Super busy with wedding stuff and Swagbucks link

2 weddings within 3 weeks of each other!  Wow, this is nuts.  I have been pulling my hair out trying to keep organized about who I have called for who's wedding.  Both kids having ceremonies within three weeks of each other is madness.  But once it's done, it is done!  I hope to get more into the blog again then.

In the meantime, there is a website I have found that you can earn points and get free gift cards to Amazon and Pay Pal, among other places.  It's called Swagbucks.  Please take a look at it and sign up if you are interested through the following link.  I get points if you do!

http://www.swagbucks.com/p/register?rb=38409824

Thanks for being patient and waiting for me to have time to post on the blog again.  I am still alive and kicking.  Just busy, busy, busy!  Now, how much beer do we need for Nick's wedding?  Oh and did the minister call back for Johanna's?  What about the caterer?  And .......  sigh!

Yesterday

Yesterday we ended up going to see the progress on Johanna and Ben's house.  It's really coming along nicely.  They have been putting walls up inside and staining the wood.

After the grand tour, we all went out for pizza.  When I got home I planted the last few flowers for outside.  Taking a break from that for a while!

Miscellaneous update

Have been busy at home and at work this month.  Not much sewing, but I have painted a lot of pots for flowers.  Have planted a lot of flowers so my front yard is full of color.  Down to the last couple of pots for outside now, so that project is slowing down.  I do have some small pots to paint whenever I want to.  They can be filled with almost anything.  I'm thinking about some tiny succulents for them.

We have taken the boat out a couple times and really enjoyed it.  I think we are going to have a lot of fun on it this summer.  Still a possibility of Ev going back to second shift at some point, but hopefully it doesn't happen, and if it does, let's hope boating season is done.

I've been a bad Blogger

Sorry that I haven't kept up with the blog like I had in the past.  We have been busy at home in the evenings and on the weekends.  I haven't gotten any sewing done since getting home from Paducah, and to be honest, didn't do much before I left for Paducah!  My new passion seems to be painting on flower pots and planting flowers.

I do have to get busy on Nick and Olivia's wedding quilt.  Their wedding is in August and all I have done is pick out fabrics and a pattern so far.

We did end up with a new purchase.  Well, not really new, but new to us.  We bought a boat!  It's a 24' pontoon boat with a 115hp engine.  It's a 1999 model, but was kept in pristine condition.  Ev is over the moon about it.  We have not gotten it out on the water yet.  Just picked it up over the weekend.

The gentleman that we bought it from is a neighbor of Ben and Johanna's.  Nice guy.  His wife passed away and he is selling a few things.  We were very fortunate to get it at a great price.

Happy pots

30 Years Ago

Today is my and my hubby's wedding anniversary.  We have been married for 30 years!  Woohoo!  I am one very blessed woman.

Got back from Paducah Saturday afternoon.  Luckily, we missed most of the storms and flooding.  Got home before the worst of it hit.

The trip was fantastic, again.  Loved every minute of it.  Mary, Marla, Sandy and I got down there Wednesday afternoon.  We hit the ground running.  Went to Hancock's of Paducah right away.  Bought lots of goodies!  I picked up a few layer cakes that were in the back room.  I have a cool pattern that I like that uses a layer cake and I would like to make more of that pattern.

After our initial shopping spree we went to dinner at Rafferty's.  I had an excellent steak and salad.  On the way back to the hotel in Metropolis, IL the weather was a bit dicey.  Had quite a rain storm with the wind blowing quite a bit.  We just missed getting soaked by it, as we were seated on the patio.  Had a good laugh over that.

Thursday we started out at the convention center and moved our way through to the pavilion.  We also hit a couple of small shops outside of the actual show, that turned out to be pretty cool.  I saw Dusty Farrel again and this time I bought a set of his longarm rulers.  Really excited about trying them.

Thursday night we went to a community theater in Paducah and saw a play called "Exit Laughing".  Really cute and comfortable atmosphere.

