Frugal Friday offerings....

on this sunshiny Friday. Two more Fridays this month *VBS* Today's offerings are a bit different, but frugal none the less. To my way of thinking, being frugal does NOT equal "being cheap". I think "cheap" is a state of mind, and that the value of something lies within the giver and the receiver. It would be very hard not to find value in this... my first Frugal Friday offering. Friend Jean was in need of something for a grandson's birthday. I happened to have a couple of things that were perfect for the age and purpose she needed. Altho I would have been happy to give them to her, that was not acceptable to her. In her mind they had cash value. I suggest a "swap", some of her home canned tomatoes and a jar of applesauce. On her way to work today, she dropped off 4 qts. of tomatoes, 4 packages of frozen corn, 2 jars of applesauce and 2# of hamburger. She was thrilled with the toys and I was thrilled with the very useful food items *VBS* Frugal for both of us!
  Off in a different direction, I pulled this piece of homespun from my ample plaids stash and turned it into a tea towel. It was never "just right" for whatever project I was doing, and it had been in the stash for many, many years. The dark spots are moisture, as I put it right to work this afternoon *VBS* Along that same line of thinking, my friend Libby, of A Simple Girl, turned some older tablecloths into generous sized napkins for everyday use. I've made many napkins to line baskets for dinner rolls, etc, but had never thought to recycle older tablecloths(so few people have use for them anymore) into napkins. They wash and dry beautifully and you don't have to buy paper ones!
 Yesterday I was invited to lunch with friend Betsy. They had just returned from a trip to Philly to see that sweet granddaughter. Having found a nice quilt shop, she bought several K. Fassett prints to feed her stash. Betsy cranks out many more quilts in a year than I do, and her scrap bin is always overflowing. She offered and I took!
I'm not comfortable pulling for myself, as I'm always afraid I'll take too much or take something she wants to keep. I asked her if she would pull some scraps and strings for me, and she did. Her comment regarding the amount was "I'm always happier when I can put the lid on the bin", and after filling this basket, she could. Over the years I've come to realize that while I'd rather work exclusively with scraps, rather than stash, Betsy prefers to cut for a specific quilt. She only does the totally scrappy thing when her scrap bin gets out of control. It worked for both of us. What a fantastic win-win Frugal Friday I've had *VBS*

Mr. Mailman.....

and I can say that and be accurate, since I have a "Mr" as my mailcarrier on this rural route. Mr. Mailman brought me treasures this week, in the form of gifts from good friends in blogland *VBS* I feel so very blessed to know people like all of you. My new favorite mini quilt measures 5" X 6.5" and was a gift from Libby, of A Simple Girl. I'm just amazed at those tiny pieces, and feel so honored to have one of Libby's little treasures*VBS* Thank you again Libby! Even the envelope has polka dots...a favorite of mine!!!
 This lovely gem of a gift came from my dear friend Norma, of Random Stitches. It was a HUGE surprise!! Seems I won a giveaway...LOL It's extra long, and of such beautiful workmanship. It will hold many of my disappearing rulers and keep them from running away from me. Mr. Norma, known as the Great White Hunter, makes these beautiful items, what talent he has!! Thanks again, Norma, for thinking of me, and to both of you for my gift, I'll treasure it always. The week has flown by quickly, and I wish I could say I have accomplished alot, but I haven't. I've done some sewing, some cutting and alot of nothing in particular. My friend Jean has surgery,again, earlier this week, and dear friend Betsy was in Philly for her DGD's first birthday, so a quiet week for me. My eye is doing quite well. The vision isn't as good as it was the first days after the surgery, but still is such a huge improvement over before. I see the optho dr. again on Tuesday, hoping the eye has healed enough that he'll write a glasses presc.
I've been thinking,a lot, this past week, mostly about fabric. No doubt a person could write several books just about 'fabric'. I've been cutting scraps, which occupies my hands but not my mind. I find my mind drifting back to where each piece (christmas in this case) came from. What company made it, and possibly what year. Going back into the early 1980's, "collections" were just beginning to make an appearance on the shelves. There were no quilt stores near my location, and most of my fabric came from Ben Franklin dime stores, which used to have a really nice selection of both bolted and flatfold fabric. Because so much of what I've bought over the years, and what is in my stash, ISN'T part of a "collection" from a particular designer, I often refer to whose line of fabric it was, i.e. Marcus Brothers, RJR, VIP, Cranston,Alexander Henry and the like.
Before collections, what was available was the same fabric in many colors, but not necessarily with any companion pieces. In my Christmas scraps, in the Monday post, you probably can see a fabric with white swans. It's a VIP and I had it blue, red and dark green.
My favorite (of all time)Christmas fabric peeks out at you from the first picture in Monday's post....the lime green with snowflakes and a very funny looking Santa. I wish I could explain the attraction of that particular fabric, but I can't. I just love it, and it makes me smile and almost laugh every time I see it. I have very little of it left, but I put in as many of my scrap quilts as I can....I'm sure some of you long time quilter know that feeling. It somehow connects me to days gone by, home, family and happiness.
 All that was to lead up to this strange piece of Christmas fabric. It's a scrap of Alexander Henry fabric. Betsy bought it for me, because of it's western theme. I've had a cowboy quilt on my 'someday' list for a long time. The piece you are seeing is the bulk of the scrap. On Tuesday I cut the rest of the scrap away, leaving as much of this particulr scene as I could. I've decided I want to add a checkboard border and make a little quilt to hang over my kitchen sink. When at the sink, which isn't often, I have a blank wall ahead of me, except for the clock. Well, the clock will be moving! This piece doesn't "hit me" quite as well as the lime green santa fabric, but it's close

