Strips Done
I made two more blocks. One is TIROS (Television and Infrarad Observation Satellite) which was the first true weather satellite. The other was Echo which was the first communications satellite. It was succeeded by Telstar. All of us use their successors on a daily basis. I had a little space on my quilt and thought it important to include them. It took me awhile to find the United Nations Registry of Space Objects, Section A: Main Registry of Satellites and Space Probes, but it has been invaluable. There are 92 pages of them, single spaced in small print. Besides some other data, each line includes the date and nation who launched it. Quite interesting but it made it hard to decide which ones to include in my quilt.

I now have all the blocks sewed into six strips. It is really hot here, too hot to try to sew the the strips together today. Soon I hope. Hope everyone is staying cool.

More Examples



In these pics, the E needs added to the other letters. The pics show angles to do this.

steps to make the letter "h"



First make an "h" according to Tonya's instructions. Add a top and bottom to make it the height desired. Add the left background. The last pic shows a variation. The right side will be done when it is joined to the next letter.

Making My Letters

I'm not very good at directions but thought I'd try to show how I make my letters. First I made an E according to Tonya's instructions. This E was square across the top. I laid a piece of background fabric at an angle I liked. See top pic. Then I put a pin in the E fabric where it met the background. Second pic.

Then I flipped the background over and aligned it so I had a seam allowance. You can trim the letter fabric at this time or after you sew. See last pic. I like to sew first and look at it before I trim. I sew the top and bottom of the letter first and then one side. I do the left each time. The right side of the letter will be sewed to the next letter.

Making my Letters

I am trying to post pics about how I make my letters but have the postings alll mixed up. Sorry. These are examples of different ways the letter E can look after making Tonya's E and adding the background different ways.

Two More Rows
Space rows are coming. Yesterday was Judy's funeral. Today hot and muggy. Kipper is on his couch nose to ceiling fan. He says he wants another haircut. Hope everyone is having a good day!

Space Row

I'm now making rows of my space blocks. Here is one which is 11 1/2 inches high. I'm thinking the quilt will end up about 60" square before borders. Would you believe I had ISS (International Space Station) backwards? SSI looked fine but.... Sure glad I caught it. I'm sure there will be other goofs but at least I should have the blocks right side up. Tonya asked about the size of the numbers. The number one is 3 ". I like making the letters and words more then putting them together but this is creative too. The challenge I'm making this for a non- juried show. They have a viewer's choice but no prize. Last year they showed some very professionally made quilts and some from anyone. One was by a group of youth quilters. That is why I will enter my quilt. None of my work is on a level to enter a judged show. But this is a fun group. Different people every year, too. The entries cannot be from a kit and must have a star or more somewhere in it. They can be made by hand or machine and you can have someone else quilt it. Hum, guess I should think about that next. I've working on it every day for an hour at least. Guess I'm just slow. More to follow soon. Thanks for all the encouragement.

Oh So Good
What do you call them? Cantaloupe? Muskmelon? I say muskmelon. This is a Honey Rock from Indiana. I always wait anxiously for the Bay City, MI ones to get ripe. Sure nice to find this one from IN in the store. Does your part of the country produce them? They are soft and very very juicy. My favorite way to eat them is with blueberries (MI crop has started and are sooo good.) bananas and ice cream. I also like peaches in the mix but they aren't ripe here yet either.

Bottom pic is first numbers I've ever made. I'm putting the space name blocks into horizontal rows. Lots of work but fun to see it coming together. Pics soon.

Life
It is so strange how we age so differently. It seems like in our 20s and 30s, even 40s, most of us have equally good health. But in our 60s we can be so different. I guess it is simply because we are subject to more illnesses then. In my parent's and grandparent's days, the 60's were old but not any more. What do they say, now 60 is 40. But not for all of us.

What brought all this on? One sixty-something acquaintance of mine is really a healthy 40 year old and is getting married. Another was 65 and died of cancer yesterday. Judy sometimes traveled with Shirley and me. Shirley has known her for 47 years. Judy had a mass in her mouth and jaw and she and her dentist didn't follow through with a diagnosis fast enough. She finally had surgery to remove it, including some teeth. Chemo and radiation. It came back and more treatments. So much pain and suffering. Please, please be aware of what your bodies tell you and be aggressive to have things checked out early. I'm sure you've heard this before but listen and do it! Please.

Pay It Forward

I will send a gift made by me to the first three people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. You will receive it within 365 days. The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

I've never done anything like this before but am willing to give it a try. That is if there is anyone who hasn't already committed to someone else, isn't too busy or just not into exchanges. Let me know. Katie

Replacement
Yesterday I redid my Apollo block. It was too big and the pink just didn't do it. I took this one out on my porch to use the natural light for the pic. It sure makes more accurate color. I may go back and resew the seam between the last "L" and "O" to move them closer together. The pink version is 18 inches long and this one is 11 inches. I laid out the blocks on my spare bed. I put them whatever angle they felt like going. I did try to arrange color somewhat, especially the three reds. Then I actually sewed two of them together. This isn't going to be easy. I will need to add more background to them and even then not sure how to go about it. Stay tuned.

Oh, the food is so good this time of year. I had a homemade BLT yesterday. I know bacon wasn't good for me but maybe the fresh lettuce and tomato balanced it. I also had the first local fresh blueberries. Good logic, right? I really don't care; it tasted wonderful.