Friday was more shopping and eating.  All in all, another satisfying trip to the show!

One more week

One more week til we go to Paducah!  I'm ready mentally, even if I'm not all packed.  Looks like it will be Mary, Marla, Sandy and I.  Look out world, here we come!  haha.

Haven't been sewing much.  Have planted a lot of outside flowers.  Will put some pics up soon.

Sorry I haven't kept up with the blog this month.  Just taking a break.  Will get back to regular posts soon.  Hang in there!  :)

Sandy's owl quilt

At least someone is quilting!  Sandy made the prettiest quilt with owls on it out of flannel and minkee.  So soft and cuddly!

Busy busy busy

I have been pretty busy doing some projects that I cannot share on the blog just yet.  Be patient!  I will post pictures as soon as I can.

Some sewing was done

Still working on the Friendship Star Blocks for the Paducah Swap.  They are coming along nicely.  I should have them done in plenty of time, especially since we scaled back the number to 48.  Whew!

Spent some time upstairs over the weekend, sewing and cleaning.  Amazing what a difference vacuming up there can make!

Catching up

I know it has been a little while since I posted anything.  I have been doing some sewing here and there, just not as much as I had been.  Kind of in one of my little slumps, but I know I will be sewing more soon.  Just the way I roll.

I have been making friendship star blocks for the Paducah swap.  We cut back on the amount we are making to 48 blocks.  I have the pieces all cut out and the half square triangle blocks sewn.  Just have to run them through the machine to make the nine patch unit that is the star.  All of them are scrappy, from my stash.  Some oldies but goodies in there, let me tell you!  haha.

It's looking promising for Sandy to go with Mary, Marla and I to Paducah.  She should know for sure soon.  Really hoping she can do it.

Ev's still working day shift.  I love having him home at night, although it has cut into my sewing time!  A good sacrifice, though.  There is talk that he might have to go back to the afternoon shift.  If it happens, it happens.  At least he will have a job.

I'm here

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth.  Just been busy with work and househould stuff.  Ev and I have been going out a lot, which is really nice.

Haven't done too much sewing lately, but starting to get back into it.  Will post pics when I have something done!  haha.

Easy Rider

This made me smile.  My daughter has this big old Lab named Jax.  Well, Jax likes to go between her house and her in-laws.  I pulled up the other day and there was Jax, relaxing in the back of the side by side!  He didn't even get out while I was there.  He was soaking up the sunshine, I guess.

Kitty

My old cat, Shadow, likes to come upstairs when I sew and lay in the sunshine by the window.  Over the weekend I was upstairs working on some of the friendship star blocks for our Paducah swap this year.  Shadow must have been feeling a little frisky, or saw something that really interested her.  Here she is, in the window, standing up looking out at something!  Probably a squirrel or a bird.  I thought it was cute.

A Robin-y Day

While driving to work the other day I counted 11 Robins in just a few blocks, all pecking at the ground or doing what Robins do in the Spring.

I am not a bird person, but it was interesting to see all of them.  There was a little game that people always played, that when you saw the first Robin, that meant Spring was not far behind.  Not sure how true that is.  I mean, it is only the beginning of March.

March blew in like a lion

Wow, did we have the wind overnight!  The last few days the weather has been crazy.  Warm one day, cold the next.  There were several tornados across the state yesterday.  Fortunately, we did not have any in our area.

I haven't been on the blog for several days, and I do apologize for that.  There hasn't been much to talk about, sewing wise.  I have about 30 stacks of block pieces ready to be sewn together for the friendship blocks for the Paducah swap.  Would really like to get up to 120 blocks made for that.  I have the rows and sashings pinned together for Johanna and Ben's wedding quilt.  Was working hot and heavy on it, because their wedding celebration was to be in May.  Now, they have changed the date to September, so the pressure is off there for a little bit.

