MAKING MEMORIES ONE STITCH AT A TIME: September 2008

Monday, September 29, 2008

New Look

Well.....whatcha think??

After many questions from DH about "when are you going to change that doll on the top of your blog?" type of questions, I decided to try something else.

If you don't like it say so I may be able to get it back the way it was.

Until next time

~~Fran...:c)

Friday, September 26, 2008

And now before someone starts saying that this is not messy enough, well let me tell you, it's messy enough for me. See the computer monitor under the plant stand? Well there's another one behind the chair in the corner that you can just get a peek at the top of it back there. What you can't see in the photos are the dust you can write your name in, or the cobwebs in the corners of the ceiling...my mother use to call those "Irish Lace" (*LOL*) she had an Irish grandmother who use to say that if anyone was bold enough to comment on them.

AND these are just pictures of my dining room and my kitchen counters, I wasn't about to go around every room in the house to show you my stacked boxes and totes, just "waiting" to be placed in storage. It's been a long wait.:c)) And I couldn't show you stacks of dirty dishes as DH takes care of those. I know it! I'm spoiled, and I love it!

What you must all realize is that there are just the 2 of us here now and it just shouldn't be that way, but it is and I don't much care... IF it takes time away from my quilting, or my charity work at the church, it just won't get done soon. It will get cleaned and dusted when I have the time, which will not be in the near future. Probably 2 days before Christmas, before my kids start coming home for Christmas. Well I wouldn't want them to think their mother wasn't the perfect mother would I? I have to put my best foot forward....(*LOL*)

So there, I'm liberated also!

I just love this post Lila started, because it is so much like human nature to always put our 'best foot' forward, and to hide the 'nasty' stuff under the carpet or in my case behind the bedroom door (NO ONE EVER looks behind your bedroom door!

When I was first married, I had an unexpected visit from my mother-in-law and while my husband met her at the door I was frantically shoving dirty dishes in the oven. (*LOL*)...it just wouldn't have been right to have her think that her son had married anything but the perfect little homemaker....gosh when I think back... how many times have we all been guilty of hiding our 'dirty little secrets'? And by that I mean the basket of clothes that hasn't been sorted or folded, shoving magazines under the couch cushions, or closing bedroom doors hastily so that 'if' our guest had to use the bathroom', he or she wouldn't be shocked see our unmade beds at two in the afternoon.
I once had a neighbor that told me that her husband wouldn't live in my house because it wasn't "clean enough" for him! The man worked for the city and half the times in the sewers, and took a shower once a week! EUGH! I had a small 24x24 foot house with 5 growing children. It wasn't dirty, but it sure has heck was messy! Needless to say this neighbor and I parted ways.

On that note I send a challenge to the rest of you to "GET LIBERATED!" Tell the world your human and you can't do it all, nor do you really want to do it all. Life is too short, and there are so many other more important things to do than wash up the breakfast dishes as soon as possible so the kitchen will 'shine'

Till next time...

~~Fran...:c)

Monday, September 22, 2008

Mama"s Got a New Baby!!

Isn't he beautiful?? He arrived Friday evening and has been fussed over and pampered ever since. I've never had anything like it before.

It's like I've been driving old jalopies all my life and now I have a brand new Cadillac. It has so many features.....

...look at them all...

Picture is a bit blurry but believe me...:c)

It can do a blanket stitch, all kinds of quilting stitches, the old zig-zag- with pizazz, all kinds of embroidery and a whole lot more.

I'm so excited!! Can you tell??

It 's a Brothers sewing machine and many of you may not have heard of this name as it is totally Canadian. This is what I wanted. That way I don't have to ship out for parts to Idaho, or Colorado or Timbuktu. Shipping and duty really take a bite out of our dollar.

You can read all about it by going to Google and typing in Brothers Sewing Machine, a whole lot of sites will open I went to the 2 nd one down and the model # is CS5000H . Now I know that this is not the top of the line but for me the line has been brought up like 100% from what I had.

You may wonder why after I bragged about my old work horses so much that I have gone and bought a new one. Well let me tell you......

Last Thursday was the day a bunch of us girls get together at the South Cove community center and spend the day sewing and chatting. We bring our lunches and generally have a great day. Last Thursday was not so great for me! To start off with I didn't have my own vehicle (DH needed it for golf), when we got there we all picked our tables and started on our projects.

I got about 30- to 45 minutes in when my machine went Pfffft!!!! KAPLOOEE!!! GRRRRRR!!!!!

Dumb, dumb, dumb I had no hand work with me. I spent the whole day admiring what everybody else was doing and twiddling my thumbs. Not Fun, I've had fun. That wasn't it.

Hence the new 'baby' on Friday. I spent the day Saturday making 2 table runners.

I worked non-stop yesterday afternoon and finished quilting 3 care quilts for our church. Here they are ....

This was a printed piece that I added 2 borders and piano keys to. I just love this quilt it is so colorful and cozy. It's sure to brighten someones day and get them smilling. We quilt these Care Quilts right on fleece. Can you see the nice wavy stitch?

This one was pieced this summer and I added the backing and quilted it yesterday. Isn't this a nice pattern for fleece?

This was a printed panel also, but I just thought it was so cute I couldn't resist it. A nice red backing and border is just what it needed. Some lucky young mother will be happy to get this.

I hope..... Anyway I know the baby will be warm. :c)

Anyway I smoked it again today and I'm almost finished my 2 table runners and my I SPY Quilt. The table runners just have the binding to sew on.

Now, I'm going to go take a hot bath and sit down, put up my feet and sip a glass of wine and try to read a good book. Wonder if I'll make it past 10 o'clock? :c)....

