Rice Krispie Treats

The baby had a "fall party" @ the daycare on Friday. I signed DD#2 up to bring cheese cubes & rice krispy treats. Yes, I know, I could have BOUGHT little rice krispy treats that are individually wrapped, but I didn't DO that! I made them. Googled Halloween Rice Krispy treats & there were Pumpkins everywhere. Start to finish MAYBE 40 minutes. DD#2 said the kids loved them & they were a great hit. My grandbaby , however, did not eat one. (he is a terrible eater........just terrible!)

They are not absolutely perfect, but you know what? They're 2 year olds. And they are perfect to me!!






Sam

Rock - On

This is the radio that Daughter#1 gave me for Christmas nearly 2 years ago. I was going to install it int he kitchen, but I have been spending MORE time in my studio than I do in the kitchen. So Prince Charming installed it under the shelf in my studio. It is directly behind where I stand when I am running my longarm quilting machine.



It is blissful to rock out while quilting!

Sam

Second Hand Clothes (KIT)

Several months ago, QB1 & I went to Whittles in KY. The "Second Hand Clothes" by Bonnie Blue Quilts, was one of 2 kits that I purchased. I was at a quilting retreat this week & I took this kit as one of my projects.

I completed all the blocks & sewed half the rows together. I had to complete the remaining rows @ home. You know? It takes 3 or 4 times LONGER to set blocks on point & sew into rows then it does to straight set the blocks? If the blocks on this design were straight set, then I'd pretty much lose all the design that the muslin fabric blocks create.

It's been a WHILE since I have done a quilt that has straight set blocks....Should feel like I finished it licktety split! I'm not complaining, becasue as much as I seem to be complaining about on-point sets, I am drawn to them. Over & over & over. And it can't be too bad, as my youngest daughter said "I claim THIS one!" When I laid it out on the bed to take this pisture this morning!

Sam

Lady of the Lake / Belle Meade (#1) Top Done

Not Quilted Yet.

This is a quilt pattern from Bonnie Blue Quilts. They call it Belle Meade. My blog post shows "#1" because, well, it's ONE of TWO that I'm making.

Where #1 is red, #2 will be blue. And vice/versa. I really like this. I am battling over a decision to put additional borders on it. I think it needs it, but as you can see, it's large enough for our queen sized bed.

#2 will be started after I complete the one & only quilt that I am gifting for Christmas. (I already have all the HST's cut & ready to go....so it's not like #2 has to be "started" or anything!)

Red is my FAVORITE color & RED/WHITE/BLUE is my favorite combo! My youngest daughter is always like: "Wow, Momma, ANOTHER red, white & blue quilt! Imagine that..." Just love that kid, you know?

Sam

Good Help? Yay or Nay? You Decide!

Seems that the BABY could stay OFF the QUILT. I asked him to stay OFF THE QUILT, which he did....




The DOG? On the other hand....He didn't mind so well.




Sam

12 More Blocks !

You know when YOu SEE a pattern & you think "Self, I REALLY like that pattern, but gosh.......it needs to be bigger...so I better make LOTS of blocks!" Well, I thought I was making lots of blocks. Turns out I still need 12 more.


After I laid out this half of the blocks, it occured to me that I MIGHT want to see just how many I wanted/needed. Even though I made 10 more than the pattern calls for, I still need 12 more.

I didn't get too much sewing done on those 12 more as Prince Charming & I worked ont he shed today. Beuatiful weather to work in, I might add! WE called a local "rent a machine" place & had a bobcat with an auger delivered this morning. We spent roughly 2 hours setting & squaring & measuring for the pole placement, and then dug 12 holes. These are for the lean-to's on each side of our shop. I am beat. I ache all over & we only got HALF the poles cemented in the ground.

I really WANT to sew - but we have been slacking on the "getting it done" department...taking lots of weekends off. So we did.

I need to get this quilt done so that I can start on the grandson's "I Spy" quilt - I want to give it to him for Christmas, and I need to finish my niece's quilt too.

And I want to get some face time in with my embroidery machine....AND I have a couple of customer quilts to get quilted too. My, my - my life gets busy sometimes!

Here's something you need to be on the look out for: We're all going to be PIRATES for Halloween. I am SO excited! Y'all better be watching my blog for possible updates.

See Ya!

Sam

New Machine

Look here for my first attempt with my *NEW* machine.

