I'm thrilled to tell you that our old house passed a lengthy inspection yesterday and the Buyer was happy with everything as it is. We will be closing escrow next week. Special thanks to everyone who has been praying that the hope of selling our old house would become a reality after 6 1/2 years. Thank you so much also for the well wishes.
The mini tumbler runner now has 15 rows with a 16th waiting to be added.
The picture isn't very clear and looks a little warped, but you get the idea. The runner is almost long enough that I need to decide how many more rows to add (if any) and also whether or not it needs borders. What do you think? I'm thinking of adding borders (bands actually) only to the top and bottom, maybe rosy red, or possibly a narrow white strip on the top and bottom and then a red border on the top and bottom. The vertical edges of the runner have to be trimmed, which will leave some very narrow tumblers. I think adding a band on the top and bottom, quilting it and binding it would be enough.
I'm having a pretty slow and quiet day other than killing a snake that was striking at Olive. I'm not very generous toward snakes and seldom do I let one escape unless it's heading for the woods already. Snakes go with the territory when you live in the country.
Dinner tonight will be something quick and easy. I need a couple of easy days after all the heavy work we've been doing.
Until next time I wish you a bushel of Peace & Plenty.
This is the weekend that we take time to remember all the men and women who have served our country and especially those who gave our country the ultimate gift of their lives.
My Dad served with the US Marine Corps in WWII and the Korean War. I have a black and white picture of him hugging me the day he came home. He is sitting on the edge of my bed in his uniform and I am in his arms. I can still remember missing my Dad and worrying that he might forget his way home. I believe I was 4 or 5 when he came home to stay.
The project at our old house is nearing completion. We worked there all day yesterday and we will again today and tomorrow. We are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. On Wednesday (inspection day) the madness will be over with one way or the other. Either way, the work needed to be done. The Girls have been staying at home and I come back every three hours or so to take them for a walk and to give them some hugs and biscuits.
I managed to sew a few more rows on the mini tumbler runner. When I'm tired like this it's not a good time for me to try to sew. Let's just say the seam ripper is my best friend right now. Are you working on any summer projects? This is a good time to make smaller items such as placemats, sewing machine covers, tote bags, pillows, etc. This is also the time to be thinking ahead to what you might want to make for Christmas gifts. I'm thinking along the lines of making placemats as gifts this year. It's simple to personalize placemats and makes sewing fun.
I hear our alarm clock buzzing, so I'm off for now. Wishing you a great day!
I'm just dropping in the say I have very little to blog about today. We are still readying our old house for sale. It's properly listed and viewings are lined up for this weekend and beyond. I've posted before about all the work we are doing there, to the point of exhaustion. I would rather be tired from working hard than from being bored. I feel like we have the right agent this time because she loves our house. She actually was the listing agent on the house when I bought it, although another agent first showed it to me.
We're having beautiful weather. I mowed our yard yesterday, which takes about three hours. Jeff's part takes him about the same amount of time. Sweet Olive snagged herself another turtle yesterday and treated it to a game of RolyPoly before I could get it away from her. Terriers are relentless when they are pursuing something.
I've lost momentum on the mini tumbler runner due to lack of time to sew this week. I have several more rows to press and add on.
If everything works out well today I will make lasagna for dinner. Lasagna is not difficult to make but it does take time. I'm in the mood for some comfort food and that usually includes noodles and cheese.
I'm going to step tentatively into this new day and wish you a stellar day. Wherever you are I hope blessings and peace surround you.
In my opinion peonies are the most beautiful and fragrant flowers. Like irises they are a breeze that blows past us for a day or so and then they are gone until the next Spring. This peony is from the garden of a dear friend who passed away last Winter.
I've gratefully had a slow day so far. It's not that there's not plenty I could be doing ~ I'm choosing to have a slow and sweet day. The mail person brought me huge box containing three quilt battings for future creations. I love having them on hand.
Dottie and Olive are following my lead and taking things slow and easy. I went out to water the flowers and Dottie had a few minutes to run through the water while Olive hid herself so she wouldn't get wet.
