#4 Rainbow Block Complete

For this square I decided to leave my “comfort zone” of the reds, whites, blues, and blacks and move over to the pinks and greens.  Once again, I used some of my leftover stash pieces: some Wally World cheapie fabrics, some from a divine quilting shop in Poulsbo, Washington, and the batiks I buy from our local guild shop, The Quiltery. After finishing this 4th square, I decided to take a picture of the completed ones down by our creek.  I am definitely making some progress, and while I was sewing our yard and fields were getting beautified.  It is so lovely out here right after everything has been cut and weed eated.

Rainbow Around the Block #3 Completed

This afternoon we got a bunch of rainstorms so was stuck in the house. I just couldn’t pass up the chance to work out another block for the Rainbow Project so hit the stash and started mixing and matching fabrics.  As you can tell, I like reds and blues, and reds and blacks so have a lot of those fabrics up in my library/fabric room.  I really need to branch out and start using more of Anna Maria Horner’s and Amy Butler’s materials.  The times I’ve sewn with them have been so enjoyable. Their designs are absolutely out of this world.  It’s been a hot and humid day but one where Buddy and I got a lot accomplished inside and out... but any day where I have some spare time to make a little something for charity is a successful one. I wonder what we will be up to tomorrow.

The Gardens Are Coming Along Nicely

   

     Growing up in south Florida I knew nothing about having a garden...much less working a garden. We had fruit trees: Key lime, avocado, orange, and grapefruit. Daddy grew some tomatoes in the backyard, but that was it.  After marrying and later moving to this little farm in Virginia, I began learning what an undertaking having a garden really is. You can’t have a garden that is worth anything if you don’t work it...that is a definite!  For years our friends went in with us and we all had a victory garden out in what is now our front hay field...with NO water running to it.  We had a gas driven pull crank pump we put into the creek and that was how we got up to that garden...a real pain in the neck! This is that field which a neighbor just bush hogged and bailed for the hay.  No more garden out there for us. It was a killer to keep up, but then there were 5 of us to feed instead of 2.

     Our gardens are now little ones as we are a 2 person and 2 pet family.  The first plot is one which sits over our huge 2-tank septic system.  Because we live on a creek and there is not much land between the house and the water, we had to put the 2 gigantic holding tanks on this side, and then pump everything under the creek and into that upper hay field via a huge concrete pipe...mega bucks!  We had to come up with some means of hiding the tanks, so we got railroad ties and built a raised garden bed.  It sits right outside our kitchen window so we get to watch the garden as it hopefully grows and flourishes. Also sitting out there is our 3-story composter made in New Zealand named Big Bertha. She is a work of art...sort of looks like a gorilla to me., but Buddy thinks it looks like one of the “statues" from Easter Island. You notice the bungee cords.....the varmints love to flip open the top if we do not strap it down.

     A year ago Gene, the 39 year old son, came home and put Buddy a fence around it to keep out the varmints. Our land seems to be a haven for those of the animal world that want a free meal.

Around the house and at the side of the new bathroom we put on several years ago, we have tomatoes planted....cannot let any sun drenched soil go unused.  You will notice the green thingy hanging out the living room window...that is a “get away coons and deer or you will get beeper in your ear” machine. It works! It really bugs poor little Jack, our Schnauzer.

Out to the left of this area we have another raised bed where buddy has his corn planted....that is what the animals really like to eat.  I sure hope the varmint beeper does its job again this year.

Between this bed and the one beside the bathroom is a mini in the middle....more tomatoes.

The last little garden area is out by out barn and that is for the white and red potatoes, sweet potatoes, and beets.  As you can tell, we have used every little space we can where we get good sun.

     Buddy loves his gardens....but he gets that naturally from his daddy who was an avid gardener during his lifetime. I play with the flowers though he helps me with the planting. He’s putting in my flowers to draw the hummingbirds and butterflies.I love those old pink shorts :-)

     We don’t grow a lot, don’t can anymore, really don’t do much freezing, but we yield enough to have the pleasure of eating homegrown veggies over the summer months. What we don’t grow I go and buy from our farming friends at the local farmer’s market.  It is a wonderful way of life....slow paced, quiet, rural, and very earth friendly. Will post an update as the gardens progress throughout the summer.

“What a man needs in gardening is a cast-iron back with a hinge in it”
~Charles Dudley Warner - 1871

The Second Time Around the Block Was the Charm!

     My children, students, and husband tell me I am the most hard headed woman in the world when it comes to getting something just right, but this time it paid off big time!  I was so upset with myself for messing up my first block for the “Rainbow Around the Block” project - a wonderful project spearheaded by Anna Maria Horner - it made me work even harder to get it right this time. I decided NOT to use the pinwheel in the middle since I was designing this block from scratch.  Rather, I went back to the old stash and found just enough of a batik scrap left over from the backing of my ragged square quilt and the other reds and blacks surrounding the center were leftovers from that quilt, too. Thank heavens for the old stash! I love the way it all came together, and I am especially happy that is ended up measuring 12.5 in. X 12.5 in square.......HURRAH! I kept telling myself...”If at once you don’t succeed, Eugenia, try, try again!”  Oh, Happy Rednesday!


