Almost Friday again

Sometimes it is difficult to remember what I did yesterday.  Not to say that anyone else would think I have an interesting life, but my days just seem to blur together at times... was that Tuesday or Wednesday... or maybe it was Monday.  We had a good group at quilting on Monday and among other things, I did a demo on a paper pieced block.  A couple ladies were not sure just how that was done.

On Monday, everyone was busy with one project or another. Baby quilts are always fun to see how creative we can become... and how beautiful. 

Tuesday was a road trip to Giddings where five of us gathered to visit three different quilt shops.  Of course we had a wonderful lunch at a little cafe called Reba's.  I am not sure just how much fabric had a special purpose... a designated project, but lots of fabric was bought and a whole lot of it found its way to my sewing room "stash".  That would mean that I did not buy any fabric for a specific project... just fabric I encountered that I just had to bring home.

I bought a few neutrals that I am always needing for sashing or whatever, and a couple for possible backings, but the three, kind of on the right, I thought were super finds.  I don't know what I will do with them, but when I saw them and the tag said they were bamboo, I had to feel what bamboo felt like, and then I just had to have some... it is sooo soft.  This fabric would make some awesome pillowcases.  I didn't get to bring one of the tags home, but the selvedge said the fabric was from Hoffman California.  Looking on their website I could not find this fabric... I was hoping to find more so I could buy some coordinating solids to go with these.  That is OK, I will work with what I have.

The colorful striped fabric on the left is not especially pretty, but I saw it and thought it would make interesting binding. 

 All I know is that I found alot of really nice fabric and all of it was on sale. That was why we went to Giddings... all three shops had a good sale happening.


Tomatoes that you want to have in your Fall garden are supposed to be in the ground by the end of July.  I guess I was pushing it to the limit... but I made it... my tomatoes are planted, and I even got the sun shade put up over them.  Ron reminded me that it was good to get the cages around them while they are still little.  Now all I have to remember to do is the watering.


Fluffer doesn't always get alot of attention, but then that is usually because she is typically in the background staying pretty aloof. Every so often she curls up next to me and is real lovey.  She can purr as loud as any kitty I have been around.

August just ahead

Big things are happening at our house.  We ordered my new longarm that will not be arriving for another couple weeks, and I am not excited or anything.  One of the first things we had to do was make room for the new machine which will take up much more space than my previous machine.  We had to actually change from one area of the shop and clear the space around the corner where the room is much wider.  My new machine will have a 26" throat which is only 8" more than I had, but it will be close to the difference I saw when I moved from my original  domestic machine set up on a Grace frame to my Tin Lizzie that was on a different Grace frame. The new machine is an Innova.  The frame has no wood like the Grace frames.  It will be a totally new experience.

After our almost move back to Ohio it was a little late to get into gardening.  It was the time it took to unpack and re-setup our household that got in the way of any hope of a Spring garden.  We did a really good job of reorganizing and having the house start to look familiar again, but weeds and heat seemed to get out of hand.  Well the end of July is when it is time to put in your Fall tomatoes. Getting into pulling weeds was not a fun thought... but I knew I had to get started, so I gave it a good shot this past week. Still a bit to go, but you can actually walk between the beds now.  The weeds in the back were so high you couldn't see the fence on the other side.  We bought some good compost to amend the soil with and a few tomato plants... maybe by the end of the week they can be planted in one of the beds.

This little cart was a really good find at Sam's.  We have 4 big rainwater tanks that will allow us to keep up on our watering, but a pump is necessary to get the water out efficiently.  Gravity feed works very slow.  We put a quick connect on the pump which will allow me to move the hose where I need it and with this cart, not worry about kinked hoses and tripping over the pump.  Never know what you might find when you go into Sam's.

We actually sold my Tin Lizzie, so I am not able to get any quilting done right now, but I am trying to organize the quilts I have done that have been waiting to get quilted.  I will have lots ready to get going on that new machine when it arrives.  The dinosaur quilt will be among those I get to first... of course it won't be the very first as it takes a couple quilts to get used to a new setup and wouldn't want to mess up on this special quilt.  This isn't a very good picture, but it does show the progress.


Boston and Shorty are enjoying the comforts of the deck.