Mail, Turning Twelve

Yesterday, I also got 2 other things in the mail, but didn't have the picture handy on the magazine, and just had a cardboard box on the desk. I got the magazine on Amy's recommendation, she made the cover quilt, and plus it has one of Bonnie Hunter's quilts included. I haven't read it yet, but may tonight while my husband watches his Red Sox. The little desk is a cheapie from Target for my Janome Jem. I wanted to keep it in the family room for when we have company using my sewing room to sleep in.

Also, I have picked out the fabrics for a Turning Twelve quilt that I'm making for my dentist's four year old son. I'm going to try to quilt this one myself, worse comes to worse, I guess I can tie it (lol).

Granddaughter, Gifts, Giveaways, and Mail

What a wonderful day today. At 9:00 AM this morning my granddaughter Tabitha came over and we tried to do some crochet. Since it has been years since I have done any serious crochet, and I'm right handed and she's left handed it was a struggle, but she is starting to catch on in spite of me, and I think will be adept soon. She stayed about 6 hours, and it was great to be able to visit with her and have lunch together. DH was here too, and he also enjoyed it, and checked her oil and did manly grandfather things. While she was here the mailman came, and I got to show off a bit. The top picture is a lovely gift from Amanda who has turned into a dear friend. We will probably never meet, as traveling doesn't look to be in the cards for either of us, but it sure is easy to feel like you know her. I'm borrowing the books to learn more about Bath, which she recently visited and the stitchery was a wonderful surprise. It was beautiful on her blog, but even more so in person. Another package was The Quilter's Homecoming and a really pretty fat quarter (I love butterflies) from Erin of Hannie's Annie's. Quilter's are the most generous people in the world. I had won a giveaway on Doni's blog for a fat quarter, and it came today, too. 'Life is good' Doni, and I love the fat quarter. It reminds me of ticking, which I love, and will add to any quilt. Not too many such good mail days around here.


I almost forgot my package that came from Connecting Threads. I got two fat quarter samplers, you can see a sample in the last picture, and also a little gadget to hold rulers steadier, and some Chaco Liner pens to try. Whew, you know it was a good mail day when I forget my Connecting Thread order.

StashMystery

Small things amuse small minds, so even though it is just one more little step, I am proud of myself for not being behind on the StashMystery. I even have another week before the next clue. Since it is getting closer, the gypsy in my blood is feeling like maybe it needs another color or two. My thoughts are go with plan A and just do green and purple, plan B is add a narrow yellow border before the regular border, and plan C would be to do something like a piano key border with yellow and blue added. Now back to reality and the real lag-behinder me, maybe I can get back working on my Carolina Crossroads.

Donna's Beautiful Quilt Arrived

Yesterday was a wonderful mail day. I got this squishy envelope, which I instantly knew what was inside, but controlled myself a bit, so I could share. My instinct was ooh, ooh, ooh, and rip, rip, rip, but I slowed down, and grabbed my camera instead. Even the paper was special, as Donna from Donna's - In The Attic had scanned the label fabric and used it for a cover letter. That and her pretty card just added to the anticipation.

As you can see, the quilt is even more exquisite than the letter and if you were in person, you could see that it is even more beautiful than the pictures. The label is beautiful (how does she write so tiny and so neat) the fabrics are beautiful, and the quilting is perfect. My husband was nice enough to hold it up for me, so I could get the entire quilt, front and back.

I thought it looked pretty on the back of the family room couch, but when I went in my sewing room I realized that I couldn't see it, so I went and got it and put it at the end of the bed. It looks pretty there too. I'm not sure yet where its actual home will be, but it is so pretty that it will look nice anywhere. I think that I am very very fortunate indeed, and it will always be treasured.

Thread Stand With Thread

A few people said they'd like to see the thread stand with thread, including my brother, and since he donated a small part of his pinky finger to the cause, I felt it only right to honor his request. I tried to use a variety of sizes of thread, from embroidery to large, right on up to serger cones. It took all sizes well. The pegs are 3 inches apart. I also numbered the pegs, but the thread is covering it up. Just used a sharpie pen.

Hens and Chicks, Baby Quilt, Sewing Manuals, AC

Today has been long and tiring, but a lot has gotten done. I started the day early, and looked out my back window to see what looked like 2 large foxes in the field behind my house. I am almost 100% sure that they were coyotes, and that they live under the tree in the field about 50 yards from my back yard. After seeing them, I realized that I don't see stray cats anymore, and I have been missing my quail, and I wonder if the coyotes ate them, if so I'm not too fond of coyotes.

The two pots of hens and chicks are new to me. I had mentioned how much I like them, and Julie of Julie's Blog was kind enough to send me the plants in the pot with the mushroom, some real beauties, and the plants in the pot with the gnome I ordered from Mountaincrest Gardens. I had to wait a little while, but I ordered 2, and they sent 4, so I was very happy. Aren't they great, and it was so nice of Julie.
This (below, and in the closet) is a picture of what took all day today. We had 2 workers here working from about 9 am until about 6 pm installing our new AC, and they will be back tomorrow morning about 9 am to finish. They still have to do some odds and ends, and some attic work. Since we live in Central Florida, the earlier they get started the better, as the attic can be brutal. I hate that we had to spend the money, but it will be so nice not to be worrying practically on a daily basis about our old one breaking down.
The notebook is a project that I thought of, and hope I don't regret. I have several machines now, a serger, an embroidery machine, a Janome Jem, my old trusty Bernina 1130, and I seem to never be able to find the manuals when I need them. I made copies of the ones I could, so if I ever sell them I will have the manuals individually still, but I took the copies to Kinko's and had them put them all in a spiral binding with dividers. Now I have a big manual all in one place, I hope that it will simplify my life. If you ever do anything similar, copy what you need first, as they don't copy anything copywrited.

