Oh my! Can't believe I haven't posted in so long. It has been a busy week with meetings, doctor appointments, classes, etc.

This is birthday week at my house. Both DH and I turn a year older. We happen to be the same age. The bad part is my birthday is 5 days before his. I get to hear for 5 days how he is married to an older woman and how he is a younger man. I just tell him things are better with age!!! After those 5 days pass, ours lives settle back down for another year when the same thing happens all over again next September. Since we've been married 31+ yrs., I'm VERY accustomed to the routine.

On my birthday, I took myself out to a quilt shop in the area that I had not been to before. It was a nice little shop and I enjoyed myself. Only a couple of small items had to come home with me. I have not had time to take pictures, but try to get some and post them so you can see what I bought.

Yesterday was my applique class. We had so much fun. Most of the ladies are regulars who have been coming for a while. None of us really needed any help. We all just stitched and laughed and enjoyed one another. It was just a fun time. After class, we all do a little shopping. I found a wonder batik background to use for a future project. When there is a wonderful batik....if you don't grab it when you see it....it is usually sold within a week. Whole bolts have been known to sell during one class, so I got what I wanted yesterday since it was a new bolt. I'll try to get a picture of that too.

Just so this isn't a boring wordy post, I'll leave you with a photo of one of the botanicals I work on when I go to the applique class. This block is Wildrose.

Non-quilt related!!!

Warning! Nothing quilt related in this post. Just personal ranting and raving!

Does anyone other than me get those times where you feel like you are spinning your wheels and getting nothing done? I'm at one of those periods of time. I knew I wasn't going to get a lot accomplished this week as I had lots of errands, Wednesday sewing group, and clothes shopping to do for a wedding we are going to this weekend.

I think the clothes shopping yesterday has really put me over the edge! I hate clothes shopping!!! First I guess I need to describe myself and my likes. I'm of average height, a little overweight, and have short salt and pepper colored hair. I am not a trendy or flashy dresser. I don't wear a lot of accessories or jewelry...usually just my wedding ring, a silver necklace, and occassionally small hoop earrings. I love to wear denim and clothing that would best be described as classic and I feel most comfortable wearing pants, but enjoy wearing a dress now and again. If I had to use one word to describe me...it would be "casual". Now my question I would like to ask....who in the world is designing clothes these days and do they think the only people buying them are young things that are skinny as a rail and flat chested? What about us ladies who are 50 something, pleasingly plump, and have a bust????? Clothing I tried on yesterday looked awful! I had things hanging out of places I didn't know I had "things"! What's a girl to do when she wants a nice dress to wear to a wedding? Not glitzy....just a nice dress. I guess my solution is going to be...don't wear one.....wear pants!! I spent all day in and out of stores looking for said nice dress. I was tired, frustrated and cranky when I got home...and I came home with NO dress. I bought one shirt- jacket for fall and a pair of Capri pants and t-shirt for an upcoming trip to visit family in Texas. I bought the jacket because it was simple and a pretty color. I knew if I didn't buy it...when I wanted something like that I would never be able to find it. The stores would have replaced it with something awful looking. I have decided I am going to dig out my patterns and start polishing up my garment sewing skills. I refuse to spend my money on the offerings of current ready to wear garments!!! Guess the only good thing about yesterday....I sure saved DH a lot of money!

I guess I need to go to LQS today and fondle fabric so I can feel better!!

No Sewing...

No sewing for me yesterday, but I did see this out my back window.


Can you see him perched on the fence in the center of the photo?? A hawk! I told my kitty, Truffles, that she better be glad I don't let her go outside!! I'm sure this hawk would not have been nice to her.

I live in the Kansas City metro area, but I still get to see a fair amount of wildlife. There is a large park and lake not far from my home and I guess that is the reason why. I have also had this visitor in the middle of the day. Yes...that's right a white tailed deer.
This next picture isn't very clear...and the creature in it was in awful condition. Near the base of the tree that is in the center of the photo is a red fox.

