Weave It to Me photo!

Monday I misplaced my Weave It to Me photo - somehow or other - and probably erased it.  At any rate I just finished re-taking the photo.

My Weave It to Me flimsy

Actually I think this is upside down since the pale blue on the far right is really strip number 1 and belongs on the left!!!  Is it perfect?  Nyet!  And no, I'm NOT pointing out all the errors!  Let's just say that if I do something with stripes in it again - I think I will put a reminder up as to which way they go!  And yes, it does need a really good press.  However it IS kitten approved (Scrappy is her name - one of 5 that I have and who is a BIG HAM!)

Oh yeah - the piled up and un-folded laundry at the foot of my bed - is now back on the bed - waiting PATIENTLY (as it has for the last week) for me to fold it and put it away!)  I think I will do that - AFTER I finish my current project - based on the Fancy Flowers quilt block - which will be a table topper - and, no, I'm NOT into round tablecloths.  My machine does NOT quilt round!

Design Wall 06-18-12

Hmm - my picture of my completed flimsy has vanished - will post this to my design wall this PM. 

Underground RR is on my schedule for this week.  Should finish by weekend.  No new pix at this time.

Also on my schedule - June challenge - I want to finishthis one today - am thinking of the Fancy Flowers with another block (which I have yet to figure out)  Maybe a 9 patch or a snowball type.

Arizona Skies - I'd LIKE to have completed by next weekend - or at least very close to it - mostly because I have a class then......  no new pix here either.

New challenge - baby blanket - actually some adorable fabric which will figure in 3 baby blankets - this is the first one.

State of the Garden - 06-19-12

I worked in the garden yesterday evening - and was able to ...... PICK my first Pea Pods!!!!  Yeehaw!  (Then I counted them!)

Of course -= there ARE more pea pods coming - and, no - those are NOT dried out.  Those are pea pods from India - and are SUPPOSED to be yellow! 

Re the peas - I also took pictures of the garden - Peas.....

As you can see - these peas are flowering!  (they are also not necessairly climbing the support either but kind of leaning all over everywhere!!!)

Beans still have some major misses - but are really doing pretty well.  No blooms yet - but some are climbing the fence.

This morning I finished weeding the salad section - and finally was able to plant the leeks (they were too small before now) - we'll see how they do - especially if the birds leave them alone!!!!!)

Yesterday I transplanted some of the late broccoli and cauliflower that I had planted in the garden (remember, the birds LOVED the coles that I had planted in the greenhouse and chowed down so happily!)  Cabbage plants, brussel sprouts and Collards that I had planted in the garden were still too small to be transplanted.  Re broccoli and cauliflower - I still have extras!

This morning I also weeded the rest of my sweet corn/okra and squash beds - as well as the watermelon, eggplant, pepper and tomatillo beds.  I have some misses - blasted birds!

Tomatoes look great - I do need to get some support in for some of them however.  Wonder if I can rig up something for the pumpkin vines?

Potatoes are blooming (some of them) and I am sooooooooooooooo late getting extra dirt in - will work on that starting this evening - maybe an hour a day until I get done???? 

I looked at the rest of the root crops - and it's a very mixed bag - mostly about misses - beets - yes, unless you count golden beets - which apparently the birds also love.  Only a dab of the parsnips sprouted and some of the salsify that had sprouted seems to have disappeared.  However right now that is a weedy mess and I will have to go through there and take closer look.

Have determined that I want more blueberries - maybe this fall?  Also I want to move my rhubarb plant over this direction - and maybe subdivide it - I sure like rhubarb and need a lot more!

Also this year I have added flowers as well - 2 rose bushes and some petunias - hope to expand that this month as well.

As for the State of the Garden....  There ya have it!!!!

Stash Report for 06-17-12

Lap quilt flimsy finish (almost - one row left - and will finish that when I go back in - and I'm counting it DONE! at least as far as being a flimsy!)

