Connecting the Dots

Another Flimsy

2010-09-21T20:16:00.004-04:00

As promised, I've continued to work on the quilt of greens. Nine-and-a-half months after buying the fabric, and with my sewing room looking like a small explosion has erupted, the quilt top is finished. Cutting the various widths and lengths of fabric into strips to make up the blocks wasn't fun, but having seen this pattern on other quilters' blogs, I knew it was one I wanted to make. Once. And what possessed me to piece this complicated friendship braid border is beyond me. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not very good at the piecing. So I advise you not to click and enlarge the photo. Please. Control yourself. You'll be sorry if you ignore my plea.

I've got some busy days coming up, so it may be a while before I get to the batting and backing stage. And, news flash: I'm keeping this quilt for myself!

Just Like I Was Told... Sort of

2010-09-16T17:52:00.003-04:00

I intended to go to the Dollar Store to get a (cheap) gift bag for wrapping my recently-made apron. My friend, Sarah, of Red Gingham fame, suggested instead that I wrap it in leftover fabric and tie a bow around it. Well, I took that idea a step further and made a reusable tote bag. I didn't have enough of the floral fabric to line the bag with, but I found some other fabric in my stash that would work, so here it is... all ready for gift-giving tomorrow.

Git 'Er Done

2010-09-13T14:03:00.002-04:00

As usual, a date for a bridal shower was creeping up on me, and I needed to get a gift ready. I chose the same apron pattern that I used here, but instead of the straight trim pieces, I made it with scallops. When I first saw the green plaid fabric from Phillip and Lystra, I immediately thought, "Apron." Even though I used part of the fabric for this bag, I was pretty sure there would still be plenty for the apron. I found the --ah -- inexpensive, shall we say, floral fabric at one of the few remaining Wal-marts that actually have fabric. I like to look at the bride's online gift registry so that I can choose colors that won't clash horribly with her kitchen, and so that I can get an idea of her style. This particular bride has chosen Fiesta Ware for her everyday dishes, so the clear, bright colors of this apron will be perfect.

Here's a close-up of the front.

The apron is fully lined in the floral fabric. I didn't like the way the label turned out for the first apron, so here's what I did this time. It's on the inside of the bib part.Finally, I got smart and made the gift-enclosure card to match.Now all I have to do is go by the Dollar Store and find a suitable (and matching!) gift bag. And I "got 'er done" a whole five days before the shower.

Hello, Friends

2010-09-10T01:46:00.000-04:00

Last week I sent a couple of gifts to Karen, creator of The Selvage Blog. I have been enjoying the creative inspiration of her blog for several years now, and she has featured some of my selvage creations there. It was time to say, "Thank you!" for first opening up the idea to me that selvages are usable. My only regret is for the 40-ish years that I cut off selvages and threw them away!

In addition to one of my bookmarks, I sent her a needlework companion book, complete with a selvage cover. The book has dividers and blank pages for making notes about projects, threads, fabrics, etc., and a small zippered pocket in the back for holding swatches or samples. Here's what the front cover looks like.
And here's the back. A few close-ups, including one of the hidden button/elastic closure: Take a close look at the number 6 in the next photo. These color dots are supposed to be a single color, but this one looks like rainbow sherbet!

And the selvage on the orange, dotted fabric is different from most.

Click this link to check out Karen's blog. You just might find me there today.

I'm Still Among the Living

2010-09-09T17:14:00.006-04:00

Yes, I'm still here. In addition to my two regular at-home bookkeeping jobs, I'm about to start a third, and there are two more potentially out there. So, I'm staying plenty busy!

We finally had some fall-like weather last week, and it was nice to open the windows and turn on the attic fan. Blinky thought so, too. Remember this little bundle? I've had it for over eight months, and it is gradually becoming a quilt. I promise.The gooseneck lamp in my sewing room is great for keeping strips close by!
Although I'd like to finish it in the next few weeks, don't hold your breath!

Win-Win

2010-09-01T20:55:00.005-04:00

I love baseball, especially the Atlanta Braves. I've been following them for roughly forty years, through the dismal 1970s and 80s when they usually were mathematically eliminated from being contenders by the All Star break, into the exciting 1990s when they won a record fourteen-straight championships (most straight by any pro sports team -- not just baseball), and into the new millennium.

I also love to sing, and I've been a part of various choirs for longer than I've been a baseball fan. Currently, I sing in the choir at Midway Presbyterian Church. On Monday, my two loves were combined as my church choir sang the national anthem at the Braves game. We submitted a recording to the Braves about this time last year, and at the start of the season this year, they called to invite us. August 30 just happened to be the date that worked for the majority of choir members.

This is uncharted cyber-territory for me, but hopefully there will be a You Tube link here that will let you see and hear our rendition of The Star Spangled Banner.

Singing at the game itself was not uncharted territory for me. Back in the late 1970s, I sang in a community chorus that was invited twice to sing. That was back in the old Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, so this was my first time to set foot on the grass of Turner Field. The Braves won the game, 9-3, and a good time was had by all.

Yum, Yum

2010-08-28T09:04:00.003-04:00

Emily and the kiddos came over for supper last night, then Alexa spent the night with us. I think Jordanna enjoyed her meal.Emily was smart and stripped her down to just a diaper beforehand. Afterwards, this little critter went directly to the bathtub... ...leaving Grammy to deal with the fallout.

I Spy

2010-08-23T08:59:00.004-04:00

I grew up with cats and even though James didn't, we've had many over our thirty-five years of marriage. We've never had more than four at a time (that was too many) but we've rarely had just one. Blinky is just one. It was obvious some time back that Blinky is a dominant feline, and after my beloved Daisy died a couple of years ago at age 17, we didn't think that Blinky would appreciate it if we introduced a new critter to the household. To put it a bit more succinctly, we were afraid she'd kill a kitten! Blinky is also the only cat who has ever been allowed to sleep with us. This was James' idea, not mine. Remark- ably, she parks herself at the foot of the bed, and stays right there all night. Conveniently, it is James' side of the bed. She will attempt a more prestigious spot on the bed, but once she's directed to move to her appointed place, she will.

Last night, I had been lying in bed flipping back and forth between baseball and football on TV. I got up for something or other, and when I returned, here's where I found the cat.
She didn't stay for very long, though.

A First

2010-08-20T05:22:00.002-04:00

When you get to be a half-century plus, there aren't a whole lot of firsts left in life. (I think my first time to go snow skiing isn't going to happen now.) Last evening, I got a phone call that was a first. I could tell that it was going to be a recorded message, something I got way too many of during the primary and run-off elections, and expect to get more of come November. But the recording began with, "This is Cobb County 911 Emergency Services." Now that will sort of get a person's attention. It went on to describe a missing girl who was last seen several hours earlier at an intersection a couple of miles from our house. Now I knew that enhanced 911 meant that Emergency Services could pinpoint a location based on caller ID, but I never thought about it working in reverse... them calling us. On second thought, I vaguely remember a request from the county to give them all our contact numbers to make it easier for them to let us know of an emergency situation in our area, but I expected it to be something like telling us to evacuate if there were a wildfire or flood in the area. "Big Brother" is definitely watching us, but I guess I'm OK with it if a missing child is found safe. And in this age of technology, is there really any choice but to acknowledge Big Brother's existence?

Favorite of Favorites

2010-08-18T01:27:00.005-04:00

I like just about all the postcards I've made (I found it hard to send out the few that I didn't like), but this one ranks high on my list of personal favorites. It went out yesterday to a friend who just had surgery. Like me, she's been a seamstress for most of her life, but I recently introduced her to (and infected her with) the quilting bug. (Not my computer bug, which could have made her un-friend me.)

Unthinkable

2010-08-16T10:37:00.006-04:00

Well, the unthinkable happened, and my computer went down with a virus again. With this rebuild, James loaded a different anti-virus program, and I've installed some additional Internet Explorer security tools. Even though Firefox is supposed to work better against viruses, I sure didn't find that to be the case.

Now I have this backlog of pictures and information. This dates back more than a month, but Emily and her crew, dressed as cows, attended Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-fil-a and were rewarded with free food for their efforts. My mom was trying to figure out how to put some of my late step-father's Masonic items into a shadowbox, so rather than explain how I'd do it, I just asked her if I could take the stuff and the box with me. Here's what I did, and she liked it.

Although I haven't done anything major, I've still spent a little time at the sewing machine.I've also been experimenting with bookmarks, from the inspiration of my baby sister. I haven't done a lot of searching yet, but I'd like to find a heavier card stock than what I usually use for the postcards. I also went back and added a little loop of ribbon at the tops of the bookmarks.I need to finish assembling the blocks for a quilt that I've been working on for a while, but I couldn't resist playing around a bit with a new project. No details yet, but here's what I've started.

