Saturday, October 10, 2009

Quilt Show and All-Around Good Morning


My delightful eldest daughter and I went to a quilt show in "downtown" Shelby today. We saw lots of pretty quilts, but most importantly we just spent some time together. I appreciate her accompanying me.

Above is one of our favorite quilts. She is holding a NICKEL in the picture. All the stitching was done by hand. All the flowers were pieced. Such tiny work! It was called Weed Free. Isn't it adorable?

~Joan

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Coupon Craziness



Not sure why the pic is small...the savings sure weren't!! Except for the Air Wick I-motions in the back, everything on the right is from Harris Teeter. My grand total for a bag of frozen chicken tenderloins, 6 Green Giant boxed veggies, 3 lb. bag of rice, Chex Mix, 2 Fiber One muffin mices, French's W sauce, Betty Crocker frosting tub, 3 50 feet Reynolds Wraps, Wacky Mac noodles, 3 large Sweet Sue chicken & dumplings, 2 baking powders, and 2 12-count Pop Tarts...$3.03. Then I got a $3 off my next order catalina!! Whoo-hoo! SCORE!! Fun and amazing trip!

The I-motions were $12.50 each, BOGOF at Food Lion. I had Qs for $6, making them 25 cents each!! The Glade candle was free, and the cheese, frozen chicken, and sour cream were all heavily discounted thanks to the FLIPs.

~Joan

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Look What I Found!!


I found Rachel knitting a cable...all by herself!! I taught her the basics of knitting a while ago (casting on, knitting, and purling). She has self-taught herself everything else involved in knitting. I don't even know how to knit a cable, but she figured it out!! I am so impressed.

~Joan

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Stretched Star Project

I had a few questions about the beginnings of this quilt. Before they were signed, I ironed freezer paper onto the back of large pieces of high-thread-count muslin then cut them into 4-1/2" squares. I marked the stitching lines with a blue water-soluble marker before the party so the signers would know where their script boundaries were! I would have hated to cut off a blessing with a seam line. We had a basket for each child's blocks (there were 3 children and 3 different patterns, naturally). The corners (that look like little bow ties when the blocks are assembled) are 2-1/2" squares.

One day after school was finished, the kids and I made up some unsigned squares with words of encouragement and parts of Bible verses to even out the number of squares.

My sewing time is severely limited these days because of school. eating. school. laundry. school. chauffeuring. Are you seeing a pattern here??

Stay tuned for more progress. Does anyone have an idea how to maintain the pattern design while enlarging the quilt to be twin-sized? I want to add more color (not so much more cream). I want to add borders but don't want to spend a lot of time piecing them. I also don't want to just use one single piece of fabric. Any ideas (especially with pictures!) are appreciated.

~Joan

The Race Is On...

This is one of our first-year square foot garden squares. What is that green orb about halfway up along the left edge?? Could it be??


Let's move in for a closer look. Our first watermelon!! The reason the race is on is because I am not sure this little beauty will have time to ripen before the frost comes. It will be close. I need to check into how one makes a little support net before it breaks off from the sheer weight. Our plants that started as seeds never made it past the primary leaves, so we bought an established plant. Next year, I'll be watching those seedlings myself more closely.
We learned a lot from the garden this year, and look forward to doing better next year. Now that the boxes are built and in place, it will be much easier.

~Joan

Extra Seating...Finally!


Finally! I started this little project a l-o-n-g time ago. I remember hoping to get it finished before a friend stayed with us for college spring break...this past spring?? This is the hearth for our fireplace. When you have ten in your family and visitors often, you look for any extra seating you can get. This fabric is a thick, upholstery fabric. It was much more difficult to sew than I would have imagined, but it is finished.

I am the proud new owner of a new camera as well, so I hope to get back to blogging more frequently soon.

Drop me a line if you're still reading this!

~Joan

PS: We do NOT have fires in the fireplace...it's just too warm here most of the time. If we do want a fire, the cushion can easily be removed, however. I love the rich yet warm red color. I looked at a lot of fabrics before I picked that one.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Memory Quilt #1 of 3




Again, long time no type. Many changes here at the Parker ranchero. I had guests sign blank quilt blocks for our three graduates at the party several weeks ago. My oldest son leaves tomorrow for college. This is the beginning of his memory quilt. Lots more work to do, but we are in the beginning of our home school year, so time will be fleeting for working on this.


The pattern is called Indian Hatchet or Stretched Star. I think it's a good beginning!!


Enjoy

~Joan