rescue...

A favorite past time of ours is attending auctions.. We used to spend a lot more time at them before we moved...Hubby would buy old furniture, refinish it and resell it at a consignment shop. He is really good at it and it kept him busy..

Now that we are moving, we have decided to start going back to auctions again and last Sunday we found one within 10 miles of home... It was at a nice brick home on acreage with a couple of outbuildings... There were 4 flat bed trailers full of goodies and the first thing I spotted was a full set of Corelle dinnerware. We will need new dishes and even though I'm not a fan of Corelle they don't take up much room and they might be cheap at an auction... Since the dishes were on the third trailer, at the beginning I didn't even walk over and look at the other stuff. And then hubby wanted to look at the tractor and I walked over with him. The auction started and it was one word that caught my attention. "quilt". Then "old crazy quilt" and the price started at $100...then went down to $50...then down to $5 and then it happened. They were selling this quilt for $3....and I couldn't stand it. I raised that paddle so fast I almost knocked down the lady in front of me. No one bid against me and it was mine...

$3... for this......



hand embroidery...



and more hand embroidery....




and what I think is a cigarette silk or maybe it was a bookmark that was given away that says..

Reception and Serenade
to
Grover Cleveland
St Louis
October 3, 1887

and this is the largest piece.... look at that log cabin...

There are 4 pieces to this quilt... It isn't quilted...so you can see all the stitching on the back as well as the front. The fabric is in really bad shape...Three of the pieces are smaller and I probably will frame them.... I don't know what I will do with the big piece. But at least it is safe..

Oh, I didn't get the dishes...it was too hot and we left before they were auctioned off...

Nancy

Come visit me....

I'm over here today....

Nancy

It's my party and I'll draw if I want to....

draw if I want to...

draw if I want to...

You would draw too if it was

boring at your house too...

la la la la la...

Ok. I am certainly telling my age, but that song just popped into my head when I asked the son to draw for the book giveaway...

I got back from retreat this afternoon and the suitcase is all unpacked and the sewing stuff is sitting in the middle of floor waiting to be unpacked tomorrow. Too tired today to do anymore..

We had a GREAT time... I didn't get near as much done as I usually do, but that's ok. We did a couple little trips to a local quilt shop. They were a Better Homes and Garden Featured Quilt Shop in Fall/Winter 2009. It is crammed full of the latest fabric and this afternoon as we walked in, the owner stopped the three of us and said "oh, you should see what I just added to the sale pile"... can you say pink/white polka dots, pink/white stripes, pink/white floral oh my... AND black/white fabrics ...all for $5/yard...uh huh... just like a buy one, get one free. I will try to remember to show them to you tomorrow...when it's light and I'm not tired...

So I'm tired and it's off to bed for me...but before I go...the winner of the book is

MELINDA

I've email you Melinda so as soon as I get your address I'll drop the book into the mail.

Nancy

and we are off!!

Thanks so much for all the positive comments to us buying a house... We still have a house here that we will put on the market next spring. By that time we will have stripped wallpaper, gutted a kitchen, laid hardwood floors, closed up a second front door (who puts two front doors on a ranch style house?) and had the pool cleaned out...

We are blessed to be able to own two homes for a short time. And we hope to sell this main house as soon as it goes on the market...

To celebrate...I am off to my annual Quilt Guild Retreat...

3 days

21 friends

no cooking

and the car is packed...

See ya sometime Thursday!! Don't forget to sign up for the giveaway..

Nancy

The phone...The phone is ringing...

Watch the video.

I'll wait..

Did you watch it? Really? You're not lying?

Ok...the phone finally rang...

WE GOT THE HOUSE!!

The bids came back for the septic and they will escrow the money

for repairs...

YIPPEE!!!

Nancy

PS - The video has nothing to do with this post except it has that cute song...the phone, the phone is ringing...that has been rolling around in my head ALL DANG DAY!!

sitting and waiting...

waiting for the phone to ring

very important information should come to me today

will share when I can

meanwhile I spent all morning cleaning

and now will grocery shop

anything to get my mind off the fact that the

dang phone isn't ringing..

Nancy

Book Review, Giveaway and a Birthday.....

I won this book back in July from Cara of CaraQuilts.. She had been sent the book for review and was willing to share...

I finished reading the book yesterday and really enjoyed it. I have read other Sandra Dallas books ...Tallgrass, Alice's Tulips, The Diary of Mattie Spenser and Buster's Midnight Cafe. She is what I call a "down to earth" writer.. She writes just as she would tell you in person and I like that kind of reading... it's easy..

Since this was a giveaway...I think I would like to keep it going. I will write Cara's name inside the book along with her blog name...and then mine along with the dates. If you would like to read this book and then pass it along, leave me a comment.

I won't draw a name until Friday next week... the 27th..

