Started Another One! :)

Late last night I started another quilt! I know, I know, I am supposed to finish some of my UFO's first but I went through them and just could not bring myself to work on them. I just wanted something new! Know what I mean?? :)

I have tons of 2 1/2 inch strips precut and in 2 totes. They are sorted into lights and darks! I was looking through the Quiltville website and found the "Boxy Stars" pattern. It is completely made of 2 1/2 inch strips! So that was perfect. Here is my first block that I made...

Here are 8 blocks together. I probably will not set it up this way, I just layed them together for the photo. The original pattern has a sashing between the blocks. The pattern also only has 12 blocks but unless I get really tired of it I plan on making more. I want to shoot for 20! But we will just have to wait and see...

Anyway, I have 9 blocks completed and I need to cut pieces for more blocks!

Still stranded as of now, but tomorrow it is supposed to get up in the mid 40's so maybe will thaw out some. But then again we are to get another storm coming in on Monday. But I think it is supposed to be snow instead of ice! :) But right now we are all warm and cozy by the fireplace up here on Top Of The World! :)
Kristie

Ice, Ice and more Ice!!!

Well we are still ICED in! Such a terrible time here in KY! So many people with out power and heat! I just thank God that we have both! Usually our power is the first to go since we live up on this big ridge, but so far we have been blessed that we still have power!! We are using the fireplace anyway just for extra heat. My Grandmother's power went off a couple of days ago and my aunt was able to get to her and take her home with her. And my brother's power is off too. They have a generator so they have been using it. They have 3 small children so he is basically getting up every 1 1/2 hours to fill the generator back up with fuel. Gotta keep those babies warm!

Here is a video that was taken yesterday. This is the same road that was in the video in my last post. As you can see the ice is heavier! Oh, and if you listen closely you can hear a tree fall! The trees are dropping like flies! That is one of the reasons that we are having so many power outages here. I read online on the news that 75% of our county was without power!

This is the field behind the house here! I think it looks beautiful! If you look in the distance you can see why they call this place "The Top Of The World"


Richard was getting restless being inside so long so I just sent the camera with him while he was going out walking. This is our little branch that runs on our property. I know that country living is not for everyone, but I just love living here, even though I am stranded at the moment!

Mom got to come home from work today! For those of you that don't know my mom is a cook on a tugboat! She works 28 days at a time. So today she had a terrible time trying to come home. She made it to the end of our road which is about a mile away. We took Richard's truck which is a 4x4 and could only get part of the way to her. So we walked down and met her, helped her carry her things to the truck and took her on home. Then we took the kids to stay with her at her house, drove the truck as far as we could out of our road, then out out and walked to her car which was about 1/2 mile away! Then we drove in to town!! I was out of Diet Pepsi!!!! :) Well, I wanted to get a few things, like milk, bread, horse feed and things like that. Just to make it through for a few more days. I have tons of food stocked in the cabinets and freezer it is just the odds and ends that we needed. The worst part of it was having to carry it back to the truck! Giggle....I am short and tubby and let's just say that I don't walk every fast! But anyway, we are back home now!

Looks like we are getting another storm coming in on Monday! Last night the weather on the news said a "major snow storm coming in for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday!" So if it does, we should be fine for another week!!!!

Now on the quilty things! I haven't been sewing that much! Just mostly a little bit of handquilting. Looking through tons of quilt books and magazines, sorting fabrics and things like that. I have all the time in the world right now to sew but just haven't done it. Maybe I will in a day or so.

Well, that is about all for now, hopefully I will have some quilt news to post about next time!

Kristie

Our Day Of ICE

Lots of Ice here in Kentucky! We are stuck here on Top Of The World!!! But that is just fine we are having lots of great family time! It is solid ice outside and VERY slick! Here is a video of the boys playing around today. They slid down the driveway as you can see it was hard for them to stand up. That is Andrew sliding down the hill and Hunter is the one that keeps falling....



Here is another video that was taken at the top of my driveway. You don't even make a footprint when you walk! Richard had to help me up the driveway and we had to dig our heels in to get up there! And on the way down, Richard was trying to help me, I started sliding and could not stop! I started laughing so hard, I wet my pants!!! :) I know that you all wanted to know that!


