De-clutter

I have been looking at some different web sites these last couple of weeks trying to get some ideas for my window coverings. I have come across several blogs that have a lot of nice photos and great ideas.Then I stumbled on  Nony A Slob Comes Clean .This gal is great. Her blog is funny, watch some of her videos. I think I am her twin sister, not for real but her closet reminds me of mine. I am not a good housekeeper, all I want to do is sew and it has gotten me into trouble.....so....

 I am de-cluttering here. I think I mentioned in my last post that I had  6 bags to take to the thrift store. Those are gone and there are more waiting. I think I am a bit of a pack rat. Just trying to get things straightened out so I can do some sewing...one of these days soon I hope.

The photo is one I took while I was at my Mom's. Just too pretty not to post it. Actually I thought that would be better than some of my messes. Maybe if I get brave enough I will show some before and after photos. Then again maybe not. Enjoy Nony's blog and let me know if you have any tricks for de-cluttering

Hot Air Balloons

While I was at my Mom's the local town had their annual Hot Air Balloon Rally. It has changed a lot since we used to go to it and was on the committee. We had a friend that had a balloon and used to crew for him and traveled to several different Rally's with him. It was a lot of fun, he took us for a ride  several times. If you have never been up in a Hot Air Balloon it is amazing. Anyway I thought I would share a couple of photos with you.

This one was going for what they call a "Splash and Dash". There is a big marsh on the other side of those trees. He was going to go in low enough so he could dip down in the water and then take off again. I wish I could have been on the other side of the trees so I could have taken a photo of that.

This one was getting ready to land and was about 8 miles or so from where the first two were.

My Internet has been "intermittent" as the recording says now for about 10 days. The only thing that they have done so far is change the recording. And this blogger thing is all messed up when I add photos so bear with me. I don't care much for the new blogger dashboard or how it posts. Two of the photos I had problems with so if they are not there  please let me know.

That Is What Thought Did For Me.....

I thought when I got back that I would have some time for blogging again and most important sewing....yeah well that didn't work out. The weather was nice so we finished up on the outside of the house. Still more to go but it may have to wait till spring. So I moved inside the last couple of days and started on it. Whew! what a mess.

We put the ceiling up on the porches and got some lights. I also got a finish on the inside of the windows and got them washed. My hubby worked on the rest of the porch putting up some cedar to cover the white along the top. One of these days the white will be gone. We also need to replace the floor of the front porch. Now we need to concentrate on some frames for the inside of the windows and then I will have to figure out what I want to do for curtains.

I also painted a this table that someone gave us quite some time ago. It has a marble top that goes on it and has been broken but it is fine for outside. It was an ugly gold color and I painted it white. It will sit on the front porch under the big window. In the spring I hope to put a couple of pots of flowers on it.

Then some guy plowed through our fence and into our field and left the scene of the accident but our good Sheriff's Department caught the guy so we are waiting on all of that before the fence can get fixed. No hurry as we don't have any cows right now.

I am working on getting some old clothes cleaned out. I got a good start and lots of stuff for the thrift store. I have a long way to go in the cleaning out department but I have all winter to do it in. I hope to get back to some sewing shortly but I just need to get a handle on some of this.

Hope to see you all soon.

Before I Left

This is what the house looked like as I was leaving for the summer. Looking now at the new siding and how it was when I left I just can't get over how bad it was. We should have done something with it a few years ago but you all know how that goes....

Then we needed some sort of a roof over this door because it is on the south side and gets all the wind and rain in the spring and summer. The new siding is on and I got a nice octagon window in there too. I know the new photo is at a different angle but you get the idea. I just thought you might like to see the difference. We are still working on the porches and getting the place buttoned up for winter. I am so not ready for winter.

Long Time Gone

I am back home now. Whew, I was gone a long time. It seems so good to be home again and wow what a change. I had posted a few photos of the re do on the house. I can't believe it all, it all looks so nice. The new windows, siding and the porch. There is still a lot of work to do yet but slowly it will get done. The inside of the house, well I don't even want to discuss that right now.

