I thought my project would be finished so I would be showing you but I also thought I could read a pattern. I was so busy watching TV that I forgot to reverse half of the chevron rectangles! Hmmmm…I am not a beginner but you’d think so. That mistake required 16 additional squares from 4 different fabrics – nope – not enough fabric. But did I panic? No. I remembered what Gwen Marston said about what she learned from antique quilts. There was never one made without some odd pieces thrown in so some of my chevrons don’t exactly match. It’s called artistic license. Project coming soon, unless I make another mistake.
On our day out last week Connie and I stopped at a thrift store so I could look for shirts and I found this treasure for $4.99. It is 100% wool and measures 5′ x 7′. It’s even light colored to match Telly’s hair so when it gets too dirty to clean, I will simply burn it out in the grove. How could I possible go wrong for $5? Plus I think I’m beginning to make a believer out of Connie, who generally likes to pay full retail – ha!! Just teasing, Connie!
And this is the book I’m reading and enjoying very much – “Driftless” by David Rhodes, about a community in Wisconsin.
When my girlfriends come to sew again, guess what I’ll be sending home with them?
I have just a few more eggs than I can use.
Wow that’s a steal on the rug. Love it
Oh, that is a BEAUTIFUL rug! I liked how you did a close-up so we could see the weave in it. Thanks for your blog, it is so wonderful to read every time!
Hi Mary,
You made me laugh – I have been making feathered stars from your pattern Black Beauty #204 and I can’t tell you how many feathers I have sewn together in the wrong direction. I just finished block number 9 and I still had to do some “resewing”! AND you even did step-by-step pictures for me – I may be a lost cause! I do love my blocks though. Each one is different and I am thinking of just setting them with no sashing and no border. Fun, fun, fun block even when “resewing” is required. Enjoy your blog so much.
Your blog is a breath of fresh air:) The rug is gorgeous. I love all the colors of your eggs. Enjoy your project–even when there are glitches, it’s fun:)
I was a traditional rughooker until the dust from the wool caused me to have asthma systems and the breath doctor said, “YOU USED to be a rughooker” So I am done with the art BUT a friend bought a hooked rug and threw it in the washer on delicate and then laid it out and it was fine so after Telly is done shedding all over it, shake it out and throw it in the washer, what could happen, you were going to burn it anyway. BTW, wool burning smells like burning hair, you might want to rethink the burning bit.
Keep sending the posts I feel like I am just down the road vs over 1000 miles away.
Mary, you always make my day 🙂 especially when my Libby makes the blog!!
I love that rug good job!
I will always be a “newby” when it comes to quilting, my pattern reading skills are something to be desired .
A mistake is just another way of doing something. Looking forward to the finished quilt. Oh yeah I’ll take a dozen of eggs😄😄
I would love some of those eggs. At our local garden club dinner last Thursday someone brought 3 dozen of their colored eggs for door prizes.
You make me smile!
Mary you made me laugh today with your post. I mess up all the time…the brain is slower than the hands is my excuse, lol. Your quilts are always beautiful!
My gosh that is a lot of eggs, you have a bunch of good layers don’t you! love your blog!!
Boy oh boy I wish our thrift stores had half the treasures yours do! That rug for Telly …perfect colors for my sewing room! Move over, Telky!
Second, I wish I was your next door neighbor. Your eggs here, $4.00 a dozen….free sounds much better. My one neighbor has ducks, maybe I should get some of those hairy scarey turkey chickens…forget what you called them, the ones with the crazy topknots!…..the rest of the ‘hood would freak out if I had chickens. Their dogs can bark all night but heaven forbid the ducks should quack in the afternoon! I live watching them one in particular reminds me so of ajemima Puddkeduck! Quack! Life in the suburbs…
Finally, I am jealous of your color sense. Just saying…do you ever do ugly? No, ma’am!
Jemima Puddleduck…sorry,, Beatrix Potter! My brain works better than my fingers…thank goodness!
This is my first time to see your blog, but may not be my last! You did for sure make a steal on that rug; it is lovely. However, what I like best in that picture is that gorgeous pump organ, and the stool in front of it! —“Love”
The pump organ is also a gem – $50. I love it but don’t really play it very often and I should. Do you play?
Hi, each time I see an email from you it is the first to be opened. It is so fun to see what you are working on or what one of your “kids” are doing and your flowers. I sm still a beginning quilter even though I have probably been at it for ten years.
