I don’t usually write in the morning but I got so involved in watching American Rust (on Prime) that I just forgot – it’s a great series!
So, what’s new? Sparkling clean windows!! I waited to fall field work was done and then it rained to settle the dust so this was perfect timing.
The downside of washing all the insides, too, is that all my STUFF including plants had to be moved off the side sills ahead of the person doing the washing. This is what it looked like –
The biggest job to get everything back – but it’s all being cleaned and dusted before returning to its spot.
Same with the front room—
I worked all day and evening and I’m not done yet. I’ve reached the books and decided to sort them and get rid of those I’m never going to read.
And again – the things I no longer want on display are going into storage until the city wide garage sales next May. Takes my breath away and also gives me a backache – I’m looking forward to being able to just sit in my chair and read.
Next Saturday will be barn cleaning day – another job checked off my list.
Reader photos
I had forgotten this pattern until a reader sent this to me. I’m not sure where the quilt is but I’m quite sure I would not have sold it – a real tangible memory of that awful storm.
Reader photos
The previous 4 photos are from Li after she and I got into a conversation about Mary Ellen Hopkins – such great quilts – simple shapes and patterns resulting in fabulous quilts! Mary Ellen was a heroine to me – I still follow some of her “rules” and I learned more from her than anyone in my quilting career.
Alice in Ohio, the reader who told us about veteran Ron, lost her beloved pup last week and saw this quilt at the crematory office and sent it to me, not knowing it was me who designed the original quilt. It’s a small world! This quilt was called Bone Appetit and can be available for $5.00.
You probably remember “Dianne in northern Ohio by the lake” who very recently lost her husband. Here’s her address if you’d like to send a card:
Dianne Huling
174 Pinehurst Blvd
Eastlake, OH 44095
Veteran’s Day will be bittersweet for me. My husband, Bob, passed away in August. He served in the Air Force for 12 years from June,1961 to June, 1973. He spent a year in Thailand, during the Vietnam war, working at a small radar site in northern Thailand. That was the only time I couldn’t be with him. We had four children and each one was born in a different state. This November 18th will be our 63rd wedding anniversary. I’m grateful to the Veteran’s Association for all their help during Bob’s illness. They provided his medicine, medical supplies, nursing care, and aides who came twice a day to help with his care, bathing, etc.. God is so faithful in all His provisions and love.
Don’t you love it when readers identify themselves with their location, such as Jo in Wyoming, Dianne in Ohio, or Mary in Iowa? I wish everyone would do this.
Ok – my latest rant. Now that whole watermelons are no longer available, does anyone buy the little containers of cut up watermelon? It’s very expensive but I bought one this week – a bright red color which looked delicious. One taste told me it was nearly inedible – I swear they must had added red coloring to make it attractive!
So now it’s time to get to work finishing up the dusting and rearranging both huge rooms with clean windows. I think I’ll request a burger at the local pub tonight.
Love all those windows and having the perfect sills for plants. I love clean windows and try to get them washed twice a year. Love the dog quilt and how perfect that it was one designed by you years ago. It is a small world. I have made one quilt from Mary Ellen Hopkins and to this day I just love it. She was really inspirational and I loved her PPM, everyone’s 1/4 inch is their personal private measurement. So many wonderful pictures with todays post.
Mary, I would rather scrub toilets than wash windows! Kudos for a job well done.
Dianne and Alice: so sorry for your losses. May sweet memories soften your sorrow.
Beautiful quilts and pictures today and always. Thanks to all who have shared. I love starting my day with the inspiration of this blog.
Pat – I didn’t wash them – I just signed the check
That’s the best way to wash windows!
beautiful pictures and post today. loved the conversations. condolences to dianne on the loss of her husband. yes, spouses and the entire family serve when one is in the military. my dad would say ‘ i belong to this man’s army and so does my family.’ i thank you for your service.
i had a long conversation with a kid i went to high school with the other day, we were discussing the fact that kids in miitary families are used to moving constantly. it makes one be more outgoing or you would never have friends. some of these friends become friends for life no matter where you live. most of us never live near families and have never had the luxury of family constantly around.
i love mary ellen hopkins. her book was the first one i bought when i learned to quilt. the first lecture i went to was given by her. i drove from the orlando area to the jacksonville quilt show to hear her. my sides hurt so bad from laughing. she was hilarious. but ingenious also. she told us about piecing in hotel rooms and putting white carpet in her house once her son left home. i still smile thinking about it.
i so enjoy everyone sharing their makes and/or decor and landscaping. i managed to make it to my angel quilt (charity) meeting yesterday. they passed around the pillowcases so everyone could see how they were made. i expect to see lots at our next meeting. so many of the people we donate to need pillowcases and these go so fast. i got to see the purple star quilt finished – turned out great.
