Merry Christmas from Squeak

It's been a busy month around here and Squeak (that's me) is really getting into her first Christmas. She's been helping Mom (who is busy working on the mystery quilt over at quiltville.com) with her quilting by testing out the quilt top before it is finished. After her nap Squeak said it was okay to get it quilted. After an afternoon spent annoying the older 3 cats Squeak took a minute to enjoy a refreshing drink of buttermilk. (It was Dad's glass, but she just knew he wouldn't mind sharing). Once refreshed it was on to wrapping presents. Who knew tissue paper was so hard to get a grip on and requires constant flattening so it can be used. Once presents were all wrapped it was time to take a nap and what better place than on Dad's lap while he talks on the phone to Auntie Vonda. Squeak's dreaming of next year when they'll put up the Big tree. By then she should be old enough not to tear it to shreads. (She overhead Mom say that was why they had the little tree put up where she couldn't reach it this year). I can hardly wait until New Year's Eve. I'm not sure what happens then, but it should be fun. Merry Christmas everyone.






Love,


Squeak

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope everyone is enjoying their turkey and football. Since our Turkey isn't fully thawed we decided to wait and have our turkey dinner tomorrow night when DH gets home from work. We are supposed to get more snow here sometime on Friday and Saturday. We've had quite abit and with the wind it drifted alot. Our driveway is just one drift after another. Dh spent most of yesterday digging it out so he could get the car out and go to work on Friday.

Today Squeak has played with and attacked everything she could get her paws on. She has really grown even though she still looks small. When Dh was getting ready to go to the store Squeak thought she would be helpful so she tried to help Dad tie up his boots. After that work out she decided to rest for awhile on Mom's chair laying on her favorite quilt while she watched How It's Made on TV. Now as the sun is setting in the west Squeak is thinking about how she can chase the older three cats and maybe instead of hissing and growling at her they will come and play with her for awhile. If not she'll just have to annoy Mom and see if she will play some kitten games before bedtime. It's a rough life being the only kitten in the house.

The Buddah Cat

Miss Emma was sitting outside the bedroom door pretending she was the invisible cat, just waiting for one of the other cats to walk past so she could practice her attack skills. The only thing she found was me with the camera.

Meanwhile, outside this hawk was having lunch. We don't know for sure but we think he probably killed a dove. It didn't take him long to finish it off.

Squeak has become a fast moving, growing blur. She is always busy discovering her world and estimating her chances if she
decides to take on the larger cats. So far she is smart enough to not try anything she'll regret.

I started piecing a kit from Connecting Threads called Jacobean Nine Patch. It should go together pretty fast
so I'll post pictures once I get the top together.

November Already

I don't know where the time goes. As you can see the Squeak is still with us and becoming fast friends with DH. She is now about 8 weeks old and it's like having a two year old toddler. She has provided alot of entertainment around here the last few weeks.

Last night the This and That guild met and we had a very nice turn out. We are a group made up of knitters, crocheters, spinners and quilters.

Since it was Veteran's Day DH was home enjoying being a retired veteran.

I am looking for a heater for the quilting room. The weather has finally turned colder here so the little space heaters I have aren't getting the room warm enough fast enough so I need something larger. Since it is so chilly out there I haven't been getting as much done as I would like. I may have to set up a machine in the house to get some piecing done. I have a Connecting Threads kit almost cut out and ready to put together. I'm also planning on doing the new mystery quilt Bonnie Hunter will be starting on the 19th of Novermber over at quiltville.com . Her mysteries always produce stunning scrap quilts.
Our glorious fall colors are mostly gone with the wind and rain we have had over the last week.

That's about it for what's happening here lately. What's happening in your part of the country???

Grape Harvest

Today we picked the grapes out front they were finally ready. The Dh sure had a good time checking to see if they were ripe. I'm going to wash them off and juice them in the Vita Mix and freeze the juice. Then this winter I can make grape jelly.

The neighbor across the street brought over some fresh baked whole wheat bread and soup she made which we had for dinner. Very good and all gone.