Need to get the 2016 Paducah swap on Gemma and quilt it.  It was the wonky star blocks.  Want to have that done before we go again in April.

Easy triangle block

This was not my original idea, but when I saw it on AQS website/blog, I just had to try it!  Start with a square of whatever size - half inch bigger than what you want the finished square to be.  Add rectangle the same width, but an inch longer.  Make two sets like that, then join them.

Draw line from corner to where corner of square intersects (see photo).  Layer over one piece of contrasting fabric cut into a rectangle the same size as pieced unit.  Sew on lines.  Cut apart and viola!

Certainly helps me overcome my triangle phobia!  haha.  I should look at the Billie Lauder books I have for some helpful hints.  She always had the best shortcuts.

Taco Casserole

Recently I made a taco casserole for dinner.  It was pretty simple.  I browned and seasoned the ground chuck, sauteed onions and peppers, and mixed it all with a can of corn and can of tomatoes with chilis.  Layered it with cheese and crunched up taco chips.

Good stuff!  The pic doesn't look real appetizing, but it was tasty, especially with sour cream and salsa on it.

Friendship Star progress

Getting a late start on my blocks for the Paducah swap this year, but I think I will have time to finish them.  These are pieces and material in various stages for about 30 blocks.  I need to make 120 blocks.

Choosing the fabrics is the most time consuming!  It's fun, but it takes a lot of digging and hemming and hawing about what goes with what.  I may just break down and cut into my stash of coordinated fat quarters.

Maintenance

Not a very interesting picture, to be sure, but the four oil holes on top of my 301 (Clarice, see the bow?) needed new wicking material.  The old wicking was rock hard.

I had ordered the wicking from McMaster Carr a while ago and just never got brave enough to tear the old stuff out and put the new in.  As with a lot of things, I don't know why I waited so long.  It was not difficult.

I had an old dental tool that came in handy for poking the new wicking into the holes.  Not sure that I cut the wicking to the right size, but we shall see if things work okay or if I have to redo it.  Pleased that it is done for now.

Does anyone know how to sew?

My poor quilt is coming apart at the seams.  This particular quilt, which I named "144" because that's how many different fabrics it has in it, has been on my bed for a few years now.  You can see in the photo that the purple material is not holding up well at all.  There is even a patch in the top right corner already.

I need to take it upstairs and patch the rest of it soon.  One thing I would do differently if I were to make this type of quilt again, is to run lines of stitching through all of the blocks, instead of just half of them.  See the diagonal "x" in the light colored blocks?  I should have put one line in the light blocks and one line in the dark blocks.  Live and learn.

Happy Valentine's Day

Hope everyone is enjoying the day with their sweetheart.  We have plans to go out to dinner tonight.

After dinner, I am planning to watch the second half of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.  Last night the German Shepherd Dog won best of the Herding Group.  I am rooting for him to win Best in Show tonight.  He has a one in seven chance!

Had the day off yesterday for Lincoln's Birthday.  Actually did some sewing.  I made more of the half square triangle's for the friendship star blocks.  Also sewed a couple rows of sashing to rows of blocks for Johanna's wedding quilt (NYE Mystery).

The t.v. in the basement by Gemma does not get much use, so I put it up in the sewing room yesterday, too.  The one I had in there was Johanna's and she needed it when they moved.  Not a big deal.  It's nice to have a t.v. back upstairs, mostly for a little music.  There are music stations in our cable package, so I will play them once in a while.  A lot of time, though, I just like to be up there in the quiet.

Life in pictures

I had to snap this picture.  Not sure you can tell what they are, but on my night stand there are two bi-fold picture stands.  The taller one in the back has pictures of each of the kids and the shorter one has pictures of my great grandparents.  It looks to me like Addy is studying the pictures on the nightstand!

It cracked me up.

Holiday leftovers

Not food leftovers.  This is all that needs to go downstairs yet from the holiday hub bub.  I have wrapping paper and boxes on the bedroom floor still.

