My friend Kathy sent me this picture of 2 quilts made by her husband’s great aunt – one for the bed and a matching crib quilt. Isn’t that so sweet?
I want to make this again in tamer colors!! This was all Kaffe.
It’s obvious what happened here – I left the door standing open all summer and rain washed down in the door rotting it. Rick has been busy making a brand new door. This is something I would never have thought of – I could just as easily had the door swing completely open to water didn’t soak into the door. Ugh. Who knew?
Yes, a new cleaning lady because Jessica took a full time job.
Barbara just told me that some of the items ordered and shipped direct from Amazon have already started to arrive.
Next week I’m going to post a man’s name who deserves a card shower for Veterans Day. This is a warning to find a card for a vet.
What else?
If there’s anybody reading this who has any knowledge of Xerox copiers, would you please contact me? I think there’s something very small and simple that would fix my copier – just trying one more thing before I give up completely.
What else? Guess that’s all – from the blog about nothing. Good Night!
Finally caught up on the blog and comments. It’s been a crazy October. So we had the birthdays and baptism trip to Iowa in early October. I had a UTI and the first antibiotic didn’t cure it. Plus I developed an allergy to it. So while in Iowa I went to a clinic. Second antibiotic and an allergy to that one too! So third antibiotic and was told that if I couldn’t take it I’d have to have IV antibiotics in the hospital.
Birthdays and baptism and having all of my three sons in one place was fabulous. We couldn’t believe how dry Iowa is. We’ve not had rain at either house – Texas or Iowa for the month of October and it’s usually one of the rainiest months.
The house is basically finished. I’ll send the before and after pictures soon. We’re planning to have a barbecue next weekend for the workers and the neighbors so they can see the finished project. Next year we’ll concentrate on the yard.
I’ve enjoyed the fall displays and quilts. The pictures of the pets. I sure hope Gracie shows up soon.
I need to go through my quilts for donation quilts. My cleaning lady got a full time job too. I just haven’t worked at finding a new one. After spending the past couple of days moving aloes to the greenhouse and cleaning one or two rooms, I’ve determined I need to look soon!
Take care!
Cheering for the Yankees. Born in New York City so it’s a no brainer for me. The games against the Cleveland Guardians were exciting!
Barbara Aker’s project for NC may get me into a sewing mojjo. She says she’s aiming to distribute the quilts after Thanksgiving, like Christmas presents so if I get busy may have something small to send. We’ll see.I work well under pressure.
Wow! Gail has been busy! And Sunflower too! Nice work, ladies! I’ve decided that I have ADD – so many things I want to do and am too overwhelmed to do much of anything. I need to look up that thread, I’ve never heard of Mother Goose! I do love that panel, though. I am going to try the straight line quilting that you like, Mary. I’m thinking I wouldn’t need a deep throated machine for that. I have the frame, just not a longarm sewing machine. Hope it works because I like how your quilts look. I’m just back from a few days in NH at the camp. The foliage is spectacular this week and there’s snow on Mount Washington! My friend and I drove around oo-ing and ah-ing and stopped for a nice lunch on Squam Lake. That’s where parts of “On Golden Pond” were filmed. Beautiful lake. My husband is pressure washing the back of the house that gets a green mold/algea growing on it from lack of sun. It’s on the East side of the house. Storm windows are on. Enjoy the day, everyone! Jan in MA
Jan -the north side of my garage gets that same green algae/mold and I need to power wash it again. My quilts are very plain but that’s how I like them – give it a try, you might love it!
Mary, Pete is out there power washing the north side of the house now. There’s not a lot – because the breezeway takes up a lot of that end of the house but he’s up on a ladder. Thankfully, it’s on a nice slant so I’m not too worried about him falling off! I am definitely going to try the straight line quilting. I love the way your quilts look. I’m wondering, how did you quilt your Bull’s Eye though? Did you use straight line on that? I have one that’s been waiting to quilt for a long time! Jan
Mary, Pete is out there power washing the north side of the house now. There’s not a lot – because the breezeway takes up a lot of that end of the house but he’s up on a ladder. Thankfully, it’s on a nice slant so I’m not too worried about him falling off! I am definitely going to try the straight line quilting. I love the way your quilts look. I’m wondering, how did you quilt your Bull’s Eye though? Did you straight line on that? I have one that’s been waiting to quilt for a long time! Jan
Jan – Sue quilted my bullseye quilt because I didn’t want to fold over all the raw edges – I really want to learn to do something other than straight lines
Success in posting comments again! I’m not sure what changed. I do love your simple, straight line quilting, Mary. As a longarmer there are many fancier requests but, in my estimation, you just can’t beat the “less is more” approach; unless it’s a show quilt for the quilter it’s the piecing and construction design that should be shown off. Hardly seems possible that Augie is 2!
