tomatoes

Thank goodness Michael made me breakfast (egg & cheese on toast) and packed the car on Thursday morning (10/30), or I never would have made it to quilting on time!  Loree and I spent the morning working on our respective charity quilts…I foolishly thought I would get 2 quilt tops done (they are small and all of the blocks were already made) but I only got one done.  I brought some of the blocks home because they had never been cut down and I can do that this week.  Leslie and Lisa worked on putting together a pieced backing so that I can quilt the 2 quilt tops once they are finished.  I got home around 2, and Loree followed me home to look at some fabric that Jeannie had given me.  Loree is working on several charity quilts too, so I thought she could share.  I spent 30 minutes on the phone, trying to find out exactly when my business credit card will be mailed to me…the only answer I could get was 7 – 10 biz days from October 28^th :~( ….I am HOT HOT HOT to buy thread!!!  Finally, around 3:30 I was back to working on the blue/green/purple quilt...  still slogging away sewing on my setting triangles and then sewing the rows together.  Michael and I had a chicken alfredo dish from Omaha Steaks, which was pretty good, along with the last 3 tomatoes (all ripe) from our plant. 

 

they all were ripe, this pic was snapped last week!

 He left for rehearsal shortly afterwards and I continued sewing.

We were out of the house at o’dark hundred on Wednesday (10/29) heading to Springs Hospital in Lancaster.  Michael had an outpatient procedure to implant a heart monitoring device in his chest.  He has been having some very mild symptoms, and his heart doctor wanted a more detailed ‘picture’ of what is going on.  We were at breakfast by 10:30 and home by 11:30.  I got my blog post done and then it was back to slaving away over a hot sewing machine :~).  Making rows by sewing the blocks to each other, and then sewing the rows together is never my favorite part.  It seems like you’ve done so much work already by making the blocks, that it should go faster than it does.  I get bored easily and want to quilt….but what is keeping me going is the thought that I will get to start a new quilt next week if I get this one all finished….so I am spending a little bit of time dreaming about what quilt top I want to make next :~).  Michael left at 6:30 for rehearsal and I continued to sew and dream until 10 PM when he came home.

baby sweaters, Cookie, Barb/Jeannie/Diane

It was in the high 40’s when we got up on Tuesday (10/28), but Michael says by Thursday it will be cold again…that’s good because after the success of my turkey/barley soup…I am hot to make another soup!  I spent the morning in the studio…ripping out a bit, and actually sewing some new (and correct!) rows.  I headed for Stitch & Chat in the afternoon…mostly to pick up all of the baby things from the window.  I will donate them tomorrow at the Pregnancy Care Center in Lancaster.  I finished 10 baby sweaters, one small hat and an embroidered blanket for this year.

 

I had a leisurely shop in the grocery store after S&C and when I got home Michael was just getting ready to leave for the movies with Larry.  I spent a couple of hours in the studio and when I came back upstairs at one point, discovered that Cookie likes a new spot whether or not someone else is in the chair

Michael got home at 6:30, grabbed his stuff and headed off to rehearsal.  Barbara, Jeannie & Diane came over the evening

(and Jan stopped by on her way home from her phone class) and we didn’t get a thing done, except a lot of talking and bonding which was terrific.  Everyone left around 9 and Michael was home by 10 for a bit of TV before bed.

Elsie & Cookie a duex

Michael left before 8 AM for Stonebridege on Monday (10/27), and I got crackin’ with the sewing machine again.  I feel like there are lots of things suddenly that I want to sew, so have almost totally blown off reading for sewing (except for A PLACE AT THE TABLE…I just finished and loved that book).  By 8:15 my snuggle bunnies were doing their thing      

stop taking our picture while we're sleeping!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and I had discovered a mistake in my sewing.  Once again…love, love, love how an ‘on point’ quilt looks….hate, hate, hate how much it befuddles my brain!  Oh well, ripping is good for the soul….right?  That took an hour of sewing time away  :~(.    Beth stopped by at 11 for some help with her knitting and I think I managed to get her back on track, and Connie stopped by at NOON for help as well.  Connie also brought me a bag of yarn she is getting rid of….I’ll have to talk to a few people at knitting to see if they are interested.  Michael got home around 3 PM with a score of 86…but he said he never really felt like his head was in the game.  Jan and I ran to KFC for their potpie deal for dinner, and after Michel left for rehearsal at 6:30…I continued to sew away.  He got home after 10 and I finally called it quits for the night.  I know he gets tired being in a play…but I am certainly getting a lot done while he’s at rehearsal!

hydrangeas, new quilt slightly changed, Michael and faithful companion

It was a bit warmer when we got up on Sunday (10/26)…in the 40’s, so Michael took Cookie for a walk before breakfast.  When he got home, he picked a beautiful vase of hydrangeas. 

