Busy Week

I finished a pair of socks today. I wanted to have them done because on Friday it is NNNQG Retreat Weekend and I wanted to be able to wear them. I have been busy packing here and there. I will probably take a couple of projects with me, not that I will get to them. We have a mystery quilt going on for the group project. So I may end up just working on it. But just in case, I have something else to work on. Afterall, I don't want to have idle hands.

Our 3rd Saturday group got our Disappearing Ninepatch going last Saturday. I am making mine very scrappy. That is one of the extra projects I am taking to the Retreat. I am also taking along last years mystery quilt. I did not get to attend last year because of a hip replacement, but I did start that mystery quilt later.

It should be a fun weekend and the weather will be just like summer time. There will be 23 ladies on this retreat. I know I plan to have a good time.

Friday and Saturday Happenings

On Friday I spent the day with Princess of the UFO's and Mama Two. We were gone all day shopping at a couple of Alco stores where quilt shop fabric is very reasonable. They sell pieces of fabric of up to maybe 5 yards at a very good price. Usually the fabric is $3.99 a yard, but I managed to find some at $1.00 a yard and one at $.50 a yard. I think I was queen of the bargains this day. The three of us had a wonderful time.

Saturday was cut up day for me. I cut out the mystery quilt our guild is doing in two weeks at our retreat. I also started cutting scraps for the disappearing ninepatch my 3rd Saturday group is doing next Saturday.

Happy Easter to all.

My Little Darlings

I titled this "My Little Darlings" because I have a friend that says that when she starts talking about her "little darlings". Her stories about them just keep me in "stitches". (pun intended here for my friend) Well, my little darlings are my two great grandsons, Trey and Asher, ages 5 and 6 months. They are now at that age where personalities are showing. Both smile and are happy babies and so is this great grandma. I love this picture and I call it the face off (by the way they are cousins) Great Grandpa is holding Trey and Asher's mama is holding him.
In this next picture it's lunch time as you can tell by the food on his face.
Trey loves his jump toy and is a real show off in it.



Trey decided to let Asher try his jump toy and it did not take Asher long to play with all of the things on it.

Here's Asher hamming it up for Great Grandma.

Tote Bag

I made a tote bag out of the nine patches I made previously. In fact the whole purse is made from scraps left over from my Road To Dixie Quilt. There are two small pockets on the inside along the sides of the purse. One is very handy for my cell phone. Change and business cards are kept separately in small coin purses. And of course there is my Quilt Money purse there also. I made the handles so they are detachable and are buttoned on. So I had a learning process of making buttonholes and sewing on the buttons with my Elegante2.

9 Patches

I had left over strips when I finished piecing my Road To Dixie Quilt. So I decided to make some 9 patches. I'm not sure yet what I will do with them. Each fabric has 3 nine patches and I have several projects in mind. Example, a purse, mini quilt, or even a mini quilt with some machine embroidery in between them. It will be fun to see what I come up with. I just could not bring myself to waste the scraps.

Added New Book To Bookshelf

I just finished reading a book titled "A Single Thread" by Marie Bostwick. A friend loaned it to me and it's about how a single thread can tie quilting friends together and how a personal crisis can them bond them together. It's a good read and I would recommend it. You can see it on my bookshelf that is on the sidebar.

Bluebird

I opened the curtains in the dining room and lo and behold what did I see with my wondering eyes. No--it's not Santa. We blue birds that are always fleeting around the yard. This morning I had two I could catch with the camera through the window that were on the old cellar out back. When I first saw the brightest one, its back was to me and he was so blue. I wasn't able to capture that pose, but did catch a few and some with the female friend.

Stack and Whack Fan Quilt

Yep, I've started another quilt and I don't even have UFO's finished yet. What am I going to do with me? I know---just have fun and that is just what I did yesterday. We had an all day sew-in at the Church yesterday and I finally got the chance to learn about the Stack and Whack Fan. A bestest friend, now called Princess of the UFO's, taught us. And oh, she had Mama "C" as her assistant. (We couldn't make it on our own without Mama "C".) We had 16 ladies present. Now some were working on their on projects, but quite a few of us took the fan class. All of the fan fabrics turned out so pretty and fabrics that you wouldn't think would work turned out so cute. We had so much fun yaking and laughing. There is one that I shall call Mama Two, who tries to keep me in line by reminding me of my age. Mind you Mama "C", Mama Two, and Princess of the UFO's are younger than me by about 20 years. They call me "Queen". I am not sure about that title, but it is all in fun. For lunch we had salads and lots of desserts. Here are some of the pictures of my "fans".

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: