Another Monday Day....

Today started out like every other weekend. Yep, walked 2.5 miles.

Got home and got ready for my time in town. Needed to get my hair cut (actually trimmed), bank, and then post office. I needed to get some stuff done and was able to get it all done in an hour and a half. That made me feel good. Came home and had lunch.

After lunch, I worked on my block.

It turned out great.

I need to iron it and it's done. It came out pretty good. It will go with the other blocks. Now that I have some colors to work with, I can get the next block or two worked on to go together.

After that, I worked on my cross stitch. Ended up taking out just as much as I put in. I can't wait to try that new method I have read about on Instagram. He does an awesome job and I'm going to try his technique. I was going to post his name but can't find him right now.

Took out way too much today! Oh, well. Happy Quilting!

What A Day......

What a day! Started out early. Enjoyed free time. Then it was off again.

Went to the movies to see "The Secret Life of Pets." It was good. I enjoyed it. The weird part was that the first 15 mins of the movie is what has been advertised. Well worth seeing. More movies are coming out that look good to.

Went outside to pick more blueberries. Found some really pretty flowers blooming out there.

I love whats out there.

Sent Patrick the photos so he can post them on his Instagram page. I usually do all that.

Grapes are growing! It's going to be a good year.

I'm working on the flower. I hope to have it on the background soon. I finished up the blue and now I have to add the pieces on the left side. Then I can sew on the center piece.

Being in the mood for Happy Quilting!

Out and About

Today I was up at 6:30 am. Just couldn't get much sleep. Patrick slept in. When he was up, we were off.

We had a good time till about 2 pm when mom called and left a message. We called them back and were invited out to dinner. We had about a half hour to do what we wanted and then we were off to dinner. We had a good time. Came home and played games.

Last night I spent the time appliqueing the flower together. I have the center ready but need to add the blue to one more petal.

This is the center. The green in the background is the leaf. I'm almost ready to applique it all to the block background.

I'll probably work on that tonight or tomorrow. I do want to get at least one of the 4 blocks done, so I can have something to go with the other finished blocks.

I really need to get back to my cross stitch as well. I'll work on it tomorrow. I'm wanting to get it done by the end of the month. Really loving the outcome.

So, today was an "out and about" day. I got very little done today. Happy Quilting!

Quilting and Visit With A Friend.

Today Ruth wasn't up to it to walk....so today was not the "norm" for me. I didn't get out and walk. I did get the cake ready for our quilt meeting. I had told the group I would make the cake for the meeting.

I left early to go to moms. I brought along the cake. Then one of the gals came in with a pie. I couldn't believe it. I had told everyone that I would bring the desert. Oh, well. I worked on my "patchwork and crosses" at mom. I found her scraps and started cutting out the piece. I did get quiet a bit done before I had to leave. I got tired of cutting, so I started to applique the center of my blocks flower.

I worked a little on this block.

At about 11 am, I left for my meeting with a friend. We had lunch and laughed about a few things. It was good to see her, hadn't seen her in about 6 months. She's looking good.

Came home and worked a little more on the block. I wanted to take pictures of my blocks so far. Then I noticed my "Guilt wall." I took this down so I could see how the blocks were looking.

So far so good. I'm liking what I see. 4 blocks are done. The one on the right was turned into me today by Nancy. I need to take them back for them to sign their blocks.

This is Nancy's block.

Ethel's block.

Mom did this one.

Bev did this one. I still need to add the yellow in the center of the purple area.

Last night I worked on the two hummingbirds on the sides. It's coming along and I'm getting excited about getting this done. The outlining is really going to be fun!

But tonight I'm going to work on the block. I need to get one of the four blocks done. If everyone is starting to turn theirs in, then I need to get moving on them. I really do want to finish it as it comes in. Which means, I'm still Happy Quilting!

Blueberries and Basting a Baby Quilt!

This morning was a good morning for walking. We get a good 2.5 miles during the week days. I actually enjoy walking with her.

