Christmas Swap Arrived

Isn't this the nicest runner? It was my swap from Kathy L a member of the Quilter"s Hollow group that I have been with for over 10 years. Every Christmas we  have a secret swap. This year you had the choice of a runner or table topper. This fits perfect on my kitchen table. The flowers are the left overs from Flowers my daughter brought for Thanksgiving..

Here is the cute Hallmark set she also included which has note paper and envelopes. She also had a little round of special soap from Denali, Alaska. She and her husband had taken the same cruise I did , a couple weeks before I did.

Thanks for stopping in,

Christmas At My house this year and Orca Bay Mystery #3

• I was told I should show some of my decorations. This is my little tree in the dinning area which has lights on it

My tree which I have only used newer bulbs as Penny uses this table to look out the window. Although since I have had it up she seems sort of afraid to be able to sit on it. She does a little but not as much. So she knows it's something different.

One side of the mantle. This picture is blurry but I don't know how to delete. Kim told me how but this mind cannot remember all..

This is the other side but also blurry. didn't mean for them to be uploaded.

This is the better one and closer up. The celluloid deer just have to be shown at Christmas. They are some of the antique decorations I have from Hubby's  family. The baskets are some of our Heisey  that we collected for years.

Then  the kitchen table with cute Santa table mats and another little tree.

 

Just another view with the other side of the kitchen showing.

Now to the pieces of the three sections of the Orca Bay Mystery which Bonnie Hunter is giving us the month before Christmas. I don't have all of each section done yet but this is a sample of each. I hope to be able to Put this picture on her special link. So will see if I can get that done.

That is about all I have to talk about today. Need to get something to eat and then down to the Boonsboro gym to do my exercises for the day. Have been doing the treadmill and trying to get back into shape. Back to my water exercises again tomorrow and Thurs. mornings. So hope that you are getting your Christmas decorations up and into the mood of shopping. Mine isn't too hard as the grand kids prefer money these days.  Thanks for stopping.

My first Quilt

 This is a  closeup of my first quilt. I hope these pictures get in order. There are to many of each one. and I don't know how to get rid of them.

 Had to put in a picture of Penny, She likes sleeping in this chair where I put my laptop.

 The  first blocks to the new mystery quilt. Orka Bay that Bonnie is doing. I have about 100 of them finished but the hardest for me is squaring up as it means standing up and I can't do that for very long. So do a little at a time. then sit and sew

This is my butterfly quilt. first one I made and there is a story behind  it, I said I wanted to make a quilt but didn;t know what pattern. My husband said make a butterfly quilt. His grandmother had made one while she lived with them when he was a teenager. His Mother said there was a box on the attic that might have some of her sewing stuff in it. So I found the box and yes, there was the pattern from a New  York paper. The old cardboard templates she used. So did I. It is all hand stitched. I didn't realize this was a diffecult pattern,  If   you   look close the block is on the diagonal and is made in two  pieces and then the  body of the butterfly is sewn in the middle.. There is one block that is pieced wrong. My Mother visit whle I was making it and made one block. She said no more. I just let it like she did it.

This is the  Alaskan quilt I have made to remember my cruise. I bought the kit in Sitka the first port while on board ship.

The Wedding Quilt

No this is not the wedding quilt but was made for me by my online quilting friends. Just brought to mind a lot what this book is about.

Yes, I am talking about the new Elm Creek book, called the Wedding Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini. The 18th in this series and I think it will continue.

This by far is the best for it's history and the tales she tells. It is mainly about the wedding of the daughter who now lives at Elm Creek Manor. But then goes back and tells about other weddings held there over the years

I have spent the entire day reading to get it finished. Just got it from the library on Wed afternoon. I am not a fast reader. But just had to find out what happened next.

I have read all these books and mostly they tell about the people who come to Elm Creek Manor quilting retreats. What they do and what quilts they make. But this one delves more into the family now and before. Going back hitting times she talked about in other books. But this one is really almost a little in the future.