This year I used up quite a bit of wrapping paper and I was happy to be able to buy more at the end of the year.  However, I didn't realize that some of the new rolls I bough were longer than my storage box!  sigh.  Oh, well, they will just have to lay on top of the box.  I may get one of those tall storage containers eventually for wrapping paper, but for now, this is fine.

See the purple quilt on the chest?  That was a quilt my grandma made for me many years ago.  It has "chicken scratch" embroidery panels on it.  Gram made one in purple for me and one in pink for my cousin.  It has seen a lot of use.  We throw it on the bed for extra warmth when needed.

Gyro's in town

Last night Ev and I went up to Tilley's for dinner.  They didn't have gyro's on the menu, but they did have a little card on the table advertising them.  We decided to try them.  Surprisingly they weren't horrible.

The pita bread was good and the meat was good.  The sauce was okay, but they needed to put more on it.  Tomatoes and lettuce were okay.  The onions were grilled, which was not the way we are used to them.  They should have been sliced thin and been raw.  And they put pickles on the sandwich!  Yuck!  I like pickles, but not on my gyro!

All in all, they were a nice change.  I do hope they keep them on the menu.  Next time I will ask them to hold the pickles... haha.

To fix or not to fix

Not quilt related.  Car related.

My car has been doing something funky lately and it was time to take it in.  It was in need of an oil change, so I took it to Ford and had them check it out.  Well, it's going to be a little bit more than an oil change for the old gal.  Transmission flush and new filters, oil change, new sway bars, and new battery.  Sigh.  Still not going to cost as much as a new car, so it is all going to get done.

Triangles

Sorry about the lighting in this pic.  What I wanted to show you was the triangle paper I have pinned to material.  The papers I made are twice that big, but I had scraps that weren't quite big enough, so I cut the papers down for some of them.  It just requires some accurate cutting on the one edge, but really isn't a big deal.

These will be part of the friendship star blocks we are exchanging in Paducah this year.

Sashing and cornerstones

I completed sewing the rows for the sashing and cornerstones on the NYE mystery.  Also put the last piece of sashing on the end of the rows of blocks.  I have gone as far as I can now without doing any pressing, so that's the next step.  Get all this pressed, then I can put the rows of blocks together with the rows of sashing.  It's coming together nicely.

Another milestone for my car

Just had to show you this.  Boring, I know, but I am really tickled that my car has this many miles on it.  Yeah, I'm strange... haha.

Going to try and get her in for an oil change today.  That, I think, has really been a key part in this car lasting so long.  Keeping up with maintenance.

Doodle quilting

Johanna and Ben's wedding quilt top will be done soon and I have been thinking of how I would like to quilt it.  On the Inbox Jaunt blog recently she showcased a heart leaf vine.  I really liked it and have been playing around with it.

This is the heart vine without any filler.  It's okay, but I think it needs filler.

I thought about using a small loopy loop, but it just seems too busy to me.

I tried a larger loopy loop and it seemed too sloppy.

Finally, I did a stipple design, and I think this will be what I will go with.  Now, I have plenty of time to audition other designs and might change my mind, but so far, this is the top pick.

Going out to dinner

Since my darling husband has been on day shift now for several months, the going out to eat for dinner routine has tapered off a bit.  However, when the man says, "let's go out tonight", who am I to argue?  haha.

Last night when I got home from work I had a few bags of groceries to put away.  I had gone to the grocery store on my lunch break and was intending to make a chicken dish for supper.  While I was putting things away, Ev asked if we had any gift cards from Christmas to Texas Roadhouse.  I looked, and we did not, but I said it was okay if we wanted to go, we could just go.  And we did!

Sewing did not happen again last night, but there's always tonight!

Sashings and cornerstones

We had a wonderful weekend at my mom's.  Finally got up there to have our Christmas celebration.  It was really nice.

