Here and There....blogging

I stumbled across an old friend's blog today and she wrote that she started her blog as a 'someday' gift to her grandchildren.  It made me start to think about my own grandparents and how wonderful it would have been if they had left a blog behind....a little piece of their daily lives, what made them happy, what made them sad, what the weather was like, and what their house looked like through the years, etc.  I had been thinking about closing my blog, as obviously, I have not been blogging very much lately.  But after I thought about her reason for blogging and having had a personal scare last week with a breast biopsy, it made me think about my own grandchildren, and what a cool thing to be able to leave behind my blog for them.  (breast biopsy was negative, thank you Lord!)  Having said that, my blog will still be the same random blog it has always been, but I will work hard to keep it up to date, and to leave behind a little piece of me for my grandchildren.

Avery and Aunt April

Of course, this little guy has my heart!  Aunt April loves him, too.  Yesterday she was at my house, waiting for him and his family to come over for dinner.  At one point, she looked out the window and said "I wish they would come on!  I'm ready to play with Avery!"  ;-)

I went to my favorite thrift stores today, something I had not done in awhile.  I picked up a couple of books and this sweet little sampler.  At first glance, I thought the sampler had been made from a stamped design.

But upon further inspection, I decided it was done by counted cross stitch and other embroidery designs.  I don't know what I'll do with it, but it only cost me $1.  I think the box underneath the little girl was supposed to hold a little girl's name.  I wonder why it was never finished?

I got this sweet little bag for $1 , too.  I'm not even sure what its intended use would be, but I thought it was too cute not to buy.  The colors are not very good in the photo, but if you click on the photo, you can see more detail.  I love the cherry fabric and ric rac trim.

More randomness:  Do you have, or know anyone who has a dachshund?  We have two of them and have discovered they can tear up almost ANY dog toy!  This little girl loves to chase balls, but she can't resist chewing them up either.  I'm always on the hunt for 'tough' balls for her.  Remember the magic 8 balls?  The ones that tell your fortune?  Well, I found this one for $1 over a month ago at a thrift store.  Sweet Pea loves it, she has tooth marks all over it, but so far hasn't figured out how to chew it up!!  She literally spends hours rolling this ball around the yard with her nose.  Too cute!!

This is our garden this year!  We built a raised bed near the back door, as the deer and other critters feasted on our bigger garden last year,  located down by the creek.  It's a little crowded in here, but we have been eating plenty of squash and a few cucumbers from it so far.  My neighbors have a really nice, really large garden next door.  They called today to tell us they would be leaving Friday for the beach for a week and wanted to know if we wanted to 'have' their garden while they are gone?  Why, yes! Yes, we do!  My son is gardening and canning vegetables this year and he is going to come over and help me pick vegetables.  He will take most of it home with him.  Thank you, neighbors!!

This is our new favorite place to sit in the evenings, especially when we have guests over.  This area is just outside our fenced area for the dogs and it is a nicely shaded area.  Last night it was cool, and I actually had to grab a jacket while sitting out here.  It's great for our guests and our dogs... the dogs can play outside in their area, see the guests, but not jump on them while they are visiting.  These little plastic Adirondack chairs are inexpensive and very comfy.  I want to buy at least three more soon.

And for the end of this totally random blog entry, I leave you "Avery".... Grandma's heart.  He enjoys playing with this little raisin book.  Each page has one photo that is decorated with raisins and he gets to copy the pic. by adding his own raisins on the other picture.  He is pretty good at it, but he loves raisins, and eats them as fast as he decorates!  So much fun!

Chandler's Quilt

Baby Chandler is due to make his arrival almost any day now.  (due date July 15) Mommy is ready to deliver, daddy is on standby, big brother has been prepared the best we know how, and Grandma finished baby's quilt last night.

I was able to use some of the same fabric that I used to make big brother Avery's quilt.  I hope Avery notices.  ;-))  I ordered the "I Spy" blocks f rom Amy Smart from her Etsy shop.  I added a few of my own fabrics to make sure we had a doggy or two in there.

I need to trim the loose threads and embroider his name on the back.  Hopefully I'll get started on that tonight during tv time.  Come on Baby Chandler...we are ready to meet you!

Trying the 'modern' world

Have you seen this??

My daughter is sharing her Netflix account with me, so I recently watched the first series of Downton Abbey on the laptop.  Loved the show!!! Not  so sure about watching it with a computer in my lap. I loved this series so much that I am planning to purchase season 2, as it isn't on Netflix yet.  I am trying to decide if I want to purchase DVD's to watch on the big tv or shall I order the instant downloads from Amazon and watch on my laptop????

