Florida

So much for keeping up with my goals and posting at least weekly! We've been in Florida for the past 5 weeks and all routines, plans and schedules have been tossed! We're headed home in a few days, back to winter for a few more weeks. Maybe I'll get back to the routines and keeping up with things. Since we have the dog with us, one of our favorite things to do is to go to the doggie park and when near the beach, the doggie beach. Freedom to run! She is so happy at both places.........so many friends and SO much to sniff! It is quite interesting to watch the dogs - 10 - 15 at a time - getting along no matter the size, the breed or the age. No leashes allowed. They all sniff, wag tentatively at first and then bound off with a new friend. We could all take a lesson from our furry friends!! :>)

February Goals for Me

As I started to post my goals for February, I found them to be much like the ones for January. Different blocks, same quilts. So I'll wait until there are some completed ones to post. But there are some goals for February that I need to write and keep in front of myself.

*** Eat healthier - more fruit, more veggies, more flavor, less salt

*** Walk every day - it keeps me in tune, also an easy way to keep Little Dog's nails trimmed

*** Stitch at least 30 minutes - time spent that is almost as good as time spent in church!

*** Smiles, silent and verbal hugs for my guys every day

That's it! I'm happier already just by putting this into writing. We're going to the land of sunshine for a vacation and I think I can do these four simple things each day - it's so much easier when the sun is shining! What do you do to make you smile on cloudy days?

A Great Recipe

I was all ready to list my February goals - I still will, but not in this post. I was surfing over at www.golanigo.blogspot.com and found the following and thought it good enough to "borrow" from her and post it here. It would be so great if I could manage to do everything every day! :>)

See what you think.....


GREAT RECIPE....Start Monday .....

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Talk to your higher power about what is going on in your life. Buy a lock if you have to.

3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'I am thankful for______________'

4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli , almonds & walnuts.

6. Try to make at least three people smile each day..

7. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

8. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.

9. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

11. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

12. You are not so important that you have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

13. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

14. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

15. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'

17. Forgive everyone for everything.

18. What other people think of you is none of your business.

19. A higher power heals everything - but you have to ask Him.

20. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

21. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch!!!

22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

23. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for__________.

24. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

25. When you are feeling down, start listing your many blessings. You'll be smiling before you know it. Send this to everyone you care about.

God Bless You!!!

January completions

I posted my goals early in January. Well......most of them were completed, others are on the back burner for now. But here are a few of the things I did get done!

A block for Pushin' Up Spring from Appleblossom Quilts.

A Jane Townswick pattern - one of 9, I'm on #3.........

The Brights scrap basket was overflowing......made some blocks out of those pretties and they will be a quilt soon!

Edyta Sitar's Dresdan Star..........I took a class last summer and, as usual, it languished in the box. There are 20 of these and I managed to get several done this month!

There were other things on my list that didn't quite get done. Aunt Millie's Garden is started and the second block assigned. I'm working on both! The second block of Applique Affair is cut out and ready for stitching. The Notre Dame t-shirt was finished, bound and has been delivered!

We will be leaving for Florida next week for 4-6 weeks. I'm feeling that I just got home from the lake cottage, but some sunshine will be good for both of us. When we return, it will be just a few short weeks and we'll be back at the lake. The time has flown this winter - I think that when we're happy doing what we like, the time does fly. What is keeping you busy on these cold winter days? Is the time flying for you as well?

Quilts for Haiti

A friend of mine is the director of a Project Linus chapter in IN. PL has been asked by two larger organizations for 10,000 quilts each to send to Haiti! Each summer while we are at the lake, I try to participate occasionally in PL, go to the PL Retreat and also make a few during the winter. When I heard that she needed 200 quilts asap, I quickly put several together. Very simple but a little guy will enjoy this print.If they don't make it to Haiti, they will fill the gaps left by those that have been sent.

How Could I Have Forgotten??