When we got home, I did a little bit of sewing.  I started making the rows of sashing and cornerstones for Johanna's wedding quilt.

I didn't get too far on them, but I did get them started.  It was a little cold upstairs and I needed to turn on the little space heater.  When I have it on, I can't use the iron.  The rows of blocks and sashings need to be ironed, so it was easier to sew on the sashings and cornerstones than be cold and press blocks!

I really like the sewing table I made for the 301.  There is so much space on it in all the right places.  If I could find another table similar to this one, I would make a second sewing table.  The table is so much more comfortable than a regular sewing cabinet.  There isn't that small confined space you have to fit your knees under and your legs around.

Common ailment

When people know that you sew, they ask you all the time to do sewing projects.  In this case, the owner of Tilley's asked me to sew the flap down on the front of her bank bag.  She has several that need this done, but can only part with one at a time, so I will have to do them over a period of time.

It didn't take long at all to do.

Can't wait to sew

I get so anxious to get home and sew after a day at work.  There are so many projects I want to be working on.

Last night Ev and I went to the Mexican restaurant in Staunton for dinner. we hadn't been there for a while, because we really liked the one in Litchfield, but it closed.  On our way there we stopped to see if Olivia wanted to go with us.  She did, so the three of us went to dinner.  Then of course, since it was right next door, we stopped at Dairy Queen.  I had a cone that I only ate about half of.  We got Addy her first 'pup cup'.  It was so cute!  All it was was just a sundae cup filled half way with ice cream and two dog biscuits stuck in it.  She loved it!  Thought she was queen for the day, getting ice cream and biscuits!

Yes, we spoil that dog.

Yummy

My breakfast this morning at work looked so pretty, I had to take a picture.  It's just generic oat cereal with a few blueberries and strawberries in it.

I had made a fruit salad a few days ago and didn't use all the berries, so I thought if I brought them to work I would use them in the cereal.  It was quite tasty.  In fact, it would have been even better if the cereal was less sweet, and the cereal really wasn't very sweet to begin with.

Addy

Not the best picture, and I know you have seen Addy before, but I just had to post this pic.  Silly pooch decided, right after we changed the sheets, that she should lay on MY pillows.

She really is a good dog, but sometimes she tries to take over the house.  Who am I kidding, she has taken over the house!  haha.

The quilt that is on the bed is the 36 patch I made a while ago.  It has held up quite nicely.  I am very pleased with it.  It gets used and washed quite a bit.

Loving it!

I am back in the groove, people!  Woohoo!  Worked on Johanna's wedding quilt for almost two hours.  I finished putting the sashing on the 8 new blocks, then pressed all the blocks.  Sewed them into 8 rows of 6 blocks.

Now they need to be pressed again.  But I have to say, I am not finding that to be quite the drudgery that I used to.  Don't know why, and don't care, just rolling with it... haha.

Here's what I completed last night.  Remember, there will be a row of sashing and cornerstones between each row of blocks, as well as borders.

I am super pleased with it.  This NYE mystery was my favorite so far.

Tonight there is a show on t.v. that I want to watch at 8, so if I go up and sew, it will have to be before that.

And in case you thought the air fryer was just a nine days' wonder, I used it last night to make Ev and I a steak to share and to warm up twice baked potatoes and some grilled peppers and onions.  We had that all for dinner, plus some garlic bread.  Pretty good eats for just a Monday night!  Ev might be getting a little bit spoiled... haha.

Coasting along

A few months ago we inherited two nice pieces of furniture that my granfather made for my mother years ago.  They are two end tables for the front room.  We didn't have any coasters for drinks, so I thought I would whip up something really quick.  And I mean really quick.

When I take a quilt off of Gemma, the longarm, there are usually long strips of fabric from the backing and long strips of batting left over.  I'm sure that people trimming up their quilts, even from quilting on a domestic machine or by hand will also have these types of pieces left over.  I know I did when I was quilting in that manner.  They were the perfect width for coasters.