This morning we had a woodpecker on one of the trees in the back yard. I managed to get a couple of pictures before other birds chased it off.

See What I have Been Up to This Week

I am kitten sitting until the 25th of October. This is a tiny orphan kitten who has to be fed with a dropper. I call her Squeaky because she sure has a set of lungs on her tiny little body. She follows me around while I fix her milk. I have to be extra careful that I don't step on her she is so small. Once her tummy is full she purrs like nobody's business. The other cats are giving her lots of room and if she gets close they run from her.


Dh just sent me this picture I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Not that Meth Labs are funny, but the picture definately is.

I finished the Red & White Panel quilt that was in the machine. I used a shell pattern on it and it really came out nice.

Meet Gertie

For all of you who have waited patiently to see my machine in her new home meet Gertie. Gertie is my APQS Ultimate 1 which I have had since February of 2001. I named her Gertie in honor of Galloping Gertie the Tacoma Narrows Bridge that fell into the sound in the 40's. She arrived in two seperate shipments. The table arrived on day 1, on day 2 we had a strong earthquake and on day 3 the machine arrived. She has been dusted and polished, oiled and ready to be threaded. We are waiting on two new carriage wheels so the warped ones can be replaced then we put on a practice piece to get her used to working again. She has been on a forced vacation while her new home was prepared.

Meanwhile, I have steadily been putting more fabric on the shelves. It is amazing how much of it there is to be put away. I'm wondering where it all came from because it didn't seem like this much in the old quilt room. I must have been really good at hiding things from myself. So I guess, I'd better get back to it and put more fabric on the shelves.

I have started another blog on wordpress which I am planning on using as my business site. You can find it here http://bedofrosesmq.wordpress.com/ . I've only done one post so far. Let me know what you think.

Don't Fall over in shock

I know a post from me two days in a row. Will wonders never cease.


I stuck my head out of the quilt room long enough yesterday to get these pictures. The first one are the grapes growing down by the garden. We also have some dark purple ones out in front of the house and they are starting to turn soon they'll be ready. The second picture is of some of the trees and bushes around the house. They are starting to turn colors. Seems like they just started showing this week. Before we know it winter will be here.

I'm hoping DH will be back by tomorrow night with the quilting machine.

If I could Make Money

If I could make money as fast as time passes I'd be really rich. I knew I had alot of fabric, but even I'm stunned at how much is really there. Equally stunning is the amount of scrap pieces I have saved over the years from various projects and the ones I have been given because no on wanted to deal with them.

So this weekend I decided that instead of putting fabric on the shelves I needed to make something so this is what I have been working on and hope to have the top put together today. I'm really liking how it is coming out. I also put borders on a small red and white panel I found so it is ready to be quilted. It feels like progress of sorts.

Dh is in WA packing up some more of his tools and the quilting machine. Without any problems he should be back home by Tuesday night or Wednesday. Hopefully, by this time next weekend the machine will be put together and I will be quilting once again. I haven't quilted on my machine since May 2009.

So back to sewing while it is peaceful and quiet here.

The Best Bar-B-Que Bar None

DH makes the best pork bbq sandwiches in the world. Notice exhibit one to the right. You

should have stayed Katrina it was really good. The cook and his BFF are really enjoying their dinner as did I.

Worked some more in the quilt room today and had some much enjoyed help from a friend.

Will be going to WA soon to bring the quilting machine home. One of these days I'll have an organized room and can start sewing again. Putting away all your stash is a good cure for buying more material. IT will be a while before I want to buy more. Anyone guessing how long it will be. LOL.

The sunroom is coming along so I'll have pictures of that soon.

Surfacing again for a minute

I know I have been among the missing lately. I have been working at cataloguing and taking pictures of the fabric as I put it on the shelf. It is a slow process but I am making progress. Anything less than a yard has gone into a box to be cut into strips and squares for making scrap quilts. I am starting on my third box. I'm sorting out all the pre-printed tops and panels into another box. I have boxes of polar fleece and flannel. I'm putting things I am no longer interested in using in another box. In a couple of weeks we will probably be heading to WA to get the quilting machine and bring it down. I haven't quilted on it in a year and I miss Gertie. I am so spoiled. My husband, sister-in-law and grandson really did a nice job on the room and I'm really enjoying using it

On a different note we caught this little guy this morning doing his best to get everything from the Hollyhocks.

