October's Beauty

Hoping that you take a moment to stop and enjoy the beauty of this time of year.   Earlier this week I walked past my kitchen window and the sun was hitting this tree and it was so bright, a little reminder from God....... to take a moment to enjoy :0)

Have a great day!

Giveaway Thank You!

Recently I won my first giveaway, I don't enter many as I don't really like to get caught up in the craziness of what you sometimes have to do to enter.  But one of my blog friends was having a giveaway that only required me to say "hi" and the items in the giveaway were things that I would actually use!  Well I won the giveaway and totally forgot to share with you my treasures!  Terry @ Terry's Treasures was the sweet fellow quilter that was offering the giveaway and here are the goodies that I won..........

Oh, she also included a bag of M & M's but they are gone, the candle and pumpkins were not part of the giveaway!!!   I have already made good use of the pin cushion and the little card is actually full of assorted needles, except for the two pieces of fabric I have used all of the goodies!!!!  Thank you Terry for you Fall Giveaway.

Little Miss Sunday

I decided to work a little more on my stitchery last night and I am almost finished the first block!  I mentioned that a special friend sent these to me and of course there are 6 more waiting for me to finish.  After they are finished they will be into 41x41 size quilt.......so stay tuned to see what they will look like all put together.

Here are some of the fat quarters that I selected in my "FQ Quilts" class on Saturday......of course the rest are in the little quilt I shared with you yesterday.

I am sure that I will be on the lookout for other Fat Quarters and I have many here as well as fabric in my stash that I can use for the other little quilts I will make. 

Have a great day!

Little Fall Quilt

On Friday Night I decided that I would sign up for a class at Kathie's, one that I wasn't going to take, then I decided it would be a chance to learn a few new things and spend some time chatting with fellow quilters.  The first class was Saturday and  is once a month for 6 months, we are working from Fat Quarter Quilting by Lori Smith.  The book and 25 fat quarters (we got to pick the ones we wanted)  are included in the class fee, the book has 21-- 16 x 20 quilts, some are just piecing and some with applique.

We are able to select which quilts we want to make and we all chose the same one for this month.  Even though we all chose the same one I chose to use wool instead of fabric for the applique pieces.  Here is what I have gotten done so far.......

I am ready to start quilting and haven't yet decided if I am going to machine quilt it or hand quilt it.  I have already made the binding and will make a hanging sleeve for the back. 

Later I will show you what yummy fat quarters I selected.  The plan is that each month we will select a new quilt and begin cutting and piecing it in class, then continue working on it during the month.  The class is 3 hours so we have lots of time to get work done as well as asking questions about skills that are new to us.  It is very relaxed and we can work at our own pace. 

  

Member of the Joy-Filled Band

Today's Reflection........

   And again I say, Rejoice!                     Philippians 4:4

Enter into the joy of your Lord, not just at the end of the journey, My child, but even now, amid the shadows and rough places of the road, there is joy for you if you will abandon the burden of sadness.  I call for a joy-filled band--a people who know My heart.  Yes, the world still lies in the corruption of rebellion, and millions of souls are in pain.  Those who seek and find and follow the Narrow Way are still few.  But they can be a joyful company--singing the songs of ultimate victory and daily help for every need.  Enter into My joy, My beloved.
     from    Echoes of  Eternity - Listening to the Father  Vol. 1  by Hal M. Helms

I loved the reflection for today and I ask you what are you choosing.......to be a member of the "joy-filled band" or do you choose to carry the "burden of sadness"?  While my life is not perfect or always happy.........I have found that even in the worst of times if I hand over my sadness and troubles to the Lord and join the "band" I feel at peace. 

I'll be back later (hopefully today) to share the project I worked on this weekend.  Gotta go get ready for my niece's quilting class.

