Normal Days Doings....

Because my DH and I have been under the weather or getting out from under the clouds during pre-Thanksgiving days, we elected not to be around other people for fear we would be giving them an early Christmas present or a belated Thanksgiving package.  Our Thanksgiving was a stuffed cornish hen with gravy, veggies, and cranberry sauce. 

 So I may not have been as busy as some of you.

However,

I am slipping into in one of those periods where I know I have to do things, but looking back wondering what I have done. To refresh my memory, I have been listing things I have done during the days before Thanksgiving.

Not in order of importance, just rambling....

1)  Started to walk with DH to the mailbox and back. Right now, he walks all the way to the mailbox and I walk as long as I can, then wait until he comes back to where I stopped and we walk back to the house together.  Hope to make it to the mailbox with him soon (little over 1/2 mile r/t)

Property outlined, very shaky, mailbox at corner of lane and road.  Ponds, or tanks are dry now..

2)  Scheduled a few posts, including this one. 

3)  Had dentist appointment...x-rays and diagnosis....Will have a lulu of one during the first half of January.   Let's forget that and continue.....

4)  Still handquilting and a long way to go...

5)  Remember these bolts DH got for me in Corpus?

I have only 4 more left and hopefully by the time you read this they will be in use also. I used a lot of them as is for larger pieces of fabric, such as my flannels which were not folded very well.  They will be in better shape now. 

The rest I cut into mini-bolt sizes for smaller pieces.  To protect the fabric from the cardboard, I used a few plastic bags from store purchases (not grocery).  I was planning to use some Glad Cling Wrap, but that is so expensive it will be a last resort.  I looked around and found some of the very thin white trash bags...the kind that has the handles and is difficult to tear open and so thin they are really worthless for trash bags...so I cut them up and am able to cover about 6 or more mini-bolts with each one, using scotch tape.  

It takes a little time, but hopefully they will last awhile....

6) 7) 8) etc....general housework and goof/off stuff......

Hope to start another quilt shortly.  My machines are feeling neglected......

And I have other plans......

Later....

Baseball season quilt

I found baseball and dinosaur fabric at the church quilting group.  Brought it home and was lucky to find solid colors for borders to match it.  Add a colorful binding and tacking and I have another quick quilt to give away.

Now if it just wasn't sideways......

Wish I could give it to one of my grandsons, but don't want to use the church's fabric for personal use....

Love making these quilts....I feel I have a little more freedom than I do when I make a quilt for someone... I always worry if the relatives or friends will like them...

Update on Janome Health Status....

In the middle of October, I blogged that my Janome was sick and acting up. 

I wish to report, belately, that she is well and humming a nice little tune...No, I did not have to take her to the emergency room.. A little touch of home remedies did the trick, as well as a keen eye.

I ended up changing upper thread and used a brand new bobbin (definitely correct size), 

I was ready to thread the needle using the new upper thread (after I had filled the bobbin), and I could not find the needle hole.  It was very difficult...So I turned on the light behind the machine and took a really good look...

And found a broken needle.....no point......anywhere.....

Being the detective that I am, I realized the point had to have come off while sewing, hence had to be close by.

So I took off the faceplate, took out the bobbin and bobbin case.......

.....and there it was, laying there....

Remember how I said the bobbin had been jumping around and making noise?....well, there you go!

So lucky am I!  It could have gotten into the machine anywhere!

I put everything back together again, changed needles, threaded, and started her up...

and she has been fine ever since.

Still did not figure out why the needle broke, but maybe changing everything else solved that problem.

Another Comfy Baby Quilt Done

I had time on the trip to finish attaching the binding to this charity baby quilt.

 I burrowed through the fabric our group has and found most of the blue, then added a couple more blue pieces, as well as the pink from my stash.  I think it tends to be a girlie quilt, mainly because of the abundance of pink, although I was thinking of one for a boy when I started......

One never knows......

Acquisitions

I promised to show you what I bought on my trip to Corpus. 

http://www.thequiltcottage.com/TQC/Home

 I gave them all a bath and they are ready to be used. 