I have found a knitting group so I am excited about that. There are ladies that knit, crochet and spin in the group. They also get together to die yarn every so often so I'm looking forward to enjoying the group. As soon as I get alittle more organized around here I'll host the group.

We have been enjoying all the sunshine here this summer. The last month we have been having temps in the 85 - 95 degree range and afternoon thunder showers. The cats don't like the thunder. Lucy hides under the bed until they are over. Rosie has finally decided she liked it outside. She goes out about 10:30 in the evening and comes in between 6 - 10 am. She has been catching mice and bringing them to the front door so show them off.

The small Lone Star I discovered when I unpacked a box. Now I just have to decide what to use for a background. Well, I'm off to read awhile before bed. Hopefully I'll have more progress to post soon.

A Quick Trip to Yellowstone

Tuesday morning we got up and headed for Yellowstone National Park. Since we moved to Idaho we are only 230 miles away. We arrived in West Yellowstone mid afternoon and drove to Old Faithful which is 30 miles from the West entrance of the park. We had to wait 90 minutes

for the next eruption since it had gone off just before we arrived. There are many other geyers around and LOTS of other people also waiting. While we were waiting we noticed this unusual cloud in the sky. As we were leaving we managed to get a picture of this fellow helping to keep the grass at the lodge under control. The closest motel room was in Bozeman, MT so we headed north. We had a bear run across the road in front of us but he was moving so fast didn't have time to get a picture. I did manage to get some great pictures of Old Faithful going off and here's one of them.

It's Been a Busy Week

It's been a busy week. I moved all the boxes with fabric and yarn out to the quilt room. DH and the grandson put up 3 cabinets for me to put fabric in, so I have started a box at a time to fold it and put it on the shelves. I'm using Bonnie Hunter's sewing room as a guide. So far I'm liking the results. Right now I'm just trying to get them in color families no particular order, then I'll sort each color family into a better order. The picture on the right is almost everything I had in the bedroom in the house. I still have a cutting table and some things stored in the closet to move once I make some room. I'm also thinking that sometime before the end of the year (once the room is in order) I'll probably have another give away to celebrate. I'm thinking the give away might involve you posting a picture of your sewing room so we can have a tour of sorts. This is an early warning in case you want to join in you'll have time to straighten up - or not whichever you prefer. When I'm ready I'll let you all know so stay tuned. IT's going to take me awhile to get through all those boxes.

FINALLY FINISHED!

Yep, that's me yelling. I just have to clean the floor and start moving all the bins in so the can be gone through measured, folded and put into cabinets. I've got my work cut our for me. It was finished due to DH's hard work with the Grandson and my special sister-in-law Miz Vonda's help. One of these days she'll get to come for a visit and not have to work.

The quilt is one that I made for a friends baby. I neglected to take a picture when is was quilted and bound before mailing. I added a lime green paisley border and the same print for the back. I think I have enought left to make a log cabin baby quilt also. I'm really liking these colors used together. Well, I'll up date you again when I get everything moved into the quilt room. If you are in the neighborhood drop in and you can help fold and put away material. Plan to stay awhile there will be lots to do.

Painted quilt room

Here is a picture of the quilt room finally painted and ready to finish the electric work. Soon we'll be ready to head for WA to get the quilting machine.

The picture on the left is another bird we have seen in the back yard in the last few days. I think it is a Tanager. There sure seem to be a lot of different birds around here. Some I've never seen before. We do have doves which we hear in the mornings and evenings.

It has been a beautiful day here and I sure hope we get some more of them.

Last I looked it was April

I don't know where the time has gone. It has been a BIG chore trying to get the quilt room ready to paint. Finally, last week the texture was done and this week DH is painting. Once that is done we'll be ready to put down flooring. I'll take some pictures once dh is finished with the painting and post them.

