Another

It's gonna be another "Nap till you Snap" day here in the Blue Ridge..........

More rain, wind and cold.............................ugh!

Tomorrow the chance of snow..........more ugh!!

I love the snow..............but, tomorrow i have to drive, with the parental unis, to the airport and pick up my baby brother.........just what i need........another south Floridian telling me how to drive on snow and ice...........more ugh and a yikes...........!!!

Maybe , I'll join Max and just nap..................another male child picture.......thanx, kid!

Enjoy your weekend...........................................

Dismal....................

In my little corner of the world today...it can be summed up in one word......Dismal!!

It's cold.......windy..........rainy........and dark outside...........

So decided to post three more of the male child's pictures....taken on a bright sunny day.......

Enjoy your Friday and stay safe, warm and dry out there...................................

Thankful Thursday.........

I won!.....I won!!.....and yesterday it came in the mail...............!!

Jodi over at http://LifeonTwoAcres.blogspot.com had a give away and i won this delightful little book...entitled Still Life with Chickens by Catherine Goldhammer......it's a memoir about a woman starting her life over in a new town, with a 12 years old daughter and six chicks in a bathtub......................can't wait to read it!!

How does this correspond with "Thankful Thursday"......well it made me ponder my own journey in starting a new life, here in the NC mountains and how it's just not the same as those many, many weeks we spent here on...."Vacation"......on vacation we experiecned the "mountain life style" in small doses and felt that this layed-back way of living was just hunkey-dorey.......we couldn't wait to leave the chaos of south Fl behind and become a part of the brethren.........

And now........i must say........"We're glad we did it!!!!!"

We're thankful that the male child and the parental units have decided to join us on this journey..................this is where the Lord wants us to be at this time................

We're thankful that this move has allowed us to remain finanically.........OK........things are tight for each of us......but together as a family we're strong........

We're thankful that the male child has received grants that has allowed him to return to college without the burden of a part-time job...........

We're thankful that City Boy and i, have part-time jobs that were not cut due to this crunch in the economy........................

And ....i'm thankful that Hollie over at http://LifeinaSmallTown.blogspot.com has given me the new award on the sidebar......it's in Spanish .....what does it say?........

You'd think growing up in south Fl.......i would know what it says!!.........i do......tell you later!!

Be thankful for your smallest blessing....stay dry out there today................

Left Out.......

This is the face i had to deal with yesterday....after Miss Kitty, the "Googleing Kat" read my blog........as she told me ...."in my old age .....I forgot to list the most important member of the Quality Control Committee"....swished her tail and stalked away!

Well.........Miss Kitty is a valuable member of the QC Committee......she tests for warmth and snug-ability......but, she works for tuna.....name brand...not the cheap stuff!!

Sorry....Kitty..........and O Yeah....................

Cats Rule

Dogs drool........

Are you happy now?!........Mommy really does love you..............

Color.................

Color........I love color!!!!!

And Boy!! ....was i surprised when these 20 fat quarters fell into my lap from an unopened box....I was unpacking one of those boxes that you set aside for later......i was looking for fat quarters to make a Turn Twenty quilt top......quick and easy......
I had never worked with large batik pieces before and found it to be quite a challenge.....i'm not sure if i care for the difference in fabric textures.....but, i do LOVE the colors.......

Anyway......it went together easily and it's a keeper!!......i'm gonn'a take it to the "long-arm Lady" over in the next holler (valley) and have her quilt it for me........

Quality Control Committee...checking it out......!!! They are so great to me........they do this inspection for kibble!!!!

Do you have a QC committee at your house?

3M pixs.....................

In viewing the pictures from the male child.....i noticed that over half were pix of the 3M's.......Mia, Max and Miss Kitty..........so here they are at their best!!

I'm sleeping here...........................

Me.......too!

Me.........three!!

Hello....little bug!!!


Hole?!.....what hole?!.....Max..do see a hole!!??

Smile ........ the sun is shinning!!

Have a super Monday!!

A Few More........

Decided to publish a few more of the male child's pictures........and... Yes, these are them......this is also what it looks like out the front door this morning.............Woke-up to snow....................the weather gurus say....."it will be light and clear by mid-day"

Hummmmmmmm.....they've been wrong before...........................

Have a safe and warm day.........Enjoy your Sunday!

Hey.....Mom!!!

Yesterday i heard the rare call of the male child......"Hey....Mooommmmm!!

That's right the male child ....the one who lives downstairs......the one who sneaks off to college everyday.......the one we usually don't see or hear until dinner time .........

Anyway...he appeared at the top of the stairs and said.....(in a complete sentence)...."I've got a few pictures, you might want to use on your blog thingy........."

