Sylvia's sampler

We are in the deep freeze! Didn't get much snow but at 6:40 p.m. we are minus 3 and with wind chill, predictions are at minus 34 tomorrow. Larder is stocked and I am staying in. It will no doubt be three-dog night!

I love primitive! When I spotted a pattern for this little Raggedy, I knew I had to have her. I felted wool roving onto her head and her dress, bonnet and apron are homespun fabrics. With a painted face and coffee dyed body, she is appears to be well-loved. Also in the works, more quilting.
Sylvia's sampler is coming along as the long cold winter days we are having are conducive to hours at the sewing machine and cutting table.

Before the cold front hit, we had lunch with friends on Tuesday from Rawlins, again on Friday eve, we met with more friends for burgers and suds and again on Sat morning for coffee with more friends from Rawlins. I am expecting one of my buddies to come and spend several days with me next week and more later on the weekend. We are so blessed to have so many long-time relationships with people who are kind, considerate, unselfish and who don't constantly complain. Dad always told me that you could pick your friends, but not your relatives.

So here are a few more squares from the Sampler, although I have more finished. Just need to post!

Bags

Recycle, reuse, repurpose .....words to live by?
Well, when you grow up the way I did, it was a way of life. Clothes were handed down or when they became tattered or torn, they became something else. Treasured pieces of a quilt perhaps? Old tires became supports for tomatoes. Cleaning out the corrals or the chicken house insured fertilizer for the gardens and lawns. String from flour sacks was wrapped into balls to be used later for other things. Yarn in old sweaters was ripped out and reused in afghans etc. A few years ago, friends brought back from the west coast some almonds and walnuts to be shelled and they were in a canvas-type bag. I could not bring myself to throw the dirty, stained bag away. It was sturdy with no rips or tears. So I washed it, packed it away and have hauled it around with my other "valuables". I use these kinds of bags for my quilting or groceries or needlework so I decided to take the bag and re-work it. There are still a few stains here and there, but I love the graphic! On one side is a velcro closed water bottle pocket and on the front, a pocket for my cell phone or billfold when I go shopping.
The other bag is leftover crazy square pieces with various examples of "practice" needle work, and ribbon work. The handles on this piece, unlike the feed sack are stitched from one side to the other rather than both being stitched on the same side. Not as easy to access, but a little more secure perhaps. Either way, they are both large bags with flat bottoms, reinforced with a flat piece of lightweight hardboard.

"Opportunities are never lost; someone will take the ones you miss." ~ Andy Rooney

Brrrr

This is little Roger, taking a snooze when we were staying with friends over Christmas. You can just see Spencer's nose at the top as he also is snoozing. It was very cold there, however it has been cold here the past two weeks too. We are all envious of the little guys who can just snuggle down anywhere when the snow blows outside. One thing that happened while we were there was that Roger found a piece of cheese that he couldn't resist. Unfortunately it was attached to a mouse trap--the kind that is "sticky. He came out from under the counter in the mud room with one stuck to his face and one on his foot. (The house is new and was recently under construction so with contractors in and out constantly and doors open a couple of mice had gotten in before all was secured.) Poor guy, but he was so funny! All three of our furbabies went to the vet this week for shots and weigh-ins. Those dreaded scales at the Dr.'s office----but Hildy has lost 5 much needed pounds as she was getting chubby and the other two were just fine. As we sat waiting our turn, it was amusing to observe the animals that came into the clinic. An old man with an equally old white bulldog came in and that dog weighed 61 lbs. He was huge! A young woman came out of an examining room with a pit bull and she was struggling to hold it with a chain for a lead which was attached to a chained collar. The dog was not aggressive, but by that time a mother and son came in with 3 border collie-type dogs, and with our 3 that was 7 dogs in the small waiting area. Another man came in to inquire about his pet and another came with a small animal carrier. (Not sure what was inside.) Across from us sat a small young woman, with tattoos on her legs, but dressed nicely and it was apparent that she was concerned about an animal and was waiting to speak to her vet. After my initial inquiry about her concerns obviously for a sick pet, she told me they thought it had suffered a stroke and might have to be put down. Worrying about the possibility that she might "fall apart", she told me it was a rat. I thought she meant a rat terrier and asked how old it was. She told me it was two, and when I seemed surprised that a rat terrier had suffered a stroke at two...she told me it was a "rat" and their life expectancy was about two years. (I was so glad that I hadn't said anything about her "dog".) When we came out of our examining room there were NO animals in the waiting room. So if you are an animal person, if you have an overweight bulldog or a rat...they become members of your family and eventually you have to deal with their short life expectancy...(unless of course you have one of those parrots and in that case when they may live to be 100...someone else will have to worry!)

Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about. - Regina Brett

More quilts

Call me crazy, but I have started 3 more quilts and I have 3 older projects in the works.. I just see things I love and have to try and get so many projects going. Sylvia's sampler is coming along quite nicely. Of 140 small 6 1/2 in squares, I have completed all but about 47. Trying to decide how to set them int a quilt will be a challenge since all have different light backgrounds. This project did enable me to use lots of bits and pieces of fabric too small for much, but pieces nevertheless that I couldn't just toss, so here are the latest squares for that quilt.

I have wanted to try a "wonky" log cabin and after researching on the wonderful internet, I found a process that I liked and with the quilt shop sale last week, I was able to grab some lovely fat quarters with which to experiment. These squares are 12 1/2" and they are easy and fast!
Now that a new year is upon us, Thimble- berries has a new quilt which is a sampler. In other words each square will be a different pattern. Instead of using different fabrics for each square, I have chosen to use the same two fabrics in each of them. This first block has 77 pieces in it and each of the blocks is 14 1/2" square. The 3rd quilt that I am working on is the one I learned to make in the class I took this past fall. I will post an example when I am a little farther along.




We were able to have lunch with our group of retired school employees this week. They have been a part of my life for over 30 years and I am so glad that we are still able to meet and that we continue to share the happenings with our families as our children have grown from babies, to teens, and now to parents. They were such a support group for me and we saw each other through good times and bad.


"Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will. Stay in touch."
~ Regina Brett

Reflection

2011---who would have thought? Do you remember when you were a child, trying to imagine what the future for you could hold? From one day to the next seemed like an eternity at times.

We had a marvelous Christmas spent with friends at their new home near Saratoga. Weather being what it is at this time of the year, fully cooperated for travel and found us with pristine snow covered hills marred only with occasional tracks where deer and antelope broke through the crust.
Our hope to visit with other friends and relatives didn't materialize as time flew by much too fast. I have heard from some of those and most were very understanding of our time restraints. Our hosts were wonderful and we think of them as family. The new year came quietly here at home with blizzard conditions, but we were safe and cozy.

Watching a program this morning about eating healthy, part of what we all resolve to do, I heard the term "coconut water" referring to the liquid one drains from a fresh coconut. Wow! It reminded me of my dad. As a child, we were not exposed to many fruits that we didn't personally help can or freeze, especially in the winter. The exception was the orange in our stocking at Christmas and the coconut. My dad would quite often bring home with the monthly grocery purchase, a coconut. I am not sure if he actually loved the coconut "meat" or if he just got a kick out of the process of chipping away at it. He would drill a hole in each of the "eyes" and then carefully drain the liquid into a glass. Coconut "Milk" is what we called it. Each of us kids would get to drink a little of the milk...not especially tasty as I recall...but it was a novelty for us.
He would then hit the coconut with a hammer as we all watched it shatter into sharp hairy brown pieces with the white coconut inside. As I recall, it was a chore to chip the coconut away from the shell, but we would gather around as dad rationed out the pieces of coconut. Yummy stuff for 4 little urchins....but I expect that my dad had fun watching us clammer for the pieces and it sure made for some good memories. Looking back...I do remember trying to imagine what it would be like to be grown with children of my own...but I have to think that my dad had a lot to do with my life as it is and has been and know he would be pleased.