Blocks of the Month

This is the calendar quilt. It has grown. I do have a plan for this and I am done with the wide strips. It is fun to watch it develope.
Well here are the blocks for February.


This one is called 1930's Square. I think it would make some interesting secondary patterns if it were put together in a quilt. The pattern will come up on the internet if you google 1930's Square.

This one is from bunnyhill.

This one is from the quilting spuds group. It is called the Disappearing Nine Patch. Basicaly you make a nine patch, cut in half both directions and turn around the pieces and sew it back together.

Okay, so this is not a block of the month, but I just put this little quilt top together. I love it. It is not the best picture, but they are '30's reproduction fabrics. They are so fun to sew on. I am not planning on quilting this until summer, so you won't see it for awhile.

Times are Changing

I just found this on the counter. A couple of weeks ago Scott applied to Boise State, although he did not pay the application fee. Today he received this post card notifying him of his acceptance. The other side has information on how to go on-line and enroll. I guess a post card saves postage.

Banana Bars

I had some bad bananas yesterday, (well, I did drop them) so I made banana bars. I made these more often when the kids were young and they loved them. I would like to add that they still do.

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour I use 1 cup flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened

2/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 medium bananas, mashed

1 egg

2 cups choc. chips

Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 . Greases 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 x 1 inch baking pan.

In small bowl, combine flours, baking powder and salt; set aside.

In large mixer bowl, beat butter, sugars, and vanilla extract until creamy. Beat in bananas and egg. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in choc. chips.

Bake 20-25 minutes until wooden toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Full House

Well we had a full house this weekend and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Keith and Courtney came to celebrate Richard's 12th birthday and they brought Emily with them. So I invited Peter O to come visit also. He brought a friend. Every one had a good time. I will say that as soon as Keith leaves it sure is quiet in our house.

Richard had a unique cake this year. Since he is so interested in georgraph, Jen came over and helped me give him the world. Trust me, with out her, it would not have looked as nice.

Move on Already

In the last week, I have spent 2 days in Kindergarten and 2 days at the High School. I am always amazed at how many similarities there are between these two age groups.
First, they always have to sit by their friends. High School kids will move their desks, just so they can sit closer to a friend. The way you punish a 5 year old, is to move them away from the group.
Then there is the always present need to go to the bathroom. I always let the little ones go, because they may not make it if you make them wait. However, at the High School, they always tell me they have an emergency and need to go to the bathroom, right now. Who am I to decided when it really is an emergency? I do, however, only let one leave the room at a time. They are so disappointed.
The third thing they have in common is the melt down issue. Both age groups seem to be extremely sensitive. They can break down and start to cry for no apparent reason. Some one looked at them funny, they got caught doing something naughty or they just felt like crying.
Lastly, I would like to point out that they both make up stories. They expect you to believe these stories. They are so bad at putting together a lie and so offended when you don't believe them.
As alike as they are, it is hard for me to work with the kids at the High School. I just think they should have moved on by now.

February Quilting Spuds

I had my quilting group on Saturday. Here are a few highlights.

This little quilt was made by Joyce. She used a panal and peiced the boarder. It is too cute.

These bags were made by Elaine. She is amazing.

This one is Road to Jericho. We all made a couple of squares and it is headed for a Hospice fund raiser.

Valentine Day

I have always said that my boys were socially retarded, but I never knew how much until Callie came along. She came home today with flowers that her 'friend' sent her at school. I am not sure how I feel about this. Despite reports to the contrary, she says they are not 'going together.' And the truth is, he does not call or show up here. The only date they have ever had was with a group of people. I like this boy, I just don't want her to have a boy friend . . . for a number of reasons.

Long story short, I felt okay about the flowers when I read the note,

To: Callie Hall

Happy Valentines Day!

From: Micheal R.

Yeah, I think things are alright.

I've Got the Blues

This is the second blue quilt I have made in the last 6 months. The other one is in use already. This one was made because of the block of the month. I kept looking at the Turkey in the Straw block and wonder what it would look like if I put a few together. The Turkey in the Straw block is a little tricky to put together, so there are a multitude of mistakes in this, but it sure turned out great. All but the outside boarder came from my stash. Now, to finish it. I am going to learn how to machine quilt with it. There is a lady in our quilting group who will let you use her machine for $10 an hour (that includes the batting). She said it takes her about 6 hours to do a king size quilt. This quilt is not anywhere near that big, but I have a king size I want to work on with her. Besides, I love to learn a new skill. Should be fun!

Is it Warm?

Depending on where you live, warm is different. This morning we had snow on the roads again, but this afternoon it is sunny and oh, so warm. So, how warm is it? I just checked and it is about 45 degrees. It feels heavenly and I have to admit that my thoughts on the way home from work were of spring. When I got home Callie had her windows open and was getting ready to go for a run. So how warm does it have to be to be warm?

1st Quilt of 2009

Here it is. The first quilt of the year. My motto for quilts this year is that they need to use up some stash fabric. I started this one the first week of January. I had the cross stich squares sitting on my sewing table and then I found some fabric to match. I did buy the green. Then I hand quilted it. It is going to one of my nieces, so it will be in the mail soon. It feels good to finish. I am going to put a bigger quilt up in the frame this week. Should be fun.