One of my old ones and a customer quilt

 I finished this customer quilt up around 12:30am last night.  It measures 90x90.  With only 5 blocks across, the blocks are big.  She loves her quilts quilted "loosely" so I just quilted a big meander. 

 I have made several quilts using this block in the past and have always loved them.  Seeing hers really makes me want to make another one for myself.  :)

 I love quilting her quilts because everything is so precise.  That sure makes me job easier. 

 The other day while at my mom's I saw that she had this quilt that I had made years ago on her guest bed.  I can't even remember how long it has been.  I do remember that I did not quilt it.  This was before I got my longarm and I am on my second one.  I don't even remember the pattern name other than I got it from a magazine.

 Looking at it now, my fabric choices are very busy.  LOL!  Oh well...mom seemed to like it and that is all that matters.  :)

 Speaking of mom, she retires in about 3 weeks!!!!! She is nervous and excited both, I believe.  She will be 65 in a few weeks so I think she is ready and not to mention that the past few years her health has declined just a little.  We've talked about it and she knows that it is time to retire.  We are excited to get to spend more time with her.  So expect plenty of "mom" posts.  :)

Richard left for work a few minutes ago and I need to jump in the shower because I will be leaving with my sister at 7:30am.  My little 3yr old niece has a little dental procedure this morning and they will be putting her to sleep.  My BIL works away and will be home today but not in time for the appointment.  So I'm going with my sister for moral support.  LOL!  Then once I get back home, I will hopefully load another quilt on the longarm. 

Nearly 2000 Bricks!

 Hi guys!!!!  Sorry it's been so long between posts so hopefully I still have some readers.  Wow!!!  What a busy Christmas season!  I did get all of my customer quilts finished on December 23rd...nothing like getting down to the wire.  LOL!  I didn't post because some I could post pics of before Christmas and some I could not so I just got overwhelmed and quilted but did not post.  

Now that the rush is over, I took a week off after Christmas to clean and organize my studio.  It was horrible!  While doing that I found some blocks that I wanted to play with and that ended in a finished quilt top!  Man did it feel great getting to do some sewing for ME!  

I absolutely love working with scraps! I was gifted some new-to-me scraps and it renewed my interest in working on this quilt.  Making scrap quilts is my favorite thing to do but sometimes it gets old when it seems like you are working with the same old scraps.  I can't tell you how excited that I was for new scraps. 

Each piece was cut to 2"x3-1/2" and sewn into this top.  It measures 94x108 and has nearly 2000 bricks in it. 

 I'm very pleased with how it turned out.  Now I can't wait to quilt it but I need to see if I have a backing for it first.  :)

 I also stitched up these strips of Novelty scraps for a kid quilt.  I actually made two sets of strips one that is more girly and one that is more boyish.  I need to see what I have that would work for sashings and borders.  Not sure what I will use these for yet...gifts or donations...

 One of my Christmas gifts was these awesome lights to go over my longarm.  I had some up there but they did not put out much light.  I love these!!!!

 I think I mentioned before that my mom was supposed to have surgery on her shoulder but she hasn't had it done yet.  She to have some pre-surgery testing and then the surgeon refused to do the surgery right now because her blood pressure and blood sugar is staying too high.  Hopefully we can get that under control and she can get something done.  On top of that, she is sick right now with a touch of pneumonia.  :(  Richard checked her lungs yesterday and said that he could still hear a little bit of wheezing in the one lung.  

Hunter had is oral surgery Dec 27th.  He did really well and has had very little pain from it.  He is 15 but still had a baby tooth that had not came out.  The permanent tooth was turned sideways up in the roof of his mouth...nowhere near where it needs to be.  So they had to pull the baby tooth then go through the thin eggshell bone in the roof of his mouth to get to the permanent tooth.  They then had to attach a bracket and hook a chain to the tooth and that chain will be attached to his braces to get it pulled into place.  They said this is not an unusual procedure and that they do it often.  He goes Thursday to his orthodontist to have the chain and stuff hooked up.

Hunter was supposed to get back to school today but they canceled it due to the cold temps.  He is excited to be home again.  :)

I guess that is all for now...I promise I will be posting more often now that my Christmas rush is over.

Another one down...

My latest customer quilt is finished!  I'll admit this one was trying.  The fabrics were very stretchy.  The customer and I decided that an overall large stipple was best for it.  So many different fabric textures that it was just very stretchy to quilt.  In the end, I think it turned out pretty good.  Sorry the pics are blurry.