85 pictures downloaded later.....he disappeared again!

Thought i'd share a few.........maybe he's taking the wrong major..... these are pretty good!

Something Lost....something found!

Lost!!........the remaining pictures of my "quilt as you go "project.....UGH!!

They must have been erased from the camera before i could upload them to the computer.......Double ugh!!!!

Anyway ....here is the finished quilt.........if you have your panels made.....to finish the quilt, cut connecting strips to same length as you panel ...? x 1.25 inches....then you zig-zag your panels together using the same method as you used to put the blocks together and finish the longer connecting strips in the same way........simple....huh!??

If you are using ...LARGE blocks ...... i have found that it is easier to start your zig-zag stitches in the middle of the two panels you are connecting ....then flip it around and zig-zag the other half......for some reason it's easier to line-up the smaller connecting strips and the fabric doesn't "slip" as much..........

Then you can add borders or just add the binding and finish as usual.......i just put binding on this one ...cause i wanted to keep it small

I'll post some pictures of the next project ....if someone (city boy) doesn't mess with my camera!

Found........yesterday City Boy and i drove thru a snow storm over the mountains to the VA Hospital in Johnson City, TN.....that was fun!!!

He had several lumps ......one on his shoulder, one on his back and one on his cheek/jawline....under his ear.......Well...the shoulder and back turned out to be cyst and can easily be removed....

But.....found the other is a lypomia (sp) laying on the facial nerve for the left side of his face.......now we are off to make appointments with an ENT surgeon....seems that if the tumor is "involved" with the nerve.... removing it could cause the left side of City Boys face to "droop".........my mind is picturing.....jowls like a bloodhound or basset...with a gray beard.....

Good news .....it's not cancer.....it doesn't hurt...it's not getting bigger and doesn't bother him in anyway......so we've got some time to decide on a course of action.................

Can't shake that droopy jowl image from my mind.......... :>/

Wordless Wednesday.......

Sunrise

Sunset

Have a safe and warm day.........

The Fun Part.......

Take 2 block......one front side up and one backside up....pin a connecting strip along the right side of block one and a connecting strip along the left side of block two......stitch each strip in place using a standard 1/4 inch seam.........

Now .... the fun part.......flip block two over so that both blocks are front side up....put the raw edges together.....one connecting strip will be on top and one will be on the bottom...but, the strips should be part of your raw edges.......Zig Zag stitch the two blocks together......Yeah!!

Press the back connecting strip over...tucking the raw edge inside.....your strip should be approx. 1/2 to 3/4 inch in width and cover your seam lines and zig zag stitches........

Here's where i differ....the method i was taught had you HAND SEW the folded edge fo the connecting strips.....but, like i said...."I like short cuts"....so i stitch it down with the machine....very close to the folded edge.......Sorry picture is sooooo bad........then flip it over and do the same thing with the connecting strip on the front side........when you've finished ....there will be one row of stitches close to the edge on the front connecting strip and two rows of stitches on the back side..........if you ever did any alterations or tailoring......it looks like a "French Seam" on both sides.......

Repeat process until you have as many blocks connected as you want.......i had 20 blocks so i made 5 panels of 4 connected blocks........

Hope this was clear and understandable...........more tomorrow.......

Yikes.......i hear the moving trucks.....it's MOVING INTO THE LODGE DAY!!!!!!........and i'm still in my PJ's.........hey.......it's the parental units.....they know me well........

Have a great day........................!!??

Here Goes........

Well....here goes......several of you have asked about the "quilt as you go method"that i have been using for my last few quilts......

After some soul searching and prayers ......remember....i'm not a teacher.....even though i retired from a school district......i was a bookkeeper.....not a (gulp!) teacher!!!

Start with finished blocks.....these are 10.5 x 10.5 inches.....i've used this method with blocks as big as 20.5 x 20.5 and as small as 6.5 x 6.5 and it works well

I finished all my blocks and squared them to 10.5 x 10.5

Cut your backing and batting .5 inches bigger than your blocks......these are 11.0 x 11.0...

Sandwich each block ...the same way you would do a full size quilt......pin baste and quilt each one

After you quilt your blocks square them (trim) to your basic size.....I trimmed these to 10.5 x 10.5.........Look.....20 little quilts!!!

Cut your connecting strips.................they should be whatever size your blocks are ...? x 1.25 inches......these are strips are 10.5 x 1.25 inches........you'll need 36 in all.....18 for the front and 18 for the back......i usually have a few left over ...but, for some reason the #18 sticks in my head...

OK......like i said .....I'm not a teacher and that's all my pea size brain can coordinate for today.......

