Eclectic Me

Here's an inspiring song to our doctors, nurses, EMTs, military and anyone else that I've not named who are on the front lines working to us.
I salute you and pray for your safety.
Take care.
And remember, we are strong TOGETHER!!!

Celebrating Veterans on ther 4th of July

A big salute to the Veterans!!
 Here in central-ish Texas, my little community will be saluting, veterans past and present, this Saturday.  There will be a scavenger hunt and board games for the kids, a mini museum for the adults filled with items from way back when, a car show and of course, good eats!!!

These are just a few of my family, friends and community members who served with honor.

Celebration Part 4

So, after several nights sleep I decided Log Cabin blocks would be the perfect solution. Of course I made a few to see if my thoughts were on point. 

Yep! So off to the old stash I went to find more blues/reds/creams.

I feel really good about this one. I might sew on a border but maybe not! At the moment it measures "51 by 45."

Thoughts??

Now for the winner of the FQ this post. It's Needled Mom whose favorite color at the moment is YELLOW! Congratulations to you. I must tell you, Mr. Cowboy gets to pull the names from the hat and always comments about the blogger names. I just laugh and send him on his way. That reminded me of when me and my brother were children and dad had a CB in his truck. Some of you may remember those which were a way to communicate back in the 70s. Truckers had them in their big rigs and when regular drivers discovered that CBs were a great way to outwit the Highway Patrol.....well you see where this is going.....LOL!  Dad's handle was Rancher on the Road. David and I loved to hear him talking with everyone on our road trips to Galveston. Mom was not so happy with all the chatter.

Sorry, I got off topic for a moment.

Remember that if you've won a fat quarter you can still participate. Just leave a comment and mention your favorite color. I'm very close to the 1600 post mark!!!

 

I'm already planning the next quilt. This process has been very therapeutic and has made me very happy.

Mini Wednesday

Whew!
I can't believe it's 2017 and mid January already.
It's been ages since I've done a mini.
This time I chose something that means a lot to me and my small community.  I chose to make the "Firefighter's" badge or shield. 
Here where I live, it's a very rural community with 3 volunteer fire departments. Any time there's a fire one or all jump into action to save lives, homes and property.

I found an image, blew it up and retraced the parts I will be using.

Notice that everything if already backwards so when I trace the parts onto my Steam-a-Seam, iron that onto my fabric and cut the parts out, all will be right side up.

Only a few letters to trace off.

These are the pieces with will make up the Maltese Cross which is an 8-point configuration.

The helmet, I high-lighted with a black Sharpie marker.

So far, so good.

Here's the finished piece (not quilted yet). If you're wondering about some of the objects, here's a bit of trivia. The bugle behind the helmet was used in the early years to issue orders to the firefighters.  Some badges like this one show a pike pole, axe and ladder. This collection to elements are called a "scramble" and are always located in the center of the Maltese Cross.

I salute all fire departments!!!!!

 

Memorial Day Honors

Memorial Day, which occurs the last Monday in May, is designed to remember our

fallen men and women from the various wars and battles, past and present.

Some take the chance to also salute the men and women

 who survived.

These men survived the various wars. The first three have since passed away but lead fruitful lives. The top right and bottom right are my dad and granddad.  The bottom left is a cousin who lives in another state.

 

1898

• In 1989 Cheerleading was founded at the University of Minnesota.
• The U.S. battleship Maine sank prompting war with Spain.
• The sci-fi novel War of the Worlds was  written by H.G. Wells.
• Robert Allison was the first to purchase a commercially manufactured automobile at the Winton Motor Carriage Company in Cleveland, Ohio.
• Potatoes were worth their weight in gold because of their vitamin C content. Miners actually traded gold for potatoes.

What does this have to do with anything??? It's just trivia but ......................

on May 2, 1898...............


Edwin E., my granddad was born.
Though he has passed away many years ago, I will remember his voice, his pet name for me, Rhondee and all the wonderful life lessons he bestowed on me.

Happy Birthday Granddad!!!

Stars for QOV

This is my Design Wall Monday.... make sure you pop over to Judy's to see what others are up to.

After re-reading the instructions for the QOV...... you know me..... sew first, read later..... LOL
I went back and added a sprinkle of varied shaped stars on the quilt top..... I really like this better. As soon as I get the borders sewn on, I'll be sending this baby off.

