Two More Blocks!

Today was Hunter's 6th birthday! We spent alot of SPECIAL time today. We didn't do anything major just spent time just me and the boys. I think I have done pretty good today, NO NAP! This is the third day in a row, I think, that I haven't had to take a nap. Maybe my Thyroid medication is finally the right dosage. I guess we will have to wait and see...

I have some photos of the boys! I get out of the shower and I catch them both doing something that they shouldn't be. Here is Hunter, eating ice cream....right out of the bucket, no bowl!!!

And here is Andrew, drinking Dt Pepsi right out of the 2 liter bottle. What is it about boys???

I got some good mail today!! Gina, sent me a package! Actually I needed her help on a project that I am working on. I'll tell all of the details on that when I get it finished. But in the package she added 2 quilting magazines from the UK. They have some beautiful quilts and wonderful fabrics in them. I really enjoyed looking at them.

I also got to work a little bit on my Civil War Diary Quilt today!!! I made 2 blocks. This first one is called "Alarming Conditions" It is actually the first block in the first row. I don't know what it was about this block but it took me 2 hours to finish it. I HATE Y-seams! It wasn't really a hard block but I just kept messing it up! Anyway it is done, not perfect, but done.

This second block is called "Conscript Law" First row, block 3. A very simple block! I am loving making these blocks!

These two blocks take me up to 45 blocks! 45 down and 76 more to go!!!! I may try to do a few more tomorrow!!!!

Mom and Chantal are at Virginia Beach for the week! I just talked to them and they seem to be having a great time! They will be back on Saturday. I am dog watching for them! Chantal has a teacup poodle, actually you can see her sitting on the couch in the photo with Hunter's ice cream. Her name is Zoey and she and Donkey love to play together!

Kristie

A start on my Cathedral Windows

Wheeeeeew!!! I am so tired!! No extra naps for me ALL weekend! I guess that is good since I had been taking 2 naps a day! Anyway, Hunter's friend went home this evening. They had a wonderful time playing and now Hunter is very cranky! This was his first sleepover and they played so much he was just worn out! I told him maybe in a few days I would go back and pick Zack up again to come play.

Here are some photos from this weekend... Here is Ole Jim, my mule. He is my big baby, he even eats Honey Combs and Fruit Loops cereal!!!! He is such a big baby that after his morning feeding, I just turn him out!!! He just walks around all over the property eating grass. He never tries to go anywhere, he is just very laid back!!!

In this photo you can see Ole Jim just walking around with the kids. Andrew and Hunter are on the buggy and Hunter's friend Zack is walking up to get his turn riding it. Oh, and the dog is Ida Belle.
I got this wonderful package in Saturday's mail. It is from a drawing that I won on Gudrun's blog. She is such a sweet lady and a very talented quilter. In the package there was a beautiful pattern for this small pillow, napkins, a cute little pin, and some wonderful playing cards. The cards are so nice, each card has a different photo of Iceland on it. Thank you so much for the package!!!!As I mentioned in a previous post that I was getting alot of things ready for hand sewing this weekend since I had to put my sewing machine up until after the party. I was freaking out, because I thought I couldn't sew. Well.....I was actually so busy this weekend, I didn't have much of a chance to sew! Hubby of course laughed at me! This afternoon, I did get a chance to sit down and sew for a little while. I worked on my Cathedral Windows. I didn't get alot done on it, but at least it is a start. I was going to use Civil War fabrics, but I realized that I had almost a whole shoebox full of 2 inch squares that I had cut from scraps, so I thought it would be best to use them. This is my first attempt at making the Cathedral Windows, I am slow and they are not perfect but I like it.

Oh, I will post a front view of my new haircut in a few days. I actually haven't even tried to fix it. I washed and blow dried it and that was it. I am still in shock from it all being gone!!! But I will style it and take a photo of it. Richard teased me that it felt like he was sleeping with another woman last night, because he didn't keep getting tangled in my hair all night! :)
Kristie

Donating My Hair!!!!

