The February Project

I have been working on the red quilt and the going is s  l  o  w…

I had originally planned to quilt in a variegated gray and I had even tested the thread on a sample of all the fabrics but when I started quilting the quilt –even just outlining the blocks, I did not like it.  I decided to go with red instead. There is a row with a lot of white so I think I will use the gray there. It is beginning to grow on me but I now wish I had thought to use the mono filament polyester thread.

Grid quilting the blocks took me two days.  The quilt is bulky and heavy.  I was able to keep the quilt rolled while doing that part but quilting the individual blocks is another story.

I pulled out my table and set up my ironing board on the left.  There is lots of turning and adjusting to do so I spend a lot of time getting up and pulling the quilt through the machine.  After a bit, my arms are tired so I have to take a break.  I keep thinking of the riddle, How do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time…

In the evenings, I also do my knitting.  I have a couple of projects I am working on but this one is the most exciting:

It is a baby blanket for Lauren and Jeff’s baby! Yay!

The blue is a provisional cast-on and this is what the blanket will look like (I hope!):

I haven’t picked out a quilt pattern yet but I have until July. 
I can’t wait!
Diane

Kindergarten!

Leonard started school yesterday!

Since he won’t be taking the bus in the a.m., there are no pictures of him getting on the bus. Today will be his first day getting off the bus.  Mom and Dad are doing well, although the first day of school is very long for them. I assured Adrienne that the day will get much shorter!

His backpack lights up…

I remember when Adrienne started school... 

Time flies!

Diane

Where Do I Start?

Has it really been EIGHT MONTHS since I last blogged?  To my followers I am very sorry and I hope that you will find your way back here.

So much has happened since I last posted.  Good news is that Adrienne and Joe (and Leonard) moved up here from Baltimore. Joe retired, Adrienne got a great job at Upstate, and Leonard is all ready for kindergarten.  I love having them just a half hour away.
The not so good new is we did not have a great spring.  Michael fell walking the dog at the end of March.  He broke 5 ribs, several vertebrae (is that plural correct?) and his collar bone.  He has had a long recovery but is starting to feel like his old self again.
The summer is going by too quickly.  August already? I did not get as much done as I had planned but I have been squeezing in some knitting and sewing.

A baby outfit

A vest for myself, front and back

A knitting needle caddy
The American Quilter’s Society was in town this week.  The quilt show was beautiful. Of course I forgot my camera but I did snap some pictures of my goodies when I got home.




By the way, this little quilt finishes to 13” x 14”.  The tumblers are 1 3/4” high, unfinished

One of the nice things about working at the quilt shop is all the nice people I meet. Many people were in town for the show and one special person that I met was Lee Anna. She is a fellow blogger and posts at Not Afraid of Color.  Please visit her site. She has some beautiful things to show including the cutest dog!
While downloading photos off my camera, this cutie came up:

Aren’t grandkids wonderful?
Diane

Karate Kid

 

Treasure Hunting

This is my trash can by my cutting table:

The one by my ironing board:

And the one near where I sew:

This is the can I use for leftover 2 1/2” strips. It was a gift from Lauren.

I bet you know where this is going…

The last couple of days, I have been cleaning out my sewing room. I threw out lots of stuff.  My husband came up and offered to take out the trash.  (I was downstairs taking a break).  In his defense, Michael asked me if I wanted to get rid of ALL of it and I said yes.

Later yesterday afternoon I went back up to finish and I saw a bag in the Hershey can. I put two and two together and shrieked.

The good news is the trash does not go out until Monday.  The even better new is Michael had put all my “trash” into a separate garbage bag.  I think I got most of the strips back and I will now label my Hershey can.

Now you may be asking do all those trash cans keep my sewing room cleaner? No, they do not.

Today I cut out and started piecing Month 9 of my Civil War Quilt. It is a doozey but I only have to make 4. The center half square triangles are together. I am catching up!

Tonight is the big ACC game between SU and Duke.  Michael says we have a good chance. Let’s go Orange!

Diane

A Little Dab Will Do You

This is what you get when Mom is good with LOTS of gel and your grandsons are a couple of cool dudes!

Labor Day

Yes, I know this is late.

Katie, Lauren and I spent our Labor Day weekend at our own annual Tomato Fest.

This year we canned tomatoes and sauce.  The sauce takes forever!

Lauren had so much '”fun” she bought 8 more bushels of tomatoes and did her own canning.  If I am nice to her, she might let me have some.  Yum!

Happenings

Two interesting things occurred last weekend.

The fun thing was my fortieth (Yes, that is 40th!) high school reunion.  I was a little apprehensive about going but I had a great time.  I thought we all looked pretty good after all these years.

  

Below is my very, very best friend Paula and her husband, Richard. I met her my very first day. I was new at school (as a junior) and that dreaded time came I had to choose a seat to eat my lunch.  I looked around the cafeteria-her table was laughing the loudest so I sat there.  It was one of my best decisions!

The second thing that happened was not so great.  A storm blew through on Saturday and our neighbor’s tree fell down on our pool fence.

(That is Buddy doing some investigating)

Luckily my husband and Dave were able to fix the fence so things are back to normal.

As Promised…

…pictures from Adrienne’s visit!  This post is loaded with pictures but I hope you all (family and friends) enjoy them!

This next picture shows the one-and only –time Leonard let me hold him!

Scott, Karen and Maddie came for pizza on Wednesday.

Isn’t Maddie a cutie?

Leonard’s favorite breakfast- a honey bun for my honey!

I can’t wait to see them again!