Used This Week:  7.5 yards
Used This Month: 24 + 7/8 yards or 24.875 yards
Used Year to Date: 70 + 7/8 yards or 70.875 yards
Added This Week: 1 yard (pellon interfacing - fusible) - oops, doesn't count - that is a NOTION or SUPPLY - therefore added this week is 0.0 yards (Yeehaw!)
Added This Month: 9.50 yards
Added Year to Date: 24.67 yards
Net Used for 2012: 44.205 yards

And next week is a FABRIC SALE - in several MA quilt shops around me (not the Shop Hop - but sort of a summer revival of it!).  Do I NEED more fabric?  Nyet!  However.... I have been lusting after both the bug jars - AND the canned fruit and veggie jars for a long long long time - so...  guess what!  I will be adding some to my stash!  Now to just make sure that is ALL I add!!!!!

I've just been informed that Pellon is NOT a fabric (YAY!!!!!)  So I've removed it - and adjusted the stash report accordingly!  (YAY!!!) 

Oh - and you KNOW (just like I know, sigh!) what will happen next Saturday!!!!!  However I am taking only so many dollars with me - thinking of leaving my cc home - but that would be when I would have problems filling the gas tank - so it will probably go with me!

June Color Palette Challenge

Hmm - this month I LOVED the colors that Vicki Welsh posted.  However, once again my interpretation of one of the colors was slightly different from the color- chart illustrated since I would have sworn I saw a lemon yellow in there! 

However - I have decided to go along with the color chart - and am intending to use THESE colors/fabrics in a table topper (due in - gasp - 14 days!)  Mind you, I'm still at the complete the flimsy stage since I really have very little experience in quilting per se!  And yes, one of the pinks in the picture looks like it will fade into the pink behind it (drat it!) and the salmon in the front shows up as entirely too dark from what it is.  Also the green DOES need to be a bit more yellow-y - however it is what I have!

Pattern is what I'm indecisive about!  I REALLY wanted a rose - a BIG rose - medallion type.  And - yes, I could take a photo, then put it all on a grid and pick and choose in my colors for something approximating and giving the feel of the real thing.  As it stands I REALLY REALLY hate most of the roses I see in piecework - and my applique skills at this point will cause a hyena to die from laughing so hard!

So in the interest of that - one of the patterns I'm considering is Fancy Flowers - but that has some problems too - and so I'm thinking about it!  At least this weekend - and with the intent of working on this bright and early on Monday.

At any rate my dd Wendy and I played 15 hard work/45 play (quilt) this morning - and so now - I'm thinking of heading outside to either plant - or bury (depending on how dried out they are) the remainder of the petunias I got yesterday.

Design Wall for 06-11-12 - uh.... it's the 15th!!!!

Oops!  It's the 15th - and I FORGOT to post pix of my Sweet Treats!

Tonight is Open Sew - and I'll be taking my Underground RR with me - hopefully to at the least put the sashing on (and finish the remaining 2 blocks)

And then there's the Double Irish Chain (blushing here - I haven't gotten to the Second block yet!!!

(And of course, I like the "buggy" theme enough to want to do something with the buggy fabric I'm using on my sewing machine wall!)

And there's the Arizona Skies - uh, really named Tequila Buzz except that I don't drink very often - so Arizona skies sounded to me like something a lot more friendly!!!

Haven't gotten very far on that one either - but next week - watch out!!!!!

Aargh!!!!!

Sometimes computers are a pain in the...... Sitdown! 

My computer started in with the virus BIG time on Sunday (right after I posted to Judy - hint here.....  EVERYBODY - do a Norton scan just to make sure you didn't "catch" anything!!!!!)  So I ended up deleting EVERYTHING - and uploading my backup discs. 

Unfortunately one thing I do NOT have on my backup discs are pix!!!!  I can pick up all my Siggies the same way I did the other 2 times I had to do a mass delete or change computers - BUT the pix - well... what's here is what's here.  What was on my computer is LONG gone!  Esp. since I erase what was on my camera everytime I upload pix (keeps me from getting REALLY confused about what's on here - and what isn't!)

That being said - it's really not that much of a biggie (I hope!) since I do have some sort of info on here re pix and where I am etc.  Hopefully!!!! (thought - I'll just download back again onto my computer!  Hopefully!)

