Better and Border

Thank you for all of your kind and supportive comments. Unfortunately, my attempts to reply via e-mail were met with a distinct grinding of the computer gears so to speak. But please note that I truly appreciate those who took the time to write.

On a lighter note, the repairs have been made and borders applied. As you can see, I found these cheerful cherries in my stash. A perfect accompaniment to the quilt's name of Humble Pie.

It turned out to be a wonderful size. Just perfect for snuggling under in front of the fireplace. I had great fun digging through my stash of brights, something I don't get to do often enough. The light squares were all made from 5 different tone on tone muslin pieces that I had on hand. They blended well together, don't you think? This is one of those project ideas that you could do 5 variations of and never get bored with the possibilities. Now see what you started Bonnie!

Until then, keep stitchin' . . . . .

Humility Block

Every once in awhile, the excitement of a project overwhelms me. Anticipation grows as each block, row, and section is sewn and placed on the wall. Carefully I check the color balance. Not too many blues here. Not too many greens there. Oh the yellow, be very careful of yellow. And the orange . . . . oops it cannot go there. Maybe over there. Ahhh yes.

And as I sewed it together, constantly rearranging that darn orange and switching out the blue for a pink, and the green for a red . . . . . well, as you can see I goofed.

I want you all to have a good chuckle with me and realize that no matter how many years I've been quilting, I still rely on my seam ripper to make things right. Patience and fortitude were served with dinner. And for dessert . . . . . humble pie.

Until then, keep stitchin' . . . . .

Leftovers

What happens when there are left over pieces of different widths and you need a quilt in a hurry?

This is one of those ideas for the times that your brain is too tired, but your fingers are itchin' to stitch.

Using diagonal seams, sew together similar width strips to form a chain. Cut the chains in to a predetermined length divisible by the number of squares you wish to cut. Sew lengths in to a rectangular unit the width of the squares you wish to cut. From the rectangle unit, cut squares. These in turn are cut into fourths diagonally. Sew 2 HSTs together to form a smaller square.

You can use any size strips so long as they are consistent within each chain. Diagonal seams are used as they are stronger than a straight seam. Prints, plaids, and solids can be used separately or combined. Whatever you have on hand, use it up. The number of and size of the squares you assemble will of course determine the size of the quilt.

Feel free to E-mail me if you have any questions. Until then, keep stitchin' . . . .

Enchanted

Back on November 7, Finn over at http://finnleah.blogspot.com/ shared with us two 9-patch quilts, under the title of "what is on my bed." Well, I fell in love with it. Granted I give my heart easily, especially when it comes to red.

Waiting in a Ziplock for the right idea to come along were 120 red 9-patches which I had assembled a while back. And sitting under the cutting table, quietly waiting, was the perfect tan. "PERFECT!" (It shouted.) "PICK ME, PICK ME!!!!" (Like a first grader, with it's hand up.) Alas, this is the very reason I chose to wind yardage around empty bolts so when the right idea came along, all I had to do was listen for the shout. True the size of the quilt will be determined by the amount of tan yardage, but that's okay. It's my quilt after all.

And on the "green" front, here is my box of trimmings soon to be donated to a local art teacher. The stack is 16" high and is only a few weeks old. What possibilities it represents to all of those first graders, huh!

Until then, keep stitchin' . . . . .

Mom's quick fix.

Beefaroni - A favorite of hungry kids everywhere. This was one of my mom's "instant" dinners in the days before pre-packaged food.

To prepare:

Brown 2 pounds lean ground beef and drain. Return to skillet. Add one can 26.5 ounces of spaghetti sauce or 1 quart jar of home canned tomatoes. (If you are using store bought sauce, add a teaspoon of sugar and 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda. The baking soda will neutralize the acid in the tomatoes.) Season as desired.

Meanwhile prepare 1/2 box of macaroni or your favorite pasta product. (I cooked 3 cups of dry shells.) When done, rinse pasta well and add to meat sauce. Heat through.

In 30 minutes or less you have dinner for 5 adults or 2 teenage boys. Total cost under $9.00, depending on the price of beef of course. Enjoy!