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!