Mountmellick now Mini-mellick and a Surprise UFO Finding

Good afternoon from South Texas where it is cloudy and humid and 60 degrees.  In a couple of days (after the rain) we will then receive a cold front.  This is definitely quilting weather!  This morning after our walk, we decided to try out a new restaurant in La Vernia area (about 5 miles from us).  They have great Mexican food and were able to fix my eggs and for a treat I had a serving of their retried beans.  For me this was so wonderful to be close to a Restaurant without having to drive 35 miles to an IHOP!  Clay had Soft Taco’s and they looked so good and not greasy like the other Mexican Restaurant that we normally go to.  Their food has gone down in quality the last year or so.  Rumor has it that it will be taken over by another owner – hope they bring the food quality up.

So far I have shed 15 pounds.  Our scales went belly up early this week, although I really liked what they were doing!  It would give you the weight that was accurate, the jump to 6 pounds lower!  Clay thought he was 6 pounds lighter until the scales did it to me.  I had to break the news to Clay – darn!  We will find out tomorrow when the new scales arrive!  Maybe I have lost a few more.  My goal is to lose at least 10 more pounds and would like to lose at least 3 more before the 17th when I go back for repeated blood work!  Now back to quilting!

I have been determined to finish the last 2 UFOs by the end of December and yesterday I finished my version of Mountmellick.  I will call it “Mini-Mellick”.   It will not qualify for a Show quilt because I decided to put my remaining time on Brinton Hall as that project will qualify to show in the San Antonio Show in September 2019.  I have decided to add 4 more 1/2” hexagon flowers for the corner blocks but if I do they will be made from the black fabric I used on the black border.   I should be able to fussy cut them and they will fill in the “blank” area.  (The quilt is square, but the picture did not come out that way!)

The other day I was looking at the sale at The Stencil Company for quilting stencils.  After ordering a few, I looked through my “stencil stash” and low and behold – I found this group of blocks that were made in 2002 when I first started appliqueing.  This is a Sue Garman pattern called Yuletide that was designed in 1998 and distributed by Quakertown Quilts in Friendswood, Texas.  I believe that this was before Sue started her own business!  The shop is permanently closed now so I have a wonderful piece of history along with many other patterns purchased from Quackertown Quilts designed by Sue Garman.  I am ‘thinking’ that Mama Said is going to be on my 2019 list!   This was before I started investing in “real” quilt fabrics.  I would like to make another quilt, but will put this one together because it is one of my first applique projects.

Here is the pattern:

Next on the list is to finish my Brinton Hall.  I am hoping to finish it into a flimsy by         31 December 2018!   This would bring my UFO finishes to 10!  I will do another post on my progress!

I did forget to add 2 pictures from the Van Horn Cattle Company Restaurant in Van Horn, Texas where we had supper on the way home from Arizona.  Van Horn is a very small town and to find such a wonderful place to have a quiet supper (except for the screaming 2-year-old).  After listening to the child scream as her younger sister kept egging her on I took myself over to the table and politely asked the Grandmother to please quiet the child as her screams went right through me!  Clay slid under the table, but it stopped the screeching!  LOL

The employees had just finished decorating for Christmas and I meant to share the pictures with you on my previous post.  Such a beautiful Christmas Tree!   This should get you in the spirit of the Season!

Have a wonderful week-end and enjoy working on your projects!

Nanette