SPRING WEATHER

I'm sure everyone has heard and seen how the Midwest has been hammered with flooding rain, high winds and tornados.  Our county in Missouri was hit especially hard and many have lost everything they owned.  Fortunately for our area, few lives have been lost but lives have certainly been shaken up and forever changed.  At our home we got 11 inches of rain in 24 hours and narrowly escaped having water flood our home by about 14 inches. 

Short-term projects appeal to me right now, so I got out my embroidery machine and made a few little zippered bags (above).  They are fun and a little dangerous to make......whatever do I mean by dangerous?  I had an unfortunate accident and sewed over my finger while making one of these little cuties.  It happened so fast that it's impossible for me to say exactly how this happened.  It's behind me now and I'm on the mend.  In all my years of sewing I've never had anything like this happen.  I would caution you not to try this....very painful.

Our Sweet Olive is doing well at the moment.  She has some new medication that helps with her appetite, which means she eats well and is able to take her medications.  She is done taking her chemo treatments and now we will continue to love and baby her.  When her condition changes and she has pain we will say our goodbyes to her.  Every day with her is a Gift. 

Thank you, Jan, for your comment.  I think what I wrote about and you deal with also is what was behind sewing over my finger.  Sometimes things happen that show us what frail beings we are.

Wishing everyone a blessed day....thank you for stopping by.

~~~~Barb~~~

Spring Has Sprung

Spring has definitely arrived in the Ozarks along with everything that comes with it ~~~ the fun of seeing new growth and flowering trees and bushes, beautiful flowers to plant and grass to cut.  We will be having a rainy weekend, but we need the rain right now more than we need blue skies.  The hummingbirds appeared at our feeder Wednesday. 

Our Little Olive has taken five treatments to attempt to slow down the progression of her cancer and to help keep her comfortable.  For the most part she has done well with some tummy upsets and appetite loss for a few days.  Today was a good day for her.  Our vet is very compassionate. 

Since Olive has been sick I've found it hard to concentrate on sewing.  I took a baby quilt top and a smallish quilt I made from some charm packs in my stash to be quilted.  My longtime quilter, Reggie, retired the first of this year and I'm trying her helper (who bought Reggie's machine).  I hope she does well with her new business.  I haven't been totally idle, just flitting from one thing to the next and finishing very little.

I hope everything is going well in your world and that you are enjoying a beautiful Spring.

Thank you for stopping in  ~~ Barb ~~

TAKING A BREAK FOR NOW ~~~~~

As many of you have already read, our Scottish terrier, Little Olive, has been diagnosed with two life-ending cancers.  This has broken our hearts.  For now we are keeping her comfortable until the time we must say goodbye to her.

Since blogging is something I love to do from a happy heart, I find I'm not able to post right now and I have decided to take a break.  I am not sewing or creating right now but I'm sure I will resume in the near future.

God Bless You All and remember to hug your furbabies every chance you get.    ~~Barb~~

NEW YEAR GREETINGS

From our family to yours we wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous 2017.

Our new year has begun with the knowledge that we will be losing our younger scottie, Little Olive, in a few short weeks. 
We would be thankful for your prayers during this time.

CHRISTMAS GREETINGS 2016

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From our family to yours, we wish you Christmas blessings.

We will be spending the day at home with the Girls, as this will likely be the last Christmas with our Little Olive.  We sure could use a Christmas miracle for her and your prayers are greatly appreciated.

I have a pumpkin pie in the oven and afterwards I will bake our Christmas cake.  Today food will be simple....beef with horseradish sauce, Duchesse potatoes and roasted asparagus.

The black Christmas quilt I made for our daughter was well received and now I can post a picture of it..... 

Wishing you and yours a wonderful Christmas.

GIFT QUILT

Yesterday I finished hemming the Gift quilt I made us for Christmas.  All the years I've been quilting I hadn't made a Christmas quilt for us until last year.  So we now have two.

 

 The gifts and borders were made from a Flourish layer cake.  The background, backing, ribbons and bow fabrics are from my stash.  I decided on traditional colors but it would look great in any colorway.

 

I hope your holiday projects are coming along well. 

 

Warm holiday wishes to you and yours.

 



THANKSGIVING WISHES

 

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. 

Two pumpkin pies just came out of the oven and our house smells wonderful.  We will be spending the afternoon with friends and eating with them and their large family ~~ so many that our meal will be held in a community room.  That's what happens when there are 11 children in a family and they grow up and have families of their own!

We broke with tradition this year and partially put up our Christmas tree last night.  Tonight we will add the ornaments and officially kick off the Christmas season.  My husband LOVES our Christmas tree and the whole season of friendship, sharing, good food and gifts.  We don't buy gifts for each other but for children and families that are having a difficult time making ends meet.   

 Wishing Thanksgiving Blessings from our family to yours.

VETERANS' DAY 2016

Today is the day we take time to honor our veterans and thank them for their service to our country.  This day also makes me remember my Dad who fought in WWI and the Korean War.  He was a patriot to the end.