Not a lot of sewing going on here today! I did finish my binding on my Hole In The Barndoor. So glad to have that done. I just love doing binding! But I may change my mind after I do the binding on the other 73 quilt tops! :)

And I worked a little on my handquilting! As you can see Donkey loves it! I have about 2/3 of it done. I can't wait to have it done too.
Now we are just sitting around watching some tv! Waiting for the electric to go off at anytime! It always does when we get ice! :( Thank goodness for the fireplace!
Kristie

Preparing For ICE!

I'm sure by now you all are tired of seeing the photos of this quilt! :) But here it is all finished and folded up, ready to be put away! It sure feels good to have another one finished.

I am now working on the binding on the other quilt, the Hole In The Barndoor. Hope to have it finished tomorrow! I really enjoy doing the bindings.

No sewing yet, today! Just trying to prepare of bad weather. The boys have been helping me get lots of firewood ready. We are expecting some ICE within the next few days. Seems like everytime we get ice our power goes off, and living back here we are usually out for a few days. So I've got lots of wood ready, lots of jugs of water and tons of food! We got about 1 inch of snow last night and I already can't get out of my driveway! :) Richard parks at the end of the driveway when weather gets bad so he can get out for work. Anyway the boys and I have been working hard today.

We were to have a quilt guild meeting this morning but it was cancelled! Which was fine because I could not get there anyway! :)

So were have a big fire roaring in the fireplace, a huge pot of chilli cooking and I plan on snuggling on the couch tonight and working on my binding! :) Sounds good doesn't it? :)
Kristie

Some Quilty News!

First off, I want to Thank everyone for all of the well wishes over my hand! Of course, my hand is still sore but I am doing fine! I tried to cut some quilt pieces but had a hard time trying to hold the ruler down with my left hand so I will wait a few days on that, no big deal. :)

But I have found that I can sew on my binding! That is one thing that does not bother my hand. I have two quilts that need bindings so I am working on that. Here is the first one, it is called "4 Patch Flip" I made the top several months ago, really quick and fun to do. This is the binding that I am currently working on. I have the binding about halfway finished on it.


This is the quilting from the backside of the quilt. It is backed with a blue sheet.


Here it is spread out on the bed...
Here it is again and if you look close in the background you will see my "Wall Of Quilts" or that is what Richard calls it. I have a ton of quilts folded and stacked in the floor. Right now I don't have alot of extra space so that is the only place to put them. But when I get the house finished I will display them better.This is the other quilt that needs binding. I have the binding ready so I will sew it on as soon as I finish the blue one. This is just a simple "Hole In The Barndoor" that I made several years ago. I really like this pattern and the scrappy fabric in it.

I forgot to take a photo of the back of it, but it is quilted with an Ivy design. I can't wait to get the bindings done on both of these.

I think I will go ahead and take these two quilts off of my list on the sidebar and call them finished because they will be. I have made myself promise that they will be completely finished this week! :) So 2 down and 73 more to go!!!! :(

Kristie

I'm Back!!!!

I'm finally back online! My phone and internet came back on around 3:30pm today! But my phone has gone back off twice since then! They are coming back out Friday to work on all of it again! I guess that is one of the disadvantages of living in the country! But I would not trade it for anything, I love my country living! Amazing how clean that my house has been without phone and internet! Hubby even thought it was cleaner!!!! :)

Anyway, I have been trying to stay warm, it has been very cold here for Kentucky! Thank God for a fireplace! Of course, we have electric heat but the fireplace really keeps it warm and cozy in here!

Hunter lost another tooth! That makes him two!

Also I recieved a nice package from my dear friend, Michelle! She has been working on a hexagon quilt, she has a beautiful photo of it on her blog. I wanted to make one, but needed a special ruler, the closest place that I could buy one was Hobby Lobby and that is about 90 minutes away. So what does she do? She sends me one! And tons of other goodies! If you look close in the photo you will see a Cross necklace and it is made out of horseshoe nails! How cool it that? Also the second photo it a really pretty t-shirt!


Now here is the quilt that I needed the ruler for! I dont' have the rows sewn together in the photo but it is so simple to put together! All cut from 2 1/2 inch strips.

I have been working on my applique quilt too. The pink and green flowered one, I have a photo of it a couple of posts back. I think I am up to 16 blocks, that have all of the pieces ironed down and part of the stitching done on them. Not sure how many I will stop with.

