I Finished It!

IT IS FINISHED!!!!

I had to do another post tonight. I finished the only bed-sized quilt I've made. It was chosen pattern and fabric by my husband. We have loved this style and these colors ever since we moved to Idaho four days after we were married in 1978. We have looked all these years for the "just right" comforter for our bed. We had not found it until we were looking through a Fons and Porter book I had copyrighted in 1993, I think. Liz Porter had designed this quilt for her son's twin bed. With the help of another quilter, we were able to determine what I needed to do to enlarge this. We have a queen sized bed, but wanted this to be more of a spread than a comforter. Well, I finally finished this after working on it almost two years. I am so excited! I want to thank my God for giving me the strength to get this completed.

Friday's Finds

TEN MINUTE TABLE RUNNER: 
I was led to a YouTube video this week by a lady on Just Us Quilters facebook group of a ten minute table runner. It does not require being "quilted."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kfg8BMUakOc

Check out this video and let me know what you think of it! I think it is pretty neat!

 

I have also decided to try making hexies. Not sure what I'm going to do with them, yet. I am sorry about the blurry picture, but I took it on the spur of the moment. I have found a blog with some awesome hexagon items she has made. Here is that blog:http://www.with-heart-and-hands.com/2010/10/quilting-with-hexagons.html. Check it out!!!

Missouri Quilt Company posts some awesome videos on YouTube on making a variety of quilt blocks and quilts. You may find just what you are wanting to make by checking out their videos. Jenny Doan is the owner of the shop and does many of the videos.
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A46D505AADE788F&feature=g-all-a

This is a great video by Jenny Doan of on Quilting Terminology. If you go to this link, then you can find more videos by them.

Well, I think I am going to stop for now. Hope you learn something from what I've posted. Since it is so cloudy outside from Isaac, my satellite Internet won't open some pages I wanted to share with you. 

Wishing for you a blessed day and weekend. Be crafty and share with others.

Teresa

Thursday's Thoughts

Good morning! I pray all is well with my friends and family. I was out of commission yesterday due to having an epidural put in my cervical spine 6-7 space due to inflammation in that nerve that caused major pain across my shoulder and down my left arm. Praying I can avoid having surgery on my neck. I go back in two weeks to have this checked and a possible redo.  Keep my in your prayers.

Update on puppies: They are doing great! Very sweet and loving. Have had our vet check them out and he was pleased with how well they are doing.  So glad we have them to keep us company.

I made my first hexie yesterday on the way to the hospital to have my epidural. I forgot to bring along a gem clip to hold my fabric onto the paper, so I stopped when the second one wasn't staying in the right place. I really like the way the first one came out, so I may work on them some today while I'm not doing a lot of moving. Pictures will be added when I get more done.

I worked on binding the Desert Mirage quilt on Monday, but still not finished. Will continue to work on that, too when I feel up to it. You can see it in my pictures above. Will post an updated picture when it is finished. 

I would like to share some tips with you today to add something different for the blog.

THURSDAYS TERRIFIC TIPS (From Stitches From the Heart Facebook Group with approval of Reba Bishop)
1. Let go of perfectionism. I'm not a perfectionist at all, but I imagine sewing would be a lot less fun if I were. Really, you won't notice that small imperfection within a day or two. Just enjoy your finished product.
2. Keep a little notebook of what you did (measurements, how you accomplished some detail). That way if you want to duplicate your project you don't have to start from the beginning.
3. Read your sewing machine manual, and if something's going wrong, go back and read it with new eyes--there may be some little thing you're doing wrong that's easily fixed.
4. A bar of soap still in the wrapper makes a perfect pin cushion and helps pins slide in easily.
5. Use elastic thread on waistband buttons. It’s a great idea for children and gives growing room.

From Fons and Porter website: http://www.fonsandporter.com/quilting_tips.html

1. Use a utensil tray to put 2" strips in for a log cabin quilt block.
2. Use plastic pretzel jars to store scraps or crumbs in.

I use a small, sectioned, utensil crate I got at IKEA to put pens, scissors, etc. in to keep on my desk. I paid $.99 for each. They are made from wood, so can be painted to match your decorations in your sewing room. You can find so many great storage ideas at IKEA. If you have one close, and haven't been there, try it out. We go to the one in Tampa, FL when we visit our daughter. There is one in Atlanta, GA I think, too.

Picture of the day
Purse I made for my daughter for Christmas 2011

Last Day of Bowl Hop/ Facebook Groups

Today is the last day of the Bowl Hop.

I hope you have a chance to check them out. I've seen some really cool looking bowls.

Here's the last of the bowl hoppers

Enjoy!