I'm making progress on the mini tumbler runner. So far there are eight rows sewn together.
This is a project that I enjoy working on in short spurts. I think it's a little more than a third of the final size. Who knows? When it's large enough I will know.
We have easy leftovers for our dinner tonight. Tomorrow we will start with something new. I think we're hungry for pork steaks on the grill.
I'm heading off for a short nap now. Wishing everyone a wonderful afternoon.
Sometimes I feel extra blessed to live in the country and today is one of those days. Being able to walk around outdoors in your jammies and not have to worry about being seen is huge! The Girls and I took a walk in the woods after Jeff went to work this morning. Olive was on high alert the whole time, probably hoping to find a turtle to play with. Dottie just wanted to dig in the mud. The bottom line is that even though the Girls are fairly civilized they are still dogs and they love doing what dogs love to do. Since Dottie needs a bath today anyway, I let her dig until she was tired. Olive found a lizard and gave it a good chase on the way back to the house.
The hummingbirds are drinking nearly a half gallon a day now. The box turtles are still passing through the yard on their pilgrimage to the woods. Several are repeat visitors from last year. I wrote in a previous post about how I've been marking their shells with a dot of nail polish, using a different color for each year. So far this year we've had four return that were marked last year. It's highly possible there were more that I didn't notice.
We worked at the apartments all day Saturday and rented one unit. We will have another opening up June 1st so it means we will be there for the next few weeks at least. You meet a lot of different and interesting types of people when you have rentals. This past weekend everyone we met was enjoyable and I think they would all would fit in well with the rest of our tenants.
The mini tumbler runner is coming along slowly but surely. There are now four rows sewn together and three more rows waiting to be pressed and sewn on. I'm loving red and aqua together and it seems to be a trending combination.
One of the challenges of making this runner is keeping the stacks of tumblers sorted because I love to rummage through my fabrics. I think the Bake Sale fabric line would work up darling in a mini runner.
I hope you are working on something that makes you smile.
Have a blessed day ~~~ Barb
After finishing the Double Slice and Circles quilts and the You've Got Mail quilt top I feel like playing a little. I dug out some 2 1/2" squares I cut a while back and decided to turn them into mini tumblers using the Mini Tumbler template from Missouri Star....and I do mean mini! I'm thinking of making a table runner from these little cuties.
The fabric is primarily from the Ruby line with some Apple of My Eye squares thrown in. My Mom's name was Ruby, so making something homey and useful appeals to me. I find the tiny tumblers easier to work with than the larger ones. So far I'm sewing the rows 14 tumblers wide. I will see how much I can get done with the squares that already cut. I may need to put large bands at either end of the runner and place the tumblers in the center. Let's see what happens as it progresses. When I make something from scraps I seem to love it that much more.
I had taken out two or three UFOs to try to get enthused about finishing one more, but I need to do something new and fresh before I tackle another UFO.
I cooked a nice pot of pinto beans Wednesday, so tonight we will have tostadas with the leftovers. We love these heaped with cheese, lettuce, tomato, avocado (None of that 'green stuff' for Jeff), salsa and sour cream. There's no need for me to fix anything else.
Wishing you a great weekend. Barb
Recap of the day: We spent several hours working on our apartments today. Jeff painted and I washed windows and put switch plate covers back on the walls. Dottie behaved badly all day. On the way there she shredded a roll of toilet paper and while there she leaned against a wall that had just been painted white. Sweet Olive was an angel. I don't think Dottie quit whining the whole time we were there. On a brighter note, I showed the apartment to two parties and both really love it. I'm waiting on a call.....
Yesterday I finished the You've Got Mail quilt top. This morning I gave it and the backing a good press and took it to Reggie to work her magic. If you are new here, Reggie is my wonderful long-arm quilter and friend. I think this quilt will look nice in our living room for Christmas up to Valentine's Day. I asked Reggie to do her free motion stippling on the center of the quilt and a feather design on the borders. She had stacks of boxes filled with quilt tops to be quilted, so it will be at least three weeks before I get the call that it's ready.
