Finish Five Challenge Complete!

I did it! I finished five of the UFO's that I posted earlier before the end of July! I cannot believe it - I never thought I would get it done. Thank you so much, Peg, for this challenge. It was just the motivation I needed to get these done.

The back of this fall quilt is an old vest cloth pattern that I bought many years ago. I was never going to make the ugly vest, so I thought I might as well use it for a backing.

This second fall quilt also uses a cloth pattern that I will never use as a backing. It is a scarecrow wallhanging pattern that I bought at Wal-Mart (yuck.) I had two of these and so I used the other one for the backing of the Christmas quilt below.Here is the Christmas quilt. I am not showing the back since it is the same old scarecrow.
Here are two of the placemats. I still have to tack the binding down on the backs but they will be done by July 31st.

I am so happy to have these done! I hope to at least pin baste the other quilts before the end of July. I know that once school starts I won't have time or energy to do it.

Julie

Road Trip to Mary Jo's!!!!

No U Turn! Well, those darned signs didn't apply to us. We made so many U-turns on our road trip that we began joking about it. We were the U-turn queens! After many U-turns while looking for Long Creek Mills we found this quilt shop, Sew Much Fun. It was fantastic!! It had so many unique things and was very inspiring (right, Shirley?) After a little side trip to this quilt store we found Long Creek Mills. This is a HUGE thread shop. Here we are posed inside the store. From left to right are: Joyce, Pam, Anne, Linda, Shirley, Carol, and me. You can see how happy we are with our thread purchases!!














I took this picture down only one of the thread aisles, just to give you an idea of how much thread there was.











Here is a shot of the inside of Mary Jo's. This picture really does not do it justice. There are so many fabrics and the prices are fantastic. For example, Kaffe Fassett fabric was $6.79 a yard. Normally I pay $9.99 a yard or more for his fabric. Non-designer fabrics were around $5.59 a yard. These are usually $8.00 a yard in quilt stores. I took a picture of the trunk after we loaded it down with our purchases.
When we were waiting to leave Mary Jo's a very nice man who was waiting for his wife told us about a great place to eat. It was Fletcher's BBQ and he said that they had great food. We know that it's a good idea to listen to the locals when looking for a good place to eat.After a couple of U-Turns we found it. It didn't look like much but it was completely wrapped up with customers at 2:30 in the afternoon. We figured that was a good sign. Boy, were we right! The portion sizes were huge! Almost all of us got the small pork plate. There was enough food for two meals. And it came with hush puppies, slaw, baked beans, and french fries. Of course I had sweet tea and banana pudding for desert. I just had to take a picture of the wild hog on the wall. So evil looking!!
On the way home some members of our group insisted on stopping at the Russell Stover outlet store for some scratch and dent candy. (Not really, they call them "Bloopers".) Someone was really on a chocolate jones!! It was a nice stop and we needed the break anyway.
The last pictures are of my loot! Can you believe how beautiful this fabric is? I could have bought more but I had to stop somewhere. We are hoping to make this an annual trip since we had so much fun. We shall see!!
Julie

UPDATE:

I have had some questions about some of the terms I used in this post, so I am copying the reply I sent to those who asked:

Well, here is what it says on www.allrecipes.com about the hush puppy. They can explain it better than I. They are normally served with fish so it was a little unusual to have them with barbeque.

Hushpuppy; hush puppy
This Southern specialty is a small cornmeal DUMPLING, flavored with chopped scallions, deep-fried and served hot. Hushpuppies are a traditional accompaniment for fried catfish. Their name is said to have come from the fact that, to keep hungry dogs from begging for food while the rest of the dinner was being prepared, cooks used to toss scraps of the fried batter to the pets with the admonition, "Hush, puppy!"

I was trying to be funny when I said "scratch and dent" candy. Here we have "Outlet" stores which sell items that are not up to the highest standards because they have some defect. For example, an appliance company has one that they call a "Catalogue Return store" in which they have appliances that were returned because they had something wrong with them. So you might buy a dishwasher that normally cost $500 for $300 because it has a scratch across the front of it. I tell people that I bought my downstairs dishwasher at the "scratch and dent store" - it was much cheaper due to that little scratch.

This candy store had "Blooper" candy that was not perfect enough to sell in regular stores and I called it "scratch and dent" candy. Scratch and dent is a slang term for a slightly damaged outlet store item.

Now a jones means that you are craving something that you are addicted to. For example - "I am jonesing for a cigarette" means you are craving one of those.

