Saturday Hodgepodge

Our little guy spent another 3 days with us. He sure is a handful!

I just have to share something that he does that is sooo cute.

After he coughs he pats himself on the back!

He takes his little hand and pat-pat-pat on his back.

We have to turn our heads away so he doesn't see us laughing.

He's a Croc boy like his papa.

This is my weekend project.

I am going to make 2 window valances, a crib dust ruffle, line two baskets and cover the lampshade. It looks like a roll of toilet paper sitting in that basket, doesn't it? DDIL picked out a floral print and lavender and white polka dots. Going to top it off with white rick rack. How cute is that! Our new little bundle is expected the middle of October. The room is painted, crib & changing table set up. Just waiting for Grandma to add the finishing touches. What a fun job!

Here is my new toy. A Sansa Fuze. I just HAD to have it. And it's all my friend Kathie's fault. She called to ask me about MP3 players. Hubby and I each have one and listen to books from Audible.com. Well, she tells me our public library now has books to download. Free! I just had to check it out. I mean, free. Up to 5 books a week. Well, come to find out my current MP3 was not compatible to the Overdrive software they required. Kathie & I talked again and she tells me about the bargain she got on this Fuze 2 GB player. Really, what's a girl to do? I listen to books while I quilt. It makes the time fly by. I've already downloaded 3 books and listened to one. Now I just have to figure out how to download podcasts.....

Weekend Update

I received my copy of the new magazine Porch.

It is full of beautiful photographs! 45 pages of them to be exact.

If you'd like a copy of your own or more information

contact Polly at Counting Your Blessings.

The only thing missing for me was the names & addresses

of all the beautiful shops she photographed.

I want to visit each one!

There are no articles in this issue. But according to her website and I quote..

"I'm so excited to bring you Thriftyville as a special issue

of our bloggers magazine!

Future issues will have a more traditional feel with articles and photos provided by several bloggers spanning lots of yummy topics, but this issue is one that you will savor".

And you will.

Here are a few Thimbleberry panels I quilted this week.

Each one is cuter than the next. Hard to choose which one I like best.

Ohhhh, Christmas will be here before we know it!

Vikki, a longarm quilting friend from Las Vegas, and her Mom came for a visit. She brought me a couple "veggie zappers" she made. We put 3 ears of sweet corn in each bag and zapped it in the microwave for 6 minutes..... perfect.

I won't be posting again until Thursday. Our little guy is coming back for 3 days. He has been unable to attend day care for 3 weeks now due to an E.coli infection. Poor little guy.

It's been a L-O-N-G fun week!

Let me start by saying that

I know why you have children when your young.

So you can keep up with them!

Our youngest grandson stayed with us for a week.

He is the cutest darn kid but doesn't stop moving.

Kinda like that energizer bunny!

He LOVES to be outside.

With all the balls, games, and riding toys,

his favorite was a 99 cent water gun.

He thought it was so much fun to squirt his "pa-pa".

And even more fun when pa-pa squirt back!

It was a joy to have him stay with us!

The garage sale was a disappointment. We didn't have a great turn out.

I guess having it the weekend of the "city wide" sale was a mistake.

There were just tooooo many garage sales to choose from.

So, I put sheets over all the tables and left everything in the garage.

I will try again another weekend.

Maybe I'll get a chance to look for more treasures to add.

Isn't this vintage cake carrier the greatest! All shinny chrome.

A quilting friend gave it to me. With chocolate cake no less!

More tomorrow. With Veggie Zappers.

I'm EXHAUSTED......

And the rummage sale hasn't even started yet!

Oh my, I've forgotten how much work trying to clean out is!

Because our big move was so quick I didn't get a chance to have

a rummage sale in Las Vegas.

So I'm going thru my treasures (read fabric, quilting books & UFO's).

I am thinning my stash!

The realization that I couldn't live long enough to

use all the fabric and projects I've collected has set in.

Is it just me?

But time seems to pass so quickly the older I get.

My taste has changed. Fabric lines have changed.

I don't want to finish a few of my starts.

As they say, "One quilter's UFOs, is another quilter's treasure".

Just sew you don't think I haven't been working

here are two of my latest customer quilts.

The Wizard of OZ panel. It was fun to quilt.

And my favoite quote from the movie.......

"If you can't find what you're looking for in your own backyard,

maybe you never really lost it at all".