I guess that is about all that has been going on, other than the regular farm things! I'm just glad to be back online!

Kristie

Just a quick post!

Just a quick post! My internet and phone are out ONCE AGAIN!! I'm at my mom's house right now! Be back online in a few days!!!!
Kristie

My Weekend of Sewing!

My weekend started by ironing and cutting a bag of scraps! I usually try to keep them under control so it was time to cut! I cut them in various sizes but decided to cut this pile into 2 1/2 inch squares. I have made a few scraps quilts in the past several months and they called for 2 1/2 inch squares. I have a shoe box that I keep them in and I had used alot so it was time to fill it back up.

So after cutting them all up, I was having fun so I thought it was time to start another scrap quilt using the squares. Nothing major and I haven't decided exactly how I will set it up but I am making a ton of small 9 patches right now. As you can see here I have started sewing a bunch of them together. Now I have a huge pile to press and then finish making the 9 patches!

I also pressed the binding for a "4 patch flip" that is being quilted right now. Should be ready for the binding in about a week. I also pressed the binding for a "Hole in the Barndoor" too but it was just plain cream color so I didn't take a photo of it. :)

I have also been working on my applique blocks. I have a total of 6 of them that are completely finished. I'm not sure how many I will end up with, I will just make them until I get tired of the pattern and then I will call it done!
Donkey was helping me sew too! He kept knocking my things off of the table!!! But you just have to love him....I have discovered that Smokey likes quilts too! Everytime you turn around he is sleeping on one. Here he is on a stack of quilts that I keep on the end of the couch.

As I was running the vacuum, I sat Donkey's little cat thing up on the end table and he jumped right in. I left it up there for an hour or so because he was sleeping and I did not want to disturb him. But just look at some of the positions that he gets in.
Now if you look close in this one you will see 3 legs!! Now how comfortable would that be???

I'm off to do some laundry! :(((((((

Kristie

Working on another UFO!

It has rained ALL day! Very foggy and messy! It is supposed to rain all night and tomorrow! Richard did not have work today so he worked on the house! He put in the back door in the kitchen. It makes me so happy everytime something gets done. I will have to take a photo of it tomorrow. Now we need to put in several more windows, 1 more in Hunter's room, 2 in the master bedroom, 1 more in the kitchen, 2 more in the living room, and one each in the other kid's rooms. We already have some of them in, but that will leave the front door and the french doors in the master bedroom. We still need to buy the french doors, but we will pick those up when we can. We have to front door, just a simple door with the side lights down each side. We will probably wait a while to put it in because of carrying things in and out right now while working on the inside, it makes it nice to have a big opening!

Anyway, while Richard was working in the house and the boys were at school, I took a nice long nap on the couch. :) After my nice little snooze, I got up and started plundering through my quilt stuff. I found this older UFO that I had forgotten about. I only had this one block cut and ironed and a few other pieces cut out for other blocks. I need to do the applique around it but here is a photo of it anyway.

I finished cutting out enough for 4 blocks. The blocks are 10 inches so I'm not sure how many that I will end up doing. Maybe only 4, and just make a table mat or a wallhanging. I really haven't decided yet.

Here is a silly photo that I took of Donkey today, he was trying to nap also.

So now we are all home together, well actually, Andrew is playing guitar, Hunter is playing his Nintendo DS, Richard is kicked back in the recliner watching tv, and of course, I am on the computer....

Kristie

My Lonely Day!

The boys went back to school today! :( Trust me they did not want to go! So I was feeling rather lonely this morning after the bus ran....Richard was at work and both the boys at school and it was just ME! I fed all of the animals and I was still lonesome so I gathered up several books that I had read and hopped in the car! I went to the book store to trade my old ones in on some other used books. I love reading Historical Romance Novels so I was excited to get a bunch more of them. While I was there I looked around in the NEW section and found a quilt book. :)

I love Christmas but I have never made a Christmas quilt! I am a very traditional Christmas person! And this book seemed to have alot of traditional patterns in it. And the best part is it only cost me $3!!!!

I think some of my favorite patterns in the book are on the back cover!!! I took a photo of it too, so you could see them.