 

Now that fall is here…and the danger of frost at night is pretty real…the hydrangeas have gone crazy and are finally blooming a lot…go figure...after months of none...now I have lots!  I made Michael buckwheat pancakes when he got home, while I had yoghurt and fruit…then it was back to the studio.  Michael came down for a bit to look at my design wall because he thought the quilt was too dark.  I had a few extra blocks and he replaced some of the solids with those, and it does look a lot better…he has that artistic ‘eye’! 

 

 

I spent the rest of the late morning and afternoon starting to sew the blocks into rows.  At one point I went upstairs for something, and couldn’t resist snapping this pic…

 

Michael doing his lines with his faithful companion (who thinks she’s a CAT on the back of that chair!!)  At 3:30 PM, we both got cleaned up and headed over to Gale & Phil’s for dinner.  OMgoodness…what a fabulous dinner…roast beef, green beans with tomatoes, salad, garlic bread and scalloped potatoes…she even had apple pie for dessert.  We finally rolled home around 6:30 and it’s a miracle we didn’t both fall asleep on the couch :~).  I hit the sewing machine for a few more hours before relaxing and watching a bit of TV before bed.

Elsie & Cookie a trois, new quilt, older quilt, bread

Another chilly day on Friday morning (10/25).  Michael left to eat breakfast out and run a bunch of errands, while I headed to the studio to trim my blocks.  I spent a good bit of time Thursday night looking at everything I had completed at Thursday quilting, and finally decided that trimming to 6-1/2 inches was my best option.  I am trying to match other blocks that I made at least 15 years ago…their sizes are a bit wonky… so 6-1/2 inches seems to work for everything.  Other than a brief visit with Jan to borrow some quilting books for a few new ideas…I worked in the studio all day.  We had the turkey/barley soup for dinner, and Michael said it was fighting Mexican Chicken Soup for first place in his favorite soups…high praise indeed!  We left after 6:30 to head into Charlotte for Vanya & Sonya & Masha & Spike…the latest offering from Actor’s Theatre.  The play was GREAT….just what we needed.  We were home by 11 PM, and read for just a bit while the electric blanket warmed up, and then dove in.  I finished A PLACE AT THE TABLE by Susan Rebecca White, which was a really great book.
*************************** 

I think it was still in the 30’s when Michael left at 8 AM for golf here at SCCL on Saturday (10/25)…but I saw another sure sign of the cold weather as I worked in my studio all day

Yep, my babies are snuggling once again…a sight to warm any mother’s heart :~).  I spent most of the day cutting suede to fill in with my 6-1/2 inch blocks…have I told you about those?  About 15 years ago I made a quilted coat for my oldest sister.  I had no idea how many blocks I would need…and so made MANY!!  I also had leftover 1-1/2 inch strips that I had been using to make the blocks.  I finally decided to sew the strips together and combine them with the leftover blocks to make a quilt.  I've been working on it on Thursdays at Scrap Happy Quilters.  By the end of the day, I had this:

the suede looks blue in the picture, but is actually
kind of purple-y blue

I need one more row on the top and on the bottom to make it a single bed size…I will work on those blocks over the coming week...but I have to tell you...this one will be HARD to give away...the color is PERFECT!  Then I’ll need one fabric for all of the setting triangles around the outside and the top will be done.  Willa stopped by to give me some dark blue fabric, which I am using for the final border and binding strips for this quilt

 

 

 Michael came home around 2 PM with an 88, and shortly afterwards I got bread baked and Jan stopped by to pick up 1/2 a loaf. 

 

True friend that I am, I let her take home my quilt book, which came in Saturday’s mail BEFORE I even got a chance to look at it :~).  I figured it was the least I could do after all of the blue and tan fabric Jan gave me so that I could complete my latest top.  Michael and I had another date night in the evening, with big bowls of popcorn and the STAR WARS IV movie.  Another perfect and VERY productive day and night.

