go to a lot of the fall festivals in the area. You can always find so many interesting things!



The photos on aren't from my area but photos I found on the web. The colors are so wonderful! Can you imagine a quilt done in the colors of Autumn?

Grid Swap Starter Block

I recently signed up for a Grid Swap in a Yahoo Group called Quilters In Indiana. The starter block has to be mailed out by the end of the month, so I thought I would get a head start on it.
Yesterday, I sat down and decided on the pattern for the starter block that I wanted to do. The pattern came from a website that I frequent and find a lot of great patterns. The website is Angie's Bits 'n Pieces
The fabric is a collection from Maywood Studios called Willowberry Lane.
The block was so easy to do using fusible web applique. I think it turned out really well.
What do you think?

Fat Quarter Winner

I had 15 comments on my blog for the Fat Quarter Giveaway. I appreciate each and every one of them. Thank you so much!

Now for the winner!!!

The Winner of the Fat Quarter is Tamara (Quilting n Stuff)!
Please email me your snail mail address and I will put that in the mail to you.

Thank you for your comments!

Pie Block

Pat Sloan has shared a great block pattern with us for the month of September. This block will go with the Jars and Farmer's Market blocks. This is my version of the pie block. It is so great when designers share their hard work with us. Thank you Pat!

Jill and her 1st Paper Pieced Block

This is my daughter Jill on her first day of school this year. She is a junior at Madison Consolidated High School.

She has been doing a little bit of sewing with me but not much. Since school has started she hasn't done any! Too much homework! She loves school and will not miss a day unless she is absolutely, terribly sick.










This is her first quilting block and also her
first paper pieced block. I think she did an
excellent job on it. She even chose her own fabrics for it.










Don't forget to leave a comment to be entered in the drawing for a fat quarter. The drawing was suppose to be tomorrow but since I will be out of town, I will post the winner on Friday.

Thanks for reading my blog!

More Round Robin Blocks

I thought I would share with you the blocks that I made for the same Round Robin that the previous spikey blocks were made for. These will be going to Becky in Tennessee. The other ones were going to Stevie in Wisconsin.




Don't forget to comment to be included in the drawing for the Fat Quarter!

Round Robin Blocks

These are blocks I did for a Round Robin in a Yahoo group I belong to. I thought I would share with you. The block designs are by Deb Karasik and Janet Mednick of Quilt Mavens fame. I love their spikey blocks.

Yard Sale Finds

My son, Mick, and I stopped at a few yard sales on Wednesday. This is a machine I found at our first stop.

It is a Kenmore Model 117-552. From what little research I have had time to do, these were made in the 1930's. I haven't plugged it in yet to see if it works or not. I thought I would clean it up first and have DH oil and lube it well. I had never seen one like it before.

The cabinet is in really rough shape but maybe I can get my woodworker DB to take a look at it.


I think it was an interesting find. Maybe not even worth the $10 I paid. But I really like the look of this machine. It is so different than any antique machine I have seen.



Mick thought we needed to go back to town yesterday so he could purchase a Zenith radio he had seen at one of the yard sales. So off we went again. lol


After we had gotten to town he decided against the purchase of the radio.

I guess I should tell you that on Labor Day weekend there is a huge Antique Flea Market in Vernon. Vernon is about 18 miles from us. There are also yard sales at almost every house on the stretch of highway between North Vernon and Vernon. Some of these yard sales were already open on Wednesday.

We were at the last yard sale that we were going to yesterday. I had decided to wait in the truck. Mick looks around quite a while. The owners had stuff completely around their house. I wait and I wait and I was beginning to think he was buying everything they had. Then I hear him, "Mom! Mom!". And he is waving to me to come up there where he is at. I get up there and he said, " I bought you that for $5!" This is what he bought me---







I looked at it and thought what do I need with a sewing machine cabinet with no drawers and in awful shape.











Then I took the lid off of it! There was a New Home Treadle sewing machine under that lid. I knew I had raised him right! lol

I can't wait to get this one cleaned up! All the parts still move and the shuttle and bobbin are still in the machine. It is missing a belt but I have already checked out some websites where you can purchase those.
I will have to check with my woodworking DB and see what he can do with the cabinet.

I won't be able to go with Mick to the huge Vernon Antique Flea Market on Monday, but I think I have him trained to look for those old sewing machines now. Maybe he will find me that Singer Featherweight I desperately want.

Now, for my last find! No, not another machine but fabric this time. There is a Quilt Shop in Madison called L & L Yard Goods. I go there every so often. I usually go to Sharynn's in North Vernon since that is where I go to get groceries and do the banking. But my Mom had asked me to pick up a certain fabric at L&L for her so I had to go. L&L has some awesome Stash Builder bags.



