Small wonder on Wednesday

 As I sort through my parents house I found this game. I remember playing it at my Grandma's house. See the patent date and the gitcha-to-buy-it tagline "child improvement games"

 I remember my kids playing it at grandma's too.  My uncle's initials are on the edge of some of the boards. I guess he liked fruit and field flowers, they didn't call them weeds.

The vegetable board shows the most wear, the boys must have fought over it or maybe it was "here you take it this round". All the little plugs are the same size so Grandma put some pencil marks to match the blossom to the right plant.

I think the colored pencil drawings are just delightful. What is really amazing is all the little plugs are there.  In 101 years none have been lost. I'm saving it to play with my grandkids someday. They will say didn't they have electronic games when you were little and are you really that old!? by the date on the game. haha --Ann--

out of the cupboard

  My second son stopped over the other day and saw this quilt from his childhood and asked if he could take it. I said yes I could use a little more space in my closets but I wanted to take a couple photos first. I have photos and notes in an album but not digital. It is a block that doesn't really have a name, a big triangle, a square and two small triangles that can be put together in so many ways. I saw a quilt with this block in a magazine years ago and the maker called it angle irons. That name stuck with me because it is a simple block, it is a strong block and it is a useful block like angle iron. It can be put together in many ways and works good with other blocks like angle iron. I did the barn raising configuration. I looked in my quilt album and I did name this quilt Angle Irons and I made it in 1997.  D2S (darling second son) picked the colors red, blue and green, I chose the fabrics. I remember finding the truck fabric for the backing but it was a bit pricey at the time so I stretched it by adding roads between.  Son had so much fun playing with his little trucks and cars on the back of this quilt he became a civil engineer. Do children's playthings shape them for life!??! I see I didn't make a label for this quilt. I should before he takes it even if I just write in a road the important information. This was my earliest machine quilting...just stippling with my Elna, it got the job done. --Ann--
 

the moon in the sky

  Did you see the moon last night? It was orange like a harvest moon in July it is called the Buck Moon for the deer growing their antlers. I hope this doesn't mean an early fall.

 

Can you see the wee beastie on my poppy? Is it naturally that yellow or yellow from the pollen or does it change color to its host?  So many questions today.....if I go outside with my reading glasses on then put them on top of my head is my hair going start on fire? --Ann--

Design Wall Monday

 Last week I began work on quilt number 3 for my country school classmate. This one is to have more blue in it. The log cabin blocks are sewn. I do love the barn raising configuration of log cabin blocks. I like to put blocks up on the wall as I work to see what colors I need more or less of. Sometimes a little bit of one color or print goes a long way and others just blend in anywhere they are placed.

 On to the fan blocks I need thirty-two of them also. Five 18 degree wedges for each block.

Here are all the parts except the black quarter circle of the fan point. I think I have them arranged with colors and prints distributed evenly across the quilt top. There might be a few changes. The red plaid, the medium blue with the red flower, and the navy floral are three of the fabrics that stand out for me and I feel like they are scattered evenly. The purples and golden browns are pretty even too. Next I sew all those curves and squaring up, then sew the rows and on to the borders. Check out what is happening at Judy's Design Wall Monday.--Ann--

On the needles

I have made progress on the camouflage socks for oldest son. Someone thought I was knitting a bra with my first post of these socks so I separated and flipped one to avoid confusion.  I am continually loosing my loop on the end because they are so big as I increase for the gusset. And he doesn't even have big feet for a man. What is it like to knit really big socks!?! I knit a couple rows of the striping yarn by Trekking every time I sit down and knit to the next color change. scroll down to yesterdays post to see the little go bag. I have gone through 4 of the 9 skeins of yarn for my sweater. I really need to thread a ribbon through the bottom to see how it will fit. It looks huge for me. Yes put a ribbon through and try it on before I go any farther. Linking to Judy's on the needles. --Ann--

New little go bag

 I needed a new little go bag for knitting. It has a pocket on the inside and two pockets on the outside. I love the coil wrapped baskets for when I am knitting at home but for the car it is nice to zip it shut so when I am hurrying my balls of yarn don't roll out the door and down the road. I used a batik and a light weight denim. I made a pink bag just like it and gave it to daughter for her knitting but didn't get a picture. My oldest niece was here over the weekend and wanted to learn to knit socks.  She made a pair of short little socks that she put on her shih tzu when she got home. Poor dog step, shake, step, shake, shake. She learned the basics and got a good start on the toe with a sport weight yarn. These are my demo socks for teaching her, I love the way it is striping and wonder how far I will knit before the stripes repeat.--Ann--

