Border time

 It feels like I didn't get much done today. Normally I spend the day Christmasing the house. I didn't even do that, but we do have the tree up and it's lights are on. 

I did manage to finally go onto the government healthcare website and fill it out and compare and select my healthcare plan for me and the kids next year. I am essentially a consultant, so don't have an employer who offers insurance. Greg is covered by the VA. So, I have to research and get a yearly plan for me and the kids. All selected and I just have to pay the first month of January by mid next month. At least it is slightly lower this coming year. It's only an arm and a leg instead of both arms and both legs!

I did finally add that butterfly border onto the flower hexagon quilt. I added a 4.5 inch strip to it. I think it is 84x96 now. 

I also added two purple borders to the 1857 quilt. A 2.5 border then a 5.5 inch border. This one is now about 86 inches square. This will hopefully get pinned for hand quilting tomorrow. I miss not having something in the hoop. I have some dark brown and purple hand quilting thread for this one. The batting and backing are all set as well. 

We had a cool front go through this afternoon with some rain. I walked the dog this morning in shorts and a t-shirt. I think it will be jeans and a sweatshirt tomorrow. Maybe a windbreaker. It will be in the 50's in the morning. I'm not complaining as I prefer the cooler weather! I hear it might freeze here on Tuesday morning. Good thing I still have a windshield scraper from up north! The kids are going to need it.

Table Scrap Challenge

I'm going a little out of the box on this one! The challenge for November is trees and choice of color. I never got around to sewing a tree, but I had stitched one this week. I decided to make it into a little quilted ornament for the tree!  The tree is embroidered from a free pattern from Melissa.

 

 

I pulled this cute Christmas print from my new mystery box of fabric. I just sewed around and did the turn method. I hand stitched it closed. Then added some quilting stitches around the outer and inner part of the outline stitch. Some floss got added with a knot to give a hanging area. Perfect for the tree!

Linking up with Joy and the TSC.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

I am in a quiet house that smells like celery boiling! Love that smell. Yes, I have celery boiling with the innards of the Turkey and some salt and pepper. I'll shred that when cool and add it to the stuffing. The bird had a little ice in it still so some water running through it helped. Geez, 13 pounds and taken out Saturday night you would think it would be fully thawed! Oh well, I did up some dishes in the sink after and added a little bleach to the water so I could disinfect things. Our pediatrician up in VT said to add a few drops when it was cold and flu season when the kids were itty bitty. It helps!

Aidan and I were discussing sweet potato pie a few weeks ago and he said he'd try making one. Well, he made one last night. It looks great and smelled yummy coming out of the oven. We will see how it is. It is a southern dish, and I'm from the north where we didn't really do Sweet Potato's. I did have regular potatoes at most every meal growing up though!  He also made dinner on Tuesday night and he and Emily braved the stored that afternoon to get what he needed to make Chicken Korma, an Indian dish. There were no leftovers, so I believe it was added to the rotation. I needed some yogurt on the side of mine as it was a little spicy but the others rolled their eye's at me!

Grandma H is coming over today with her dog Scruffy for our meal. We are having the standard things and there will be way too much food! Turkey, potato, stuffing, gravy, sweet potato casserole, rolls, and I might cook up some green beans. We have an apple pie and the sweet potato pie for dessert. Way too much food for 5 people but I'm not cooking much the next few days! I have extra stuffing packages as that seems to be the first thing gone at my house. 

I stitched a little last night and got my blues into twosies, and the black and pink into sets of 4.

 Now that my pins are not in use with a pinned quilt, I will be adding the final borders to the 1857 quilt later today and the last border on the butterfly quilt. One will be pinned for hand quilting and the other will be loaded into the frame in January. 

Wishing those in the US a safe and happy Thanksgiving and those in the rest of the world, a safe and happy Thursday!

Potato Chip finished

 Sorry for the dark photos as it was a late night finish! Yes. Our tree is up but not decorated yet. 

Potato Chip is 72x84 finished.

The back is blocks from the Full Stop Sew along at the RSC and lots of other blocks hanging around the sewing area. Notice the extra endless diamond block in the top right? It felt so nice getting them used and out of the holding box.

