A Couple Finshed Quilts etc.

This is one of the blocks I've been working on. Have most of them finished and have ordered the border fabric. So this will have to wait.

First off, I want to say that Hubby isn't the best right now. Still have that meeting today, thought it was Thursday, can't read the letter right. This week he has seemed weaker, I think he is so anxious to get home and his body just isn't working so. Now he is scheduled to come home on Tuesday as DD is coming. for the best of the weekend. Has a friend coming up to visit from Florida so we will have some friends around and they are going to cook. I've ordered two ducks for Hubby and he certainly wants to eat some of them. If his teeth will let him. He did get to the dentist last week and the plate is ready and his date with the Oral Surgeon is set for Dec 3. Just hope he is able to make it.

This week I have been doing some sewing both on the Juki in the basement and up here. But these are the swap blocks that we have done for the end of the year in our Thimbleberries group. Aren't they neat? It's from the Simple Comforts book by Kim Diehl I'm going to put sashing and cornerstones and have two fabrics I'm thinking of using a green inner border and then have a new red fabric that I bought while at retreat, for the outer border. More on that later.

This is the first of the little ones that I got machine quilted last week. It's made from charms last year. Why I've waited so long to quilt it is beyond me. Didn't take very long. Not as long as putting on the bindingThis is the second one, It was a Schnibbles pattern Called Big Red, that Kim passed along. Mine should be called Big Blue as there are a lot of blues. This also was made from Thimbleberries charms. I really like this one. Just a nice size to cover up my legs when sitting in my lounge chair.

Which is what I am doing a lot these last couple days. Have not gotten the flue, or the regular flue shot, but just got an plain old fashioned head cold and it makes you feel miserable. That's why I'm up at 5 in the morning blogging. At least it is getting done. Thanks for stopping in and Hope Everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving with friends and family. I'm sure we will. Almost forgot about loading this one. This is a picture of the top that I have basted now and started to hand quilt. The star in this were from the swap Kim and I did for the Hollow. Each month we did a different star block. Was fun but ended with a lot of blocks that I think I have finally found places to use them. Love these alternate Chimney and Cornerstone blocks. Really makes it.

So now I have something to quilt while visiting with family over the holiday. Started it last night while watching Survivor. Love that show.

Leaves, Leaves, everywhere.

First I have to show you another project finished. This is the Kansas Troubles quilt I made from the scraps that I won . I really like how it turned out. Don't know where I will hang it but will find someplace. Now for the leaves. On Sunday afternoon I got the blower out and started to blow the leaves off the front yard which is about nine feet wide to the road. Look what I found under all the leaves.

Mushrooms and lots of them. If my Mother had been around she would have started to pull them up and eat them. They look like eatable ones but the locals say not
Here's another batch I came across. Then look at this a flower peeking through the leaves

This is another clump of mushrooms. That's the heat and rains we've had. This clump is close to a small azealea.This is how much I blew off. Uncovered the front porch and that was it. You can see the pumpkin now. I think he is starting to get soft on the bottom but will leave him there as long as he looks good.

Here's a shot of Rusty who came to my rescue with his blower and tracker with the mower. He started by cleaning off the road. It is wide enough for two cars but with the leaves all you could see was one lane of blacktop. They live behind me and if he gets my leaves up then it less to blow over into their yard.

This is the way it looked on the lower driveway after he blew them off the bank.That's all our property you see in this picture. The driveway goes to the garage in the basement. A car won't fit in it though even if it were empty. This is the way the front yard looks now. The huge pile of leaves just beyond the house. I imagine in time he will get them chopped up. Good mulch.

Another project done. Yes, I finished hand quilting the Sunbonnet quilt for Kathy in Kansas City. This is a closeup of the quilting.

This is the best I could do to get a finish picture. No big beds in our house now. It isn't bound, Kathy will do that. It will get in the mail soon back to it's owner. Had a great time doing it. Now on to one of my own. But first I need to get some wide backing material. Don't want muslin. Will show you it when I get it basted. I think I made it at least 3 years ago, maybe longer.

A bit about Hubby. He is doing good. Is hoping to get home before Thanksgiving. We have a conference with the workers next Thurs. But first he needs to see the dentist about the upper plate they are making him.

I am getting a good rest and more sewing time in. Glad to have these little projects done. I have two more small pieces that I am pinning to machine quilt so will keep busy.

Hope all is well in your part of the country. Thanks for stopping by.

Butterflies are Flying

See, I have finally finished it. Quilted and bound. The thing I was the most afraid of doing was stitching down those little wool antenna's Kim had sent me the wool, which laid in my post office for over a week with a postage due. Big mistake. But once I got going on them it really didn't take me too long. Now they are not all perfect. Well I doubt if every antenna on a butterfly is perfect. At least it was fun to make. To recap. It's a Buggy barn pattern and I started it at out quilt retreat in Dayton the last of August. So that is one thing I have finished since Hubby has been in the hospital and now the nursing home for rehab.
Talking about new butterflies. Remember me showing you the butterfly with the swans on the wings that someone bought at an auction and gave to the town.? Still don't know who gave it.
Last week when I went to the library here was another new butterfly. This is walking up to the library. Took this to show that on that mountain if you click on the picture you might be able to see the Washington Monument on the top. I live about half way down that mountain. Here;s a closer look. This one has smaller butterflies all over the wings. The other side is all blue. Couldn't get a decent picture of it. That's the road that goes to Keedysville and then Sharpsburg and over the river to Shepardstown, W, Va.
I did find out that Mr. Thompson that owns the Hardware store bought it for the town.

