A Great Yard Sale Find!

Last week was not a good week for me!  I worked hard all day last Monday mulching the roses, and was worn out, and the week just went from bad to worse with a new crisis each day; not much sewing got done.  In addition to each day's foul-ups, I was stressing over wedding music!  I'm glad to report I got through the wedding just fine without a problem, but I made a promise to myself that I will NOT be playing for another wedding in my lifetime. This old lady just doesn't handle that kind of stress well at all!  I'm glad it's over, and that I didn't spoil the show for the bride!  Strange, I know, but playing for funerals doesn't stress me at all; I can do that on a few moment's notice, and could almost do it with my eyes closed, but weddings just wear me out!

When I awoke Saturday morning, after the Friday rehearsal, I rebelled!  I decided that the day, until time to get dressed for the wedding, would be MY day!  It was garage/yard sale day in my neighborhood, and while I couldn't get involved because of the wedding, I decided to take a walk down the street to check out everything.  I didn't have much cash on hand, but really didn't expect to buy much anyway.  I should have known better!  I found some of the prettiest Christmas things that just called out my name!  I put them away before I got a picture, but you'll see them next Christmas.  I also found a couple of things that will be the best birthday gift for a friend.  I really enjoyed the day, and seeing everyone from far and near was fun.

The last place I went had something I just knew I had to have, but I couldn't think of a place it would fit in my house; I have no more wall or floor space!  I told the owner I'd measure my space and call her either way.  I delayed calling until Monday morning, and she still had the item, so I made arrangements with a neighbor to help me get it home and into the sunroom ---- it's not pictured in its final resting place --- it is now in front of the other (stationary) patio door, which probably will not be its permanent place either, but here it is:

Is that not a beauty?  And the treadle pedal works, and the wheel turns!  The wood top is lovely and in perfect condition, and it will be a perfect table for my sister's Singer Quantum CXL machine!  Now I'm wishing I had bought that Featherweight at the Estate Sale a few months back!  I'm so glad I was able to get the table.  That Quantum is really heavy, and now I won't have to lift it from a closet shelf when I want to use it. 

My machine repairman delivered my Viking today after servicing it, and it's back in its cabinet, so now I'm ready to sew (if I can keep life out of the way).  He was really impressed by my new "old" table! 

I have to make another baby quilt, in purple and green, can you believe?  I found these fabrics at Walmart today, and I think they will be cute together.  Paisley and turtles???  Maybe not! *giggle*

They have been laundered and are ready to start cutting, once I decide on a pattern; it will need to be simple and quick.  I have to get started tomorrow!  The shower is June 2!   Thank goodness, the church auction has been postponed until July 1, so maybe I can get another one finished for that too.

I'm thinking this week is going to be much better; it has been so far. 

Hope all of you are having a good week and getting lots of quilting done!

---"Love"

Lots to Share!

It's been a while, but these are the last two Civil War blocks I made:  (Still have a way to go to get them all done!   I'm not giving up!)

CW-38-Ohio Star and CW-39-Hovering Hawks

I e-mailed a picture of my last patriotic quilt to my life-long BFF (she's not a quilter), and she loved it and said she wanted it, but of course, I had made it for the church youth auction.  Since her birthday is May 12, I decided to quickly make another one for her with just couple of minor changes.   I enlarged the unfurled flag center, and used a different fabric for the cornerstones, and my quilting turned out better on the second one.  I took it to her yesterday, and she was very surprised, and seemed thrilled.   Here it is:



After delivering the quilt, another quilter/ life-long friend went with me to the Arlington, Texas, quilt show; they had about 150 quilts; lots of pretties!  Here's a few of my favorites; double click to see quilting better.  (Sorry I can't give proper credit to the makers.)

Judges' Choice

Double click to see the cowboy quilted in the light background!

Reprints of Headlines from Events occurring during the maker's life!  Stunning!

My Favorite!