Sunny Sunday pieces...

and welcome sunshine it is *VBS* My part of WI is still swinging wildly between seasons. 80 degrees one day and 50 the next. But the grass is green, flowers are blooming and the season of blizzards is past(I hope!) Part of my loot from the shopping trip with Betsy. The stripe is for a narrow inner border on that Country Roads quilt top. The piece of cheddary yellow is 'just because'.
 My main purchase was these 6 quarter yard pieces of Pat Spaeth reproduction fabrics to 'piece' out what I have. As you can see they are for the Prairie Children doll quilts. I was sadly lacking anything remotely pink, and new lights are always welcome.
 Betsy and I had a wonderful, altho brief shopping trip. Lunch was chinese, a new place for me...yummy! We hit only one fabric shop, but that's ok. My rug is out to 20", and from all reports I've heard, my students are doing much better than that! Norma, at Random Stitches is making one, as is Leslie at Pieceful Moments. Today I see that Granny Lyn, at Just Granny's has begun an oval rug *VBS* Everyone is doing so well with them...I'm very proud of all of you!!
 And here is the weekends work....5 paks of 9 wax begonias each to plant in my flower boxes and bots. It's that time again *VBS*

Five Magic Words....

Betsy and I had lunch today...corn pancakes with fresh maple syrup...yum! We both adore them, but are in the minority. So we eat them together *VBS* It's a special treat! Not fancy, but like friendship, warm, satifying and stays with you.
Betsy and I have been friends for more than 20 years now. What a lucky day when her sister-in-law introduced us over the basting of a navy and pink Ohio Star quilt...one of Betsy's first. My, how times have changed!! I gave her the first orange fabric she ever had to make a quilt for her Dad. And there has been no looking back.
This quilt(close-up only) is several months old, but only recently got hung in the dining room. It's a sunny room, with windows on 3 sides, and we use it to baste quilts. Betsy loves that FISH fabric. She has purchased it in more stores than I can remember,over the years, always buying several yards. I think she's cornered the market on that one! I love it, but only have a small piece, supplied by Betsy...LOL. If you love it, you share it!
Over the past weekend, Betsy managed to create yet another WHOLE quilt top, mostly with 2" strips left from other projects, and a few newly cut ones for good measure. She works with amazing speed!! It's a wonderful top, but I delibertely DIDN'T photograph it today *VBS*(I have my reasons *G*). I was so happy just looking at it, lying there on the mexican tile floor.
And then she said those MAGIC words.......there are exactly 5 of them......."Do you want my scraps?" Well, that puts me OVER the MOON! So, the scraps in the pile are 2" leftover strips...not from the FISH quilt, but from the new one. I'm almost certain what I will make with them. I'll have to cut more to go with them....she's used ALL the orange!
And to help me "Paint My Wagon(as the song says)"(note quotation marks!) she even lent me one of her NEW books *VBS* Am I happy camper or what????? *S*S*S*S*S*

The Hours......

