Happy New Year

And I am ready- didn't get much finished the last month and I am having sewing machine withdrawal. I did finish up all the birdie blocks and am ready to put them together. I rec'd a new book for Christmas and am anxious to do something new. Hope you all had a Happy Christmas We had a great day- some wished for snow as we can't remember a Christmas that the ground wasn't white and we had the windows opened.

Three weeks since I've posted ; (

Bet you think I've been getting ready for Christmas and doing lots of sewing- you would be wrong. I had a reaction to a med. and I was so stiff and sore I could barely get out of bed. It is getting better and I actually did some decorating today. My DH has done lots for me. I didn't do hardly any shopping so everyone will not get many gifts. Dinner will be at our house with lots of help.
Hope you all are ready and will have a Merry Christmas with your families and friends. I can't wait to get back to sewing.
We usually have snow by this time of the year but none yet. The temp is in the 40's today. BB

Another treadle

This is another treadle

My Cabinet

This is the cabinet for the machine below. Will show a different one in a day or so.

Treadle Machine

My DH says I am taking up more than my share of the basement so I have to downsize. I have 8 treadles to show but haven't agreed to the downsize idea (yet) so am just going to show them to you. I didn't take a picture of the cabinet but it has 6 drawers and the machine comes up when you open the lid. I also have a 99 in a portable case and of course a FW plus a Pfaff that is my main machine.

Haven't been doing much sewing as I am having some problems and will have an MRI soon. Hope you all are getting your Christmas sewing finished

Another UFO-finished

Guess I haven't been very faithful about posting on my blog- I have been sewing but mostly articles I can't show. It is a very gloomy day here and wouldn't be surprised if we get a few flurries later. Our quilt guild Christmas party is at noon so hope if its going to snow it waits until later as quite a few members are from out of town.

I had a box of double knit squares that my DH cut for me when he had back surgery and was in a cast for 6 months so decided to sew them together- put fleece on the back - tie them and give them to the grandkids to keep in their cars. This is the last one- ready to be tied. One more UFO finished. This week I have to get busy with some serious sewing. Hope you all are having lots of luck with your projects.

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope you all have lots to be thankful for and have a great day. Beautiful weather here in South Dakota 60º today and more good weather tomorrow.

My Book

Look what was in my mailbox- Quiltmaker's new 100 blocks book that I won. There are so many nice blocks and I have several marked already. Thank you Quiltmaker for finding my name. Now I am off to the sewing room -am trying to finish a few Christmas gifts. Have been out to eat 3 times this week- On Monday we went to a second Veterans day meal at our senior center. It was nice that they honored the Vets. On Wednesday our Red hat group went to the cafeteria at the local votech school where the students in the culinary department cook and serve. It was very tasty. On Thursday we went back to the senior center for an early Thanksgiving dinner- turkey and all the trimmings. They had a big crowd and was soooo good. Now for some sewing. Hope you all are having a great day.

A sewing day

Not- today Was supposed to be my sewing day but it didn't happen. After breakfast I put some clothes in the washer and headed into my sewing room. I cut some squares for my yo-yo table topper- oops a telphone call. By the time I finshed talking it was time to make a crockpot of stew ( going to be cold for a few days). I got it all cooking and had to make some lunch- then decided we couldn't have stew with out fresh bread so I made a couple loaves of bread. On the counter was a recipe I found for choc. pumpkin pie so made that while the oven was hot. Then the power went off for 45 min. Everything got done but the bread was a bit crusty but no one complained. Now I am going to chill- no sewing tonight. Hope you all had a good day : 0

See The button!!

See the button on the right side of my blog- I am a lucky winner of Quiltmakers volume #4- 100 blocks book. Click on the button and you can visit their website.
Haven't been on my blog for quite a while- am sewing when I get time- making some Christmas presents which I can't show.
Today we went to a Veterans Day dinner served by the American Legion, the VFW and the DAV. It was very good and they had a large crowd. I hope everyone appreciates what the veterans gave up so we could have all our freedoms. Thanks Veterans.

Happy Halloween

Hope you all have a happy Halloween!!

A small finish

Finished my Birdie block so since I don't have much else to show- this is it. I am working on my row robin for the 2012 circle of friends and will mail the first row off this week-end and sometimes get a tiny bit of hand-quilting done. I do enjoy playing cards and do that couple times a week. Today we are celebrating anniversary. 58 years for us- we are blessed. Hope you are having a great day.

