Friday, December 31, 2010

Last Day Of This Year

The Santa wreath is down and put away,
not to be seen for another 11 months.Where did this year go? The older
I get the faster time seems to speed by.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Where's The Cat

Well I didn't see the cat, wondered if she had shot out the door when
I opened it. She is good at that if you don't watch her.Then Joe pointed out the lump in the rugs where we put
the wood at night......there was the cat.
When I said her name she peeked out.
Goldie keeps us entertained.
Here we are on the next to the last day of the year
and we let the fire burn out last night.
It is just after noon and the temperature is
up to 66 degrees. We won't be putting
any wood on the rugs tonight but I do
think we will soon as it is supposed to
drop down to below 20 degrees tomorrow night.

Monday, December 27, 2010

Turning 4

My favorite youngest grand daughter had her 4th
birthday today. It does not seem like she should be that old. Her dad is trying to get her
to wear the big hat, that she wanted no part of
when the waiter staff came to sing Happy Birthday
to her.
Here she is with her cousins, brother and sister at her party this evening. This is all my grand kids plus this years foreign exchange grand kid from Japan. I can tell by the look on my grand daughter's face (far left) that her older brother (top left) is pestering her....the look on his face tells the story. Being the older brother of two younger sisters.....we see that look on his face quite often. She is not my baby grand daughter any more but she still likes gramma to rock her and read to her. I could be such a better grandma if I did not have this Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. This disease has cheated me from being the kind of grandparent that I had planned on being but I am thankful for the happy times I am able to share with them.

Design Wall Monday

I added 16 more 3 1/2 inch blocks to the wall this week.
Ok, that is 24 down and 246 to go to get to the
270 I need, to set on point, for
this pattern that makes a finished quilt that
is 75 1/2 by 92!!It is getting easier to make the small nine patches
but they are harder to do than the 6 1/2 ones I usually
have as an ongoing project.
If any of you have the McCall's America Loves Scrap Quilts magazine ...Winter 2010/2011....this quilt I want
to do is on page 42.
It is called Nine Patch Fondant.

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Foto Finish....Tis The Season

When the title was announced for the next Foto Finish and
it was, "Tis The Season".....I knew where I was going to
get my idea for this post. It goes back to when my oldest boy
was just starting his early school years.When my oldest son was in 1st grade the kids
were doing a lesson on listing the holidays.
We got a note from the teacher about his list.
I think she thought it was pretty unique.
On his list in between Halloween and Thanksgiving
was.........DEER SEASON!! The boys always
got to miss a day or two of school at the
first of deer season to join their dad and family
at deer camp. So in his little mind it was
a holiday.
This is a picture taken on my red head daughter in law's
cell phone of two of the deer shot during this years deer season.
I believe they were getting ready to process them
and put the meat in the freezer.
My family does not hunt for the sport of it, these deer
will help feed the family and at the same time
keep the grocery budget down. You know you are
a Southern Missourian when your garage turns
into a butcher shop the end of November!
Here is a link to Barbara's Blog.... Cat Patches...Foto Finish

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Grandma of a Teenager

This week my favorite oldest grand daughter
turned 13 on her birthday. We took her to
eat at the local Mexican restaurant. They brought her a fried ice cream desert,
slapped the sombrero on her head and
sang Happy Birthday to her.
It was fun. It is hard to believe
she is this old and I am now a
gramma of a teenager!

Monday, December 20, 2010

Design Wall Monday

If you want to see what my design wall looks like
today just pull up last Monday and that's it!
I decided just to take a picture of the quilt
I have hanging on the wall instead.
I hang this every year the day after Thanksgiving and
usually leave it up till February.
I took it down the last day of February this year
but I guess I should have left it up as we
had a big snow on the 2oth of March. MERRY CHRISTMAS design wall Monday posters!

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Peppermint Shoes ...Foto Finish ...RED

Here you see peppermint shoes that I found
last December for my youngest granddaughter!!
When I first saw these shoes at the store I thought,
I would have loved wearing those when I was a little
girl. OK, that means they need to end
up on the feet of one of my granddaughters!
They only had small sizes so the other 3 girls
didn't get peppermint shoes. My oldest granddaughter,
12 years old, was probably relieved!
We had to get red fingernail polish to match
the shoes. She loves her nails polished.
Red is my favorite nail polish color even if
I don't wear it often.
Wearing peppermint shoes and red nail polish can make a little girl feel great. Her birthday is 2 days after Christmas and she is growing up too fast! I wish I could find peppermint shoes to fit her again this year.....I think gramma had more fun with the peppermint shoes than anyone. Ladies don't you wish you could have had a pair of peppermint shoes when you were a little girl?