While the workers were working, I was working, too. I started and finished this baby quilt today, I'm still amazed by myself. It is a simple little quilt, but for me it was an accomplishment. I embroidered the back, and got the binding ready, too. It is another Crazy Big Block from the Stashbuster workshop pattern. DH is holding it up, and the border is a lighter purple than it looks like in the picture. It's 9:20 pm, and I still have more to do, I hope to mail the baby quilt and OC off tomorrow to the longarmer and need to pack it up and do my click and ship. That is what inspired me to work work work on my baby quilt today.

My Brother Made Me a Laptop Desk!

I finally received my new desk that was made from all either recycled or discarded lumber. My brother is very proud of the fact that my new desk is 'green', and so am I. I hope I'm getting this all right. The legs were made from an old door. He isn't positive of the type of wood, but it is very very heavy, and some of his woodworking friends think it may be Brazilian cherry. The top is 1 inch thick mahogany (was a 1 1/2 inch board) and he rescued it from the bottom of a woodpile that belonged to an old woodworker. The drawer front is birdseye maple, and it is from an old lamp table he thinks is probably from about the 5o's. The first picture is part of what he wrote on the back of the drawer. The hardware he rescued from a dumpster that he frequents, it belongs to a lumber yard, and he has gotten many treasures from it. The other day he had gotten 7 or 8 of these drawer pulls still in the packages, and solid brass. It looks nice in the pictures, but they don't do it justice, it is beautiful.

The thread stand he and my other brother made for me. I had only requested a scrap of lumber with some nails, but they nicened it up for me with my brothers woodworking tools. The metal dowels were rods that he cut and then smoothed with a grinder. The only mishap, was my younger brother nicked a piece of his little finger on one of the tools.
It was a nice weekend, as my youngest brother Martin, came with the table and stand (it was like Christmas in July, but presents only for me) and stayed for a couple of days and visited and did jobs for me that my husband has been unable to do, and we got to meet my oldest brother Vincent, for lunch yesterday and I got to thank him in person. I definitely hit the jackpot with my brothers, they are wonderful.

Orange Crush Back, Stashmystery, Turning Twenty

I finally got my backing done for the OC, and will send it off next week to the LA. I hardly ever do labels, this is just the second. The OC is kind of a playful quilt, even though it is labor intensive, so my label is also playful, as you can see, it may be a candidate for the Guinness Book of World Records, for the biggest label ever.

I also finished step 3 of the StashMystery, a new record for me, as the next clue isn't due until Tuesday. The blocks are getting smaller and smaller, I finished that last night.
Two of my grandson's came over today and worked some more (they did some a couple days ago) trimming our trees, and spraying weeds. They sure did in an hour or so what would have taken DH and I several, that's if he was even up to helping. Oh to be young again, I guess the next best thing is grandkids who are.
When they left DH and I went to JoAnn's, and I got my YoYo tool for Donna's in the Attic Challenge. I'm looking forward to doing some yoyo's. I did some kind of primitive ones in the past, but I didn't have a tool, and didn't really know what I was doing. Donna's are beautiful, she is so talented. I am very excited to have won some of her work.
I didn't get my Turning Twenty pattern in time for her quilt show, but I have it now and am going to do the little version for our pregnant dentist's new baby due this month. If I practice, I may even try to quilt it myself, the fabrics are below. Today I got 9 fat quarters, and so with the fabric that I already had, I have enough for the Turning Twenty. The two yellows in the left corner won't go in this one, as she is having a girl and they have trains and fire hydrants, and the alphabet fabric above it is for the backing. I hope it turns out half as pretty as Donna's are. My niece is pregnant and hoping for a boy, so I figure I could leave out the pinks, add the yellows and add a couple more baby boy fabrics, and I'll be in business.
I won't be doing any quilting or sewing for a few days, as my new desk and my brother are coming tomorrow. It was supposed to be both of my brothers, but due to domestic problems with a seperated wife, it will only be one. I'm disappointed, but I understand, as he has to protect his property. Sad huh.

I Can't Believe I Won!

Have you ever seen a more beautiful little quilt? I haven't, and now I will be enjoying it every day. I got up this morning and checked Donna's blog, DONNA'S In The Attic, hoping but not expecting to win. I followed along reading the captions, saw I was number 12 followed along some more and saw that 12 was on the winning paper, couldn't believe it, so went up and double checked, and then still thinking it was too good to be true read the rest until I got to my name. Wow, it is so beautiful. I so enjoyed following along as Donna made her quilts, and with this one when she used the animal print I thought, "Mother loved animal prints, that is so neat". I will love this quilt for many reasons.

More Gnomes

Today was haircut day, and then as I had ordered two "hen and chicks" plants
(Echeveria) I needed to get a pot to plant them in. I had gotten a little gnome on a nail for my avacado tree pot, and liked it so decided to go to Target as that is where they came from. Fortunately, when I got there they had their gnomes for 75 percent off (yeah), and they were out of gnomes on a nail, but they did have mushrooms on a nail (also 75 percent off), so I got two, one for my ginger, and one for my hen and chicks.

I have two other gnomes with a gardening theme, so decided to get these two with the birdwatching theme. These remind me of my father-in-law, who passed away about 7 years ago. He was a real nature boy, and loved his garden and the birds. I was quite happy, as I got forty-eight dollars worth for twelve dollars. I would definitely say that my screened in porch has a gnome theme now.
I have a brown thumb, but am getting a little proud of myself, as I have kept my lucky bamboo alive and thriving for about a year and a half, my orchid for about 3 months, and grew my avacado tree from a seed and have kept it alive for about a year now. I hope that I have good luck with my new plants, too. Hey, it's a beginning.