Happy Thanksgiving!

Three things to be thankful for:
(1) friends
(2) family
(3) good health


Happy Thanksgiving everybody!  May your day be filled with good friends, old traditions and new memories.

One of my favorite traditional foods is sweet potato pie, and I'm a great fan of it!  I've never ever liked pumpkin pie, possibly because my mom never made it.

BUT, if pumpkin pie is your favorite, I couldn't resist sharing this serving suggestion that I found on Facebook -

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sew forth and sew on til later...

More Texas tumblin'

The snow is snowing, the wind is blowing
But I can weather the storm!
What do I care how much it may storm?
I've got my quilting to keep me warm!

Today they're calling for rain, and 3 to 6 inches of snow, wow!

As I'm writing this there are school closings because of the weather and there is snow just north of the District, but nothing here yet.

Meanwhile, I'll keep working on the Texas Tumbleweeds quilt!

I finished all of the 4-patch units for the ladder block...


I only needed 36!

Done!

Next I'll concentrate on finishing up the rectangle units for the ladder block..

Eyeglasses, bikes - love em!

Before I sew any more I'll stop and cut more neutrals for maximum scrappy variety, I don't like seeing too many repeats if I can help it.

There are a few more pieces I bought in October that I haven't cut into yet - this is the perfect opportunity!

Words, words - I love words!


These spinning star units will be put on hold until I can cut more dark color squares - need more batiks in there!



That's what I'll be up to today, if you're traveling be careful, look out for the turkeys!  Sew forth and sew on til later...

Working on units

Three things to be happy about:
(1) holiday music
(2) the book of Proverbs
(3) new marking pens

I've been working on the Texas Tumbleweeds quilt that Bonnie Hunter taught on the cruise this month.

I didn't want this one to become a UFO because it's such a pretty quilt!

Looking at some of the pictures Bonnie posted, you'll see happy ladies holding up handfuls of finished blocks; my goal during the cruise was to finish at least one of each block.

It wasn't a race and I can't sew lickety split on an unfamiliar machine and still be accurate - that's just me!

If you haven't been "Bonnie initiated" you might look at the entire quilt and go "eeeek!  all those little pieces!"   But if you think of the quilt as series of units, it isn't hard a'tall!

Anything hard about the basic 4-patch?

Nope!

You sew a single unit at a time...

Trim...

and sew some more...

Three units in one block, two units in the other!

Before you know it, you have every unit done...


you just have to make more of em!


And it's a start   :o)

Can a quilt's progress also be measured by the amount of trimmins' you leave behind?

I like to think so  ;o)


Sew forth and sew on til later...

Busy at the Bee

Yesterday was a busy time at my monthly bee; we elected new officers, re-shuffled the committees, and had a good time just enjoying each other's company again!  Committee changes are a good thing overall - it gives everybody an opportunity to try on a new hat, let our talents shine in a whole different direction!

One fun thing we did was present Carolyn with a quilt of appreciation we made her as a former President.

It was totally unexpected and she was so surprised!


And now for the great show n tell...

Gwen J made a cute sleep mat for her granddaughter.  They had bought her one but it was too short, so she made one with matching pillow ...

I love scrappy quilts!

Pat J made this one, just putting fabrics together...





These two were made by Charlene's quilting group at the senior center, for two of the center's employees...

Loretta finished her "Ellie!"

Carolyn's making this snow man quilt for a seasonal school display.  Cute!

And last but not least, here's a full view of the drunkard's path quilt I just finished for my great-niece!







That bee it for now, have a great Sunday, sew forth and sew on til later...

Third quilt done

Three things to be happy about
(1) tomato basil soup
(2) a little checked apron
(3) a new recipe

Can you believe this?  It's a pizza cake!

*wiping drool from chin* Now back to our regular program...

I finished the third quilt I was working on yesterday, and I'm really pleased with the way it turned out!

I was smart enough to have made the binding when I started quilting this one, didn't have to do it yesterday.

I went with blue because the borders are scrappy blue and it sorta fits, I think...

Elyse will have plenty to look at - fairies and frogs, butterflies and marbles, cavemen and fishes....

enough to keep her entertained every time she uses the quilt!

Do little girls like jungle animals??

I don't remember exactly when I bought this piece of backing fabric, but I'm almost sure I got it from the $1.99 table at G Street Fabrics in Rockville, Maryland - years ago!

