Puzzle Quilt

I don't usually piece or quilt during the work week but because I am so obsessively task oriented, I did work on this quilt to get it finished.  I quilted it for a friend as a charity quilt.  We both belong to a local guild who gives quilts once a year to a Hospitality House near the hospital. The Hospitality House is a place where out of town patients can stay while they are receiving treatments. I love the pattern.  Notice the cute backing she put with it.  Quilted with a pantograph called Halcyon (thanks Mary!).

Spring time = strawberries

Nothing says spring to me more than fresh strawberries.  This is how many 1/2 pint jars of freezer jam you can make with 4 boxes of sure-gel, 16 cups of sugar, and four quarts of berries.  Yes, that's a lot of sugar, but nothing tastes better than homemade freezer jam on warm homemade bread with a cup of coffee for breakfast.

Now I am off to make that honey wheat bread, and use up the frozen berries from last year in a cobbler. Maybe later today, I'll get time to make those quilt labels I need to get done.

Strawberry freezer jam

Today's activities include making some strawberry freezer jam.....yummy.

Back to Nature BOM

I think this is my favorite block so far of this BOM.

Beautiful, wonderful day

There is nothing better than getting into a freshly made bed, with cool, fresh sheets, a little chill in the room from the night air seeping in the open windows, and a sweet warm kitty curled up at your feet.  Then to wake whenver your body tells you it has had enough sleep, to the sounds of the birds singing in the trees beyond the open windows.....what a blessing to have a nice comfortable bed, a sturdy home, a yard, a good night's rest.....so many blessings.

Today was one of those beautiful days.  The weather turned out perfect.  I got a lot accomplished.  Finished the April Civil War blocks, so I am still on schedule with that BOM, finished the binding on a quilt for a friend, had a good walk with my walking buddy, a nice visit from my best friend, cooked a good supper, and then Jim and I went to hear David Miller, a itinerant preacher from Heber Springs Arkansas - as awesome man of God.  A really, really nice day.

Civil war BOM

Quilted

Here are a couple of pictures after I finished the quilting.  I am still working on one of the bindings.

Number 2 finished

Just finished this one.  This fabric is so wonderful.  It is so soft and easy to sew.  I think it is Moda.

Strawberry Pie

My break included time to make a fresh strawberry pie.

frozen unbaked pie crust (Pillsbury regular is good)
quart of fresh strawberries
1 cup sugar
1 cup hot water
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons strawberry gelatin

Bake crust as directed; mix cornstarch with hot water until dissolved; add sugar; heat until it gets thick and pretty clear.  Add gelatin, mix well.  Arrange berries (small ones whole, large cut in half) in pie crust; pour sugar mixture over top.  Chill.  Can add a squirt of whipped cream on each serving.

One down, one to go

Today's goal is to get two baby quilt tops made.  I just finished one, using my favorite pattern (you can find it free if you google National Quilting Day March 2008). Time for a lunch break and a walk at the park.  After the break I'll start on the second one.  These are so easy and cute.

QOV

I just finished the quilting on this Quilt of Valor quilt.  A group of girl scouts in Pennsylvania made it for a project.  It is really pretty.  I did loops and stars.  I think I am finally getting a bit better on doing stars.
I had a rough time starting.  My thread kept breaking.  After changing the needle (twice), re-threading (~5 times), removing and replacing the tension, and changing the bobbin case, I finally read where dry thread could cause this.  Opened up a new spool of thread and I was back in business!

Catch of the day

See the hook on the right?  Notice it doesn't have a sharp point?  The reason is, the point went into Jim's thumb.  Yeah, ouch is right.  It was in his right thumb, the one on the hand he uses with his cane.  I was in the sewing room last night and got a call from the boat garage.  I had to help him get out of the boat.  Luckily, Dr. Harp, I mean Chester, his fishing buddy from Kentucky was close.  We took the pliers, wire cutters, warm soapy cloth, neosporin, and a band aid down to the lake to find Dr. Harp, to do his surgery.  He pushed it on through the skin, then clipped off the little sharp hook, and then pulled the remainder back out.  Jim was brave.  I was proud of him.

Easter Dinner Early

I decided to cook our Easter dinner this evening.  It is a bit easier to cook on Saturday and eat leftovers after church on Sunday.  It will only be us and my mom for Easter dinner. We love to eat on our screened porch and it turned into a beautiful evening!  The birds are really singing .  Hope all of you have a very blessed Easter and ponder what the resurrection of Jesus Christ means in your life.

Quilting

I finished the quilting on this one.  It is one my friend and I made for a co-worker's daughter.  I used the Lithe pantograph.  The quilt is really pretty and uses some of Kaffe Fasset's fabric line.