Flea Market and Cheddar Bowtie Update

I stopped by the flea market again this weekend and saw this.

It's a hand-pieced bowtie quilt top..it's actually has purple/deep rose color spacer blocks, not brown

These blocks are about 6inches 

It reminded me that I need to get working on mine again

I have the first quarter of the quilt blocks pieced...81 blocks (need 324! to complete the quilt)

I am in the process of stitching them into 9 rows of 9... I have 4.5 rows stitched to date.  

Now that I've seen this picture, I'm going to have to go back and redo some of those pink-ish bowties... I notes that the pattern lines are in a variety of directions... gotta fix that!

I still need to make 243 more blocks!

I need to schedule more handwork time if I'm ever going to complete this.

Then I need to decide how to quilt it!

Other interesting Flea Market Finds...

I thought this little sewing machine was cute!  But no one was available to find out details about it.

Matthew's favorite find..... Sasquatch!

Happy Birthday Uncle Tom

Happy Birthday to my favorite Uncle.

You are missed

Pineapple Quilt

This is what I have been working on all week.  It came to me from Knoxville as a referral from a regular customer of mine. 

 I mostly use pantograms when I quilt, so this was a challenge for me to quilt the odd shaped feathers in the border and the pineapple. 

I wanted the shapes to be consistent so I traced  it onto tissue paper, pinned the shape onto the quilt, quilted it then tore off the paper.

I got a phone call from the customer last night and she was thrilled!

And I am happy to have another satisfied customer!

Egg Hunt

I found Easter Egg!

I see one here!



I see another Easter Egg over there!



I got another one!

I got a lotta Easter Eggs!



Can I open one?



I open it!



I can do it!....cookies!



Can I open another one!? (chomp chomp chomp)

Happy Easter... ok I'm a little late, but...

Well, my posts are always going to be a little late.  I blog about stuff after it happens... too busy having fun to stop in the middle to share!

The Saturday before Easter I was running around trying to clear off the infamous dining room table... again.  It seems to be a catch-all for everything but the kitchen sink!  We only use it as a dining table for family dinners at holidays or special occasions, so it just becomes the dumping spot and worktable for paying bills and organizing taxes (got them to the accountant on Friday! Whew!)... Nope.. no before picture here... wait a few months, errr... weeks, errr... days... and then it will be back to normal again! LOL! 
Doing this while babysitting my three-year-old grandson was a bit challenging, but I got the job done and we did get to enjoy dinner at the table!  In the midst of cleaning I got a phone call from my youngest daughter saying that the Easter Bunny was available for pictures at the local flea market so bring the grandson over. 

There is  only one store remaining at one end of the old Cookeville Mall... JCPenny.  All the others have moved cross-town to the new shopping area.  The owners want to knock everything down and build something new, but it's my understanding that Penny's won't let them break the lease/contract because they and their customers like this location.  So, while that fight drags on, the owners have leased out the remaining mall area to a Flea Market. Chain link cages have been errected throughout the interior to make something like 400 booths!

 You can buy just about anything there!  Some vendors are there for one weekend to sell yardsale stuff... others are local stores and shops setting up for some extra exposure.  There are also crafters, antiques, knives, purses, quilts, food  items... you name, you can probably find it.  With a three-year-old in tow I didn't get many pictures.  But I did spot the hand-pieced/hand-quilted wedding ring quilt, and this machine-pieced/hand-quilted pink and shirting quilt.  The backing was shirting too!... It was worn and faded in spots and if it is still there next weekend maybe I'll get a chance for a closer look without the grandson in tow.   I also saw this old rusted New Home Sewing machine tucked in among jars of marbles, silverware and old keys.  No time to stop and investigate as up ahead the grandson spotted balloon lady!

She was dancing around and waving her balloons
crafting them into animals and shapes for the kids... 
He just wanted to look... not touch!


Finally he saw Mr. Easter Bunny... sitting in his wicker throne with a basket of candy at his feet.  The purpose of the trip was for a picture with the big guy himself.  Although the basket of candy was very enticing, there was no way he was going to sit on the bunny lap for a picture!

 

Oh well, maybe next year!

My big find of the day was this teapot I spotted on the way out the door!  It looks like a sewing machine!  I had a miniature one of these but the top got lost in the newspaper wrapping when we moved.  The booth owner wasn't there and I couldn't hang around all that glass stuff with an active three-year-old, so I bribed my daughter into coming back and bartering for me!  It now sits next to my Easter table centerpiece!

Hope you enjoyed your Easter!

what's on your bed?

