Monday, July 28, 2014

Design Wall Monday- July 28, 2014

A little sewing this week but more on bindings than making blocks. Did get some batik string blocks made. Need to make more but it's a start!

And finished 3 quilts
                      This is a 2006 strip club from my LQS
This one is from the Top of the Month Program at another LQS
Love the raccoon fabric!
This one is also from the Top of the Month Program.  Tilly got in the act!
Not sure what will get done this week. I do have 2 more to bind, but may save those for next week when are having the next redo done in the house-new floor in the family room!  We decided we liked the flooring we had put in the kitchen so much we wanted to carry it into the family room since it is basically one big room!  Our guy was able to find a cut that pretty well matches. It was now or never! So tearing up things again, but this time it is only for about 10 days!
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Sunday, July 27, 2014

Stash Report-week 30, 2014

Another unproductive week! I got a few more blocks made for someone else and mailed off some fat quarters to a friend!  Then late Tuesday morning I was cleaning out one of those big garbage cans the city gives us. Went to dump out the water and the can slipped and scraped a good portion of my right leg right on the bone. The rest of that day was spent in a chair with my leg up so it would stop bleeding. On the good side I did get another quilt bound, on the bad side, not much else got finished! Galen got back Wednesday evening and we spent the rest of the week getting things done around here.There's a little more remodeling in the near future in the very near future!



Used this week:                  2.5
Used to date   :                  72
Donated to date:                 30
Used and donated to date: 102
Added this week:                  0
Added to date:                     36
Net:                                     66

Hoping for more numbers next week but doubtful. Will be tearing apart the family room this week!
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Monday, July 21, 2014

Design Wall Monday-July 21, 2014

I have a few finishes to show plus a couple Halloween blocks I have been working on lately!  I guess our 2 days of cool weather made me think of Fall. We had a little over 5 inches of rain last Thursday night and early Friday morning! And the high on Friday was in the low 70's!  Unheard of for this part of Texas in mid-July. Saturday wasn't bad either-low 80's!But now we are back in the mid to high 90's.  And I'll take that, only 2 days so far where we had 100 or above! 
My Halloween blocks-
Double Z is the first block and Sawtooth Star the second one.
I wanted to show you that the light cream/tan is in fact a ghost!
As I said earlier-also 3 finishes.  Remember that pile of quilts that needed binding? It's a little shorter, by 3! 


That leaves 6 to finish!
For those who have not seen a cotton field here is one near us.
The cotton has been loving the rains we have had and is now starting to bloom.  I would say unless we get really bad weather later on the cotton gins will be busy come September. About 4 years ago we took a drive and it was interesting to see the machines they use to pick it, the trucks hauling the big bales to the gins, then we stopped at a gin near us and watched that for awhile. The brown in the distance is the field corn-it is ready to be picked!  

Hope to have more finishes to show next week-I am on a roll!!!!!
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Sunday, July 20, 2014

Stash Report-week 29, 2014

I thought I might  get more sewing in this week with DH out of town but that didn't happen. Worked on some blocks, worked on binding quilts.  Nothing I can count yet, maybe next Sunday!

Used this week:                  0
Used to date   :                  69.5
Donated to date:                 30
Used and donated to date: 99.5
Added this week:                  0
Added to date:                     36
Net:                                     63.5

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Monday, July 14, 2014

Design Wall Monday-July 14, 2014

Mine is pretty much the same as last week-very little progress on the Texas quilt. So much for plans. Didn't even get any of the other quilts bound. Did have a fun late afternoon dentist appointment, not! Nothing was done that evening! We did get some plants trimmed and one of the flower beds cleaned up as in getting out all of the leaves that dropped this Spring.  I really like Live Oaks, they stay green all winter. But they drop their leaves in the Spring when the new ones are coming out. So we get to clean up leaves twice a year and the Iris bed gets inundated with them. 


 New week, maybe I'll have something to show on  Monday.

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Sunday, July 13, 2014

Stash Report-Week 28

I didn't get much accomplished this past week. But I was able to give a friend 1.5 yds. she needed to finish a project. That's always good!

Used this week:                  1.5
Used to date   :                  69.5
Donated to date:                 30
Used and donated to date: 99.5
Added this week:                  4
Added to date:                     36
Net:                                     63.5

Maybe this coming week will have better results. Galen is heading out of town Tuesday afternoon-more time in the evenings to sew. Won't be having to think about dinner!!!!!

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Monday, July 7, 2014

Design Wall July 7, 2014

I did have one finish last week, It is now at the quilters! Cross another strip club top finished! It's a little washed out looking in this picture.
                                                       Cosmic Stars by Cozy Quilt.