This is storm season in the Ozarks. It's also mating season for box turtles. Box turtles have tall shells, hence the name box turtles. Olive is totally fascinated with them and Dottie isn't interested in them at all. Lizard chasing is Dottie's favorite sport. In Dottie's head a turtle cant move fast enough to provide her with any sort of fun. As soon as I snapped this picture of Olive she flipped the turtle over onto its back and began a game of Let's Roll The Turtle (aka Turtle Hockey). I rescued the turtle and carried Olive into the house. It made me wonder what that poor little turtle thought was happening.
I haven't cooked a decent meal in several days, so I'm off to the kitchen to put away the rest of the groceries and make some scalloped potatoes to serve with ham steak, green beans and homemade applesauce for dinner tonight.
Wishing you a terrific Tuesday ~~ Barb
I hope the sun is shining where you are. As you can see, the hummingbirds are busy on our front porch today.
Hubby got home from his hunting trip this morning and announced he wants to buy me a new washer. I also think a new dryer is in order, since our old one is 14 years old and has outlived two washers.
The Girls missed Jeff terribly and all is right in their world now that we're all together again. I got a good rest while Jeff was gone. I cooked a cheese pizza Friday and ate off it all weekend along with light breakfasts and a little salad. I will cook our dinner today and it may just be French toast and bacon.
Sewing resumes tomorrow on the You've Got Mail quilt. I have three outside borders to sew on and then it will be ready for quilting. I have a 108' backing for it, so it will be off to Reggie. That will be UFO #3 finished this year. I'm sure I could work on UFOs all year and not be done with them.
Wishing you a wonderful Mother's Day 2014.
This is Mother's Day weekend. Our weather promises to be glorious. Jeff is still hunting and won't be coming home until late tomorrow afternoon.
This is my weekend to relax and do whatever I would like, or nothing at all. I slept in this morning and after getting up I took the Girls for a walk in the woods. The dogwood trees are in full bloom now and beautiful birds were everywhere singing their favorite tunes. We even saw two box turtles on the path. I feel lost without my camera ~~ Jeff took it with him on his trip.
Speaking of box turtles, last year I began putting a dot of bright nail polish on the back of each turtle I encountered that was crossing our property to see if the same ones return year after year. I wasn't sure if the polish would be worn off when they burrow to lay their eggs. So far this year I have seen one returnee from last year. I thought the Girls would be wild over the turtles in the same way as Miss Molly, who liked to flip them over on their backs and roll them around a little. Dottie & Olive pay little attention to them at all even when they poke their heads out. Lizards and bunnies are what excite the Girls.
I'm off now to cook something small for breakfast ~~ poached eggs on toast and orange juice.
Wishing you a sweet Mother's Day.
I think everyone enjoys receiving mail, unless it's a bill. I love getting handwritten mail most of all. Very few people take the time to hand write a note or letter anymore. Love letters are wonderful and are definitely more romantic if they are handwritten. I especially like notes from children in their scrawling first attempts to spell and write.
I'm working on a lap quilt called You've Got Mail, but I'm calling mine Love Letters. The blocks are made from half-square triangles and are slowly becoming rows. This will be one of my projects today in between loads of laundry and plugging and unplugging everything in the house because of electrical storms in our area.
Hubby is gone today to hunt turkey in a neighboring county. Dottie & Olive will watch over me while he is away. Our camera went on the trip with Jeff, so I will have to post pictures of the Love Letter quilt next time.
Yesterday was a whirlwind kind of day getting Hubby packed and ready for his trip. It was also the day I needed to make dog biscuits for the Girls. These are a real labor of love. Olive hangs out in the kitchen begging for bites of the dough in the same way I love eating chocolate chip cookie dough.
These dog biscuits are loaded with oats, cornmeal, peanut butter, bananas and other things our Girls love. Just click on the Recipe page if you would like to make these.