A Simple Life

One of the things that I have enjoyed about blogging is reading how others choose to live their life, I learn things that might work to make my life easier.....or simpler.  Recently I found myself reading a blog about a family that is living a simple life after moving to a farm, they have their own chickens, eggs, garden, hogs....you get the picture.  They grow, raise or make most of what they eat, they have a large family that works together to get it all done, it sound great, they do admit that it is a lot of work but for them that is how they define a simple life.  Well it got me to thinking how I would define "a simple life" or "simple living"  which then got me thinking even more......scary, and I decided that it might make a great series to post about, my "simple life".  At this point, I am planning on these breakdowns...."A Simple Home",  how I strive  (and sometimes fail)to make my home simple and  "A Simple Life", how I strive to make my daily life simple.  Bear with me as I try to make this interesting and hopefully a few of my thoughts might be helpful in your life.  I think I may break it down more, any suggestions??

The one thing that I can't stress enough is how very DIFFERENT each of us would define "simple living" , and no one way is the right way, or would work for everyone.    I know that while it would be awesome to make my own butter and have fresh eggs from my own chickens, that is not simple living to ME, that is a lot of work.  Please remember this when you read my upcoming posts on simple living, I am not downing someone elses choices just sharing what works for me and my family.

More to come........

Look What I Did

After supper last night I finally got a chance to sit in my chair and try some stitchery, here is what I got done.

I am using earth tones because I will be using some of my scrap fabric to finish this project later when I finish all 7 days of the week.  I have learned three different stiches and am excited at how easy it really was, of course the wonderful friend that sent this project to me already did the tracing so that task was done. 

Well gotta get going we have some errands to run and then we are having lunch with friends, hopefully everything will be done in the early part of the day before the rain. Then when we get home I  plan on stitching more!!

Here are the Pictures......

The Imagine/Frolic Quilt...........

The waiting bundles, these contain everything to make two  "Party of Eight"  lap size quilts (top, binding, backing) all I need to do is get the batting.  It is made with 8  half yard pieces of fabric and 3 1/4  yards of backing fabric (I think that's how much backing)  and is simple 8 inch ramdom squares, quick and easy!!  I got these bundles some time ago at 1/2 price, I think I shared them some time ago so sorry if these are repeats, promise the next time you see them they will be in the form of a quilt top.  

These are the blocks that I "might" use for the valance, not sure yet still playing.  Sorry they are so hard to see but they are pastels and of course they get lost in the white background.  When I'm finished I will try to put them near a darker background so you can really see the fabric. 

The scraps I am working with as well as the tier and backing fabric for the curtains. 

The best part of all of these projects is that there is no rush and I can play with whatever I want when I want, boy do I sound like a spoiled kid or what, LOL. 

What I've Been Doing and What I Want To Be Doing.....

Yesterday was a few hours with hubby in the garage putting stuff back into the toolboxes and labeling the drawers.  Notice that the lids are closed (the tops of the boxes) we have not been able to do that in a very long time.

 Later today we will be transfering the contents of the "Wiring" and "Plumbing" boxes into larger ones.  After going through the garage we have found more things that belong in these boxes and they filled right up!

I am sure some of you out there are thinking "gee it sure is taking a long time to get the garage done" but I would rather sort EVERYTHING and go back to it a little at a time than to still have some "baskets" that are have some junk in it and be finished.  Hubby and I will go out again in the next few days when we are both in the "mood".  Yesterday we were able to empty several containers and there are actually still some empty drawers in the toolbox for some of the stuff that is on the bench that still needs a home.  We also will be able to use the two empty boxes from above for more stuff, it will be so much easier finding stuff when it's all sorted.  Except for purchasing three new boxes and this  organizer we have used totes and crates that we already owned to organize the garage.  I would love to be able to go to the home improvement store and buy all those fancy organizers, etc. but we are using what we have and is will work just fine for us.

Here is the Imagine/Frolic quilt with the binding......so I will sew it on and pick at it in the evening while watching TV. 

CAN'T SEEM TO GET MY PHOTOS SO "IMAGINE" THE QUILT, LOL!

Here are several bundles that I will make two "quick" quilts to put in MY livingroom, sorry I sound so selfish don't I.......

YOU WILL HAVE TO IMAGINE THESE TOO!

I have also been playing with these scraps.....I will be using them to make some curtains for a very special little girls room. 

COME ON NOW, CLOSE YOUR EYES AND IMAGINE THIS TOO!

