end of June/end of giveaway

As the clock ticks down the last minutes of June (already!!)
I'll end my scissor giveaway...

You have until midnight tonight to leave a comment
about your fav scissor or scissors.
What attributes do you like when you are looking for a new pair? 
Or, which of your scissors is the go-to for a specific project, and why?

This is the giveaway pair:

I've taken a "sister" pair of these Tooltrons 
and put beside my lazy-girl chair
and used them this past week...

and the test was good...
at first, I thought, "oh, no",
as the blades were kind of "grindy".
Grindy is bad...
Then, a couple of empty "snip-snips" and all was well!
And I love them with my hand stitching!

I have worked on a couple of "redwork" pieces
every evening this past week and I really love these little gems!
I have been stitching single thread DMC on cotton,
and also working with single strand Valdani with wool on osnaburg...
I like the serrated blade as it grips the thread- not bends and mauls as it is being cut,
the handles/loops are easy to grab,
and the slightly curved tips are curved "just right" as not to cut into the fabric easily, just enough to lift and cut the threads.

Thanks, gals, for stopping by and letting me know your scissor wants and needs.
I now have a couple of kinds of scissors that I need to try!

It was also good to see
that I am not the only person
that I know
that has major scissor hoarding issues!

meandering & good bye to another month

I feel like this whole month has gone soooo quickly...

June is almost gone -

and I'm reminded of this by Sweetie,

 as his birthday is the last of the month.

At what age do "boys"

not get so excited

about an upcoming birthday?

:)

I kinda' thought it might calm down just a little

after the half decade mark!

I did do a little more meandering this past week...

I worked on this beauty for Louise.

It is so very summer-y looking, isn't it?

It was great to quilt something this bright and sunny

 after a total of eight days in a row of rain and showers!

Louise is the gal that makes up her own quilt designs as she goes along -

and she's not afraid of color, in case you couldn't tell!

She also pieces the backing and it's just as beautiful as the front.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a pic of the back

(My camera has been acting up just a little,

so the "pic" of the back is a "video" with nothing recorded -

or it could be me and my operation of said camera, not the camera at all!).

Happy end of the month already!

P.S. don't forget my scissor giveaway - 

click here to leave a comment!

giveaway/scissors

I'm still obsessing focusing on the scissor thing...

Yesterday I had a couple of messages concerning the
"current" favorite scissors...
and a couple of gals mentioned that they had not tried the serrated-blade scissors. 

Here are a couple of the latest reviews:


"C" that does quilting and enjoys redwork/stitching likes the little pair of serrated-blade scissors that I mentioned...the little Ginghers.  She also likes the little scissors that were available this spring at her LQS - they had cute finger loops that were butterfly shaped.  I can't find those available at the distributors, so can't even show a photo, but they were cute.


Then I had a message from an out-of-country gal - Tooltron big loops were at the top of her list for snipping threads machine-side.  And, she said, she loves the rubber-coated loops offered on bigger/longer scissors - for less finger pressure/stress with the padding on the handles.

More later....

Don't forget my scissor give-away!

Just leave a comment about your favorite scissors
and I'll put your name into a drawing
for this cute little pair of serrated-blade arrow points!

still with the scissors/giveaway

OK, so, lots of scissor input - thank you very much.

First, I've learned, that I'm not the only scissor freak in this hemisphere.

Second, evidently there are negative connotations with the scissor whore label :)
but, hey, just telling it like it is!

Third, I am lovin' these little scissors that I'm giving away!

They are now next to my lazy-girl sewing chair permanently-
as this is where I do my red-work or wool applique stitching EVERY night -
so they are a perfect fit!
(The more expensive, longer, serrated-blade Ginghers are now with my wool project stuff where they work the best!)

Here's the latest project:

a sample for the LQS,

one of the newest Crabapple Hill patterns -

Vintage Traditions Stockings

Keep leaving your comments about your fav scissors and why -
I'm closing the
scissor giveaway contest
this Friday, July first at midnight, EST

THE scissors question/giveaway

Yesterday I asked what your
favorite pair of hand work scissors were...
and I'm still looking for more input on that, please...

I have a

couple of pairs

few pairs

OK, many pairs

of small scissors

that go into my travel bag or project bag,

and then there's a pair beside my lazy girl chair

for my nightly stitching routine.

