7/18/2010

Blue Daisy's done....






Got my CLA challenge quilt done 'Blue Daisy's' and turned in at our meeting, yesterday. Had a good meeting and enjoyed having Neva's company on my way to Chapel Hill and back, especially back. We ran into a thunderstorm about Ramseur and it was a bit scary.
The meeting went well; it was hosted by Thimble Pleasures and what a lovely shop they have there. If you are a quilter and get the chance, you need to visit them. We grabbed a sandwich from Great Grains (yum!) and left CH around 1pm. So, we were almost home before the deluge hit. Thank the Lord!

7/13/2010

backyard critters...

 I was looking out in our backyard this morning to see a couple of squirrels having a high old time and a lonely turtle, looking for who knows what. Last week I found this in the backyard. It's a wild turkey and it's outside Mira's fence. I named it Mr. Gobble but, Bill said he thought it should probably be Miss Gobble. So we compromised and it's just the Gobbler.
    We have the usual array of critters chipmunks, squirrels, raccoon, possum, feral cats, deer, fox and coyote's.  Don't see the deer often since we stopped feeding them but, they do investigate the bird feeders from time to time. There have been two foxes that we believe were probably rabid. The neighbors spotted one that was out in broad daylight for some time near their home and the other, they found dead on their compost pile. Very unusual behavior in either case.

    Of course, the coyote's are very elusive and we haven't seen one in the past three years but, we hear them and know they take the bait away but, they do manage to stay out of the traps. Did you know their favorite food is cat so, you cat lovers might want to keep your kitties inside. Coyote's range is pretty much everywhere these days. 

    We live on a road that's behind a Walmart and they have brought in the rats, too. City limits runs within a hundred feet of the neighbors across the street from us. Use to be a lovely wooded (50 plus acres) area until Wally World decided to have it cut down and rezoned from residential to commercial. 

    Wahoo! I finished a show quilt that has been on my frame for way too long. I let the quilts kind of 'speak' to me and this one just wasn't sure on the borders until the very end. I don't like to leave them on the frame so long but this one was a slow talker. However, I was very pleased with the way it turned out.
    Had a few ruffles but, they were tamed and I think they turned out quite nicely. Obviously a before and after picture while still on the frame. I'll take more full shots at the show in September. Below is a shot of the center it turned out so pretty.

Mira went last Monday for her 'summer cut'. Sure does change her looks but, she's still all Bouvier. Think she feels better since, the weather has been so awfully hot this spring and summer.

Mira before and...

Mira after. She is such a sweetie!

     Hope your summer hasn't been as hot and dry as ours has. I look forward to the cooler temps but, not winter. Thankfully, North Carolina doesn't have the winters we used to have in Michigan. We have a late Fall and early Spring kind of winter and we love it!

Have a great day HOT or COLD!
   

7/04/2010

Happy Fourth of July, to all!

Happy 4th of July!

This little quilt was made right after 9/11. It happened to be a couple weeks after my dad passed away so, it was therapy. It helped me get back into quilting, which I had no desire to do at the time. It has hung in my hallway for the past 6 years. I love it!

Yesterday, Bill and I met up with my brother and sister-in-law, Rick and Kathy, from Colorado.They were in Cary, yesterday and we had a short but, sweet time with them. They were celebrating her mom's 80th birthday, Kathy's birthday and a National Championship, Kathy's grandson Jessie, had won this week in Virginia Beach, Va at a National tumbling competition. Congrats, Jessie!

This is what's on the frame right now and should come off in the next couple days. I'll post more pictures when it's finished. Can't wait to see it done!


Aren't these cute! 
Every once in a while someone will ask me to do some embroidery for them and if I'm not swamped with quilting, I will play around. Above, are some towels  I decorated for Linda. Her seven year old grand daughter, Chloe, is a golfer! She needed some girlie golf towels.

I can hardly believe we have had our Miracle a whole year as of Father's Day. Here she is watching for daddy to come home from work so, they can go for a walk.

Hope the 4th of July weekend is a safe and fun time for you and your families.


 



6/02/2010

How does your garden grow?

     Memorial Day weekend was wonderful and I got bunches done. Back is feeling better and I spent the weekend sewing myself a wall-hanging. I'll show you when it's done. I don't often take time to make something for myself but, it's always a 'sweet' time for me, when I do.

     Summer is officially here! Bill's garden is producing and we enjoyed a dinner of a fresh lettuce and tomato salad, steamed zucchini and summer squash, all from his garden and grilled chicken (we grill the year round so that's no biggie). But, we are so happy to have fresh produce.

Summer Squash

Red Sails lettuce.
    Hope your gardens do well this year! Don't forget to eat your veggies!
Have a great day and a safe and fun summer!


5/30/2010

Quilter's Dream Batting

I use Quilter's Dream Batting and love it! I got this e-mail today and thought it worth sharing.

QUILTERS DREAM BATTINGMay 29, 2010
This Memorial Day and Every Day Quilters Dream Batting would like to Honor Our Military Men and Women and Veterans of all Branches
Dear Friends,

As it is Memorial Day weekend, we would like to take this time to reflect on the sacrifices of the men and women of the United States Military. 

The United States military is, and will always be, made up of the finest men and women of this country, and we take this opportunity to honor those who serve or have served. We remember those who have died in service to ensure our freedom and the sacrifice of their loved ones.  We honor those who courageously defend our country and show our appreciation with thoughts and prayers.  We give special thanks to those family members who give up so much for our freedom.

This weekend as well as each and every day may God bless America and American troops.

Sincerely,
Kathy Thompson and the "Dream Team" at
QUILTERS DREAM BATTING

Quilters Dream Hopes & Dreams Quilt Challenge
for ALS


Please join us in the Hopes & Dreams Quilt Challenge for ALS by visiting the link from our website
www.QuiltersDreamBatting.com
Members of the military are 66% more likely to aquire ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) then the average population, and ALS is now recognized as a part of Gulf War Syndrome.  We have recieved beautiful quilts to distribute to ALS patients, and some of the most touching are those patriotic quilts which will be given to our service men and women.  To view donated quilts and prizes, visit us on Facebook:

Find us on Facebook


"Freedom is Not Free"
by Kelly Strong

I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
and then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,
He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears?
How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, freedom isn't free.

I heard the sound of TAPS one night,
When everything was still
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That TAPS had meant "Amen,"
When a flag had draped a coffin
Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn't free.






















Quilters Dream Batting
1-888-268-8664
Fax: 1-800-626-8866
589 Central Drive
Virginia Beach, VA 23454

5/28/2010

Rescue Pup from last November

Remember last November, when Bill and I transported a rescue pup one leg of a trip from Wilmington, NC to Atlanta? Well, here she is and looking terrific. Her new mom and dad are very, very good to her; she is a blessed puppy and it shows . She had not been abused like our Mira but, had no real attachment to her family and she kind of had an empty look in her eyes, that's gone now because, she really belongs to her new family. Bless you Larry & Mary!