Here's the News!

So here's the plan....

We are in the process of a major downsize.  Selling our over 3000 square foot home that we've lived in for 12 years and moving into a 38 ' (450 sq. foot !) motorhome requires some serious thought into how much of all the "stuff" we've collected over the 42 years of our marriage will be traveling with us.  This. Is. Not. Easy.  It's not particularly fun. Though sometimes it is nice to reminisce at times it is so incredibly sad that there have been many tears as I sort through photos, keepsakes, dishes and even clothing. I'm sure my husband doesn't stress as much about these things, but I know he's going to miss at least a few of his power tools! But we are also looking forward to the liberation from all of those things that we've been hauling around for all these years.  One thing is for sure is that we have collected more than our share of souvenirs, clothes, magazines, knick knacks, electronics and much more. And we are really just beginning to sort through it all. We should have been doing this for at least the past two years.  We've been tossing around the idea of full time RV living for several years, so even though this might seem like an impulsive decision, it really isn't but  a decision that is right for us.  

Our new home.  We've placed an order with Midway RV Center  for a Newmar Ventana 3709 DP (diesel pusher) motor home. Though we were very happy with our little Pleasure Way Pursuit that we drove to Alaska, no way could we live full time in a 22 foot RV.  There certainly are larger motorhomes  but since we like to have the option of camping in state and national parks, we wanted to stay around 38 foot to be able to fit into some of those size restricting campgrounds. After doing our research we then made a trip to Nappanee, Indiana to tour the Newmar facility. We were impressed with the quality of these motorhomes both in construction and customer service and found a dealer to give us the best price for our trade-in.  

                                 

Newmar is one of the few motorhome manufacturers that will allow some customization so we were able to choose flooring, wall covering, counters and tile that we preferred over the standard options. We are looking forward to showing it off since we think it's going to be pretty awesome! It is scheduled for production soon, with a tentative delivery date of March 15.  Usually customers are able to visit the plant when their coach is in production, but due to some facility construction, they've temporarily suspended that option :(  We are hoping someone at the factory will send us a photo or two as it goes down the line.  

In the meantime we continue the "great downsize" and reminisce as we sort through the "stuff" of our lives.  As for the sale of our "sticks and bricks" home, we are thrilled that our daughter and son-in-law will be purchasing it from us and moving here with their two boys.  It has made the transition much easier and they are even letting us store some things here until we determine how long this new lifestyle will suit us.  With two of our kids and their families living within 10 miles of us, we will be able to distribute much of our furniture amongst them.  We've also rented a booth as a family at a local vendor's mall/flea market where we've been attempting to sell some things.  If the weather was better, we probably would do better by having a series of garage sales.  I've got piles to donate, piles to take to a consignment shop, piles to take to the booth, and piles to store.  And yes, piles to toss.  I've already donated much of my fabric stash to a local quilt guild for charity projects but I need to go through what is left and do that again.  I plan on taking my sewing machine and some fabric for a few small projects, but also trying to be realistic about how much sewing I really will be doing.  

So maybe you are wondering just what type of "stuff" is causing me such angst.  

Photos.  We've always been prolific photographers.  That doesn't mean we are good at it, just that we have photos of every trip, every family event and every little thing.  Now in the digital age, that's not such a bad thing, but back when you had to develop the film and then order double and triple prints "just in case", it meant we have a TON of photos. Many are so blurry, it's hard to tell which child was performing in the program or game we were trying to photograph. Even though I've always had good intentions of photo albums and now converting them to digital, that hasn't always happened.  But after spending a long, cold weekend going through more than a few boxes, our photographic history is now down to a more manageable size.  Someday (?) maybe they will be in the "cloud" and most of that paper will be eliminated.  Can you imagine finding a treasure like this and all the copies that weren't distributed to relatives at Christmas, then scanning one copy and tossing the rest? Nope, it didn't happen.  I kept at least one :)  

My Family  1986 or 1987  

Quilts.  I've been quilting for a few years, and most of what I've finished have been gifted to babies and brides.  But I do have several things I've made.  I haven't even begun to go through those.  But I married into a family of quilters and my mother was a quilter.  