Sam

Up-Dates

You can all rest assured ( I say that ~ "you all" ~ like I have a blue million followers or soemthing!) I HAVE been sewing.

I have 29 blocks completed of 60 on my Belle Meade / Lady of the Lake Quilt. Guess what? I made too many HST's. Betcha didn't see THAT one coming!! Ha! Actually, I thought I had it nailed pretty close. Close? Not so much! I think that when I get BOTH these LOTL Quilts done, I'll have enough HST"S for 2 more. That's 4 if you're keeping up with the math (which, evidently, I'm no good with!)

My sewing room is upstairs in our family room. I have great ligihting for sewing, it's just pretty rotten for taking pictures. So y'all will have to wait until I can REMEMBER to take pictures during the weekend.

This last weekend, QB1 & I sewed some & then got side tracked going to town to get a birthday gift for my DS#1 (dear sister#1) I can't tell you WHAt I bought, as she reads my blog. Let's just say that the lady @ the shop said that she can't keep these things in stock. Sells them as quick as she puts them out. It's REALLY CUTE ! I also got my DS#1 some Knock-Out Roses. I bought themt he beginning of last month - maybe even June, but since you can't find them in September.........I thought ahead. One of them is doing EXCELLENT & blooming like mad. It's a double-pink. The other, while doing VERY well, is not a double - but it's finally taking off & looks equally beautiful.........enough of that....this is about sewing! Guess what QB1 has done???

Do you remember my "On Eagles Wings" quilt? It's another paperpeiced pineapple variation...The last one took 89 blocks, figured so would THIS one. I have MAYBE 30 blocks? She's got 75! SEVENTY-FIVE !!! She is cranking those little babies out! I am SO proud of her!

I often joke with her that it's a good thing my daughters don't marry her sons because none of them would be able to figure out who's mother made which quilt!! Ha Ha! We DO seem to make them together!

AND guess what else?????? I bought an embroidery machine. I get to pick it up tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow! I am excited. I have read where people that have embroidery machines use thier "sew outs" to make into quilts. HHHHhhuummmmm.......sounds like more UFO's. But a good idea, I think!

I promise to post photos soon. Remember, I am also on Nana Duty 3 nights a week. DD#2 has started grad-school. I am totally enjoying the grandson. His vocabulary is exploding. It's so comical.

Gotta go, folks! Tomorrow comes earlier than I want it too. If I could be pleasant while only getting 4 or 5 hours of sleep a night, I would, but guess what? My personality takes a serious head-dive without AT LEAST 6 or 7. Well there's that...but coffee helps too.......!

sam

Fabric Shopping & Whittles

It was raining on Saturday. We REALLY need the rain. It's been so darn hot (humid too, but our grass is dying!) and the rain was so refreshing. (people in the south - none I have seen..- have irrigation systems installed - that's a western thing...)It rained Friday night, late, all day Saturday & a little bit on Sunday morning. When I got up on Saturday, I let Prince Charming sleep in - becasue it was raining. I figured we were not going to work outside on our shed. Once he woke up & we were having coffee on the back deck, in the rain (covered deck) I asked him about working on the shed???? He said it was raining & we couldn't. Darn. I hate that. Y'all know how much I wanted to be out in 100 degree heat with humidity @ 90% - installing vinyl siding? Yeah, I pretty much nearly jumped up & down for joy that we were not going to be "working outside". SSSooooo...........I called QB1 to see what she was doing.

We decided to go up to Kentucky to Whittles!

It wasn't a hard decision. she drove.

We got to Whittles & QB1 bought a bunch of fabric for herself and some for another member of our guild that wants to make pillow cases. I bought 2 peices of wide with fabric for backings & I bought 2 quilt kits.

The kits I bought were......drum roll please.............:



Jubilee Celbration & Second Hand Clothes. Both kits were made from patterns by Bonnie Blue Quilts, in Civil War Repro fabrics. The ones that they had on display in the shop were awesome & the price could not be beat.

The 2 backings are great too!Not sure who the manufacturer is on either..As I was going more for the color than who made them:


Not hardly ANY sewing this weekend. I made 3 receiving blankets for a baby shower, but since I finished the LAST one this morning before the shower, I didn't get pictures of them!

Good night all.

Sam

A Quilt for my neice.