I hope to be posting some photos as I get time. I didn't get to take as many photos as I wanted to because I was working for my Auctioneer brother. We had lots of fun and I need to get rested up. See ya all later.

Meeting A Fellow Blogger

I went to meet a fellow blogger today, Susan. She is such a lovely person. I took Mom with me and we had a grand time. We had lunch at a small diner there where my Mom and Dad used to eat quite often. I took a few fat quarters of vintage sheets with me to give to Susan and she brought me some of hers. I did buy some Fandango to add to my stash. No photos because my SD card reader has decided not to work. I will have lots of photos to post when I get home.


Not sure I like this new format that Blogger has now.....I think I am almost lost with it and things are really different now. I think I liked the old set up better for several reasons, one is because I could navigate a bit better...Well I guess I will get used to it maybe.

Here is a new photo of the front of the house.....almost done. I am really loving the new windows! Thanks for sending all those photos Amy. They sure are working fast on it and it has been HOT there...temps. are 102 during the day. Poor guys.


Thanks Susan for such a lovely day! I really enjoyed it and thanks for the vintage sheets.

New Windows

Finally we are getting things under control here. 4 of the new windows are all in. Just waiting on the big one for the front. I can't wait to see all of this in person, it is looking great. I am sure the inside is a disaster!!!!!!

 I will, hopefully, be meeting with Susan next week. I am looking forward to it. I am just doing a bit of hand sewing that I brought with me and I am making a bit of progress on that. I have not had much time for any sewing or computer since I have been here. I have a bit of time right now so I am going to catch up on some blog reading.

Progress!

Cedar siding and a new Octagon window

Well at least my hubby and Joey are making some progress. It is looking good so far I love it. Amy sends me photos when she can. I understand that I have 4 new windows in as of today, can't wait to see the photos of them. The Octagon windows I love, there are two of them, one in the bathroom, the one that was there was ugly, really ugly, and one in the laundry area.

Amy has been using my quilt frame while I am gone, plus cooking for the guys and trying to keep them cool with lots of water in the 100+ temperatures they are having. I think she has done about 5 quilts since I left.  Have fun Amy! Glad your using it!

Life Gets In The Way

Joey and Norm hard at work!

It has been quite some time since I was even on the blog let alone be able to post anything. We started some much needed work on our house and it went down hill from there. The house has been much more work than we first thought. Had several problems and then thought we had better get some new windows as well. We had to tear everything off the house and start new so it has been a lot of work for the guys.

Amy and her husband are between jobs so they are parked at our house. Photos courtesy of Amy. They have been a great help to us because this is more than a two person job for sure. Amy emailed me this photo of the siding starting to go up. I am visiting my mom now and am missing out on the whole deal. I told her when I left that she had better send photos and lots of them. I am waiting for a photo of one of one of my new windows all put in. Um do you hear that Amy????

The library is the only internet connection that I have and they have very limited hours and I can't always get up here or have time to do much of anything on the internet so sorry to all of you that have blogs and I have not visited lately. I am sure I am missing a lot of good stuff by not being able to blog.

Hope to "see" you all soon in blog land!

We Have Been Busy

We have been very busy around here lately. We have had some problems with the south side of the house. We knew it need to be done but the torrential downpours that we have had lately have made it a bit of an emergency to get done. We have plenty of good help and I am thankful for that.

The stuff on the side of the house was sort of like pressed board, not sure what else to call it. I refer to it as glued cardboard. We knew it was bad and it gets all that bad weather in the south. We have needed to do something with, like put a roof over the door and replace the siding but you all know how it goes with all of that time and money just never seem to be there. Now it has to be there because it has to be done. The casing on the door was rotting and the floor inside where the door leaked was starting to rot as well. All fixed now.

We got some siding and the boys started to tear off the old siding. We will build a roof over the door and a small patio out there. It isn't going very quickly but it is progressing.

And we here are some more good helpers! Thanks!

Blue Bird of Happiness

We have had a pair of Bluebirds around here for a few years and I have wanted to get a photo of them forever. Finally, last night I got my chance. They are such a pretty bird and sort of rare from what I understand but they are on a come back. They do make me happy when I see them, especially with their little ones.