These are just a few of what I've had in storage.  There are some others that I'm not sure who made them and are even older.  The Sun Bonnet Girl quilt was made by D's Grandma Mary.  The Pansy Quilt was made by my mother.  The bottom two were made by either Grandma Mary or Grandma C. The bright green one is is good condition and will find a home on our youngest granddaughter's big girl bed.  The gold embroidered one was given to us as a wedding present and  shows that we used it for too many years.  I really don't know what to do with these other than keep them in storage.  Do our best intentions of passing along family keepsakes only add to the guilt they will feel when it is time to discard them?  Sorry kids.  

There are many things we are going to miss when we move into our house on wheels.  The king size bed, the big kitchen full of appliances, a flower garden (not D, he hates yard work!), our neighbors but mostly having our grandkids and other family close by.  But then we remind ourselves that we are thankful we are healthy enough to take on this new life and that we've got the support of our family (I think! Unless they secretly think we are crazy!)  We are looking forward to exploring new parts of this beautiful country but yet we don't want to rush around as if we are only on an extended vacation. There will be a couple places near here where we can return and park our home when we need to and we hope that we are able to visit with other friends and family around the country.  So heads up Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas and Michigan.  We just might be headed your way!

I'm Still Crafty

I'm going to try  to do a little better this year with this little blog.  Nothing fancy, no earth shattering opinionated posts, or attempts at comical rhetoric.  Just some photos of stuff I've made, places we've been and family we're proud of.  

Now to prove that I still am (sort of) crafty.  Here's just a few of the things I've made in the past few weeks/months.  

These are some pillow cases for a couple of my favorite ninja loving boys.  I'm all about the embroidery machine these days, and have managed to put it to good use. 

If there's a holiday, someone will probably get an cute shirt.

And of course, if you're celebrating a birthday, you need a cute shirt to let the world know you're now a one year old grandchild of a crafty grammy.

And there was a lot of embroidery going on before Christmas!

Five sets of Christmas  Reindeer jammies for five grandkids.

I did manage to get another big boy quilt done in time for Christmas. This one was my first quilt that I've made using paper pieced blocks.  I know some quilters don't care for paper piecing but I really enjoyed making this one. Now all three of the older boys have twin sized quilts to go with the bunk beds that crafty Papa made for them.  I need to get some photos of those on here too. Because they are pretty awesome!

More of crafty Papa's works of art.  Our Christmas tree was decorated this year almost entirely with these laser crafted wooden ornaments and I thought it looked very nice.  We really should set up an Etsy shop or something to sell these next year.

So here's a start to 2014 blogging.  No expectations, just getting back in the bloggy habit!

Spring Finish

Here's another winter/spring project that I can mark off the list.  I used some miscellaneous modern prints I had collected recently and created this bright Easter Egg colored quilt for daughter #1.  Though it's size is just that of a generous throw, I think she'll enjoy it.  We traveled up to the Chicago burbs to visit her over the Easter weekend so the Easter bunny could deliver this. Maybe just a little better than a Russell Stover's chocolate marshmallow bunny?  

I think the day I photographed this was the last sunny day we've had.  So much rain and wind and many of our Southern Indiana neighbors are feeling the effects of swollen rivers and streams. We have had no damage here, but our thoughts and prayers are with those who have not been as lucky. 

Twin Quilts

I've finally got a project (or projects) completed that I can post here to show you all.  These are a couple of little baby quilts for a sweet couple who we consider almost family and who are expecting twins, a boy and a girl, early this summer.  There was a baby shower  today, so now I can share some photos!  I think they turned out really cute. I used MoMo's Its a Hoot fabrics and a variation of Thimbleblossoms Baby Wild Things pattern.  Hope the little ones enjoy them!

Just Catching Up a Little

Anyone else tired of summer yet?  One way to avoid the heat and humidity here at our house is to escape to the basement and my sewing room.  One quilt top is done (photos will have to come later) and delivered to the LAQ and now is as good of time as any to play catch up.  These are the January, February and March BOM's that I finally started on the other day. April is almost done and May and June are waiting.  I still need to go pick up the July block.  Maybe I'll finally be caught up by the time the August block is available! I've still got the 2009 Among Friends Block of the Month quilt that needs to go to the quilter too.  Just need to piece the backing and give it all a good pressing.  I'm liking the colors of this quilt much better than that one.  

