You are going to love today’s $5 February Friday pattern! Connie made it in Florida and I honestly think I’m going to take time off from Good News and make this sweet table topper.
My Charms

Here is the charm pack she used.

Notice that it’s wet – she’s by the pool, the beach or having coffee – which appears on lots of Connie’s paperwork – haha! Just a side note here – Connie’s birthday is coming up March 16 – if you wanted to send her a card her address is 795 Bush, Garner, IA 50438. You don’t know her as well as you know me and vice versa but I know she’d love to hear from you!
Here are the two previous $5 patterns that can still be ordered – until February 28.


It’s already noon on a Friday but I had so many errands to run in town that I couldn’t get this posted. It’s another very windy day here in North Iowa – I did let my chickens out on the east side since the wind is coming from the west. They’re like third graders going out for recess – running and pushing their friends out of the way so they can be first out the door!
We go back to the Mayo Wound Clinic on February 25 and then again on February 28. The ankle wound is looking much better but I still won’t shock you by posting a picture. We’re down to one dressing per day which really helps. So many of you have had similar experiences with your husbands – thanks so much for writing!

Here is a reader quilt that puts Connie and I to shame! We took this class last June in Kansas City and neither of us have finished it. Maybe THAT’S what I should work on next.

More reader quilts – first from Joel!

These are just a few of Joel’s quilts – he even takes one with him in his semi!



Pretty cool, huh?

And here’s Hazel in her rat corner – yesterday I hauled a couple scoops of bedding out of that area and just threw it out the door into the chicken area. I left the goat pen and stood there with the door open waiting for Hazel when I noticed a very small “wiggle” in the bedding. I waited and it happened again . Hmmm – must be a mouse? Nope! Right then a rat poked his head up and ran along the wall! You could have knocked me over with a feather!!!!! I didn’t even scream – I just stood there in disbelief.
One of my two traps has quit functioning so I need to return it and get another – I will not give up. I will not have those rats in my barn!
Mark your calendars for our spring sale at Connie’s house on April 1-2, Connie’s birthday on March 16 and our final $5 Friday pattern on February 25. You can order these $5 patterns directly from me at 2345 Palm Ave Garner, IA 50438 and eventually they will be online. An enclosed address label saves me soooo much time!

And so I close todays chapter with a scene many of you will be familiar with – throw up on the clean table topper! Haha! Gotta keep you chuckling, don’t I?