                                Did a little shopping for Judy at the Natives of Texas plant nursery! If you want to read about our Texas Hill Country excursion on July 6th here is the link day trip to the Texas Hill Country

                      Now I am working on Judy's pattern   Texas Quilt  from Judy's free patterns.
 The blocks have the first border on them, the outer borders are sewn together, just not cut into 1 3/4 inch strips. The sashings are also cut but not the corner stones. Not sure if I want to use red or another color. Will pull out the final border to check out my options!
Another thing I did this past week was get all the binding strips cut for these quilts. Some were cut, other the fabrics were pulled but not cut. Now to get the initial sewing so I can do some hand sewing at night! I need to get these done as most of them will be going to a friends group in San Antonio and I have 4 others at two quilters. Time to get busy!

I spent sometime on Sunday cutting the extra fabric from the quilts into usable strips, 2.5; 2; and 1.5. Felt good getting some of this done. Hope to get the Texas quilt finished this week so I can get someone to quilt it for me. But who knows-other things need to be done first. It' s a busy week with scheduled appointments for us and Dad and I really do need to do some straightening up in the downstairs.See what everyone else is doing-

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Sunday, July 6, 2014

A DAY TRIP TO THE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY

We decided to treat ourselvs and take a day off from Round Rock and go to the Texas Hill Country. We are located on the Eastern edge where the limestone canyons give way to the Blackland Prairie. Raising crops to the East is a much better bet than to the West. That is Cattle Grazing land.Also for growing mesquite and cedars. It's much poorer soil due to all the limestone. Our first stop was in Johnson City for a short coffee break. Where we normally stop is right across from LBJ'S Boyhood home.

 We have made many trips to the Ranch but have yet to stop at his boyhood home. We need to go to the ranch again as well, as the house is now open to the public. At the courthouse square in Johnson City they were getting ready for the big festivities. My camera was not handy at the time, everyone from very young to very old were wearing something in honor of the fourth and so were their pets. Saw the cutest little goats all decked out in red, white and blue! Of course the band was already playing.

We drove through Fredericksburg, TX but didn't stop. It's a fun tourist town, but we go there when they aren't near as busy. Our main destination was Kerrville, TX. Our first stop there as always was Creations. For the non-quilters reading this, it is a wonderful quilt shop. I was good, didn't add to much quilt fabric to my too large stash of quilt fabrics. The we drove on to Natives of Texas Nursery. We read about it in the Texas Hill Country Magazine. The nursery is located at Spring Canyon Ranch.It was the dream of Mrs. Winningham to have a nursery there of plants that were native to the area or had adapted to the poor soil and heat that they were good choices. After she died her husband and a full time employee, Pablo, kept it going. As you go in the gate, there is a demonstration garden where you can leisurely walk through and see what plants you might want.short U tube video

 The you drive further back the canyon to the nursery itself. There Pablo helps with more information.
 Not a great picture-barely got the Monarch Butterfly in it. This area was full of Monarchs and Hummingbirds. We have some of the flower in the front but none of the purple cone. Came home with a few of those.
Pablo has a small home on site. He told us to walk though his little garden, look at his chickens and plants.

                                     Had to take this picture from my friend Judy in Brownwood.
                                      The Memorial Garden where Mrs. Winningham is buried.
 Pablo told us to drive further back into the canyon. They have a picnic area there and a fountain. Seeing as we are in the 7th year of a drought the fountain was not running and the creek isn't as nice and full as it once was. He told us that is was much better a few weeks ago, but now the level has been steadily dropping.
              The grass is still green back in the canyon so they have been getting enough rain for that.
                                                                          Picnic area
             Galen always has the camera in the car. The dragonflies were very uncooperative! Not sure what he                                  got for pictures. Our trip back took us through the small town of    
                MedinaBandara and Boerne, Texas.  These are all towns not far from San Antonio. They did bget enough rain in this area. We saw several huge fields where they had been bailing hay. Lots of the big hay bales or rolls. It was a nice day, all 350 miles!!!!!

               I think next Saturday we are going to head in a different direction of the Hill Country









Stash Report-week 27, 2014

I am going in the right direction once again. Yes, I did add a little but used more! We took off yesterday and headed to the Texas Hill Country. Round Rock, where we are, is on the eastern edge of the Hill Country and western edge of the Blackland Prairie. Good farmland to the east and land that is better suited for growing mesquite and cedar and grazing cattle to the west. Lots of limestone.
One of our stops was Creations in Kerrville. I was  very good! They did have some 1 yard cuts of batiks marked down to 7.99. You know where the 4 comes from in the added line!

I was good, they had 10 or 12 others there-would have been real easy to bring the rest home! Got a couple of patterns and also a machine embroidery disk. Did I say how much I love that shop?
DH took the girls for a walk.

Used this week:                  11.25
Used to date   :                   68
Donated to date:                 30
Used and donated to date: 98
Added this week:                  4
Added to date:                     36
Net:                                     62

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