F.I.R.E.

We had a fire at our house this week. You won't believe where it came from.

Remember we are old - having trouble walking, even sitting here is PAINful. And we are trying to sell our home.  So we hired a professional cleaning company to come clean our house for an open house. (I don't know about you, but when I pay $300 for a deep cleaning I want it clean - and I was very disappointed with the results. It was cleaner... but that's not what I paid for.) After they were gone we decided to go grocery shopping and on the way out I opened the oven to see if they'd gotten it clean.... sparks and flames lept up out of the side where the door attaches. I was scared and closed the door up. Hubby opened it again and there were flames again! (Scream) I went for the baking soda and the phone. We fluffed baking soda at the hole where the flames were still glimmering, and got them out of sight. 911 said to get out of the house - they were sending a rig. 
As it turns out the professional cleaners had allowed some cleaning fluid into the hole, and that triggered the fire. (I'm still a bit scared - three days since.) The firemen checked for heat with their Thermal something or other and assured that there was no more fire there. The trouble is there are no replacements like it. My oven and stove top are period to this 50s house. I now have to buy a new one... We don't have that kind of money. I thought - no problem - there are places to buy a new oven and top all over the place - maybe $500 each. Guess again. You can't get an oven for less than $1500. (Scream again!) The professional is going to make this right, he said. We'll see. (He did a half-assed job cleaning...)

Back on the sane side of life the D4 is going well... and may even get done on time... if I don 't have another fire.  Here are the latest pictures.

 As it is right now... still more blocks in the works.

 Waiting for the resew after the disappearing cuts. Don't you love that print. The pieces are held on a piece of paper until I can get them resewn. There are two blocks here.

 Waiting for placement.... maybe. Seems like we have plenty of orange and yellow already, so maybe not. (Those are water glasses... just so you know.)

 Waiting for the disappearing cuts... and then the resew. Love that beige print, don't you? (You know I don't like brown, but it goes great here. I do love my avocation.)

Waiting to be squared up. This pile has some really wacky prints and stripes - they have to get into the quilt.
So you can see we are still in a big mess of blocks everywhere around the sewing room. Maybe by tonight I'll be ready to sew it together as a flimsy. If you see anything that should be moved, please let me know.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Hugs,

Terri

Greens, etcetera, on the Grandgirl Wedding Quilt

Remember last week when I miss cut one of the blocks?

The top right is the remake. Lucky I had more of the two fabrics. The position of these will be changed. There is a whole color category that we missed! Orange and yellow!!! Can't leave them out.

 

Below is another newer green one...

 I'm short of time making this quilt. (Changing your mind a bunch of times will do that.) So my hubby says "I'll help you any way that I can...."  (Isn't that romantic! At my age it is!) He wants to cut with the rotary cutter.  Sorry Honey, you are too klutzy. I could see lots of red in the quilt, if he was allowed to cut. I've been having him choose colors that go together... LOL! (He's always good as comic relief.)  At least he is picking fabric out of the boxes. He says he's trying - and that is true, but just not the definition he's thinking. There are maybe three combos that he's put together.
I've asked him to cut some chained pieces apart to save me time. He is so meticulous .... it takes him forever. I've had him place blocks on the wall, but he can't seem to get the "light next to dark" rule. I've made some changes there, too.  The best help he has been, is doing the laundry, cooking and dishes. That does save me lots of time.  Thank you Honey!

And sew it goes. There are some more blocks off screen, so we are about half way making the blocks.(8" unfinished) Who knows, it might turn out to be an anniversary gift.
Come back next week to see the infusion of orange and yellow.

Hugs,

Terri

Monday - Storage Wall

I really have no right to call my design wall a "design" wall. Right now it is just for storage of the blocks I'm making for #1 Grandgirl's wedding quilt. Here's what I'm storing so far.

This close up was to show how dark that purple one really is... the photo is lots brighter than what I see in the sewing room. I need to keep that in mind.

There was also a tragic loss. One of my favorite blocks got an extra cut last night. (Sniff) I hope I have some of that same fabric left (and can find it again). I made the 1" cut from the middle instead of the 3-1/8" cut for the clean up.... It might become a pot holder!