Love, love Connie’s little tabletops.
I have a daughter and 2 close friends whose birthdays are March 15 and 17th. Not hard for me to get another card out.
Wish I could send you money to buy me anything at Connie’s sale.
Shirley in Oregon
Mary,
If your electrocution rat trap is like my husband’s …you may need new batteries in it? Check the instructions.
Loved all today’s pictures…wish I could be @ the sale! Would love to sew the pin cushion quilt.
I looked up Juven…a great healing power. Enter JUVEN in your search…shows before n after pictures, too! Sun is out shining on snow! We are in for a real MINUS DEGREES cold snap next week!
I will send a check for all 3 patterns. It will go out tomorrow, the mail has already come today.
Joel does nice work!! glad he sent pictures!
I wondered if hazel didn’t have another critter under the bedding, she was pretty intent on what she was doing! Do you think you can get rid of them altogether? I’m sure it would be nice.
The snow/rain has started here and same with the wind. It isn’t supposed to last long but could get nasty as the temps drop. I have a haircut at 4:15, I can’t decide if I want to cancel or not. I’m not as brave as I used to be!! LOL! I only have a couple of miles to go but…Happy Sewing!!
Great post today. Love the quilts.
Those rats would make me crazy. You do well with them…and to think, you picked up the bedding and threw it out with a rat inside. I’d still be in shock.
It’s nice here today. I dropped off quilt jobs and picked up about 8 more jobs. This Covid has caused people to quilt like mad. So, I’m very busy getting them longarmed.
The wind is forecasted to blow 85mph this weekend.
My kids are special Olympics coaches, their games were this week and all of their teams did very well. Yahoo!
Jo in Wyoming – oh no, I didn’t pick up the bedding – read again – I said I got a scoop and scooped up some bedding and threw it out. I’m just sure that’s what I said but guess I’d better look. My heart would have stopped for sure!
Haha! Love the vomit😹😹. Buddy doesn’t waste any food, but Squeal leaves us presents often—too high strung. I love Connie’s table topper and Joel’s quilts are beautiful and very well made! Great job, Joel! I ordered the jelly roll pattern. I should have waited and ordered all at once. I’ll wait until the 25th and then order. Rat—yuck. Hazel-great job! Lots of rain yesterday.
Lots of good pictures even the puke from the cat as we are use to it too. Joel does a nice job with his quilts so we appreciate him sharing his creations. And Karla – that is a beauty. I have always admired those quilts but I have too many other ones I want to make first that have fabric waiting to be cut for. I sure love seeing them though cause they seem so intricate. I got my Honor America pattern yesterday and have my blues and reds pulled already to make it for a doll bed quilt. Glad your nursing care is helping Ricks wound get better.
Gotta get those darn rats 🤨 Yesterday it was in the 50’s, got my groceries, later temps went down & oh how it rained all night. Snowed this morning & now sun is out 25 degrees!! Will be sending check for table topper pattern.
I recognize those furry morsels! Gotta love our pets because our kids wouldn’t put up with them. 🤣 Have a great weekend.
Understand on hairball! Between vomit n hairball everyday! Oh those quilts are beautiful. On tomato cushion I didnt finish mine either! Took a class at Stitches n Such in Glendale Ohio. Dont know why I didnt finish it. The picture is wonderful! Good luck at Mayo. It does help to write your questions out and give to doctor . I did that she said it did help. Good luck on rats! Take care
Joel your quilts are great. It’s nice to see quilts that men have made too. I love the generous quilt size.
Those rats are survivors! Maybe you need new batteries in your trap.
It sounds like Rick is doing better with his wound. I hope you are able to find some answers next week.
On Wednesday’s post there was a wall hanging/table-topper?? that had a pinkish heart shape with grays as background. The squares that made the heart were pink/grayish half square triangles. Anybody know how big the triangle squares are? Just thought it was a nice idea for something for February and really liked the color combination.
Good luck Mary with your appts next week. Glad to hear healing is occurring. Pat in Iowa City
Hi Mary! Yuck on those rats!
I don’t know if Joel has a story about how he got into quilting but……
Have you heard of the CombatQuilter? He is a veteran that had severe PTSD when he got out of the service. He started quilting to help him with his PTSD! He’s very talented & also even quilted when he was a truck driver after his service duty. You & your readers should give him a Google search & read his amazing story & see his award winning quilt made from over 15000 1” or 1/2” squares — no kidding. It’s is amazing! Take a look. He also has a FB page of anyone wants to follow him. He’ll be a guest speaker at both of the guilds I attend so I’ll see him once in March & again in May. Nicest guy. Started a men’s quilting group. He almost exclusively makes Quilt of Valor quilts. Amazing!
Have a great weekend. Stay warm!
Hi Jan, could you tell us whom to look up on Facebook? I’d love to see his work!
You can find him on FB if you search CombatQuilter. The cover photo on his FB page is a picture of him with Alex Anderson. His story is very interesting. I hope you enjoy it.
Absolutely fascinating! Thank you – I had not heard of him!
Joel makes some beautiful quilts. And I like the charm table topper. It looks like a fun one to make.
I’m glad Rick’s wound is healing and that you have to change the dressings less. Hazel isn’t going to let you forget about the rats!
Update on me – surgery was a success. The nerve pain is gone as they were able to get the bone spur. I have to get up and walk every 30-60 minutes. No housework for three weeks! Yippee! Gary has to cook, shop, and do laundry. We do have a cleaning lady come every other week to clean the downstairs. I’ve had her for years due to my bad back.
