Attitude

One thing I never expected to develop attitude was my cell phone.

However, it has recently decided that it no longer likes to receive calls from other cell phones. It only likes calls from landlines.

I have owned iPhones since Apple first started making them. I've never had even a second of trouble with them. Until now, that is.

I must say that AT&T has been very good about helping me. They sent out a new SIM card. I just have to wait for them to activate it. Then we can see if it will give my phone an attitude adjustment.




An update on my Motorcycle Dude. There he is with his yellow Goldwing.

He is amid the army of Motorcycle Dudes, and Dudettes. He says they have about 800 bikes riding with them right now. They pick up more everyday.

And, He's Off!

This afternoon Motorcycle Dude left for a long motorcycle trip. He's participating in the Run for the Wall, 2,320 miles to Washington, DC.
Hundreds of thousands of motorcyclists are riding to DC to view the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall. The culmination of the ride is a parade through the streets of DC.

He's been wanting to do this for years. This is the 25th anniversary of the Run for the Wall, and it seemed like a good time to participate.

Have fun, Honey!

Wow

Wow! Our neighbor gave us twelve cuttings from his blackberry plants. He said, "It's easy. Just bury them and keep them wet.

We watered daily. Necessary in our sandy soil, though tough on the water bill.


We mulched with leaf litter from my friend's yard. We waited, and waited. They got more and more shriveled. But, can you see the touch of green at the base of that cane?



Wow! Leaves! Maybe we'll get berries in a year or so. Yum, blackberry pie. Blackberry jam with hot biscuits. Yum.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Sets a Record

This quilt set a personal record for the most thread changes on a quilt. Sorry for the blurry photo.

Isn't it a beauty? My customer, also my next door neighbor, designed the border and corner blocks. I think they really set off the quilt.
















These are most of the threads that I used. Some I had already put away.

 You would think that with as many threads as I have I'd be able to make a perfect match to every fabric on earth. Sadly, this was not so. I was able to make close matches to most of the fabrics, but some of them I'm not completely happy with the match.













My goal was to provide texture to the quilt, but not interfere too much with the beauty of the piecing. I'm hoping to get the quilt to Norma soon. Hopefully, she will like the results.

A Good Finish

This quilt was a challenge. I loved the quilt, but it had a few technical issues.


Most notably, the left side of the quilt has 21 half-square triangle blocks. On the other hand, the right side has 22. That's a 4" difference.



This lead to a bit of fullness needing to be eased in. I procrastinated working on the final border for an entire weekend.

Finally, I made myself tackle the issue. I sprayed the border with starch and steamed it before stitching. It has poof, but no tucks. I was very happy with the results.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Growing

The chicks have passed out of the cute and cuddly stage. They still cheep. They've not yet grown into clucking. The coop and run are almost complete. The weather will have to warm up a little before they will be allowed outside. The forecasters are predicting below freezing lows for the next couple of days. The chicks shouldn't be out until the temperatures are closer to 60 degrees at night.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Friendship Block

One of our local quilt guilds is having a friendship quilt challenge. I didn't feel compelled to participate by creating a quilt, but my friend, Kathleen did. Kathleen is a fantastic quilter. Her applique is impeccable. Her piecing is thread perfect.

She gave me a block to embellish for her friendship quilt. She is a dear friend, but I'm still intimidated by having a block in her quilt.

I mulled over my addition to her block for a week or two, before I settled on little hexie flowers and appliqued leaves. Kathleen is the one who showed me how to use freezer paper and starch to do applique. I thought it was appropriate to throw in a little applique.

At first I tried needle turn applique. Quick, just draw the leaves on the fabric and sew them on. OK, that is one applique technique that I can cross off my list. I had very sad, lumpy looking leaves. I took them off and decided to go the freezer paper route.

I have freezer paper right? Well, it must be in a box somewhere that hasn't been unpacked yet. So, continuing required a quick trip to the grocery store. Whenever I find the other freezer paper, I'll never need to buy any again.

The hexies are 1/4" on a side, and English Paper Pieced. Paper Pieces has an incredible variety of papers to choose from. I bought the smallest package of 1/4" hexies that they offered, 200 pieces. While they were perfect for this project, I don't think that I'll be creating any more little hexie flowers. Miniature quilts are not calling to me.

Anyone want 178 1/4" hexies?