March blows in...............

I received a package containing a variety of fabrics all sizes in the mail a couple of weeks ago. It was for a challenge associated with a retreat I will be attending in April. The challenge was to make a project using only the fabrics included which were mainly left from block of the month kits and such. There was a one yard cut of a leafy fabric. I studied the fabrics and gave it serious consideration before coming up with a plan. I wanted my project to be something that I would use. One of my aims this year has been to make small wall hangings for my stairwell. From there the idea evolved. My project is called "Lost Cabin in the Woods". I grew to like it the longer I worked on it. I decided to hand quilt it using the stitching to form cabins in the leaf fabric squares.


Just a lot of everyday stuff going on these days. February ended with the beginning of Lent. I finished reading The Bronze Horseman by Paulina Simons. What a wonderful book. I have now started reading Alexander and Tatania which picks up where the other ended. There has been much cooking and baking lately. As we have a program at our church called Stork Bites where we bring a hot meal and frozen casseroles to a family with a new baby. Another program that I volunteer with is Dollar Lunch. We prepare lunch for college kids on Wednesday. They get a complete home cooked meal for $1. What a bargain! It is so rewarding to see how excited they are as they come through the line. They are so appreciative.

I have started the machine quilting on my king 4-patch Posie quilt but ran out of thread and am awaiting the arrival of more. Hopefully, I will get finished within the next week or two and can start enjoying it on my bed!!!

Just keeping busy!

The past month has been a flurry of planning and plodding. I did attend a quilt show in Jefferson, TX and thoroughly enjoyed the day with friends Julie and Chrissie. To prepare for the big fund raiser at church, I made 4 batches of Roux, each batch made with 5 lb of flour and a quart of oil. During the month of January, I read several books - Revolutionary Road, The Memory Keeper's Daughter, A Single Thread, All That Matters, and The Quilter's Kitchen. I liked them all. I am now reading the first in a Trilogy by Paulina Simmons call The Bronze Horseman. They are all three large books with small print. I will be consumed with them for quite a while. I also have at the ready John Grisham's newest, The Associate.

David and I continue to enjoy our weekly movie dates. We have seen some really good movies lately - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Grand Torino, Last Chance Harvey, Slumdog Millionaire, Taken, The Reader, He's Just Not That Into You, New In Town, The International.

The first week of February, I drove down to Orange, TX to visit my Mom and do a few things for her. The big thing was getting her a new flat screen TV and setting it up on the new console that had to be assembled. We got some visiting in and a little cleaning done.

Last week was Gumbo Week. Monday was the day of bell peppers, celery, and green onions; we cheat and buy the white onions already chopped. Less tears! Once everything is chopped uniformly, it is weighed and bagged in a appropriate amounts for each pot of gumbo. Tuesday and Wednesday we cook. Each pot makes 52 quarts of gumbo. We cook 5 pots at a time and two cookings each day. once cooked, the gumbo is put into quart containers and ready for pickup. By the end of the second day of cooking, we have sold over 1,040 quarts of gumbo. We all have a wonderful time together working on this project but are always glad when it is behind us for another year!

I had thought I might start my machine quilting on my 4-patch posie quilt. But just received in the mail fabric for a challenge. I will be attending a Sew n Spa in April and forgot about the challenge associated with it. So that is what is taking up my time right now. I am trying to get my creative juices flowing to come up with a idea.

David gave me a beautiful Valentine card that said all the right things along with a heart shaped box of Pecan Millionaires. He knows what I like! I gave him a card and washed his car. We went to dinner last night and played cards with friends. It was a very nice day.

It is hard to believe that our granddaughter, Alex, will celebrate her 10th birthday Tuesday. She is such a joy! We have so much fun together. She is learning to cook and sew; we have so much fun together. We also like playing games. She loves to read too.

January 19,2009

Well, since I am well into the new year, I realize that I have been excessively quiet. I continue to diligently plod along doing the hand quilting on my Mystery on the Oriental Express quilt at my Thursday quilt group. Since my new year's resolution is to whittle away my UFO stack, I began putting together my 4-Patch Stacked Posie quilt. Whew, is it big?! It will be used on my bed so needs to be a king. I have never machine quilted one so big but I plan to give it a whirl using the backing fabric design for the quilting pattern. I haven't decided on the thread color yet or done a practice run. So I have no idea when I will get to work on it. I will definitely make sure I have lots of time with no distractions.

I am looking forward to going to my first quilt show of 2009 on Friday, January 23 with two friends to Jefferson, TX.

Approaching 2009

As I sit here contemplating, I am jolted to the reality that another year has passed. Since my last post, so many family activities have engulfed my time. Aimee, Alex, Caitie, Chris and Lori were here with us for Thanksgiving. We had a wonderful time and even got in a little shopping. Immediately, we were vaulted right into the Christmas flurries. Chris and Lori surprised me with a wonderful evening of dinner and a Ronnie Milsap concert in early December for my Christmas. What sneaks, they all kept the secret for several months without my knowledge.

David and I made the trek to Leander, TX the weekend before Christmas to share the holiday with Aimee and her family arriving back home in time for Chris, Lori and Jordon to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas morning here with us. We made the trip to Orange, TX to visit family and friends the day after Christmas arriving home the following Monday. It was a nice trip. I spent last night at a "Girl's Night Out" house party just eating, drinking, and visiting. Very nice!

Here it is New Year's Eve and David and I have no plans of any kind. I guess that means we are getting old! lol It is a good thing we enjoy each others company so much.

I look forward to starting the new year with gusto with the resolutions to finish several of my quilting projects. The Dear Jane quilt is the oldest but the one that I will concentrate on the most is the 4-patch posie quilt for my bedroom. I would like to have it done for spring. If I can just refrain from starting anything new and not join in too many swaps! lol

So long 2008! Happy New Year and welcome 2009!

National Tie One On Day!

Participation in National Tie One On Day is simple - on the day before Thanksgiving, pause in the preparation of your own bounty, wrap a loaf of bread or other baked good in an apron, tuck a prayer or note of encouragement in the pocket, and tie one on...an apron, of course! and deliver the wrapped bundle to someone in need of spiritual or physical sustenance.