I will mail Media Mail as it is only a couple of dollars so that will unfortunately limit it to the USA only... sorry my overseas friends...but I mailed something a lot smaller to the UK and it was over $10... that's a bit steep for me right now...

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my FirstBornChild....
some facts about her...

she had a closet full of pink dresses before she was born and this was before ultrasounds and finding out what you were having

her first words were "Cookie Please" as she crawled to the neighbors apartment

she potty trained herself...it took me 2 days to figure out what she was doing

she would sit in the playpen for hours with a straw and a pop bead trying to get the straw into the end of the pop bead. she never could do it..

she thought we were only "babysitting" her sister

She was ready for college by age 5...little independent cuss...

One day we were merging into traffic on a major St Louis highway and when someone cut off her daddy she yelled "blow it out your ass"...really loud.. she was 3.
(disclaimer-Her daddy said it mere seconds before she did)

her first day of kindergarten was the same day as her daddy's first day of pharmacy school. Somewhere I have a photo of them on the front porch each holding their supplies...

Love ya....

Nancy

Couldn't wait...

I couldn't wait til tomorrow to tell you about this. See that new button over there to your left? The one that says Quilt-a-long? Why am I all excited about this one?

Because this isn't your regular quilt-a-long... Most quilt alongs give you directions for a block every week or month and then you end up with a beautiful top...not a quilt... This is different.. We will spend a wee bit of time making a quilt...or you can use one you already have...and she is going to tell us how to QUILT IT!!! Yes...we will end up with a FINISHED QUILT...

Click on the button and read all about it...

I am SO IN!!

Nancy

thought for the day...

Why are the people who do the most talking

the same ones that agree that we all need to be quiet...


Nancy

Design Compromise...

My granddaughter spied my CW blocks and as she was looking at them, we decided to count them.... I have 90 of them finished. The quilt has 121 quilt blocks. hm... let's think about this.

Do I NEED 121 blocks?

Why am I making this quilt?

Who am I making this quilt for?

How big does it need to be?

I certainly don't NEED to make all 121 blocks. The blocks have no meaning. Yes, each block has a letter that accompanies it, but they have no actual meaning. So I don't feel compelled to finish all the blocks. I am making this quilt for my husband who is a civil war fanatic.. he has done his genealogy on his relatives that fought in the war and owns many books on the subject. We will NOT be using this quilt on our bed (or any other bed for that matter)..so it only needs to be big enough to cover him.

With all that thinking and talking it over with the hubby...I have decided that the quilt will be 88 blocks big... that's 8 across with 1 1/2 in sashing and 11 down with 1 1/2 in sashing.. it will be just the right size...

And that means I can start putting it together... I am so excited to be heading towards the finish. I had two different fabrics I had purchased for the sashing and we laid it all out on the bed yesterday and I,he we decided on the darker of the fabrics.. It's a charcoal linen and it feels really good.

This is how far I got yesterday...I am only putting sashing on the right side of each block right now.. then I will lay them out and decide the placement...

I like it...

Nancy

woops....

I almost forget that today is Friday and the day to vote for your favorite embroidered quilt...

Click Here

Mine is Baskets of Red.... but don't feel you have to vote for me...just VOTE...

Nancy

Farmers Market....

I might use some of those blueberries in THIS...

a fair trade...

So, Tuesday afternoon I turned bitty baby over to her parents... ah...quiet... oh wait..I just traded bitty for big sister...lol
She is 8 and has wanted to come stay all summer. We finally worked it into everyone's schedule and she will stay with Grandma and Pop-pop for a couple of days...
And we are keeping busy. This morning we went to the post office and the grocery store early so we could come home to sew. As we were driving up to the post office she remarked that she has never been to a post office..."my mom...in the city...can put her stuff in the mailbox and they will take it"... ah..city life...lol She must think we live in the sticks, although we are in a small town, we do have mail delivery and yes I can put things in the mailbox also...but this was a larger package so I introduced her to Miss Ellen at the post office. She was fascinated.. who knew?

We got some time in the sewing room and she finished this for herself...



Joanne of Splitting Stitches had a giveaway for some flower and leaf shapes on her blog.. We ALL won and the package arrived a few days ago.. I saved them for Grace knowing she would love to do something with them... While at Walmart we found a canvas tote bag and Grace spent a HUGE amount of time arranging them just so.. Then we fused them down... She did a great job..
and then she made something else, but it's a surprise so we can't show photos...

She also pulled out my scraps and had a fun time at the design wall...





And I worked on this...



Then we took a rest and Imo's pizza was ordered for dinner... yummy.. THE best pizza.. and Grace's favorite...

Nancy

significant day...

It's 8-10-2010

what does that mean?


My baby boy is off to college.

today is his first class.

yes, he still lives at home

but he is starting college!!

