Crawdad!

This is not the crawdad I saw, I pulled this picture off the internet somewhere.  But the one I saw was every bit of 8" long!  It was a big dude!  They are digging some kind of trench out behind my office building and of course I had to go be nosy and look in the hole.  And there was Mr. Crawdad!  Huge sucker!  I took a picture, but he was covered in mud and it was hard to tell what he was in the pic.

I remember going out to a farmer's pond with my Great Grandpa and seining for crawdads to use for bait before we went fishing.  That's been a long time ago...

For Sale

Well, this quilt started out being for sale in my Etsy shop, however it wasn't getting any views at all.  I'm not really good at all this technology stuff, so I'm sure it was something I did or didn't do.  Anyway, I took it off Etsy and put it on Ebay (do they all have to start with vowels?).  I put a minimum bid of $200 on it.  I have over $100 in materials in this quilt, so that number seems more than fair.  I would like to get over $300.  We shall see what happens!

Strips Ready To Sew

Spent an hour upstairs last night cutting strips for Johnathon's quilt.  I have all the strips cut and even started sewing some of them into sets.  I think this quilt is going to go together quickly!

His birthday is in December, so I'm thinking he will either get it for a birthday present or for Christmas.  Not sure yet.

Bought enough extra material that I can make a couple pillowcases to match for him.

More Thrifty Finds!

Last week our son called and asked us to bring the pick up truck to the thrift store.  He had found an entertainment center he wanted and it wouldn't fit in his car.  While the guys were loading it, I browsed around and found this little baby.  Isn't she cute!  I would say she is a 15-91 clone because she looks a lot like my little Polly.  She was only $9.99!  I did not purchase her, but was sorely tempted...  Oh so tempted...  Still am.  Need to stay OUT of the thrift store until she is gone.  haha!

Spiderweb

Can you see this perfect spiderweb on my car mirror?  It caught the dew and sunshine just right.  I think that's the spider to the right of the web, but not sure.  That was on my mirror yesterday when I pulled away from the house in the morning.

It made me think of that spiderweb block pattern I made last year.  It was pretty but a lot of work.

New Bike!

I have a new bike!  Started riding it right away.  Realized I had muscles in places I didn't think had muscles...  Ouch!  But I'm going to keep riding. 

When I was young, my first 'big girl bike' was purple.  It was dark purple and I loved that bike.  This one is light purple, which was as close as I could get.  It's an old fashioned, one speed bike.  With a coaster brake.  And big tires.  I.  Love.  It.

Blocks

Block one of two that I will be making for Johnathon's quilt.  This one has the gold in the corners and the other one will have green in the corners.  Same block style.  Going to make 48 blocks total.  The blocks are 10" finished.

Satruday Purchases

Saturday morning I took a ride up to Springfield to the Joann store.  Bought these fabrics to make a quilt for Johnathon for Christmas.  When asked what his favorite color is, I get the answer "camo".  Well, I could not bring myself to work with camo colors, so this was the closest I could get.

Friday Shopping

Friday we took a trip down to Nashville.  Nashville, IL!  There's an old time dime store there that happens to have a fabric section.  I purchased this backing to go with the second Jimmy John top. 

Nashville was having it's Fall Festival, so we took a walk around and looked at the booths.  It was a nice little party in the town.

After that we went to a town called Addieville and ate at a bar and grill.  I had a bluegill sandwich that was out of this world!

Very nice way to spend a Friday!

Having a Good Time

Ev and I have been enjoying our week off, with the exception of plumbing issues! 

Monday we went to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield.  We spent four hours in there and didn't even realize we had been there that long!  It's a very nice place.

Tuesday we did some work around the yard and then went to dinner at one of Ev's favorite restuarants.

Yesterday we went to Cahokia Mounds, the Indian site.  That was very interesting and we enjoyed it also. 

We plan to return to both the Museum and Mounds soon.  There is a lot of of outside hiking to do at the Mounds and that will be easier to do in the Fall.

Today we are just going to take it easy and get some things done around home.  We may take a ride to see some antique cars.

Quilt for sale!

I finished the first Jimmy John quilt made from the pattern on Jo's Country Junction!  We took it outside to photograph.  If anyone is interested in purchasing it, please contact me via the comments section or email.  The quilt measures 76"x90" and will fit a full size bed.

Vacation

Ev and I are on vacation this week.  Just staying home and doing little day trips.

