Super Bowl Sunday!

Keep me safe, O God, for I have come to you for refuge.

~ Psalm 16:1

Super Bowl Sunday.  Everyone is excited.  I'll still get some sewing done.  I just finished the next house block for the House of the Month group.  It's a little farm house that I really had fun making.  It "seemed" to just fall together so easily.  Not until I took my photo did I notice that something seemed a little off.  So, here is my little crooked house, hahahaha.  I kind of like it so I'm leaving it as it is.

The block of the week for Penny Haran's Pieced Applique is called Patrick's Spotlight.  I finished that doing machine-applique.  Most of the participants are doing hand-applique but I'm saving my hand sewing for my "hexies."

That's it for today.  I'm going to go make guacamole dip and other goodies to munch on while we watch Super Bowl.  Later.

Just thinking...

I waited patiently for the LORD to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. ~ Psalm 40:1

I'm just thinking that I'd like to post every day but I only have 18 followers  and they mainly check in on "One Flower Wednesdays" so I'm not getting much other traffic.  I do so appreciate my "One Flower Wednesday" friends :)  I got to thinking that maybe if I host a giveaway, I'll get more followers.  But then I continued with my thinking and wondered if my giveaway would get any attention since I only have 18 people that follow me (3 are my sisters) and would know about it.  On the other hand, YOU, my good followers would have a wonderful chance of winning.  I'm still setting up my giveaway but I am definitely thinking of following through with this plan.  Details to follow in a couple of weeks or so.  

     Speaking of giveaways, "Simply Solids" is having a giveaway to celebrate 400+ followers, a nice bundle of 12 fat quarters.  The winner will be announced February 11.

     On to other topics:  Today is finally the first time in 3 days that we've been above freezing.  The sun is finally shining today and we're back to earning our nickname of the "Sun City!"  I didn't sew at all yesterday. I mailed my 2 mug rugs for the Mug Rug Swap, mailed 2 NOOK covers I made for my sisters:

I learned on each one I made.  The first one is for my NOOK and I decided the flap on the top was too small.  The middle one was next and I was pleased with it but decided to make the last one just a little bit wider.

     That's it for today. :)

Cold, snowy day

Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.  ~ Matthew 7:7

It's a cold, snowy day here and across the nation. This is a picture of the snow in our back yard.  Yeah, yeah, I know.  It's not much snow, but remember, I'm in far west Texas where we don't get snow and aren't used to the cold, etc. etc. whine, whine.

Today is  "One Flower Wednesday" so here is my hexagon flower.  It's got a 6 cool tennis shoes.  I chose to make this flower because the shoes are so cute :)

I also managed to make 4 string heart blocks for the Block Lotto.  The instructions assure one that this is an easy block but I had a struggle making them.  Maybe because the strings are slanted and you have to figure out how to sew the sides on so you end up with a heart shape.  I made 4 and that's probably all I'll make because I didn't enjoy cutting and measuring and figuring out how to sew this block, whine whine again.

I've run into a few "Giveaways" lately.  When I first started entering giveaways, I won 2 right away so I thought it was a "piece of cake."  Since then I've only won one more but I keep trying.  Here are some links so you can try too.

"Hand Quilting" has a book with patterns for redwork quilting from the book,  "Redwork From The Workbasket."

"Pleasant Home"  has a giveaway for 11 Fat Quarter's in a Bundle of Black, Red and White!

"House of ala Mode"  is giving away fat quarters.
"Canton Village Quilt Works" is over at midnight tonight, Feb 2.  They will choose two winners for two lines of fabric from Art Gallery! So this means TWO winners!!

That's it.  Ya'll have a wonderful day! 

Moving right along...

So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.  ~ Hebrews 4:16, NLT

I spent most of the day yesterday making a cover for my latest purchase, the NOOK Color.  I've ordered a cover for it from eBay but that is taking too long getting here so I decided it would be simple to make a temporary cover to protect my purchase.  Wrong.  By the way, I am absolutely enjoying my NOOK.  Anyway, it seems like any time I think something is going to be easy, I'm wrong.  I mean, how hard could it be?  After all, I've been sewing since I was 14 years old .  The fact that I realize I've been sewing for most of my life is what always seems to get me in trouble.  Since I KNOW how to sew, I don't need to be careful or even read the instructions, right?  I know what I'm doing.  Well, that kind of thinking always makes my projects take longer.  Finally, here is my NOOK cover.

