A Legacy of Stitches

A Tutorial for "Charlie's Snowman".........

2012-01-25T01:58:00.000-06:00

In my last post, I shared a small wall quilt called "Charlie's Snowman". In this post, I'm going to share the steps to make your own snowman quilt. You can give your snowman a name other than Charlie. This one below is "Sam". I wanted to try a bit of a different look and added a hat for the snowman and also a tree.............

The eyes, nose, mouth and hat on Sam are made of woofelt. In the quilt in my last post, the snowman's features are made from clay. I'll be sharing how to do both and you can decide when we get to that step. :-) The tutorial for this little quilt will be posted in three parts. Today is Part 1 and you will make the pieced background. In my next post (Friday, Jan.27), we'll do the snowman/Part 2 and then the following post, Part 3, will be on making the features from clay or felt.

I went straight to my stash for the fabrics I needed for this project. I'm not buying any fabric this year so I must use what I have on hand. I had a lot of snow themed prints. I live in Minnesota and we usually get a lot of snow. Not this year, but we do finally have a few inches on the ground.

Let's get started on Part 1....................

Step 1. Cut one piece from a darker blue cotton - 12 1/2" x 16 1/2" and one piece from a lighter blue cotton - 6" x 12 1/2".

Step 2. Take the lighter blue piece and position a strip (about an inch wide) of fusible product (I use Heat 'n Bond Lite) along one edge of the reverse side of fabric. Then press per product directions. Remove paper.

Step 3. Along this fused edge, cut a wavy line as shown in the photo below.........

Step 4. Position the lighter blue piece on your dark piece and press along fused edge so that the two pieces become one as shown in photo below.........

Step 5. Cut eight 2 1/2" corner squares. You can see that I "fussy-cut" the fabric that I chose for my corners. It's not necessary but if you have fabric that works for this, it makes the quilt that much sweeter. Set aside four of the squares for the second row. After you cut the corner squares, cut the following 2 1/2" wide strips (I like a red row here).......two that are 12 1/2" long and two that are 16 1/2" long. See lay-out in photo below............

Step 6. Sew the 16 1/2" strips to each side of the center panel. Then sew one square to each end of the 12 1/2" strips. Press.

Step 7. Sew the top and bottom strips in place and press. You are ready for the final row.

Step 8. Cut the following 2 1/2" strips (I chose a medium blue for this one) ......... two that are 16 1/2" and two that are 20 1/2" long.

Step 9. Sew the 20 1/2" strips to each side of the center panel. Then sew one square to each end of the 16 1/2" strips. Press.

Step 10. Sew the top and bottom strips in place and press.

Your pieced quilt base is ready for your snowman. You'll need wool or woolfelt for the snowman. It works best as cotton is too lightweight for me. This is your snowman, though, so you can use cotton if you prefer. You have a couple days to make the base so I'll see you on Friday and we'll build a snowman!! Oh, and the little giveaway.......it will be posted when I share Part 3. :-)
Have a good day!
Sandi

What's on the line?

2012-01-23T09:52:00.000-06:00

If you follow my blog, you may recognize this little quilt on the line.......... It's one I made about a dozen years ago called "Charlie's Snowman"...........

I took the photo in September of 2010. You can see by the lush green in the background that it was a beautiful fall day and not wintery at all. I shared the quilt and it's story in November of 2010 in this post.......... go here. I told you all that I'd share the pattern and a tutorial for the quilt in January. And then came January and I had to post a "change in plans"...... go here for that post. After that, it seemed that the year just "got away from me". There were a lot of "behind the blog" family events and doctor appointments and just plain Stuff! Then the weather warmed up and who needed a snowman in the summer?!?!?! But now it's January, a whole year later and I am going back through my blog to see what I need to catch up on. Going to start with this project and then slowly but surely I'll fulfill a couple other tutorial promises that I've made. :-) Today, I'll be taking photos of the steps to make this little snowman quilt. Check back on Wednesday, January 25th and you'll find the pattern and a tutorial for this project. There might even be a giveaway of some fabric.......and maybe even some chocolate, too. :-)
Have a good Monday!
Sandi

You'll find the tutorial in three parts.......it begins here.

What's on the line?

2012-01-16T00:30:00.000-06:00

Pretty hexagon flowers are on the line!!! Last Monday, I shared a vintage quilt that was bordered in lavendar/purple and here is another one............

This one just sings "Spring" and I thought it would be a good one to share mid-January. I thought there would be lots of snow on the ground by now but we only have about an inch of snow cover. Obviously, the photo above was not taken now as that's some pretty green grass in the background. It was taken last September on a beautiful fall day.

Here is a bit of a close-up of the hexagons on the quilt..............

This is another one that was bought at auction by my mother and dad. I love the variety of colors and patterns in this quilt. It is just so colorful and cheery. Great way to start the week!
Happy Monday everyone!!
Sandi

Waiting for the snow..........

2012-01-12T00:30:00.000-06:00

I That's right............waiting for the snow. It's been a little warm lately......50 degree temps earlier this week, almost no snow on the ground and that is just not normal for Minnesota at this time of the year. We got a teeny bit of snow on Wednesday and lots of wind. I am ready for the snow and cold. I mean really ready for the cold and snow........just look at my scarf..................................
It's perfect for keeping me warm on a cold day!
The scarves are called Infinity scarves and they are so fun and easy to make. I bought the furry fabric at Firefly*Quilt*Shop and I made three of them like the one I am wearing in this photo. They were Christmas gifts my daughter and my son's girlfriend and I "gifted" me, too. LOL! The scarves are so warm and soft. Great for when I'm walking the dog which is not my favorite thing to do, but now I don't mind so much. :-)

I enjoyed making the scarves so much that I also made one for my niece, Sue Ellen. I found the tiger print fur at Hancock Fabrics and made her a scarf, then trimmed a fleece hat and plain mittens with left-over fur for a very "fashionable" look.

If you want to know how to make a scarf..........it's simple. Just take a WOF (width of fabric) piece of fabric that is 12" to 18" wide. The width you choose will depend on the fabric and the fluff that you want in your scarf. The fur pieces I purchased were pre-cut at 12" widths. I made the one for Sue Ellen a little wider.

You just fold that strip in half and stitch it up........but ......... you leave about two inches unstitched at each end............

Then you turn it inside out and pin the two ends together and stitch across the ends.............

Then you should have an opening about 4-5" wide that you can just slipstitch closed and your furry scarf is finished!

I called in a couple of my Bear Buddies to model these scarves that went off to a couple blogging/Facebook friends that make me smile. They both have dogs and I know they will welcome the warmth of the scarves when they are out walking their doggies. :-)

These scarves are so easy to make and so fun to wear. I have plans to make more from fur and even have some other soft fabrics that may end up as scarves. If you want to know more on how to make these, just google "Infinity Scarves" and you'll find plenty of inspiration!

And just in case you all are wondering...........nope, I haven't bought any cotton quilting fabric so I am remaining faithful to my challenge. And boy, am I glad these scarves are poly faux fur!! LOL!

Have a good day!
Sandi

What's on the line?

2012-01-09T00:30:00.000-06:00

Something purple is on the line today! Well, actually, it was "on the line" last September when I took several quilt photos. This is another quilt bought at auction by my dad and mother. It's not fancy but someone put a lot of work into the applique..........

Here's a close-up of the design that was blanket-stitched to the white blocks...........

And another look at the full-sized quilt..........

I think this block would be fun to do in wool. Add that to my ever-growing list of "gonna make this someday quilts". :-)

While the photos of these quilts were taken last September, I actually could have taken photos of quilts outside yesterday or today because we have almost no snow on the ground and temps in the 40's. It is hard to believe that it is really winter here in Minnesota!

I don't know if it's the good weather or what, but I have had the "cleaning and sorting bug" this past week. I finally unpacked the last of the four boxes from our move here in 2006. And in the process, I decided it was time to toss some stuff. Nothing of value and I let my kids take what they wanted, then some things will get donated. I was also rearranging my stuff in my kitchen cupboards and so between moving boxes and climbing up and down on the ladder..........well, I didn't do my back any good at all. So, the last two days I have pretty much done nothing and not planning much for the next couple of days either. I did a little sewing and have a project I'll share in my next post. Maybe by then we'll have some snow?

Have a fabulous Monday!!
Sandi

Sweet Angels..............

2012-01-03T00:30:00.000-06:00

Another Christmas photo of some sweet vintage angels. Well, I thought they were vintage when I found them at a local thrift shop a couple years ago. Then I looked on the bottom of the two larger ones and the date stamped on them is 1981. Not quite vintage but they look it and I really like them. There are tiny bulbs in the candles that run on batteries. Yes, I really like them. They sort of remind me of the Angel designs that I drew in 2006. I offered the patterns here on my blog and am sharing them free again in my Seasons BOM Yahoo group. If you like to do Redwork or other embroidery, just click on the Angel Connection button in the sidebar, join my group and you'll get a new Angel design the first of each month. January and February angels have been posted to the group.

This year is off to a good start. In just the last couple of days, I've caught up on a few things that have been waiting for my time and it feels good to get them done! Some of you may remember that I mentioned that I am not going to buy any cotton quilting fabric during this coming year. It might not be easy but I'm determined to not buy any quilting fabric and just use the fabrics that are right here in my sewing room. Oh, and in the boxes in the basement. Um, and there is a bit of quilting fabric in each of the bedrooms. So you seeeeeeeeeeee......I don't need to buy any fabric because I already bought a storefull and have been storing it at my house. LOL! My husband doesn't think I can do this. He's seen how much I love to buy fabric. He just doesn't know how committed I am to this challenge, plus, ........ there is nothing that works better at getting me to do something than when he tells me I will never be able to do it. Sound familiar?

Have a good day!

Sandi

What's on the line, uh, make that..what's on the tree?

2012-01-02T00:10:00.001-06:00

I am still in the "Christmas Spirit" and so instead of a quilt, I'm going to share more of the ornaments that hang on our Christmas tree. I thought I'd tell you a bit more about them. Many I've made and some were my made by my mother, my daughter and by friends. Each one is a treasure. Yesterday, I shared this photo..........

The four straw ornaments were some of the first that we added to our tree. Bought years ago in San Diego. I often cluster ornaments from special places together. Hanging the ornaments on the tree is like opening a book of memories! The little Joy ornament was made by my mother, Mary.

The Joy ornament is this photo came straight from Hobby Lobby. :-) The little egg ornament is a real egg. I will eventually post a tutorial on how to make these egg ornaments. The Christmas tree is felt and is one of several that I made when I taught ornament classes at Murphy's Landing and at Community Ed classes. The snowman is another one I designed and you can find the tutorial for him here . I started a blog to share my ornaments but then life and family health issues just kept me from getting back to it. This year will be different. More ornaments tutorials will be posted!

The Santa in the photo above and the one below were made my mother in the 1960's. I am sure the patterns were in an issue of Pack-o-Fun or perhaps Workbasket magazine! The little snowman is just a sketch drawn on a styrofoam plate and then glittered and embellished with puffy paints.

In the late 1970's, daughter Collette and I drew designs on balsa wood and then colored them with marking pens. You can see the one with the candle in the photo above. She was about eight when we made a dozen different ornaments from balsa wood.

Some of my favorite ornaments are the ones made from real chicken eggs like the pink angel above and the blue angel below........

The angel made from tulle and with the bright yellow hair (my grandson thought that color was a little bright) was made in 1971 while we were stationed overseas in Japan. My father-in-law knew how much I enjoyed crafting and tucked in some supplies with a package they sent.

During our time in Japan, I loved to trip to an area called Asakusabashi that was known for it's dolls and craft items. I found the snowflakes you see in these photos. They are thin but sturdy foam and were plain white. I embellished them with pretty pins and beads. There are six of them and they are usually the first ornaments that I put on the tree.

I also covered styrofoam balls with velvet and ribbons, trims and cut-outs from Christmas cards like the blue velvet one in the photo above.

I made lots of felt ornaments like the heart above and enjoyed teaching felt ornaments to kids and adults!

Sometimes Collette and I made patchwork ornaments and sometimes we cross stitched designs like those above.

I love the embroidered felt ornaments above and remember when we made these for a church bazaar. I remember someone found them in a craft magazine but it was years ago so I am not able to provide a source.
Many of my ornaments were gifts like the quilt block one below that my sister gave me in memory of our Grandma Goldie. The horse was bought at a craft show that I attended with my friend, Sandy. Every year it reminds me of her and the many craft shows we went to together.

Almost all the ornaments on this branch were made by my friend, Judith. We connected over Crazy Quilting more than a dozen years ago and when we held our Christmas potlucks we often exchanged ornaments. Judith made me the Scandinavian elf.......the twig tree......the knitted snowman and stocking......the basket of yarns and the fabric covered ball..........

and the best one is a tiny soft-sculture sleeping Santa in a twig bed! He has to be seen in person to appreciate the detail!
In October of this past year, I taught a county extension class in decorating real eggs. This next October (2012), I'm going to teach the Christmas tree ornaments made from clay.......

Some are embellished with bits of clay, others with rhinestones and some with those old cooking crystals (remember those?). Easy to make and I'll share the tutorial next fall.

The Redwork ornament in the photo above is one I designed and shared with the Prior Lake Quilter's several years ago. I only ever made a couple but my friend, Marianne, made a couple dozen for her tree that year!

Some ornments recall family and friends who are no longer with us like the candy cane snowman. It was a gift from my friend, Cindy. She is the one that left me all her fabric and I shared about it in this post.

There are a couple dozen bears that are nestled in the branches of my tree.........

and one of my newest ornaments is this felt Reindeer from blogging friend, Cindy in Arizona. Makes me smile when I see this one. :-)

Every year, I make something new and the red holly trimmed ornament was this year's addition to our tree. I promised I would show how I made it but never found time before Christmas. I promise I will show you eventually. :-) The unique Snowman ornament above and also the Santa below are two favorites. Collette and I went to a large craft event near Waseca, MN and we each bought these ornaments. They are wood slabs that are diecut with the snowman or Santa outline and then hand-painted!

There are spool themed ornaments that were gifts from friends and a little wool stocking made by my friend, Sue, that remind me of special friends that I don't see as often since we moved. But, as I said.........hanging the ornaments on my tree is like opening a Memory Book. I would show you more but I'll save a couple hundred for another day. :-)
Have a good Monday! I'll be watching that Rose Bowl Parade in the morning and then doing some sewing. I'm learning how to use that new sewing machine. Quilty projects will be coming up soon............
Sandi

2012 is here!

2012-01-01T22:23:00.005-06:00

I hope you have enjoyed a great start to this new year! My day got off to an interesting start as I settled down to watch the Tournament of Roses Parade only to discover news programs. Oh, boy, I should have checked the TV schedule because it all happens tomorrow. LOL!
Today was a blustery day. It started late last night with snow and then in the wee hours of the morning the winds arrived. I took this photo in "the calm before the storm"...........

Those stockings have hung on our porch the last couple Christmas holidays and this may be their last year. The wind and sun take a toll on anything that I put outside. If they have to go, I'll make new ones. I'm already planning a stocking project for August of 2012. More on that in a future post. What I really like about those stockings is the word JOY !!!!

JOY is one of my favorite words. I like to wish people joy, I hope they enjoy their day, and sometimes when sadness comes, there is even joy in sadness. It's a good word. I also like the word Delight. I love to surprise friends and family with little things that give them Delight!!! I'm going to add Delight to lots of posts this coming year. I'm also going to keep sharing JOY! And I'm going to share another word ........ Christmas! ....... because I plan to keep Christmas all year long! I love Christmas, the whole season, all of the stories, the decorations, the music. It all makes me smile, makes me so happy! It all brings me

JOY!!!

and more

JOY!!!

These are just a few of the ornaments on my tree. More tomorrow. Happy New Year for today!! See ya tomorrow.........

Sandi

Happy 2012!!

A Merry Little Christmas........

2011-12-31T22:00:00.000-06:00

Yes, indeed, we had a Merry Little Christmas! And now it's time to wish you all a

Happy New Year!!

I think 2012 is going to be a great year!!! This past year wasn't too bad but it was a bit hectic. Seems we had more visits to doctors than we would like and my husband keeps working and I keep hoping he'll retire. LOL!

I thought I should share some photos from our Christmas before the New Year becomes Valentine's Day!

Lots of pretty papers, ribbons and packages surrounded the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve.............

and Kaiser the Wonder Beagle tolerated his reindeer antlers..........

but he was more interested in the smell of the ham coming from the kitchen. That's son, Devlin, on the left and husband, Steve, doing the carving.

The table was ready and I'd share pictures of us gathered round the table........

but I realized they are on my husband's camera and he hasn't downloaded them yet. So, here's the place setting at each place........

I just love these holly dishes that I bought at Target several years ago. Holly is my favorite Christmas greenery. At our old house, I actually had a holly bush and enjoyed real holly. I'm happy with artificial holly and found this velvet holly to surround a very special log.......

The log in that picture came from the birch tree in the backyard of my husband's home and it's been with us for over 40 years. Finally, with the photo shoot for Womeninc looming, I got him to drill the holes for candles!!! The little angels are from an antique shop in nearby St. Peter, MN. I am known for my Dollar store purchases but these angels called my name and I had to have them. They make me think of Christmas Eve programs from when I was a kid in the 1950's and so, they make me smile. And here's the cake we had for dessert..........

I made the cake a few days before Christmas to share with the ladies in our Bible Study group. We didn't eat enough of it so I figured, why make another dessert for Christmas dinner? This was just an ordinary chocolate cake mix topped with fudge frosting. The thing that made it so tasty was the white filling........a jar of marshmallow creme mixed with a container of vanilla frosting and then spread between the four layers. It was as good as a Hostess cupcake. Maybe better. :-)

In the corner of our dining room, I changed from a little green tree to this little white tree. It was a real deal at just $4 a couple years ago. Then last year after Christmas I saw those blue snowflakes at JoAnn Fabrics. I bought every one at ten cents each. As I was placing them on the tree, I decided to count and see how many there were............

and there are 43 which is the number of years my husband and I have been married (our anniversary was Nov. 24th). I thought that was kind of cool.
After we ate dinner (ham and really thick potato soup with apple salad and sweet potato hotdish, etc.), we gathered in the living room to open gifts. A few of my teddy bears were already there............

Here's the tree in the living room.........my "I have always wanted a gold and silver tree" come true............

Above is how it looked in the daytime and below, later in the evening.........

It's prettier when you see it in person. The photos just don't do it justice. I began collecting gold and silver ornaments in the late 1990's. Always bought the stuff at 70% off or better. More on this tree in a future post.
There were gifts under the tree and Grandson Jacob was the first to open a really fun gift ...... he got a wallet and thought that was it. We told him he might want to check inside and was pleasantly surprised to find some cash. We couldn't figure out what to get him and thought he might like to shop for something special.

