Loving September! As Always!

Yep! Missed another blog posting last week. This time we were in Eastern Oregon rather than the beach. Hubby was bowhunting for elk and I was relaxing. As it turned out it was too hot for great hunting, his back was bothering him (he is on disability for his back) although not to the point where it was spasming and so WE had a wonderful vacation. Lots of reading, napping, eating and walks with the five dogs .We even managed to have dinner with friends at their house. They said “We love dogs, bring them all” and we did. Once there tho’, as the dogs were running around they said “Oh! There are rattlesnakes living under the shed. I hope they are snake smart.” These are valley dogs. They know garter snakes, not venomous snakes. But under my watchful eye they were able to run around and still have a good time. “Keep away from that shed !!

I did miss sewing! I came back before hubby did and I’ve spent many hours sewing. And, I have to admit, too many hours on Pinterest and quilt blogs filling my head with even more inspiration.

What am I up to? I am sewing along with Laurie Holt on her Row Along. This is a relaxed sew along with a new row being released every two weeks. Still plenty of time to join in. http://beeinmybonnetco.blogspot.com/See my beginning? So cute!

 I am also doing this Crossroads block from this excellent tutorial. I have all the fabric cut and am putting the blocks together at a leisurely pace. https://www.threadbias.com/blog_posts/crossroads-block-tutorial Mine so far;

Plus, I thought I was going to opt out of this seasons quilt block a day https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/A-Quilt-Block-A-Day/211113868950661as I had already done several “cross” type blocks this year. BUT, it’s so fun! So I found a version of a cross block I want to do. http://www.dontcallmebetsy.com/2012/03/wip-wednesday-one-with-lots-of-fans.html Gorgeous, no? These are large blocks so it should give me time to do the other things I have planned for this quarter.

Thank goodness I’m retired! Besides what is listed above I will commit to two more finished quilts for the 2012 Finish Along and I will make another quilt for Oregon Dachshund Rescue for fund raising. Here is my first quilt for them.

It is about 45"by 57". This counts as my third finish for this quarter for the finish along. I still have one more week to get my Granny Squares layered and quilted to meet my third quarter goal

AND I want, still, to learn to knit two socks at a time. I think I can keep myself busy! To think, when I first retired, I thought “how am I going to fill my time?”

Enjoy!

Toni

STAR LIGHT, STAR BRIGHT

will these stars be finished by tonight?

I hope so! Although I really do like the way this project looks, I really am tired of it. It could because I started it as a block a day project for myself and then spent too many days at the beach and mired in other things to get the blocks (only) finished by August 10. Thirty days, thirty blocks. At least all the blocks are done. And all I need to do is add the sashing, most of which is already prepared, and then sew the rows together. I'm thinking....it's raining in Oregon today, my husband is hunting, I'm thinking today is the perfect day to stay in sweats and finish this quilt top.

My next dilemma is what to do next? I have so many saved as favorites on Flicker and so many saved on my "Quilts" board and my "Nifty~Sewing and Quilting Tips" (for me the quilts that have tutorials go there! Blessed are the bloggers that take the time to do tutes) on Pinterest. How do I choose what is next. I've been going over my choices and I'm just overwhelmed. But I know I will soon have to make a decision. I can't not have a quilt top in progress.

I went to my Grandson's eighteenth birthday party yesterday. It still surprises me that I have a grandson that old! And I had an appetizer that you all may be familiar with but I wasn't. I've never been into jalapeno poppers. I mean they were "okay" but, but, but...if you haven't had a version of Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno's, you are missing out! Everything is better with bacon. And baking is better than frying and there isn't any batter. How can these be bad for you? This is not the exact recipe my son used to make them but I don't see how you can go wrong. There's three (or four) ingredients. My sons recipe had brown sugar lightly sprinkled on top. He prepared some with and some without the brown sugar. Both are FANTASTIC. I hope you try them.
http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2011/01/27/cream-cheese-stuffed-bacon-wrapped-jalapenos/

I hope you find the time to indulge in your favorite hobby today! Oh one quick question. Anyone have a FAVORITE quilt store in Orange County CA?

Visit Judys very popular "Design Wall Monday" for more fabulous inspiration!http://www.patchworktimes.com/

Enjoy!
Toni

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?

I did get all thirty of my scrappy stars finished. I was oh so clever and added the black and white vertical sashing to half of them (Thank goodness only half!). I did sew the the first row together and I did add the first of the horizontal sashing. But it doesn't form the  black and white stars correctly! Oop!

They should be like this!

 

I will be unsewing today! I will have to take the horziontal sashing off  and unsew and rearrange the pieces. And I will have to unsew some of the vertical sashings but not all of them. If I'm careful on arranging on the design wall I will be able to turn many of  the blocks  to make them work. Whew! I'm so glad I didn't finish all the sashings! Was it because I was smart? Because I was lazy? No! It was because, luckily, I ran out of the Kona Black! I was just plain lucky!

Enjoy!
Toni