Susan K – that is good news and better yet is no cleaning or cooking for 3 weeks!!! Just not feeling that pain is a relief I’m sure.
Before surgery it was hard to find the right position to relieve pain – basically sitting in my recliner or laying down in bed. That is gone now!
And the no housework for three weeks is like a vacation!
Mary – Joel jokingly thought you had made him “famous” after the lighted quilt hanger post… now he thinks he’s really famous! Someday, maybe when the snow is gone, we’ll get some more pics to share… :-). Joel thanks everyone for the kind comments!
Linda – I should have mentioned the lighted quilt hanger but I don’t have the photo anymore. If he wants orders I will post it for him so they can contact him directly – I don’t want to be the go-between. Thanks to Joel!
Linda H – the girls want to know how Joel got into quilting – tell me!
Beautiful quilts. Joel is a very talented quilter. Glad to hear Rick’s wound is improving. It is very windy here in southern Wisconsin, too. Thanks for showing the Bonnie Hunter books the other day. I have all of Bernard’s shirts yet and wondered what I was going to do with them. Have a good day.
Diane in WI – oh, you’re going to enjoy making all those shirt quilts!!! And then remembering Bernard wearing them to various events!
Oh, Yes you did! Still smiling!😀
I am glad Rick’s wound is healing. You are doing a good job. Very pretty quilts. Joel is doing such a good job. Connie’s quilt is cute. Thank you for her address. RATS!! Little stinkers. Yes, I would return the trap also. Hazel is good.
Wish I could come to Garner as would be fun. Won’t be home. Still doing the Linus quilts. Little while longer and will call it good for this year. About 24 so far.
So many great things in today’s post! Thanks for Connie’s birthday info, too.
We had our monthly guild meeting in-person today. It was great to see people and visit with our charity bee. Everyone looked so good and had such fun things made.
Good luck with the doctors! AND the rats…
Karla T…If you are reading this, your pincushion quilt is wonderful. I really love it. And, Joel, your quilts are fabulous as well. Do you sew in the truck?
So glad to hear that Rick’s wound is better and your dressing of it has lessened. He is probably really happy about that too. If he ever needs support stockings, they have wonderful new ones out now. I have to wear them and have seen some changes for the better.
Go, Hazel. Find those rats.
Beautiful quilts today! Love Karla’s pincushion quilt and Joel does great work…love all of them. I have made the Hunter’s Star for my dad in red, white and blues a few years ago. it was fun! I have have seen the Combat Quilter too. He’s very talented. Maybe I saw him on a Missouri Star tutorial. Check youtube.
Praying for good reports for Rick at the Mayo Clinic.
Hazel knows there are still rats in the barn!
Great pictures! Connie’s quilt, the pin cushion quilt, and all of Joel’s quilts. I recognize the last picture as we have cats. They miss their grass in the winter. We just recently grew them some grass from seed we got at the pet store called Nibble-Licious. They are enjoying it now and are making quite a mess lifting the root ball and all from the light weight pot we used.
Glad Rick is improving. I loved seeing Joel’s quilts. Especially the 1st one.
oh mary, you have such a wicked sense of humor. i see those presents every day at my house, on the quilts, on the rugs, on the bed. loved all the quilt pictures. joel’s quilts are fantastic – very graphic. was it karla that had the pin cushion quilt? it is great.i’ve wanted to do that but haven’t tried yet. first time i’ve seen a close up. i’ve always loved the octopus one. good news on rick’s wound. drive safe going to mayo. patti in florida
I have the sale date in my calendar!! I drove up last year for the garage sale and it was awesome. Connie was in her backyard showing a couple gals around. You were in the garage sharing stories with some others. I bought several packs of fabric and just kind of milled around taking it all in! It was like being at the farm again!
Cathy D – OK – we’ll see you in April!
Oh. Mary! I’ve had my first-ever cat for 3 years and have gotten SO used to this sight! I still love her!
Linda L
When reading about the “famous” quilters in this blog, it brought to mind a quilter that I had heard speak. A blind lady that made fabulous quilts. After recovering from a car accident that left her blind, she learned to quilt. When I google “Elizabeth Burns blind quilter”, the first 2 items that show up are a Facebook post (Boone County extension homemakers) that shows one of her quilts and makingalather.com that shows several pictures. The 3rd listing was a Washington Times news article that tells her story. What a story! She’s a motivational speaker. If she can do what she does, we can do anything! Mary, you are also a motivator. Because of your telling about your knee surgeries and recovery, I knew it wouldn’t be long before I would be back to sewing and playing the piano. Thanks. Glad to hear things are improving with Your husband.
Judy – I am glad those knees are working good again!!
Oh Mary, I’m washing my bed quilt for the very same reason, gotta love these fur babies!!! That Hazel and glad that rat didn’t jump on you, ugh the horror!!!
Do you have a pattern for the square in a square topper? I checked the on line store but didn’t see it.
Barbara – it’s coming very soon!
Barbara C – I don’t know what topper you’re referring to – I looked back several posts but don’t see any square in a square. You will have to be more specific and give me more information. Can anyone else help?
Mary – Sorry to confuse you! I thought the table topper with the “gift” on it was a square in a square. Now I’m even more intrigued about the pattern.