String X

Have I mentioned that string quilting is addicting??  When I am working on all of those projects on my "To Do" list the strings are quietly tempting me to spend just a few minutes with them....really, just a couple of blocks, you don't have to make many, just a few all along will result in something good.

So, 56 blocks later, I have the beginnings of this String X Quilt that I found on Bonnie Hunter's site (you can follow the link, just in case you might be tempted).  Honestly, all in one afternoon and evening, like a woman possessed.  It is a sickness, I am sure.

I plan to get this one into flimsy status before donating it.  Next up is trimming the points, then the setting.  I plan to use a conglomeration of whites and white on whites from my stash for the setting blocks.  Not sure when I will progress to the next stage, but the blocks are still sitting on the sewing table staring at me.  And the string bin.......not a bit emptier, I swear.

Today Jackson tried out his new Slip 'n Slide that Pop and Mimi gifted him with for his birthday.  I do believe he likes it.

GRATITUDES

Making something from nearly nothing.

Free quilt patterns and inspiration.
The reckless abandon of little children.

Take care,

Jennie

Sally Post.....Back on Track

Last month I fell behind on Sally and didn't get my three blocks done.  On Sunday I realized that it is almost the end of May, and I still haven't done the blocks for this month or last.  Not good.  So, I got my show in the road and I am now caught up.......until the end of the week when it will be June.

 Blocks 10 - 12

Blocks 13-15

Now, early on in the game, someone from my Yahoo group asked me if I planned to make the stripes go in the same direction on all of the blocks.  Well, of course I did......and I would pay particular attention to getting that right.  So, take a peek at the top photo.  How did that happen???  I thought I was so careful.  And then I looked back and found some other blocks with the same orientation.  But, alas, have no fear.  Sally, unknowingly, has helped me out here.  If I set the blocks in the same style that she did, I have done it exactly right ( her blocks are set on point with two rows facing the right and two rows facing the left instead of top to bottom).  All of the blocks will have the stripes facing in the same direction!!! Amazing.  I won't be able to set the blocks numerically just like she did, but it certainly takes care of itself.  Thank you, Sally!!

If you have a few seconds, please go to my daughter's blog and read the incredible post about Sara Ashley's award and her initial experience at the Bedford School.  Brings tears to my eyes.

GRATITUDES

The unexpected sighting of a freshly tilled field with good ole red Georgia earth.

Comfy old clothes.

Peanut butter sandwiches.

Take care,

Jennie

Horne Birthdays

On Saturday, Ashley and Matt hosted a family potluck dinner as the final celebration of Jackson's and Macy's birthdays.  It was a great day.  Good food, family time and general fun.

The honorees waiting to open gifts.

Oreo Cookie Ice cream cake for Macy

 Good old sugary birthday cake for Jackson with a fireman theme.

And, finally, today (his real birthday) Jackson chose his favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner.

GRATITUDES:

Sticky sweet birthday cakes and ice cream....they have always been my favorite.

Family time and sharing memories.

Potluck dinners.

Take care,

Jennie

Dyeing

A couple of weeks ago a few of us hookers, weavers and spinners spent a fun day dyeing different fibers.  We were so busy that I didn't get any photos of that day, but here are the things that I dyed:

This is a wool yarn that was in a plastic garbage bag in the haul of stuff that came with my loom.  The original color is the cream color on the bottom.  The top yarn was dyed with Cushing dye in a Presto Pot using Citric Acid as a mordant.  I love the rich chestnut color that resulted.

This is also a wool yarn that came from that same stash.  I figured I had nothing to lose, so just had fun with this one.  I added several colors of Cushing Dye and steamed it in the oven in a casserole pan at 300 degrees for an hour, mordanting with Citric Acid.  Thinking I might crochet some slippers with this worsted weight yarn.

This pile of floss was really bright colors.  I dumped them in a dye bath with Rit dye and came out with dulled colors that I'll be more likely to use.  Think they will work great for needle punch.

Later, after having watched the other gals dye some roving, I got up the nerve to try some on my own.