Son-in-law, Daryl, always gets in the spirit and wears his Santa hat.......

and my husband is always being a tease so there are two versions of this photo.......one with and one without those rabbit ears. That's his sister, Linda on the left. She and her husband, Roy, joined us for Christmas this year!

And this is the four of us.......daughter, Collette, Steve, me and son, Devlin.

We had a very happy Christmas. The weather was so unbelievably mild that I thought we were in San Diego.........almost. :-)
Just a couple more photos.........this little tree is in the room just off the kitchen.........

The ornaments are all from Europe and were bought in the 80's and 90's when Steve's job took him to meetings in Germany, England, etc. Several are from Denmark where Steve's Dad was born. And opposite the tree is Santa.........

My mom had quite a collection of Santa's and when she "downsized" we all took a Santa or two. I chose this one as it's one we bought her a number of years ago. Santa reads (thanks to a cassette) "The Night Before Christmas" as his head nods from side to side. And Kaiser the Wonder Beagle is totally scared when I turn on Santa and he starts to move. LOL!
And this tree is in the basement family room...........

Yes, it may seem like we have a lot of trees but not nearly as many as some folks. This tree is covered in about 400 ornaments that span about 50 years as I have some from my mother and my mother-in-law. I'm going to share more about this tree in my next post. Under the tree are a couple of special gifts from the past. One is my bride doll..........

This pretty doll was my Christmas gift when I was about 10 years old. I saw her in the window of the Gambles Store (department store chain based in Minnesota, check it out here ) and wanted her so much. She had articulated arms and legs so could be positioned in any number of fashion model poses. She wore a sheath-type dress but my mother made her this embroidered wedding gown. She still wears her original white plastic high heels and fortunately, I never cut her hair like I did to so many other dolls I got for Christmas. :-)

Yes, indeed, we had a lovely Christmas. From Thanksgiving when my brother and family, and my mom and our family gathered to Christmas with my husband's sister and our family.......it was really lovely. Seeing so much family for the holidays hasn't happened like that in a number of years so it was a sweet gift. I hope your Christmas was also happy and that your new year is, too! Sometimes, I find it hard to believe when I realize it is 2012. Can it really be 12 years since the Millennium?!! Time flies so fast. And speaking of time, it is just two hours til the clock strikes midnight and the new year arrives here in Minnesota. I think it's time for a snack and a cup of cocoa. See ya tomorrow!

Sandi

Wishing you a Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T02:09:00.000-06:00

Twas the night before Christmas and all through our house................

everyone else is asleep and I'm here at the computer. LOL! I am taking a few minutes before I head off to bed to wish you all a....................

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

We enjoyed a lovely Christmas Eve with family. Our stockings were hung on the stairway with care and after dinner and our gift exchange, we checked out the goodies that are always in our stockings.

Yes, it was a lovely evening and now it's time for bed.

Hope you all enjoy a lovely Christmas Day!

Christmas decorating and more........

2011-12-21T00:30:00.000-06:00

Twas a few days before Christmas and all through our house, every nook and cranny was decorated, even the front porch...............

Something is missing, though.........no snow! I had to use a scrap of quilt batting to surround my front porch tree and make it look like it had snowed. This is Minnesota in December and snow has been a "no-show". I added some bears in a big shopping bag with a message to Mother Nature to "Let it Snow"..............

However, all she provided was wind! Look at the ribbon on that wreath! It is blowing straight north!

All she brought in the way of snow was a tiny dusting on my vintage sleigh..........

But just because there is no snow, doesn't mean there is no JOY. I added my stockings and filled them with fake gifts. That wind will blow them into the woods before Christmas day. Maybe Santa will tuck some real gifts in those stockings as he passes through Henderson. I believe it could happen!

So that's what the front porch looks like and it's what greeted these two young women...........

That's Katie Honnette (left) and Jessica Sauck (right) and me in the middle. Katie is the Editor in Chief of Womeninc magazine and Jessica is the Photography Editor. They came to photograph the Christmas trees and decorations in our home. Kaite interviewed me as Jessica began snapping photos. The one above was taken by my husband after we had finished touring from tree to tree. :-) The article will appear in the December 2012 issue of Womeninc. I had so much fun decorating and preparing for the photo shoot and then sharing the stories of the decorations and ornaments. I look forward to reading the article and seeing their photographs (which I know will be better than what I can take) and, yes, I can wait patiently til December of next year to read the article. That's because, as we all know...........time flies sooooooo fast and there are only 369 days til Christmas 2012!!!

In my next post, I can give you a peek at what they saw. Oh, and note the green grass you can see through the window on the left. I don't recall ever seeing green grass in Minnesota in December!

Back soon. Must finish my Christmas cards and get them in the mail before Christmas day..........

Sandi

What's on the line is taking a vacation........

2011-12-19T00:30:00.000-06:00

and will return on Monday, January 2nd. Between now and then, I'm going to share a few photos of Christmas decorating and other projects. I have been busy the last few weeks decorating all about our house because ...........well, I'll tell ya tomorrow. :-) Until then, here's a little something that I included in my decorating scheme this year..........

this little stuffed dog is one I got when I was in junior high. He's been around a lot of years and looks pretty good for his age. LOL! You can comb it's hair and it looks so cute. It reminds me of the real dog we had, a pomeranian named Henry the Eighth. What a cutie he was! Ah, yes, Christmas certainly conjures up lots of fun memories. Well, some are not so fun. I remember the year that we got our son a model train for Christmas. My husband was cutting some piece of it with a sharp knife as he worked to assemble the set. He managed to cut himself so badly that he had to go to the emergency room to get stitches. One year a snowstorm kept us from getting to Iowa to visit our folks. We were in our four wheel drive Blazer and my husband was sure we could get through the snow drifts. Finally, he gave up and we turned around to go home. It was not a good night to be on the road. We've never been caught in an airport or had anything worse happen so most of the memories are, in fact, fun or at least........memorable. :-)
Busy day today.........working on some gifts for friends and then helping another friend with a gift project. The Christmas tunes will be turned up loud today!! Have a good Monday. Back tomorrow with bunches of pictures of Christmasy stuff!
Sandi

And the winner of my sleigh full of goodness is.....

2011-12-17T22:05:00.004-06:00

Angela Moore!

She is the lucky winner of the prize I offered.....my "sleigh full of goodness".....in Michele's Quilting Gallery Blog Hop. So many bloggers participated and I was amazed at the number of comments. Wish I could send everyone who commented a little something but that can't be. Just one winner and I've sent the winning e-mail message to Angela and just wait to hear from her! You can find Angela's blog here ........ Angela*at*Home !!
Congratulations to her and a big Thank You to all of you that shared such wonderful Christmas memories. Angela shared this memory......

"Gosh so many but most memorable was the piano and that's when I discovered santa was mom and dad." Made me smile. Almost all the comments made me smile and a few brought tears to my eyes. Reading some of them brought back memories of dolls and toys that I had forgotten about. Again, thank you so much for sharing!

And now, if you are reading this, take note........come 2012, I am making a challenge to myself and at the end of each month, I will be offering a little prize package to one of my blog readers. So what is my challenge? Wellllllll...........gulp........I am not going to buy any quilting fabric for the entire year of 2012. Yep, I really mean that. I'll have more details on this challenge and a chance for a preview prize package giveaway on December 31st. Be sure to stay tuned or pop back then and find out what you might win and just why I would challenge myself to not buy any fabric for a whole year!

It's a busy time right now and I have barely managed to blog but soon that will change. Lots to blog about and this week, I will share some fun stuff. Off to work on some Christmas gifts now. Have a great Sunday!!
Sandi

What's on the line? Oops......nothing.......

2011-12-12T00:30:00.000-06:00

That's right, there is nothing "on the line" today. I didn't have a photo of a Christmas quilt so I thought I'd share a couple of creative projects. The weekend after Thanksgiving, my daughter and I did some crafting. I had purchased some various sizes/shapes of glass globes at the Dollar Tree store and we decorated them with ribbon and those foam glitter sticker things you can get at craft stores (Michael's was the source for the trees). This is the candle globe that Collette made...........

You could use any container and glue ribbon in place and add stickers. I have some that are in gold and white. Photo coming later. :-) They were easy and fun to make!!!
The other project we did was decorating glass and plastic tree ornaments. We added pizazz with some glittery fabrics and ribbon. Here's the mess/creativity pile we were working from...........

I'll show you how to make these in a little tutorial this weekend. In the meantime, I am busy this week with a number of activities. Singing "fa la la la la" and all sorts of Christmas songs as I decorate! :-)

And, speaking of Christmas songs..........yesterday afternoon, I got another early Christmas present when my son, Devlin, treated me to an afternoon recording session. I sang, he did the recording. When I was "flat" he told me so and I would sing the song again. I like an honest critic. :-) He's going to create a clip of a couple of the songs so I can share it before Christmas! I had so much fun singing. I wish I could do it more often!!

Could be freezing drizzle in our area today. Glad I have no place to go. I'll be busy decorating and glad to be warm and cozy in the house! Have a great Monday! And, if you have not entered my giveaway for the Quilting Gallery Blog Hop, please check my last post. There is still time to enter! I have loved reading all the comments that tell of favorite Christmas gifts. They are so, so sweet!

Sandi

A sleigh-full of goodness!

2011-12-09T11:34:00.001-06:00

Michele over at Quilting Gallery is hosting a Blog-Hop Party and oh, what fun you all are going to have as you visit all the blogs that are participating!! There are over 200 blogs that you can visit! The list will be available tomorrow, December 10th and you'll find it here...........

And what do I have for you? Well..........I have a sleigh-full of fabric goodness to share with you all that will take off from Minnesota and land in your driveway, maybe in time for Christmas! The fabrics are from Jacquelynne*Steve's Christmas line called "Peace.Joy.Love.Noel!" There are six fat quarters in the sleigh and you also get the fabric panel that the sleigh is sitting on!

Just leave your name and e-mail contact and you can have a chance to win it! And you know how I love to hear a story in your comments. Please share the best gift you ever received as a child. :-)
A lucky winner will be drawn on December 17 at 6:00 p.m. CST. If you are the winner, you will have two days to reply with your name and address. If I don't hear from you, I will draw another name.
Comments begin now!! Remember to leave your e-mail link so that I can contact you if you win!!
Sandi

An early Christmas Gift!

2011-12-08T00:30:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I took a little trip to St. Peter, Minnesota to visit this little shop.......... Knit*&*Sew*World ...........

Just look at those machines in the window with bows on them. Don't you just love a good window display? I headed through that green door to pick up my own little sewing machine gift. As I mentioned before, my husband bought me a Laura Ashley Innov'is-2000 by Brother for a Christmas/anniversary gift. I still can't believe he bought it but then again, I have been making a good case for a new one for a couple years now. I guess he was listening better than I thought. :-)
So, here's the new baby in the house.....

I named her Mazie, short for "Mazerati" because she is truly like driving a Mazerati after sewing on my basic White sewing machine for years. Actually, I haven't a clue what it would be like to drive a Mazerati but I don't even care. I'd rather have this sewing machine! We took it out of the box, read the instructions, and we both tried out the machine. It sews so smoothly! My husband was impressed that it can thread the needle. So am I because ye olde eyesight isn't what it used to be! I am definitely going to enjoy working with this machine. I'm so happy, I took another photo so you could get a good view of her long, sleek lines...........

My son asked what my first project will be..........I told him that I'm pretty sure it will be new kitchen curtains and then after that "the list is really long". And on that list will be a project with this fabric....................

All of this pink deliciousness was in my mailbox when I got home from picking up my sewing machine. I ordered it from Hen*and*Chicks*Studio, Heidi Kaisand's new shop and retreat center in Conrad, Iowa. I shared a photo of these fabrics a few weeks ago but when I opened the package..........they were even prettier than in the photo. And there was a nice thank you from Heidi for making the purchase. She's designed her own line of greeting cards, very cute! I was also surprised when I saw who the designer was for this fabric. It's Lori Holt over at Bee*in*my*Bonnet blog. I love all her designs but I have been so busy that I've not done much blog reading lately and so had no idea this fabric was her design. I'm going to have fun with a spring project that I have in mind for all this pinkness. Watch for it to reappear sometime in February!

Here's something that won't last til February...........Ferrero candies.............

Our kids, Collette and Devlin surprised us with an anniversary gift..........that sweet treat and a gift certificate to Charley's in Mankato, MN. We're going to wait til after Christmas to use the gift certificate but we are enjoying the chocolates now. I thought I really loved the hazelnut ones but those silver ones are coconut and they are ....... to die for!! I put dibs on them and let Steve have all the ones with the dark chocolate and the almonds (his favorite). Thanks to our kids for thinking of mom and dad!

So, are all of you ready for Christmas? Our gifts are ready but not wrapped. Plenty of time for that. The decorating is more than half done but still lots to do. I am busy trying to finish a couple of trees and other projects because a local Minnesota magazine will be taking some Christmas decorating photos in our home next week. I'll share more on this project later. Right now.........I'm off to hang more ornaments on a little white tree I set up in our dining room. Singing Christmas tunes as I work.......... "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas............."

Oh, and be sure to stop by on Saturday for a visit. I'm participating in Michele's Quilting Gallery Blog Hop.........check out the info here. I've got a sleigh-full of something special for one lucky winner. Oops......that's a clue. Come back Saturday and find out what will be in that sleigh.............

Have a great day!

Sandi

What's on the line at Christmas time?!

2011-12-05T00:30:00.000-06:00

An upside down quilt, that's what's on the line this Christmas time! Yes, my quilty friends, I designed it, I hung it, took the picture and now quite sometime later I go to post the picture and here it is ..........upside down!

I took this picture more than a year ago when I decided on a nice "end of summer" day that I would take pictures of all twelve of the quilts that I designed in 2000. This was the twelfth wall quilt in the series called "The Millennium Quilts". This one is called "Holiday Memories". I just can't believe I hung it upside down! I plan to hang it this Christmas and I can promise you that it will be hung right. I'll even take a picture and share because I have some plans for that plain wreath part on the little quilt. Give me a couple days, though. It's a little busy here. Lots to do with company coming again at Christmas, decorating to do for a special event, Christmas cards to write and toss in a couple doctor appointments. And then........that new sewing machine my husband bought me should be here any day now and I can hardly wait to get it. I have several gift projects that need to be finished before Christmas. Oh, how I would love to finish them on that new machine!
So are any of you feeling like you could use one of Santa's Elves if they were "for hire"? I think I would like one that would follow me around and when I go from one room to the next, the elf would tell me what I came into that room to get. LOL! No elf here so gotta run.............
Have a great Monday!
Sandi

A very special Thanksgiving!

2011-12-01T00:02:00.001-06:00

Thanksgiving this year was very special at our house. My brother, Doug, his wife, Sandy, and their daughter, Sue Ellen came for Thanksgiving. And they brought my mom, too! Our kids were here, too........ Collette, Daryl, Devlin and grandson, Jacob. We were so fortunate that the weather here in the Midwest was so mild because it made travel super easy! While I was happy to have family, I think Kaiser our Wonder Beagle was even happier. He was very fond of Sue Ellen and she was fond of Kaiser. She has a feather in her hair and it's hanging in Kaiser's face and he doesn't even mind!

Here's part of the crew after they arrived on Thanksgiving Eve. Chatting around the kitchen table are my mom, brother Doug, husband Steve and son-in-law Daryl..........

and chatting in the living room were sister-in-law Sandy and daughter Collette (I was looking down from the upstairs landing when I took this picture).......

There were lots of folks who needed a bed and we managed one for everyone except grandson Jacob. I asked him if he'd mind if I made him a bed of pillows and quilts in my sewing room. He likes my sewing room because it's cozy and it has a TV and my computer is in there so he didn't mind a bit. Here he is ready for bed watching some sports program as I took this picture.

Husband Steve got up first and started the turkey. He took over the "turkey baking" duties several years ago. I like this a lot as I prefer to bake pies and make sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes. Don't ask who forgot to make the gravy. Daryl made the green bean casserole. What did people eat with their turkeys before green bean casserole became a staple in a Thanksgiving menu?

While the turkey was cooking, we enjoyed visiting. Jacob was on the computer and so Sue Ellen needed something to do. I found her something she thought was fun and it saved me time! She is adding decorative glitter highlights to my Christmas cards!! How cool, right?!!

Turkey was ready so we all sat down to dinner..........son Devlin, then Doug, Sandy........

my mom, Mary, me, Collette and Daryl........

then Steve got his camera and took some pictures...........

And where are Jacob and Sue Ellen? They ate in the kitchen and were finished almost before we started. :-)
Collette and Sandy did most of the clean-up which I thought was great!
It was a toss-up for an afternoon movie.........."It's a Wonderful Life" or "Christmas Vacation". You can see on the TV screen that "Christmas Vacation" was the winner. That movie is so funny!

And what about Kaiser? Well, he was searching for crumbs underneath the dining room table........... LOL!

It was really great to have family spend the holiday and for everyone to travel safely. This mild weather we are having is really not that common for Minnesota in late November. I wonder if it will last til Christmas? One can hope............
Next post.........good news!
Sandi

What's on the line?

2011-11-28T00:30:00.000-06:00

This is a quilt that has been with me for years. It's a nice warm, tied quilt that has a mix of fabrics that are wool or wool blends. When my mom made it more than forty years ago, it looked quite nice. All the squares were flat and the same size. But then..............

as you can probably tell, I washed it. The time came when it just plain had to be washed. I remember that I washed it in cold water but even that was not enough to keep the 100% wool blocks from shrinking and the wool blend ones stayed the same size. The quilt has always been a "car quilt" because it was perfect to have if the heater in the car wasn't working or in case we got stranded in a snowstorm (never happened). I decided this past summer that it was time to let the car quilt come inside. I washed it again (it did all it's shrinking in that first wash long ago) and hung it to dry (this pic was taken about a month ago on a warm October day).

This quilt may be a bit mis-shaped but I still like it. I can fold it and set it on a shelf and it looks nice. It's sort of a "memory quilt". The fabrics are from old clothes that my mother cut up for the quilt squares. Three of the fabrics are from skirts I wore in high school. My favorite is that fuschia and yellow plaid. It was a cute mini skirt that had a "hip-hugger" belt that matched it. I wore it a lot. :-) It would have been made in the late 60's/early 70's, just about the time I got married. And speaking of that, it was our anniversary last Thursday on Thanksgiving Day, November 24. We were married in 1968 and I can remember that we left Fort Dodge, Iowa on a Sunday evening after our wedding and headed west. We were on our way to San Diego where Steve had his first job. We reached Flagstaff, Arizona on Thursday of that week and it was Thanksgiving. For that first Thanksgiving together, we both ordered cheeseburgers and fries. LOL! Every year since then, it's been turkey. For many years, I cooked the turkey but Steve took over the duty about ten years ago. I like to make the pies..........