Hunter's party went very well!! Lots of fun and several people people here! Here is a photo of Hunter and Zack! They have been sooooo wild today! It is now midnight and they are still going strong!

This is his cake, he loves the Incredible Hulk!

Well, I did it!!!! My hair was 33 inches long! It was very thick, hot, and gave me headaches! So I decided to cut it off! Here is a photo after I got out of the shower this morning! My hair is still wet but you get the idea of how long it was.
This is my hair now!!!! I got it cut off and I am donating my 18 inch ponytail to Locks Of Love
So here is my ponytail!!! And yes, I did cry! I always cry everytime that I get my hair cut, even if it is just a trim!! I know I'm silly but that is just the way that I am!
Anyway, I had all of those projects ready to sew tonight!!! Guess what! I haven't picked up the first thing to sew today!!!
Kristie

Hubby says that I am going CRAZY!

Hubby says that I am going crazy!!!! Giggle! See, Hunter's birthday party is this weekend. We are having a cookout for family and friends even though we are having it outside I know people will be in and out of the house. Since I sew at the dining table everything stays a mess so I am putting everything away for the weekend!

That is why Hubby says I am going crazy! Hunter is having a friend staying over for the weekend so I don't want to drag everything back out until the first of the week. I am already going through withdrawls!!! My mind is running wild, just thinking about not having my machine and ALL of my quitling mess out to sew anytime that I want! So I have been trying to get some hand sewing projects ready so that I can sew while I am sitting around on the couch!

Now like I said this is only for the weekend and this is what I have ready...

* Yo-Y0's for Hunter's quilt

* Hexagon's that I started getting ready today

* Mom's quilt that I am handquilting

* A few Dear Jane blocks that are applique

* And just a few minutes ago, I started cutting out Cathedral Windows!!!

See, I am losing it!!! I keep thinking NO MACHINE, NO QUILTING!!!

Anyway, I have to laugh at myself for being so silly! I started cutting out these for my Cathedral Windows and found a great way to put them together thanks to Betsy. So this will be an all by hand project. I know this will take forever but it is one of those quilts that when it's done it's done, backing and all!!!

My plan is.....to use my Civil War scraps! I don't have a very big selection of the Civil War fabrics but I am just going to use some of the scraps. I only need 2 inch squares for the centers. So if anyone has any extra Civil War scraps that they don't want send them my way.....
Kristie

2 More Blocks!

Yesterday I worked a little on my Dear Jane and then last night I worked on my Civil War Diary Quilt. I love this quilt and find the paper piecing quite fun! They are small blocks, only 6 inches but seem quite large after working on the Dear Jane blocks.

This first block is called Gloomy Prospects.

This is "Robbers"
These two blocks make me a total of 43 blocks! 43 down and 78 more to go!!!!! I love the Civil War fabrics that I am doing these quilts in. The Civil War Diary quilt, Dear Jane and soon the Civil War Love Letters quilt will also be done in Civil War Repro fabrics. I am thinking that when I start the Love Letters quilt I will do it in repro browns and pinks...maybe. I found a wonderful website that sells tons of reproduction fabrics and at really good prices. It is called Quiltbook.com I have put my order in for several pieces.

Since Hunters birthday party is this weekend and I sew at my dining table, I will have to put my machine and stuff up for a few days. He will be having a friend stay over Saturday night so my plan is to get a few of the applique Dear Jane blocks ready to do. That way I can sit around with the family and also do some handwork. A few blocks won't be too messy.
Kristie

Working on my Dear Jane...

I don't have alot to show but it sure took me long enough to get them done. I decided last night to work on my Dear Jane. This is all of the blocks that I have done...8! So I have a looooong way to go. In this first photo, most of these I made last month, the applique block I did last night. It is far from perfect but it was my first attempt at turn needle applique. So that is why there is no close up of it.