 

Here are my newest projects.  I'm having fun making pillowcases and then using my new embroidery machine to stitch names on them.  I downloaded this cute font the other day from Embroidery Designs.  I made the two oldest grandsons each  a car pillowcase and little J's "girlfriend" one too. (She and J are sharing a two-year old birthday party this weekend.  That should be lots of fun!)  There are so many different websites with cute embroidery designs that it gets overwhelming to look through them.  I'm still learning how to use my machine but I'm signed up for another class in a few weeks so hope to get some tips. 

See these wonderful Happy Daisy fabrics?  I purchased these this past spring when Fat Quarter Shop had them half price.   I must have had something in mind for them, because there's a jelly roll, 2 half yard pieces, 1 full yard and 3 yards (for a backing I suppose).  Since I've evidently forgotten what I intended to make - any suggestions are welcome! 

 Beamer hasn't had a guest appearance here in awhile. He celebrated his ninth birthday a few weeks ago and though he doesn't look too happy about it he's out-lived any  other cat we've ever provided a home for!  I  was browsing through my old posts and realized that it has been almost exactly THREE years since I started this silly little blog.  Guess who was in one of those very original posts.....yes, Beamer!  It's kind of embarrassing but you can see that post here.   I swear he's not been sitting on this same chair the entire three years!  But I should thank those of you who've stuck with me through these 290 posts!

On a Roll and a Slide

I'm on a roll!  Not just one quilty project finished this past week, but two!  I'll not mention how long it took me to get to this point, but the Block of the Month from Among Friends Quilt Shop for 2009 is finally finished and ready to go to the quilter.  I still need to pick out a backing fabric.  Any suggestions?  The fabrics are Juliana by Clothworks, and of course out of stock at many places.  I'm thinking about taking a little jaunt over to Among Friends tomorrow to see what they've got left. 

My other project finished this week is this little square table topper.  It was kind of a spur of the moment thing.  I'm hosting our neighborhood Bunco/Girls Night Out next week and decided I needed a spring/summer topper to put on my kitchen table.  Thank goodness for my stash and the leftovers from a jellyroll of Soiree' by Lila Tueller.   This pattern on Moda Bakeshop was my inspiration.   I'll keep this one on file for a larger quilt sometime.

It's a good thing there was no video camera in my kitchen last night.  Yesterday I had my carpets cleaned.  And the guys were following company policy by placing these little signs on the hard floors near the wet carpet to avoid lawsuits by clumsy customers.

If you think you see what's coming, you're wrong.  I was extra careful and didn't slip ..... here.  Being in spring cleaning mode, I decided to take my energy outside and spray off the deck.  (Nope, didn't slip there either!)  Once that was done and it was supper time, and with hubby busy with a work related dinner, I grilled myself a  hamburger and prepared for my little supper alone.  Since I'd washed the deck, I'd placed a towel near the back door to wipe my bare feet as I went in and out.  (See it coming now, don't you!)  As I stepped in on the towel, plate of grilled hamburger in one hand, my foot slides out from under me, I do a modified splits(I've never been able to do any other kind!), scrape my other foot on the brick outside the door and scare the cat, who knocks over a chair and runs from the kitchen with his tail fluffed out.  But.... the hamburger remained on the plate and never came close to the floor! 

I'll live, but it proves that one can never be too careful, even with the best of intentions and the best of hamburgers! 

Quilt Show

Last Friday I ventured across the county to the quilt show held at Edwardsville United Methodist Church.  The lighting wasn't photo friendly but you can tell there were some awesome quilts on display.  This is just a small portion of them.

This t-shirt quilt was quite impressive and it was huge!  I loved the setting fabric for the t-shirts.  Someday I might try one of these - at least that's the excuse I'm using for the stack of old shirts accumulating in my fabric closet!

This was my favorite at the show.  It belongs to Lora Nale (the link is for the shop where she works) who did both the piecing and quilting.  I think it was a favorite of many as I was lucky to get a photo when there was just one lady standing in front of this gorgeous quilt. 