so many in a day. Too many, and yet often, not enough. The Hours was an interesting movie about women, and hours do shape the foundation of each day. I think of that movie often, and what "the hours" hold for me and for each of us. Circumstance of life gave me an unpleasant hour the other evening via the comments section. The hours since then have brought a cup filled to overflowing with reassurance from all of you, my dear friends *VBS*A bright moment in an otherwise gloomy day was in my mailbox a few days ago. The sender even remembered that I don't always walk out to get my mail each day, and prompted me to do so *VBS* A new friend, but a very dear one,lives on the shores of Michigan(so to speak). I had linked over to meet Granny Lyn after she left me such a nice comment. She was offering to trade seeds with other bloggers, and I was thrilled to swap seeds with her. It's not that we can't afford seeds to plant, it that's it fun to have something from a friend, to share the sisterhood. These lovely fabrics were in the package along with the packet of seeds! I was just astonished! Granny Lyn you are a sweetheart, you brighten my day, I love the fabric and can't wait to make a wall or table quilt with them *VBS*And I can't wait to have Granny Lyn's marigolds blooming at my house this summer *VBS*
Even more amazing, I have this bundle of tone on tone colors from that DD#1 who tucked them into the flannel she brought for burp cloths for the new baby *VBS* They seem to work perfectly together...don't you just love the lemonade fabric????
And thanks to Julie Q, who challenged me to show my oldest UFO...LOL. I've decided to sew these Paths to Piece(it has other names)in sets of 2 and add them to the Orphan Train quilt I am piecing right now.
.Clare, who heads up the Quilts 4 Leukaemia, challenged me to use pieces from my scrap cutting and make a 12 blocks red and white quilt to be given to a leukaemia patient...I took the challenge *VBS*...I LOVE CHALLENGES! This is the 8.5" block that I will be making for my challenge. I didn't notice til I uploaded the picture, I've got one of the 4 patches sewn in reversed....gotta fix that!

Ready??? Set....Switch....

'and like a good neighbor, Daylight Saving Time is here! I'm not ready. I'm never ready. I'm from the set that wishes they would make it all ONE way or the other, and stop the flip-flopping. Flip flopping, in my opinion is highly over rated! Fish do it, and what does it get them??As I promised yesterday, and not really a big deal, here is the first of my Mile A Minute(crumb) quilts. It's fairly small, but it's flannel backed and Jean loved it. What I like best is the royal blue and cheddar together *VBS*. It's utility quilted with perle cotton.
This particular 'oldie-but-goodie' is one I WISH I owned. Actually Jean wished she did also. We worked on this one together, taking a very old top from a closet shelf dweller to a useable bed quilt. The gal who owns it wasn't will to pay for quilting, so Jean and I tied it with a string-like cord, making small inconspicious ties. The tone of the picture is correct. Those blocks that appear faintly pink(as if a photo blur) are actually the colors they appear. This was made by someone who knew what she was doing. And I suspect she was a scrap quilter.
Came across this oldie while looking through old pictures. My three oldest, taken back in 1973-74. The littlest girl is the one who now has the new baby. My oldest DD, who turned 40 last year, and my oldest DS, who will be 39 in a few days *VBS* It is very strange to find your children becoming parents, and even stranger as you see them age.
On the home front, I had lunch with Betsy this week. She tells me that her DGD, who is now 3 months old, is up to 12 pounds. Everyone in that little family is doing well, despite Chicago's snowy winter.
Her amarylis is in full bloom and just beautiful in it's ruby glow. She has hung a new quilt in her dining room, and I MUST get a picture for you. It's wonderful!! She has a new project in the works, a Jacob's Ladder variation that we did together about 10 years back. She loves the 4 in 9 patch that I'm inspired by.
Ebby has been a horrible, awful, terrible bad cat the past few days, I think it's time for spring so I can open a window for her. I think she's got cabin fever! What worked best yesterday was pretending I was deaf and didn't know she was here...LOL

Just for my friend Norma....