Creating for a Cause

2010-08-09T12:05:00.003-04:00

When we returned from vacation a few weeks ago, there was a note from my mailman requesting that I call him about making a couple more cards for him. I had very little time to create this birthday card for his daughter to give to her grandmother. (Given longer, I'm sure I could have come up with something better!)
It's a good thing I had a little more time on the second card because he wanted something with the breast cancer pink ribbons on it, and I didn't have any fabric like that. Rather than scour my county on foot (actually, I would drive my car), I went on Ebay and found something suitable. Although I had to buy an entire yard, with shipping, it was still just $6 so that was reasonable. Here's the card I made for him to send as an encouragement to a friend who is undergoing chemotherapy.
I'm also trying to remember and support a friend at church who should be nearly finished with her chemotherapy now. I gave her this quilt at the first of the year, and I've continued to send my handmade cards at regular intervals. I decided to use some of the remaining fabric to make a tote bag for her, and this is it.
Now you can see that I only used a small portion of the fabric's design for the mailman's card.

Here's a closer shot of the fabric and handle detail.
I didn't want to use the pink fabric for handles, because I only had enough to go crosswise, which would have looked weird. So I decided to use the green plaid that came in a fun box from Phillip and Lystra for the lining and handles. In order to make it look more like I really meant to use the green for the handles, I embroidered the hot pink flowers.

There is one interior pocket.
Since our mailman comes pretty late in the afternoon, I think I still have time to get this tote packaged up and out in my mailbox. Especially if I get off the computer now!

Not Really My Thing

2010-08-06T09:02:00.005-04:00

I don't think I ever showed you the picture of the vase of flowers I arranged a few months ago. Last December, I signed up to provide flowers in our church sanctuary on August 1 for our anniversary. When I began to consider how large the space is up front (the church seats about 1,200), and what it would cost to have a florist make something that large (probably $200), I decided that I would try to arrange some silk flowers myself. I happened to be at JoAnn's (a craft store) a couple of months ago when they were having a 60% off sale on some of their floral items. I grabbed a tall vase and started choosing flower stems to see if I could pull this off successfully. Here is how it turned out. From this first picture of the sanctuary, taken from the balcony, you can see why I wanted a large, tall arrangement. Anything smaller would be lost down there. Here are a couple of more pictures made before the service from the center aisle by my always-prepared-former-Boy-Scout husband.
The 50" height of the arrangement is a bit overwhelming for my smallish house, so I donated it to the church rather than bring it back home. Occasionally there are Sundays when no one has signed up to provide flowers, and so this one can be used again as needed. So, even though floral arranging is not really my calling, I think for about $45 this hits the mark, and I got lots of positive comments.

Quilt Wardrobe is Complete

2010-08-03T15:46:00.006-04:00

The shirts were finished a few months ago, and now the pants are, too. You may remember seeing this quilt that I made for my mom from my late step-father's shirts.I also took all of his jeans (maybe eight or nine pairs?) and cut them into strips. The strips then became blocks.I chose this fabric for the back of the quilt.
Here is the finished top stretched out over the backing fabric, ready to be pin-basted. There is no batting because a denim quilt is quite heavy enough by itself.
Once the pins were in place, I used a large, curved needle to tie the quilt front to the back in the center of every other square. (Technically, this means that it isn't really a quilt at all.) Then it was time to sew the binding, which in this case, is the backing fabric turned to the front. This method is Blinky-approved.
Next, I used a seam-ripper to cut several slits in each of the roughly 300 seams! I really don't know how many individual seams there are. The quilt is seventeen by thirteen blocks for a total of 221. Each block doesn't have four unique seams since most of the blocks share three sides with other blocks. This is a math problem for my son-in-law. No doubt he's already figured it out in his head. I also used the seam ripper to punch at least a half-dozen holes in my finger, so I'm very glad that part is finished.

Finally, I took the quilt to the laundromat to wash and dry it in order to fray the seams. On purpose. That's part of the look. The quilt would have fit in my front-loading washing machine, but a commercial machine is recommended because they have lint filters, and a lot of strings are produced with the agitation. Here's the finished quilt (except for needing to trim some long strings that didn't let go.)
And here it is with a corner of the back flipped up.
Here's another reason (besides my sore finger) for being glad the quilt is finished. In addition to the strings left in the washer and dryer, they are all over my house! Here's where I sat to sew on the binding. You can't see a lot of them on the sofa, but trust me, they're there. And all over the floor. Everywhere. Thursday is house-cleaning day, so I'd better be prepared with a new vacuum cleaner bag... although I could get crazy and vacuum them up before then, but I'm not generally known for attacking any housework before its time.

Back in the Land of the Living

2010-08-02T19:15:00.003-04:00

Actually, I never left the land of the living, but my computer did. Right about the time we went on vacation (more on that later), my computer caught a virus. A really ugly one. One of the viral symptoms was a corruption of Google, and anything related to Google, i.e. G Mail and Blogger. All sorts of security warnings popped up if I attempted to log in (to create a new post or to comment on other blogs), so I just didn't. I tried to repair the damage myself (unsuccessfully) and then I tried to rebuild the computer myself (unsuccessfully). James ended up having to do it, and I'm just now starting to get everything back the way I want it. Since we have about eight computers in this house (if you must know, I'm married to an I.T. geek), you might think that being without one wouldn't be a problem. However, mine is the one with all the connections for logging in remotely to do my two bookkeeping jobs. Auuggghhhh! I really, really hope the evil people who create malicious computer viruses get the appropriate recompense. Personally, I can't think of any penalty severe enough.

On a happier note, today I have been married for thirty-five years. Here's what we looked like on August 2, 1975.

Happy 5th Birthday!

2010-07-14T04:18:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday America!

2010-07-04T04:12:00.000-04:00

Holding Our Breath

2010-07-03T07:45:00.000-04:00

My in-laws have been in assisted living for over two years. During much of that time, my brother-in-law and I have been working on their house. (Mostly him, although I did scrape three rooms of wallpaper.) We finally put it on the market several weeks ago, and we were thrilled, especially since the market is so sluggish right now, to have a contract close to the asking price after just three weeks. Once the house was inspected, there was a fairly lengthy list of repairs that needed to be made. James and his brother have been steadily working on the list, and today they met at the house to finish it up. One of the things they had to do was lay a vapor barrier of plastic in the dirt crawl space beneath the house. I heard the basement-garage door open when James got home, but I was a little surprised to see him emerge from the basement into the hall in his underwear. When I got a look at these clothes, I was glad he'd stripped in the basement!

The closing is set for next Friday, and though it looks like everything will proceed according to plan, we're holding our breath until all the signatures are in place. I can tell you that I was also holding my breath as I carried these clothes from the basement to the laundry room!

82% Savings at Publix

2010-07-02T15:52:00.003-04:00

I spent only $8.45 for all of this at Publix yesterday. Without sales and coupons, the two large boxes of cereal would have been almost that much.Because I had just met a friend for tea, I went to a Publix that was on my way home instead of my usual store. I didn't have the weekly sales ad yet, so I grabbed this up as I went in.
I was definitely out of my neighborhood! I didn't even know that Publix prints their ad in Spanish as well as English. My personal opinion is that if you want all the benefits this great nation has to offer, you could at least learn the language. But that's a soapbox for another time.

Shopping at 3 a.m.

2010-07-01T09:13:00.003-04:00

When I couldn't sleep in the wee hours, I decided to shop for a waterproof mattress pad for the bed in my guest room (for benefit of the grandbabies). I meant to go to Amazon but instead went to Ebay. It was 3 a.m. after all. Since I was there, I typed my request into the search field. Here's the description of the first one I saw (edited somewhat in the interest of good, or at least mediocre, taste):

Application:

1. For infants used to bed-wetting and sicking-up;

2. For women ... to prevent besmirch of bed mattress;

3. For patients and elderly confined in bed, who usually humidify pillow and mattress with their perspiration due to long time stay in bed;

4. For school dormitory and holiday entertainment houses, where gatherings are often held to entertain a large number of people, which might cause spattering of liquid or food on pillow and mattress;

5. For hotel rooms during tour to prevent people from bacteria or other attacks caused by dirty mattress.

OK, then. I think that more than covers it. Pun intended.

Three!

2010-06-28T10:12:00.000-04:00

We had dinner out with Emily and family Saturday night to celebrate Alexa's birthday. She and Caleb will share a party with their little friends in a couple of weeks (Caleb will turn five on July 14), and I will have gifts for them then, but I wanted to give her a little something now. Emily couldn't get a picture of her name and her face. She either held the card in front of her face, or she held it over her head, closed her eyes, and scrunched her face all up. Oh well. She can't write her name yet, but she knew that this is her name.I also gave her some stickers and this baby doll outfit that I made.
Jordanna wants something, probably her mama.
According to Emily, Jordanna doesn't think much of any of the solid foods she's attempted to feed her so far. This is a mild face compared to some of the ones she made while Emily was feeding her carrots.Caleb is happy about or afraid of something! The sunglasses are a fairly recent addition to the infamous green hat.Instead of the expected slice of birthday cake for the birthday girl, the restaurant brought Alexa a piece of caramel pie topped with whipped cream and mini chocolate chips. Guess who had the good fortune of sitting next to a three-year-old who had a piece of pie way too big for her?

Happy Third Birthday!

2010-06-27T04:24:00.000-04:00

Peachy Keen Part Three

2010-06-26T16:17:00.002-04:00

After I left my mom's house on Thursday, I went straight to Emily's house so that I could give her some of the peaches. No one came to the front door when I rang the bell, but I could hear the kids out back. So I went around the house and found these sweet and goofy, swim-suited kids running around the deck and occasionally splashing in their small pool. (With parental supervision, of course.)