Now for the quilt show at my house!  Since D has been busy with work "stuff" all week and weekend there's been no motorcycle riding.  So I've been trying to finish up some old projects along with starting some new.  This quilt is the B.O.M. from Among Friends for 2008.  My long arm quilter finished this up last spring and it's been waiting for the binding for several months.  Finished!  I might need to re-decorate one of the spare bedrooms so I can use it but it's only a twin size.  This is not my favorite color combination but it's growing on me! 

Someone else likes this quilt though.  Beamer thinks that any time I leave my sewing un-attended, it's intended for his use as a bed! 

Have a good week everyone!

My Quilt Festival Entry

Here's my entry into the first ever Online Quilt Festival hosted by Amy over at Park City Girl!

This quilt will never win any prizes but the only requirement is that I post my favorite quilt and tell a little about it. It is hard to pick a favorite, because once I get any quilt done, I am so thrilled that I actually completed one and they always end up looking better once quilted that at the time I think that quilt is my best quilt, ever!

But this quilt is special to me. Not only because it was one of my first quilts, but because I made it for my mother shortly after she entered the nursing home. It was actually a kit made to be a baby quilt, but at the time no babies were in the near future and I loved the colors. My piecing didn't turn out too bad, but the quilting and binding definitely shout amateur. Mama was proud of her quilt and all the aids and nurses in the nursing home knew she always kept it nearby, on her bed or wheel chair. It fact it was draped on her casket during her funeral service, comforting the rest of us perhaps more than her. She's been gone for almost three years now, but I think she was pleased that I was trying to carry on some of her quilting and sewing skills. Maybe that is why she loved this quilt.

This quilt now is at this grandma's house and I'll proudly share it with each new grand baby and the story of the great-grandma that they'll never get to meet. I think she would be happy to know that it will comfort them just as it comforted her.

Edited - 4-22-2009

My entry was #416 and there are now over 500 quilting bloggers listed. I wish I had the time to visit them all. There are some AMAZING quilts on there. If you can check some of them out, it is worth the effort. They make mine look pretty sad in a way but you have to understand that this quilt probably endured hundreds of washings in the nursing home laundry!!! So the colors of these fabrics have really held up pretty well.

My thanks to all of you who've left such nice comments on my quilt. I hope I can visit your blogs too. And THANK YOU Amy for hosting this!

Janet

New Things On the Blog

Look here! I finished a project yesterday! I hadn't plan to buy anything on my last visit to the quilt shop, but I saw the charm pack of Candy Kisses from Sandy Gervais so of course it came home with me along with some coordinating fat quarters. I kind of made up my own design, bravely did some free motion quilting and ended up with a nice little February table topper. Just don't look at the back - which of course I would never photograph anyway. I'm still having a little tension problem with the free motion stitches but I'm still practicing. Check out my side bar for a couple of new "buttons". Mrs. Goodneedle over at the Strawberry Patch is going to be hosting Lets' Talk every Tuesday. So next Tuesday, stop by and say hello and make a comment on the Tuesday topic. This week it was "how long have you been quilting and why do you continue?" She's provided a cute little strawberry so you can click on it to hop on over for a visit. Then I also signed up for the Siggy Swap that Connie and some other ladies are putting together. I think she still has room for a few more in the swap. We'll all be making blocks with our signature on them, sending to one location then we'll each receive 45-60 blocks, one from each participate. Of course there's a deadline to get them done, so hopefully I'll not procrastinate and be late!

Sorry I didn't get a recipe posted for you on Monday. Instead, here's a link to the Lentil Soup that I've been making lately. I use turkey sausage instead, trying to make it a little lighter. Some of you have commented on my cookie header. Those were made last year and are long gone! I guess I should find something else to put up there so not to tempt you with sugar cookies!

Just Miscellaneous Stuff

It time to post something on here that is not about food! So here's a look a few things I've been working on.

