Every Day Above Ground Is Good

Coming Soon

2012-01-17T20:10:00.000-08:00

Coming soon to a blog near you....

New postings and photos...

There is life going on in Georgia
Maybe too much :)

But I'll catch you up...
K

visit by EB

2011-04-25T20:36:00.000-07:00

E.B. was busy with visitation on our street this Easter Holiday...

Our house got two visits...
On his first stop here he brought a brown handled paper bag with tasty candies (the chocolates are already gone), two balls of cotton yarn and the most darling card stitched up with a surprise inside... He had taken a vintage Easter postcard with a backing stitched up the sides placing a beaded fob inside... I really hated cutting the end off to find out what was hidden in there.

E.B.'s second visit came early Saturday morning when this adorable Honey Bunny appeared... isn't he just the cutest thing. Since we didn't want this cute fellow to be appreciated by only us old folks we took him with us when we traveled down into the middle of the state for a birthday party for a one year old .. the kids were amazed when they saw him sitting on the serving table... he was a hit.

The third visit by E.B. was to the little girl up the street. This time he brought her a purse made of straw like material that looked like a little house. She found it hanging from her front door knob when she got home from the Easter Egg Hunt. Inside was an M&M egg and a wind-up chic. I hear it was a smash hit at Sunday School the next day :)

Forgotten bag

2011-04-25T20:18:00.000-07:00

I've discovered one really good thing about cleaning... you rediscover things that you forgot you owned.

Years ago while attending as estate sale I found this lonely tote bag that no one was interesting in owning... it was just way too cute and home made, I HAD to have it.

The base of the tote appears to be a rectangular piece of fabric gathered and attached to the wooden circles that are on each side. The circles have drilled holes to accommodate the attaching. It is roomy and just too cute... Now that it is reclaimed I am thinking about turning it into a knitting bag.

Signage

2011-04-24T16:54:00.000-07:00

I really enjoy a good sign...

For the past year or more while driving the back roads down to a relative's home I've seen the sign for a specific BBQ restaurant. I even asked my brother-in-law in the middle of the state if he knew where the place located...... I was thinking of getting a t-shirt from this place. I mean after 30 years of teaching blind and visually impaired children how to use a cane I just had to have a t-shirt from the....

I'd taken my camera down to the party for my niece's baby's first birthday... I didn't take any photos of family or friends but I couldn't pass up the pig sign.

Once we got back to the south side of Atlanta we decided to eat at the Oakwood Cafe which is located in the Farmer's Market campus. We have found their flower garden signage interesting.

Now why not is our question??? Is it to keep the cats hungry so that they'll chase mice away from the market or is it an attempt to get them to move away??? K

All Ironing Boards are Not Created EQUAL

2011-04-24T16:25:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what has gotten into me but I've been cleaning, tossing and sorting like crazy these last weeks. Last week after helping our son get ready for the interior of his house to be painted I came home and cleaned out 6 tubs of fabric...GONE. Just take a look. I sure hope that some new quilter shops at the thrift store where the American Kidney Foundation takes this donation.

Some time over the past year I'd seen a much wider ironing board at "some" average old store, meaning I didn't see it at a fabric or quilt store. Since I'm on my cleaning jag I thought I might as well invest in a new board (take the currently used one over to church for the quilt group, then we'd have two). So I went for a QUICK drive to find it. Most of a day, three Wal-Marts, and a Target store later I finally found it.

Now look at these two boards, don't you think the new is worth it??? And are all ironing boards created equal... I don't think so... Ironing yardage could be much quicker now... Notice I didn't say anything about shirts or other garments... K

!!!SO FAR BEHIND !!!

2011-04-24T15:28:00.000-07:00

How can a retired person get so far behind??? I mean I don't get in the car everyday and spend hours some where else... so how do I get so far behind... I guess, that might be one of those ageless questions...

Well, to help catch you up on what I've been doing I thought I'd just group things together rather than do individual posts...
So here goes QUILTING

I've got another Christmas BOM done... is the Civil War block done NO.

Here is a photo of my blocks for the TreadleOn Spring TOBE (Treadle On Block Exchange) which was due at the beginning of the month. These will make a great split rail fence quilt. I sent in multiple sets.... On the right is a photo of the extra block that I made each of the participants, it's made with the special state of Georgia Fabric fabric that commissioned for the recent Metro Atlanta shop hop.

I took a two day class in hand applique... it was advertized as 6 ways to applique... but I think the teacher slipped an extra one in there somewhere... The picture shows the results of the first day of class... basket, handle and one leaf. I have the flowers prepared for stitching down but this will be one of my projects on my up coming quilting trip to the north Georgia mountains.

Last Wednesday my Georgia Friendship Quilt Guild had a workshop on making these neat pincushions...we made ours big so that folks could get the hang of the process. We made two and had a drawing for one made by a guild mate. Here is a link to a smaller sized that is worn on the wrist... In my picture the one is made is on the right... the purple one was made by a guild friend. It was a fun project.

Now you are caught up on all of my sewing adventures...k

House Hunting again

2011-03-05T12:34:00.000-08:00

I enjoy a good looking old house or building, it doesn't even need to be in acceptable repair, as you can tell from these photos...

The pinkish house is in Tifton near the water tower and the other is downtown Ty Ty, maybe you've heard of them.... the big Ty Ty nursery is there.... they send fruit trees and plants all over the south (maybe the north as well...) The more flourishing photo is downtown Sylvester GA... the home of Aunt Inez... my mother-in-laws sister...we went by during my recent visit to the southern part of the state...

Another BOM done

2011-02-26T23:41:00.000-08:00

While hubby was away shooting at the Glock match I spent the day working on the first block of the month (BOMs) installments for my two Red Hen quilts for this year... I've never done a Christmas quilt and this year is the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.
Well, I just finished the Civil War block which was constructed mostly of HST sections (half square triangles). Some of my most favorite blocks or quilts are made up of HST sections...
Anyway, here is the finished Civil War block for January...

And yes it really is 2:45 AM... love that coffee at late dinner :)

DONE

2011-02-26T15:27:00.000-08:00

Red Hen Quilt Shop Christmas Quilt Block of the Month (BOM), January Block... DONE :)

Challenge Quilt 2011

2011-02-25T12:41:00.000-08:00

Well, I've moved into that thought process of "it's better done than perfect". Even though I've been working on the quilt top of my East Cobb Quilt Guild 2011 challenge quilt for weeks it was still under production last night when I took it to evening guild meeting. Matter of fact, I was picking out free motion quilting that I'd done and didn't like like. Not sure if it was color thread, awful design or the fact that I'm a terrible free motion quilter. Anyway, it was not done in time to turn it in last night.... so I was working on it till the wee hours of the morning... I got to hear the 3:00AM thunderstorm roll through.