Peachy Keen Part Two

2010-06-25T19:12:00.004-04:00

I took my camera to my mom's house yesterday so that I could get pictures of the peach-buying trip, but I also went out to her butterfly garden and made these photos:She also has several hummingbird feeders. A few years ago someone from the Department of Natural Resources came out, observed, and if memory serves (which is often does not these days) caught and banded a few hummingbirds. At the time, he estimated that about 200 hummingbirds per day were visiting these feeders! I managed to take these halfway decent pictures from about 15 feet away, and from inside the house through a glass door.

Peachy Keen

2010-06-24T19:54:00.011-04:00

Today was such a full day that it may take me several days to tell you about it. I took off early this morning for my mom's house in middle Georgia. The ultimate destination? Peaches. There's a farm with a packing house about thirty minutes from where she lives. The freestone peaches have just become available this week. They don't do any processing at this location -- just packing. Although I've lived in Georgia all my life, this is the first time I've gone to a peach farm to get peaches. I usually just buy them at the grocery store like everyone else.Here's a front view of the open-air building as we pulled up. We went around to the back because from there, you can pack your own box/bag/pail of rejected peaches at a dirt cheap price. They package only the perfect ones for (apparently) supermarket sales. Many of the rejected peaches are perfect albeit small. Others have small, surface imperfections. And then some come down the conveyor belt with their guts oozing out or even totally exploded. We passed on those. Here's the back view of the conveyor system sending the rejected peaches out to waiting hands. The ones that the customers also reject land in the large white pins you see in front.Here are the employees who are removing the imperfect peaches from the packing line and sending them down the belt to waiting people like Mama and me.
We were initially squeezed in toward the end of the conveyor belt, but as people loaded up their boxes and left, we were able to move up to the beginning of the line. Here I am with my box nearly full. Mama had already filled hers, which left her free to make the picture. (And then she helped fill my box.)
From the front part of the building, there are rocking chairs where you can enjoy homemade peach ice cream (for sale) and sit and watch the packing operations.

Here's a short video of the packing operation. You can see the peaches dropping through the size-sorter. The man riding the platform across the conveyor is freeing a peach that had become stuck.

Here's a little church birdhouse. This wasn't for sale, but in addition to peach ice cream (to be consumed on-site only), you can buy fried peach pies (yummy, yummy, but I refrained), peach taffy, peach salsa (I had a taste there, and had to buy a jar), t-shirts, and other peach-themed stuff.Here are the peaches I came home with (and gave some to Emily) for only $5. A box of perfect ones cost $18. They will require another 2-3 days of ripening to be just right. I've already bought my Fruit Fresh so I can get these into the freezer. Oh, yes.... one more peach. (I'm sorry I couldn't get my face in there any better, but the face hole was about waist-high on me, so I had a little trouble getting down there. And more trouble getting back up.)

Cute as a Button!

2010-06-22T10:12:00.000-04:00

Here's my youngest granddaughter, Jordanna, at six months old. Emily is always fussing at me for getting make-up on Jordanna's clothes while I'm stealing baby sugar. But it's just too sweet to resist.

See For Yourself

2010-06-20T20:19:00.002-04:00

In this post, I told you about the similarities and differences in my hair and my dad's hair. Now you can judge for yourself. (He must be slouching... he's taller than me!)

Happy Fathers Day!

2010-06-20T07:55:00.000-04:00

Bits and Pieces

2010-06-17T08:41:00.012-04:00

A few days ago it occurred to me that the reason I haven't done much sewing lately is that the room had gotten to be such a mess! I had bits and pieces of leftover projects everywhere, and I can't work in clutter. After spending about two hours cleaning and putting away stuff, I think I can get busy now.
Here's a WIP (work in progress) on my flannel board. I bought these fabrics nearly six months ago, and they are gradually coming together. There's still one more strip to be added around each square. Then the squares will be cut and reassembled. The outcome is anyone's guess (including mine) at this point!

In addition to my late step-father's shirts, I also brought home all of his jeans. Part of the clutter in my sewing room was all the legs I had cut off, but that's where they've been sitting for a long time. So, this week, I got them cut into strips and some cut into squares. This will become a quilt too, but technically not a quilt because it will be tied and not quilted. I have no idea what the finished size will be until I get all the squares attached to one another.Phillip, Lystra, and Poppy sent me a cute cat puzzle and a treasure chest of fabrics for my birthday. I loved opening the box and unfolding each piece. Most of them will be great for my postcards, and I'm seeing an apron in that green, plaid fabric.Here's a couple of cards I sent them, using fabric from the box.

A Little Sewing

2010-06-15T11:38:00.000-04:00

I haven't spent much time at the sewing machine lately, but I did make this new cover for the cushion on our two-person glider. The old cover was faded pretty badly. You can't tell from the picture, but the cover is made like a giant pillow case with a Velcro closure. That way, I can remove it and wash it as needed. (See this post on pollen season in the south.) There was enough extra fabric to make the little pillow as well, and I already had the pale yellow cording in my stash. I didn't make the plaid pillow. It's in one of the wicker rockers, so I took it with me when I was looking for glider fabric. I'm happy with how the two fabrics coordinate.

Recently I made a batch of fabric postcards, too, but since they haven't all reached their intended destinations, you'll have to wait to see those.

Hair's Not Fair

2010-06-13T19:35:00.004-04:00

Hair's Not Fair
or
You Can Pick Your Jeans, But Not Your Genes

My dad, who is a number of years older than me (in case you wondered) has very little gray hair. My older sister has very little gray hair. Me? I hit the jackpot. I've had some gray since my early twenties. I've thought once or twice about coloring it, but you know the old adage, "Know Thyself"? I know myself, and I know that I'm too lazy to want to have to deal with hair coloring every few weeks. I also know that I'm just vain enough not to want to walk around with bi-colored hair from grown-out roots. So, I didn't get my dad's genes for late-in-life graying.

But there is something I did get from dad's hair genes. His hair is thinning at the temples, and guess what? So is mine. Here's the daily routine to keep my bangs swept back from my face and not falling forward and exposing the baldness. I have to heavily gook my bangs with styling gel, comb it over the balding place, let it dry into a stiff, straw-like texture, and then gently comb through the hair. That's good for several hours in the winter, and several minutes in the humid heat of summer. But since I rarely look in a mirror after I've executed my morning routine, I can pretend that I have hair. And that it stays where I glued it. And now the world knows that I at least tried.

Shopping for Free

2010-06-11T17:40:00.004-04:00

I love free shopping. Within the last couple of weeks, I got coupons in the mail for $10 a purchase of any amount at Kohl's and $10 off a purchase of at least $10 at J. C. Penney. The one at Kohl's was specifically for something in the men's big and tall department.

This week, I headed straight to the clearance racks, with the intention of getting two free things. Success! I found James a shirt at Kohl's for $7.70. I paid nothing for this nice, long-sleeved shirt. Unfortunately, it is both too big and too long, but I think my brother-in-law can wear it, and a free shirt is a free shirt! (We're not proud.) At J. C. Penney I found this coral-colored shirt for me. It was $8.80, and since I had to spend at least $10, I also found two pairs of white socks (bundled together) for $1.97. I went a little over the budget with that one, but I'm OK with that.

Long Time, No See

2010-06-09T07:46:00.004-04:00

Well, I keep thinking that I'll abandon this blog, and then it keeps coming back. If it were a cat, it's on about #4 of its nine lives.

About two weeks ago, we finally got James' parents' house on the market. Here and here are a couple of posts about some of the work I contributed. I haven't heard anything from the Realtor yet, and since the house is vacant, we don't really know if there are interested lookers or not. Let's hope so!

One of the last things James and I did was to clean out a few remaining things from the attic, where I found this item. I don't know what compelled me to bring it home, except that you just don't see these in green enamelware any more. There was also a 1950s/60s Halloween noisemaker toy that may have some small Ebay value.

There are chickens being kept at the property next door to my in-laws' house. I don't believe they are legal, because even outside the city limits, you are supposed to have two acres, and the fowl are supposed to be kept 10 feet from the property line. These birds wander across several adjacent properties. I picked up a large feather the other day, and you can see who thought that was a good gift.

Postcard Pageant

2010-04-17T06:45:00.010-04:00

Better Late Than Never

2010-04-16T03:13:00.003-04:00

As promised, here are some photos from last week's beach trip. One of the highlights of the week was dinner at a place called Lulus. They don't take reservations there, but when James' aunt called about 4:30, they said the wait was about 15 minutes. By the time we arrived about a half-hour later, the wait was over an hour. Not to worry. There's plenty to do and see while you wait.
There was a giant sandbox to keep the kids entertained as well.
Our table was near the band, a Southern bluegrass, rock sort of group by the name of Grits and Pieces. We enjoyed the music although conversation was a bit difficult.

Finally, in a flashback to the 1960s, here's a picture I made out the car window while we were on our way to Lulus.
I'll bet you wish you had one of these!

