On the Line....

It 's Saturday.  We've had a cool front come through -- a high of 73 degrees scheduled for today. 

It was a day at home...playing with the pups, vacuuming, dusting... all those things we would like to pretend happen magically.  If I'm going to do them I definitely want credit. 

The fun thing I did was cut out quilt blocks from the fabric above.  I usually talk to my mom and my mother-in-law on the drive into work.  I told my MIL that I planned on cutting these blocks out for a baby quilt this weekend.  

Her response:
"Man, you  folks have a lot of babies..."

Truth be told... these are the same blocks I have been planning on cutting out for a couple of months.  Things get in the way.  Summers being short -- quilting takes 'the back seat'.  I just couldn't spit out the words that I just haven't gotten around to it and this is the same project I keep dreaming out in office meetings, those church bulletins when I should be paying attention, and there's even that walmart receipt with  a doodle while I was waiting for a train one day.  

Life is busy.  Summers short.  But I think this is going to be a great Baby Quilt.

Sunday Afternoon...

The Machine quilting is complete.  I need to wash out the old marker lines.  But I'm tickled it's done.

One for the books--- a collage of fat quarters..Not my favorite quilt but a great one for keeping someone warm at night.

It reminds me not to quit and give up on pieces-- no matter how old they are.  I'm going to work on a brand new piece next...then back to finding another UFO. 

Summer is flying fast.  We're losing 2 minutes of sunshine a day...yuck...

I find myself looking for any excuse to be outside.  I live on my porch-- where I'm typing right now. Weeding the garden, watering flowers, running my pups... reading a book.  Just to listen to the woods.  Lawnmowers are completely insulting - unless they are push mowers...somehow they fit the picture.

Independence Day 2013

Summer is in full swing... Today is a great day to catch up---

May 31st - Mr. Ripley turn One year old....

While some may think this a face only a  mother could love-- he warms my heart.  When Ransom died, I thought my world ended-- enter stage left - Ripley... Good Natured.... eager to please.. the Gentle Giant. He's beautiful.

And He loves Bruno....

And truth be told-- sometimes Bruno is not easy to love....;)

Today is a holiday.. We spent half the day at the lake with friends.  Good food and company.  Don and I both have to work tomorrow so we're home cooking ribs on the grill as I type.

Summertime is filled with porch time for us.  We had a rug under our grouping...but Ripley sometimes"redecorates" and gets a little destructive. So I did not put the rug down this summer.

Don built me a coffee table in its place.  I love it.

We went on a weekend trip a couple of weeks ago to Prairie Du Chein Wisconsin.  I found a set of used wheels for my buggy out front.  So We spent the night at the northern end of the Mississippi River.  We could see it from our hotel room.  I did not even 'google' quilt shops.  I didn't want or need anything. I was grateful for the wheels-- enough.

But.... On the way home--- out of know where--- I didn't even see the shop on the way down---

This shop appeared.  It's only been opened about three months the owner said.  It had the biggest selection of vintage machines I had ever seen.  I saw this book and noticed I had almost every quilt pinned in my Pinterest account.  It's a great book and to support the shop--- I purchased it.  

The shop is so big. I said, "You must have a really impressive guild in the area." 

The Shopkeeper said, " No-the owner just has a real  love of  quilting."

The shop is in the middle of a really small area surrounded by corn fields, but twice while I was there two quilters came running in frantic, " I was just a quarter of a yard short--- can you cut me a yard of this " and laid a bolt on the counter.  This shop is a gift to those quilters... If you ever hit the area -- it's completely worth the stop.