It was in the 30’s when we got up on Thursday (10/23)brr-r-r-r!  Michael decided to wait a bit before taking Cookie for a walk…and I spent the early morning getting turkey/barley soup into the crockpot before leaving for quilting.  Good thing my honey packed up all of my stuff again so I made it on time.  I ran out of stuff to sew, so headed home early…determined to get the borders done on my tan/blue quilt.  Well, I got the first tan border done anyway  :~).  I got a call from Jean about free fabric…so I hustled on over there.  The fabric was FABULOUS…but sitting and talking with Jean (and Diane who came over to join us) was really even better.  I got home, went back to sewing for a bit, then stopped for dinner and TV with my honey.  The soup was EXCELLENT (if I do say so myself).  I LOVE highly seasoned food, and turkey or chicken noodle soup always seems so bland to me…but this one was really great…I finally got the seasonings the way I like them…Michael thought it was excellent as well.  He wanted to watch some of his shows in the evening, so I spent the night in my studio…working on the quilt blocks I have been taking to Thursday quilting to work on.  I have discovered that my sizes are all over the place…and I need to stop and regroup before continuing.

a rose...

We didn’t get up until 8 AM on Wednesday (10/22)…this always happens….when you’re in a play…you get home from rehearsal later and later…so you stay up later and later to try to unwind, and you just get tired-er and tired-er!  Michael wasn’t tee-ing off until after NOON, so we had a leisurely breakfast and when I hit the studio to work on my borders, I found a gift from my honey….

one of the last of our rose blooms!

 

 

 

 

 

I worked on borders for only a bit, then felt lazy and read for several hours.  Michael was home from golf by 5 and we had leftovers for dinner and watched TV the rest of the night.  I got to knit on my sweater for most of it, and it was really nice to have it stay in my lap while my feet were up on a stool!

Chicken BBQ Pizza

Michael took the dog for a walk Tuesday morning (10/21) and I had a quick peanut butter/toast breakfast and headed down to sew!  I got the last 7 blocks made for the quilt before Joanne picked me up at 1 for Stitch & Chat.  We had a good time while there, but I need to stop taking my latest sweater.  It is too big and bulky to work on when I can’t keep it on my lap…it needs to become a ‘while watching TV’ sweater.  I went to Joanne’s house after S&C and Larry scanned my state license for QUILT DEVO so that I can send it in to the companies I want to do business with.  As an added bonus…Joanne sent me home with a LUSCIOUS margarita!  Michael got home from seeing the movie GONE GIRL and we had a really good discussion about it…sounds like it followed the book exactly, which was good because it was a GREAT book.  Since I had leftover dough (from the rolls on Friday) and leftover rotisserie chicken, and leftover smoked gouda (from the quinoa dish…also on Friday) I made a chicken BBQ pizza for dinner…yum! 

Michael left for rehearsal at 6:30 PM and I spent the evening in the studio, beginning to stitch all of my quilt blocks into rows.  He got home at 10 and we watched a bit of TV before bed.

evolution of a quilt block

Evolution of a quilt block (some scenes shown previously)….

 

more slicing and dicing happens

 

then a LOT of trimming (80 blocks worth)

 

 

and finally…the new block begins to emerge:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ta-da!!

 

Michael was up at 6 AM on Monday (10/20) to go golfing.  When I came out to the breakfast table…I asked him how he was supposed to golf in the dark!  He left at 8, by which time I had sewn another 10 blocks together.  I quit sewing and got all of my morning ablutions completed, then headed to the Lake House for our Volunteer meeting.  After the meeting I headed to the bank to open a new checking account for QUILT DEVO LLC, then hit the grocery store before heading home around 2.  I sewed the rest of the day and evening….you already saw the results of that above :~)





new quilt

Michael took Cookie for a walk early on Sunday (10/19) even though it was in the 40’s when he left….brrrr!  I got the turkey broth (from the crockpots) all packaged up and headed to the studio…eager to get a lot done.  I finished the binding and labeling on the quilt Miss Scarlet and I completed LAST Sunday  

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this design!!

standard label

ta-da!  this was made from the
leftovers of my fall bed quilt
in the guest room...if you look in
the center, and the 4 corners, those
were my leftover blocks

 

and spent the rest of the day and evening working on the cream/tan & blue blocks.  As usual…I’ve put a lot of work in on them already…and somehow it seems as though they should be done  :~)…but they are coming along.  Michael left at 5:30 for rehearsal and was home again by 10 PM. 

