Englewood

My mom and I took a trip to Englewood today.  It is a tiny little town where both she, and my dad grew up.  We were returning a QOV quilt I finished recently. It was a nice trip.  Had lunch at the Tellico Junction cafe and met new friends Beth and Gene.  We made a couple of stops to see Mom's two sisters, neither of which is in very good health, but both with good attitudes. We stopped by a little fabric shop, Katy's Fabrics, in the center of town. It has been there 45 years. We also visited the Englewood Museum. Among all the historical pictures and items is a picture of my dad in a little wagon.  The sign on the front of the wagon says, 1926.  He was 8 years old. Englewood was the home of various sewing factories back in the day.  I saw where both my grandmothers lived, but I would not have recognized either place.  Funny, how it all looked so much smaller than what I remember....

Obsessive? No, not me....yeah, right

If you've read much of my blog, you'll know that I am somewhat (ahem...lol) obsessive.  Whether it is quilting, reading, cooking, and yes, even cleaning.  Right now I am obsessed with my homemade laundry soap.  I love it!  I highly recommend the book, "Dining on a Dime Cookbook" by Tawra Kellam and Jill Cooper.  It is kind of pricey at ~$25 (my sweet friend gave it to me...thank you Sherry) but so worth it, if for nothing else, the homemade cleaning recipes.  In addition to the laundry soap, I've made the counter-top disinfectant, the window cleaner, the all purpose cleaner, the daily shower cleaner, and the stain pretreater.I am not thrilled with the daily shower cleaner, but I am going to adjust it a bit.  The rest are great and cheap, cheap, cheap.

Blog friend

I had the neatest thing happen yesterday.  A nice lady stopped me at the greenhouse where we both were getting flowers, and asked if I was Rachel H.  She reads my blog sometimes.  Hi Teresa!  It was great to meet you!

Finished up the QOV

I finished the quilting on this one today.  I adore scrap quilts!

Laundry Soap

I've discovered homemade laundry soap.  The Dugger family (19+ kids) supposedly uses this.  I just hated paying $16-18 dollars for 100 ounces of HE laundry detergent.  Three simple ingredients plus water.  It says you can make this for about 40 cents a load, but by my calculations, it is much, much less than that - like just a couple of pennies a load!  The recipe makes 2 gallons.  I paid about $8 for the ingredients, but with the little you use of the borax and washing soda, those two ingredients alone will last years!!  This morning, I am washing everything in sight, trying to decide if I like it.  I do.  The soap mixture itself smells a little funky.  I added some lavender oil, but can't really tell if that makes a difference.  The clothes come out only smelling fresh, not funky. I can add a nice smell with liquid softener, or softener sheets.  Yes, I like it.  I love being frugal. If anyone wants the recipe, email me, or I am sure you can find it if you google it.

Next QOV

Isn't this pretty?  I really like scrap quilts.  I must make one like this.  This is the next QOV I am going to do.  The backing may be a little tricky for me.  It has some strips sewn in the center, the sides and the top and bottom.  I've got to figure out how to measure it so that I will be sure to get it centered on the back of the top.  Not something I am very good at.

Work Day

Today has been pretty much a work day here at the Hayes household.  Jim hired a guy to help us get some things done -- gutters cleaned, porches power washed (yeah!!), some new screens put in and the cat door replaced.  Here are a couple of pictures of the nice clean screened porch.  By the way, Carolina Pottery has these great outdoor cushions for only $9.99 each.  I've always had trouble finding a cushion long enough for our 60 inch swing.  I figured out yesterday that three of the big cushions fit together perfectly on it. My dad build me the swing about 17 years ago.  It is special to me.

First 5k!

My walking buddy and I did our first 5k walk today.  It wasn't as far as we would normally walk, but it was still a good early workout. We saw Abby Hamm there too.  She is one of the WBIR news anchors in Knoxville.  It was fun.

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.