August 28th

Pam R.

Kathy G.
Marina R. (no show)
Hildegard C.
Freemotion By The River
Eliswerkstattbericht
Good Earth Quilting
Heikes Quilt
Sparrow In Flight

Madame Samm 

I would like to share with my followers some of the wonderful Facebook pages I have joined. I stay on these pages more now than I do my news feed. The first one I joined was originally called Northeast Alabama Sews. The members were people from our area of the state except for the one I know who lives in Kentucky, but is formerly from Alabama. Well, it grew to people from other states, so our wonderful leader, Reba Bishop, changed its name to Stitches from the Heart. I so enjoy this group. There is no drama allowed and we talk about sewing, machines, get advice for problems we are having with our machines or project we are working on, etc. We encourage each other when needed. We are having an apron swap with the sign up ending tomorrow. We will be given a partner that we will make aprons for each other and send the apron to them. I am excited and so are the others who are just waiting to get started. If you are interested in joining a group with nothing but sewing projects, discussions, suggestions, etc. on clothes making to quilting, then check out this group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/396425420401527/

The second group I joined was called Quilts and things.(https://www.facebook.com/groups/257946787643422/) It is a group mainly involving quilters, but many of the members in Stitches from the Heart are members of this group. We ending our first block lotto. We made two log cabin blocks using fall colors. One of the participants will be the lucky winner of all the blocks sent in. We are all anxious for the drawing to take place. It will probably be done this weekend. It is an awesome group; the leader is Linda Blevins. She has been doing a great job with all she is going through with her DH have major surgery recently. This group allows no drama either, and we offer suggestions, encouragement, sell items as needed/desired, bragging on the projects each of us is working on, tell others about websites or quilt patterns we have found, etc. It is hard to list all we do for each other in both of these groups.

I have also joined another group called For the Love of Scraps. It is led by Debbie Hughes. the same here about no drama, talk about quilt projects we are working on, encouraging each other, bragging on the projects, suggestions, etc. Some of the members of this group are also members of the other two. We are overlapping in some ways. LOL (https://www.facebook.com/groups/FortheLoveofScraps/)  

I belong to three other groups that I will share next time. I really have enjoyed belonging to these groups. I don't have to worry about reading a bunch of "crap" from the members. Many of us pray for each other. A few of us love to go back and forth picking at each other in a fun non-offensive way. We just have fun learning about each other and about new projects we can do. I love these ladies that I interact with in these groups. Facebook can be so drama filled, with cursing, disgusting pictures, back biting, etc. I got so tired of this and thought about deleting my account. The only reason I didn't was the support I get from some people on there. It is also the only way that I have connected with past classmates and others who have entered into my life at one time or the other. 

Thank you Reba, Linda, and Debbie for introducing me to how awesome being connected to fellow crafters can be. 

I pray you all have a blessed day. I am praying for the ones who will be affected by TS Isaac. We live far enough north that we will get rain, wind and possible spin off tornadoes, but hopefully nothing bad.

I am going to include a couple pictures of things I'm working on before I go.

Yep, this is what I've been working on. Here are the new puppies in our yard. They are awesome. We are afraid Blaze, on top, is sick. They are both going to the vet today to make sure they are okay. Please pray!

I will add some quilty photos next time. 

Be blessed,

Teresa

Find a Friend Friday

I just signed up/linked up on Sew Many Ways blog to her Find a Friend Friday. I have not heard of this, but I am trying it out. I guess I will have to get more diligent with my blogging. LOL Check this blog out and if you are a blogger, may be you can link up, too! I would like to find more blogging friends and get more followers. I saw today I now have 26 followers! I am so excited! 

Our new family members are doing well, so far. Hubby is still not sure about them, especially the girl puppy. She barks a lot at the least little sound. I'm not sure why she does that, but I pray we can get her to stop. The boy, Blaze is doing awesome! He is so laid back, not mouthy like Dusty, and so sweet. She is sweet, too, but barks too much. Keep your fingers crossed for us. Our daughter and her family added a chocolate lab to their family tonight. They have Oscar, a Basset Hound, whom they've had for almost eight years. Grandson wanted a dog who will play with him, fetch, etc. So I think Charlie will be that dog for him.

I am having a nerve block on my C 6-7 vertebrae/disc area next Wednesday to see if that is where my pain is coming from. Thank God for a doctor who is not knife happy and rushes to the operating room. He was super nice, and so far, I would recommend Dr. Robert Robinson in Birmingham, AL. We will see what happens. I've never had one of these, so keep me in your prayers.