 

And yes, this simple little cover took me most of a day to make.  And then it ends up looking like a potholder more than anything else.

Today, my husband and I went to an estate sale, among other things.  I found 22 large spools of thread,  15 smaller spools, needles for my sewing machine, and 5 yards of white cotton fabric for $9.00.   When we got home, I finished up my 7th block for the Layer Cake Quilt-Along I'm in.  I enjoyed Block 7, maybe because I think I did such a good job on it, brag brag. I struggled with the first 6 blocks so much and this one just kind of came together for me. It even came out 12.5 inches square without my having to do any squaring-up.  See how nicely my points and corners meet? Bragging again. The left side looks crooked but that's my lack of photographic skills, not my sewing skills.  I'm happy :)

Is it Wednesday already?

How great is our Lord! His power is absolute!
His understanding is beyond comprehension!

~ Psalm 147:5, NLT

Is is Wednesday already?  Yes.  So that means I've had all day to do my flower for "One Flower Wednesday," it's 8:30 pm and I did get my flower sewn. I almost made it a Thursday flower.  Oops.  My umbrella is sideways. 

I also received this absolutely beautiful hexie from  "Possum Blossom Patchwork"  in Australia. Also included were the very important little cardboard cutouts for paper-piecing the hexie petals.  Thanks!

The Layer Cake instructions came out on Tuesday and I did copy them, just haven't gotten to making that block yet.  I did make my star for my Star Block of the Month.  I've never made a star before so I was pleased with the way this turned out.

Oh, just thought I'd include this photo of a quilt I finally finished this past summer.  I am posting it in a very appropriate place as well as here, another blog I belong to called "Slowpoke Quilters."  I started this quilt in 1978 when my little son was a baby.  I was a stay-at-home Mom and looking for something to do.  My Mother and Grandmother had always quilted so I thought I'd give it a try.  My Mother told me that this pattern was fairly easy and I should be able to finish it rather quickly.  Well, I decided I wanted a king-size bedspread and, little did I know, that this project would take me 32 years to complete.  Of course, I didn't work on it for several years.  My Mother and  Mother-in-law both took it home with them at different times and hand quilted several sections but it is SO big that they eventually brought it back to me.  I hand quilted for a while, gave up on that and decided to learn to quilt by machine.  Finally, some how, I finally finished it last summer and here it is.

That's it for now.  I got worn out just typing all of the explanations for not finishing this quilt for 32 years!

Slow quilting week. Again.

I didn't accomplish much this week.  I did manage to complete my flower for  my "One Flower Wednesday" group.  I wanted to  make a flower with red bandana petals so here goes.

I managed to accomplish my hexie flower and since I was traveling back home to El Paso from the Hill Country (this entailed an 8-hour drive) I was able to sew and sew and sew by hand.  I made all these hexie flower petals:

I also belong to the "Inchy Hexagon Flower Swap" so now I have lots of petals to swap with my fellow flower stitchers as well as several to continue my own hexagon flower whatever-I-end-up-making.  I made a mug fug out of a hexie flower for my "Mug Rug Swap" so maybe I did accomplish something, smile.

We're making two mug rugs so one is comleted and the other is in-progress.  I'm making the second one with a 6-inch block I made from Carol Doak's paper-piecing instructions.  That is all.  Now I'm off to work on my Penny Haran applique quilt.  Well, I'll do that tomorrow.

Somewhat busy...

I have been somewhat busy.  We're still at our little ranch in the Hill Country hunting whitetail deer and feral hogs.  So far, we have not had any luck.  This is the last week we have to try to kill a doe so we can make deer jerky.  We actually only go hunting in the late afternoons.  Anyone that knows me knows that I am NOT a morning hunter.  So during the day time I'm doing a little quilting.  I made my little hexagon flower for "One Flower Wednesday."  What I really like about these little flowers is that the materials can be carried around wherever you go and you always have something to sew.  I haven't actually taken my sewing to the deer blind but am considering doing that.  Maybe.



Then I entered the Penny Haren Pieced Applique Block of the Month group where we're  doing some sewing each week.  I like that we have something to work on each week.   I completed these foundation blocks on the first week and am busy working on this week's foundation blocks.  I'm  not sure how the final product will look but the pictures in the book are beautiful.  I might have something wonderful to show some day.

And then I made the Layer Cake Block #6.  We have a block to make every two weeks.  Ta da...Here it is.  I think it's pretty good considering my first blocks were not too good.  I'm improving.  Yes!