6,480 PIECES!

 Yep!  I finished the quilt top!!!  It has 6,480 pieces in it!

 Details...3" blocks, 1080 blocks, 6,480 pieces, and it measures 90/108.

 I looked back and I guess I started it September 2013.  I didn't work on it constantly because sometimes I just got sick of it.  I'm really happy with how it turned and even though it feels good to have it finished, I am a little sad that it is done.  I loved the little blocks...most of the time. 

 I didn't have a place in the house to spread it out for a photo so I took it outside and tried to find the driest part of the yard that I could find.  :)  It got up to 60 degrees here yesterday so most of the snow in my yard melted.  There are areas where I still have snow

 It's funny as a few days ago we had below zero temps and 12" of snow, yesterday it was sunny and 60!  Hunter actually has school today but on a 2-hour delay.  It is still early morning and I'm thinking that they may end up canceling it anyway.  The bus can't get up our road because it is still snow and ice covered.  We are up on this big hill but most areas in the rest of the county are having major flooding and mudslides.  So many kids will not even be able to get to school.  Here is one of the roads about 8 miles from the house. 

 This was another road a few days ago.  Do you see the stop sign? 

I am soooo ready for SPRING!

The Cutting Is Finished!

 I have finally finished the cutting of the last 155 bow ties!  Now to just get them pieced!  I am sewing downstairs now as it is too hot upstairs. 

 I have them all ready to sew and in the basket by my machine!  I hope to get most of them sewn tomorrow and then start piecing more of them into larger blocks.  BTW...the handsome man in the photos laying behind my basket, is my brother, John.  :)  I was sorting through some photos for mom. 

 I pieced most of these on my 1933 Featherweight but I guess I will finish them up on my Singer 328K Style-O-Matic. She is a good sewing little machine.  She sits in the corner of my dining room and I used her a lot last summer when it was too hot upstairs. 

 Off to bed soon and hopefully lots of sewing tomorrow!!!
Kristie

Crackers!!!

 Today while working on my bow ties I was trying to figure out what my next "small block project" would be and I think I found it! CRACKERS! 

 This morning I was piecing some of my bow ties blocks into larger blocks like these...

 As you can see I have a bunch more to sew into larger blocks and I also need to cut out 200 more blocks.  :)  I know that sounds like a lot but I am close to being finished.  I am loving this quilt so far. 

 Anyway, years ago I saw an old antique quilt made from small cracker blocks.  I fell in love with it and knew that someday I wanted to make one and I think now is the time.  :)  I'm not in a hurry and will work on it like I did my bow ties, just a little at a time. 

 I got my pattern from EQ and just made it to finish at 4" not as small as my 3" bow ties but still small.  I think I'm going to like this one too.  :)  If anyone is interested in making some of these blocks too, Quilter's Cache has the pattern for a 6" block.  :)

 I only did the six blocks to see if I was going to like the process of making them and I do so I will get back to my bow ties and get those finished so that I can move on to the CRACKERS!!!
Kristie

Tons of bow ties...

 This is what I have been working on...

 It started a few years ago as my leader/ender project but then I ended up just working on it a little here and there.  These bow ties will finish at 3" 

 I need a total of 1080 of them to make a 90/108 quilt.  At this point I have 823 of them sewn and a few more cut out so I still need to cut 200+ more of them. 

 I know that sounds like I still need a lot of them but I am getting close considering in the end there will be 1080.  I'm getting anxious.  

I've been sewing some of the finished ones into 9 patches to make it easier to piece the rows.  I will do 10, 9-patches across and 12 down. 

 Now on to other news....I received a FITBIT on Wednesday.  So far I love it!  The first day, since I only had it half a day, I got in a little over 5,000 steps.  Thursday, Friday and today I have gotten in over my 10,000 steps.  It also tracks your sleep and I slept for over 8 hours last night but woke up 21 times!!!  Now I know why I stay tired!  LOL!  

My momma came home from work a few days early as she was in tears with back pain.  She has arthritis, narrowing of the spine and a few other issues and she was in great pain.  She refused to go to the ER but will be seeing her doctor first thing Monday morning.  Please say a little prayer for her, it breaks my heart to see her hurting the way that she is.  

Tomorrow is also our Homecoming Service at Church.  After the Church service we all gather outside at the big shelter for some good home cooking!  Lot's of people come other than the regular members, people that used to attend Church there but moved away or extended family members, it is so enjoyable.  

Sadly we lost a dear friend to cancer a couple of days ago.  His funeral was today and his viewing was yesterday.  So sad, he dear wife, kids and grandkids were having such a hard time, just breaks my heart.  

I think I'm heading to bed now....
Kristie

Bow Ties and Weekend Fun...

 Yesterday I cut out more bow ties and they are now ready for piecing.  I cut a total of 123 of them.  I need 220 more, other than these to get my total needed of 1080.  I can't wait to get this quilt top finished, I love the tiny 3.5" bow ties! 