Last night I loaded another one on the frame so it is ready to go this morning!  It is a very pretty patchwork.  I'll post pics of it tomorrow.  

Have you ever been in a big hurry and messed something up so in the end it is just going to take you longer?  Shew....  A few days ago I got in a big hurry quilting a baby quilt and ruined it.  Yep, I either have to pick it all out or just make another one.  LOL!  I have quilted with Minkee a million times but I got in a big hurry and stretched it so bad that when I removed it from the frame it is just a big wrinkled mess.  That's what I get for trying to rush.  LOL!

Richard had been off work for the past few days and yesterday was his first day back.  He is getting ready for work today as I type this.  The boys are still asleep but Andrew will be getting up shortly for work as well.

I forgot to post about my Acorn Flour!  The first batch, I used about 1-1/2 gallons of acorns and in the end I have a little over half a quart of flour.  I used some in waffles, mixed it 50/50 with self-rising flour so that it would rise and it worked perfectly.  The taste is hard to explain but the closest thing that I can think of is "wheaty".  It has kind of a wheat taste.  Anyway, it is good and a fun little treat.  

I think I mentioned about a month ago that my momma fell and was off work.  She had another appointment on Thursday and the doctor put her off for 6 more weeks.  She is doing better but just not back 100%.  Her biggest issue that she is having right now is her shoulder and with her job being a cook she certainly has to use both arms and do a lot of lifting.  

Over the hills and through the woods to Grandma's house we go...literally!

 Let me take you on a walk!  I've mentioned before that if I walk through the woods that my mom is close by.  I can't see her house from mine and it takes a few minutes longer if I drive but if I walk, it's just a few short minutes.  Hunter and I walked to her house and I took the camera along.  

This is our "new" driveway.  We had it done a few years ago but we don't really use it yet because we need to do a little more work to it and get several loads of gravel on it.  You can also see that I got the corner of the tractor in the photo.  :) 

 To the left of the that driveway is one area where the horses like to roam.  The horse were not in sight on the way to mom's. 

Going on up the driveway.  It's hard to really tell but it is a little steep. 

 Another view of the woods where the horses like to roam.  You can tell that they stay in this area a lot because all of the underbrush and leaves are gone. 

 Getting close to the top...

 When you get almost to the top, you cut down the hill to the left.  Hunter also rides this trail with the 4 wheeler to visit with mom. 

 Here he is in front of me...

 The beautiful woods...

 A lot of the leaves have already fallen...

 We are getting closer...if you look close you can see the roof of mom's house and the pool...

 The beautiful sky...

 Getting closer...

 The field...mom enjoys walking the field, Hunter rides the 4 wheeler down there a lot and not to mention the horses love it as well.  You can't see all of the field but there is also a pond and apple trees down there. 

 We spent some time with mom and headed back home....back up  the hill on the trail...

 Still heading home...

 The woods are so peaceful...

 The sun was shining on this nice Fall day...

 We start back down the driveway, you can see the brown roof which is my house and the other building is an outbuilding. 

 I hope you enjoyed our little walk through the woods.  :)  I love living out in the country.  

This is an old photo but I have been prepping more Orange Peels to work on during the evenings.  I love these little things. 

 Trying to get things ready for cold weather.  Shew...the forecast is saying Sunday morning that it could be down in the 20's!!!!  :(  Yuck!

Go check out my other blog...Kristie's Pantry to see what we have been cooking and eating!!!! 

Minor accident and some cleaning...

 Hunter had a little minor accident yesterday evening.  Now my boys are not much for playing video games all day.  Hunter likes them but he would much rather be outside running through the hills or something.  Not too long after Richard left for work last evening, Hunter told me that he was going to go outside and make himself a slingshot.  This is nothing unusual.  A little while later he came in with his leg bleeding!  The end of his hatchet came off and hit him right on the shinbone.  I couldn't get it pulled back together or get it to stop bleeding so off to the ER to get 4 stitches!  :(  He's fine today, just a tiny bit sore.  Thank God that it wasn't worse. 

I've been staying rather busy the past several days.  First of all while working on my bow ties I started playing around with some Cathedral Windows stuff.  Trying to figure out the size that I want to work with.  This is not a project that I plan on starting anytime soon, just some day.  :)

 I also took some time to play around with my new girl.  This is my 1919 Singer Red Eye that I got a few weeks ago.  She sews rather well and I think I will be spending lots of time with her.  :)  I just grabbed a little stack of 2" squares and started sewing.  Not sure what they will be used for but I'm sure they will be used someday. 