These are two things crossed off my UFO list and 4 things off the list since October 1. Now to prep the next hand quilting project. The 1857 purple quilt will go in the hoop and the black hexagon flowers will go onto the frame. Got to have options!

Slowing down on Sunday

 I had a great chunk of time in the sewing room on Saturday and got a quilt pinned and machine quilted, a binding made and machine attached to the front. That allows me to do some hand stitching on the binding this week. When done this is going to knock 2 things off my UFO list. This quilt is 72x84. I just used the walking foot and did a meander curvy line every 3-4 inches or so across the quilt. 

The potato chip quilt on top and then the Full Stop blocks along with a bunch of other 'trial' blocks were cobbled together for the backing of the quilt. The blocks were so happy to get used and into a quilt. I pulled a solid brown from the end of the bolt mystery box that arrived this week for the binding. 

I believe this is a smile from the girl and Doc this morning. Her riding partner arrived before us and this one was in the pasture and would not go to her even with a carrot bribe. Emily got out of the car and was walking over to the fence and Doc walked up for pets and attention from her. I guess he knows she is the one that rides him! I just think she is a horse whisperer.

I believe we are heading over to Grandma's today for family game day. The kids finally don't have homework that needs to get done for Monday, since they have the week off for the Thanksgiving holiday here in the USA. Aidan has an early 1AM for us, F1 race in Las Vegas so I'm sure he will be sleeping in tomorrow morning. 

Linking up with Kathy and the Slow Sunday Stitchers. I'll be snuggling under this quilt hand stitching the binding Sunday night to a Christmas movie I think. 

Weekend!

 The kids are off school for the week of Thanksgiving. I think they will both be sleeping a lot! They have been busy. I did the parent meeting for Winter Guard last night. OMG - I thought marching band was busy. Looks like February is going to be crazy as well as March. She is happy and enjoying it, so that is all that matters.

This one is not happy his girl will be gone so much. This was taken after she got home last week. He was a happy camper.

I added the last stitches into this little cutie from Melissa. I have since purchased some pretty 498 DMC and will be making the slew of them using that pretty red. She has 4 sets of 4 little Christmas patterns to stitch available. I think they will make a cute wall hanging.

I did some prep work on Thursday afternoon rather than pinning a quilt. One blue got stitched yesterday. I just realized I just finished stitching a red and green group! oops, I guess I am feeling Christmas colors. 

The top and back of the Potato Chip/Full Stop etc. are rolled and ready for pinning. I keep putting that off as it is one of my least favorite parts of quilting! I do need to get it done though, so I can prep the next hand quilting project. 

I realized I never showed the flip side of my Welcome plank I made last week. I did the Fall one a few weeks ago, and flipped it over and added this Christmas Welcome. I love how it turned out! This was a fun project I did at our local Hammer and Stain. 

The boy will be up soon to watch the F1 qualifying. It was at 1AM our time last night. We will see if he watches the race at 1AM Sunday or when he wakes up. Good thing we have the F1 Subscription for him so he can rewatch them anytime!

The girl has horses late morning, so I hope to head into the sewing room later this afternoon and get that quilt pinned for quilting.  I'd love to get that quilted and bound by the end of the month as it will cross 2 things off my UFO list!

I also hope to pick fabrics and make the last Arkansas Traveller block this coming week and get those sewn into a quilt top. 

I've put the dog walk off long enough this morning. It was 38 degrees when I got up and some of the grass looked a little crispy from a light frost. The sun should have warmed up the pavement a bit for his paws, so I'll get him out for his walk before we head to horses.

Linking to the RSC.

Progress and a cold front

 We are waking up to 52 degrees and only getting up to a high of 66. We have not had temps this low since February. Personally, I'd love a lot more of this weather or cooler! I guess that's the northern girl in me. 

With all the news lately around the world, it is very stressful and giving me a very uneasy feeling. I did pick up the needle and thread and added some 'rustic' embroidery into this tree offered free by Melissa at Pinkernpunkin. I forgot the little wisps on the tree but will make sure to mark those better on the next one that I'll do in a more maroon red. This one will be finished as a little pillow I think or an ornament for the tree. 