I got it all together this morning and turned in...I've not decided if I'll redo any of it or just hide it in the drawer... it is finished and that makes another thing DONE on my deadline list.

The challenge elements were, one friendship block, a heart, obvious binding, a certain size, and it had to tell you something about your best friend....
... So my Best Friend is (or are) my treadle sewing machines... I used some treadle fabric that a TreadleOn member shared with me. My friendship stars had black backgrounds. There was a thin purple with metallic silver pattern fabric piping (?) edge trim then 2.5 inch squares of various sewing fabrics. The outer border was the same snake fabric that I used in my ISMACS convention Halloween quilt contest entry, now that is all gone :) The binding was supposed to be obvious so I did lime green... The lime green binding looks okay at 100 yards while riding a galloping horse, up close it is awful--- I might trim it off and redo... haven't decided.

Yes, one of the friendship blocks is misshaped, that's because our friends are not perfect... not even treadles--- I know that is hard to believe...

I have the quilt back home so will take a better picture but this is the photo taken this morning before leaving for guild meeting...

My Buddy Blocks

2011-02-23T04:37:00.000-08:00

Good morning All....
Things in Georgia are moving into Spring... It is gorgeous.
Speaking of all things gorgeous... Monday I had the opportunity to "coffee" with one of my East Cobb Quilt Guild evening members, Denise. The spark for this gathering was exchanging our Buddy Blocks that I think might have been due back in December. However, neither Denise nor myself were aware that December's party was also the exchange date. Anyway, before our next were due (this Thursday--tomorrow) we decided to pass these along. Before long it was obvious that this quick meeting over coffee to exchange blocks was going to morph into something longer....it was an enjoyable lunch event, good thing we had a very patient waiter. So here is my block made by Denise's very own hand... Plus check the next posting down to see the total collection of blocks thus far.

The Collection

2011-02-23T04:00:00.000-08:00

Continue on down to the next posting to see a couple more...

Continuation

2011-02-23T03:50:00.000-08:00

Aren't they just the greatest. I sure hope that I can do them justice... how to set them? What to put with them? My desire is to make a quilt for ME... what a novel idea, right?

we love our postal carrier

2011-02-17T14:43:00.000-08:00

I had to giggle when the doorbell rang and my husband came back with a message from Tammy our postal carrier.... she told my husband that she'd be out on vacation till today (2-17) and that last year I'd given her some great chocolate candies for Valentine's Day. She wanted to make sure that I didn't leave anything in the mailbox that the other carriers might consider eating, you know.... it might not still be good when she comes back so lets eat it for her. Now you might think this is a little presumptuous of Miss Tammy, not really...she knows me too well. I try to leave her a little something in the mailbox on most special occasions. Since I couldn't remember what delicious candies I'd given her last year I had to come up with something interesting and tasty but not too much.... so I'd found her a box of 6 "rich chocolate truffles" and made her a set of mug mats from her two favorite colors.... orange and purple.

I met her at the mailbox today even though I'd already placed the little bag in the box along with all the depressing bills... don't you just hate writing out bills?

I got tickled at her pulling the bag out, she rubbed her hands together and said I can hardly wait, I'll have to open it back at the post office.... with much gratitude she pulled away...

Now what to do for St. Patty's day????

Minnesota potholders

2011-02-17T14:35:00.000-08:00

Don't you just get a kick out of Becky's bright cheerful potholders. These arrived in the mail last week and I've just now gotten them from the kitchen to the sewing room for a photo shoot. My husband thinks they are rather insightful... he had a difficult time picking a favorite but since he's been working so much over time I think the cabin themed one wins out........ he wishes he were where the fish and wildlife play. The cat potholder is wonderful with it's frisky felines starring back at you. Becky did a fantastic job. I'm hoping that we get paired up again in the future.

Bella's block

2011-02-10T21:04:00.000-08:00

I seem to be on a roll...
So far I've posted a block a day for two days straight...can I keep up this fury of postings :)

This block another in the series of Buddy Blocks for the evening East Cobb Quilt Guild group.

The recipient of this block is now a stay at home professional long arm quilter. She does beautiful work and is in much demand. The raffle quilt that is a few postings back was quilted by Miss Bella.

This block was also found at BlockCentral.com and is called DANDY. There are two different layouts of the block, the difference is the positioning of the corner blocks. I've used the alternative position.

Hope you enjoy it Bella.
K

Charity Challenge

2011-02-10T16:13:00.000-08:00

While reading Pat Sloan's email newsletter today she linked to Cora a blogger that is challenging us to do good. Now most of my friends are already in guilds that have on going charity projects but Cora challenges us to step up to the plate and do more. To do a hands on good deed for the organizations that comfort and support those unable to tend to themselves right now, in this place.

What can we do? Cora speaks of seeing a sign at the shelter asking for paper towels... She asks us to find out at least one basic item that the shelter or organization needs and fill it, maybe even on an on going basis... you could become the oatmeal lady, or the soap man. Step up and help provide the basics that we all take for granted.

What will you do.... read Cora's post & get busy, there could be a small pat on the back coming your way.
http://www.caraquilts.com/
K

Denise's Buddy Block

2011-02-09T21:38:00.000-08:00

Even though Denise is not due to get her block for another week I thought I'd go ahead and post the photo... This is a Buddy Block exchange from the evening meeting of the East Cobb Quilt Guild. Every two months we're matched up with another member, through discussing the blocks that we'd like for our projects we learn a little something new about exchange partners. It has been an enjoyable to strengthen our connections.

Denise wanted red & white so I dove into my scrap bin for a variety of both colors. The toughest part of the process was picking a block design. This one is from BlockCentral an on line quilt block resource. The block must have a "real" name but only tag it had was "Year's Favorite" so I can only conclude that a Block of the Month or something similar was done and this was the favorite of the many designs.

It is a fun block to do... only Half Square Triangles (HST) and full squares of fabric were used. the design is from the placement of the individual HST. Now I must admit before you point them out, many of my points don't meet.... but I was happy with the first time result and the crispness of the block, so I didn't go back and try to perfect it. From a galloping horse no one will tell, right????

Hope you like it Denise.... see you next week to exchange blocks :)

Trying to be better

2011-02-08T16:41:00.000-08:00

Okay I am trying to be better.... a new year, a new me, maybe.
I've revamped the listed on the right side of the screen. One list is things that I have a DEADLINE for, either a "real" external deadline or one I've projected for myself. The list is rather sizable in that I am in the East Cobb Quilt Guild's evening group Buddy Block Exchange, these are swapped every two months and you make up what your exchange partner has requested. Then I'm in two BOMs (Block of the Month) programs at Red Hen Fabrics. I'm doing both the Civil War and the Christmas Quilt. On top of these I've signed up for several of the TreadleOn block or project exchanges. If this is all that I do, I'll be a busy girl and no need for people to worry about my idle hands. The second list is ON GOING PROJECTS... these are projects that I have floating around in my thoughts, or ones that are UFO's.