It has now been reduced to usable strips...

There's nothing like a finished quilt to make your day!

Kinda makes me want to finish another one...

Three quilts done for Christmas; three happy, happy recipients - yes!





Have a great Friday, get some of your Thanksgiving shopping done, sew forth and sew on...

Out, about, and back in

Three things to be happy about
(1) drippy wax candles
(2) the smell of coffee brewing
(3) warm fuzzy slipper socks

This is what my sidewalk looked like yesterday morning - the wind was blowing, people huddled in their coats walking fast - b-b-baby it's c-c-cold outside!

The crack is courtesy of the earthquake we had a few years ago; they should've given that bad boy a name!

It's disturbing that it heads directly towards my house, I don't in any way believe it stopped at the steps.

Out and about ... I started my stops at a church in Northeast, where Noah's Ark Ministries distributes bread on Tuesdays and Saturdays.  The bread is free, but they do accept donations to help the ministry.

As far as I can tell, the bread is delivered to the church in a box truck where volunteers lay it out to be picked up.  A number of people get van loads of the bread and redistribute it elsewhere.

Next stop - Costco!

I had to return some noise cancelling earphones which didn't work as specified ... oh well!

While I was there I picked up a few items, among them some mixing bowls that were on sale and coffee...

I like my Keurig coffee maker but the coffee can be a bit expensive, do you agree?

But I like the Donut Shop coffee and I'll buy it every now and then.  My rule of thumb though - I won't pay more than 50 cents a cup for any of those coffee pods.  Sometimes you can find Folgers and Maxwell House on sale at Target.

Are you bored yet??

Here's a biggie - a stop at the Honda dealership!

For awhile I've needed a new driver side wiper blade and I kept putting it off... well, Monday it rained so hard I could barely see!

I stopped at the Advance Auto Store - according to their little automated thingy, the blades I needed would have cost $25 for the driver side and $15 for the passenger.  And I still wasn't sure it's what I needed!  So, I went directly to the source - Honda - for their input.  Big surprise, I didn't need an entire new blade, just new inserts - at $6.99 each!

Okay, time to stop fooling around out there - back home to lunch and "the third quilt!"

I got back on this one yesterday afternoon and it's mostly quilted now; I should be able to finish it up today, including sewing on the binding.

Snag!!

Somehow when I started this some time ago the edge of the backing got caught up in the quilt, ugh!

Luckily it was at the edge, I just needed to pick out a little bit, it can be fixed without a problem.

The quilting on this one won't be show quality, but will Elyse mind?  I think not!

That was my yesterday; today will be finishing up the last quilt and maybe drawing some half-square triangle sewing lines on my Texas Tumbleweed squares.  Do something creative today, sew forth and sew on til later!

Two quilts done

Three things to be happy about:
(1) ATM machines
(2) a new wallet
(3) that first cuppa of the day

I haven't had mine yet, that first cuppa, but I'll get it soon as I finish this post!

Such a relief to get the binding sewn down on the two quilts!

Sunbonnet Sue Sees Stars got a red binding, a bit deeper red than the border... love those "pokey-dots"!

I love stars and I think Jaelyn will love them too, especially with all the scrappiness going on!

She should have fun picking out all the colors, no two Sues were dressed alike.

The cornerstones are also scrappy...

I think the backing goes really well, it's a piece of "batik-y" fabric from my stash...


different colors in a swirly pattern...

A lot for a curious five year old to look at again...

and again...

and again!

"Jay-Jay" will like his quilt, I think...

Blue baby chickens, with glasses yet!

The birds are all blue, but no two are the same...


Some have glasses, front view, side view...

sitting, standing around, and sprawled!

Kudos to Rhonda at ravelly1-quiltzblog for freely sharing this pattern on her blog!

I was able to use up the last significant piece of that backing for this one.

You might remember I bought it on a bolt for $3 at Hancock's Fabrics, when they were closing their Takoma Park, Maryland store (read about it here).

Kinda glad to demote it down to strings and scraps!

Both just need labels and they're ready to go!


Ahh, the satisfaction of finishing these two quilts!

Can you see the quilting on them?  These were long-armed quilted by friend and guild member Bernerdette King.


Now to finish that other one... sew forth and sew on til later!