This and That and That and This

It's been a sluggish week for me. I came down with a rotten cold (headache, sore throat...etc) on Sunday evening, didn't go into the office on Monday, went on Tuesday but the boss sent me home 2 hrs into my day, didn't go again today...Tomorrow...I will try to go tomorrow! We have an open house next week and I have done NO decorating at all!!! I can already tell it will be more work than I am willing to give at this point in time.

I really have nothing to show for my time off. Did the handwork on a binding then pulled the machine quilting out of Gramma's Aprons because it was HORRIBLE, no two ways about it! So pulled it all out and today I started handquilting it....ah....looks 100 times better~ shoulda gone with the handquilting in the first place but wanted it done quickly so decided to machine quilt it...Why do I always second guess myself??? Anyway...3 blocks quilted and it is looking really nice. I will leave this at my mothers and do the work while we visit.

This is a set of placemats I made for Maddie and JJ while at camp earlier in the month. I thought the FQ bundles were cute. One is cats the other dogs. I totally fell for this FQ bundle, too cute!! I think I can get a few more placemats out of the leftovers...or maybe into the stash it goes. I did make another set of placemats (as fun as, if not more, than the cats and dogs) but will have to wait until after Christmas to show you.

This little log cabin is one of my first foundation pieced projects, using my first quilt block rubber stamp. I gave it to my sister waaay back when. The block is actually a quarter log cabin block. Not sure why it made its way back to my house but I am thinking my sister didn't know it was in with this next quilt that she is loaning me. This is a wallhanging that my mother made, she and I each bought a kit while at the Sand & Sea quilt show in Coos Bay, Oregon in 1997. She started on hers right away...finishing it in record time...I was in the middle of getting our oldest son ready to graduate High School and sending him off to college, he was also the star of a 9 month running play at Sawduster (I was a stagehand)...my sewing time was very limited to say the least, thus my project ended up looking like this........which is also how it looks today. A nice neat UFO. I borrowed my sisters and now that I can see it finished I sadly have no desire to finish my own. I love this wallhanging. It really speaks to me in various ways. It tells a story of two of the most treasured things my mother and I loved to do together, QUILT and attend quiltshows!! But mine is a UFO and I know I will never finish it. So...I hung my sisters in my livingroom and am enjoying it until she askes for it back. The pattern for this was in the 1997 issue of Quilt Sampler Magazine, the scene is representing The Sisters Quilt Show that The Stitchin Post puts on each July in Sisters, Oregon.

Back to my sisters quilt....see the 3 little mini quilts hanging between the trees? If you have ever been to the Sisters Quilt Show you know that there are literally 100's of quilts hanging from every building throughout the town, main streets, side streets....inside and outside the stores. It is an incredible sight to behold. Over the years I have made my sister sets of these little teeny tiny quilts...she has a set for each holiday, there is a set that she put up when it was her month to host B-U-N-C-O (that is 5 minis!), a set for anniversaries, birthdays, new babies...summer, winter...you name it she has tons of these little teeny tiny blocks ~ And I can't wait for her to FIND them and send them to me !!!

LOL Actually, there is more to this story (you knew that already, didn't you?). My sister and her husband moved off the family farm and into a new home a couple of years ago and as with all of us , there are a few things that just don't get unpacked~a few boxes that play hide and seek...well, all those little mini blocks are still in that unpacked state~hiding in one of those boxes that just doesn't want to be found. When I asked her to send me the wallhanging she said "of course!"and the mini blocks ~silence~...and a few days later when I asked if she had sent them ~more silence~. One day we were on the phone and she was in the garage looking for something ... hmmm... "Are you looking for those teeny tiny blocks?" Silence, then "Yes" LOL she is so funny!!! Nancy, I know you will find them...and I know you are spending every spare minute of your time looking for them too!!! I will just wait for the Porch Package Man to come bearing gifts from afar, but remember ~ it is cold out here on the porch, so HURRY!

Midnight Hunter 64x64

This last pic is of Midnight Hunter. Another "momma started/Pam finished" project. She had the foundation pieces in the center done and I added the borders to make it large enough for a winter size lapquilt. This is large enough for her to pull it up over her shoulders and still cover her feet and the batting is a bit heavier as well. As each border was added it became a bit harder to keep it from waving...bias!! ugh!!! When it was ready to go to the quilter I just sent it along and hoped that it would quilt out. LOL When I picked it up, my quilter told me it was a pain to work on (oops, sorry) and that she was sure I would not be happy with it. I didn't take the time to look it over because I was in a time crunch to get SUDOKU done. When I finally did pull it out and look it over, it was fine! Quilter had even put a note in saying she would refund my $$ if I wasn't happy. Ed thinks she was just worried because I am picky! LOL LOL

Midnight Hunter is now a done done and will be momma's Christmas gift this year.

Thursday morning: Blogger wouldn't let me upload pics last night so added them this morning.

It's back to work for me this morning although I doubt I will be there all day, if I make it to noon I will be surprised. I am sure my desk is piled high, if I can get through the piles and deal with the critical things I will be home early. I will be working on Gramma's Aprons until it is finished...I am so liking how it is looking. I needed a larger lap quilt for the winter and although this is not finished it is keeping me plenty warm draped over my lap while working on it.
Here is a picture of my furry little helper...what is with Meow...I can't sit down without him sitting on me! When I wouldn't let him sit on my boobs (which is where he likes to sit) he decided to curl up around my neck...which meant I was really HOT so had to put on a sleeveless top while furball was wrapped around my neck and Gramma's Aprons were drapped over my lap. He stayed like this for over an hour until I had had enough! Then he crawled under the quilt onto my lap and I froze!! So, put my flannel shirt back on. What a spoiled kitty he is!!!