I did manage to stitch these 8 sets of 2 into sets of 4. There was a grey one as well, but someone messed it up and had to pick out those teeny tiny stitches. I got the 4 greens done this week. I need to prep more hexagons for hand stitching to keep up with the one a day at lunchtime..

I don't know if I slept wrong or what by my neck is hurting. Yesterday with lots of heat and advil I was able to turn it a bit more. Last night in bed, ouchers! It is slightly better this morning but still bothering me. I am so hoping I can pin a quilt today, but we will see how much that hurts. The top and bottom of the quilt is rolled onto the boards. I was helping at a Harry Potter Event this weekend so lots of littles and germs and I hear there is a bad bug going around. I did leave that event unwell a bit early. Emily missed the last 2 rotations in the afternoon, but she was ok with it as she had done all the 'fun' ones. She ended up swapping with me and driving half way home as well. I do have a COVID test that I'll take when I get back from the dog walk this morning. We normally go see my FIL on Thursdays, my day off. I don't want to get him sick. I've yet to have one of these be positive so I'm sure it is just a cold. The added neck ache is having me verify it.

The dog is indicating my 10 minutes is up, so I'd better get dressed and bring him for his walk. Aidan is off to a different high school today- he drove to the school he is slated for so they can all leave on a bus to Florida Poly Tech for the day for an expo. That means Greg got to bring Emily to school this morning. Now to go find warm clothes! Yesterday's dog walk was in shorts and a t-shirt.

Happy Mail!

 Bear was so kind to bark and let me know the FedEx person was at the door with a box! What was in that box, you ask? 

A mystery end of bolt box from Missouri Star Quilt Company. It was half off so I 'had' to get it! I got one a few years ago and I'm still pulling fabrics to use from it so I got another one.

I have not checked to see how much fabric is in each one, but some are bulky. Some really fun Christmas prints and lots of pretty fabrics. The purple in the second row, 5th down is a fun Halloween print with bats, hats and pretty fall flowers.

I also got the 10 inch variety of pretty greens and the 40 2.5 inch red strips. 

I've gotten 2 of the green hexagons done at lunch this week. Hockey game tonight so maybe I can get the sets of 2 into sets of 4. 

Both kids are late tonight, so maybe I can get the chip quilt pinned this afternoon.  The house is cooler so I might feel like doing that today. We had the AC unit serviced on Wednesday and then with the cooler temps, I didn't notice it was not working until I got home from horses on Friday and the house was 80 degrees. clicking it down did not work but the heat sure was! Of course, it was after hours when we realized it was not working, so we left a message on their machine. It was not going to be extra hot this weekend so it could wait. Yes, it is still in the 80's here in Florida but cools down to the lower 70's at night sometimes. They came late Monday night (they called to let us know they were behind schedule). Turns out the valve was listed as OK by the tech when he left but it was not, and all the coolant escaped. They replaced the valve and refilled the coolant, and we have cool air blowing again! No charge to us =). Great customer service. 

Saturday

 This afternoon, I hope to roll the backing (notice the full stop blocks in there!) onto a board and then pin the potato chip quilt for machine quilting. This morning, I am headed to help set up the Harry Potter event for tomorrow. 

Yesterday I went to the Market of Marion - the food area and picked up these veggies. I had gone to Aldi so had onions and peppers already and some fruits. I do love the fresh tomato's though. The radish was a fun find.

I also rode this guy, Justice yesterday. He was a bit grumpy and needed some corrections, but it is always nice to spend time in the barn. Greg is taking Em to horses this morning so she can get her fix. She did make the Jr. Winter Guard team so will be a busy girl through the end of March.

I visited Melissa's blog this week and saw her cute Christmas doodles. I started with the first set with a little red I had. I might have headed to Joann's Friday (and Thursday, he he he) and got a smaller hoop and some pretty red thread. I'll finish this one in the bright red, then will make the sets in the pretty red.

I did get a finish this week. The 2 inch Trip quilt hand pieced and machine quilted is done. Another UFO checked off the list.

