Last UFO and Retreat!

 I finished my last UFO for 2024 in August before going to the Missouri Star Retreat in Hamilton.  I had made a list of all of my unfinished projects at the beginning of the year.  I have done this for the last few years, but this is the first time I got everything on the list completed.  Last year I worked really hard and got all but one completed.  That made it possible to get everything done this year.  I took the quilt to Hamilton with me to photograph it there since it was a Missouri Star pattern called Solstice.

This quilt was also part of my goal to work on curved seams in 2024.  I was really happy with how it turned out.

While at the retreat, I also pieced another Missouri Star pattern with curved seams called River Path.

I pieced the center at the retreat and then added the black border when I got back home.  I was really happy with how this turned out.  I love the striped binding as well.  This hung in the quilt show and now it's headed to Sarah's house to hang there.

I also pieced the blocks for a quilt called Marbled Cheesecake while at the retreat.  This one is now waiting to be quilted.

Another person from Florida who was at the retreat shared this quilt that she had pieced.  

We got to tour the quilt museum in Hamilton.  This was the most unusual quilt.  You had to stand across the room to see Einstein.

One of the workshops at the retreat was for this quilt called Into the Woods.  I pieced the entire thing at the retreat.  I love this quilt.  The sample quilt was made in Christmas flannels, but I went with a fall vibe.

I got it quilted and finished in time for the quilt show.

I did a mystery project at the retreat.  It was this table runner.  I made one in patriotic fabrics and one in fall fabrics.  

The retreat was fun and I'm really glad I did it.  

Christi

Progress

So, while the government shut down, lots of progress was made on quilting projects over the weekend...........ok, I really don't know how these 2 things are related except that unlike the government, I kept on working!

At our Smith Chapel work day, I pieced the pineapple kit I had received at retreat the previous weekend.  It was my first adventure with freezer paper piecing - used on the top of the pineapple - and I have to say that I liked it!  Amazing, when I have hated any paper piecing method I have tried previously!  I may even try it again!  

The Interloper

I don't know if anyone remembers the short story "The Interlopers" by Saki (yes, I was an English teacher), but 2 men get trapped while hunting on a piece of land they both believe is theirs.........there has been a big dispute over this land.  While waiting in the snow to be found by members of their families, they continue the argument.  Finally, they are found - by wolves..........the moral makes you question who the true interlopers are.  Anyway, I have been thinking about this in regard to Jason 2.0.  I'm sure Cici believes he is the interloper as do I much of the time.  We are about ready for the wolves to find him.

He found his way inside the washing machine this week.

Welcome Lizzy!

I did not need another sewing machine, but when this bargain opportunity came along, I just couldn't pass it up.  Meet Lizzy!

Lizzy is a Singer 201.  The machine was in great shape and runs wonderfully.  Lizzy has a great stitch.  Notice the cute little pin cushion I found in one of the drawers.  I got the silver polish out and shined it up!  The cabinet (which I love) needed some cleaning and a little repair (thanks hubby for the repairs!).  And, I have moved further down in the attic room.  As I was doing a little work on Lizzy yesterday (sorry, I was having too much fun with Lizzy to blog!), I got to thinking that if I moved DD's books out of that book shelf, it would be a great place to store quilt books and maybe even MORE FABRIC!  Friend Gina and her hubby Dennis stopped by to give Lizzy their stamp of approval and Dennis commented on my stash.........it's not very big!

State Fair, Back to School, the Eclipse, and Quilts!

It has been a busy week.  I have been working taking reservations for people coming in to see the Eclipse next Monday.  There are about 100 plane reservations to fly in to the little Marshall airport (including 3 jets and a helicopter), and over 200 people coming to brunch in the Martin Center.............the visitor from the furthest away will be Melbourne, Australia!  I probably won't get a blog done next week, but will have many stories and photos to share later.

We had a quilt guild meeting this week and had a trunk show from Liz Granberg.  She does some beautiful work, very different from anything I've done.

Aren't these interesting!  They are much more "art" quilts than what I do.  

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July!  I know this is a day late again, but the hubs was using the computer all evening last night for farm stuff, so I was put on hold.  He spent the day weighing 1200 pigs, so there was a good deal of data to work with last night.

