19 more blocks...only 40 more to go!

 Just to let you know my posts are a few days behind.  This post will go up on Sunday but it's really Friday.  This is just a little easier for me to get some posts done.

So today I pieced 19 more Garlic Knot blocks.  This makes a total of 80 so far.  Now I need 40 more and then I will sew them together.  Planning on 10 blocks across and 12 blocks long, then I will add a border.  I'm thinking that this will give me the size that I want.  I will put it on the bed and if it's not big enough then I will just add another row of blocks. 

 I'm loving how fast these sew up.  A good use of 2" squares and strips. 

 While sewing these blocks today I also pieced one more Scrappy Star block.  I'm just sort of using it as a leader/ender for now. 

 I sewed most of the day and cleaned the house a little.  LOL!  Richard worked and Hunter cut the grass.  Tomorrow probably will not be a "sew day" as I have a bunch of cucumbers that I need to make pickles with.  Then on Monday we will be digging up the potatoes! 

New quilt and more blocks!

 I know you are shaking your head but I started a new quilt.  LOL!  Actually, I think this one will go rather quickly.  No pattern really but just a traditional block that can be made any size.  This one is made from 2.5" squares, 2.5" HST, and the sashings are 2.5"x8.5"  I have a bolt of the blue so I figured that I would use if for the sashings.   Totally different from what I usually would use for sashings.

 I also made 10 more Garlic Knot blocks.  This take my total up to 61.  I think I will need 120 of them. 

 I had a really good sewing day.  

I took Hunter to get his Freshman schedule.  :(  Breaks my heart that my baby will be starting high school next week.  We start early here because we miss so many snow days during the winter.  School starts August 3rd.  We had to pick up his schedule, pay book and locker fees, and also walk around and try to find his classes.  Shew....

Sarah's Thimble Virginia Beach

 A couple days late but here is the Quilt Shop that I mentioned in my last post.  Sarah's Thimble in Virginia Beach. 

 When I found out that we were going to Virginia Beach the first thing that I did was Google quilt shops in that area.  :)  I mentioned it to Richard and the boys and they happily sat in the car and ate donuts while I was in the shop.  LOL! 

 I great quilt shop with a nice variety of fabrics. 

 Also lots of patterns and notions as well. 

 If you are ever in the area stop by. 

Family Vacation to Virginia Beach

 We spent a few days at Virginia Beach!  It was very nice and we all had a blast.  It's amazing what a few days away can do for a person. 

 It was so nice to have the boys with us.  We left in the middle of the night on Thursday and got back home late Sunday evening. 

 King Neptune...

 They boys enjoying some pizza!  BTW...I have no clue what that reflection is on Andrew's head.  LOL!

 Cape Henry Lighthouse....

 Swannanoa Palace...

 We toured this on the way back home.

Just a short overview of our trip.  It had been 20 years since I had been to the ocean and Hunter had never been at all.  We had a wonderful time but I am still a little tired.  Funny thing...I forgot and took one of my lasix before we started home.  LOL!  Let's just say we had to stop a lot.  Never take a fluid pill when you are on a long trip.  :)

I'll post more tomorrow.  I also found a quilt shop at Virginia Beach and I stopped by and snapped a few pics.  I'll post all about that tomorrow.  

11 yards of Binding!

 Yesterday I posted full pics of this hand pieced customer quilt. 

 Now this big baby completely finished and it's ready to deliver!!! Yesterday I cut, pieced, and hand sewed the binding! This quilt measures something like 104x104 so that's 416 inches which also equals over 11 yards of hand sewn binding!!! Usually I divide a big binding job like this over 2 days but this time I did it ALL in ONE DAY!!! Yep...my hand is feeling it but I so enjoy it.  The binding is the same purple flannel as the back. 

 Today I will try to catch up on the housework.  :)

Machine Quilting and Birthdays...

 Yesterday I quilted this huge customer quilt!  I didn't even get it all in the photo but it measures something like 104x104.  This was her first quilt and she completely hand pieced it.  It is backed with a very soft purple flannel. 

 I quilted it with a loose design called Happy Times, because it had some fullness.  In the end, it quilted up really nicely without any puckers or pleats.  

I'm not sure of the fabric line but she used charm packs and they are such pretty fabrics....greens and purples. 

 Today I will cut and start sewing the binding on this big baby.  :)  Hope to have the binding done so that I can deliver this quilt on Thursday.  

Today is Richard's 46th birthday!!!!  I thank the Lord everyday for Blessing me with such a wonderful husband and father to our children.  He is working today.  :( 

Hexies and Stitcheries

 I worked on a couple hexagon blocks yesterday.  I only finished 2 of them but that is still progress. 

 I added them to the pile.  I need to prep more hexagons because I will soon run out of the sets that I have prepped now. 

 I dug out my Halloween stitchery and worked on it a little bit.  Hopefully I will have it done by this Halloween.  LOL! 

 Most importantly, I got so babysit this angel for a few hours yesterday.  :)  She is so precious and very rotten...love her so much.

 Hunter has a friend spending the night tonight so I need to do a little bit of cleaning before I start sewing today.