Of Random Stitches *VBS* The Christmas card I received from Norma had a FQ tucked inside it. She wrote that she wanted me to have a piece of fabric from her, and it gave her a smile to think about some of that piece in my quilts. Norma, you don't have to wait forever for that dream to happen. I've made up one of the Kitchen Sink units(top one) and will include it in the KS I'm making for ME! The 4 patch(below) will be tucked into one of double 4 patch quilts I'm working on...*VBS* You'll always be there, in my quilt and in my heart...thank you *VBS*
Finn been so very good lately, and soooo very busy getting organized I decided to give her a 'play' day today *S* And this is part of what is happening on the cutting board. Can you guess?
It might just be something from this lovely book I got back in October for my birthday *VBS* I've resisted for so long....
It was hard to choose which one I wanted to make today....but Broken Dishes won! I'm using fabric from my Civil War project box...some scraps I've had since the mid 80's and some I've bought in the past few months. Mine won't be quite as pink, red and blue as the picture suggests. That green just demanded to be used...what's a girl to do????

As Usual, a WIP Wed. on Thursday...

Here I am, with double layers of clothing *S*, I'll be fighting cabin fever if I don't get back into my sewing room/studio/computer central! Even dear Ebby was getting 'edgy' yesterday with 2 rooms closed off against the cold.This is another of the 4 tops I pieced last week. Parts of this one were already blocks....I always seem to make way too many of everything....or maybe I was "sewing up scraps" and got carried away..LOL Either way, it's fun to work out a combination that is pleasing to look at, and also interesting. The blocks are 6.5", and right now the top is 7 blocks by 7 blocks, or 42" square. I think I'll probably add one more row to the length. If I add two rows to the length, I'd have 42" X 56", closer to a donation size. It can just be on the hanger while I "think" about it..*VBS*
Betsy was here for tea on Monday, and brought me a packet of these lovly fabrics. The line is called "Katmandu"....part of a collection of fabrics with a Nepal flavor. They are meant to be used for embellishing.Betsy and I have a mutual friend thst own and runs a resturant in Katmandu.
Here is one spread out. She split the half yards and I got a FQ of each. I'm not quite clear on whether or not they should be "pieced" into something and then embellished or if you just start adding beads and stitching to the FQ as is. Betsy promised to make me a copy of the article she read that inspired her ordering them. We had a nice visit, I made some muffins to have with our tea and we got all caught up on grandbabies *VBS* She and DH are off to Chicago(via Amtrak) tomorrow to visit with their new granddaughter. She promised me pictures *VBS*
Thank you all you lovely gals for the opinions on the flying geese layout. I like it also, and will use it for sure. And yes, I'll send the alternate row of geese south instead of north...LOL
That particular batch of scraps wasn't hard to sew into "parts", as the HST's were already made and laying around...LOL. Making 4 patches is like eating popcorn...very enjoyable.
I'm continuing to cut scraps. I use the basis of Bonnie's Scrap Saver method, but I don't find cutting ALL strips or bricks to be useful. Right now I need the 2.5" strips and squares for 4 patches. But I am also working on a 12" Depression block top as a scrap quilt, and I am cutting 6" squares to be diced into hour glass blocks for that quilt. I have several other scrap quilts in progress, baby print bow ties for example. So I cut strips in Bonnie sizes, but I also cut squares and triangles in sizes I will be needing.
I counted things this a.m. and I have more than enough 4 patches for the Gypsy Quilter looking top, and a good start on another double 4 patch set with a bright kid print.
I don't find "scraps" to be a problem or a mess, they are my "drug" of choice...LOL. I'd rather be playing with scraps more than anything else. And even those I have scraps in many different baskets, boxes and bags, they don't seem to constitue a mess. I am finding, however, a real sense of satification in seeing them all nipped and tucked and stacked in neat piles in a shallow box. As with so many things, stacking them neatly in piles sure does reduce the volume!!! My next goal is to sort through my stash and cull out the small pieces. I will be cutting those up into designated sizes also. I have a top in progess that uses 6.5" squares of kid prints, one that 3.5" squares and I will continue to cut the 4.5"(new to me) for more Kitchen sink look-a-likes)
And I'm taking the scrap sorting one step further. Like Bonnie, I've always just tossed the cut strips into a basket or box(rubbbermade type). What I have found over the years, is that some of them have been in there so long, and pawed through so often, they are ravely along the edges. I hate that! So I've folding them along the length a couple of times and making stacks. You sure can get alot more strips in a drawer with them stacked instead of just tossed in. When I want a color I just lift the stack out and holding it in one hand, I flip through til I find the one I want to pull out *VBS* Works for me!