While I was in Paintsville, I stopped by Goodwill, but I didn't find anything there. I was just mostly trying to kill time before I had to go back home. I always get depressed like that when the kids go back to school. So I did a couple loads of laundry after I got home and fixed dinner and the boys were soon home from school and ALL WAS RIGHT WITH THE WORLD!!

Anyway......we are all hanging out in the living room now watching Reba on tv!

Today is my brother's birthday! He is 41!!! I called him a little while ago to wish him happy birthday! He is 4 yrs older than I am but always tells everyone that I am the oldest!!! I guess that is just the way it is between brothers and sisters!

Nothing quilty going on tonight but hopefully tomorrow I will be more in the mood to sew!!! I have lots of plans in my head, just wish that I had the energy to do them all!
Kristie

Ole Jim, my mule!

Thanks to my friend, Michelle, I finally figured out how to get videos on my blog!!! Richard bought me a camcorder for Christmas! This is something that I have wanted for years so that I can video the boys and we will always have the wonderful memories on film!!! :) I did a video of our Christmas this year and have already burned it on DVD. It turned out really nice.

So here is just a little video that I did, just to see if I could get it on here!!

This is my big baby JIM, the mule! I have rode him everywhere for miles around, we also used him to pull out some of the logs and beams for the house. He is such a pet that he just runs loose around the farm. He is also spoiled with special treats. Of course he picks grass all day, eats hay, and sweet feed but he gets little treats from me....he loves to eat honeycomb cereal, fruit loops and animal crackers!!!



I'm sure you all are giggling over my accent!!!! :) I didn't realize how country that I sounded until I heard it myself!!!! :)
Kristie

2009 Challenge!

Wow! This must be a record for me! Two posts in one night!!!!

I have decided to join the Challenge!!!! I found this on May Britt's blog!!

Actually I think I might be able to follow through on this challenge! All you have to do it have at least ONE finish a month! That should not be too hard! With every finish you are entered into a drawing! So that is an added bonus!

So here is what I hope to finish in January! As most of you all know I have a million quilt tops that need to be quilted! 75 of them to be exact! So my goal for January is to have 2 of them quilted and the binding sewn on. That will be 2 that I can mark off of my list!

Kristie

Poking Along....

Yesterday I worked on my Civil War Love Letter quilt! I want to get all of those blocks sewn together so bad, but with 121 blocks of it, I start getting a headache. So I stopped as soon as my head started hurting....quilting is supposed to be fun, not painful!!! :) Anyway, I will get it done later. Actually right now I have 8 of the 11 rows sewn together and then I will be adding two borders.

Mom left for work today! :( She will be back home in 28 days! My sister and I both count the days down. I talked with mom earlier this evening and she sounded really tired.

Oh some good news!!! I finally got my new car key!! If you remember back on December 22nd, I broke my key off in the ignition...Richard had to take it all apart and I had to order a key from the dealer because the key has some kind of sensor on it. Anyway I got it today!!!! Now I can stop borrowing everyone's cars! Also my phone went out about the same time and I have had the phone company out here working on the phone lines for the past year! My phone is still going on and off! Thank goodness for cell phones!!!! The phone repair men came out here last week and told me it was fixed but about an hour after they left, the phone went out again. They are coming back tomorrow!!!! Wish me luck!

Today I decided to brave the big pile of quilt tops again! :) I miscounted the other day when I counted...today I counted 75!!! So I will have to change my sidebar and add the other one. I know have them all measured, some I put backings with them, and they are all now ready for quilting! Since mom bought me the huge roll of batting for Christmas I am ready to go! I actually had backings for about 20 of them! So those will be done first! I will work on backings for the others a little at a time. I will either buy backings one at a time or piece them from my stash. But at least I have a good start on the backings right now.

And last but not least....here is a photo of Hunter at his Christmas Dance at school. He is such a little sweetie! He brought tears to my eyes when he came home from school the day of the dance and started getting ready, he asked me to show him how to slow dance with a girl!!!! And he is 6!!!! So I showed him but then he said "That is how old people dance" :( As you can see in the photo they are dancing quiet close to be only 6! And that is NOT how I showed him to dance! :)

Hopefully tomorrow I will have some quilty photos to show! Richard has to work 1/2 day tomorrow and I have to go into town to pick up feed and buy groceries! :( If the weather is fair we will work on the house when we get back home. We have started on the porch of it, I will have to take a new photo tomorrow!

Kristie