Batik BOM

My two BOM's were very involved this month.  I just finished the August blocks for the Batik Beauty.  Had to make 120 flying geese.  All caught up for the month of August.  Now, hopefully, I can get back to cutting up shirts for the quilt for my son.

Homemade Oxygen Bleach

My husband wears dress shirts to work.  I have had a difficult time always being able to get out the "ring around the collar" on them.  He also has some bad stains on the necks of some of his t-shirts (we think from the sunscreen he wears when he fishes).  I found a recipe for homemade oxygen bleach.  As I write this I have 3 white dress shirts and one white t-shirt soaking.  I read it may take up to a whole day to get rid of the stain.

For a laundry tub or large bucket: Pour a small box of baking soda in  and add hot water.  Mix to dissolve; add 400ml of hydrogen peroxide; and more water and the stained clothes.  Soak over night or longer Check periodically and stir them.

For a spray bottle: One cup of hot water, (distilled is best), half a cup of baking soda, half cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide. Spray on stains before laundering; spray on vegetables and fruits to keep them fresh longer; can be used on grout, lawn furniture and anything else that needs to be whitened, brightened, or sanitized.

**NEVER mix vinegar with this!

It is safe and natural......(I'll let you know how it worked on the shirts!)

Smart Phone Bags

A friend gave me a a pattern for a little bag, perfect for my new phone.  I've made two.  I found several types of fasteners to use to attach it to my purse  I have two quilted backpack style purses that I love.  My new bags fasten on the handles.  I tried to coordinate the colors.

Block #8

Just finished "Gettysburg" the block #8 in the Civil War Reproduction quilt.  Yippee!!  I am caught up.  I had to make four of these.

I am ready to get back on the shirt quilt for Elijah.  He brought me two more light blue shirts to add to the mix.  Guess I'll try to get some cut into the 2 1/2 in ch strips this evening.

Finally Finished

It weighs a ton!

What a booger!

I am using the correct needle on my longarm for denim quilting, but man, is it a booger!!  I think I need to adjust the bar some, so it won't keep getting caught on the thick seams....and I even pressed all the seams open!

July blocks finished

Finally, I've completed the July Civil war blocks.  They were very difficult!

I messed up a bit, well actually several times, so four of them are a tad bit different than the other four.  It'll work though. I am reminded of a verse today, "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord," Job 1:21.  Yesterday we heard that the adult son of some very dear friends, passed away unexpectantly.

Changes to the denim quilt

After I got the flannel for the back of my denim I quilt, I just wasn't satisfied with the bit of red on the front.  So, I removed the red strip, and the border.  Cut the border down to 3 inches, put it back on.  The quilt is still 72 x 72.  With the bigger border I thought it was almost too big and heavy for a lap quilt.  This helps a little.  I am now going to use some of the flannel for a bias binding to add the touch of red.

1 down, 7 to go

I finally got the nerve to work on the July civil war blocks. Anyone out there making these, this is how I made it work.  Cut the pieces for the half square triangles 1/16 bigger than called for (2 1/4 and 3 1/8), then I set my machine to 2.5 to put them together, which is a little bigger seam than the normal scant 1/4 allowance. It seemed to work. Now to make 7 more!

I was going to make the easier version for this month's blocks, but when I saw it made up at the Knoxville quilt show using the easier version, I decided the smaller pieces would look better for the overall design.

Saturday

Great, cloudy Saturday morning. A rainy Saturday makes a great day to sew. I finished the denim quilt top last night.  The dark spots on the denim are rain.  I wanted to make a picture outside but it has just started raining. Added the punch of red as my friend recommended (thanks Wanda!). It ended up pretty big at 79 X 79.  Can't wait till I get the flannel for the back and get it on the quilting machine. Hummm....what can I get into today......how about the July civil war blocks.....I need to get them done.

4 am wake up call

It is a little unusual to wake up at 4 am to a squealing baby rabbit.  That is what was going on at our house this morning.  Evidently Jesse slipped in the house with him some time earlier -- we can't figure out when.  It wasn't at 11:00 pm when he came in for the night, and I didn't see a rabbit with him when he came in earlier arou 8 pm.  Who knows how long the little fellow had been hiding inside the house!  It was a funny sight -- Jim and I going all through the house with the lights on and flashlights looking in every corner ( at 4 am!)before we found him.  He was unhurt so off I go through the yard in my PJs to let him run off. My friend calls me Ellie, as in Ellie Mae of the Clampetts TV show.

Trash to Treasure

Who would have thought that 8 pair of old, wornout, jeans could be a great quilt?? I think I'd like to put a navy border all around it so I'll be looking for either a couple more pair of dark denim jeans to recycle or some navy twill.  I want to use flannel for the backing.  I love it!  I plan to use an overall quilting pattern and can't wait to do that.  I'll post a new picture when it is completed.

Picnic Quilt

The denim (picnic) quilt is taking shape.  It is hard to quit sewing and go to bed when you are having so much fun!

Denim

I've taken a break from cutting up shirts and started a denim quilt.  Special thanks to my "sponsors": My son for his 5 pair of old, outgrown, faded jeans; my husband for his worn out fishing jeans; the rather large (size 50) gentleman who donated his Wranglers to Goodwill; and the matronly woman (won't tell the size) who donated her dark jeans to Goodwill. I wanted to get a good variation of shades, so that is why I purchased the two from Goodwill.  To make lighter strips, I turned some of the strips inside out.  It'll work, just you wait and see! See my first 9 patch block in the pile.  Those will soon turn to 9 patches and split rail blocks.  Stay tuned! And don't worry E, I am not putting Goodwill shirts in your shirt quilt; it will be strictly your very own shirts.

A lesson in bass

Since I had my first home cooked bass a couple of weeks ago, I've been more than anxious to go bass fishing with my avid fisherman husband.  He prefers catch and release, so he isn't fond of the idea of bringing them home.  I've convinced him that if we could just eat our bass once a month I'd be happy.  Well, he fished last night and the poor fish perished (not by his choice), so tonight....I had my first lesson in filleting a bass and cooking it to perfection.  Yum, Yum.

After he showed me how to fillet it using the electric knife, he sprinkled a little Lowery's seasoning on it, dipped it in white cornmeal and fried it in some oil.  His single two-pound fish was enough for each of us to have two decent fillets.  It was wonderful (of course the fried potatoes and onions, white beans, and peas complimented it well!).  Thanks hubby!