So far so good... have the first item done on the Deadline list and here are the pictures. I was partnered with Becky from Minnesota, we were to send two potholders to our partner. Becky and I agreed to make something appropriate for a cabin. The pictures of my loon potholder (a modification of the vintage chicken potholder...) and the second is a log cabin style block.

Knitted cowls in the mail

2011-02-08T16:30:00.000-08:00

This Christmas season I was not knitting as quickly as the days were passing, so when the mailing date for over seas packages arrived I still didn't have all of cowls knitted. Since the holidays I've spent several evenings a week working on the cowls as well as during waiting and meetings. Here are pictures of the finished projects so far...

Want a Raffle Ticket????

2011-02-08T16:20:00.000-08:00

This quilt is a knock out...
This is a quilt show year for the East Cobb Quilt Guild, the raffle quilt is done and will soon touring guilds and quilt shops in Georgia. I have the honor of taking the quilt to many of these "showings". If you'd like a ticket.... I'd be ever so happy so take your money...

crowded parking lot

2010-10-12T13:20:00.000-07:00

Why is it that when you want good pictures the camera acts up? I figured that the darling's problem was battery related but still..........

They are filming the new version of "Foot Loose" in various locations around Atlanta. Next to the antique mall where we have a booth there is an old country western night club... last week park of the parking lot was congested with film equipment and huge storage containers. This week the parking lot has container trailers, trailers for the actors, and other living/working configurations. The parking lot was full of cars rather the usual 10 to 20... I tried to take a few pictures of the makeshift village in the parking lot.....

The pictures are pretty terrible... but maybe it will give you a hint of what it looks like...

Church soft ball

2010-10-11T07:04:00.000-07:00

New Friday night activity...
What could be more exciting than a fun game of church soft ball. Now my husband and I were not playing, we were part of the cheering team. Our son Adam is now playing on the church's soft ball team. He seems to think that its a most wonderful way to spend a Friday night. This was my first chance to watch him play as the games began while I was in south Georgia with my mother-in-law. The teams are made up of various ages and must have an equal number of ladies and gentleman. The purpose of church soft ball rules seem to be to equalize opportunities and fairness, to the unskilled cheerleader they were difficult to follow at times. But that is okay... it made for the element of surprise.

It was a great way to spend the night... much more entertaining than TV and the commercials are shorter... (little kids flying by on their trikes such cute kids).

Now I realize that the photos are not too good... but they give you the general idea. It was dark and they played on the other side of the fence :) K

September???

2010-10-07T13:27:00.000-07:00

What happened to September???

I'm not sure but I think it flew by in a hurry...

So here I go trying to catch up...
K

ECQG blocks

2010-10-07T13:15:00.000-07:00

During the month of September I did work up some blocks for two projects for the East Cobb Quilt Guild... I submitted a couple of fill-in blocks for the president's quilt, plus each guild in Georgia being asked to make a quilt that will be used to make money for the new state quilt museum... Since ECQG's emblem is baskets, I had the opportunity to improve my piecing skills. Meaning, I'd never made baskets before...

Adam's new car

2010-10-07T13:14:00.000-07:00

Son Adam's new car.. such a nice looking man :)

neighborhood surprise

2010-10-07T13:10:00.000-07:00

Bright and early one morning the neighborhood awoke to smiley faces in the our neighbor's yard... our young neighbor up the street was fascinated by the sight...

look what showed up!

2010-10-07T13:09:00.000-07:00

Now this is some sort of cool tumbler... insulated, spill proof top and it's very own plastic straw with a "washer" to keep the liquids in... the only thing that would make it cooler would be if it was purple...

Some how it showed up here at the house while I was gone.

TOGA in Florida

2010-10-07T13:08:00.000-07:00

I've just returned home from enjoying the Florida TOGA (TreadleOn Gathering and Academy). It was a short 2.5 days of rubbing elbows with other folks that are addicted to people powered sewing machines (all though were a few stray electric vintage machines). What could be better than a large room full of treadles and hand cranks, all singing their own purring songs. We sewed, practiced free motion quilting, learned about taking apart a tension assembly and did a block exchange.

Here are some photos of the TOGA. In the next posting I'll show you the block exchange entries.

Free motioning Quilting???

2010-10-07T13:07:00.000-07:00

Miss McKenna gave us a demonstration and encouragement to try our hand at free motion quilting on a class 15 Singer treadle...( in the last post McKenna is the lady dressed in a pinkish outfit sitting at a treadle).

We each took our turn at practicing free motion quilting...especially feathers among other things...

Yes, I know I didn't smooth out the sample, but maybe you get the idea anyway :)

TOGA Exchange blocks

2010-10-07T13:05:00.000-07:00

The guidelines for the TOGA were
-block size 6.5 inches square
-pinks, whites, greens, & a dash of yellow
-block design was the stitchers choice

You'll see that there is a nice variety...

2010-10-07T13:04:00.000-07:00

More blocks

What do you do with junk???

2010-08-28T19:44:00.000-07:00

You sell it as antiques :)

Or at least that's how the saying goes "we buy junk and sell antiques".

Ya, we got a booth in an antique mall in Kennesaw, Ga.So far so good...so far the biggest sellers are the tools that GH has been collecting. Books would have to be the second biggest seller.... I don't notice anymore room around the house though. (GH hasn't said anything about bringing a sewing machine up there...smart man.)

More House Hunting In South GA

2010-08-28T19:34:00.000-07:00

While with my Mother In Law during the three months that I was down there we frequently went for a drive on the "dirt" back roads, something that she'd not do on her own. She love it, seeing farms and the houses of friends for times past... she enjoyed every trip. On trip we passed this collection of buildings that had once been a busy working farm. In June my husband and I were both down again and drove us out to see the farm again... yes, all the buildings lean slightly to the side while the farm house appears to standing it's ground.
What do you think???

UGA baby quilt top

2010-06-07T13:35:00.000-07:00

The young couple down the street is expecting baby Charlie this week... after the German block exchange I had left over blocks & fabric, and since the UGA (University of Georgia) colors are red, white, and black I thought of no better use for my scraps than a UGA baby quilt.

Even though you can't tell the borders in this picture they are the token black for the UGA colors...

I still have 16 blocks left over... so you guessed it... a small square "summer" quilt... just the blocks, flannel batting with a black binding. Go Dawgs...

