Brown selvage blocks

The box for the brown selvages was so stuffed.....i could not get anything else in there. so, it was time to use some of them up. i spent the last few days making 10" blocks. i made 56 of them. how can it look like i did not even make a dent in that box? i just don't understand it.

There are 4 different designs in the middles....from the Cabin Cats line of fabrics. there are black birds...

There are crocks...

There are hat boxes...

And, there are kittens in a basket...too cute.

They are 10" finished and i have figued out how i want to set them....just need to get them pieced together...maybe throw a brown border on there...and quilt it up. hopefully, soon. i am leaving them on the shelf so i see them and get inspired to finish them. hahahahaha

And since all these 56 blocks didn't even use an appreciable amount of brown selvages.....i am now piecing a brown and pink selvage quilt.

And...while i was piecing these...i thought of yet another design idea. so, i have pulled more selvage pieces and more blocks for the middles and cut out the base fabrics. will start those soon, too.

I love selvages.

The green selvage box is getting really full, too. that will have to be the next color used. i swear they reproduce in the night. i better get on that...i'll talk to you...

Later

Our Town customer quilt

Finally finished a customer quilt that has been on the machine way too long. i procrastinated on it something awful. it just seems too hot...even to come to the studio and quilt....and i have the a/c on.

This customer is a great piecer and her tops always are square and flat. although i could have used another 3 or 4 inches on the width of the backing when i turned it to do the borders...i made it work.

This is our quilting class project from a year or two ago. i've quilted 3 or 4 of them already.

The applique is beautiful...she requested the crosshatching in the background.

Pumpkin seeds in the middle of the stars and across and over the squares. elongated swirls let me travel the whole row without ending the thread.

9 patch stars with x's and SID...swirl background

Church with 3D steeple and doorway. used ruler for roof.

Swirls in the 'leaves' of the tree.

More applique with crosshatching. the red berries are 3D

School house with chicken wire roof.

3D flying geese. putting a triangle in the base allowed me to travel all the way down the row in one pass.

4 patches and cathederal windows got pumpkin seed treatment and some pebbles in the background.

Wedding ring ovals with more pumpkin seeds and SID.

Cable in border done with my Quiltazoid boards.

It took longer than expected but i think she will be happy with it. 2 more cutomer quilts then it is all me for the rest of the year. i'll accept more customer quilts....

Later

I've got a problem

When i walked over to the studio this morning i got a big surprise. right out in the open....a huge nest of wasps...hornets...whatever they are. in my vine on the trellis right by my steps.

I haven't been to the studio in a couple of days...they have been really busy. i might not have noticed a smaller nest....but this one is about 7 inches tall. i am always on the lookout for nests in my eaves...their preferred spot to build. you can see they built right around the vines.

There are dozens of those critters flying around there and going in and out. they are black....i don't think i have seen those kind around here before.

I used my last can of Raid wasp and hornet spray on them. they were coming out of there by the dozens. i kept spraying till the can was empty....then quick stepped it right back inside. i wish i had another can. i can't seem to find this spray any more. i used to get it at the Dollar General store and the last couple of times i have been there they didn't have any. i am going to town tomorrow and will be on the lookout for more spray. i hope they haven't quit making this stuff or something. i use about a dozen cans a summer.

I will check on them when i go back to the house...

Later

June Color Palette finished

I finally decided what to do and pieced my Color Palette Challenge for June. This is a monthly challenge for the year...organized by Judy Laquidara .... www.patchworktimes.com    with color palette photo given by Vicki Welsh .... http://vickiwelsh.typepad.com/     

Here is our photo for the month. a close up of a flower with purples, greens, a yellow and an orange. ... and my chosen fabrics. ... Moda solids.

And, as usual, i could not decide what to do. i wanted to do a one block piece this time. i played in EQ for days...changing my mind and re-coloring.  yesterday i thought i had it...and hit a wrong key and closed EQ out and lost it all. i got frustrated and went on home. finally i decided on the Storm at Sea block and got it set up. this was a paper pieced block. my piece is rectangular so it looks stretched out.