I can't believe I have forgotten to write about this! A little over a year ago, Michael (on the left), told us that he and 3 friends were going to climb a mountain. Not a big deal......he and his friends have done that for several years. But this mountain was Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa. Mom said, "I don't think so". Being the quiet one that he is, he went ahead with the plans, saving his $$ and making arrangements. Long story short, mom worried, they were OK. Isn't that the way it is - or at least the way it works for most moms? The other three guys work together in Madison WI. Michael is a long-time friend of one of them. They worked out, ran and sweat for nearly 6 months so they would be in shape for the trek. In early July, they headed off to Africa and had a wonderful time. A visit to a Masai Village, spending time with their native trek leaders and a visit to a totally new environment all gave them a life experience that they will never forget. It was a great time to explore and learn. As a part of their planning, the four decided to raise funds for the Children's Hospital in Madison. Their group was called Kili4Kids and thru donations from friends and relatives, they raised nearly $10,000 for the hospital. They got to tour the hospital prior to their trip and I think that visit had an impact on how fortunate their lives have been. This picture shows them near , but not at, the summit of the mountain. They were in such good physical condition that they summited a day early. During the time that they were there, a group of blind climbers were featured on the news, making the same trek. Now that would give a mom cause to worry!!

Project Linus Retreat

Gratitude: A weekend spent with good friends, much too much to eat,and lots of sewing. Thanks ladies for a wonderful time!!

Each January a group of 24 women gather in Northern Indianaat the Geneva Center in Rochester IN. We spend a couple of days quilting for Project Linus. The rule is that we must donate one quilt or quilt top from the weekend to Project Linus. This year I came up with the pattern for our group project. The fun part about the pattern is that with just a little effort, TWO blocks can be made when making one spinning star block, giving us each two tops- one for us, one for PL. Here are two that I made at retreat - unfortunately, their stars are spinning in the same direction. Their mirror images are still awaiting construction.

As part of our weekend, we had the option of having a massage. So nice!...... We also had demonstrations on card making. The pajama party was also quite humorous. Many hours were spent laughing and having fun. Retreats are always enjoyable - I'm looking forward to next time!

Done is better than perfect

Some think that having a completed project is better than having a perfect project. I'm one of those! Altho this isn't perfect, I'm happy that it is done. Applique Affair has 25 blocks and a whole lot of half blocks in the border. Not quite half finished with it but I'll be working hard to get the block a month done for the group called Applique Cafe. Have you given applique a try lately? :>)

Cars for Lucas

Lucas, 3, is the grandson of a dear friend of mine. He is so cute and loves cars. This quilt pattern was in a Fons and Porter magazine several years ago. Hey buddy, have fun with this!

My friend Julia and I met in 1975 when we were both teachers in a small suburb of Cleveland. Lucas's mom was Lucas's age at the time! We've both moved away but keep in touch and enjoy our visits whenver Oma comes to see her little guy!

Some January goals.......

A gratitude for today........feeling better after several days of the stomach flu; being able to return to some sewing and normalcy!

Some January stitching goals......

............the first goal is to get the Notre Dame t-shirt
quilt top and backing finished and the quilt done for Chris. Dad is a Domer and the two of them are die-hard ND football fans and go to as many games as they can. When I asked Chris what kind of quilt he wanted there was little question.

Quilting might be a little tricky with all the seams

but I'll give it that old college try!

.............deciding if Aunt Millie's Garden

should have a blue or yellow background?

.......finishing the Applique Affair block assigned for this month on Applique Cafe, an online group where we work on the same blocks. This one still needs some little bell shaped flowers on those barren stems!

and.............each year a group of volunteers meet for a weekend of sewing blankets for Project Linus. I've designed a quilt for this year's retreat and will be helping the group get thru my instructions. I hope everyone is successful! More on that after retreat January 15-17.

My partial list of hopes for the month............with hopes of completion of these and more! Stay warm - it's a cold one out there today!

Fun in the snow!!

We're having a wonderful time in the snow..... digging for my ball, chasing the snow from the shovel and making dog-angels!! I'm sooo happy when I can be out running and bouncing! Hope you are having a happy day too!

Merry Christmas

From our house
to yours,


Merry
Christmas!!