 My friend that is bringing me the Singer Red Eye that I mentioned in the previous post sent me a photo of the serial number.  I checked the Singer website and it dates it from 1919.  I'm very excited.  I haven't decided if I am going to convert her over to a hand crank machine or put her in a treadle cabinet that I have.  I've been using the treadle cabinet as an entry table but it doesn't have a machine in it. 

 Richard is working tonight and is off the weekend.  Saturday we are having a cookout.  All of the guys have been catching some catfish and frogs so we will be fixing bunches of catfish and fried frog legs.  Of course we will have a few hot dogs and burgers too.  :)  Andrew and his buddy is going to try to catch a big turtle tonight and we will fix it too.  Plan on playing some horseshoes also.  Lots of back yard fun with friends and neighbors that isn't going to cost anything...that's the best kind.  I'll take plenty of photos!  :)

Still nursing my abscessed tooth, it's getting a little better.  I have to get rid of the infection before they can pull it.  I needed to have this wisdom tooth out 20+ years ago. 

I hope to do a little hand piecing tonight.  Hunter and I are planning on watching a movie.  Have you ever watched Secondhand Lions?  I like that movie, well I like anything with Robert Duvall in it.  My favorite movie of his is Lonesome Dove.  
Kristie

Cross Progress and fun...

 More progress on my Prayer Cross Quilt.  I have the first 5 rows completely sewn together.  The other pieces are just on the wall to check for color placement.  I plan on working on this again tonight.  I should have it finished soon. 

 I also got a few bow tie sections pieced for my leader/ender project.  I am getting closer to the end on this one. 

 I got this bread machine and yesterday I tried it out.  I fixed spaghetti for supper and in the book I found a recipe for spaghetti bread.  The ingredients....bread flour, yeast, sugar, onion salt, Italian Seasoning, Parmesan cheese, and water...I think that was all.  Anyway, it was delicious!!!  Hunter loves bread so this morning I have another loaf in.  I'm making traditional white bread.  I think I will be using this often as we love fresh bread. 

 Hunter had another award's day on Thursday.  He received 2 more awards.  So very proud of him. 

 Friday was his last day of 6th grade.  He has grown so much this year.  He is 11 yrs old and is taller than I am.  :(  That's not saying much since I am only 5ft.  LOL!

 Friday evening after dark we had him a little "weenie roast" to celebrate his last day of school.  Just something simple with me, Richard, Andrew, Hunter, my sister and BIL.  My sister Chantal and hubby Ronnie brought stuff for S'mores.   You can see here that he was having a good time because he kept goofing off every time that I would take his photo. 

 Starting tonight he has Vacation Bible School (VBS) all week.  

Richard worked last night but Andrew and my BIL, Ronnie went fishing at the Lake way up in the night.  Not even sure what time that Andrew got home.  Good thing that we live less than a mile from the Lake.  :)  Anyway, next weekend we are planning a big fish fry cookout!  Should be lots of fun.  So far we have 9 catfish and some frog legs!  They went gigging the other night and got some frogs.  I'm a country girl through and through and I love to fish but I can't stand the taste of fish or any type of seafood.  :(  So it will be burgers for me.  LOL!  Since they are "catching" all of the food, it will be pretty much a "cost free" cookout...except for my burgers!  LOL!  

Andrew will be exhausted today as I said he fished late into the night.  Then he got up at 7am this morning and left out on a long drive to Columbus, Ohio for a guitar show.  He wasn't driving so that is a good thing, maybe he can rest.  If you don't mind, say a little prayer that he has a safe trip.  :)

I got a surprise visit last night!  My MOMMY!  She works away on a tug boat and they just happened to dock about an hour away.  They let her off for the evening so imaging my surprise when she knocked on my door when I wasn't expecting her for another 3 weeks!  
Kristie

Catching up...

 It's been a couple of weeks since I have posted so this is a photo heavy post.  First off let me start with some quilting stuff.  

My dear friend, Janet sent me some Civil War scraps and I cut out 132 more bow ties for my quilt to use as leaders and enders.  Thanks so much, Janet this gets me closer to my goal of 1080 bow ties.  

I had a birthday back on March 9th and had a wonderful day with my family.  Richard and my boys were teasing me about being 108...not 42, so look what they put on my cake.  Love them all so much. 

My mom and sister came by and brought me a chocolate cake!  So I had plenty of cake.  I also had a nice call at 2am from my brother.  When I answered the phone (in the middle of the night) he started singing "happy birthday" to me.  :) 

 

 Most of you all know that I love to can food.  I bought a bunch of chicken and some bratwurst on sale the other day so I canned them up for ready made meals.  This really helps me out, not only on the grocery bill by being on sale but also since everyone here is on different work/school schedules.  We don't always get to eat at the same time so this way we can grab a jar, heat it up and eat!  

14 quarts of Spicy Mexican Chicken Soup.  I added some potatoes and red pepper seeds as my guys like it hot. 

 

 I also canned some cooked chicken.  I will use this for chicken casserole, chicken salad and stuff like that. 