These are the pies I made this year..........pumpkin and cherry and apple! We had a houseful of family for Thanksgiving this year and we enjoyed the pie and the turkey and all the trimmings. I'll share some family pics in my next post.

Hope you had a good weekend! Have a great Monday!
Sandi

What's on the line?

2011-11-21T00:05:00.000-06:00

You've seen this quilt on the line before. I shared it last November (in this post) and I decided I would share it again. I'm not fond of numbers (I am math-challenged) but I do enjoy "counting my blessings". I count family, friends, and so many things as blessings. Being able to spend time with friends is a blessing. Having nice weather in Minnesota during November is a blessing. Well, the weather was nice when I joined my friends, Laura and Sharon for a "quilty day-out". It has since turned a little snowy but by Thanksgiving Day it will be in the 50's. On our "quilty day-out" it was 60 and that was awesome for November. We made a visit to Quilter's Dream over in Montgomery (here's the post I wrote after my first visit to their shop) and then we went to The Fishtale Grill in New Praque for lunch. That's where we spotted the moose..........

When we came out of the restaurant, I asked the gals if they would pose with this big guy. It was, after all, deer hunting season and I had seen several guys in their bright orange jackets and camoflauge gear heading out for the big hunt. We "snagged" a moose without even trying. LOL! That's Laura above and Sharon below..........

I am blessed that my friends don't mind my goofy sense of humor. That's me chuckling at the silliness of this.

We followed up the silliness with a visit to "Hands of Friendship" Thrift Shop. We were on the hunt for bargains and I snagged these items...........

A couple of the items are little gifts for friends. I realized after I posted the picture that I forgot to include the deer that I "snagged". Seriously, I got a deer. Well, it was a wooden one but it was a deer and I'll get a picture later this week and show you just how cute he is.

So, you know I love fabric and you might be wondering, did she buy anything at Quilter's Dream? Well, yes I did but only a couple tiny items and they are gifts for friends who read my blog so can't show them. Also found something for my mom and she doesn't read my blog but some of her friends do, so I don't want the secret to get out. I didn't buy anything for me that day because I had ordered some "goodness" from Hen*and*Chicks*Studio a few days before our outing. Owner Heidi Kaisand shared this photo (I checked with Heidi for permission to share) on Facebook and I loved these pink fabrics, especially that stripe on the right........

It was important that I get them ordered now even though I won't be using them til Spring. I have a challenge that I'm going to make to myself and it could be very interesting. I'm going to share more on the "challenge" subject in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, life is busy around here with preparation for Thanksgiving and also doing some Christmas decorating plus sewing machine shopping and gathering some items for a donation project. Lots to keep me busy. Many blessings to count. Much to be thankful for. More blessings and thanks coming up in my next post.
Have a great Monday!
Sandi

Out and about to "Down Under Quilting"...........

2011-11-16T00:30:00.000-06:00

Are you thinking I was "out and about" to Australia? No, not me. I was visiting my quilty friend, Anne Tuma, owner of "Down*Under*Quilting". That's her smiling face "behind the wheel" of her long-arm quilting machine..............

Anne and I met several years ago during a series of quilt shows in the Scott County (MN) libraries. She was so generous in sharing some of her quilts when we did not have quite enough for our display at the Belle Plaine library. Her work is exceptional!
So, are you wondering why her business is called Down*Under*Quilting? I can answer that question. It's because Anne is originally from Australia! Minnesota is home now, though, and Anne is well-known for her excellent machine quilting.
This is a really eye-catching quilt on the wall in her studio.............

I liked this one a lot. She also did it in a different colorway that I found stunning because it's autumn and I do love autumn colors!!

Anne also teaches in local community education programs and offers retreats. One of her classes is making a T-Shirt quilt. She has made this a class that even a beginning quilter can complete!

I brought along a couple quilts to share with Anne and I'm going to have her do this one below...........

It's called "Brick and Tile" and is a project that I taught at a retreat (Sew Close to Home Quilting Retreat at Emma Krumbee's) in 2006. I made the top, taught the class, never had the top quilted. It's time that quilt top grew up and graduated to a real quilt. :-) More on this one in a future post. And yes, you all may have read my last post where I mentioned that I'm getting a new sewing machine and am planning to take a long-arm class at Quilter's Dream so you might wonder........why have someone else quilt this top for me? That's easy. She will get it done sooner than I will! LOL! Once I get the new machine it'll take me a year to figure it out. Same goes for the long-arm classes. :-)
As I was leaving, I noticed this wallhanging and floral arrangement near her front door. My favorite color is usually pink but when the colors of autumn are put together, then they are my favorites, too!

And speaking of autumn............on my way home, I passed this pretty farm scene...........

This really is Minnesota.........sunshine, no snow, awesome Autumn!!! This photo was taken about two weeks ago. I was "out and about" this past Saturday with more quilty friends and it was still..........awesome Autumn. More on that adventure in my next post!
Sandi

What's on the line?

2011-11-14T12:36:00.001-06:00

I'm late getting this posted but here is the donation quilt that I sent off to BASICS .......

I finished the quilt a week ago but wanted to get some pictures before I mailed it. It's been a wee bit windy up here on the ridge so it wasn't easy to get that picture you see above. Here's what it was like right after I hung the quilt on the line.........

I was not sure I could get a decent picture as the wind was blowing so hard it practically wound the quilt around the line! I was patient and I watched it come down and snapped a photo......a bit too late but almost..........

and then the wind took it away again........

and, oh, did it take it away! Flippity, flap it snapped in the wind!

and then the wind died down and the quilt slowly began to unfold......

just a bit more.........

oh and then the wind took it up again........

then back down.......

and then I snapped the photo and knew this was the best one I would get on that windy, windy day!!

I hope the quilt will warm someone and become a very favorite quilt. It was made in rememberance of my friends, Cathy and Cindy. I titled it "Crazy for Cats". Cathy especially loved her cats, along with her family and friends. Cindy also had cats but her favorite was her chickens, along with her family and friends. Cathy and Cindy were lovely women who were taken by cancer. I and many of my friends miss them but we think of them often.

This quilt began with some cat-themed squares that were shared by quilty friends so that we might make a lap quilt for Cathy. There were not quite enough blocks collected and before enough could be gathered, Cathy had passed away. When the call went out for quilts for BASICS I got out the squares and laid them out to see what might work for a quilt top. There were colorful crazy cat squares and then there were brown, black and white squares of real cat drawings. The two did not look good together. So I took only the colorful ones - 17 of them - and then cut squares from a white on white cat fabric and laid them out in the pattern below.

I added a darker border and then that blue fabric with the mice on it. I bought that one just for this quilt because the mice are saying "hee hee" and I think they are happy because they have surrounded the cats. LOL! I can't recall where I got the colorful cats in the border but it made me smile. At first glance, I thought they were just colorful cats. Then I looked closer and they are all cats who are sick or hurt. One has an ice bag on his head, another has his/her arm in a sling, one is getting his/her temperature checked, etc. etc. I thought about looking for a different border because I wanted happy cats but then they are so cute that I decided to "leave well enough alone" and keep it for the border. I rimmed it all with the softest pink fabric that I found in my friend Cindy's stash. It was just a few weeks ago that I went to her studio and gathered fabrics from her sewing room. There was plenty of this fabric to use for the backing so it will be a comfy quilt for a child. This is the first quilt to use fabrics from Cindy's collection. If you haven't read the story behind her fabrics, you'll find it here.
I was hoping to finish a second quilt to donate but I just did not have the time or the right sewing machine for quilting a larger quilt. That will soon change and I will get another one finished come the new year. This is an ongoing project. If you have a quilt that can be shared, the info on the project is here at the BASICS website.
On to the next project.........setting up the Christmas tree in the basement Family Room. With family coming for Thanksgiving this year, I have moved up all my decorating so it will be a festive mix of Turkeys, Santas, Manger Scenes and Trees. :-)
Have a good Monday!
Sandi

Veteran's Day

2011-11-11T01:11:00.000-06:00

Remembering today all of the men and women who have served in the Armed Forces. That includes my dad, Melvin, who is pictured here somewhere in Germany near the end of World War II. I am thankful for his service and the sacrifices he and everyone who is in the military make in the pursuit of freedom.

As you know from reading my blog, my dad encouraged my sewing and quilting projects. For some time, I've thought I should share this little pattern. It's one my dad really liked.

If you have someone who is serving in the military, you could make it in honor of their service. If you back the quilt with plain muslin, you could write personal messages on the wallhanging.
There is bit of symbolism in the little quilt. The three stars represent the three branches of our government...... Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. The four red and white bars represent all the states........North, South, East and West. The fireworks represent the celebrating we do on Independence Day on the 4th of July and also when our loved ones return home safely. Sadly, many of our military do not return home safely.
If you'd like to make this wallhanging, you will find the pdf for the pattern cover and quilt instructions posted here. The pattern page for the stars is here. The pattern page for the letters for Stars and Stripes is here and the pattern page for the word Forever is here.
If you have any questions about the pattern, just leave me a comment and I'll reply. You may share the pattern with friends. If you make the little quilt, I would love to see a picture!

Have a blessed day!
Sandi

What's on the line?

2011-11-07T04:00:00.000-06:00

Something brand new is on the line today. It's the quilt that I won back at the end of August. While I won the quilt then, I didn't actually get it until the first part of October. And then I brought it home and took this picture on a pretty fall day in mid October............

I won the quilt in a raffle held by the Lehigh (Iowa) Historical Society. When I was home visiting my mom in early August, I bought tickets from Roger Smith, president of the historical society. I decided to go for six for $5. I had no idea what the quilt looked like. I bought the tickets in part to support the Lehigh Historical Society. However, I'd be lying if I said that was the only reason. I've been buying raffle tickets for quilts at all sorts of events for years and have never won. I was hoping my lucky day was somewhere in my future..........and it was! Here's how I got the good news...........
On Sunday, August 28th there was an Open House event at the Lehigh Historical Society. I wasn't able to be there. I was home in Minnesota. Late that Sunday afternoon, I was doing some sewing and watching TV. I looked over at the clock and saw it was 3:30 p.m. and thought........."hmmm, they will be drawing the name of the winner of the quilt soon. Wouldn't it be nice if I could win it?" And then I went back to my sewing. At 4:25 p.m. the phone rang. I know this because I wrote the time in my journal. :-) Thanks to Caller I.D., I could see that it was my brother, Doug calling. He's the secretary for the historical society. I answered the phone and jokingly, said "Hey, are you calling to tell me I won the quilt?" Momentary silence..........and then he said "well, actually, I am." To which I replied, "Oh, you're kidding me!" And he said "no, your name was drawn. You won!" Well, I could not believe it. I didn't even know what the quilt looked like but I was just thrilled. Doug said he would keep it for me until the next time I came to visit.
I picked up the quilt after my mom and I returned from her visit to Iowa City at the end of September. When I saw it, I immediately loved the colors. It was just "me"! I love that design, intricate and almost a lace effect aroiund the center circles. The quilt was not made by members of the historical society or local quilters. Member Judy Smith purchased the quilt and donated it to raise funds. You may know the maker.......Name on the tag is J.C. Penney. I think I've heard of her before. LOL! Hope you all understand my sense of humor. Anyway, the quilt is queen size and just plain comfy and wonderful! Thanks go the members of the Lehigh Historical Society for hosting the raffle. And to Donny Ford who drew my name!

Here is another view of the quilt draped over the deck railing..........

There is only one thing that would have made winning this quilt more fun and that's if I could have shared the story of the win with my dad. He would have been telling everyone in Lehigh the story of how I won it! I'll be sharing the story when I do my "Legacy of Stitches" quilt program. It's one more quilt that I can share along with the stories of so many other quilts that my dad and mother brought my way. So happy that my lucky day arrived!

Had a great weekend. Loved getting that hour back! I finished a donation quilt for Basics and also did a little sewing just for me. Oh, and my husband brought home the Christmas tree. Granted, it's not real, but we need a new tree for the living room and so we went tree shopping last weekend. I found four I liked and told him he had to like at least one of them. We decided to think about which one would be best, one that would go in front of the window or one for the corner of the living room. We decided on one for the big window, so he stopped at Menard's and picked up the 9ft Cedar Canyon. I even like the name of the tree. Oh, and it was on sale! I'll light pine scented votive candles and once the tree is decorated no one will know it's articial. I can hardly wait to start decorating it. Am zipping right into Christmas now that the Halloween stuff is put away. We have family coming this year and some other fun stuff planned for December so I am going to make sure the place looks very festive! If you are reading this Monday morning, I'll be in the closet under the steps pulling out the Christmas decorations. Sewing may have to take the "back burner" for a few days..........
Have a great Monday! You know, I kinda like Mondays. They are a nice fresh start to the week. How about you?
Sandi

The Devil's Puzzle.............

2011-11-02T22:45:00.001-05:00

is not a puzzle at all. It is a really, really good book!! It's Clare O'Donohue's newest novel in her Someday Quilts Mystery series..........

I received a copy of the book a few weeks ago from her editor. It came while I was in Iowa with my mom. I was really busy that first week after I got home so I dared not touch the book. Finally, though, I had to check it out. Last Thursday, I went to bed a bit early and read the first chapter. I was only going to read one chapter but then I decided I would read the second chapter.
The next morning, I read the third chapter and then went about the day's duties. I didn't pick up the book again til later that night. However, I went to bed early so I could read.......chapters 4......5.......6.......7. Come Saturday, there was laundry and cleaning to do but in between all that I was picking up the book and reading.........and reading......and reading. It was so hard to put it down. I think I managed to read up to about chapter 33 by the time I turned out the lights on Saturday night.
On Sunday afternoon, I decided the book was just too compelling and I had to finish it. So, I curled up in my chair with a really comfy quilt and did just that. It was a really, really good book!! It's one of those books that I'll keep around and in a couple of years, I'll read it again. Right now, I loaned my copy to my daughter. But..............I was sent two copies and I have one to give away! All you have to do is leave a comment and tell me the name of your favorite quilt block. Make sure you have a link back to your blog or e-mail address. The last two giveaways that I hosted, I drew names that had no way to contact so I had to draw again. You have until Sunday, November 6th at noon (Central Standard Time) to leave your comment. Good luck! Oh, and of course, the book will come wrapped in fabric and maybe a little something else will be tucked in, too!
Have a great day!
Sandi

This giveaway is closed. Winner has been notified. Congratulations to Nadine/Owl Lady!

What's on the line?

2011-10-31T01:00:00.000-05:00

Well, since today is Halloween, there is nothing on the line as I am busy getting ready for the Trick or Treaters that I hope I'll see tonight. If you want to see a little something Halloween "on-the-line", you can check out my post from last year ... just go here.
I do have a little Halloween fun, though. I'd like to introduce Percy the Pumpkin along with Boris the Bat at his elbow and Spike the Spider on his hand.....

Hello! My name is Percy Pumpkin.

I may look like a Country Bumpkin

but I am really one “hip cat”,

just ask my friend, he’s Boris Bat.

The 60’s were the years for me

and, Spike, the spider would agree.

Bright colors, lemons, limes and such

and neon orange were not too much.

It’s cool to wear these colors, Man.

I’m not a guy for wearing tan.

They’ll see me coming in the dark.

I’ll glow as I walk through the park.

The lady pumpkins, they’ll cry out.

“Hey, Percy, could we walk about?”

And as we stroll the avenue,

I’ll tip my hat to all of you.

I’ll wish you all this Halloween,

a night that’s fun and really keen.

A night that’s filled with lots of treats,

but don’t over-eat on all those sweets!

For if you do, then in the night,

dreams of ghosts may cause a fright.

So, keep your cool and have some fun!

Happy Halloween to everyone!

©Sandra E. Andersen 2000-2011

Percy first appeared on my blog in October of 2008 as host for a Fall giveaway. I thought he might like to visit again. He was "born" in the year 2000 when I made him for a pumpkin decorating contest hosted by the Prior Lake Arts Society. All the fabrics for Percy came from a bag of scraps given to me by, Linda, a fellow member of the Arts group. As I stitched Percy together, I was thinking.......and the poem about Percy is the result of those thoughts. Someday, I'm going to make his cousin, Disco Danny and write a poem about him. Also, planning Sister Sally someday..... :-)
Have a BOOOOOOO-tiful Halloween everyone!
Sandi

You may share the blog link to this post about Percy the Pumpkin but do not post the poem or photo to your blog or any other group without my permission. Thanks!

Pumpkin Fun!

2011-10-26T04:00:00.000-05:00

When the October issue of Country Living arrived in the mail, I was intriqued by the pumpkins on the magazine cover. Check it out here. I quickly turned to the instruction page for how to make their gorgeous decoupaged pumpkins. This is my version...........

It's not quite so gorgeous as the ones that you will find in their magazine (there are 40 pumpkin ideas at their link ....... Pumpkin*Decorating*Ideas!!!). However, my husband says this looks like a "happy pumpkin". And that is a real compliment coming from my husband. LOL! The instructions provided info on how to paint/stencil or decoupage real or styrofoam pumpkins. I chose styrofoam so that they will last for a few years! The paper I used on my version is candy corn printed tissue paper. It worked great but I should have been more careful in lining up the candy corn. The leaves are fake but the acorns are real and from our oak tree in the backyard. The stem is Sculpey clay, green and brown blended, shaped and scored to sort of resemble a pumpkin stem. The styrofoam pumpkins came from the Dollar*Tree store. I did buy one at a craft store but it was a bit pricey and I thought I would wait til after Halloween and get some at half-price so I can make more for next year. There were only three at the Dollar*Tree store. Can you tell which ones are the fake pumpkins in the photo below?............

Oh, you guessed already!!!!! LOL! They were, of course, only a dollar each and were perfect for practicing my rusty decoupage skills. I cut off the stems right away as I knew I would make stems from clay or use chunks of tree branches for stems.

You can see in the photo below that the candy corn pumpkin has been covered and just getting multiple coats of decoupage sealer. I found the rusty orange cotton fabric at JoAnn's. It was perfect pumpkin fabric and I bought what was left........1-1/4 yards. Working with the paper was fun, but I really liked the fabric. I really wanted it to work, so I wrapped the fabric around the pumpkin, then cut, snipped, glued, then cut, snipped, and glued some more until I had just the effect I wanted.

And this is the finished result.............

Each pumpkin has three coats of decoupage sealer,. I added fake leaves and two twig chunks for stems. I think I'm going to stain the stems with a brown/green antique stain as they blend too much with the leaves.
Working with that jar of decoupage sealer was so much fun that I tried my hand at a project in Woman's Day magazine. You'll find the instructions here. I didn't get the best photo of my project but here it is finished and then with candle lit. I want to make more of these but the only jar I had was tall and so I added the wreath of leaves just for fun. These were so easy. I figure I can save jars between now and next October and make up plenty for a Halloween party!

