Design Wall Monday...

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas! I did.

There is nothing new on my design wall.

However, I have finished some things.
First, a Baptism Towel. Several years ago I was asked to take over the making of towels for the babies being baptized at the church I was attending. I no longer go to this church but I still make the towels. This one was for a co-worker. I have been told how much the parents appreciate these towels.



I also finished the baby girl quilt. I think it turned out pretty cute. The center is a panel with the butterflies already appliqued. I added the shoe, purse and lipstick appliques at the request of the babies mother.



So, with those pressing matters finished I am now relaxing a little. I have another quilt on the frame and some knitting by my TV chair.



I have also started another project... like I don't have enough going already :)
A friend was gifted a garland like this. I thought it was so cute that I just had to figure out how to make it. Hers is make with fabric strips wrapped around milk carton rings. I didn't have have any of those, but I do have toilet paper and paper towel tubes so I cut them into thin strips. I cut fabric into 1/2-3/8 inch strips. You have to split the ring open to insert one into the next. I discovered glue dots and am using those to glue the strips back together after inserting them into the next ring. Then wrap the fabric around the ring. I secure the end of the fabric strip with a glue dot on the inside of the ring so that it doesn't show. The ends blend in pretty well so I don't think they would be noticed if the ended up on the outside. I think this garland would be cute on a tree with hand crafted ornaments... or strung above a doorway with Christmas cards attached with tiny clothes pins... or...

I can think of several ways to use this!

Design Wall Monday...

Progress!!

I have started working on the baby girl quilt. I am working on the label. I have also added some applique to the center panel and have added the small inner border.

My son has a basketball tournament this weekend so there will be no sewing for me. The tournaments are usually 2 days. After the last game on the first day we order in pizza and hang out around the pool at the hotel.

I usually take some knitting to work on. This weekend I will be working on the quilt label.

Design Wall Monday...

Well nothing on the wall, but I do have a finish.
I had planned to start on the baby girl quilt that goes with the baby boy quilt - they are cousins, but I spent my weekend driving - driving my FIL to the hospital to visit my MIL on Friday. It's a one hour trip one way.Then on Saturday driving FIL back to hospital to bring MIL home. So glad she was able to come home. She is feeling better, but will need to go back at some point in the near future for an appendectomy. Then on Sunday driving 3 hours round trip to meet my parents. My son stayed at their house after Thanksgiving dinner. It is a tradition now. We all go there for Thanksgiving and he stays until Sunday. The last 2 years my niece has been staying too. They are close in age and get along well. Sounds like they all had a really fun time this year!
Anyway, here is my finish - the baby boy quilt. I think it turned out cute. It is labeled, washed and ready to be delivered which I will do tomorrow. Hopefully I can start on the girl quilt tomorrow evening.

Since my last few posts have been pretty negative I decided that I needed to start thinking more about the positive things in my life. So...

My gratitudes for today:
- MIL is home from the hospital and feeling much better.
- My parents. I am grateful that they enjoy spending time with my son. Sometimes he needs a break from me and I need a break from him. It seems that as he gets older they are all enjoying each others company even more.

Still struggling, an Oh, Darn and Thankful

I am still struggling with the state of clutter in my home and nobody but me seeming to care about it. Last weekend I left home to go to work on Friday morning and did not return home until around 8:00 on Saturday evening. I took my son to my brother's home on Friday evening so my brother could take him hunting Saturday morning. Then ball practice Saturday afternoon, then home. I light bulb in my bathroom burned out sometime during the time I was gone. When a light bulb burns on when I turn on the lights I change it right away. No one else does. We went to my folks place for Thanksgiving. When we came home someone took of their shirt and put it on the dining room chair. It is still there. I know I should just buck up and take care of these things, but if I went around picking up the messes everyone else makes I would not get anything else done! I guess I should be glad that the mess does not bother any one but me. But I am pretty sure on the rare occasion that we have visitors, the visitors think that I am the one not doing a good job keeping the house clean.
I finished 2 QFK quilts. One was a kit they sent me, the other is from my own fabrics. I washed them. See the big red triangles in the one quilt? That fabric bled. Oh, darn :( I even used color catchers. My husband says they don't look too bad. And, actually the one from their kit doesn't look too bad, but the other one I am thinking I should not send.

When you look at this close up you can see that the white on white fabric shows where the red dye bled into the white. The cowboy fabric on the other quilt had a white background that is now pink. Oh, darn.
So as to end this post on a positive note I am saying I am thankful.
I am thankful for my family. My brother was kind enough to take my son hunting with him. They didn't see one deer, but my son enjoyed being in the woods and spending time with his uncle.
I am thankful my brother, his wife and daughter welcome us to their home.
I am thankful for being able to spend time with my family. We had a nice Thanksgiving visit with aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins.
I am thankful my mother-in-law is coming home from the hospital today. She has had some health issues the past few years, but nothing to terribly serious. She is feeling much better today.