In what and to make what, I still don't know.  The top one and the two solids at the bottom I bought in Corpus...just noticed that the bottom green one is folded so you can see the back only...{sigh}...try to imagine a very subtle green/brown tie dye...see below....

There was a little over a yard of the grey/red plaid on the bolt so I bought that as well.  The pink one at the top is going with my other pink/green fabric to help knock the socks off of somebody...

Other than that I was in sort of a "dotty" mood. I bought most of them in Giddings...

http://www.gerlinesquiltshoppe.com/

If you remember, I told you in an earlier post that the Corpus quilters had just come back from Houston with oodles of stuff.  Well, look what they gave me after scrounging around in the back room. They even did a quick tape-together for me. They fit nicely on the floor behind the driver's seat. (and I took advantage of another picture to turn the green right side out so you can see it.) 

 

I plan to cut some of them in half and use them as mini-bolts to hold some of my fabric...Some may be used as is for my larger pieces.  They are cardboard, so I hope to cover them with some sort of plastic as protection. 

Guess I need to get busy soon......

Winner of country fabric, Mini-Giveaway #21 is.....

SALLIE --

Congratulations!  I know she will do us proud with the sewing results!  Thanks to all who commented and plan to see ya'll again on December 1st for another giveaway...

I'll send her the packet after contact...

Mini-Giveaway #21 - country fabric

Welcome! 

I debated whether to host this giveaway so close to Thanksgiving....I finally decided, why not.....

So here it is.....

This fabric is slightly slightly heavier that one would usually use in a quilt, although it might be used.  There is about 3 yards of it. I received it from a relative of mine several years back.  The selvage was cut off, so can't help you there....It is a nice piece of fabric......

As usual, DH will do his magic and pick a winner after 10:00 am on November 17.  Please be available for contact......and all that jazzz........

Trip news.....

We finally made it back home after experiencing a necessary delay....we visited cousins in Beeville and my brother in Corpus Christi.  When we realized we were going to have to stay longer than expected, we contacted my sister who owns and rents a small condo right on the beach in Corpus...she made arrangements for us to stay there the remainder of our visit....

These were taken from our balcony....

   The guy above was practicing "surf sailing"...is that the right terminology???....anyway, he was doing flips and the wind was really blowing him along...

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Backing up a bit.....I had planned on stopping in Giddings twice...once on the way down to see the one quilt store I had not seen and once on the way back to see the other one which I had seen before.  Plans change.  I did stop on the way down at this store....

http://www.gerlinesquiltshoppe.com/

Of course, I did not take pictures....but the website will give you an idea. It was a busy time for them...I was told later that they had 11 buses coming from Houston in 3 days (because of the Quilt Show there).  They said the customers consisted mainly of people from other countries who had taken this chance to head out and buy from the "local" quilt stores.  Luckily, I arrived between buses and was able to shop quietly....

On a side note....please take note of the On Line Auction coming up on Nov. 21th which they are helping to sponsor ... This is to help the volunteer fire station which, during the fire flareup in Texas a few weeks ago or so, lost 3 of their vehicles to the fire, as well as homes of 8 of the firemen....They are auctioning off quilts, with the proceeds going directly to the station in hopes to have enough of a downpayment for at least one vehicle...more info on the site if you are interested.

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I decided I was going to skip the stop on the way back in Giddings....I knew we were going to be more than ready to head directly home, so while I was in Corpus, I went to another quilt shop...again no pictures....

http://www.thequiltcottage.com/TQC/Home

They had just come back from Houston with oodles of goodies, not even unpacked, just scattered around the store.  Their rented van was even still parked outside.  I felt as if I was in someone's attic, looking at all the stuff.... And I had fun there, too.

You will see what I got on another post...don't have the pictures yet.....

See ya soon.....

Whew! Winner, Finally, of Mini-Giveaway #20

My quickie trip to see my brother turned out to be a little longer than anticipated....while there, we received word that my aunt who lived in the same city had passed away (she was 90), so we stayed and came home yesterday evening.

I was too pooped to do anything last night, but am ready to roll today, even if it is a little(?!) late.....

And the winner is:     MARTH225!!!!   I have e-mailed her and will be sending the package to her shortly....