So, with some finished decorations, I added them to my dining room table yesterday when our Bible Study group met at my house. I set out some of my miniature gift boxes on the Halloween table runner that I made last year from Pat Sloan's pattern (it can be found here). I loved how my new decoupaged pumpkins looked on the tablerunner!

I've shared my miniature gift boxes in past posts but here are some quick shots of the creative little projects that I made in the 1990's. Every item in each display is handmade.

I created the little pumpkins, caramel apples, donuts and candies, ghosts and witches from FIMO or Sculpey clay. Tiny wrapped candy bars were created by cutting little pics of candy bars from store coupons.

I drew the designs for the little Trick or Treat bags and filled them with the tiny candies.

And to top off all the Halloween themed decorations, there was this treat that I baked........

It's fresh out of the oven in the photo above. You can find the recipe here. I followed the recipe almost exactly. Almost.........I added some Kraft Karamel bits and instead of walnuts, I added pecans. And then I drizzled frosting on top...........

Everybody said it was soooooooo good. And it really was! It was quick and easy and if you print out the recipe right now, get out the ingredients and start mixing, you can be eating a piece of this in, oh......about an hour and a half. LOL!
I want to say thank you to all of you for the lovely comments following my post on my friend, Cindy. Her husband, Stephen, commented that she would have loved reading the post. Thanks to all of you that took the time to read that post and every one of my posts which are often long and chatty but true to life. Have a greeeaaattt Wednesday!
Sandi

What's on the line?

2011-10-24T02:48:00.001-05:00

When I started my "What's on the line?" feature, it was just a novel way to share my old quilts, linens, etc. I never shared any real laundry until today. And that's what this is......real laundry, fabric that I washed and then hung on the line to dry..........

But this isn't just any fabric. This is fabric from my friend, Cindy Mark. A few weeks ago, I met my friend, Barb, for lunch and after that, I went on to another place. I planned to write about that other place sooner than this, but each time I'd start to do my post, I just couldn't seem to write what I wanted to write. And what I needed to write about was the place I went and something that I wished I didn't have to do but I did it because it was something my friend, Cindy, wanted me to do. Let me share, but just so you know, this is a long post...........

My friend, Cindy, passed away from pancreatic cancer in December of 2009. In one of our last phone conversations, she told me she wanted me to be the one who went through her fabrics after she was gone. I didn't like to think that would ever happen and just tucked that thought away. She had learned in October of 2009 of her cancer and less than two months, she was gone. Time passed and while I thought of Cindy often, I rarely thought about that wish to go through her fabrics. And then in August, Cindy's husband, Stephen, e-mailed and said that he and daughter, Kaite, were finally going through Cindy's things and he wanted me to know that Cindy had told him that I was to go through her fabric. I didn't realize that she had made her wish known to them but I was ready to honor that wish. And so, that afternoon after lunch with Barb, I drove up the familiar lane to Cindy's house, knowing she would not be there and feeling kind of sad. And as I got closer to her house, I was suddenly more sad because there were no chickens. Cindy loved her chickens and they added life to the place and laughter. And they were just a part of Cindy.
I parked my car, walked up and rang the bell. I could hear the bark of a dog and recalled times when Cindy would be the "dog-sitter" for our dog, Skeeter. Sometimes she had as many as four dogs and all her chickens and a cat or two and she would still take our Skeeter! Lotsa memories.
Stephen answered the door and led me downstairs to Cindy's sewing room. He works from home and said he had to get back to work but told me to take anything I wanted, except any vintage fabrics because Kaite wanted those and probably I should leave the Halloween fabrics for her, too. Cindy's favorite holiday was Halloween! He moved some boxes and things so I could more easily get at the fabrics. And about that time, there was a "bang" and the poster in this photo below fell over. We both laughed and Stephen said "Cindy's telling you she's here!" And you know, I did feel her presence. I wondered before I got to the house, what would it feel like to go through her things, but I knew she wanted me there and so it felt just fine.

It just didn't feel odd that I was there. It felt, if possible, very comfortable because I knew she wanted me there. It was a melancholy experience, though, because Cindy was only in her early 60's and way too young to die. And she loved her daughter, Kaite, dearly and her husband, her sister, her friends. She was full of life and had just completed her degree for her Master's in Women's Studies. She was teaching at the nearby Women's Reformatory and was so excited to share her gifts. She also enjoyed the arts. Maybe I should rephrase that...........she adored the arts and encouraged creativity in everyone!!! I thought of how she had encouraged me in my own career path and can honestly say that I wouldn't have done half the things I did in the last 12 years, had I not crossed paths with her. We had much in common, and yet we also had differing religious and political views but we both had a love of our kids, the arts.........and fabric, and we enjoyed time we spent together. :-)
All around her sewing room there were nooks and crannies full of many types of fabrics and supplies. Like most of us who enjoy sewing and crafting, there were plenty of threads, paints, rulers, buttons, etc. etc. etc. I found a basket and filled it with threads and some buttons, bits of rick rack. Then I began opening the drawers filed with fabric and the first drawer I pulled out held these pinks and browns...........

I thought of my own little stash of pinks and browns that I am collecting for a "someday" quilt. Those colors remind me of my Grandma Goldie. I don't need to search for any more pink and brown fabrics. :-) I put them in a bag and pulled out the next drawer..........

There were pretty yellows, pinks and greens and I loved them all. I was thinking that I had so much fabric at home, how could I find room for more? I added them to the bag. I opened every drawer in her sewing room and sometimes what I found surprised me. I knew we had similar tastes but she had many of the same fabrics I've purchased in the last twelve years. We didn't shop for fabric together very often but we did shop at some of the same shops. One place we both had shopped was the Ben Franklin store out in Wells, MN. Cindy would head out that way because she bought chicken feed at a store there. I went there when I made trips to Iowa because Cindy told me what great fabric the store had. She was right!
When I had gone through every drawer, I began going through fabrics on her bookshelves and this one really caused a lump in my throat...........

Chicken fabrics, lots of chicken themed fabrics!!! We were both collecting fabrics for a "chicken themed" quilt and this was her "chicken stash". I recognised many of the fabrics but there were many that I did not have. Cindy had big plans and I could look at those fabrics and know that she was planning for a whole variety of chickens and even a rooster or two. There were browns, reds, blacks that would be just what was needed for the chicken and roosters feathers. There were fabrics with eggs, and baskets and chickens and plaids and straw, even chickenwire fabric! The entire stack of chicken fabrics went in a bag. The top piece on the stack is a Rose and Hubble fabric titled "Flower Fairies". There were several yards of it and it is beautiful. Like me, Cindy bought lots of fat quarters and sometimes half yard cuts, but when we saw a fabric we really liked......it was "give me six yards" because you never knew what you might make and it could always be backing fabric!

When I saw this bin full of yarn, I recalled the dolls that Cindy designed and made.

They were called "Grandmere Sage" and each doll was a wise woman and her story was told on a little card that came with each doll. No two were alike, just like none of us are alike.

Cindy and I weren't anything "alike" but we were still friends. We often talked about how different we were and some folks, yes, wondered how we could be friends. She was from the East Coast, born in Maryland, lived in New Jersey. I was born in Iowa, lived a few interesting places in my life but most of it spent here in Minnesota. We had both been fortunate to travel. I learned things from her and she learned things from me. She was a wise and caring woman and I am sad that she is gone.
After I finished sorting through Cindy's fabrics, I took one last look around the room. This unfinished sundress made me wonder........was it something she was making for herself, or perhaps a dress for Kaite?

And then her thread wall.............

The picture of a much-younger Cindy with Kaite when she was just a toddler made me smile and yet it brought tears to my eyes. Just like it is as I type this. We all have this hope that we will grow old and watch our children grow and that life will go on. It just doesn't always work out that way.
When I got ready to put the bags in my car, Stephen helped me carry them out and load them. I told him I would use many of the fabrics in donation quilt projects, pillowcases, totebags for the women's shelter, samples for my quilt clases, etc. And I would also use some for Kaite. And, I told him there was significance in the number of bags that would make Cindy smile. There were thirteen bags (kitchen trash size bags) filled with fabrics, a nice "Baker'sDozen". It was significant because the first class Cindy took from me was my "Baker's Dozen" beginner quilt class. And it was she, who encouraged me to offer such a class so that she and others could learn the basics of quilting. Yes, if I had never crossed paths with Cindy, I would not be doing so many things and probably woudn't even be blogging so you wouldn't be reading this! Yes, I am so thankful she was my friend!

As I drove home, the day was cloudy and kind of matched my mood but while I was waiting for a traffic light to change, the sky opened up and this brilliant sunshine shown through and it was just like a ray of sunshine, a smile from Cindy. I never quite know what to make of moments like this, but I take them for what they are........just a lovely moment in time.

I had one problem, though, ..........the fabric had been untouched and in a basement room for almost two years. It had a significant musty smell. When I got home, I "Googled" to see what could be done. I knew I had to salvage all this fabric. Vinegar and Oxy-Clean were listed as two ways to wash the fabric. And so, that's what I did. I began washing the fabric and using laundry soap, a large dose of vinegar and a big scoop of Oxy-Clean in each wash. Each load was washed once, then again. I started first with this small flannel bundle. The tag was still on it from a shop in Rochester, MN ........."All in Stitches". We went there together and I remember what a fun day we had. I washed them once, then twice and they came out beautiful and soft. They will be a baby quilt for Kaite in the event she one day marries and has children. I'll make the quilt and sew the love in it that Cindy would have also done.

When the weather was nice, I washed the fabrics and hung them out on my "between the trees clothesline". The ones shown in the first picture in this post, are some of the many fabrics we both bought but not while shopping together. We just liked the same stuff! We both loved the 50's and aprons and old tablecloths. We just plain loved fabric! As I washed the fabric, I would get right to it and iron it. I also wrote on the edge "Cindy" so I will know and remember. This stack here is Doreen Speckman fabric called "Provence". It said "Cindy" to me, more than almost any fabric I found in her sewing room. It will be a quilt for Kaite. Her dad knows this, but Kaite doesn't. :-)

When the weather turned cooler, I got out my old clothes rack that my mother gave me and put it to work. I washed by colors and am down to just three bags to wash......a bag of reds, a bag of greens, and a bag of blues/purples.

I will be able to salvage all of it!! I will put it to good use and Cindy would be happy to know that! She already knew that, though, and that's why she wanted me to have her fabric! Now, interestingly, just a few days before I got the e-mail from Stephen about Cindy's fabric, I had responded to a post on Victoria's BumbleBeansBlog. I told her that I would donate a couple of quilts to Basics, a New York based charity quilt drive. I had thought I would make a quilt in memory of Cindy. These are the fabrics that I chose from my stash. Cindy loved color and often would sport a strip of magenta in her red hair so these fabrics just said "Cindy".

I also plan to make a quilt in memory of my friend Cathy Wright, who died of breast cancer in July of 2009. This is a picture of Cathy with a donation quilt that she made the summer of 2008. We had a sewing day when we made quilts for Iowa flood victims and this was her contribution.

Cathy loved her family, cats and quilting. I offered to make a cat themed quilt for Cathy and had begun to collect squares of fabric from our common quilting friends. But there wasn't enough time to finish it before Cathy passed away. Last year, I added more cat-themed fabrics and thought that one day I must finish it. I had my squares and that crazy colorful cat fabric that I'll use for borders..........

and then in the fabrics I brought home from Cindy, I found that perfect pink floral that I needed for the cat quilt in memory of Cathy. It will be the first fabric used for a donation quilt that comes from Cindy's stash. And then I'll make more. Some will go to Basics and some will be made into quilts for the Crisis Nursery and some into totebags for a nearby Women's Shelter. And some will be used for samples for my quilt patterns. And lots of the fabric will be donated for use by students in a beginning quilt class I'll be offering at our Henderson Library sometime this coming winter. I would rather that Cindy could have used this fabric but she would be glad knowing it will be put to good use in so many ways! What seemed like it might be a sad task will have a good ending.

This wasn't an easy post to do. My hope would be that Cindy would have liked what I wrote. I asked Stephen if it was okay to write about her and he said, "for sure, she would have loved it". I miss Cindy. I miss her e-mails. She had lovely smile and a great laugh. So did Cathy. So did my friend, Dorothy, who passed away from cancer this past spring. I'll make a quilt in memory of her, too. And, maybe, as I make the quilts, the sadness that I feel at their passing will be released and will lead to joy for someone else who dearly needs a quilt that says "Love". And that's the best that can be done for now.

Make this a good Monday!!
Sandi

Oh, so crazy for covered boxes!!!

2011-10-21T22:01:00.004-05:00

Here's another project that I took along when I went to Iowa earlier this month. This is what it looks like finished........

I love to cover boxes with fabric and this Mary Englebreit fabric was just perfect for a sewing box. The box is one of the brown papier maché boxes you can buy at craft stores. I covered it with the fabric and then I looked to the fabric for inspiration for the top of the box.

I saw the trio of flowers on the side of the box and decided I wanted to make them from woolfelt for the top of the box. First, though, I couold see the flowers sitting on a field of yellow polka dots, but didn't have any fabric with yellow polka dots. Sooooooooo, I took black woolfelt, traced the oval shape for the box lid to the woolfelt, and then I stitched French knots all over the oval to get the polka dot effect! This was very good practice for perfecting French knots. LOL! Once the stitching was done, I glued the felt (and a bit of batting) to a pre-cut oval to place on the top of the box.

I completed this much of the box a couple years ago, but had never added the flowers. I thought it was time the flowers should "bloom", so I took it along to my sister's so I could finish it. Before I left I cut the felt flower and leaf shapes. I didn't use a pattern for the flowers or the leaves. Instead, I just cut flower shapes and leaves that sort of looked like the flower trio on the side of the box. I cut two thicknesses for each flower and stitched around them with blanket stitch. A stem stitch was used on the leaves. I could have glued it all in place but I chose to stitch it to the top of the box. I worked on it at my sister's while we chatted and then finished it at my mom's while we chatted. :-) The floss used in the project is from The*Gentle*Art. Their colors are fantastic!! The woolfelt is from National*Nonwovens.

Inside the box are two little items that I made a couple years ago from Mary E fabric scraps......a little crazy quilted pincushion and needlecase. Someday, I'll finish the quilt that those scraps came from and tell you the story that goes with it. It's a project that I was hand-stitching and am thinking that if I ever want to finish it, I should consider machine stitching the rest of the quilt.

Changing the subject.........let's talk fall colors. These photos were taken in Lehigh (Iowa) when my mom and I took a drive late Saturday afternoon. This is a bank of trees that we saw as we headed to Dolliver Park, just west of Lehigh...........

The view below is the Des Moines River looking south. For those of you that are familiar with Dolliver Park, this is taken just opposite the large stone shelter in the center of the park. It was such a beautiful day and a beautiful view! This park holds lots of memories of family reunions, Bible School picnics, fun times with school friends and more!

From Dolliver Park we headed back through Lehigh and out to Brushy Creek Park which is east of Lehigh. This park is relatively new. Most of the land was farms when I was in high school in the 60's but the land was purchased in later years and a park was created. Those trees once sat in a revine and now they stick out of the lake! This is a very popular park for horse lovers as they are wonderful riding trails here! I'm beginning to think that I should be writing tourist brochures. LOL!

From Brushy, we drove back into Lehigh where the sun was beginning to set. I took this photo of the Des Moines River looking south. In the center is a pier where the old railroad bridge used to cross the river. Now it catches debris during high water and when it's low, as it is now, the debris and the sandbar show up.

I noticed that shadows were forming on the hillside and that the sun going down seemed to add extra brightness to the leaves. The little house tucked in the trees is the home my great-grandparents lived in when I was a kid. My great-grandpa built that one and several other small homes in Lehigh. It's that house, though, where I remember my great grandma snapping beans on the front porch and then winding balls of fabric strips for rag rugs. And then there was the garden that they had at the back of the house! I never had a garden that looked as good as their garden did!

Just to the north of that house, sits this green one and my great-grandpa, and grandpa, and a little help from my dad......well, they all built this one. It was for my Great Aunt Marie. She passed away several years ago and I was fortunate to get her spool rack. That's another story I could share someday. The colors were awesome on the east hillside so I took a few shots as I walked east across the bridge toward Aunt Marie's former home.

On Sunday, there was a huge car cruise that came through Lehigh. What a gorgeous day it was for a drive up and down the valley's that dot the countryside in Hamilton and Webster Counties. If you think Iowa is just plain flat and only corn fields..........well, it's not. Get off on the side road and you can see some amazing scenery!!! These photos were taken Sunday morn, Oct. 3rd and are just a couple of the almost 400 classic cars that began in Stratford, Iowa and made their way to the Webster County Fair Grounds in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Another 300-400 cars came from other directions to join this car-lover's dream called.......... "Cruise to the Woods".

I liked the red coupe but my son and grandson would have loved the Mustangs!

That's all for now, except for one last photo of the little couple that my mom has setting outside her apartment door................

I am sure they are saying "Happy Fall!"
Have a great weekend!!!!
Back soon....
Sandi

Pretty Plaid Baskets!

2011-10-20T00:14:00.003-05:00

When I went to Iowa a few weeks ago, I took along a couple projects. I always travel with at least two or three hand-stitching projects because it really helps pass the time when waiting in doctor's offices or just while chatting or watching TV. Pat*Sloan shared a pattern for her Baby*Baskets, and I thought it was just so cute. I could see those baskets in plaids and that's what I did....................

The background fabric is a hopsack linen that I bought at JoAnn Fabrics. It caught my eye because the color is darker than many linens and is interestingly called "Tobacco". Anywhooo....... I liked it and I knew I had this black fabric with baskets on it and I don't recall when or where I bought it but the time has come to use it! All the plaids are from my stash and I used Heat 'n Bond Lite to fuse them to the linen. I took along black Perle cotton #8 and blanket stitched around all the baskets, plus two extras that I cut out and fused just before I left. I have a total of fourteen finished baskets. Pat made her quilt with nine baskets. I like twelve but I also could see sixteen because a larger quilt would look better on the wall where I plan to hang the quilt. I'm giving myself until this Sunday to make up my mind on the final number. Then I'm sewing it all together and have every good intention of finishing it by the end of October! Family is coming to visit at Thanksgiving and there is nothing like a holiday gathering or a graduation or whatever that will get one to finish projects! Does that happen at your house? It sure does at our house. I remember the year our daughter graduated from high school and family was coming for her Open House. My husband decided a week before the big day to rip up the kitchen linoleum and re-do the floor. I could go on ................

And, actually, I was planning to add a few more fall photos that I took while in Iowa but Blogger isn't cooperating with the upload feature. I'll try next post. :-)

Also, thanks to all your comments on my JOY block. I really enjoyed reading them and am so glad you like my block!
Sandi

Christmas Quilt-a-long Block!

2011-10-18T01:00:00.000-05:00

OH, JOY! It's my day for a block in Michele's Quilting Gallery

Celebrate*Christmas*Quilt-a-long!!!!

