Blue is the color, and 2 pillows done

So I thought I'd look at my crayons for guidance on the "real" color of blue.  (I hope this isn't a spoiler for you, but for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge  Angela of soscrappy has announced the color for January and it is blue.) So here are my findings.  It took me three different crayons before I found one that said simply "blue"... (I found Cornflower and Cerulean first.)

and here it is. I thought it a bit greyish blue, in person and for my tastes, so I looked up a few other blues for comparison. See below:

The one in the upper left is Pacific Blue, and lower left is Cerulean. On the right top is Cornflower and on the bottom right is Indigo. (Indigo is more my idea of blue.) We will see what the scrap bag and the stash have to offer. I'll have something as near to blue as I can get it by Saturday.

Good Luck to all the RSC players.

 

 

 

I finished the back on the second pillow cover today. (You know I'm slow.)

Yes, the second one is smaller... I boo booed, but no big. I didn't promise that they would be the same.

So tonight we are going to the movies. We're going to see Unbroken.

We would have had the grands over to play cards or board games and snack, but they are all still out of town. I hope they are having a wonderful time. I hope all my peeps are having a wonderful time tonight.... Be Safe! Drive defensively!

Hugs and Happy New Year!

 

Terri

A late Christmas gift for Hubby - finished today

I've been  wanting to make something that was beige and brown... this was the easy one. The other one will have to have backing that is pieced. I cut the first one wrong - too big, and now I've got smaller pieces. Oh well. He likes it, and that's all that matters.

Have a great week.

Hugs,

Terri

I've always wanted to...

I'm going to try again....





I've followed along long enough! Time to jump in and get some things going. I've long admired the quilts and other things the Rainbow folks make. Plenty of inspiration... I've gotta get me some of that.
So the button is done, and her html is on her side panel... I'm ready so far. Now for some type of block to make during the New Year... I love Sheila's mugs, they are so cute. I don't want to copy her, though. I have an idea... You will just have to stay tuned to find out what I'm planning.

Happy Weekend to you all,

Hugs,

Terri

It's not a finish...

I know it's Friday, but I don't have a finish...
I've worked haphazardly on my Drunkard's Path...  we moved 600 miles during the QAL with Vicki Welch. Some of my blocks are missing... I haven't discovered them in their hiding place(s) yet. And there are some already cut and ready to pin and then sew... The scary thing is I've put the templates somewhere and can't find them either. (Good thing my Grandgirl is planning to wait to be married until after they have graduated college. The Love Ring setting of these blocks is to be her wedding quilt gift.) Sew I don't have a finish to link up to Vicky's end of the QAL, but I'll link what I have to show and hope for the best. Here's what I have to show...

Update: Hurray!!! I found the blocks that were missing and the templates... had to weed through a few boxes to find them.  So here they are:

I've got one motif set, and the outer (red and purple) blocks that will continue in the pattern, but be like a border at the end of setting a few motifs together.  So there will be at least 6 motifs - if that works out to be a good size. Ooops! I see a mistook. I've got 2 reds together. Easily fixed now since nothing here is sewn together beyond the 2 piece blocks.

In this picture you can see on the lower right more blocks... Just not enough design wall to accommodate them all. It's a small room and my design wall space keeps getting smaller and smaller as I empty boxes.
As I was emptying boxes I found my box of teas! I've got some variety now. Yay!  So I'm off to brew a cuppa. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas or other Holiday. New Years coming up soon. And on the subject of coming up...

Hope springs eternal... can you see the tulips(?) coming up by my front door? There are about 5 stubby starts. They were done blooming and gone before I saw the house last fall. I have no idea what color or even if they are tulips. Something to look forward to. (I know that's bad grammar, but I really don't want to be that formal.)

Hugs to you all,

Terri

Merry Christmas to all!

Merry Christmas to all!


Hope you all are having a wonderful time.

Here's our little tree - it fits on the coffee table - and that means it fits in our house. After we've enjoyed it for the Season, we'll plant it out in the yard.

 

 

We've got branches and lights in the fireplace... branches are thanks to the last big wind we had here last week.

I'm working on a brown and beige string - something I can't tell you about until tomorrow.

Anyway, have a wonderful time.

 

Hugs,

Terri



Early Christmas - practice if you will - with the Grands

We had the local Grandkids and their grown-ups over for Christmas presents and a meatball supper. I had a great time... Hope they did, too.  Here's the pictures

 They are eating the fudge that was in their little baking pots

 These are their grown-ups - their Dad, my SIL and his fiancé.

 This is the next grandgirl to marry - they say after college... I hope so. I'm making the DP Love Ring for their gift.

This one turns 13 in a few days. Already he's about 6' tall.

These are the newly weds... (Can you tell?)

This one is taller, too, and sings!

My little nod to sewing. I'm still working on the Drunkard Path variation, only now instead of hand sewing I'm using the machine. Still pinning like I would for hand sewing, but using the machine. Easier on my hands. The template is set up for hand sewing, so I can't even try to sew without pins... none of the seam allowances are a 1/4", but this way I have a line to sew on, but still have to pin.