 And some bratwurst!  My boys laughed at these as they said it looked like a "science project gone bad!"  This was actually before they went in the canner.  I browned them in the oven and put 5 to a quart jar.  Pressure canned them at 10 lbs of pressure for 90 minutes.  Afterwards, they have a little bit of their own juice in the jar.  They have already eaten a jar of these.  They taste really good. 

 I feel like I have been having some issues with my ADD lately.  I keep jumping from thing to thing and very little seems to get done.  Well...I'm posting photos of things that I did get done but my house is a wreck!  LOL!  So....I got on this scarf making kick and I have made a zillion of them.  :)  I've actually sold a few of them.  They are fun and give me something to do to keep my hands busy when I don't feel like quilting. 

 Almost finished, if you are still reading.  :)  This is Hunter's "selfie" that I found this morning.  He was waiting on the bus...THAT DID NOT COME. 

 I called the bus garage to see where the bus was and they said that the bus driver said, "the road was covered with snow and too dangerous to drive on"  How dangerous does that look?  :(  I will not go into details but I was not pleased as this was NOT the first time this has happened.  So...I had to wait for Richard to get home from work this morning as he works night and I took Hunter to school.  He was late!  :( 

 Also this next photo is a long story but this is a photo of the front of my house as of this morning...

 Having to get a well drilled.  Our well went dry and the bottom caved in.  Yep....no water for a very long time. Good thing I am a country girl as we've had to pack water in and go to my mom's or sister's house to shower.  Very inconvenient but it is life and life goes on.  :)  At one point we even brought snow in in buckets to melt to flush toilets and such.  :)  That was when the weather was horrible.  LOL!

That's all for now...I'll be back in a few days
Kristie

Ready to be assembled

 I finished up ALL of my Churn Dash blocks!  :)  I have 30 of them for a 5x6 setting.  Here are half of the blocks up on the design wall.  I will start sewing them together this evening as Richard is working tonight.  I'm still not sure what I will use for the border yet. 

 This is the stack of the other 15 for the bottom half of the quilt. 

 A couple of days ago while at Walmart shopping for groceries and household supplies I found the clearance isle.  I usually don't tend to spend money on things that are not absolutely needed BUT...I couldn't pass these up!  I found 2 Fiskars Rotating Cutting Mats for the cost of....

 See that sticker????  $2.00!!!  I grabbed both of them as fast as I could.  LOL!  I know that some people do not like them but I had one a few years ago and it worked well for me.  These usually run around $30 so I was a really happy girl when I found these. 

 Along with sewing on my Churn Dash blocks I have pieced over 100 bow tie blocks for the month of February so far!  I'm hoping that I can keep up the pace and reach my goal of 1080  3.5" bow tie blocks before the end of the year.  I would love to have it pieced and quilted by the end of December but I'm not sure if my scrap basket will hold up until then.  :)  Most of them are Civil War scraps but not all of them.  I am mixing in some fabrics that blend well with them.  I'm loving working with these 2" pieces. 

Well...I guess I am off.  I have a few things to finish up in the house, like laundry before I head up to the sewing room for the night.  I am one that loves to stay on schedule and Church was canceled again this morning due to the road conditions.  That really messes with my day as I enjoy going to Church.  :(  I am sooooo ready for SPRING!!!

I'm a bouncer!

 Everyday I struggle with Adult ADD this affects everything from my housework to my quilting.  The past several days have been a big struggle to keep on track with everything.  In my housework I am constantly making lists and I also do that in my quilting but this time you can really tell that I have bounced from project to project.  I think all of this snowy weather has had something to do with my change in mood.  

First off, I worked on these blocks.  I cut them out from my scrap basket a few months ago.  I have 19 blocks finished and need a total of 30 for the quilt that I have planned.  The rest of the blocks are cut out, I just need to sew them together. 

 I finished appliqueing another Dresden.  I think this is block 9 or 10.  I have all of the blocks pieced they just need to be appliqued to the background.  I need to do a total of 20 of them, so this should make me halfway.

 I played around for a new quilt for Andrew's bed.  I am working on my Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt for Hunter and wanted to do something for Andrew too.  I love this block but it measures less than 8" so I would need a million of them for his queen size bed.  I love the block but I hate making them so I moved on to something else.  I do think I will piece about 4 of them to make a little table topper for his nightstand. 

 Still playing around with the same blues, I pieced this block.  I enjoy piecing them, they are quick and easy. 

 I have more cut and ready do sew!

 While working on all of the above projects, I pieced more bow ties for my leader/ender project.  I have 378 of them and for the quilt that I want to make I need around 1100.

 I also pieced a few apple cores. 

 While pressing my bow ties I found that I had mixed up a couple backgrounds.  I started to rip them out but just left them.  I don't figure that in a quilt of 1100, 3 inch bow ties that you would even notice them. 

 When I came down stairs from sewing this evening this is what I saw....Richard snuggled on the couch with one of my quilts.  :)  I love this quilt....and I love him.  :)

The weather here has been horrible.  Hunter has only had 5 days of school since before Christmas break!!!  I figured that they would have school Monday but I just looked out and it is pouring snow....again.  :(  
Kristie