A Day to Catch My Breath

Hooray! I made it to fall break. When school starts in the first week of August, a few days off in October is a much needed respite from the daily routine. I have a long list of fun things I want to accomplish today. I've actually been up for quite a while: walked the dog, ran two loads of laundry, paid some bills, watched an online show on The Quilt Show, downloaded some recent pictures.

Last weekend, we had Georgia with us while her mom and dad took a weekend trip to the beach. Ozzie enjoyed the company!



But that picture shows Ozzie resting his head on her rear and not her sweet face. She got to go on one of Ozzie's walks with us. Check out those snazzy sunglasses! Georgia chuckled the entire time she was rolling.



Today I plan to spend a good chunk of time in my sewing room or maybe pinning a Bama table quilt top I have ready to quilt. My big finish was my red cross quilt last week. I will have to move some chairs and lay it out for a big picture, but here it is finished and folded.



It is a gorgeous fall day here...I'm off to get dressed and run some errands. Yeah for fall break!

Saturdays are the best!

Today was the grand opening for the bricks and mortar Sew Beautiful Marketplace.



As you probably know, my daughter Shannon is the art director for Sew Beautiful magazine. She is also the editor for Stitch Craft Create which will be on the shelves in stores in just a few weeks. I made this quilt (featuring Anna Griffin fabric) , and it will be in the new magazine! The pattern and a kit will be available.



Shannon and Georgia went with me to see the store this morning. The Sew Beautiful Marketplace is filled with fabric, patterns, notions, and inspiration!



Georgia had the most wonderful time when we headed on to Hobby Lobby. She giggled and giggled at the feathers and flowers we held for her to see.



Of course, then we went home and she changed into her glow-in-the-dark skeleton suit for the game. Georgia had her six month check-up: 27 inches and nearly 20 pounds.



Last weekend, we went up to the Monte Sano Art Show. It is such a great venue!



We enjoyed many of the vendors and their work, but our favorite was Guadalupe Robinson.



We've bought quite a few pieces of her wonderful pottery, and this is the newest fish pot.

Quilting? I have been working on finishing my red cross quilt, and the binding will go on tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Zoom, zoom, zoom. Summer is gone.

What? It's mid-September? We have been busy, busy:

Trip to the Knoxville Quilt Show- Wonderful husband went with me and never complained the entire two days. Of course, we stopped at Frost Knife in Chattanooga both directions, to and from. Big purchases: cone of Aurifil thread, fabric, a new specialty ruler. It's probably a good thing I do not have room for a long arm machine, or I might have come home with one.



Trip to Denver



Mount Evans - highest highway in the US. The road narrows, and there are no guardrails on the one and a half lane hairpin turns up high, lest you get too confident in your driving. It is literally a breathtaking drive.  What kills me is that while I could barely breathe, bicyclists make the trip that took us several hours up in our car.



We took the cog rail up to the top of Pike's Peak. So much fun!  The incline is 25% in several stretches. We saw mountain goats scampering across the mountain, and Allen spied a marmot up top.





And yes, we went to a half dozen quilt shops. Plus we visited with my dear in-laws, Joan and  Frank. Since our July visit, they have moved to an assisted living home, and Joan has been recovering from surgery at a life care center. We love them so, and hope that they are soon settled in their new home.

Fun with the family



Georgia just is growing so quickly! Today, she had her first peas at Grandma's house. We are going to have a sleepover on Wednesday night. Shannon is going to the Creative Connection in St. Paul, so we are helping out Nathan one night. Shannon's new magazine Stitch Craft Create is about to go to the printer (and I have a quilt featured -- a simple Christmas quilt using Anna Griffin  Christmas fabric).

Back to school



Yup, a cow. School has been stressful with lots of changes and too much to possibly fit into a day. I have a student teacher this year, and then yearbook is still my responsibility, not to mention the Continuous Improvement Plan. However, Butterbean, the dairy cow, came to visit, and it was a welcome fun reprieve from the daily schedule.



Foundation fix - That is a hole. A very, very deep hole. We had our foundation repaired, at long last. Here in Southeast Huntsville, many homes have foundation issues due the ground we sit on. Our house sits on a rather steep hill, and the footings under the center of the house and the ones at the northeast corner of the house had begun to fail. The deepest hole to reach bedrock on that corner was thirty feet deep. We signed the contract for the work back in the snow storm, but we were #32 on their backlog. They did the work over seven days in the hottest week of the summer, blistering 1o0 degree heat with high humidity. But it is finished, and the bill matched the bid. On to the next project.

Lots of sewing and quilting projects...



I did this little project today. I wanted to try doing a selvage project like I have seen others on the Internet do... so I made a new cover for an old sewing machine stool that I use like a little table in my sewing room. I bought a new foam pad, and Allen bought a new electric staple gun. My "free" project with scraps is complete. It looks even better with a baby.





I have actually accomplished quite a bit of sewing (Red Cross quilt, quilt for Shannon's magazine, Civil War blocks, Morris Tapestry quilt, Bama quilt), but I will post more about the quilting another day. This little project was started on our Denver trip. I cut the wool felt leaves with my Sizzix Big Shot, and I appliqued them and then added embroidered details. Then I added a patchwork border. I like the bright fall colors.



Ozzie, of course, continues to keep us laughing. He had a good vacation at the hotel, uh, the kennel, while we were gone in July. He's pretty happy that it is now football season so that he has Saturday company. He enjoyed a nap with Georgia this afternoon.

I  have a couple of weeks until fall break, and aside from the break from school, we are really looking forward to going to see Bridger and Tap and their mom and dad!  Sorry Oz, you are not invited.

Happy Fourth!

Happy Fourth of July!  I finished this little guy in time to enjoy it for the holiday. There are twenty-two appliqued stars since we are in Alabama, the twenty second state.



