Here Comes 2012

Are you ready for 2012? I'm not sure I am but I guess I'd better get ready. I finished off 2011 by making some Christmas presents and just enjoying the sewing room. I made some baked goods also to give but they disappeared so fast I didn't have time to get a picture of them. I had some travel pillows so I made pillow cases for them for the kids across the street. The empty pillow case was for the oldest child who recieved her pillow for her birthday in September. I also tooks some fabric and quilted it to polar fleece for couch blankets for my son but neglected to take a picture before they were sent on their way. I included some pillow cases and I did remember to take a picture of them.

I made some Toasty Toes Socks for the better half he was really good this year he received 3 pair of them. They are made with polar fleece and very nice and warm in the cold weather. I'll have to take a picture of them so you can see them.

It was a great finish to the year and I had a lot of fun doing the sewing. It's been awhile since I could just enjoy sewing because I wanted to.

So what did you get made for yourself or for a gift?

Squeak Naughty or Nice

Today Squeak has been a real pill. Anything he can climb he does and anything he knows he's not supposed to do he does (more than once). I finally told him it was beginning to look like Santa was going to pass him by - didn't seem to phase him much. While I was in the quilt room this evening trying to get some sewing done in between chasing him to get the pins back he had taken out of the pincushion I found him on top of a 4 shelf stand playing with the chain on the light fixture. When I told him he had to get down he started batting at me. I think he has finaly reached his teenage phase. I sure hope it is a short one. Hope everyone is ready for Christmas.

This Week

I'm doing this as a blog post so I catch everyone up at once. This week started out like any other normal week. We had Doctor's appointments in Twin Falls so we went in earl to talk to Verizon because it was time to get new phones. After that we went to the doctor, had some dinner and drove home. We hadn't been home more than a few minutes when we get a phone call from our son's girlfriend saying they are in the emergency room and our son is being admitted. Turns out he has two blood clots one in the lung and one in his left leg. So he has been in the hospital since Monday night on blood thinners and may get to go home on Saturday. We have been in touch but he says he doesn't need us to come to WA there is nothing we can do to change things. So we will wait and see and may go see him in January. In the middle of all this we discover things are not quite what Verizon told us it would be so we take our cell phones back and go back to our local phone company. We now have smart phones that at the moment are smarter than we are but we'll get better. Jumping from one company to the other and back has caused some problems with the home phone. We can call out on it but we can't use our new cell phones to call home, however anyone else can call the home phone and get through. Go figure. Things should calm down around here in the next few days and then maybe I can post some fun stuff. Stay tuned.

Latest on Canning

The last time I canned anything was about 28 years ago when we moved to Washington and the kids and I went to Bainbridge Island to pick strawberries with which we made strawberry jelly. Here in the Magic Valley of Idaho we have been blessed with an abundance of fruits and vegetables. This year I have put up 4 pints of applesauce, two pints of apple butter, 9 pints of pear butter and 7 pints of plum jelly plus all the corn and pepper relish that DH did. I know those aren't huge amounts of product. It is enough for this year to get back into the swing of things. Also I have been trying to lose weight and consume less food so I'm trying to only put up what we can consume in a reasonable amout of time so I don't end up throwing anything out later.

Fall has finally arrived with a cold front which came through here on Monday night. We've had temps in the low 40's the last couple of days, but the next few days we will be back up to high 50's and low 60's. Our trees have been looking very nice in all their fall color.

Fall has Arrived

Fall roared in like an angry beast this last week. We went from 80+ degrees to 40 degree weather and lots of rain, wind and cold for 3 days and today the sun is back with about mid 50's. The rest of the week is supposed to be real fall weather in the 60's with chances of rain.

I finally quilted the quilt in the picture. One of my customers sent it to me to quilt it belonged to her MIL and they found it when they were cleaning out some things. I put a muslin back on it and bound it in muslin. I had to quilt it with a meander due to some fullness in the center, but it came out much better than I figured it would.

On the home front DH has been canning pepper relish, corn and peppers, and pickling corn on the cob. This is his first attempt at canning so far so good. I thought I had a picture of his jars, but can't find it at the moment.

I have also managed to get this quilted so it just needs the binding sewn down and then it is going up to WA to put in my sister's booth at the quilt show for sale. It's made of flannel and can be used as a wall hanging or a lap quilt.

So working in the quilt room, quilting and canning are what's been happening around here what have you been up to lately?

