Okay, New Post!

 Here I am again!  So soon?..., you may be asking?  Well, I am really super busy this month, but I actually had some interesting things happen.

For the past several weeks there was a moose hanging around in our neighborhood, just making his rounds and munching on whatever he could find.  Well, a couple weeks ago, it was really nice out so I went outside to do some raking.  I went around to the back yard and found the rake, but as soon as I picked it up  I noticed that moose was in the edge of our yard munching on the trees.  He didn't seem to care that I was there, only about 15-20 feet away from him, but I got nervous and booked it back into the house, just cuz that's the sensible thing to do - you just never know what those things are gonna do.

Anyhoo, I kept watching him out the window and he eventually made his way toward my living room window where I was watching him from.

He wasn't full grown, and I noticed that he seemed to be moving really slow, and he seemed shaky and weak, like he had no energy.

Then he came right up to my window and peeked in!

Then he laid down and stayed for about 3 hours.

This was on Monday.

Then on Wednesday morning, I got up and looked out toward my neighbor's house, and this is what I saw.

At first I thought he was just taking a nap because from my distance, I couldn't get a good look at him.  But I kept watching out my window, waiting for him to get up.  Finally, I went out to the end of my driveway to take my garbage can out, and he still wasn't moving.  I was too scared to get too close to him, even though I concluded in my head that he was dead.  I called Wildlife Conservation to report it, and to see if they would come get it, but they said if a moose dies on someone's property it's their responsibility to take care of it. And he also told me that this time of year the moose have a hard time finding enough to eat so they get deficient in nutrition, and some of them just don't make it.  Poor thing. So that's probably why he looked so pathetic when he was at my house.

Another exciting thing I did last weekend was attend a Quilters' Retreat.  If you don't care about quilting, this won't excite you, but it was really fun for me.  I have never gone to one before, so it was something new for me.  It was held at Pioneer Ridge Lodge here in Wasilla, not far from our other house that we used to live in, so it felt kinda weird driving down that road again.  Anyway, it was a really nice place with a great view, kinda out in a country setting next to a farm.

This is the kitchen.   Everyone had to take a turn at cooking for everyone else. Me and my friend LeiLoni were in charge of breakfast.  So we made breakfast casseroles and also served fruit and other things on the side.  Everyone made really good meals there.

This is the bedroom that I slept in.  It was really cute.  They had stuffed huskies sitting on all the beds.  Every room had Alaska decor in it.

This curly staircase led up to a sunroom with a really nice view.  You don't want to be up there in the afternoon though.  So hot!  I went up there in the morning when the temperature was just right, and the view was fantastic!

This is the room that was set up for sewing.  On Thursday we had about a dozen ladies there, and a couple more showed up on Friday.

It was really fun to see all the projects that the other ladies were working on, and also I got to meet new people.  Everyone there was really nice.  See that bear skin on the left wall towards the back?  I was sewing right next to that bear's head.

I only worked on Justin's quilt there, just trying to get it all quilted.  I got most of it done there, but had to finish it up at home.  So here it is - all done!  I flipped over the corner so you can see the back, even though it might be hard to see.

The retreat was supposed to go from Thursday to Sunday but I only stayed one night because on Saturday we were taking our first 4-wheeler trip to Knik Glacier for this year.

Which leads me to the last part of this post:

It was windy and dusty, but the sun was out so that made it worth going.  It was just nice to get out and do something like that again.

The lake was still frozen and full of ice bergs, which was really pretty to look at,

but the wind was a lot colder here.  

So this weekend we are heading to Fairbanks to visit Stephanie, which means I have many things to do before we go.  After we get home, I need to harden off my plants so I can get them planted outside in the garden beds.  We have company coming on June 4 so that is another week of adventure.  So the next 2 or 3 weeks are busy, busy, busy.  If anything exciting happens, you can read all about it here.

Right here.

On this blog.

See ya next time!

Spring!

 Hi all!

Happy Spring!

I hope your blessings bring a spring in your step!

Did that sound corny?  I don't wanna be corny...

I know it's been awhile since I've posted.  I just don't ever have anything exciting to write about.  So, as usual, I am just checking in again to update you on more boredom.  I will not be offended if you totally skip me.  Believe me, I understand - you have WAY better things to do.