These are gallon size bags loaded with fabric for $6 each. I had to buy two. lol I opened one bag up and pulled out a 1 1/2 yard cut of fabric. That alone was worth the $6. I might share with my Mom since she is the reason I went to begin with.




Now you must understand why I didn't have time to post yesterday. All of this plus cutting and hanging tobacco. I am hoping I can get some sewing done today but I don't know how much. I have to go to North Vernon to do the banking and get groceries. I am sure there will be even more yard sales today. I better leave Mick at home so I don't spend all day in town. lol

Don't forget to leave a comment so you can have your name in the drawing for the Fat Quarter (see a previous post about that)!

Have a great Labor Day Weekend!

Scrappy Quilt

I haven't had time to work on my scrappy quilt the past few days. I have been working on some swaps that I wanted to get done.

I took a picture of one of the scrappy blocks. They aren't totally scrappy but I really like the pattern.

The block is an 8" block. I have 21 of the 72 needed done and ready for sashing. The sashing is a pieced sashing. I am thinking this quilt is going to take a while yet. I do have all the sections of the blocks completed, I just need to sew them together. 288 of the nine patches and 288 of the paper pieced section.

Don't forget to leave a comment to be in the drawing for the FQ (see previous post)!

Fat Quarter Giveaway

I have been having so much fun with my blog, so I decided to do a little giveaway! Here are the rules:

Post a comment to my blog between now and September 5th letting me know you are out there and reading. It is nice to know someone is reading. lol
On September 6th, I will draw a name from the list of comments for the winner of a Fat Quarter.
Limit one comment per day.

Good Luck! I am looking forward to seeing a lot of comments! Be sure and tell all your quilty friends!

Have a great day!

What a weekend!

Good Morning! It is a beautiful Monday morning here in Indiana. After spending the weekend in the field cutting tobacco, in the barn hanging it and mowing the yard, I am ready for a day of sewing.

I have put the scrappy quilt aside for a little while. I need to get my coneflower wall quilt finished. So I have started quilting it. I will probably be putting it aside in the next day or so also though.

I am participating in a Round Robin in one of the Yahoo groups I belong to. I have a package of blocks coming to me to add to this week. I like to get swaps done as soon as they get here. So I always stop what I am working on for myself and get those done asap.

If you aren't familiar with a Round Robin, I will fill you in on the details.

Everyone that is participating makes starter blocks. Everyone sends their blocks on to another participant and they add more blocks. Once they add their blocks they send on to the next person. And so on. Here is a photo of my starter blocks.

I choose black, white and red for the colors in my quilt. Each person adds 2-6" blocks and 1-12"block. We don't sew them to the starter blocks. I will get to arrange all the blocks I receive into a design I like then sew them together. The block designs are courtesy of Janet Mednick and Deb Karasik. Janet and Deb are the Quilt Mavens and have a great book.

Check it out if you get the chance.

Well, I am off to the sewing machine! Have a great day!

Have you ever.......

cut tobacco in 100 degree heat? If you ever get offered the chance, turn them down and run, run, run. I have spent the last two afternoons doing that so I speak from experience. I have the blisters on my hands, bruises on my body and sore muscles to prove it. lol
I think this is going to be the last year we raise tobacco. It has been a rough one considering the extreme heat and dry conditions. Just a few miles away, farmers have lost their entire crops to hail damage. That was just last week. We were lucky and didn't get the size of hail they did but it was the first rain we received in 2 weeks.
My son is helping cut for his first time. Not that he wanted to but actually to pay off his riding lawn mower that he purchased used from us. I think he wishes now that he had just paid for it instead. I guess he thought he was taking the easy way out.

I did get some more of my scrappy quilt done yesterday. There are going to be 72-8" blocks. Each block contains 4-3" nine patches in the corners, 4 paper pieced sections and a square for the middle. After the 72 blocks are done then there is a sashing strip that includes paper piecing. I may put this project aside to work on something else for a little while. Since I tried out the fusible applique I have gotten hooked on that. I found some free patterns on the internet that I would like to try. The great thing about this fusible web applique is how fast it is. So if I put my current project aside to do one it won't be for long.
I don't like having unfinished projects laying around. Once I start piecing a top I like to finish before I go on to something else. Notice I said piecing. I have lots of tops that need to be quilted but to me that isn't the fun part. So soon I will have to stop piecing and just sit down and quilt everything I have ready.
I actually loaded a quilt into my machine quilting frame a few weeks ago. I never started quilting it, just loaded it. I made a start! lol I have 3 bed quilts and 2 wall quilts that I need to get quilted. Maybe I will do that after I finish my current piecing project.
That is it for today. See you tomorrow!