Linking to the RSC.

Virtual meeting at work today

 What's a girl to do? Yup, I did some hand work. I got 4 red hexagons done and sewed them into pairs. Then I finished off a crochet dish cloth. It was about half way done.

We will see if I can get the potato chip quilt rolled onto the boards tomorrow and pinned for machine quilting. 

Tried a new recipe per Emily. Seems they are covering England now, so she wanted to try Cornish Pasties.  If she brings one in, she gets extra credit I guess. She brought in croissants, then made macaroons. I hear they cover Germany next then the USSR. I wonder what I will have to make for those 2 areas?

This was before they were cooked. 

A cobbled backing

 Monday was a day off work for me.... so I sewed! I knew I would never really make the Full Stop quilt top so figured I'd work them in with other misfit blocks to make a backing for the 72x84 Potato Chip quilt top. It took me most of the day, but I have a backing a little bigger than the quilt. I just noticed in the photo the ! are upside down. Not going to fix it. It is the back after all! I still have a stack of extra blocks, but got quilt a few rehomed in this project. I knew I wanted longer plain pieces around the outside, so that I can try and center the quilt top. We will see how that works out. I'll cut the batting off the roll another day and get it pinned for machine quilting. Too much figuring today for my brain to do anything else. The bonus - when this quilt is finished, it will knock off 2 things from my UFO list. Full Stop and the Potato Chip Blocks.

the backing - I did not straighten it out as it was a race to snap a photo before an animal got on it.

the top

The boy is home from his trip and learned a lot. I'm sure he will sleep well tonight. The dog is very happy all his pack is home tonight.

2 inch Trip quilt is finished!

 

This finished at 60 inches square and was cat approved last night. My sister mentioned it looks like a crocheted afghan when I added it to my 2024 Quilt Album on Facebook. I guess it does with the bright colors. 

It was an early morning start with a 6:10 blood draw for Emily then some donuts from Dunkin and then to school for her 7:30 class. She got there around 7AM and a friend was there already, so she was going to chat with her or read her book. She did make the Winter Guard Team, so now Tuesday and Thursdays will be that practice, Mondays will be Symphonic band practice after school until 5 until their winter concert in December. Fridays are marching band until 5PM until after their 2 parades in December. Busy girl. The boy arrives home tonight from their Civil Rights Field Trip - of course it is an hour after his sister is done! 

Just sharing here since it is really bugging me. I have a friend who's husband is Chinese heritage. He is an American citizen. Things like this happen way too often to him. Last night he and his teenage daughter were leaving McDonalds. He daughter was in the car and someone yelled at him to 'go back where you came from' and THREW a drink at him. He was able to avoid most of it, but THIS IS NOT OK! This happens way too often to him, whether alone or out with the twins who are now teens. What has happened to people in this country?

I'm going to go sew and puzzle a back together from odd blocks and hope that calms me down. Next up is the Chip Block for machine quilting.

Slow sunday binding

 I had so much fun yesterday at Hammer and Stain Ocala! My original choice had some issues with the design going onto the board, but they had this one in stock and I think I like it even better. Sometimes things are meant to be! I had a plain wooden plank. I opted to do a light stain with a touch of white in it. I selected the colors to use - and love how the brown letters turned out. I'm going to go back next Saturday and add a welcome to the back with a little red truck with a Christmas tree in the back for the o in welcome. That way I can just turn this around after Thanksgiving and I'm all set for Christmas!

I might have done some birthday shopping after that. Well, in my defense, Missouri Star Quilt Company sent me a $15 off an order of $60 for my birthday and my MIL might have gifted me some birthday $ to spend on me only! Got to love my MIL! She is a keeper. 

So..... I got myself a mystery end of the bolt box. I got one 2 years ago and it was so fun and still providing me with useful fabrics. Since those were on sale for almost half off, and not included for my birthday code... I 'had' to go looking and added these two sets of fabrics. I might have searched for them a few weeks ago but did not get them. Since I had that coupon.... the price was right to get them! This will let me make that Christmas Tree quilt I posted a while ago. I have bright yellows for the stars and plenty of lights for the background.