Have you ever woke up in the morning and realized you were dreaming about something that you needed to do? It doesn't happen often to me but it did this morning. I dreamed about really cleaning my sewing machine including changing the needle. Hum, suppose I need to get a life? Okay, I'm off to do it. I sure don't want to dream it again. LOL

Think I'm Done

With these four names, I think I have all the names I want. Now the hard part will be to figure out how to put them together. I also need to couch a couple of the names and am still undecided whether or not to redo Apollo. The second pic is 1/3 yards of fabrics I bought to have some purples for the blocks. The fabric pic doesn't show the colors correctly. Sorry. The colors in the blocks is much more accurate.

Little more progress on my old house repairs this weekend too. Hope everyone had a good weekend.

Title

I'm thinking I need a title on my quilt. Wondering about Memories 1957-2007. I must have a star or stars somewhere on the quilt. This and no longer than 80" long are the only restrictions. Well, and theme is 50 Years in Space. I thought about making an Ohio star with the title in the middle. I tried making very small letters which aren't very small. The bigger the letters, the easier to make. I don't think the title on the border will be a good idea. I have no plans for how to put the blocks together. Maybe very random.

I found some space theme fabrics on the Internet. Really hard to do without seeing and feeling the fabrics. The top one (pic not good) has tiny stars and should make good borders. I only bought one yard so will have to see. I may use it for the title background. I think I'm about to gather a bunch of orphans. The second pic has great space pics and I bought two yards but doesn't go with my letters. The third, another two yards, sure has stars but I'm concerned it will overwhelm my words. These might work for backing or another quilt, huh?

Rest of Finn's MeMe

Things I Can't Do
1. Stick to a diet
2. Live a day without chocolate
3. Get organized, prioritize
4. Ride a roller coaster
5. Figure out how to do computer things

People to Tag
Laurie Ann at Quilting Rush
Norma at Random Stitches
Judy at Quiting with Ragdolls
Shelina at Shelina's Creations
Toyna at Lazy Gal Quilting

Three More
Done? Not quite but getting close. My ceiling fan was causing them to fall off, thus the pins. I laid out the blocks (I guess I can call them that.) on the bed and it will take some thinking. The only one that really looks like it needs replaced is Apollo. I also need to make a title block. I did get to JoAnn's today and got some pearl cotton to do some more couching on some of the words. I sure miss the Hancock store that closed.




Things I Want To Do Before I Die
1. Get my old house repairs done. It keeps falling apart and the handyman works now and then.
2. See my DD1's book published. Yes, she has written a really good novel and is now seeking an agent.
3. Visit Finn.
4. Read lots more good books. Any suggestions?
5. Live one day at a time and enjoy every one.

Things I'm Good At
1. Putting worms on fishing hooks and taking the fish off. During their visit last weekend, we took my grandkids (ages 10, 8 and 6) fishing. Really fun time. One of them asked if their sibling wanted his fish thrown back or put in the bucket so he could keep looking at it.
2. Making pies.
3. Being happy just being me.
4. Accepting what can't be changed.
5. Procrastinating. I'm not sure it is good to do this but I am good at it.

What I'd Look For In A Man
1. Alive in body and spirit.
2. Happy with himself.
3. Flexible.
4. Tolerant.
5. Has respect for all living things.

I don't remember the other categories Finn listed.

Alaska Men

Finn said she wanted to go to Alaska before she died. And she described what she liked in a man. Just thought I'd share pics of the men I saw in Alaska. I went there just after 9-11 and had a wonderful trip. I didn't have a digital camera then so made an album of my pics. My scanner isn't working just now so I took these pics of my album with my current digital camera. In case you can't read the first one, it says, "There are many more men than women in Alaska. So my odds were good. But...the goods were odd." This was one of the many jokes told by the locals. Bear wasn't all that bad. LOL I wanted picture of the dogs and got the owner too. Hum.... Okay, check out the lumber jacks. Hey, they are okay. Problem is they were only temporarily there for the contest and lived in other places in the U. S. and Canada.

One More
One more for my space quilt. When I laid out these letters, I decided to make a lower case "G" and "R". Sorry I didn't take a pic with them as Caps. This was the first time I've changed letters at the putting together stage, but I like it much better. now. I must not have been listening to what it was telling me when I made those letters or my subconscious was having me make extra letters, maybe for orphan blocks? I found my challenge guideline information and the total quilt can't be longer than 80 inches, so I'll be fine. I'm getting anxious to start laying it out but won't be sewing for a few days. My DS and family are coming to visit. I spent today cleaning and doing laundry. I'll be sleeping in my sewing room so still need to move some stuff off the bed.

While I was taking these pics, I wondered if I'd shown you my wooden quilt blocks hanging in my sewing room. If these are repeats, well, enjoy again. I love wood and fell in love with these. I bought the rose and blue at Williamsburg, VA, in 2000. Marvelous place to visit. The block is about 8 inches square and labeled as Wood Quilts Uniquely Jewell, Springdale, Arkansas. "This quilt features a unique form of parquetry and is hand painted and signed by a 'stay-at-home mom'. We have many traditional quilt designs and each piece is individually cut. Please note the character and individually of the wood as God created every piece differently. Family owned and operated since 1986." Yes, all quilt labels are important. The Ohio Star is about 15 inches square. It is from House of Threads and Wood and it's label says, "Handcrafted Wood Quilt. Each piece is cut, stained and reassembled to form a quilt block for your enjoyment. Each is unique due to the stain penetration. Ed "94" I bought it at an old time village in Michigan a few years ago.

Busy time for Kipper as he alerts for every knock and bang. He insists that we must be being invaded. Memories of fireworks and this year on TV were very special. "VBS" The fireflies are really out lately too.