He had almost no fur. I had the camera in one hand and the phone in the other hand. I was calling DH to ask him what I should do because the fox looked awful. He was burying a what looked like a mouse or a chipmunk.

As you can see from these and other pictures I have posted on my blog from time to time....I share my city lot with a variety of wild creatures from time to time!

This last week was not a productive one for me. I didn't do a lot of sewing and as you can see, I also didn't post to my blog. I'll try to do better this week, but I do know it is going to be a busy week...so don't hold me to this as a promise. I have grocery shopping and errands today, Wed. is sewing group and one of the elderly ladies is bringing her quilts to show, and Thurs. is applique class.

Darlene asked on her blog about what we do with our scraps when we finish a project. I have a Rubbermaid bin that I put mine in. I am very frugal... so I keep anything that I can get a 1 1/2 inch square from. Growing up and early in our marriage, money wasn't plentiful and I think about the fact that I paid as much for the scraps as I did for the fabric I used....and if it is a usable size....then that is throwing out money. Besides, I love scrappy quilts. They make me think of my grandmother as that is all she ever made. I have even been known to buy scrap bags to get colors that I don't often work with.

Here a few pictures of items where I have used scraps from other projects.
All of the pieces on my rocker were made from the scraps left over from a Trip Around the World quilt I made for DD when she went away to college. I still have a few 2 1/2 inch squares of fabric from that quilt left to use up.
I don't normally work with darker colors, but I was doing a block of the month at LQS and it was dark colors. I used some leftovers from that and bought a couple of $4 scrap bags and the quilt above is what I made with them. I found that pattern in a magazine....I can't remember which one, but I do know I still have it. The article said to not plan color arrangement....to just sew whatever you picked up together. They said the pattern would appear from the placement of the half square triangles and the squares. Hope you can see how the squares formed by the lines of the half square triangles appear in the close up photo. This top is queen size......and is a flimsy! I think I am going to try machine quilting this one by quilting in the ditch around the squares.
I also showed the cathedral window I have as an on going hand stitching project in an earlier post. I'm using some of the same scraps I used in the flimsy above...plus some from other projects. I'm not planning to use only darks in the CW. I'm going to use any color!
I also cut some of the dark scraps into strings and have been making blocks using those. I am saving dryer sheets, pressing them, and then using them as the foundation for sewing the strings. Then I trim them to a consistent size. When I have enough, I will put them together into a top.

If you have a project where you have used scraps....I would love to see it.

Sorry I haven't posted, but I've just been busy. Housework had been stacking up and there were somethings I just had to do. I have done a little sewing though. In my last post, I showed you a canvas bag that I had made to take to the grocery store. That bag was 15 inches tall, 14 inches wide, and 8 inches deep. I also mentioned that I was going to make another. I decided I was going to make a large one to carry a quilt to sewing group. I made that one 26 x 23 x 12 and I used scraps from the first bag to make the handles for this larger bag. I laid these two bags on the floor to take this pic.
DH walked in and asked about them. I told him the one on the right is for carrying groceries home.....the one on the left is for carrying fabric home from the quilt shop. He walked out with a silly grin on his face....and saying," I think you have that wrong!!!!"

I also had some novelty fabric on the shelf for a long while and I have wanted to make pillowcases to give to my niece. I got those done.
Last Friday I went to WalMart and while I was in the store, I thought about someone posting lately that their store wasn't going to carry DMC embroidery floss. Sorry, but I can't remember who posted that. I decided to check the store I was in. They had the floss clearanced for $0.10 a skein and the color selection was good. So.....I had to buy a few skeins as it has always been $0.28.
Some of the red is going in a package to my daughter this Christmas. I'm gathering various needlework goodies for her. I already have a book on Hardanger embroidery and some fabric because she enjoys doing that. I have some stitchery patterns with pictures of various coffee items and another with various herbs. I have some tea towels planned and will use the browns and greens on those. Just don't expect to see them soon! Oh....and I did check a second WalMart and their floss was also marked to $0.10. Guess it is on the way out here too!