If you are into quilting and like history you must read it.

After last weeks storm which put down a lot of heavy wet snow and down came limbs and when that happens the electric lines with it. Our County was hit bad. Since we are up on the side of the mountain and have lines that run through the woods directly from the power station and only about 20 homes. We land at the bottom of the list to get repaired. The electric went of Sat. at 1:15 and didn't get on until Monday night after 9 PM. Fortunately I have a generator to run lights the pump, refrigerator and the microwave so I was OK, during the day. I turn it off when I go to bed. It did get cold Sunday.

Monday I went down to Boonsboro to my friend, Roben's who had the Internet . Took my laptop so I could at least get on Face book and tell family all was fine and then tell my online friends what had  happened.

Then I guess I was coping Kim and had a tooth infected and swollen face and Hurt. WOW. This tooth has to be saved . Saw a specialist who drained it and that cut the pain so after a week of antibiotics it should be ready for a root canal next week. Then a cap. There goes the budget.

In the meantime I have been doing a little piecing and mostly reading. On Tues. my oldest granddaughter the artist is coming for a couple days.  So that will be a change.

So much for the pictures. It looks all golden and red outside. A beautiful day. Thanks for stopping by

Rare Oct, snow Storm

See how the sky looks foogy? That is the way it was snowing. This is just when it started early in the morning of Sat. Oct, 29, Too early for snow. But I am sure you have already heard about this storm.

This is looking from my carport towards the road. That is my lower driveway. Going to my backyard.

This is the backyard and the limbs from the Tulip Poplar. that were the first to come down. Large leaves that had not started to turn and come down. The same tree that the top had come down in a bad storm we had about three years ago. These are on the end of the driveway. More snow.

The electricity went out at 1:15 Sat, I went outside to look around and took my camera. This was taken from the basement door. That tree loaded with snow is the Hemlock. I got the broom and got it off before those limbs came off. The top came out of a Maple tree just above the hemlock

Just had to get a picture of these trees before the sun melted the snow and made it fall. Sun. came cold and sunny. Sun  was just coming over the mountain. Can you see why these limbs would bend and crack and fall over the wires. We live in an area that has about 15 homes, farms and the line comes through woods directly from the power station and usually are about the last to get repaired.
At least I have a good generator which at least gives me light and the microwave to heat water for coffee and dinners.and water for the use of the toilets.  But leaving it off at night means a cold house in the morning. Also this time for some reason the cable company was not repairing it until electricity is back. I guess I should have said something to them that some of us have generators that makes it easy for using the laptop IF it is working. So I am at a friends home that has WiFi to get some news out to my friends and this blog written. I miss sewing. I must get the belt fixed on my treadle so it could be used without electricty.
Thanks for stopping and hope you all had a Happy Halloween.

West River Quilt Retreat

What I saw when I got there on Thurday Morning. No one else was there so I took my Subway out to the Gasebo and ate it while enjoying the river and the sailboats. So relaxing

This is the building that we sleep and work. The whole front room has windows out the other side with a view of the river.

Like this which I took the next morning when I was up early and the lights from the boats shining on the water.

This is a view of the main room on Thurs, when only a few quilters had arrived. Mine is the back table in the middle by the closed doors. I put up my tablecloth over them for my design wall.

I took this shot on Friday evening of my daughter, in the bright shirt, talking to one of the older members. She came to see me and of course had to talk to all of the older members that she knew. They asked her to stay and do the game of brown bags which is so much fun. I ended up with a small ironing board to be used on a table like so many of the Kansas group had gotten from one of the vendors. So Cool, but when I got home and tried it on my folding table it didn't fit. It also had a message board on the back so could be hung when not in use.

