October 12: Short and Sweet

Found this wonderful pair of Snoozie slippers yesterday and tested them all evening.  Both of us were thrilled that I did not take cold feet to bed!  Today I am wearing them and sitting quietly in my chair stitching binding like a maniac.  Guess show-n-tell will wait until Thursday or maybe Friday because I AM going to get all these quilts, etc finished and in the mail on Friday.

No matter how simple the quilt or the quilting, there is nothing I like better than binding that is finished off with hand stitching, so using the machine is not an option.  Figure if I stitch until Kevin comes home, I will have earned my two mile walk, so I better get to it.

Hope all of you have a magnificent day!

October 11: Short and Sweet

Just wanted to touch base and let you know that we saw more spectacular color today.   When I saw all the intense fall colors that had burst forth, I hoped that I could capture the feeling, but...  I cannot imagine how anyone would be able to not believe in God and his handiwork when they looked upon these glorious vistas.  These views were created by the Master Artist!!! I was ohhing and awing the whole trip.

Today was the day we went to get our "retired" IDs.  Kevin repeated several times that he could not believe his new ID was blue.  Beyond that we did our daily walk and went to a very dangerous and costly place...Barnes and Noble. (We both love books!)

This morning I finished binding another small quilt and should have two table runners done by bedtime.  That will leave one of the lighthouse quilts to finish by my self-imposed deadline of Thursday night.  Wonder if my fingers will hold up????

October 10: School Holiday for Kevin

Remember writing about what you did on your vacation. If Kevin were to write a paper about what he did for his holiday, it would have to include all these things.

Today when I got up, I had a complete list of things to accomplish.  I don't really sleep in often because I see NO reason to waste the day.  Therefore, I planned lots to do today.

1.  Moved things back into place and waited for the washing machine to be delivered.

2.  Finished sanding any spackle that was missed last night.

3.  Did the cut-in painting while Robin taped the windows, door frames, and moldings.

4.  Took turns using the roller to paint the kitchen.

5.  Supervised the washing machine delivery men.

6.  Finished up the painting because Robin went off to blog and blog and blog.

7.  Took Robin to lunch because we couldn't get into the frig yet.

8.  Did our two mile walk while we wait for the paint to dry.  Met a very friendly little puppy.

9.  Tried to take a nap but Robin kept thinking of one more thing to tell me.

10.  Finally got around to eating the banana I planned to eat at 9:00.

11.  Scheduled the oil change for my truck.

12.  My "sweet" but talkative wife allowed me to sleep for about 25 minutes, but then bumped my foot rest as she left the room.

13.  Removed all the blue tape from the windows, door frames, and moldings.

14.  Waited impatiently for Robin to finally be ready to set up her longarm.

15.  Made a rough design of my business card.

16.  Set up the longarm so that Robin can make even more quilts.

17.  Put everything back into the kitchen just in time for supper.

18.  Watched a movie and played cribbage.

Great day!  Feels like I got something done and enjoyed doing it.  Well, don't love painting but it needed to be done.

Oct. 9: Fall Foilage

As we started on our trip, we were not too hopeful about finding the bright colors, but we could seen the changes happening.  Early in the day it was a little hazy, but by afternoon the sky was clear and the colors were popping.  My little camera did not do justice to the colors, but believe me they were a delight to the eyes.

 

Kevin seems to love taking these self protraits as we travel.

 

 

October 10: Stop at School, Another Quilt Show, A Walk, and Errands

How much do you squeeze into your weekends?  We try hard to find at least a little time for relaxing and just enjoying, but there are always those little tasks than want to be done.  This Sunday we tried to do some of everything for ourselves.  After church we headed out for our day trip.  First stop was Kevin workbench where he took care of a few quick things that he had not finished on Saturday.  I took my binding and happily sat with it and Terri's dog, Bailey, while he worked.

 

This is Bailey.  She comes to school with Terri,
who is Kevin's advisor.  She also teaches
some 2-4 day workshops which I might try
in November.

This photo is of the base Kevin
is buildingin his fundamentals class and
will be used  for his small Shaker table.

When Kevin finished his task, we headed out to Morrisville to another quilt show.  This was a much smaller one but had many delightful quilts to view.  It is fun to discuss quilts with Kevin and discover new things about how he views things.  In the past he has been outspoken about how much he did not care for batiks, but he saw several different batik quilts and could finally explain what it was that bothered him.  He likes order and finds it in more traditional quilt patterns and colors that seem to play well in his mind.  The batikquilt that he did not care for was a wonderful traditional pattern that he really did like, but he said with enormous number of different color combinations and the the fact that they all seemed to leap at you made him feel that there was no place for his eyes to rest. Then he said the same about a few sampler quilts.  Not the ones at the show specificallly, but rather sampler quilts that were a mish-mash of color. 

***Sometimes he does not love a quilt I make, but he always compliments some aspects of it and if I press he will tell me why it is not a favorite.  He has a good eye and a great sense of color so he can talk the talk and has made a couple of quilts so he can appreciate the effort put into any one he sees.  Therefore, I can appreciate his candor.  I tell him the same thing about some of furniture we see, but I have not built any so I don't always know what it is that makes me love some things and wonder what people were thinking when they made other pieces.

We had lunch outside and continued to drive in search of fall foliage as we headed back to our area and then off to take care of a few errands.  I will share foliage pictures in a separate post.  Before heading home we stopped at Joanns to find a few items for Zoe's crafty birthday request and a few dowels and beads for hanging Dad's wall hangings.  Then we went to Lowes for a board, a plastic box, a socket for a quick project, lag bolts, and 3 little banners for my porch holder.  Feeling like we better walk before coming home so that we would not come up with some "lame" excuses, we stopped at the path for our two mile walk. Love spending a 1/2 hour walking and talking with my best friend.