So even though I do grumble I do have reason to be thankful. :)

Design Wall Monday...

Not one quilty thing done this past week. I spent the weekend in Milwaukee watching my son play basketball. And, guess what...

They won! All 6 games.

He has improved a lot since he started playing about 3 years ago. Here is is about to tip over. They all do that sometimes. It was really scary to watch the first time it happened, but now he just pops back up and keeps going. It amazes me how they are able to do that.


The team has lost members and gotten new ones. They play well together and we all have a great time!

Missed Design Wall Monday

Ok, so I had good intentions, but I missed posting on Monday. Not that there is much to post, but I really did mean to.
I'm working on another Quilts for Kids quilt. I do enjoy these, although I don't like this kit as much as the others they sent me. It is quilted and ready for the binding. You can my Rainbow blocks are still on the wall behind the QFK quilt.


I have been working on a label for the little boy quilt that is finished. I make my labels by using waste cross-stitch canvas. I stitch onto fabric that is from the quilt so it matches and then hand sew it to the back. No picture yet.

It is hard for me to find time for sewing since school and basketball practice have started. The basketball season kicks off this weekend with the first tournament in Milwaukee, WI. The kids are excited and so are the parents, I think! Go Wildcats!

I am having a personal struggle lately. It seems that no matter how hard I try to declutter and keep my home neat and organized I just cannot do it. I don't like to do housework to begin with, but I do like to be able to find what I need and keep things picked up. There are pack rat genes on my side and my husbands so my son gets a double whammy of that! I have a 6 foot table set up in our family room in my sewing area. My son had a fit that I would be using the WHOLE table. He just did not think that was fair. I said he could use it too. He has the laptop at one end. We had to go as far as to make a mark on the table showing the halfway point! How ridiculous is that?! He always points out when I am over my half. Sometimes I just have to do that when I am measuring and cutting bigger pieces of fabric.

Same with the quilt frame. I had to give him his own space on the shelves underneath. Now, admittedly most of the stuff under the frame is mine, but some is his. And it hasn't moved since it was put there. He tends to put his stuff on the top, though and then gets angry when I move it so I can quilt. My husband likes to spread the mail out on the Ironing board. I am at a lost as to how to get them to stop. I am also frustrated that I have to keep asking my son to pick up his mess on the table. Most of it is garbage. This past weekend I bagged most of it up and put it in his room. I told him I didn't throw anything away in case there was something there that he needed. Oh, he was mad! :) But, now a few days later, there is another mess on the table. So, how I am handling this isn't working. Any suggestions?

You can also see the the lower right corner that the dining room chairs are used for hanging up jackets and such. We do have closets and hanging pegs in this house. I hang my coat up on a peg by the door every time I take it off. There are four pegs. I am the only one who uses them. I work full-time - with Kindergarteners! - so I am tired when I come home and I am just really struggling with having to keep cleaning up messes that I didn't make.
I know... I need to put on my big girl panties and just suck it up. You don't have to tell me.

Design Wall Monday...

Nothing new on the design wall again this week.
I did finish the quilting on little boy baby quilt. All that is left is adding the label and washing. The front is flannel, the back is minkee type fabric. The customer decided they wanted batting so it is pretty heavy, but will be cushiony and warm.


I seriously dislike this time of year. My son's birthday is today. He is 17. Bad time of year for this family to celebrate a birthday. My husband farms ... with his dad. If you farm you know what that means for this time of year. If you don't farm - nothing else is important except to get those crops out of the field. Things don't always go well. My husband has been having equipment problems. It takes time to get the parts, take things apart and put it all back together. Sometimes things still don't work right.


My mother-in-law just called me and said she has a cake in the oven, but doesn't know what time they will get down here. Bless her heart, but I didn't even know that was the plan. Yesterday would have been a perfect day for birthday celebrating since they don't work on Sunday. I am just a tad frustrated. :(
And, to top it all off, my son is out riding the 4-wheeler in the field. He was almost out of gas. Dad told him to come find me to put gas in it for him. Never done this before. I spilled gas on me on the 4-wheeler and on him. Now I smell, my clothes (which I have changed out of and put in the basement to be washed) and my house smell like gas. And, my in-laws are coming down at some point this evening.

Oh, well. Happy birthday to my son!!! I can't believe he is 17!

Design Wall Monday...

Well, I don't have anything new on my design wall, but I have been working on some projects.
I basted an old top on the frame so I could hand quilt it. Much easier to baste on the frame. I used to layer a quilt on the floor and crawl all over it to baste it. Took a long time and I was so stiff and sore the next day. Basting on the frame is so much easier. I know that I can use the machine to make the stitches, but I hand basted. This will be my traveling project to work on when my son has basketball practice.


