Happy Fabric

Isn't this a happy little fabric?  I'm using it on one of the 16 patch blocks.  It just makes me smile.  Those lopsided flowers are just so cute!

A Beagle Win

Last night the Beagle won Westminster Kennel Club Best in Show.  Mom has two beagles named Danny Boy and Brasco.  Brasco was actually my brother's dog until he got a girlfriend and the dog got way too jealous...  Brasco had already been spending the majority of his day at Mom's, so it was a natural transition for him to become her dog.  We have had a lot of beagles in the past, so I was very happy to see Miss P, the 15" Beagle, take Best in Show!

Our sweet Addy is Best in Show in our house right now of course!  She watched most of the dog show with me.  I always pull for the German Shepherd, but he just never quite makes the cut.  German Shepherd's are my favorite breeds, probably because the first dog I ever had was one.

Back to (semi) normal

Here is the promised picture of the kids' Valentine bags.  Not fancy, just a little whimsical.

Internet guy was at the house yesterday to fix the problem.  It was fixed then two hours later went out again.  It came back on immediately, thankfully, but I've really reached my tolerance limit with this provider.

Made a big pot of chili yesterday.  It was chilly outside so we had chili inside!  Was a good dinner.  Now I need to go to the store and get some freezer containers because I have so many leftovers!  Cooked a lot of food over the time I was off.

Watched the first half of the dog show yesterday evening.  Tonight is the second half.  I really enjoy watching it every year.  Addy was checking it out, too, last night.

Speaking of Addy, she just loves the snow!  She runs around and leaps like a deer in the yard.  And, instead of laying down on the cleared patio, she lays in the 10" plus of snow in the yard!  Goofy mutt.

Sunday sewing

Just have three more pair of 16 patch blocks to complete and I will have done the original 15 we decided to do for our Paducah swap.  May just double that before April if we keep going!

Was in single digits this morning when I got out of bed.  Didn't really warm up much throughout the day.  May get some snow overnight.  Hope so!

Made a big pot of chicken rice soup.  Yum!

Happy Valentine's day

Still no internet so posting from my phone.  Fun fun.

Made 5 Valentine bags for the kids and filled them with goodies.  Will share pics another time.

Also pressed strip sets and cut them for 3 more 16 patch block pairs.

Ev took me to Lotawata Creek for dinner.  Was real nice!

internet issues

my internet is out and won't be back for s few days.  sorry1

My Next Project (Maybe)

I love to read other people's blog posts and have some of my favorites on the right rail, as you all can see.  Jo's Country Junction has some pretty good ideas on it and I would like to share a link to a post she had a couple days ago.

Jo posted pics of a quilt she has a free pattern for on her blog and some different color ways it can be made.  Here's a link to that post, which, in turn, will link you to the instructions for making it:

http://www.joscountryjunction.com/jimmy-john-in-batiks/

I have a jelly roll of batik fabrics waiting to be made into something spectacular, and I think this may just be it!  I love batiks.

My Life in Post It Notes

What did we do before Post It Notes?  While I'm working I will think about something I have to do, either at home or at work, and I jot it down on a post it and stick it wherever.  Some notes are pretty straight forward and anyone can decipher them, but others, not so much.

All that matters is that I know what they mean and hopefully don't lose the note before the chore is completed!

Hoping to get in some sewing tonight, if Addy is in a mellow mood.  I just want to get some pieces pressed for the 16 patch blocks, so if she is rowdy, I could just bring them downstairs and press them in the front room.

Going to be too cold in the basement to do anything on the longarm, but maybe tomorrow during the day I can get things finished on it while Ev is home.

I have a few days off starting tomorrow so I would like to get some sewing in if I can.

Last night I made some stuffed peppers for dinner.  They turned out pretty good.  This morning Ev ran over to the Italian Deli a couple towns over and picked up some Salteeza.  I'm going to fry it up along with some potatoes and that will be dinner tonight.

Baked a cake last night, too.  Just had it in my head to bake something, so I dug out a white cake mix and threw in some chocolate chips for good measure.  Yum.  Yeah, like I need cake...  haha.

Sampler Quilting

One of the blog links on my right rail is Dora Quilts.  The other day Dora posted a picture of a quilt and the quilting she did on it that I thought was just exquisite.  Here's a link to that specific post:

http://doraquilts.blogspot.com/2015/02/a-sweet-quiet-prayer-quilt.html

The picture she showed of the back made it look like a quilting sampler.  I just loved it and hope everyone gets an opportunity to take a peek at it.  Dora, you do very nice work!

Tin Cans

Several days ago I was opening a can of soup for a meal and a memory flitted through my head.  This small soup can was a reminder of those very large cans, like what you might get whole tomatoes in or fruit.

The reason I remembered those cans was because I was rinsing out that small soup can with water.  When I was younger and lived with my great grandparents we had a pump and a well outside.  That well water was the best drink in town, in my opinion.  Always cold, and always clear.  And I'm thinking you might know now what we used to drink from it.  Yup, a big tin can.  Grandpa fashioned a piece of baling wire around the body of the pump to hang that can on upside down, but many times it was just sitting there next to the pump and the washtub.  Mammy or Grandpa would take the label off a can and we would use it until it started to rust and then another can would be pressed into service.  Tin cans were the perfect fit.  A drinking glass would have gotten broke too easily as the well platform was concrete.  A plastic one would have blown away in the wind, or a stray dog may have carried it off.

That pump held a lot of memories for me.  The washtub that was under the spout was usually full of water.  Grandpa would use it to water the garden and Mammy would water the flowers with it.  If it was really hot, when I was very little, I would even get in and sit down with my legs folded up.  The bottom of the washtub was a bit slimy, though.

Every now and then there would be a turtle or a few fish in it when someone went fishing and didn't get to cleaning the day's catch yet.

Funny how opening a can of soup can bring back such a flood of memories.