This block is A-1 Pinwheel Gone Awry. I did this one today! It is paper pieced and I used scraps from my Civil War Diary Quilt. In the photo it looks like my tips are cut off but I just cropped the photo too much.
Not sure if I will try another DJ block or start on another Civil War Diary block tonight. I am keeping them both together since I am using the same fabrics. The blocks are different sizes so that keeps them seperate.

Hunter will be 6 Monday!!! We are having him a small party on Saturday. Nothing major just family and one of his friends gets to spend the night with him. He is so excited this is the first time that he has had one of his friends to stay over. We are planning a small cookout with cake and ice cream. I told everyone we would start around 6pm that way maybe it will cool off some by then.
Kristie

A Little Bit of Sewing!

Well let me catch you up on the past few days. As I mentioned in my last post that I have been sleeping so much. The doctor changed the dosage on my thyroid medication but if anything I am more tired than I was before. He said for me to give it another week and he would change it again. I was tired but I didn't sleep this much before I had me thyroid treatments.

Anyway, as most of you know we are building a house and since we own our own sawmill we are cutting our timber to use. And the sawmill is great to make extra cash from time to time. Hubby doesn't have alot of time to use it since he works a full-time job anyway. But what does hubby come home with this past weekend???? Another sawmill!!!! This one is bigger and is all hydralic, so all you have to do with this one is push buttons and of course he can cut bigger logs with this one. So now there are two of these monsters sitting here!!! This one is used and cost around $35,000 new but of course we didn't pay that for it!!! We are poor folk! :) My question is since he has two sawmills does that mean I get two quilting machines?? He said NO, but I think it should at least mean that I get a better one than the one that I had planned on buying...

Today after Richard got home from work we walked up to the sawmill to watch him play and on the walk back to the house Hunter decided he wanted to play on the hay rolls. As you can see he is still wearing his shorts and cowboy boots! Gotta love those little boys!

Yesterday I did work on some scrappy 9 patch blocks for another scrap quilt. I still need to iron them but I did get 33 of them done. I think I need 100 of them. This is just something that I will add to as I get the scraps.
While I was in Ashland on Friday, I picked up a few fabrics. Nothing major just some to add to my stash.
Not really sure what I will work on tonight. I'm thinking I may work on an applique block for my Dear Jane. It will take me forever since I don't do alot of hand applique.

Oh and I had mentioned a few days ago that I ordered my Civil War Love Letters book and couldn't wait to get it. Well....got the package in the mail today and when I opened it up it was the Civil War Diary Quilt book!!! Which I already have!!! I checked my order reciept and sure enough I ordered the wrong book! So I contacted them and they are exchanging it for me. Now I will have to wait that much longer to get it.
Kristie

What Have I been Doing??

This photo says it all....I have been soooooo sleepy for the past few days, as usual.

Actually, this is a photo of our stud horse, Bullet, not me! :) The doctor changed my medicine but if anything it has made me worse. I called and they just said "Give it a few days" My reply was..."I am a mother, I don't have a few days!" I just can't sleep all the time, I can't stand it!

Anyway, not alot going on here quilt wise. I am working on some scrappy 9 patches for another top but that is about it. I will show you some of that when I get a little more of it done.
Kristie

A Great Mail Day!

Yesterday my Mom came home, it has been a month since she has been home. The boys and I drove down to pick her up from the landing. She called and said they were held up on the river and it would be a few hours, so we did a little shopping. We mostly looked but we did do a little bit of school shopping. In the end, we went back home and Chantal ended up picking her up around 8pm!! I did run out to her house for a few minutes to see her before she headed to bed.

I recieved a box from Amelia in the mail. It was packed full of vintage fabric, templates and a few blocks. I was so excited when I opened up the box!!! I dug through it for several hours, just touching and sorting. I even read some of the articles on the newspaper templates. One of them was dated April 1957 and advertised a "2 bedroom house, fully furnished bor $4750." I thought that was interesting!!!