Mrs. Goodneedle – none of my quilts are ever going to a show so for me, less is more and I can actually handle it – haha! I am a very reluctant longarm quilter.
I’ve tried repeatedly to post a comment. Let’s see if this works.
Don’t feel too bad about the door. Wafer board (like this door) isn’t much better than particle board when it comes to falling apart when it gets wet, painted or not. Maybe a metal strip along the top to shed water for the new door would work?
Opinions please. A size for a baby quilt. Is 30″x40″ too small? Would 33″x42″ or 35″x45″ be more welcome? Thanks, everyone.
IMHO, I’d go as big a square as you can get from a width of the backing fabric, so probably about 40×40″ or 42×42″. They seem to grow out of smaller quilts so fast!
Good point Gail. Thanks.
JustGail – I agree! It’s always my guideline
Smiles with my coffee this morning seeing the photos and news.
We have had some light rain this morning again. Hardly enough to measure. Still extremely dry.
I have a dear friend who just had serious back surgery. Her daughter is staying with her but needs me to come for a few hrs today. I am taking jammies and a toothbrush in case I need to stay overnight. I made banana bread that’s ready to take and will make broccoli cheesy soup to take also. So no sewing for me today unless some handsewing.
That’s so nice of you to help her! I’ll need help, too, and hope someone offers. And you’re taking food? Wow!
Love all the pictures! My favorite is the picture of happy Keeper being snuggled by Sam! I sure love the picture of your wilderness path in the fall!
With harvest complete, Jay and the boys have everything all clean and shiny and tucked in for the winter. Now, the house garage is bugging him. It is filthy dirty with all the dust blowing around, even keeping the garage doors shut doesn’t help! Thankfully, our house windows are tight and keep the dust out of the house! I think I will do the fridge. It needs a good cleaning!
So sad for you that Jessica got a full time job! I love my cleaning lady! I hope you find one soon, cause I know that lovely feeling when you walk in and ‘mmmm clean’!!
Well, have a good day! Thanks for the blog!
Joy – I actually answered your comment last night three times and lost it three times so I’ll try again. My windows are new and tight but oh my screened porch that faces the road! I put down a tarp to keep my rug clean but soon I’ll be able to clean it plus have my windows washed! No sense doing all this while harvest is still going on. I wish I could mow and chop up leaves but I just don’t dare – what if a spark started all that dry grass and leaves on fire??? My old cleaning lady recommended a friend who will pick up where Jessica leaves off. Whew! Looking at a recuperation period without a cleaning lady was worrisome. AND I can’t wait to wash Red who is so dirty from all the dust – no garage door keeps out that fine dust.
Great post with beautiful pictures. People have been busy. I have been stacking wood the past couple of days. I should be done with it today and then leaf clean up will begin. I’m grateful that we have been having beautiful weather with warn temperatures. Makes the work so much nicer. I’m looking forward to sending a card to your veteran. Do you know what branch he served in? Looking forward to watching the World Series. I don’t know which team I will be “rooting” for. We’ll see. As always, thank you for your blog. I just LOVE it. Have a great day.
Ginger – since I only watch baseball this time of year I have no favorite BUT my nephew’s wife, Virginia, is a huge Yankees fan so I’ll join her. When the World Series is over, what will I watch???
Gail you have been busy, beautiful quilts. Keeper & Hazel sure do love Sam, lovely picture. Another nice day today, got lots of outdoor work done last couple of days!
Thanks Mary for all the pictures.
Love all the quilts today! I sunflower us sending some very cute quilts. The little ones will love these! Keeper and Hazel with Sam are just adorable. It took me a second to find Hazel. Everyone’s fall decorations look wonderful! I don’t put out too much Halloween decor. But I love seeing it all. It’s another beautiful fall day here. Mid 70s. Just perfect! Have a good day all!
I’m with you, when it comes to quilting. Denise, who does my quilting, has a statler stitcher. She wants to do fancy quilting for me. I have her doing almost everything (99.9%) with a small meander! Boring, but I love it
Laura VS – I cannot get the rhythm of a small meander but that’s what I like, too. I hate fancy quilting but those who love to do it think it makes the quilt and is the most important part of the finished quilt. I so hate to tell them I hate it but I do – everybody likes something different and that’s fine with me
I’m with you, Mary … all that custom quilting seems to detract from the quilt pattern and fabrics. I do, however, appreciate the skill involved. My favorite quilting is meander or straight/curvy lines. I do all my own quilting on my sewing machine, and as good as I can make it, is good enough for me! I hope Gracie shows up soon! Could she have gotten shut in the playhouse when you took pictures in there?
Candy – the playhouse door remains open and I’ve checked every single building on the farm today – no Gracie
before seeing another readers comment about her husband’s being able to help with your printer challenges, I sent the info I was able to locate for chatting with Xerox via email. It was the best I could come up with. Since I am the one who must seek solutions to any computer etc challenges because my husband doesn’t even like his cellphone and my daughter has a department to deal with her issues i either solve it myself or chat with someone… sorry that was the best i could do. I hope the husband can solve your issues.