I have to tell you….I got an email in the afternoon that I just stewed about and stewed about all day.  Finally I called Paula at 9 PM and she ran down in her nightgown to talk to me about it!  Even though she gets up at 5 AM to take care of her grandkids, she stayed as long as I needed her to, to talk it all out….THAT is a good, good friend  :~).

garage clean out, prayers & squares quilt, crockpots

Michael and I headed out to the garage first thing Saturday morning (10/18) after breakfast.  Of course, your intrepid blogger didn’t take pictures until 1/2 way through the process, but we cleaned off 4 shelves of storage…and created lots of room out there, as well as a car full of stuff for GOODWILL….which Michael immediately took over as soon as we were finished.  I even managed to take some of our lesser used appliances OUT of the kitchen and onto shelves in the garage. 

Michael was taking everything off of the first 4 shelves and wiping them down
while I was deciding what stayed and what went

garage floor was the staging area

ready to go to GOODWILL

finished! (at least the 4 top shelves)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When Michael got back from GOODWILL, he had a bit of lunch, then headed out to the golf course.  By the time I cleaned up a bit and had some lunch, it was 1:30 before I got back to the Prayers & Squares quilt.  Just as I finished the final row

I did a pattern of hearts again....I love this design, plus it just seemed appropriate
for a quilt which will be given to someone who is ill.

a very simple design, but pretty none-the-less

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

my doorbell rang.  My friend Paula (who is ALWAYS looking out for me) scored 2 turkey carcasses from the luncheon she attended!!  I got those as crushed as I could, and into my 2 crockpots

 

before I cleaned up and headed out to a gathering to honor the life of a friend of mine.  Nancy was very active in our local Performing Arts Group as a make-up artist, and she also had season tickets to the local community theatre and frequently went with us.  She was diagnosed with cancer and died very suddenly.  It was nice to see her family and friends, but really sad to attend yet another gathering about death.  I was so depressed after that that I drove straight to Sally’s house and when she answered the door, my first question was ‘do you have any booze in the house’?  She made us Sea Breezes and we sat for several hours and solved all of the problems of the world.  I felt much better when I left at 6, and Michael was already home when I got there.  We had date night with big bowls of popcorn and TV watching, and after finishing off with 2 of ‘our’ shows (AS TIME GOES BY) we finally headed to bed after 11.

new garden flowers

Brrr…it was in the 40’s when we got up on Friday (10/17), but Michael still took Cookie for a brisk walk first thing, while I worked on a casserole (yes…another one…but a BETTER one  :~) for dinner.  By the time I got the cheesy quinoa/veggie casserole done, made up 7 containers of yoghurt for Michael (I made it overnight in the crockpot), got the brine made and on the chicken and put together roll dough for dinner, it was 11 AM before I got back to the studio.  I am totally excited about the 3 things I am working on….the new blue/tan blocks, the Prayers & Squares charity quilt on Miss Scarlet, and the binding on the fall quilt I finished on Miss Scarlet last Sunday.  I didn’t have binding for the fall quilt, and Willa brought in a bunch of fabrics for me to check out at Thursday quilting.  I found one I liked, so I got a label stitched out and started to work on my binding strips.  Michael and I had a quick, routine doctor’s appointment at the heart doc in the afternoon, and shortly after we got home, we pulled together everything we needed for dinner.  Loree & Reg arrived at 6 PM and while the guys played pool, Loree and I watched Miss Scarlet start to work on the Prayers & Squares quilt.  Debra & John arrived before 7 (John had unfortunately been stuck in Charlotte traffic) and the guys fired up the grill.  We had citrus marinated chicken, the quinoa casserole (which based on the leftovers was a big hit), Loree brought a salad, and rolls.  We had quite a discussion on religion and other sensitive topics after dinner…and it was VERY nice to be able to have a frank talk with a group of people who were NOT in agreement with each other….but were willing to discuss issues without getting mad…VERY refreshing!  We finally played a quick game of left-right-center (which Loree won) before settling into the rest of the evening with Mexican Train.  I think a very enjoyable time was had by all until minutes after everyone left when I realized, once again, that I had forgotten to take pictures of anyone or anything  :~(.  Oh well, at least Michael took a picture of the beautiful new garden flowers he picked for me in the morning:

 

bread, deer

I forgot to mention that I had my weekly phone call with Janice last night….she and her honey are traveling to Ireland soon to visit their youngest daughter, who is at the university for a semester.  I won’t get to talk to Janice for several weeks and I’m sure I’ll be lonely without our weekly calls….but am so glad that they are getting to visit.