Anyhoo, my last post was about my quilting WIPs.  I got my Halloween crow quilt top all done, but I don't have it sandwiched yet because I didn't order enough fabric for the back.  I ordered 3  yards, but need 4, so when I tried to order more (from Missouri Star Quilt Co), they were all out.  Go figure.  I contacted them and they said they won't get more of that particular fabric until mid-July.  Since I already got 3 yards, I don't want to order 4 more of a different one, so I told them to let me know when they get it in.  So that one is put on the back burner for now.

My hexie flower quilt.  All done, except I need to finish hand sewing the binding.  However, there was much "weeping and gnashing of teeth" trying to get that one quilted.  I wanted to use rulers to help me keep my lines straight, so I bought a ruler foot for my Kenmore machine and gave it a go.  My Kenmore is a low-shank machine, so I ordered a low-shank ruler foot.  But the ruler foot sat too low on my fabric - too tight for me to move my fabric around - well, that's not gonna work!  The only way I could sort of make it work was to keep my presser foot in the raised position, and then adjust the ruler foot to the right height.  But sewing with the presser foot raised is not normal, and I kept getting skipped stitches.

I was getting mad because I was ruining my quilt with these horrible stitches.

And it didn't help either that Weeners was sitting on it, hindering my free motion movements.

She is the reason why I now keep a roll of tape in my quilting room (to unfuzz my fabric).

So, as you can sorta see, my plan was to use rulers and outline my flowers, but I couldn't keep my lines straight for several reasons.  1) I am new at ruler quilting and need more practice; 2) Weeners was sitting on my quilt; 3) the ruler foot kept getting caught on my basting stitches (I learned a lesson with that one!; 4) my machine simply did not like the ruler foot and wouldn't cooperate; 5) my Kenmore does not have the "needle down" feature, which causes a lot of mayhem in free motion quilting.

So guess what??!?  I ordered myself a brand new machine!  I did a lot of research and settled on a Brother PQ 1500SL.

Sounds fancy, doesn't it?

I ordered it from Amazon and only had to pay $10 in shipping, and to my surprise it came a whole week earlier than they said it would.  So I was pretty excited to get this box!

It was a bit pricey, but it's really not that fancy, especially compared to the ones most of the YouTubers use.  Most of the quilting videos I watch have those very expensive computerized ones.  And I have to admit, it would be tempting to buy one of those if you can afford it, but even though this one is kinda pricey, I deliberately chose not to go with a computerized machine for several reasons.  The main reason is because you can't service them yourself, and when you take it in to get it serviced, it can take weeks to get  your machine back, and it's expensive to get them serviced.  And if anything goes wrong with the computer, same thing- very expensive to fix and you have to give up your machine until they fix it.  So I purposely chose a mechanical machine, just like my Kenmore.  I can oil it myself, and there's no computer parts to go haywire except for the "needle down" feature - that is the only part that's not mechanical.  I can live with that because having the "needle down" feature is SO worth it!  Not having it is one thing I always hated about my Kenmore.

It also has other features to it that my Kenmore doesn't have, like it will cut your thread for you, which can come in handy I suppose, but I generally don't use that because it cuts the threads too short.  Also, it has a needle threader.  It took me a few tries to figure out how it works, but that is another feature that I'm not really using very often because it's shredding my thread, but I suppose if I used a different sized needle, maybe it won't do that.  I will just have to experiment with it, but it is handy at times.

So, for the first week or two, I had to get used to it.  Through trial and error, I learned what it likes and doesn't like, and so far I am very very very happy with it!  I almost feel bad for my Kenmore cuz that one has been my work horse for almost 35 years, but I will still keep it around because my Brother only does straight stitches (that's what makes it better for quilting).  So if I ever need a zig-zag stitch or any other kind of stitching, I will use my Kenmore.

So, now the question is:  will it do ruler quilting?  After all, that is what I really want to do, and that is what compelled me to even consider buying a new machine.  This machine does free motion quilting really well!  But, just like the Kenmore, as soon as I put the ruler foot on, it's unhappy and skips stitches.  So more "weeping and gnashing of teeth", but I'm hoping that I will figure it out after I get myself more familiarized with this machine.  Even if I can't do ruler work with it, it will at least do really well with free motion.

