Finished the book.....

About an hour ago, I finished the book that I mentioned in my previous post. It was even better than I thought it was going to be. I highly recommend it. There's a bit of language in it that some might find offensive but I'm recommending it anyway. It was well-written and there is good wisdom in the message that the author shares. FYI - I cried the last two chapters.
I didn't spend all day reading, though. I went to the luncheon for the volunteers at the Scott County Historical Society. It was yummy. Then on my way home I made a stop at Joann Fabrics for sewing machine oil and a cleaning brush. I need to do some serious maintenance on my machine before I sew another stitch. I also found a new thrift shop called "Grace Thrift Shop" (for those who live nearby, it's just south of Shakopee) and I found the neatest thing for a blogging friend. :-) After stopping there, I decided I hadn't been to the Lutheran Home Thrift Shop in Belle Plaine in ages so I took a turn and guess what.......found a little something for another blogging friend. Then I as I headed into town, I noticed that Unique Antiques was open today. I hadn't been there in ages either so I stopped. And again, take a guess..........nope, didn't find anything for a blogging friend but a dainty little teacup that caught my eye last fall was still in the shop and for $5.00, I decided it was going to be mine. :-)
Tomorrow is a crazy quilting day. I'll share pictures then. :-)
Have a great day!
Sandi

Reading a good book!

Every once in a while, I pick up a book that looks like it might be a "good read" in the bargin bin at the Dollar Tree Store. Last Friday I bought another one for a mere dollar. I started reading it last night and it's really good. Tonight, I decided all quilting and such would be thrown out the window so that I could read the book. Well, not literally, but almost. I scooted Kaiser out of my sewing room chair and sat down to read and couldn't quit reading. It was so peaceful to sit curled up in my chair and enjoy the quiet of the night with such a good book. I kept saying I'd read one more chapter and then I'd get up and post to my blog. Finally, my eyes said........you must stop reading.............get a blogpost done and back to the book. So, here I am and in case you'd like to read the book it's called "Recipes for a Perfect Marriage" by Morag Prunty. It's the story of two women.......a granddaughter newly wed who enjoys cooking and lives in New York.......and the words of her grandmother in Ireland and the recipes she shared with her as a child.........and then the stuff of life is intertwined in both their stories. It's a shame the book was in the bargin bin because it's better than many novels that I've read - or tried to read - that I paid a lot more for!!! I'm anxious to get back to the book so I'll leave you with something pretty to look at.......
These are the little bouquets that were on the table at my friend Arline's house this afternoon when she hosted our Bible Study group. I love the violets but it was the "Bleeding Hearts" that intriqued me. I had never seen real Bleeding Hearts before and they are lovely! My daughter would love the little doilies that Arline's daughter made. Pretty, aren't they? They added just the right touch to the table setting with Arline's pretty teacups and delicious treats. Sorry no photo of them. We ate it all. LOL! The afternoon was so pleasant and when we finished our lesson, we all marvelled at the beautiful day and what a treat this spring, almost summer, weather is for Minnesotans. Sure hope it's lovely where you are!
I've got a variety of blog topics coming up in the next few days. I will finally get to the post I was going to do last Saturday and never got to it. I realized earlier this evening that I will never run out of things to write about, plus I have boxes of photos from trips and such that could serve as inspiration for projects. I just seem to run out of time! LOL!
Going back to my book now. Sometimes one needs to take time to do something really relaxing. This book is it.
Sandi

What's on the Line?