Fall is Just around the corner

It's been a busy month. I have been working out in the quilt room and managed to create a sewing corner so I can take a break and sew something every now and then. I ordered some cheddar fabric so I could do Bonnie Hunter's Cheddar Challenge. I've decided to use 3.5" blocks with 2" for the knot on the bow tie and put them into a circle. I made enough blocks to do one wreath and I like it so I will do blocks as time allows.

Dh spent the day making pepper relish. It was his first time to can anything and I think he did a pretty good job. What he started with and what he ended up with. I'll post some pictures of the current state of the quilt room soon. I havet to take some first.

Canning Season and a Question

It's been 30 years since I canned anything. This summer I have picked some apples and made some applesauce, some apricots which I have added some peaches to and I am in the process of making apricot peach butter in the slow cooker. A friend told me about doing it this way shefound it on Foodinjars.com
Now my question is how do I make food in jars a link so you could just click on it and go there? I'm not sure how to do this and I sure would like to be able to do it as I often find things I would like to share.
Okay, back to the quilt room to get some more work done.

The Hurrier I Go

Here it is the 22nd of August already. I need a way to slow down the days. I finely entered something in the fair this year and won two red ribbons. I entered the Double Irish Chain quilt and one I did many years ago called White Bear from the book called Quilted Legends of the West. The book says that, "When the Indians brought goat skins to explorer Captain Cook in 1778, he thought they were white bear. Explorer Alexander MacKenzie saw the animals and decided they were white buffalo, and Lewis and Clark thought they were mountain sheep. The Mountain goat is not a goat at all, but an antelope". When I put it in the guild show in WA it took viewer's choice and my husband liked it so much that I gave it to him as a birthday gift.

Today I am attempting to can applesauce and some apricots. It's been 30 years since I last canned anything so keep your fingers crossed for me.

Back to the never ending chore of putting fabric away.

Pay It Forward

I've joined a PIF on Amanda's Musings which can be found here http://scrandasmusings.blogspot.com . Sorry I don't know how to make it so the link doesn't show. The idea is that she will make something in the next year and send it to me. Then I blog about it here and recruit 3 people to play along. Those that sign up will recieve something I have made sometime in the next year. So if this sounds like fun let me know and I'll add you to my list. Once you have left a comment that you would like to play then you blog about the PIF on your blog and get three people to play along. Once I have something made I will contact you for your mailing address so I can send your gift on it's way.

So who would like to play?

p.s. Did I mention that today is my BIRTHDAY?

End of July Already

Seems like July just started and it's gone already. Yesterday I spent the day in the quilt room ironing and folding fabric trying to get it all put away. I probably could have accomplished more if I hadn't taken Squeak out with me to give the girls a break. He teases and torments them without a break. So he played and had a good time. He played with fabric, hid in the fabric and attacked the fabric I was trying to iron and fold.

When he wore me out with his help I decided to sew a couple more of the 36 patch blocks and use my new sewing machine. I got this machine from a man in Twin Falls, brought it home and cleaned it up. It sew a beautiful stitch. I think the cabinet is the original cabinet. I found the sales reciept in one of the drawers and the lady bought it in 1953. It has been well used and will get some more use around here.

This coming weekend we are going to a quilt and woodworking show in Kuna, ID which is west of Boise. Friends have a machine and cabinet I purchased online and they picked up for me so I could get it when we came up. It is a Singer 301. So I'm looking forward to getting that set up to use also.

Well, guess I'd better get some more fabric put away.

Give Away

I just dropped in to let you know that I found a give away that you might be interested in. It's being held over at Aunt Polly's Porch. She's entered in the bust my stash contest at AccuQuilt so if you have a few minutes go to facebook/Accuquilt/contest, look at all the photos and vote for you favorite. I'm feeling better about my stash after seeing some of the ones posted. If they do this again I'll have to enter mine I should have it all put away by then. If you get busy and don't get entered I'll understand. Should I be lucky enough to win I'll be sure and post pictures. Good luck to you all.

Happy Friday

I've been meaning to post all week and keep getting side tracked. Dh found himself a pop-up camper he can use for his music weekends, fishing and camping. We went to pick it up on Monday to bring it home. It's in very good shape for an older camper. We learned how to take it down and how to set it up before we left.

Then I finished a second green and brown double irish chain quilt. It needs a label and a binding and then it will be going to the grandson as his graduation present.

Went today and bought some cherries from a lady who has a tree loaded with them. They are very good. I'm thinking I might go back and buy some more to freeze to make pies with. Dh says he is making chicken salad tonight so I bought some tortillas so we can have a wrap. Have to go now and find something to wipe up the drool. Later.

