Arte y Pico Award from Stephanie!

I'm honored to received this award from Stephanie at Scraps.This lovely statue is called the "Arte y Pico" award which was created to be given to bloggers who inspire others with their creative energy and talents no matter whether it be in the form of writing, artwork, design, interesting material, or contributions to the blogger community. When a blogger receives this award it is considered a "special honor" and, once presented to you, it is to be passed on to at least 5 other bloggers who meet the criteria. 1. Helen at Quilts and ATC. She is always working on something. Usually something I want to try!~ 2. Evelyn at Scrap Happy Quilts by Starfishy. I love to read what she and Little Boy have been doing. 3. Barb at Quiltwhinny Trails. Her blog has all the things I love, quilting, horses, and music! 4. Sue at Northwinds Quilting. Always an encouraging comment, a suggestion, or a question! 5. Pat at Bell Creek Quilts. She shows you ALL her life, the good projects, and mistakes, and especially photos of things you might not want people to see (like under your cutting table)!

Monday Goals

I don't think I will have any "goals" this week, other than to make it through. I have two days of Dr. appointments and tests, then leave Tuesday afternoon for an out of town funeral. We will be very close to Mankato, so will spend a day with Laura Beth and Nick. My life will be a little crazy.

But to keep busy I loaded up the tossed salad top, and have started quilting on it. I am trying a new panto called Feathered Fun by Lisa Calle. I love pantos like this, it just "flows" as you are quilting. My sister also brought me some of her cookies she baked today--cracker jack and peanut butter. YUM!

Sunday Stash Report and my Sweet Peas

This week I did add some backing fabric to my stash, some 110" wide flannel--2 1/4 yds. It is to go on the back on my tossed salad top. I have them ready to load on my machine so it won't stay in my stash long. And then I can count all that fabric as a finish!!! Woohoo!! And my perennial sweet peas are starting to bloom. This plant is about waist high, and has many more buds on it. There is a wayward mum behind it.

Quilt Show

Woohoo--my friend won one of those wonderful basket doorprizes!! It was full of goodies, handmade napkins, pillowcase, needle punch candy jar, an Angel, FQ's, Quilt patterns, you name it I think it was in there!



And here is the picture of the raffle quilt with my friend Shirley!! Although I didn't win it, the lady who did was thrilled!!

Here is my friend Betty again, with a quilt entered by my bestest friend!! She belongs to the guild and we entered it in the show too.



It's been a great day, had lots of fun and I'm so glad my friend won one of the baskets. I won a small door prize, it's a quilt shop directory book. Very handy item!!!

Saturday Fun Day

Yesterday I was busy with those things you don't escape, laundry, cooking, cleaning those "unknown" items out of the fridge. But I couldn't leave my tossed salad top alone. I found some GREEN fabric and used it in a border. In that green were scattered tiny periwinkle flowers, so dug in my stash and found some periwinkle blue!! I added just a tiny strip folded and sewn on the green, I think it frames the top and just gives it a finished look. Today I am taking a friend with me to the quilt show, will spend part of the afternoon there and then pick up my quilts at the end. And today is the drawing for the raffle quilt, wish me luck!!

I just thought of it, my green border is the same color as my KenQuilt Princess Long arm. Can you tell I LOVE green??

Motivation Friday

It must have been fate as I was reading May Britt's blog today and her friend's Merethes challenge to blog every day in July about a photo, a thought, an experience. I was drinking my coffee and pondering my friend's 90th birthday this week, I was wondering--what do you give someone whose 90 years old for a present? What would they wish for? And me, what would I wish for?? And I knew. I would love to visit my mother and grandmother. Probably the two most influential people in my life. I am having moods of nostalgia today, brought on by making potato salad! It makes me remember how much my daughter loves it, how my mother and grandmother always served it for summer family gatherings. So today I am celebrating my childhood memories. Blooming old fashioned yellow shrub roses that smelled so wonderful. Peonies and petunias! Rhubarb pie.

Quilt Show Setup

Oh, the quilt show looks to be lots of fun!! See the baskets for door prizes??









Next is Phyllis, she brought her quilts in a rolling suitcase. Smart woman, that Phyllis!!












Here are the ladies checking in quilts. It was a LONG list. If you look carefully, in the background you can see our guild's quilt stands. Phyllis's husband made them several years ago and our guild rents them out to other guilds.












And here is Ruby, she is my friend who loaned me a sewing machine plus tools so I could make the pineapple smoothy quilt while we lived in a motel for five months. Ruby used a garbage bag to haul her quilts.


Our quilt show is held in an school gym. We are limited on room, that is why we only bring four full size quilts. Can you imagine how much room we might need if we all brought 8-10 quilts??!!!

Quilt Show Preparations, Tossed Salad Blocks

I'm home for a few days, tomorrow starts the biennial Heartland Quilters Guild show. I've picked the quilts I'm taking and also packed up my best friend's quilts. We are limited to four full size quilts each and then we can take little wall hangings etc to be hung in wherever they fit. Our guild has about 50 members--so if everyone would bring four quilts, well, you get the idea!! There is also a quilt raffle, I will try to remember to take a picture of the quilt, everyone cross your fingers that I win it!!

And I've taken a picture of my tossed salad blocks, I have them together in a top, trying to decide what to do next. Any ideas?? It will make a great quilt for laying about on the sofa, so far the top measures 60x70". I think it needs a couple of borders yet. This was made totally from stash, whatever I found already cut (lots of green leftover strings from the pineapple smoothy) and then I just a few more strings! Random, scrappy, just the way I like them! And I also think I'd like fleece on the back, it will make it very soft and cuddly. Thank you Pam Peck and Fons and Porter for this pattern!