Well, my ice cream is calling my name. Have a blessed night!
Teresa

Tuesday's Blessings

Today is the day!!! I am getting more and more excited! We lost our dog, Cammie six weeks ago today. It has been harder than DH and I ever dreamed it would be. We both have cried many tears, and still cry at times missing her. Well, over the past few weeks, we have sort of been looking for another baby. We've been to a couple flea markets, one of which is where we got Cammie, but nothing has jumped out at either one of us. We were looking for an Australian Shepherd/Blue Heeler mix when we adopted Cammie. We fell in love with Cammie, so that search was on hold. Since we lost Cammie, I started looking again. We had one of the above types of dog before and he was the best dog we could ever ask for. He lived about seventeen years. The last few years, he spent with my father-in-law. It was really hard losing him, too. On to what is happening today. On Friday, I woke up with the Pell City Animal Shelter on my mind. I had not looked on there site before. I had seen them mentioned on Adoptapet.com or Petfinder.com. I got up, looked them up online, and found they have a Facebook page. I looked there and fell in love! I found a picture of Blaze. He is the one on the left. We also, found Melinda, the picture on the right. We are probably going to name her Dixie. Well, we went to see them Friday, and fell in love even more. They were so sweet! We usually don't have but one dog at a time, but we thought maybe if we had two, they could be buddies and keep each other occupied/company. So we adopted two. We didn't get to bring them home on Friday because they needed to be neutered and spayed. They had their surgeries yesterday, so we get to bring them home today! Yea!!! DH washed out Cammie's doghouse where these babies can use it. We bought new feed bowls and toys. I will post more pictures later. These were the ones the animal shelter had on Facebook. Wish us luck and pray for us that these babies will help heal the hurt over losing Cammie.

Quilting: What have I been doing quilting wise. Not a lot. LOL I have sewn a few Christmas log cabin blocks and sewed them together. Here is a picture of them:

I've also tried making a few coloring book blocks. Here is my Santa that I've colored twice to make the color bolder than the first time. What do you think?

I hope you are being crafty and creative this week. Please leave comments and tell me what is going on with you. Have a blessed day!

Blessings to you,

Teresa

Happy Monday!

Today is the first day back to school here in Alabama and probably a lot of other places. I've been there, done that, and have T-shirts to show for those days. As most of you know I was a certified teacher. My certification lapsed this past June. I taught science and English and various other subjects as needed. Small schools are known for having teachers teach one class out of field. It gave me a lot of experience, that I am thankful for. I look at many of the former students I have had through the years that I am friends with on Facebook, and I think, oh my goodness, I am getting old. One of my first students will be retired from the Navy with 20 years in 2013. Then, I look at those who have gotten married or are getting married and those having babies. Some have three babies. I feel like I am the grandmother of these children. Does that make sense? I have always told my students that they are my "younguns" from now on. I feel very responsible for each of them. I am very proud of all they have accomplished. Many of them are nurses. Others are in the military. Some are going to school to be nurses, others who knows. I am so glad that I was able to be a small influence in their lives.

I am praying for all those teachers and school employees who are starting off their year today. I wish you the very best throughout the year. I pray that you touch at least one life and make a difference in that child and for that child. Pray for your students. Pray over your classroom that your year will go well. Start your day off with some Praise music to get you fired up to be the best teacher; counselor; office worker, lunchroom person, custodian, or administrator you can be. Everyone is important in these students' lives. Everyone can make a difference. It may only be smiling at one of the kids. That child may have come to school with his/her parent screaming at them, and just needs someone to care enough to smile at them.

 I have had many students in the fourteen years that I taught. I may not remember each name, but each student made a difference in my life. Some made good differences, and other made not so good, but they all touched my life in one way or another. I am thankful for most of the experiences that I had while teaching. I still have students tell me how much they appreciate me and what I did for them. It makes me feel so warm inside and makes me smile. I love you all!

To the students; please do not bully anyone. Do not force yourself onto anyone. Be yourself. If you witness someone being taken advantage of, being bullied, harassed, or just being picked on, PLEASE tell a teacher, office worker, counselor, administrator, etc. Please tell someone! You make a difference. If you see someone who is new to the school and doesn't have any friends, you be that friend. Stand up for what is right. Treat your fellow students and faculty with respect. If you are not taught to do that at home, please ask someone to teach you what it means to be respectful. You are NOT "better" than anyone else. You are all God's creation. We all need to learn that lesson. We need to spread the love to one another and make a difference in some person's life each day.

