This is about 40" square and will live in our foyer. We need a change of pace there.
Good night!
~Joan
Here's an action shot of Elisabeth's dumping technique (do not try this at home)...
I told her it looked like a move out of an exercise routine! She'd swing the bucket in her right hand across her body to her left, then pick up her right knee and catch it on the momentum back to dump to the right, then reverse and do the left, never having to set a bucket down.
She and Emily had a great surprise a little while after we were finished. The aforementioned employer called and asked if they could work in his store for a few hours here and there (maybe as much as 16 hours a week) when he got a truck in that needed unloading and stocking shelves. He wanted our oldest 2 boys, too, but they both already have jobs with as many hours as they can handle along with their schoolwork and home chores. The owner and his wife are Christians that attend our church. They will drive the girls home when their work is finished. That is an answer to prayer for me about my girls.
I'm just so proud (in a non-prideful way, LOL) of the young adults that they are becoming. Sure, they have their faults (must be their father's DNA), but all in all, great young people to be around.
When we were nearly finished with the job, they sent me off to pick up pizza for lunch. Ahhh...I love it when a plan comes together.
~Happy Mama Joan
Goodbye truck (exiting to the right), hello, Emily! Emily had been up the street babysitting Emma. She has been called back home. Reinforcements are here! Not that we needed them...yet. WHAT did he leave?? Did he leave enough?
Susanna stands ready, smiling, with dry teeth (because she's been smiling so long), rake in hand. WHAT will she be raking? Is she really looking forward to WORKING?
Come on, move that mountain! A mountain of mulch. Beautiful, brown, rich, moisture-holding mulch. Our natural areas will be beautiful in no time.
It is so inspiring to me (yes, that is the exact right word) to see families working together, working hard, and enjoying it. So I'll continue later with action shots. We have two huge natural areas that look sooooo much better now. Elisabeth and Susanna encouraged me to take action shots. I'm sure my WH will enjoy seeing them as well as those of you out in blogland.
~Joan
Last night after church I was putting together a few of the units from my Plan B quilt. I was musing over the generosity of the ladies who are selflessly sending me Thimbleberries scraps for my apple core quilt. I have only had contact 2 of the 7 before this. And I think Lisa is moving to the mainland so she can buy Thimbleberries just so she can say she participated in my quilt (LOL--I'll know when Lisa reads this!). Well, there I was, mindlessly connecting block units into the "big block".
I looked in a little drawer where I keep leftover small block units that I have marinating for a better day, and what did I see? SEVEN centers for the very block I was making...well, sort of. Look at the picture below and see how long it takes you to see "which TWO of these blocks are not like the others"...
Well, you either spotted them right off, or scrolled down out of desperation. You know I wouldn't leave you hanging! The top left and bottom right blocks are my "found" blocks that sort of looked like the blocks I was piecing. I was trying to sort through my quilt memory and remember when I made them. I think it was when I had seen the "Plan B" quilt originally, but didn't have the book yet, so was guessing at the block construction.
I was struck with inspiration for a NEW name for this quilt. It will be "Plan B...and C". The alternate 7 blocks will not stand out in the finished quilt. That's the glory of the scrap quilt. If you're close enough, anything goes!
Here is the way the block is SUPPOSED to be made...notice the corner units are two 2" squares (a color and a light) with a 2" x 3-1/2" rectangle of light beside them?
When I pieced the one below, I didn't know about the easier corner, so I pieced the center. Well, I just added a cream sashing around and put a 2" colored corner on so from a little distance (please scroll up to first picture if you forget) it appears the same as the REAL block.I love it when a plan comes together, even if it is Plan C. Or Plan B and C!!
I had laid out a few blocks from the units I have been stockpiling. I just wanted to see how they would look. So I pieced and ironed 20 of them! That is very exciting because I only need 40 of the light background blocks. At this point in time, everyone else in my family was asleep. Translate that: no interruptions. So I thought, "Hey, the night is young, even if I'm not." I sewed up as many blocks as I had units for, and ended up with 35 blocks!! Whoo hoo--only 5 more of these to make, then I can concentrate on the light stars with the dark backgrounds. Zooming along.
More on the creative scrap process later...
~Joan
~Joan