Now, unless something unforeseen happens again,  the next giveaway will be scheduled on the 15th, as planned.....  see you then......

Working and Keeping Busy Post ....

I'm trying to get back into posting....really, the only reason I haven't posted was because I had no new pictures of new projects to show you...and pictures in blogs make them so much more interesting, don't ya think?

But after I saw how long it has been since I posted, I decided that pictures of anything be better than not posting at all.....and I have been working....

Sometimes you work really hard at something, but it's like water boiling,,,,,no one wants to hear day after day, "the water hasn't boiled yet, but it's coming".  So it is with my hand quilting....and I really made it worse by deciding to stop quilting on one sandwich after it reached 20% completion and starting on another.  I know where both of them are going, but I am really excited about the 2nd one, and the 1st one has waited this long, it can wait some more.....

So the second one has only strips to work with, and I have completed 5 of the 27 strips...

3 long lines on a strip X 27 = that's 81 lines.....each about 64" long....that's enough math to tell you it will be awhile before I finish...

No pictures of these,,,will have to wait until finished.

Now, to keep my mind from going to jelly while I quilt, I have been working on a some charity quilts...a couple of them you have seen...

The one I was going to finish while my car was being serviced....wasn't.  My DH came with me to town so that has been put on hold until the trip this weekend....that and my HQ will make the journey with me.

I am preparing another top so I can sandwich it after the trip.....

I got the main fabric from the church group and was able to match the colors for the borders from my stash...an easy task since I have straightened up my stash a little....hopefully it won't be so bright that it will keep the owner awake...

I only have one more side to put on before the top is finished.  I would have it done but I had to do a little ripping....twice....once late at night when I added the purple strip on backwards, and the other when that same strip seemed to become attached to the red side, not the yellow like it was supposed to be.... 

Good news is that I remembered how to do what I call a quick rip..instead of cutting every stitch from the wrong side, I cut a stitch every 1/2 inch or so from the right side...then when I started pulling them, the pieces came apart easier.... 

I hope to have enough of this fabric for the backing and binding...

Finally, I found the fabric for the binding of the wall hanging that has the names of all my family, DH, children, and grandchildren....their names, and birth dates...

Obviously, this cannot be pictured because of all the personal info, but hopefully, when finished, I can show you something..... That is supposed to be a light yellow binding.....

See you after the trip...if I can remember to take my camera AND take pictures, I may show you the quilt store I hopefully will discover in Corpus Christi.....

Mini Giveaway # 20 - Another Practice Fabric

edited: 1:45pm (CST)  So Sorry Guys!!!  When I scheduled this post I didn't proofread and had it scheduled for Nov. 3, not the 1st.....   So, I added a few days to the time frame (see below).....

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Hello, after a long time of not posting.....more on that later....

Now, this practice fabric actually has simpler designs, less busy than the last one....although there does seem to be a lot of  the same theme running through it.....feathers, petals, etc....

I sewed a little on it, without sandwiching, to see how it would look with red thread on the designs...but decided again it was not for me...

It is on white fabric, regardless of what the pictures show (click on them for a better view)....and about 35 inches, or a very scant yard of fabric....

So,,,here are the pictures.....please disregard the folds....did not want to iron it or heat it up because of the design....didn't want to chance either setting the ink or making it disappear......not sure which, if either, would happen....

Good Luck to all and remember that the winner will be announced after DH does his thing on Nov 7 after 10:00am due to a trip we have planned this coming weekend starting early Friday morning. ..... See how one goofup can multiply into a whole mess?......We might stay over and come home on Monday, the 7th....if so, it will be middle to late afternoon before ya'll know what's what around here. 

BUT,  all good things comes to one who waits.......and wins.    Too, remember please to be available for contact so you will know you won.....

 I am trying to get a couple of sandwiches ready for binding so I can take them on the trip with me.  Also, I have been trying to work on my handquilting a lot since posting last, and have not had much to "show and tell" with pictures. and other things have been either given priority or getting in the way....That is no excuse, but wanted my followers to know that everything is hunky dory and hopefully soon I will be getting back in the groove.