On another note, Spring is here and it finally feels like it!  Our temps are regularly staying in the high 40s now, and when the sun is out, it feels so nice to be outside!  Even Peeka started her hunting season and made her first kill.

I just don't know why she insists on bringing it to our door.

Anyhoo, I wanted to end this post with something else that has been on my mind.  As you know, I'm going through the New Testament in the Greek, which forces me to really examine what I'm reading.  Right now I'm in Mark 10, and I was studying about the Rich Young Ruler.  I've heard this story many times, and usually when I hear this story, we just sorta feel sad for the guy because he seems to make the wrong choice (although the Bible never really tells us if he changed his mind later).  Anyway, I was looking at this, and what really struck me about it is that the rich young ruler was actually pretty brave.  Maybe "brave" isn't really the right word I'm looking for, but here was a guy who was virtuous, followed all the commandments - he was a good guy!  Yet, he still asks Jesus, "what do I lack"?  I thought about myself in his situation.  I try to be a good person, I love God and try to obey His Word, I consider myself a good person, just like this guy.  But I would almost hesitate to go up to Jesus and ask Him what I lack.  What if I don't like his answer, just like this rich ruler?  What would he tell me to give up?    Or maybe He would tell me what I'm doing or not doing? I think I'm good in God's eyes and salvation is sure, so should I even ask this question?  What would Jesus say to me?  Do I have anything in my possession that I would have a hard time letting go of? If I ask the question, would I not like His answer?????  In every confrontation with someone, Jesus always told people what they needed to hear, not what they wanted to hear. Even though this guy didn't like Jesus' answer, he still deserves a lot of credit for even asking the question.  I admire him for that, and I think maybe it would be a good idea to ask ourselves the same question, especially if we think we're okay in God's eyes.  What do I need to hear from Jesus? Just like in some of the letters to the seven churches in Revelation, they were told what they were good at, BUT......!  We may not be as okay as we think we are.  It's very humbling if you think about it long enough.

Next time I post, I hope I will be telling you that I'm ruler quilting!!

Happy New Year!

 Happy 2023!  I know it's already the 14th, but the year is still new.  I hope this year brings good things to all of you.

What are your goals for this year?  I don't make resolutions, but I sorta kinda made some goals for this year.  

Specifically, I would like to reduce my pile of WIPs.  In the quilting world, that means Work In Progress.  When I started my quilting adventure, my rule to myself was to not let myself grow a pile of UFOs (UnFinished Objects), like most quilters do.  My rule was that I could NOT start another project until the last one was quilted and binded and ready to give away.  Only ONE quilt at a time!!!!

Alas, woe is me!  It's too hard to resist starting new ones before the last one is done.  I have several WIPs going on right now, but to be fair to myself, two of them are actually on-the-side projects that I do just here and there.  Here now I will attempt to show you what I am working on.

In my last post, I mentioned that we had a house guest for 3 weeks sleeping in my sewing room, so I had to stash my unfinished Halloween quilt in the closet.  After she left, I really didn't get in the mood to pull it back out until recently because I knew that I was in the "tying" stage and it's a big king size quilt, so I kept procrastinating on it (and starting new projects).  Well, once I did pull it out and start tying it, it was "fun" and I got on a roll, and the best part was that I could do it while watching TV, which helps.  It took awhile, but I finally got it all tied, and now I just need to finish the binding.  So I keep it on my couch to remind me to work on it.  Unfortunately, my cats think I put it there to serve as their new sleeping pad and I can always find a cat curled up on it.  So before it gets full of cat hair, I need to get it done.

Another quilt that I'm working on is an experiment that I made up as I went.  I discovered EPP (English Paper Piecing) and "fell in love" with it, so I bought a pack of coordinating fat quarters and made a variety of flowers using EPP shapes, and then turned them into quilt blocks.