Wilmington Essentials - Emerald Forest 10 Karat Gems. Wilmington Essentials - Red Carpet 40 Karat Gems

I'll be working on stitching the binding onto the trip around the world quilt. I hand pieced this with 2 inch squares quite a few years ago. (December 2014 was the start time on this one). I machine quilted it Thursday. So close to a finish. 2 sides left to stitch.

This was me being lazy and forgetting to add the corner triangle.  It actually worked out ok!

Linking up with the slow Sunday stitchers.

Progress on the Trip Around the World quilt.

I had a nice chunk of time on Thursday and was able to piece a backing, pin and machine quilt this hand pieced 2 inch trip quilt. I also made and attached the binding to the front. I'll work on hand stitching that down the next few days. I forgot to add the corner bits...so I decided to leave it so they have a corner edge. We will see if it works with the binding or not! I had a quilting pattern in mind, that is the hardest part for me. I had graph paper and was drawing on it and came up with a continuous line quilting so that it does a line through every other row. If I have a plan, it makes the process so much easier!

 You can see the quilting a little better in these two photos. I used my walking foot and a 3 for the length. The standard is 2.5 on my machine for sewing so it is just a smidge bigger. I started in the middle square, went to the yellow, then the dark blue, then the purple, etc. 

This is what I am greeted with after walking the dog when we go out to 'check the chickens'. All 5 come running as they know I'll throw some seed in for them to eat. 

My angel trumpet is in full bloom.

At horses yesterday, Carolyn gave me this as a birthday present. My birthday was back on Monday the 4th. I opened it and said - a crochet hook and seam ripper, neat. She said, no it's a horse! OMG! I turned it slightly and it is indeed a horse! How neat is that. 

My birthday present to me is a trip to Hammer and Stain today in an open class. I am going to make a welcome plank for the front of the house for fall. IT should be a lot of fun. Carolyn, signed up as well and picked a different project. Emily is off to school for Winter Guard try outs. We will see how she does. She is the only one left from the practices that has never done this before. I'll pick her up at 1 and see how it went. The boy is in Montgomery Alabama on his Civil Rights Field trip doing a walking tour and then visiting UAB later. 

I have Monday off from work. So... I could either piece a backing for the Chip quilt and get that ready for machine quilting.... or clear out the front two rooms and give them a much needed painting. I'll decide later today after I go play with some paints and make a nice welcome to fall decoration.

A little sewing.

 It was an early morning with a 6AM drop of Aidan to school. I forgot a photo on drop off in the dark, so he kindly sent me a selfie at their lunchtime stop at FSU. His buddy Peyton is on the lower right in blue.

After heading in to the doctors for a blood draw and then a long doggie walk with Bear, I tackled some sewing. I found a slightly different pattern to make the bowl cozies. This one uses only one layer of the special batting. I might have messed up the first one... so the seams on the brown are wrong side out. Oh well, I noticed when I turned it inside out.... so it got finished and I used it for my lunch warming up a bowl of pasta from last night. I made three more correctly. 2 will go into the raffle basket and one will go to Shannon who is a girl scout organizing all the raffle baskets. These have a cute hook on them. I think I like that addition. I used 10 inch squares for these.

I had searched through cut offs of backing fabrics and figured these two would be big enough together for a backing. 

I placed a quilt top on the floor and Bear knows his duty and promptly sat pretty on it. After a treat, he laid down for a photo.

This is my hand pieced trip around the world with 2 inch squares. It is time for this one to get done.... and I am going to machine quilt it! I just want it done and off the list. I have the roll of batting out  since I could not find enough long pieces to make a franken batting. I had cleared out all the parts and pieces making the QAYG hexagons. This one is about ready to get laid out and pinned for quilting. I don't have to pick up Emily until 7:30 tonight, so plenty of time to pin and maybe get started on the machine quilting? We are going with leftovers since it is just Greg and I. If Emily wants something we can stop on the way home for her dinner. =) More sewing time!

I also threw the cat and mouse into the wash and dryer today. It is nice and crinkly now. All the blue markings came out fine. Time to cut a batting and pin a quilt.