We spent the weekend in Bethany with my family and another family who had lived in Bethany when we were growing up.  They had 4 kids and we all went to the same church and just spent a lot of time together until they moved away.  We hadn't seen them in over 20 years, so it was fun to get together, meet the kids of the kids, and reminisce.  

We were actually gone for 3 days and 2 nights!  I wasn't sure that DD would make it since she had to leave her favorite kitten at home!

Sweet & Savory

Where has the month gone?????

I can't believe we are midway through November, Thanksgiving is on our doorstep, and Christmas will be here before we know it.  Fall is my favorite time of year because it is all about chillier temps (I'm still waiting for those), fall colors and leaves falling (still waiting for the leaves to fall), comfort foods, and making Christmas gifts!

Here is a basket I recently finished.........

This will be a Christmas gift.  The pattern has instructions for a set of 4 nested baskets. This is the largest.  I have everything ready to do the others, if I can find the time.  It has a round wood base and a rolled Gretchen rim.  It had been awhile since I did this rim treatment.  Here is what it looks like at the beginning of weaving the rim.....

Kind of messy looking..........so much fun to bring order into chaos!  Hard to believe it's the same basket.

Finally, Photos Worth Sharing!

I know it has been awhile since my last post, and while I have been really busy, I seemed to be doing lots of things that just weren't photo worthy............did you really want to see a picture of the big hair ball I cleaned out of the tub drain????  While I am really happy to get some things like that done, I didn't really feel like sharing the love/pain of those projects. 

The hubs did start combining when it was dry enough.  He even gave combine rides to some of my piano students.  One little boy carried his ear of corn in to my living room and laid it in a place of honor on my coffee table during piano lessons.  The weather hasn't been the best for combining, so the hubs has been at loose ends while waiting around.  One particular afternoon when he couldn't be in the field, I decided to entertain him by taking him shopping!  

Food, Family, Fun

I feel like I have done lots and lots of cooking in the last week.  Last Monday, I made pot pie...with rabbit!  I had 5 of DD's meat rabbits in the freezer and cooked 2 of them which gave me enough meat and broth for 3 pot pies (yeah!  freezer food!)

Here is one before it was baked for supper.  I'll include the pot pie recipe at the end (you can definitely make it with chicken or turkey and it is delicious).  The recipe was shared from one of my piano families.  I'm so excited to start giving lessons again today.  It feels like forever since I have seen some of my students.

College Visit and Quilts!

Yes, we have already made a trip back to Rolla to visit!  And deliver more stuff!  I know, I keep thinking about bringing it all back home in the spring............and I'm enjoying not having all that stuff sitting around.  DD really "needed" her keyboard, and "wanted" her golf clubs and a visit from her rabbit.  Yes, we took Ian.  I thought we were going to be bringing bff Kari also, but something came up, so it was just the rabbit.  Oh, and she needed Dad to fix some stuff too, so the tools went back.  

So, not only does Ian have enough show wins to be a registered champion rabbit, but he's been to college now too, so is smarter than the other rabbits!  We took DD out for lunch and to Walmart where she picked up a skillet and griddle.  There is a kitchen in her dorm apartment and she has been doing some cooking.  She doesn't particularly like the campus food.  She even took all the leftovers from our lunch.  I had to get DH some ice cream on the way home since he didn't get my leftovers.  She also took us to a used book store in downtown Rolla that is really great.  She does have an actual light over her vanity now instead of the previous construction light.  However, there is still a lot of work to be done.

This is the sidewalk we used to get in.  She's also experienced her first fire alarm (11:44 pm on Friday evening) in which she was forced to use the emergency exit where there is not concrete sidewalk yet.  

Quilting projects and cats!

I'm so happy to have some quilting projects that are finished, or at least to the flimsy stage to share.

This was a kit I purchased from Red Button Quilts when my guild hosted a trunk show back in April.  The quarter is in the picture to show just how large (SMALL) this wall hanging is.  I hand quilted it myself (OLYMPICS project), and just got the binding and buttons done on Saturday.  It will probably go to one of my nephews at Christmas.  I have started a tradition of making one snowman wall hanging every year and giving it as a "bonus" gift at Christmas.  I still have a couple of nephews who haven't received one.

