Circa 2016 Medallion is on the design board!!!

I have finally accomplished what I said I was going to do!  Start on Circa 2016 and yesterday I posted some pictures of a few pinwheels and 5  – 9 patches!  I knew I did not like where I was going with the fabrics and rather than “rip” a 2 3/4″ block, I started over with them using different fabrics.

I kept the original 5 patches (too small to rip!) and looked for additional fabrics to add some movement to the quilt.  I am using my Michael Miller Krystals for the background fabric and the border is a dark chocolate Dimples!  I am really loving this version.  I set the medallion on the design board to see how the background fabric and the darker 1 1/2″ bord would look!  I love it!  Tomorrow I will sew it together.

Change in Pace Circa 2016 Medallion

It is such a good feeling to start on a project and see the fruits of one’s labor immediately.  Applique is wonderful and my first love, but there is nothing like piecing for “instant” gratification.  I will now start on the quarter square blocks and continue to play the “catch up” game with the other quilters who are working on Circa 2016.

By the way, anytime I start the chocolate cravings I know there is a strong weather change coming down the pike and it is here.  We are having rain all this week, so best to sit and sew, and watch the rain from my nice bay windows!  Have a great evening!  I am Happy Happy Happy!

Circa 2016 and the Beginning of Summer at the Choctaw Casino

Happy Memorial Day – I love holidays in our retirement years – the phone does not bring me problems to solve because all the “problem makers” are not working!!!!  Yea!!!!   This is why I crave breaks even from the retirement life which can become boring to a Type A like myself!  I like variety and changes!  Additionally, when things do not go right, it is so good for the soul to take a short break from whatever “unforeseen requirements” are driving one nuts and change the scenery.  Clay and I had a great change of pace last week and went to the Choctaw Casino for  4 days and 3 nights at the Choctaw Lodge, a place where we have always stayed when visiting the Casino.  We both prefer to take the RV and stay at the KOA on the Casino grounds, but we did not want to do that much work after the lovely remodeling job fiascal.

Here are some pictures that show how relaxing a trip can be just sitting and people watching by the Oasis Pool.   The Choctaw Inn is in the background!

Pool Side 1 IMG_1510 IMG_1511 IMG_1514 IMG_1515 IMG_1516 IMG_1517

The Choctaw Lodge is on Choctaw land, but not connected to the Casion.  I guess those of us who are blessed enough to live on 5 acres and definitely not used to crowds prefer a more secluded hotel.  For a change in pace, for our 20th wedding anniversary in August, we have made reservations to stay in the Grand Hotel.  There are 3 hotels connected to the Choctaw Casino.  The Grand, The Choctaw Inn (the original Inn that Clay and I used to stay in early 2000’s before this enterprise grew) and the  brand new hotel now – called The Spa.  There is a wonderful new concert hall, convention center, meeting rooms, and of course more hotel rooms.  On the other side of the Choctaw Inn, they have added a movie complex, game area for kids, and a bowling alley.   The Durant, Oklahome and Dallas, Texas area now have a great entertainment complex for adults and children to enjoy thanks to the Choctaws.

Here are some pictures of the Grand Hotel and the new Spa facility.

IMG_1518
The Grand Hotel – This is where we will stay in August!
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View of the Grand and The Spa hotel
IMG_1519
Love the swimming pools at the Oasis and the hotel views.
IMG_1512
Ah – relaxation!

We were planning on staying a week, but by Monday evening we were ready to pack up and come home.  It is amazing what a short trip away from home daily routines can do for a person! I enjoy day trips too for a break in the daily routine of life.

Now on to quilting.  I finally did get to work on Circa 2016 after 2 days of washing new fat quarters and fabric purchased in Arizona this last winter – WINTER OF 2015!  Have you realized yet that 6 months from tomorrow will be New Year’s Eve?  Summer Stolstice will arrive in 23 days (21 June) and then the days will begin to be shorter – something I love to see coming – only about 4 more months of hot humid Texas weather and maybe a nice cool Fall will be here!

