Today is a day of errands and tying up loose ends. I have to get everything ready to take down to the church to set up for the craft sale tomorrow. I need to put everything out so I can see it all and remember to take everything. It all needs priced. I want to put a tablecloth out to put on the table and perhaps some sort of signage or decorations to catch people's eye.
I need to run into town also and pick up some groceries and Christmas cards. I wanted to do that Wednesday when I had my mammogram but that took so much time that I didn't get that done.
I still want to make a couple of small zippered make up cases and snap leather baskets. Hopefully I will have enough time to get those done.
Once the craft sale is over I plan on getting the Christmas decorations out and getting ready for Lindsey and Brianne to come and join us for Christmas. Dan will also be home with us. He starts at Penn State Beaver campus in January. So once again we will have an empty house.
Hopefully I will have pictures to share from tomorrows sale and some wonderful stories to share.
Have a great day and remember to be thankful for something today that you usually take for granted.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Thursday, December 1, 2011
This week has been very busy so far and not just for me. Kate was to get her household shipment yesterday and move into her new townhome in Hawaii. Big kudoos to my baby girl for being self sufficient and stepping out into a new adventure all on her own. I am so proud of you Kate. Photos of her place will have to be gotten and shared as soon as they are available.
Yesterday, I started out my day by going and having my yearly mammogram done. All good with the girls. Then I stopped by Pat Catans and got some boxes for our cookie exchange we will be doing with the Prime Timers group next week. I didn't have time to finish my shopping while in Hermitage before heading back to Greenville for a visit there. (The mammogram and ultrasound took much longer than expected.) So I got to visit the folks at GMC and then had lunch with Tina at the Stone Arch. Yummy, grilled ham and swiss sandwich with homemade potato chips. I then headed home to change clothes and pick up my cleaning supplies and headed to Bill's apartment to clean. I spent about 2 1/2 hours cleaning up and organizing what I could. I took out 4 bags of garbage to the dumpster, cleared a pathway from the front door straight back to the bathroom, cleaned off the dinnette table, vaccumed the rug, and cleaned the bathroom. He has lots of books and papers that need to find a home so I want to find some bookcases and a small credenza or dresser that those could be stored in. I plan on going back next week especially if I can find some storage pieces to get those boxes emptied into to make more walking space.
I also got the Oriental wallhanging's hanging sleeve stitched down. It needs a lable yet. Today.
Here is a detail shot of the piece. The color in the geisha girl was added with thread work and Shiva paint sticks added the color and texture to the fan and her headpiece.
For today, I am going to finish the vintage tablecloth piece, bind, wash, and block it and get the fan on it so it can dry. That is my last big piece before the craft sale. I would like to make some faux leather baskets to take to the sale, and some small zippered pouches. Hopefully, I can get all of this done by Saturday morning. I also need to call Anita and see when she is going to go to set up her table. We have adjoining tables so that we can cover for each other during the sale. It will be nice to see her this weekend.
So that is what my day looks like. I hope you have a great day and do something unexpected for someone else.
Yesterday, I started out my day by going and having my yearly mammogram done. All good with the girls. Then I stopped by Pat Catans and got some boxes for our cookie exchange we will be doing with the Prime Timers group next week. I didn't have time to finish my shopping while in Hermitage before heading back to Greenville for a visit there. (The mammogram and ultrasound took much longer than expected.) So I got to visit the folks at GMC and then had lunch with Tina at the Stone Arch. Yummy, grilled ham and swiss sandwich with homemade potato chips. I then headed home to change clothes and pick up my cleaning supplies and headed to Bill's apartment to clean. I spent about 2 1/2 hours cleaning up and organizing what I could. I took out 4 bags of garbage to the dumpster, cleared a pathway from the front door straight back to the bathroom, cleaned off the dinnette table, vaccumed the rug, and cleaned the bathroom. He has lots of books and papers that need to find a home so I want to find some bookcases and a small credenza or dresser that those could be stored in. I plan on going back next week especially if I can find some storage pieces to get those boxes emptied into to make more walking space.
I also got the Oriental wallhanging's hanging sleeve stitched down. It needs a lable yet. Today.
For today, I am going to finish the vintage tablecloth piece, bind, wash, and block it and get the fan on it so it can dry. That is my last big piece before the craft sale. I would like to make some faux leather baskets to take to the sale, and some small zippered pouches. Hopefully, I can get all of this done by Saturday morning. I also need to call Anita and see when she is going to go to set up her table. We have adjoining tables so that we can cover for each other during the sale. It will be nice to see her this weekend.
