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

Final (?) Fabric Choice

This is it! I have decided to not go with green for my accent color and to use this blue instead. I am so excited that I finally have made a decision. That is, unless I change my mind again. ;0)

Jimmy, the kids, and I left at 11:00 to drive to Fredonia for the annual Fredonia barbeque. This is one of the great social events of the season here and we can't miss it. On the way out we thought to look at our tickets and realized it was an evening thing instead of a lunch thing! So we went to the Harbor Cafe on West Point Lake instead. I have included some pictures here that I snapped while there.


Joy is making a silly face. She is being "cute" so I am including the picture so that she can see just how cute she looks! LOL


I will try to take some pictures at the barbeque when we go back this evening. If I do I will post those here. Nothing like driving out to Fredonia twice in one day! I hope you are having a good day.
Julie

Here are my possibilities for the accent color for Orange Crush. I have decided on green, but which one? I have enough yardage of three different greens. What do you think?
I plan to cut scrap fabric for the quilt this weekend so I will be ready to take off when the first clue is posted. I can't wait to see what this will be like!!
Julie

More Spring Photos!

Here is a picture of the pink camellia from my front yard. These shrubs are great because they bloom all winter long and then into the spring. They have truly beautiful flowers and are prolific.


Today was the first day back at work after a four-day weekend. It was a good day even though we would have all rather had "just one more day" off! :0)


We had SAT 10 and ARMT training today. There is a new rule that the students cannot put their heads down and go to sleep when they finish their tests. They also are not allowed to read or work on anything else, so we are talking about sometimes an hour or longer of everyone being completely silent and staring straight ahead without falling asleep. Hmmmm......

Below is a photo of my dogwood tree. It is still not in full bloom but I can tell that it will be truly beautiful in a few days. Fortunately the frost last night didn't hurt any blooming plants last night.

The last photo is some plants I purchased from Plant World to put in my pots on the front stoop. I am excited about the lemon yellow "red hot poker" plant. I already have an established bed of regular orange pokers. They are spectacular when they bloom later in the season.

I am still not finished with the charity quilt I am working on, but don't have much left to do.
Have a happy week,
Julie