Painted Bricks

Just do it. That's what I told myself. I picked up a pile of various colored fabrics all with the same pattern. Not the best quality fabric but don't make excuses, just do it. I put a new blade into the cutter and a new needle into the machine and just did it. These are 3 1/2 by
6 1/2 bricks. I have 36 blocks of nine bricks each. The bottom pic is four blocks together. I'll try to get a natural light pic later. I don't think the colors go together so well. That is why I hadn't used these fabrics before. But I bought them with this brick pattern, which I like, in mind. So with audio book playing, I've been quilting. Yay! I really don't want a big quilt so may not use all the blocks. Actually I still have bricks left, too. What size should I make it? Each block is 12 inches square.

Where did it go?

I wrote a nice long post and for some unknown reason it wouldn't post. And it isn't saved either. I thought they were supposed to do that automaticly now. First the spell check won't work and now the post. Is anyone else havng these problems? I remember that when I had problems posting from picasa before, I solved it by having my blog site open when I posted. How do you post?

I guess I'm just having one of those Murphy days. The other day I made a specific trip to the store to get some special cards. This morning I could not find them. I checked everywhere, even the car and refrigerator (I also made a quick grocery stop.) Do you suppose the mess shown in the first pic has anthing to do with my dilemma? Look at the good dog. He is trying to help me find whatever I'm looking for. I'm sure Kipper thinks it must be food, maybe popcorn. I finally did locate the cards under another pile of stuff on the dining table/cutting table. And as a bonus I cleaned some of the paper clutter. S

Recently I posted the second picture. Before Christmas I decided to join Bonnie's Mystery quilt. I knew I had to make mine with larger pieces. This is as far as I got. They are 6 1/2 inches square and I have a bunch of them. But I'm not inspired just now and have put them aside.

I have completed another redwork block. This is a very mindless sewing activity that I enjoy. No decisions to make. Just follow the lines. Several years ago I was told that such activities, including knitting, and whittling, occupy just enough of your brain so it can't dwell on worries. I don't know anything I'm anxious about so maybe I'm doing some preventive care. S

I have been unable to get enthused about a quilt project, either one that is started or a new one. Finn to the rescue, again. She is spending an hour per day cutting out strips, squares and triangles. I thought I could do that. I sure like her scrappy quilts. The last pic is my progress. There are also some strips that didn't get in the pic. Makes me want to start sewing but I don't have near enough yet. Stay turned.

What are you eating?

Popcorn is one of my favorite foods. I like a brand and type of microwave popcorn that I can buy in MI but is not sold here in FL. I bring some with me but now it is all gone. I tried buying another kind here but it was so bad that I threw it out. Here is the best kind - cooked on the stove with some oil in a pan. When it starts popping, just shake the pan and then lift it off the stove as it finishes popping. Keep the cover ajar to let the steam out. It was very good. Last year I had a lot of trouble finding plain popcorn to pop this way and this year the store only had one brand. This was the only way to make it when I was a kid and I think it is about to be a lost way of popping corn.

Another thing I had today was a homemade Rubin sandwich. Sorry no pic. I fry the sauerkraut. First I buy the best kraut in a plastic bag, that I can find. Then I add a little butter to the fry pan. I drain the kraut and add to the pan and fry slowly so as to brown but not burn it. I add the thousand island dressing, especially if it has been stored in the refrigerator, to this browned kraut. I spray butter flavored cooking spray on either a fry pan or George Forman grill and grill one side of the light rye bread. Then I layer the fried kraut with dressing, thin sliced corn beef, swiss cheese and toasted side of the second slice of bread. Then I respray the pan and toast both outsides of the sandich. It was really good.

They had the ingredientes on sale this week for the Super Bowl. Very hard to believe those prices were discounted. Have your food prices gone sky high this last month? Eggs were just over a $1 a dozen and now are at least $2. Milk is up to $4.29 per gallon. Everything is way up. Many items have gone up 50%. I don't buy much ahead here in FL and this is pinching my budget. I don't know how young families can do it. I'm afraid they can't.