We've had visitors! Meghan and Justin brought the boys up for a visit this past week. Justin and Allen had a trip to Nashville to some record shops, and both my sons-in-law had some time to hang around together. Meghan and I took the boys to the Space and Rocket Center one day. It's interesting, and it's a great place for little guys to run off some energy. Taplin was an archeologist in the sand brushing off  dino bones.



Bridger and his mom figured out how to make electric circuits. What a cool toy! Elenco. We will have to look for some for Bridger's birthday this fall.



The boys were not totally convinced that the space gear and the moon rock were real, but I think they had a good time. Bridger liked the dehydrated space ice cream.



Ozzie sleeps in his own cage at night, but one night after we tucked the boys in, he invited himself to join them. Bridger tucked him in, but when Grandpa checked on them, Ozzie had to go to his own bed. Poor Oz.



Ozzie loves the boys, and Taplin is his buddy, for sure.



Taplin's not too sure about his baby cousin, but Bridger got to hold her and he even helped feed her.



Little Miss Georgia is blowing bubbles. Such a precious little peach.



This is the Civil War block for week 26 called the Barbara Frietchie Star. Barbara Brackman's instructions include the history of the her: Barbara Frietchie is recalled as an elderly woman who waved a Union flag from her attic while General Stonewall Jackson marched his Confederate troops through town. Jackson ordered his men to fire at the defiant woman. "Shoot if you must, this old gray head, But spare your country's flag,  she said." According to the poem, the embarassed General rescinded the order and Frietchie's Union flag waved over Jackson's short occupation of the town.



The potatoes are boiling right now -- I will be making potato salad to take with us to Nathan's family for a lunch time cook out.

Today will be a very hot Fourth of July here. Good day for a family get together!



I've been in my sewing room working on a project for Shannon for work and a couple of quilt projects for myself. I bought myself a die cutter - a Sizzix Big Shot. I will have to take some pictures and tell more about it. I think I am going to really enjoy this new "toy" in my tool box. Oh - and the advice seems to be that if you want to improve your craft, do something else- try a different medium. So Shannon and I went to one of those painting classes where you can take your own snacks and drinks and take a painting class. We did the Funky Flag class Friday night. Now, she is the artist, and hers looks a bit different, but I had a great time, and mine is not so bad! We will go again, for sure.

Dads, Daughters, Dog...

Saturday, we spent most of the day getting ready for Sunday's dinner. Menu: curried chicken salad, Italian pasta salad, deviled eggs, ham and cheese plate, croissants, and peach crisp.



Sunday morning, and Georgia was a little angel sitting with her mom and dad in church.



Proud Daddy Nathan on his first Father's Day. I made the christening gown for Meghan to wear in 1979. Then Shannon wore it, and now Georgia Mae.



Greg, Ruth, Nathan, Shannon, Georgia, Me, Allen



Georgia and her women. We are so fortunate that Shannon and Nathan live so close to us, and we get along so well with Nathan's folks.


Ozzie loves the baby too.  He doesn't really want her to go home, but when she does, he has to take a long nap. It's so exciting when she is here that he can't relax - he has to help keep an eye on her every minute.

Summer Sewing and Such

Summer vacation days seems to just fly by.  School was officially out the Friday before Memorial Day since they passed a law to allow us to excuse the days due to the tornado and power disaster in Alabama. We already had to make up six snow days, so that reprieve was a relief! We kicked off the summer with a long weekend visit from Meghan and the boys. We didn't do anything really exciting but we had a wonderful time eating and shopping and playing with the boys. Meghan and I went to see Bridesmaids. We watch lots of movies at home, but we don't go to the theater except on rare occasions.

I've spent lots of time sewing. I finished this winding ways quilt. The piecing was really pretty easy once I got the hang of where the center point had to meet, but the free motion quilting is such a challenge for me. I like the overall look of what I did, but let's not look at the details of how evenly spaces the circles are or how smooth each one is! I know, I know, the only way to improve is to put in the hours of  practice, and that's what I'm doing.



I also have managed to catch up on all of my  Civil War Block of the Week blocks, so now I have 24 eight and a half inch blocks  finished. It is fun to look forward to the instructions and accompanying history each Saturday morning. I have such a good time digging in the fabric for just what I want to use.





The other big project I have underway is a quilt I am making with the half square triangles I got through the Sisterhood of the Traveling Triangle exchange. I learned about it through The Quilt Show when they featured Edyta Sitar on a show this winter. Someone decided to head up an exchange, and much to everyone's surprise, more than 200,000 half square triangles were sent in. During the power outage, I had time to go through them and see where my 224 came from. Mine represent some 36 different states and 19 different locations out of the US. Wow. We ran up to Franklin, TN to the Stitcher's Garden last Saturday (with a fun trip to the Nashville Farmers Market and the International Store there) to get the fabric for the background squares and rectangles and the borders. I am ready to pin it to quilt, but it is a big one at 84" square. I am not ready to start that today. Maybe tomorrow.



I know the picture isn't that great, but maybe you can get the idea. It is a wild combination of colors from the exchanged triangles, and then the Edyta suggests using prints and batiks together, which was what I used.

Besides extra time to read, relax, shop, eat out...I am helping Shannon out with some of her babysitting this summer, not every day, but usually one day a week --- this week a bit more. Isn't Georgia a little peach?



Ozzie's a bit jealous, or perhaps overly interested is another way to say it.



Sorry -- one more baby picture to go. Yesterday, I decided that while I love her to pieces, I do not need to hold her for every minute of the day. So while I am blogging, she is sitting in her new bouncy seat napping right by me on the kitchen counter.



Perhaps I can try to get back to blogging a bit more often. Today's agenda is baby and sewing. And I think she is waking up.....