This is a quilt that I started for my neice, Devan. She lives in CA. You might remember the Cowboy quilt? Devan is Dylan's sister. All I lack is an outer row of blocks that will complete the "diamonds" & then the outer border. Quilting & then binding. Did you know I hate binding? Yep. I do.





And..........Just because he's so cute - especially for the camera!





See Ya !
Sam

what HAVE I been doing........?

Lot's.

Just nothing exciting.

I have sewn some of the "On Eagles Wings" blocks. I don't think I have (even) 30 yet.

I got the borders sewn on my Ocean Waves Quilt! Yay! No pictures, as I want to get it quilted first.

I have been working on a quilt for my neice in CA. (Pictures of that one will be in another post)

And..........I made the floral quilt, below, it didn't come out the way I envisioned. Not at all. The one ont he wall in the fabric store was pink, I didn't make the center panel narrow enough, and the floral is a little over-whelming. Oh well, it will be either 1 - a good GIFT quilt or.........2 - a good quilt for the dog.





Sam

Happy Birthday USA !!

My camera was in my purse, and I was wet from watering the dogs, so you're looking at the front of my house after I hung up the buntings on Friday.

Happy Birthday USA !!

I absolutely LOVE red / white / blue. My most favorite color combo.

I almost didn't pout these up this year, but you know what? I am SO PROUD that I did. It warmed my heart to turn the corner & see that white house all decked out for America's Birthday. It looks great.

Other residents hung out flags, but let me tell you, they are going to have to work harder to have more pride displayed that this !!

Happy Fourth of July!!

Sam

Dylan's Cowboy Quilt

I made this quilt several years ago - it's Cowboy Themed. Some of these fabrics are out of print & simply no longer available.

When my brother let me know that my nephew was diagnosed with a desease, I decided that since I could not HUG him in person, I'd send him a quilt.

Dylan is 7 - I really hope that he isn't too old for Cowboy's..?

This shot is of the quilt while on the longarm quilting machine


Another shot of the quilt ont he longarm quilting machine. It's being quilted with brown thread & an all over Stars & Loops pantograph pattern


Label - Made by Leslie!


This is te front of the quilt - you are seeing it on a "double" size bed & in this shot - you are not seeing all the borders.


Borders


Backing - I didn't have enough of either cowboy themed print for the WHOLE back - so I used both - you can't tell in this shot, but the darker print is centered fairly well. I just don't have the quilt centered on the bed.



I still lack gettingthe binding sewn on it & then off inthe mail it goes to Dylan. I hope that everytime he uses it, he feels a hug from me.

Sam

Lydia - Top Done

I have the top for the Lydia Quilt completed. I liked these blocks. They were not so fiddly as I normally work with. And I really like the open spaces - if I did more than just pantographs with my long-arm quilting I could put wreaths in those plain squares.

The pattern has it "done" @ this stage,with no borders, but I have enough of the cheddar print to put really big borders on it. Sounds icky, but once it's quilted, I will scallop the borders & that's why I need them wider than normal. I had origianlly thought about doing a blue border, or even a red one, but changed my mind. I can do that, you know......

Ihave never put scalloped borders on a quilt!



There is not usually SUN in our family room, but I have the day off & was able to take advantage of the natural light that only comes in during the morning hours. A rare treat up here ("up here" means the bonus/family room - becasue it's in the attic roof area of our house)

And here is a picture of the little dude - just coz he's adorable!


Sam

Future NQR Project < sort of a rant!>

This is a Non-Quilting-Related post! And I am going to rant too. So read at your own risk.

Prince Charming & I are always planning projects. So far our most afggressive has been our shop that we're building. In this heat, it's about to kick our butt. White vinyl siding in the sun, is no fun. But when it gets completed, it will all be worth it.

A project that we have lined up is to start a rose garden. A real one. Lot's of roses. Tea roses. Complete with pathways & a gazebo & possibly some (or "a") pergola. Prince Charming wants a waterfall too. We have the space in our yard. Anyway.......I have started 4 rose plants. 3 are doing well, the 4th......not so much. I have also started some roses from seeds & there are 6 that have germinated!

This post is about my quest to find BOOKS on roses. Not what they look like, but how to care for them, type of soil, how to keep certain deseases away....etc. Well, yesterday I drive all the way to Nashville to Books-A-Million. It's the closest book store & it's roughly 30 miles away. Guess what? No books on roses. None. No magazines dedicated to roses either. Not one. To say I was disappointed is a an understatement. But what I want to rant about is what follows.