A new project....

First off...LEO came home!  If you read my last post you know that our boxer, Leo ran off and was missing.  He did eventually come home.  He had followed that female stray off.  :(  He is home and we are all very happy.  

Played around with a few Garlic Knots.  Very easy blocks since I already had a bunch of 2" squares already cut from scraps.  So basically all that I had to do was cut the background.  I think right now I have 35 or so blocks.  

I have a customer quilt on the frame that I am working on.  I actually just loaded it yesterday.  It is a big quilt, 104x104 and all hand pieced.  This is her first quilt.  I will post pics as I work on the quilting.  

We will be taking a little vacation soon and I am so excited about that.  It's been a long time.  :)  I'm trying to decide what to take with me to work on.  Only going to be gone for a few days but I still need something to work on.  I was thinking of taking my hexagons but I glue baste them and I love the glue basting vs thread basting BUT we are going to the beach so I'm thinking that if I would on them while on the beach that the heat may melt the glue and they would come loose.  I don't know yet, but I think I read that somewhere.  I could also take some applique but not sure that I would have time to do the prepping before we go.  Or...I could take my Halloween embroidery piece.  Hmmm...I will have to dig that out because that might be a good option to work on. 

Anyway, our little vacation is a secret as we are just going to surprise Hunter.  He doesn't read my blog so I think it's safe to post on here.  Speaking of Hunter, his school starts back August 3rd.  :(  He will be a freshman this year.  :(

After vacation, I have a few projects that I have to get done.  I have put them off long enough.  One is a baby quilt for our new great nephew.  Sadly he is a month old and I still don't have his quilt done.  Another project is a memory quilt that will be made from plaid shirts that belonged to our assistant pastor that passed away a few months ago.  I loved this man dearly and while growing up they were our next door neighbors so we were always very close to this family and kids.  His kids are my and Richard's age.  I just dread working on this in a way because I know I will end up getting very emotional.  

Quilts, Tornadoes, and Missing Dog...

 Another customer quilt off the frame. This is a special quilt because when I picked it up and we unfolded it, you could see how special it was in the owners eyes. They gleamed with pride as she told me the story behind it. Her precious mom hand pieced it and she said that she recognized many of the fabrics as they came from the dusters that her mom wore. I love quilts like this. Today I will sew the binding on and then deliver it tomorrow....hopefully.  :)

 This is the back...

 The weather has been crazy!  We had a tornado touch down in town.  It did a lot of damage to our Walmart and several homes and other businesses.  From what I gather there were only minor injuries...thank the Lord.  This pic is the Walmart parking lot.

 We are so sad right now...our beloved boxer, Leo is missing!  We got him several years ago from a kill shelter and he is just an amazing dog.  He was so poor when we got him, I just felt sorry for him. 

 Yesterday evening we let him out to use the bathroom and he ran off...I guess.  He's never been gone this long.  Hunter is pretty upset and worried.  A few hours before he went missing we had an old stray coonhound that showed up and killed one of my chickens so I'm wondering if he might have ran off with that dog or something.  I posted on FB that he was missing along with his photo.  As soon as they open this morning I am going to call the local Humane Society so they can also be on the lookout for him.  So I ended up losing a dog and a chicken yesterday.  :( 

Binding and Wild Animals

It's been several days since I posted but I've just been busy.  Hunter turned 14 on June 30th but we had his party last Saturday, June 25th since Richard was off work.  Hunter had a great time and it just breaks my heart that my baby is growing up.  

I finished up a few bindings.  Finished my Tumbler binding. 

 This is the backside of that Tumbler quilt.  I absolutely love this panto that I used.

 Here are 2 different customer quilts that I ONLY did the binding on.  When the lady contacted me she said that someone else quilted them for her several years ago and was also supposed to do the binding on them.  Her husband picked them up but didn't look in the bag and the binding had not been done.  So someone else did the quilting but I did the binding on both twin quilts for her. 

 Last night I finished the binding on my Sweet Annie quilt. 

 I think I still have 2 quilts that need the binding done that I quilted a few years ago.  Not sure how I missed the binding on those.  I also have one of the frame that I almost have the quilting done on it and then it will go in the pile for binding.  

We have a pretty good size wild raspberry and blackberry patches here on the farm.  Richard picked some a few days ago and I made a cobbler.  It was absolutely delicious!!!!  Topped with vanilla ice cream.  YUM!

 Last Sunday we had our homecoming service at Church and that is always followed with a big dinner.  Look at this precious pic that was taken of Addison my precious niece. 

 Now I will leave you with the creepy visitor that I had a few nights ago.  He chased me around the house and back in the front door.  In the pic you can see he is coming up on my front porch.  He was even trying to attack my bloodhound, Mammy.

Shew...the things that you see when living out in the woods.  LOL!  Mom and my sister saw a bobcat crossing just a couple hundred feet from my house.  Gotta keep a close eye on my chickens.  Several years ago we had a baby bobcat get in the coop and kill some chickens and then it couldn't get back out so it just curled up in one of the nests and went to sleep.  We found it that next morning sleeping in the nest.