(sorry, I didn't know the picture would turn out blurry)  Anyway, each flower was stitched onto a blue background square using embroidery thread.  I chose to use 8" blocks because that seemed the appropriate size for the flowers.  Also, I should mention that this is a QAYG quilt (Quilt As You Go), so  the batting is already attached.  Here I am stitching together the last row of batting on the back.

It's exciting to finally have the last row attached.  I have an 8x8 array (64 squares), so 8 rows of 8 blocks.  I decided to put sashing between them to separate them, but as you can see, my sashing lines don't always match up.  That is my pet peeve about sashing - I can never never never never get it to line up perfectly, no matter how carefully I measure and try to line it up.  

So, to help hide those wonky corners, I'm thinking I might cover them up with a hexie or maybe I will make some mini EPP flowers.  I'm not sure yet, but if I do that, I need to do it before I add the back panel cuz I don't want my ugly stitching to show up on the back.  Unless, I applique them on.

Hmmmmm...........I will have to think about this.  As I said, this quilt I was making up as I go.  No pattern here to follow.

Other projects are just small ones.  I used to buy those Block of the Month kits from JoAnn's whenever they were on sale.  But instead of making the quilt I would just use them to make placemats.  This is the one that was in the kit.

And then I always like to pull some of my scraps out and make another one using the same pattern.

Since Valentine's Day is the next holiday coming up, I pulled out some Valentine's Day fabrics that I had stashed.  So both of these are just waiting for me to quilt and bind.  I am still trying to decide how I want to quilt them.

Apparently JoAnn's doesn't sell those kits anymore cuz I can never find them now.  But I saved all the patterns that I did get, in case I want to use any of them again.  I think I have two more kits left that I haven't put together yet.

Here is another WIP.

I found these Mario Bros. fat quarters at WalMart and immediately thought of Justin because he always liked Mario Bros.  So I decided to make him something with it.  I chose to use this "Dream Weaver" pattern from Missouri Star Quilt Company.  This pattern is showing all scrappy colors, so you can't pick up on the weaving pattern very quickly, but I am going to use only four colors (red, orange, green, and blue) so it will look more like a weaving pattern.  Anyway, I am putting this one together by hand, so it will take awhile to get it done.  I got all my pieces cut out - I just have to watch enough TV to get them all sewn together.  It really does help a lot that Chuck usually goes to bed early!

Now for my side projects.  I found this book:

And it's got 50 block patterns in it.  You can choose which ones you want to make and how many, and then the book has instructions that teach you three different methods of QAYG.  So, right now I am just making the blocks one by one, as I have time, and using scraps out of my stash.  I'm not in any hurry to get it done.  When I have enough blocks made I will make a quilt out of them.  I have 11 blocks made so far.  I just make a block here and there whenever I feel like sewing something small and quick.  I think my favorite part is going through my stash and choosing colors.

My other side project is EPP.  Now that is something that is just an on-going never-ending project that I like to do when I'm doing nothing, and it's portable so I take it with me when I travel - not that I travel much, but it's also a backup project to work on while watching TV if I'm not working on anything else.  I am using all hexies, and I am using all scraps for this.  I will not buy any extra fabric for this project.  However, I MIGHT need to buy some for the background color cuz I will need a lot of the same color.  But for now I am just making the parts that make up the design.

I found this EPP hexie quilt on Pinterest that I am aiming for.  Here is a link if you want to see it (hopefully it will work for you).

https://i.pinimg.com/236x/84/e4/a3/84e4a3a4c56ef0233c601b0962a71f3e.jpg

So I will have to make 28 large diamonds, 16 large flowers, 55 small flowers, 4 small diamonds, 4 brackets, 8 small triangles, plus extras; this is going to take awhile.  But it's fun and relaxing, and I am excited to see it progress as I go.  One nice thing about hexie quilts is that if you see a pattern you like, you can easily copy it without needing a pattern or instructions.

After I get at least these first two WIPs done, this is my next project I want to start:

Stephanie gave me this for my birthday LAST year, so I think it's about time I started working on it.  I will set a goal to have it completely done by Halloween.

So now you know what I'm up to.  

Oh, and I also started gardening!

I don't know if you can see it or not, but my onions are starting to sprout.

So exciting!

I can't start any other seeds until March, but onions need to be started early early early.