mary, a suggestion. since you know you’re going to be laid up for a bit, why not start a list or stack of books to read, papers to plan quilts on, maybe just drawing paper and colored pencils. things to occupy your mind. you’ve managed to clean those windows and they are beautiful and sparkly. we can only look out the window so long without going crazy. i’d suggest hand stitching, but i wouldn’t do that either. just ideas to keep you occupied.
i’m still a bit under the weather but am trying to rest. i did press and starch 60 blocks today that i need to make into a quilt. quarter square triangles that will be a challenge. am thinking of a small sashing strip between them because none of them meet up well. we’ll see. i put them aside and may do more tomorrow. now i’m going to go rest more. glad you survived that horrific 1991 ice storm. patti in florida
Patti – I’m way ahead of you – I have several hand stitching projects prepped and I have so many books it’s downright stupid – and stacks of magazines to go thru. And I have my IPad so I can talk to you guys!! What more will I need?
Mary, A commode next to your chair might come in handy but maybe that’s going a little too far.
Janet – WAYYYY too far!
Love all your windows! Our house faces southwest. We have to long windows in our living room and a shorter window in the dining room all facing southwest. We love all he light and sunshine coming in in the winter! When the sun moves north in the summer the overhang blocks the heat from the sun! I don’t have greenery like you do as I have a black thumb! 😳. It is nice when they are all clean!
Have a good Sunday!
Li, or Mary, do either of you know where I can find the Over/Under quilt pattern by Mary Ellen Hopkins?
Barbara – probably in “It’s Okay If You Sit on My Quilt” – have you tried an online search?
Barbara. It was a pamphlet. Four blocks basically. “The Over Under Double Disconnected Woven Squares With Shading”. The strips for the smallest four patches were cut 1-1/4″. This image shows that turned around block in the lower left corner of the border. The search on “Mary Ellen Hopkins Publications” did not turn up anything for me. I will look for the pamphlet. Mary, can you help me with this? I don’t want to violate copyright. It has been 29 years, The pattern is not for sale. Would it be OK for me to provide Barbara an image from my own top at no cost to her?
Li – so sorry! I missed this comment of yours and yes, I will post your picture for Barbara
Kudos to you for the hard work getting the windows washed!! You’ll be so glad when everything is done and in it’s place before your surgery! And to go thru books – that’s a big job! I recently did that and WOW! It was a lot of work but felt so good to pass on lots I knew I wouldn’t reread and someone else at a thrift store can enjoy.
I’d love to add my location but can’t seem to figure it out! It has been so long since I signed up for the blog 🙄 I even forgot how I did it 🤣 if anyone can tell me how to add my city and state, I’ll gladly do it!
Love all the quilts and that Michigan sky photo was absolutely amazing!
Kelly, when I put my name ( and Squeak and Buddy’s names) in the name box, I just put central Ohio after it. Hope that helps.
Kelli – and yet even in your comment you didn’t tell us!
The Star quilt, tablerunner, and table topper are stars that didn’t work out for a border on a quilt I made in 1996. Yup you read right! I just couldn’t throw them away. I finally found a pattern that would work for a quilt. I decided to use them. There are six on the back too. All the fabric I used was from my stash too. Good to clean out a bunch that was nesting that long.
Your windows shine like there is no glass. It is a real good feeling.
Mary Ellen had some neat ideas. I belonged to a group that just did her patterns and techniques. Thanks all for sharing today.
I love your post today. It has a little bit of everything. Thank you so much for your blog about nothing – but ‘so much about a lot of little things.’ If I were building a house I would want a porch just like you have. It is beautiful and so inviting. But, at 82, that isn’t going to happen. LOL. Thanks so much for sharing your porch time with us.
Louverna in Southeast Ohio
Hi Mary, l had to check the number of windows in the rooms you were cleaning, yes 2 rooms with lots of plants etc! I would need a full time cleaner to keep up! My task for today is sweep the small kitchen area and mop it, then back to quilting! I am pleased to report the new Zealand trick or theaters took only one or two sweets from bowls of lollies left at gates, not like some other kids that took all the sweets! I can rely on Luna to give me a,ll the gossip! Take care everyone, best wishes from Sandy
Sandy – yes 20 windows on the south and east – for my plants. I wanted a real greenhouse but this was the next best thing and my contractor made the concrete window sill 12” wide for the pots – wasn’t that a great idea?
I know what you mean about bad fruit/veggies once you get them home. That happened to me when I bought one measly pomegranate for $3! It wasn’t ripe. Next time I went into the store I asked for and received my money back.
It’s been raining off and on and temps in the high 40’s to mid 50’s. The leaves on the trees are just beautiful now in NE Oregon and the rain has settled the dust.