I love the Christmas season and it always brings JOY! My block was fun and easy to make and as you read on, you will see how versatile it can be. The main fabrics that I am using for the blocks in the Celebrate*Christmas*Quilt-a-long are from Jacquelynne Steve's collection Joy*Love*Peace*Noel. I have step-by-step photos for you to follow and a pdf file for the letter patterns (posted in Step 9). Let's get started........

Step 1.
I used four fabrics for the pieced sections of this block.The center square is a mottled ivory fabric by Moda but you could also use a small print or check.

Cut one 6" center square

Cut two 4-7/8" squares

Cut one WOF (width of fabric) strip 1-1/2" wide, then cut into two 8" and two 10" pieces
Cut two WOF (width of fabric) strips 2" wide, then cut into two 10" pieces and two 12-3/4" pieces

Step 2.
Cut the two 4-7/8" squares in half so that you have four triangles as shown below......

Step 3.
Evenly position two triangles to each side of the square, pin carefully and then stitch and press.

Step 4.
Position remaining triangles, pin, stitch and press.

Step 5.
Trim this section to 8" square!!

Step 6.
Lay-out the pieces for the 1-1/2" strips.

Sew the 8" side strips to the center square section..........

Then add the 10" strips to the top and bottom. Press.
Step 7.
Lay-out the pieces for the 2" strips.

Sew the 10" side strips in place............

Then sew the 12-3/4" strips and press.

Step 8.

When the pieced block is complete, trim the block to 12-1/2" square.

Step 9.
You are ready to add the words. I created a letter template so that you can create whatever message you wish on your block. You will find a pdf of this page here.

In my original block, I chose the word JOY. I plan to make four blocks for my quilt and each will have a different word. When I made my second block, I chose the word LOVE. I used scraps of red, green and blue fabric and ironed Heat 'n Bond Lite to the fabric, then traced my letters in reverse as shown below............

I cut out the letters, removed the paper, and positioned the letters. I then pressed the letters in place following directions on the Heat 'n Bond product.

Step 10.

All that is left to finish this block is to decide if you will stitch around the letters or leave as they are. I chose to a blanket stitch by hand on my JOY block and I plan to do the same on the other blocks that I make. I chose a color called "Mustard Seed" from The*Gentle*Art threads that is the perfect compliment to the fabrics I am using. You could also use fabric glitter around each letter that would really add a festive flair to the blocks. In addition to adding holiday words to your block, you could also add names of family members. If you don't want any words, then perhaps you could choose a scene from a Christmas or holiday fabric panel and fussy-cut it for the center square. You could use 5" charms and cut them into the 4-7/8" squares. You might find a holiday fabric that has words of greeting in it, that could be used for the 1-1/2" strips. The possibilities are endless when you change the fabric choice and color!

Hope you have enjoyed this tutorial for my JOY block. And now........I would like to offer a little JOY to someone who will win a sampler of the fabrics in Jacquelynne's Joy*Love*Peace*Noel fabric line. It will be similar to this one pictured below..........

Just leave your name and e-mail contact and I will draw a winning name on Thursday evening, October 20th at 6:00 p.m. Enjoy!
Sandi

And the winner is.........Denise! And imagine my surprise when I clicked on her link and discovered the name of her blog....... Count*it*all*Joy!

What's on the line?

2011-10-17T01:00:00.000-05:00

Early in September, I took a few of the older quilts that my mother and dad bought at auction and took photos for days when it was too cold or windy to actually hang something on the line. That was the case this past weekend here in Minnesota. It was very windy, so here is one of those quilts taken on a lovely early fall day..........

I find this one very peaceful. Makes me think of looking up into the sky on a night when there are no clouds and only soft stars light the sky. The quilt is a bit worn and stained but still soft and so comfy. The hand-quilting is very nice...........

In addition to wind this past weekend, it finally became necessary to turn on the heat. And yes, I added a quilt to the bed, too. :-) I am pretty sure that summer is gone and I am going to pretend that I did not hear our local weatherman utter the words......possible snow flurry!

And so, the autumn leaves have blown off of many of the trees here in the Minnesota River Valley but I have a few pictures I took that I had never shared. This photo below is Main Street of Henderson, MN looking east. It was was taken on October 3rd. The Minnesota River is at the east end of Main Street. Notice that pretty red bush in the lower right corner.........

This photo below is looking west and when I take the photos of Henderson's Main Street, I am standing next to that flagpole looking east.

Many of the buildings on Main Street are on the National Historic Register. Henderson is a lovely town, well-cared for by it's residents.

I've shared this before but I love this big tree that sits next to City Hall........

This line of trees is along the ridge at the back of our house. I took this photo from "down below the ridge".

More trees along the ridgeline...........

And this is the view from our deck..............

The photo above was taken on October 3rd and just three days later on October 6th, I took the one below. The colors change so fast!

That same day, I took one last photo of Henderson's Main Street. Remember that pretty red bush in the first fall photo in this post? Notice that the pretty red leaves are almost all gone now.

And after the wind of the past few days, many of the trees in our backyard have almost no leaves on their branches! The nice thing about that wind, though, is that it blew the leaves off the trees and down into the woods! I do hope it's a few weeks before we actually get any snow. After all, Halloween is coming up and who wants to Trick or Treat in a snowsuit?!

Tomorrow is my day to share my block in Michele's Quilting*Gallery "Christmas Quilt-a-long" so be sure to stop by and see what my design will be. It gave me JOY to make it and I hope you will enjoy adding it to your quilt if you are making the blocks in the "Quilt-a-long"!
Have a great Monday!
Sandi

A visit to the Kalona Quilt Museum

2011-10-15T23:43:00.002-05:00

Our "Quilting Day-Out" was outstanding thanks to my sister, Judy. Just the weekend before my mom and I came to stay, she and her husband had visited Kalona, Iowa and she knew she needed to bring us back to see the quilts. Kalona is considered the "Quilt Capitol of Iowa" according to tourist info and I would agree! If you are anywhere near this town, you must stop and see the quilts, shops, bakery, etc!
The Kalona Quilt Museum features rotating quilt exhibits and permanent displays of spool cabinets as well as a rock and mineral exhibit. Two exhibits of quilts were on display. One room contains the quilts of Thuy Nguyen and they are exquisite. She is originally from South Vietnam but came to Iowa in the late 1970's. To read more about her story and her quilts, you can check out her website here. The other exhibit was Amish quilts as many Amish farms and families are nestled in the rolling hills of southeast Iowa. It was a beautiful drive the day we were out. It was just too windy for picture taking outdoors! Photos were allowed at the museum so I will share a few with you......

I believe there were about 18 appliqued quilts on exhibit and mingled in with the quilts were an incredible collection of spool cabinets. I remember the spool cabinet that sat at the back of Ching's Clover Farm Store in Lehigh, Iowa. I can remember purchasing thread there in the 1960's and often wondered what became of that thread case when the store closed. I have never seen such a collection of thread cases and was absolutely fascinated by them!

I was also fascinated by the detailed work in the quilts that Thuy Nguyen made. My mother and sister and I each had a favorite. I cannot imagine the hours of work that went into the applique. Thuy does all the applique and then Amish women do the hand-quilting and follow the design that she creates for the quilt.

The intricate applique work was just incredible!!!

In contrast to the applique quilts, the Amish quilts were beautiful in theirsimplicity. I was reminded that I want to make just one Amish style quilt in mylifetime.

I found this one to be especially lovely......

This little vintage baby walker was displayed next to a collection ofchildren and doll quilts. My mother, Mary, was especially fascinated by thisearly piece of baby furniture.

Just one more spool cabinet to share that was located outside the quiltdisplay rooms.....

It's a wonderful museum and I'm so glad Judy took us their for a visit! Toget a little more info on Kalona...........

just go here. And if youvisit, be sure and look for the quilt designs that you'll find on the city streets.........

You might also see the occasional horse and buggy.......

And there is even a quilt shop.....

Stitch 'n Sew. And yes, we did go inside and we did do a little shopping. :-)

And next door to thequilt shop is this antique shop in a former church building. It was late in theafternoon by this time, so we didn't visit the antique shop but it will be onthe list for next time. We were all a little tired so we headed back to my sister'sand I fixed a tasty casserole with biscuits, a nice finish to a lovely day!

Lunch at Morning Glory Bakery!

2011-10-13T15:47:00.001-05:00

Note........be sure to read this post here first and then read on.........

So, here is where I left off in my last post.............the doors at the back of Inspiration Quilt Shop that lead into Morning Glory Bakery. You might say this is a family venture as the bakery is owned by Nancy's daughter, Cassie. I think that shopping and lunch are just a divine combination. After all, no quilter lives by fabric alone. Actually, we often require chocolate and there was certainly some of that on the menu. :-) You can check out the menu here. The food is really, really good. Here's what I enjoyed........

That's a half and half meal........half a Smoked Turkey Panini and half an Apple Walnut Salad. It was, I repeat, so good! Jeanie ordered the 16 Bean soup and I forget what her husband Larry ordered, but it was his dessert that looked yummy. It was some kind of Oreo concoction and he really enjoyed it. I decided to buy some cookies for later as my half portions were very filling. Serving up the good eats were owner, Cassie on the right and her sister, Jessica on the left, with Hope in the middle. The cookies I bought were a pretzel chocolate chip cookie concoction that was so good, I wished I had bought more than just two of them. :-) I really love a good chocolate chip cookie!

There are quilts on display in the bakery, too, and this one was especially lovely...........

Jeanie's husband took a picture of the two of us and then we said our good-byes. But not before we were making plans to see each other again sometime! I really enjoyed our visit and will plan to do this again the next time I am in the Iowa City area. And actually, I have some plans "in the works" that would mean I would make a trip to Iowa City just for quilty fun so I'll keep you posted.

My sister, Judy, and my mom, arrived as we were finishing our lunch. They had lunch earlier to give my mom some time to rest. Judy had a fun afternoon planned and rest was definitely needed. I'll tell you all about our afternoon in my next post. First, though, a little intro to what the afternoon held...........
We stopped here at the Kalona Cheese factory. Yummy cheese curds here!

And then we were on the road again and headed here............

And that's where I'll start my next post as oh, what wonderful things we saw in the Quilt & Textile Museum. And speaking of textiles............
Do you wish that perhaps you had been able to visit Inspirations Quilt Shop and buy a little fabric? Well, I was thinking of you, my readers, when I was there and I bought these.......

They are fat-eighths of some pretty fabrics by Andover and you could win them. Just tell me how long the drive would be if you had to get to Inspirations Quilt Shop. I'll save you the trip and on Sunday at 6:00 p.m., I'll draw a winning name.
One last thing......I got home to Minnesota and realized I liked these fabrics so much that I wanted to make candlemat with them. Oh, but I had bought them to give away so I couldn't keep them. What to do? I e-mailed Nancy and ordered up some more for me. And when I took my lunch break after finishing my previous post, they were in my mailbox today! How's that for service? Certainly easier than a 14 hour round trip that it would normally take to get to the shop. :-) I'm going off to play with my fabrics now and you just need to leave that comment for your chance to win. Make sure you leave your e-mail or have your profile set to allow e-mail contact. If I draw your name but cannot contact you, I will have to draw another winner.
See you tomorrow with our visit to the Kalona museum..........
Sandi

Winning name has been drawn and as soon as I get a reply to my e-mail from Debbie, I will send her fabrics on their way to her door! And she has replied! The winner of the fabrics is Debbie M at Designs*by*Debbie*and*Dixie,too!.

Inspirations galore........and more!!!

2011-10-13T14:13:00.001-05:00

Life has been very hectic lately. I have oodles of things to share but sometimes I am short on time. Today's post is all about where I was at this time just two weeks ago. I was here at Inspirations Quilt Shop ...............

The shop is located in Hills, Iowa, a small town just six miles south of Iowa City. I was able to visit the shop because I was in Iowa City with my mom for some doctor appointments at University of Iowa hospitals. My sister, Judy, lives in Iowa City, so we were staying with her for a few days. It's no fun to just visit doctors, though, so we took a "day-out" and visited Inspirations and more.
Since I knew we would have a "free day" between appointments, I thought it might be fun to meet some of my Seasons BOM Yahoo group members. It was a "spur of the moment" idea and so it didn't work for some of you that live near Iowa City. But, it worked for Jeanie and it was a delight to meet her and her husband, Larry........

Jeanie has MS but that doesn't stop her from quilting. It does make transportation difficult sometimes but just a week before we met, her husband retired and was able to be her chauffeur. I am so glad because we enjoyed chatting, shopping and then had lunch together! My mother and sister joined us right after our lunch. Our lunch will be shared in my next post. I took so many photos on our "day out" and it will take three posts just to share all the fun that was had on this day.
I'll start back at the beginning........the moment I opened the shop door and stepped inside, I looked to the left and saw this..............

I love a good wall full of fabric! LOL!

And there was more, a wall of red and then green fabrics...........

And when I turned around, I saw this..........

oh, how I do love 30's prints and cheery fabrics!

I recently fell in "fabric love" with batiks and this wall of fabrics really called my name and so I added a few to my batik stash........

I have a "thing" for chickens and I liked this sign and the fabrics, too..........

I'm not sure there is any fabric that I don't like. Or any quilt for that matter. LOL!

This quilt was one of many lovely samples..............

Just look at the long wall of rich gold and brown fabrics..........

And in the middle of all those walls of fabric, I found more fun fabrics. I was drawn to these fabrics because they reminded me of fabrics I used in the 70's for the miniature sofa and chair sets that I made. I almost bought some of these.........

There were cute displays throughout the shop..........

Oh, so much fabric "goodness"!!!................

I liked the bear on this shelf but,to be honest, I loved the shelf even more

and wished that I could find one like it for my kitchen! :-)

In one of the displays, my mom saw this book.........

She looked at and set it down, then looked at it again. She loves to make small projects and decided she had to have the book. I took a long look at it after we got home and this is a great book. It is full of sooooooo many cute little projects for gifts and favors!

These fabrics "caught my eye" because of the sheep that I saw on them...........

I bought three fat quarters in this line and who knows what I will make with them, but one day they will become a project and you'll see it here on my blog. I also bought some flannels after I saw this display.........

I bought two fat quarter bundles.......a blue "boy bundle" and a pink "girl bundle" that I plan to use for a couple of donation quilts that will go to the Crisis Nursery in our area.
Tucked among many of the fabrics and displays are lots of signs like these that are on the wall that lead up to the classroom..........

And this is the classroom..............

I have never seen such a fabulous classroom in any quilt shop that I have ever visited. This space is just incredible! There's a possibility that I may teach a class here so stay tuned for info on that. I do love my quilting and I love to share so call me.........

Yes, that sign was pretty much my favorite, although I liked ".....and sew on" ..........

and I shared this one a few days ago, but it's worthy of an encore. If you are a quilter, it really is a silly question, isn't it?

So, when it's time to pay for your purchases, there are stools where you can rest from the hard work of choosing fabrics and patterns.............

I rested here, and so did my mom. When you look up, this beautiful batik quilt is hanging on the wall. Enlarge this photo (double-click) and check out the awesome machine quilting.

Last but not least.........who is the owner of this lovely shop? It's Nancy Lackendar, on the left and that's staff member, Jo, on the right.

And "staff member-in-waiting" is Nancy's sweet little granddaughter.....

Shopping was almost done, but there was one line of fabric, that made my heart "pitter-patter" and I had to have it. Nope, it's not those pretty fabrics in the bassinet. It's some of the lovely fabric in the black bookcase.............

It's called "Lately arrived from London" by Barbara Brackman for Moda. I saw it and knew it would make a perfect wall quilt for my living room. I have never bought an entire line of any fabric. Ever! I had some extra spending money with me, thanks to my husband, and these fabrics just had to come home with me. When I got home, I took a bettter picture ........

This quilt project is going to be my "New Year gift to me". I can already see the design in my head and really want to start the project. Other things are calling my name, though, so I tucked it away and it will be a nice treat after Christmas.
With our shopping done, it was time for lunch, so Jeannie and her husband and I headed toward the back of the shop.............

and then through the doors you see in this photo...........

for a delicious lunch at "Morning Glory Bakery". And after I take a break for my lunch today, I'll be back to tell you about our lunch at the bakery. While I'm away, you can check out the website for Inspirations Quilt Shop here. Great shop, friendly staff, awesome fabrics!

Back soon..........

Sandi

What's on the line?

2011-10-10T00:03:00.002-05:00

Hmmm, notice something different? There is a fence in this photo so you know that this is not my regular clothesline. Instead, this is a clothesline at my sister, Judy's, in Iowa City. She pulled out this quilt so I could share it here on my blog! The photo was taken about a week and a half ago when my mom and I were staying at Judy's while our mom was having some medical tests at U of Iowa hospitals. And the quilt has a story, of course!

In previous posts, I've shared about quilt tops that were made by my Aunt Bell who raised our mother, Mary. Aunt Bell lived next door to us when we were kids. My mother told me that when Aunt Bell was a young mother in the late 1920's, her elderly mother-in-law "Granny Blair" came to live with her. And to pass the time, she made some quilt tops. They were given to me and to my sister by our Aunt Bell in the late 1960's/early 1970's. The quilt in the photo above is the one that belongs to my sister, Judy. It is the work of three different quilters and at three different times in it's life. First, our great, great Granny Blair pieced the blocks and sewed them into the top. She added rows of pieced strips to one end (those on the right) but not to the other end. That work was done prior to the 1930's. Sometime in the late 1950's/early 1960's our mother, Mary, took some scraps from Aunt Bell and some from her own stash, and added strips to the left end of the quilt. Judy took it to a church group and the ladies hand-quilted it. I think she had that done some time in the 1980's.
The top that I was given is featured in a previous blogpost and is the second photo you will find here. I was told that it is "Trip Around the World". That post also features a twin size small-block nine-patch that my mom believes was made by Granny Blair. I have never had the "Trip Around the World" top quilted and the twin quilt is only tied. Some day, I will have a quilting bee with friends and set up a quilt frame and get it quilted!
When I was given my top, I don't recall seeing the one that Judy received. I remembered my mom saying it was a "double wedding ring" and when I've shared the story about Granny Blair/Aunt Bell and the quilt tops, that what I called it. But clearly that's not what it is. Judy said that Aunt Bell told her it was "Road to the Lighthouse". I did a little searching and I couldn't find a quilt by that name in Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Quilt Blocks but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. We all give names to our quilts and they often contain basic blocks that we all use. The basic block in this quilt is the log cabin block. Perhaps the yellow is the light in the lighthouse? I just love how the colors were carefully chosen to give the effect of light rows around the center section. On the day I took the photos, the sun was so bright that it makes the colors seem a bit faded. I brought the quilt inside and placed it on the floor to get this close-up photo.........