At least we are gaining more daylight every day now.

Also exciting!

July 9, 2022

 Well, here I am again.  Just boring ol' me.

Chuck is gone until next week.  My Nigerian house guest just left yesterday.  So I am suddenly feeling rather....alone.  So I am posting to keep you company, or vise versa.

Do you ever get the feeling that you are always staying busy, but feel like you get nothing done?  That is how I've been feeling.  I suppose it's because I tend to do the same thing every day.  Every day I have to repeat what I did the previous day, as if I hadn't done it at all.  Like making the bed, watering the garden, cooking meals, washing dishes, washing dishes, washing dishes, did I mention washing dishes?  Apparently we are always eating something and dirtying up dishes.  I keep doing these things over and over and over.  Like a hamster on a wheel.  I keep moving to get these things done, only to do them over again, as if these things never get accomplished.  It's not like writing a book where you write every day, and then "Voila!" one day it's done and you don't have to work on it anymore.

Oh, me and my hum-drum-ness.

I am not complaining though.  I am very happy with all my blessings. It's like the old poem about washing dishes - we should be grateful for dirty dishes because it means we have food to eat.  Right? Of course, right!

So all that being said, it's nice to have something different or unusual happen once in a while to break things up or just to make my hum-drum life a little more interesting.  Nothing real big has been going on for me, but I did do something that I normally don't do.  I volunteered to host a college student from Harding University for 3 weeks.  Her name is Hannah and she is originally from Nigeria, so I was able to have some interesting conversations with her about her background.  She came here with 3 other Harding students and 2 chaperones on a Mission trip, so they spent 3 weeks just helping out church congregations with whatever they needed help with. I mostly only saw her in the mornings and evenings. Anyway, I don't know what compelled me to rise to the occasion and host her, but at the last minute they were still looking for hosts, and I have an empty guest room, so I thought "why not?"  I had no idea who I was taking into my home or what it would be like or "what was I getting myself into?", but it turned out to be a good experience for me.  Anyway, after 3 weeks of her company, and Chuck gone in Juneau, I just suddenly feel alone.

But I still remain busy with my everyday routines.  This summer has been hot and dry, so I've been watering my gardens every day.  I have learned to do this in the mornings because the afternoons were getting "scorching hot" and it's no fun to be outdoors working in that heat.  I know that high 70s, up to 80 is not "scorching" to most people, but for us Alaskans, that's hot. Our June temps were 10-15 degrees above normal. Our Harding guests were feeling hot too, but they were still dreading going back home where it's worse.   Anyhoo, it's been like that day after day after day for most of June and into July.  Just this week we are finally getting cloudy skies and cooler temps (high 60s), but still not enough rain, so I still have to water everything.  Sometimes I get bored with my daily routines, but I am glad I have something to do, and I can see that the fruits of my labor are already coming.  We are already picking some tomatoes, and I am picking a bowl full of strawberries every 2 or 3 days (YUM!) They are so good with granola! 

My greenhouse is looking like a jungle!

I have to be very careful now walking to the back because my squash plant got too big to be under the shelf, so it decided it needed to lean out into the aisle.  When I planted those there, I was not anticipating them getting that huge.  Also, you can't see it, but way in the back is where I planted my pumpkin, and the vine has gone crazy!  The vines are growing so long and hanging onto everything it can.  I just wish I could see some pumpkins on it.  Chuck said he saw a good-sized one, but I still never saw it - I suppose I'm not looking in the right place. I tend to avoid digging around in the leaves too much cuz I don't want any spider surprises. My cucumber vines are also getting out of control.  After Chuck gets back, we will have to see what we can do about getting them stringed up.  Strung up?  

Other than that, in my free time I have been doing more scrap booking  because Hannah was sleeping in my sewing room.  I had to stash away all of my current sewing projects while she was here.  Now that she's gone, I can pull them out and work on those again.  I don't even remember where I left off, but I believe I was starting to tie my Halloween quilt.

Welp! That's about it.  I'm back in the kitchen again now.

Enjoy your summer weather!

Wild flowers growing in my back yard.

Spring 2022

 Happy Memorial Day, Y'all!