 

This is one of the Christmas cacti that I have. The other isn't even thinking about buds yet. It needs a transplant. Been in that same pot more than 30 years.

Next time I'll show off my little Christmas tree... and my DP blocks, if I can find them all.

 

Have a wonderful week.

Hugs

Terri

Gifts from Sheila

She sent me some homemade goodness! The black/white and red fat quarter was the wrapping along with the red and gold string. All very useful and beautifully made items! Thank you, Sheila.

Hugs,

Terri

Got some sewing done

Here are the newest blocks...

Of course, I can't find the ones I did earlier, so no Love Ring layout.
I did get an early Christmas present from Melanie (the Houseelf - see the side bar). There were chocolates, too, but those have met their demise.

 Love the embroidered sheep!  Thanks Melanie. I hung it in the dining room and it adds some Christmassy feeling to our new house.

This is a bit of tiny snowy hail we got for a few minutes one day. Not much rain yet.

This is the view from my living room window...

Since we left CA they are getting some real rain today, and flooding.

Hope you all are warm and dry. 

Hugs,
Terri

I'm thankful for you...

No pictures this time, but I just wanted to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving Day - whenever you celebrate this holiday. I'm really thankful to be a blogger, and have such loving and sharing Blogger Buddies. You all ROCK!

Hugs,
Terri

As promised - many times.... Grandma's Gift to me

I'm a quilter, and it's because of my Grandma Theresa. She quilted, so I come by my interests honestly.
These three are quilts she made for me. This green one is so much darker green. And you can see where I got my love of orange, too. As the story goes - Grandma sewed, and Grandpa cut out the fabrics. (I would have loved to see that in action. My Grandpa was a farmer with big hard working hands.) As I understand, he made the patterns, too. I like that they worked together... but maybe not on these three quilts. Grandpa passed on when I was only 5, and I got these as a shower gift - I was 20 then. (OMG - She didn't think they were enough of a gift, so she gave me some paper products as well.)
This one is a Nosegay - the pattern name. Names weren't given to quilts in those days, and there isn't a label on any of them either. (I think I'll add one.) Grandma always used satin blanket binding on all her quilts.

See how fearless she is... orange and pink together! I've always marveled at this orange and blue Grandmother's Flower Garden - all those hexies. It's a full size. Queen size was unknown to my Grandma. She passed early in 1974.

 You should have seen this quilt on my sunlit bed in the Music Room of my mansion turned apartment building in the 1970s. There was a beautiful and memorable glow even in the winter time.

(Our mansion was turned into an apartment building in the 20s or 30s so all the woodwork was crafted well, and elegantly. We owned it, because it only cost us $18,500 for 3 apartments and ours on the first floor - a really good investment. I wish we had kept it and stayed there in Superior, WI, but there were no jobs there at the time.)

And this one has many fabrics I recognize from either clothes or from fabrics she gave me to make quilts. I had no idea what to do with them. (An aside to Ashleigh: if that's your problem with the blue stack - let me know and we can do a Grandma Camp to start off.)

This one is tied, but the other two are quilted in a big stitch way. You can see some stains - but for 40 some years of use, they are in good shape for another 100 years or so. (I hope the inheritors are respectful and careful. Quilts aren't meant to be washed weekly.)

 

My Grandma embroidered, too and crocheted (my sister's inherited skill) and knitted. She went to Vocational School in her 60s and 70s and learned - get this - learned darning. I'd say she probably could have taught the class... she had decades of darning behind her at that point, but she also took cooking classes... and upholstery. There was no moss growing on this granny. She made quilts for all her family, and hemmed towels, made little decorative pillows, embroidered pillowcases and lots of other things donated to the Church Bazaars. She didn't watch TV except for the news, and she didn't have a computer. She also had a job... staying the night with an old lady who was only slightly older than she was, but had to have someone with her at night - said her  kids. Loved and admired my granny.

 

My Grandma Edna had a very different life. She kept house for an older gent so she did have room and board. She read the Bible in her spare time. Lots of people haven't got the wealth to be able to make things at all, let alone, for other people. I admired her calm... and as everyone else does, loved my granny.

 

Sew that's  the promise fulfilled. Have any of you got inherited quilts? We'd love to see them.

 

I'm very thankful for the Grandmas I had.  Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving... whenever it is. I'm making turkey and some trimmings - he doesn't like dressing, and I don't need those extra carbs. There will be cranberry juice, mashed potatoes and gravy, and a baked yam, as well.

 

Hugs,

Terri

 

 

Still Unpacking

Still unpacking - you would not believe how many boxes there are yet to be undone....

But I wanted to show you this...

That is a rose blooming in my new house. It's not just any rose, but it is, in fact, the rose I started from a cut flower we bought at Costco. I've had it in a pot for at least 3 years now, so I didn't have to leave it for the new owner.

 

 

Annnnnnd.....

This is my Mother in Law's Tongue blooming again even though it got pushed around in the truck. Three nights in the cold truck. We were really careful for it, and keeping it in place with some fabric strips until it's happy again. I'm just happy nothing broke.