Okay I'm getting frustrated because I took the time this morning to take photos and I can't "get" to the rest of them from blogger, GRRRRRRR.  Okay breathe it's not the end of the world.

I just tried ONE MORE TIME to get my photos with no success.  I will try again later.

Fall Ramblings

This post won't be all that exciting as I am going to make it short and hopefully sweet. 

First order of business, want to mention a giveaway for all of my quilting friends, Deb @ QuiltGal is giving away the book, Jelly Roll and Charm Quilts by Pam & Nicky Lintott and a package or Moda (Flutterby Charms), thanks Deb.  Just take a moment to visit her, leave a comment and post about it on your blog, be sure to hurry as the drawing is tomorrow. 

Next I just got the Frolic quilt back so I plan to get the binding on it soon and send it off to the newlyweds in North Carolina! 

I have been keeping myself busy with the stuff that needs to be done in the fall, put away summer funiture, wood (of course), moving things in the yard to prepare for the "S" word........picture a squirrel running around this time of year and that is me!  I have been taking time to relax too, but have not been good about posting, I hope to get back into a groove when things slow down a bit, then I will have quilting projects to share as well as some stichery that I hope to try soon.  A while back a special blogging friend sent me some stichery and recently I won a giveaway that was "stuff" for stichery as well as a how-to book so be prepared for me to bore you with my stichery attempts, LOL.  I am also planning on taking you on the final tour of the completed garage, we are ALMOST there, just the tool boxes and a few other odds and ends.......here is a sneak peak. 

My "little porch" has a stack of encyclopedias that I am getting rid of, I hate to get rid of the but they take up space and no one uses them anymore :0(  

Look at all the space in front of my car, I know it probably still looks messy, but trust me or go back to my earlier posts and see what it used to look like, LOL.  We just go some more empty ammo cans, they are great for storing tools and other stuff and they are very sturdy, they are made of steel.  I am also back in business with my labeler!

Thanks for being patient with me while I prepare for winter, the one nice thing about winter is that I will be inside sewing more.......I will try to think up some more good winter stuff soon, seems the older I get the less I like winter or at least I wish it was shorter.  TTFN.

I'm Still Here....

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, just been keepin busy.  I will try to get a complete post with photos in the next day or two.  See you then......

Garage Progress

Well another day in the garage, it's really starting to look like we are getting somewhere.  Our youngest son is home from college this weekend so he made a dump run and dropped off all of the sorted metal and also the trash!    Just taking that stuff out of the garage was enough incemtive to get me ready to start today.   Roger and our son made a trip to Tractor Supply for a project they will be working on tomorrow and came home with this lovely piece of garage furniture.......

This is going to make finding all the little goodies we spent the day sorting easier to find, what could make this any better?  It was on sale, we had a coupon for $5 off and it was already assembled!

Here is some of the stuff that we have been sorting.......

To the untrained eye it probably doesn't look like it is sorted but the above drawers are all sorted, one has springs, one has stuff for exhaust repair you get the idea.  The totes below are sorted into likes but still need to be sorted more, for instance the safety glasses need to be cleaned and checked for scratches, the screws will be sorted by similar size, bolts the same..... 

Here are the last three drawers that need to be sorted, but we ran out of steam.

It looks better, but after I took this photo I rearranged a few things so you will have to wait to see what I did 'til later.

 These are the buckets of wire that are waiting patiently to be sorted and find a new home.  There are a few things that need to be brought down to the shed for winter, we will do that tomorrow while our son is around and the rest of the day I plan to make chili and sit on my recliner watching games and napping! 

Enjoy your Sunday!

Warning: Scary Photos........

Just wanted to warn you that these photos are not for the faint of heart, LOL.  I took this photo about an hour and a half after we started cleaning onThursday afternoon........

We had already started by taking some crates off the shelves in the background that had parts to our old truck, lots of stuff that we were able to get rid of......this made room to rearrange the chainsaws so they could all be on the shelf .   You can see that we got the saws (orange cases) off the floor and onto the shelves. 

 We were also able to get the generator back into its place under the shelves,  all the totes under the "bench" have been removed and cleaned out.....Now when I need nails for the nail gun I know exactly what size I have, can you see them on the top shelf to the left??  The best part of it is that you can get to everything without moving 10 things to get it!