There is one more quilt that belongs in this story and it is the Butterfly Quilt that will go to our brother. It was made by Aunt Bell and you can read about it here. Each of these quilts is very colorful and very special because they are connected to our Aunt Bell who was just like a grandmother to us!
And speaking of grandmothers.......Judy also got out this afghan that was made by our Grandma Goldie, mom to our dad, Melvin. I have quilts that were made by Grandma Goldie or given to her. You can find them at these past entries....... here, here, and here!

We are very fortunate to have so many pieces made by the women in our family!

So, as you know, I was in Iowa and I mentioned in a previous post that I took a ton of pictures. I still have oodles to share and then this past week.............I took a lot more because I was "out and about" and I took a lot of fall foliage shots! And then today, I took more photos! I went to the Fall fest at St. Joseph's Catholic Church here in Henderson. This is the view of the church as I stepped back and sort of down the hillside. It sits on a rather steep spot on the hillside and any further back and I would have gone tumbling! Just look at that lovely sky and the steeple............

It was another warm and gorgeous day here in Minnesota. We were in the 80's again for the 8th straight day! That is a record for October! The weather could not have been more perfect for this event. Under the tent, there was a "Country Store" at one end and a "Silent Auction" at the other end.........

And inside the Fellowship Hall behind the tent, they were serving up Sunday dinner. I enjoyed this.............

My husband is out of town, so I needed a good meal and it sure was! The food was catered by Chef Craig and the chicken was especially yummy. I mean really yummy!!
After dinner, I couldn't pass up a couple of items at the "Country Store"..........

Those little lotus bowls aren't going to hold rice. Oh, no! They are going to become pincushions. LOL! And I have plenty of cookbooks but not one of these and at 50 cents each, I couldn't pass them by!
The day was so pretty that I drove around the Henderson area and snapped photos of whatever "caught my eye". This pretty tree that is north on Cty Road 6 "caught my eye" as I passed by............

So, I turned around and drove back by it so I could get a photo. Some of the trees have already lost their leaves as we had strong winds this past Friday. Others are still full of leaves and just plain gorgeous! More fall foliage photos coming soon but my next post is going to be about our quilting adventure when I was in Iowa City. And then coming up is the Table Treasures event that I went to this past Saturday in Hutchinson, MN. It was awesome! So much to share.........Back soon!
Sandi

I have been "Out and About" to Jenni's Yarn shop.........

2011-10-06T00:55:00.000-05:00

That's right. I promised I'd share my "out and about adventures" and I have a great one to share today. I've been "here and there" in Minnesota, then on the road to "here and there" in Iowa. And then when I got home, I had to catch up so it wasn't until last night that I loaded 250 photos from all that time "out and about". I definitely have fun stuff to share! And sooooooooo, here we go............
A couple of weeks ago, I took a little trip back to Prior Lake where we used to live. My purpose? It was to visit my friend, Jenni's, new venture.......Twisted*Loop*Yarn*Shop!! Jenni is realizing a dream by opening her shop. She's a quilter, too, (we were members of the Prior Lake Quilter's) and a mom and a wife and a schoolbus driver!! She is one busy gal!!
Now many of you know, because I have shared the fact that I do not knit or crochet, and you might be wondering why I would check out a yarn shop. Ah, but my daughter, Collette, can knit and she loves to crochet! I was on a mission to find something fun at Jenni's shop that would make a nice gift for Collette. (If you live in the area, just check out Jenni's website for shop hours here.) The day I stopped in was a Thursday when she is open late. Her shop is located in the lower level of another great shop where I used to buy lots of fun gifty items........Home Accents. As you head down the steps, you might see this gorgeous sweater, a sample that one of the yarn companies loaned Jenni for her Open House. I love that sweater!

It occurred to me that maybe I should take a class but I quickly thought better of it as it's all I can do to find time to quilt these days. But you can check out her classes here.

Taking a class was very tempting because the yarns were so beautiful! I was looking for a gift for Collette...........so I thought about buying some variegated yarn so she could make a scarf...........

Then I saw these bright, fun colors.............

and then there were these awesome knitting tote bags..........

and more gorgeous yarns and some of them were soooooo soft!

There was another customer in the shop and that's Jenni (on the right) answering questions about one of the yarns. And here is where I apologize for my photo taking ability. Jenni is almost always smiling and I caught her in "serious mode". If you stop in the shop, though, you will see her smile and enjoy her laugh!

So, what did I buy for Collette? Well, I can tell you now, because I gave it to her as a surprise about a week ago. I bought the magenta colored knitting tote. It was too sweet to pass up. The totes are from a company called Lantern*Moon and are made in Vietnam. Check out their story here. I originally thought I'd save the tote for a Christmas gift but I couldn't wait that long. My plan was to personally deliver it to her at the daycare she owns. It was late in the day and she had left work already so I left the tote on her chair and it was a surprise the next morning when she arrived at work. She loved it!! Now the next time I'm in Prior Lake, I guess I'll have to get some yarn to fill the tote. :-) Jenni has a great little shop and I wish her much success!!

Yesterday's post of the quilty sign is just one of the 250 photos I loaded last night. My trip to Iowa was made so that I could take my mom to some doctor appointments in Iowa City but we had some fun, too. There were pretty fall colors to see and a couple of quilt shops and the Kalona Quilt Museum and more. I have so much to share!

Back soon...........

Sandi

The photo says it best.........

2011-10-05T00:29:00.003-05:00

What's on the line?

2011-10-03T02:00:00.003-05:00

When it comes to music, I love the "Oldies but goodies" and I think the same could be said for many of the quilts that I like. Here's a wonderful "Oldie but goodie" ..............

There was quite a breeze blowing as I took the picture of this lovely old scrappy quilt. I just love to watch the quilts blow with the breeze and then settle back down ..........

And then I love to take a close-up picture and really study the different fabrics in these old patchwork quilts.

This quilt is very worn and quite stained but like so many of these old quilts that my dad and mother bought at auction, they still retain incredible charm and beauty. And that's the truth. :-)
I have been away for a few days in Iowa and so this week will be a "catch-up" week. I have so many fun things to "show and tell" in the coming days. We are enjoying a beautiful stretch of autumn weather and gorgeous fall colors. My picture taking does not do justice to the colors Mother Nature has offered up this year. I tried though, and will have some photos to share in my next post. Have a great Monday!
Sandi

Thanks to Facebook............

2011-09-28T00:48:00.004-05:00

Yes, that's right, thanks to Facebook, I am now the happy caretaker of 296 issues of Quilter's Newsletter magazine that date from February of 1980 to December 2010! And how did Facebook facilitate this awesome collection?

It happened because I have lots of quilty Facebook friends and because I click "like" on a whole lot of quilty things on Facebook. And one of those quilty things that I recently clicked "like" on is the Minnesota Quilter's page. That's where Karen L. posted that someone had quite a collection of Quilter's newsletter magazines they wanted to donate to Minnesota Quilters, but MQ already has all these issues. She posted a "status" on Facebook that if anyone was interested in the magazines, please contact her. I saw her status and contacted her immediately. I was lucky. I was the first one who e-mailed that I was interested in them. We met in the parking lot of the Wal-mart near the Minneapolis International Airport where she removed ten brown grocery bags from the back of her car and we placed them in the back of my car. If anyone was watching that day and reports any suspicious activity involving two gals and bags of stuff changing hands........well, it was us. Nothing illegal took place. Well, unless it's a crime to collect too much quilty stuff. I was all smiles to get those magazines. I brought a little fabric gift for Karen so she went away happy, too. Thanks Facebook for being there as otherwise, I never would have been known about this collection that is now in my care!! And yes, Facebook is doing some changing and I can't decide whether I like it all or not, but right now, I am just glad I was there when Karen posted these magazines needed a new home. And I love it that they are making their home in my sewing room!!!

And speaking of changing............the leaves they are-a-changing..............

This is the big tree that is in my neighbor's backyard, two houses down the street from us. It's a big, beautiful tree and as the sun set the other night, it looked even more beautiful! It's a huge tree! I'm guessing the weeping willow is about 15 feet tall and as you can see, the big tree towers over it. More fall leaf changing pics coming soon.............

Next post is going to be a real yarn........

Have a great day!!

Sandi

What's on the line?

2011-09-26T10:07:00.000-05:00

Something old, something blue, ........that's what's on the line today. This old quilt is very worn but it is still exquisite! Just take a look.............

This is another quilt that my dad bought at a farm auction. It has seen lots of use and yet you can tell that it was cared for over the years. It was so carefully pieced and stitched......and as many of you know this is not an easy pattern to make!!! I love the fabric choices and wonder..........were they scraps or did this quiltmaker purchase her fabric and plan her design? It's a question for this and many other vintage quilts that can never be answered. Take a look at the close-up of the center...........

There are places where the fabric has worn thin and yet this quilt is still..........stunning! The most significant wear is on the outer edges of the quilt. I like this one so much that I think I may put a new, old-looking border on it so that I can display it on a wall somewhere here in our house. I will do it so that it could be removed and would not harm the integrity of the quilt. This quilt just makes me smile so it would be nice to keep it out so I could pass by it and smile. :-)

I must apologize that this post is a bit late today. I had some trouble with blogger and kept getting some message about "server issues" and finally gave up trying to do this as a scheduled Monday morning post. But it's here now, so hope you enjoyed it.

Now.........are you a blog reader who lives in southeast Iowa? If so........I shared with my Yahoo group members that I am going to be in the Iowa City area at the end of this week. I plan to meet a couple members at Inspirations*Quilt*Shop in Hills, Iowa, just south of Iowa City this coming Thursday, September 29th. If you live in the area, why not join us? We are going to .........

"Meet, Greet, Shop and Eat" and will gather at the shop at 10:00 a.m. for a fun morning. We'll take time for coffee or lunch at the bakery that adjoins the shop ..... "Morning Glory Bakery". This is sort of a "spur of the moment" plan but I just thought it might be fun! If you think you'd like to join us, please let me know. Send an e-mail to me at stitchinglegacy (@) gmail (dot) com.

Lots to do today so I best get to it! Oh, but one last picture.......well, make that two......

This is my friend, Gloria, who shared her talents in an old-fashioned hymn sing at Bender Park yesterday morning as part of Heritage Days in Henderson. Gloria and I used to attend the same church before I moved and I miss her musical gifts. It was a real treat to hear her play as she is wonderful at the piano! And the piano is not the only instrument that she is good at.........

She loves to play the accordian and when she does, her husband Jim often accompanies her on the "Spoons". In the photo above, the pastor from Centennial church borrowed Jim's spoons and is tapping out a tune on his knees. If you love music and old hymns, you would have enjoyed yesterday's outdoor service!!!

Okay, time to get to work........Have a great Monday!

Sandi

Henderson Heritage Days!

2011-09-25T00:15:00.000-05:00

It was Heritage Days in Henderson this weekend. It's an annual festival that celebrates the heritage of this little town that I am fortunate to call home! Speaking of homes, this lovely one was once the home of the Poehler family, a fairly well-to-do merchant in the late 1800's. It's now the home of the Sibley County Historical Society.

This fountain is in front of the City Hall building which was once the County Courthouse. In 1915, the county seat was moved west to the community of Gaylord. If you enjoy history, you might enjoy reading the history behind the move......just go here.

On the lawn of the City Hall building there were vendors selling food, quilts, handmade items, kettle corn (yep, I bought some) and demonstrations like this one....a gentleman showing kids how to make cornhusk crafts...........

So I told you that I bought some kettle corn but I didn't open the bag because I decided I needed an ice cream cone. Parked outside Toody's Sweets and Treats was this inviting scene............

I got a two scoop chocolate chip cone that is considered a "Kiddie cone" at Toody's and it was just $2!! I enjoyed it while I wandered back up Main Street where some vintage autos were parked.......

and inside the building with the arched windows, the local Veterans had set up displays of photos and other memorabilia from area servicemen.

Most of the items were from WWII and strangely I did not get a picture of any of the Vets that were hosting the display. There were at least a dozen in the hall when I took these pictures but they were at the back in the hospitality area.

Then it was time to wander my way back to the library because that was my volunteer spot. The Henderson Library is a lovely place that was the former Episcopal Church built in 1872/1873. The original church was the front portion that you see in the photo below. When the church closed, the building was given to the city of Henderson in 1965 and it became the home of the Henderson Library. The rear addition was added in the 1970's (hope I have my dates right). It is a beautiful library and it's my grandson, Jacob's favorite place to visit in Henderson. :-)

My little job was to tell folks about the stained glass windows. The church may have been small but congregants saw to it that it was a beautiful place of worship. Family names are on each pane..........

Each one is unique.........

and yet one that is similar to this one with the lamb is located in the cathedral in Faribault, MN to the east of Henderson.

This window was placed in memory of a Civil War vet who left behind a widow and several children.........

This window was placed in honor of former Sibley County Judge Kirby by the Masonic Order. You can see the Masonic symbol in the center of the pane.

This last window is the prettiest and has the saddest story in my opinion. It's in memory of Lilly Laufman, a young girl who died of diptheria in the late 1880's. Her parents must have loved her dearly because there is also a window in her memory in the church that is across the street from this building, St. Paul's United Church of Christ.

One of the aspects of Heritage Days is costumed historical guides. This is local talent, Art Straub, who became Bishop Henry Whipple for the day. Bishop Whipple was the first Bishop for the Episcopal Church in Minnesota.

And this is a photo of the real Bishop Whipple.........

and Art did a wonderful job of engaging the audience in the telling of Bishop Whipple's life and travels. He was known as "Straight Talk" to the areas Native American's because he was a man of his word. You can read more about the very interesting life of Bishop Whipple here.

And when the afternoon events had ended, I drove up to my favorite spot for a peek at what the fall colors are doing. It's still looking pretty green, but little bits of change can be seen in the trees in the east horizon.

I suspect that next week, there will be significant change and by the second week in October, this scene will no longer be so green!!
Today, there is worship in Bender Park with my friend, Gloria Jesperson at the keyboard. She'll have the crowd singing old hymns and it will be wonderful. Then there's a pancake breakfast hosted by the Henderson Baseball Association. It just doesn't get any better than a small town festival!
If you wish you were here, think about coming next year!! :-)
Have a beautiful Sunday!
Sandi

Happy First Day of Fall!

2011-09-23T14:09:00.003-05:00

It's a beautiful day here in Minnesota on this first day of fall/autumn. This past Monday, I spruced up my front porch......swept away the cobwebs.......cleaned the railing........got out some fall flowers and some mini pumpkins and it looked so nice. Then we got those winds on Tuesday and Thursday so I had to move it all inside. But it all went back on the porch yesterday, along with more pumpkins from Emma Krumbee's.

You can see my little chair and footstool now that they are stained. The chair, as I mentioned in a previous post, is an old Sunday School chair. The little stool is somebody's shop class project that I bought at a garage sale. It was made by Ben because each section has "Ben" written in pencil. I sanded the name off the top piece but left it on the other pieces. Whoever "Ben" is, I love your little piece of handiwork.

The two birdhouses were made by my brother several years ago. The one in the picture above is made from a stair spindle that he salvaged from the farmhouse that my grandparents lived in up until the 1970's. The birdhouse below is made from a salvaged spindle from my Aunt Lottie's front porch railing. Makes me smile when I see them. :-)

That wreath on the left is on it's last year. It's one of those from the 70's that is a maple leaf design and the leaves were cut, then stitched and stuffed, then glued to a wire frame. It's one my mom bought at a craft fair many years ago and gave to me last year. It looked really good until I hung it outside, something I probably should not have done. Oh, well..........

Anyway, I love how the front porch looks so inviting and when my neighbor Arlene stopped by yesterday, she said that very thing. I think it says "Welcome, Fall" and to you, too! Hope you are enjoying this fine day wherever you are!
Sandi

Out to lunch with the Scarecrow!

2011-09-21T04:00:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I met my friend, Barb, for lunch at Emma Krumbee's. It's a restaurant and apple orchard in Belle Plaine, MN and is a good halfway point for us to meet and catch up. It's also home to the annual Scarecrow contest. This is Barb with the scarecrow that stands outside the restaurant..........

There wasn't anyone around to take our picture together, so we snapped one of each of us holding hands with this handsome fella.

Barb and I have been friends for a good many years and we try to get together at least once or twice a year. It is such a gift to spend time with a good friend!! After our long, chatty lunch, Barb headed home but I went over to Emma's General Store as I was in search of some pumpkins..........

First thing I saw when I walked in was lots of fun Halloween stuff...........

and then straight ahead was this candy selection. Yep, I bought something here........

and beyond that was all this popcorn and jam...........

and then these yummy pies and fritter bread..........

but no real pumpkins so I headed outside and I as walked around the corner, I could see down the lane where the scarecrows were set up...........

It was pretty quiet as it was just a Tuesday afternoon but on the weekends, this place is packed with families! It's a very popular family destination. I've actually had the pleasure of being a Scarecrow judge on two occasions for this event. How many of you can say that you have "Scarecrow Judge" on your resume? LOL! Anyway...........I was in search of pumpkins so I continued on, past the old steam tractor and toward that building that says "Apples"............

and in front of the apple building was the pumpkin hall...........

And so I bought three little pumpkins that will go on my front porch. I would show you what they look like except they are currently residing inside because we have winds gusting up to 30-40 MPH in our area. The gusts have blown over my birdhouses and other cutsey stuff I put on porch on Monday. I gave up and brought it all in and will hope for the wind to quiet down by tomorrow.
Now, remember that I said I bought some candy at the General Store? It's an Old Dominion Peanut Bar which is one of those candies I ate as a kid and couldn't resist buying one. But, actually, I bought two and thought I'd share. Barb brought me some paperbacks by Earlene Fowler that she had picked up at a book sale. I have read "Sunshine and Shadow" (and it was really good) but not the other two titles...........

She shared with me, so I will share with one of you. I'll send one of you the "Sunshine and Shadow" book and that extra Peanut Bar. Just leave me a comment and tell me your favorite thing about Fall. I'll draw a winning name on Friday, September 23rd, the first day of fall (here in the U.S.). And if you want, I could wrap up the book and the candy bar in some fall fabrics. But only if you want some fabric. :-)
Edit........the winner is Mary Jane. I've sent her an e-mail and await her address. Package will go in the mail on Monday!

There was more to this day but that will have to wait til my next post.......see you then!
Sandi

What's on the line?

2011-09-19T04:00:00.000-05:00

Baby quilts are on the line today! These are three little quilts that I found mixed in with some of the larger quilts that my dad bought. They aren't all that old or unique but someone made each one of these for someone special and so...........these baby quilts are special for that very reason! I love this simple patchwork baby quilt. It's a mix of fabrics that I can tell date from the 1950's into the 1970's.