Oh, and the snips for thread at my sewing machine.
(none of these are any of my paper scissors)

OK, I may be a scissor whore...um, collector!

left to right:

1. generic snips with curved tip
2. Havel's curved tip
3. little Ginghers with serrated blades (with the wrong sheath beside them)
4. bigger Ginghers with serrated blades and large loop finger holes

#1  I use the snips at my machine; they cut threads only - and they travel in the machine to retreats.
#2  usually these are beside my lazy-girl chair - their bent tip blades poke holes in my project bags, so they don't travel well.
#3  I like love the serrated blades, but this shorter blade doesn't do well with cutting my wool shapes.
#4  These are probably my fav, because of the ease of grabbing and getting my fingers into the larger loop-hole handles. The blade serrations cut through my wool shapes, all the way down to the tip.  But, they are the most expensive, so I only have the one pair and am continually moving them from one project to another.

So, my scissor review before your input:
A:  I really like the serrated blade scissors the best.
B:   I like the large loop handles for ease of grabbing.
C:  Maybe I need to dedicate a specific pair of scissors just to my wool cutting.

I did just order these little Tooltron beauts:

Arrow point.
Large Loops.
Gold Handles.
Slightly curved tip.
Micro serrated blades. 3-1/2in total length.
And the price is right.

Yep, scissor whore... Oh, yeah, scissor collector...

Soooo, to help celebrate my new-found attribute :)
I'm going to help get you started with your own scissor collection! -
Leave me a comment about 
your scissor preference
and I'll put you in a drawing for
a pair of the Tooltron scissors.
aka: the little beauts.

Happy stitching!

color & meanderings

First - a question:

What are your favorite scissors to use

while hand-stitching binding

or doing hand-embroidery work?

I'll have more on that issue tomorrow....

Today's subject: Color

Here are a couple more meanderings

that I have done since the family wedding...

Annette's fall leaves:

Each and every leaf is a different fabric. 

As is the alternate block square.

Isn't it beautiful?  She is a color artist, isn't she?
Here's a close-up: 

 Leaf and loop meander- ing, and echo quilting in each leaf block.

This second meandering is by Bea.

She is a newer quilter - and isn't she great with color, too?

Color inspiration!

Don't forget,

the scissor issue tomorrow...

meandering time...

Joell has been very productive...

again!!

This king size plus is in the state university colors,

and is another Christmas gift off her list!

Yep, I think I'm really getting to feel some dis-like for her! 

Just kidding, I'm just jealous. :)

And, no, the picture is not blurry on the border -

that's just what that fabric does to your eyes when you're working with it!

Yes, that was fun!

 Here are a couple of close-ups of the block-specific quilting:

I quilted the border along with the waves in the fabric print -

and think it looks o.k. 

I just couldn't decide what design to put around the block specific quilting.

Tomorrow: 

More meanderings to share  

& a question about your favorite scissors

month two of five: Vintage Trick or Treat

Month TWO is here!
in the second installment of the stitch-along of

Vintage Trick or Treat by Crabapple Hill ...

a class that I'm leading at the lqs.

This month's assignment piece was

the banner that runs along the top of the quilt:

It was a quick and easy piece to stitch -

not a whole lot of stitching,

and the stitching that was there was not a solid fill stitch.

Also included in this month's assignment:

finish up your nine-patch blocks...

press toward the dark in your strip piecing,

then spiral or pinwheel the seams open on the back when

pressing the nine-patches

(spiral seam example on bottom left):

The pattern suggested cutting out 200+

1 1/2 inch squares then piece them into 9-patches.

I recommended the strip piecing method...

using only a quarter WOF strip...

not quite as scrappy looking when finished,

but also not as daunting to those newer quilters.

I shared before that I was going to change up my colors

from the pattern recommendations.

You can tell from these pics that I'm living on the darker side :)

And I like it - I like it a lot!!!

Here's the finished center:

Next months' assignments: 

• Trace and stitch the two small blocks from the right side of the pattern: Squiggle Mouth & Scaredy Cat
• finish up any remaining nine patches
• piece together the four pin wheel blocks that are needed for the corners of the quilt
• go ahead and put together the four "corner blocks", using your remaining nine-patches and the pin-wheel blocks you just made
• get your tracing done for The Gang's All Here block

Happy Stitching!!!

It's HEE-ERE!!!

sorry, that was yelling...

But I am excited!