Beauty and the Beast

2010-04-12T17:56:00.003-04:00

April is a month of unparalleled beauty in the deep south. Flowering trees and shrubs abound, along with many varieties of flowers (if you planted any bulbs last fall).
Even the weeds (violets) are pretty.
And the beast? If you live here, you already know. It's the pine pollen. Everything is covered in gritty, yellow dust. Yuck!I hate for my car to look like this, and I really wanted to go through the automatic car wash today, but I knew that it would be a waste of time and money.

Home Sweet Home

2010-04-10T20:36:00.002-04:00

We arrived back home this evening after a coolish (temperature-wise) week at the beach with James' family. With temperatures not getting higher than the mid-70s I never even put on my swimsuit and got nothing more than a few toes wet with salt water. I still enjoyed being at the beach though, and I'll share a few pictures next week.

A most unusual thing happened while we were there. I'm still puzzling over what to make of it. I was walking through Walmart while talking on my cell phone, asking James what kind of bait I should get for him. A 70-ish man approached me, presumably from the rear as I didn't see him until he was within hand-shaking distance. He held out his hand to offer something to me, so I extended mine as well, and smiled at him as he dropped four Band-aids into my hand. By the time I looked to see what he'd given me, he was disappearing around the end of the aisle. Any idea what that was all about?

Still Enjoying the Beach

2010-04-09T09:52:00.002-04:00

Here's the bunch of us. (And we didn't go to the circus. This is the drapery in our condo.)
Back row L-R: James' uncle, James' brother, James' brother-in-law, James.
Front row L-R: James' aunt, James' sister-in-law, James' sister. me.

Birthday Cards

2010-04-08T09:45:00.003-04:00

The card above went with a "Happy Birthday" message to my best friend during my teen years and the one below went to James' uncle, the one with whom we're vacationing this week.

Where in the World Is...

2010-04-06T20:51:00.003-04:00

I haven't told you yet that I'm not really here... Here being at home. We're spending this week at the beach with James' family. It's a five-bedroom condo on Orange Beach, Alabama. From our sixth floor balcony, here is the view of the beach.
And the view of the pool below.
This afternoon I sat down on the beach and read mystery stories while my husband and brother-in-law fished. They didn't catch anything, but I'm not really sure that they expected to! In my opinion, it's not quite beach weather yet. Deeming it too cool for a swimsuit, I was wearing capris and a short-sleeved shirt. I still had to wrap up in my beach towel because I was cold. It's nice to be here anyway though, and especially nice to spend the time with James' aunt and uncle, his two siblings, and their spouses. And don't even get me started on what we've had to eat!

It's a Wrap

2010-04-05T09:13:00.001-04:00

I finished the quilt made from my late step-father's shirts last week and gave it to my mother.
Here are some of the shirts along with a green accent fabric and the World War II vintage airplane fabric that I chose for the back.
While I was cutting some of the shirt into strips, Blinky made sure the rest of the shirts didn't go anywhere.
I sewed the strips together and then cut them to make rows of blocks.
Here is the finished top.
I didn't have enough of the airplane fabric for the back, so I went through my stash and came up with this checked fabric.
Finally, here are some pictures of the finished quilt. It doesn't look so good with the daisy dust-ruffle on my guest bed, but it's not there any longer since my mom took it home with her. Also, you've heard of a disclaimer; well here's a "claimer" -- Wavy lines are exactly as they appear. It's not just the photos that make them look that way. I was trying to quilt in straight lines, but this was just too big a project to do without a frame. All the pushing and pulling resulted in way-less-than-straight lines. But overall, it looks OK, Mama was pleased, and I'm not planning on entering the quilt in any competitions anyway.

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T05:13:00.001-04:00

The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.

May you have a blessed Easter and know the power of the resurrection, the love of Christ, and the sure promise of eternal life in Him.

Easter Cards Made, Mailed, and Received

2010-04-03T06:18:00.000-04:00

Regifted?

2010-04-01T06:18:00.000-04:00

Last summer, a friend, wanting to share the wealth, offered me some fabric that one of her friends had given her. Since I was one of the last to take her up on the offer, there wasn't a whole lot of left that I would use, but I did grab several pieces of lightweight, cotton upholstery fabric. Monday it dawned on me that I needed a wedding shower gift, and I needed to take it to church on Wednesday (if I wanted to avoid an extra 32-mile round trip) since I wouldn't be able to attend the shower on Saturday. I pulled out an apron pattern that I bought on sale for ninety-nine cents (I would never pay $12.95 for a pattern!), and started looking at the fabric I had on hand for something suitable. My stash consists largely of fat quarters, a few half-yards, remnants, and scraps, so there weren't many choices, and I needed two coordinating fabrics. Voila! The upholstery fabric! I prewashed the fabric, dried it, and then went to work. Here's the results -- a very nice apron, if I do say so myself!
Front detail -- the buttons are from my button jar. The color on this is truer-to-life than the full picture.Pocket detail (The pocket and flap are really straight -- it's just the way it was hanging. I didn't have a model handy -- sorry.)Back -- since the lining is also the plaid fabric, I placed a (very wrinkled) pillowcase behind the straps to improve visibility.
And the label inside the bib. (I wish my machine's monogram feature had variable sizes. This is a little large.)

Postcard #3

2010-03-31T07:17:00.005-04:00

I've collected nearly thirty fat-quarters of cat fabric. (If you don't know what a fat quarter is, click here.) Maybe one day they'll turn into something, but for now, I just enjoy them and occasionally use a bit, like for this card.

Another Postcard

2010-03-30T07:53:00.003-04:00

I put this card in the mail yesterday. It's going to my friend who is undergoing treatment for breast cancer as she is scheduled for surgery this week. Here's the quilt I made for her a couple of months ago.

Long Time, No Write, No Read

2010-03-29T07:42:00.000-04:00

I didn't really intend to take a long break from blogging; it's just that I've had absolutely nothing for show and tell. Nothing. I've been hand-sewing the binding on the shirt quilt, and there's about 30" or so left to do. I should be able to finish it today or tomorrow. Over the weekend, I made nine postcards -- Easter, birthday, get-well -- trying to get most of April's events covered. Rather than dump them all into one post, I thought I'd string it out a bit so that I don't have to think about what to write!

This one is for someone in James' office. It will accompany a couple of my handmade bibs. It's a little hard to read the ribbon, but it says, "CONGRATULATIONS." Congratulations to me for finally posting something!

My Kind of Dentistry

2010-03-19T08:42:00.002-04:00

I don't know of anyone who enjoys going to the dentist. For me, it's an unpleasant, but necessary, nuisance twice a year for cleanings. I take good care of my teeth, and it's been years (maybe 20+?) since I've had to do anything more. However, a cavity was found when I had my teeth cleaned a couple of weeks ago, and yesterday was the appointment for the filling. Here's the timeline:

12: 56 - Arrived for 1 p.m. appointment
1:00 - Escorted to "the chair"
1:01 - Dentist began working
1:17 - Dentist finished working
1:19 - Checked out at the desk
1:26 - Returned home.

Really now, if you must endure an unpleasant experience, then surely it should be made as brief as possible. Thank you, Dr. Pitts! (That really is his name, by-the-way.)

Finished Quilt Top

2010-03-18T11:15:00.002-04:00

I didn't finish another quilt top (I'm still working on quilting the shirt quilt) but I did contribute to one that is going to a young, inured Marine. Here are pictures of the finished quilt top with my one block included. Since I forgot to take a picture of my block before I sent it, here it is: Impressive, huh?

Signs of Spring

2010-03-16T12:05:00.002-04:00

After a few days of teasingly warm temperatures, followed by another cold and dreary weekend, it looks like spring truly may be just around the corner. Our yard doesn't get enough sun to grow many flowers, but I did (past tense) have one lone jonquil springing up. It looked so sad all by itself that I picked it and brought it inside. Since its little head was hanging down, I put it up on the shelf over the fireplace so that it could smile down at us. And up there, the cat won't eat it.

Good Shopping Day

2010-03-15T11:51:00.003-04:00

I hit both grocery stores and all three drug stores this morning in my shopping rounds. Lists were short for each place. I saved 55% at Kroger, 71% at Publix, 74% at Walgreens, 75% at Rite Aid, and I guess I saved 100% (more or less) at CVS. There were two prescriptions to fill, paid for by insurance and our Health-care Spending Account, some OTC medicine that I paid for with Extra Bucks (nothing out-of-pocket), and when I scanned my CVS card, I got this free:Any day with chocolate is a good day, and free chocolate makes it a great day! In addition to my savings, I was able to buy three one-pound bags of rice for nine cents each, and they went into the give-away box for the food pantry.

Expired

2010-03-13T18:40:00.003-05:00

Do you pay attention to product expiration dates? I pay attention. Whether or not to discard a product that is past its prime is considered on an item-by-item basis. Even food. It depends on what it is, how far gone the date is, and sometimes what it smells like! We haven't expired yet by consuming anything expired. Recently while cleaning the bathroom, I used up a bottle of bleach, rinsed the bottle, and smashed it up a bit for the recycling bin. That's when I noticed this: Yep, the bleach expired five months ago. Now really! How can bleach go bad? (Unless you mix it with ammonia, which is never, ever to be done. Trust me.)