Not only did they NOT have books on roses, but they DID have 4 DIFFERENT books by seperate authors on growing............wait for it...........

Marijuana!

Yep!

Pot!

I am a pretty liberal person. But I guess not. I guess the older I get, the more conservative I become. But give me a break! I live in Middle Tennessee. The South. The Bible Belt. I can buy a book on cultivating pot, but not ROSES ?

Nashville has a Rose Society, I am headed to thier website to see if they have any recommended reading. Certainly, B-O-M doesn't have what I need!

Seriously? No books on roses! (My local library wasn't any help either)

Sam

Mother's Day Gift

As I get older, I have this NEED to be organized. I like everything put away & organized. And I like GLASS in my kitchen. I don't like platic storage containers at all. Well, when I got asked what I wanted for MD, I said got to "X" Store & get the little glass spice jars for me.

What you see in the picture is just 1/2 of them. I only ended up with ONE unlabeled jar, though I have many EMPTY jars because the spices were expired..........And some of the spices I had still had price tags on them. TAGS, not bar codes. How old could THOSE have been???



Anyway............I'm a Happy Camper. I like that the glass can be cleaned and relabled. Figure I'll pick up a few more incase I need them. Got to see if there are some slightly larger for parsley flakes (use those a lot!) and chili powder. I buy huge containers of that too.

The jars did not come labeled or with labels, I used my own label maker & put the labels at the top of the jars so that the ones in the back top shelf can be seen & read. Aggravating not to be able know what those spices are!

You know what I used for those spice shelves? Ha, Ha !! 2X4's. Just had Prince Charming cut them to fit the cabinet. Works like a charm. Cheap butt, huh?

Sam

Fun & Done

We'll start with "done" first.

I finished quilting QB1's quilt. I hope that she didn't hurt her fingertips while she was at the lake this weekend, because she's got a binding to put on her quilt! And it's NO lap quilt. I used an old pantograph that I have - it's got leaves on it. QB1 wanted something loose so that the quilt would be puffy. I used a complimentary thread & like ALWAYS, you can hardly even SEE the thread. Not on the front. I guess that's a good thing. It's finally done & I already took it to her house. She wasn't home, so it will be a surprise!

Now comes the FUN part.

Y'all know right??? That I do NOT need another project? I just don't. I got off work early one day the week boefore last & I wandered up to a quilt shop in Goodlettsville. I can't remember the name (I am sorry, but as many as I go too, it's hard to keep them straight) I bought a pattern (saw that coming didn't you?) by Bonne Blue Quilts, called "Lydia". They had one made hanging up stairs int he shop & let me tell you, it nearly screamed at me to be made! The pattern cover photo does not do , what the REAL quilt looked like, justice at all.

Here's a photo of the quilt on the pattern cover.


But it's really done in a chrome yellow & blues & red. I happen to have aobut 6 yards of a chrome yellow with little red flowers on it. I made 9 blocks in under 2 and a half hours. Super easy & the way they are set on point withthe background color on the outside of the block makes it look like they are floating. Really pretty.

AND.........while digging through my stash, I found what might be the perfrect border fabric for it too. It's blue with chrome yellow motifs on it. I got all the yellow @ Whittles. Saw it on line, called themt o make sure they had X # of yards & I got it the NEXT day. Whittle's is AWESOME. Just AWESOME. When I bought the yellow, I didn't know what project I wanted it for. I had seen a yellow & red quilt in one of Bonnie Hunters recent books, but when I saw the Lydia pattern, I thought "WHY NOT"?

Though, let me tell you.........I finished 9 blocks & have 28 more cut out. I was using fat quarters & the pattern calles for 1/3 yard cuts...anyway, Saturday I go buy 5 more blue fat quarters. As long as I have been sewing, I STILL make STUPID mistakes. Yep! Cut every single FQ wrong for the next 9 blocks. The fabric is not unusable, just not usable for THIS project... Oh Well. Give me my "idiot" sign & I'll gladly wear it. How did I do that you ask? Ha! Because I was too confident in myself & thought that I had all the cuts memorized & when I went to cut the last 5 fat quarters, I didn't even bother reading the instructions. See? Idiot. Doesn't that go with "measure twice, cut once"? Well, duh! Only measruing wasn't my problem.

So, there you have it, my Fun & Done post.

