Friday, October 31, 2008

Our New Neighbors

Early this morning the little dogs woke us up with their barking. They discovered and cornered Mr. and Mrs. Skunk trying to secretly move in.While we were busy plugging up the very large holes, leftover from the August water problems, Mr. and Mrs. Skunk found a small hole and quickly dug enough to move in.
We weren't expecting any Halloween Scares until this evening! Now I must go buy some poison and prepare for the awful smell to soon come.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Sewing Room Progress pt. 3

Progress in the sewing room is going very slowly due to the need to be in town each day this week! I managed to clean a shelf before leaving the house this morning and I delivered several boxes of fabric to the drama group today. Getting rid of more fabric felt good!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Out With The Old...In With The New

I took a little break from working in the sewing room to sell this; it was sold within an hour and picked up soon after.Once the treadmill was gone I brought in a country table that had been stored away. I will either fill it with plants or use it for folding clothes since it sits next to the dryer.
As soon as my sewing room is back in working order I plan on making a table cloth or a table runner for the table; I'm thinking a country patchwork theme would look nice.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Sewing Room Progress

Well, I am making progress in the sewing room. I decided to keep 10 to 15 percent of my fabrics and get rid of the rest so today I met with several people to sell and give away several items. My closet is quickly becoming empty.A lot of the containers I had in my sewing room were moved to the hallway in order for me to be able to do a deep clean; now the hallway is housing empty containers waiting to be moved out to the storeroom.I found a local drama group who is interested in my heavy fabrics; the denims and corduroys. I will be donating it to them on Thursday!

Getting rid of so much fabric is a little scary; I have held on to it thinking "What if I need it"? But, if I haven't used it up yet, then I probably never will.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Sewing Room Chaos

Over the weekend I began organizing my sewing room. I have a lot of fabric that I don't use anymore and need to get rid of so I can feel more comfortable while working.A lot of fabric, boxes and containers are now taking over the hallway that leads into my sewing room.
Hopefully this evening or tomorrow I will have my room back in working order once again.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

My Amish Children

Today I finished the Halloween costumes for Jonathan and Elizabeth.
Dressing up is so much fun!

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Fussy Cut Quilt Blocks Part 2

I only managed to make three quilt blocks today.My favorite this time is the one with the owls.
I only have nine more blocks to go before I have enough for a quilt.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Fussy Cut Quilt Blocks

I spent today working on some fussy cut quilt blocks.My favorite is the fish in a bag.

I'm very pleased with all my blocks.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

My New Ironing Board Cover

In my sewing room I use a small table top ironing board for most of my sewing projects. This little ironing board takes up less room than the big ironing board and it gets used on a daily basis. Earlier this week the fabric cover, that I made last year, began tearing.Today I made another cover using ticking. I wanted to use a pretty fabric but it was too thin and I am hoping the ticking will hold up longer.

This new cover makes me think of a Christmas Candy cane.

Monday, October 20, 2008

A Tote for Kingston

Last week I spent several days working on a tote bag for a dog named Kingston. On one end I placed a photo of Kingston when he was a puppy.
On the other end I placed a second photo of Kingston.
For the front of the bag I put a third photo of Kingston, when he was much older. Under this photo I added his name.
The inside is fully lined and closes with a large zipper. I think Kingston's master will be very pleased with the bag.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Rani's Quilt pt. 2

I completed Rani's quilt this evening.It's very soft and heavy.
Rani will be using it tonight.
Working with fake fur was not fun. In the future I will think twice before working with it again.

The Book Sale

Today's book sale was packed with people and books. I had a list of books I wanted but didn't find any of them. However, I did find a few treasures, the Mitford series was the best find of the day. I also found several quilting books that are quit outdated but still had some pretty good ideas within the pages.

Elizabeth found some Archie comics, Peanut comics and Garfield comics. We both walked away from the sale pretty pleased with our newly acquired books.

Going to Town

Yesterday I had to make an extra trip to town and remembered to take my camera along; my mom has been wanting to see a typical day through pictures.

My first photo is a view of Broadway; this is my favorite street in town. I love streets made from brick.
Broadway leads right into the college campus.
This area is usually full of kids riding bikes and walking to class; it was pretty early when I took these pictures so I image most of the college kids were still sleeping.
The entrance to the campus is very pretty; my favorite part is the fountain and all the beautiful trees everywhere.
After leaving the campus area I headed to the library where it just happened to be the start of the library book sale. The line was so long it wrapped around the building.
This is part of the children's area of the library.
After we left the library I continued with my errands and forgot to take anymore pictures until right before it was time to pick up Jonathan. Here is a picture of construction that is currently going on; depending on which part of town you are in, this is a common sight.
Hopefully the next time I remember the camera I will remember to take better area photos.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Rani's Quilt

Last night I began working on Rani's quilt.So far I have her name finished; it took more time than I expected.
I had no idea crooked blocks take longer to make than normal blocks!

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Square in a Square Completed

I finally finished my Square in a Square quilt. It came out smaller than I wanted but it is still a generous size.
Although I like black and white together I like more colors in a quilt.
Now I'm off to make a quilt for Rani, the family dog.

Before And After

Recently, while searching through storage, I came across this little table I had forgotten about. Elizabeth and I cleaned it up today so we could display it on the porch.I used an old sheet for the table cloth and a piece of country rose fabric for the second table cloth. Next I put some pumpkins on top and now we have a nice holiday display to greet our guest.
All I lack now is a wall hanging to go above the table; but first I need to go shopping for some fall fabrics.

Tools Of The Trade

A walking foot.A metal darning foot.
A pair of quilting gloves.
These are just a few of the tools I find helpful in my quilting adventures.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Vegetable Soup

After such a wonderful day of rain and cold weather yesterday and a nice cold and wet morning today I decided to make a pot of soup while there was still a chill in the air.

Today's soup is vegetable soup; here is how I like to make it:
I began with a small roast which I browned on both sides and then cut into small bite size pieces.
To this I added one onion and one can of tomatoes that were put through the blender.
I like to let the meat simmer for awhile until it is fork tender.
Once the meat is ready I add one can green beans and potatoes cut into small wedges.
I continue cooking this, adding water as needed, until the potatoes are tender.
Once the soup was ready I added slices of whole wheat bread for the finishing touch.
Oh yum, it was so good and I have enough for supper too.

A Fall Morning

Today I woke up to cold and wet weather that was just right for a nice cup of hot Earl Grey tea. My sister gave me this tea and I like it very much. The little sugar jar pictured here I found last year at a yard sale for a quarter. I don't know if it is vintage but I sure like.
I have two tomato plants still producing tomatoes; these plants have struggled all summer.
Our chickens are so pretty, just the right color for fall.
I have been seeing the most beautiful fall colors on blogs lately but our trees are only showing a hint of turning.
I just love cold rainy days, it makes me want soup and bread.

msn live statistics
Hewlett Packard Laptop