Clothing doesn't expire, but if it did, my cotton, long-sleeved, favorite tee-shirt type Lands End nightgown is oh-so-close. Here's what it looks like: (It is very difficult to take a good picture of your own shoulder. Try it sometime just for fun.) There's another hole in the front, and what used to be a very pretty blue is sort of a faded, yech non-color. I must admit it is exceedingly soft and comfy, though. I was happy last week to find a replacement on clearance. And to sweeten the deal, I had a free shipping code.Ah, this one looks much better. I'm sure I'll get several years of wear from it, too.

Critter Getters

2010-03-12T13:02:00.008-05:00

I could tell you this story without a picture, but it could conceivably end up being a 500-page book. So to make my storytelling a bit less cumbersome, here's the layout of my mother's house. I was there yesterday. I remember. We were just about to leave to go out for lunch. As I was coming out of the bathroom, I saw a squirrel run from the sliding glass doors where my mom was standing, across the den, and into the dining room. My first thought was, "What the....?!" and then my next thought was to close the hall door so that if the squirrel continued to run, she (yes, I'm sure of the gender as you will soon find out) wouldn't be able to go down the hall where the bedrooms are. Meanwhile, my mom followed the path of the squirrel, closing the door from the kitchen to the dining area behind her so that the squirrel couldn't leave that room. She also went across the room to open the front door so that the critter would have an escape hatch.

I kept hearing a loud chirping noise in the den so I went toward the glass doors to investigate and found a newborn baby squirrel. The umbilical cord was gone, but its little eyes weren't even open yet. Apparently its mama dropped it there, and there I left it.

I went into the living room to see how my mama was faring with shooing the squirrel mama outdoors. Mama didn't actually see the squirrel go out the front door, but we were both pretty sure that it was gone. I looked under the furniture and didn't see anything, so we closed the open front door before something else unwanted came in! As a precaution, we left the door from the dining room to the kitchen closed.

Well, my mom didn't know that she still had another squirrel in the house, so I showed her. She put on gloves and was going to pick it up, but I thought maybe she should scoop it up with something instead (it was very much alive). So, she scooped it up with a dustpan, and then we had the dilemma of what to do with it. She went out the sliding glass door, but she didn't just want to put the helpless little thing on the ground-level patio. So, she decided to go put it on the front porch that is rather high off the ground, and hope that the mama squirrel would hear its cries and come back for it.

At this point in time I asked how the squirrel had gotten into the house in the first place. I assumed that since Mama was standing by the sliding doors when I first saw her and the squirrel that it had come in that way. But it didn't. Mama had heard her dogs barking at something on the carport, so she opened the kitchen storm door to see what they were barking about. She didn't see anything, so she walked away. That door has a faulty pneumatic closer, and although the door will eventually close all the way, it takes a while. She thinks that the squirrel was under one of the cars and that when it saw the door hanging open behind her, it ran in to get away from the dogs.

So, we picked up where we left off and continued to get ready to go out to lunch. When we went out to the car, we discovered that her little dog had found the baby squirrel before its mama did. So brief a life, and so sad, but neither of us thought beforehand about that possibility. If the squirrel mama had been a better nest-builder the baby wouldn't have fallen out anyway. (At least that's what we surmised happened.) So, we went to lunch.

When we returned home and were sitting in the den, here came the squirrel mama to the sliding glass doors. She paced back and forth, peered inside, scratched at the door, then left. A few minutes later, she did it again. And again. She knew where she'd left that baby. I told Mama I was going to call her at 3 a.m. when I was having baby squirrel nightmares.

AWOL

2010-03-11T08:44:00.003-05:00

So I've been AWOL for nearly a week. Actually, I think I could have gotten sick leave approved if I'd bothered to complete the paperwork. I'm not much into paperwork these days though.

I have the shirt quilt sandwiched together and I've begun the [machine] quilting. It's not visible in these pictures, but my dining room furniture is shoved against the wall in order to make enough floor space to work on this 7' x 7' quilt.

I started by laying the backing fabric on the floor and taping it down with painter's tape. Then I spread out the batting on top if it. I was thankful that Blinky decided to stay out of my way. She doesn't get many opportunities to be in the living room/dining room, so she took advantage of a little sofa time. I should have known that it wouldn't last. Anyway, after I laid the pieced-shirt-quilt-top on top of all this, I put pins around the outer edge, and then spent the better part of two days on my hands and knees (alternating with my behind when my knees complained) hand basting the layers together. We were keeping Caleb and Alexa Saturday afternoon, and I had to have the dining room table to feed their whole family and us on Saturday night; so, to keep from having to start over, I had to finish the basting in two days. Not to mention that I was not feeling well on Friday, and by Saturday I knew that I was sick. (Note to self: Do not do this again -- start basting a large quilt when sick and the dining room will be needed in two days. Dumb, dumb.) Anyway, that task is over and I've done a tad of quilting, which is just straight lines about 1.5" apart, on the diagonal. So far, so good.

It's Flimsy

2010-03-05T08:42:00.001-05:00

The quilt for my mother, made from my late step-father's shirts, is coming along, and is now officially a "flimsy." According to Mr. Webster, when flimsy is used as a noun it means, "a lightweight paper used especially for multiple copies; also, a document printed on flimsy." Well, in the quilting world, a flimsy is a quilt top -- no stuffing, no backing, no binding yet. I chose the green companion fabric because I thought all the blues and grays would be boring otherwise. The green also coordinates with the backing fabric that I'm not revealing yet.

This quilt is by far the largest project I've ever attempted.

Yep, seven feet by seven feet. My desire is to make it fit a queen-sized bed so that Mama can use it that way if she chooses. And I use the word "attempted" because I still have miles to go before I sleep. Or rather before Mama can sleep under this quilt.

The Postman Always Rings Twice*

2010-03-04T08:42:00.005-05:00

That* may be the movie title, but I believe that my postman only rang the bell once yesterday. He said that he had noticed all of my fabric postcards going in the mail, and he wondered if I ever made them to sell. I told him that I hadn't, but I would! He said that his wife's birthday was coming up in April, and he wanted a card with blue eyes on it, and possibly birthday fabric. Well, I'm no artist (I can't even draw stick people), but I told him I would see what I could do about blue eyes. My solution for any simple pattern I need is to look for clip art. I did that several months ago when I made the church postcards for our pastors. I found several useful pieces of black line clip art, and used them as a pattern for these eyes: Pretty cute, if I do say so myself!

The second card he wants is a birthday card for his daughter who has an October 31st birthday. He wanted it to have pumpkins. Well, I knew that I have never bought any pumpkin fabric since I don't like orange. But, I thought I might have a few scraps that, if memory serves, I fished out of the trash can at my local quilt store. (I'm not proud.) He mentioned that his daughter is seven, but I wasn't sure if he meant that she is now seven or will be seven in October. So here's what I came up with:
Now what do you think I should charge him for these cards?

Couple o' Cards

2010-03-03T19:36:00.000-05:00

I actually made this card several months ago, but I sent it yesterday with "get well" wishes.I made this card to send as a "thank you" (obvious, huh?) for some friends who took us out for a steak dinner. Cow. Get it?

Wazzup with the Winter Weather Weirdness?!

2010-03-02T13:38:00.003-05:00

Well... that's my front yard at about 1:30 p.m. on March 2nd. Normally in Atlanta, we'll have, on average, one measurable snowfall (meaning about .25") each winter. This is our third snowfall this season. I don't think we've had any snow for the past two or three years, so I guess the law of averages is catching up. Yesterday at this time it was about 55 degrees and sunny. I took a walk around the neighborhood and didn't even wear my coat. Here's our "measurable" amount.
I think a lot more than that has fallen, but the temperature is around 33 or 34 degrees, so the snow is melting even as it's falling. The bigger problem may come tomorrow when any remaining moisture on the roads will freeze, with temperatures in the upper twenties expected. It's pretty though, and I enjoy it as long as I'm not compelled to go outside.

What Can You Get for Twenty Dollars?

2010-03-01T19:33:00.004-05:00

Without sales and coupons, this is what you get for $20 at the grocery store. With sales and coupons, this is what I got today for $20.

Darned If You Do

2010-02-27T05:00:00.004-05:00

As a general rule, I don't darn socks. If one springs a leak, into the trash it goes. However, this morning I put on an almost brand new pair of knee socks, only to find a hole near the ankle. I doubt if I've worn these socks more than a half-dozen times. Since the hole wasn't in the normal wear spots (heel, toe) I have no idea how it got there. My cat may have been involved. Anyway, I decided to darn the socks. My first thought was to do them on the machine. However, because these are knee socks, and the hole was so far down, I couldn't get all the rest of the sock out of the way in order to get the damaged part under the needle. Darning by hand was the only solution.

Sock-darning used to be a regular past time for the thrifty housewife, and they used what they had on hand. Sometime back, my mother gave me this sock-darning gourd that was used by her paternal grandmother. (Mama even labeled the plastic bag so that when someone goes through my personal effects, they won't have to wonder.) This great-grandmother of mine lived until I was a teenager (or close to it) so I remember her quite well. The gourd was used inside the sock to isolate the area that needed darning, and to provide some shape as well.