Saturday Morning

This morning there was a small plane flying close to the house. When I went outside to see what it was I saw this crop duster spraying the field about half a mile away from us. He made several passes and then it was quiet.

The day was spent cleaning up the back yard and trimming trees then taking all the limbs to the dump. We still have a lot of trimming to do and the house needs painting. So when we get it all done it will look like a different place around here. I'll be taking before and after pictures.

Tomorrow I will be working in the quilt room trying to get more fabric put away. Never a dull moment around here.

Busy Weekend

Hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable 4th of July. It was a very warm weekend around here but very nice. DH played guitar all weekend. First at a family get together a lady he works with was having. Then he spent the better part of the rest of the weekend playing at another friends farm. He has a large get together on 4th of July weekend and people come from all over to play music and have a good time. There were enough musicians so everyone could take turns and play or visit or eat. The mosquitos were bad so I didn't stay as long as dh but it was a good time. As I was leaving to come home one evening I caught the tail end of the sunset.

I also managed to go visit with the This and That group at the park. They were knitting, spinning and eating. So it was a busy and enjoyable weekend. Did you do anything fun at your house?

Summer's Arrival

Summer has finally arrived in full force. Today was a run errands day. We made a dump trip, went out to breakfast, checked mail, went to get dh a fishing license and a fishing pole and took one of the big truck batteries in to get charged. The big truck has two batteries, but we couldn't get the other one out because of this. They aren't very old and I counted 4 little beaks all sound asleep. Thank goodness Mom didn't come back and see us around her babies.

I am working on a Winning Hands quilt that I'm really liking the look of. It is going to a friend. I also went to the guild workshop on the

15th and had a good time sewing and getting to know some of the ladies in the guild.

I have also been working out in the quilt room getting more fabric unpacked and put on shelves. I'll post before and after pictures of the quilt room soon. I finally found the rest of my Circle Lord designs so I am looking forward to playing with them to learn some new designs. Now if I could just uncover my software for programs. My computer was in the shop again earlier this month and they cleaned it up but said it was on borrowed time. So now I have a new computer with 2 Terrabites of hard drive and 12 gig of memory. Have to get the things I need from the old computer transfered to the new one. So far I am enjoying the new computer just have to learn how to do some things differently. The old computer was an XP and this one is Windows 2007 and Microsoft Office 2010.

Memorial Day 2011

Hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day. We went to the cemetary in Burley so DH could take part in the service. It was overcast and a cold wind was blowing. After the service we went to get something to eat and of course the sun came out for the rest of the day, but we still had the cold wind.

This week we had a ductless heat pump installed in the quilt room. It will also provide air conditioning if it ever warms up around here. It's a nice small unit, runs quietly and doesn't take up any floor space.

Last week Dh went to Kalispell, MT for the wedding of our nephew. I managed to make a Double Irish Chain Wedding Quilt for him to take. I had enough blocks made so I am making another one for the grandson for his graduation quilt. Then I have one to get done for a great-neice in Bend, Oregon.

My desk top computer is once again at the computer doctor. Something really got ahold of it this time when I went to check on it I was told they were still trying to work through the computers issues. Hopefully it will get to come home this week. Well, that's what I've been doing what is happening in your part of the world?

Happy Mother's Day

Well, here I am again. Spring is trying to arrive, but it's been 1 step forward and 2 steps back.

Yesterday we went to Twin Falls to run some errands. The important one being the renewal of my military ID card. DH had to go so he could claim me. After getting that all taken care of we went to Costco and I stopped at Joann's for a quick visit. On our way out of town we went to Shoshone Falls. They have been releasing water from a dam upstream so the falls were looking like what the Indians and the pioneers saw when they stopped. The first picture is of the falls when we went in July 2010 with the grandson, and the second picture is how they looked yesterday. Huge difference. They are called the Niagara of the West. If you look carefully in the second picture you can see a small rainbow at the bottom of the picture just to the right of center. It was very faint and I wasn't sure it would show up. It was a lovely day to visit the falls. There are picnic tables where you can have lunch and enjoy the view. Also, if you have a National Parks Card and a picture id you can get into the park for free even though it is a State Park. As far as I know it is the only State Park in Idaho where that is the case.

I'll have pictures soon of the baby quilt I am working on and a wedding quilt. Hope you all have a great Mother's Day weekend.