Happy Birthday Harry Potter!

Okay, so I'm a day late in wishing Harry a Happy Birthday, but I was too busy reading this...

Bricks in the Barnyard.........and so much more!

I'm so excited that Bricks in the Barnyard is finished!

I started this at our Bonnie Hunter workshop last September and it is now totally completed!  I backed it with flannel to make it a nice throw possibly for one of the nephews for Christmas.  I love how planned it looks and I got rid of so many scraps!  

Peas and ........Rabbits!

Rabbits have been our focus recently.  I helped DD clip toenails on 5 of her rabbits Thursday evening.  Her Californian bunnies are really cute, but haven't enjoyed the heat.  It's fun to watch them snuggle up to a frozen milk jug of water to stay cool.  We are also taking care of the neighbors rabbits for a few days..........I counted tonight and there are 110+ whatever babies are in the nesting boxes.  My favorites are a pen of 8 babies with their mother and they are so excited when you feed them, they sit on top of the food and you have to keep moving them aside to put the feed in.

Hot, Hot, Hot!

Can't believe how hot it is this afternoon.  I managed to stay inside as much as possible, only ventured out to check on DD's rabbits.  I did make a trip to Walmart for groceries and decided that peach salsa sounded good, so picked up stuff for that.  DH helped do the chopping and dicing (he thinks is an Iron Chef).  

Summer Heat!

I think we scored some record temperatures yesterday!  At least for this early in the summer.  I'd be happy if yesterday was the hottest day of the summer.  DD was playing violin for our neighbor's wedding, so our day was taken up with a hair appointment, wedding, and reception.  

Here is my daughter with the bride at the rehearsal "I Do BBQ" Friday evening.

The bride made quilted table runners for each of her attendants.  I had shopped with her at Missouri Star in Hamilton to select fabrics.

The wedding Hair!

Before we left for the wedding yesterday afternoon, we dug out the kiddie pool and filled it, and Magic stepped right in!  

It was a beautiful wedding, if a little warm.  The reception was wonderful.  A beautiful antique wedding ring quilt made be the bride's grandmother was used as the backdrop for the wedding cake (made by The Cake Lady in Sedalia..........delicious cake!)

And the groom's cake............

We, being good neighbors, came home in between events, changed clothes, and went to the neighbors to feed and water their rabbits (approximately 100).  Rabbits really prefer temperatures to be around 60 degrees, so we had to take a couple of the really stressed ones in the house.  We went back later in the evening to put them back in their cages in the barn.

Cleaning the Sewing Room

Spent the morning cleaning up the sewing room and packing things for an upcoming guild retreat.  I am a member of the Stitch by Stitch Quilt Guild.  One of the fun things our guild does every year is to have a UFO project.  Everyone who wished to participate picks one of their UFO's (unfinished objects), and lists it.  Everyone is supposed to work towards the goal of finishing their UFO by the designated month to show them at the guild meeting.  Two prizes (gift certificates to quilt shops) are given to the "people's choice UFO" and one randomly drawn from those who got their project completed.  My UFO this year is my Lattice Quilt (Missouri Star Quilt Company Pattern) done with Through the Winter Woods fabrics.  I used layer cakes to make 168 blocks, and was bogged down in making the blocks.  I loved the fabrics, but somehow, making the blocks didn't keep my interest.  Part of my cleaning this morning was to finish trimming and pressing the blocks!  Here are some of them in the photo...........

I'm planning to take them to our upcoming retreat to sew together, but wanted to get them arranged and pinned.  My DD (future engineer) spent the morning and early part of the afternoon working on the layout.  She got very frustrated by the random way I had sewn the different fabrics together and explained to me (in a very stern manner) that there was a mathematical way to do this so that I would have a more accurate number of blocks with the same combinations.  Both DH and myself offered to help and were told to leave her alone to sort out this mess.  This is what she came up with, but has suggested that it be left on the floor a few days to allow her to make changes.

I have some fabrics to add borders as well.  I don't think the arrangement is too bad.  It has a nice randomness to it that I like.  I'm really just glad that it is this far along.  Can't wait to sew it together at our retreat!