So that is what my day looks like. I hope you have a great day and do something unexpected for someone else.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
New site to check out
Good morning. I was doing a little checking out of some of my favorite blogs this morning before heading here and I just found another site that looks like will become another favorite. It is an ezine called Roomag.com. Go check it out. It has a great mission statement and great articles on being a wife, marriage, home, fashion and faith. I haven't had much time yet to really get in there and check it out too much but it looks like a great place to find answers, help, support and ideas for family life in general.
I am off today to run quite a few errands. First of all, I have my yearly mammogram scheduled so after that I will be going to Pat Catan's to pick up some things for Prime Timers group next week. We will be addressing Christmas cards to friends, neighbors, and shut ins so I have to get the Christmas cards. We will also be sharing cookies and doing a cookie exchange so take out trays or containers of some sort are needed. I will also stop of at clinic and visit with all my friends there on the way home. Next will be to get a bite of lunch and come home and gather up all the cleaning supplies I will need to clean up Bill's apartment. He is to do up his laundry this morning so when I get there I will try to dig him out of the piles of papers and clutter. He has been under the weather of late and not had any energy to clean up. Hopefully we can get the window open a little to air out the apartment.
On the home front, I got a good portion of the tablecloth quilted last night. I have the outer border yet to quilt, apply the binding and wash it and block it. I forgot to go check on the Oriental wallhanging last night to see how it was drying. Hopefully, it will also be dry so that I can finish sewing down the hanging sleeve on the back of it and applying a lable to it. I will post photos soon of these 2 pieces.
Another thing I want to share, I heard this yesterday morning and have been thinking about it a lot. Especially since we just celebrated Thanksgiving. Gratitude is not thanksgiving until it is expressed.
Lots to do today and so I better get going. I have 30 minutes before I need to walking out the door. Have a blessed day and remember to express your gratitude to someone today and make it your offering of Thanksgiving.
I am off today to run quite a few errands. First of all, I have my yearly mammogram scheduled so after that I will be going to Pat Catan's to pick up some things for Prime Timers group next week. We will be addressing Christmas cards to friends, neighbors, and shut ins so I have to get the Christmas cards. We will also be sharing cookies and doing a cookie exchange so take out trays or containers of some sort are needed. I will also stop of at clinic and visit with all my friends there on the way home. Next will be to get a bite of lunch and come home and gather up all the cleaning supplies I will need to clean up Bill's apartment. He is to do up his laundry this morning so when I get there I will try to dig him out of the piles of papers and clutter. He has been under the weather of late and not had any energy to clean up. Hopefully we can get the window open a little to air out the apartment.
On the home front, I got a good portion of the tablecloth quilted last night. I have the outer border yet to quilt, apply the binding and wash it and block it. I forgot to go check on the Oriental wallhanging last night to see how it was drying. Hopefully, it will also be dry so that I can finish sewing down the hanging sleeve on the back of it and applying a lable to it. I will post photos soon of these 2 pieces.
Another thing I want to share, I heard this yesterday morning and have been thinking about it a lot. Especially since we just celebrated Thanksgiving. Gratitude is not thanksgiving until it is expressed.
Lots to do today and so I better get going. I have 30 minutes before I need to walking out the door. Have a blessed day and remember to express your gratitude to someone today and make it your offering of Thanksgiving.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
How to block a quilt
Good morning, everyone. I have been up this morning for about an hour, I have done my morning devotions. I put meatballs in the crock pot for our Prime Timers lunch. The recipe is so easy.
Crock Pot Meatballs
1 bag of frozen meatballs, any variety you prefer
1 jar of grape jelly
1 jar of chili sauce
Mix the grape jelly and chili sauce together, pour over the meatballs in the crock pot and cook on low for 4-6 hours.
It is that simple and really good.
Yesterday, I got good news and bad news about my sewing machine, Lilly. She will be repaired for free because she is still under warranty, but she has to be shipped back to the company for the repairs. So I will be without her for several weeks I am thinking. Linda, at Domestic Sewing Center, Warren, Ohio, called and said that she was going to ask them to put a rush on it but I still think that it will be several weeks. Linda is such a great dealer of Janome brand machines, if you are ever in the market for a new machine and you are in the area of her shop you need to check her out. The service is fantastic.
On to a project report: I have my large oriental piece quilted. I think I will go back and add a little more detail to a couple of places, but for today I need to get it washed, to get out the markings and then spread it out on the carpet in the guest suite and block it. If you don't know what blocking is, it is done after the quilt is completed and the binding is on. You wash the quilt in cold water, spin out as much of the water as possible, and depending on the size of the quilt you can do the blocking part on a bed or table or floor, the area has to be large enough for the quilt to lie completely flat. It helps to have something soft but firm to pin into, such as carpet. You lay the quilt down and stretch it out to square it up and pat it down in areas that want to puff up. Pin all around the edges into the carpet, T pins are good for this, and then you let it dry. I place a fan blowing over it to accelerate the drying time. Depending on how large it is and the weather conditions it can take from several hours to several days to get completely dry. Do not disturb the quilt until it is absolutely dry. My piece is approximately 45" square so it shouldn't take too long with the fan blowing on it. I am going to go do the washing as soon as I am finished here.