Until next time...

~~Fran...:c)

PS: These are flowers from our garden that DH brought in for me when I was feeling so upset Thursday....

Goodnight once more....

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Filling the freezer

Aren't these just the most beautiful cabbages you have ever seen? I thought so and picked a big one and took it home with me.

I guess it must be the time of the year but I get this urge to start preserving and filling the freezer.
After Church today I came home and made cabbage rolls.

I took a few pictures as I was making them.

Here you see the cabbage half gone. I boil it in this big pot until the leaves are soft and pliable, (yet not cooked right through). When that happens they get cut off from the stem and I end up with this..

I personally feel that it it easier to roll them if I cut a bit off the back of the center rib.

Everyone seems to have a different recipe. Mine includes lean ground beef, raw par-boiled rice, salt & pepper, about 1 tbsp of dried oregano and the same of marjoram, 2 heals of bread passed through the food processor, and the old standby, a stalk of celery and 1 large onion , minced. (The amounts depend on how many I'm making)
I mush it all together and place a bit of this meat mixture on a cabbage leaf and roll it up.

Here you see them lining up on the cookie sheet and when I'm done this is what goes into the
freezer.

When they are frozen solid I will separate them and place them in freezer bags. This way I need only take out what we can consume in one meal. When ready, I usually thaw them out for a bit then I add a can of tomatoes. I cover them and put them in the oven at 350 Fahrenheit for an hour or so, the rice should be cooked through when done. ( The time of course depends on how many I'm cooking). My family love these and it wouldn't be fall without making these up.

I had planned on sewing this afternoon but this took precedence. It has to be a primitive need in me to start filling the cupboards and freezer come September, making sure that the winter coats are all dry cleaned or washed, and that the winter boots are in good shape and ready for winter. This happens annually, like getting the furnace serviced before the hard frosts set in.

When all this is done I can sit back and sew all winter, as snug as a bug in a rug, and quite happy. A good warm feeling.

Wishing you all the same warm feeling.

Until next time....

~~Fran...:c)

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Getting Ready for Fall

Well I'm kind of catching my breath. As you see I went on a major shopping spree when I went to Detroit (actually Port Huron). I've only posted a couple of pictures, but I bought too much to put it all on one post. Jo Ann's had some terrific buys on fall fabrics and I was really getting low on my solid cottons so I stocked up. Fat quarters for .99 cents, wouldn't you? I couldn't resist the black with the bright red cherries. I only bought a 1/2 yd. but I only want it for accents. I'm thinking potholders, maybe an oven mitt, or a pocket on a red apron? I just fell in love with it.

I want to make a table runner for my daughter in law for Thanksgiving., hence the gold & red fabric very 'turkey' looking. LOL :c)) In Canada we celebrate in early October and we are going to spend the holiday with our son and his family.

As you can see I've haven't posted for a bit but I have been VERY busy. Our quilt guild has started up again as has our regular quilting bees. Between those and the two quilts I'm trying to finish by the end of the month, well... not so much free time to myself. I usually take a few minutes after dinner to catch up on my favorite blogs, but even then I haven't posted responses very often. That's bad, bad, bad of me, because I do know how much these responses mean when you have a blog. "Hey! Someone reads my blog and cares enough to let me know." I will try to do better.

Last time I showed you the purse that my granddaughter made. Now this is the purse Nana made for herself. This is more my speed. LOL :c)

A few months ago I happened to be in my favorite Thrift Shop when the girl said to me "Fran, you quilt, would you be interested in this?"
"This" turned out to be a large box of upholstery samples. There must be 500 in there if not more. I asked "how much?" she said $5.00 and I had the money out of my purse so fast it practically flew out. This purse was made from some of these samples. It looks like I'm going to have a whole lot of bags to make for myself and for gifts to friends and family for a few years. :c) how good is that for $5 bucks?
Don't ya just love Thrift Shops? They're like Aladdin's cave, always full of unknown treasures if you only take the time to look for them.

Until next time....

~~ Fran... :c)

Saturday, September 6, 2008

We Have a New Quilter in the Family

Yes I'm very proud to announce that we do indeed have a new quilter in the family.

This is my 18 yr old granddaughter Chelsea, and she lives in the USA but spent the summer in Canada getting re-acquainted with her family.

While she was with us I was making the 'sleepover' quilt and Chelsea fell in love with the pattern. "Do you think I could do that Nana?" I told her you CAN do anything! "Could I make it into a purse?"

"A purse! Well I don't see why not." We went shopping that afternoon and she chose her fabrics, and colors. We had so much fun. "What! That fabric?" giggle, giggle..."Yes Nana. It's going to be so cool!" Well it turned out way cooler than I thought.

That same afternoon I set her up on my spare machine and she started stitching her 'strings' together. The 'maverick star' came next and the rest is history. Here is a picture of her purse. Yes it's very big and very colorful, but you have to be 18 yrs old to fully appreciate this purse.

This is the front and now for the back

It was so much fun doing this with her and seeing her enthusiasm as she went along. She was thrilled to have done all the work by herself.

We drove her to Detroit last weekend so she could get her flight back to her home state. I was sorry to see her go, but felt good about having shared this experience with her. Now she is all gung-ho to start a lap quilt for her dad who is totally into Nascar. She is also doing her own design in black/red and white checker flags. I can't wait to see it.

So yes folks I can honestly say that the art of quilting has been handed down in our family.

I'm so proud of her. Can you tell?

Until next time...

~~... Fran :c)

MAKING MEMORIES ONE STITCH AT A TIME