The Valley at just before 6...Thursday a.m....

My but it feels good to be 'almost' back to normal! Similar to having surgery, I'm feeling like I 'lost a day' out of my life..*VBS* I might have made better progress if I could have stayed at it straight through, but as luck would have it, I was invited to Betsy's for lunch yesterday. Of course I abandoned the woes, and went!! We had a lovely show and tell of her new quilts (2), actually 3, with the one in the Q-snap! A great lunch of homemade cheese and fresh bread, and caught up on the news. She and DH have been on 'the go' quite alot this summer, including planning an 85th birthday party(in Philadelphie) for her mom. That's coming in Sept...big event!
AND...I asked for and got help getting the new little Jamone UP AND RUNNING! We filled bobbins, and I used Betsy's eagle eyes to help with directions and getting it threaded for the first time. It sews like a champ! You wouldn't think something so small would work like a machine, but it does. It only has one speed...if you ease back on the foot petal, it stops. If you try to go faster, ya right...LOL! The seam is just slightly wider than 1/4" but not a 3/8"...not bad. Stitch adjusting is easy and the bobbins hold lots!
As you can imagine, Betsy almost fell off her chair when I reach into my tote bag and lifted it out with one hand...LOL
Anyway....the pictures! Dream state brought me UP and OUT of slumber very rapidly this a.m., and altho I wasn't really ready to be up before 6, I WAS. I opened the door for Ebby to check the morning, and off to the north east, a fire ball burned in the midst of the trees. Even with zoom I'm not doing it justice...quite breathtaking.
And of course, the glory of the windowboxes...even with the day still dark behind them....shades of summer in WI...*VBS*
Farmer's market today, I got more goodies! Several containers of cukes to make some refrigerator pickles, and 3 cartons of raspberries for 2 batches of freezer jam!! Some potatoes, zuchinni and onions. Did my grocery shopping and other errands. The weekend is almost upon us again, and I'll be busy!! Two quilts got washed and dried...nice and fluffy and free of cathair. Lots of 'same old, same old', but after yesterdays fiasco, it felt good to me!!!

Anybody dizzy yet?

Well, I AM....for sure! But a huge THANK YOU!!! to Michele from Quilting Journey for the suggestion. I went back to the post and added a line of dialog and then saved it as 'draft' and sure enough....that did it!!! Hurray for Michele's good idea!!!! *VBS*
My day JUST got sooooo much better...*S*
And for those who saw it all, and wondered....LOL, the 'gremlins' was a fabric I just came across at equilter...loved the monsters, the church sign and directive from God was relating to my smoke inhalation overdose on the 4th of July, and the sweet kittens was to thank you all for the lovely blocks ... one more time! No repeat performance will happen, however!
And now, I'm going to bed!! Good night, hugs all, Finn

More blocks from my surprise package...

And hopefully today Blogger won't feel I need the extra html at the side...LOL. I am enjoying looking and admiring each of your blocks sooo much...just wanted you to know*VBS*
First picture we have from left: Jen at Hedgehog,Anne at Quiltoholic, Patti at Quilting is my Passion, and Rose at Threadbare. Since there were 21 blocks, I had to choose one to stand alone at the end...I picked this block on purpose *VBS* It's from Yvonne at Quilting Down the Stairs. By putting it alone, I could put it on point and come in close on the stamped detail...really a charming block Yvonne..*S*

And the last picture??? Well, I just couldn't resist. Ebby hasn't appeared just lately, LOL, but having her jump into my vintage laundry basket, and curl up on the fabric when her Mile A Minute quilt is right behind the basket seemed to good not to share. In my house, there are quilts everywhere, as you might imagine. Stacked on chairs, on the couch back, in piles on the floor, in the bathroom, and definitely in the laundry room, bedroom? of course, maybe the only place you couldn't sit or lay on one is in the kitchen...LOL. And Ebby claims ALL of them, plus any fabric or even a plastic bag that might be on the floor with fabric in it. If I leave the stash door open, she goes inside the closet and sleeps on the fabric. Like most of your cats, she has become a first class quilter's cat in short order!

Rainy Days and Mondays....

