I Like Thursday 3-16-23

Fun times in Papaw's shed!

It is time to list our Likes! LeeAnna of Not Afraid of Color hosts this weekly gratitude event. Visit her blog to see more thankfulness!

As I am writing this post , we have The Littles here spending time with Papaw and Grandma. They have been here since Monday morning, and Jenni picks them up today. I like that we live close enough to our daughter to be able to do this. Before we moved here in October 2020, we lived 220 miles from her, and now we are about an hour away.

I will have skin cancer surgery in April, and I like having a dermatologist I trust. Ours is a PA, and I trust her every bit as much as I would a dermatologist with a medical degree. She works with degreed dermatologists, and is diligent, personable, caring, and personal.

I missed two of LeeAnn's prompts in February about our creative spaces, and they are so interesting to me. I plan to feature them next week when I have more time! But today I will answer her prompt of "Do you like Spring flowers? Which ones are your favorites? Do you plant them in your yard? is there a particular color you like?" Yes I love spring flowers, but my favorite is one that does not do as well here in north Texas. I grew up with beds of peonies that were planted back in the 1940s when my childhood home was built. We had white ones mostly with a few reds and pinks scattered around - the fragrance was heavenly. I also love roses but have never had much luck with them!

I'd love to read about your favorite spring flowers, so feel free to mention them in the comments. All of you have a wonderful week!

To Do Tuesday 3-20-23

Today's post will be brief - I am composing it on Monday, about 2 hours before The Littles arrive for a 3-night stay. Yesterday we had breakfast at a local cafe, then I cleaned bathrooms and kitchen while Hubs cleaned the yard of dog "poo" and mowed, so the kiddos can play outside. This morning we still need to vacuum tons of pet hair and dust!

As you can see, last week's list mostly begged for attention. All I can say is, there were many distractions!

❌1. Finish up Cross My Heart

❌2. Catch up and finish SAHRR

❌3. Catch up on RBD challenge blocks

❌4. Start on Little Green Apples project hosted by Carol at Just Let Me Quilt

✅5. Take The Littles to school and preschool on Thursday, then take dogs to the vet

On the list this week:

1. Keep The Littles until Thursday!

2. Start on Little Green Apples project

3. Work on Cross My Heart

4. Work on SAHRR and try to do a post

5. Catch up on RBD blocks

Linking up with our gracious host Carol at Quilt Schmilt, and you can find her linky right here!

To Do Tuesday 3-7-23

Another Tuesday has quickly arrived, and it is time to look back at To Do list from last week and look forward to plans for the coming week. To Do Tuesday is hosted by Carol of Quilt Schmilt, and you can find her linkup and links to many inspirational posts right here.

Looking from our house to the west as this complex of storms was dropping heavy hail west of us 

Last week was a week of distractions. There was turbulent weather all day Thursday with heavy, large hail and a few spinup tornadoes, but we were lucky to receive only a bit of pea-sized hail and wind.

Another distraction was a couple of room rearrangements, selling some furniture, moving furniture around, and driving to pick up a Marketplace purchase. It seems the older we get, the more fun we have rearranging and reorganizing - lol!

And finally, Friday started out as a day to watch The Littles while Jenni and John went out of town. Well it turned into a wedding day for our daughter and new son-in-law! The original plan was to drive to his hometown to visit his Dad, but he surprised Jenni by taking her to a Justice of the Peace, with his Dad as witness. They spent the weekend visiting his college and meeting many friends, eating out, and just enjoying his small hometown. They are planning a small wedding with family and friends at their current church in November. This romance and marriage all happened rather fast, but we are happy for them because they are so happy!

HST Quilt

On Sunday Jenni and John attended his hometown church and presented the pastor with a small quilt, which will either be a baby quilt or wheelchair quilt. You can read about that quilt right here.

Today my husband and I had visits to the dermatologist. I will have three skin cancer surgeries in April. Recovery is supposed to be easy, so I don't anticipate not being able to sew!

Let's see how I did with the list from last week:

❌1. Finish up Cross My Heart - No progress

❌2. Catch up and finish SAHRR - No progress

❌3. Catch up on RBD challenge blocks - No progress

✅4. Babysit with Everett on Friday! - Done!