Family Photo

Mom found this photo of my Great Aunt Erma.  What's so special about it is this was taken her second year os sewing class at Paul Quinn College, Waco, Texas.  I knew that my grandma & my Auntie were quilters and seamstresses but I hadn't realized that a few other members of the family were as well.  I was so excited to see this old photo and to gather little tidbits of my family history.

Glimpses of Talent

Last week the girls and I traveled to Tyler, TX for their annual quilt show.

Some of us have been members of the guild there but not for awhile.  But we love looking at all the talented ladies' work.

 A lot of applique` and quilting went into this quilt.

 Ditto!

 Isn't this a great Dear Jane quilt ....... personally, I'd never be able to complete one of these ...... I'm always to busy running away from critters.

 This Slampler quilt is one of my favorites. I love the color choices.

 Love this one, too. Machine embroidery with pieced blocks ...... love it!

 This one is great, as well. Looks complicated but it isn't.  It's just a matter of combining to types of blocks and great placement.

 Look at the quilting on this whole-cloth beauty.  In a word ..... WOW!

 I'm a big fan of Log Cabin designs and this diamond log is an eye catcher.

 I know I've seen this kit somewhere ....... love the color choices for this one.

 Very interesting and look at all those HSTs around the borders.

This quilt shows a great way to snazz up the border by adding applique`.

After the quilt show, we visited A Nimble Thimble , one of our favorite quilt stores. If you're ever in Tyler, check our the shop or visit their website. Click on the link I've provided and take a gander.

Hog Killing Weather

Disclaimer: This post may be distasteful to some but is told from my memory of long ago.

It's bitterly cold here in central-ish Texas.....around 27 degrees with a wind chill factor of 10 to 15 so that brings things down to 17-ish degrees........what we Texans call "hog killing" weather.
I remember those cold, blue northers sweeping in, blotting out the sun, chilling us to the bone.  On one of those times all the brothers and brothers-in-law, old and wise in their years gathered in our back yard in their long-john covered overalls, wool caps, coats of varied lengths, thick socks.......all in old mud cracked and caked boots. 
Granddad would load his double barrel shotgun in preparation for the "event."  My brother and I dawned our overcoats as grandma cautioned us to stay back and out of the way. Our eyes clear and shining, so excited to get to see this now forgotten experience.
Uncle Kenchion sharpened his ax as a large hog was moved from one pen to the next.  This prize hog would have been fed corn and other grains for a couple of months.  A large tree where a series of ropes hung behind the pen in readiness.
A shot rang out, the hog is dispatched instantly. Uncle K moves in to rope the hind legs of the hog and the other men hoist the 200 pound hog off the ground. A vein is opened with a sharp knife, draining the blood.  My brother and I move closer to see all the action. Gory but back then, a way of life.
Granddad places a large trough under the hog as Uncle K. uses is ax to open the underside of the hog.  The men move in and start to cut away the precious portions of the hog to be shared by many families.
Grandma helps to salt down the pork and rinses the intestines many times to clean them for use later.  Very little is wasted as the men work.
My brother and I are freezing but don't want to go inside and miss anything.  The men carry our portion of pork to the meat-house or smoke-house to be stored.  Salted meats could last quite a while during winter months. The other men wrapped they portions in bits of cloth to take home to their wives and families. This pork would feed several families for weeks to come.
The day is nearly over.  Grandma soaks the intestines in salty water to leave over night.  It's almost time for dinner.  My brother and I warm by the heater as Grandma begins to prepare the evening meal, Granddad gets cleaned up and Mom is home from school.
Those are the memories I had when it's so cold like it is now.

Texas Wine Block Contest

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Recently, me and a few of my "Wacky" friends decided to enter the contest about Texas Wines sponsored by TDA - Texas Department of Agriculture. Now mind you, I love wine but didn't realize until this contest, how many wineries there are in Texas. Needless to say, it was truly a learning experience for me. My block was fun because I love the simplicity of it, loved working with the colorful fabrics, loved the brainstorming process (this is a throwback from teaching kids) and I especially loved that several of my friends participated as well. There's fertile soil in Texas, folks. For more information about our Texas Wine Country, visit TDA real soon.