It's Monday and time for a visit to the clothesline. You may notice that this week's quilt isn't hanging in my backyard. This is the clothesline across the road from the Lehigh Public Library in Lehigh, Iowa. That's my great Aunt Marian's Nine Patch quilt hanging on the line. There's a story behind the quilt......of course. :-)

The day I took this picture it was sunny and warm in mid June of 2008. I was in Lehigh visiting my mom. It was the weekend of the local River Days Festival and we - my mom, me and my cousin, Patty - had set up a display of quilts in the library. You can go here , here , and here to the posts that I wrote about the quilts that were displayed.
As I carried quilts into the library, I noticed the vacant house across from it and the clothesline. I asked the librarian if she thought it would be okay if I hung a couple quilts there to attract the attention of folks driving by. Since the house was empty, she couldn't see any problem with it, so I hung the quilts. I hung a small crazy quilt on the left and a patriotic wallhanging to the right of Aunt Marian's Nine Patch. It looked perfect! There was a slight breeze and it was so nice to look out and see the quilt flying up with the breeze and then wafting slowly back down. In the late afternoon, the breeze stiffened and the quilt made a "flapping" noise as it went higher up and then back again. And then clouds rolled in and just in time, we got the quilts off the line and into the library.
There was another day that quilt was blowing in the breeze and it was on a day when my mother was at Aunt Marian's and the quilt was hanging on her clothesline. There was also an old worn log cabin quilt, too. My mom said that she asked Marian about the quilts and she said...."oh, those old things, they're old and I'm going to get rid of them". And she did....she gave them to my mom. A few years after that, my folks had a need to downsize from their house to an apartment, and it was necessary to have an auction. Guess who bought the "old things" that were hanging on Aunt Marian's clothesline?...........Me, of course. :-) I actually use this Nine Patch quite a bit. It's just tied but I love it. I see that quilt and I think of Marian. :-)
Last Monday, I got a call from my mom that Marian had passed away on Sunday evening. She had fallen a few weeks before and broke her hip and as so often happens, she couldn't recover. She was 92 and had still been living in her home before the fall. I got to see her when I was in Iowa for the retreat. She was still chipper and smiling, thanking me and my mom for stopping by the Care Center to see her. I am so glad that I got that chance to visit because I knew it could be the last time I would see her. The last two years she was our oldest Linn family member that attended our reunions and also the last member of her generation. I think I'll bring this quilt and the log cabin one to the reunion this summer and we'll feel her presence thanks to the stitches she left behind in these quilts.

My last thought for today is this.......... forty years ago, I started doing a lot of laundry.........hee hee.........when our daughter, Collette, was born on this day. That was back when cloth diapers were still used so, yep, I was doing a lot of laundry. I actually enjoyed washing baby clothes, as I always loved the soft feel of the flannel. By the time our son came along, disposables were popular but I chose the "real" thing. I know that disposables are convenient but wrapping a baby's bum in plastic just wasn't my thing. :-) Oh, dear and on that note, I'm going to post this and say.........
Have a good Monday! And Happy Birthday, Collette!
Sandi

Sew Busy!!

No time for the post I was planning but wanted to let you know about "Quilt Show Saturday" that you will find over on Beth's blog......just click here and Beth will have a quilt or two to share.
I'll have time to post later on Saturday, so I'll see you then and I will share what has me "sew" busy. :-)
Sandi

It's a "Wooly Wednesday" and "Tuesday Crazies" cont'd......

You know, a girl can't have too much fun. That's right. Doesn't matter your age or what's going on in your life, when there are friends, food and fabric around, it all equals fun. :-) Here are a few more photos from a bit of the fun I enjoyed the past two days..........
That's Adella on the right. Don't you just love that bag she made? It's just scraps from the quilts she's made the last couple of years. She used Warm and Natural batting in the handles to make them puffy, tied the knots in the handles and then stitched them in place. Sooooo cute, I might have to make one like it. :-) That's her quilt in the photo below. And it's not just that she made the quilt, it's that this one is for her!! Adella makes a lot of quilts for fundraising at her church but she made this one for herself. Plus she had enough fabric left-over to make pillowcases and a nightstand topper!
It would be really nice if my picture taking skills were better. That's Arlis on the right and she is hand-stitching some spool blocks. Maybe next time we meet I can make sure I get a better picture of her.