More pictures tomorrow and hopefully.......gulp...gulp!!.......more explainations........

Why do i do these things to myself???...........................

Hey...!!!

"Who taught the cat how to Google????....!!!!!

Paper....What...??!!

The female child called yesterday and asked ...."can you paper piece?"

Yes....i've done some paper piecing in my past life and it's not my method of choice.......all those little scraps of fabric.......ugh!.......i'm a get in there and get'er done kind of person........

However, this little table runner above was my last piecing project......i think i made 2 or 3 as gifts and kept this one......................i drag it out when i need a "Florida Fix"....which is not very often!!

Anywaaayyyy.......Mom and i are going to Atlanta the end of March for a shop hop.....guess i'll check -out the new project the female child says....."i need to do!!"

'Nuf said......

This is my long-range view.....almost heaven......'nuf said...........................

Have a great day!!!

View from the Rear......

It was brought to my attention that i have posted many...many pictures of our front porch view.....the beautiful valley and section of the Blue Ridge Mountain range.......here's what we see in the back of the house.......
Out the back door and look to the right......more valley farm land and mountains....

Straight a-head....very large Christmas trees and tall timber.........

Behind the trees........the parental units...."lodge".......got the CO and moving in next week!!!

To the left more tall timber and mountains..............

I'm sure that a Higher Power had the steering wheel of the car, the day Mom and i found this 12 acres.......there was a 3x5 index card, in a plastic bag, nailed to a stick at the bottom of the drive, on it was printed....FOR SALE......SEE OWNER ACROSS THE STREET........we looked at many properties ........but, kept coming back here.......

It was meant to be...................................

I'm Ready........

I'm ready to sit on the front porch and enjoy the gentle mountain breezes, mother nature, sun shine and a cool drink...............

Tryed it yesterday ....since the temp got allll the way to 63*........but, it's just not the same.....wearing jeans, flannel shirt, socks, clogs, wind gusts in the 40mph range and drinking coffee..............nawwwwww!!!!

It's not the same as .......shorts, t-shirt, barefoot and sweet tea ...............

Maybe...June?........July?.......August!!!

Big Boys Playground!

Trucks at the bottom of the mountain..........

Trucks at the top of the mountain.....................................

My guess is................this is what little boys dream about as they're playing with those Tonka and Hasbro trucks in the backyard......

Yesterday my road looked like a "Big Boy Playground"....and the best......City Boy is off today and the guys, with their trucks are coming back to finish..............excitement abounds!!!!!

Correction and Addition

I meant to say mythical village....not methodical village.........

Also in my methodical haste to post my blog.... i forgot to Thank... Cindi..... over at

http://wishingformyturn.blogspot.com for my lemonade stand award........stop by sometime...her blogs a hoot!

Thanks Cindi!!!

Where Am I??!!

Woke up this morning to what looks like a scene from the movie "Brigadoon".......mist and/or fog everywhere.......what would it be like to live in a methodical village that only appears every hundred years in a fog......??? Would i be forever......21?....Would i fall in love with a handsome leading man.....only to give him up?!....Hummmmmmm...the questions?

Outside my door today ..... i see the sun shinning behind the fog......i see blue skys......i can hear birds.....i can hear beagles.......i hear BIG TRUCKS!!!

REALLY BIG TRUCKS!!!!! THEY'RE LINED UP AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MOUNTAIN......I can see'm!!!!

Yes.....they are re-graveling our road today.......should give the dogs lots to bark at.......good thing i don't need anything from the grocery store.......i think i'm stuck for the day....sooooo .... maybe i'll take a chance and open the windows!!!

Look What I Found!!

Found this stashed in my stash.......has all kinds of sporting equipment, tools and stop watches in the print....plus great colors.......don't know when, where or why i bought it....but, i must have been planning something big....i had 6 yards of the stuff!!

Got red w/multi-color stars...tiny little blue and white print...solid dusty green and a yellow gold and brown blotches print ..... to create my next project.......Miss Kitty on towel to the right....naptime........ could not get her to move!!!!

Since i had City Boy with me yesterday.....only managed to get the blocks cut out!!!

When City Boy is off work "errands" must be done!!!

Went to the local Farmers Market ....then had our taxes done.....did you know there are places where volunteers do them for free!!!!! FREE....my favorite word!!! And the state and federal government now owes us a small amount of money back.......I WANT MY CHECK!!!

Then after a short time at home.....when i cleaned the kitchen, changed the sheets on the bed, cut out my block and watched City Boy nap on the couch........we met my Mom and Dad for pizza and breadstix...............

Not a bad day ....... but,......not much quilting was done