My Weekend Fun

Here's a recap of my weekend. I actually started my weekend early as I finished up at work early. I came home and set to work finishing up this quilt top made for my Dad. It is made with flannel charms with trees, camping equipment, bears, etc. Just up Dad's forest service guy alley.



Friday night I cut up a bunch of florals so I could make more blocks for the penny pincher 8 swap. I sewed them together Saturday day, and then watched a movie and worked on the hand sewing part of my brother's Christmas quilt (shhhh Al might hear). Here are the finished blocks for the swap



Today (Sunday) I finished up the last seams on the swap blocks. Then I started playing with the purple posie blocks I won in the July block lotto on about dot com's quilting forum. I added some pretty lavender florals and some lavender tone on tones, and sewed it all together and ended up with this. I hate to do it, but I will give it to Grandma Hamburger for Christmas. She likes purple, we all know that as she has painted Dad's living room purple. technically I guess its her living room too. Anyway, here it is. I like it a lot and will have a hard time giving it up.




I was hoping to start the quilting on the purple posie quilt, but we were hit with a huge thunderstorm, with lighting and hail and the whole bit. So, I decided not to turn the handiquilter on, for fear I would have Janet's bad luck and get hit by lighting, boom there goes the handiquilter computer. (I don't trust the surge protector).



So, instead I sewed a bunch of batting leftovers together to use for Dad's quilt (in true Mr. Depression era Dad fashion, use what ya got theory) Then I started scrounging around for fabric to use on the back of Dad's quilt, and found some great National Park flannel. I pieced this back together. I like it as much as the front, I believe.



Here is a close up of the National Park flannel. Now I know this is nowhere near as impressive as salvaging an entire house worth of wood, and cramming it into your garage for future use, but hey, I didn't go to the fabric store once today to purchase more fabric, and that's using what you got at its finest, even Dad would maybe agree. Okay, he wouldn't but its my best work today.

Don't let the pineapple block get ya down!

Sophie has started a campaign of sorts to collect blocks for our friend Kate, who has recently lost her father. We are going to put together a comfort quilt for her. Kate and Sophie put their heads together and came up with a pineapple block made with browns and tans for the outside rows and centered with a pink block. Sophie referred to this as chocolate covered cherries. We will be using black for the corners of the block. We were given a link to a paper pieced pattern, which of course intimidated me. I ended up having time alone on my hands last night, and decided to try and figure out how to make this block in traditional piecing. I did it! And amazed myself. I took notes and pictures along the way, and Sophie is going to double check it all this weekend, and then we will share with others who are more comfortable with this type of piecing. Here's a picture of the block I made.

Its Fall Y'All

Seems like summer flew by this year. I didn't even go camping once this summer. Disappointing, but we are going Steelhead fishing next month for a week, and that is always fun. Maybe this year I'll actually catch one of those elusive buggers. I got out Mom's fall decorations, specifically the scarecrow, and put it out on the front door. It was there for about 1/2 hour when a big thunderstorm rolled in and I had to bring him back in. I can't get the window on the storm door to shut, and he would have gotten all wet.


I started with the scarecrow, and then ended up re-arranging the living room. I had recently moved to glider rockers from the living room into Nellie's old bedroom (now turned tv room)



Notice the geraniums, I'm hoping not to kill them this winter, and still have them next spring. I'm terrible with plants though, cross your fingers.

Cody's Quilt

Last year when I made Nellie a scrap coin quilt, it was about the same time as we were swapping black and white noodles on the about dot com quilting forum. Cody saw the noodles and thought they would make a cool quilt for him, in the coin style. So, this is his design technically. I finished quilting it last night. I backed it with soft soft black minkee fabric, and didn't use any batting in it. I think it turned out great.



Here is a close up of the quilting:

Another fun Little Quiz from Dez

What color is your soul painted? Blue Your soul is painted the color blue, which embodies the characteristics of peace, patience, understanding, health, tranquility, protection, spiritual awareness, unity, harmony, calmness, coolness, confidence, dependability, loyalty, idealism, tackiness, and wisdom. Blue is the color of the element Water, and is symbolic of the ocean, sleep, twilight, and the sky. Click Here to Take This Quiz

Quizzes and Personality Tests

Christmas Sampler Quilt

Last night I finished the quilting on my Christmas Sampler quilt from the swap last year on Quilt Shoppe Forum. I'm still getting the hang of the quilting itself. I did a stipple in the blocks and sashings, in green and white, respectively. Then did feathers on the borders. I think it turned out okay. I have a long way to go on the learning how to quilt the quilt part though.

They loved it!

Here is a picture of Rachel and Asante with thier welcome to Pocatello quilt.