So off to check in at Design Wall Monday... come on by and see what others were doing this weekend.

Thanks for stopping by!  If you have an opinion on that dark block (or any other), please leave a comment. I'm thinking it's the "one of these things is not like the others.  One of these things does not belong." Do you remember that from Sesame Street?  My kids grew up on there.

Hugs,

Terri

It's (Green) Saturday!

It's Saturday again? So soon? Does the week get away from you, too? That time thing is really something difficult for me. It's always later than I think. I guess that means I'm having fun. But these past two weeks have been anything but fun. (I'm having troubles with my Sciatica - you know the kind. Been to the Doctor and the X-ray unit... taking meds for pain. Just not like me.)

Then there is the indecision. I have again changed my mind about the Grandgirl wedding quilt. I've just not liked the previous two.

#1 seemed too dark...

 

#2 seemed too disjointed

I just couldn't seem to get a rhythm in my head.

 

#3 is pleasing me! I've enjoyed making the blocks so far, and so long as I keep having good results from my meds, I'll be able to cut and sew on it. It's a Disappearing 4 Patch, quite easy, but a lot of cutting... which is usually bad for my back. I think it'll be worth it in the end. It seems a joyful quilt, to me anyway. So my heart is in it. (Can you see it there?)

 

Some close-ups of my favorite blocks - above has some greens in it. (One of my favorite fabric pieces.)  There are other green blocks cut.

 

Love this floral. Sorry to the Grandson-in-law to be, but your quilt will have flowers.

 

Sew I'm back on track, I think, and starting over... making UFOs all over the place... singing, We Will, We Will Rock You! (Did I tell you I'm on meds?)

 

Hugs,

Terri

Linking to Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Soscrappy, if they'll have me.

 

Blogger's Quilt Festival

Hi, I'm Terri (or Theresa, depending on the occasion). You are friends, so please call me Terri.

I've been blogging for almost 4 years now. I especially love reading your blogs! (My reading list is waaaay longer than the one on the right column... Did you notice that you can have two completely different lists - one on the blog, and one on the dashboard reader's list? Changing one does not update the other.)

I love quilting (especially paper piecing). Some examples

 

The above patterns are from 365 Paper Piecing Patterns (a book that my Sister gave me for Christmas eons ago, and it's been like my paper piecing bible).

 

 

The above patterns were purchased from Claudia. They are more difficult, but sooooo worth the extra patience

 This is (easy) a kiss (not yet finished) from my paper piecing tutorial at Making Kisses. The pattern is from QuiltMaker Magazine.

 

 

Harry Potter Paper Pieced blocks (free patterns from Fandom in Stitches) 

Fandom has other patterns, too, like Disney Princesses, Lord of the Rings, Super Hero patterns - all free!

 

More Harry Potter Paper Pieced blocks.

So you know I love paper piecing, but I also love plants, Halloween, Harry Potter and that Hubby of mine... not necessarily in that order. I especially like to make quilts for charity.  Right now I'm trying to make a quilt for my first Grandgirl who is getting married in June. I changed my mind on the design 3 times, and even after 50 blocks into it, changed to another design and started over. I still don't like it. Can I change my mind again?

The quilt I'm showing for the Festival is the "I Spy" I made for my most recent grandson, good ol' #8.  He will be 2 years old late in August. Here's a picture of the quilt - It's also my banner right now.
I'm trying to get into the Blogger's Quilt Festival with Amy's Creative Side today. Couldn't find the linky party...

It has been my banner on this blog since last August... my most recent finish (shame on me). When I finish something else I'll put that one on the banner.

As proud as I am of this quilt, I'm prouder of my baby trees. I've started quite a few from pits or seeds. I have two fruit bearing apricot trees, a ginkgo, and a magnolia, silk oaks, Osage oranges and an elm. There are also oaks started from acorns. At Halloween we give away little plants (as well as candy) and seeds I've gathered from my yard and neighborhood. Here are some portraits of my babies.