And here is my finished piece. Looks like i moved the camera....i have shadows. why is it when i look at a photo of what i have done......i always want to change it. LOL   i'm thinking i would have liked it if the inside corners of the block would have been yellow......the pieces between the other 2 yellow pieces. wonder what that would look like. well.. who knows...i'm not making another one.

So, one more thing crossed off this month's list. now if i could only finish the customer quilt on the frame. i am such a procrastinator these days...and that is so not like me. i should go finish it now....or.....

Later

My day at the VA Hospital

Yesterday Jim had 4 appointments at the VA Hospital....and he needed a driver. So, my day went like this:

4:30am......alarm going off...wake up...ugh!
5:00am.....get on the road for the 130 mile drive...ugh!...it's still dark outside....and i'm usually still sleeping
7:20am....get to the VA in Columbia
8:00am....first appointment.....done in about 10 minutes

8:15am....went down to the canteen to have some breakfast and check out the retail store....nothing exciting in either place. but we did get some food.
9:30am....next appointment.....done in about 10 minutes

hurry up and wait. got time till next appointment. roam around a bit....that hospital is H.U.G.E.

10:30am....next appointment.....took longer....perhaps 20 minutes. one thing for the VA....they get you into your appointments on time.

Now have a 2 hour wait until the last appointment. we have been basically sitting all morning. it is freezing cold in that place. they say they keep it cool to prevent germs from spreading. no self-respecting germ would be in that place....trust me. you could tell the rookies (us) from the regulars....the regulars had sweaters or blankets for their legs. we had shorts and no sleeves. we went outside to warm up. now....for the last few days it has been 85 to 90 degrees outside and all sunny. so, today it is overcast and windy. it was just as cool outside as in. sat on a metal bench for about 30 minutes till our butts went numb...then went back inside to sit some more.

1:00pm.....last appointment. this one took an hour and 15 minutes. but that was actually good....because they estimated the time needed as between 1 1/2 hours and 2 hours. by this time i had no feeling left in my butt and had finished about a dozen crossword puzzles in my book. and read a few chapters in my novel that i brought along.

Then we go and stand in another line so he can get his travel voucher for miles spent driving to the clinic. and then stand in another line to get money for said voucher. we were out of there about 2:45pm. that was the most sitting i had done in one day in a very long time.

The VA hospital in Columbia, MO looks very new and clean...but it is huge. the employees are all happy and helpful. we asked directions...a lot. LOL  and the roads down there are nice and there was basically no traffic except going through Jefferson City for a few blocks. not a bad way to spend a day if you have ways to amuse yourself.

So, we went down the road to the Stadium Grill for lunch. they had excellent food....but it was cold in there, too. the waitresses were in short sleeve shirts and shorts. but i noticed some patrons had sweaters...experience once again.

Then we stopped to fill up the truck with gas.....got back on the highway for the 2 1/2 drive back home.

Stopped at the grocery store for a few things.

And got back home by 6:30pm. Whew...what a day.

Our pup, poor Suzy, was outside all day and very happy to see us.

I hope i don't have to relive that experience any time soon.....or....

Later

My 20 hours labor at the Duck

My days start early at the Duck. i usually wake up with the sun and go and get started before it gets too hot. i had some yard work on my list for this trip so i tackled that early. about 8 o'clock i went and picked up Jim from the beast so he could start his list. i trimmed these bushes back to the fence so the yard guy could get his mower closer to the fence. and there was a large pile of trash there that i picked up also. filled 6 trash bags. looks much better. the little yappy dog next door was not happy with me. hahahahaha

And i picked up the last of the plaster that i had dumped in this nook. i cart it home and dump it in a hole that i am filling at the farm.

I put some brown paint on the trim around the back door. makes the siding look even dirtier.

And painted the trim on the window on this back porch, too.

Got some brown paint on the trim around the front door. i had to be brave and get the ladder out to do the very top. i don't like that because the ladder has to rest on the steps and i am a chicken.

I came back the next day and didn't like the white trim around the door when i drove up...so i painted it all brown...i like it better. once the new windows get in and the siding spruced up...it will be better yet. While i was painting out there....wasps kept flying into a hole under the concrete ledge on the right side step. i was keeping my eye on them. there is some Raid in their future if they are still there the next time. i plan on buiding a little porch there from about the end of the mailbox to the corner of the house. maybe about 6' out. then put wooden steps and a railing. this is too awkward from the steps right into the inside...there is a high step. and that ugly mailbox and numbers are going, too.