Winter Wonderland

Today is a sunny, clear, cold day here in IL. What a welcome break we've had for the past two weeks! We got 45" of snow in December and January which is much more than this area normally gets and sometimes it is more than we get in a full winter. We still have some piles at the edges of the driveway even though we had 60*+ a few days ago. Lost tennis balls (four legged friend outdoor activity) have been found along with a January 10 newspaper. It really must have snowed hard on that night since it was buried in a large pile pushed there by the plower. We had a Winter Wonderland for many days and the woods are always a thing of beauty after a fresh snowfall. It is so pretty, but the sunshine and warmth is always a pleasure.

That was the weather-style Winter Wonderland. My quilty Winter Wonderland (www.crabapplehillstudio.com) looks like this, now that I'm finished with the top. I started the redwork last year about the time we went to the lake in April and each evening I would work on it while Jim watched Wheel of Fortune. Finally, in late summer it was finished and the rash around my neck began to appear........I laughingly tell people that pieced blocks cause me to break out in a rash and this quilt not only had a lot of them, but they were either a different pattern, size or fabric. I bit the bullet and got through them. I'd rather do handwork any day!!! Now to get it quilted and I'll get to that one of these days. I've started "Over the River and Through the Woods", also by Crabapple Hill, which is a smaller quilt, but the embroidery is much more dense in design. Hopefully, it will be on the wall with WW come the Holidays this year!

I'm Back.........

It has been a few months..... Oddly enough, I just noticed my last post was 9/11. Unintentional, but just when things started to become overwhelming and I let my journaling slide. So much has gone on in the past several months - church garage sale and the chaos that ensued following that, 4 quilting retreats and all the fun of preparing and enjoyment from those, one kid returning to school and one looking for a condo to purchase, the holidays and ust keeping up. I haven't been so busy that I couldn't sew and here are a few pictures of what I've been working on lately. I'll be better about keeping things up here.

I finally got the Baltimore finished and put back together. It was a long journey that isn't quite ended, but a milestone just to get it to this point. It is now on the frame and I'm attempting to hand quilt it. Might be many more years before this one is finished!!

More to come.......I just need to find them! :>)

Life............

Not a thing comes to mind for a title on this post..... Summer is winding down, much to my dismay. Everything is coming all at once and my blog has taken back seat.



Traveling between the cottage and home is always nice - there is a great place at either end and I am happy whenever I am in either one. However, it is ever so difficult to decide what sewing projects I want to take with me - do I leave my entire stash at home and work out of it that way? Do I make kits and put them all together and schlep those to and fro? I try to do the latter, but that elusive piece of fabric is always at the other end!! So far this summer I've managed to make a few tops - some for charity, one for a great niece, another for a long time bud of Michael's and now I'm nearing the end of the handwork on Winter Wonderland redwork. The pieced blocks will be cut out this week and hopefully sewn next week at retreat.



Retreat - it's that time already! I have my projects somewhat lined up and ready to go. In the meantime, a friend and I have been taking a jacket class. The newsletter blurb promised 'a jacket that fits' and I'm thinking I've finally hit the jackpot on that. The gal who teaches the class has done haute couture, clothing and pattern construction, etc. She knows what she is talking about and finally, a jacket that works around my bumbs and bulges may be in the works.



Pictures of so much that has been going on will be posted soon...........if life doesn't get in the way. Oh!......I hit a deer on the way to the cottage on Monday. I was alone, it was a younger one and I don't care to repeat that ever again. My car hood has a major bruise and when we get home, we'll have the whole car checked out. I am sooo thankful it wasn't a big guy. The road was fairly deserted (I was on my way to an off-the-beaten-path store) and my cell phone didn't work in that area. An angel's hand was on my shoulder................more later.

Quilts are like a journal,
Bits and pieces of fabric….
Various shapes and sizes
With colors that come to life
Joined together,
They tell a story.....

from Lolly's website

The quilt, from the late 30's, was made by Jim's Aunt Tootie (Catherine).