Here's my holey sock with the gourd inside. And here is the start of my repair work. As a side note, I really like cold weather and have enjoyed the little bits of snow we've had this season. The one thing I don't enjoy are the dry, chapped hands that I live with every winter.

Finally, here's my mended sock. I could have done with a darker shade of blue, but I don't expect the darning and/or fashion police to inspect my hosiery. Anyone protesting can buy me a new pair of socks.

I have done some sewing lately, but for the life of me, I can't remember to take pictures before the item leaves my house. I made a birthday card for Phillip, a thank-you card for my nephew's girl friend who sent me a book, and I made (and mailed) a single quilt block in this pattern. A blogger I read is putting together a quilt for an injured Marine, and since I have several friends with Marine sons, I decided to make and send one. That's a first for me, especially since I consider myself a dabbler rather than a real quilter.

Finally, I made this birthday card for Emily. I already punched a hole in it and attached it to the ice cream scoop I'm giving her before I remember to make a picture. But at least I remembered!

Cruisin' the Clearance

2010-02-25T13:25:00.003-05:00

My favorite kind of shopping is cruising the clearance racks. It is a rare day when I pay full price for anything. Yesterday I scored this long-sleeved, button-down, oh-so-soft cotton shirt for my husband. The price was marked down 90%!When is the last time you paid under $4 for a new dress shirt?

Gifted on Someone Else's Birthday

2010-02-25T04:09:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was Phillip's birthday, but I got a gift in the mail from him (and Lystra). Yep, all this yummy Cadbury chocolate. I'm an addict, and even if there were a 12-step recovery program out there, I wouldn't sign up. This is the real Cadbury deal, made in the U.K. Since Cadbury has recently been purchased by Kraft Foods, it's anyone's guess whether this chocolate will continue to be made in the U.K.

Also in the package was a PT Cruiser. I've been driving mine for almost eight years, and I still love it every bit as much as when I first got it. It's the only time in my life when I've wanted a particular kind of car. Here's a picture I made a couple of weeks ago when we had the big snowfall. The one in the package is this model, in exactly the same shade of navy blue, and complete with its own surfboard. (I must admit that I don't have any immediate plans to go surfing, though.)

So that you can appreciate my new little car better, here is another photo with a AAA battery for size reference. My new cruiser is a mere 2.75" long.Thank you Phillip and Lystra! Chocolate and PT Cruisers always make me smile.

2010-02-24T06:59:00.006-05:00

Happy 27th birthday to my son, Phillip! (photos made at the Florida State Fair)

2010-02-23T07:55:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to my beautiful daughter, Emily! (#30, if you need to know)

Sewing Fun?

2010-02-21T14:15:00.000-05:00

I recently took all the buttons that I had sorted by color and dumped them into one jar. I'm sure I'll live to regret doing this, but it kept Caleb and Alexa entertained for a good while at my house yesterday.

Family Announcement

2010-02-20T19:12:00.002-05:00

Woof!

2010-02-16T21:34:00.004-05:00

We don't have a dog, but we enjoy watching the Westminster Kennel Club dog show each February and trying to predict the winner. Blinky's pick is the schnauzer.

I Love Bargains!

2010-02-15T11:59:00.003-05:00

Thankfully, the snow that was predicted for this morning didn't happen. A friend suggested that instead of 1" - 2" of snow, we're having 1" - 2" of sunshine. Nice. So, I was able to make my grocery store and drug store runs this morning. At Publix, I spent only ninety-seven cents for what you see here: six bags of frozen vegetables, four 40-count boxes of sweetener, and three Chapsticks. Coincidentally, my savings was 97%. Yipee!

At Rite Aid, they had this moisturizer with sunscreen priced at three for $18. There is a manufacturer's rebate for $15, so that makes the price $1 each. But guess what? (You probably did.) I had three $1 coupons, so the moisturizer is free. But wait! I also had a $5 Rite Aid coupon that came in the mail recently, since I'm one of their favorite customers. What's so ironic is that I almost never "buy" anything there unless it's free (after rebate usually). So in essence, Rite Aid paid me $5 to bring home three bottles of moisturizer that I like and would have needed to buy anyway. I love bargains!

2010-02-14T01:30:00.000-05:00

More Snow Pictures

2010-02-13T15:46:00.006-05:00

Here's what our landscape lighting looked like last night.Then this morning the sun came out, the sky was blue, and everything was so pretty. We took a short walk through the neighborhood.With the sunshine and temperatures in the upper 30s, the snow is melting pretty quickly, and thank goodness the roads are nearly dry.

It Doesn't Happen Often

2010-02-12T13:52:00.004-05:00

We're getting snow in the sunny south. And now you know that I drive a navy blue PT Cruiser. My driveway going down to the garage is very steep, so I'm ensuring that I can get out in the morning if I need to.

Up to Something

2010-02-10T13:56:00.004-05:00

I haven't blogged a whole lot in the last few days, but I have been busy. Here's a get well card I made for my baby sister who recently had surgery.And do you remember this fabric bundle that I got a few weeks ago? (Poor photo -- sorry.) It has been cut into squares and strips, along with some solid, off-white fabric.It doesn't look like much yet, but I've started sewing the blocks together.Finally, I got two bags full of my step-father's shirts last week, with a plan to cut them up and make them into a quilt for my mom.Today I was meeting a friend for coffee (tea in my case) near my favorite quilt shop. We both went to the shop, and I chose fabric for the back of the quilt, along with another fabric to give a little zing to the front; otherwise, all those blues/grays/black would be just too boring. I'm going to keep those two items a surprise. I haven't begun cutting up the shirts yet, but this project will move ahead of the bundle of greens.

Small World Happenings

2010-02-06T16:55:00.000-05:00

My brother-in-law called me this week. Technically, he's James' brother-in-law, since he's married to James' sister. Anyway, I don't believe he's ever called me before in the 34+ years we've known one another. By way of background, his hometown is Milledgeville, Georgia, about 120 miles from Cobb County where I've lived virtually all my life, and where he has called home for over 30 years. His family still lives in Milledgeville. He called to say that he'd visited a dermatologist in Milledgeville because he could get an appointment much more quickly there than he could closer to home. As the appointment was concluding he mentioned that he thought Milledgeville had gotten a lot more rain than he'd had at home. When the doctor inquired where "home" was, one thing led to another until pretty soon he learned that his appointment was with a high school friend of mine, one with whom I am still in infrequent touch. If I was considered smart in high school, then she was off-the-chart-smart. She went on to college and then medical school, and has practiced dermatology in Millegeville for many years now. We're all still in the state of Georgia, but still, Small World!

My college-aged niece, who lives near Columbia, South Carolina, is studying in the Dominican Republic this semester. Since she's a tall, slim, blue-eyed blond, you can imagine that she attracts a lot of attention wherever she goes in the Dominican. As she was running (presumably for exercise) one day, a gringo driver who was stopped at a stop sign rolled down his car window and asked her where she was from. (Kristina, if you read this blog post, the previous sentence is an example of when it would be thoroughly awkward to NOT end a sentence with a preposition -- since we just discussed this a few days ago.) Turns out that he was also from the U.S.A., more specifically, Columbia, South Carolina. Now that really was a small world happening!

He Likes Them!

2010-02-05T09:34:00.000-05:00

I took Caleb the hockey pajamas this week. He seemed rather indifferent at the time, but he did put them on later. Then he went and found his (Canadian) dad, took him to the computer, and made him play the hockey game so that Caleb could watch while wearing his hockey pajamas. Caleb is also wearing the infamous green "hat," which is actually 1/2 of a shape-sorting toy. He insists on wearing it everywhere with the exception of church because his parents won't let him wear it there. I can't wait until he's about 15 years old and demands to know why his parents let him go out of the house with such ridiculous-looking head gear. He'll outgrow it soon enough, but for now, it's rather endearing in its goofiness.To complete the look, he's sporting a Spiderman band-aid.

The Dots are Connected

2010-02-02T19:05:00.004-05:00

Sarah was correct that my "tools" are homemade (somewhat) exercise equipment, but not because I have any desire to go to the gym. Any gym. Emily got it exactly (but she has an insider's edge), namely that I am trying to "unfreeze" my frozen shoulder. Dave gets points for originality of thought.

First, for anyone who doesn't know, I played softball every summer from the time I was eight years old, up until I was eighteen. (And lots of other sports, too.) Then I played softball off and on until the ripe old age of 41, when I broke my foot and decided that was a sign that it was time for me to give it up. So, in late September, I thought nothing of chucking rotten tomatoes off the vine and trying to land them in the compost pile just beyond the driveway. A short throw meant that I'd have to clean tomato paste off the driveway, so I was really giving them the old heave-ho. Until the "Oh, no!" when I knew I had injured my shoulder. I put off going to the doctor hoping that it would get better on its own. Well, it did heal (I suppose) but adhesions apparently form during the healing, and coupled with the fact that I hadn't been using it much for almost four months, it became "frozen." I have pretty good upward motion, but I couldn't reach behind me without excruciating pain. Tucking in a shirt was misery. I finally went to the doctor a couple of weeks ago, and started an eight-week course of physical therapy. Here are the tools as I use them.