What do you think??? K

Harris H 9

2010-06-01T13:14:00.000-07:00

Well, I've finished my three sets of blocks for the TreadleOn Block Exchange... some exchanges have an interesting requirement for those participating... This one the blocks were to be made on a German made people powered sewing machine with the colors being reds with creams and light tans.

Inspired to use my German handcrank I purchased three different reds and coordinating lights... since I've lived in Georgia for over half of my life I couldn't resist the UGA bulldog fabric when I saw it... It also turns out that we have a UGA baby due just two doors down... so those extra blocks and fabrics will go into a red, black and white baby quilt for the young Baldwin baby. I wanted to send in three different block sets, 12 in each set.

My sewing machine was purchased in Tifton at the only antique shop I know of... this Harris H9 was sold in England probably after the war because the national original is not stated on the machine... just the word foreign to let the buyer know that it was not an English product. It is a sweet sewing machine....

Is this for real???

2010-05-29T14:38:00.000-07:00

Neither one of us could decide what we wanted for very late lunch today... so that means we ordered Chinese.

On this Memorial Day Weekend I got this fortune in my cookie...

"You'll accomplish much later if you have a little fun this weekend"

Don't you just love fate :)

So Sad

2010-05-29T09:14:00.000-07:00

Breaks my heart....

I've been so bad :(

2010-05-26T15:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I am just making a public acknowledgment that I've been doing a terrible job at keeping up with my blog postings. Now you would think that since I am retired I could do a better job of this... I guess, all this time on my hands has caused me to become a worthless slug...

So as a charter member of the slug society I am going to try to catch you up on current events.

In order to make this somewhat logical my next few posts will be in order below this one.... there are 5 new posts below this one... so just keep clicking "older posts" to view the posting from today... (confusing, yes....)

They will be the good, the bad, and the ugly...

So here we go...
K

June 22, 1923 to April 6, 2010

2010-05-26T15:35:00.000-07:00

What can you say about someone that has impacted your life at multiple layers?
Nothing except that I am a better person for having known her.

For a couple of us in the Atlanta Chapter of Old Lacers Betty was the driving force in how we spend our leisure time...she taught us to make bobbin lace, and knit.

Betty shared her life as a young lady growing up in Britain before and during World War II. Our hearts were touched by her family stories. There was nothing more enjoyable than spending time with Betty and sharing a good laugh and seeing her eyes sparkle.

I had the privilege of demonstrating lace making at various events around Georgia with her; north to Big Canoe, East to Augusta, south to Westville, and West to Powers Crossroads Arts and Craft Fair. We had a great time traveling down country roads.

She was a huge part of our lives and has a lingering impact still...
We catch ourselves wanting to share ideas, patterns, and events.
We drive by old haunts where we get flashes of the shared good times....
Starbucks....
craft stores...
skeins of yarn...

Miss you, Betty
K

Block of the Month from Red Hen

2010-05-26T15:30:00.000-07:00

you know by now that I don't do well keeping deadlines... how did I ever get all those IEP's done somewhat on time. Crunch time....

With the encouragement of friend, Mari-Lynn, I agreed to participate in one of our local quilt shops' block of the month for this year. We've done 4 so far and they look pretty good. And like Mari-Lynn says, we are refining our quilting skills and techniques.
K

Buddy Blocks

2010-05-26T15:20:00.000-07:00

Over the last year I've been participating in my evening guild's Buddy Block project... I've not been as good about keeping photo records of our exchanges...

However, here are some of the ones I've received plus a red, white and blue one that I sent last months buddy....
K

House Hunting in Rochell GA

2010-05-26T15:12:00.000-07:00

Here is another installment in the "house hunting" series. This building is in a small rural farm town that I pass through coming and going to Mom Caldwell's house.

If you had unlimited money to fix it up what would it become????

House Hunting in the Pitts

2010-05-26T15:00:00.000-07:00

Looking at these pictures of downtown Pitts GA you'd think that something was really happening here. Nothing was going on nor did it appear like anything had been going on for years.... so why did everything look so bright and shiny??? Maybe a movie back drop??? Or some one just thought it was time for a face lift????

2010-04-04T07:23:00.000-07:00

Because the tomb is empty
We have hearts full
Of Joy

May this picture express the
Power of the Empty
Tomb in our hearts
and lives

As He arose from the tomb
May we arise to a more
Powerful life in Him
Assured that we can do better
Than yesterday.

House Hunting

2010-03-09T06:48:00.000-08:00

I really enjoy a great looking old house...

While in South Georgia for that three months I got a chance to drive around the back roads a great deal... I've started collecting pictures of my favorite old houses and will title the entries "house hunting".

This is the first entry... located on Old Highway 41 in the town of Sycamore, GA. What a beauty she must have been....

baby shower

2010-03-09T06:40:00.000-08:00

Since you saw the corsages before they went to the shower I thought you might be interested in their tour of the shower... I didn't get many pictures at the shower, I had "game" responsibilities to preform...
Here are a couple of shower pictures... Granny or Great-grandmother and grandmother (but from conversations that I heard, she doesn't want to be grandma but rather MiMi...sounds good to me).
Enjoy...
k

I did it !!!!

2010-03-06T14:38:00.000-08:00

I am going to have to watch myself...

Sometimes I just volunteer myself beyond my comfort zone...

My task this time was to get three corsages for the baby shower, one for the mother- to -be, grandmother and great-grandmother... after finding no florist available on short notice it fell to me to make the corsages. Had I ever done such a thing???? NO...

After gathering the supplies and some courage I stepped forth on uncertain ground...
But I think they turned out acceptably good. What do you think??? K

Better to Be DONE

2010-03-03T15:14:00.000-08:00

I've never done a Block of the Month (BOM) of any sort... way too much responsibility and discipline for me. Well, this year I am participating in a BOM with one of my dear quilting friends... the shop that is doing the BOM has several going at the same time. Ours is the "Last Saturday of the Month-BOM". The trick to most of these deals is that you must get the first one done before you can go by the shop to pick up the next installment. Each installment has instructions and the fabric for completing the block. Well, we did a prototype of the block out of stash fabrics before we ventured into the "real" block construction. The thought was that we could get the mistakes over with on the prototype. An after thought was that it would give us enough extra blocks at the end of the year for a nice charity quilt... reasonable, we thought.

Yesterday we finally sat down to work up the real block.....
DONE...
Now I can go in with my head held high and my hand out (for my next block)

name tag pockets

2010-03-01T12:02:00.000-08:00

I am a member of the East Cobb Quilt Guild.
We've been doing this activity in the evening group called Buddy Blocks. Since the majority of the group have day jobs and full lives we tend to take projects at a slower pace then the bigger day time guild group does. Every two months or so we are assigned another member of the group, we meet with them and exchange information with the intent of making a quilt block or other requested object for that person. Some folks intend to have enough blocks at the end of the project to make a bed quilt, others are doing wall hangings... the last three folks I've gotten have requested name tag pockets. Here are pictures of the last two that I finished.