Awhile ago I had ordered some floss and threads

and they came to my front door...

delivered on Saturday, maybe Friday...

(which, if you recall, was a very busy time around here...)

Anyway, there were some back orders thrown in, too...

CHECK IT OUT:

sorry, yelling again...

So, this afternoon,

while insulation was being pumped

into the attic of the house and

things are really discombobulated

what with moving everything

from the attic and attic accesses

and piling stuff decor out of the way of the insulation crew,

and as most of the catering stuff couldn't be put away,

as it goes into the closet/pantry that is also attic access

I decided that I needed to do something constructive...

and, I couldn't get to the quilting machine,

so

what's a gal to do?

I pushed my way past a few guys in dust masks

and cut a 51 by 14 inch piece of fabric and did some tracing...

Then I got out my handy-dandy box of 64 crayons

and I started this project!!!

[Just what I needed - to start something else :)]

I pencil-traced and then colored with my crayons...

It was very soothing -

during all of the insulation/construction noise... 

I was quietly constructive, too.

And, then I stitched...

and then I stitched.

Whew!

Wedding prep makes me tired!
Saturday morning was the pre-set time:
Any decor, table vingnettes, drink stations, food buffet chaffing dishes and ice bowls, etc, etc, etc.
So, here are some Saturday morning pictures after set-up....
the bridal party table:

this wall behind the table was brown with white outlet covers that jumped out in every picture (see pics below) so we had to FIX it - I don't know how many white sheets and yards of tulle were used, but it sure turned out great!

 The cupcake tower 
with the cutting cake & freezer cake on top
(buffet line behind gazebo):

My favorite daughter made all of the icing Friday and then iced the cupcakes Saturday a.m.!

I had baked and iced the cakes, but decorated them there:

(you can see the drink table in the background- water, lemonade and iced tea in old-fashioned spigot-jugs, and drink glasses were mason jars with elastic-banded-tags so you could tag your glass for the evening.)

While favorite daughter was making the icing, I was Cookin'!  Literally!
All of the meats that I had pre-prepped were heating, and I still had to cook the lime-cilantro rice and black bean dishes; plus, get all of the stuff- food and decor- into the trailer and truck and car and get it all over to the reception hall aka: the 4-H building at the "biggest little fair in the world".
The taco buffet and half of the dining space with the dance floor/d.j. area not yet set:

The second trip over in the afternoon was to take all of the food. 
We (Sweetie, Fav daughter and myself) 
got it all set/plugged/stirred/refrigerated/iced
and hurried back home.
(we had 19 minutes to shower
& change into our wedding finery!)
A great friend sat with the food to make sure that none of the electrical breakers popped while we went to the wedding.
The wedding was wonderful! 
The bride was beautiful! and I have a new nephew-in-law!

I made enough food to feed almost 250 people.
I had some really GREAT help and couldn't have done it without them.

FYI:  80 cups of chopped chicken & 110 cups of crumbled beef
is just about right for a hungry crowd of 250.

FYI:  folks today eat more soft tacos than hard tacos.
IE:

AND clean-up makes me really tired!

There are still things to put away... and
I occasionally still find something to wash! :)

I need to rest up -

the National Quilting Association annual quilt show

is in town this weekend!!!

a whole lot of everything

Thanks to all who have checked in on me as I haven't posted much lately.

Time has been flying...

Niece's wedding is this weekend...

I have the fifty pounds of chicken cooked, picked, cut, seasoned & frozen.

As is the bigger half of the fifty pounds of beef.

The second half of the beef is cooking away right now.

Orders have been made for other food items, pick-up Friday or Saturday a.m.

I still have to make the icing for the cupcakes,

but the powdered sugar is waiting on the counter...

There are piles EVERYWHERE:

Soft taco shells and more seasoning.

We are gathering decorations for the tables 

from around the family barns and houses -

making it feel real "down-home" with crocks, scales, bowls and jars -

(this is some of what I've gathered from around my house)

planning on filling them with florist and wild flowers and votive candles.  It should be really pretty with a country feel, exactly as the bride-to-be lives.

Now, on to non-wedding stuff:

One of my favorite aunts has passed.  (Really, all my Aunts are favorites, and there are a whole lot of them).  So calling hours are today, funeral tomorrow.  I will really miss her, but so glad she is no longer in pain.  She had crippling arthritis, but it didn't stop her from quilting!