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Warm Wood Heat

The fireplace it up and running.
This last weekend it really turned off
super cold. Down in the lower teens at night.
I am thankful that we have this wood heat as
it helps to keep the Empire Gas bill down.
Usually close to the fire is where the cats at. Right now she is laying on that cushion in the rocker all nice and toasty.

A Quilt for a Friend

In the fall of 2005 a good friend of mine, from
way back in Jr High, lost her husband.
She did not live close by and I wanted to do
something to brighten her world.....and this is it.
I started out with the middle block. I traced
and colored with crayons and ironed it in between
a brown paper bag to set the color.
I had an older lady (88 yrs old) that had done a little quilting
for me before, do the quilting on this and
she went right over the top of my applique!!
Oh well, it turned out OK. No biggy and
last summer the older quilting lady passed
and I am glad I have some of her work she
did on that ancient old machine she used.
I guess you could say it is just a huge wonky
log cabin quilt. It was a fun quilt to make and pretty fast
for me as I had only been doing this for a
little over 2 years.
Last summer my friend had gone to spend some time with
her daughter and family in Arkansas and they
had a house fire that destroyed most all they owned.
When I got the call about the fire the first thing her
daughter told me after saying they were all OK was
that her mother had not brought the quilt with her!!
I was relieved to hear that but more relieved to know
they all got out of the house OK that night.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Design Wall Monday

The month was October, the year was 2005, when
I saw a finished sample of this Christmas table runner hanging
outside of the quilt shop advertising a sewing class to
make one for yourself.
I went in and signed up and here is the table runner
I made.....crooked, missed points, mistakes and all.!!
I decided to dig it out last week and try to get
it finished. I am going to leave it with
all the imperfections and enjoy it the way it turned out.
I bought some green to back it with and at the class she
gave us some of the red for the binding.
I am so glad I took that class, it was
fun and it got me hooked on quilting!!
Remember those black and white Buck a Blocks I
posted last Monday? Here is a pic of a few of
them in the quilt on display at the shop. I think
when I finish my blocks I am going to put
white on the outside of the red star points to
make it less busy looking.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Christmas Tree

In my husband's home town the city puts up an old fashioned cedar
tree each year for Christmas. When I first saw these trees
they were placed in the middle of the main street in down
town. Since then, for safety purposes, they have been
set up in a small park next to an old train car.The tree is nothing fancy, just tall with big lights.
When I was growing up we always went out to the
pasture and cut a cedar tree for Christmas and
when I see this big tree every year that is one
of the happy memories that comes to mind.
Something else I remember is when this truck driver asked
me to go for coffee with him. It was in December on the 11th
13 years ago....today. We worked in the same place and I
thought...yes, I'll go. We actually went for pizza and started
dating after that night. It would be the next week
when I went up to his hometown that I saw the
big lit up cedar tree in the middle of down town.
The truck driver and I have been married for
12 years now and I am glad I said yes to coffee!! So, when I see the big Christmas tree each year I think
of that first date we went on and how meeting
him has made my life better all the way around.
Another thing I will share is after we started
dating I was really worried about telling him I had
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I didn't know if
he would turn and run as my previous husband did
because of it or would he give us a chance?
I remember after telling him I had CFS and explaining
a little about it his first question was...is it catchy???
I told him I did not think so but was not really sure in
the long run. He said it was ok and didn't bother
him and we continued to date. Sometimes
now we laugh about the catchy part.....

Friday, December 10, 2010

Bright Modern Quilt

I really like how the owner of the quilt shop
put these Beatitude strips together.She has made it a bright modern quilt that
is as uplifting as the scriptures that are
sewed into it!

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Binding Done and Wavy!!!

Last night I finally got the binding on this quilt
stitched down on the back.
I decided to try machine sewing it down
and it didn't go too bad.
Hope the quilt inspector never comes by here!
It is washed and ready to snuggle. See those wavy edges?

Monday, December 6, 2010

Design Wall Monday

A little of this and that is what is on my wall this week.
I made a few more squares for the Whirley Gig Blocks
and started making 3 1/2 inch nine patches.
Those little nine patches are harder to make than
the 6 1/2 inch. I saw a beautiful nine patch quilt, set on point,
in the America Loves Scrap Quilts Magazine put
out by MaCall's Quilting, called Nine Patch Fondant.
It takes 270 -3 1/2 inch nine patches. It will take me
some time but I am going to try and make that many.The black and white 6 1/2 inch blocks are for a
Buck A Block quilt that I signed up for at the quilt shop.
They are made with the Thangles. They have the little
baggy with the pattern and the precut strips
to make 2 blocks each month for a total of
24 blocks. I am not sure how I like these
Thangles yet.....have to do more to find out.
I thought for a $1 a month for 2 blocks and the patterns I would give it a try!!

