Americas Mart

Today is Jimmy's 49th birthday. I played hooky and we went to Atlanta for a fun day of shopping. He is co-owner of a furniture store and we were on a buying trip. It was so much fun to point at something and say, "I'll take two of those, four of that one, etc...." and not have to pay for it!!! We found some great lamps and framed artwork for the store. I can't wait until it all comes in to see how it dresses the store up. We were shopping at the Americas Mart. Here is a blurb from their website:

AmericasMart® Atlanta is the industry’s #1 order-writing facility for gifts, home furnishings, home decor, gardens and apparel. It is the largest permanent wholesale marketplace of its kind in the world.

Needless to say, I was in heaven. We then shopped at some of the other markets there and I bought some fantastic things. I got an mp3 player finally! We bought some sea glass jewelry for a Mother's Day gift. I purchased a cute t-shirt and bandana for Cabalito. I will post a picture as soon as he comes home and tries it on. He is with his "other mama" (my sister) right now and we won't see him until later.

Unfortunately, no quilty shopping at all! We did have lunch at Ray's in the City. Excellent, of course!! Creme brulee for dessert - enough said. LOL.

Now I am tired and ready to relax at home. I am happy and content.

Julie

Red Hot Pokers and Other Flowers

Here are some photos of my flowers. They are so pretty right now. The amaryllis was a forced bulb that someone gave me for Christmas in 2006. The bloom was very scraggly at Christmas but I planted the bulb. It is more than making up for its poor showing during the holidays. The white snapdragons came back from last year. As you can see, I have quite a bit of weeding to do in this flower bed. I am just about ready to move to container planting only here and give up on this bed. The weeds are so obnoxious and when it gets really hot in the middle of the summer I tend to let them go.
This clematis just doesn't want to move on up the trellis. I am hoping it will twine around the confederate jasmine vine that has climbed all the way to the top and bloom along with it. The confederate jasmine gives the yard a fantastic smell this time of year. You can see some of the jasmine blooms in the background.
I just LOVE my red hot pokers! They are right by the road, as you can see on my blog title. I planted them around the mailbox and they sometimes stop traffic! There are red hot pokers all through my neighborhood because neighbors will stop by and ask for a plant. I always give them one - it only makes the neighborhood prettier! We plan to divide them this fall and plant them on a problem bank in my yard. Someone planted some nasty English ivy there before and I have been battling it since I moved here about six years ago. I hate invasive vines and we have plenty of them here in the South.
I don't plan to do any gardening or quilting today because I got very little sleep last night due to a persistant nosebleed!!! Of course I fired up the laptop to keep me company and Amanda just happened to comment on my blog at that time. It was nice to feel connected to someone when I was so miserable. Thanks, Amanda.
Julie

Tomato Race

Already - a tomato! It is about the size of a golfball. My dad used to have a "race" with his friends for the first ripe tomato. Although I am not racing with anyone, he would be proud. I also have some tiny bell peppers and a full-sized cayenne pepper. I planted a Better Boy tomato (shown), an Amana Orange, and two yellow cherries. I can't wait for that first tomato sandwich! I didn't grow a tomato plant one year and I will never do that again. There is nothing like having your own homegrown tomatoes in the summer. The herbs seem to be doing pretty well - I have a picture of the chives blooming below. I think I will make a salad tonight and put some of those pretty chive blossoms in it!

I am spending the day deep-cleaning my bedroom. I figure if I can deep-clean one room per weekend until school is out, then I won't have such an overwhelming pile of housework to do when summer vacation starts. Well, break time is over. Back to cleaning.

Julie

Bargello Side Trip

I had to make a fast wedding quilt top for my brother and his fiancee and have it ready for the LAQ to do her magic on it. I chose Bonnie Hunter's "Scrappy Bargello" from her Quiltville site. His fiancee, Jonasse, loves red and pink, so I included a lot of those colors. It looked ghastly in stage one, with all the strips sewn together but not "bargelloed." (The middle picture) But as I started cutting and sliding the sections it started looking really cute. I am pleased. Some people may not like it but I think the bride will love it.

The above picture is simply the 16 inch strips sewn together. I was starting to get really worried at this point!

The below picture is the first panel "bargelloed" but now sewn. I was starting to feel better at this point. I finally finished the top and backing last night. I started on it Friday night so it took me from Friday night to Tuesday night. Not too bad really. I had a lot of other things going on over the weekend and so I couldn't spend as much time on it as I wanted. Otherwise I would have finished it by Sunday night.

I have been sidetracked from my Orange Crush due to this quilt. I plan to get caught back up on that, steps 2 and 3, this weekend. I HATE being behind!!

Until next time,

Julie

Hello, Chickens!