Came home and realized I needed to get to my blueberries. I picked about 10 cups of blueberries. It took two trips. I filled one pot and then I came in to clean them.

Mom arrived around 11:30 am and we went downstairs to baste the baby quilt she has for my nephew and his wife that are due in August. It won't take her long to have it done. I haven't done anything, gave up on doing quilts and things for all my nieces and nephews. My older brothers children are having children and it seems like one after another. He has 5 children, and in Aug. all of them will have had one child. One of my nephews is headed for the 2nd child in that family. I may do something for him. That baby isn't due till December.

I've been busy with my cross stitch again.

Working on the hummingbirds on both sides of the piece.

I'm enjoying my days. Tomorrow is quilting at moms and lunch with a friend. I'm looking forward to less busy weeks. Thursday and Friday quilting will now be different weeks. That's going to help me out. I hated it when I was busy a week, then less busy, and back to busy. We don't have BE meetings until the 18th, and I'm missing the group already.

I'm back to working on my projects, and have ideas for my quilt for dad. I'm beginning to get back to working on them. I need to pull out my light box and work on some ideas. I'm going to have to applique and embroider dad's Security Service patch for the quilt. I'll see what I can do. I have a couple ideas that would work.

Worried at times at where our country is going. We have become a country that points fingers. Patriotism is loosing. Time will tell.

In the meantime I'm Happy Quilting!

Laundry and Quilting...

This morning started out like most of my mornings. We walked 2.5 miles. Came home and told myself I would only play for an hour....well, I actually went 1.5 hours. Not bad, because I had plans for today. I got the dishes going in the dishwasher, because I forgot to run it last night. Then I put laundry in the washer. Patrick mentioned this morning he was out of tee shirts. lol - Only because I HATE white clothes! I tend to wait til I run low on my white socks. So, poor Patrick has to wait on his tee shirts too. I got them washed, folded and put away! Now I can breath again till it gets full again. lol

I went downstairs and put my sewing machine back together. I also worked on what I was doing yesterday. I sewed the strips together and got them ready to sew.

Made another mess, but hey!, I was on track!

Had some visitors while I was in the quilt room.

Mom'a with her two babies. These are the same ones from the other day. They were enjoying the apples on the ground.

This is how I was getting "prepared" to do more work. I was putting the paper on the pieces and setting them by the sewing machine. I was hoping to do some today but didn't make it. I did get a lot ready to work on.

This is my stash to work on when I'm ready. I put in a good 2-3 hours of working on these. I was thrilled to get even this far. I'll work on it tomorrow, if I get the chance. Mom called and said she needed help getting Jason's quilt ready for his baby. So, I'm thinking we will be basting it.

This is the fabric I bought yesterday for the QOV quilt for dad. I will be using the black soon. I have printed out the lettering I want to use for "USAF" and need to make them a little fatter. I'll be pulling out the light box. I also was looking for dad's patch so I could add it to the quilt. I couldn't find the one he gave me. I'm going to see if mom has another one and I'll add that one. Mom called and I couldn't ask her for it because dad was listening to the conversation.

These came in the mail yesterday! I was so excited! I only paid $2 for the patterns. I paid $3.75 for the needles.

Told Patrick I bought this, but wish I had a granddaughter to give it to. lol - I may do it anyway for someone else's grand-baby or even baby. Katt has enough friends having babies that I could do them for her to give away. Not sure yet if I really want to do that.

Cut the eyes and beak out for the eagle. Will probably put that one tonight.

This was the photo I wanted to show last night but didn't have it yet.

I also worked on my cross stitch today. I am getting the left side worked on. I love the way it's coming along. I started work on the hummingbird feeder on the left side.

For the first time in a long time, it felt good to be Happy Quilting!

Working at QOV Meeting

Today started out with a long walk - nothing new there. We then picked blueberries at Ruth's place. We got two tubs full. There is more to pick and will probably pick them tomorrow too. I need to pick ours, so if we don't do hers I'll be picking ours.