Oh how I wish I could go thrift shopping with you. Seeing your eggs make me miss my chickens even more.
Love the pictures of the rug! What a deal and you could try washing it as suggested above. Nothing to lose although you might want to use a cemmercial washer. How does Telly like it?
The eggs are so pretty. I wish I could have some!
Your blog is a true treasure! It’s like sitting down to visit with a dear friend and a laugh or smile is almost guaranteed with every visit. May God richly bless you everyday.
The rug is a beauty. Is it hooked wool strips or hooked (or punched) yarn? Hard to tell. I’ll bet you and Telly get a lot of use out of it before having to be tanked.
I too have had disasters by not re-reading directions. Particularly after putting a project aside for a while (vacation) and forgetting what all the directions are about. Latest example: king size storm at sea. 64 blocks had wrong color placement. Now, that required a lot of ripping. Good news, it’s a wedding gift not needed till next spring, and it’s at the quilters right now. Binding is all cut and waiting but I still need to make a label.
Your problem is what my boss called a “brain fart.” They happen to everybody. It is just how we handle them that makes the difference. And why we get a bit of extra fabric….. I, too, love the chickens with the wild top knot. We always loved all the different chickens at your farm, especially the big white one that let everybody know she (or he) was the top of the pecking order. She was so big around and I can’t remember her name. She has been gone a long time.
Keep writing as we look forward to your news.
I agree with Margie, if I see a post from you it is the first one I open. Thrift stores are so much fun, you just never know the treasures you’ll find. Driftless, as well as all the other David Rhodes books are fantastic. There are 3 that follow the same story, 2 are from the beginning of his writing career and one was written after a long hiatus. Gritty books about life, family, Iowa and Wisconsin.
Oh Mary I see lots of cream pies, puddings and omelets when I look at that picture. Ha, notice dessert came first in my comments. 🙂
Love the rugs!!!!
What a wonderful find the wool rug is…close up …even better. I’m reading the second novel in the Chesapeake Shores series entitled FLOWERS ON MAIN.. the third one is out the 27th so I want to be certain and buy it as a belated birthday gift to myself. I don’t care for the way Hallmark channel has chopped up the books and characters, but I have been watching Chesapeake Shores anyway.
There are times when I also make a blooper with a pattern…and I can’t blame it on my cataract yet. One of your readers asked about an easy quilt pattern to start…I’d recommend a Rail Fence.
Had another eye test with the eye surgeon and had to view lines of letters thru a viewer with many little polka dot holes…some were easier to read than others. So I am having the worse eye “done” in a couple weeks. So many eye drops prescriptions to use 4X a day. I’d sure rather be doing something else at this stage of my life, but I do need to see. Went thru it with my husband when he had his cataract surgeries a couple years ago.
Here in CA we have senior gleaners…..they go to fields and pick fruit & veggies for food banks. I’m sure some of your colorful eggs would have good homes there. I know you bake them for your dogs and the lucky border dogs who come spend time with you.
Thanks for sharing your days with all of us, Mary.
I think you might be right about too many eggs! 🙂 We are having the opposite problem. Our hens are molting so no laying is going on right now. I had to borrow an egg from the neighbor who I usually give eggs to! She laughed when I called and asked for one. I miss our lovely organic eggs during the molting season. Love your new rug and I love adding surprises into quilts. Thanks for keeping us all smiling and not feeling so bad when we make a mistake. I had to retrace some applique patterns twice since I kept tracing it on the wrong side of the steam a seam lite. I love the new stuff that has the grid on it! Much less likely to trace on the wrong side. But I actually did! So don’t feel bad at all. Have a great day- K-
I would enjoy thinking with you! You find the neatest stuff!!!
Two recipes come to mind that uses lots of eggs. My mom’s pumpkin bread and my grandmother’s Rhubarb Custard Pie (sorry, don’t have the recipes with me).
Not thinking….junking
How is the flooding? I think you said you are all ok, but it looks bad out there!!
Enjoy Driftless…David Rhodes is one of my favorite writers. Your rug is a beauty, especially for $5! Those kinds of finds are the best.
About the book Driftless – I came to a chapter about dog fighting last night and almost threw up. I quickly passed over it but I wanted to tear those pages right out of the book. One of the dogs is rescued apparently and appears later in the story but I don’t want to read any details. This is a black mark on the book as far as I’m concerned.