Random Musings

I did not enjoy geometry very much in high school, especially the theorems. So my husband is often bemused at my quilting because in many ways, it is simple geometry.  Last week's square (from the link on the left of my blog) which I just finished today.  The corners didn't match up on part of this making it a little wonky.  And both squares together...not too bad from a distance! And this one is from Bernina's (a quilt store in Raleigh) Saturday Sampler. They provided all the fabric (except the green). Curious to see what next month's pattern will be. And my goal of finishing the twin size quilt...I do hope to work on it today and some tomorrow, and maybe next Tuesday, but I seriously doubt I'll finish it before January 31...although you just never know.

Saturday morning we left early for Huntersville (a small suburb of Charlotte). We had a two purpose mini-vacation: for Bobby, visit the church his niece/nephew are starting, for me...shop!  Ever since IKEA had its grand opening in Charlotte I've wanted to go. I think the Charlotte area is just a cool place to shop anyway, but other than a trip to Concord Mills with some friends a few years ago I've never had that privilege. On the way, we started seeing signs for THE Depot...largest antique collection in the south! We joked about how most antique places advertise in a somewhat similar manner, and I made the comment, "Wouldn't it be cool if we could stop?"  Then it hit me: we COULD stop. Normally when we travel, the drive is long and time is short and we only stop for absolute necessities.  This day, our drive was short and time was ours. So stop we did. And I am SO glad we did! We probably spent about 3 hours in this cotton mill converted into an antique consign...

I had three goals for this month: conquer the ironing mound, crack ALL the pecans, and finish the quilt I started last August. Numbers one & 2 are done! :)  Number three, well if I finish it by February 1 I will consider myself very, very successful. (And yes, this is the quilt I was going to finish in September, October and December of 2011).  Pecans... About 15 years ago my father-in-law noticed that there were small trees sprouting throughout the fields, courtesy of Hurricane Fran. He wasn't certain, but he thought they might be pecan trees. So he started mowing around them. At least 7 of those are on our property. The first year we were married, I came home on day and walked straight into a stick! I looked, startled, and we had 6 sticks sticking up in a semi-circle across our back yard. I went aside and called Bobby. He laughed and said his Mom had called him at work, saying his Dad and Uncle were planting pecan trees at our house. I was a little startled. The next t...

Last Friday my mother-in-law and Bobby's Aunt Doan went to the quilt show in Sanford, NC.  There weren't as many vendors as last year, but we still had a good time. Here is one of the quilts they had on display. The closer I looked, the more impressed I became. Mary Booth is always telling me that cutting is not only the first step, but is also the most important step. Boy does this quilt illustrate that! While Mary means that if you don't cut your pieces out correctly the blocks won't sew up correctly, the way these pieces were cut out and placed totally changes the look of the quilt. Yes, planning HOW to cut is just as important as the actually cutting. The Quilt. Circular patterns have always intrigued me. Notice every circle is the same pattern. A close up of a circle. Notice how the flower on the leaf is cut in almost exactly the same spot, creating a design? Same pattern, same fabric, but by using the tail of the leaf, it creates a totally different l...

IF I work really hard, I think I can conceivably finish at least one of my current projects by January 18th. That means I can start another one. :) Starting Wednesday, January 18th, Fresh Lemons Quilts is having a five week quilt along.  Every week she'll introduce a new quilt block, along with instructions and links that help teach you the technique for that block. It's like taking a quilting class, except it's in cyberspace. Even if I only make 5 blocks (which is 1/5 of what you need for a full size quilt), it'll still be five blocks I've made while learning a new technique.  AND, I'm not buying new fabric, but am using what I already have in my stash. I'm doing something similar with a quilt shop in Raleigh .  They have this program called "Saturday Sampler" (It's the fourth item listed under the NEWS section on their homepage.)  Basically you buy one kit for $5. You choose a class time (from 4-5 time slots) where you sit through an ins...

I will not start a new project until I've finished the two I'm currently doing.. I WILL not start a new project until I've finished the two I'm currently doing. I will NOT start a new project until I've finished the two I'm currently doing. I will not START (does this mean I can just think about one) a new project until I've finished the two I'm doing. I will not start a NEW project (but can I work on another unfinished one?) until I've finished the 2 I'm doing. I will not start a new PROJECT (may I should just say it's an activity) until I've finished the 2 I'm doing. I will not start a new project until I've FINISHED (define finish) the 2 I'm doing. I will not start a new project until I've finished the TWO (I've completed one, shouldn't I always have 3 going?) I will not start a new project until I've finished the two I'm doing.... Sometimes resolutions just stink.