Here is a photo of the box...

This is one of the beautiful hand pieced blocks that was in the box. I love this pattern! Not sure what the name of it is but I do think it is lovely.

These are a few of the smaller pieces. Not really sure how many of them there are. But I do know there are several usable pieces of scraps in this box.

And last...here is a photo of Donkey! He actually fell asleep playing with his toy mouse and I thought it was sooooooo cute!
No sewing so far today! I have had a bit of a headache all day and have been on the couch for several hours! But I am feeling alot better now.
Kristie

Digging Around In The UFO's!

I have been digging around again in my tubs of UFO's. Actually, I only have one tote but it is a large tote full. Some of them will be finished some will only be finished in to a lap or crib size, just so I can call it DONE. Some of them that I only have one or two blocks done, I will just put the pieces back into my scrap stash. There is no reason for them to stay in there if I'm not going to ever finish them.

So I decided to take a few photos to show you some of them. This first one is a Double Wedding Ring that I cut out about 8 yrs ago while Richard and I were just dating. As you see I have alot of it cut out and alot of the strips sewn together but not into blocks yet.

This is one that I really like, I forgot the name, but I have the pattern in one of my books. I have somewhere around 80 of the golden yellow blocks cut out and several of the colored pieces in the pieced blocks. I just need to cut more of the cream, I think that is why I stopped, that and the fact that these blocks are only 6 inches.
In this one, the fabric design really dates this UFO. It is one of my older ones, probably started it a couple of years after I started quilting.
This one is another OLD one, probably 8 or 9 yrs old. I think I have more pieces to this one somewhere. I will have to keep digging to see what I can find.
I love this one! Very scrappy! But I just love this block! It is not really hard, you just really have to watch about lining up the diamond pieces. The "Diamond" pieces are actually 3 seperate pieces. This is one that I will certainly finish.....someday. Actually, I need to cut more of it out.
There are several more but these are all that I got out today. I really wanted to sort through these today but I had some other MOMMY things to do today.
Kristie

Found another UFO!

Today has just been another regular day on the Layne farm. Got Richard off to work at midnight, got up at 7am did the feeding, cleaned the house and fixed breakfast, lunch and supper. I did clean off my sewing table, it was a mess! As I was cleaning today I found a bag in the cabinet with one of my UFO's in it. I have almost half of it together and more of it cut out, so I do think I will finish it. These rows are not sewn together I just have them laying there. It is completely wrinkled so I will have to iron it too. But at least when I finish it, it will be one more out of the way. I actually don't even remember starting it and I don't even remember what it is called.

Richard got home around 4pm and he started sawing. Our neighbor has a drilling company and drills gas and oil wells. He needed 2 LARGE blocks to use for setting up one of the rigs. He needed them 20x20x5 inches. So I had to help Richard load this butt-cut on the mill, it was just too hard for one person to handle alone. While we were down at the sawmill Hunter decided he was going to "NINJA TRAIN" as he says. So I had to take a photo of him. Don't pay any attention to how he is dressed, there is a story behind it. See....I sorted through his clothes that were too small and had them in a bag to give to my sister for a yard sale. Hunter has a FIT any time you try to get rid of anything so he decided he would try to get one last wear out of them. And the boots...well...he always wears them. Trust me he has plenty of shoes but he just loves his cowboy boots, no matter how hot outside it is. And here is a photo of Rogjo, my rooster. Henrietta is around somewhere. He is huge and loves to stay up on the corral fence. I think he has such pretty colors on him.

Anyway, that is about all that went on today. I will probably try to iron a little bit on my quilt top.
Kristie

I WON!!!!

First, I want to say a big THANK YOU to Gudrun. She was having a giveaway on her blog and I was one of the WINNERS! I won a beautiful Icelandic Pattern and Napkins!!! Can't wait to get them. If you haven't read her blog you should stop by, she is very talented.