I finished reading John Grisham's paperback book The Innocent Man. It is a true story of an innocent man's life. Ron Williamson was tried and sentenced to death on tainted evidence, if it can even be called that. How could so many people, including police and attorneys, be so inadequate, to say it nicely, or rotten, to say it honestly? I realize there are good police officers and attorneys out there but this book, Grisham's first nonfiction book, sure made me wonder about the horrible ones. I have seen many changes in my life but until now hadn't thought enough about how important the discovery of DNA was. Good book and I highly recommend it.

I got out some fabric to look at. The pic shows some UFO blocks. They are put away for now. I had two other pics to tell you about today but I see they are lost somewhere so will save that discussion for another day.

By the way, any idea why my spell check is not working? Anyone else having this problem? My fingers to their own thing so forgive the mistakes.

Shears Info

These shears, that I found in a bag of sewing goodies at the rumage sale, do have bandage shears ends but do not cut fabric. They have a perferated top blade and cut paper very well. Could they be for kitchen use?

I'm sending you some beach pictures. When are you coming to visit? Hang gliding, anyone? The coconuts had washed up on the beach. You can also find them under lots of the palm trees. Some still have their meat and milk. There are also lots of date palm trees around. Kipper loves to eat any of them on the ground.

I'm working on another redwork piece. The local Florida Hancock has lots of DMC. And I have a big bag of it that I carry back and forth between here and Michigan. But I still think WalMart should not have discontinued selling it.

Pillow Finished

Finished my DGD's pillow. Must get it mailed now.

I enjoyed spending time with my three young grandchildren so much. I also have three that are collage and grad school age.

Guess what the DGD who made this pillow top got for Christmas? Along with all the tech things like computer games, DVD's and hand held devices, she found Jacks in her stocking. She sat on the floor and tried to figure out how to use them. "Want Grandma to help you?" She quickly replied, "Sure." The jacks were large and plastic. Humm. But they worked fine and I could still do it. Now getting up from the floor afterwords - well I won't discuss that.

Apparently people have always been tossing things into the air and catching them just for fun. Ancient Greeks played a game of chance called Knucklebones, which involved tossing and catching small pieces of sheep's bone. In England, they've played a similar game called Fivestones for centuries, testing player's agility ad skill. Here in America, Fivestones became known as Jackstones and eventually just plain Jacks. Over the years, one of the Stones was replaced by a ball, and in the 1920s, small, metal game pieces became the jackstones - probably because children of the time often played with left-over pieces of metal castings, rather than stones. I remember playing Jacks as a child. In the summer it was on the sidewalk and in winter on the linoleum kitchen floor. Being an only child of working parents, this was a great game to play by myself. Good memory.

Rummage Sale Bag

I only found one zip lock bag of sewing related goodies at the rummage sale. It had several iron-on patterns that were meant to be used for fabric painting. Has anyone ever done this? I did a couple pieces a few years ago. I think they could be used for embroidery too. Does anyone out there need bowling balls? Don't know if or when I'll ever use the stencils but can always use another pair of shears and a few buttons.
I helped set up all the donations on last Friday and this let me have a preview of what I might want to buy. On Saturday I saw someone buying a new bag of pillow stuffing. How did I miss that? And I need it too.

In My Kitchen
On the left of the first pic are some of my 'buys" from the rummage sale - the stainless steel tea pot for the stove and two large mugs. I love mugs with large handles which I can slide four fingers in to hold. The front cup with the bag in is the one I was using. On the right is a tea pot to pour the hot water into loose leaf tea. I bought it at a flea market while Shirley was here. The red box you see is some tea I bought at Christmas time. It is Grannie's Garden Fruit Melange and is very good.

In the bottom pic are Honey Bell oranges and Kumquats. These are the best oranges and are in peak season. So are the strawberries. umm good. We had homemade shortcake several times while Shirley was here. I like it with biscuits and fresh whipped cream. Sorry, no pic of the strawberries or shortcake. I figure the description is enough to make you buy a plane ticket to Florida.