As soon as I have enough different variety of those Lydia blocks, I'll post my progress.

See Ya !

Sam

Say It On The Wall

This week I got busy hanging up all our pictures on the walls. I emptied a whole closet. I can honestly say that the movers did a wonderful job packing everything.

No, people, we didn't move.

We have lived here 3 years & I FINALLY put the pictures on the walls. No, I don't have a reason. I am not even going to try & figure out WHY I was so lazy. Not worth the effort.

Anyway.......I wanted to be able to hang my quilts behind the bed, full length. The hanger is sort of crude, but Prince Charming has said he'll build a NICE one for me. This set-up will suffice until then.






Sam

ps/ i can never get good pictures....I am up against a wall where I am standing & there is a huge cedar chest there too. I can't get far enough back to get a good picture.....oh well, you get the drift.

Piddle Piddle Piddle & Fiddle

I can't beleive the sewing slump I have been in lately. I have done precious little sewing. I did get 4 more "On Eagles Wings" blocks completed. That gives me (I think) 22. I still have a long way to go. I spent Sunday morning CLEANING my sewing area. What a terrible spread out mess it was. I needed to get it clean so I could prioritize my projects. I have too many going to stay focused, it seems.

So I finished those 4 blocks & put them away in their little box until I can finish something else or to take them to work on whle sewing with QB1. I have finished cutting trimming & tearing the paper off all the BLUE hst's for my r/w/b Belle Meade. Ironing them too for.ever. Now I am cutting the red hst's apart. Once those are trimmed, paper removed & ironed...the blocks will go together super fast. I am excited to get them that far. (I think I made more hst's than I'll need....we'll see!)

I have my Ocean Waves on the table & ready for the outer borders. My freind, Leslie in AL, is making an embroidered label for me. I love her labels. But hte quilting is going to wait a little bit. I am going to quilt an old "Focs Fabric Quilt" that I made several years ago. It's cowboy themed & I am going to send it to my nephew in CA. H'es been diagnosed with a desease & I can't be there to hug him & feel like this is the next best thing that I can do. I am sure my nephew will fare well through his illness, but I worry about my brother. He is really having a hard time coping with this issue.

Anyway - now that my sewing area is cleaned up - it's much easier to feel like i want to sew!

I bought a BUNCH of patterns while I was @ Paducah & I just put them all away. I just have so many projects truning cartwheels in my head that if they are out on the table, I get sidetracked & want to start another project!! Ack! Can't do that.

I'll post some pictures as soon as I get something worth looking at!

sam

Wish List - Champagne Taste

Ugh! How come i always fall in love with something that is 10 times more expensive than I need to spend?

We have fully functioning patio furniture that we use on our deck. It's an aluminum set we bought in 2006. Maybe 2005. It was when daughter #2 graduated from high school. Bought it from K-Mart. It's a nice set - but it would be an understatement if I said I was NOW bored with it & want something new.

This week I got a new issue of Southern Living & they have a spread about porches in Charleston. Lots of wicker. I have had a love affair for wicker furniture for a LONG time. I think my Mother gave me the love. She never had a set. I wish I could have got her one. Fast forward to this week again.......I SO want new deck furniture.

I had a white wicker set about 7 years ago - but I didn't have the money to buy "all weather" wicker. it didn't last.

I found what I want!! Yipee! But there is no way I can buy it all at once. Pretty sure Prince Charming wont' jump at it either.

If I can't have exactly what is pictured below - it has to be super similar.


I don't want white. I don't want bulky. I want traditional. And I want it dark brown or black. I only want 2 rockers, 2 chairs, 2 side tables & only 1 sette. Maybe only 2 chairs.....Picky, huh? Well, if I spend what they want for that set, I better get EXACTLY what I want. From Orvis - The Champlain Set. Let's see...how many "gift giving days" are there in 2011? My birthday is already passed, Valentines Day is already passed, Anniversary is already passed..... Pretty sure I can't get a "gift" for The 4th Of July. But hey! I still have Thanksgiving & Christmas!!!

I can DREAM, can't I ???

Sam

Edited to add: Ha! My friend Donna Reminded me that MOTHERS DAY is next month!!! And....I do have wicker furniture. It's on my front porch. 4 chairs & 2 end tables. We don't use it. It's eye-candy for the front of the house. It's not the style I want for the back deck - that's where we spend all out time in the spring & summer.