Catching UP

2010-03-01T11:48:00.000-08:00

Thought that I'd do a little blog "catch up" while I wait for my next activity to begin. I've been involved in the Olympic Challenge with my TreadleOn group for the last couple weeks but before that I was busy with locating finished projects for the Loving Hands Quilt Group (from our church). Like I might have mentioned, my sewing room tends to be a BLACK HOLE, things go in, ever to be seen again.

We got a new furnace, and with it came a new set of air returns, one required that I clean out the sewing room closet...... what a treasure. I found all sorts of objects that had been lost to time...... 17 red, white and blue blocks for a couple of soldier quilts that the group is doing. K

Snow fall in Georgia

2010-02-12T14:01:00.001-08:00

We sure do get excited when the mention of snow hits the news here in Georgia. They forecasted that our area of the state would get about 1 inch maybe 1.5 but that the counties south of Atlanta would be the real winners in the snowfall competition.

Here are a few photos taken from the front and back door...even though it was 4:45 pm the photos have come out dark... if you click on them they show up better :)

glad to be back

2010-02-10T13:44:00.000-08:00

Good afternoon...
Now you might be thinking that I'm glad to be back home because of family and friends, well that is true but I am so glad to be back so that I can participate in my TreadleOn block exchanges. I missed getting to do the fall exchange so when I realized that I was going to be able to whip up several sets (each set was 12 blocks) for the Winter exchange I went all out. The exchange was sets of star blocks of blue and white fabrics made with any handcrank or treadle sewing machine, So take a look....

Here is the link to see all the blocks... continue to check it for a few days because they are still arriving at Patience's house. As you notice mine have not been added to the list yet.

It is wonderful to be home and to get to play with my sewing machines...
K

Cotton time

2010-01-22T14:23:00.000-08:00

I've spent the last three months in rural south Georgia where I believe cotton is King again. Here are some pictures of cotton in various stages of the process... i am thinking of making note cards... all this work just so I can have cotton fabric for quilting, I must buy more :) Thank you cotton growers of America...

Dancing Stars

2010-01-22T13:56:00.000-08:00

Remember my telling you a few posts back about not taking pictures of my entry in the ISMACS Halloween Contest... well, here it is. Notice the shiny fax snake skin border.

Halloween wall hanging pictures

2009-10-30T10:22:00.000-07:00

The ISMACS convention in North Charolina is over... and here are the pictures of the many entries in the wall hanging contest. I had stiff competition.... mine is the black and white one with the yellow stars. K

Depressed

2009-10-29T20:00:00.000-07:00

well, I worked like a wild person getting Leo and Sherri's quilts done so that I could get them to Texas before Leo's surgery Monday. I got the binding on Sherri's, it looked presentable. Today I put the binding on Leo's and about half way around I decided that I didn't like it, plus the application was rather awful... sloppy in areas and just not my usual standard. Against my better judgement I sent them anyway... I wanted to get them there so that they could be used to snuggle and nap in after the surgery.

I've decided that I'll ask for it back when summer comes, apply a new border and do a much better application.... Live and learn....

Ann's quilting is fantastic. The patterns that she used really suited the theme of the quilts....k

Where the magic happens

2009-10-26T20:47:00.000-07:00

Good evening...
I thought that you might like to see where the magic happens...

Like I posted yesterday, I had a very productive weekend peddling out the four quilts. Yes, they were all done on my treadle "James Bond".

Today I delivered the three family quilts over to Ann's house where she'll long arm quilt them for me.

The three pictures are of the set up process and her quality control department....

While the hubby is sick

2009-10-25T17:43:00.000-07:00

While the cat is away, the meces will play :) However in this instence the saying should go.... While the hubby is sickly is the wife will quilt :)

For the last 36 + hours the hubby has been suffering with an allergy attack brought on from his hunting weekend a week ago.... I am not sure what he was allergic to, but he has suffered with this for the whole.... it seems to be getting better, however. So during this time of nursing duties I've been productive. My brother is going into the hospital for surgery on Nov 2....being the lover of trains that he is I thought a nice snuggly train quilt might be just what he needed. So got busy assembling his quilt... I'd been working on the blocks thinking it would be a Christmas gift but the surgery has sort of moved up the time line. Knowing how poorly men are at being sick I figured that SIL Sherri could probably do with a hug from Georgia as well... so got her floral quilt top done also. There were a few unused blocks so I put them together for a quilt top her granddaughter Payton... and there were still four blocks remaining so made up a baby quilt inadvance, what an odd concept......

So here they are, Train quilt with Texas Ranger fabric for the backing for Leo. A floral quilt with autmum leaves backing fabric for Sherri. For Payton a floral quilt with lamb flannel as the backing....

All of these quilts are going to dear friend Ann's house tomorrow for quilting on her long arm quilting machine....there is no way I could wrangle this size quilt and get them done in my life time.... Ann is a life saver...K

Louella's quilt top done

2009-10-21T16:15:00.000-07:00

Well, Louella's quilt top is done and was delivered over to the long arm quilter this afternoon. Ann will do a pretty leaf pattern on the quilt, Louella's father wrote a book about the wild flowers an other flora along a Georgia trail. Ann has a great selection of patterns as well as a creative mind... I can hardly wait to see what she does for this humble top.

Enjoy the pictures...

Quilt Show

2009-10-17T17:00:00.001-07:00

Today friend Terri and I went up to the mountains for North Georgia for a quilt show at Blairsville... This was our first time attending a Misty Mountain Quilters Guild Octoberfest quilt show. What a treat.... There were enteries from all levels....

We had the opportunity to vote for our favorite quilt;this Cathedral Window by Zetta Thompson got my vote with no hesitation....

More Misty Mt quilts

2009-10-17T17:00:00.000-07:00

This is a beautiful applique quilt of birds and flowers done by Joice Lias. She was inspired by Bea Oglesly's book Birds and Flowers.

The pink quilt is made of crocheted trims and doilies appliqued to the quilt blocks. Fae Herd made the lace work as well as the quilt... such talent.

The light natural tones quilt is the work of Darlene Barnes and called Feathered Elegance. This quilt was also for sale...the photo doesn't do it justice, it is a very charming quilt.

What do you think??? K

Some more quilts

2009-10-17T16:50:00.000-07:00

The "String Quilt" is the work of Patricia Krick, I think it drew me over due to the colors... I like it.