Okay, I'm off my soapbox for now. Have a blessed day, my sweet followers. Spread the word about my blog and ask your friends to become a follower. I sure will appreciate it.
God Bless,
Teresa

Thursday's Thoughts

Well, I have not been in my sewing room for several weeks due to having company, not feeling like sewing, doing chores, etc. I told my DH this morning that I was going into my sewing room today and he commented, "And not coming back out?" I told him maybe not. LOL I have got to get busy. I have so many things I want to get accomplished. I still have a baby quilt to quilt. I now have strips to do a half log cabin for Wrap Them in Love; I am trying to design a Christmas quilt for me and for my daughter; I need to organize my sewing room. Oh yea, I am going to try and make Hexies! I joined two groups on facebook about hexies, and I borrowed my friend, Bev's Accuquilt Go! die for hexagons, now just to get some papers cut, some fabric cut and get started! I need a project that I can do by hand when in the car or watching TV or waiting at the doctor's office. So, I am going to try my hand at it. I have seen some beautiful work done with using hexagons. It is MY time. :D

I hope you won't forget about the Bowls with Borders Blog Hop that continues today and several more days. If you are interested in paper piecing, this is the blog for you. These folks are doing beautiful work.

I pray you have a blessed day and be creative! I want to welcome my two newest members, Debbie and Nancy. Welcome, ladies! I hope you like what you see. As time goes by, I will get better at this blogging venture. Stay tuned. More to come.

Blessings,
Teresa

Day 3 of Bowls with Borders

August 15th

Binks
Robin S.
Trish
Quilting Along Life's Way

Sew Me Something Good

Quilt Doodle Doodles

Happier Than A Bird Quilts

Dizzy Daze

Bee Tree Designs (  she is now up..and WOW)

Daisy Days

A Quilting Sheep

Schedule for Bowls with Borders Blog Hop for Monday

Today is the first day for the Bowls with Borders Blog Hop. Check out each blog and see what creativeness has taken place with paper piecing bowls!

Are you ready to start seeing bowls?

Tomorrow's the beginning of the

Bowls With Border Blog Hop!

(The schedule is below)

August 13th

Jody Walker

Cathy

Frances
Anneke

Majorie's Busy Corner

A Passion For Applique

Fabric-ating

Sophie
The House On The Side Of The Hill
Just Let Me Quilt

Check Out the New Blog Hop!

It's Happening Tomorrow....

Are you ready to start seeing bowls?

Tomorrow's the beginning of the

Bowls With Border Blog Hop!

(The schedule is below)

August 13th

Jody Walker

Cathy

Frances
Anneke

Majorie's Busy Corner

A Passion For Applique

Fabric-ating

Sophie
The House On The Side Of The Hill
Just Let Me Quilt

August 14th

Jen Duncan

Sharon D.

Apron Valley Road

Quilts and Quilt Things

Pieceful Life

North Hills Quilter
Vroomans Quilts

Somewhat Fanciful
Jane's Quilting

August 15th

Binks
Robin S.
Trish
Quilting Along Life's Way

Sew Me Something Good

Quilt Doodle Doodles

Happier Than A Bird Quilts

Dizzy Daze

Bee Tree Designs

Daisy Days
A Quilting Sheep

August 16th
Gabi S.
Monique H.
Quilt-N-Queen

Crazy 'bout Quilts

Rita, Crooked Quilter
Geema's Wonderings
UFOs and UBIs
Piece Peace

I Piece 2-Mary
Sew Inspiring Crafts and More

August 17th

Beate from Gabrielles Atelier
Sharon-Quilt Sheddy

Lilypad Quilting

Searching Out Simple

Scrapbook Chick A Doodle
Ark Angel Creations
Polka Dot Classic

PRSD4Tim2

Little Mushroom Cap

I Have A Notion

August 18th

Ann E.

Jenny
Stekje
Yarn-or-Fabric
Englating

Knotted-Thread
Peanut's Patchwork

Blessings From Our Nest

August 19th

Nancy C.

Sally K.
Margaret A.
Elisabeth K.
Norma
Busy As Can Be

Yet He Abideth Faithful

Butjenter Quilterin

Co mne baví....
Bitzstiffchen - Patchlissi`s Patchwelt

August 20th

Birgit H.
Vicki B.

Monika G.
Scher
Dorothea

Rosa Patch.The Love Of Sewing

Nuclear Knits

Cottage-Quilt

Cattinka
Hill Valley Quilter
Ninis Patchwork

August 21st

Betty

Shelley Lee

Sharmond
Kitty
Doris

Mrs. Pickles Garden

Ninifee’s Kleines Cottage

Quilt-Girlie
Cherry Blossoms
Vogelines Patchwork
Heidi's Patchwork
chchris Quilts

August 22nd

Margaret M.

Monika (mo-pi-de)

Regina M.
Rosemarie W.

