Quilt block(s) update

I've finished Block #7 on the Jelly Roll Quilt Along



And I've started the Farmer's Wife Sampler. Have you seen the book?

Mother's Dream #58



and Farmer's Daughter #32.



I've joined the Yahoo group and I've been scouring the wonderful hints they have there. I'm not a great piecer. But I'm practicing. And you know what they say about practice....


Today's the kids' last day of school. They are sooo excited! Me--all that extra cooking and cleaning will take away from any little sewing time I might have. But the company is good! I enjoy having them around. But two out of the three are teenagers, so their mood and mine can change at any moment!

Are you ready for some Bingo?

The Quilt Shoppe is hosting a fun giveaway on their In Stiches blog.



But hurry! The deadline is midnight tonight! Good luck!

Block # 6

Jelly Roll Quilt Along

What a fun block! It was quite the mission to scrounge through the fabric stash and come up with a fabric for the fussy cut in the center. Mr. Snowman fits perfectly! I'm very pleased with the results.

The end of school is fast approaching. It seems like they are twenty thousand activities scheduled between now and the end of school. Concerts, recitals, assemblies...just lots of events to attend.

But I found time to work on my block today with my neighbor, Designing Diva. Our fabric choices are very different. I enjoy seeing the results from both of us. We have decided this a great way to experiment with color and is excellent practice for our sewing and piecing.

Here are all 6 blocks:



You can see the blue tape in the corner of this picture.

I have a type of flannel that I was taping to the wall to make my design board. I bought it for 2.99 a yard (it's 54") from the decorator fabric store. It's an prep type of flannel that is used to cover furniture before the quality fabric is used.

I taped this cloth to the wall and it was interesting to see the blocks all together and at eye level (as opposed to being spread on the carpeted floor). The tape held the fabric for less than 30 minutes. It's a flannel puddle on the floor; blocks still attached!

I've just got to come up with a better way of attaching it to the wall. It's been a bit too humid, I guess, for the tape to stick well.

A Rose Bouquet

It is starting to get hot here in North Texas. I'm sure we will see a bit more stress on the plants as summer starts to roll in.

I did go out and gather a few roses to make a bouquet. Husband was very proud of the bouquet--after all, they are HIS roses.




And another view of the same bouquet...



This vase worked well with the short-stemmed roses. It's from Southern LIving at Home collection and has a sort of "frog" that sits on the top of the vase. I haven't looked at the items they currently have available but I also have a couple of different versions of this vase--just longer, shorter and differnt colors. They really help if you're not comfortable in your flower arranging skills.

Wait! After a little more research, it appears that that vase is still available. Check out the Southern Living at Home website, click on catalog, and go to page 26. It is a lovely, simple vase that will compliment your arrangements.

Jelly Roll Quilt-A-Long Block #5

Oh the mistakes that were made when putting this block together! I cut the 5 1/2 inch strips into the 1 1/2" widths. And then I didn't have enough of the same fabric to recut the same fabrics. Did that make sense?

I was suppose to cut the 3 1/2 inch strips into the 1 1/2 inch widths. Doh!

This is my explanation of why there are so many different fabrics in this block. It didn't start that way. But due to my goofy mistakes, the finished result is this:



But, since we're using a jelly roll, I didn't have to worry about the colors matching. It still matches!

And here are all five of the blocks together.



We've been doing some work on the side yard, putting in some flower beds. Husband has picked several roses to put in this area.







These was a couple of weeks ago. I need to post some "now" pictures to show the flowers in bloom. I'll try to do that soon!

Another block done...

It's been done for over a week--but I'm just now posting the results.



I did a lazy cut and did the block the same from either end. And I think I like it. I wasn't sure what to do with this block and made my fabric choices last minute.

What do you think?

R.I.P. Favorite Spatula

R.I.P. small, defenseless, Pampered Chef spatula. Some may have called you a scraper but I always called you "dependable" You were my favorite and you were there for me.

I should never have let husband misuse you.

The first time husband grabbed you and then walked towards the slush in the blender, I was able to intercept your fate by running ahead and turning off the blender.

But hubby would not be deterred.

The second attempt was your downfall. The motor on the blender was running. I could not get there in time. In one quick movement, hubby placed you in the running blender and you met your end.

And heartbreaken does not begin to described how I felt. How I still feel. I still feel a flash of white-hot anger in what he had done to you. You were gone. You were gone.

We had 12 good years together. Longer than some marriages last, actually.

But you are gone. He remains.

Now where is pampered chef online?