Love the Mary Ellen Hopkins quilts shown today – along with the others.
Ha! Your story reminds me of what happened to me many years ago …. back in the day when our kids were young and we always had a roast beef dinner on Sundays. One Sunday, when I tried to slice the meat, I couldn’t get a single nice slice off the whole roast … it was all gristle and fat … and it just didn’t have that yummy roasted beef smell. My husband said the butcher’s knife must have slipped and we got the a..hole! I went back to the butcher the next day and told him what DH had said. He didn’t think it was as funny as I did, but he replaced the roast with a much larger (and perfect) one. I’ll certainly never forget that, lol!
Candy that’s a great story! Sounds like something my husband would have said.
Your windows look beautiful!
When I saw Linda’s barn/pickup picture, I thought it would make a beautiful calendar or Christmas card then I read your comment that it should be on a calendar. I bet a lot of readers thought the same thing.
I’m sorry to hear about Dianne’s husband and also about Alice’s pup.
Mary, you’ve mentioned once or twice that your surgery in late November was scheduled too far in advance. In case you still wonder why such an “accident” occurred, please re-read today’s post. You are working like a tornado now on a lot of things that couldn’t have been done properly at an earlier time this year! You are going to have a great recovery after surgery because of all you’ve accomplished during this time. Kudos to you and to all the contributors to today’s particularly colorful blog post.
At last, with November 1 real autumn has arrived in Northern Virginia accompanied by warm coats and crispy blowing leaves. Two days prior we’d broken the all-time record for heat in our area, so I can imagine there might be a few more surprises in store for us.
Wanda – hahahaha!!! It’s good to work hard – I’ll be very depressed when I have to sit all day for a few weeks. And it feels wonderful to have these huge jobs finished. I just got home from Concord where I changed the color fall fall leaves quilts to Thanksgiving quilts. Now I’m going to make more kettle corn to take to our pot luck meal after church tomorrow. The kids will like it! And I won’t have to get up early and bake a casserole.
Hi Mary –
Don’t forget about me – Barb in Tucson! It’s finally beginning to cool off after the hottest October on record for Tucson. Usually my theory holds – 97F on 10/1 and 67F on 10/31. This year it was 99F on 10/1 and 82F on 10/31, with several days scattered during the month of over 100🤨. At last, we can get out for a walk. Also have begun to tackle the myriad boxes of scraps I’ve kept around for “someday.” Guess that’s today😉.
Take care –
Barb in, well you know😂
You are so right about the picture with the sunset in it!!Reminds me of when growing up inthe 50’s and 60’s living on the farm and the windmill was counted on for water pressure.
great post today.
Greta looks Ike she is saying, “ Well, I suppose I could hit that ball, or just take a nap.” 😹. I am watching OSU vs Penn State. Good game. I am sorry about Dianne’s husband, Bob. Thank you for his and your service. The spouses serve, too.
Great quilts today. I am still working on Honor Flight quilts, but also started a Purple Pinwheel😀.
Diane – evidently she had hit it because her claw was caught in it – ha!
Awww. Poor Greta. Buddy is very self—sufficient, but Squeaky needs help😹
Great post. Wonderful pictures. Will your pattern “The storm” be available to buy. It is so pretty. I didn’t get a chance to reply about the Halloween storm so here goes. I was living in Dodge City Kansas that year. We got lots of snow, no ice in which was great. Ice storms are the worst.
Marie – let me check
Thanks
Hi Mary
My email got very screwed up, on phone with Att yesterday 2.5 hours, no fixing it
So I now have a new email address and subscribed again.🤗😁❤️😁
This blog is better than apple pie or stuff on tv! All the pictures make me so so happy!! Especially the cats and dogs!!!!!!!
Thankyou very much!💜💜💜💜💜
Bea knight boca raton fl
Another wonderful post! Pets, plants, pictures ( wow! Michigan!) , reader’s quilts (love all things plaid… inspiration wink wink) and kiddos in costumes. I went to a used book warehouse sale yesterday. $5 buys a box which is then filled with whatever appeals. So much fun! Mom is reading about the Bily brothers who carved clocks. I’m flipping through 150 ways to use a cake mix. We came home with fiction and non, some familiar most not. Titles pulled us, or jackets enticed. A great time!
Bonny – ok, I have to know where the used book warehouse is located.
Mary, I noticed that you have some stands by the piano to lay out the music you are working on. I had a shelf 6 feet from the piano. That was no good for what I was working on. That shelf is still there, but I have one right by the piano for what I am working on.
Great blog today. I enjoy all the pictures.
Judy – yes, I actually have two little stools just to my right – the piano, unlike an upright, has no place to keep music close by.