Anolisl's Kreative Seite
In Stitches and Seams
Morgaine's 77 Blog
On The Go Quilting
Aus dem Fuchsbau

August 23rd

Maureen

Silvia L.
Pam M.

Abitato

InGa

Traveling Stitcher

Taschen, Quilts und mehr

Never Enough Stash
From This To That
De Zondagssteek 
Guilitta 2000

August 24th

Gudron Z.
Linda B.

Heidrun P.
Linda M.
Claudia
Elizabeth
Margret's Heritage
Lucky Duck Dreams

Francisca
jatajomi´s stoff-nadel-fadenwelt

Cool Crafty Mom

August 25th

Rosemary B.

Susan H.

Christel G.

Alice
Peggy S.
Suzanne K.
Books, Hooks, Sticks, etc.
Marla's Crafts
Kathy's Quilts
Sunshine Quilting
The Learning Curve Quilts and Such
Glitzy Me

August 26th

Julie S.

Angela D.

Kim O.
Wanda S.
Martine

Quilts and Pieces
Spoilt Dog Quilts

Quiltenvilt

Traveling Quilter
Gabi Koeln
Sew Sew Little Time

August 27th

Sonja S.

Barbara G.
Petra B.
Marcy
Elfriede

Pippa's Patch

Patchkatze Blog

Verquilt

Billie Bee's

Mice In The Mix

August 28th
Pam R.

Kathy G.
Marina R.
Hildegard C.
Freemotion By The River
Eliswerkstattbericht
Good Earth Quilting
Heikes Quilt
Sparrow In Flight

Madame Samm 

Almost Wordless Wednesday

Here are a few pictures to celebrate the times we had with our daughter, grandson, our daughter's friend, Andrea, and her daughters, Maya and Molly. 

Jackson and Maya have been best friends since they were three years old. She moved and it has been 10 months since they've seen each other. They are so sweet together.

Andrea and Molly and Jennifer in the background

Jennifer (my daughter)

Week of August 6th

Hello! How are each of you doing? We are well and enjoying visiting with the people you see above. The lady you see is our beautiful daughter, Jennifer. The man you see in the picture on the right is our handsome son, Joe on his wedding day in March. The little guy is our only grandchild, Jackson, who belongs to Jennifer and her DH. Jennifer and Jackson are up here for this week waiting on her best friend and his best friend to arrive from Wisconsin. These friends moved from Florida to Wisconsin in October and they have not seen each other since then. They arranged to meet here in Alabama where the DD and GS can stay with us while the friends stay close by. That way, too, the kids don't have to play in a motel room, but can play here in our yard, or in the house. They are very excited to see them. Our son was off from work today, so traveled from his home about fifty miles away to visit with them. We all really enjoyed the time we spent together and the lunch we ate at home. It was so good to have both our children with us at one time. This does not happen very often any more. It will be a great memory.

Jackson is presently playing in the floor with his huge Lego blocks he has here while Cars, the movie, plays in the background. He stops ever so often to watch it. LOL DD is in the kitchen making us a new dish called Asian Meatballs with some kind of fried brown rice. Can't wait to try them! Not too crazy about how the sauce tasted, but hopefully it will all work together well. Love it when someone else cooks. :-0

DD also cut our lawn which is about a 3-4 hour job. We've fed the goats, helped Joe load up some of his stuff to take back home. He also got one of our desk chairs we did use in the kitchen as our kitchen chairs, but with our newer table and chairs, it was in the storage building. His wife needs it to do her school work on the computer. She is in her final year of pharmacy school. You know how newlyweds are, they build up from what they have when they get married and what they can accumulate from parents. He really seem so much happier now that they are together after dating long distance for eight years.

QUILTING

I haven't gotten any sewing done the past couple of weeks. We cleaned house, ran errands, etc. to get ready for this week. My sewing room is in an awful mess. I have Christmas strips and fabric strewn all over it trying to get organized for a Christmas quilt. On one of my favorite Facebook pages, Quilts and Things, we started a quilt block lotto. The first block we are to do is a log cabin block in fall colors. Oranges and yellows on the light side and greens and browns on the dark side with red in the center. I have never made a log cabin block, but have always wanted to. Man, did I get hooked! I am ready to make a Christmas log cabin quilt, a scrappy log cabin quilt, a purple log cabin quilt, a fall log cabin quilt, etc. Can you tell I got addicted to making one! It was so easy and fast. I made both blocks in about thirty minutes, if that long. The longest time I spent was picking out my strips. They turned out so pretty! Let me post them for you to see.

Well, dinner is done, so I am going to try out this new recipe! Have a blessed night.

Teresa