Next, I think I have caught

the first summer cold of the season

and feel bad -

and not the "good" bad, either.

So....I am wearing a mask as I am cooking...

isn't that just an image

you can now have burned into your brain!-

the masked wedding cook!

I have a very large quilt on the machine

and meandering is going. 

It has a whole lot of stop and start places - which are done. 

As is the border. 

Now to go back in and meander around all of the snowballs.

And, the weather is still confused around here -

for some reason, it thinks it's August - 100+ degrees today,

and the heat index is dangerously high. 

I really appreciate the air conditioning today,

with all this prep work going on.

My favorite daughter

is coming in to town this weekend,

so going to the airport soon to get her. 

It's been quite a while since I have hugged her,

and I can hardly wait... 

 (and, yes, I only have one daughter, so I can call her my fav!)

I'm off to have a great weekend, summer cold and all.

Hope your week and weekend are filled with summer bliss!

another meandering & dog ears

First up,

a pic of a quilt that I quilted before Easter:

It's a great flower basket quilt -

a flower of the month, but in baskets! 

Anonymous said she wanted to use up some scraps recently,

and found this pattern in a very old quilt magazine

that she had saved and book-marked!

I love when that happens! -
using a saved and book-marked project!

Not that it happens much with me...
actually doing a project that I've saved from years ago.
I flip through magazines looking for projects that I just have to do someday...

and I don't book-mark, I DOG-EAR...

dog-ear the pages of projects that I just love.
(not only do I fold down those dog-ear corners,
I w-r-i-t-e on my patterns and books!
eegads! you read that right! 
I write on my patterns and books!!!)

Then the next week
and the next, next week,
and the next, next, next week I do the same dog-earing.
And that just puts waaaay too many things on my want-to-do-list.
I'll never live long enough!

Maybe that will be my

 "learn something new - Great-Grandma B"

project this year...

learn how to

fit in a couple of the projects

from my want-to-do,

dog-eared, written on list!

Back to meandering in threads...

Happy Stitching to you!

the chickens, the cow & a drive to New York

My brother - aka: the father of the bride,
he has been doing a great job with his
"chore-list for the wedding".

He got about half of the 100 chickens butchered last weekend,
and that allowed me to get 40 plus pounds of breast meat cooked and picked, chopped, seasoned and frozen for wedding food...

My brother - aka: father of the bride - he also called to tell me that another "chore on the list" - the cow?  Well, it was back from the butcher and in the freezer - so this weekend I'll be cooking up some beef, too, for the wedding reception. 

My brother - aka: the father of the bride -
the guy known for his country living
and if two tractors go past his house a day
that is TOO MUCH TRAFFIC? 

Well this week he was totally out of his comfort zone,
as he drove his second daughter
up to New York
to help her find an apartment for grad school...
that's probably over the top for him. 

Now, to address the
one and a half pounds of lettuce seed
that my brother - aka: father of the bride planted for the wedding food...

I think I may give him the weekend to re-coup...

missing...

I think we have just totally missed Spring. 

We here in central Ohio

have gone from COLD and r-a-i-n-y

to blazing hot and allergies! 

Allergies from all of the trees blooming...

mostly, the cottonwood tree has bloomed.

If you have never seen the cottonwood tree in bloom,

I can tell you it looks like it's snowing!

It's quarter-sized pieces of cotton-like fluff

that catch the breeze and float around

like the down of a milkweed or dandelion.

Pretty amazing,

but, it looks like snow!!!

Snow on Memorial Day!

After visiting the largest

Memorial Day Parade in central Ohio on Monday,

 

we had a gathering at our place

& played some

volleyball in the snow.

Hey, we like to play volleyball,

no matter if the temp is 98 degrees

 & humidity is almost that high.

We just played a little less and took more water breaks...

Anyway,

the "snow" of the cottonwood tree

stuck to us as we played -

it was really quite interesting.

Here's a pic of the "snow" on the pool water:

and this was after we skimmed!

Enough of that snow stuff,

I'm ready for some summer quilting...

here's one that I quilted for Joell:

I'm thinking she is the most prolific quilter that I know.

This was a mystery night pattern, so I don't know the name,

but, I think it looks like it's covered in blazing suns!,

& another cute one, for sure!

So very summer-y, don't you think?

Very fitting for this weather that has come along!

Happy Stitching!