Now on to Circa 2016 BOW.  Here are pictures of  the blocks I have completed.  I am using reproduction fabrics that I purchased from a 2002 trip to Branson Missouri.  I have already made a quilt from this fabric and I love it.  I have a shoe box size container that has 4″ squares and some 6 1/2″ squares of the remaining fabric and decided that there would be adequate stash for this quilt.   I chose a light tone on tone for the 9 patches, but will only use it for the 9 patches.  It looks OK, but wish I would have auditioned more background fabrics.   The little setting blocks will be another fabric – probably a lighter tan.  I thought about redoing the 5 blocks I had completed yesterday but will continue on with 7 more 9 patches and put that fabric back in the stash draw for another day!  I laid the blocks (2 3/4″ square) on the background fabric that I do not like – any comments/suggestions?  Redo – change?  (I am leaning toward changing them before I get too far into this project and definitely realize I made a boo boo!)

Pinwheels
I love this pattern – everything comes out perfect!
9 Patches
I am leaning toward changing the lights in the 9 Patches
Pinwheels and 9 Patches
Setting the Center Medallion of Pinwheels and 9 Patches!

Have a wonderful day and enjoy your stitching!

Changing in Mid-Stream and the “Getaway”

Greetings.  We are back early from our “7 day planned trip” getaway, but we decided that we had just had more fun that we could handle so we came home yesterday.  There might be some serious storms in the area later in the week, so we probably made a wise decision to come home early.  I did get tired of feeding those machines and would rather purchase some fabric (of which I did this morning).

So here I am back in the Studio cleaning up the email, etc and heading for the other room to cut out my Temecula Circa 2016 quilt blocks!  I have realized that I have been stressed trying to do 2 blocks a month on CWB and with the stress of the “small remodeling job going South” problem, adding the CWB really got to me.  Anyone who has made an Album quilt (needle turn applique) knows that it is time-consuming and can be stressful.  I did not realize I was stressing over it until the night before we left for Durant.  I am almost through with Block 3 and MAY try to finish it by next week, but I am going to take a month off from that project and see if I can get back into my “groove”.

It is very interesting how quilters  to do so much with their time.  But when it becomes a chore, I am “outta” there for awhile.  I think this is what happened to me when I started my Capt Aust baltimore album quilt a few years ago.  I really do want to complete the CWB, but not with time frames of having to work on 2 blocks a month!  So I will start a new block in the next month, but for now I have 5 quilts that need to be completed (at least the tops put together).  Cathy and Lynn are continuing on and Jaydee is, of course, way ahead of us with her 10 completed blocks.  She has been embroidering on those finished blocks and as soon as I receive her pictures they will be posted!

Cathy has been working on Block 4 – She has changed this block to have a dog and a squirrel.  I think this is going to be the cutest block – The dog looking up at the Squirrel.  So creative Cathy!  Look at all those beautiful leaves to applique – Whoopee!  I think this will be a favorite of mine!  It takes time to make these changes and Cathy is really doing a great job!

Cathy's Block 4

I am really enjoying the BAS Margaret Potts’ BOM.  The blocks are small and doing one per month is fine.  Easy to complete one small block compared to a 14″x 14″ block loaded with lots of “pieces”.  I have not completed my block for May yet but will soon.  I have changed that block to do some EPP rather than the small “Dresden” flowers.

Jaydee has gone back to her original blocks and incorporated some embroidery.  I am re-posting her pictures to showcase her hard work.   Nice accent work.  Makes the pieces pop.  Jaydee is using Kona fabrics for her quilt.

Block 11
Jaydee’s Block 11 (Embroidery Added)
Block 30
Jaydee’s Block 30 (embroidery added)
Block 31
Jaydee’s Block 31 (embroidery added)
Block 32
Jaydee’s Block 32 (embroidery added)
Block 12
Jaydee’s Block 12 (embroidery added)

So off to the sewing room – I have 6 more Alexander Bean Pot blocks to make and will be preparing the blocks for Circa 2016.  Since we are just about half way through this year, I really need to get serious about my projects.  Also, Clay and I will be taking some day trips just to have a change of scenery.  We may head to Kerrville, Texas next week to visit Creations Quilt Shop.  This is a premier shop in the Hill Country of Texas and so much fun to visit.

Till next post, have a wonderful Memorial Day week-end and stay safe!

 

Good News – Ms Potts – Churn Dash – and What Was I Thinking?

