Now let's see - where was I . . .

Oh yeah, back to quilting -
Just trying to remember where I left off the blog in that regard.

We worked on some  vintage quilts. One is the Periwinkle quilt, done in beautiful bright, multiple colors. We acquired this quilt top from a thrift store, added the batting and backing and quilted it. It is hand pieced and longarm quilted in meander stitch with medium loft batting with white muslin backing.  It is 72' x 80” in  size.

 Another is the  vintage Spider Web  done in beautiful colors, and we acquired this quilt top from an estate sale. It is hand pieced and longarm quilted in meander stitch with medium loft batting with white muslin backing.  It is 72” x 90” in size.

 The LeMoyne Star quilt top is another vintage one we found it at the estate sale. It is hand pieced and longarm quilted in what we call a lazy eight stitch with low loft batting with white muslin backing.  It is 67” x 88” in  size.

 Rail Fence quilt top done in pastel colors was also another vintage from the estate sale. It is totally hand pieced with beautiful tiny stitches. It is long arm quilted in what we call a loopy loop stitch. It measures 68” x 90”.

Another one I call "Orange Blossom Special". I found the blocks for it on Ebay already embroidered. They were all stitched together in a very tight stitch so it took me awhile to get them apart to put a maroon and yellow lattice between them. The printed floral borders on the sides blend so nicely with the blocks and the solid outer borders are bright and cheerful.  It is long arm quilted in what we call a lazy eight stitch with low loft batting with white muslin backing.  It measures 83” x 92”.

We were also busy with Christmas items. I got the family calendars all done, delivered and mailed out. Kids got theirs at Christmas.   Total this year was 31 calendars - haven't printed ours yet. Sure hope I didn't leave anyone off - there are a lot of birthdays and anniversaries there! My HD had a great idea for the calendar cover! I have trouble coming up with ideas on that but his suggestion of putting all the family names from my genealogy program worked out well. Every family was listed and it makes it so easy to see which child goes where. With a large family, it is sometimes difficult to figure out.

One, I called the "Toolman" lap quilt, we gave to my father-in-law to keep him warm at the nursing home during rehab to build strength. I think he really likes it.It is long arm quilted in  a lazy eight stitch with low loft batting with sky blue backing. It measures 60” x 71”.

The tractor quilt has six large embroidered tractors blocks in green, blue and red on muslin back and trimmed with patriotic fabric in red, white & blue with stars. It is long arm quilted in what we call a lazy eight stitch with low loft batting with white muslin backing. It measures 68” x90”.

Our quilting machine had a problem and we had to wait on a part for it - quit just at the end of a quilt!!  We really needed to get the Christmas gift quilts done.

We really worked to get some special quilts for Christmas done. Lap quilts for the kids included Coca Cola, Monkey and a Strip quilt. HD did most all of the quilting.



















  And a little one to match Mom and Dad's monkey quilt!

 

Gifts for other family members: brother-in-law, sister-in-law both got “Shoebox” quilts as I call them. Most every gift was at least partially from a dear sister's fabric stash.


















“Best Friend” lap quilts for Mom and another sister & brother-in-law and wall hanging for yet another sister and brother-in-law.

I must have forgotten to take finished pictures of this one.

I also made a few of these crayon roll-ups in various fabrics to give and some to sell. The kids really seem to like them to organize and keep track of their colors.

 While visiting at a nursing home, we asked if there was anyone who rarely received visitors and found two ladies to gift lap quilts to. One pretty baskets and another floral blues.



















 I love the long arm quilting machine. It is so much faster than hand quilting and quilting on my home machine.

Tis the season . . . Or maybe not.

I saw an ad on Craigs list from a single mom "desperately" wanting a playpen for her daughter and asking you to text her if you had one. We had one that was too small for a granddaughter so I texted to see if she still needed one. She said yes, she would take it and come the next MORNING for it. I told her we would be home in the MORNING.

Then she texts again asking if we live close to Pizza Hut and her friend could pick it up on the way to get pizza. I gave approximate location and she asked for address, which I gave her. She texts that she would have to wait until next MORNING.

Next morning, since we would be out back of the house, I text her to call first and she said she would. We wait . . . Finally I text that we have a meeting in the afternoon so she needs to pick up before noon. She texts that she will not have a ride until AFTER 2:00 pm!! SINCE WHEN IS 2:00 pm MORNING??