Here is the playlist for the coming week - mostly carryovers from last week:

2. Finish up Cross My Heart

3. Catch up and finish SAHRR

4. Catch up on RBD challenge blocks

5. Start on Little Green Apples project hosted by Carol at Just Let Me Quilt

6. Take The Littles to school and preschool on Thursday, then take dogs to the vet

Hope you have a great week!

Second Chance HST Quilt

My handsome Quilt-Holder

Some say that every piece of scrap fabric deserves a second chance, and that is the case for this quilt. 

Cross My Heart flimsy

HSTs

After cutting pieces for the hearts in Cross My Heart quilt (flimsy pictured above), I was left with several decent sized triangles. I paired them with the dark eggplant background fabric and ended up with 128 3-inch HSTs.

Photo from the internet

I followed this design I found somewhere on the internet. If it is your design or if you mentioned it on a post, I apologize, and please yourself a shout-out, and I will credit you.

It took awhile to place those HSTs like the design, and I might have messed up somewhere, but overall the design made an attractive layout. I decided to separate sections of it with sashing in order to increase the size of the quilt. and added cornerstones for interest. I like the dark eggplant so much I also used it for binding. In retrospect, I wish I had added a coping border in dark eggplant, before adding the final border.

I really loved the fabrics for Cross My Heart (post on that one is coming in the next week or so!)

Hard to get a good photo of the backing

Here's a closeup of the pretty backing.

Quilting was a simple meander on Longmire

Our daughter delivered this quilt to the little hometown church of her sweetie after they attended service there over the weekend. And the pastor took them to see a quilt she is working on - isn't it great! It is my hope that this quilt will serve as a baby quilt or as a wheelchair quilt. 

Quilt Details:

Pattern: Internet photo

Finished size: 42" x 42"

Laundered size: 40-1/2" x 40-1/2"

Fabrics:

Front: HSTs made from leftover scraps from Cross My Heart quilt

Background: Basic Grey Grunge in Sugar Cookies

Backing: From stash - no selvage identification but I think it is several years old

Superior Threads:

Piecing: So Fine #50 - #503 Genoa Gray

Quilting Front: Fantastico - #5169 Sterling Silver Variegated

Quilting Back: So Fine #50 - #522 Barely Pink

I am linking up with Brenda's Monday Musings and Melva's Sew and Tell!

To Do Tuesday 2-27-23

The doggies reflect my accomplishments for last week!

Today I am joining with Carol at Quilt Schmilt and other bloggers for To Do Tuesday. As I sat contemplating my post for today, I had to look at my calendar to see what I did last week! Not much was done in the sewing room other than rearranging furniture and "clearning" (clearing and cleaning). Our daughter and her beau and The Littles were here on Saturday, so Thursday and Friday were "prep" days for us with house cleaning and groceries. 

My HST quilt is sandwiched and ready to quilt

This was the list for last week:

❌1. Get Cross My Heart sandwiched and loaded on Longmire - No progress

❌2. Catch up on SAHRR - No progress

❌3. RBD challenge block - No progress

✅4. Choose one of the squirrels clamoring for my attention - Done - see above. My daughter and her beau will travel on Friday to visit his Dad for the weekend, and she will take the HST quilt to gift to the little United Methodist church in his hometown.

Here are my goals for the next week or two:

1. Finish up Cross My Heart

2. Catch up and finish SAHRR

3. Catch up on RBD challenge blocks

4. Babysit with Everett on Friday!

I am linking my post to Carol's linky party.

I Like Thursdays 2-23-23

Please ignore the mess on the longarm table!

I am joining LeeAnna and other bloggers to list my "Likes" for the week! My big like this past week is my new "stepper"! I like that it was not expensive, takes up little space, is portable, stores easily in my sewing closet, and I can do my stepping while watching TV. I found it on Amazon, right here.

Hubs and I are enjoying a new-to-us show on the History Channel called Dirty Old Cars. There is something very satisfying about seeing a dirty car cleaned up and brought back to life!