I have also been waiting for this Quail to show herself so I could get a photo of her. My husband noticed her the last time he mowed the lawn and we have been watching every day for a couple of weeks. We thought they had a nest in one of my flower gardens but we are not too sure if they do or not but we see her almost every day. I just finally today got a chance to take the photo. They are very hard to see in the grass and as you can tell it needs to be mowed again.  If she is living in the flower garden hopefully we will get some photos of the babies. 

Tonight is Friday Night Sew In so I had better get busy.

Vintage Sheets

Well I think blogger is getting straightened out. I know some people lost posts and some just lost the comments from the posts. I have not really been on because my feed was all messed up as well. I thought I would try and post this and see if it worked.

I have been buying some vintage sheets. I love the feel of them and some of the prints are wonderful. These are a few of the ones I have been collecting. There are a few pillow cases there too. (I bought some nice navy blue pillow cases and hubby claimed them.)  When I get some other projects done, I want to make a quilt out of them. Hopefully this winter.

A Cool App

Not sure how I found this app but I am glad that I did. Robert Kaufman Quilting Calculator. It is free for iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad. It is easy to use. Here is the link to the Kaufman site to get the calculator or just search iTunes for Robert Kaufman. I love FREE!

Download the FREE Offical Robert Kaufman Quilting Calculator App for iPhone

I See Spring

Looks good to me! Just noticed these in the old flower bed. Now we are under a Tornado Watch. Yup, it is Spring.

Also I forgot to mention, I am looking for a nice Frog drawing to either applique or embroider. Any one know where I can get one? Just thought I would ask.

Went Thrift Store Shopping

This past Saturday I went to the one thrift store here and got these sheets.They are all cotton, the bottom one says Muslin on the tag.

 I have been so busy that I haven't even been on the computer. The Iditarod started on Friday and I have only been on with hubby as he checks the race progress.

I got my Mom's quilt all done and all I have to do is hand sew the binding on. Then tonight I got a baby quilt ready to start quilting, I have 2 more of those to do and one large quilt to quilt, plus one to finish a border on. I am trying to get some of these projects out of the way to make room for new ones. How are you coming on getting some projects finished up?

It's Sinking In

I did some more practice on my quilting frame today and I think it is finally sinking in. I finally figured out what I was doing wrong. For one, I am not having the quilt, in this case sheets, stretched as tight as I did before and I was trying to quilt in too small of an area. I found all that out by accident but at least I found out. I only have a little more room left on the sheet and I can take it off and really get to work. Any of you with a frame have any  tips for me?

Tumblers....and More Practice

Now that I have my new light for my frame and I can see I think I am getting the hang of this quilting thing. I practiced this morning and am happy with the results. Then this afternoon I started putting some Tumblers together that Amy gave me for Christmas. I only have them in pairs right now but they are fun and easy to sew together. I have a block to do for the Bees Knees that took forever to get here(mailed out on the 10th of Jan. and I got them today!) from the UK and put some backing together for my Mom's quilt. I really need to get that finished soon! Then I am going to get a quilt top done that has been sitting here for a year, had problems with getting the right fabric for it. Then I will go back and finish the Tumblers up. Too many projects and too little time but lots of desire to sew.

New Light

Just got home from picking up my machine from the shop. Yay feels good to have it back in my possession. I will have to give it a try later. I also went to Joann's and got this light to put on my quilting frame so I can see better. It was half off! Love the sales at Joann's.

Quick Projects

I love these quick projects..yes, more hot pads. Another gift for a friend.

Hot Pads

Thought I would like to try and make some hot pads, not that they are hard to do but I just didn't want any big projects at the moment and these have been fun to do. I saw this in a magazine, it is a spilt Snowball.

These are the 1,000 Pyramid block. I love the scrappy look. I used inslu-brite(if that is how you spell it) in both of them. Never have used it before but it isn't difficult to work with.

What do you use for your hot pads and pot holders?