I also started to quilting on this baby boy quilt. It is a panel that I added the borders to. The borders are deconstructed fabric that coordinates with the panel. I have a baby girl quilt to get started on.

There is a lot of fall going on here. I know the changing leaves are pretty.




I know my family is supported by the harvest. You can see by the dust how dry things have been here this summer.



Most of the other plants are done blooming. I miss them. I love the color of this mum....


but I hate the thought of winter being just around the corner. :(

Design Wall Monday...

Again, not much done this week.
I am knitting some dish clothes for my mom to give with Christmas gifts.
Also, made another Quilts for Kids quilt. This one is a sports theme. In the picture it is not finished. I have since finished it, washed and dried it and it is ready to mail back.

Design Wall Monday...

Nothing new last week, nothing new this week :(


Being back at school takes most of my time and energy during the week. The weekends are spent running errands and doing housework - like I do much of that :)


Basketball practice starts the first weekend in October. We have to travel 1 1/2 hours one way, then have 2 1/2 hours of practice, then travel home. My day is gone.
Since I don't have a quilty pic to post I will post one of my son playing basketball. He's #10.

Design Wall Monday...

This week, a long weekend for me, I finished one more block of the Rainbow Memories quilt. I am having a hard time with this one. I am just not sure I am liking the color placements I am choosing. I guess I will keep plugging along and see what I have when I get them all finished. There seems to be plenty of fabric so I will be able to change some of the pieces later if I want to.



I am working on another Quilts for Kids quilt. This one has a sports theme. The fabrics are really nice. I am sure a young boy will like this quilt.



And, more squash .... so more pickles! I tried dill pickles this time. Haven't tried them yet since they are suppose to sit for a few days. I will be making more relish today. My husband suggested I tear out the older plants and let the new ones continue to produce for a little while. We have a zucchini plant that is finally producing. I think I will be making zucchini bars with that. I found a recipe here that I want to try.

I hope everyone enjoys the holiday weekend.
Stop on over to Judy's blog to see what others are doing.

It's not nice to make Mama angry....

I have a son with disabilities. Physical and visual. He is a permanent wheelchair user. He is legally blind. I believe that he should attend the high school in our district along with his peers. And he does. I believe that the school district should make the necessary accommodations so that he can attend classes. And the do... sort of. The high school he attends installed lifts in the stair ways so that he could access the building. The building is old and has multiple levels that don't quite match up where the new additions were added onto the old building. I understand that nothing can be done about that. There are 2 lifts. One to the old part of the building and some levels; another to the new part of the building and different levels. He cannot access the entire building from one lift. They do try to arrange his class schedule so that he isn't on the first floor and then the second using one lift and then the third using the other lift. Oh, by the way, to get from the second floor to the third floor he has to go down to the first floor and over to the other lift then up to the third floor. As you might imagine, this takes time. At least 10 minutes. They let him leave class a few minutes early so that he can get where he needs to be before the other students are released and filling up the stair ways. School has been in session for 4 full days. The first day neither lift was working. One is now working, one still is not. The stair climber is also not working. The lift company has been called. Parts are ordered. My son is CRAWLING up and down the stair while a teacher carries his chair for him! What!? Are you kidding me!? My son came home from school the first day and told me about the problem. Thought it would be fixed the next day. No. Second day he says they are coming the next day to fix the lifts. Didn't happen. On Sunday I saw the principal at a school function and we discussed the problem. I understand he has little control over the lift company not coming and parts not arriving, etc. He told me he would be looking into the stair crawler; he had not been made aware of it not working. According to my son, that is not true.
Today I called the school to find out if the lift had been worked on. No. I asked for a call back from the principal who was in a meeting. He just called me. Lift people not coming until Friday. He said he would understand if I wanted to keep my son home until the lift was working. What?! I do NOT want to keep my son home; I want the school the accommodate him! And, I really don't think it would be too hard. Two of the 3 classes he is crawling to are Study Skills (study hall) and Homeroom (another study hall). I cannot believe that I had to suggest to him that possibly, could they maybe move him to another classroom for that, or could the whole class go to the cafeteria. Come on! The other class is a math class. How hard is that to move? It's not like it is science lab with equipment that cannot be moved. I am sooooo mad! I really feel that someone - SOMEONE - should have been looking at his schedule and figured this out - his special ed teacher who he has Study Skills with, his vision instructor who is there 4 days a week, the math teacher who is carrying his chair. Someone should have noticed this.
It makes me feel bad as a person to have to make this kinds of phone calls. To stand up for my son. To tell them to do the right thing. To have to ask them to move him to a different class. I do not like confrontation. It is very hard for me. It makes me mad that the people who are suppose to be looking out for him are not. They are not doing their job. They KNOW what SHOULD be done, but they wait for me to make them do it.
Plus I work for the school district. I am in a different building but still in the district. I feel that I am in a unique situation because of that. I try to be cooperative and understanding but this is just not acceptable. I understand they don't control the lift company. I understand the custodians cannot fix the lift. I understand that the lift company kept saying they would be there the next day. But I still think they should have had a plan. This is not the first time he has had to crawl up and down stairs. When he was in middle school there was a situation that forced him to have to crawl the stairs. I kept asking if they could move his classrooms to a floor he could access. They refused. It took surgery (unrelated) and a letter from an very appalled physician to resolve that issue. I cannot believe that anyone would be expected to go through the things my son has had to with this school district. I have said before and still maintain, sometimes it seems like the district works harder to NOT accommodate him than to accommodate him. It is so unfair what parents of special needs children have to go through for their kids. What so many parents take for granted, we have to fight for. And, I . am . tired. I just want my son to be able to go to school and get an education. And, to not have to crawl up stairs.
I'll stop now. Sorry for the rant. I just needed to get that off my chest.