Wishing you the best of everything ~~ Barb
I was rummaging through my quilt cupboard today and ran across the last quilt top my Mom pieced before she passed away. She gave it to me the last time I saw her. It's a 3-D Bowtie pattern made from a large assortment of small prints in pastel colors. The knots of the bow ties can be lifted up. I recognize many of the prints that were once in my stash. Mom and I would share our prints with each other to get a better variety. I remember how often I would find an envelope in the mail with little bits of new fabric or a new block she made.
Some of the prints are 1930's reproduction prints but mostly they are small florals. I vaguely remember when we learned how to make this variation of the Bow Tie pattern. Mom took off with it and I never made more than my sample block. As pictured, the quilt top is long and narrow. This is because a fairly wide strip was taken off. The pattern and fabrics are appropriate for a boy or girl. I may add a narrow border in white or a solid pastel.
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| Quilt Top Folded In Half |
I'm thinking of making matching crib pillows (for propping baby up) and possibly a table runner for us from the strip that was removed. The quilts would be from Great and Great-Great Grandmas. I taught Mom to quilt when she was in her 60's. She loved to hand quilt and made perfectly even stitches that always amazed me. You never quit missing your Mom.....
Wishing you a day filled with Peace & Plenty ~~~ Barb
I'm tickled to tell you that we are done working at the old house. It was a very long two weeks of plumbing (remember the broken water lines at the old house and at our home?) adding baseboard and other wood trim throughout the house and deep cleaning and painting. The yard got a little attention also. Getting the basement cleaned out and scrubbed was a huge undertaking, but Jeff did a great job of it. My hands look 100 years old from scrubbing and feel like they're made of rubber when I bend my fingers. We still need to clean out the shed. It's a very spooky place that I hate entering.
The prospective buyers looked at the house yesterday and really liked it. They are ordering an appraisal for later this week and we will go from there. Please cross your fingers for the sale of this house.
Dottie and Olive have had quite enough of being left alone for several hours every day. Dottie likes to take the plastic covers that go on the bottom of the toilets to cover the bolts. I have been finding them all over the house this week. Dottie acts out her frustrations more than Olive. I noticed that Dot tore up a couple of her stuffed toys and she has been refusing food and snacks from time to time.
We decided that this year we aren't going to put in a vegetable garden because we have so much on our plates right now. We planted flowers and that's going to be it. Sometimes you have to back off and slow down a little.
Quilting is never far from my mind regardless of what I'm doing. I hope to have the You've Got Mail quilt top done and to my quilting friend, Reggie, by the end of next week. I will post pictures when I get some rows sewn together. I love French General fabrics and their colors.
Our weather has turned quite warm (91 yesterday) and should continue being hot. I hope you are enjoying this season of Early Summer. Be the reason that makes someone smile today.
Wishing you every good thing.....Barb
I really haven't abandoned my blog. Hubby and I have been working non-stop at our old house in town because we have a serious potential buyer. We will be meeting with them Tuesday for a showing.
We had broken water lines in the back bathroom that took three days to repair. After we got two lines repaired we discovered two more that were also broken. It was a nightmare job and I will spare you the details. Let's just say don't take your water supply for granted. Life really gets hard without it!
Jeff and I have been painting, cleaning, putting up trim and baseboards, doing repairs, grooming the yard and trying to get things in apple pie order. Today I will be working there alone because Jeff has to go back to work. I plan to clean and polish the hardwood floor in the dining room and finish cleaning the carpet.
We haven't lived in the old house for the past six years. Houses need people just like people need houses. We have been asked over and over if we would rent the house, but we won't do this to the Old Girl. The house is really cute and has good space. I think her time is coming to turn her over to a new family.
The Girls have done remarkably well this week being left alone for much of the day. I come back home about every four hours to take them outdoors and give them some love and cookies. I'm sure they will be happy when this project is completed. Fortunately our old house is less than three miles from where we live.
The blocks for the You've Got Mail quilt are waiting for me to pick them up again. Next week things will slow down considerably and I should be able to sew again.
We have been having major and minor electrical storms for the past week. Other parts of our country have had horrific tornadoes and loss of lives. Our hearts and prayers go out to everyone connected with these tragedies.
Wishing you a blessed day ~~~ Barb