Shipshewana IN is a wonderful place for quilters to visit. It is well known among quilters mostly because of Lolly's and Yoders, both great quilt shops and people come from all over. At check out, it is interesting to listen to the wide variety of zip codes offered when asked by the clerk. People travel from all over to visit, get a taste of the Amish atmosphere and enjoy a casual, relaxing day. For me, whenever life becomes too muddled or a break from the day-to-day humdrum is in order, a trip to Shipshe puts the stars in line for me and I'm refreshed for a few more weeks or months. Today was a Shipshe trip. I called my friend and said 'let's go' and she said 'what time'? Ahhhh, a day among the bolts. We went to Lolly's and admired all of the kits, the numerous bolts and just the atmosphere. We found some bargains - and some not necessarily bargains. Then we were off to Yoders where the sidewalk sale was going on. Fresh corn, peaches and apples lined the area outside the grocery/hardware store as we entered the building, all signs of summer in the Midwest. The Amish bonnets, the hickory rocking chairs and little boys in blue shirts and straw flat-crown hats completed the picture. A few purchases later, we were on our way to Topeka and Tiffany's, a down-home restaurant with a parking lot full of cars and horses and buggies sharing space. The specials were home made beef and noodles, beef manhattans with mashed potatoes..........you get the idea. We passed on the pie that we both know are awesome. Then we backtracked to Emma and the very small general store that carries maybe 100 bolts of quilting fabric and many more of the poly blends that so many Amish ladies use. Handmade clocks chimed as we shopped and the gas lights glowed, but didn't provide much light.....definitely a throwback from our modern time. We found some very good choices and added them to our small pile of bags in the car. And, finally, a stop at Alco on our way home to see what treasures we could find on their shelves. Of course, there were a few! It was a day spent in friendship, enjoying our fabric finds and a day satisfying that urge to create. Next month during Retreat, we'll get to do it again. What more can a quilter ask?

And the bride was beautiful!!

I don't understand how I became a great aunt while so young! :>) Natalie is 21 and as of last week, a married young woman. Of course, as at all weddings, I cried. The tears are just sentimental tears, ones that are happiness for the occasion, sadness at the passing of childhood and tears from all those wonderful love songs that bring warm fuzzies to my heart because of my own great love. I'm sappy and the first to admit it! The picture shows the bride with my Mom, Natalie's great grandma, her paternal step-grandmother, maternal step grandmother and maternal grandma, and of course, her mother. What a lucky young lady to have so many grandmas to surround her and impart wisdom as needed!


One of my goals is to make sure each niece and nephew gets a quilt. I finally got around to making one for Nat and gave it to her and Dan for their wedding. Along with the quilt, pillow cases were made and given so that it would make a complete set for a bedroom. We had a great time, enjoyed the gathering of family and friends and savored our own wedding memories. It's been 33 years for me and my love.........how did so much time pass so quickly?!

A Good Read!

A few weeks ago my neighbor, Mary, came down to sit in the front yard while her grandson was playing in the water. Our yard has a bit of a sandy beach and a boat ramp that makes entry into the water easier so it is the gathering point of all who go in and out of the lake. Sitting in the front yard is also an invitation to any and all to gather around and chat for a few minutes or most of the afternoon. Mary is active in several groups around the area and one of them is a book club. Often she tells me of what she is reading or has read, but doesn't often say "you've got to read this book!" On this particular hot and humid afternoon, she said just that about the book, "Little Heathens" by Mildred Armstrong Kalish. It is the story of growing up on an Iowa farm during the Great Depression. There isn't so much of a story line as there is recollection of how she was raised and how things were done during that period. I haven't yet discovered why or how the book got it's title, but I'm thinking it has to do with the way the older generation thought of the younger ones. That I can remember and relate to!

