6th block

We had a nice quiet weekend. I got another batch of jam made, which may have turned out better than the first!  I had guild meeting last night. It was so nice to see my quilty friends and even make some new ones!  And before I even got to my guild meeting a friend called me about a job!  How exciting is that!  Don't know the particulars yet so keep your fingers crossed!  The sad news is I did miss Glee last night, but don't you worry I'll be sure to watch it online sometime today!

Well this is my 6th block done for the "In my Garden" quilt.  Just 3 more to go and I only have to prep 5 pieces to complete all the prep work!!  I'm currently watching Season 3 of Fringe so I'll get lots of stitching done during that.  I'm planning a trip down to Baroda, MI to visit my Aunt and go to a big craft fair at their local fair grounds on Saturday.  I'll let you know if I find anything I can't live without!

At the middle point

I have a total of 5 blocks done now, Four more to go! Now if I had started this quilt as it is sold, this would have been my first block.  When I first looked at the quilt I thought the "water" embroidery on the water fountain would be fun to make in tear drop beads.  In the end I liked the original embroidery it goes with all the other embroidery.  I wouldn't like jewels or beads on just one little block and no other place. I took some time and pre-made four long strips to use in the rest of the blocks. Each one is over 6 feet long so it should help in putting the next blocks together quicker.

Austin spent the day with me on Thursday and he helped me can raspberry jam.  It was my first time making jam so I didn't know if we would end up with jam or ice cream topping!  Of course he enjoyed smashing them with the potato masher and said it looked like zombie blood!

It was his dad's birthday so Austin made a card and took him a jar of jam for a gift!  I think they turned out pretty nice.  Well I think I'll go make some toast!

I went raspberry picking...

with my friend Adrienne yesterday.  I think we were in Belding but I'm not sure. I was not paying much attention, I was just along for the ride and the company! We just chatted as we picked, which made the time fly.  It was so nice to be out in the country air with the bees buzzing and the geese honking as they flew over.

I got three heaping quarts of beautiful raspberries to play with.  I'm thinking of making some jam and giving a try at a cordial. I'll keep you posted on my progress.  Who knows they may just all go in the freezer!

  

The weather was just perfect, overcast and cool.  It just started to drizzle as we were heading back to the van.  I'm so glad Adrienne asked me to go. Maybe I'll make another trip soon! ☺

Block "month" 7 done!

WOOHOO! Got "month" 7 done.  I cut all my pieces down to size and started piecing them together. The diamonds were a bit of a pain. I just could not get them down to the correct size but I finally got them squished in! 

 Now that loud angry scream that I'm sure you all heard this weekend was me! As I was putting the block together I realized I cut my pumpkins 5 1/2" wide instead of 5 3/4" wide! So guess who spent Saturday night re-stitching the pumpkins onto a new background. Yep, that would be me.

My little gray goose (mmmm vodka) was the first time I have ever used the wrong side of the fabric, on purpose!  This made him lighter and much more goose like in my opinion.

Dudley turned 15

Dudley had his 15th birthday on September 15!  He has been having more trouble getting around just because his eyesight is failing more. He gets disorientated and bumps into walls and furniture. I interrupted his nap so he was not very excited about getting his picture taken in his birthday hat.

I'm almost ready to put together another "month" block from the In my garden quilt.  I'll post that next week.  I did get my replacement for my little red iron and went to a stitch in at a friends house yesterday and got a ton of work done.  I just love my little red iron!



My yellow house

This is block "month 5". I had to make my house yellow!!  Not only is it my favorite color but in my dreamland where I live in the country my farm house is yellow. My grandma's house was yellow and I always loved it.  I like how one of the tree "blossoms" goes over the edge. She has a couple blocks in the quilt that do this.

The gate was fun to make. There is so much detail with the embroidery it really makes a difference.

Now the sad news, My brand new little red iron broke!! I am not having good luck with irons lately. This will make the second one in two months that broke. My little Rowenta I did break myself.  I pressed to hard too many times and the handle broke!! But the good news, I bought my new iron from P3 Designs and she is sending me a replacement ASAP!! Pearl is the best! Not only did she come up with the wonderful applique technique that I was taught by Sandy at Smith Owen but she sells wonderful products too!  At least I have enough pieces ready to stitch so that should keep me busy until my replacement arrives.



Second Block completed

Here is the second block done for the In my garden quilt.  I know I just posted the first one, but I've had that one done for a couple weeks.  I love how the dragonflies turned out. I'm not to sure about the butterflies, they look like colorful bats to me sometimes! I love how this pattern has that folk art look. With it being hand drawn it's not perfect, so when I make a mistake it doesn't show it just looks like the pattern was made that way!

This pattern is sold as a block of the month. This is month 2. I didn't do them in order, which I am glad of cause then I was able to see later the diamond blocks are the same on both sides. I was able to prep both sets of blocks at the same time. What a time saver that was!!  I have three more "months" to prep and then that part will be done.