Design Wall Monday on Tuesday

I always think that during the summer I will have plenty of time to do everything that I want to, and I usually don't.  This summer is turning out to be no exception.  I have been helping my brother, who is moving here next month, find a place to live.  We finally found a place yesterday.  I didn't realize just how tight the rental market was in Atlanta.  That is why I am behind on my Huckleberry Pie.  I had hoped by now that it would be finished but no it isn't.  I have also decided to make it bigger than the pattern so that means that I am going to have to make a trip to Little Quilts to get some more fabric.  I have plenty of the light purples, but need more of the dark ones.  I guess I will also have to get more of the backing fabric.  I love the way it is turning out.  I am off to my friend Becky's tomorrow for a sewing day, I need to  decide what to  take there.  Something that I have started or something new?  What will it be?  

What next????

Bad things usually come in threes, well we have two down and one to go.  Last Wednesday after coming home from a day out doing quilting things we had a tree come down in our back yard.  It was the last dogwood tree in our backyard and luckily it wasn't too big and didn't do a lot of damage.  It was just a lot of working getting it cut up and off of the deck.  Mishap number two was a little bit harder to take care of.  On Wednesday I went down in the part of our basement that isn't finished and found that one of our pipes was leaking.  Without thinking I starting moving things so they wouldn't get wet.  I called DH down and he informed me that is was one of the pipes that carries sewage out to the septic tank, Oh Joy, and here I had been walking all in it with no shoes on.  Ick!!!!!!  Needless to say I took a hot shower immediately.  The plumber came today to take care of it, and found another leak, so he will be back next week.  Our house was build in the early 1960's and we still have the original pipes.   More money, more money.  I can't wait to see what the next catastrophe is going to be.

Two UFO's finished

So far I am on track with my UFO list for the year.  I am really trying hard to work with what I have on hand and not buy new kits or fabric, although sometimes you just can't help yourself.  The pineapple quilt here is a kit that I bought in 2005 or 2006, can't remember which one, but a long time ago.  It had been so long ago that I was pleasantly surprised when I pulled it out and found that I had finished 7 of the 9 blocks that were needed. I also discovered that I didn't have enough of the fabric to finish the other two blocks. Luckily, Pat had some that she gave me.  This is the project that I worked on at Thimbles last weekend.  I finished the outer border yesterday.  This one isn't on my "official" list, but it is a UFO that is finished and waiting to go to the quilters.
 

My official UFO finish for June is the Bonnie Hunter trade that we did last winter, Patches and Pinwheels.  I would have been finished with it long ago, but I put together some of the pinwheels the wrong way and it bothered me so I too them apart.  I really like this quilt and can't wait to see it quilted, which will be  while.  Thanks to Kiristie, Pat, and Becky for helping me pick out the border fabric.

More gardening news

Saturday was a super busy day, DH and I worked in the garden all morning.  We picked enough beans that I was able to can 11 quarts.  We hope to get about about 20 more quarts, that would give us 30 all together, which would definitley see us through the winter.  

How my garden has grown!!!

Remember our garden from about 6 weeks ago, not much there.

This is our garden today.  I just picked our first green beans, cucumbers, and dug some potatoes.  Just call me Farmer Cowgirl.

A very long day

This has been a very  long, but very fun day.  I left home this morning around 9:00 to drive to one of the fairly local quilt shops, Quilts and  Fixins in Jonesboro.  I spent the day with Holly Anderson the quilt appraiser for the state of Georgia.  It was great to work with someone "in the field" after taking the appraisal classes in Paducah earlier this year.  The variety of quilts we saw was huge, everything from an 1884 Crazy Quilt to a just off the machine rag quilt.  I am really getting excited about this new venture that I am about to start.  I feel more confident now, and plan on working with Holly some more in the near future.  I also hope to plan some appraisal days on my own in the next few months. 