My sewing room is beginning to look a bit like Santa's workshop with parts of several projects in stacks everywhere.  I got up extra early today to do some machine embroidery before the household woke up but my machine had an issue and I had to take it apart to find the nest of thread that had built up in the works.  It's working fine now.

I

 

 

I like to think of this mess as creative chaos!

 

 

Wishing everyone a wonderful day.  Remember to thank a veteran for their service.

OCTOBER IS NEARLY GONE ~~~

 





October is almost gone and Thanksgiving is just around the corner.  I can almost smell the dressing and pumpkin pie now.

In another week or so we will find out who our new president will be and whether or not that candidate can make his/her promises a reality.

I just finished another Present Quilt top in a totally different colorway than the previous one I recently posted~~~~

 

This one is for someone special for Christmas.  It is with my quilter and it should be back in a month or so.  How do you like this pattern in black/gold?  The other Present Quilt top in is the post before this one.

Wishing you a blessed day ..... Barb

"PRESENT" QUILT

Fall is gracing us with her fickle weather.  Yesterday I was wearing flip flops and today I need to wear socks and boots.  This normal for our weather.

I finish piecing the top of the Present quilt I hope to finish this year.  Here it is before quilting....

 

This is a fun block to make.  The fabric is Holiday Flourish by Robert Kaufman.  It has quite a bit of gold metallic and it's definitely festive.  The ribbons/bows are made from stash fabric.  The background is a soft cream with very pale leaves and berries. 

Now I'm off to work on another Christmas project. 

Be blessed   ~~~  Barb

A DRIZZLY FRIDAY

This is another dreary day.  Some people have trouble dealing with days like this, but I love them.  There's nothing nicer than lighting a few candles, making a cup of tea and settling in with a good book or some sewing.  Dottie and Olive love these days, too.  Here's what Dottie has been up to this morning......

My sewing room is looking like it exploded, or may imploded would be a better word.  I'm working on two quilts that I need to get to my quilter asap since she's retiring the end of this year.  Here's a peek at two of the blocks for our Christmas quilt....                                 

I will be making a large pot of beef stew this afternoon for dinner and take half of it to our neighbors.  Time permitting I may put together a couple loaves of beer bread to go with the stew. 

I hope you are snug and cozy wherever you are.  Thanks for stopping in ~~~~~

WILL I EVER CATCH UP???

The last time I blogged it was Summer...now we are in the beginning of Fall.  The leaves are starting to turn, acorns are falling and mornings are chilly.  This is my favorite time of the year.

Despite my good intentions, I'm so far behind with everything.
So what have I been doing?  I had a spell of health issues that are somewhat resolved for now;  our little Scottie Olive had to have major surgery and spent ten days in the hospital and had to have lots of attention when she came back home; and we have been super busy with our company.  This was a rough Summer but we are looking forward to the rest of this year being slower and much more peaceful.  Thanksgiving is next month ~~~  can you believe it!

I joined a group at Missouri Star a few weeks ago and we made pillowcases for the kids in Louisiana who had been flooded out of their homes and schools.  It was a blessing helping out.  We all pulled together and surpassed our goals!!

I finished the Flutterbye quilt I was working on and it's become one of my favorites ~~

A few weeks ago I received a wonderful package from a friend on the Missouri Star forum that contained about four yards of this wonderful fabric ~~~~

 

 

I'm working on a few little gifts for Christmas but can't post pictures until after they are given. 

 

That's pretty much it for me right now.  I hope you are being creative and being blessed.

 



CATCHING UP

We are in the dog days of summer, a time of extreme heat and humidity that also happens to be the time for most snakes to shed their skins....just charming.  We have to take extra care when Dottie & Olive are outdoors that they don't go after snakes.

I just finished the Sashed Half-Hexie Quilt I was working on a while back.  I'm not totally thrilled with it but we will use it as a utility quilt ~~~

The fabric is Bella by Lotta Jansdotter and the sashing is something I had in my stash.  The backing is grey with gray vines.  I've been using a lot of gray lately.  I think my next project may be a Christmas quilt.

Wishing everyone a great Summer day.  Keep Cool!

PLUS SIGN IN GRAY

The Plus Sign quilt I've been working on for so long is finished. It measures 85x92 and the 'beams' of the crosses are 25 inches.  I thought that making a quilt with large pieces would be easy, but I found it a bit awkward to sew and press. Reggie did a lovely job with the quilting as usual.  In most ways this is a modern quilt with its geometric design, monochromatic color scheme and no borders. 

It was hard taking the pictures because the quilt took up most of the living room. 

I think the backing is really nice ~~  watercolor flowers and vines in shades of gray. 

Thank you for looking!

SO WHAT'S NEXT?

. 

So, Summer is bearing down on us with high humidity and scorching temperatures.  We had a strong storm Sunday and our flag pole was bent in half.  I rescued the flag but I have doubts about saving the pole.

Yesterday I got the Plus Sign quilt back from Reggie and this morning I trimmed the edges and made the binding.  I will try to get it sewn on tomorrow and then spend the next several days hemming it by hand.  This is a holdover from my hand quilting days. 