 We've been having a few days of cooler weather so I started cleaning my sewing room.  I don't sew up there during the summer as it just gets too hot so everything gets piled up.  I also had some exercise equipment up there that needed to be moved into the workout/tanning room that we were converting bedroom #4 into.  All of that is moved out now so I could actually clean my sewing room.  This is a photo of my cutting and sewing table area...

 This is my shelf that holds my books/magazines and some yardage.  I've had this bookshelf since I was 13, my brother made it for my birthday.  :)  Oh...btw...that little white machine on the shelf...it is a Singer Featherweight!  LOL!  It sure doesn't look like the old ones, does it? 

 

 Shamefully...this is the other side!  LOL!  :(  It doesn't look that bad right now as I have cleaned since I took this photo.  Actually, that is what I was doing yesterday when Hunter cut his leg.  After it is all cleaned and organized I will post more photos. 

 

Please say a little prayer for my boys...Andrew has a little trip that he is going on tomorrow a few hours away but will be staying overnight.  Hunter has his appointment at Shriner's Hospital on Wednesday and that is also close to 3 hours away.  Also, my precious momma is having some health issues that we are trying to get under control. 

Before I forget...anyone use a FITBIT?  Want to be FITBIT FRIENDS?  LOL!  I was gifted one and I am trying to make myself get at least 10,000 steps a day.  Some days I get more, some days I get less.  

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

Working on some Hickory Nuts!

 First off, I hope that everyone has had a wonderful Mother's Day.  I feel very Blessed to be the mother to my boys.  They are my world!  

Last night I was home alone and I took some "me time"  LOL! Richard worked last night, Andrew was house sitting for my sister and Hunter wanted to stay with him.  My mom and sister left on a cruise to the Bahamas.   I sat and watched sad girly movies and cried.  I also played around with my Hickory Nut project!  Now before you say, "Another project???"  I am still working on my Lucy Boston Crosses but I just wanted to try this new template out. 

 I love this!!!  It is a great quilt-as-you-go project!  I have tons of leftover Hobb's 80/20 batting that I cut off from the edges when I am machine quilting so this is a great use for them.  

This template comes in 3 sizes and this one is the "large" it finishes up at around 3.5"  For example, the gold hexagon is cut from a 3.5" strip or scrap, so is the piece of batting.  The larger hexagon is cut from a 5.5" strip or scrap.  Just to give you an idea the larger hexagon which is the backing measures 2" larger than the center.  Here is a great tutorial on how the templates work. 

 Here is one that I was getting ready to sew.  I sew them just like I would sew binding.  You could also sew it by machine if you wanted. 

 I thought about whip stitching these together but thought that if I did a blind stitch or ladder stitch then I could make this thing reversible.  So I sewed two together and was pleased with how it looked. 

 Here I wanted to see how they would all look.  I'm not even sure what this will be or even how large.  You could make coasters, mug rugs, table runners, wall hangings, lap quilts, bed size quilts, just whatever.  I figure I will work on them once in a while and I will stop when I get tired of it.  LOL!

 I showed a few of them to mom before she left and she fell in love with them so we may end up cutting out a bunch of them for her to take back to work with her in a few weeks.  :)  That would give her something to work on in her spare time.  

So tonight, it is just me and Hunter.  Richard is working and Andrew is house sitting.  
Kristie

Working on 1 of 3 quilts...

 I am working on 3 of these quilts!  This is the beginning of 1 of 3.  It is called, Anchors Aweigh and the fabric line is Tula Pink's.  It is a big anchor.  One quilt is a commission quilt. The second is for mom, as I figured she would like it as she works on a tugboat on the Mississippi River.  The third quilt is for Andrew as he saw that I had it pulled up on the computer and wanted one too.  

 This is a little more modern than what I usually do and the fabrics are totally not what I usually work with, but I guess sometimes it is good to step out of the box.  I will do one at a time and not work on all three at once.  The good thing is that I have ALL 3 of them cut except for the background fabrics.  

One day last week I made an apron!  :)  I think I will give this one to mom as she uses them on the boat as she cooks.  I had an apron that I liked the style but it was a child apron so I stretched it out over my fabric and just cut it out bigger.  It worked out great that way.  I have 3 more of them cut and I will probably just split them up between us both. 

 Hopefully tomorrow I can get a few more rows sewn together on this quilt.  Not like I can get out and do anything in all of this snow.  We have 9 inches, more or less.  This has been one of the worst winters that I can ever remember KY having in my 41 years. 
Kristie