Friday, April 25, 2014

Friendship + and X block exchange

It is hard to believe that the exchange of + and x block between me and Carla is winding down to a close. This is the last Friday of the month, and the last time I will show you a set of four blocks, but not the last time you will see these blocks! I'm excited to put the blocks together.

Here are the blocks I completed for this month, two of each, one set for me and one set to send to Carla.
The blocks I have sent:
 And all the blocks I have received from Carla.
It's fun to look at them all grouped together. You can see what a difference value and fabric placement makes when you seen them side by side.

I think they will play very well together. Just like good friends should. After a break, I hope Carla and I can come with another block exchange to do together.

You can check out the flickr group here.

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Really Random Thursday, 4/24/14

We had a lovely Easter Sunday. After church and then lunch outside, with really beautiful weather, there was quite a massive Easter egg hunt.
 
 
 
 
I know--they are all super adorable. I never quite get used to how cute they all are.


Dear Nabisco, these are not Oreos. Oreos are chocolately cookies on the outside sandwiched around white frosting.
Do you ever feel like this?
Seen at Barnes and Noble
Or maybe like this?
Seen on Kristie's  instagram feed
Please share.

Remember the rules:
1. At least one random item.
2. Please link directly back here.

Your turn.


Wednesday, April 23, 2014

WIP Wednesday. Nearly wordless...

They are all animals--they will look more like it after the eyes/noses are added. Pattern template here.

Ready for quilting. Machine cross-hatching? Or hand-quilted big stitch?

Linking up here.

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Really Random Thursday, 4/17/14

This week I like:

A boy and his teacher at open house:
with ice cream to celebrate afterwards.
Pedicure partners:
Baby fingers:
Flowers from the garden:
and seen in a parking lot:

A fun night with special people:
Upcycling:
And funny sayings seen on social media:
Not that I even have a clue what that last one means...

Your turn.






Friday, April 11, 2014

Friday Finish

This is a just a little finish and I nearly forgot about it. When this one started kindergarten last fall, he was very particular about keeping his pencils and markers together, and separated from all the other pencils and markers in the house. So he kept them in a ziplok baggie.


 One of my all-time favorite pictures--he looks so much like his daddy at this age
*sigh* What good is it having a grandma who sews, if she doesn't actually sew something for your pencils and markers??

I finally took care of the situation and made him this little zippered pouch with a see-through window. And added some new pencils and erasers. I used a pattern from here ( search for Peek-A-Boo Bag). It took awhile to figure out some of the steps, but it turned out really well.He's happy with it. And that's all that counts.
The finished size is 9" x 10"
I'm linking up with Finish It Friday and TGIFF.

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Really Random Thursday, 4/10/14

Two weeks ago, we had a visit from Mark's youngest brother, Pete, and his 15-year-old daughter, Hannah.

We hadn't seen them in ten years. We had a great time. And I think they enjoyed connecting with Aaron, Christa and the kids. We celebrated a 6th birthday the first evening they were here.
Hannah ended up painting on a sunny day. They come from Idaho--it snowed while they were gone.

She gave a manicure.
She gave drawing lessons.
And played the ukelele.
Charlotte participated in her first music festival competition.

She takes lessons from my mother, who still has quite a few other students, including Charlotte's brother, Levi.
I was able to tag along.

Christa was working all during the festival. Four generations...

Remember a couple of weeks ago I mentioned that a friend named one of her chickens Cindy Lou after me. She has grown a lot! Isn't she pretty?
Last week on Instagram there was something called the Rainbow Flash Mob. Someone would assign a color to you, and you would gather things together and take a picture. My color was red.
I had a good morning yesterday.
And finally...I have no comment on this.
Your turn. Remember to include at least one random thing, and also please link back to me here. Thanks!



Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Postscript....and a little WIP

The MCC sale was a resounding success, raising nearly $200,000 in about 24 hours!

Amish Stars sold for $3,500.

These pictures were taken before the sale actually started.
Several quilts are featured each year, four in the front, and four facing the other way. There is Amish Stars over on the left.

I posted this on Instagram the other day, to give you an idea about the scale of this quilt. It's big.
Super cute t-shirt from Patchwork Threads
The system they use for auctioning is great. They have a big turntable, a wall that separates it in half, with a bed on each side. They stack the quilts/afghans/comforters, about ten at a time on each bed. Then an announcer gives a little bit of info before the auctioneer actually begins, while two white-gloved women hold up the quilt,
then turn it around so the back side can be seen.

When one stack has been auctioned off, the turntable swings around, and the process starts all over. It is very efficient and saves a lot of time.

I had forgotten that a few months ago, I went through some quilts I made a long time ago, knew I was no longer interested in them, so I donated them as well.
These three quilts raised an additional $1,100.

And also a piece of handpainted china on the silent auction table, something I painted back in 1984.  That probably qualifies as vintage by now...
Christa's t-shirt quilt sold for $2,600! I think I was more nervous and excited when the auctioning started on hers than with Amish Stars!
There was a lot of good food. However, I didn't get out of the gym much and didn't take any pictures. There was also some face painting going on.
Grrrrr.......
That night, the West Coast Mennonite Men's Chorus had a concert, along with another one the following night. While the concert is free, an offering basket is passed around and 100% of the money donated is also given to MCC. There are 143 men singing, ranging in age from 15 through 90+, and it is truly a phenomenal sound!
 There is Mark, on the far right.
The bottom line is raising money for the needy around the world. When I became aware this project in Kenya, I was truly amazed at this simple, yet effective relief effort. 
Here in an impoverished area in Nairobi, tables of clear plastic bottles fill the courtyard. Throughout the day, the sun's ultraviolet rays soak into the bottles of water, killing the bacteria , viruses and parasites, providing safe drinking water to the school's pupils. Isn't that amazing? Workers from MCC are in this community teaching solar disinfection, sanitation and hygiene that is changing lives.

Last week I had a little giveaway of some Oakshott scraps. Thanks to everyone who commented and told me about the charitable organizations you support. The two winners are:

#46, Pickles Quilting and

#9, Brenda

I will be contacting each of you for your mailing information.

Thanks for following along on this journey again. I already know what I'm planning to do two years from now!

Oh, and I'm currently working on "Mabel." The top is all pieced. So now...how to quilt it. Thinking of a single line of charcoal stitching through the crosses going both ways, essentially grid quilting. Thoughts?
Linking up with Lee this week.