Did you know that you can download e books to read on your computer?  Even if you don't have a Kindle or Nook reader?  Duh, you say!  Well, this is all new to me.  I am currently reading this book on my laptop.  I think I would finish it quicker if I had the paper version in my hand.  When I pick up the laptop, I find myself too distracted by facebook, blogs, and other sites...and find very little time for reading my e book.  (This book will be performed as a Musical in Shipshewana, Indiana.  Would I love to go??? yes!  I've entered a contest for a free weekend getaway there....wouldn't that be lovely?)

I'm still trying to read all of Jennifer Chaiaverini's Elm Creek Quilt books.  I'm finishing up this one today and have loved, loved, loved all her books so far.  This one is a Civil War story and describes the treatment of slaves (which I'm sure is described mildly in this book).  I have found myself sad throughout much of this book....

So, now if I can just put some of these books and movies and laptop down....and get some things done. I plan to finish up Baby Chandler's quilt this week.  His baby shower is this weekend....go, Penpen, go!!!

Wal Mart quilt shop!

Have you checked out your local Wal Mart lately?

I was pleasantly surprised yesterday when I visited our local Wal Mart to pick up a yard of white fabric.  (sewing for Baby Chandler, who will be here in two months!!) 

Our local Wal Mart had a huge selection of fabric at very good prices.  I know there is a huge debate about the quality of quilt shop fabrics versus department store fabrics,  but hey, I saw a lot of yummy looking fabrics in our store yesterday.

Not only did they have a huge selection of fabrics, but a large quilting notions section, as well as other sewing gadgets.  I remember when Wal Mart was going to do away with fabric altogether and couldn't believe it when I saw the remodel and the large sewing section. 

The lady who cut my fabric said there had been so many complaints from the public about closing the fabric section, that Wal Mart decided to bring it back....even bigger.  Yay!  Go Wal Mart!

Dream House and Flowers

We took a ride a couple weekends ago and I had to get a picture of this sweet little place.

click on photo to enlarge

I still dream of the sweet little farm house with lots of flowers, the picket fence, etc.   Wouldn't you love to pass the time while sitting on this wonderful porch, watching the grandchildren play, talking to the neighbors, reading a book, just rocking in the rocking chair and day dreaming????

Sharing...

I don't think I ever posted the little wall quilt that I made from swap blocks I received back in the 1980's.  It takes me awhile to get things done.  ;-)



swap blocks

I love the basket blocks and am very happy that the color blue is now coming back around for home decor!  Blue has always been a favorite color of mine and I am so happy to have this little piece in my living room.  The shelf is a repurposed thrift store shelf, spray painted black.  I actually stapled the quilt to the shelf edge to make it hang better.  See the horse and carriage weather vane?  This was removed from our very first home when we had a new roof installed.  The house was built around 1940 and I am so happy we saved this piece.  The two wooden spools (I guess that is what they are called).... I can't remember where they came from, but I think my husband brought them to me years ago from somewhere. 

I machine quilted this little wall hanging and learned a lot in the process.  However, there is a rather large area on the back side that didn't sew properly.  I have a lot of loose threads in one area and I'm not sure why.  Lesson learned:  pay close attention to the back while machine quilting!!!  Any advice is welcome!

Highlight of my week

Fun day on the lake with Avery and April.

Papa took Avery for a boat ride!

*Chilling and studying his peanut m&m*

Love this little guy!  His little brother should be making his arrival in less than three months!  ;-)

More Quilt Trail Barns

Another fun day in the car with the GPS....looking for these:

I'm so envious of the owners of all these pretty barns that show off their beautiful quilt blocks.

Driving up the driveway to this one... such a pretty place.  I didn't take a picture of it, but this barn belongs to a sweet log cabin style home that sits on the left side of  the property.

Isn't this sweet??  There pretty flower beds throughout this person's yard and I wished I had taken the time to snap more pic's here.

I drive by this one several times a week.  It actually belongs to a new school in our neighborhood and the students worked hard to restore this barn.  The goats belong to the people who own the property on this side of the black fence.  Pretty cool, huh?

This huge barn sits right beside the highway. 

Same barn in previous picture....side view. 

I really like the block on this barn.  (click pic. to enlarge)

I like the blue and orange colors in this block, too. Keep scrolling, as I have saved the best for last:

We just happened to be snapping the first picture when the owner returned home from church.  She insisted we come on up to the house and see things a little closer.

Isn't this the sweetest cabin?  The owners had it moved their property approx. 10 years ago, from a location very near to my own home.  Darn! I wish I had gotten there first!!!

This sweet lady, Mrs. Ann, insisted we come inside the cabin for a closer look.  She uses this as her get away spot, just to enjoy the peace and quiet.  She brought her daughter's elementary school class here this past year during the Christmas holidays and read Christmas stories to them.  She is a quilter, belongs to no guilds....quilts because she likes to quilt.