Grooms Quilt

The grooms quilt was finished and given away weeks ago. I should have named it "the bear goes over the mountain quilt".  I started the quilt on a Friday finished on Wednesday and gave it to them on Saturday. The fastest I have ever made a quilt and quilted it with my usual concentric teardrops. --Ann--Linking to Free Motion Friday

Design Wall Monday

Today was one of those days I spent almost the entire day on the computer, Darling Daughter arranged photos from last summers trip into photo books through a major photo service and there were big savings if I got the book done soon. So I did some tweaking and added some information and learned I need to push the save button more frequently so I don't have to do it all again. Finally I was able to push the order button then the preview button and make a few more changes then the add to cart button and finally the credit card information and I was done with very little to show for my days work.
This quilt top went together so much quicker and easier than my photo book.... and using the Quick Curve Ruler, it is wonderful.  I only ripped a few times when I didn't place the 3rd and 4th curves at the right starting point then I have either way too much or too little at the ending point. Then square them up and sew the sashing and corner stones.  Now which fabric do I want to use for the border?? a cream the same value as the background or the stripe? I am going to trim the leftover nine patches for cornerstones in the border and I will use the border fabric cut on the bias for the binding. Looking forward to checking out all the quilts at Judy's tomorrow. I'm done with technology for today. --Ann--

reading

The  last book I finished was The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh it was a wonderful story about a girl growing up in foster and group homes. In one foster home she learns the Victorian language of flowers.  She has trust issues and self esteem issues but overcomes many obstacles.  I don't want to tell too much and spoil the twists and turns of the story. I am a very visual person so of course I am posting photos of my flowers......Hollyhocks ...ambition.

Day lily....... coquetry

white poppy........ consolation

Bellflower........ constancy

1. 8 Sandpiper Way  by Debbie Macomber
2. Tie Died A Quilting Cozy by Carol Dean Jones
3. Cathedral Windows by Clare O'Donohue
4. Quilt by Association by Arlene Sachitano
5. The House I Loved by Tatiana Rosney a story about modernizing the great cities of France
   
6. Thursdays at Eight by Debbie Macomber
7. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant for book club story from the Old Testament
8. 92 Pacific Boulevard by Debbie Macomber
9. 1022 Evergreen Place by Debbie Macomber
10. 1105 Yakima Street by Debbie Macomber
11. 1225 Christmas Tree Lane by Debbie Macomber  finished the Cedar Cove Series now on to other books
12. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald for book club
13. The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg non fiction
14. The Long Shining Water by Danille Sosin for book club 4 stories in one about Lake Superior
15. The Aloha Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini
16. The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

Starting a new list of books and looking at my flowers from a different point of view.  My top priority in choosing flowers for my garden is what will thrive on the wind blown prairie and survive our weather extremes.--Ann--

Design Wall

 I had some fun with my quick curve ruler this weekend. I thought I could use the ellipses from the fan blocks below for the glorified nine patch but the outside edge would have been on the bias and I would have run out of pieces so I followed the directions and cut background curves and they sewed together so easy!! I think I will separate them with sashing of the same background if I have enough and cornerstones.

 The second of three queen size log cabin and fan quilt tops is finished. I have my son's dog while he is on vacation, as soon as I smoothed the quilt on the grass she came to see. I told her she could not sit on my quilt so she sat beside it while I took pictures. He trained her so well, I hope when he has kids they are as well behaved as she is. Linking to Judy's Design Wall Monday at Patchworktimes. Lots of inspiration for hot-humid-enjoy-the-AC-days.

 I thought I could link to the first quilt but did not have one on the blog with borders so here is the first of the three.--Ann--

Happy 4th of July

 Happy 4th of July!  I was at Gray's printing press in Strabane Northern Ireland a year ago. This is where John Dunlop learned his trade then came to America and printed our Declaration of Independence. He  locked his door because Thomas Jefferson kept wanting to  change the wording and John Dunlop had a deadline to meet.  And my cousin Mary had her wedding invitations printed here in the1970's. Just a little connection to history--Ann--

Strawberries

Tell you what I like the best --

'Long about knee-deep in June,

'Bout the time strawberries melts

On the vine, -- some afternoon

Like to jes' git out and rest,

And not work at nothin' else!"

-  James Whitcomb Riley, Knee Deep in June

But here it is July and yesterday I picked my first quart of strawberries usually its the 3rd week of June but spring pushed into summer. Now summer is here and I want to savor every moment. The best berries are warm from the sun fresh from the vine. --Ann--