Tomato Tamahtoe

Or whatever.........I say tomato goodness!

Crystal brought me 2 boxes of tomatoes. We think maybe 50 pounds.

Now most of them look like this. Or they will. I have 7 more in the canner with that many more to go in. What doesn't fit into the last 7 quarts will go into the freezer. As tired as I am right now, I will be very happy when I go into the cupboard and bring out a jar of red gold.

Dinner tonight? Leftovers.........thank goodness for leftovers. I don't really care if we have dinner. I just want to sit with my feet up but I have a feeling Ernie is bringing me home a couple more boxes of tomatoes. Guess what he's going to be doing if he does!!! He's been pretty good about helping. He's been doing an awesome job of picking and snapping green beans.

Edit: At the end of the day there were 28 quart jars canned, 6 quarts in the freezer, 2 empty boxes and 1 tired woman. I fixed grilled cheese twice for dinner and was sound asleep by 8:30. It was a good day!

Design Wall Monday

I spent all weekend finishing the top from the class and kind of got sidetracked away from my April UFO project. That happens pretty often with me. But I'm now back to work.

I needed 4 more sashing sections, made one, thought I'd made the second until I put it up on the board. What did I do?? Why won't this fit??? I used the extra strips instead of the ones for this quilt, so that kind of stopped me right in my tracks. And the fact that someone asked if I was going to stay hid out in my room all day. Umm, that kind of was my plan~~~~

Also on my wall it a little table topper that needs finished. I used a block out of the Quilt Mavens book. Recently Deb Karasik was a guest speaker at the quilt guild. (I am regretting not being a member of the guild because I missed seeing her. Boo Me!) Anyhow, I remembered this little UFO. I got it out, printed a few border sections to make it bigger and now I'm thinking about it more. And I have a plan...........

Grab a cup of something and visit Judy L to see what everyone other walls look like today. I love Monday in Blogland.

Sunday Afternoon

The top is finished!

I cannot wait to quilt it with simple stitch in the ditch.

Yeah Me!!!

Progress and A Mystery

I'm making good progress on my Carol Doak class project. All the paper piecing is done and I'm starting to put the center sections together. This will finish about 26"x26".


Carol Doak has created another mystery quilt for her Yahoo Group. A small, intimate group of about 7400 quilters. I wasn't going to do it because.... You know the saying, "I'm not starting any new projects until I get some other stuff done!". Yeah, that saying. BS to that! I'm doing this one!

The fabric requirements and cutting instructions have been posted so I went shopping in my stash, pulling these fabrics. They were intended for something else but I think they will be perfect for this. So I am using them. I spend last night cutting and cutting and now I am ready for the first clue.

I'd really like to have my class project done before she posts it on Tuesday but she is know to post a day early. I better get the next load of laundry going so I can get back in my room.

A Day With Carol

Carol Doak was teaching an all day class through NW Quilting Expo in Portland Thursday.

My friend Harriet and I attended her Sunset At Sea class. We had a blast! Harriet is new to paper piecing, I'm not. I learned so many little tips and tricks that will make my pp-ing so much easier and lots more fun because I'll remember Carol's funny little sayings or her silly jokes about this or that.

Look at this mini! She now sells pattern cds with 4 miniature printable patterns. I love doing the minis and after seeing hers, I want to make them all! I did buy Set Four but I will have to buy Set One so I can do this mini. You can find these in her web store along with all of her books and other things.

Here is one section of my Sunset At Sea. I really, really want to work on it today......so I am going to hurry and get my stuff done so I can sew all day long if I want to.

If you ever get a chance to take a class from Carol Doak, do it. I'm so glad I did. Thanks Crystal for insisting I take the class. Thanks for going with me Harriet. It was a really fun day!

Design Wall Monday

I added a few more crumby flying geese to the crumb blocks bin. These blocks will finish at 6" but here there look like they are about 24". It was really hard on Friday to stop with just one block. But I did it~and then Saturday I made 3 more and put them up on the wall. Every time I looked at them I wanted to sit down and make more~~but I didn't!

I worked on this instead, April's UFO Challenge project. I am doing the quilt as you go method that I learned watching Betty Cotton on Sewing With Nancy several years ago. After doing one quilt this way and saying I would never do another, I decided to give it another go. And you know what, I'm having a blast doing it this time!


All blocks are quilted, the short sashing is made and 2 blocks are connected. The border fabric is just hanging out there to see if it will live with this quilt........I'll decided after I put on the inner border. I can't wait until I can get in there today to do more! There are no beans to can, zucchinis to take care of or tomatoes to peel. It looks to be a sewing room kind of day!

Go over to Judy L's and see her colorful design wall and then visit other great quilters to see what they are up to.

Jo's Crumb Along

Jo, over at Jo's Country Junction is hosting "Crumb Along With Me".

(Clicking the box will take you to her first post.)

You know I'm playing along.

Last month I made these crumb blocks. Still I have no idea how many blocks are in the bin but I could not resist these cute flying geese that Jo is showing us. I have a little bin that I have been putting my crumbs in so I will work out of that until I need to dig deeper.

When I start sewing these crumb blocks, the hardest part for me is stopping! I have other things that need my attention so I am limiting myself on how many blocks I can sew at a time. Today I am picking the number 1. That's right. ONE block today. Believe me if you want to. :o)

Problem Solved

Tuesday I was happily quilting along on the butterflies when I started to have thread issues. I was getting frustrated so I quit for a while. This is the same thread I'd been using for most of the quilt until I started changing out different colors to do the butterfly wings and birdhouses.