LeeAnna has suggested our prompt this week as "what thoughtful things does your special person do for you, or you do for them?" My special person is The Hubs, and he does and has done many meaningful little and big things throughout our marriage. Here are just a few:

• I like that he preps our coffee every night at 9:30. He has the percolator set on a timer, and we wake up to that good-smelling brew every morning.
• I like that he is always thinking ahead to do things for my comfort. 
• I like that he pulls the car out of the garage most mornings just to let the four kitties go roll on the garage floor, sniff in the corners and under the saw tables, look for bugs, and be "outside" - something they all seem to enjoy.
• I like that he remembers that I prefer one particular spoon for my soup.
• I like that he purchases something he knows I won't buy for myself, usually something chocolate, when he goes to the grocery store by himself. I always fuss at him, but I like it!
• I like that he remembers the birthdays of my parents, even though they have been gone for years.
• Since we moved to north Texas I have been unable to do much yardwork, since I seem to be allergic to the "chiggers" which are plentiful in our yard. I like that he willingly took on weeding my flower and vegetable gardens to keep me from itching.
• I like that, prior to my foot surgery, he had me show him everything I do for my cats, from feeding them special treats to cleaning the litter box, and he did it every day until I was able to resume my kitty duties.

As far as what I do for him, I like to provide him comfort, and I try to anticipate his needs. It is how I was raised and it gives me joy!

What about you and your special someone, do you enjoy those little things? Be sure to check out more positive posts at LeeAnna's blog - Not Afraid Of Color!

To Do Tuesday 2-21-23

Last week zoomed by for me! Time never used to fly by so fast when I was a working girl - lol! Let's see what, if anything, was accomplished last week.

Jack is examining my squirrel project  - destined to be either a baby quilt or a wheelchair quilt

Here is my list from last Tuesday:

✔1. Backing pieced and Cross My Heart sandwiched - Backing is pieced

❌2. Catch up on SAHRR - Not caught up, but I looked at it several times!

❌3. RBD challenge block - I have 2 blocks to do

❎4. Play! - I seem to do pretty well on this task! (See above photo)

One day was spent driving. We took our car in for some work, picked up our loaner, and bought groceries at our favorite grocery - H-E-B. Then we headed to Paris! Texas that is - lol! Paris is about 55 miles east of us, and we met a couple who purchased an item from my husband on Marketplace. Paris actually has a 65 foot scale model of the Eiffel Tower - with a cowboy hat on top - lol! You can read about it here. It was too late in the day to tour around, so we plan to go back sometime and check it out.

My playlist looks very similar for this week:

1. Get Cross My Heart sandwiched and loaded on Longmire

2. Catch up on SAHRR

3. RBD challenge block

4. Choose one of the squirrels clamoring for my attention

I'm joining Carol at Quilt Schmilt at her To Do Tuesday linkup. You can find out what is happening on other blogs by clicking right here!

I Like Thursdays 2-16-23

It's Thursday and time to make a list of my likes! I like this event hosted by LeeAnna of Not Afraid Of Color, because I am more aware of finding positive things during the week.

Our best news of the week: our DIL received the results of her lumpectomy - all clear! She will have some radiation to remove all "shadows", but she will not need further surgery. Thank you so much for all your well wishes.

In honor of the "Love Month", LeeAnna asked us to tell about a time when we knew someone was for us. That is a photo of my husband and me during a college dance in the late 1960s. Randy and I have been together since we were freshmen in high school. We got engaged during our junior year of college, and everyone in our small town expected we would marry shortly after graduation.

So imagine everyone's surprise when I broke our engagement to date the preacher's son! "Butch" was a soldier who had returned home after being in Vietnam, and when he saw me in church, he decided to pursue me, even after he found out I was engaged. He sent me flowers the day after meeting me. I was pretty much swept off my feet, and our little town was scandalized! 

Butch and I dated for a couple of months, and just had fun being together. We made each other laugh - a powerful draw for me - and I enjoyed the attention of an "older man" - 25 to my 21! And I loved his parents - the preacher and his wife were close friends with my folks and were so much fun to be around.

During that time Randy tried very hard to win me back, sending me flowers, calling me, writing me love letters, even talking with my Daddy about what he should do. My Daddy was not happy with me at all during this time. He liked and trusted Randy, and he knew nothing about Butch. My friends told me Butch was the wrong guy for me - even my college roommate was against it. And I had not stopped loving Randy. We still saw each other frequently since we drove to and from college together on weekends. I was only seeing Butch on weekends, and I began to have doubts about what I was doing.