The machine embroidery on this was elegant in its presentation. This was a learning experience quilt by Margaret McKnew called Simon's Folly.

What do you think of this motorcycle stitched in the border with multicolored thread....A great idea when added to the T-Shirt quilt of bike theme shirts made by Judy Lowery :)

"The Beauty of Stars" was done by Audie Gay. This is to be a wedding quilt for her granddaughter.... she'll treasure this one for sure... K

Quilts

2009-10-17T16:30:00.000-07:00

Nancy Jenson's "Revolutionary War Flags" is an inspiring quilt.

This version of the Improved 9 Patch titled
"What Was I Thinking" was Carleen Brock's attempt
at curing her dislike of
curved piecing...
I AM NOT CURED ...
was her statement!!!
But a great little quilt :)

The blue quilt is made
with table linens left
when to Judie
Greenstone
when her mother
died. An interesting
new use...
K

Frank N. Stein on Manor Drive

2009-10-17T15:45:00.000-07:00

Some folks just are way too clever....

My dear friend Sonja has such creative knitting needles...when she found knitting her creativity blossomed. Last Wednesday we had lunch together and she presented me with a Frankenstein dishcloth. The packaging was just as creative as the gift.... yes, its a Halloween M&M bag closed with her very own "chain stitch". She no doubt worked hard to get all those M&Ms eaten in time for the gift giving :) I greatly appreciated her sacrifice...

Davis Vertical Feed blocks

2009-10-06T16:57:00.000-07:00

In the TreadleOn group the Davis Vertical Feed is considered a much sought after treadle sewing machine, especially for those that do machine quilting. You see, the machine has no feed dogs to move the fabric back once the stitch is finished.... how does the fabric move you asking????? The needle does the fabric moving and since that is the case when you are quilting on the machine it means that all the layers moved back together, there is less likelihood of the layers shifting or causing ripples on the back.

Even though I'd gotten my Davis vertical feed machine during summer vacation of 2008 I'd not participated in the Davis block exchange.... the blocks were due in the mail on Monday Oct 5th. The colors were jewel tones with whites... and the block design was quilters choice.... I did two sets of a Churn Dash variation. What do you think???? K

Savannah GA visit

2009-10-05T19:23:00.000-07:00

After the graduation ceremoney my husband and I went to the Savannah GA area for a little sight seeing. We lunched at the Crab Shack which was on the way to Tybee Island and toured the Old Fort Jackson location which is near downtown. A film crew was visiting the fort, taking lighting and distance measurements for a future production. We drove around Tybee Island shocked at how it had changed since our last visit, many moons ago.

It has been our intention to spend the weekend in Savannah, but when the Welcome Center folks shared that it was going to be the first weekend of Octoberfest and drinking would be the main recreation we decided to return home.....besides, my husband missed his cats :) K

Proud of our Marine

2009-10-04T16:14:00.000-07:00

On Oct 1st and 2nd we had the honor and pleasure of going to our nephew Sam's graduation from Marine Boot Camp at Parris Island. The Marines really know how to put on a graduation ceremony.

The event started with a Family Day on Thursday. Family and friends were exposed to the educational experiences that their loved ones had gone through during the past 13 weeks. After a short speech by the commander informing us that their young men had not smoked, drank, eaten sugary foods, talked on the phone, or driven a car during the prior 13 weeks....and he expected them to come back to the Marines in as good condition after their LEAVE, which would begin after graduation the next day. That statement got an interesting reaction from the audience.

During Family Day we could wander about the "Depot", have lunch, visit the museum or shop but we could not take our Marine from the Depot. So that is just what we did, took him to the officer's club for buffet lunch, shopped at the MCX (where we all bought T-Shirts and other Marine support items), we toured the museum.... At 3:00pm it was necessary for Sam to return to his barracks...The rest of the family (Sam's parents, grandmother, sister and his girl friend) left the Depot while my husband and I toured the open spaces of Parris Island... what a beautiful place when you are not trudging through the under brush with a 100 lb pack on your back :)

Graduation on Friday was most impressive.....
Those men really know how to march.
We are all very proud of Sam....k

River Rat TOGA blocks come home

2009-09-27T08:16:00.000-07:00

Several weeks ago as you might remember I commented on the blocks I was making for the River Rat TOGA (TreadleOn Gathering and Academy) that was being held mid September in Minnesota. Even though I was not able to attend this huge TOGA (I believe it might be one of the larger attended events) I was going to be allowed to participate in the block exchange since I try to "gather" with the River Rats when I am in residence in Minnesota during the summer.

Some folks make their blocks ahead of time,then bring them to the TOGA while others take the opportunity to gather with fellow attendees for a sew-in while others are taking classes or going on shop tours...or they gather at night at the motel for a late night sewing bee. Which ever it is they have a blast...

The photo is of the blocks that were returned to me..... the blocks this year were makers choice, so we could do anything we wanted with in the size requirements. Only a few folks took the opportunity to participate so I think that I'll join these blocks with some already collected... maybe this quilt top will be one that I work on during the up coming Winter Olympic Games Challenge, now that is another story.K

East Cobb Quilt Show treadling

2009-09-27T07:54:00.000-07:00

Good morning Y'all
Now that the East Cobb Quilt Guild show is a distant glow of short term memory I thought that I'd share the photos that friend Sonja took of me in action. Sonja and her mother slowly cruised through the quilt show on Friday while the beginnings of the "500 year flood" were settling in. Sonja is an admitted self proclaimed fiber-a-holic, which usually takes the form of fibers for knitting but she can churn out the cutest bags and other items from fabric as well. Don't let her fool you, she knows how to use a machine isn't afraid to push the peddle :) .

While stopping by the guild's demonstration booth she did me the honor of taking the three photos. So please enjoy them.... the subject matter might not be as fresh and interesting as it could be if some sweet young thing were treadling but she did the best with what I gave her.

Check out Sonja's blog for some posts on her favorite quilts at the show.

Even though the show was during the flood it had the largest attendance of any of the past shows...amazing. k

Halloween Wall Hanging

2009-09-24T07:39:00.000-07:00

Next month the International Sewing Machine Collectors Society (ISMACS) is having their yearly convention in Charlotte NC. Part of the festivities of this gathering is a Halloween wall hanging competition. Of course, this procrastinate wanted to enter a quilt. I knew the design I wanted to use, Dancing Stars. I'd use the pattern but shrunk it down so that the blocks were about half the size of those in the pattern. After months of collecting black and white fabrics and orange for the highlight stars I was ready to begin the project. After working on it for about a week when it came time to mail it I couldn't find the camera to take a picture.... so when nothing else would do I did a photo shoot of the scraps... now you'll have to wait till the return of the quilt so see the Dancing Stars...k

River Rat TOBE

2009-09-12T20:16:00.000-07:00

Even though I won't get to attend the River Rat TOGA in MN later this September they welcomed my participating in the block exchange... this exchange was of 6.5 inch blocks with the design being the makers choice... I don't know if this block has a name but I recently drew it out on graph paper. The gold flower fabric was purchased on the Spring Mountain Shop Hop this year. I'd bought enough to share with the Loving Hands Quilt Group; matter of fact, I believe I challenged them to use it in a project of their choice. I like my block...