Re Design Wall Monday - it will be back here again later today (as soon as I find my camera and take more pix!)

And for those interested in my garden - it is still in the beginning to grow stages (except for potatoes which are trying to bloom - BEFORE I can get them all hilled up!)  Re the "larnin'" part - well.... I need to do that!  Preserving - my strawberries are I think just about done - and boy are they good!  So good in fact that I've had strawberry this and that - and - uh, I ate them all!  Fortunately they put out runners so next year I should have even more!  Hopefully!

For now - I'm going to work on the Weave it to me that I was going to have done on Sunday - and didn't because I had to babysit the computer!

Note to me - ASAP - get a phone line into the sewing room so I can play computer WHILE I'm sewing!

Oh yeah - guess what!!!!  Last night I got a phone call from an ex-co worker (I was laid off last November - still maintaining contact with folks there - we were a close knit bunch!)  One of the main supervisors had her babies!!!!  I say babies - because she had TWINS!!!!  A boy and a girl!  And another co-worker also had her baby within the same month!  this is so neat! 

And of course, I'm thinking in terms of quilts and so on....  have to think on that a bit!  You know - I don't really miss working there - but I sure do miss the folks there - A LOT!  They are some pretty special people!

At any rate - I'm making plans to head south to my former workplace sometime either in July or August (depending on everyone's work schedules) and visit folks there again!  LOL - I may even bring down some of my quilts for Show and Tell!  And IF I decide to do a baby quilt - or 3 - I may decide that would be a good time to give them all around!

Stash report for 06-10-12

This includes the Sweet Treat Flimsy (just the flimsy with borders - picture up tomorrow), the Row by row that I completed and sent off (finishing up that swap!)

It does NOT include the Weave It to Me which I wil probably finish either later today - or tomorrow!
...........

Used This Week: 16 + 7/8 yards
Used This Month: 17 + 3/8 yards
Used Year to Date: 63 + 3/8 yards
Added This Week: 0 yard
Added This Month:9.50 yards
Added Year to Date: 24.67 yards
Net Used for 2012: 38.705 yards

State of the Garden..... Tues... no, it's Friday

Pix of the various plant beds - some well eaten by my "friendly" chipmunk or squirrel - and I wish he/she would stop it!!!!!  Oh yeah, in some instances - this is the 3rd or 4th re-planting....

The herb garden - needs work still!

Perrenial bed - needs more asparagus (a LOT more asparagus), as well as something to staple the fronds in an upright position!!!!  Also needs a LOT more rhubarb!!! and something to chase the bugs from the plant!  I forgot to take a picture of the strawberry bed - which still needs to fill in a bit -  but will hopefully do so this fall.

Peas and Bean bed in the garden - complete with areas munched up by the squirrel and/or chipmunk.  Blast it!  Replanted (and in some instances - re-munched!)

I have more pix of the garden - although not the stuff planted yesterday all on my state of the garden page.

Design Wall 06-04-12

This is the Sweet Treat Quilt.  Obviously it isn't finished.  All the messed up blocks were fixed and I was trimming to size - and.....  oops!  sliced the whole bottom of one block completely off!!!  However I had an extra block (which the gremlins must have eaten - and I hope it gave them indigestion!!!! 'cause it shore ain't here!!!!!)  Anyway - tonight after I finished up another project I worked on the sweet treat quilt - and fixed the unfortunate block (extra block STILL missing!  Actually - last I heard it was on a cruise to Alaska!) I suspect I will find THAT one when everything is done and I've learned how to quilt!

Currently however (this picture was taken BEFORE I added the sashing) everything is in rows - and just needs to be sewn together, borders added (NO idea what color border!!!!) and that's that!

Oh yeah - the last 2 rows are a tad bit different since there is entirely too much yellow all together!  One of the yellows moves up to the pink place, the ok pink block moves to the green place,  and the green with the orange center moves down to the middle with the other pink (all fixed) is on the end!