One day I talked it over with my Mom, who was amazingly diplomatic. I asked her how to tell which one was "the one". She asked me to think about what I liked about each one. The first thing I said was that I had never been bored with Randy, and she said "well I think that's a pretty good sign".  I don't even remember what I told her about Butch.

Shadow Mountain Inn is now a sushi restaurant!

One night after that, Butch and I had dinner at Shadow Mountain Inn, a romantic restaurant in Tulsa, on a hill with views of the city. Coincidentally, Randy had a weekend job at a filling station which was down the hill from the restaurant, and I didn't realize he was working that night. As Butch and I enjoyed our dinner, I happened to glance out the window and down the hill, and I saw Randy. He was hunched over from the cold, cleaning a windshield, and my heart just melted. I knew in that moment I'd rather be standing in the cold with him than where I was. I soon broke it off with Butch and never looked back.

We will have been married 54 years in October!

 

Do you have a story about how you "knew"? Or maybe your story is simple, like one of the trending abbreviations in social media - "IYKYK" (if you know, you know). Leave your answer in the comments, and then be sure to check out other "likes" on LeeAnna's post - right here!

To Do Tuesday 2-14-23

My Hearts In Formation quilt from 2021 

Happy Valentine's Day, which also happens to be To Do Tuesday! This is the day we get to share our accomplishments and plans, and it is hosted by the lovely Carol of Quilt Schmilt, who provided the platform for 34 participants to link up last week!

NOT my quilt, but isn't it pretty!

No, that is not MY quilt up there, but here's the story: Last week in the midst of being unmotivated, I innocently read Maggie's post on Making A Lather. I casually glanced at a photo she had of a pattern she was starting with a friend. I was instantly on Squirrel Alert! I clicked on the photo to see it up close, noted the name and author of the pattern, and off I went. The pattern is Kristals, a 2010 pattern from Karen Comstock of Quiltricks, and I have already received it! I have no idea when I will start it, but I love looking at the pattern.

Riley Blake Designs Challenge Block #5

Last week I substituted a churn dash block for Block #4, and wouldn't you know that Block #5 turned out to be a churn dash too - lol! I just had to fussy cut a kitty for the center of this one.

Playing with layouts for the 128 HSTs made from the Cross My Heart scraps

My goals last week:

❌1. Back, sandwich, and quilt Cross My Heart - Nada

❌2. Add hourglass blocks to SAHRR - Nope

✅3. RBD challenge block - Yes! See above photo.

❌4. Sewcialites blocks - No, and I am taking this off my list for awhile

✅5. Play! - Of course!

This week's playlist:

1. Backing pieced and Cross My Heart sandwiched

2. Catch up on SAHRR

3. RBD challenge block

4. Play!

 

I am linking this post to Carol's To Do Tuesday linkup, right here.

I Like Thursdays 2-9-23

Dolly in one of my favorite movies - 9 to 5!

When I was a "working girl" (and most of us worked 8 to 5, not 9 to 5!), I liked Thursdays because that meant that Friday was almost here. Now Thursdays have no special significance, other than it is the day for me to post my "Likes". Thanks to lovely LeeAnna at Not Afraid Of Color for hosting this thankfulness event every Thursday!

Icy freeway in Dallas

Speaking of working, I am so grateful that we are both retired and do not have to go to work in adverse weather conditions such as those so many experienced last week. I live in far North Texas, where we had icy roads with about 1/2 inch of frozen rain topped with 1/2 inch of sleet, but Central Texas had their worst ice event in 15 years with almost 3/4 inch of ice resulting in loss of power for hundreds of thousands plus major tree damage. This week we are receiving normal winter rain - I am thankful!

I updated my I Like Thursdays post last week, but for anyone who missed the good news - our DIL had her lumpectomy last Thursday, and it was quick and successful. She is still waiting for the results, but she is healing and has her energy back.

Our suggested prompt this week is to share what we like about Valentine's Day. That won't take long for me to answer - it is pretty much just another day to me. I have pleasant memories of younger days. Daddy used to bring home those little red boxes of Pangburn's chocolates for Mom and me. When I had my own family, Hubby would bring me a dozen red roses and a card, and I would prepare a special dinner and decorated sugar cookie hearts.

We don't really celebrate Valentine's Day now, but I'm hoping to receive a dozen eggs this year instead of a dozen roses - LOL! How about you - is Valentine's Day a special day for you?