Kumquats have a thin sweet peel with a tart center. You roll them in
your hand to release the oils and eat them like grapes. Chewing the peel and inside together makes a taste I really enjoy. I see they had a Kumquat Festival in Dade City. There are lots of recipes for them.

More Sewing

The top pic is what my soon-to-be nine-year old DGD made during my visit. I make plastic templates of the Sunbonnet Sue and she traced and cut out the patterns. I ironed them on using Wonder Under. She choose all the fabrics and embellishments. I took butterfly fabric as I knew she loved them. When it was finished, she wanted some flowers so I embroidered some and she said it was perfect. I planned to take it home and stitched around the edges with my sewing machine but I had enough time to I did it by hand. I gave her the choice of how to complete it. Would she like a picture, or a bag or a scarf or a pillow? After much thought, she decided on a pillow.

Today I worked on helping set up for a rummage sale at my mobile home recreation building. The sale is tomorrow and it will keep me busy. Tonight I am making soup to sell. They also grill hamburgers and hot dogs and sell homemade pie. Really good. They also have a bake sale. We do this every year. After working on this, my first sewing project will be to make my DGD's pillow.

The second picture is red work I did while doing the airport waits. It is the first red work I have ever done. I used one stand of floss. The pattern was a WalMart iron on. It is really too bad that they no longer sell either the patterns or the floss.

I'm Back

I was gone to visit grandkids for two weeks plus and than a friend of mine came from MI to visit and we were off to see all the sites in FL for another two weeks. We packed in a lot of things into visit. She returned to the freezing north today and after driving back to my FL home and taking a nap, I'm trying to get back in the groove.

I don't post pics of my grandkids but as you have seen in the past, I share pics of my granddogs. The top one will be 15 years old this coming Arpil and is showing her years. She is still such a sweet girl - or maybe I should say grand old lady. She is deaf and her arthritis is severe but she knew me right away. I haven't seen her in a year. It seems like yesterday when she was a pup. The second pic is dog #3 and she is almost 5 years old. The dog in the last pic is soon to be 10 years old.

The last pic is the "sewing" pic. I gave my about to turn 7 year old DGS a sewing project which we did together. He did all the lacing and was so proud. He even said he'd love to have another one to make. I'll share what my DGD and I made tomorrow.

I'm way behind is reading and posting at your sites. Please forgive.

Going to visit grandkids for a couple weeks. I'll be reading some of your posts while I'm gone but probably not post anything myself. This is unexpected trip so..... Have a healthy, happy holiday and I'll be back next year!

Christmas Station
Sue from the Magpie's Nest has a meme on her favorite things during the holidays. Here are some of mine. 1. Handmade decorations, especially those made by family members. This station was made by my dad in his retirement years. He had a bone disease in his leg and did crafts to keep this mind and hands busy. The detail is really neat.
2. I love German Christmas cookies. These are molasses based and have candied fruit. The original recipe called for lard and after the ingredients were mixed up, the dough was to be covered tightly (to keep the mice out) and put in the attic (to cool). Of course, I used shortening and a refrigerator. They were made ahead of time and stored in tins like a fruit cake. They really made a big batch so I got to eat them daily for a long time. I found this recipe when I was a young mother.
3. I love to sing in my soprano voice the old fashion Christmas carols like It Came Upon the Midnight Clear and Joy to the World.
4. Like Sue, I like all the sappy old TV Christmas movies.
5. My favorite gifts both to give and to receive have always been books and things I can create.

This and That

I'm back in my FL home after dog sitting for my DD's dogs for a few days. The bottom pic is one of her dogs. Sorry I didn't get a pic of the other one. Everything went fine. It was very hot (86 degrees) but I hate to complain knowing the miserable weather up north and out west. I was pretty lazy. I read Ordinary Heroes which I'd been meaning to do for some time and really enjoyed it. It is a novel but has a solid historical foundation (WWII). Very well written. It amazes me all the work an author does to research the facts in a book like this. Before Kipper and I came home, my DD gave him a hair cut. It is not easy to do with all his layers of fur and hair but he is much cooler now.