We really had a good time looking at all the projects that we had done over the winter. That's Carol on the left holding up her blue and green quilt. The machine quilting was done by her friend, Sue Tuma. It's a beauty, isn't it? Carol also made this cute garden themed wall-hanging. I loved that patchwork baskets. I wish I could remember the pattern name. I'll have to ask Carol again and make sure I write it down. :-) Edit: I got the name from Carol but the pattern may be discontinued. I'll post correct info as soon as I know!

Here's Kate with her finished top for the Downy Quilts for Kids project. She also shared some placemats that her quilt group is making for a Meals on Wheels project for next fall. I'll share more on that one at a later date.

My friend, Sue, made these lovely Redwork wall quilts this past winter. She embroidered them and then did the machine quilting. They were patterns found in a book and I will have to get that one, too, for future reference.

There are a few more "Tuesday Crazies" photos but I'll post those later next week. We had a great day and can hardly wait to meet at Adella's house in May as we are going to learn a new project from Pandora. More fun with friends, more good food, more fabric. Yep, we girls have FUN!

Moving on to more fun........it was "Wooly Wednesday" at Firefly and I brought along some fun projects to work on and some patterns to share. I also let each of the gals fill a small plastic bag full of my woolfelt scraps. I've done so many projects the last few years and I never throw a scrap away so my scrap basket was overflowing. I had to do something but they barely made a dent so we might have to do that again. :-)

Sue on the right was new to this little wooly venture but she said she really enjoyed the afternoon. We thought it was interesting that her husband is Steve, and Sandy (holding the baby in the photo below) is also married to a Steve and so am I! Do do do .......I hear the music from Twilight Zone. LOL! We had a very young member join our group.........Courtney (standing) is new mom to little Amelia Rose who is in the arms of her grandma, Sandy.........three generations in one class! I'm going to e-mail this photo to Courtney so that one day she can show Amelia that she attended her first stitching class at just three weeks old! She is sooooo cute! Hope Courtney brings her along next time!

Well, in addition to having fun, a girl has to get some sleep, so I best close out this post for today. Have a good one!

Sandi

Tuesday Crazies!!!

We had a great day today.....lovely weather, good lunch, show 'n tell, and lots of laughter. Our little group hasn't met since last October so we had lots to catch up on. I would tell you all about it but I'm tired tonight and lots to do for tomorrow's class, then Thursday's program. I'll share the laughs and the quilts as soon as I can but I thought I'd give you a preview from our "show 'n tell"................
This is Pandora with her "almost finished" Kaffe Fasset quilt which can be found in his book "Museum Quilts". Isn't this loverly?!!! I love the fabrics and the design. All that is left to do on the quilt is to stitch the binding in place. This quilt is one of many that will be on display at Pandora's "Quilts in Bloom" show on June 12th (Hopkins, MN). I'll have more info on that in a future post and I'll have more "Tuesday Crazies" fun to share in my next post. :-)
Have a good day!
Sandi

I goofed....

Yep, I goofed. I am only just learning about this pre-posting thing which allows you to type your blogpost and then set a time that you want it to be displayed. Sometime after midnight on Sunday night, I finished typing my Monday post. Then I clicked "publish post" and forgot that I wanted to have it post with a Monday header and date. After all, it was all about Monday being Washday, right? Well, about five minutes ago, I discovered my mistake. I posted it with the Sunday header instead of preposting it for Monday. Each time we make a mistake we learn from it, right? That means that next Monday, I will post on Monday which is Washday and you will see what I have "on the line".
At first, I couldn't figure out what had happened. I thought I might have entered "The Twilight Zone". Monday was missing!! That reminds me..........I wasn't allowed to watch that show when I was a kid. It was deemed "too scary". How about you, if you had a TV were you allowed to watch ..... or not?
Thunderstorms are in the area so I am going to shut down the computer until they pass.................
Sandi

A little edit......thanks to Mary Grace at Hooked on Needles, I now know that I can also correct a date on a post. Still learning..........