I liked the look so much I worked up the rest of the fabric inserting a green in the bottom section in place of the signature muslin... I really like this one but since I only have 14 of them......... what to do with them????? Any ideas???? K

Quilt Show

2009-09-04T11:57:00.000-07:00

The East Cobb Quilt Guild (of Georgia) has a quilt show every other year... well, this is the year... I must admit that the guild does a wonderful job of not only bringing the best out in us but providing fantastic shopping opportunities... Members of the guild will be demonstrating quilting techniques and styles in our guild area. For the second year I'll be there the majority of the time; this year I'll have a HC machine and one of my treadles. I was toying with what treadle to take but after having to change the bobbin frequently on my shuttle machine while piecing a quilt I decided that I'd opt for my White Rotary or my new James Bond due to the higher capacity bobbins... If I'll be sewing for hours a day I'd like to just pop in a full bobbin and sew for miles...

Here is the ad for the show plus pictures of my possible machines, I think that my HC will be German made badged model...

cat quilt

2009-09-01T12:38:00.000-07:00

Yes, another Disappearing 9 Patch has come out of the treadle... James Bond to be exact.... such a smooth silent stitcher :)

I think that this will be one of the quilts for the twin babies of Cumming :)

James Bond up & running

2009-08-27T08:36:00.000-07:00

Well, the man himself is up and running. Talk about smooth running.... oh, my.... Granny Cook might have to fight to regain her position. The only snag in just dropping him right in the cabinet was the belt had to be changed.... Granny's belt was about 3 inches too long... Put a new belt on and away we go!!! This will be fun. I'll order one of those needle plates with the seam allowance marks on it and I won't have to use a magnet to mark the 1/4 inch quilt seam. What a deal!!!

Take a look...

James Bond joins the family

2009-08-26T10:10:00.000-07:00

Yes, it is true........ James Bond has come to roost at our house...

Debbie A, a friend of mine has blessed us two sewing machines that have been in her family for years. They have come to our home, received the spa treatment and taken their place among the herd. Well, this newest member is a clone of a Singer 15... after his spa treatment his surface is shiny and bright. My hubby helped me take the motor off (setting it aside just in case it might be needed later) and he is re-working the original light so that it can be reattached....

Yes, you guest it....the new machine will be treadled. It is a cute little fellow with a nice green stripe that proudly proclaims that he is a Bond Electric Sewing Machine... how could you not name him JAMES??? Now my question is, if I ever demonstrate treadling with James, will anyone notice that he is supposed to be an electric machine???? He is not in a cabinet yet but I wanted to share his good looks with you.

Batik quilts

2009-08-26T10:02:00.001-07:00

To border or not to border that is the question....

While In Minnesota I got caught up in the batik storm, this was due to a guild block exchange, (See it was not my fault). The assignment was to do a batik block, since that was the assignment I wanted to do it the Northwoods way. So I waited till I got to the north country before I even began selecting my batiks...getting all woods theme batiks. I got a yard of this and yard of that, before I knew it I had way more than I needed for my measly two or three blocks that I was to turn in. When the assignment was finished I went full blast cutting out and piecing other blocks... Since arriving back in the hot humid south I've occupied my time inside finishing the blocks and piecing the tops. Yes, they are small but they'll be great baby quilt size...

The modified snowball quilt is 5 blocks by 6 and the half square triangle is 3 by 3 blocks sqaure. I have two pieces of batik large enough to make borders.... but now I'm not so sure I want them...what do you think??? K

Pfaff oil can

2009-08-26T09:30:00.000-07:00

Just look at the other cutie I found on vacation.... an old Pfaff sewing machine oil can. Complete with the whole spout... I understand that most of the spouts are found broken off.

TOGA Disappearing 9 Patch

2009-08-21T15:02:00.000-07:00

At the TOGA in TN, the first weekend in August I learned how to make the Disappearing 9 Patch block.....what fun. First you make a large 9 patch block (in mine all the fabrics are 5.5 inch pieces of fabric), then you cut the block in half both up and down and side to side... rotate two of the opposite pieces and sew the thing back together..... look at what you get...

Two new treadles join the family

2009-08-21T14:36:00.000-07:00

Seems that every summer brings new additions to the treadle family. This summer was not different...
Got a Franklin in a nice parlor cabinet

And a Brunswick in a light weight wood legged cabinet that might become my travel treadle because I can carry it by myself.

Floor show at the Effie Cafe

2009-08-13T20:48:00.000-07:00

One of our very most favorite places to go eat while we are at the cabin is the Effie Cafe about 25+ miles north. The town limit sign boasts of 91 residents....

The floor show at the cafe is something to see...

Storms are better in Minnesota

2009-08-13T20:28:00.000-07:00

There is just something about hearing that first rumble of thunder or maybe it is more feeling the rumble from far off.... not sure but at the cabin it is hard for a "good" storm to sneak up on you unless you are already asleep, but other wise you can tell they are coming from hours and miles away... At the cabin most of the bad weather comes from the north or west which means that you can see it coming from "way" across the lake and beyond. We had some dandies this summer. The power tends to go out frequently and for long periods of time. Since the water is not city pipe line but rather a well if there is no power there is no water... if the storm looks like one that will kick up a good wind (we had some gusty winds of 40 mph in a number of the storms), which could cause down limbs or trees you tend to make preparations... fill the sinks in the kitchen and bath so that there is utility water (hand washer, toilet flushing etc), have several gallons of drinking water, get the candles and flash lights ready etc...

One storm the power was out for 10+ hrs... good thing I was sewing on a treadle... I was able to sew till there was not enough good natural light, about 9:00pm.

Here are some storm pictures...

I love a good storm

2009-08-13T20:15:00.000-07:00

Can you tell that I enjoy a good storm?????

Minnesota Sunsets

2009-08-13T20:12:00.000-07:00

WOW....
Just can't get enough of those sunsets over the lake.... here are just a few... hope that you enjoy them as much as I do...

Productive summer

2009-08-13T20:08:00.000-07:00

I had a very productive summer...
The East Cobb Quilt Guild evening group is doing buddy blocks (a form of exchange blocks)... My buddies this time were a mother daughter team, the blocks were to have certain colors and a required size...they would become a part of the daughter's new quilt. In the pictures below they are the blocks hanging from the clothes line...