Funny how our languages have so many different terms! Thanks for visiting my blog.

I am going to Mary Jo's in the morning!

Tomorrow morning I am leaving with some friends from my quilt guild for a road trip to Mary Jo's! I am almost hyperventilating!!! I plan to take my camera so I hope to post when I get back with my loot and maybe some shots of the store. Ta ta for now!

Julie

Update. I signed up for a drawing that Helen is having for this little Santa kit. Too cute. Don't click on the link. I don't want you to win b/c it decreases my chances. (Teasing of course!)

NASTY BUG

Update: Nasty Bug Photo removed due to gag factor!!

Aaaaah!! Last night one of those giant cockroaches (palmetto bugs) from outside had gotten in. It was on my kitchen floor. I yelled at my DH to come and kill it for me (I am terrified of them b/c they fly!!) Well, when he got after it (on hands and knees) it ran straight for me! I was barefoot with shorts on. My phobia took over and I jumped over DH to get away from it b/c I just knew it was wanting to climb - or fly - straight up my leg. I could tell what it was thinking! A bug will always head for the person who is most terrified of it. YUCK! Well, now I have a terrible crick in my neck and a pain going all the way down to my hip from my gymnastic endeavors in trying to escape the cockroach. Sigh... My husband thinks I am crazy to be so afraid of a bug. I found a picture of one on the 'net - here is one on a dried up rose. Super yuck.

Designers - Make it Work!!

I absolutely LOVE Project Runway!! Season 5 just started last night. I hope it will be as FIERCE as Season 4!! I have uploaded the photos of some of my favorites so far. They are: Kelli, Korto, Terri, and Wesley - in order from top to bottom. For the first challenge they had to make an item of clothing from items purchased in a grocery store. It is amazing to see what these people can create and how resourceful they can be. Korto is just too cool. Well, enough gushing about my favorite T.V. show. I hope you will turn to Bravo channel and join in watching it with me. (And no, I don't work for Bravo - LOL.)

Can You Believe It Finally Happened?

I won an award!

After seeing so many other bloggers winning awards lately I finally won one too! Of course, I had to make the award up and award it to myself but that does not decrease the honor! Woo Hoo! I LOVE this award and shall try to live up to the expectations that come with winning such a prestigious award. :-D

Julie

I'm a Stitcher's Angel!

I have decided to participate in the Stitcher's Angel project found on the Hugs From Helen blog. I am really excited and can't wait to find out who my "secret angel" will be!

Hop on over and read about it. It sounds like fun!!

Finish Five Challenge Update

Well, here is an update on my progress. I finished the quilting on this pretty blue and white quilt. Now to trim it up and add binding and a label. Those parts should go pretty quickly but I must say I will be hard pressed to finish FIVE by the end of July. Well, to finish any at all will be a win for me! Peg - I really am trying! LOL. Here is a different view of the quilting. I did a swirly meander but you can't see the quilting very well here.

Here is one reason why I have not gotten any further with my challenge. I just HAD to make this bag using Tula Pink's Flutterby charm pack from Moda. I used a Bunny Hill pattern for a jellyroll bag but modified it for the charms. I love it but have to make another because Joy claimed it the minute she saw it. I still haven't seen any pictures that she took in Hawaii or I would put some on my blog here. I will do that soon. She really had a fantastic time!

Susan from Quilty Indulgences just published a great pattern for a baby/toddler bib. You should check it out if you have little ones in your life. Such a great idea! I sure wish I had had something like that when mine were small.

John Owen's Trip and Good Plumbing News!

Here is a photo of John Owen at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. He really had a great time and took so many pictures! He stayed with his Aunt Carol in Naples and she really kept him entertained. They went to Universal Studios, Kennedy Space Center, Islands of Adventure, a water park, and the beach. He was so excited and had so much fun that he never became homesick and, in fact, was not quite ready to come home at the end of the week! Thanks, Carol, for giving John Owen a week to remember.

And great plumbing news! My plumbing was fixed on July 4th!! It is amazing how wonderful it is to have free flowing water. That nasty smell coming up through the pipes is now gone! And, like Angela pointed out, I had a chance to organize that under the sink area in the kitchen. It is so much nicer now. The laundry room is also more organized. And, in more good news, my daughter is coming home from her two week trip to Hawaii tomorrow night. I can't wait to see that girl!

Julie

Happy 4th of July!