The "stuff" next to the Hitachi table saw is "saving" a space for a box that our son is borrowing.

These photos are of my "little porch" in the garage, we need it for the lift that we have for Roger to use, of course it's just to the left OUT of the photo.  I want this porch to be a place to remove shoes, etc and a nice little area to "decorate"  someday the walls will all be finished, I hope, but to be honest just having this little area clean and tidy makes me happy, I will be sure to take photos when it IS tidy, LOL. 

Love my labeler now you can see where something belongs if you take it out and use it, LOL!  Of course I ran out of tape and now I have to order some more before I can keep marking everything.

This is our little sorting station, we have different bins for bolts, screws, clamps, you name it we probably have it!  The stuff in the background is sorted (I know it looks messy but bare with me) it is just waiting for it's permanent home.  

This is some of the metal that will go in the metal bin at our transfer station, so yes I am being "green", although right now my fingers are BLACK from grease, oil and who knows what else. 

Most of the stuff on the bench has been cleaned off and we are starting to empty and sort the little draws in this cabinet so we can put all the little specialty things in each drawer, and label them of course!  You can see under the bench a little and it's empty yippie, we are going to move it over and rearrange the toyboxs toolboxes we may put up some shelves for easy access to the things we use most.

Here is one of the drawers we started with before we came in for the night, we have a lot of the dividers so some of the drawers will have several depending on the size and number of items that go in each one.

Time to get ready for bed so I will be rested to get to keep plugging along tomorrow :0)

The Garage......

I plan to post a "scary" before photo of the garage along with a "nice" photo of the after maybe later today or Saturday.....We are out cleaning the garage today, not sure if we will finish but we plan on getting a good chunk done today!! 

TTFN!

Goings On.......

I've been working on putting this pile in rows.........And making a pile just like this at my mom & dad's house.

Picking which of these projects.......

I picked Lincoln's Platform,  right.

Then I needed to pick the fabrics.............

I got this much done and need to ponder my selection of border.......

And finished this birthday gift..........

Before I did all of the above I worked on this little project for a special little girl named Mya, and sent it to her Grandma to deliver.  Deb here is your sneak peak, LOL.

Off to run errands.....

Prayers.....

I was catching up on reading the blogs I follow and ended up "hopping" over to another blog, a photo of a woman holding a baby caught my eye and I had to click.  I'm sharing this because this family is in need of prayers, the little boy Alex is sick,  I just wanted to ask you all to add him and his family to your prayers, 

I will be posting later......

Friday with the Mt Quilter

This morning I had  someone ready to "help" give hubby his morning stretch........

He decided to hop onto my side of the bed and supervise the stretch, after the stretch we had cinnamon rolls for breakfast, not a yummy as the ones Elizabeth made yesterday, hers were from scratch, mine were from the "dough boy". 

After I finish this post I will be choosing from one of these projects, who knows maybe I will work on all of them.  First is a birthday present for a friend, I would like to get it finished so I don't have to rush, it was simple because it was a panel.  I just need to quilt it, make a binding, and sew it then viola a table topper or maybe I will add a sleeve in to hang it on the wall.  I have more of the backing left so I could make a hanging sleeve that would blend in, what do you think, it is about 36 x 45? 

I also began working on bock 9 of the Civil War Quilt and this one is another stumper and I need to rip one of the seams and still sew one of the pieces then the four corner triangles then the 18 inch block will be finished and I have to make an identical one only 12 inches!  I wish you could see the colors in person, they are so much prettier in person than in the photo.

You can see the pucker that needs to come out in the bottom left corner, it's hard to explain but you have to add a small triangle and the seam is tricky :0(

I have been wanting to make several projects in this book. 

One of them is this ShooFly PotPie, my sister wants me to make another runner to match her quilt  so I will be using some scraps that I had leftover, I will have to modify this pattern a little because her dresser is smaller than this project. 

Stay tuned to see how many I work on today and what I get done, they are all doable in one afternoon, but sometimes I get distracted, LOL.  It just started pouring out and will be doing this all afternoon, so I have a perfect day to be inside!