The quiltmaker stitched up her patchwork blocks and then added embroidery around each block. She used different colored floss and stitched around them in feather stitch. The batting in the quilt is an old pink quilted bedspread and the backing...........

well, the backing is that lavendar and blue floral that you see above. You can also see just a bit of the pink quilted bedspread showing through a whole in the back of the quilt. Further up the back of the quilt, the floral fabric is in shreds but at this time, I don't plan to repair it but will keep it just as it is. At some point, I may "stabalize the backing" ...... like on some cold winter night when I need the warmth of a lap-quilt! LOL!

This baby quilt is just exquisitively pieced and hand-quilted. It is just lovely.

Unfortunately, it's got some stains and it is faded and worn but it still has charm!

And even this baby quilt, simple as it is, it also has charm..........

It's not really a quilt because the maker stitched her top and then tied it with yarn, but I love how she chose to use just the two colors and then used purple, lavendar and yellow yarn for the ties. Of the three quilts, this one is in the best condition.

I took these quilt photos on Saturday afternoon because I knew we were to get rain on Sunday. In the photo below, you can see the area where I have strung my clothesline between two trees. The quilt you see there is the one I'll be sharing next Monday.

You can also see that the trees are still quite green but the leaves are beginning to turn yellow up the right side of the tree in the photo above. We haven't had any rain for almost two weeks here so the rain we got on Sunday was a welcoming soft rain that watered gardens and crops. A soft drizzle was falling when I took this photo below.........

It was taken after church, about the same time as the one I took last Sunday. I thought there might be more change in color but things are still really green. Off to the right in the photo above is the house you see below...........

and those bushes are turning a beautiful red! I love the house in the background and it's for sale! I think it would make a great quilt shop. What do you think?

Today, I'll be getting out my fall decorations. I started doing some decorating last week, but got sidetracked. Kaiser the Wonder Beagle was sick all day Friday so I felt like I was caring for a sick toddler. He was fine by Saturday and then I was tired.......but not sick. I was glad because I didn't want to miss the Henderson Fire Department Pork Chop Dinner.

I dearly love it when someone else cooks. :-) And it's also nice that someone else cleans up!
Hope this day is a great start to a great week!
Sandi

It's a Christmas Quilt-a-long at Quilting Gallery!

2011-09-15T00:22:00.000-05:00

Michele over at QuiltingGallery is hosting her first ever "Quilt-a-long" and it is going to be a fabulous event!! Click the logo above and check out the info. There will special deals and designer profiles and so much more. There will be a total of 36 blocks by 36 designers that you can make!!! And I am honored to be one of them.

My day is October 18th and I have a Joyful block planned for that day.

And yes, there's a hint in that word Joyful. :-)

The Quilt-a-long started on September 13th. I'm a bit late with my notice of the event because I got busy stitching and here's the result.......

Block one was designed by Pat*Sloan and I made it this past Tuesday.........

I am using fabrics that Jacquelynne from The*Noble*Wife sent me. They are from her fabric line Joy*Love*Peace*Noel and they are going to be perfect. I can already tell!!! The polka dots in the line were just what I wanted for Pat Sloan's block. This was an easy block if one follows the directions. I got so excited to make it that I did not read the instructions carefully. That's right. I made the half-square triangles just like Pat instructs in her pattern but I didn't trim them to 3.5 inches square. And guess what? When you don't trim them, the block does not go together right. I knew I had done something wrong but thought it was my quarter inch seams and that if I just had a new sewing machine, I would have sewn the block right. Wrong! I ripped seams, restitched, trimmed, etc. etc. and finally got the 12-1/2" block I was supposed to get. And then when I was putting away the pattern........I noticed the part about "trim to 3.5 inches". Oh, boy, put me in the corner right now! LOL! I love the little basket which is similar to the one in her pattern Baby*Baskets which I'm going to make during her Quilt-a-long later this month. Thinking plaids for that project..............but back to Christmas blocks...........
and so, yesterday, I made the second block which was designed by Jennifer at All*Things*Belle ..............

I just love the snowflake prints and they were perfect for Jennifer's block design. I fussy-cut the little squares in the four-patch sections and again....perfect for this project! I had a bit of trouble with the paper-piecing but sent an e-mail to Jennifer and got some help. I switched the position of the mittens for my block but otherwise it is made just like her block.

And, try as I might, I always seem to have a wonky seam here and there. I have it in both blocks. I really do think that if I had a new machine that I could make these blocks so much better. :-) Soon..........

I have my fabrics ready and am anxious to start the next block. Next up is Melissa, so I'm going to stroll over to her blog at Lilac*Lane and see what she has designed for today........I'm sure I'll be cutting fabrics as you read this. :-)
Back soon.......Christmas blocks go on the back burner for the weekend.......Halloween stuff coming up! Have a great day!

Sandi

Is it a deck........

2011-09-14T00:00:00.000-05:00

or a large quilt rack? ...........

I've made curtains, quilts, and the fluffy stuff for inside our house but my husband handles the landscaping. He figured out the lay-out of the borders around the house and next spring we'll add plants. With help from our son, he did all the stone walls and then he hired John Franek and crew to build the deck he envisioned. They did a fine job! John's crew .......Big Adam, Little Adam and Jake did an excellent job with the complicated stairway and the walkway over the stone walls. Then Dan and Adam Simon did the staining. I love the color........Butternut. My husband kept thinking gray or perhaps a red but I looked at the woodwork inside the house and said ...make it similar to that and it will be a nice compliment. And he loves it, so all is well. We've been in our house for almost five years and it was built by local builder Steve Fries and sons, Brad and Brian. Good work all around and we enjoy every day here and love to have our kids and family visit, and friends, too. And, of course, I love to have my quilting friends visit and that's what made me think............hmmm.........is this a deck? or do I see a large quilt rack and display for a backyard quilt show? I'll be sure to let you know if that comes to be!
Sandi

What's on the line....sort of........

2011-09-12T02:00:00.000-05:00

For the second week in a row, I don't actually have something on my clothesline. I really wanted to hang this quilt on the clothesline......but it was too long!! Since our new deck is finished, I asked my husband, Steve, to lend a hand. This is the extra long NASCAR/Corvette/Indy 500 quilt that I made for him and he's holding it along the deck railing so you can see it............

I made this quilt top and gave it to him for a Christmas gift in 2005. Yes, that's quite a few years ago....... so anyway, I had collected remnants and bought bits of race-themed fabrics so that I could make him a scrappy race-themed quilt. Sewing the top together was the easy part. The quilting was a different story. I thought about just tieing the quilt with yarn because this is a "comfort quilt". But it will be used a lot so I thought maybe it would be better if it was machine-quilted. My walking foot for my machine doesn't work right anymore so there was no way I could do it (yes, I need a new machine.......someday). I checked around and had Lucy in Mankato quilt it for me and had it done in February of this past year. And then life got busy and I never got to the binding but I decided a couple weeks ago that this quilt had to become a finished project. And it did!! And has it been used? Definitely. Interestingly, my husband finds it so comfy that he drapes it over the new recliners we bought this past spring because he says the quilt feels better than the chair fabric! I think it's about nine feet long so it is a great quilt for Sunday afternoon naps. wink wink :-)

Now about that deck.......I thought I had taken a picture of it after the guys stained it last week but I didn't so I'll get one later today and share in my next post. I did take a picture of the little chair and footstool I told you about. Here is the before picture............

The chair was one that was in our old church storage room and when they were tossing stuff I grabbed this one. I sanded it down, along with that little wooden heart stool and on Saturday afternoon, I took left-over deck stain and applied it to both pieces. I'll get a photo of the "after" photo when I'm out taking the deck picture. I wanted Kaiser to look up at the camera but no matter how many times I said his name he would not look up at me. Dictionary meaning for beagle = stubborn. :-)
After I stained the chair and the little stool, I did laundry and other stuff and then after a taco supper, I decided to bake these............

They are just chocolate chip cookies but I added some of those new Kraft caramel bits ............well, actually I added a lot of the caramel bits which caused a slight problem. The caramel made the cookies kinda soft and so I had to fold them over, like turn-overs and it didn't hurt the taste at all as they were quite crispy around the edgy and all caramely and chocolaty in the middle. They were awfully good dunked in cold milk!

Yesterday afternoon, Sunday, September 11, I decided to take some photos of Henderson.........

So, after I left church, I drove up the hill just a bit and took this picture looking east down Main Street. Remember this picture. The local weather-folk are saying the fall colors are going to be gorgeous this year so I thought it would be interesting to take a photo from this same spot every few days and show you all the changing colors here in the Minnesota River Valley. Off to the left of the fire hydrant, sits this gorgeous home that is now the Sibley County Historical Society.............

As I was snapping pictures of it, a large number of motorcycles came up the street and I waved at them and momentarily wished I was taking off with them. Only momentarily, though. LOL! It was a really beautiful day for a ride!

From the top of the hill near our house, this is the view down into the valley and the town of Henderson. That's the steeple of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in the middle of the photo. This photo, too, will look very different as the leaves change color.

And speaking of change..........we are to be near 90 degrees today but by tomorrow, we will only be in the mid 60's. Now that's Change!! I'm all for it because you know I love that cool, crisp air of Fall!! All for now. Next week there really will be a quilt on the line!
Have a great Monday and a good start to the week!
Sandi

2011-09-11T12:00:00.000-05:00

On Cloud 9 with a fabric win!

2011-09-09T01:00:00.000-05:00

A couple weeks ago, Pat*Sloan was doing a "shout-out" for Victoria Findlay Wolfe's charity project ....... BumbleBeanBasics. All you had to do was comment and you might be one of 6 winners on Pat's blog or 6 winner's on Victoria's blog and those winners would get fabric to design a block. I was one of the 6 lucky winners on Victoria's blog! These fabrics came in the mail a little over a week ago............

Unfortunately, I was busy with my bedroom drapes and my husband was on vacation and the guys were here staining our new deck so I couldn't play with the fabric right away. There was a ton of other stuff going on and sometimes I just wanted to scream........."I want to play with those fabrics!!!" But, I was a good girl and I cooked and baked for the guys and then I finished those drapes and here they are..............

They don't look all that impressive but they are done!!! This was a "compromise" project. I wanted floor length drapes if I had to go to all the trouble of the pleater tape method and lining them. My husband wanted window length drapes. The compromise was that I made them "tea length" and I am happier with them. Next up is making a quilt or comforter for our king size bed. I may take the easy way out and buy a solid comforter and add pillows in this fabric and perhaps a bed skirt in it. More on this when I make or find that comforter.

Back to the block project............with those drapes finished, I was free to play with the Cloud 9 fabric collection designed by JuliaRothman. All of the blocks that are designed will go into a charity quilt for BumbleBeans and so this had to be a special block. When I first saw the fabrics, I thought of making a pieced block but then something "clicked" and I got this idea for "Row Houses". I had watched a recent episode of "House Hunters" (I am addicted to this show and the International version) and a couple was looking for a Row House. Something about these fabrics just said.......make us into Row Houses!! So, I laid out the pieces that said they wanted to be houses.............

And I added the pieces that said they wanted to be roofs for the houses.........and then started adding windows and doors..........

and then I started stitching. I pricked my fingers constantly because I had so many little pieces pinned here and there. My husband asked me "why don't you just tape it together?" and I gave him one of those....."you just do not get it" looks, and I continued stitching. I could see the idea in my head but I wasn't sure it was working but I kept sewing. I cut bits of fabric from every piece that was in the packet of fabric and here is the final block...........

And as I stitched, I thought of the time, many years ago, when we lived in New Jersey. We only lived there for two years (in the little town of Dumont from 1972-1974) but while we were there, my parents and brother came for a visit. We drove into New York one day and showed them "the sights". My mother can still remember the kids playing in the water of a fire hydrant as it was a warm day. We covered lots of area from the Statue of Liberty up to West Point! And we passed many a Row House! Since the designer of this fabric, Julia Rothman is from the New York City area and the Bumble Bean Basics charity is New York based, it's only fitting that the fabrics have become Row Houses. And you know what? They even have a story. I love a good story, so I made one up as I stitched.............

I am sure these houses sit on some old street, I think it is Columbia Street, in New York City in a neighborhood that first saw construction about 1840. The house in the center was built by a Dutch family and was their home for many years. Their last name was VanOort and records show that Jeremiah VanOort built the home for his wife, Catherine and their three children.
The houses on the left and right were built by brothers. Alphonsus E. Gales who constructed his house in 1852. Two years later, his brother, Rutherford B. Gales began construction of his house.  Alphonsus' wife, Elizabeth, planted a patch of wildflowers outside the front door and they still grow in abundance to this day. She shared seeds from her garden with her new sister-in-law, Phoebe, when Rutherford married in 1855 and brought his new bride to the little house on Columbia Street. The families enjoyed life on Columbia Street but then in 1901, the VanOort house was sold to someone who had made it big in Vaudeville. That gentleman knew that "talking pictures" were the up and coming thing so he renovated the house and it became "Whitt's House of Talking Pictures". The wives of Alphonsus and Rutherford were thankful that their husbands had passed to their heavenly reward before seeing the theatre that came between their houses. Oh, yes, what a scandal that was!
Life went on for the familes for each had a child that continued to live in the Row Houses. Alphonsus and Elizabeth had a son named Harry, and Rutherford and Phoebe had a daughter named Abigail. Each married and their families grew. They cared for their aging mothers, and children grew and married and babies were born. Yes, life was good, even with that "talking pictures" house in between their humble homes. Many years passed and then in the late 1950's, the theatre became an apartment building, and then a clothing store, and even a funeral parlor for a very short time. But the little houses that Alphonsus and Rutherford built continued to remain in their families. Today, you'll find Phoebe, the great, great granddaughter of Abigail and named for her great great great grandmother, living in the little house now called Fishbone Cottage. That's the name she gave it when she opened her fish and chips shop more than 20 years ago. She needed money to maintain her little home, so she created an apartment on the second floor and opened her little cafe on the first floor. Her cousin, David, and his wife,Cindy, had similar needs to keep their little house in good repair so they followed Phoebe's plan and made an apartment on the second floor and opened "Miscellany Book Store" on the first floor. If there is a vintage book you are looking for, you will surely find it in their shop.
Time was not so kind to the old theatre building. It sat vacant for almost ten years before it became the studio for Cloud 9 Fabrics and the designs of Julia Rothman. It took on new life, color, excitement when they renovated the building. It made Phoebe realize that she needed to add a new roof, so David added a new roof, too. Then Phoebe added paint here and there and new windows........and yes, so did David and Cindy. Ah, the Row Houses on Columbia Street are looking mighty fine. I think Alphonsus and Rutherford would be happy to know the little houses built so long ago have stood the "test of time". And don't you just wish you could really visit these little houses on Columbia Street?!!

So that's my story and there's just a little more to it............I really did know a woman named Elizabeth Gales. She befriended me, a young mother with a 2 year old, when we first moved to New Jersey and we lived on Columbia Street! I remember her kindess to this day and think of her often. It was thoughts of her that got this story started. I also thought of two good friends, Cindy, who I met in the late 1990's when she moved here from New Jersey. She always encouraged my creative endeavors and she would have loved this block and it's story. Sadly, Cindy passed away of cancer two years ago. I can hear her laugh, though! And then there was David. He was my grade school sweetheart and a really dear friend who I had known from the time I was in kindergarten.  He passed away too young of a heart attack and I miss both of them. There is also a Catherine VanOort that is my friend in real life. Yep, she's my neighbor across the street and I know she loves a good book, so I hope she has enjoyed my story. And hopefully, you all have, too! Thanks much to Victoria and Julia for the chance to work with the Cloud 9 fabrics. I can't wait to see the rest of the blocks and then the whole quilt!!!

It's Friday and isn't that great?!! Have a good weekend everyone!
Sandi

What's on the line?

2011-09-05T00:00:00.000-05:00

There is nothing on the line today! Instead.......it's "what's on the floor today?"...........

I mentioned I was making bedroom drapes and they are almost done! That's me, covered with a drapery panel instead of a quilt. I thought that since it is Labor Day weekend here in the U.S. that I would share a picture of me "laboring/working". And this was definitely work! They are lined drapes and it's that room-darkening lining and it is heavy! I ended up with quite a backache as I maneuvered that stuff around on my sewing machine. I much prefer hand-sewing and was very relaxed as I sewed the folded ends to the lining.

When I finished that, my husband inserted all the pleater hooks, then hung the drapes and now I just need to hem them. I seem to recall reading somewhere that they should hang for a day or so before you hem them. I figure overnight is good enough, so I'll pin them and get them hemmed before the afternoon is over. I am almost to the finish line and when they are done, I'll be racing to the basement to get that little chair that I want to paint. I'm ready to decorate for fall and need to get that chair done so I can get my front porch ready for pumpkins and all sorts of fall things. The weather has been cool and comfy this past weekend. You can almost smell fall in the air! Hope you all are enjoying a nice weekend.
Back soon!
Sandi
Oh, and there will be something on the line next Monday! and I'll also share a picture of the finished drapes. :-)

A Visit to The Quilter's Dream.........

2011-09-01T02:00:00.000-05:00

So, dear blogging friends, this is the first of several posts of "things I did on my summer vacation". And if you are a quilter, you might really like this post. If you live in Minnesota, you may even know about this shop. You may live near it and have been there many times. I cannot tell a lie...........I live near it and had never been there but a couple weeks ago, on a very pretty summer day, I took a little drive over to Montgomery, Minnesota to visit this shop called.........."The Quilter's Dream" owned by Michelle McCready. If you go to the shop website...click here ......you can see the exterior. When you step inside, one of the first things you notice is that wonderful old ceiling.........

and then everywhere you turn after that, there is so much to see..........

I really love that pink stripe on the bolt....and even more.........

I wish I had the cupboard in the photo above.

And I was delighted to find a basket full of woolfelt.......

all these potholders........aren't those owl ones just too cute?

Look at this great display of purses and totebags!

And then I saw these black and white fabrics and would have bought some but I decided to come back for some of these. I need some for a retreat but it won't be for several months so I decided to keep looking......

This is a great "Welcome Home Soldier" quilt............

Oh, and I thought of one of my blog readers, The Owl Lady, when I saw this quilt........

I meant to buy some of that sunflower fabric on the lower left and forgot to get it. I see another trip to the shop really soon.......

When I saw all these cute little clothes for kids, I wished I had another grandchild to make some for as my grandson is 12 now. Then I thought of my nieces. Hmmm.......Christmas gift, maybe?

One of the most interesting "non-quilty" items in the shop is the original bank safe........

Some of you may know that the James and Younger brothers tried to rob the bank over in Northfield, Minnesota. If the safe there, looked as formidable as this one, I am not sure why they bothered. Note that it has an "anti-dynamite device". Sounds dangerous to me!

And then...........the "Pièce de résistance "........

a long-arm quilting machine...........