I hope everyone out there is having a fun and safe day.  We spent the weekend in Fairbanks and got back last night.  It was a good weekend - very very busy.  Steph is putting her house up for sale, so we went up there to help her get prepared for that.

On the way home we saw a Mama Grizzly and two cubs.

I know you can't really see the Mama in this picture.  By the time Chuck took the picture for me, she was disappearing through the trees, two cubs following her.

When I got back home, I was worried about my garden that I had left in Justin's care.  The weather has been hot and dry so they really needed to be watered every day.  Our neighbor came and checked on them the day before we came home and said everything looked watered.  To my relief, my plants were still alive when we got home.

We finally bought a nice greenhouse this year!

Then Chuck wanted to add some gravel around it so he wouldn't have all those weeds growing up against it.  I think it adds charm, plus it gives me a place to set some pots, which adds even more charm!

Eventually I want to have the whole greenhouse surrounded by cute pots, but this is the best I can do for this year without spending another chunk of money.  We also bought a couple shepherd's hooks to hang a couple baskets.  I would love to have bird feeders and bird baths!  Maybe next year.

We also bought two apple trees!  I am excited about the apple trees cuz I have been wanting apple trees for so many years now.

So, when we picked our greenhouse, we ordered one that has a shelf on only one side and then we built beds to put on both sides.  I put tomato plants on the left side, and shorter plants on the right side under the shelf (squash and cucumbers).   And then I put all my peppers and some herbs on the shelf.  I also added a few marigolds to help keep aphids away.  When the cucumbers and beans get taller we will have to string them up through the wire shelf.

If you look closely you can see a bell pepper already on that one plant.

Outside in the beds, everything is doing really well.

I already have some clumps of tomatoes growing.

I think this is going to be a better year all around for gardening than last year.  We have more things going for us this year - warmer weather, a greenhouse, and also I had a better head start on everything (started my seeds earlier this year).  Plus I have been more diligent about fertilizing.

I put my pumpkins in the front yard this time just because I didn't have anywhere else to put them.  Chuck built these beds for me. 

 I want to fill them up with perennial flowers, but this year I wasn't very well planned for it, plus I felt guilty spending more money, so I just planted some different flower seeds in them (on both sides of the pumpkins) and now I will just hope that they grow.  Next year I will put more thought as to what perennials I want in there.  I think I want some bleeding hearts and some irises to start with.  Tulips would be cute too.  Chuck says he would rather use the beds for more practical things like more veggies, but I think I would like the front of the house to look pretty with flowers.

I planted some onions seeds in this frog.  I wanna see what it will look like with onions growing in it.

Around the sunroom we have even more beds!

This is where I am growing mint and catnip and some new rhubarb plants.

After I planted all my tomatoes, I had 4 left that I needed to find a home for.  A friend took my last two Polar Beauties.  Another friend said she would take one Sub-Arctic.  I was gonna give the last one to Stephanie but she is too busy now with selling her house, so my neighbor gladly took it.  I kinda felt like I was getting rid of a litter of kittens.  :-(

This is the last one that I am holding for my friend until she gets back from Texas.  She will be pleased that it already has some tomatoes on it.

When I posted last Fall, I wrote that I was going to start making a Halloween quilt.  Well, I finally got the quilt top done!

Now I just need to sandwich it and quilt it.  I am planning on tying it because I want it to have thick batting.  This quilt has sashing with cornerstones, which was a nightmare because my cornerstones weren't matching up, so I had to take in a LOT of seams in order to get them to match up.  It was a pain in the butt and I worried that it would look obvious, but now that I can see the whole thing, you really can't tell where I took the seams in.

The other sewing project I'm working on is English Paper Piecing.  I just learned how to do it and I am finding that it is something that I really enjoy doing.  

I am making a big stack of three different flower designs.  After I get all the flowers made, I will applique them onto some background fabric and make a quilt out of them.  This is just sort of an experiment project before I start trying out some harder designs.

So that's about all for now.  I know I haven't posted in a really long time, but that's because my posts are boring and uninteresting.  I don't know why I thought of posting again today.  Because I miss you??

Peeka and Weeners send their greetings.