Monday we go down to Salt Lake City to pick up our grandson. He is coming to spend 6 weeks with us. It will be nice to see him again.

I've also been taking some EQ6 classes from Quilt University. I can highly recommend them. They are alot of fun to do and you learn alot of things about the program. I'm awaiting the arrival of EQ7 it should be here any day since I got an invoice from them showing the charge on the credit card. I'll be back soon and have some pictures to post. These two bird pictures are birds spotted in our yard this last week. Enjoy.

Thunder Showers

We are having our second thundershower of the day. Early this morning it poured rain and then the sun came out. Then about 20 minutes ago the whole sky turned black and the thunder started and the rain poured. Lucy headed under the bed and curled up in as small a ball as she could.

Well, this week drywall started going up. Hopefully Friday it will get finished. The guy installing it is doing it on his time so it's whenever he can get here. It is about half done,and finally starting to look like a room instead of a shell. DH put in the second door this week. The one with the window is the public entrance door and the solid one is the door that will open into the sun room once it is built. It will be enclosed access to the house. My counter with the cash register will go between the two doors. The floors will be a laminate called Brazilian Cherry and we picked up a ceiling fan and the blades on the fan are the same color. Now I have to figure out a color for the walls and ceiling. Any suggestions?

Guess I'd better go and finish my last lesson for my EQ6 Sampler class and get it turned in. Have learned alot about EQ6 and looking forward to learning more when the next class starts in May at Quilt University.

Just another April Day

Last night's storm was a good one. We woke up to a white world and the wind was still blowing. The snow is melting, but it is a slow process. The trees were starting to bud and we had flowers coming up but not blooming yet so they should be okay. I took these pictures about noon after the snow had been melting awhile. It is a bright and sunny day otherwise.

So I guess I will spend some time working on my EQ6 Sampler Class and try to get another lesson turned in so I am only two behind. If you own EQ6 but don't use it I would encourage you to take the class at Quilt University. It is a terrific class. You get to work at home, don't have to find parking and don't have to be in class at a certain time. The best way to go to school.

Where Did March Go?

All the sudden here it is April and instead of spring we are having a winter come back. This afternoon it started with the wind blowing and the sky getting dark and then it started snowing tiny little flakes. It is bad enough that we lost Dishnetwork just before 10pm.
March was a busy month. My sister-in-law came to visit for a few days and helped DH put up insulation in the quilt room. I signed up for a class at Quilt University to learn how to use my EQ6 so I have been busy trying to get the lessons done. Of course, the week the class started my computer had to have a time out at the repair place something grabbed ahold of it and wouldn't let go. Then last week our son came down to see us for 4 days between jobs. He started his new job on April 1. He called tonight and said his first two days were good and he is liking it so far much better than his last job. While he was here he helped DH put up some window trim on the Quilt Room. He also made friends with Rosie. It was a short visit, but hopefully he will come again one of these days.

Dh and a couple of his friends went up to the hospital and played some music one Sunday and they are planning on going again on the 21st of April. It's nice he has found someone to play guitars with he really enjoys the guitar. He taught himself how to play as a teenager. Well, that was pretty much my month. How was your March?

Finally Spring

Like everyone else I have been wondering if Spring would ever arrive. This week has been very spring like here. Fields are starting to turn green, the robins have arrived and the cats have spring fever.



My DSIL came down from Montana last week and helped DH put up the insulation in the quilt room. Just have the ceiling to get done and then it will be time to do drywall. DH put in the last window and it really looks nice. With 5 windows and 17 overhead lights I should be able to see what I am doing anywhere in
the room. I asked DH to up the windows up higher than normal because it would give me light and let me put things under them without blocking them.

Had to take my computer to the fix-it man because it just wouldn't play nicely. Brought it home on Friday so I can finally post on the blog again. I am taking the EQ6 Sampler class at Quilt University so that I can finally use my EQ6 without saying bad words. Working on the first lesson and so far it is fun and I am learning cool things. Hopefully, I'll be better about posting now that the computer is working again. Have a good weekend.