Michael was up at 6:30 AM for golf, while I followed shortly afterward at 7.  He usually packs my car up for quilting, but since he was leaving at 8 for golf I figured I’d better get up and get moving  :~)…..but he ended up packing it anyway before he left!  I serged and serged strips together at quilting…all the while talking and having fun.  Our Thursday group does charity quilts (called prayers and squares quilts) for people who are sick and Willa asked me if I would bring one home and quilt it.  Since I am anxious to try the more complicated quilting program again…I said yes.  I was home just after 1 PM, had a quick lunch and put bread dough together.  I really didn’t want to fix dinner, so I headed over to my neighbor’s freezer, praying I had a spare casserole in there.  When Michael came home (with an 85) I said “I have no idea what we’re having for dinner, but it’s in that casserole’…then I headed downstairs.  When I came up about an hour later to shape the dough, the casserole had defrosted enough for me to tell what it was…..a casserole of stuffing…STUFFING!!!  As I stood there stupefied….my brilliant honey said  “I’ll go to the store and get a rotisserie chicken”….no wonder I LOVE that man  :~).  I got the bread baked and turned 1/2 a loaf and my old ironing board over to Larry (husband of friend Joanne). 

 

 

I have a VERY antique ironing board which collapsed/broke several weeks ago.  I asked Larry if he could fix it….well….that man must have a red suit under his clothes and THE FLASH painted on his chest….he came back within 30 minutes…totally done!  How wonderful to have such good friends.  Anyway, we had the chicken and stuffing with a salad for dinner, then Michael left for rehearsal…or he attempted to leave until I screamed for him to come back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yep, right in our back yard…they were beautiful.   They wandered over to our garden and had a nibble or 2 before heading back to the woods.  I eventually got to my studio and got the backing put together for the prayers and squares quilt and got it loaded on Miss Scarlet before Michael got home at 9:30.

beginning of new quilt top

Michael took the dog for a walk first thing Wednesday morning (10/15) and I headed downstairs with my tea to get the blog out and go through my emails.  After that, I continued sewing on the new quilt top….and I didn’t stop until dinner was ready!  My new quilt top starts with strata….2 ‘creams’ and 2 blues:

pretty boring....huh?

Then gets cut into squares

 

And after more sewing and slicing you get this

more interesting already....right?

 

I’m about 1/2 way done with this step and there are 2 more steps to go.

 

Michael studied his lines, went to the grocery store, watched a movie on TV and in general…got to relax a bit.  We had pierogi’s for dinner (yum!) and Michael left for rehearsal at 6:30.  Luckily, his scenes were done by 8:30 and he was home by 9.  We watched a bit of TV before bed.

 

 

 

embroidery name tag

Michael was up early on Tuesday (10/14) and headed out to do errands, and I hit the studio again.  I got quite a few strips sewn together…even though I have been side-lined by a cold which set in on Sunday.  Joanne picked me up before 1 PM to head up to Stitch & Chat.  I basically sat at S&C, drinking a hot beverage and making sure I didn’t touch anyone or anything!  Joanne and I left a bit early and I was finally able to fall asleep and take a nap for an hour once I got home.  I felt really pretty good after that…and we had a terrific dinner courtesy of Paula…she sent down 1/2 of her garlic cream sauce/chicken/bacon/artichoke pizza….OMgosh…out of this world!  Michael left at 6:30 for rehearsal and I managed to get a bit more sewing done before he got home at 10 PM.

I finally remembered to take a picture of my name tag from the embroidery seminar:

look closely to see the beads underneath

 

If I had known what the prize was...I wouldn't have wasted over 5 hours of my life!!!  I won a 'coffee table book' about the history of Anita Gooddesign (the embroidery company)...with lots of stitch out pictures of their designs and how they used them.  That book weighed 15 pounds if it weighed an ounce!!!  Anyway, I ended up giving it to a woman sitting in front of our table and she was THRILLED to receive it.  Apparently she is a scrap-booker and she thought she could rip out some/many of the pages and use them in her books with photos...glad to know it won't go to waste.