A Quilter's Quilt

A possibility for my 2" church half-squares!



After the show, we went to Arlington Sewing Center where I bought 10 bobbins for the Singer Quantum CXL machine I inherited from my sister.  I recently got it back from the repairman, but in all my sister's things, I could find only one bobbin!  I've been sewing on it this past week (had the repairman take my Viking for a tune-up), and I'm loving it much more than I had thought I would.  It has lots of nice features my Viking doesn't have, but the reverse is also true of my Viking.  Anyway, it had been disabled even before my sister's death, and I just never had it fixed; glad I did now!  Lots to learn about it!

Next we went to Lone Star House of Quilts in Arlington, and I really NEEDED more fabric, right?



I had already used up most of the red/white stripe bought earlier.

Last week I was busy again with funerals --- four of them, and I played for two of them.  The coming week is full to the brim already with activities, including playing for a wedding next Saturday.  Got to practice!  It's been a long time since I played for a wedding!  I do hope I get some sewing time in! 

My son came and went to church with me this morning, and then took me out to lunch, both of which made me very happy.  He is such a wonderful son --- very caring for his old Mom!  (Note:  He better be nice to me!  I loaned him my car from last Saturday until Wednesday; his was in the shop for repairs, and he had to get to work.  I had to bum rides around town!  *frown*  All is well now though!  *smile*)

Hope all of you had a Happy Mother's Day! 

---"Love"

Finally, Another Little Finish!

It's not long until the church youth auction, so I decided I better get a little patriotic item ready; got to keep up my tradition!  It didn't take long to make; it took more time just to get it started!  It is 27" square.

I hope to make at least one more for the auction, and of course, I'll be making a new one for myself too.  I have an idea for a new one and spent some time drafting it out last night, but I'm not sure I can make it work.  If it does, I may have to keep it myself, or maybe make two!  More another time on that one. 

Last week I had to make a run to my favorite quilt store for a thing or two and came home again with quite a few things!  They had just put out a new shipmet of patriotic fabrics, and I went crazy!  This was the first time I had been in the shop since January when I told the owner I wouldn't be back.  Then yesterday I had to go to Hobby Lobby for some other things, and of course, that's not far from the quilt shop, so after lunch with a life-long quilty friend, we went to the quilt shop.  I just had to have a few more of the patriotic series, and of course, I really "needed" more Civil War fabrics! *giggle*  This is the produce from both trips!

Last week I was looking for a particular quilt in my printed blogs when I realized I had never printed any of my 2009 blog posts!  I knew I had copied all of them to Word files before APQ took them down, but where were the printed copies???  Panic struck me because I thought maybe they were lost when my computer had to go to the hospital a year or so ago.  Fortunately I found the APQ Blog file, and I spent a few nights printing the entire year!  That no doubt was my most productive quilting year --- stack and whack, fire donation quilts, etc.  When I think of what I did that year compared to what I've done lately, I'm realizing that I've been a slacker!  Got to get my creative juices flowing again.  ----It was so much fun scanning over all those posts; I had also saved all the encouraging comments from everyone.  That's when I realized there are some of our little gang still among the missing from our move to Blogspot.  Maybe some of them will come back; I don't want to call names, but I may decide to do that later!  *wink*

Anyway, I now have all my blogs printed to date.  Why is that important to me?  Well, that's the best way for me to keep a record of my quilting projects.  Also it warms my heart to read the comments from everyone, and reminds me again of the good friends I've made through blogging, and all the knowledge and encouragement we've shared with one another.  If everything in my house were in as good order as things in my quilting interest, everything would have its own place and would be in that place!  (Not so!)  Got to change that too! 

I think the Arlington, Texas, quilt show is May 11-12; anyone going?  I hope to go if at all possible. 

For now, I guess I better go quilt, or maybe clean house?  *ha, ha!*   Hope everyone traveling stays safe, and hope everyone is having fun with your quilting!

---"Love"