There are two stretching exercises, and two strengthening exercises. Here are the stretching: While lying on my back off the edge of the bed, I slowly drop the roll of gift wrap over my head, bring it back, and try to stretch a little further the next time. And the time after that, and... well, you get the picture. And you can tell from this picture that the right arm doesn't want to go as far as the left did.
I throw the scarf over my left shoulder, and use it to pull the right arm up behind me. This is about as far as it goes, and I can't go that far with only my right arm because the muscles have grown weak.
For the strengthening exercises, here is the one piece of equipment being used as intended. For this one, I have to go to the guest room, AKA the daisy room, because I have to hang my arm off the side of the bed, and my arms are too long for our bed. (Or our bed is not tall enough!) I bring the 1.5 lb weight straight up and back down, and then I have to swing it toward the back, too.
Finally, the yellow, stretchy band (given to me by the therapist) is under my left foot, and is pulled from hip level up across my chest more times than I want to do. Lots more. But I can tell there's been a good bit of improvement in two weeks.
Blinky thinks this is a game for her.Now you're in the know. If you ever have a frozen shoulder (and I hope you don't) you know exactly the exercises to do. And I won't even charge you for the information.

Connecting the Dots

2010-01-30T18:04:00.000-05:00

Do you know what these items have in common? Here's a hint: They're all tools used for the same purpose.

More Handmade by Me

2010-01-29T04:54:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I made a bunch of Valentines cards. It was fun! I've found (after much trial and error) that a basting adhesive spray is just the thing to hold the heart to the fabric and then the fabric to the card while I stitch.This is about the only thing I did besides unload the dishwasher. Thursday is normally my housecleaning day (for reference, see the pictures of the plaque in this post), but I'm sick with either a bad cold or a sinus infection. Another day or two will confirm which. I didn't get much rest because a tree service was next door all day cutting trees with chain saws and grinding up branches... two of the noisiest suburban activities ever. This is what they left next to our driveway, which tells me they'll be back tomorrow for more of the same.

Handmade by Me

2010-01-27T21:12:00.003-05:00

I've had this hockey fabric for years. My mother-in-law gave it to me, and I never was too sure what to do with it. It wasn't really what I wanted for a church dress. I thought it was flannel, but it's actually a heavy-weight, stretchy cotton knit. My son-in-law is Canadian and a hockey fan (I'll stick to baseball, thank-you-very-much) so I decided to make him some pajamas.Actually, I made these pajamas for Caleb. There's no telling if he'll like or wear them, since he's recently gotten rather picky about his clothes. I haven't done a lot of garment sewing in recent years, and I just about made a mess out of these. When I sewed the front to the back at the side seams, I discovered that I had messed up somehow when I cut them out.This might not look so bad in the small picture, but the back is actually cut about 3" longer than the front! Thankfully, the front is plenty long enough, so I just trimmed up the back to make them even. There are two or three additional things that didn't turn out quite right, but Caleb is four, so I doubt if he'll notice, and I'm not telling.

Handmade by...

2010-01-26T18:45:00.007-05:00

Going back to more Christmas pictures on my camera, here is a towel given to me by Grandmother, at least 10 years ago, and probably way longer than that, since she died nearly six years ago. (Please excuse and/or ignore the fingerprints on my oven door.) I don't actually use this towel; it just hangs there for sentimental reasons, because my Grandmother, who was an avid crocheter, made it. I've never been overly fond of it, except sentimentally. As always, I took it down to wash in late December before packing it away with the Christmas decorations. Here's the label I discovered, for the first time. Now I knew that this towel was handmade. What I don't know is who the heck Mildred Campbell is! Certainly not my Grandmother! Oh well. I'll still keep it since my Grandmother gave it to me. I'm fairly certain about that part of the towel's provenance anyway. (And I'm fairly certain that I need a manicure.)

This Isn't It

2010-01-24T20:14:00.000-05:00

If I were going to make a quilt for myself, this wouldn't be it. Yellow is one of my least favorite colors. But this is not for me. I made this quilt using 48 pre-cut 4" squares of pink fabric with the Breast Cancer awareness ribbon. Rather than piece the quilt, I sewed the squares to a single piece of white fabric, leaving a 1/4" edge around each block. Then I frayed all the edges. It's fun, but sort of time-consuming. Each square is quilted in a free-hand spiral that I like to call a honeybun. (Spirals are perfect; honeybuns aren't.)The white area is machine quilted in a stippled design, using a thread of varying shades of pink. I'm getting a little better at machine stippling, and I love the dense quilting and the puckery look once the quilt is washed and dried.The back of the quilt is a yellow fabric with pink and lavender butterflies and dragonflies. When I went to the fabric store to choose something for the back, I didn't really have a set idea of what I wanted. I was just looking for something that matched the pink of all the squares and the tiny bit of yellow that is in the one square pictured above. You can't tell from these photos, but there's a tiny bit of silvery sparkle sprinkled across the fabric as well.I made this lap-sized quilt (40" x 52") for a lady at church who is undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer. The thing is, I've never met her. Our church has around 700-800 members, so it's difficult to know everyone. But I sat next to her husband in the choir for a few months before he had to drop out when she began treatment. He was at church this morning, so I was able to inquire as to how her treatments are going, and give him the package to deliver. I included a note saying that I hope the quilt will serve as a reminder that God's people are covering her in prayer. What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!

Catty

2010-01-23T08:57:00.004-05:00

I found this new plaque to add to my cat decor in the den. It cost me a whole seventy cents at Marshalls off the clearance shelf.And here it is surrounded my some of my other "cat stuff." It's a little hard to tell, but even the key rack mounted to the side of my desk is cats. The keys are hung from their tails.The cat in the rocking chair (far right) is part of my collection of small orange tabbies. He is actually a Pez dispenser.
The hand-carved spotted cat (not really a tabby, I know) came from Jamaica. The cat on the far right in this picture holds a picture of my grandmother. (And the patriotic cat doesn't fit the orange tabby theme, but that's where he lives.)

Mended and Recycled

2010-01-21T21:02:00.003-05:00

I made these lion overalls from yellow baby cord for Emily in 1982, a few months before she turned two. It is one of the few outfits I saved, along with the matching stuffed lion. Here's Emily wearing them.
A few weeks ago, I gave the overalls and the toy to Emily to see if Alexa could wear the outfit, and here she is. The overalls have elastic in the back waist, and after 25+ years it was shot. You can't tell in this picture of Alexa, but the back waist is totally ungathered and gaping open. Before Christmas, I took the overalls home, and today I unburied them from my sewing room and replaced the elastic. I also added another buttonhole to the straps in order to gain a bit more length. Maybe Jordanna can wear this outfit too, in a couple of years. I'm glad I saved the outfit, but I wish I had kept the pattern, too!

More Handmade Christmas Gifts

2010-01-19T10:14:00.001-05:00

This round table topper is made from some retro-looking Christmas prints. I gave it at a white elephant gift exchange at my family's party, even though our usual assortment of white elephants is pure junk! There needs to be at least one or two desirable items in the mix. It is machine quilted in a stippled pattern.This is a table topper that I made for my step-mother's oval kitchen table. It could also be used as a dresser scarf. The individual squares are top-stitched to the white fabric 1/4 inch from the edges that are then frayed. Each square is free-motion quilted with small-to-large echoing daisy shapes. (Does that make sense?) Then I used a decorative stitch to quilt star burst sorts of lines to fill in the curved, white part.

One of these days (maybe) I'll remember to make pictures of the backs, and to record the exact dimensions of each piece. Until then, you'll just have to wonder.

Christmas Quilt ... A Little Late

2010-01-18T12:09:00.008-05:00

Continuing my catch-up of old stuff on my camera, here is the quilt I made for my mother for Christmas. It began with a Moda Simple Abundance charm pack, and the multi-colored blocks are disappearing nine-patch. Here are the nine-patch blocks that are then cut into quarters, shuffled up, and sewn together again. Here are the finished blocks. I

alternated the blocks with plain squares, then added a narrow red border and a larger border of one of the fabrics in the charm pack. The quilting is a free-motion stippled design, my first attempt at free-motion quilting on my new Janome machine. It is by no means perfect, but I think it turned out OK for a novice.

Here's the finished quilt that some might call "lap-sized" but I like to call "nap-sized," just right for snuggling, or for the back of a sofa. I'm pretty sure that I took photos of the back of the quilt as well, but I must have deleted them. The back is mostly three or four wide, solid, horizontal strips, but it also has a couple of small blocks of cat fabric, just for fun.
I really must learn to take more artistic pictures of my quilts, besides just laying them on the floor and shooting. Invariably, this is what happens with a quilt on the floor.

Backlog of Blogging

2010-01-16T19:25:00.004-05:00

I have about a bazillion (just an estimate) pictures on my camera left over from Christmas 'til now, many of which I snapped in order to use on my blog. Since I took a short break from blogging recently, I'm trying to play catch-up now.This handmade pincushion, cheery dishtowel, and lace trims were received on Christmas Eve from my blogging friend, Sarah, in New Zealand. I particularly like the card that features her daughter's art work. I found her blog by browsing sewing and quilting blogs. Take a peek. You'll love her conversational blogging style -- as if you were sitting beside her having a cup of tea. She has four daughters, which immediately grabbed my attention since I'm number two of four daughters. I've enjoyed her pictures of Christmas being celebrated in summer and all the beautiful things she sews and quilts. What fun to get a Christmas Eve gift from halfway around the world! Thanks again, Sarah.