Been fooling around with the leaves this afternoon., It was so nice outside. But that's for another post. Thanks for stopping by.

Halloween

This past weekend my daughter brought a niece up with her so we had a walk in the woods. I had taken my camera and this is the only picture I took. My neighbors home. He's the contractor that made the ramp for our backdoor so I could wheel hubby out or in in the wheelchair.
Unfortunately I had to call 911 a week ago Sunday as he wasn't able to get out of his chair. He had a terrible urinary trac infection, Spent a week in the hospital and now on Monday was taken back to the nursing home for more rehab. This is why I have not posted for over a week. Just not time or incentive to talk to all of you.

My daughter came on Friday evening, Halloween weekend and brought me the large pumpkin that her class had made. I told her to sit it on the front porch. So If you enlarge this picture you should be able to see it and the layers of leaves in my front yard. Course there are 5 huge oak trees there also and a mountain of them on the other side of the road. This picture was taken from the road This one from our driveway and it shows up better here. Can sure see the shadows of the trees. It must have been early morning with the sun just coming over the mountain.

Now that I have a little more time I have gotten some projects finished. Well I hope to this evening while watching Survivor. Have some hand work. Then the next time I can show you.

Al;so got my material today for the Carrie Nation blocks that I run out of the background. Found it online of course. So can start some piecing again. So stay tuned. Thanks for stopping by. Hubby is doing well. We're hoping he gets home for Thanksgiving.

A View Of My World

Yesterday we had quite a wind, rain storm and after it was over I just had to take my camera and get some new shots. My how a couple days changed the looks of things around here. Leaves coming down like snow and now the yard is covered. This is the view out the back which I normally don't take as there isn't any thing exceptional. But today the color is so vivid and notice the one little tree in the foreground with green leaves yet. That is a very old wild cherry and the neighbors were going to cut it down because of the top being dead. But when it bloomed and the cherries arrived and were so good, Rusty, the gentleman, said no way would he cut it down. Now he has to beat the deer to the fruit. The deer won this past spring.

This is the view out the carport right at the front of the house. It must be a red Oak as it has gotten so gorgeous but half the leaves are now on the ground as in this next picture. This is the drive in the early morning. By the end of the day they had blown away. Only a path down the road where the cars had gone was empty of leaves. This is the same way the snow gets.

Of course the front yard is covered and will have to be raked. It won't blow on down the hill with the house blocking the way. The three huge oaks in the front yard still have most of their leaves. But I love fall.

Now to show you what I have been doing the last few days, in my spare time.

A little explanation first.

After coming back from retreat I had a large plastic bag with strips cut. Had the directions for cutting that I had printed off the website. Suppose to have been a mystery quilt.

Well the one they did I really wasn't that crazy about so continued to make the butterflies. So asked about what these strips were for as I had to use them. The pattern didn't call for 4 1/2 in and 2 1/2 in strips. Then the gal in charge said they had changed their minds and that was to be using the Carrie Nation block on Quilter's Cache. So going in to look at it I really like it so this is what I'm doing

Four patches and lots of them

Large Green ones and small red ones. But even those cutting instructions were wrong. The large ones were for 3 1/2 in squares , strips and the smaller for 2 inch strips.
This is one set of two sets of strips cut and sewn into 4 patches. Easy and a good pick up for a short time. The worst thing is the squaring up of those 3 1/2 red and beige 4 patches. This is Thimbleberries fabrics.

This is the block sewn together. and this is the design as of now. Really neat. Sort of like the barn raising in log cabin.

So I need to continue and get more blocks sewn together. Not sure how big the amount of strips I have cut will do and I think I cut it all up. So stay tuned.

Things have been OK around here this week. DH has been a little weaker for the last couple days but that's the way it goes. He sees the doctor this coming Friday so I imagine more blood work. The last the Nurse took was fine. As long as the kidneys and Potassium is fine he should be also. course the blood sugar comes in there also. To morrow is back to the swimming excesses.

Hope your part of the world is going well also.

Happy Birthday Dorman

Just have to wish my brother a very Happy Birthday today, I know he reads my blog to keep up with things. He's seven years older than I and very special to me as is his wife of over 60 years now . They have 4 children and 10 grandchildren , including 2 sets of twins. Have lost count of how many great grandchildren.

Just want to say, Have a Happy Day. love. lilsis

First Mystery Blocks

This was the view out my carport yesterday morning

Fall has come with cool weather and lots of rain. It rained pretty much for two days and the temperatures down last night in the 30's I saw frost in the valley's going in to swim this morning, This one I took out the window of the porch and the flash went off, so the spot. Hope you can see the colors on the trees in the distance.

Now here is a picture of the first blocks for the Jelly Bean Mystery quilt.
Unusual to have three blocks, So what kind of a design is this going to end up being. I love mysteries. Have to wait till the next months instructions now.
So be Cont----