I also painted the ledge under the windows and around the house. i intended to step on the top of the flower bed there to paint it....but it was wobbly. so i got the bright idea to paint it from inside. i hung out the windows and painted as far as i could stretch. then took a milk crate outside to do the very corner and stood on the steps to do the part by the door. i will go around the house on the other side, too.....maybe next time.  you know....now that i look at the pictures....i think i will paint all that gray concrete stuff dark brown, too. the siding will be painted a light tan/sand color. then i'll paint the porch to match the siding. what do you think?

This is the ceiling on the front entry...that used to be a porch that the former owner enclosed. those are staples up there...with bits of ceiling tiles attached. i tackled that early one morning, too.

Now it just needs a bit of scraping and caulk and is ready to paint.

I also cleaned up around the ceiling in the bedroom. i had left nails in the rafters and a few slats at the top....so i took care of those.  and pulled nails around the perimeter of the rooms once again. when i cleaned all the debris out from between the studs i found more nails to pull. it never seems to end.

And our girl, SuzyQ, went with us also. she really wasn't happy about it though. sometimes she came to the Duck with us and sometimes she stayed at the beast with my sister. i think she liked staying at the beast better....there was a couch and bed to lay on. LOL   the Duck was just dusty. although we brought her quilt for her to lay on...she just followed us around and laid down wherever we were. she got a shower when we got home. and she is 8 years old today...so happy birthday Suzy. she is getting gray hair on her chin....we probably stress her out. LOL

I ordered 7 new windows on this trip, so in a couple weeks i will have to go down and take delivery of those. and i have started my new list of things to do...a lot of it is painting.

And i am working on figuring out how much drywall i will need and insulation. that might be work for september or october....when it gets cooler.

Maybe next time there will be pretty pictures to see.....and i will show you

Later

Jim's 20 hours of labor at the Duck

Jim went with me to the Duck this time ..... he said he needed a road trip.  hahahahahaha    i might have cured him of that. he came home after 2 1/2 days labor saying his calves were screaming at him from going up and down the ladder and he was tired.

But he got all but one thing done on the to-do list that i had.....but he also did a few more things that weren't on the list. i got my money's worth. and for the record....i paid him with food...hahaha...Long John Silvers, McDonalds, KFC. cheap labor

First he tackled the wall in the back room. someone used 2x6s to close it up instead of 2x4s...so i had him take out the 2x6s and replace them with 2x4s. it was about a 10'x5' area. there were 4 2x6s holding it up but he put 6 2x4s in their place....to match the studs above and below them. i had to use some old 2x4s that were pulled from other places in the house because this was done many years ago and the widths of studs back then were actually 3 1/2" wide....instead of the 3 3/8 that they are now.

This is from the inside....plywood back in place...ready for insulation. see how nicely those studs match up at the bottom.

This is the doorway between the dining room and living room. i had him remove the middle piece of wood so i could reinstall pocket doors that i found.

This door never closed properly...plus the old door jamb was messed up in the demolition process. so Jim took out the old piece and brought it home so he could create a new jamb to pop back in there. i didn't have any old pieces that were the same so he has to create one. old lumber once again.

There were some slats and plaster still left up in this corner of the kitchen....but he cleared them out. reciprocating saw to the rescue.

And this little corner of the hall had some slat boards stuck in the corner that i couldn't get out and he cleared that out, too.

Then he tackled the breaker box. there was some tightening of wires to do....had to go and get a proper sized allen wrench to accomplish that. good thing the home center store is just down the road....we made about 3 trips a day there.....getting parts or pieces that we needed.

He got the plywood back on the wall...

And got the cover on the breaker box. now the laundry room is ready for some pretty..... paint, beadboard, niceties. i plan on getting a fancy light switch cover, too.

Jim also tackled jobs that i didn't get pictures of....don't know why not. sometimes i forgot the camera was there and sometimes he just worked too fast for me to keep up with him. things i don't have pics of....