My next quilted piece will be a vintage table cloth I bought last weekend. I got some peach fairy frost fabric to go underneath the cutwork cloth and also for the backing. I started the marking process last weekend but some of the marks have faded so much already that I will have to remark some areas before I get to the quilting. This is another piece I would like to have done by Saturday. It shouldn't be a problem as I have several days. I also have to finish up my t-shirts for the craft sale. I have 3 done, and I have about 9 more to go, I might take them with me and make a demo of the technique at the show. I can take special orders and customize the shirts. Well that is where I am today. I still have some other small things I would like to make but if they don't get done it is not a big deal.
Crock Pot Meatballs
1 bag of frozen meatballs, any variety you prefer
1 jar of grape jelly
1 jar of chili sauce
Mix the grape jelly and chili sauce together, pour over the meatballs in the crock pot and cook on low for 4-6 hours.
It is that simple and really good.
Yesterday, I got good news and bad news about my sewing machine, Lilly. She will be repaired for free because she is still under warranty, but she has to be shipped back to the company for the repairs. So I will be without her for several weeks I am thinking. Linda, at Domestic Sewing Center, Warren, Ohio, called and said that she was going to ask them to put a rush on it but I still think that it will be several weeks. Linda is such a great dealer of Janome brand machines, if you are ever in the market for a new machine and you are in the area of her shop you need to check her out. The service is fantastic.
On to a project report: I have my large oriental piece quilted. I think I will go back and add a little more detail to a couple of places, but for today I need to get it washed, to get out the markings and then spread it out on the carpet in the guest suite and block it. If you don't know what blocking is, it is done after the quilt is completed and the binding is on. You wash the quilt in cold water, spin out as much of the water as possible, and depending on the size of the quilt you can do the blocking part on a bed or table or floor, the area has to be large enough for the quilt to lie completely flat. It helps to have something soft but firm to pin into, such as carpet. You lay the quilt down and stretch it out to square it up and pat it down in areas that want to puff up. Pin all around the edges into the carpet, T pins are good for this, and then you let it dry. I place a fan blowing over it to accelerate the drying time. Depending on how large it is and the weather conditions it can take from several hours to several days to get completely dry. Do not disturb the quilt until it is absolutely dry. My piece is approximately 45" square so it shouldn't take too long with the fan blowing on it. I am going to go do the washing as soon as I am finished here.
My next quilted piece will be a vintage table cloth I bought last weekend. I got some peach fairy frost fabric to go underneath the cutwork cloth and also for the backing. I started the marking process last weekend but some of the marks have faded so much already that I will have to remark some areas before I get to the quilting. This is another piece I would like to have done by Saturday. It shouldn't be a problem as I have several days. I also have to finish up my t-shirts for the craft sale. I have 3 done, and I have about 9 more to go, I might take them with me and make a demo of the technique at the show. I can take special orders and customize the shirts. Well that is where I am today. I still have some other small things I would like to make but if they don't get done it is not a big deal.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Weekend busyness
This weekend has been a busy and challenging weekend. I have been working on finishing up projects for the craft sale at our church this upcoming weekend. It didn't help that my main sewing machine had some problems and I had to take her (her name is Lilly), to the dealer for repairs. So I am using my second machine which I usually have set up to do my regular piecing and sewing on. I don't use it for my free motion quilting usually. So that was my Saturday trip, out into the wild chaos of shoppers. I did stop at the local shopping mall and visited the antique store that is there on my way home. I am always on the look out for great vintage linens to make quilted items out of.
Yesterday was Sunday school, church, lunch out, we picked up some take out also and swung by my brothers apartment and dropped that off to him, he has been sick the last week. Home then and a short nap. Up and quilting on an oriental piece that I want to have done for Saturday's sale.
DH came in late and I watched the 2nd half of the Steelers game with him and then went to bed.
The sad news from the weekend is that our sweet little Abby, a 5 yr. old beagle, died this weekend. She was found in the yard. She was so sweet, I will miss her. Our other beagle, Georgie, is sad too. I think she knows because she doesn't want to go outside by herself.
Today, I plan on working on laundry while I am quilting on these last minute projects. I also have to run out and get a door prize and snacks for tomorrows Prime Timers get together. It is a get together of those 55 and older from the community that meets at our church for fellowship, entertainment and good food. Tomorrows meal is pot luck so I also have to get a dish of some sort together to share.
Lots to get done today so I am off to get started. Have a great day and I hope you do something to share the love of Christ today.
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