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence? Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army, another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War. They signed, and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. What kind of men were they? Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners, men of means, well-educated. But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured. Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags. Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward. Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton. At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt. Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months. John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart. Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates. Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more. Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they pledged: "For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor." They gave you and me a free and independent America. The history books never told us a lot of what happened in the Revolutionary War. Our forefathers didn't just fight the British. They were British subjects at that time, and they fought their own government! Some of us take these liberties so much for granted...and we shouldn't. So, let's take a few moments while enjoying our 4th of July holiday and silently appreciate these patriots and thank the God who moved them. It's not much to ask for the price they paid.
I copied this from www.butlerwebs.com - have to give them credit.
We take our freedom for granted nowadays. The sacrifice of our Founding Fathers is really ssomething to think about! And don't forget our guys in the military. They are making a sacrifice now - and so are their families.
Happy 4th!
Julie

Whine Time

Prepare for some horrendous sites! Plumbing Disaster!! Woe is me - woe, woe, woe!!! Let me go back to the beginning. The day before my kids left for their vacations, Sunday ,June 22nd, my washing machine quit working. Bummer. So we got a new one! It immediately started squirting water everywhere when it tried to drain. Apparently there was a drainage issue now. So out comes the "plumbing snake." It never did really help. Next my husband tried something else and accidentally punched through the downstairs drainage stuff. Now the plumbing for the whole kitchen and laundry room was completely out of commission. I couldn't turn the water on or pour anything down the drain. It would pour out from the downstairs (basement) ceiling and run down the wall and onto the floor.) This morning a REAL plumber - a friend of my husbands - came over and they re-plumbed the drainage stuff. "Now you can wash dishes, clothes, run water - whatever - and it should drain out immediately!" my husband said as he left for work. I couldn't wait!! I started the dishwasher. I ran water into both sinks and poured bleach in to sterilize them from all the yuck that had been coming up into them. I started the clothes washing machine. Oops, what was that noise in the laundry room? I didn't want to, but I peeked into the laundry room. Water was spurting everywhere!! I turned things off. I threw towels on the floor. I started mopping. I started crying.
I called my husband. "Hmmm, I really thought it would work just fine now. I will have to do some more checking on it." He has come to the conclusion that there is now a major blockage of our graywater drainage system on the outside of the house. So he called a septic tank guy who will come and clean out that pipe. Naturally it is the day before the Independance Day holiday so I don't expect him for a few days at least. The whole house is a disaster! I have been living with this, very patiently, for over a week now. I am just about at the limit of my tolerance. I am ready to blow!! He said he might come tomorrow. Oh please!! I sure hope so.

Here is a shot of SOME of the stuff I had to pull out from under the sink and out of the laundry room.


This shot is the washing machine pulled out from the wall, with the towels soaking up some of that nasty water.


The following shots are of the sink with the new load of nasty stuff that came up into them after I bleached them out today and the basement ceiling where some drywall had to be removed to access plumbing. You can see the yucky stuff all over the wall. And I have already been informed that when it is fixed I am the one that has to clean it all up, since "dear husband" has done the plumbing part. Sigh. I am so down about this. Yuck, yuck, yuck. I can't cook! I can't clean! I need to go to the laundromat because we are running out of clean clothes! Ahhhh!
Well, sorry for this "Poor old me" whinefest. I just had to blog about it! Maybe this is therapy? LOL.
Julie

I'm Taking the Challenge!!

I have decided to take the "Finish Five by the End of July" challenge! I started poking around in my sewing room and found plenty of flimsies that need to be quilted. There are more than five here but these are the ones I am choosing from. Does the flimsy below look familiar? It is the Orange Crush top! I am going to quilt it in sections so it is not completely together and doesn't have any borders - I will add those after the center is quilted. I am anxious to try this method.

The Blue and White is already pin-basted, and I had completely forgotten about it!! It is from a $5 quilt top block of the month by Sew Much Fun quilt shop in Columbus, Georgia. It is prettier than I remember and might make a nice Christmas gift for a lucky someone. I can't decide who to give it to - I will have to think about that one.

The blue and brown "Take Five" quilt is one that I made at our guild's retreat in 2007! I meant to quilt it last summer but you know how that goes.

Maybe this year - but it is larger than I remembered!

The other ones are panels that I fell in love with and planned to use as table runners or door hangings.

Hmmm, I think I will make a set of placemats out of this Christmas one. All I need to do is add a border around the individual rectangles and quilt. They will be cute! Can you tell that I am a sucker for a panel? LOL I know they are "cheating" but - hey - they are super fun to machine quilt!

I will try to keep you up to date on my challenge progress. Wish me luck!

Julie