Greetings again!  Good news on the Town Car – New Battery fixed all the problems from yesterday!  YEA things are looking up!  We were told that the newer cars are so power-hungry that if the battery voltage is low things like alarms, door locks, etc will not work!  Worth every penny to have such an easy fix!

Now I can get back to the mess in the Studio and try to figure out where I was a week or two ago.  Calendar is cleared out for fun and more fun.

Tuesday we did a one day getaway from the “remodeling game” and with a friend in Schulenburg, Texas for a “ham radio equipment” pick up.  Clay will fix the equipment for John.  After a visit and a cup of coffee with John we took a side trip to two quilt stores in New Braunfels, Texas.  I called my friend Jan to see if she was interested in doing some fabric looking and shopping.  We met at Oak Leaf first and I found some batiks and a couple of reproduction fabrics that I know I will be using.  I had such a great time visiting with Jan and other quilters that I had known when I was involved in a Guild.

Here are the fabrics I just had to have (really?)  Jan told me that if I find any black reproduction fabrics to scoop them up as they are difficult to find.  I also found some batiks, border fabric that will be great for Hexagons, and some green with leaves reproduction fabric.  What fun it was to be able to take the time to feel the fabric and look through the “sales” table!   We visited Oak Leaf Quilts and The Quilt Haus in New Braunfels.

Green fabric with leaves

Border Fabric for Hexagons

Black Reproduction Fabric

Batiks

I have also worked on my Churn Dash blocks that I started in late August before packing for the Arizona trip.   I finally had some time to finish the ones that I had cut out while in Arizona.  When I started making them I decided to make 4 of each color so I am not sure what the finished quilt will look like.   The smaller blocks are so much fun to make I remember when I started quilting it was BIG BIG BIG.  Nice to work with a more challenging block.

Group of Churn Dash Blocks
Group of Churn Dash Block

As all quilters, we try to save scraps and I always keep fabric scraps together that I use in each project.   When I cut four of the pink and shirting fabric, I realized I was short some of the fabric last week.  I searched high and low for the remaining fat quarter so I could finish the last 2 blocks the same.  I finally gave up and used a mixture.  I like the outcome, but wouldn’t you know the other day I was pulling some fabric and hidden (I know the little fairy’s did it at night) between some other fat quarters was the piece of fabric I needed.  I decided to keep two one way and 2 with the same fabrics!  No ripping on this project as they are to be fun blocks – not work!

Pink Block 1
Pink Block 1
Pink Block 2
Pink Block 2

And of course, cannot forget Ms Potts project.  Here are our (Jaydee and I) blocks for May – at least I am on time with this one.

Nanette's Ms Potts Block 12
Nanette’s Ms Potts Block 12
Jaydee's Ms Potts Block 12
Jaydee’s Ms Potts Block 12

Our CWB group is “progressing” slowly but surely!  Cathy has finished Block 3 and I am about half way through.  So hopefully next we will be posting that group of Blocks.  I will be doing a feature article in the Baltimore Applique Society (BAS) newsletter for June inviting all who would like to join us.  We tend to complete at least 1 or 2 blocks a month and hoping that June will provide us an avenue to do some catching up.  But if we don’t – the sky will not cave in!

Have a wonderful quilting day and I am praying my life gets back to normal by Monday!

Boring Post – How to NOT Remodel Your Bathrooms – Patience Dear Jane

This story may not be interesting and really not a quilting story, but this is what has kept me (AGAIN) from just having a nice quiet retirement quilting life!  My close friends have heard this story but maybe others can get a few chuckles on me today.

Well, here we are again – in a mess – but soon it will be over.  All I wanted was to have new kitchen flooring and upgrade the bathroom vanities.  But as we all know now, nothing goes well and nothing is the same.  This idea started in the middle of March.  Such a small job – hire O’Krents to do the flooring (no problem there) contract out having the bathroom vanities taken out and re-installed!  But as I am finding out now that NOTHING in this country is as it was.  The contractor did not work out so Mr Clay decided to paint over the wall paper in each bathroom. So Clay decided to do the job – Easy you say – HA!