This bed is in the loft area that she and her husband added to the cabin.  The quilt on the bed is store bought; she said she can't leave her 'real' quilts out where the mice might find them. 

And this was the 'modern' side of her property.  This is another place that I wish I had taken more pic's.  She had lots of cute flower bed areas, with lots of antique pieces tucked here and there. 
*I accidentally deleted all comments from my previous posts, while playing around with my blogger settings.  Sorry if you no longer see your comments; I would be HAPPY to have you comment again!"

Quilt Trails

I've always wanted to travel to the western part of our state and tour the Quilt Trails of Western NC.  There are over 200 quilt barns to see, making it the largest concentration of blocks and barns in one area to see in the USA. 

So, imagine my surprise when I realized that here in Randolph County , my little section of the state, we have our own developing Quilt Trail in progress.  Adding even more to my surprise,that  this one is located just a few miles from my house and I drive by it everytime I go to and from work!

Here's another picture showing more of the scenery.  I am not sure if you can click to see it  close up, but if you can, see if you can see what is in the center of the block.  You will see what kind of farm this is!

Next is this one; located approx. 5-6 miles from my home.  I had two sweet  doggies to greet me here and I had to give lots of sugars before I left.   This barn is located in a beautiful farm area.

Front view of the same barn...isn't it pretty?

This one is located approximately 10-12 miles from my house.  The barn isn't as impressive to see, but the block is beautiful. 

On our way back through, we were on the edge of a sweet little town, called Liberty, NC, where we lived when we first relocated to this area.  We had decided to build a house there and I purchased the houseplans for this house from  Country Living Magazine.  We had this property picked out, our contractor ready to go, and we then got 'cold feet' and didn't build it.  The contractor built the house anyway and sold it after it was built.  So, this is the house we almost built.  ;-)

We stopped at the best little drive inn restaurant in the area and had lunch: two hamburgers, fries, and two soft drinks for $7.  Yum!  I'm a cheap date!

One last entry for my daddy:  look what we passed while we were out looking for quilt barns....a horse show!  How long has it been since I've seen one of these??? and I have some fun memories from horse shows in my past. (I wish I had all of Daddy's ribbons from his horse shows)  I thought of you when we saw this!

A closeup of the pretty red haired cowgirl for you.  I was hoping to see the riders balance eggs in their spoons, but we didn't see anything cool like that.  ;-) 

Underground Railroad Blocks

One of my 'many' quilting goals for 2012 include making this Underground Railroad quilt.  My goal is to make 2 blocks a month and have the top completed by July.

These are January's blocks.  Where are February's?  Not done yet!  Today is February 23rd and I have failed miserably in the sewing department this month.  Okay, I still have a few days, and I WILL get the next two blocks done!

I bought the fabric using some of my Christmas $$.  It was fun to go to the quilt shop and pick out so many different fabrics at one time.  These aren't my 'favorite' colors to use, but I wanted the colors to be similar to those used during the Civil War era. (my quilt shop doesn't carry civil war reproduction fabric)

This is the first time I've used an Eleanor Burns pattern and I have to say:  I love her!!!!  The instructions are so clear and she offers so many tips to make the blocks fall into place.... on the first try!!  I decided I wanted to make this quilt after reading : The Runaway Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini.
If you haven't read her Elm Creek Quilts novels, you need to get started!  I love them! 



• And one cute picture before I close.... Avery loves firetrucks!  Yesterday the local fire department was having a training exercise across the street from our house.  Avery saw the activity when his mommy dropped him off to stay with Grandma for a few hours.  As she was getting him out of his car seat, he was yelling at the top of his lungs to Grandma, telling her about seeing the firetruck by the trees!!!  So, there was nothing to do, but take my little 'big boy'  over to see the firetruck....bare feet and all....When we got there, the firemen were so sweetand welcoming and allowed him to 'help'!!  They also put him inside the firetruck and showed him the 'red button'.....Avery was allowed to blow the sirene!  He loved it!
   

Happy Birthday Avery!

Guess who turned two last week?  Aleady, our little Avery is a big boy! 

Yesterday was his birthday party and he loved his new bicycle!  He is wearing a fireman suit because his birthday party had a firetruck theme. 

His mommy had friends who happened to be on duty at the fire department, and  they drove the firetruck over for Avery and his friends to check out. 

He had lots of practice before his birthday and blew the candles out with no problem!

He hasn't quite figured out how to hold up two fingers on one hand, so he gave us two 'ones' to show us his age!

He's trying to get the 'two fingers' up here with Grandma, but his little fingers just won't do it, yet.

We had a wonderful time and we're still trying to figure out how to make the time s-l-o-w down a little .... for our baby is growing up way too fast!!!