This isn't the only thing on my wall!  for sure!  churn dash is still there - and untouched.  Double Duty hasn't been touched since last week.  Same for Az Skies.  The threadhead quilt is DONE - and that mini-design board has been dissembled.  The Weave It to Me is essentially (though not completely) untouched.

And then there is the Irish Double Duty quilt - which I've been going nuts over - since my last class is this week - and because I'm working on a queen-size quilt - it is taking a while!  That I'm putting on my design wall - probably tomorrow.  It's too late tonight and I'm going to bed!  G'nite all!

And - ANOTHER finish!!!!

Actually THIS one was supposed to be later this week - then was moved to last night.... BUT about the time that I caught myself nodding off while ripping out seams - and basically thinking STUPID - I said - that's it!

So - I got up early and started in sewing (it's raining out so I can't garden anyway!)  Then went to Wallyworld and bought in supplies for my kitties - plus 2 supposed to be flannel backed tablecloths (they aren't!)  Came home - AND FINISHED the Row x Row!  Yeehaw!  It's NOT perfect by any means - but it's as done as I'm going to do it - and there is one block I would suggest doing some stuff to it - not a lot - but that's my block from Hell and I'm sick of that block!  Sick!!!!

Pix are on a new page  - Flimsyville - and if you noticed - the Threadhead page has vanished - because it's done - at least until the final quilting!

Design wall page is next followed by the rest of the Sweet Treats - and my Irish Double Chain (due on Wed!!!! I'm almost halfway done!)

Tomorrow I'm going to try to get the rest of the tomatoes in and take pix.  But I found SOMETHING (squirrel?  chipmunk?) is DIGGING in my garden and has dug up my beans I re-planted last week!  I found holes - BIG holes!  Hmmmmm!!!!

LOL _ a friend wants me to make homemade strawberry jam for her.  Yeah right!  Problem is I keep EATING the strawberries!!!!
 

Today.....

Today I've been so far pretty much playing.  Am just about to head outside (it's getting cloudy like it will rain again!) - and thinking of pulling weeds out of my once tilled tomato and melon sections of the garden - that plus cleaning up the rest of the way around my raspberry bushes (which may/may not have berries this year - not sure but I think the late frost got them).  IF I can - I'll transplant my tomatoes/peppers/eggplants.  Melons aren't ready yet - but I do need to check on them in the greenhouse.  Will post pix after I take them!!!!

More later!!!
............................................



Whew!!!  Nice weather outside - BUT!!!  Mosquitos and chiggers like it too!  fortunately I have a "natural" bug spray (has cloves in it for one thing).  Unfortunately - I forgot to put it on until the mosquitos had already thrown a party!

Anyway - the MELON patch has had weeds pulled.  So has the tomato patch.  AND some of the eggplant/pepper patch.  I made PART of the paths (my feet are notorious for going where I dont want them to!) - and pooped out!  At any rate - that was almost 2 hours (ok - so was only 1 hour 40 minutes - so sue me!)

Next on the list - my 15 minutes torture chores and 45 minutes patchwork bliss!  Yeehaw!!!!  Pix later!

Stash report for June 03-2012 - already again!

Used This Week:  0.5 yards
Used This Month: 0.5  yards
Used Year to Date: 46.5 yards
Added This Week: 9.50 yard
Added This Month:9.50 yards
Added Year to Date: 24.67 yards
Net Used for 2012: 21.83 yards


And here's another picture of my "finish" (keeping in mind that I count flimsies as a finish as well! esp since I don't quilt as of yet!  Other than rudimentary stuff!)

This is the Threadhead Mini Sampler with one block pieced FOUR times because I kept losing it (either that or the cats especially liked it!)  Yardage is "guesstimated" - quiltlet measures 16" by 12" - and this is without backing or binding - BUT keep in mind that one piece (QSTs) I had to REMAKE FOUR TIMES!!!!!  and the last time was REALLY fun since I was out of the fabric in question and had to cannabalize something else (which involved finding something different for THAT block!)

Yee-haw! Another finish!!!