Mexican Batiks. Sunshine bright!

Well, keep your fingers crossed my sale is a sell out!!

Just the thought of doing this again.....

Saturday "Magic" Quilt Class

You start with a checkerboard quilt of 5 1/2" squares and 3" border.

Then carefully mark cutting lines with a "magic template"

provided with the class.

You mark & cut squares apart, 4 at a time.

Then sew the squares into pinwheel blocks.

WHAT FUN! This is my "trust me" quilt half finished.

The class was held at Woodland Quilts in Whitewater, WI. A cute shop with lots of display samples to drool over. Cheryl has a variety of fabrics, books and the latest gadgets. Everyone seemed to find something they couldn't live without while shopping afterwards.

Kathi & Jean hold their checkerboard starter quilt. The quilts on the bottom row are the class samplers.

Pat & Peggy showing off their "before & afters".

Barb and Patti our mother-daughter team.

Maddy used Christmas fabrics for hers. Judy and Mary must of been hiding when I took the after pictures. I know both had a few rows of pinwheels when we finished. There should be plenty of show & tell at our September "Sew Whats" meeting!

Vintage Quilt Top..... 70 years later

What can I say....I love old quilt tops.

Just think about all the work Mariam put into making this top.

Cutting out each piece by hand.

Probably using cardboard from an old box.

Then hand stitching each 1 inch square.

If my math is correct, that's almost 6,000 pieces!

This top has a beautiful variety of 1930 fabrics.

I'm sure Mariam used whatever fabric she had on hand.

Not buying new yardage like we do today.

And you ask, how do I know her name?

I purchased this top at the Silent Auction held last

Saturday at the study group meeting.

I kept a watchful eye on the bidding. I wanted this top!

Lucky for me, there was a large selection of other stuff

that help distract the other bidders.

And as luck would have it, the lady sitting next to me at the meeting, donated the top. She included an index card with Mariam's sister's address on it and asked if I'd drop her a note.I also plan to send her a picture of the quilt when finished. How exciting to be able be finish what was started over 70 years ago!

The quilt below is a scrappy nine patch top that I found at a flea market.

Poor thing. No one wanted the quilt top. But me.

It was definitely a utility quilt.

But in perfect condition. No holes, rips or tears.

After quilting and washing it in

Vintage Textile Soak it's a wrinkled old treasure.

Our "Sew Whats" group is taking a quilt class this weekend. The trust me quilt. I will be sure to take lots of pictures. I love to see all the different color combinations. Have a safe weekend.

Beautiful Workmanship

The Kalona Quilt and Textile Museum features the largest public

display of antique spool cabinets in the U.S.A.

Each is handcrafted with such exquisite details.

The Museum curator, Marilyn Woodin,

has provided a beautiful exhibit of both historic quilts

and antique spool cabinets.

Children will be children no matter what style of clothing they wear.

Permission granted by Mariyln Woodin to post all photos

from the Kalona Quilt & Textile Museum.

For more information check out their website.

A Quilt Lover's Paradise

I spent two glorious days in Kalona Iowa. "Iowa's Best Kept Secret" as the brochure says. I was invited to attend the Iowa-Illinois Quilt Study Group meeting held there on Saturday. Two of my fellow guild members make the trip to Kalona twice a year. I felt so honored they asked me to join them. I mean both, Maretta and Beth, are professional quilt judges. Professional.

The drive was unbelievably beautiful. Of course, the usual four hour drive took us 8! We made 5 quilt shop stops. Luckily, we had a chauffeur, Dave, who kindly stopped with a smile. My favorite shop was The Pine Needles, in Marion IA. One of the largest shops I've ever seen. Be sure to check it out if your in the area. You won't be disappointed.

The Iowa-Illinois Quilt Study Group meeting was a quilt lover's dream. The room was filled with 60 members who had so much knowledge about all things fabric! They were dating fabrics as far back as the 1840's. The members "show & share" their treasured antique quilts. All were exceptional beauties. If your interested in the group contact

Marilyn Woodin, Curator of the Kalona Quilt and Textile Museum.

Maretta, brought a quilt to show the group from our

local Milton House Museum.

The current exhibit at the Museum is antique Amish log cabin quilts.

They also had a display of hand crafted spool cabinets.

I will post those photos later in the week.