I used Cushing dye with Citric Acid as a mordant and gently steamed the roving in a casserole dish in the oven at 300 degrees for an hour.  I was very careful not to agitate or overhandle the roving, and it didn't felt.  I wish the color had been more saturated with less white, but it was a good learning experience......and I think I will have fun spinning it.  The top photo is how it looked after drying.  The bottom one is after I fluffed it a bit and braided it.  Pretty cool.  

GRATITUDES

You can teach an old dog (woman) new tricks.

Color.

Fiber.

Take care,

Jennie

Patiently Waiting

This wool applique runner was appropriately named, as it has been patiently waiting for me to finish it since taking a class in the Fall with Lisa Bonjean of Primitive Gatherings.  Nice to be able to strike another UFO off for this month.

We are taking it easy over this holiday weekend.  Hope everyone out there has a great weekend and stays safe.

GRATITUDES

All of those men and women who have served this country to protect us.

My husband, a veteran of the US Army, and his 22 years of service.

One nation UNDER GOD.

Take care,

Jennie

My Family Redwork

The My Family Redwork BOM meets again next week.  Thanks to a little nudge from my friend and co-BOMer, Micki, I am finished with our assignment and ready for class.  Generally I wait until the night before, then am working in a frantic tizzy to try to finish.  It feels good to be prepared.  This project gets a check mark on my May List.

Most of us changed the blocks up some, making them applicable to our own families.  That was part of the fun.

The large family block has my girls standing with me on the left.  I am holding hands with Blake, who is standing with his kids on the right.  The schnauzers (couldn't fit both of them in) and Poppy are represented on the bottom of the block.

The heart blocks are stitched just as in the pattern.

On this set of blocks, I changed the word "Dog" to "Dogs" in the upper right hand block.  I totally did away with the "My Cats" block in the pattern and created "My Grands" on the lower right hand block.  Obviously, I couldn't get all seven grands on the block, so I just stitched a boy and a girl to represent the mix.

In the upper left hand block, I stitched chickens instead of the "Bee" Block to represent my little flock.
On the upper right hand block another bird was added inside the cage and changed from "Bird" to "Birds" for Frankie and Fred, our finches.  In the bottom left "Car" block the bird on top was changed to a chicken.  The "My Horse" block on the lower right was originally "My Pony" and had a bird on its back......since I had a horse as a teenager, it became a horse and the bird became a chicken.

This month we will get the instructions to finish the wallhanging.  This has been an enjoyable project; not too precise, just fun.  And it has really gotten me in the mood to do more embroidery.

GRATITUDES

A needle and thread in my hand.

Dappled sunlight through brilliant green leaves.

The hum of the dryer tumbling sweet smelling, clean clothes.

Take care,

Jennie

Milestones

More grandchildren milestones happening here.

Christopher finished Pre-K with graduation on Tuesday night.  He has grown up so much this year.  His mom made this cute photo collage of his year.

Robert went to his eighth grade dance looking really sharp, and with a cute date, too.  He also received an award for A-B Honor Roll at Evans Middle School and was voted Most Academic by his peers.

Macy was honored with lots of awards at Elm Street's First Grade Awards Day.....awards for Art, Computers, Citizenship, Being Caring, Spelling, and the very special Eagle Award!!!  Way to go, Macy.

Jackson was thrilled to celebrate his fourth birthday at Burger King with fifteen of his little friends.

Dillon won awards for Track, A-Team Soccer and A-Team Basketball at Bedford.

Sara Ashley won awards for Gold Honor Roll, intramural Basketball, & Citizenship. But best of all she won the Lower School award for the girl showing the most outstanding character, leadership and hard work!!! So proud of her.

Last weekend she was tubing at Lake Martin .....brrrrrrrr!!

And last of all, I learned to operate the Zero Turn lawn mower....woohoo!!!!  You can teach an old dog new tricks :-)))

GRATITUDES

A country where children have the opportunity to succeed and learn.

Hugs and smiles.

The smell of fresh cut grass.

Take care,

What a Mess!

See this mess?

Fortunately the yarn was not yet attached to the shawl I am knitting.

Now, do you see this innocent face?  How could a fourteen year old little senior schnauzer lady still have the cunning and energy for this type of endeavor????  Oh, Miss Roxie, you will never change, will you?  But I will always love you.

GRATITUDES

Funny old dogs.

Rescued yarn.