Binding Choices

Today I cut binding strips for the Jimmy John quilt and sewed them end to end.  I got a little sidetracked and pulled out the binding foot for the Kenmore.  Got a little involved in it and didn't start sewing the binding to the quilt.  Maybe tomorrow...

And I never did figure out how to use the binding foot.  Watched a you tube video on how to use it, so maybe I'll try again.

Clearance Items

I love clearance items.  Today I went over to Wal Mart and found some of the school stuff on clearance.  I picked up these pencil boxes.

They are about 8" long and 3" wide.  I thought they would be really good for bobbins and sewing notions and accessories.

The sign on the clearance cart said they were 25 cents so I grabbed 4.  When I got to the checkout, they rang up as ten cents!  I asked the clerk to wait since there was no one behind me and the rack was really close, while I ran back and picked up 6 more.

Then I called my friends to see who wanted some.  And after I got all the replies, I just went back and bought all they had left!  All told, I came home with 26 of them!  16 of them are spoken for, so that's not a big deal.

Wednesday

Not much to write about today, either.  Sorry I have been so boring lately, just haven't done much in the way of sewing.  Although, this morning I did go upstairs and repair the binding edge on a little jacket.  Getting to be that time of year when that jacket might be needed, and since it wasn't even mine, I thought it was time it got fixed!

Tuesday

Not much going on this Tuesday.  Received word that a lifelong friend and neighbor passed away over the weekend yesterday.  Took food to the house of the family and to his sister's house last night.  Between baking and visiting, there was no time for sewing.  Plus I was mentally drained.  The wake is tomorrow and the funeral is Wednesday.  Plan to attend both.  He would have celebrated his 80th birthday yesterday.  Kinda sad.

Also received word that a friend and coworker from years ago has taken a turn for the worse and has been put into a facility for alzheimer's.  Breaks my heart because she was so sweet and loved life and her independence.

Sorry if this post was depressing.  Needed to get it out of my head.

Back In The Groove

Seems like I am back into my quilting groove lately.  Don't want to jinx it, but having a good time doing lots of quilting on Gemma these past few weeks.  Next quilt to go on will be the blue nursing home quilt.  I found out that the total needed for the nursing homes this year is only five quilts!  Big decline from recent years, however, that number can change at any minute.  These are given to members of our church who are in the nursing home, so you know how that goes.

Need to purchase a wide backing for the second Jimmy John top.  Since I want to sell them both, it would probably be a good idea to have them both up for sale at the same time.  There may be a customer out there who wants two for gifts.

I'm thinking that when I offer them for sale, I will also offer to create a home made label for them, should the customer want it.

Quilting Done For Jimmy John Quilt

I started and finished the quilting on the first Jimmy John quilt this weekend!  Really happy with the way it turned out.

It's hard to discern in this photo, but there is a dark border all around it, about 4" wide.  I'm thinking of using a medium purple for the binding if I have it.

Follow Me

I have had a couple people ask how to "follow" me.  I am not extremely tech savvy, but I believe you go to the very bottom of my page and click where it says "subscribe to posts".  Hope this helps! 

Hope everyone is having a nice relaxing Sunday.

A Find

This oldie but goodie was at the thrift store today.  I do like the old Kenmore machines but this gal didn't join the herd.  Nice to look at though.

Slowing Down

Sometimes it really is nice to just take a step back and slow things down.  Sometimes I am in such a hurry to get from point A to point B I miss a lot of things in between.

Today after lunch I took a short walk.  It was too hot to be out very long (at least for me), but during my walk I saw a toad jumping around in a ditch.  That's something I wouldn't have seen if I were in the car.  I also had the benefit of smelling fresh cut grass from the side of the road where they were mowing.  Yes, I would have smelled that from the car, but it would have been very brief.  While walking I enjoyed it for several minutes.

I'm hoping the weather cools off soon because I really would like to take more walks.  They are not only good for my body, but I think they are good for my mind too.

Hope everyone is having a great day!

Day Off

Yesterday I had the day off from work.  The morning had commitments, but the rest of the day was supposed to be mine.  Here's what I had ready to go on Gemma:

That's the back and top for one of the nursing home quilts.  Well, it ended up being folded back up and set aside.

Since I was off work, I was able to go to the quilt shop one town over and purchase an extra wide backing for one of the Jimmy John tops.  So that's what ended up going on the frame.