After getting home, I got the sewing machine packed up and ready to go. I even made some lunch that was tuna and crackers. I loaded up the car and realized I didn't have something to drink. I planned on going to Mickey D's for ice tea. Trouble was, the car decided not to start. I tried about 4 times before calling Patrick to let him know the car was not running. I text'd Donna to save a spot and that my car wouldn't start. Patrick said he was coming to jump start the car. I thought after about 5 mins, I could try one more time. Wouldn't you know it, it worked. Called Patrick and said the car was running, so he didn't need to come.

Got on the road, realizing I missed my drink, so had to detour to get my ice tea. Made it to Ruby Street Quilt Works by 10:45 am. So, I was about 15 mins later that I wanted to be. We had a good meeting. Plenty of quilts coming in and that makes me feel good. I need to get another quilt done for them, as everyone else is getting a lot more done then me.

The other day, I did finish this. I'll have a photo of it tomorrow as I'm going to redo the "knob" on the post. Donna and I agree that it needs to be black. I bought some black and blue fabric today. I got the blue to work for stars to go on this quilt. I'm going to make different blocks and then try to put them all together on the quilt.

Had the bright idea to do half square triangles at the meeting. I got a lot of them done. ONLY problem with that was that #1 they were the wrong size and #2 the set I pinned while there, I got the front of the fabric on the back! One can see what I did in this photo! I wasn't too happy about it, but Donna said to leave it. We can still use them. I figured what the heck, I will leave them. I ended up cutting the 3" blocks when I actually needed the 4" blocks. So, now I have about 3 different sizes going on! Never fails. I now have more work to do! More blocks, more fabrics, and more "pain in the butt." Oh, well, life is good and I'll get it done. May end up with a lot more quilt tops and that's good too.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to get more done in the way of Happy Quilting!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!

The past three days we have heard firecrackers go off in our back yard. Betting tonight will be the biggest. Not real sure I'm happy with all this fireworks going off, but it's our Birthday, so will enjoy it!

This was yesterday morning. I saw something out of the corner of my eye while playing. I looked over my shoulder and went after my camera. There were two deer walking by. Almost as if they wanted to tip toe.

I loved watching them. Funny how they are out with all this noise going on.

Today I slept in. Was up at 7:30 am and decided I didn't want to go walking. So, I didn't go. Patrick was actually up early for him. He worked outside.

While he was outside, I was inside ironing and cutting more of these pieces. This is called "Patchwork of Crosses" and I've been getting more scraps out to make more. I was going to take the mylar out of the backs, but figured I'd do better if I put the pieces together first. I needed to get more fabrics so I could put a set together and pull the mylar out.

I've been busy with the cross stitch as well. I seem to want to get this done! I'm really enjoying working on this and excited about starting that other piece I bought all that stuff for. I bought all that in February and it's now July. Guess I'm behind! Again, FINISH the cross stitch before starting another one! So far so good.

I'm slowly getting the center diamond area done. I'm getting the sides done as well. It's taking a while to get up there.

I worked on getting my stuff together for the QOV meeting tomorrow. I'm planning on being up there most of the afternoon working on another quilt top. I'll be working on the half square triangles for the quilts. I also need to work on dad's quilt, but will do that later. I found a "Security Service" patch (I know, I have one, but don't know what I did with it!), and printed it out. I'm going to figure out what or how I'm going to do it for the quilt. It will take some thinking. I'm going to use my light-box and see if I can get a good pattern for applique. I just don't think I want it as big as it is on what I printed. I'll figure something out.

Life is good, and I'm Proud to be an American! Happy Quilting!

Sunday At The Movies....

Today was a pretty day again. The sun was up and so was I. I enjoyed a couple hours while Patrick slept. When he got up, we were getting ready to go to the movies. We saw "The BFG." I loved the book, and this was just as good! This was a really good movie.

While I was in the movies, mom had called. Good thing my cell phone was on vibrate! She always seems to find me when I'm somewhere I can't answer the phone! Called her after the movies, and she wanted to know if we wanted to come over. We said we would. Stopped off at KFC to get some chicken. We got enough for everyone and then some. Brought some home as I love chicken.

