A Few End of Summer Projects

I tried to get back in the school groove this week. It was the second full week of school, and no, I still do not know all of the names yet. I'd say I used to learn them quicker than I do now, but that would be a lie. It is always hard for me to learn everyone's name. I have about 135 students this year, plus yearbook students, plus homeroom. Maybe by the end of this week I will have them all straight. I enjoyed coming home and working a bit each evening on my August Block of the Month. Eight months finished! I think I just have four more big stars and sixteen little ones. I am pretty excited that I have stuck with it and that the blocks are easier than they used to be. This is not a quilt I will be able to quilt myself when the top is finished, I'm certain.

The other project I am working on is the batik pinwheel quilt. I found a YouTube video on how to layer the quilt using sticks. Now she says to hand baste, but I pinned it and it seemed to work well for me today. I started quilting it this afternoon, and since I'm not doing anything fancy, it is coming along quickly. Still miss having Louie sit by me. We keep getting sympathy cards which is very thoughtful. One from a neighbor was stuck in the door this afternoon.

What else this week? Allen's birthday was Thursday, so we had a birthday dinner with Shannon and Nathan, and Meghan sent a Netflix gift to Allen. He immediately (happily, I might note) ordered guy films that I will probably not see. Whatever makes him happy. What the rest of of are looking forward to -- Bama football in two weeks. Oh yeah, we've decided to do new counters and cabinets in the kitchen. The guy comes to measure on Tuesday. I gather it will be a slow-ish process by time we order and then the cabinets are made. We are pretty excited. Now what color should I paint the kitchen?

Sweet, sweet Louie

On Wednesday afternoon, I came home from school and walked Louie as usual. He seemed fine, but after we came in the house, something was obviously wrong. After just a few minutes, I put him in the back seat of the car and took him to the vet. They thought it appeared that he had had a stroke or something. His temperature and blood pressure dropped quickly, he lost his reflexes, and within the hour, he stopped breathing. Louie was just two in June.

Allen talked to the vet by phone, and after doing a necropsy, she said while the way he presented looked neurological to her, it looked more like poisoning internally. We just can't imagine what he could have gotten into unless it was mushrooms along the sidewalk where we always walked him. I just am having a hard time thinking that was it because lots of dogs walk on our street, and they are fine, it appears. I suppose we won't know definitively what happened.

For me, I don't think the shock of it has really worn off yet. One minute he was fine, and then something was terribly wrong. Thank you to our family and friends who have sent us notes and messages, cards, and even flowers. Our kind neighbors invited us over last night to cheer us up. We just really miss Louie. He provided structure to our day with three or four scheduled walks a day. Louie was our companion, sitting near us or on us all of the time, and he made us laugh with his antics. He could shake, sit, and come, and he'd do most anything for a treat. But his best trick was putting himself to bed in his crate when he knew we were leaving or going to bed. And yes, he was a thief and a pain in the neck sometimes. Allen says he's probably stealing St. Peter's underwear now.

We have been picking up toys and treats for the last few days. His chews were everywhere in the house. It is very sad to throw those things out, but when we get another puppy, we will begin a new collection, I'm sure. Allen talked to the breeder who said that she doesn't have a litter on the way right now, but that she will put us on her list when she does. That will happen with cooler weather.

I am headed to my sewing room to work on a project this afternoon, but it will be just me -- no Louie to hop up on the sewing stool next to me. Louie was such a special little friend.

Fayetteville and Franklin

Oh boy, is Allen a happy camper. Look at his new truck! We picked it up Friday afternoon in Fayetteville with a whopping three miles on it. Some smart person figured out that opening the doors this way made lots of sense. The dog crate fits neatly in the back seats.
A real truck. I wonder what I can think of that Allen needs to haul home? I saw some antique cabinets earlier this summer that would fit. That is, fit in the truck. I don't have a clue where they would fit in the house.
Besides getting the new truck, we enjoyed dinner with Michelle and Mac and Uncle Nathan and Aunt Shannon. When I was grocery shopping for dinner (marinated tomatoes and green beans with walnuts and, thanks to Meghan and Justin, gulf shrimp), I saw these bright orange and green daisies and had to have them.
And then there is THE quilt top. It is finished! I haven't added up the exact number of pieces, but it is in the neighborhood of 4500 squares. I started it last summer and worked on a number of other things in the meantime. But I finally focused on finishing and went through who knows how many bobbins and several spools of thread getting to the end.
I like the fabric I picked for the back and the borders last weekend when we ran up to Franklin to Stitcher's Garden. The quilt is big. It took nine yards of backing. I can't wait to drop it off with my long-arm quilter, but when I called she was out of town for the week so it's sitting on the dining room table for a few days. By the way, it's now been eight days since I've purchased fabric. (Don't need anything, but still.)