Design Wall Monday...

This is what my design wall has looked like for the last week...


You can see on the right what I have done on the Shining Stars. I am still at a stand still on those. The other blocks are Rainbow Memories Kit from Keepsake Quilting provided by my hubby. I have been using those to fill in when I have a few minutes. They require careful planning! The fabrics are Daiwabo Selection for E. E. Schenck Company. It starts out one color gradually changing to another in the middle then back to the other color on the opposite side. LOVE the colors! Not sure of the placement of some of them in the blocks. I have decided to make the blocks they way I think they should be and make changes after I am done. There seems to be enough fabric to be able to do that.

On Friday, my parents came for an overnight visit and we went to see Ricky Skaggs and his Kentucky Thunder band. They played some bluegrass and then some of his old country songs. It was very nice. We had great seats, only a few rows from the stage. I really enjoy that toe-tapping music!


A friend of mine asked this spring to make 2 baby quilts. Her daughters were expecting babies a month apart this fall. I said sure. Things got busy for her with an ailing parent and we didn't get to fabric shop until early August. We saw some panels at Joanns and Hobby Lobby that she liked and they had coordinating pieced fabrics to go with them. She plans to give them to them at Christmas, no rush. Well, one of the babies decided to come early! 2 months early! Everyone is fine and he is doing well. She still is waiting until Christmas, but I have decided I better get busy. The parents are decorating the nursery in a Safari theme so this panel will work well. And, it is partially pieced! I made borders with the coordinating pieced fabric and am using minkee type fabric on the back. It will be so soft and cuddly. The other baby is a girl. I will post that one later.

Design Wall Monday...

Today was the start of the new school year for faculty and staff. I am 'staff' - a teacher's aide. Today and tomorrow are filled with meetings, information, introduction of new faculty/staff, etc. The students start Wednesday. No more sleeping late, days filled with quilting, or whatever, for me. It all comes to a grinding halt. By the time I get home from work I am tired and have household/family stuff to do - supper, laundry, cleaning, etc. I still am able to get some quilting in on the weekends, but not as much as in the summer.

I attended a birthday party for a friend's mother, her 70th. She recently became a resident in a nursing home and it was requested that there be no gifts since she shares a small room with a roommate. I made her a fabric card that I thought she would be able to have out in her room.

I am working on 2 baby quilts for the same friend. 2 daughters each having a baby; one in September, one in October. The October one decided that today was a good day to come into the world. Mother and baby are both doing well. That top is ready to be quilted. I will post a picture when it is finished. I haven't started the other one yet.

I got this guy hung up this weekend. I had mostly finished it a while back but just got around to binding it this weekend. He is now hanging in my kitchen. I will probably regret that but I have decorated my kitchen with roosters so that's where he fits!

I have stopped working on Shining Stars. I just need a break from them. I finished all the blocks for Strip Around the Block. I need to get fabric for the setting triangles, borders, binding and backing.

Just to show how busy I have been this summer, here is a picture of all the spools I have emptied.

Design Wall Monday...

On my design wall this week...

I am STILL working on Shining Stars blocks. I am really getting tired of this one. I how is looks as it is coming together, but I just want to be finished piecing it.












I am also working on Strip Around the Block as sort of leaders/enders between the Shining Stars blocks. It is coming along nicely.










In between sewing I have been over run with yellow squash from the garden. Yesterday I made pickles and relish with it. I have made bread and butter pickles with cucumbers, but have never done that with squash. Also, a first for any kind of relish. It will be interesting to see how they turn out.

Even with all that I still have a box full of squash and haven't been to the garden to see what is out there today. I am afraid to look! :) Notice the one on top that is 2 fused together. I have gotten about 5 like that this year so far. I don't know what causes it, but it seems like there are a lot on the vines. They are growing fast and so close together.