Monday Goals

Don't think I will set any goals this week. I am volunteering at the Visitor Center, involved in a quilt show, and have some Dr. appts. So I will be busy!! Internet was down all weekend at the Visitor Center, so no opportunity to catch up on my blogging! But the weather has been great, and the view from the Visitor Center is spectacular! I took along a quilt to bind, and FORGOT my thimble! So today I am doing errands and that is on my list for sure!

Thursday Mumblings

Today we put the waterproofing on the deck and pergola. I was going to do it by myself, but I was just TOO SHORT and had to have Ken help me. He did the top and the floor while I did the railings and spindles. It was warm today and we used a latex sealer, so it went very fast. I just wanted the wood to age by itself, didn't want to stain the deck, so we'll see how this works. We dug out the patio furniture and put it on the deck, is really quite nice to sit on. And the carpenters built trellises on the sides next to the house for my clematis to climb on. Has anyone ever moved a wisteria?? I have two I would like to move next to the deck and let them climb over the pergola. Poor things got trimmed back drastically last year, and now are blooming.

My goals are going quite well this week, I made them very small!! The deck is sealed, the tossed salad blocks are put together, and the pink hearts quilt only needs the hand stitching of the binding down. Whew!! I will be gone until next week, I am at the visitor center Fri-Sat-Sun. So Ken will have the deck all to himself.

Favorite Quilt Books

Becky asked what our favorite books were, and I have two. The first one is Two Color Quilts.
I enjoy the quilts in there, and have an Irish Chain started in blue and white. My other favorite book is Big Book of Best-Loved Quilt patterns. Lots of vintage patterns in both of them.
I spend a lot of time paging through these two books for ideas.

Tonight I assembled all my tossed salad blocks into a top, I will look at it again tomorrow, I think it needs a border or two. The pink heart quilt has it's binding sewn on, all that is left is the hand stitching. WooHoo!! I like this part of quilting, I find it very relaxing. And yes Julia, you can come and visit me and we can sew bindings by the dozens!!
Sweet Pea also asked about pictures of containers we use in our sewing rooms. Hmm--I will definitely say I have a basket fetish!

#1 has geometric scraps


#2 holds thread

#3 is a woven palm basket from Hawaii and holds orphan blocks

#4 is an egg basket holding a UFO

#5 is a flat basket that holds bobbins and things for my long arm

#6 is a little basket hanging on the wall that holds small cones of threads, clothespins, and sharpie markers.

Monday Goals

I am home until Thursday night, hmmm, what kind of goals can I set??

1. Finish the pink heart quilt
2. Seal the deck
3. Trim my tossed salad blocks

Think that's enough goals for this week, I am volunteering Fri-Sat-Sun and does that make me feel old!! But I also want to pack my traveling sewing kit--you know--featherweight, cutting board, rubbermaid sewing box (that has about EVERYTHING you might need) and a few projects. What I like best it to take quilts that need the binding hand sewn down, perfect for sitting in my lawn chair in the evenings. I also set my sewing machine outside under the awning on my picnic table when the weather is nice. Too much wind and my awning flaps and my pieces fly away! You would be surprised how much sewing you can get done in a camper without a TV or a Husband!

Motivation Friday

Checked my goals, and I've done fairly well. The big bedspread quilt is off the Princess, Ken and I got some rubbermaid totes and packed away some of the things from the basement. I looked at shelving, Ken wants permanent type shelves, but I want portable, stand by themselves kind. We also bought some more floor fans, and I've got the pink quilt loaded and bobbins wound. I have even started quilting it. I am using the panto "Wandering Daisies", this quilt is for a little girl's birthday, isn't it darling??!! And my deck is done, I love it already. I doubt I will get much time to sew before Monday, I spend Saturday and Sunday at the Visitor Center.

Wednesday Ramblings

The deck is shaping up nicely, the carpenters are down to the pergola and trellises on the sides. This morning they gave me a shopping list of wood they needed yet, and Ken and I made a quick trip to get it. I don't think it will take them much longer, maybe it will be done by tomorrow.

And I did a little quilting after they left yesterday and finished the quilt on the long arm. I like how it looks, I tried to get a good picture of the back with the solid backing and varigated thread, but it just faded out in the sun and you couldn't see it. Maybe later I can try a shot inside.

It's a beautiful day here, warm without being hot and a nice breeze. The guys teased me when I sat on my deck with my diet pepsi, said "you're supposed to be drinking a beer when you're on your deck!" Maybe iced tea and a hammock??

Deck started but no sewing

Today the carpenter's started my deck. I want a pergola above it, and they will have to draw the plans up themselves for that, so materials are not here for that.

The peonies are in full bloom, this is the first year they are loaded with blossoms, I think it just took them a while to be established and LIKE where I planted them. There are also columbines everywhere, they are so prolific if I don't sometimes cut them back they try to take over. Finally there are some Lathyrus Latifolius in several places, these are also old fashioned perennials, they are also called perennial sweet peas.

I haven't been able to sew, if I run the Princess, I am on the same circuit breaker as the carpenters. But I'm glad the deck is being worked on!

Monday Goals

I'm so far behind, not sure what to make for goals!!! Okay--I'll try

1. Finish quilt on Princess
2. buy some more fans and rubbermaid totes to pack up stuff that's sitting around to go back into basement
3. Look at shelving for basement to clear up some of the clutter
4. Ready pink quilt for quilting

Think that's enough, I am supposed to have insurance adjusters stopping and carpenters coming to build my deck this week. I am about three WEEKS behind schedule.

Sunday Stash Report

No new stash. And so far I don't remember removing any stash due to flooding! The water is mostly gone in town, except for the creek and the low lying areas. See lots of stuff setting out around people's home, they are cleaning their basements. But on the bright side--I had a Dr. Ruppel clematis I just planted last year, and after sitting in the water--she bloomed!!!