Happy April!

I decided to make the quilt from the book GONE TO TEXAS....................I love that book and quilt. Do you know with all those little pieces that quilt went together perfectly? How unusual is that?
Also started a quilt top that was my version of a quilt in the book CLASSIC QUILTS FROM THE AMERICAN MUSEUM IN BRITIAN.
On page 30 there is a great 9 patch strip quilt from the early 1800's that I loved.
I wish there was a reproduction fabric of the border print. Decided to make up my own pattern and used civil war prints in the one I made. I'm happy with the end results. This is a jumbled quilt in the book and the one I made but being goofy from surgery, it was a good project to work on. Both were machine quilted by a friend and I am enjoying them.

Quilt top finishes

Posting a few completed quilt top pictures. Actually my Bunny Hill BOM is even quilted and bound. All finished! And the tiny basket blocks from the book, When the Cold Wind Blows is all put together and has been for awhile. I don't know when I will get to the hand quilting............I do dread basting this one together and may have to question some machine quilters I know if it is possible to have this one basted on a long arm to ease my aching body. I like every part of making a quilt, except basting the large tops. Not a fan!

I see I did not follow thru on my plan of being a better blogger. Need to remedy that. I have found that some of the blogs I do follow also have not been steady bloggers. Have also found that pictures of projects make a blog better, too. I need the visuals.

How sad............

that it is now Easter and it has taken me this long to blog about my quilting. And I promised to be better. Let's promise again....

Family has left for their homes so I settled in to read quilt blogs a few minutes ago and read about one of my favorite subjects on Barbara Brackman's blog: centennial fabrics. I don't know how to do the link thing on here, but you can google her name and hopefully find her link. Today she blogged about centennial fabrics, the originals and the reproductions. I was drooling. Decided I would post a picture of my top that I am hand quilting at the moment as she mentioned a link to a centennial quilt that I am making a copy of. I have collected different pieces for a few years and have added to that collection lately with new repros that have come out this year.............a lot from this same antique quilt. It is a great fabric study of antique patriotic fabrics. I have loved working on mine. My blocks are 9" and on some I followed the layout of the original quilt where I had the look alike repro's. On blocks I didn't, I used something else patriotic and on some blocks I made up my own stripes to look similar to the original. Also added an extra row at the bottom.

I had a great time making this top. It is simple and a good break from applique work. The hand quilting is also simply done on this and I am maybe half way thru.

A fun project with all the look alike fabrics that are out. I will still be looking for old looking patriotic fabrics to use in more quilts.

Now if I can just be a better blogger...............

Primitive Turkey quilt top

This quilt top was finished by me a few weeks ago. With the calendar showing August is half over, I figured it's time to get this basted and begin the hand quilting if I want to enjoy it this Thanksgiving. This is a Country Threads pattern. I love it. Finding primitive Thanksgiving decorating ideas can be problematic and when I saw this pattern.....well, it was one that had to be made. It will also help me in my guild challenge. In February, we had to list all unfinished projects and try to finish as many as possible by next February. I listed 7 UFO's and this is my final one. This is a great guild challenge idea. Hope we do it again next year. My little baskets quilt would qualify then but who knows if I could get that finished even next year. It's a huge project!

O my

I have to confess to two silly things that happened to me this week.

I have been doing the rider mower to help Gary out because it takes him 2 hours just to do the push mower parts around the trees, edges, near the woods, blah, blah, blah. He is worn out from doing that. Plus, John seems to give up weekends to help and we hate using his free time to help us every weekend. So I am back on the rider this year. It's so bumpy riding on our uneven yard that I am really tired from that and the sun when I am done. Whine, whine, whine.

What I am getting at is: there is no lady-like way to get on the rider. And if you have a bad knee and a big butt, you are doubly doomed. I don't want the neighbors to see me get on or off because Gary is laughing so hard it gets me laughing and after being on it two hours, I have to pee so bad that I get mad at him for making me laugh.

He does the outside perimeter so I don't get thorns in my legs from the briars in the back. Then I try to get on. My arms are too short to reach the throttle so he does that and puts it in gear and off I go. There are 6 gears and we mow on #4 at medium speed.

As soon as I took off, I wiggled to get seated better and knocked it into #6 gear which had me taking off at light speed and I am too shocked to know what to do! O My!

I am flying across the yard, not following the mow tracks and I can hear Gary yelling, put it in the right gear, slow down, yadda, yadda, yadda. I felt like Lucy Ricardo. Finally I bumped it in #4 and got my bearings. I do not want to know if the neighbors saw me!

Today I needed a length of navy fabric that I already have but needed 2 more yards of to start a project. We drove to a shop in Mt. Vernon and came home and decided to eat at Buck's. It's Friday and it's crowded. I have my hair up in a clip; it was hot out. Talked to waitress and the shop lady earlier. Came home, got into my old clothes.........

The shirt I was wearing the whole time was on inside out.

Gary didn't even notice, but I bet everyone else did. O my!

I know this is long, but one last thing. At Gary's uncle's funeral yesterday, it was a brief service at the funeral home. The "preacher" was also helping park cars outside. Gary's uncle's name is Gordon Howard. This preacher referred to him twice as "Mr. Henderson". O my! A lady in the seats finally blurted out, HOWARD. How awful was that! I felt like I was in that Seinfeld episode where they are burying Elaine's make believe friend. Then the preacher kept referring to him as Mr. Gordon. I had to keep from giggling and Gary and I kept nudging each other. Bet his uncle was somewhere getting a laugh from it all. How awful not to get your name right at your funeral.

I hope you all have a better weekend than my week was!!!

5 years ago today

A life changing day and miracles.

Beautiful Patches

Not a good day yesterday. No meowing or scratching at the kitchen door............no hoppity hoppity running to me when I called her name.........Patches died in her sleep in her box Wednesday night. For a week we had been talking about possibly having her put down because she was so thin and her keeping food down was harder for her. Just since July she has been losing weight but still a happy kitty and always bounding out the door when we come home. She was a happy girl till the end.

Just sad to get thru. No more pretty kitty cat. We are pet free now and she was a nice kitty to end our pet life with. :-(