Roughin' It

Picture it.......Last night I was home relaxing in the den watching a neat "Critical Situation". The show was revewing the 1997 shootout between the LAPD and two well armed bank robbers. I was rivited. The phone rings and I thought to myself.....hmmmmmm, it couldn't be my godchild, he'd a work and can't call out. It counldn't be my mom, she either reading something or watching some sports thing. If it's a telemarketer, I'll just hang-up quickly. With that in mind I answered....."Hello." Immediately my cousin who talk rather loudly anyway, started talking rapidly about that he was stuck somewhere in a field where he'd been looking for a lost cow. And could I please come and pull him out. I was, of course, his last hope. At first, I really wasn't listening to him because I was valently trying to listen to "my show!" But when he said to please come. So with shorts, a T-shirt and flip flop on I grab my keys and cellphone and run to the jeep and take off. Now, mind you, I don't know where I'm going it is about 8:30PM now...dusk dark and I don't really go out in the evenings unless "I" want to. Anyway...I'm driving down this oil paved road that I'm unfamiliar with and my cousin calls me on the cell to see if I'm on my way. With a calm that I really didn't have I said, "Yes, of course. Just hold your horses." He had to talk me to his location, which was not easy because he's talking north, south, east, west and I'm in the tell me a landmark mode. Fifteen minutes later, I find the field, which is waite deep grass and there's my cousin right in the middle of the field waving his arms wildly and talking loudly into my ear, "I see you, I see you. Can you see me?" I must admit, for a split second I wanted to say, "No, I can't see you." But I reframed. Finally I reach me by driving through the very tall grass. Insects are flying everywhere. Did I mention that I don't do bugs at all. Unfortunately I had to lower my window to hear my cousin over the road of his truck and my pounding heart. (I hate insects) The little buggers swarmed into my opened window and started buzzing around my head and face. Bad choice. I was swatting them, listening to the instructions from my cousin and thinking if I'd just let the answering machine get it, bah, bah, bah, bah. Who am I kidding? I'd still be in that field. Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, cousin asked my to put my jeep in 4wheel drive. Do what? What was 4wd? I'm never done anything like that or knew how. Why me? So now I have to find that button and engage the 4wd after cousin and tied us together with some kind of cable. Finally I found that button, pulled it and hit reverse. Needless to say....my cousin was pulled to freedom, I blew the insects out on my high speed drive back to my house and was able to finish my show because I did, for once, remember to push record!

More Shopping

So....I needed shoes for the cruise, an evening bag for those wonderful dinners I plan on having and tennis shoes to walk off all those calories that accompany the wonderful I plan on enjoying. Oh, I'm sorry. Did you know I was goin' curisin'? Hmmmmmmm....there's still something missing though. I need something else. What? I don't know but I'll know it when I see it. I'm going to need a bigger suitcase. Maybe a trunk!

I Needed It

So I goin' cruisin' and I didn't have a thing to wear. Jerri said I needed a hat so I found one that I like and bought it. She also said that I would probably want to change at least two to three times a day so I did some serious shopping and this is the results. So far so good but no way am I finished. There's definitely something missing, I just know there is. Oh....hey, I need shoes. Comfortable shoes and flip flops and jewelry and a bigger suitcase, and .....and.....and......I've got to get busy finding more things to wear. Everybody's talkin about bathing suits......Ohmygosh! I'm 51 years old. I haven't had a suit on in......in.......What year did "Jaws" come out? Anyway, I guess I'll be able to find something......maybe in the "tent" variety. LOL

Post It

Jacob's Ladder is a popular quilt pattern. I ran across an old one from my magazine collection the other day and decided to make it. My blocks measure 7" unfinished. I love to mix tone-on-tones with various colors. The only thing I don't like is the trimming part but it's necessary. My WackyPac friends made these blocks for me as a sort of block exchange. There are 10 of us, we all wrote out what kind of blocks we wanted. Patty (one of my Wacky friends) placed our names in a bag and we drew to see who would get her blocks starting in the month of January. When it was my turn, I was so excited to see what everyone came up with. These blocks will make a great cruise quilt, maybe. Oh, did I mention that I was goin' on a cruise in February..............LOL!

July?