So what's next....Well, I've been piecing some framed square blocks with snowballed corners on opposing sides.  The fabric is Small Talk and the prints are sewing related.  The black, white, gray, tan and orange look nice together.  More on that later...

We have been royally invaded by zillions of millipedes on our front porch.  Each day I sweep up at least a gallon of dead ones.  Sevin Dust kills them but the army hasn't surrendered and there's a new onslaught every day.  I was told that they won't quit coming until the weather turns cold. 

What unexpected things have you been doing this Summer?

MY NON-COLLECTION ADDITION

 

Yesterday was a typical Midwest Summer day, drenched in sunshine and humidity.  Jeff and I decided to take an hour or so and visit a few of the flea markets in town.  Jeff was looking for some old fishing reels and I had my eyes open for any vintage Tupperware in great condition.  I got lucky and found two pieces of Tupperware that look brand new, a celery keeper and a deviled egg container.  I remember these pieces from when I was a young wife and couldn't afford to buy much at the never ending Tupperware parties I attended. 

While we were exiting a flea market I asked the owner if she by chance had any Singer Featherweight machines and she promptly lead me to a glass display case with a nice little Featherweight, but the price was $350 and it had no case.  She wouldn't budge a cent off that price.  I declined and then she asked me to wait a minute and she came back with an old motor oil box she had to dig around to find and in it was the cutest little Featherweight machine.

The machine belonged to her husband, who got it at a yard sale, and he wanted $275 for it and not a penny less.  We checked it out and it ran but it was filthy and needed a bit of TLC.  There was no case, booklet or accessories, so I offered her $75.  She was a little offended but told me to leave my phone number and she would run it by her husband, but she was positive he wouldn't accept anything less than the full price. 

A few hours later the call came and our offer was accepted.  This is a dream of a little machine.  She was cleaned, oiled got a new needle and she runs like a deer and purrs like a kitten.  Her birthday was 1952.
 
I don't consider myself a Featherweight collector ~~~  I just love these little machines and this one is #4 in my non-collection.  Her name is Ruby (after my Mom).

If you are on a quest to find a FW for yourself,  I encourage you to dig when you visit flea markets and ask if they have any.  Don't be afraid to offer considerably less than they are asking.  There just might be one waiting for you in an old box.....!!

A LAZY SUMMER DAY

I believe today is the day Summer has arrived.  I finally took the flannel sheets off our bed and replaced them with thin Summer sheets.  I also changed the top quilt and coverlet ~~~

The new quilt is the one I finished just before the Bee quilt.  I love the soft colors and the different prints.  The shams and coverlet are perfect for warmer weather. 

I have also been servicing my Featherweight machines and have decided to leave one set up for use.  I love the perfect straight stitches these little gems make.  No wonder their popularity has endured for decades. 

 

 

I told Miss Dottie she could help me water flowers and she's ready to get busy!  She's all about running all over the yard with the hose.  Olive is afraid of water, especially when Dottie has the hose, and she hides behind the garage and peeks around the corner at us.  It's time for me to dig out Dottie's water toys, too. 

 

 

 

Have a great day everyone.

Bzzzzzz! Bzzzzzz!

At last the Bee Quilt is finished and we love it!  Eventually it will go to my Granddaughter Bree.  When she was little she called herself Bee.  I hope this will bring back some happy memories for her.

So here's the quilt ~~~~

The fabric line is Tiger Lily Ballerina and I think the colors are lovely.  The squares are 3" finished and since there were so many of them, I decided to make the quilt in quadrants and handle them like a 4-patch.  The quilt measures approximately 50x60 and the backing is the coral butterfly fabric from the front.  Reggie did her micro-mini stippling on the wings ~~~

I also got back a beautifully quilted runner I pieced from strips of fabric from the Asian Legacy line.  This fabric feels just like silk.  Reggie free-motion quilted a different motif in each strip.

That's it for me this time.  I have loads of housework to catch up on today.  It also looks like another storm is headed our way.  I hope the sun is shining on you today!

A DAY OF FRUSTRATION

After almost a full day of trying to make room in my sewing room and organize my supplies I have to admit that I've exhausted the limits of the room.  It seems that all I can do is move everything around.  I'm sure the solution is to get busy and sew up some of the piles of fabric and also to quit buying new fabric ~~~ like that's going to happen!  I'm doomed. 

I managed to fit most of the charm squares into one drawer and create a smidgeon of room in a small cubby for some of my special gray fabrics.  How is it that I need a cubby for the 'special' gray fabric?  What makes this stack more special than the rest of the grays? Here's are pictures of the special grays and the charms in their new homes ~~~~

That was the extent of my success.  Fortunately all of my house is not in this mess.

Today feels like a genuine summer day, hot and very humid.  We are supposed to get more storms tonight and tomorrow but until then we will enjoy the sunshine. 

I hope the sun is shining in your corner of the world.

Thanks for stopping by...............Barb

MOTHER'S DAY 2016

Wishing you a wonderful Mother's Day filled with everything that makes you smile. 

Blessings to you all ~~~  Barb