HAPPY BIRTH DAY LYNZEE ANN!!!

She's here!!

7 pounds 4 ounces . . . . 17"

Mom is fine.

Dad's taking pictures already - Lynzee is sucking on her fingers.

Beautiful Summer Day in the Midwest

One of the bad things about living where we do is that Super Wal-Mart is about 30 miles away. It's also a good thing. We tend to take back roads to get there. Well, Scott tends to take back roads. I'm too efficient. I have to get there and back the quickest possible way. Don't waste any time. Sad, I know. But Scott was driving today and that was a good thing. Today was just a picture perfect Summer day in the Midwest. What an enjoyable ride.

Christmas Table Runner - Finished

A Christmas Table Runner

All from my stash. I like the little heart ornamants on the green fabric.

24 HST and a pretty pile of trimmings

12 of these guys

3 stars in a row

A striped narrow border

A wider border.

Ready for sandwiching and quilting.

TAW: Finished and Mailed

The Trip Around the World is finished.
I so enjoyed making this quilt but it took much longer than I planned.
It's in the mail, on its way to its new home.

10 fabrics . . . 3,249 1" squares

Here we go again . . .

Justin and Dayna had us over for Caycee's birthday. All the grandparents and Justin's sibs. Dayna's sibs are: one, out of town; another, out of state; a third, out of the country.

The party girl

Caycee's in Grandma Nettie's arms as we sing and she blows out the candle. She was so proud of herself and LOVED everyone singing to her.

Cooper is waiting patiently for his cake. Looks like his mouth is watering.

And, while we were there, we found out that Adam, who is in the Army Reserves, is being activated and will be deployed. It's like knowing your children are going to drive. You know it's going to happen but watching them drive away is so hard. We knew he could be deployed but it's still a kick in the gut when you get the news.

On Point BOM Month 7 Block 1

My sewing machine in back in the shop (again) and I'm using my long arm machine to piece. The only foot it has besides a quilting foot is a rolled hem foot, which is completely flat. Very hard to piece with, but how can I not sew? It doesn't handle thickness well so where seams come together it sometimes bunches up. I'll have to pull a few stitches and fix a few seams when I get my regular machine back. (Hurry, please!)

Happy Birthday Caycee

What Am I Missing?

I used to think I was pretty good at math. But either I'm losing my talent as I age, or I am just now realizing I'm not quite that good. When I did the math many, many years ago it worked out that I'd be a millionairre by now. Clearly that didn't happen. When I do the math on my own designs on my quilts I am frequently heading back to the quilt shop for more fabric. (Well, that's not all bad.) So now when I do simple math I don't always trust my answers. I stood in the aisle in Wal-Mart for much longer than it should take to buy a few Ziploc bags as I did the math over and over. Somehow the value pack just doesn't seem to be the best value. What were they thinking? Or, am I missing something basic?

In case you can't see it, the box of 22 Hefty quart bags is $1.00 and the box of 40 Hefty quart bags is $3.28?!

The box of 17 Hefty gallon bags is $1.00 and the box of 30 Hefty gallon bags is $3.28?!

Really?!

Fun at the County Fair

Zak and a baby cow at the petting zoo.

Zak "saving the day". I suspect this was his favorite part of the fair.

He also rode in a "daddy car".


Cooper checking out the bucket in this tractor.
Actually he's checking out the water in the bucket and
trying to figure out if he can get away with stomping his feet in it.


Caycee being shy.

We said on the grass and shared an Elephant Ear and Funnel Cake. The kids snacked and ran around letting off some steam. Shortly after this we were trudging to our cars and minutes later Caycee and Cooper were sound asleep.

We had fun and wore ourselves out. The adults had the kids outnumbered but it sure didn't feel like it. If we do this again I think we need more adults!

County Fair - UPDATED

So I went to the county fair to see all the pretty quilts hanging. I was looking forward to seeing everyone's work and drooling and being inspired. And I was looking forward to seeing my map quilt hanging. I thought a few people would get a kick out of seeing how I represented their farm or store on the quilt . . . . the place with big and little matching barns, the one with just 2 cows and a pony, the pig farm (LOTS of pigs), the farm with the red white and blue silo, the Dairy Queen (of course!) , the quilt store . . . . I know - get a life. But all the quilts were folded and stacked on shelves behind glass doors. WHAT?! There were three small wall quilts hanging and the champion quilt was hung on a hook like a coat. boo hoo!!!

On a positive note, all of the photos were on display so Sarah and John's photos of Cooper are all over!

UPDATE (07/21/09) When I picked up my quilts I spoke with a couple women who were working in the building where the exhibits were displayed. They were very nice and agreed that the quilts needed to be displayed. They said space was a problem but were planning to try to figure something out for next year. They also said one of the women working during judging "lived" on my map and recognized several farms!