July 20, 2007 - 8AM That's fog you're looking at or through. My neighbor's house and 6 cows are out there somewhere. It's July here in Texas, it's supposed to be hot this time of morning (90 degrees). Instead, it's about 71 degrees. I should have known that something like this would happen. Remember, I posted in April for Easter, it snowed. Wow, this is amazing to witness. Just thought I'd share it with my fellow bloggers. Fog in Texas in July, what a hoot!

Black & White & Red All Over

It is raining here in Texas, which is very unusual in July, so there's nothing to do but sew, sew, sew. This is a paper pieced snail's trail which I toppd off with a vine thingy with leaves and berries.

I love log cabins and all the ways to arrange the blocks. My favorite pattern is "barn raising". I had many 1 1/4" strips of black, white patterned and red dots. So I thought that this would be a good way to use them up in a log cabin. Another one finished and only using fabrics from my stash.

Woodzy

This quilt was made using scraps from my stash. It was fun but.........my scraps grew. LOL I named the quilt "Woodzy" because I used some of my most favorite colors......earth tones. There are 36 blocks in the quilt which I was pleased to get that much from the scraps but when I finished then and stood back something was missing, not finished. Borders! Definitely needed a border. The beige was next but too plain.........looked through some quilt magazines and found the leaves and berries concept. Using Steam-a-Seam, which I love, by the way, made that happen. I finished up with more stash fabric and......TaDa......"Woodzy was born.

Steel Magnolias-Retreat

In a little town named Bedias somewhere in central Texas there sits a quaint little Bed & Breakfast. The owner is a delightful lady named Mackie. Her Bed & Breakfast is also a retreat for quilters, scrapbookers, etc. I must say, I had a wonderful time, made some new friends but the food...........the food was "to die for!" Mackie is a real life chef among other things. She spoiled us with delectible lunches, dinners and breakfast as well. We were all moaning after each meal. Mind you, I could have chosen to NOT eat..............are you kidding, I was knocking everybody out of the way to get first dibs. If you're looking for a retreat for quilters or scrapbooking or whatever, try the Steel Magnolia in Bedias, Texas. It holds ten easily. So set a date and enjoy. I give it 3 snaps up!

It's a Heart

I'd love to share pattern with you. It's easy, quick and fun. There are squars and nine patches involved and that's it. I cut the squares and made the nine patches late last night and put this all together today. It's a snap. You've got to try it! I'm thinking a nice border to finish it off. I'll post the pic. when it gets done. Well, I'm on my way to a retreat in Beadias, Texas for 3 days. It's a Bed & Breakfast place with quilters in mind. It holds 10 people and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner I think. I can't wait. Let you know how it goes when next I post. (This pattern came from the book entitled "Quick & Easy Romantic Quilts" by Sandy Berry)

What Is It?

Ok ladies out there in blogger world.....I have a question for you. This little critter landed on my screen window during one of our wet days and spent a few hours drying off. Its wings are transparent, the antenne are feathery like a moth, its body measurers about 3 to 4 inches long. What is it? I'd love to know.

Grandma's Lillies

This is a picture of my late grandmother's lillies. She planted the bulbs in the late 1940's and each year they have bloomed and brought beauty to my otherwise barren yard. This year with all the rain, which by the way, for Texas in June and July is nearly unheard of, they were able to bloom until a couple of days ago. I am so happy I still have this part of my grandma with me every time I see those lillies bloom and seen to reach toward the heavens. I always wanted to be just like her and in some ways I am. The quilting comes from her and I've turned out to be a pretty good cook so my mother tells me. I wanted to share this piece of myself with you and the wonderful memories I have of my "grandma."

Finished

I finished it today. Many thanks to Kay out there in blogger land for her great suggestion of adding the red from the center of the log cabins to my last border. It was tedious work but well worth the effort. Now, mind you, I finished this quilt top within days because I have no one to disturb me when I'm working in my studio. I'd love to share this recipe with you. It's a great salad for the hot summer days. I first tasted it at one of the retreats I attended. Recipe: 1 sleeve saltine crackers 1 large tomato, finely chopped 3 green onions, finely chopped 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise 1 hard boiled egg, finely chopped Salt/pepper to taste In a large bowl, coarsely crush the crackers with your hands; there will be big cracker pieces. Add the remaining ingredients, mix well and serve immediately. Serves 10 to 15