I still haven't changed my block around in my Triple Irish Chain. It is still hanging up on the wall. Just irks me that I have to rip it out. Anyway, I spent about an hour cleaning off my sewing table and putting things away. Needless to say, after finishing 4 quilt tops in the past month, I have a mess!!!! I hope to get back to work on my Civil War quilt.

Thanks for all of the nice comments on my little sister. She is feeling better today and got some of the blood work back this morning. Her Thyroid tests came back fine but she is still waiting on the other. And then they will schedule her other tests. Mom will be home on Friday! I can't wait, I have missed her terribly. I'm sure she will be glad to be back home too. It has been a long month for her.
Kristie

Tuesday's Blubbering!

My day started with Mom calling me. Her exact words were "Wake Up!! And call your sister" So here is the story on that...

As I had mentioned before my brother and sister both have heart problems. My brother is 40 and Chantal is only 23. John has had his problem and been on medication since he was about 15 or so. Chantal has only been on her medication for a little over a year. Her family doctor changed her medication and she started taking the new stuff yesterday morning. Well, I guess it just wasn't the right stuff. Her BP dropped pretty low and her heart rate went up. She looked terrible when she got home yesterday. So this morning when she got up her heart rate was 145. She ended up going to see a cardiologist today. That is why mom called me. See mom is still on the boat working and she was upset because she couldn't be with Chantal. So Hunter and I got ready and went down to the doctor with her. He did an EKG and said she had Sinus Tachycardia which has nothing to do with your sinuses like it sounds. He also ordered bloodwork and some other tests. She had the blood work done today and the other tests will be scheduled. She is my baby sister and I just worry about her, actually I worry about her and John both with their hearts. Anyway hopefully these tests will not show up anything else and he can get her on the right medication.

Speaking of my brother...he is going to be a DADDY again! His wife, Kellie is pregnant! :) If you look on my sidebar you will see the baby floating around. I thought that would be cute to add to my blog and help me keep up with how much longer she has to go. They have 2 kids right now and John has a son from a previous marriage, that is in college. Anyway, they have two little ones, Madison is 6 and Zeph is almost 2. She had an ultrasound done a few days ago and the cord was in the way so they couldn't tell if it was a boy or girl! So you know what this means...I will have to make a quilt!!! Actually, I need to make them all a new one.

As you all know I have been working on and off on the Civil War Diary Quilt and I just love it! It is so fun! I am doing it in repro fabrics. I think I only have 41 blocks out of 121 finished but it is one of my long term projects just like the Dear Jane. But I couldn't help it....I ordered The Civil War Love Letters book!
I am not going to start it right away but when I do I think I will do it in Civil War reproduction Browns and Pinks. I have a little bit of brown and pink in my other one but I think if I just do this one in those colors it will look completely different. I got an email that it was shipped out yesterday.

Now on to my "Triple Irish Chain" I had it ready to sew together, it was in two pieces as you can see in the photo and then I noticed I have one of the blocks sewn together wrong!!! :( If you look you can see it in the beige block on the lower left of the photo! That really irks me!!!! But better to catch it now then after it is quilted. I actually don't think I will fool with it until morning.

Mom will be home Friday!!! She has been working for 28 days! :( But I was thinking in that 28 days I have 4 quilt tops! to show her that I have done since she has been gone. Not sure what I will work on after I get this block changed. Maybe I will start back on my Civil War quilt or work on the handquilting on mom's quilt. I would love to have it finished by her birthday in August. But I am so slow at handquilting and I seem to get bored easy with it so it probably won't get done by then.

Kristie

Triple Irish Chain

I had more photos but these are the only ones that I could get to load tonight.:( They were just photos of this same quilt.

Anyway, the day started out when I had to run and pick up a load of feed. Got that unloaded and came in and hit the couch for a nap! Cleaned house and fixed dinner and.....did a little bit of sewing before I took my evening nap! I go back to the doctor on Wednesday so hopefully they can get my medication adjusted a little better. This taking two naps a day is killing me!!!

