Monthly Archives: July 2014

2014
07/31

Category:
Foods
Garden
Life

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PRODUCE

Look at my little workers.    There are lots of them in there now, but as soon as they see light, they head down under.

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I absolutely love it when all I have to do is walk out in the garden and decide what to fix for a meal.     Today I dug somewhat more than 10# of lovely red potatoes.  There are plenty more out there to dig and put away for winter use.

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Then I spied some salad onions that were ready

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Going in another direction, there were beautiful tomatoes, (some of which are being popped into the freezer until I have cooler weather to deal with them)

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lettuce, kale, basil and celery

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So how does baked potatoes and a large salad fresh from the garden sound to you?       Thank you, Father!

And this afternoon it was back to the wholesale house for  towel hangers and a towel paper fixture that we didn’t select yesterday.  We should have taken a list.

 

 

2014
07/30

Category:
Life

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Master Bath

Today the men came to make our master bathroom new again.   The toilet base was cracked and unknown to us leaking under the floor.   The tub is not yet leaking, but was headed that way with the old fixtures.

So we spent some time at the showroom picking out new fixtures including faucets.   Sometimes the difference between models is not visible to me.   I mean – a toilet is a toilet – right?    The bathtub we had, we really liked, so picked the same look, but without the Jacuzzi which was the part that was threatening trouble.     We chose a nice mottled marble for the floor.

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And here is how it is looking this evening.   The floor and toilet are out.   The tub will come out and there will be a new toilet, tub, floor and door, but it will look much the same.   Only the floor will really look different.  But it will take the rest of this week and perhaps some of next week.

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2014
07/29

Category:
Sewing

COMMENTS:
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Pillowcases

Children’s hospitals always seem to need more pillowcases.   The children who come in get a new pillowcase that is there very own to keep.   And if they leave and have to come back, they get to choose another pillowcase.    They need thousands every year.   The Sew Expo netted them 5000, since people were asked to bring a pillowcase for the hospital.   If I remember correctly, that was about a third of what they use annual.    The parents who stay at Ronald’s house are each given one as well.

So today, I spent the entire day selecting fabric and cutting it.   I have totally run out of children’s prints.    So there are a few adult ones on the frame.

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They are cut 27″ by wof of the main fabric, 9″ fabric for the band and a 2″ fabric for trim that goes between the band and the main fabric.    So each case takes a bit over 1 yard.     This is what the cut fabric for 100 cases looks like.   Tomorrow, I will take them down by color into piles.   Then as I can, I will press the fabric and sew it.   I could not afford to do this if I had to buy all this fabric at today’s prices.  I am so glad that I purchased fabric when I could get it at 1/2 – 3/4 off today’s prices.

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I will have more  photos to show you when I actually start sewing.

2014
07/28

Category:
Life

COMMENTS:
3 Comments »

HOARDERS – you and me?

This post is a bit personal, so you are welcome to delete right here because I’m just a tad upset about being misunderstood and therefore labeled.

It has been hinted at more than once that I am a hoarder.   I do not think so, my belief is that I simply have a studio with a good supply of ingredients and many projects to do.   Some in all stages    To prove my point, I have gone through the house taking photos.  Nothing has been staged, just snapped as I went through the rooms.

The first room is the sewing/quilting/crafting supply room.   There are several photos here.   Notice that items are hung, boxed, labeled etc so I know what is where and can find it immediately.

 P1020062 hoarding

The bags hanging on the front have current BOMs in them.

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P1020066This is two of the 4 shelving units like this with folded yardage.  Actually there is yardage on each side of a unit which makes 8 sides.   I do need to get the flannel blankets done and off to the church as that would eliminate some immediately.

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Holiday decorations and fleeces in buckets are in this cubby under the stairs.

OK, that is the room off the studio.   Next up:   the studio

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The quilt hanging at the far end is the “mistake” quilt that I finished binding this morning.

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Here is a bedroom that holds my fleeces from last year and this year and the reason I am refreshing my spinning skills.   Next year the fleeces will be sold as there are enough here for a few sweaters, scarves, etc.

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These are photos of the downstairs rec room/kitchen which is only used for the large cutting table it has and for preparing animal food.   There is a large TV there, but isn’t used.

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My closet is fairly small, but since I have few clothes, I can fit knitting  current yarns in here as well

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These are the living room, dining, room and entry areas

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This is the kitchen/family room area

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and this is the entrance hallway storage.

OK    You have seen a large amount of materials, but would you call it hoarding?   Does it really look like a hoarders house.  Please comment.

 

2014
07/28

Category:
quilts

COMMENTS:
3 Comments »

On Grandpa’s Pond

I was behind on this block of the month and since DH went hiking for the day, I thought it would be a great time to catch up on Grandpa’s Pond by Two Sister’s and a Quilt

This is block contains both June and July.   Here you can see that I have laid out the first pieces.  They were then sewn  down before any pieces were laid on top of them.

P1020053 on grandpa's pond

Next was added  the frog’s tummy.   It  had to be sewn down before the legs as the legs overlap.  At the same time the butterfly and mushroom stems were sewn down.