It was late afternoon but the weather was so beautiful that Kevin decided he could still build my handrail while I sat outside and did binding when not helping with holding boards.  He said it is not a work of art, but when the weather gets cold and the steps get a little slippery, it will be a blessing!

We spent the evening doing a combination of things.  First we moved out our old washer, cleaned the laundry area and laid down a long piece of carpet remanent.  Then Kevin spackled all the holes in the kitchen while I did the dishes.  Feeling like we had accomplished enough we watching a very different version of Robin Hood while I did my binding and Kevin did some surfing on the web. 

October 8: Quilt Show and Friendship

Kevin and I drove over to the school and parted ways.  He went in to work on a project, and I hopped into Connie's car for a day trip to Shelburne for a quilt show and then on to Ferrisburg for lunch followed by New Haven for more fabric to finish the lil' Twister quilt. 

As Connie and I drove to the show we got to know each other better and laughed heartily.  She is easily distracted by "Bright Shiny Objects" but also everything else that crosses her path.  She noticed all the birds and pointed out all the best places to look at fall foliage.  She talks back to my GPS and loved driving my "lady"  a little crazy with her change of roads.  When I pointed out all the scarecrow people along the road I was certain there would be an accident because she so so enthusiastic about seeing ALL of them.  (Really not sure why but I was not really thinking we were in jeopardy as much as others might have felt watching us.)

I did not take photos of the quilt show, but I have to say it was very professional executed and had many quilts and works in fiber that could easily have been best of show.  As I said, Connie is easily drawn to all the different colors and sights so we had to work to see all of them.  I am guessing that her method would have worked for her but for me, I kind of took charge of our path because I did not want to miss a single quilt.  Connie is not an avid quilter, but she has made some and plans to try some others.  I, on the other hand, not only wanted to see the quilts but the quilting.  One of the quilts that really drew her in was very complex in design, execution and quilting.  She wants to make it.  I wanted to simply admire it and appreciate all the work that went into it.  The whole show was fabulous!

I love quilts, wall hangings, show quilts, fiber art, and everything in between, and I can appreciate all all the different techniques used to create in fiber, but I make the quilts that are to be used and loved for cuddling and snuggling under.  Heavy, dense, ornate quilting is not my style but I can appreciate the skills and effort that someone has put into creating each piece of the quilted design.  Fiber artists create some fabulous pieces that deserve to be seen and admired, but these are different than the quilts that I make and want used.  Therefore, I honor my fellow fabric lovers and all who work in this medium, but I am a traditional quiltmaker and proudly claim the title.

I made a purchase at the show, but it is not what I normally would buy.  I bought supplies to do some needle punch embroidery.  (Connie bought some supplies as well.)  I am envisioning ornaments, but time will tell.

After the show we headed further south and stopped along the way for lunch.  Both of us were able to meet our personal food wants.  I had a delightful roast beef sandwich and Connie had a veggie wrap.  We smelled and appreciated all the bakery items but neither of us were convinced to buy.  The smells were heavenly and plenty enough for me.

From there we continued to Knits and Bolts in New Haven to purchase all the fabrics required to finish my Stone Chip lil' Twister quilt.  Connie was as interested in all the yarns as the fabrics.  We laughed and jokes a great deal and hopefully made others laugh rather than wonder about when we would finally leave.  Of course I did purchase as large amount of fabric, so maybe we were forgiven if we did drive them a little crazy.  Connie had here very own mission to purchase thimbles.  There were lots of them, but she only wanted all metal ones.  I finally asked her why.  Are you ready for this?
.
.
.
.
.
She needed them to play the washboard.  I am sure she was serious, but I never laughed so hard as when she shared that response.  It was so far from what I expected.

All in all, it was a delightful day trip  The weather, the company, the sights, and the laughter.  Who could ask for more?

When I got home, Kevin and I went for our two mile walk and talk, ate dinner, and went for groceries. Then I sat back and worked on binding while he fiddled around on the computer.  Perfect ending to this kind of day!
.
.

October 7: Blue Sky and Smiles

I don't have any photos today, but the sky is blue, the air has a hint of fall, and I am feeling quite pleased with myself.  I have now finish quilting all the tops I have currently made for Dad and I have several quilts, two wall hangings and a table runner bound.  I should be able to post quite a few of the pieces I am finishing for Dad, by Wednesday.  Want to have all the quilted items out in the mail by Friday.  Then I am going to pause that mission and finished the one I have going for Aleah.  In case you have not noticed, there is ALWAYS something in the pile that is long overdue.

We are heading into a 4 day weekend, so I do not know when I will take time to post, but imagine it will be Monday while we are here waiting for a delivery.  Saturday and Sunday I have set aside for two quilt shows and touring the fall foliage.  Kevin is going with me on Sunday, but I am going with a new friend, Connie, on Saturday.  We plan to make it a day and plan to hit the quilt shop where I bought the first Stone Chip charms, and also have lunch some where.  Connie is my friend who eats vegan, so who knows what we will find for lunch.  I will let you know.

Kevin and I have really worked at getting our two-mile walks in, if it is not pouring down rain.  I think I am going to need a pair of light gloves soon but otherwise, it has been invigorating.  We are also going to add some DAILY stretching and toning over the next few days and try to develop a real workout plan.  Losing the weight has been good, but some days I find that I think of parts of me and relate them to Rudyard Kipling's Saggy, Baggy Camel story.  Since there are only two options: firm it up or refill it, and I know that the firming is the only real choice so I keep trying to love exercise.  (Do love water exercise, but that is not an option at the moment.)

Next post should have some great fall color pictures.  We see more and more changing leaves every day.