This was my progress by Friday afternoon. Lots of flying geese. This is the kit for the Thimbleberries Club quilt. Called the Quilters Garden. I bought the kit in Excelsior Springs, Mo. quilt shop where the locals have their Thimbleberries club. Loved the blue which is the center of the star and will be the outside border

This is how much I got done at the retreat. so now have them hung on my design wall and need to get busy sewing on the few geese I finished and then making more for the four star blocks I have to do. Then the little sashing around all of them with the blue and dark green cornerstones.

Home on Sunday evening but first stopped in Crofton to see my brother and sister-in-law who was visiting their oldest daughter. It was his 88th birthday. So very special. It was a beautiful day the trees had really changed color and when I got home found the driveway covered with leaves and they are still falling. Winter is coming Thanks for stopping by 

Fall is here

This is a veiw out my windows the other day. Yes, that is fog and the dogwood turning colors. Now the leaves are almost gone. It is going to get cooler this week.and on Thursday I am going to the Annapolis quilt retreat down on West River which runs into the bay.
I see that I had already showed this one but I have it finished now.

So here is the comopleted one but not quilted. A nice throw, Love these blocks

Sormeone said I should get more pictures of Penny.  It would be easier if there was someone else here t
to snap pictures. The best ones would be the way she sleeps on my lap. She is still going into the quilt hoop and sleeping behind it. Usually hidden.

This is one of her walking and it is a little blurred.

This is the kids quilt that she gave us at the last meeting. It has been given back to her to erquilt. I will get it back to bind, Brought 2 more home yesterday. But no hurry to get them done.

I have the suetcase packed with the newest Kit I bought in Kansas City. All cut ready to put the blocks together later in the week. Will be fun to get reaquainted with some of the old members.

Another Kids quilt. The colors don't show up to well . I'm not fond of this pattern.

 

A quilted Schnibble. George. Guess you know why this was the first one that I got quilted. Love the colors in it.

Will try and get some pictures at the retreat. I know several years ago I got a terrific picture of a double rainbow. This time of year there should still be some sailboats. 
Thanks for stopping by.

A Retreat in Kansas City and Otherthings

This is the basement entrance to the home to me and my Fellow online friends from the  Quilters Hollow. This is a Methodist Retreat Center and way out in the woods not far from Lawson , Mo. The upstairs is composed  of 6 bedrooms with sleeping for 5-6 each with thier own bathrooms. Very nice and a large living area and small kitchen.  You can see from the trees that fall was coming.

The dining room was in another building and we took a walk one afternoon  down to the lake.It used  to be the swimming hole but now they have a swimming pool. It was rough walking down for this old lady with a bad back but was fun and we came back by the road. Course that was dusty and rough with gravel.

We had 23 campers and this is the room which was the whole basement and lots of tables and good lighting. Those of us that flew in had sewing machine made available thanks to the local members. I had my choice of a Featherweight. Thanks Barbara. Was much appreciated.

This is Helen who picked me up at the airport and gave me a bed the first night. We spent the day on Wed. shop Hopping.They have some wondeerful shops around Kansas City area.
I spent the few days sewing up this quilt kit that I had bought in Sika, Alaska. It was the first good kit I had bought and  then what did I do? Bought another one,Couldn't resist. It was half price and is the Thimbleberries Garden Club.

When I got home Penny was so glad to see me she doesn;t let me sit without her on my lap. Then the other day.I saw one of her secred hiding places.This is the quilt I am hand quilting and I leave it like this on the chair next to my lounge chair and I put my  laptop on it.

See how it ia blugged out. She crawled into it through the hoop. I thought you could barely see her head. Try clicking on it and see.
Then we had a swap of these 6 inch blocks at the retreat. This is how I laid them out on the board. I have since sewed the  blocks into rows but not the rows together. Neat aren't they.?

Since I have been home I havc completed the bindings on 4 kids quilts and sewn up blocks for another one.  . Also cut the strips to have them ready for the next retreat next week. This one will be down where I used to go on West River. with the Annapolis quilt guild.

Thanks for stopping by.