Happy Scrappy Houses

This morning I quilted up the second quilt top from the Happy Scrappy Houses Swap. This one is going to my niece Rachel and her guy Asante. They moved to my town this week.
Welcome!

It is fire season!

Here is what I see out my back window today.

Yummmmy Pie

Lately in blogger land I've been seeing that someone has been making a lot of yummmy looking pies. There have been peach pies, and chocolate fudge pie (my fav.) something called icebox pie, strawberry rhubarb pie. Elsewhere in blogger land they have been making yummy stew, recipe by George. You get my drift. Beautiful food. I don't eat like that. As I was eating my oh so healthy dinner tonight, I was thinking of those yummmmy pies. Now generally I don't have the watermelon, just the frozen dinner, so truly this was healthier than usual for me. But, as I was eating the "individual size" watermelon, well half of it anyway, I was thinking..... Do watermelon seeds count as a whole grain? Most everyone who knows me well, knows I don't like "green food", I was also wondering...... Does watermelon count as green food? And, just to clarify from the start here. Yes, Stormy I did eat the green beans in that delicious looking frozen dinner by Marie Callendars. Yum! Gotta love Marie Callendars and PIE! LOL

Sixteen Patch Quilt

I finally got around to making the quarter square triangles for this, and sewed it all up today. I will quilt it tomorrow. It will be a gift for Christmas for my father in-law. Thanks Sophie for the help with the qst's earlier. I kept all those e-mails for info., and I like how it turned out.

Spring Fling Sampler

This past spring I participated in a block swap on MSN Quilting Around the World Group. I made 2 flying geese blocks for each participant, and received the rest of these blocks in the swap. I backed it with very soft minkee, and quilted away on it. Its definately not perfect, but for my hmmmmm 4th quilt on the machine, its not bad. I'm planning it as a gift for my ds's girlfriend.



Flower pot up close


close up of border feathers, my first.

Fun cat in the bird house.

Close up of bird.

Matt's Quilt

I have a guy friend, Matt. We've been friends for quite a long time. Matt is the guy who will drive across town to change the lightbulb I can't reach in my stairway. Or prune my tress, cut down dead trees, pretty much anything I need help with, Matt is always there for me. He's been wanting me to make him a quilt for a while, and I've finally finished it today. Here is first a closeup of the quilting. This is the 3rd quilt I've quilted on my new HQ-16. Then there is a picture of the entire quilt. I quilted into it, For Matt from Colene 2007, but was unable to get a good picture of it.

Its Like Magic!

Magically, I found enough time to finish putting this quilt top together today. I love how it turned out. I can hardly wait to get that handi quilter and learn how to finish this quilt.

More flowers, everywhere!

I just can't seem to stop making these little flower blocks. Here are pictures of the last 8 for my lap quilt.

Blue Eyed Grass


Milkwort


Downy Gentian


False Beech Drop


Bouncing Bet


Morning Glory (Can't believe I made one of these despite how they plague my garden)


Wild Rose


Tulip

Can You Say "A"ddicting?

Okay, I never would have thought it possible, but I'm sort of feeling addicted to these little flower blocks. Since this weekend, I've made 3 more. Loving it! Here they are.

Arrowhead


Phlox


Trillium

The "A" Word

I recently purchased a book by Eleanor Burns titled The Magic Vine Quilt. This book is based on newspaper articles published long ago. You can read all about that aspect if you purchase the book. I hadn't attempted the "Applique" as, although, I purchased the book I was quite intimidated by the process. UNTIL........ Sophie posted the July lotto block on the about dot com quilting forum. I tried the applique' flowers for Sophie's lotto, and to my surprise quite enjoyed the experience. That was 8 days ago. Today I made the first flower block from The Magic Vine Quilt book. Here it is. I had fun doing it, and it wasn't as hard as I had imagined it would be.


Its called Evening Primrose

Log Cabin

I had a couple of bins full of fabric strings I didn't use up in the string block swap. I was thinking of throwing them out because they were always telling me to do something with them, but of course, I wasn't motivated to do anything. Just as I was about to throw them out. (I had them bagged up in trash bags) I saw Ami's swap for little log cabin blocks. I thought, hmm perfect chance to try some log cabin blocks. I got cutting and realized I didn't have enough tan or brown strings to play in the swap, but decided to go ahead and use what I had and just not swap them. Here they are on the wall (82 blocks) I need to make 18 more to finish this in the Barn Raising setting.

Women over 40

I received this from an online friend, and had to share.

60 Minutes Correspondent Andy Rooney (CBS)

As I grow in age, I value women over 40 most of all. Here are just a few reasons why:

A woman over 40 will never wake you in the middle of the night and ask, "What are you thinking?" She doesn't care what you think.