I'm off to Wednesday sewing group this morning. I'm looking forward to that since I missed last week since I was sick. I don't go when I'm not well because some of the ladies are elderly and have health issues. I know that sewing group is about the only outing they have, so I don't go share germs with them. They just don't need that!

A Bird's Eye View

I was up early this morning and saw something strange on the roof of the house across the street from mine. What is that thing???? Yep, that's right....it is the Blue Heron that goes fishing in the pond by my house. I guess he was trying to get a real "bird's eye view" of things from his perch up there. I snapped a picture. Hope you can see him. He is in the center of the photo. It should enlarge if you click on the photo.


I did spend some time in my sewing room yesterday working on a few things that have been laying around for a while. Remember the sample I showed from the hand quilting class I took back in May. Well this is what I decided to do with it. I'll put it on the bed in the room that was once DS's. And yes, there is a fold bag in the bottom portion of the photo.


I also have some canvas that I had bought a couple years ago with the plans of making a bag. I decided yesterday was the day to do it. I didn't use a pattern and I didn't line it as this is going to become a bag to take the grocery store to cut down on the number of plastic bags that come home with me. I think it turned out pretty nice....don't you. It should work well for groceries and produce. I still have one more to make, but I need to buy more webbing for the handles.

I didn't get around to posting yesterday. The sore throat I mentioned in my last post has developed to a upper respiratory infection. I just didn't feel like doing much yesterday, but I'm feel better this morning.

Here's the rest of the pics I took at the quilt show in Independence.
I really liked this little kite quilt. The piecing was simple....a square in a square. The lady who made it used embellishments to turn it into kites.
This quilt had some wonderful piecing and some lovely applique.

These stitchery baskets looked like some that my great grandmother use to embroider.
This quilt used pieced blocks with blocks made from cheater cloth. You really had to look to know it was cheater cloth.
I never thought of using light pink....but I love how it looks in this quilt and will definitely put it in my idea file for a future project.

This quilt was made from patterns that appeared a few years ago in the Kansas City Star newspaper as a block of the month. They were then compiled into a book. I think they were by Barb Adams and Alma Allen.

I just like the butterflies in this quilt!

And in this one!

The cutwork patterns on this quilt were designed by the lady I take applique classes from.

And I also liked this little stitchery quilt.

There were many more beautiful quilts. These were just a few that caught my eye.

It's been a few days since I last posted. I've had a sore throat and being a slug in general. Today I did get out for a little while. This is where I went.
Just the front of this building won't mean much to most people. It is the Sermon Center in downtown Independence, Missouri. They are having SantaCaliGon Days this weekend in Independence. Independence, Missouri was one of the last settlements pioneers heading out on the Santa Fe Trail, the California Trail, or the Oregon Trail would pass through as they journeyed west. So, the folks there have a festival and in the building pictured above....there is a quilt show. I went and snapped a few pics.
This was my favorite! I love applique and the colors in this just appealed to me.

This was an old quilt. I loved the colors and fabrics, but I also loved the quilting. The following photo is a closeup of the quilting.


This stack and whack also caught my eye. Blue is my favorite color, but I really like pink too.

I also thought this little quilt made from the stitchery blocks was cute. I really liked her idea for using the Grandmother's Flower Garden motifs for the cornerstones.

I also did a little shopping at the vendors. I found some cute garden stitchery patterns that I really had to have! They were designed by Crabapple Hill. I had not seen their patterns before. I really liked what they have to offer. Use the link above if you have not seen their designs and would like to take a look.

I have come to the conclusion that I am a person who loves the soft pastels. Those do seem to be what I'm drawn to first. I like all colors....but there is just something about pastels that speak to me.

I snapped a few more pictures, but will save them and post them in my next entry.