Naughty Boy

2010-01-15T08:10:00.003-05:00

Note to DH: If you're going to raid the cookie jar (or in this case, cookie Rubbermaid) then please eat the entire cookie. Thank you.

I Thought I Was Finished

2010-01-14T14:58:00.008-05:00

In what I sadly believe is fast becoming a lost art, I wrote and mailed three thank-you notes today. One was for the pastor who ministered to our family and conducted a gospel-filled funeral service for my step-father. The second was for a couple in Mama's church who extended hospitality to James and me Saturday night so that we would not have to make the long drive back home, only to return Sunday morning. The third note was for the ladies' Sunday School class who provided lunch for us at the church on Sunday prior to the funeral. If you have never experienced the spread put on by a group of church ladies in the deep South, then you have not really lived!

My doorbell just rang, and I discovered this lovely plant sent to us by our church family as an expression of their sympathy. Maybe I have time to get another note out before the mailman arrives.

(Side note: Having Blinky is sort of like having a small child. Does anyone know what kind of plant this is, and whether or not it is poisonous to cats?)

Getting Back into the Swing of Things

2010-01-11T08:30:00.003-05:00

Here's what my life has been like for the last six weeks or so:

Thanksgiving dinner at my house (about 18 people).

A new grand baby born December 7 and keeping the older two children for a couple of days.

My step-father's hospital admission on December 8 and then visiting him 2-3 times a week.

Participating in choir rehearsals and our Christmas program on December 13.

Finishing making Christmas gifts, shopping, wrapping, and cooking.

About 16 people here for a Christmas party on December 19.

Christmas Eve dinner at my house for 21 people.

Visiting my step-father on Christmas Day and then being with the family on December 26th as he was moved into hospice care. Making the 90-mile round trip every day except one from December 27th - January 6.

His death on January 7. I went to be with my mother that day, accompanied her to the funeral home to make arrangements, answered her incessantly ringing phone and doorbell, spent the night, and drove back home the next day. (150-mile round trip)

Driving 75 miles back on Saturday for the visitation at the funeral home, spending the night, attending church yesterday morning, then lunch provided by the sweet and generous church ladies, followed by the funeral, burial, and then trip back to my mom's house. We finally got back home last night about 7 p.m.

So, this week I hope a semblance of normalcy returns. I managed to do a little bit of housework and laundry on Friday night and Saturday, but we have no food in the house, so that's on my agenda today. And rest. Tomorrow I go back to my once-weekly baby sitting. I've made plans with my mom to go to her house every Thursday, since she has known for some time that she needs to pack up and get rid of some household things as she looks for a smaller place to live. Her current property is a good many acres, and the upkeep has been difficult for the last few years. But those Thursday trips won't start this week, as we both need time to rest and regroup. And I am so eager to get back to sewing and quilting. I've barely touched my machine since Thanksgiving.

I bought this bundle of five one-yard pieces at a quilt shop near the hospice, and I can't wait to see what it becomes!

Time Off

2009-12-28T06:57:00.002-05:00

I'm taking a break from blogging for a little while. My step-father of 30+ years has been admitted to hospice care, and I will be spending a lot of time with him and my mother in the days to come. Pray with me for God's mercy to surround all.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T07:05:00.001-05:00

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I Timothy 1:15
Wishing you all the blessings of Christmas.

Almost Ready!

2009-12-24T07:00:00.003-05:00

The turkey and dressing are just about ready to go into the oven, and the tables are set. The dining room table will seat 12 and the extra table set up in the den will seat 8. I hope the rain holds off until tonight.

What Do You Do Two Days Before Christmas?

2009-12-23T13:30:00.002-05:00

In Georgia, you mow the lawn. Actually, it didn't need cutting, but James uses the lawnmower to mulch and vacuum up leaves. Our yard will be nice and tidy tomorrow when our guests arrive. I need to tell you about the weekend parties, but I'm still in the midst of housework and then I have some cooking to do. But for now, I'm catching my breath.

Getting Paid to Shop

2009-12-21T13:18:00.004-05:00

It's been a long time since CVS (or any other store) has paid me to shop, but I got a great deal today. When I scanned my card upon entering the store, I got a coupon for $5 off of a $15 purchase! Wow! The best I've ever seen has been $5 off of $20, and those coupons are few and far between. I also got a coupon for $5 off any two Excedrin, and there was no restriction on package size. What I planned to purchase was already nearly $13, so when I found the travel-sized Excedrin for $2.49 each, that put me over the $15 I needed and the Excedrin was free anyway!

Here's how it all worked out:

Body wash $5.99, EB reward $5.00; net price 99 cents. I used a $2 MF coupon, so I earned $1.01.

Dental floss $2.88, EB reward $2.00; net price 88 cents. I used a $1 MF coupon, so I earned $0.12.

Listerine $3.99, EB reward $3.00; net price $0.99. I used a $0.50 MF coupon, so this cost $0.49.

Excedrin $2.49 each, used $5 CVS coupon. I earned $0.02.

Here's all the math, for you math geeks out there.
Listerine $3.99
Floss $2.88
Body wash $5.99
Excedrin $2.49
Excedrin $2.49
TOTAL - $17.84
Less $5 off of $15 purchase = $12.84
Less CVS and MF coupons of $8.50 = $4.34 final cost
Extra bucks received (to use on a future purchase) $10.00 - $4.34 = $5.66 EARNED AT CVS TODAY! I love free stuff.

The Rush is On

2009-12-19T07:44:00.001-05:00

Later today I will have 18 (or thereabouts) people at my house for a Christmas party. My family has the best time exchanging white elephant gifts. Rarely is anything given that is either pretty or useful. The "best" gifts are exceedingly tacky. We excel at tacky.

James' family will be gathering at our house for lunch on the 24th. That guest list is around 20 people. Yikes! Beyond 18 means it is likely to be disposable plates and not the china.

Here's the denim purse I made for Angi.And here's the cute teapot and cup she gave me.

Christmas Event # 1

2009-12-18T07:30:00.000-05:00

Angi and I take every opportunity to celebrate virtually anything with lunch and sometimes another activity, usually shopping. We didn't have much of a shopping list yesterday, but we did try a new place for lunch: Douceur De France. It is a local French bakery/cafe, and I had heard really good things about it, all well-deserved as we experienced first-hand. In addition to the quiche and chocolate-filled eclair consumed on site, I brought home a dessert for James and one for me. His was the cute, little snowman, and mine was a chocolate tart. Yummy! The snowman had sponge cake, coconut, and strawberries inside his belly. Now it's inside James' belly.

Trade-Offs

2009-12-17T09:39:00.003-05:00

I usually get my hair cut at a salon at the mall by Mona who has been doing it for years. The cost for a shampoo, cut, and blow-dry is $36. I could go elsewhere and pay less, but since it's only a couple of times a year, I don't mind paying a little extra. The last cut I got there in September is growing out rather raggedy, and it's been bugging me for a couple of weeks. This morning I decided that I would run in one of those "quick cut-no-appointment-needed" places and get it trimmed up. And they might as well shampoo and blow-dry it, too, and save me the trouble. It cost $25, which was a bit more than I expected, but it's done. During the thirty minutes that I was there, Rosa tried to sell me (in this order) shampoo, hair color, eyebrow waxing, manicure and polish, a gift set of salon products, gift certificates, a fluff-up blow-dry prior to parties, and hair spray. Mona, with our long history, doesn't try to sell me anything I didn't ask for. As a matter of fact, she always comments on how pretty my graying hair is, and discourages me from ever coloring it. I think having to schedule an appointment, driving to the mall, parking at the mall, and paying an extra $11 are worth not having to listen to a thirty-minute sales pitch. What trade-offs in life are you willing to make?

How Many Days Do I Have Left?

2009-12-15T12:10:00.004-05:00

As I tidied up in the sewing room this morning, it occurred to me that even this little pile of swept-up stuff tells what season of the year it is. Have I finished my gift sewing? That would be a negatory, captain. But I'm hopeful of reaching the finish line. I've wrapped only one present, and it is too large to fit under the tree. Actually, I've wrapped James' birthday gift, too (December 22) so that should also count. Here sits poor, little Chilly Willy, all alone under the tree. (Technically, he's not alone. You can see a bit of Rudolph's haunches in the background.)

Feeling a Little Foggy

2009-12-14T07:58:00.003-05:00

This is the view off my screened porch this morning. Forty-eight degrees and 100% humidity. Monday is when I usually do my grocery/drug store shopping, but I'm going to wait a bit until I can see more than ten feet in front of the car!

Finishing is Good

2009-12-14T07:00:00.000-05:00

I finished baby Jordanna's dress on Saturday. It seemed like I was making doll clothes! I hope I'll get to see (and post pictures) of the three kids in their matching Christmas outfits..

Coming Soon to a Mailbox Near You?

2009-12-12T07:31:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I finished sewing two dozen unique Christmas cards. It was fun!