It is so cold outside this morning, Beamer doesn't know how lucky he is to have a sunny spot to bathe! I watched Martha Stewart this morning and she had a lady on talking about different breeds of cats. She didn't mention Bengals, so here's the Bengal pic of the day! When we became emptynesters, Beamer became our "fur" child. I've always had cats, but this one has become more of a family member than any other. You'll notice he's picked a spot next to my knitting project. My knitting mentor/friend T started me on this small scarf before Thanksgiving and I haven't worked on it since before Christmas. In fact, I've ripped and re-started on it about six times! So when our little knitting group got together last week, I re-started yet again. I think I've got it under control now in fact so maybe, just maybe, I'll finally get this accomplished and will be able to move on to something else. I saw some cute knitted purse patterns that would be fun.

Now I need a little help from some of you quilty gals out there. I finished piecing all of the accumulated BOM's from last years series from Among Friends. Now I'm ready to put them all together. As you can see, they are supposed to go "on point" in strips that are then sewn together. I've never done a quilt like that before and I'm a little confused by the instructions. So any tips are appreciated. A trip over to the store will be made this weekend for the new BOM meeting, so maybe I can pick up some tips there too.

Another question for you all. Daughter B and I are considering the decor for their nursery. Her room is already painted a nice orange color, and since they don't plan on finding out the baby's gender, she's looking for not-gender specific fabrics for the crib set that we are considering making. She found this fabric at Free Spirit, from the Urban Flannel line by Valori Wells. It is adorable and just what she's looking for, but it is flannel. Has anyone make a crib set from flannel? I know a quilt would be feasible, but not sure about the bumper, etc.

One last thing before I go - I special birthday wish to this guy! Happy Birthday to our son-in-law and the soon to be daddy, N!

Back to Work!

The Christmas decorations are all down and put away. So continuing on the cleaning binge I went downstairs to organize and straighten my sewing area(s) after the last minute gifty rush. But I got sidetracked. I discovered the unfinished 2008 BOM packets from Among Friends. And since I've already signed up for the 2009 series and the June through December were still in their little plastic packets. I decided to get busy and crank these out. I've not been sure if I like this colorway and all year I've been wishing I'd signed up for the brighter option. But it's growing on me and now I'm looking forward to getting the whole quilt put together. I've got the finishing kit so hope it goes together easily. This year I'm going to have my favorite machine quilter (Sandi) finish this up for me. Last year I had a different lady quilt my BOM quilt and I was very disappointed in her work. Not much I could do about it, but it seems such a shame to put so much time and effort into a quilt only to have an in-experienced LAQ mess it up. Lesson learned!

You might remember that we are supposed to be in the process of remodeling the kitchen. This project has definitely not been forgotten. Since the Harley is put away for the winter, D has turned back into the master woodworker! The day that we actually have to start ripping out the existing cabinets is still a ways off, but the new cabinets are stacking up in the basement. This is just a portion of them. All of the drawers are complete and now he's starting on the doors. Maybe this will be the year!

My first few days as a member of Sharon's Dieting Blogger Babes has gone well. I've been faithfully exercising every day. And we've been eating healthy this week too. Lentil soup, grilled chicken, vegetable soup (yes, we like soup!), baked sweet potato fries and even some broiled hamburgers, but all within my WW points. D says he's already lost several pounds. How do men do that?!!

Playing Tourist with the Cousins!

I've been playing tour guide and tourist with the K-State cousins this week. P and A live in the KC, Kansas area and are loyal football fans of their alma mater. D and I attended K-State also and although we don't follow college sports as much, we really enjoyed watching the K-State Wildcats play University of Louisville. Even though the game was scheduled for a Wednesday evening to avoid conflicts with the Ryder Cup Golf Tournament, our corner of the stadium was soon filled with purple clad K-State fans. Unfortunately K-State lost. But we had a great time and would probably have never had a reason to go to Papa John's Stadium for a game if it hadn't been for the K-State cousins! Thanks P and A! (Notice D's shirt? The Vista Drive-In was our favorite restaurant back in our college days! We still try to stop there when driving through Manhattan, Ks.)After a quick stop at the Louisville Slugger Factory tour, A and I left P to explore more of the the displays there while she and I went across the street to the Kentucky Arts and Crafts Gallery. We were fascinated by the collection of antique quilts belonging to Shelly Zegart. These are just a few but you can go to her website to see more. We also found a display of contemporary tapestries quite interesting.
Huber Farms and Winery is getting ready for the big fall season. They weren't quite ready, but we did find some nice pumpkins and gourds. These were the funniest looking ones here! Of course, no trip to Louisville is complete without a tour of Churchill Downs. They were getting ready here for a soiree in honor of the Ryder Cup. Luckily we got out of there before we had to pay $500 a person to party with the celebs!!
There were many places still dealing with the effects of Ike's wind storm. We found several intersections where the police or national guard were still directing traffic. And here in southern Indiana there are still lots of trees and limbs down. I guess we were lucky because we didn't even lose any shingles as many did. B had to deal with a loss of power at the restaurant where she's kitchen manager. They finally re-opened Thursday morning after losing thousands of dollars worth of food and business. But she and her staff worked their tails off to get every thing back in tip top shape!