Aren't these baby chicks cute? They were running around at the feed and seed store where we stopped for peat moss recently. I thought this was appropriate since Bonnie calls us Quiltville chat folks "chickens" sometimes. I am working on step 2 of Orange Crush but still have a long way to go. Actually I have only done cutting for it. I have had Spring Break this week but didn't sew as much as I wanted to. More later,
Julie

Cat and Dog Wars

Here is my fearless chihuahua, Cabalito, confronting the neighborhood cat that had the audacity to hop up on our windowsill and look in OUR HOUSE! That cat has so much nerve!!! Cabalito took matters into his own paws and barked and jumped until the bad cat ran away. Now the bad cat knows who is boss. It is so good to know that we are protected by such a brave and fierce dog.
Julie

Orange Crush Progress - Step One Complete!

Today Anne D. and I got together and had a "mini-retreat" to finish our four patches. We kept going until we were both finished so that we would be ready for step 2 when it is posted. It was fun! I encourage those of you who live close to one another to have your own mini-retreats. It really is motivating. Of course, Anne and I are in the same guild so we already know each other. Anne is more of a controlled scrappy person. Her blocks are gorgeous. Mine is totally scrappy. Some of the fabric in mine is so ugly that I had considered using it as a foundation for string quilts! Well, Bonnie did say to use up all those ugly things! And, like many others, I had gone crazy with my strips and I have enough left to make at least another quilt. I may just make a double Irish chain too. I think several others plan to do that as well. You can read about Orange Crush here http://quiltville.com/orangecrush1.shtml

Julie

Quilt Guild River Trip

Yesterday some members of my quilt guild came up to the Valley for a kayak trip down the Chattahoochee, sponsored by the Middle Chattahoochee River Stewards. My husband was our tour guide. We had a great time! It was a beautiful spring day with dogwoods blooming everywhere. There were also buckeyes, native azaleas, and wisteria blooming. The wisteria is a nasty, invasive vine but it sure is beautiful when it blooms. Smells great too.



This is a "downriver" shot - you can see some guild members with their husbands, and one member's son - Will, in front. Doesn't it look like fun? People don't get out on the river enough.



This is Kim. I think she is taking a break and letting John paddle for a while.


Here are our soon-to-be-wed lovebirds, Dan and Shirley. It looks as if he's treating her right!



Wildlife shots. Cormorants and great blue herons are plentiful. Unfortunately, we didn't get a good look at any bald eagles.




The shot on the top is a mother great blue heron (taking off) and her chick. Now, that's a big chick!


This train trestle is really beautiful. I like the way it is reflected in the water here. The train still crosses it on a regular basis. I wish it had been going over when we were going under. That would have been a great shot!
We had a great time on the river and hope to do it again soon. Until next time,
Julie

Crumb Blocks

I have been working on these fun crumb blocks lately. They are extremely addictive. I now regret the many, many small scraps I have thrown away over the years. I could have saved them for crumb blocks! Well, now I can't throw anything away. I even save the pieces that are too small for crumbs to use as stuffing for a pet bed! It is good to recycle and use every little piece of that expensive fabric.

Later today we are having a cook-out at my mom's house. We are having hamburgers and hot dogs, grilled corn, and baked beans. This is to celebrate the arrival of my brother's fiance from the Philippines. Her sister lives here in the Valley and so she will be here with her husband and son. It is raining today so we will be inside the whole time. It will be fun. :0)

Today I have done some cutting on my Orange Crush strips and some work on my quilt guild's retreat challenge. I hope to have some 4 patches made soon but so far I haven't started sewing on the strips. At least Spring Break is coming up soon - maybe I can get all 150 4 patches done then. I have so many projects that I need to be working on right now that I just don't want to do anything. I am going to force myself to work on cutting more strips now so that at least I will have done something! Wish me luck,
Julie

Detail of some crumb blocks. FUN!!

Fredonia Barbeque

This is the Fredonia barbeque! We finally made it there about 7:30 P.M. There was not much of a line at that time, as you can see. The barbeque is an annual fundraiser to keep up this building. It is the old school building for the Fredonia community. This year was the barbeque's 58th anniversary.

This is a friend of ours, Jim, serving up barbeque. Below are a couple of shots of people enjoying the feast. The pictures are also good interior shots of the building.

This is what you get. Barbeque with sauce, slaw, white bread, and Brunswick stew. There are pitchers of sweet tea, jars of barbecue sauce, loaves of white bread, and bowls of pickles set up all along the tables. It is loud, fun, and filling. You always see lots of folks you haven't seen in ages and some that you see all the time! A good time was had by all - and only $5 a plate! What a bargain. Until next time,

Julie