...he took out the old window in the studio that faced the front porch. a new window has been ordered
...he covered holes between the studs in the floor where you could see into the basement. i know this probably didn't matter since the walls would cover it....but i didn't like the idea of spaces for creatures to come up into the walls from the basement. i felt better about it.
...he removed a sheet of plywood under the windows on the back porch. i had started it and just couldn't get the long nails to give it up...he made it look easy.
...he cut a couple boards off even at the corner of the garage. the previous owner had just attached the plywood fence to the back of the garage. but i couldn't take the whole piece off or it would expose the insulation in the garage...so i had Jim cut it off evenly. i'll deal with that later.

And then...as if that wasn't enough....he installed 7 lights. This one is just outside the back door...on the enclosed back porch. it came from a yard sale for a buck.

This one is outside the back porch...it was bought new.

This was the same light that was already there....in the front entry foyer. needs a bit of paint still. and a little ceiling repair.

This is outside the front door. bought new, also. i think it got installed a bit high and looks a little funny to me....but that is where the hole was cut and wires run by the electrician...so we just went with it. it might just look weird to me because the house is higher there because of the steps. if it were at ground level it might look ok. or maybe it needs to be larger...but for now....it will do. i'll get used to it.

This is the enclosed front porch/entry. i never know what to call this 'room/space'. i found this light at the Salvation Army for $5. he was sort of mumbling about the sale finds because all the parts might not be included and had to be figured out how to install....more trips to the home center store. hahahaha

But look....isn't it lovely. with a coat of paint on that ceiling to match the color on the light....it will be terrific. it's about 18" long.

Another pieced together light from parts i found at the Duck...going outside the door from the garage to inside the house. i plan on parking my truck on the end of the garage and that will be my main entry into the house. .... it goes into the kitchen.

And this one ... another yard sale find....is above the kitchen door steps from the garage. now i will have lights everywhere....once i turn the electric on, that is. that is on the agenda for the next trip. .... call the electric company and have them re-install my meter and turn on the juice. it will be great to plug something in anywhere instead of hauling around an extension cord from the garage. i'll feel uptown. LOL



Although i guess i worked Jim to death....he did an awesome job on all these jobs. things i would have had to pay someone to do. can't beat husband labor. LOL

Next i will show you what i accomplished while all this was going on.

Later

August crazy quilt blocks

August blocks are yellow....because August is sunny and hot.   the pictures in the middles all come from a piece of fabric that i found somewhere. i cut out the pics of the animals....it looked like scenes from a circus or a zoo.

Here is the first one that i decorated more for the Crazy Quilt Journal Project. can you tell there is an elephant in the middle? and there are little, tiny stars in the upper right corner...going across on the lace. in the bottom right corner by the embrodiered fern is a tiny bee. the piece above the elephant is a kind of woven canvas.

This block has 2 girls trying to feed a goat. how about that vine with golden leaves...reminds me of Jack and the Beanstalk. LOL

This one has a couple of zebras. above the zebras is a piece of cheesecloth...doubled. i found that at a thrift store...it was the skirt of a kind of voodoo doll. i do find some strange things.

This has a boy with a hoop. the upper gold 'chain' is a particularly thick type of braid. i love the lace flower basket. and those tiny orange and yellow flowers on the braid on the left is just cute.

Can you see the deer laying behind the fence...at least i THINK it is a deer. another cool lace medallion....with a tassle hung from it..... just because i could.

This one shows a girl with a hoop....perhaps she is playing with the boy. the top shows the last of my fringe that i used on my cowgirl shirt for a friend. and that little piece going across the left upper corner is the last of that ribbon.

These look to be grape vines growing on a pole. some glittery golden lace on the upper left and more of those orange and yellow flowers.

A boy standing on a bridge...looking at a swan. even more orange and yellow flowers...i have lots of that.

Can you see the monkeys in the cage? there are 3 ladies and a little girl watching them swinging around. just had to add the yellow and black graphic piece on the left.

I have so many trims and scraps...i'll bet i can make thousands more crazy quilt blocks.  this quilt will have 108 blocks. so there will be many more crazy quilts. i think i will try black for the September blocks. i don't think i have done that color yet. we'll see how that goes...have to go dig out my black fabrics.

See ya...

Later