I just cut a couple squares of batting to the size of coaster I wanted, then cut a rectangle of material slightly wider and a bit more than double the length.  Folded the material in half long ways, put batting squares on top, then turned over and sewed three open sides almost closed.  Left a couple inches at end so I could turn them.

Turned them right side out and stitched a square through all layers, after closing up the area on the side where I turned them.

Here they are, along with some pieces of the quilt for Johanna that I was working on.  As you can see, they are not uniform in size at all.  I did not care about that.  I just want to protect the furniture.

I also hold no illusions that these may not really be coasters, but are actually chew toys for Addy.  We shall see... haha.  And that, my blog friends, is why I did not take oodles of time making them perfect.

Back to it!

Since the blue New Year's Eve Mystery is going to be Johanna's wedding quilt, I decided to make it wider than originally planned.  I needed to make and additional eight blocks.

Since the blocks are scrappy, using different large blocks for the centers and corners, I felt it would be best if I used materials that were already in the other blocks.  If I used all new fabrics, there would be no scraps of that type in the original 40 blocks that are done, and the new ones would stand out.  Luckily I was able to find enough scraps in my stash from original fabrics used.

The blocks came together fairly quickly after all the pieces were cut.  All additional eight blocks were finished over the weekend.  I need to put sashing strips on the sides and then will arrange them in their final layout.

Probably have to shoo Miss Addy outside while I do that.  Would like to use our bed for the layout, and I really don't need Addy "helping", hahaha.

Going to just begin making Nick's wedding quilt with the additional eight blocks, I think.  It's not that big of a deal, and I know I have the fabric for it.

New journal

To some it is just a simple composition notebook, but to me it's my quilting journal.  This year I am really going to try and keep up with it and write more than just a snippet or two about projects.

I wrote six pages about our trip to Bloomington!

Not sure if I am getting sick or what, but haven't been feeling too good lately.  I went to bed at 6pm last night and just couldn't get warm.  Hopefully it was a one day deal.

My new pressing and cutting board

I am pretty pleased with myself right now.  I made a new little travel pressing and cutting board!  A while ago I had it in my head to do this, and had a couple of pieces of plywood cut to size.  Well, they have been just sitting around, staring at me, for long enough.  I finally got one of them turned into a travel board.  Here, mostly in pictures, is what I did.

I gathered up my supplies.  The above picture just shows what is needed for the board without a cutting mat on the back.  If you decide to do that part, you will need a mat and spray adhesive.  Pictured above are the piece of plywood - mine is about 14"x14", some batting, material to cover it, scissors, construction stapler, and staples - make sure they are not longer than your plywood is deep.

Lay the board on your batting.  My batting was about 4 pieces of a sample stack of batting types I picked up from the Hobbs booth in Paducah one year.  I used only the all cotton pieces.

Trim around the board, leaving about a quarter inch of batting all the way around.

I was going to use plain muslin, but decided I didn't have to!  I picked out a print that I have always liked, that I had in my stash.  I liked this one so much, I had bought a bolt of it from Miller's in Arthur.

Cut your piece of fabric about 3 or 4 inches larger all around the square.  Layer as follows:  material (right side on table), batting, then board.

Bring up one edge and staple to secure.  I used five staples on one side.

Bring material around on opposite side, pulling snug, and staple as you did the other side.

Bring material around on sides and staple.  I folded the corners in a bit and stapled down the excess.

This picture does not show it, but I did trim the excess bit sticking out.  You don't really have to.

Ta-Da!

Now, if you have an old cutting mat that has seen better days, you can make one side a cutting board.

Fortunately, where this mat was cut through it still left enough for me to cover the back of the board.

To be honest, this was the hardest part of the whole project - cutting the cutting mat!  I used old scissors for this job.  I just cut it to fit the back of the board.

I glued it down using spray adhesive.  All done!

I may make a second one just because.