Since I enjoyed making one of the blocks so much I made enough for a quilt top & this was out of scrap fabrics that I found at the cabin. (light colored quilt made from half square triangles)

The other picture is of quilt top number two that was finished from blocks I'd done last year but not assembled. (large bright sections of fabric)

There was a third quilt top made from another set of blocks I'd done in the past but never assembled, this one however didn't get photoed.

Since I had some batick fabrics left over from the buddy blocks I made up a number of modified "snowball" blocks that will be assembled for a charity quilt...

It was a productive summer...
Oh, all of this was done using one of the Singer 66 treadles that we bought last summer at the swap meet in Grand Rapids MN...
k

My First TOGA

2009-06-20T15:00:00.000-07:00

Yes, I finally got to my first TOGA (Treadle On Gathering & Academy). The sewing machine repair class was the first part of last week, then there was the day of road trips and the conclusion of the week was a two day TOGA. Every TOGA is evidently different depending on the location, the leadership, and the events scheduled. This TOGA meets in a small country church outside of Monroe NC. This year there was a total of 75+ folks that attended one or both days. There was lots of food, several classes that gave us a chance to use our people powered sewing machines. There was buying and selling of all things Sewing Machine related. On Saturday there was a raffle of donated items... everyone brought things to be raffled... most were sewing related...the money collected was used for donations to the church for it's use and to help support the TreadleOn website location.

It was a wonderful event... I am so glad that I had the opportunity go share and rub elbows with folks that enjoy a common passion....

Odd Sign Spotted

2009-06-20T08:30:00.000-07:00

As we cruised around Monroe NC looking for good coffee we happened upon this sign next to the back exit from McDonald's on to a side street that entered an older subdivision...

This is not the type of sign we expected to see....was this Chicago, LA, or New York City... Not small town North Carolina???

Smyrna UMC cemetery

2009-06-19T14:31:00.000-07:00

Cemeteries are "restful" places that tell a great deal about the country, people, and the times...the cemetery that accompanied the church of the TOGA location was no different. There were granite, marble and slate markers. Of course, the slate ones were the most interesting.... some were now just oddly shaped pieces of stone but others had small pieces of the carved or chiseled message remaining...

Harry's sewing machines

2009-06-18T16:00:00.000-07:00

Don't let anyone tell you that I've got lots of machines..... This man has machines, and they are lovingly cleaned and ready for display in his company's offices. Harry had a great time sharing the stories of how he acquired his many babies... The hunt, the bidding battles and the triumphs... these are just a few photos of the hundreds of machines in his collection...

sewing ad

2009-06-18T15:40:00.000-07:00

This was too good to pass up...

(Hanging in Harry's museum)

TOGA Road Trips

2009-06-18T12:46:00.000-07:00

After the three days of dirty hands and sitting in class folks had the opportunity to either join on the Road Trips in Charlotte NC, take the advanced SM repair class, or move on to other pursuits... I've heard about Mary Jo's fabric store for years... so there was no doubt what I was going to do :) I was going road trippin... Mary Jo's first, followed by Long Creek Mills (thread's of various sorts) and Harry B's SM museum at Fox Company.

So for all you folks that have never been to Mary Jo's here are two photos...

Sewing Machine Repair Class

2009-06-17T12:33:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to attend a sewing machine repair class in North Carolina June 15-16-17, just days before my first TOGA (but that is another post). I was surprised to see that the members of the class brought a wide variety of machines to work on... from my none electrical treadle heads to high speed industrial machines. I know more then I did when I walked through the door...Ray gave us permission to dive into the innerds of our machines, from low tech to high speed the mechanices are the same. It was great fun and very educational. Ray's class is well worth while...

KIP on the Square

2009-06-13T12:25:00.000-07:00

World Wide Knit in Public Day was shared with dear friend Sonja down on the Marietta Square. Sonja and I couldn't find any local event put on by a yarn shop so we made our public demonstration on the square... we positioned ourselves near the gazebo where we watched a constent flow of "new couples" get their official engagement and casual wedding photos done for the "paper".... what a social event. It was free entertainment. We wondered how many photos we'll be in???? No, they'll airbush us out or do some magical cut and paste on the computer... we'll be resigned to cyber space..... What a fun day...

ECQG Buddy Block Exchange

2009-05-28T12:10:00.000-07:00

My evening quilt guild has started doing Buddy Blocks (the process is, after an interview with our assigned partner from the guild, we decide on a block to make for that person... the member can request a theme color range, or even a block design, after two months we exchange blocks and then move on to another exchange partner where the process begins again.) The photo is the first Buddy Block that I've received..........

My next Buddy Block is going to a teenage girl that has joined our evening guild...the blocks will go into a new quilt for her newly decorated room... This exchange I'll have to mail from Minnesota...

My First Beret

2009-05-10T11:56:00.000-07:00

My first beret was made as a prototype for possible hats for the preemie nursery... I don't think my beret will ever fit a "real" preemie but my sheep enjoys looking jounty.

New Domestic SM head

2009-05-04T17:02:00.000-07:00

After giving platelets this morning I wandered through a large antique mall that was between the Red Cross and home...

Look what I found.......cute isn't he....
K

Iris

2009-05-04T17:00:00.000-07:00

I love iris... and mine are just now coming out.K

STITCHES south

2009-05-04T16:53:00.000-07:00

Over a week ago I had the pleasure to attending the fiber show called "STITCHES south", which was a yarn, thread, knitting, crochet and other needlearts show that was in town for a weekend. My sock mentor, Sonja, and I attended for a full day. We could have probably spent more we both were suffering from fiber sensory over load. It was an inspiring and educational event for me, there was yarn there from animals I didn't even know was caught for harvesting. I mean who would have thought of Yak, water ox, and buffalo???? no me....

So what wondrous fibers did I purchase???
That's correct........a buffalo baseball cap for my husband and a sheep necklace for me, he is made from a felted bauble...K

If its true

2009-04-19T14:12:00.000-07:00

Well, if its true that you should get rid of two things for every one that you bring in... I am in serious trouble...

Yesterday was a pleasantly spent day in the company of Sonja... we dropped by the lace group's workshop that was being held at Red Top Mountain State Park and then drove on toward Chattanooga to visit a yarn shop in Dalton...

Look at what I found...

Sonja presented me with a buttonholer suitable for a Singer 15 class machine. Later that night the young lady next door gave me another buttonholer and an electric scissors that were both her grandmothers.

I am just the most fortunate of people... an avalanche of treasured objects...
k

Purchases at Krazy Knits

2009-04-19T14:00:00.000-07:00

The purchases from Krazy Knits...