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Then I added the frog legs, mushroom caps, and some of the flowers.   Again, only adding items that won’t have other pieces sewn under them later.

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The rest of the flowers and the legs for the windmill are added using the pattern placement guide.

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And the last pieces were the blades and center of the windmill.     Here you can see all the pieces up through July

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(I’m sorry  this is late, the computer has a mind of it’s own and wouldn’t play nice at all last night.)

 

 

2014
07/26

Category:
Life
quilts

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Widsith round 2

P1020052 cable socks 2nd roundSlow progress is still progress – just ask the tortoise.   That is how these socks are going to get done.   A bit here and there as I can.     I’m still spinning, but that’s difficult to show.   And of course the Fitbit is grabbing an hour and a half each day.    12,000 steps is a lot of stepping.

 

 

2014
07/25

Category:
Life
quilts

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A knitter’s gifts BOM

July  is nearly over, and  I’m nearly caught up with my BOM”S     Today I worked on a lovely hat for the Knitter’s gifts by Denise Russert

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This is the quilt with the blocks we have done so far.

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The other thing we spent a considerable amount of time on  and phone calls to the company was to install an  update to the quilting machine.   Updates requite redoing most of the connections and the photos weren’t explicit enough for us.   Thankfully the gentleman at the company very patiently guided us through it.   I don’t think  the update would have been necessary except that the computer part of the machine no longer worked after we had the machine cleaned.   (making note to self  to use different company next round)   Computers can be expensive so I opted to just do an upgrade.   Now I get to learn the new programs as the upgrade is on a HP tablet with Windows 8

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A look at the underside of the carriage

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Oops, I didn’t think about the flash, but know that the computer is now working and ready for me to learn how to guide it.

2014
07/24

Category:
Life

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July BOM Tell it to the Stars

This month Judy had us make 6 of these lovely blocks This will be a very attractive man’s quilt when all finished.   It gets better with each block.  It’s difficult to tell on this photo but the squares going from the upper left to the lower right are a medium brown and the ones from the lower left to the upper right are a black.

P1020045 July tell it to the stars

 

I also have all the seeds planted in the greenhouse *which is really a large cold frame) for winter eating.   I will have to thin them when they come up, but at least they are all in.   Today, I planted carrot, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, and parsnips.   The tiny tomatoes have been heavy.   We’re eating them with every lunch plus I have put some in the freezer.   Now to find a great salsa recipe for the large tomatoes which are nearly ready to ripen.   We did actually pick one and two more will be ready within the next two days

 

2014
07/23

Category:
Life

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July 2014 Sew Fun

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The manager of the store is wearing this inventive hat to show that the company has rented the space next door and  now will have a major expansion which is so badly needed.    Today’s program was = what else, – But “Christmas in July”   which  makes perfect sense if you are set to make gifts or live “down under” where it is the height of summer Dec 25.

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This lovely quilt or table top is from Cheryl Taylor’s book “Christmas is coming”   In fact there are several delightful quilts in this book, plus cheery pieced and fusible-applique projects such as table runners, wall hangings, pillow, bed runner and even a Christmas-card hold   All are fairly easy

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I know this photo is a bit confusing, but since I’m in a class, I have to take what I can get.   The quilt on the top left is from the above mentioned book,    The little house piece is from a pattern called “It’s a keeper” and has hooks to hang your keys on the bottom.

P1020036This  table runner  which is simple with a clean look is from “”Christmas is Coming”

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Baker’s Dozen by Bit’s and Pieces has 13 nice pieces including this bag. aprons, table mats and table runner.

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In the  “show and tell” section, this lady was wearing this interesting skirt she has made.   Only really it is a pair of pants as well.  Terrific for travel.   Until she showed us it was also a pair of pants, we did not know.   It has only a front and back seam, but looks similar to this idea   http://www.pinterest.com/pin/470696598526606534/

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This is a class available August 3.   I think it is a beautiful table runner.  I am tempted I need more hours in my days s or maybe I just need to rearrange my day to use the hours better.    – Maybe the Fitbit will  to do it’s own thing which would give me an extra hour and a half.  sigh. sigh.

Oh and I should mention that after several days of very warm, dry weather, when I went to feed the alpacas tonight, their bowls had 3″ of water in them.   We are expecting another downpour tomorrow and then back to warm, dry weather.   We loved having the gardens watered for us.

2014
07/22

Category:
Life

COMMENTS:
1 Comment »

Widsith cable socks

P1020032 cable socks

As you can see, I inserted markers for each time the pattern repeats.   That helps me so much, because then if I come to the next marker and my count is off, I can easily check to see why.   This is the first set of 20 rows which are round 1.   I have at least 3 more rounds to go.  Because I’m not a cable expert, these are going slowly.

Tomorrow is Sew Fun day as well as Blood Draw day, planned that way, because they are decently close together So I’ll try to do better at taking photos and notes.  It seems I get absorbed in what she is presenting and forget the note taking.