 Above there are 4 or 5 Osage Orange trees (fruit not edible), 2 Sweet Gum trees and a morning glory vine trying to unite them all.

 On the potting table the Elm, Day Lilies (also from seed!) 2 Cork Oaks (from acorns) and a geranium and butterfly bush (from cuttings).

 On the right: my newest Silk Oak from seed - isn't it darling?

 amongst Lavender cuttings and Rosemary cuttings ..

 one of 5, a Cork Oak - a mighty tree in a drink cup.

My best for last - The taller is the Southern Magnolia, and the 6 leaf 3 year old Ginkgo on the right.

We are in the moving mode, so lots of stuff is packed up - just waiting to sell our house in CA.  We need to move to a bigger but cheaper house where the cost of living is lower... I know - don't hold my breath. We still haven't picked out a place to go... We've lived here 15 years, and like it, so it's really hard to sell and move away.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Please leave a comment if you like.  I'm good at reading them, but I'm sorry to say, I'm not so good at responding - unless you have a question.

Please stop by again - soon.

Hugs,
Terri

22Tw

So since they updated something on my computer, I can't access the title field! I hope the publish and save buttons work.
Anywho, I made 2 pink blocks for a charity for breast cancer (bugger doesn't deserve capital letters) that Sarah from Confessions of a Fabric Addict mentioned on her blog. Since it's a cause close to my heart (not me!!!) I like to join in whenever I can.  Here are the two blocks I'm sending.

 

Hubby took some flower pictures from our yard, too. Here's a little Spring from CA

 

 These are Pineapple Guava (a bush) - aren't they pretty and unusual. The fruit isn't that good, and you've gotta be Johnny on the Spot to make any use of them, so we don't. The possum gets them all.

Tiger Lilies from my #1 Son and DIL years ago. They're still good in a bigger pot, and I'm hoping to plant them out at my next house - where ever that is.  The pot is clustered with a tangerine (I started from seed) and the pomegranate I bought at the grocery... it needs repotting, but I wanted to wait until we are at the next house... There is also a variegated holly plant that I bought at Lamb's - a grocery in the NW... I've had it a couple of years now, and it's gotten berries on it. Right now they are light colored. Maybe I can start a new one from the seeds???? Anyway there are other plants in those pots, too; an orange rose that I started from a cut stem in a bouquet, and a little single white rose that I started from seeds that my hubby gifted to me 20 years ago. There are a couple of Buckeyes from seeds and a couple of other trees that the squirrel or birds planted. It's a nursery in the making.

(Now I can't see the enlarge button for the pictures either...)

 

Happy Spring!

Hugs,

Terri

 

Mom's Day Early

My son, the Master Sergeant, and his lovely wife sent me flowers - already!

Here's the proof:

Aren't they pretty?

Part of the note says "wonderful mother"!  I couldn't be happier.  I'm carrying them around with me, so I can see them where ever I am.

Hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day weekend.

 

Hugs,

Terri

May is Green!

Isn't it though.... Here all the trees are leafed out and the flowers are up and showing off. Love this time of year.

It's also green month over at Rainbow Scrap Challenge. Go on over there if you'd like to see what others are doing with their green scraps.  Here's what I'm doing with mine. (Those are random triangle shapes attached to various white on white 5" squares.)  (At the top of the picture is the light switch! Lol)

These are blocks in the granddaughter wedding quilt. I've arranged them like they were a flock of flying birds.

It'll be very symbolic, I think.

 

More purple than before, and I have more that are waiting to be hung on the design wall.

 

 =+=+=+=+=

 

Earlier in the week, Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict asked what was our all time favorite fabric... well I found some!  This is the yellow rose print I love.  This may be the last of it, too. These 3 little pieces will be birds in the 1st granddaughter's wedding quilt.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 Aaaaaand I got some fabric in the mail this week. Thanks Sis! (There is a solid dark purple missing from the picture... got sewn up already!) These will work into ARB's wedding quilt soon.

 

 

  

Sew that's it for today. Have a very green month! (Recycle, too. Ha, ha, ha!)

 

Hugs,

Terri