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But they can't get me down...*VBS* I'm still flying high looking at my beautiful blog-a-versary blocks! As I said, there are 21 here. Jeanne at Luv 2 Stitch said there might be more coming, and Rose cnfirmed that. And then this a.m. an email from a friend who quilts in FL saying she wants to send one...marvelous!! If any others would like to send a 6.5" block from your scraps, I'd love to put it in my upcoming quilt..*VBS* It would mean just that much more with YOURS in there!!!

Today we have blocks(such neat ones!)beginning left: Kathie in NJ, she doesn't have a blog, but was a Maverick with us for awhile. Thanks Kathie!!*VBS*, Anne at Piece by Piece,Gudrun at Gudrun, and Simonette at My Quilt Dreams.
In the 2nd row: Bren at Pieces from me, Fiona at Scraps-in-progress, Teodo at Appunti Patch, and Jeanne at Luv 2 Stitch. I will show you the last 5 tomorrow. I've been thinking and thinking and trying to decide on how to set them...*VBS*, and I do have a couple of ideas..more later.

As I told you on the 12th, I've been sewing like a mad woman lately. Just seems to be a form of mental 'possession' to finish up some tops and have them done with. There are 5 different sets of blocks that I am working with, jumping back and forth. The Amish with the friendship star I showed a few days ago, is one of those sets. I have made 9, have lots more, but am only going to make 10 total. Then they will be added to the newest orphan train quilt.
Today I'm showing you some "Whatever" blocks from an idea Linda J had. I have just about all I need, but will make 2 more. Then it's going to be a baby quilt. Second picture, left over parts of a abandoned Pineapple Blossoms. A couple more needing a strip or two, and then they will join the orphans on the platform, waiting to ride.
Today I wish I could sew, but I have some bank business, some cleaning, and a few errands to run. I'll be back later to see what all of you are up to...Hugs, Finn

On a sunny Sunday morning....

...I am still amazed and in awe of this wonderful gift from blogging friends around the world!! *VBS* So very sorry that 'life' had me(and the rest of the world) by the tail yesterday! Sometimes things happen and you can switch plans, and sometimes, not. Yesterday turned into a "not" despite my plans...but here I am, better late than never I think *G*, still full of gratitude and awe from receiving such a lovely gift from so many of you.
With the new blogger format of using the html for the pictures, it's hard to put the words by the right picture. Sorry. The package I received was a nice, bulky priority envelope, a big one! And it had bulky contents! 21 absolutely wonderful 6.5" scrappy blocks from YOUR scrapsbags(and that was emphized...LOL) in celebration of my 2 years of posting at Blogspot!
Sometime after I announced my giveaway celebration, Nadine started the ball rolling with other quilters to send me blocks! What is so very incredible to me, is that altho you all seem to know me, there are some of you that I don't recognize the names. Guess that's what amazing on the internet. In this format, we can read each others posting, and leave a comment, or just move on to the next blog. I really have not minded that the readship excedes the comments....other than I can't always pop over and greet you and see where you blog and what you are up to! And I love doing that!!!
But the wonderful blocks...back to those. In the first picture, starting at the top left, the blocks are from: Tracey of Oz Country Quilting Mum,Nancy of Quilting Fitzy,Connie at Chookblue, and Nadine of Friendship Treads. She actually embroidered those words~such tiny stitches!

Second picture from top left:Pam at Pam's Pages, Connie of Simply Quilted, Tanya at TANIWA and last but not least, Bea of Capricorn Quilts.

I will share more of the blocks tomorrow, but please, each and every one of you, I send my deepest heartfelt thank you for this lovely honor. I'm just Finn, and all I do is just my 'Finn' kind of thing, if that has helped you in some way, I am sooo very pleased..*VBS* A special THANK YOU to Nadine(Friendship Threads) for deciding to do this and getting the ball rolling, and another special THANK YOU to Jeanne(Luv 2 Quilt) for being the collection center and keeping track and getting them off to me in such a lovely package, with such a lovely note! Loved your stationery and envelope...it will live on in my stitching box *VBS* I love seeing little reminders like that of the friendship, support and love of fabric and quilting that we all share. God bless the Quilters of the World, for they be both piece and peacemakers. Hugs for all, Finn *VBS*

Happy Days.....

when a trip to the mail box reveals something wonderful from a blogger friend *VBS* I found ju just such a surprise day before yesterday. A wonderful ATC from Paula... http://thequilter.blogspot.com/ And she made it just for me...It says "Ms Ebby stops to smell the flowers". It's soooo gorgeous, thank you Paula, it's wonderful and a perfect match to Ebby's profile...*VBS* I feel so special..*S*