I think that I will just quilt a simple loopy loop pattern on it.  I didn't get that far because housework took over.  Four loads of laundry, grocery shopping, making dinner, etc. all took over the day and by the time I was done, all I wanted to do was sit down and relax.

I think I need a day off to recover from my day off!

Labor Day Accomplishment

I decided to load another nursing home quilt on Gemma yesterday.  I had thought I would just get it loaded and ready, but once I had it that far, I thought, why not do something different?  I've been watching videos for different quilting designs and this one gal does a lot of marking with chalk.

The pattern on this top lent itself to become a good candidate for grid quilting.  I marked out squares the same size as the sqaures in the strips, using different chalk methods.  I used a chalk wheel for a bit, then switched to regular old pieces of school chalk, which worked a little better, but made a thicker line.  In this scenario, a larger line was okay, but if I were doing fine work, I would have preferred a thinner line.

After marking the grid, I started making clamshell shapes.  I didn't mark a center for the arc to hit, but I think I did okay.

And, believe it or not, I completed the quilting all in one pop!  Start to finish, including loading the quilt on Gemma and trimming it when complete, it took me 2-1/2 hours.  The quilt is approximately 60"x60".

The quilting went very quickly and I'm pleased with the look.

I even like the way it looks on the back side.  Tonight I hope to have enough energy to load up another nursing home quilt when I get home from work.  Moving right along!  Whee!

Everything Finds A Home

Here's the back of the red four patch quilt.  See that fabric with the ladies swimming?  I have no idea where I got that fabric, but I'm glad I was able to use it, finally!  Pieced it together with the big flowers to make it big enough. 

Sunday's Quilting

Yesterday I finished quilting the red four patch strip quilt for the nursing home. I did a swirly, feathery design on it.  Once I started quilting it, I realized it was not going to go quickly, but I was committed to continuing with the design.  It looks nice, so I'm happy. 

We went out to a neighboring town on the motorcycle during the afternoon Sunday.  They were having their annual mulligan supper.  It was good.  I don't think anyone will ever make mulligan like my great grandma did though.  It was the best.

Movie Night

Ev and I went to see a movie tonight.  We saw "No Escape".  It was a suspense filled movie, but not much of a plot.  It was nice to get out.  We had a free movie pass, which made the entire evening less expensive.  In fact, the total of the movie ticket, snacks, and Wendy's afterward all was $17!  Not bad for a night out.

Hexi's...Maybe....

I am thinking of making a few coasters out of hexagons.  Not a full quilt, just a small project.

I printed off a couple pages of 2" hexagons on card stock and cut them out.  I may decide I want to do more, but sometimes I have the attention span of a tse tse fly, so we shall see...

Working Toward The Weekend...

Seems like that's what I am doing this week.  Just marking time until the long weekend.

The other night I had this for dinner.  It's two corn tortillas that I heated in the skillet with no oil.  I put a tiny bit of shredded cheese on them to melt, along with some season salt.  Then I loaded them up with cucumbers, tomatoes, salsa, and fat free sour cream.  Also had some mini peppers to go with them.  It was a good and filling dinner and good for me, too!

I took Addy for a walk this morning before work.  I forgot to put the right collar on her, and she just about pulled my arm off.  If that wasn't enough, when I walk, sometimes there is loose gravel and she has actually pulled me off my feet before.  So we only walked for 10 minutes and came back home.

Star Sewing

After dinner at Tilley's last night, it was still early enough in the evening that I had some energy to go upstairs and sew.  It was pretty warm up there, so I only stayed about 40 minutes.  I did get some more 3.5" squares of background material cut and managed to get one star sewn.  So fun!

Not that this is any special picture or anything, but I was driving home from work last night and snapped this pic.  It's the road coming into town from the 'country'.  Both sides of the road are walled with corn in the fields.  This is the last turn in the road before you see town and homes.  It's a relaxing drive home, usually, unless I get stuck behind a farm implement.

Dragonfly

Went to Johanna's during my lunch hour just for a bit.  Saw this dragonfly on one of the tree saplings!  I've always liked dragonfly's - when they aren't buzzing near me that is.

Nick and I are going to Tilley's for supper tonight.  Hoping they have their portabella mushroom sandwich.  Got a taste for it.

No sewing tonight.  Not yet anyway.  May do some when I get home from supper.