Haven't been sewing much. I don't know if I did any more Drunkard's Path blocks since I showed the last ones. I sit down in the evening and fall asleep in seconds. I did start unpacking the sewing room today. I've got a lot of quilts to make. I can't believe the number of boxes of stash. Worse than that, there are bigger and more boxes marked crafts... rubber stamps and its paraphernalia. OMG.

 

Hope your weekend is going great.

Hugs,

Terri

Still no furniture!!!!

Hi Friends,
We're in a hotel here in Vancouver, WA waiting for our furniture to arrive. Not even a chair to use at the sewing machine!!! But the sewing machine is here. I wouldn't trust a moving company to care enough about it... or not to steal it. (Lots of that kind of thing happens in CA. Sure it's insured with them, but you won't get back the antique model you had, and mine was my Mom's and then my Sis had it for years. It's too special to me.) Did a little sewing by hand on the Love Ring... latest blocks without benefit of ironing...

They look good on the duvet.

 

I have tried to reply to some of your comments, but the computer won't put your email address into my compose screen. They updated something and changed everything about the email. (Why do they do that, just as you are getting used to the previous update?)  Just exasperating! I don't know any way to get it fixed. Just know I appreciate all your love and comments.

 

Hope you all are somewhere warm and your lights are on! We are okay here.

 

Hugs,

Terri

Design Walls Monday

I'm missing my design wall... had to come down to sell the house. So I'm using a couple of panels of foam core board for the interim. Today I'm working on two quilts... who isn't.

Remember these? Two, count them - 2 gallon bags full of strips from my pal, Val. We swapped fabric a while back. I sent her some uncut I Spy fabrics and she sent me strips! So while we are packing I'm making....

some strip blocks. I got my hubby to cut me some 8.5" squares of paper - first I had to teach him how, but he does love to do homework for me on the quilts. Next I'm going to get him to cut off the excess fabric. (Tried this last night... Ouch! He cut off a corner. At least it was an easy fix. Some men are just not atuned to sewing. I was wise to prevent him from cutting out the Drunkard's Path pieces. They are cut on the line but not on the curves - and tracing they need seam allowances on the curves to be cut 1/4" away from the line... Oh well, we'll keep the homework simple for him so he feels like he's helping... afterall, his name goes on the quilt, so he should help.)

I'm just putting lights and darks next to each other. (Most blocks are going to be monochromatic.)

I have these done, so far. I'm thinking it will be called "You and Me" and if I can get it done in time I'll use it for a donation to H2H - Sarah Craig's Charity... see the side panel.

Below is a close up.

Oops - I've a basting thread showing....

+++++++++++++++

 

 

Now for the other quilt... the next Grandgirl Wedding quilt will be made of these Drunkard Path blocks but set in the Love Ring variation.

These are the most recent.

 

 

Haven't got enough made yet to finish one block of Love Ring ... but I love it already. Don't you?

Here are more settings of Drunkard's Path - one shows the Love Ring.

Out my window...

you might not see the lovely group of orange butterflies in my yard... centered above the Passionflower Vine on my fence. It grows from my neighbor's yard into mine. I think these butterflies rode in on those plants - they are very like a Julia butterfly, which only rows in Florida and Texas. I can't show you the picture in the book, it's packed - who knows where. We have maybe a dozen. I'm sure they helped us sell this place. My buyer is getting the best deal, buying my house... which after signing this morning, belongs to her now. (Sniff) We are renting for free until the truck comes on the 4th of November. (Crying)

 

I have to go now - take more pictures. I have to figure out how to have butterflies at my new house.

 

Have a lovely week.

Hugs,

Terri

New DP blocks and boxes

Newest blocks - made this week. Still not laid out in the layout of choice. There is a layout where the whites will make a "ring". Vickie Welch has a layout on her post today that looks like the one I have in mind that is called Wedding Ring. I saw that name somewhere. This is going to be another Granddaughter Wedding Quilt. I just hope the Grandgirls space out their weddings, so I can get their quilts done without stress. (That's usually not on their minds when choosing a date. I wonder why...LOL)

 
 

 

 

Above is how I do the curves - like a set in sleeve in dressmaking. Next I'll sew the seam by hand back stitch every stitch as tiny as I can get for strength.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

My house is a mess today - workmen are finishing off the two bathrooms where there was some water damage, and in termite country we have to fix it for the new owner... Seems a terrible waste of materials to me. She will be remodeling the bathrooms and kitchen to get the surfaces she prefers, and these new ones will go in the landfill.

 

There are also piles of boxes all around the house and in the garage.

Everywhere I look! These are just some of the quilting boxes, there are  some in the closet, too. Also probably 100 boxes in the garage of assorted things from other rooms. I still have packing up to do in the kitchen and bathrooms, garage and OMG! some pictures on the walls yet, etc. I really don't want to think about it all.

In the middle of all that, Halloween. It's usually our bit of madness for the year, but this year it's the bit of sanity. Everything is relative.

So not much sewing going on here. I did get out my strips from Val to maybe sew on the machine during the day, but I think that time is all taken up in packing boxes, and readying Halloween.

Hope you are having a sane weekend. This is my second to last at this house. (Sigh)

 

Hugs,

Terri