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.