Something in my mailbox ; )

Look what was in my mailbox today- this beautiful gingher scissors. Thank you Quilter Mary from Keep Me in Quilts blog. I tried it out already. I am making pillowcases. Every Christmas a furniture store gives 25 beds with mattresses to the needy. This year our Extension clubs are furnishing pillows and pillow cases. Others donate quilts and blankets. I also made a quilt block for our past Quilt Guild president and am working on my round robin for the Circle of Friends retreat. Thanks again, Mary

Beautiful Fall Morning.

It is a beautiful morning and I am doing chores. Put a loaf of bread in the breadmaker but will bake it in the oven. Now that the garden is finished maybe I can get to sewing. I have been looking for patterns to do a row robin for the Branson retreat and better get that going as the 1st row is due by Nov. 1- am thinking about a Christmas Sunbonnet Sue.
Went to a cousin's funeral last week and tomorrow my brother-in-law's. He was only 59 and had a heart attack. Guess we should count our blessings.
I have been sewing some placemats but they aren't ready for showing yet. Maybe next week- they are from a block exchange I did and my DH thinks they are way to bright. I am limiting myself to 1 hour daily reading blogs and e-mail. Its tough ; )

Been on the road---

Seems like I am always gone someplace- Today I went to a conference spons0red by the Extension service. It was very informative with several classes about healthy things. They gave away lots of prizes but I didn't win : ( Today is National Taco day so we had to go have tacos tonight.
I am working on some placemats but they aren't ready to show yet.
Today is CBQ's wedding anniversary so it would be nice if you wished her Happy Anniversary. Just don't tell her I told ; )
Hope you all are having good sewing days.

Eye Candy

Have a couple more pictures from the quilt show for you to enjoy. I love going to quilt shows. This afternoon we had a work shop for our county extension clubs. We made a bead ornament and a fall decoration. One of these days I hope to stay home and sew-probably when we have snow ; )
 The first was made from fabric from Alaska and the second is our state bird-the pheasant.

Good morning, another beautiful fall morning and I am doing laundry. Had a busy week. Went to the SD State quilt show. Beautiful quilts and lots of vendors- also  demos. Having lunch with friends was great also. Yesterday was a Needle-art show which was also wondrful. I admire the ladies who do such beautiful things with such tiny stitches. Some things  took 300 hours.  I suppose if I kept track of my hours when hand-quilting I would have lots too. Will show you a couple pictures I took but I think I need a new camera. The first is the back of a quilt. The front was a sampler.

Iron Cozy from Nan

http://www.sewwequilt.com/2011/09/guest-36-nan-with-her-one-hour-iron.html
Go here to see the neat Iron Cozy Tutorial. I am ready to make one. Thanks Nan.

Birdie block #9

Good morning, finally getting my picture taken to post. Its been a busy couple of weeks. Last week we had a polka fest in town for 4 days with the 1st. day for senior citizens. A couple locals played and we had a turkey dinner for $3.00. I think they served almost 500 people.
 Did finish the birdie block- am anxious for the next one. I am also hand quilting but won't show  that for a while. 

  Am working on my siggy blocks for the swap that will be at Circle of friends and is hosted by CBQ. We are having beautiful fall weather and hope you are having the same.  Have a good day.

I'm Back

 But with nothing to show- I did make a couple more blocks for my Sylvia's Bridal Sampler but my camera needs new batteries. Also have been doing some handquilting. Today I worked on a jacket I started in the spring( hope the fabric is still in style next spring) We have been going places a lot because the weather the last couple weeks has been beautiful- going to cool off a little but can't complain. We have been cleaning up the garden and I am digging out some of my peonies- have lots of them.
 A couple of the grandkids remembered Grand-parents day and our son brought us some fresh wall-eye so life is good. Hope you all are having happy times and keeping busy.

I've been MIA

Guess I have been missing- not much time for sewing but I did get my quilt on the frame and started hand quilting it. I think it will be on the frame for some time. This week is the Corn Palace festival. Tanya Tucker has a show tonight and other entertainment all week. Main street is set up for young people with rides and games. There is free entertainment . The Corn Palace is a large building used for shows, basketball games and other things all year. The inside and outside is decorated with corn and other grains and is a tourist attraction. In Sept. there is a 3 day polka fest with people coming from all of the US to dance.
This morning our youngest grandchild stopped for breakfast on her way to college. Probably won't see her again until Christmas.
Hope you all are having nice fall weather and missing all the storms. My garden is starting to dry up but have had lots of produce from it.

Birdie block 8

Another block finished - 4 more to go. Also we had a demo at quilt guild of a simple block so I made one to see if I liked it. Haven't decided yet but it would be a good way to use scraps . The gal that did it used 30's fabrics and it was really pretty. Hope you are all having a great day.