Last Monday was laundry day for Bonnie Hunter and she showed us a picture of what she put on her newly cleaned bed  http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2012/04/whats-on-your-bed.html  and asked for a link to what's on our own bed.  So.....

This quilt I purchased  (gasp!) from JC Penny maybe 15 years ago ... that was way before I knew what quilting was!  I loved the floral applique and at this point, could probably make one myself.  Maybe, one day, I will..  But, in the meantime... with a simple cotton blanket underneath I happily continue to use it.
  Several years ago I hurt my shoulder raising up the garage door.  As I rolled around under the covers and got tangled up in blankets I would hurt myself pulling with that shoulder.  So, I started sleeping with quilts and blankets pulled up to armpit level but my arms and shoulders would get cold...even with long-sleeved flannel nighty!

A few weeks later I was gifted this quilt by a friend who attended auctions to fill her booth at a local consignment shop.  She spotted this flimsy and had it quilted for me.  I belive it was made with original 1930's sack cloths.   I woke up cold again one night and grabbed it to lay over my exposed arms and shoulders.  I usually keep it neatly folded on top of my pillow when not in use. 

There are some worn spots in the muslin where there was some light staining and I have been eyeing it lately trying to figure out how to repair the damage before it gets any worse.

Spring Walk

We were watching our grandson again last weekend... or was it the weekend before... I'm a bit behind on my postings... anyway, watching him always involves a walk with Toby (the dog) for some special cookies from Mutter... that's his great grandmother (my Mom) . 

The unusually warm weather (80 degrees in February and March!) and wet Spring has lots of flowers and trees blooming throughout the neighborhood.

A neighbor getting sweaty working out in the yard has hung up her hat in an effort to cool off! LOL!

The big entertainment of this walk were the dandylions sprouting up in lawns alongside the road.  Blowing and sending the fuzzballs flying was loads of fun for the grandson... I don't think grandpa or the neighbors will be thrilled with the resulting increased population of dandylions in the lawn! 

As is typical this time of year, the skies quickly darkened and we barely made it home in time to escape the downpour!  It is difficult (for me) to take pictures of the heavy rains but you can see the resulting runoff!

 . 

 
And while it poured outside we all took shelter in the garage for while.

March... In like a lion...

I've been forced to take a break from computers and blogging and even cut back on my quilting (gasp)!  This month of March has been very busy and hectic, but not necessarily in a good way.  

The month started with a phone call full of wailing and tears as my daughter's heart was broken once again when she and the boyfriend split, again.  I think it is a permanent break this time.  I know there is more to the story than she has let on, and I hope that one day she will confide in me, but for now all I can do pray her heart heals and she can move on to find a better true love.

Next came a phone call from day care.  My adventurous grandson took to jumping off one of the playground toys... and although it was only a foot or so off the ground, he landed wrong and broke his elbow!  We had to pin him down to get the cast on and then he cried pitifully for hours afterwards... Nana.. take it off!  I need it off!  A good night's sleep and he was off and running and jumping again the next morning.  Thank goodness children bounce back so quickly when they are young!  The cast is scheduled to be removed next week and he is looking forward to a promised day of water play when it is gone!

Then came a cancer diagnosis for our church secretary and some immediate surgery to remove part of her colon.  The surgery was successful and initial tests look encouraging.  She is awaiting one more set of test results before deciding if further treatment is necessary.  With 4-6 weeks recovery time from the surgery, I've had to step in and work full time at her job in addition to my family and quilting obligations.  As each day passes I have discovered  how much "extra" work this secretary has been doing that has gone unrecognized, until now.  Things just always got done and no-one realized how much extra she just quietly did.  So far I have managed to scurry around and get most of it done, but I know I can't go on much longer and keep up with my own obligations.  So I've cut back on my quilting commitments, rearranged some personal appointments and  I've gotten permission and have now trained a helper so that we can split the job between us, working 2.5-3 days each.  Hopefully between the two of us we won't forget anything.

Next came the phone call no parent wants to hear... Mom... the car is totalled... I've got some bumps and bruises but the baby is fine!  On a dark and wet night, a tractor-trailer cut in front of the car in front of her and set off a chain reaction of squealing breaks and spinning cars.  She managed to not over-correct and to not roll the car, but it did bang into and bounce off the walls of the nearby overpass before finally coming to a stop in an upright position.  The car behind her also got banged up and several cars behind them were strewn about the highway when all was done.  The offending tractor-trailer and lead car went on their merry way and we are left dealing with the insurance company and figuring out work schedules and car-sharing until she can replace it. 

The good news for the month is that she has found a new job working as a home-caregiver.  She is now happily working in the medical field rather than fast food!  She still hopes to one day be able to go back to school and get her RN.