Last night I was able to get quite a bit done one my cross stitch. I'm loving the way it is coming along. I have been checking out some information on how to do the next one. I love the way one of the other gals does it at a angle. I'm going to try that out. I'm going to work on "parking" as well. I've got another design that I'm going to do and that will be a good one for that. I'm actually looking forward to trying that out.

Because we went to mom's, I wasn't able to get anything done. I'm hoping to get an hour in now to get more done.

I will probably work on the tail feather on dads quilt block. I have few other ideas for more blocks for his quilt. I need to get moving on that too.

I saw one of the gals on Instagram that rotates her projects. She works on one thing for 7 to 10 days, then she changes it up to the next thing. I'm thinking that might help me! I haven't decided if I will do that, but it's worth a try. YEP, here I go again...more ideas! More things to do....ugh!

Happy Quilting!

Beautiful Day!

Today is another one of those days. I woke and played a few games before Patrick was up. We decided to get some shopping done. We headed up to Olympia to Costco. We figured we'd get some meat and head back. Then we'd go shopping to Safeway.

First we went to JoAnn Fabrics....Patrick can be a sweetheart! We walked in, and the line was a good block long. He got in line while I went to get some fabric for my embroidery. I couldn't find what I wanted but I did find a beige that was close. I picked my number, seeing they were serving #64. I then went and got two hoops for framing. I waited some more. Saw Patrick half way down the line.....10 mins later, the gal is still chatting with her customers, and taking her dear sweet time. After 15 mins, I put my fabric back, walked down to Patrick and said, I'm, done. He asked if there was something I wanted to get 'cause he'd wait. He had actually gone all the way done the line, and after letter 5 people go by, he got back in line! What a Sweetie!! Told him nope, not going to do that. We left. I'll check on line. Not going to JoAnn's again after that!

We did all that. The traffic was okay, but think we got a little lucky because it was slower than usual and busier than usual.

Came home and helped Phil pick a few berries. He got a few berries to enjoy.

I'm still getting work in on my cross stitch. Since I have to post daily what I've been doing, it's been keeping me up on track. I'm having fun working on this! I can't wait to start on the outlines.

Not much going on today, other than shopping and watching some John Wayne movies! I'm having a blast! Happy Quilting!

Hello Long Weekend!

Today was the usual, off for a walk. I came home and mopped the floor. Then I vacuumed the house. I wanted to get this place to look great. I've actually kept it clean compared to usual. I'm one of those that "plops" stuff on the dinner table. Then I just keep adding to it. When it gets to be too much, I start putting things away or Patrick beats me to it, and suggests the table needs to be cleared. I just laugh. It doesn't bother me when he says something because by the time he does, I've already gotten in my head to do something.

I washed my Brazilian embroidery piece. I had a hard time getting the pencil out of the fabric. I'm not happy about that. The fabric that I was using (came in the pattern) was Trigger fabric. I do not recommend that fabric. I've done enough embroidery over the years that I do know this is a piece of crap. It's too stiff! Even when one washes it, it's stiff! I don't like how the needles "pop" every time the needle goes through the fabric. I found out another fabric that will work better, and I'm going to go pick some up. It's part linen and that should work out great. I'm looking forward to getting that fabric.

While I was washing the piece, I pieced the binding on the QOV quilt. It only took a short while. I put it in the wash. I need to put it in the dryer now. I had a load in the dryer already, so stalling...going to do it here when I'm done typing.

After the quilt was bound, I pulled out dad's eagle. I've sewed down the head.

I also worked on the tail. I'm almost done with the tail. Once that is done, I will work on the branches and leaves. I'll add the flower to, I think. I'm still trying to decide. I have to work on more blocks for this quilt.

I was able to get more stitches in on the cross stitch as well. I'm pretty proud of myself for doing a couple things a day instead of just one thing. I'm pretty happy about the way things are going right now. The cross stitch is really coming along! Looks great and I'm still Happy Quilting!