More Hibiscus

Good morning- finally - a beautiful morning here. We even turned the AC off last night and gave it a rest. Since I am not getting much sewing accomplished I thought I would show you more of my flowers. The large flowers are actually burgundy colored but show up red. The only bad thing is they don't last long.

I am still marking my quilt- I am using some of the Crayola washable markers- people say they wash out. I tried a sample and they did so I am going to try them- can't find anything else that shows on some of my fabric.

Two Quilts

It is such a beautiful day in SD that I decided to air out one quilt and wash the other. Both are hand quilted. I used the blue water soluble pencil on the red-blue one and it seems like th color always comes back so I put it in the washer with cold water and didn't agitate it but spun it out and hung it outside to dry. ( Sure hope the birds don't see them) Our youngest will be 50 on Monday and he will get one as a gift. They are both about the same size but hanging different.

You can also see our brown lawn- we decided to let the grass go dormant and use the water in the garden and on the flowers. We have 2 rain barrels we use mostly for flowers.

Pretty Flower

Took this picture in my garden. Thought it was pretty. I didn't plant it and have been watching it grow since spring. The birds must have brought it.

A few blocks from Sylvia's Bridal Samlper

Haven't been on my blog much lately. Lots going on. Am getting cucumbers and tomatoes from my garden-today I made a gallon of refrigerator pickles and had fresh green beans for lunch. Also picking enough tomatoes to eat. Went to a beautiful wedding over the week-end and visited our DS and DIL for a couple days. It is still hot here but maybe we are getting used to it- our lawn is drying up but we are watering the garden. Here are some blocks from SBS.

Caught Up ( Birdie Blocks)

I did finally catch up. Here is my July block. Am also working in my sewing room trying to organize. I decided to cut lots of squares so when I am sitting in my easy chair in the evening I can keep my hands busy. I am going to make yoyo's and also embroider- at least until I get a quilt marked and ready to hand quilt. We have had a death in the family and also a wedding. Lots of birthday parties and anniversaries so have been kept busy. Not much time for sewing. Hope you all are keeping cool- difficult here. Our thermometer is showing 107.1 now and very humid.

looky what the mailman brought!!

Look at the beautiful fat quarters I won from a giveaway on the averagequilter blog. Thank you very much Margaret- I love them

Two more finished

Finally finished a couple more Birdie blocks. Haven't gotten much else done except gardening and things are really growing here. Warm weather and lots of rain. Hope you all are having good sewing days.

Birdie # 4 finished

And I am working on 5. Don't think I will have 5 and 6 finished by July 1. It is HOT in South Dakota. 102 deg. the last time I looked. AC is working overtime. Hope we don't have a power failure. Thursday is the day some of our friends meet for coffee at McD's and there were 2 bus loads of kids in there from TN. plus lots of tourists. Too many for their AC.

I went to the Mill End store in Sx. Falls yesterday and really love that store- only had a few minutes to pick up something I wanted. I need 1/2 day there. They have such a variety and good prices. Seems like everytime we get to SF we have Doctor appointments.

Hope you all are having a good day.

Look -See what the mailman brought!!!

See the pretties the mailman brought. Aren't they beautiful prints?? I won them in a give away at Marilyn's Maze. Thanks Marilyn. They will make something very pretty.

two more finished.

Finished 2 more of my birdie blocks. I think they are addicting. Went to the lake over the Fathers Day weekend so didn't get anything finished but enjoy our family. Boating and fishing plus lots of eating. Today is a beautiful day here- I have been weeding the flower beds.

Lots of heavy rain in the Dakotas with flooding. Some had up to 10 inches of rain in a short period of time. So many homes and farms are flooded. We are far enough away from the mighty Mo but it is wet here. Hope you all are doing okay and getting lots of quilting finished.

5 months behind

Finally finished the first block that should have been done by Feb. 1. Oh well maybe I'll catch up. I used CBQ's idea of using vintage sheet scraps. Thanks CBQ- ( I love visiting blogs. )

Beautiful day here but we have been getting lots of rain, wind and some hail but we feel fortunate because so many families are losing their homes because of flooding and fires.

Sorry my picture is fuzzy- guess I need to change batteries.

Flowering tree

Don't know what this tree is but it covered with flowers that kinda look like seet pea flowers. It blooms a couple times during the summer. If you click on it a larger window will open

Peonies

The wind was bad today and messed up my peonies so I took a picture before they are gone. They were really pretty earlier. We have sooo many mosquitos in the yard. Guess we will have to spray.