And I got this wonderful ATC about a week ago for McIrish Annie at http://quilttilyouwilt.blogspot.com/ Annie has been making cards for several months now, and does such a beautiful job! This one looks inspired to me, and I'm thrilled to call it mine..*VBS*
I will be adding these two to the lovely one I got from Darcie for my birthday, last October. Darcie is at http://quiltingbydarcie.blogspot.com/ Her's is made from some of her handdyeds, an oak leaf on a muted back ground...I love them all. I can see why the gals get addicted to making these. Might just have to give it a whirl myself.
Background for the picture provided by the vintage quilt on the back of the couch this summer. It's the one in which the maker had to 'piece' together scraps to get a 4" block to use. I bought it as a top and hand quilted it several years back.

"Make new friends...

but keep the old....one is silver, the other gold". Remember that old song that we sang as 'round' back in Brownies or Girl Scouts? I wonder if singing is still such a big part of being a scout? Maybe it's just that the times were simpler, back in the late 40's and 1950's. I was a Brownie Scout, and I 'flew-up' to the Girl Scouts..*S* I still have my Brownie pin and my wings. It was a 'good part' of my turbulent growing up years. Something that stayed constant.
Along that same line, is my friendship with Jean. I thought it was time you met this person who plays a big role in my day to day happiness...*VBS* Jean and I have sons that were friends all through school. And altho Josh(her oldest) played at my house, or Justin(my youngest) played at hers, we never got acquainted until 2000. She is quite abit younger than me, but it doesn't seem to matter. I offer wisdom, well seasoned ways of looking at things, and a place to lean.In return I have found loyality, companionship, and someone to laugh with....and much more. I think she and I are kindred spirits. I taught Jean to quilt in 2001, and she was an excellent student. She's a scrapper and believes in 'use it up'. I couldn't be prouder.

Of course I had to show her my crocheted rugs, and before I knew it, she was off and running. She makes the rectangle shaped ones, and has sold several. I knew it wouldn't be long before she'd HAVE to try a basket...LOL. Sure enough, by Sunday evening she 'caved'. When I talked to her yesterday, she'd finished 5...*G* I think it's fair to say that her mom will be getting a set of stacking baskets for Mother's Day on Sunday. I snapped these pictures last week while she was visiting. She's activities director at our local nursing home. She works from noon til 8:30, and often stops after work to visit. Her hands are always busy, crocheting, snipping the sewn strips of trimming off the overlap and winding the rag balls. She's sitting on the floor so she can stretch out her tired legs..*S*
And here's that elusive picture of my three baskets,stacked. You can see the smallest one is about a row taller than the other two. Hedgie ask how much fabric it takes? More than you would think! If you know how to crochet Hedgie, take a large hook, and a strip about 3/4" wide of fabric and make a chain. I think 36" of fabric will give you about 10-18 single crochet stitches, depending. I tear my fabric. I prefer tearing to cutting, but I tear down the length of the yardage, instead of across. It gives you a cleaner tear. There are a couple of threads to pull away and discard, but not too bad. Polyster fabric tears poorly to not at all. If you need or want more information on the baskets, give me a hollar...*VBS*

Dearest Friends and Neighbors....

I am reading on some of the blogs all sorts of problems with postings, comments, being "shut out"
and such. And like the slightly tardy, day late, dollar short person I am, I finally did what was required to switch to Beta. But as luck would have it, the invitation to join was gone from my Dashboard. So I signed into my Google account, and did what they asked of me. Alas, I'm NOT one of the ones who will be switched on the first go-round. Sooooo....
if you like reading what I think about, wonder, observe, etc, please continue to do so. And don't worry about the comment part. I know that my friends and neighbors will be back with their cheery comments when everything is working better again.
I have faith in Blogger and Google, and I am grateful for having had this medium to connect with soooo many of you. I know it's easier when things don't change, but if that were the case, we might not even have this thing called the "web". Who could have imagined world wide connections with the stroke of a typewriter key??? Certainly not me...*VBS* So as Maud would say "put your big girl panties on, and deal with it". It's just an inconvenience...not a disaster...honest! Sending love, hugs, prayers and an angel to watch over you, Finn