Map Quilt - final stages

Bright Idea . . . or . . . Quilting Disaster Waiting to Happen

As I quilt along, knowing how far my machine will reach makes a big difference in keeping the quilting pattern looking good. Not knowing creates flat circles and lines in funny places. Usually I can keep track by pulling the machine forward before I start and remember where it hits on the block. With the World quilt there's no way to do that. The first couple passes I was either coming down too far or not far enough. So I had the bright idea of laying a bit of fabric where I had to stop. I tried the strips that I had cut for the binding but it looked to much like the quilt. Bright red strips seemed to be the answer. I just hope I don't move any accidentally and wind up quilting bright red fabric to the top of the quilt. I'm keeping my seam ripper close by.



And I punked out with the quilting design. I doodled pages of different quilting designs and yet I'm doing a meandering all over. Too scared to try something new when I don't have time to rip it out if I don't like it.

Map Quilt Blocks Coming Together

There were a few problems with the creeks overflowing their banks and flooding fields, roads and even homes. That's been a problem in our county the past two years. Everything is under control now and 18 square miles of fields, farms, creeks and roads have come together. 18 more square miles to go.

Map Quilt Update (And World too)

For those of you (Karen) who have been waiting for a Map Quilt Update here are a few pictures.

Now, it might not look like much has been done but my seam ripper would tell you different. My math skills went right out the window with this one.

All of this WILL be a quilt. And SOON. The entry form and entry fee have been submitted to the County Fair office and I will NOT waste the dollar.

I can't wait to put the cars on . . . they are going to be sooooo cute!

I have enough greens leftover for another Map Quilt but I don't think I'll be doing this again anytime soon.

I decided on one border for the Trip Around the World. I really didn't want the quilt to be too much bigger and just wanted to frame it a bit. That's going on the quilt frame today and will be ready for the Fair too.

Poison Ivy/Oak

I know God knows what he's doing but I sure wish He would've given this plant bright orange leaves or something. It might have three leaves, or seven or nine. The leaves can be notched or not. And they are GREEN!

Did you know . . .

that a reaction can take up to a week or more to show up? I didn't know what kind of wierd disease I had with a rash showing up on my forehead, my left wrist, my right forearm. There are a lot of ugly rash diseases on the internet!

that poison ivy/oak rash develops blisters? BIG blisters. I didn't know skin could stretch that far and that fast. And when they (sorry gross) leak and deflate, they fill up again.

that I am a total baby when dealing with pain? Whining, crying, pouting. Big baby.

that in spite of a weakened immune system due to MS drugs, Scott is apparently still immune to poison ivy/oak? Good thing cause when I whine, cry, and pout he can feel bad for me instead of saying he's got it too and it's not that bad. UPDATE: apparently he IS susecptible - breaking out all over. Poor guy.

that children under 5 are seldom suseptible? Thanks for that one God, because Zak was in it too.

So if you are thinking of taking a walk along the I & M Canal, which is a very nice place for a walk, DON'T TOUCH THE PLANTS! Better yet, don't ever touch anything green. Just to be safe. I know I won't. Ever. Really.

Blue & White Quilt

I took a quick break from my other projects to make this simple blue and white quilt. It's for a Grandfather and his Grandson (that I don't know personally) who are very close and are soon to be parted. I hope and pray that the quilt offers some comfort.

Cooper Helps

Cooper came to spend the night sans mom & dad. This morning we headed outside to weed the garden and to water the flowers. Cooper helped with the watering. His own way.

First, you fill your cup.

Then you must watch the water very carefully as you head for the flowers.

Water the flowers.

Back for more.

It's very exacting work.

And every drop needs to get on the flowers.

If You Have Your Health, You Have Everything

Another momism/dadism that I heard over and over and thought "yeah, whatever" and didn't think much more about it. Took me a looooong time to get it.

DON'T TAKE THIS ONE FOR GRANTED!!!

I'm so grateful for my health.

I think I'm addicted

. . . to walking.

I'm really enjoying walking these days. I'm a morning person and my energy generally fades away to nil sometime shortly after dinner (usually by dessert). I thought for a while that if I didn't walk first thing in the morning it wouldn't happen. But my brain wants a cup of coffee first, my belly hollers for breakfast and my hair sticking up in all directions is a good indication that I should shower first before heading outside where I can be seen. (At least one person will pass me on the road. Maybe.) Coffee drunk, breakfast consumed, shower done (hair tamed). I don't want to get all sweaty now - I just showered. So evening walks it is and it's not hard to get out there - I surprise myself. I so enjoy walking. So much that last night it was raining softly and I was really disappointed. I thought of walking anyway - I'd get wet, so what? - but I guess I'm not THAT addicted yet. (Pat, I bet you'd just go and get wet, right?)