My paternal grandmother lived with us as I was growing up and her sayings, depression-ist methods and ways of doing things were quite similar to what is described in this Little Heathens. One of the things that reminded me of my childhood was the annual gathering of greens. This is not the annual Christmas celebration but the arrival of dandelions in the yard! Grandma, like the one in Little Heathens, had her special butcher knife that she used for digging greens. Grandma in her bonnet, long dress and stockings held up with garters (ladies didn't wear pants in those days!) would go into the yard with her knife and bucket and gather greens that she would later soak and wash very well to get rid of the bugs and beasties and cook them with a bit of bacon and onion. We all would gag at the thought of eating weeds from the front yard, but how were we to know that someday this would be the "in" thing to do and eat - as long as Chem Lawn doesn't visit your yard! Our reaction was not the same reaction as the author who thought these a tasty treat.

The book is full of fun things ........ like how to make really good fried potatoes - something Mom is so good at but who keeps bacon fat around any more? .... making porcupines, putting cardboards on the spokes of bikes with clothespins, (I'd love to have those old baseball cards that we used!); how to make marshmallows and of course, the adventures of out-house tipping.

I'm enjoying a visit to Memory Lane thru this book. It will take me a week or so of front yard sitting to get thru it - not because it is such a thick book, but because I enjoy sitting in the front yard, occasionally reading a page or two, watching the swans or boats on the lake and of course, the neighborly chats. We are building memories that need to be passed on, just like the ones in this book.

Same fabric, different quilt

About two years or so ago I found some Thimbleberries fabric that looked like applique - all viney and so on. I also loved the colors - autumn ones. I guess being a redhead in my earlier life contributed to my liking those colors......no pinks, brights or reds for me! I made a lap quilt from the fabric and gave it to my niece for Christmas 2006. Then, not long after, I decided another one from the same fabric would be nice and it hangs on the bannister here at home. Since the quilt design that I used was so easy, I wanted to make another but have it on a bed. The three new bedrooms at the cottage all need quilts and the dark brown and rich tones fit well in one of them. So I made another one! And...I have enough for at least one more! I think I went a bit overboard! :>)

This week while here in Chicago, I got that one ready for the frame and also completed one for my great-niece who is getting married on Saturday. I will load hers this afternoon and if the machine cooperates, will have it quilted and bound in time for the wedding. If not, she knows it's coming and it won't be long. I'll post that picture and maybe one of the bride next time around. But for now, her quilt is waiting and my time is running out!

Doorknobs and Applique?

No, I'm not into making quilted doorknobs! At least not yet!! :>) But yesterday I found a connection between an old doorknob and my love of applique.

The old garage had a small tool room attached to it and over the years, every neighbor along the line felt free to go in and out as they needed something that they might not have in their own garage. For some reason, the old tool area was called The Apple Orchard, but I don't know why! Maybe Uncle Jay and Aunt Marie picked and stored apples in there many years ago.... Before we tore it down, it was suggested that we save the doorknob and use it as a piece of whimsical decoration in the new place. Jim used the Sawzall and preserved a piece of the door along with the knob. I originally planned to strip the old paint off it, clean it up and make it look pretty. Then I realized that I would be erasing a bit of history if I did that. So, it is as it was.

Then, while thinking of something for my blog, I thought, I can't write about a doorknob!! Who cares about such trivia? But then, as I worked on it, I saw something that struck a chord with me. I digress..........

When Chris's apartment burned and I realized that two of my quilts would no longer be as they were, I immediately started thinking about a new applique design. One of the quilts had a center medallion, hand appliqued. It wasn't anything spectacular, but had good colors for a guy and was something that just kind of evolved by putting a couple of patterns together. Having done a design once, I really don't like doing it over. So I figured that it was back to the drawing board to find a new design.

Back to the doorknob. While trying to figure out what I wanted to do with the doorknob, the design on it hit me. A new applique medallion!! I can take this picture, enlarge it, play with it and fine tune it a bit and come up with a design that has a connection to the old quilt and have some sentiment behind it. The center would be the center medallion, the design around the edge would work in the outer portion or along the border. I'll just have to play with it.


Now.......when will I do this? :>) It won't be for a while, but now that the knob sits on the chest in the new living room, I'll be reminded of my decision and hopefully will find time, the right fabric and determination to do it! Isn't it amazing where we quilters find our inspiration?