Popping in Again

You've probably been wondering where I've been. Well, I've been trying to sew, stay warm and get taxes done. In the last three weeks we have had one storm system after another pass through and a couple of them have left views like this: While the weather was being difficult I did get the red and white 9 patch snowball quilt done using the spirals template from Circle Lord. Yesterday we drove up to Mt. Home to look at 4 wheel drive Jeeps. Dh was wanting something with 4 wheel drive so he ended up getting a 2005 Jeep Liberty. It's a nice small vehicle and gets 20 to 24 miles to the gallon. After Dh was done with the car business we went on to Boise to visit some friends and I was lucky enough to work in a visit to The Quilt Crossing and KnitWits both very nice and a must for a return visit. This morning we had pancakes for breakfast and Squeak being the spoiled baby that he is had to have some also. In the midst of all this we recieved a post card from the vet telling us that it was time to bring in Squeak to be spayed. I drop Squeak off and by the time I return home the vet has left a message on the machine. I return the call and the Vet says,"Did you know that Squeak is MALE??? MALE says I in shock. MY SQUEAK is MALE?? Yes, says they - Do you want him neutered? "Of course, says I then I hang up the phone. Squeak has been in to see the vet before this so how come the vet didn't know Squeak was male, and the place I left him overnight while we were gone once never said anything about him being male so how was I supposed to know this? It's been real interesting learning to say him instead of her when referring to "Studly" Squeak. It does however, explain Squeak's P & V attitude.

Visitors from The Great Salt Lake

Today there were seagulls everywhere. This group spent the whole day in the field next to us - the one they sprayed yesterday. Dh came home and was wondering how they knew to show up Is there a seagull hotline or facebook page did someone tweet to them. He was having a silly afternoon.
We had snow then rain this morning and then it cleared off and we had some sunshine before it started to cloud up again. Tomorrow will be one of those wait 5 minutes and the weather will change days. Think we will go to the movies and watch the Limitless movie. Dh wants to see it I may decide to go watch Rango.

Every Where You Look

Every where you look around here there are tractors in the fields getting them ready for planting. The field next to us has had hay in it for the last two years and they'll probably do another crop again this year. It's really nice to see them out working makes me thing spring is really just around the corner. Tomorrow we are supposed to have another storm coming through and not have really nice weather until maybe next Monday. Last week as a storm was moving in I saw all these birds in the tree getting ready. We are starting to see more and more birds. Wonder what we will find this spring.

On The Needles

I've been working on a knitted baby blanket for no reason other than to try out a new stitch. I really like the look of it and it is a very easy pattern. It's called the Farrow Rib Stitch and if you google it, it is easy to find. The nice thing about this pattern is it looks the same on both sides.

It is a beautiful 40 degree windy day here. There is a mouse in the house and all the older cats have taken turns guarding it's location. Then Squeak comes along and it is a growl and hiss stand off. So most of my day has been spent saving Squeak from being torn limb from limb. I'm beginning to think she will never learn when to back off. Well, I'm off to try and get some sewing done, again, we'll see how long that lasts.

Just Because the calendar says so

My calendar says it is Spring, but I look out my window and it still looks like winter to me. The wind is blowing and the sky is overcast and it is chilly so I'm thinking maybe my calendar jumped the gun a little.

This morning Squeak was showing signs of spring fever. She found and empty box and entertained herself and us playing with it.

She loves bags and boxes to play with, I think, more than her toys. She sure gets the most out of each day. Since coming to live with us she has provided daily laughs. May you all be so lucky to have someone or something in your life to make you laugh and the day just a bit brighter.

Happy National Quilting Day

What better way to celebrate National Quilting Day than by entering the giveaway at http://sewcalgal.blogspot.com . She is also having the 2011 Golden Quilter Awards. Here's your chance to vote for your favorite quilters and designers. This runs through the 31st of March.




This quilt is one of my favorites. My sister designed this pattern and one weekend we pieced it for a customer of mine and I quilted it using the Double Rose Vine pantograph. It really came out nice and I'd like to make one for our bed. My sister calls her pattern House of Cards.




This quilt is called King David's Crown from a book by Sally Schneider and Barbara J. Eikmeier called Traditional Quilts with Painless Borders. I was lucky enough to be able to take a class from Sally when she lived in Washington. I'd also like to make another one of these large enough to fit our King Sized bed so it is on the TO DO list. The cat is Squeak giving it the cat seal of approval. Hope spring is showing in your area soon.

Finally, keep the Japanese people in your prayers. They will survive, but it will be a very long haul. There are places starting to gather quilts to send and you can find out some information at Quiltville.com.