“Age wrinkles the body. Quitting wrinkles the soul.”
~Duuglas MacArthur

Rednesday Is Here Again!

I LOVE RED! I made my dear friend, Claudette, this tote, and then decided to make a little baggie to add come Cd’s I thought she would like.  The last little goodie was a sachet with cloves in it. She loves the outdoors just like I do. We have wonderful picnics together out at Sherando Lake, pick blueberries up on the Blue Ridge Parkway, go to movies, knit and rip...knit and rip side by side, and go shopping together. She is a nurse by profession and the most compassionate and caring, soft-spoken one I have ever known.  We have the best times together.  She knits but does not sew so gets a big kick out of the little things I make for her. I am always trying to come up with another idea for some little something I can create as a “susprise” to brighter her work-week. The first photo is of the front of the tote and the second is of the back...the lining is also striped.  I LOVE RED, and I LOVE REDESDAYS!

“The best gift is a hug: one size fits all and no one minds if you return it."

~Author Unknown

FInished First Square, BUT It’s the Wrong Size!

Well, I sewed all the pieces together, BUT the square ended up being 12in. X 12in. instead of 12.5in. X 12.5 in. What a bummer!  I am so upset!   My back is acting up and I can’t bend forward to cut. Consequently I ended up having to rotary cut the pieces in my bed on a little bed table instead of standing at the dining room table as I usually do. That, I am assuming was the BIG mistake.  Cutting pieces correctly holds the key to successful piecing. The only fix I can think of is to add strips around the perimeter so I can bring it out to the correct measurement. Ripping out the whole square would leave me with one big raveled mess. Of course, I could use it in one of my totes or as a pillow. Ah, such is life.  I will not let it discourage me. It was just another “learning experience.” On the brighter side of life, tomorrow is Rednesday, and it doesn’t have to be any particular size :-)

“Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.”
~Oscar Wilde

Began My First Quilt Square Today for Rainbow Around The Block

Trying to select the fabric for my "Rainbow Around The Block” 12 inch quilt square was not easy.  I don’t know about y’all, but whenever I go to my stash to look for something, I wish I had something else.  I finally ended up choosing Thimbleberries “Timeless Grace” fat quarters, and the pattern I am using is the “Thirties Pinwheel in a Square Quilt Block Pattern” which I found on About.com Quilting.  I’ve cut out all the pieces and will start sewing tomorrow.

M.E. Monday - THE BEGINNING!

Queen Elizabeth may think she is the Queen Mother, but on this side of the pond she is sadly mistaken.....I am the Queen Mother!  Many years ago my best friend gave me this  Mary Engelbreit “potholder”, but as you can see it has never been used as one. She is the topic of my Blessing #5 which you can read at flossingmyblessings.blogspot.com. Instead it sits either on my pillow or on the back of my blue, heated recliner. It may not be the most unique ME thing I have, but it is definitely one of the most special because Weezie gave it to me.  In honor of her friendship and faithfulness to me through the years, I have decided to use my “Queen Mother” as my first contribution to Vicki’s ME Challenge.

“So many people come into our lives and then leave the way they came. But there are those precious few who touch our hearts so deeply we will never be the same."
~Mary Engelbreit

Come Join the “Rainbow around the Block” Quilt Square Project

Rainbow around the Block is a quilting project set up for giving quilts to families in Middle Tennessee who lost their homes and possessions to the flooding in May 2010. The project was organized and is moderated by Anna Maria Horner.  If you are a quilter, or if you just like to sew and think you would like to be a part of this wonderful undertaking, please visit the Rainbow around the Block site for all the information you will need. If you do not sew and want to contribute, there is also information there on how to do that. There is also a Flickr group online where you can view the squares that have been completed to date.  Anna has her gorgeous ones posted on her blog. They are all absolutely beautiful. 

Also, she has written the greatest book entitled Seams to Me which I have used over and over again to create the bags I have posted in earlier entries. In the back she includes all the patterns for the projects in the book. Her “I Want One of Everything Bag” is my gift of choice for my family members and close friends for gifts, and they absolutely adore them. I even adapted it for my little 5 year old granddaughter and her best friend. Her directions are easy to understand, and her bags are just FUN to make.

A Quilted Sleeve for My New Play Toy!

Friday afternoon I bit the bullet and bought myself the cutest LITTLE Acer notebook computer. It is itty-bitty and weighs next to nothing compared to my MacBookPro. The model had been disconued, so I was able to get the display one for 1/3 off....QUITE THE GOOD DEAL! The little black thingy is an external CD Rom Drive.  The notebooks are just to small to have one built in. After bringing it home, I figured out it would fit perfectly into one of my Vera Bradley older backpacks, but it still needed some sort of a sleeve for a bit more protection.  Back to WallyWorld I went and bought a tacky, polyester hot pink with blueish-green polkadots all over it....YUCK! Well, I hit my Honey Bun stash of Moda and found some Aviary pieces in muted greens, blues, and pinks which I used to create a quilted cover to hide the hot pink. When I showed up at work with it today, the teachers told me I needed to post it on my blog. It took no time at all to put together, and I LOVE IT!  Even at my age, I’m like a little kid when I get my hands on a new “play toy!”  This one is going to be GREAT!