On A Roll With Road To Dixie Quilt

I am on a roll with my Road To Dixie quilt. I finished putting the borders on last night. Today I will get the backing done and sandwich the quilt together so I can machine quilt it on my sewing machine. This will be my second UFO for 2009 when I get it done. I am so excited about getting this quilt done.

Snow In March?

You betcha! We did not get the snow NW Oklahoma got, but we do have less than an inch. And to think the fruit trees are blooming as well as the early Spring flowers. The redbud trees are blooming and trees were starting to leaf out. And here it is March 28. Well it does happen here on occasion. Just when we think we are into Spring a freeze comes along and there goes the fruit trees. As they say around these parts "blink" and the weather will change. Here are the pictures I took this morning. The roads are just wet and it is supposed get up to 35 degrees today.

Jacket Is "What It Is"

Not too long ago I posted a picture of my initial "jacket" in the making and my husband asked "What Is It" Well, now he can see it is truly a jacket. I finished it this morning and I absolutely love it. But he still is not sure. He really doesn't care for different fabric patterns mixed together in clothing, but loves them in a quilt. Thanks to Karen for helping me with the jacket. And I just might make another one, but for now I need to finish another UFO. So this is one new project done.

One UFO Done-Pink Lemonade

It's been a long time, but I have finally finished a UFO called Pink Lemonade. It is an Eleanor Burns pattern. I machine embroidered the flower block and I did the quilting on my sewing machine. I also made the label using machine embroidery. This quilt is going to be mailed to a special cousin of mine named Carol in Michigan. So if she reads my blog, the secret surprise will be out of the bag. lol That's one UFO down and 7 more to go for the year. My original goal is to get 8 UFO's done this year. Well, it's the middle of March and I have only one done. So to my friend, Vickie, don't worry about me catching up with you. I have to explain that Vickie is the fastest project finisher in the West. But then she is Grandma and I am "Great" Grandma so I am supposed to be slower (I think) and I am probably 20 years older than her. lol. Either way I am proud to at least have one UFO done. Now it's off to do my quilting on my jacket seeing that the class is Saturday.

"Cat" Our Outdoor Guest

"Cat" is a wild cat. We live where there is pasture around the house. Last fall a pair of kittens appeared for about a week, one white and one gray with black markings. For the past month "Cat" has from time to time slept on a bench on the front porch and at times on top of an old, run down cellar sunning himself or herself. When it sees us it runs away. So we just leave it alone so he or maybe she can enjoy some comfort without being bothered by anything. It's a healthy looking cat and does not appear to be hungry. "Cat" probably finds enough mice in the pasture. I managed to take a few pictures through the dining room window and as you can see he is not a small cat. I have wondered if this was the dark kitten I saw in the fall. I have never seen the white kitten again. No telling how long "cat" will stay to visit, but, we will just continue to leave it alone and enjoy seeing it once in a while. "Cat" is not bothersome and is quiet.

What Is It????

What is it?, my husband asked when he saw it on the floor. He said it was the strangest quilt he had ever seen. I said "It's a jacket can't you tell? He just frowned and walked away. Well, I have my doubts too. I am not sure I like my choice of the different blue fabric. But, I'll see when it is done on the 3rd Sat. I have it sandwiched with the flannel and the lining. So now it's off to be quilted. (by me, that is). If I don't like the fabric arrangement I can always try another one (maybe, lol) So here it is:

Stack and Whack Fabric

At the retreat last weekend I picked up fabric to do the Stack and Whack class on our Guild 5th Tuesday, but could not find fabric to trim the top of the fan. So, I was in Norman this morning and stopped by the quilt shop and found what I needed. Seen here is the fabric I am going to work with.

Great Grandbabies Are So Much Fun

I went to see one of my Great Grandsons, Asher, today with Great Grandpa and oh what fun I had talking to Asher. He smiles and coos and loved my red and blue flannel shirt I had on. What a joy he is. I also got to give him a bottle. He's about 4 months now and turns over. He wiggles enough to get off of his blanket on the floor. He's a sweetie for sure.

Last Weekend's Renegade Quilters Retreat

I was able to finish "It's A Wrap" Christmas quilt during last weekends Retreat. It took a while to get it pieced together, but now I am happy to move on to something else. I am almost finished with the main project we were to work on and in a few days I should be able to post a picture of it. I did get a sample block done of our next project for the August Renegade Retreat. And oh, we have a challenge to do using some bluebird fabric. We are not to tell anyone what we will do with the fabric-- It's A Secret! lol. Also, did I mention I bought some fabric??? Well, I wasn't the one "on a budget" (that's an inside joke for the person that said she was on a budget--somehow that budget got broken) The first day we went to the Alco store in Watonga and a friend drove us. The next day one of the gals showed a suggestion for a quilt to do in August (the one on the budget), so I said time to go back to the Alco store, so I drove. Then our last two days I bought lots of fabric from our favorite store -- Steelman's in Chickasha, better known as Phylis. Phylis comes on the retreat with us and you would not believe the fabric bolts she brought. Anyway, I shopped twice with her and bought. Our group emptied 19 bolts for her and she still had plenty of bolts left. It ended up that we were all very proud of our "fabric budget" when we finished shopping. I think our cars looked like this driving back home.

My Pride and Joy

This morning I had a surprise waiting for me in my email. My daughter-in-law sent me pictures of my oldest Great Grandson. He will be 6 months old this month. He is such a cutie as is my youngest Great Grandson who is about a month behind this one. It is hard to believe that almost six months has gone by since this one was born. It goes to show that time just flies by. I picked out the pictures I like the best and put them in a panorama style to show them off here. You can click on the picture to see a larger view of it. In the second picture of the panorama he is looking the bubbles.

Renegade Quilter's Retreat

This next weekend is the Renegade Quilter's Retreat and I am excited. I love our retreats and we always have so much fun. We will be working on Christmas projects and I plan to take a few of my Christmas UFO's with me. I have started gathering my "stuff" to take. Today I really wanted to sew but just could not get to it as I am doing laundry, picking up around the house and finished a puzzle in between. Also made a Ham and bean soup a friend made. I called her to see how she made it. When I get back from the retreat I really need to de-clutter my sewing room. Happy March to all and don't forget the 3rd Saturday is National Quilting Day.