A Beautiful Day and Richard

It has been a beautiful day here. Blue skies with white puffy clouds and lots of sunshine.
I was looking through all the pictures I have taken since we moved to Idaho. I came across this one of Dh and our friend Richard when he came for a visit last summer. He didn't stay very long, but he and DH had a good visit and it was nice to see him again. Last month we received word that Richard had passed away in his sleep. To say it was a real shock is an understatement. It is still hard to believe that I can't send him any more funny jokes and stories or give him a call to see how he is doing. He was Dh's friend, but he also became my friend. So I encourage you to not put off doing something you really would like to do you never know what tomorrow will bring.

A Spring Like Day

Today the temperature made it over 50 degrees here in Rupert. It should be mid 50's most of the day tomorrow before the next cold front gets here tomorrow evening with the thread of thunder showers. It was a lovely day today and just serves to make me want spring right now. Managed to get two blocks put together before I was ready to do Squeak in. She thinks she is supposed to be on the cutting table to help cut, on the sewing table to help sew and play with the iron cord to make ironing as difficult as possible before she unplugs the iron and takes off at light speed when she is yelled at. She can be so annoying, but even so I wouldn't trade her. The older cats, however, would trade her in a second.

The Winners Are

I'm sorry I haven't posted the winners of the giveaway sooner. My computer was taken over by one of those programs pretending to be a Windows component. It took my husband a couple of days to clear it up because it was really embedded. Don't know what I would do without him.


Anyway, Congratulations to Candace she won the signed copy of the book and Regan won a set of my Quilt Bugs. If you two ladies will email me with your mailing address at ohiostar46@gmail.com I'll get your gifts in the mail to you.

Thank you to everyone else who entered and I hope you are the lucky ones the next time around.

And We're Off

Good Morning to everyone. Hope you are having a wonderful weekend so far. While I was reading my email this morning I came across something tiltled Quilt Fever. It is an animation of quilts set to music. Very entertaining and you can find it on the right side of my blog. Don't forget to have your sound on.

The give away has started and you have until midnight Friday the 25th to enter. I am looking forward to your quilting story.

Get Ready

Okay, I hope you are all ready to play give away with me. The give away will start at midnight tonight Friday the 18th, Mountain time and will run through Friday the 25th at midnight my time (Mountain). The rules are simple:

1. You must have a blog for your entry to count and post about my give away on your blog. All others are welcome to post, but no blog no entry, sorry.

2. Please tell me how long you have been quilting, why you got started and your favorite quilt pattern to make. Anything else you want to mention is fine also. Example: I have been quilting since 1989. In 1990 I got my first quilting machine because I really didn't like quilting on my sewing machine and I didn't like to tie my quilts. When I got the machine DH said, "It's to expensive ($3200.00) for you to have and maybe not use, so I went into to business just so I could have the machine. I discovered I really liked it and I am still in business today. My favorite quilt pattern is the Ohio Star. It's really hard to pick just one.

3. Last but not least have fun.

The first winner will get the signed copy of Bonnie Hunter's new book Scraps & Shirttails II. I'll have a couple of other things also and will post them over the weekend. Winners will be picked by a random number generator.

So if you don't have a blog and really want to be in the running for a chance you have time to get one set up. Like me you may find you enjoy it more than you thought you would.

I'll leave you with a picture of Squeak enjoying her new climbing, scratching stand. She loves to sit on it and watch the action or create her own.

Teaser

Today in the mail I rec'd Bonnie Hunter's new book "Scraps & Shirttails II". I ordered two so there is one for me and one for a give-away. A Special Bonus it is signed by Bonnie. So stay tuned for details and dates. It will be sometime between now and the end of February have to give some thought to the details. I've had a quick peek and it is even better than the first one.

February Already?

You've probably wondered where I've been and what I've been up to if you haven't just given up on me. Well, I've been working on Bonnie Hunter's Mystery Quilt that I started at Thanksgiving, writing the instructions to the block I am teaching at one of my quilting guilds this month, and cleaning and sorting paperwork trying to establish some order so taxes won't be such a chore this year. (Who am I kidding on that one).

The green and white block is a Disappearing Four Patch Block. I started with 4 6" squares sewn together and then I cut 1.5" from the center line top, bottom, left and right and turn the 4 center rectangles 90 degrees and sew it all back together. Easy and fast to do.

Monday when I was trying to sew Squeak was making all kinds of

noise unter the sewing table and when I stopped to take a look this is what I found. Squeak had thrown herself away. She is not helpful when it com

es to sewing so everything takes much longer to finish.

Last but not least Connecting Threads has a new feature called Kit Builder. You can build your own kit

and they will send you the kit you built. This one is for a baby quilt and is costing me just under $13.00 pluse the backing.