Once there were two rabbits who lived in a cage. Once a week they got to visit the great outdoors for exercise. But one Saturday they decided not to return to their place of living. Every time the big bad human moved to catch them, they hopped. Fast. The big bad human would sit very still, tempting them closer. They would come, put their front paws on her jeans, then before she could blink, they would flip 180 and hop away. They spent the night in the big outside world. And the next morning, there was only one rabbit. The big bad humans surmised that poor little Sally must have been eaten by an owl. There were no holes that she could have crawled out of, and there were no signs of a struggle. It had to have been a bird that swooped down in the night and took her away. Sunday went by, then Monday. On Tuesday morning, this what the big bad human saw: Sally has hopped in the garage. She's hopped up and down the front ramp to the porch. She's hopping all over the front...

I can't say that if my school had it in a book I learned it. Far from it. I hated history, tolerated science, and wasted way too much time writing silly poems and letters to people. But I have realized that much of what I do know comes from books and not real life. For example, my senior year of high school, my younger sister and I had the glorious (depending on who you ask will determine which adjective is used there) opportunity to work together. After a pay day, while we headed to the bank (in the next town), and my sister who was not yet driving pointed out a car, called it by name, and said "I wouldn't mind getting one of those one day."  I was flabbergasted. My littler sister could recognize a car's name just by seeing it? Then she asked me what kind of car I wanted. Other than wanting one that didn't stall at stop signs and didn't require one foot on the brake and one on the gas to keep it running during such times, I really didn't care. Perha...

Psalm 90:4 For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night. As a child I never understood this verse. The older I get, the more I comprehend how quickly time passes. Just this last week a friend commented that Disney's Arial/mermaid story is not classified as a "classic" or "antique" because it is officially 20 years old. WHAT?  I remember when that came out! I was in college and we watched it in the dorm lounge and laughed because one of the girls had the poster up in her room and the residence hall monitor made a construction paper top and covered Arial's top half during room inspections and that was...20 years ago. Sometimes it still seems like yesterday. And in the midst of all this reflection, I read Genesis 5 that talks about Enoch/Enos (depending on the translation) who "was not, for God took him."  I've read that many a time, heard several sermons on it (Side Note: my favorite f...

What's the next best thing to actually DOING a project?  Making plans for one! There are TWO quilting events happening this week that I hope to participate in. One of them is a quilt show (where you go and dream and drool and clean most of the cash and cards out of your purse before you go), and the other is actually a lecture/demonstration at a quilt shop. After the lecture, if I decide the quilt pattern is something I like, then I can pay $5 for the pattern. At the end of the month, if I bring the completed quilt block into the store for the next lecture, then I get the next pattern free. At the end of the year, there should be enough quilt blocks pieced to add a border and make a decent-sized quilt. I may get there and decide that it's not something I wish to pursue. BUT, last month on the way to the church's ladies' Christmas party, I got lost and found a fabric store in Clayton that I did not know existed. Since I was running late, I didn't stop and see if th...

I am my mother's child. I like things organized. I start to clean something, and get sidetracked. It's very simple. The Christmas wrapping paper needs to be put away. The closet where it goes is a mess. So you stop to clean that closet. In the process, you have to take out the trash. While taking out the trash, you stop to feed the chickens. The chicken house needs a little cleaning, so you stop to do that. When you finish, you gather the eggs and head to the kitchen. In the kitchen you realize the Christmas dishes need to be put away. One of them is dirty in the sink. So you wash dishes. And then it's time for lunch. At lunch you see the bills on table and go to put some of them in the mailbox. On the way to the front door and the mailbox you see the open closet. It still needs to be cleaned. Sometimes I am amazed that I ever finish anything. And I cannot comprehend why adults do not like Laura Numerhoff's books. They are definitely a reflection of...

Today while running errands, we came out from a store to find a lady had parked 1/2 over into the wheelchair lines beside our parking space. Had it been just 1/4 of the way over, I would have tried to lift Bobby's chair up over the edge of the ramp. My neck and head (which have hurt the last 2 days) were thankful that was not an option today. This place is fairly busy and has a lot of teen drivers, so it's not one of those parking lots where I feel comfortable stooping over and attempting to correctly use the van's hand controls to back the van out and pulling the lift down. I headed inside to Customer Service with the make and tag number and a request to page the owner. Would you believe the girl didn't want to do it?  "We only use the paging system for missing children and elderly."  I responded (a little but huffily) "You have a customer in a wheelchair who cannot leave because someone has illegally parked." The manager came up about that time, an...

the finished project (my birthday puzzle) and the cool non-straight borders :) We got a new surprise this weekend! One of our youngest hens laid an egg! She wasn't supposed to start laying until spring, so we were quite surprised! (it's the tiny one on the left).  Can't wait to see if she lays any more! Sally and Thumper We took advantage of the warm weather and put the rabbits out for some exercise. The chickens were most curious, and at one point we had almost all the birds around the old dog pen checking out the new animals. Thumper taking in all the smells and sounds.