A bit ago I went to an arts and crafts show/sale. I just had to buy several things. I guess I'm a real sucker for hand made items. I prefer to call it having an appreciation for individual creations of all sorts. Anyway I bought some things including the bench in the first pic. I had the snow man figure from a prior sale and he needed a bench. This is my porch and I have a pot of basal and a some chives growing.

A bit ago a saw this kitty fabric in a store and just had to have it. It is washed but not ironed but you can see how cute it is. I showed it to my DD who reminded me I didn't have any very young grandchildren any more. (Youngest is almost 7.) Gosh, I liked it myself. Maybe I'm getting to my second childhood. No idea what I'll do with this fabric but I have it.

When I got home, I had lots of mail including a card and Santa to finish making from Finn. It was so exciting. I have always liked gifts that let me make something with them and I have tended to choose them for children's gifts too. As a child I liked paper dolls, paint sets, beads to string and fabric to weave. Oh, lots of books too. My family is definitely a book family.

I've got fabric out on my dining room table that is converted to cutting and working table but not sure what I'll do or when I'll do it. Hope everyone's holiday plans are coming along fine.

Fabric Update

I've been struggling with how to make top and /0r bottom borders to lengthen my 4 four patch rose posy quilt. The first pic shows where I'm at just now. I've had it with trying to decide what to do and am going to try to finish.

Second pic shows part of my FL stash out on my porch to show it's true colors. I think I don't have much of a stash here as compared with my MI one but when I drag it out, it looks like so much more.

Third pic is my converted sewing room. As you can see, it used to be a dining room. The early morning sun is reflected in the mirror and shows my front windows. Those two stacks from the porch are piled on the left of the second shelf from the top. Yes, there is a lot of fabric. Then why can't I find anything I'm happy with? The dining table is used for my cutting board. How about that bag! I won it from Joyce back a bit ago and just love it! Thanks again, Joyce.

Why did I get all these fabrics out last night? I thought I might do Bonnie's mystery quilt. I have such a terrible time choosing colors. I really need help with it. I finally choose the three fabrics in the last pic. Will I get them cut and sewn? Maybe. Maybe not. I really need to make a "to do" list and see what needs done now! I'm going to my DD house to dog sit for a few days. I keep thinking of all the things I could take with me to get done. It's enough for four weeks instead of four days. Oh, me.

Have a nice sunny quilty day!

Problem and Progress

Yesterday I went to Hancock's to get some backing for my UFO Celtic Christmas design. I found some nice heavy black interfacing. Just what I needed. Was it fusible? I read, "Place shiny adhesive side up...Use a hot steam iron at wool setting...." Yes this is perfect. At home I started cutting out the shape and told myself to make sure to use a scrap and check how the fusing worked. Well, it didn't. Hum.... Read the directions. I must have faulty stuff. Oh here are some different directions. Oh, me. The plastic insert has directions for three types of interfacing. One is for single-sided fusible, one for double sided fusible and one for firm smooth stabilizer (no adhesive). I had bought the nonfusible. The back is definitely a different color and texture than the front. Humm. I had no idea they would have instructions for multiple stabilizers inside the bolt of one of them. I had already cut it so decided to glue it to my mat. Glad it is done and I sure learned something - to always ask the sales clerk even if I think I know the answer.

I looked at the cut off corners of the blocks from my quilt before the sashings were added. Just had to finish them too. Neat little things, huh? They'll finish 5 inches. The bottom pic is taken in the sun on my porch floor without flash to show you the true colors. I was thinking I'd use them some way to make my currently square flimsy longer. But wouldn't they make a darling pillow?. Hummm. I also bought some fabric to use for borders but forgot to take a pic of it. I use the laundromat at the recreation building of my mobile home park. It is close and not as expensive as commercial ones but a headache when I want to prep fabric.

Sunny today. Much better than the high 70's with 85% humidity yesterday.

Ready or not December is here. Have a great day.