Brenda – I think I tried the online chat but got no answers. I could try again if Bob can’t help.
Brenda – you might be interested in this – I tried the Xerox chat line and not only was I required to set up an account, I had to pay $1 per question! I couldn’t believe it.
It is obvious Keeper loves Sam; I love Sam, and I have not met her!
The quilts are beautiful. That Gracie should show up soon—very stressful!
Thanks So Much, Mary 🥰
I too am a lover of not alot of quilting. My friend is a long armer, we live in the same world, she knows my preferences. We often get together when I need a quilt done, we load, quilt and unload it in a couple hours of chatting and lunch.
Dee – I think it takes longer to prepare the back, batting and loading it all than it does to actually quilt it. Would be more fun with a friend.
Great quilt pictures. Wonderful quilts going to the victims.
Sam and the pets look very happy. Your porch looks so inviting.
It got a little chilly last weekend, but I’m still watering the flowers. Unbelievable for Oct 22.
Hi Mary, Keeper isthe best! It was hard to see Hazel at first, is that your porch? It looks very comfy ,and such a lot to look at! Today l bought a couple of outdoor metal birds to attach on lattice work just outside My door, next l want a couple of plants to put in the corner, probably plastic, l am not green fingered! Take care everyone, best wishes from Sandy
Sandy – the picture is actually taken in my front room where I watch tv if I’m not in the sewing room. The windows face east and south which gives me lots of light for my plants thru the winter months.
Love your front room. Glad you’ll have plants to see this winter. I thought it was your porch that you close up. Beautiful pictures today. And that checkerboard quilt on the couch is very pretty.
Mother goose my favourite color.
Peggy – it works with nearly anything, doesn’t it?
another fantastic blog post with tons of gorgeous pictures. gail, you have that halloween spirit going strong. good on you. all the fall decorations are just so joyous to me. thanks everyone. the quilts headed to n.c. are so cute. i’m sure they will be loved. mary, i love your kaffe quilt. i just love all those colors together. gives me ideas.
do you think gracie might be hiding somewhere? my cat does that to me. makes me crazy. keeper surely does love sam. was nice to see greta and millie. i had totally forgotten that rhyme about the black hen.
it’s been a crazy day. met with the insurance lady this morning. funny thing. the new insurance plan is so much like the old plan. now i have to pay $5 for my primary doc and $50 for specialists (instead of $35). but….the good part is that there is a better cap on medicine. copd meds are expensive. i should hit my out of pocket for meds by may. so the other expenses will be covered by less cost for meds. i think they got rid of the one plan because they wanted to change the costs. mr. ed still thinks i should have held out for 0 copays and 0 meds. i wish him luck finding that for next year. i’ll let you know if he succeeds because i’m sure he’ll tell me.
so i’m messing with the pumpkin and working on borders. get totally sidetracked by a text message that says i have an appointment today at 2:30. it’s almost 3 pm. what!!!! totally lost my train of thought. put a single border on the pumpkin and made the binding. by the time that was all solved, my mind was fried.
i had a good conversation with son tonight and we got to talking about the kennel quilts. i ended up making another one tonight because i didn’t want to watch what mr ed was watching on tv. discovered a site that said they should be 12×18″ and no bindings. so i flipped this like a pillow. flipped it on the coffee table and surprise, surprise, there’s my cat. plopped down on the tiny quilt. he’s ignored all the other ones. maybe he didn’t like the bindings. i did not photo this one yet. these will end up at one of the rescues that suffered from the hurricanes.
i’m going to look at the photos again before i go to bed. such a nice sight. hugs, patti in florida
Patti – oh my dear, you have no idea how much you inspire all of us! I feel like a slug compared to you – I’m in a sewing slump right now -probably because I have so many projects I’d like to do that I can’t decide and then I do nothing. Ugh.
mary, i understand that slump. it’s part of why i’m doing little things. i can’t decide which larger ‘thing’ i want to work on. these little kennel quilts use up old blocks that are stacked around, plus extra strips/strings. a couple hours and one is done. all while watching tv. i can understand also that you may not want to start something big or intensive because you have surgery coming up that will interrupt everything. that would be stressful for me. hang in there. prayers. patti in florida
Beautiful quilts and such adorable animals. Thanks for sharing.
Mary, my husband might be able to help you with your printer problem. His name is Bob and the phone number is 971-338-8632.
Janette – would it be ok if I called him? What time of day would be best? My number is 641-512-5188 so he can recognize the number. Oh, thank you! I just have a couple questions that are probably easy
Love all the quilts so pretty wow what happened to that door is something huh?
I will be watching the World Series starting Friday night and sharing for my Yankees