This mini quilt was a design/challenge from the Threadhead blog - and a lot of fun to do (up until I turned the 'points' around and made a different to me 'star' that wasn't - if you know what I mean!  And then proceeded to lose/re-do FOUR times 2 of the tiny blocks that make up the points!D).  And by NO means is it "perfect".  BUT it is DONE - and MINE - and that' all that counts (other than getting it quilted!).  I was going to add applique - but not now.  I'm just glad to get it done!  (And I have the 'perfect' little table to put it on, too!)

Judy's (PWP) "Muesday"!

I am NOT in favor of getting sick, then getting UN-energized and with a holiday thrown in - because SOMETIME I have to pay the piper - and personally, I'd rather the piper was paid bit by bit than all at once!

This morning I had a dress try on.  Note to self - STOP EATING!!!!  Seriously!  While I was sick - the ONLY things that seemed to agree with me were definite carbs - of the crackers/bread variety!  That and icy fattening beverages!  Now you KNOW where this is heading don't you!  Yes - I COULD fit into the dress that was ordered - BUT - I would rather lose 5 - 10 pounds to get remotely back to where I was!!!  Provided, that is, the 5 - 10 pounds comes off where I want it to!  And not some place new and different!  And wierd!

Drive to Sturbridge and back was GORGEOUS!  Glad I went!  Although it would have been nicer if I had scheduled it on a day when Nathan and Lynn were available!

LOL _ on Nathan and Lynn - lol - he said something about finishing up things and I burst out laughing.  His comment at that point was "don't you think I will get this done pretty soon?"  Uh.... this is NOT a  question I want to answer!  And I KNOW he is busy!  However....  all that aside - I also know that he (like ....uhm....er.... me!) tends to underestimate the time something will take and overestimate his abilities to accomplish something!  I am HORRIBLE at this!  And he learned quite well!  So I REALLY hate to even consider answering his question - only now, because I TRIED unsuccessfully to evade the question, he knows....!!!!!

On the schedule – GARDEN – REPLANT those Peas, spray everything with stinky onion/garlic spray, set Pfred the big bird back up (and hope he scares the other birds away from my veggies!).

HOUSE – clean back steps, side porch, front porch, my room and laundry room. Spend at least 15 minutes decluttering my living room.

PAPER – self explanatory! (Essentially! – actually my goal is to not be buried beneath it!)

SEWING – two-fold – take stock of what I need for summer – and scrounge what I can sew up for that. Finish that mini-quilt, work on project for tomorrow’s class (hopefully up through remaining Block A sewing today ’cause tomorrow I want to work on Sewing Block B and sewing the blocks together).

An Owl named Pfred!

In honor of the 4 beds of missing peas (unless you count the remains scattered throughout the cabbages, potatoes, etc. - several beds away) and the missing cabbages (also scattered a bit of everywhere) and the 1 empty bed of beans (first up - now gone - with big ploddy holes where the plants used to be) - I decided to add Pfred!  Now Pfred has a job - to horrify and otherwise terrorize all the birds!  At least that's what the salesman said (it didn't help that the salesman was a gorgeous hunk!  Price was certainly not THAT expensive - although..... no Pfred would have been cheaper!)  Personally I'm not so sure about that!  Supposedly he can sit in the middle of my row (bed) or on a fence post (won't straddle my T-posts - though I wouldn't necessarily want to either!)  Supposed to scare the what-for out of the birds.  I think he looks adorable  with great big eyes and a swivel around neck. 

Design Wall in progress Monday - 05-28-12

Hah!  It IS Monday! 

Re design wall - I'm in process (eventually) of re-doing my design wall(s) - involving shelf brackets (2), flannel backed tablecloths (3-4???), skinny rods and a sewing machine to sew a sleeve on/through/whatever.  This was something suggested by a friend - and should work - and will work to create not only a somewhat almost stable but also a traveling design wall (to take to class). 

So - all I have to do is get the tablecloths and those skinny rods (which name escapes me until 2 or 3 AM when I'm sound asleep).  IF the stores are open - then today I will have at least ONE new design wall.  If not - then I'll post the results on tomorrow's!  Pictures of the process forthcoming (as soon as I get out the dustrag and broom!)