I waited several hours to respond and told her that we would be home the following MORNING but after that our schedule was full. She said she would get it then. Next morning at 6:14 am (while I WAS asleep), she texts wanting to know if her friend can pick it up on his way to work - between 7:00 and 7:30 am. I tell her it is on the front porch and she asks what the address is (again).

Someone picked it up. A few minutes later, She texts one final time (I hope) to say she loves it and Merry Christmas. Was I wrong not to text Merry Christmas back?

Next time I have something to give away, I will do Craigs List "curb alert" - first come first serve!

Pippi Longstocking . . .

I just had to post more pictures of Kalina as Pippi.  It was a perfect Halloween costume for her!

Just had to have Pippi's Mom in here too!

Vacation

We took off in our trusty F250 truck pulling our 5th wheel headed for Amarillo. Of course the wind was blowing in the wrong direction - always against us. We stopped at a rest area close to Electra, where we discovered a tire coming apart on the trailer. Put the spare on, even though it was the wrong kind, wrong size and low in air.  We drove back a few mile to a station, bought two new tires and were on our way again.

We had a great visit in Amarillo. We stayed at Mom's in the lot beside the house, in our 5th wheel.  Mom, June & Dozer (June's dog) are doing well at Mom's house. Mom is looking good. We visited some on the back deck where June was rocking her baby Dozer. :o) So glad that June is there to help out.

Daisy & Darlin' had a great time with everyone. They played with Dozer a lot, between taking his toys and trying to eat his bones & food and taking over his dog bed!! They also played with Haley & Comet (Teresa's dogs).  We also saw Teresa, Barbara, Fred, Joe Pat and Marg. I did not think to get pictures of everyone.

Darlin' is a little terror (but very cute) !! She reminds us of a cat the way she raises up on her hind legs and pounces. I do wish I would have been inside to take a video one morning. Seems that Darlin' removed a kleenex from June's robe pocket (while she was sitting on the couch)and took off with it. June said she chased that little black devil all around the living room 'til she cornered her behind Mom's chair where she dropped it. Would have made a great video!!!

Both our pups loved Grandma's chair AND Grandma's lap! June fed them carrot pieces and tried to get them to play tug of war with a big carrot.

It was good to see Fred and to hear that he will be helping out with the Hospice program. Good for them and for him. Marg was getting ready for a trip to Cambodia with Doug.

With the weather forecast calling for snow, we left and headed for Austin by way of Cross Plains. There, we stayed at the local motel's RV park there. It was SUPPOSED to have internet. NOT !!  I could not even get 3G on my phone in that area, just that big "E".

We caught up with old friends at the Senior Center and got lots of hugs along with a great meal. They still have some really good cooks! It was so good to see everyone there.

We drove by our old house in Cross Plains and visited with neighbors there. Looks like the new owners are taking really good care of the place. They send some pictures last month of some improvements they have made to the back yard – just beautiful!

We drove to Brownwood and visited with good friends there- was really great to see them. We miss the people so much from Cross Plains and Brownwood area. Big city living has it's advantages but you can't beat the people in small towns!!






From Cross Plains we went to the Austin area and. Found a really nice KOA RV park in Leander. Very convenient for visiting with Jay & family in Leander and Mike & family in Cedar Park. The park is very nice, clean and quiet.


The pups and Coco had a good time playing. Darlin' grabbed Coco's bed and used her monkey for a pillow so Coco grabbed Darlin's bone.

 

 

When Kalina sees us, she alternates between calling "Grandpa" (in Bulgarian) or "Dais e e e" !!  We enjoyed seeing her dressed as Pippi Longstocking and Lili's pigtails to match. Would like to have seen Lili also with freckles but she took them off earlier.  So cute for Halloween!!

We did make it to a football game where Todd was playing his trombone in the band . . . On the coldest night they have had this year! We like to froze our ____'s off. We left early and while Rosario took us to the trailer, Jay called to let us know they won the game.

 We really enjoyed the visit with everyone and hope to get away more often. Thanks everyone for a great visit!

See the tree . . . how big it's grown -

 This picture was taken in 2004.

 These two were taken the end of October - different angle - same beautiful tree!

We took a drive out to Cross Cut and checked to see how the "goat ranch" was looking.  It looks great really being taken care of. The one little tree that survived, of all we planted, is big and beautiful.