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Guild Charity Quilt

This is a quilt that the guild I belong to made
for an auction. We each were given a baggy full of
the pieces for blocks. Mine were those tall
skinny hearts in the middle top.
It was the first time I had ever made yo yo's! This quilt was fun and money raised went for a good
cause. I would have liked to have been the
winning bidder on this quilt.....it would
have looked great hanging on my bedroom wall!!

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Comfort Food Special

This is a comfort food that we like to have at our house.
My kids can probably remember eating this when
they were growing up.
Hamburger Gravy and biscuits....out of a can
(for shame)....but we like them.
We buy Grands and they are pretty good.My favorite fork and patchwork plate.
I wonder does everyone have a favorite fork?
Wish I could just snap my fingers and have
this ready for supper tonight.

Birthday Party

Last night we went and had cake for my oldest son's birthday.
It was his 36th birthday.
That does make me feel old.
Here he is with all his and his brother's kids and
our extra foreign exchange grand kid for the school year.
The kids had fixed him up with homemade birthday
cards and I believed he might have enjoyed
that more than anything at his party.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

First Snowflakes

I looked out the window this morning around 10am and
I saw our first snowflakes of the season!!
Here is what it looked like on Christmas night
2009.......hope we have another
snowy Christmas this year.Isn't there an old saying about the date the first
snow falls on is how many snows you will
have that winter?? Today is the 30th....
so maybe 30 snows!!!

Monday, November 29, 2010

"More Than Ever" By Russ Taff & The Isaacs

This is a song I listen to and I find that it calms my spirit as I travel this journey called life, while living daily with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia. There are times that the valleys get very low and the hills are like mountains that I can't seem to climb. When those days hit me, it is at the foot of the cross I turn to, as nothing else can replace what I find there in Christ JESUS.

Design Wall Monday

This last week I was not in front of the sewing
machine much only to work on a binding, so here
is a picture of a project I have started and
plan to work on after the first of the year.These are blocks made from Judy Laquidara's
star block of the month pattern.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Oh To Live a Cats Life, Free of CFS and Worry

This is how I feel.....I'd like to just stick my tongue out
at illness.Look it straight in the face.....without fear.
Crawl in my box....in the sun. Turn my back on the worries and stress.
But, can't do that, must go forward.
I've lost almost a whole week bending to the
demands of illness.
Missed Thanksgiving with family.
Missed the laughter of my grand kids....and
their squabbling.
Missed eating things I love.
But, I will go forward one day at a time and
CFS and illness may be in my life but
it does not own my life.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Design Wall Monday

My 6 1/2" nine patches are an ongoing
project for me. I thought I would
show some of them by the Beatitudes that
are actually what I have on my wall.I am sure there is a way I could work them into
a top with the 9 patches, but the example I saw
at the shop had them placed within a
3 strip rail fence block.
This is how I set my last batch of 9 patches. If you want you can look back on my post and see the whole 9 Patch Scrappy Quilt.
(Link below this picture....not really sure
how to do all this blog stuff yet!!!)
http://thenappingquilter.blogspot.com/2010/09/nine-patch-scrappy-quilt.html

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Cousins

This is another of my favorite pictures.
My two middle granddaughters.
They are cousins, now in kindergarten and
first grade, born 8 months apart.
Their homes are around the corner from
each other and their back yards attach.I hope they grow up to be close.
Right now they are either fussing with
each other or they are best friends.
I think it is because they both want
to be the boss. This day, a few years back, they were
best friends playing after church one Sunday.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

The View From the Kitchen Window

This is a very common sight when looking out
the kitchen window. The cat begging!!Gladys gets fed twice a day. She does not think
that twice a day is enough. So this happens often.
We almost always give in and take her out some
treats to the back porch.
As soon as she hears the back door open,
she tears down the railing that she is perched on
and heads to her food dish!!
I thought I would post this while it was on
my mind. I got up from an afternoon
nap and am sitting with my lap top
at the kitchen table.....and what do
I see out the window......little black ears!!!

Monday, November 15, 2010

Design Wall Monday

I have a box of red white and blue odds
and ends blocks and decided to get them
out and see what I had.I guess they are like orphan blocks.....except that they
didn't have a destination in the first place. I starting making these earlier this year and
plan to make more R/W/B blocks until I
have enough of ones I like to put together
a quilt top.
This Pineapple Block was one of my first paper pieced attempts. I would really like to pull it from the others and make a whole quilt out of these. Not sure if that will happen......if it does it will take me quite a while to accomplish. This heart was also paper pieced and now I need to get it appliqued to a white background and square it up.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Same Quilt, Different Colors

I saw these two quilts at
the guild meeting I went
to last month.I bought the pattern and it includes
the panel with the scripture blocks.
Comfort of Psalms One Fabric Too! Pattern by Jeanne Cloverdale for Block Party Studios, Inc.