This is all for tonight! Stay tuned for Grandbaby #1 photos! We're loading up the new little trailer and headed west to see little J (and J & J too of course!) for a couple of days. I can't wait to squeeze those fat little cheeks and see how much he's changed. He was all of six weeks old yesterday!

Cuddling or Blogging? Guess Which Won.

Guess where I've been! A few days of grandbaby cuddling took precedence over blogging this week. He is such a sweet little guy, it was hard to leave him behind. His mommy says he likes to be held a lot, so I was happy to comply. Sorry I haven't posted in ......wow, over a week ! But a few days with J, J & J then a couple of days of motorcycle riding with my hubby, followed by another evening and morning of cuddling little J, then another two days on the Harley with hubby and now home again. Over 200 photos and where do I begin! So tonight I'm sorting through all of them and will get them online tomorrow for those of you who want to see more and then I'll get another blog post together about the rest of our trip.
So tonight I'll leave you with this quilty photo, but somehow a baby got in this shot! And just in case you all want to see why he was so easy to cuddle - take a look at this. And I've got many more! Miss you already, little J!

More Joey!

Now that the big event is over and little Joey has made his grand entrance, how about a re-cap of some of the weekend events? When we arrived Wednesday evening, J & J unwrapped little J's quilt. I am so pleased with how this turned out. I hope they like it too. The lady who quilted it for me lives in Louisville and did a beautiful job. Thanks Sandi! Isn't it amazing how much difference it makes in a quilt when it is all quilted and bound!


Thursday was to have been the day of the birth. But instead it was a day of preparation and waiting. Poor Daddy was hungry so we brought him (and little J) a cookie that said "let's go Joey!"
Years ago, the Dads were the ones filling the waiting rooms. Now it is the rest of the family. Here B was able to get a few minutes to stretch out to pass the time. We brought books and stitching projects, but neither one of us was able to concentrate. We were actually one of the smallest family groups waiting for word on the arrival of new babies. Some seemed to bring all the in-laws and the littlest cousins. The date of 08-08-08 is supposed to be lucky so it was a popular date for those moms who had an option to pick their baby's birth date!

The big moment finally arrived and little J (or maybe I should say "not so little" J) made his appearance. Mama J was super tired after a long, exhausting morning but the joy of motherhood is obvious! She's going to make a terrific mommy! What a lucky baby you are little Joey!
It's been several years since this proud Grandpa held one this small!
Joey's other Grandma was lucky to be there for the birth of her second grandson! Our little one has two Grandma Janet's! What is he going to come up with to call each of us?!All it took was one cuddle and Auntie B now has the baby fever ! Auntie E was on vacation in Colorado and can't wait to get her hands on the little guy too.

Well, here's my little boy with his little boy. It doesn't seem like it was twenty-seven years ago, but he turned out pretty good! I have a feeling he'll make a good Daddy too.
Isn't he adorable? Of course I'm not prejudice at all. He's definitely got our family resemblence, but I can see a little of his mommy there too. J had the same hair, but a little darker. His chin, lips and nose remind me of his Daddy and his Grandpa. It will be so much fun to watch him grow. I wish we were a little closer, but I'm sure we'll get to see him often. Grandmahood will be good!

P.S. For those of you looking for the give-a-way drawing winner, I will draw the name tomorrow and post it then!