So here is the same photo that I showed yesterday of my Triple Irish Chain. I got 5 more of the large colorful blocks done today, but couldn't get the photo to load.

As you can see in this photo, I have EVERY kind of fabric in it. From prints, to camouflage, to some with african animals on it. So it is really a SCRAP quilt!
Hopefully, I can get this thing together before my next post!!!
Kristie

Finishing Up The Weekend!

Such a looooooong weekend! We worked alot on the house as you can see in the last post. But I have to show you more photos. We got all of the rafters up on the back side of the 2nd story. Hopefully, this coming weekend we can get the bedroom walls up there.



This afternoon we took a break and drove into Richard's Grandmothers. Her 88th birthday was Friday. The boys and I dropped off a card and balloons Friday while Richard was at work. So he went with us today and we took her gift. Here is a photo of Hunter and Richard playing around. See Richards new glasses! He has to have them redone. The right lense is wrong, he says he just can't focus out of it.
Here is the quilt that I have been working on the past few days. If you remember I cut all of my scraps into different sizes and I had a ton of 2 1/2 inch squares so this is what I did with them. I only have this about half done, but I am still going to have a bunch of squares left over.
I will have to show a close up of some of the fabrics. I have everything in here. The beige fabric is not a solid as it looks but has a paisley design in it. I will have to do a border of some kind on it. Any suggestions???
Kristie

House Progress For Saturday!

Well here is what we got done on the house today!!! :) I now have stairs!!!! As you know I am afraid of heights and can't handle going up the ladder, so Richard put the stairs up! Of course these are not the finish boards but the treads will be replaced later.
Here is the side view. The stairs are in the living room and the doorway beside the stairs goes into the kitchen. The room on the other side of the 2x4 wall is the master bath and master bedroom. The opening that you see is for my french doors that will go out onto a wrap around deck and porch.
This view is of the work we got done on the 2nd floor today. We got the rest of the 40ft center wall up and a 20ft section of rafters. The center wall is 12ft tall, and my living room will be open above so it will have a 21ft ceiling. If you look close you can see Richard (standing behind the ladder), Andrew, Chantal, and Hunter.
I am very happy about all the work that we got done today! Tomorrow we will finish up the other 20ft section of rafters and then the back half of the roof will be done. Then we will start working on putting up the bedroom walls up there. After that we will start with the beams that go over the open ceiling in the living room.

While I was up there today, I was trying to visually set up my sewing room! :) I can't wait!! I will have a 20x20 ft space just for me! And I am thinking I will buy a small refrigerator to put in there, that way I won't have to run back down stairs when I run out of my Diet Pepsi!! :) That would take away from my sewing!!! :) Richard swears that when I do get into my sewing room that I will never be seen again!!!!!

Actually even with all of this work, I did get some sewing done today. I haven't taken any photos yet, but I will do that tomorrow. I have about half of my quilt top finished. It is a "Triple Irish Chain" It's all scrappy and I really do like it. Can't wait to finish it, but right now, I'm trying to figure out what to do for the border. Maybe it will come to me when I get the center of it done.
Kristie

What Does "Kristie" Mean?

I got this from another blog...and this is what my name means...

What Kristie Means

You are a seeker of knowledge, and you have learned many things in your life. You are also a keeper of knowledge - meaning you don't spill secrets or spread gossip. People sometimes think you're snobby or aloof, but you're just too deep in thought to pay attention to them. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are the total package - suave, sexy, smart, and strong. You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know. You don't always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don't have as much going for them as you do. You are a seeker. You often find yourself restless - and you have a lot of questions about life. You tend to travel often, to fairly random locations. You're most comfortable when you're far away from home. You are quite passionate and easily tempted. Your impulses sometimes get you into trouble. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.

What's" Your Name's Hidden Meaning?