I didn't even go home before I went to my next stop, another quilt shop, Little Quilts, in Marietta.  I was taking a Featherweight TLC class.  I had taken this class years ago about a week after I got my machine and had no clue what I was doing.  Now, after sewing on it for several years I decided it was time I took it again.(it will also keep me from having to pay to have it serviced every year)  Sharon Henderson, the teacher, is a hoot.  I love taking her classes. There were only six of us in the class, which meant we got lots of personal attention.  My little machine was so happy after being cleaned, greased, and lubed.  Can't wait to sew on it this weekend at Thimbles.

Huckleberry Pie anyone???

I am not normally a purple person, but for some reason I am going through a purple period. The two quilts I finished while in the mountains both had purple borders, now I am doing one in all purples.  A couple of months ago at Thimbles, Pat decided to "redo" on of her patterns, Blueberry Pie .  You could have your choice of pie, Lemon, Blackberry, or Mixed Berry, well leave it to me to be different.  I started thinking about one of our best vacations out west. We were in Glacier National Park and huckleberries were "the thing", Huckleberry pie, ice cream, margaritas, martinis, daiquiris, you name it they had it.  I decided then that I had to make a Huckleberry Pie.  Mary Ellen from Little Quilts was putting the kits together and I explained that I wanted Huckleberry.  She did a great job putting the kit together.  Look at all of those yummy purples.  I cut the quilt out yesterday but just couldn't get into sewing on it.


Pat's Blueberry Pie Pattern



I am loving this quilt.  I had to put one block together so that I could see how it was going to look.  The picture actually doesn't do it justice.  This is one quilt that will not, and I mean will not go into the UFO pile.  It will be finished and finished soon.  I love it.

A bag kind of day

Do you ever have one of those days where you want to sew, but you don't know what you want to work on?  I had one today, DH is out of town, so I had all day to do "my thing".  I started cutting out a new quilt, but I didn't want to work on it.  I cut out a  pair of pants, but didn't want to work on those.  I started digging through my stash and found some cute fabric and a bag pattern that I had bought last year.  I decided to work on those, it must have been fate, since I had the zippers and interfacing that I needed.  I think they turned out pretty good.  The bags came in three sizes, but I decided to  make the two larger ones.  I ran out of fabric on the orange one.  I am thinking these will make great Christmas presents.

Great Anniversary Present

 First DH surprised me with two dozen roses.  I love roses, I get them twice a year, usually, for my birthday and for our anniversary.  We celebrated 14 years on Wednesday.  I doens' seem like it at all, but DH disagrees with me.  I had a hard time deciding what to get him this year, he doesn't need anything or really want anything.  The only thing he said he wanted was socks.  I got him 12 pair of socks, 4 each of black, blue and tan.  I knew I had to get him something else.  Luckily a few weeks ago a shooting range opened down the street from our house.  I made three trips in there to check it out.  I know those men were so glad to see the last of me.  I decided to buy DH 10 hours of shooting time.  He loved it.  Almost as much as I loved the Nook that he surprised me with.  I had swore that I would not go to the "dark side" and I would always just be a  book person, but I love it.  I have downloaded my first book, the new Marie Bostwick and am having so much fun.

New nook, and case.  I have the best hubby

Yippe, school is out

 School is finally out, and I have been making the best of it so far.  Last Tuesday was my last day of school and I wasted no time in heading to the mountains for what has become our annual quilting getaway in the mountains.  Becky, Kristie, and Pat were at my house last Wednesday morning about 9:30, we wasted no time in getting the cars loaded and taking off.  Our first stop was the quilt shop in Ellijay, I had never been there before and was really impressed.  We also did lunch while there at the Caterberry Cafe,  their tomato basil soup was wonderful.  Next stop was Food Lion in Blue Ridge to pick up more provisions.  I could do an entire post on our trip to Food Lion, but I will refrain. Next we headed to the quilt shop in Blue Ridge, I was looking for a border for Bonnie Hunter quilt that  I was determined to finish.  Thanks to Kristie for finding the perfect border for me. ( I must be in my purple  period, both quilts that I finished at the cabin have a purple border.)    Within 30 minutes of getting to the cabin we had everything unloaded, sewing machines up and we sewing away.


Sewing away!!!



Kristie at work on her minuscule project

Snack time