If a woman over 40 doesn't want to watch the game, she doesn't sit around whining about it. She does something she wants to do, and it's usually more interesting.

Women over 40 are dignified. They seldom have a screaming match with you at the opera or in the middle of an expensive restaurant. Of course, if you deserve it, they won't hesitate to shoot you if they think they can get away with it.

Older women are generous with praise, often undeserved. They know what it's like to be unappreciated.

Women get psychic as they age. You never have to confess your sins to a woman over 40.

Once you get past a wrinkle or two, a woman over 40 is far sexier than her younger counterpart.

Older women are forthright and honest. They'll tell you right off if you are a jerk if you are acting like one. You don't ever have to wonder where you stand with her.

Yes, we p raise women over 40 for a multitude of reasons. Unfortunately, it's not reciprocal. For every stunning, smart, well-coiffed, hot woman over 40, there is a bald, paunchy relic in yellow pants making a fool of himself with some 22-year old waitress. Ladies, I apologize. For all those men who say, "Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?", here's an update for you. Nowadays 80% of women are against marriage. Why? Because women realize it's not worth buying an entire pig just to get a little sausage!

Sewing Frenzy

I've been on a bit of a sewing frenzy this weekend. It started out yesterday with these 3 pincushions.


Then I moved onto making two of these fun sewing kits.


Here is the inside. There are pockets for items such as thread, buttons, measuring tape, and two needle books, and a built in pin cushion. These were fun to make, and will make fun gifts.


This morning I made this fun and easy bedside caddy. No more searching for the remotes.


Last week I made this fun tote for a swap I'm hosting on about.com's quilting forum.


That's it for today. I've got to clean this messy house, and we have company coming for dinner tonight.

A funny that Al shared with me

A store that sells new husbands has just opened in New York City, where a
woman may go to choose a husband.

Among the instructions at the entrance is a description of how the store
operates:

You may visit this store ONLY ONCE! There are six floors and the value
of the product increase as the shopper ascends the flights.
The shopper may choose any item from a particular floor, or may choose
to go up to the next floor, but you cannot go back down except to exit the
building!

So, a woman goes to the Husband Store to find a husband.

On the first floor the sign on the door reads:
Floor 1 - These men Have Jobs.

The second floor sign reads:
Floor 2 - These men Have Jobs and Love Kids.

The third floor sign reads:
Floor 3 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, and are Extremely Good Looking.

"Wow," she thinks, but feels compelled to keep going.

She goes to the fourth floor and the sign reads:
Floor 4 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Good Looking and
Help With Housework.

"Oh, mercy me!" she exclaims, "I can hardly stand it!"

Still, she goes to the fifth floor and the sign reads:
Floor 5 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Gorgeous, Help
with Housework, and have a Strong Romantic Streak.

She is so tempted to stay, but she goes on to the sixth floor and the sign
reads:
Floor 6 - You are visitor 31,456,012 to this floor. There are no men on
this floor. This floor exists
solely as proof that women are impossible to please. Thank you for shopping
at the Husband Store.

To avoid gender bias charges, the store's owner also opened a New Wives
store just across the street.

The first floor has wives that love sex.

The second floor has wives that love sex and have money.

The third through sixth floors have never been visited.

Tote Sweet Swap

I'm hosting a different swap on about.com's quilting forum. This swap is for Totes and sweets in a spring theme. I like to go for walks with my dog in the spring (theoretically that is) so, I made a tote bag out of 2 orphan doggie blocks I had. It has a lining and pockets inside.


robicole

How Many Quilts?

Around mid November I realized I had quite a few half made quilts, in the form of blocks. I decided to make a goal to finish them all into the form of quilt tops by the end of the year. Basically finish everything I had started this year. I was able to almost meet this goal. I still have the blocks from the book swap, I'm not even close to finishing this quilt, as I need to make knick knacks, and don't have a clue how yet. I also have a Christmas Sampler quilt that is not finished as I am waiting for 2 blocks from a swapper whose cats spilled cranberry juice on her blocks and she is having to re-make them. All in all, (by my best count) I made 29 quilt tops this year. All but 3 are either finished or at the quilter's waiting their turns. Not bad for my first year of quilting. And just in time, here is the quilt top I finished today. The last one of the year! Most of the other quilts can be seen Here. Some quilts don't have pictures yet, as they are being quilted. Now What? Only time will tell.