When I came back in, I pulled off a bunch of thread thinking maybe there was a bad spot. Nope, still shredding. So I parked the machine and quit for the night. Then yesterday was Binding Friends day so there was not even a thought about the quilt.

Sometime in the night I woke up to kitties doing a dance across my back. As I'm laying there trying to go back to sleep, this big ole light bulb went off in my head! The butterflies and the bird houses have fusible web on the back of them......DUH! CHANGE THE NEEDLE!!! Whoopsie! Didn't think about that one......yeah, duh!

So this morning after a few chores, that's what I'll do. I'll change the needle and finish quilting this quilt.

Design Wall Monday

My design wall is empty! But on my never ending quest to cross every single project off my UFO list, these are what I am working on right now.

This is project #4 on my list for Judy L's 2011 UFO Challenge. That number was drawn in April! April, for heaven's sake. The only progress I made on these blocks was to take them out of the bag, put them up on the wall and arrange them into rows. I didn't pull any sashing fabric or border fabric or even backing. I just pinned the rows together and put them neatly back into the bag.

While I was quilting, I needed to take a break so I sat down at my sewing machine and didn't have anything to work on! What! There was nothing right there that I could sew. Not even a leader/ender that could be sewn together-I need to cut more scraps for bow ties. I looked up and saw this bag of blocks and right then decided I was going to do them as quilt as you go. Backing is all cut, batting scraps are going to be used and a few are cut to size. I test drove the decorative stitch I thought I wanted to put around the block but decided to do it in the sashing instead. The quilting on the blocks will give me a chance to play with my sewing machine.

In Saturday's post, I thought this quilt top was completed sometime in 2010. Last night I was browsing back through my blog and I found this post. That is over 2 years ago. 2 Years!!! I've been thinking about quilting this quilt for 2 stinkin' years. Well the thinking is over and it's loaded and advanced a few times.

So 2 quilting projects are what's happening for me this week. Wish me luck. I can't wait to see what others are working on this week. Visit Judy L here to find out.

What Do I Do When It's 90+ Outside?

I Quilt!

Turbo Tested, Turbo Approved

This baby quilt was pieced last September! Almost a whole year ago. I got it out a couple days ago, loaded it onto the frame super fast using my new Red Snappers (I swear these are changing my quilting life!) that Gari talked about in a couple February 2011 posts. I thought a long time about getting them and one day I decided I needed them. I really glad I bought them. Sometimes a quilter needs a new tool! In no time at all, I was unsnapping the quilt and adding binding. Now this little gem will be washed and put away until a sweet little baby girl needs a quilt.

I woke up this morning at 3:00 and couldn't go back to sleep so at 4:15 I got up and started sewing. I added the final 3 border pieces to the Split Decision baby quilt that hasn't been touched since March. Then I made and pressed the binding and pieced the back. It is ready for quilting. Instead of loading this one, I picked my 2nd oldest UFO and loaded it.

This quilt was started in 2002 as a Row Robin and finally put together into a top sometime in 2010 and then promptly put on the to be quilted mountain and forgot about. It is now listed as quilting in progress...........that's a good thing.

I have big plans to catch up on the 2011 UFO Challenge list. One quilt is waiting to be next and a set of blocks is waiting for sashing.......Plans, Big Plans!

It's A Finished Quilt Top!

And isn't it great??? I'm very happy with this quilt top. When I wrote my DWM post , I didn't think I would get this done until Thursday. But a few minutes here and there really makes a big difference in my progress. These are our 2020/11 BOM-QuiltAddicts blocks. I'm excited that they are used and not sitting around waiting for me to do something with them.

I wanted to put another white border around but I don't have anymore. I ran out of the original white and used another for sashing, inner border, white stars and spacer. I've decided it's done the way it is. I'll use the remaining colors for a scrappy binding.

This will be quilted soon as the new grandbaby is due to arrive in a few weeks. Everyone is saying girl but no one knows for sure (or they aren't sharing that news). Either way this quilt will live at Crystal's house and be used and loved by all.

And if baby is a boy, this Gramma will be working like a crazed woman to get him his very own quilt. Or maybe I'll start on it next....

Design Wall Monday

I had big plans yesterday. I was going to turn this into a quilt top. I was up at 5:30, the house was all quiet, I went in to sew. After a couple hours, Ernie got up, took the dogs for their car ride, came home with special coffee for mom and settled in to read the paper. I went back in to sew for a couple more hours. More stars were made, while sashing is the leader/ender. I'm on a roll!

Then it ended! Ernie saw deer outside, wanted pictures, I exited the sewing room never to return until late last night when I took this photo. I made some chocolate zucchini cupcakes. While they were baking, I loaded up the dehydrator with zuke slices for chips. When that mess was cleaned up, I created another. I cleaned out a couple cupboards! After putzing around for a while, it was time to go to friend's for a BBQ.

Today is my day! So I say now, because the Mr. is home and you all know that means my plans change without notice. I'm thinking Thursday will be my day, after the bus leaves with grandson Jonah and before Ernie comes home from work!

Read Judy's Design Wall story and check other walls here.

Friday Fun

After spending the day with Daughter Crystal and the kiddos, I decided I was going to play in my sewing room.

Beth over at Love Laugh Quilt has a fabulous tutorial for this doll. As soon as I saw her doll, I knew I had to make one and was very excited when she posted her tutorial.

I had so much fun and cannot wait to make more. Thank you Beth!