Summer Days (Blog #100)

This has to be one of the nicest weekends of the whole summer. Sunny skies, record low temps in the morning, low humidity -- almost doesn't seem like Huntsville. We started the weekend watching Clint Eastwoods's Gran Torino Friday night, and we both enjoyed that. Well, Louie did too. Nothing he likes better than to snooze on the couch while his people watch television. Saturday morning, we went out to breakfast and then loaded up on produce at the Farmer's market. I splurged with a bouquet of zinnias.
We bought corn, jalapena peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, and little purple onions, but not any of these gorgeous squash. In the afternoon, we popped in at Shannon's with Louie and let him run in the backyard. What a hoot. He was so excited and had such fun, but did that stop him from mischief when we got home? Ha. He and Allen both devoured a paperback yesterday. Allen read it cover to...well, I'd say cover, but Louie ate one of them.
Yesterday, I also finished my July Block of the Month. I seem to have a system and they went together pretty well. More than halfway finished!! I have learned so much from this project. I also finished reading Quilty as Charged: Undercover ina Material World. It is a collection of stories about quilters and their experiences. I really enjoyed it. On to a new book and new project. I'm sure Louie will help.

Jelly Roll Diamonds, FINISHED

Finished! I told Shannon the other night (when she came over when her car battery died) that hand sewing the binding is one of the most peaceful, satisfying sewing tasks I can think of. It is pretty mindless, but when it is finished, it is really finished. I was pretty ready to be at the end of this project.
I started with a jelly roll of Moda Urban Couture fabric that I got at Hancocks of Paducah this spring. That made the top go pretty quickly, even though there was a bit of a learning curve to get the seams to match up on the diagonal.
However, when I got to the setting triangles top, bottom, and sides, I was really challenged. I was perplexed about the quilting in the big triangles too, so I drew the grid on Stitch and Ditch Stablizer and pinned it on. That is a paper you can sew through and pull off later. I think that the edges ripple just a bit, something I've not really had a problem with in the past. Oh well. I try to do something new and different or challenging with each project. This time, the diamond work and the setting trianges were new, and the colors, well, not my first inclination. I learned that when you open a jelly roll, you can be surprised by the colors rolled inside. I guess this isn't my favorite that I've made, and it took longer than I expected, but it's Finished!!

Out for a Sunday Drive

The weather could have been better this weekend. Sultry, soggy, gray skies didn't prevent a great weekend though. My brother John and sister-in-law Mary ended their week-long vacation with a stop here on Saturday and Sunday. We dragged them to our local seafood spot, Cajun Cafe, on Saturday. On Sunday, we drove up to Belvidere, Tennessee to Falls Mill. We hadn't been there in a long time, at least not to actually go in to the museum and walk the grounds.
Upstairs they have added quite a bit to their museum. Wouldn't it be fun to have a player piano? This one was outfitted with drums below, and for a quarter, we got to enjoy a tune.
There are a variety of spool cases, but not all of them show the spools and the colors. Don't have a clue where one could live in my house, but I sure do like them. Anyway, although we drove through a downpour on the way home, I had a wonderful Sunday. I'm glad that John and Mary drove the extra distance to see us and share a bit of Sweet Home Alabama with us.

Time to catch up

Wow, a whole month since I wrote a blog. We have been busy, happy, and have had a wonderful time this summer. We spent two weeks in Denver. While Allen worked, I spent my days hunting down the quilting stores in the area. I went to Golden to the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum and and the Golden Quilt Company (the quilt store there), to Parker to the High Prairie Quilts, to Wheatridge to Harriet's Treadle Arts, to Holly's Quilt Cabin, The Creative Needle, The Great American Quilt Factory, Fabric Expressions, and probably three different JoAnn's Fabric stores. I bought plenty, plenty, plenty. Embarrassing. Allen and I enjoyed eating out and trying new places and new foods, but our favorite was probably the time we spent with Joan and Frank. They are such an inspiration to us.Allen and Frank share a moment before dinner.
Frank took this picture of Joan and two of her "kids" and me. It was nice to see Joni!
Of course, a Denver trip would not seem right if we didn't get up to the mountains. The first weekend we went to Rocky Mountain National Park and drove Trail Ridge Road. We saw walls of eight foot snow along the road up top. The second weekend, we went to Buena Vista and stayed in Joan and Frank's home which is for sale. This is a picture along the way, close to Como. We stopped in Fairplay, and we took a drive to Central City and Blackhawk where the casinos have taken the towns. Kind of sad, but we did enjoy a Father's Day meal at a casino in Central City. We also drove up to Leadville -- bright and sunny with little air to breath!.

We had a great time in Salida at their Art Walk. We didn't really buy much, but it was fun to see the shops. Check out this whimsical three dimensional piece. Allen communes with the wildlife.My favorite store in Salida was probably this fabric and fiber shop, The Fringe.When we weren't visiting or sightseeing or shopping, I worked on hand-piecing these batik pinwheel blocks. I have twenty or so to go, but I already have the backing and border fabric from my excursion to the Great American Quilt Factory where I got lots of helpful advice.
When we got home, we had a couple of days to do laundry before Meghan and Justin and the boys came for the Fourth of July week. Justin and Meghan and I took the boys to the Botanical Gardens to see the butterflies and to play in the children's garden. Taplin found a bench just his size. The boys are so different, not only in appearance, but they are best buddies. It is so sweet to see Bridger taking care of his little brother. We ended their week with us by helping Shannon with her make-over of Nathan's "man room" which she talks talks about in her blog.

That brings us to this past weekend...which will be the topic for the next blog. I have posted many, many more pictures on my Flickr, and I'm still working on getting them organized, but take a look anyway.