Hope you all had a good day.

Slow but sure +2 more

Finished 2 more blocks- am not moving very fast but doing other things. Yesterday I made 2 gallons of rhubarb slush- with vodka. Also been working in my garden. My peonies are opening so when they get a little further I will take a picture to show. With all the storms around it is scary. We have been very lucky. I like to be outside when its nice. I am going to put a quilt on the frame in the basement so when it gets really hot I can quilt. This morning I went to a bridal shower and this afternoon we had quilt guild. lots of show and tell.

Sylvia's Bridal Sampler

Have a few more blocks finished- was going to sew yesterday but couldn't read the sizes of squares to cut ; )

I had my cataract surgery on Wed. and things aren't very clear yet. Ran into some problems so will take longer to heal. I am having sewing with drawal since I haven't touched my machine in over a week. Also had a graduation- my last GD graduated from high school.

Have been looking at the quilts in the Blogger's Quilt Festival- there are some beauties there. I have gotten lots of ideas. Happy sewing and hope you are including the tornado victims in your prayers. BB

Blogger Quilt Festival

I would like to enter my Jewel Box Quilt in the Bloggers Quilt Festival. I love this quilt. It is made of all 30's fabric. I exchanged several blocks in a swap to get a better variety of fabric. It was quilted by my daughter.

Finished Table Topper

This yo-yo table topper was another project CBQ and I did while she was visiting. She made hers into a runner and I did the topper. I was never a fan of yo-yos but the plastic yo-yo maker sure helps. These didn't take long to do. I have a friend who is doing a quilt. Now I have to get busy and make some blocks for Sylvia's Bridal sampler.

Trunk Shows

Sorry I haven't been posting but have been busy. Had Drs. appointments and got some news I didn't like. I need cataract surgery and told I should visit a heart doctor but yesterday was a fun day. Went to 2 trunk shows. The first was by 2 ladies in our community that dress up as older ladies and show their antique and other quilts. They are very comical and enjoyed their show. The second one by Kathleen Morehead-Johnson. She had a workshop today-doing a Kalidiscope quilt using Ricky Timms method. Her quilts at the trunk show were very pretty. I couldn't attend her workshop. Hope you all have a very happy Mother's Day.

Fun project

CBQ and I are still doing little projects. These are lazy girl wallets that we give to friends. We are also making yo-yos for a table runner so are keeping busy. I finished the binding on my Jewel Box quilt. We are finding time to shop....

A holiday gift

Look at the nice gift I just received. Aren't they pretty colors for Spring? Now if it would just stop snowing. ;-)

Busy Sewing

CBQ and I have been playing in the sewing room and made sewing caddies. We found one on Baby Lock and revised the pattern to fit our buckets. We have also been shopping and this morning went to a jewelry sale. Out for coffee (soda) this afternoon and visited with old friends. Now back to sewing. ; )

My Quilt is here!!!!!!!

My beautiful quilt was delivered yesterday- snowy weather all the way. I have the binding to sew on yet but the quilting is soo pretty. You saw the back on CBQ's blog so TA-DA

April 15- Snow???

Hey - its April 15th and we are getting heavy wet snow. Enough already. You can see my peonies and tulips under the snow.

Borders finished : )

I am sorry I haven't been posting on my blog. Finally finished the borders and when the quilt is pressed and any loose threads trimmed it will be ready for my quilter. I am making quilts for my 7 grandchildren for wedding gifts. Now I have to work on Sylvia's Bridal sampler.
CBQ is coming to visit soon and we always do a project when we visit each other. This time I would like to do a small quilting caddy to keep my supplies handy when we have sewing classes. I am scouring the internet for free patterns. Any ideas???
We celebrated my DH's birthday on Sunday. Can't believe he is 80 but a very active 80. I had a dinner for 18 relatives at our home.
We are having nice weather- going to be 70 deg. today. Can't wait to get into my garden. Hope you are all finding time to sew.

Ready for borders??

Finally have the top together- now have to figure out a border. I was going to do it all with greens but it looked kinda blah so finally put some pink with it. Now I like it. Maybe I will keep it rather than give it away as I had planned. ; ). We have a Fabric warehouse, a Ben Franklin and our local LQS. We also have a Wally that has a decent amount of fabric- some very nice so I had lots of places to look and I did.
Today is Thimbleberries sew day and I have fabric but no time to sew today. Our weather is nice so far today but rain and or snow in the forecast. Wish it would warm up so all the flooding would end. So many families are having problems. Hope you are all having a great day and I'm sorry I've been so slow posting on my blog but sometimes life gets in the way.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all. It is going to be a beautiful day in S Dakota. It was 72 degrees yesterday and our snow is going fast. I am going to a salad luncheon to celebrate. ; ) Am trying to put my candwiking quilt together and also working on my Sylvis's Bridal Sampler- both moving slow. Sorry the pictures aren't better.

