Change of Plans

I still have not started quilting the two quilts that are ready and begging to be quilted.  Instead I went back and retrieved this one that I started quite some time back.  It is for our bed, and it just seems so light and summer-y that I wanted to play with it instead.  I've got it about halfway pieced (though obviously not pressed yet).  I do love these 1930's reproduction fabrics.  They just make me happy.

I was working on getting my fabrics in a little better order last night.  After falling into my stash that way, I wondered if I would get out again, but I did. LOL

It is really hot here.  Tuesday's high was 104F (40C).  It's too bad we can't turn the thermostat on the outdoor temperatures, isn't it!

Hope you have a wonderful day!

Hugs and kisses,

Peeved?

My very dear friend Betty is a little bit peeved with me.  She's tired of seeing the picture of the purple hull peas every time she looks at my blog.  She'd like me to post something NEW!

I do have a few new things to tell you.  I've just been lazy.  Sorry!  Just as some of our friends who live in frigid areas go into a sort of hibernation mode when it gets really cold, I go into a sort of hibernation mode when it gets hot.  And it has been very hot here for weeks.  Thank GOD for air conditioning!

I got the baby quilt quilted, nothing fancy - just a large meandering.  Now I need to get the binding and the label on and it's finished.  Still have the baby's mother's quilt to get quilted.  The top is finished and the backing is cut, just need to get it loaded and done.  I'll get there.  Pictures to follow.

I had the nicest surprise last week.  A friend at church asked me if I would like some fabric.   Someone had mentioned to her that she had fabric she needed to get rid of (perish the thought!!) and my friend thought of me. You KNOW what I said, don't you?  Turned out to be two bags full - two sorts of fabric.  There were quilters cottons in older fabrics, but still very pretty and totally welcome here.  Also there were a lot of these shirting plaids and stripes.  I have some ideas for using those.  Have you seen the quilt in Julie K's header?  I've been drooling over that for a while now.  Some variation of it may materialize from some of this.  Don't you just love friends who do things like this?

These are some of my bucket garden.  I read years ago about an elementary school that had a garden on the grounds using five gallon buckets with the bottoms cut out.  The idea is that you can put really good soil in the bucket and plant whatever you wish.  The bottom being cut out allows the plants to reach down into the soil beneath.  It works pretty well for me and is a great idea when you don't have a lot of room.  I've doing this for quite a few years. You can see that the tomato plants are quite happy.

Bruno always helps me when I go outside, but even he prefers the inside for most of the day.

Our Pastor has been talking about how the drought of last year is still affecting things here in Houston, especially the trees.  We lost a lot of trees in Texas last year, and even now trees topple unexpectedly if there's a lot of wind.  I could probably preach you a pretty good sermon here about the importance of letting your roots go down deep, being firmly grounded in the Word of God, but I'll let you think on that for yourself.

I hope you're doing lots of things you enjoy.

Hugs and kisses,

Pink Eyed Purple Hull Peas

Now I know a lot of you have no clue what pink eyed purple hull peas are, but this is a nice harvest of them, fresh from our garden and shelled.  We had these cooked for lunch yesterday, and let me tell you - they were good!  I am a country girl, and to me there is just nothing better than fresh vegetables from our garden.

I've got this quilt top finished, just need to get the backing sewn together and then I'll load it on the frame and get it quilted.  I added the western circles, and I like it much better.  Somehow, it just looked a little plain to me.  This one is for our niece.

And these are the beginning of a baby quilt for our niece's daughter.

We recently helped her celebrate her first birthday.

I'm a bit late getting this one made, but I believe she will like it anyway.  I have a lot of different prints in this one.  I really like these from the talented  Melly and Me.

I have been busy, just not documenting it here very well.

We had a very nice 30th birthday celebration for Miss Ru last weekend.  Her brother and his sweet wife hosted it at their house.  There were a lot of people, and a lot of younger children.  The pool was a wonderful help.  I don't think I've ever been around that many children who just had a good time!

God is good, and we are so thankful.  All our children were there and our granddaughter, too, and lots of good friends and family.  Just a good time.

I hope you've had a wonderful weekend, too!

Hugs and kisses,

A Texas Quilt for a Brit

 I did indeed finish the Texas quilt for Miss Ru's friend who is visiting from England.  I like it.  Even though it is far from perfect.  There are lots of junctions that did not meet as they should.  Oh, well.

 I had Ruthie ask him his favorite color and after questions as to "Why?", we found that his favorite color is green.  I used this nice Kaffe Fassett along with some Connecting Threads Quilter's Candy for the backing.  I thought perhaps if he got tired of looking at western blocks the green would be a rest.

He was surprised and apparently very happy with it.  He stayed here with us for a couple of nights and is now at Perry's apartment where they are having a wonderful time doing "guy" stuff.  LOL

Tomorrow is Miss Ru's birthday celebration.  It is not her birthday until closer to the end of the month, but she has taken the whole month to celebrate and so the party is tomorrow.  Her brother and his sweet wife are hosting it at their house.  Yippee!

When I got back into my sewing room I started on this quilt.  I had the idea rattling around in my head and I needed to let it out.  I have one more row to add and then I'll think about borders or no borders.

The really strange (and extremely annoying) thing is that the string basket not only did not go down in volume but appears to have increased.  How does that happen?

Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Hugs and kisses,

While I Was Quilting

Not everyone was wide awake.

Matter of fact, they were sound asleep just a lot of the time.  They did both wake up from time to time though to be sure I was still working.  (And to see if I would give them a treat.)


I got the western themed quilt quilted last night/this morning.  Now to get the binding done.

I had the tumblers up on the design wall when it occurred to me that there were no chickens in it.  Heaven forbid!  Maybe not everywhere in Texas, but for sure here - chickens are a part of the lifestyle.

I was out in the garden this week tying up tomato vines which are growing like crazy.

I was allowing those "lifestyle parts", the minions, to forage.  This is what happens when you do not watch said minions closely enough.  I think the chrysanthemum in this planter will survive, but it's sure not as happy as it was before they decided to cultivate the soil around it!

Yep, they're back in the hoosegow.  At least they have nice snacks in there.

I'm trying to get my fabric stash better organized.  You can see that I have really sacrificed my perfect (yeah, right!) diet to eat a lot of ice cream.  These containers are just such a good size, sturdy and they stack well.  What can I say?

Looks like I'd better be eating more of this instead, huh?

It's a beautiful hot, sunny day here.  I can't seem to stay inside out of that sun, but I do take it in small bursts.

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

Hugs and kisses,