Holiday Eating Tips
1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday
buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact,
if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where
they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. Like fine
single-malt scotch, it's rare. In fact, it's even rarer than
single-malt scotch. You can't find it any other time of year
but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories
in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an
eggnog-aholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one
for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!
3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole
point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make
a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy.
Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with
skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother?
It's like buying a sports car with an automatic
transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort
to control your eating. The whole point of going to a
Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots
of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now
and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have
nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which
you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a
10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet
table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size
of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have
as many as you can before becoming the center of attention.
They' re like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them
behind, you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of
each. Or, if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and
one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have
more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with
the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all
cost. I mean, have SOME standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave
the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying
attention. Reread tips; start over, but hurry, January is
just around the corner.

Remember this motto to live by:

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the
intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well
preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in
one hand, martini in the other, totally worn out and
screaming,

"WOO HOO what a ride!"

Butterfly Storm

I'm guessing that Stormy was wondering if i would ever actually get this quilt top made. When I saw her on Thanksgiving I told her I was going to start it this weekend. I didn't think I would actually finish it though! Now I need to purchase the fabric for the back and have it quilted, and bind it, and its done! i think it turned out cool. all the small squares around the large butterflies are made with a variety of butterfly fabrics, there are a couple of dragon flies thrown in for variety. Hope she loves it. It will be a late wedding gift for her and David when its completed.

Geography is not my strong point!

Just for fun, I took this online "3rd grade geography test" I failed, miserably. I did okay, until I got to the north east. Bad Bad Bad, see how you do.
http://www.pibmug.com/files/map_test.swf

Patchy Hearts and Four Patches

This is a quilt top made from blocks I exchanged in two different block swaps. I woke up at 3:30 this morning and couldn't sleep. I put this one together and then worked on a queen size swap block quilt top for the next 10 hours or so. I'm sick of looking at both of them now. :)

by robicole

Bring on the Cheese

Just need to whine a bit. Tony has been gone A LOT! I think I saw him for 3 days in August. and I haven't seen him since. He left August 22nd and so far no Tony. Its such a drag. Whine Whine Whine. Mom would say, should I bring the cheese? YES! Bring on the cheese!

Star Fling Quilt

I finished a quilt top made from swap blocks from the group on about.com Here is a link to my webshots with the quilt.

How much do you weigh?

I was wandering around the internet and found this site. You answer about 10 questions and then it tells you how much you weigh. Ha! I thought, no way. But, I answered honestly, and ......... it was exactly what I weigh. Scary! And.... AMAZING! How do they do it? Lifestyle choices. I think I should go back and lie, and see what would change if I changed a thing or two about my lifestyle.
Check it out!
http://www.blogthings.com/howmuchdoyouweighquiz/

Another fun little quiz

You Are a Newborn Soul

You are tolerant, accepting, and willing to give anyone a chance.On the flip side, you're easy to read and easily influenced by others.You have a fresh perspective on life, and you can be very creative.Noconformist and nontraditional, you've never met anyone who's like you. Inventive and artistic, you like to be a trendsetter.You have an upbeat spirit and you like almost everything.You make friends easily and often have long standing friendships.Implusive and trusting, you fall in love a little too easily. Souls you are most compatible with: Bright Star Soul and Dreaming Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

Fun in Denver and a quilt too!

What great fun. When I arrived in Denver Janet had my bed made up with a quilt she received from Mom. Thanks to Janet, Lisa Kate, Rachel, Trevor, and Jordan for a fun filled week in Denver.

What kind of flower are you?

Once again Sophie has found something cool on the internet that I have to steal her idea. This one is fun to do and to see the results.

I am a Daffodil What Flower Are You?

You have a sunny disposition and are normally one of the first to show up for the party. You don't need too much attention from the host once you get there as you are more than capable of making yourself seen and heard.

Another Quilt Top Done

Here's a cute quilt called Chinese Coins, I made from scraps. Well, except for the black wasn't scraps.

by robicole
PS. Stormy, I miss the comments.

Pet Rules

This is a funny little article someone posted on one of the quilting forums I frequent. I loved it. Especially the rules to post on the door for visitors at my house. Author Unknown

PET RULES
To be posted VERY LOW on the refrigerator door - nose height.
Dear Dogs and Cats,
The dishes with the paw prints are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Please note, placing a paw print in the middle of my plate of food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping onthe couch to ensure your comfort. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.

For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom. If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years --canine or feline attendance is not mandatory.

The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat's butt. I cannot stress this enough!

To pacify you, my dear pets, I have posted the following message on our front door:

To All Non-Pet Owners Who Visit & Like to Complain About Our Pets
1. They live here - You don't.
2. If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. (That's why they call it "fur"niture.)
3. I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.
4. To you, it's an animal. To me, he/she is an adopted son/daughter who is short, hairy, walks on all fours and doesn't speak clearly.