It was that machine (an APQS long arm machine) that drew me to the shop. And that's because back in June when I went for my dental check-up, my hygenist, Dana, told me she had taken a class to learn long-arm quilting at the shop in Montgomery. Oh, did my ear's perk up when I heard that because a little over a year ago, I got to use an APQS Millennium at Heidi Kaisand's retreat and I loved it. I want one but it's out of the question. But taking a class and renting time to use the machine...........That I can do. And so, when I get through the next month with some doctor visits with my mom, I will get scheduled to take a class and I can hardly wait to finish a bunch of quilt tops that are just waiting to "grow up" to be real quilts!!!

Okay, so that's about it for a tour of "The Quilter's Dream" but here's one last quilt that really caught my eye..........

and then I did buy just a wee bit of fabric so I had to stop at the check-out counter..........

and pay for these items..........

The red and green stripes are for a Christmas candlemat and those 30's prints are just to add to my 30's stash. I had been looking for some patriotic buttons for a crazy quilt blog and because I knocked a few items off a display with my purse.........well, I found just the buttons I was looking for. Note to self.......be more careful with large purse. :-)

Then, because it was such a beautiful summer day, I meandered across country and drove through Heidelberg. Many years ago, we visited the city of Heidelberg, Germany and I always wondered if this little town was settled by people from that area of Germany. THe church is St. Scholastica Catholic Church and I believe it is an active church.

From Heidelberg, I headed north toward a church in Union Hill but passed this one (below) on my way there. It is Freidens Evangelical Lutheran and I did a double-take as I came upon it. It looks very much like a church that we saw in England. My husband had a business trip and we stayed at motel that was near a large church. They were having a pork chop dinner and so we stopped and enjoyed the meal with lots of locals. I just couldn't get over how much it resembled that church in England.

And just a few miles later..........here is the church at Union Hill (this is west of New Praque, MN). This is St. John's Church and I believe that it is no longer an active congregation. If you are local and are reading this, please let me know. This church is so beautiful in the sunlight but the photo simply does not do it justice.

After meandering my way home, I was thinking that I may take more trips about the countryside and find country churches. Many of them are closing due to declining membership. Yes, I think I will have to take some mini-road trips. And maybe, I'll find a quilt shop or antique shop to visit. I think this might be a new feature on my blog.........."Out and About in .........." Coming soon!!!!
Hope you enjoyed your visit to "The Quilter's Dream" and the jaunt through the countryside! Have a great day!
Sandi

What's on the line?

2011-08-29T00:02:00.001-05:00

Apples are on the line today!!! It's harvest time for apples so I just had to share this little quilt..........

It's one of the quilts that I made in 2000 to celebrate the Millennium and it's called "Family Reunion". That name may not make much sense but I was thinking of our family tree when I made this and that old saying "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree". That saying never made much sense to me but it was usually said when somebody looked like, or did something like, another family member. Hense, the name for this little quilt. It measures about 18 x 22". I like the apples on this quilt so much that I think it would be fun to make a quilt with lots of appliqued apples on it and use all sorts of red, green and yellow fabrics for the apples. And so, there's another project to add to the "longer than I have years left to sew" list. :-) Of course, I could speed up the process of applique if I would just do it by machine, but I dearly love to hand-stitch. Maybe what I really need is a magic wand so I can "poof" my house clean and have all my time to sew. Riiighhht.........!
Okay, so a magic wand is not going to happen but here's something that did happen...........I won a quilt yesterday! When I was home to see my mom a couple weeks ago, I bought some tickets for the raffle quilt for the Lehigh Historical Society. I knew it was a store-bought quilt and haven't seen what it looks like, but I bought the tickets to support the historical society. I really wanted to win and so about 4:00 p.m. yesterday afternoon, I looked over at the clock and thought.........."hmmm, I bet they are drawing the lucky winner for that quilt. Sure would be nice if it was me." And then about 20 minutes later, the phone rings and I see by caller I.D. that it's my brother, so when I answer, I say........"are you calling to tell me I won that quilt?" And he laughs, and says......"well, yes, I am" and I say.........."you're kidding" and he says "no, you won it". Still I'm not sure he's not joking, so I ask again and yes, I really did win the quilt. And the guy who drew my name was a visitor to the museum who used to enjoy meeting my dad for coffee. Now isn't that cool?!! I'll get the quilt in a couple weeks when I'm home to see my mom again and then you'll see it here on the line after that.
I have been doing a lot of hand-quilting on a variety of small projects. I'm also trying to make drapes for our bedroom but having trouble staying focused on that project. They are pleater tape drapes and I hate working with that stuff. Luckily, our bedroom is the only room in the house that has a traverse rod and requires drapes with pleats. They will be done by the end of the week as I have a project I want to do and I've told myself I can't do it til the drapes are done. You see, I want to paint my little chair that I sit on the front porch and put my fall pumpkins on. I have a polka dot theme in mind and so as you read this today, I will be sewing those drapes so I can paint that chair this weekend. :-)
We had really nice weather here in Minnesota this past weekend but I was caught up watching all the coverage of Hurricane Irene. So many people are now being affected by the flooding. Thoughts and prayers go out to all who are affected by Irene and thanks that she lost strength!
Have a good Monday on this last Monday in August. Soon fall will be here and I can hardly wait. I may have mentioned a few times that fall is my favorite season. As summer ends, I expect to get back to more regular blogging and some of those things that I did this summer but never found time to blog about...........well, they will be shared in posts titled......"what I did during summer vacation!" Back soon..........
Sandi

What's on the line?

2011-08-22T04:00:00.001-05:00

Something very bright and colorful is on the line today. I've shared lots of pink and green and scrappy quilts but I remembered this one, and pulled it out to share today.................

This is another quilt that my dad and mom bought at a farm auction. The maker put a great deal of handwork into this quilt. If you look at the close-up below, you can see that she appliqued a red heart shaped piece to all four corners of a white block and then added a black blanket stitch around the top edge of each heart. Then she sewed the blocks together and the design forms four hearts together. In the center white area of each block she hand-quilted a flower design. The quilting is very, very nice.

There is no name or date with this quilt but I really like it for the simplicity of design. I could see this done in a whole variety of color combinations!
And speaking of color, I mentioned that I had bought a couple items at thrift shops the weekend that I went to Bonny's Quilt Haven. When I saw these little goodies, I thought......"hmmm, how nice these would look when our deck is finished and we eat our first meal out there." I spotted that colorful chicken egg holder at one shop and thought it was $2.00 but discovered when I got to the register that all kitchen items were half-price. What a deal! It is hand-painted and was made in Portugal. And then at the next thrift shop..........

I found the blue floral basket and it was marked $3.75 and guess what?.......it was also "handmade in Portugal"! Now I'm thinking somebody must have done some traveling and lucky me.........I got their souveniers! I also got some tiny teacups that are just adorable and they will pop up in a future post. :-)

The weather was beautiful this past weekend. Temperatures are to climb today and maybe later on there will be a nice rain shower. I hope so. I love sunshine but I dearly love the sound of rain and so I need it, and so does the grass. And if there was a little rain during the sunshine today, then maybe there would be another shower tomorrow! Here's hoping!

Have a great Monday!
Sandi

What's on the line?

2011-08-15T04:00:00.004-05:00

I thought I'd take a break from my vintage quilts and show you what I made this past weekend. My grandson, Jacob, was here for the weekend, so we picked some fabrics and I did some sewing. I've had this football themed fabric for many years (so old that the Tennessee Titans aren't listed) but the Panthers, the Vikings and Jacob's favorite team, The Saints are listed so he asked me to make it into a pillowcase. And I did..............

I was thinking red or blue for a border but he asked for black and I had this black star fabric that worked perfect. I've made several pillowcases for him since he was little so they get good use and are worn out with sweet dreams. Then, I had some scraps that I got in a scrapbag at FireflyQuiltShop and I took the strips that were mostly 2-2 1/2" wide and added some plaid and made a tabletopper...........

Jacob loves football and baseball so this can go on the coffeetable in their basement and he can set his snacks on it when it's game time. He enjoyed a visit to Vikings training camp this past week as the team trained in Mankato. Before he went home, I had his mom (daughter, Collette) take a picture of the two of us............

I wanted the picture because Jacob is getting so tall that soon he'll be taller than me. He is growing up sooooooooo fast! We enjoyed a nice weekend together, although, he had a bit of a cold/cough and was running a bit of a fever. We managed a visit to the library on Friday night but the rest of the weekend was very low key and we stayed home. I knew he wasn't feeling well, because he went to bed early both nights. So did I, as I am still trying to catch up on my "zip" after the busy days of the last several weeks. I may just relax all day today as I picked up the latest book by Earlene Fowler when we were at the library ........"Spider Web". Once I start reading one of her books, I am hardly able to put it down. I have enjoyed every one of her quilting themed mysteries! Bet that as you are reading this, I will be engrossed in the "Spider Web". I have such a long "to do" list that I should not take time to read but ...........sometimes, reading a good book can be just the thing to get me motivated/inspired.
Almost forgot........I was going to share my thrift shop finds in this post but I forgot to take pictures of them. Will do that tomorrow. Have a great Monday!
Sandi

Where was I two weeks ago today?

2011-08-12T14:00:00.003-05:00

I was here.........

at Lynette Jensen's THIMBLEBERRIES Studio in Hutchinson, Minnesota. I stopped there on my way to our quilting retreat at Bonny's Quilt Haven. It was a gorgerous summer day, although just a bit hot. Every year when we go to Bonny's, I tell myself that I am going to leave early in the day and take time to meander my way along the 50 mile trip to Hutchinson. It's never quite worked out ........ until this year! I left our house at 12:05 p.m. and I was on my way to a relaxing weekend of quilting fun and time with my quilty friends. And if I saw a shop I wanted to stop at, I did. And if I saw something I wanted to take a picture of, I did. And if I wanted a treat, I stopped for that, too. That would be a bag of Oreo double stuffs in case you are interested. :-) Anyway..........when I got to Hutchinson, I stopped at a couple of thrift shops (goodies I found will be in my next post) and then I found a parking spot at the city square and made my way to ThimbleberriesLand. But.......get this.........I left my camera in my car! So, I shopped and then went back for pictures. I asked for permission so here you go......a little bit of "eye-candy" that will make you hungry for some fabric............

The shop door opens to this view..........

I loved every vignette in the entry so I took close-ups. Isn't that yo-yo heart pillow adorable?

I love the fabric colors in the wall quilt and the little basket quilt.........

And this patriotic vignette is just fabulous!!

As you come around the corner from the entry, you get an overall view of the studio. But........the quilt hanging on the door caught my eye. I think it was my favorite quilt in the shop. I just loved that giant rick rack!

There was a vibrancy and richness in the fabrics that I felt I hadn't seen in Thimbleberries fabrics in the past. I really, really liked what I saw...........

I was wishing I had more spendable income with me!

I wanted reds........

I wanted some blue..........

and all these pretty yellows and golds.............

and tucked in here and there were more lovely quilts!

And then there were bolts of green and I am always looking for just the right shade of green!!

Hmmm........fabric bundles, kits, fat quarters, so much to choose from...........

I wanted some of these for autumn projects and decided I will make a trip back to the shop in September...........

Great inspiration in this vignette.............

I loved the little table in the center of this picture........

Something new..........these large design fabrics that have incredible possibilities!

And then there was the Christmas section...........

There was so much to see! I am so glad I took pictures so I can remember it all!

This chair reminded me that I have two chairs that are similar to this that are sitting in my basement just waiting to be recovered. I never thought of plaid for them but am now thinking they might look great at Christmas time covered in a large red and green plaid fabric I bought long ago. Loved the pillow, too.

I found a gorgeous wool bundle in that basket and it said "you need me, buy me", so I did. :-)

And then, because it was Fat Quarter Friday, I just had to buy some! I think it was.......buy five get five free or something like that. Anyway, the four on the left will go into an autumn tablerunner and the five on the right are for a spring tabletopper..........

and that lone red one is going into the patriotic quilt that I'm making in memory of my dad. I would have bought more but I'll save some for that trip in September. :-)
There was a THIMBLEBERRIES treat waiting for each of us when we arrived at Bonny's Quilt Haven.........a pattern and two fat quarters!! How sweet and thanks to Lynette for the gift!

So, that's where I was two weeks ago at this time. A week ago at this time, I was on my way back to my mom's after spending most of the week in Iowa City at the hospital. And now I'm home and waiting for my grandson to arrive. It's been such a busy summer that this is the first time he's been able to come for a visit. It will be a fun weekend! Hope you all have a great weekend ahead! I'll be back soon with more catch-up on my summer photos...............

Sandi

And the winners .......and their favorite cookies.....are..........

2011-08-09T23:00:00.001-05:00

Gramma Sheri is the winner of Jacquelynne's new book..........

She left this sweet comment...........

"Peanut Butter Cookies! Made with chunky peanut butter, of course! When I was a kid (oldest of 6) I did most of the dessert-baking for the family. I loved to make cakes. And I loved to make peanut butter icing. So...my siblings remember most of my cakes (spice, carrot, chocolate, cherry, white, yellow, whatever) slathered with peanut butter!"

She was very excited to win. I sent e-mails to all the winners and most have replied.

"Ms. Snoodles" left this comment that won her the tablerunner kit in Jacquelynne's fabrics, a charm pack and other goodies...........

"First and foremost, I hope that your mom recovers quickly and easily, and thank you for hosting this stop on the tour! You have such a generous giveaway planned! I love, love cookies with macadamia nuts and white chocolate - I don't know their name, unless it is just "White Chocolate Chip with Macadamia Nuts" but that is so unimaginative! LOL
Thanks for the chance to win!"

There were three winners of Jacquelynne's patterns...........

Laurie left this comment.........

"Hope your Mom's surgery goes well and she recuperates quickly. My fav cookie - gotta be an Oreo or two with a cold glass of milk :)"

Kocanquilt left this comment.......

"My favorite cookie is from a family recipe. We call them spice cookies because they have Cinnamon, Cloves and Nutmeg in them. Nummy! Thank you for the chance to win."

The final pattern winner is Debra from Maryland who wrote..........

"My favorites are my homemade oatmeal cookies. My husband would prefer chocolate chip so I make a lot of those too."

And the winner of the Christmas sampler of Jacquelynne's "Joy, Peace, Love, and Noel" fabric is Cheryl of Cheryl'sTeapotsQuilting. She left this comment .........

"Cream Cheese cookies are my favorite. Really easy, too."

And when Cheryl replied to my e-mail, she added the easy recipe.........

Cream Cheese Cookies

1 box of cake mix (I've tried butter yellow, devils food,

red velvet, lemon, strawberry and spice so far)
1 stick butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese, softened

Mix, spoon up ( I use a cookie scoop) then bake

at 350 degrees for approx. 14 minutes. Enjoy!

Congratulations to all of you that won. I enjoyed being part of Jacquelynne's Book Blog Tour. Interestingly, it kept me connected to my blog last week when I was feeling a bit "disconnected" because I was with my mom at the hospital in Iowa City. Her stay wasn't very long as surgery for kidney stones is no longer as invasive as it was years ago. But after her stay at the hospital, I spent a few more days staying with her at her apartment while she recovered. And one of the things we did was to go through old photos and such. I have a few I'll share in the coming weeks, just because they make me smile.

Once I returned home, I needed to catch up on e-mails and blogging and laundry and sleep. :-) The laundry is done, I'm getting there on the e-mails and blogposts, and by Wednesday morning, I should be caught up on sleep. While I've been away, my husband has been "holding down the fort" and also taking orders from Kaiser the Wonder Beagle (who missed me a lot as I am the purveyor of biscuits). He's also been watching the crew that is building the deck off our kitchen. It is coming along very, very nicely and I am already planning my first dinner on the deck. But I am straying from what I wanted to share...........As I read the comments that were left on my day in Jacquelynne's Book Blog Tour, there was one that almost made me cry. Having spent the weekend looking at old family photos and talking about my dad alot with my mom, the comment by Ms. MartinMosaics really captured my dad. Here's her comment...........

"My favorite cookies are Buckeye's, but they are homemade. You mentioned Oreos, so I would say that my favorite store bought cookie would be Softbatch Chocolate Chip cookies or Nutter Butters.
I must tell you, Sandi, that I have been touched by the quote you have at the top of your blog. It really struck me how blessed you were to have a dad like you did. He apparently cherished you girls! He seemed to delight in providing the material for your mother to sew the matching dresses. I'm sure that you girls wearing the dresses together was a beautiful picture of the strong sense of family you all held. A man who "embraces" having girls is a gift few understand unless that have witnessed or experienced a father that loses interest in parenting because he has girls. Blessings!"

My dad really was a wonderful father and he cherished not just my sister and me, but my mother and my brother, Doug. We were definitely blessed with a great dad! I thought of him this afternoon as I baked some chocolate chip cookies for the guys who were working on our deck. He loved chocolate chip cookies and I would bake them and take a batch to him almost everytime I went home for a visit. I took a big plate of the cookies, warm from the oven, out to my husband to share with the deck-building guys. Later he told me that they disappeared in seconds. What is it about a homemade cookie, or even a store-bought cookie that you loved as a kid, that can make you feel good and smile? Wouldn't it be great if all the woes of the world could be solved with milk and cookies?!! I would bake every day if that were the case. :-)

Thanks everyone for all your comments. I will be replying to each one. Right now, though, this post is making me hungry and ........I think I need to go get a cookie and a glass of milk!

Sandi :-)

A funny thing happened.........

2011-08-09T00:03:00.000-05:00

Yes, that's part of a title to a movie and it fits the little incident that took place as I drove home from Iowa today. I don't have a picture of this so imagine please............

I was just about an hour from home today, heading north on Hwy 169, when out of the corner of my eye...........I noticed a pheasant in some bushes along the side of the road. I watched as the bird tried to "lift off" and I realized that he was not "lifting off" very well and was, in fact, headed straight for my windshield. With a big "THUNK", the bird hit the passenger side window but scooted up over the top of my car. I was sure the windshield might crack but it didn't. I felt bad for the bird and as soon as I could safely turn around, I drove back and looked for him (her). No bird in sight, so I am hoping that the pheasant was just stunned by the impact and is now safely nested somewhere and licking it's wounds. :-)

Interestingly, that's not the only item I've hit on that stretch of Hwy 169. About six years ago, I was just a little further south on 169 and I hit a black rocking chair that had fallen off someone's truck. It was night and until I was almost on top of it, I didn't see it. I swerved and avoided a direct hit but severely damaged the bumper that time. My son and my six year old grandson were with me. My son had just dozed off and was startled by the sound but my grandson loved that adventure because the police checked out the situation. As a six year old, he thought it was all pretty cool.

Sooooooooo, anyway........I'm home again and trying to get caught up. I have many comments to reply to and winners to notify for the additional prizes I offered during Jacquelynne's Book Blog Tour. I'll begin doing that on Tuesday afternoon. I will be catching up on my sleep first. :-) If you want to know who won the copy of Jacquelynne's book, just check out her blog...... The*Noble*Wife .
Back later today.............
Sandi