Works in progress ... pictures!

OK - a couple of pictures! I saw a quilt in an Eleanor Burns book. The pattern wasn't in the book; the quilt was just in a photo. My quilt is very similar to the photo. I don't know how large the one in the book was; this one will be about 102" X 120". This picture shows the only side with a border on it! Lots of work to do yet.
This tablerunner was a kit. You can't see all of the detail in the picture but you can see that it is not done!

Sorry, I can't show baby quilts until they are delivered (pun intended!). My sewing rooms are overrun with projects right now - what a mess! And of course, I cannot show my special project... but I did a lot of work on it today!

Works in progress...

I am working on a variety of things:

• A quilt that I began 3 or 4 years ago is finally nearing completion! I am adding and quilting the 8 inch borders. I have a ways to go and it does take quite a bit of time - even more so because other things are competing for my time!
• A tablerunner that I bought as a kit at Eggstravaganza in January is about 80% quilted. I do work on it - at least on Thursday nights.
• Baby quilts - I have two in progress.
• And there are a number of other projects just waiting for my attention!
• But, today I am working on a special project. It is for a very special person - hope I get it done in time! Ray and I are delighted by the progress so far. We have LOTS of ideas so this project keeps growing! One day I'll tell you about it...

Facebook

OK, I took the plunge and joined Facebook today. Almost immediately two classmates from high school found me! One lives near Milwaukee and the other in Mexico. Ray and I did go to high school together (same class) so he is enjoying this also. We haven't posted any pictures or figured everything out yet, but we will in time.

An Evening of Music You Love

Ray was the emcee of the Sunny Day Preschool sponsored event last night at the Apple River Stagecoach Event Center. An Evening of Music You Love featured Tim Janecke (who grew up here), Andrea Amdahl Taylor, and accompanist Pat Beckman. We had a wonderful evening listening to these Chicago professional singers! Tim was a really good vocalist in high school but every time we hear him sing, we are amazed at how great a singer he is now! We were able to visit with many friends and even saw two of the volleyball players from the 1999 state tournament team - Quinn and Jody. There just wasn't time to talk to everyone! In the Silent Auction we 'won' Fonzee's Party Pack - ribs, 3# pulled pork, and 3# brisket. We just need to give him a couple of week's notice and we'll have a party!

We are feeling better(!) and we are crossing our fingers that we will only get better each day with no more relapses.

Cold update

Well, we both still have colds but I think we are getting better. I am keeping busy without doing anything that requires much energy ... so far I have finished Mom's Star quilt, made this little wallhanging (all by machine), read a couple of books, done the taxes, slept a lot, and played on the computer.
One day soon, I need to clean and cook!

Mom's Star

I made this quilt for my mom. It is flannel and quilted with big stitches. She is often cold and I thought she could use this when she lies down on top of her bed or when she is sitting in her chair.
I just finished washing and drying this quilt and it felt soooooo good when I took it out of the dryer!

Jack's Quilt

This quilt belongs to Jack, our newest great nephew. We heard that parents, John and Kristy, were doing his room in a midwestern farm theme so we hope this fits in. Jack was born February 8 and lives in Florida. I made his quilt last November and hope he enjoys it.

The back:

I love the animals:

Colds - ugh!

I have had this cold forever?!?!?! At least it feels like that. I thought I was getting better and then it got worse. Ray has it too. So...we finally called a halt to everything and are intent on getting better. We did very little today. . .

Sawdust Pie

We saw a piece of Sawdust Pie a while back when we ate at the Brewster Cafe in Shullsburg. It looked really good but we were full. Today, I decided to make it. I found a lot of recipes - and they are all the same except for the cooking time!

Sawdust Pie

7 egg whites

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

1 1/2 cup flaked coconut

1 pastry for a 9" single crust pie

1. Whisk the egg whiles until foamy. Mix with the sugar. Stir in the graham cracker crumbs, pecans, and coconut until well blended.

2. Pour into an unbaked pie shell. Bake in 350 degree oven 30 - 35 minutes until glossy and set. DO NOT OVERBAKE! Center should be gooey. This 9" pie serves 8.

We loved it just like this. The pie we saw in Shullsburg had caramel drizzled on it. On the Internet, most recipes say to serve this warm with whipped cream/Cool Whip and sliced bananas. Enjoy!

The hand piecing project is done!

Here it is - totally done by hand! It only measures 14" X 18" but it was plenty!!! I'm sure I won't be tackling another totally by hand quilting project any time soon! It is hand pieced, hand quilted, and even the binding is done by hand - everything! I read that piecing by hand was as fast as machine - ha!!! (Maybe my selection of small pieces wasn't too smart.) The tiny quilt sits by my featherweight. I thought it would add some interest.

A snowman wallhanging

I finally got some buttons and finished this wallhanging. (I had eight buttons for eyes but dropped one and never did find it!)

Oh! I love to finish projects!!!

Moving Day

Today we moved my mom from the Skilled Nursing Unit back to the Sheltered Care Unit - which is now an Alzheimer's/Dementia Unit. It was a stressful morning because the move was over an hour late in occurring. Mom went to bed in her new room and has evidently slept most of the day! We all hope she adapts easily and enjoys her new home.

Expecting to be grandparents again!

We just found out the Brad and Sheila are expecting number 4! The baby is due in October!!! Congratulations to them!

And... we have a new great nephew born yesterday in Florida - Jack Clayton. Jack, son of John and Kristy and grandson of John and Annie, was born at the same birthing center on the same day as Charlie Axle Woods, son of Tiger Woods and his wife! Congratulations to all of them!

We are also expecting another great niece or nephew this summer. We'll update you then!

The miniatures are done!

The miniature paper piecing projects are done and framed! The frames are 9" square. The projects are each 6" square. Both projects were done on my Singer Featherweight. The first is Courthouse Steps...


and the second with almost twice as many pieces is Pineapple.

A day to quilt!

Today was my day - the only thing I had to do was laundry so I sewed most of the day! I made a couple of these valentine door/wall hangings. They are about 10" x 12".

I planned to finish a snowman wallhanging but I dropped one of the tiny buttons (used for the eyes) and so far I haven't found it. Of course, I had just enough buttons!

Now I am working on a table mat that I am piecing by hand. I have always thought it would be neat to do an entire project by hand but at the moment, I am thinking that my little table mat might be too big of a project! I'll keep at it tonight and hopefully get at least 1/3 of it together.

Snow Sculptures at Sinnissippi

Yesterday we were in Rockford for a meeting concerning my mom and her care. (Mom has Alzheimer's disease and resides in a facility in Rockford.) After we left the meeting, we decided to go through Sinnissippi Park and see the results of the Snow Sculpture contest. We did have nice weather with above freezing temps on Sunday so some melting took place. This is Big Bird, one of the high school sculptures.



The sculptures are all amazing. The amount of detail is unreal!