Take care,

Jennie

Hooking Fever

Sometimes it seems that I get focused on one type of project and don't do a thing on anything else.  It has been that way with rughooking this month......and it has netted me two finishes.  Both of them were longtime UFOs, so that is great.

Semper Fi is blocked, bound and labelled.  Ordered some neat wooden checkers to use to play on it from Amazon.

Next is Albany Sampler....from 2007.....blocked, whipped and bound, and labelled.  Ready to be hung after I take it to Caraway in June for the rug show.

And, finally, I pulled this rug out of the UFO bin and started to work on it.  It was started probably four years ago at Caraway with Jeanne Benjamin.  The pattern is Lion and Lamb by the late Patsy Becker.  I absolutely adore it, but kind of got hung up on the leaves and stuffed it into the back of the closet.  I worked on it a bit the other day and I think I am heading in the right direction.  Would love to get it finished in time for Caraway this year.

Lots still going on around here.  Gardening, yard work, birthdays and end of the school year stuff for the grands.  And I have been feeling a bit lazy lately.  Don't know what is up with that, but hope it doesn't continue!  I need to get motivated again.

GRATITUDES

A long afternoon nap on the back porch swing.

Reading a really good book.

Mother's Day with my daughters and families.

Take care,

Jennie

More Birthdays

Macy has celebrated her birthday several times this month.  On the actual date of her birthday her parents took her to Atlanta to eat out, shop and spend the night in a hotel (one of her favorite things).  She took her new American Girl Doll, Sage, along with her to enjoy it all.  Note that cute smile with both upper teeth missing!

Ashley and Macy at Magiano's

Macy and Sage

And Robert is now fourteen.  I can hardly believe it.  He is taller than I am.  We celebrated his birthday last night with a family gathering at his favorite Japanese Steakhouse, Tokyo.  And, of course, he had one of my strawberry cakes.......it wouldn't be his birthday without one.

Robert and Christi

GRATITUDES:

Birthday traditions.

Family celebrations and all of the chaos involved.

A good night of sleep.

Take care,

Jennie

Stewing

Last week Blake decided to make Brunswick Stew in his father's black wash pots.  For anyone who has never done this let me assure you that it is quite a ritual.  And it takes a couple of days and a lot of patience.  I think that it is a very Southern thing and I know that in Georgia, every area has their own rendition of how stew should be made.  Ours was Turin, Georgia style......and it is very good in my humble opinion!

John, Blake and Becky........stirring and stirring and stirring.

Yum!!

And Poppy, supervising of course.

GRATITUDES:

Keeping old traditions alive.

Teamwork.

Take care,

Jennie

May Intentions

I am afraid that my May To Do list looks dismally like my April list.  Not to say that I didn't finish anything...........just not much.  And I did work on some things and get them close to finishes.  But my BOM list.......sad.  So, I have much catching up to do this month and very good intentions.  Of course, there is the yard and the garden......it is Spring.  We shall see.

All of the blocks are done for the K. Schmitz blackwork calendar wallhanging and I really hope to get it finished this month.  I will start binding the Checkerboard hooked rug tomorrow night at our monthly hooking night.  Albany Sampler got the last loops pulled up today, so I should get it finished this month also.  I haven't touched the woven scarf and I really don't lack much on it......maybe I will weave it off this month.  Patiently Waiting has all of the wool appliqué finished and is awaiting it's backing; that should prove easy enough.  The knit shawl is something I started last month and I am making progress on it....it is easy to pick up and work on while I am watching TV.

In the BOM category I am only up to date on My Family Redwork...... I have to do some piecing on them before this month's meeting.  I haven't touched any of the other BOMs and am not quite sure when I will I regret to say.  My intentions were much better than this.

I did have a couple more finishes for April.  The first one is this cute prim pincushion from Lori Brechlin.  The back is wool embroidery, the front cross stitch.  I stuffed it with lavender and crushed walnut shells and it is too cute.

The other one, also a pincushion, though I made it into a door hanger, is Bluebird Pincushion by Primitive Gatherings.  As I have mentioned before, I am a great fan of birds and bluebirds in particular.

So, there we go.  Time to get motivated again!!

GRATITUDES:

Wild birds, especially bluebirds.

Grace.

However many more days I may be blessed with.

Take care,

Jennie