My Sewing Room

When I got home from my sewing day on Saturday, I decided not to put things back until I cleaned up my sewing room. That is always a big job.
Since it was cleaner than usual I thought I would take some pictures to share.







I have another room with my quilting machine and frame in it. I will have to take pictures of it at another time. It isn't a pretty site right now.







Well, back to that scrappy quilt. I don't know if I will ever get that done.

Have a great day!

First Day of School

Today is Jill's first day back in school. It is hard to believe that she is a junior in High School this year. She doesn't cry anymore on the first day of school like she did in elementary school. The first day of school then were really hard on us both. She loves school and looks forward to it every year.
We went to register last week and get her schedule for this year. They had mistakenly put her in a class called Home/Interior Design. I knew as soon as I seen that we would be in the counselors office changing that. That is definitely not a class she would sign up for. We found out they had put her in that class because none of her choices were available. They could have at least looked at her previous classes and realized that they would have to change that. You don't go from Pre-Calculus, Physics, etc. to Home/Interior Design. She ended up taking German I &2 instead. I hope she can handle that as she is already taking French 3 & 4 this year. She had really wanted to take Entymology. She is definitely heading toward College. Enough of that subject though.

I did get a little sewing done yesterday. I worked some more on the paper pieced sections of the scrappy quilt I am doing. Jill started 3 more paper pieced blocks to go with the one she did Saturday. I have the whole day to myself so I am sure I can get some sewing done. Maybe I can get the yard mowed also.

Have a wonderful day!!!

Farmer's Market Block

I finished it!! I didn't think I was ever going to get done blanket stitching the letters though. I think it will go nicely with the Jammy (spice) jar block I did.
These are great blocks for beginners. No need to worry about that 1/4" seam on these. The hardest part was doing the blanket stitch by machine. I might have to try doing one by hand.
These are a Block of the Month, so I am curious as to what next month will bring.
I will have to go back to my scrappy quilt I had started. It is definitely going to take me a while to get it done.

New Sewing Partner?

My Mom had a sewing day at her home on Saturday. We had a few of our quilty friends together for a great day. It's always a great day when you spend the day with good friends.
My daughter, Jill, decided to join us also, which was a big surprise to me. Jill is going to be 17 years old in a few weeks and going with Mom is just not one of her things. Plus she has never made a quilt block in all her life. Yes, now you really understand my surprise. lol
We borrowed Jessica's sewing machine for the day and off we went. Jill choose a paper piecing pattern to learn. She did a great job for about 2 hours. That was more than I figured she would last. Then she was off to visit a friend for the rest of the afternoon. She did get 2 of the 4 sections done. What more could I ask for.
Yesterday was the big surprise though. She joined me in my sewing room to finish her other 2 sections. No, I didn't faint! She now just has to sew her 4 sections together.
Here is the really big surprise though. I decided I wanted to do a couple of blocks from Pat Sloan's website. Pat has some very cute fusible web applique patterns on her site. My friend Sandy C. passed this information on to me. www.QuiltersHome.com
The big shocker was that Jill wanted to do one of Pat's blocks also! No, I still didn't faint.
We both did the Jammy Jars block together. I hope you like them as much as I did. Jill did a fantastic job on her 2nd quilt block ever. Do you think I might have a new sewing partner?


Jill's Jammy Jars






I choose to do spices instead of Jam. I didn't really need the sweets.





I am hoping I get my tomato block done later today. Until next time!

New Adventure in Quilting

Saturday, my mom had a small sewing day at her house about 40 minutes from me. I invited a few of my friends also. My daughter, Jill (3 weeks from being 17 years old), decided she would go also. Jill has never pieced a quilt block in all her life so I figured her day of sewing wouldn't last long. I took the time to teach her how to paper piece. She started with a simple block that I printed from one of my Carol Doak CD's. I was very surprised at how great she did but it didn't last long. About 2 hours after we started, she decided to call a friend and go to their house for the rest of the day. I figured that was the last of her piecing. I was wrong!
Sunday afternoon Jill joined me in my sewing room to finish her block. How kewl is that? She finished the four sections of her paper pieced block but has to sew them together yet.
I was getting ready to do a fusible web applique block from Pat Sloan's website. Two actually, July and August blocks for the Farmer's Market quilt. Jill decided she wanted to do one also. So we both did the Jammy Jars block together. I really like the way they came out. Jill's turned out great and I am so proud of her. I don't know if she will do another one or not. lol

Welcome to Patches and Pieces!

I have finally broke down and went with the blogger craze! I hope it doesn't drive me crazy! (oops! I am already there) I hope I can come up with plenty to say and share. Please stop back often!

Rhonda