That decision caused us heartburn and a big mess.  We were told to put a primer over the wallpaper, smooth it out, and paint.  No big deal – Clay had done this before. The only problem was that Lowe’s gave us the wrong advise, told us to use latex primer instead of oil based and then the  big mistake was using Valspar paint!  But I get ahead of myself,  before the new flooring, Clay set up the new vanity in the Master Bath temporarily before the new floors were laid.  As soon as the new flooring was installed, he had already primed the Master Bath walls and had one wall painted so that things could be ready to move back in place with the help of the guys.  Then all was put back together permanently.  There were problems with the painting over wallpaper – neither of us were happy with it, but would just live with it.  Then for the next 10 days we discovered that the paint would not dry and was sticky and had a high chemical smell.  (Of course this does not include all the electrical work he had to do to accommodate the new lighting!)

OK, back to Lowe’s.  They should have advised us to use an oil based primer. We were in panic mode – how to get all this off our walls.   Lowe’s stood behind the information that they gave us and sent out a crew 2 weeks ago to remove the old wallpaper and new tacky paint.  Of course that meant that Clay had to undo his permanent placement of the Vanity and Medicine Cabinet – Oh so much fun! After the crew removed the mess  Clay spent 3 more days trying to finish preparing the walls for wallpaper.  Then we had to order wallpaper and of course you cannot buy any wallpaper at a store anymore –  one has to go select and order and wait for it to be shipped.  I ordered some on-line – BIG MISTAKE – but I was blessed – they were late in shipping it and we cancelled that order and went to Sherwin Williams and selected better paper (fewer rolls also) and saved about $350.00!

I think everyone is getting the drift – the story may not be exact, but since the decision to do this we have been in the following situation for 3 weeks – Shower in the Master Bath, Toilet in the other bathroom, and hand washing and brushing teeth in the Kitchen Sink!    Finally the paper comes today and we have hired a contractor to hang the wallpaper.  But he cannot come until Saturday.  To top this off, I have a house full of dust since my housekeeper did not need to come with all of the work going on.  My computer room and music room are in a mess.  One has all of the things Clay needed to work with and the other has a toilet, vanity, sink, and Medicine cabinet sitting in it.  Two weeks ago I told Clay to keep the door shut – I could not handle the mess.  Darla comes on Sunday – YEA I will not have to do the detailed cleaning!

But the fun and games continue…..Yesterday (Wednesday) we had 2 “easy” doctor checkups and we planned on it being a short day – HA to that one too.  It took us 2 hours to go 50 miles to the doctor and that wonderful traffic mess caused me to miss my appointment time.  It took 4 hours to get there, see my ear doctor, and hurry and get to our 1:00 PM dermatology appointment.  We were on a roll – we were in and out in 25 minutes – Love that Doctor!   But Murphy was not through with us yet.  I figured that the stupid black cat had run across my path and I just did not realize it.  Clay stills tells me to not blame that poor little kitty because he cannot help that he is all black!  LOL

When we got to the car, the keypad entry on the Town Car was non responsive – the key less entry button would not work!  JOY.  90 degrees and about 85% humidity!   The car started and everything worked with the exception I could not control my outside mirrors, the driver’s seat, or the door locks – Talk about 2 old people wanting to just run away ….. LOL.  We were able to run 2 more errands, make numerous calls trying to figure out the issue and decided to come home and this AM will take the car into the local mechanic for him to trouble shoot the problem.

A few days ago when the “fun” of remodeling the house (new furniture came on the 26th of April) became a “little” overwhelming,  I told Clay that I needed a “REAL” getaway and would he like to go to Durant, OK for a short Casino visit and stay at the Lodge (no RV this trip).  YEA he is ready!  So we will be leaving in a week or so for a 5 day casino trip and I told him I did not want to do anything but enjoy the Lodge visit and stay in the Casino.  All I want to hear is NOISE of the lovely machines where my brain cannot think about where we have been!  Assuming that the wallpaper hanging goes as planned this Saturday and the house is cleaned on Sunday and the he mows the yard we will be on the road.  ANY BETS?

Have a great day and hope you can find a good laugh on this story!   Now that it is almost over, I can begin to make lite of it.  I will post my quilting progress next post!  Poor Dear Jane – maybe in the Fall!