Gift I rec'd

I have been kinda missing in action- just busy. Made a couple more blocks for my Sylvia's Bridal Sampler. Had problems with Tennesee until I finally worked it out on EQ7 ( with CBQ's help). I have it finished but am not happy with it so will do it over before I show it. Also went fabric shopping for my candlewicking block quilt
and am trying to decide on a layout.
We had Quilt Guild on Saturday . The lesson was on a 10 minute table runner ( one quilter said she made it in 8 min). I haven't tried it yet. Also rec'd a birthday gift from my secret siter in CFEL club (extension). It is for a table runner. The fabric is beautiful- don't know if the picture will do it justice but here it is.

Charming Chatter + hopes

Forgot to post a special letter in Jan. & Feb. but have finished several things. My goal for March is to put together my candle- wicking blocks into a queen size quilt but the way my calendar looks it may be difficult. Also want to make some Sylvia's Bridal Sampler blocks.

Cleaned my sewing room-groan

Haven't been on for a while- I spent lots of time looking for a quilting book and cleaning my sewing room. It could use some more but I am going to sew. Found a couple projects I started but didn't finish (more than a couple ; ) and I did find the book. Also been doing some embroidery.
Yesterday we went to a nearby town to shop a little- no fabric stores there. When we left I said the roads are good but.. a short while later they weren't so good. Snow blew across the road and they got icy. Several cars were in the ditch. Can't wait for spring. Its been a long winter.
Hope you all are having good sewing days.

Two done- 138 to go

Today is the day I am finally getting started- am not going to set any time limit but just sew them when I feel like it. Sounds like we are going to get some heavy wet snow tomorrow so I may get a few more finished.
My favorite Sister- in- law was diagnosed with the terrible C so if you have time to offer a prayer for her we would appreciate it.

Gift Kit-finished

Hope you all had a Happy Valentine's Day. Still having beautiful weather in SD so we have been going- going -going. Stayed home when it was so cold. Today we went to a movie and lunch with friends. I did manage to finish the binding for my Jewel Box and send it off to the quilter. Also finished a kit I rec'd for Christmas. Happy quilting!!

Sewing Machine Repair

A beautiful day in South Dakota after all the cold weather and snow it is 40 degrees and water is running and the snow is settling so it can't blow. Have not accomplished a lot. I am the kind of quilter who hears "Lets have a game of cards and I am ready. My house is clean but not always in order. I was going to sew on my featherweight and it wouldn't sew. I wanted to sew on the sun porch so I could see outside. I was bummed. My DH went to the repair shop and they wanted $60 just to look at it. I looked around the internet and read some tutorials and decided I would fix it- and I did. Now I have more money to spend on fabric. I am sewing strips for the binding on my jewel box.

Jewel Box Quilt

Finally got my Jewel Box top together. I am going to have it machine quilted. These are some of the blocks from a swap and are all 30's fabrics.
Nice day here after all the cold days. Nice to have the sun shining and no wind. Hope you are all warm and safe after all the bad weather in the country.

Fabric & Block swaps

Do you enter swaps on quilting forums?? I do-love the variety of fabrics. I recently joined a swap of snowflakes and snowmen and rec'd so many different patterns. They are squares of fabric 10 1/2 inches in size. This one was hosted by CBQ. I also have joined block exchanges. Have done 9 patches, Jewel Box, blue and white, red and white and a few others. These are some of my squares- probably won't get them together for a while but I like just looking at them. Click on the picture to enlarge it.

Thimbleberries Sew Day.

I finally finished my table (sewing machine )topper. It was waiting for the binding. I made it small to fit my old sewing machine. I put the tulips on to remind me that spring is on the way even if we have lots of snow-but not nearly as much as the northeadtern states. Happy sewing.

Books I won

The mailman brought these books today. They are from Barb at Bejeweled quilts that was a prize in a giveaway. My plan for this afternoon was to FMQ my table topper but now I have to read the books first. Thanks so much Barb.
Also this am. attended a funeral where we lived for almost 50 years. I don't like to go there for funerals because it is either for a relative or a close friend. It was 1º when we left and 2º when we came home this afternoon. I put a loaf of bread in my breadmaker and read a book. It will be good for dinner tonught. It has been snowing lightly all afternoon. Hope you are all keeping warm.