COLLEGE !!!

as in big boy school

I'm making him french toast for his first day.

maybe i'll get a photo of him with his backpack

but probably not.

nancy

I took the photo...but he wouldn't pose so it's not the best..

design wall monday...8-9-10

Hey, did anyone notice the date today? 8-9-10?? {insert spooky music here} It will only happen once!!! da da da...... da....

Hee Hee... you know in real life I wouldn't be caught dead saying hee hee...but here it seems ok? Is that weird?

I have no design wall today.

Sorry.

Instead I have a 2 year old.

Shall I pin her to the flannel wall?

guess not... although yesterday I was tempted.... Bitty and I drove down to GG's house with Aunt Cupcake. We all went to eat lunch at Olive Garden. Bitty drank a whole glass of milk...and ate a breadstick...and then ate some mac and cheese while drinking some more milk...and then the horrible happened... Let's just say that I took her and the diaper bag to the restroom and we changed her clothes...and someone cleaned the chunks out of my purse and I am now listening to the diaper bag tumble in the dryer... dumb grandma...

and then of course she slept in the car on the way home so we didn't have a nap...

BUT...guess what was happening next door to GG? An estate sale... My mom's neighbor passed away about a year ago and they have finally sold the house. They were selling off all the stuff that the family didn't want..





And they didn't want this nice white chest of drawers..what kind of family leaves that to be sold?.... I can't turn down a white chest...it's adorable..and so lightweight that I unloaded it myself... I have no idea where it will end up...but I have a few ideas...

I also snagged some pale blue floral vintage sheets and a nice heavy white tablecloth... all for $32.50 ... sorry no photos of the sheets...they are in the dryer...with above mentioned diaper bag.

Not bad for a days work...

and now that we are actually in possession of the pull-ups...she couldn't care less... {sigh}

Nancy

just some random Sunday thoughts...

GREAT TRUTHS THAT LITTLE CHILDREN HAVE LEARNED:

1) No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats..

2) When your Mom is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair.

3) If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch the second person.

4) Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.

5) You can't trust dogs to watch your food..

6) Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair..

7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time.

8) You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.

9) Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.

10) The best place to be when you're sad is Grandma's lap.

Bitty and I are off to gather up Aunt Cupcake and go see GG... I think lunch out is in our future and maybe a stop at Target to get some pull-ups... I am wondering if some potty training might be in the works here...

Have a great Sunday!

Nancy

PS-for those NOT in the know... Aunt Cupcake is my sister, so named by my niece and GG is my Mom...

and...

because the computer issue isn't enough to throw me off...

I have this little bitty sweetie at my house until Tuesday..

We had waffles and yogurt for breakfast..

then we made cake..

with sprinkles...

and someone got to lick the spatula...

and that same someone is taking a nap...
and I need one too...

Nancy

OUT OF ORDER

computer dead

won't connect

back later...

Nancy

giveaway alert...

DON'T click on this link... She is NOT giving away a 12 month BOM called Women's Voices...

OK?

Nancy

design wall monday 8-2-10

Yesterday was a bust... No sewing here... I had a major headache. I managed to get to the grocery although I am not sure why I didn't send the other half.. I think it was easier to make the list and just get er done...

My design wall this morning shows the latest Civil War Love Letters..There are 121 blocks in total and I have lost count of how many I have finished. It's over 60 but that's just a good guess.



I also got some Mail Love this weekend. One night I decided I needed some practice poking buttons.. I hadn't done any of that for awhile. And when I poke buttons I do it HERE... and more importantly in this section.. where I found this beauty.. This is called Candy Corn and it's the only candy corn I like... now to find a pattern...any suggestions?



And then a couple of 1/2 yards just because... might make a couple of zip bags like these..


Nancy

red and redwork....

Good Morning....
I've already been out in the driveway helping the hubs cut some boards..
He is building a work bench. Because he only has two already..
whatever..

I joined Dandelion Quilts Summer Tote Swap..and finally opened my package that came way before I had mailed mine out... I remember giving colors as black/white/red and boy did she come through... Cheryl was my swap partner and she did such a great job...There is a large pocket inside along with a smaller pocket and when I looked inside, it was holding an umbrella. Now remember when I traded my VW bug for my jeep? That was just a few weeks ago. Well, I left my umbrella in the VW when we left it at the dealers...lol Now I have a new umbrella...

And while I was sitting at the car dealers Friday waiting for them to do some detailing on my jeep I finished this piece. This is the four corners to a wall hanging. Sorry I didn't press it before the photos were taken. Now I need to trace the center basket and get started on that...
The pattern was in a magazine a long time ago. Luckily a friend of mine had made the quilt and still had the magazine..

I am nursing a huge headache today. Might be the barometric pressure, but I am going to take some aleve, head upstairs and rest a bit. Maybe it will go away.. If so, I will start the tracing..
Nancy
PS we had some news on the house, but nothing that qualifies for good or bad...still waiting..