life in general

A Make Shift Design Wall

by Karen on November 6, 2011

in Joseph's Coat, life in general, quilts

This quilt = Joseph’s Coat is just getting too big Smile  I had to extend my design wall so I can lay out pieces for color arrangement.  I guess it is a good thing that we rarely have people over and there are no grandchildren running around the house right now – one bump and my wall and pieces will come tumbling down!

All of the brownish pieces are just sticking up there right now.  A lot of hand piecing to get moving on. The 3 pieces stuck up there to the side have to go to the top – that will be the top corner of the height.  I ran out of room and will have to move a little more to the floor!  I just stuck them up there for now to remind me to lower the whole thing just a little more when I get all those pieces stitched.  This is as long as it gets I do believe.  I will have to lay it out flat when I am done hand piecing all of these pieces and see how long it actually is flat.  I do want it to be a good queen size to fit a fat mattress with a good overhang.  Right now I am measuring about 108 inches.  I always remember that with cotton batting and the shrinkage that I like for the antique look that I am pretty sure it will shrink to about 105 inches at least.  If it is too long it can always be tucked under the pillows on the bed a little bit.  If I move up to a king size bed one day than it will fit on that also.

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My big tree in the front yard is certainly going to loose all of its leaves before Thanksgiving – it is turning yellow quickly and tomorrow and Tuesday we are due for some thunderstorms the weather man says and if we get some wind too –  well I do believe in another week to 10 days this tree will be bare!  I have not started to clean up the yard – I wait for it all to be done!  Other than using the leaf blower on the decking and porch that is.

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the dogwood leaves are stubbornly staying on the tree – I think they will quickly fall with wind and rain also.

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Changing it Up A Little Bit

by Karen on November 6, 2011

in Joseph's Coat, life in general, quilts

My color scheme for Joseph’s Coat wasn’t quit looking right when I started to press a few pieces this morning for the next batch of melon pieces.  I was going a little bit too much from orangey colors to beiges and brown.  I got out my fabric and started to pull out a few pieces.  I do not have a lot of the darker browns going to red that I hope to use but I will stretch them out some way and make it work.  I will only have a row or two of browns going into the reds – but there you go.  I’m not shopping for more fabric!  I will scrounge around through the fabric and see if I can find anything else that might work.  I am using almost all Hoffman Bali Water Color type of batiks (the link will take you to a place that sells them – it was just a search I did I have not used this shop) with a few other things that look a lot like that type.  Some of these colors don’t quite look as they are through the photo – but the general color type I think is here. That link has a lot of nice batiks though and I will have to book mark it.

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The next stack of fabric to be used will be these -  I might need to still do a little rearrangement of color but I think this continues to be close to what I am doing.  It won’t be as good as some of the “professional” quilt designers do with using computer programs and such to design – but maybe one day I will get around to teaching myself how to actually use the quilt design programs – I have EQ7 – I just haven’t done anything with it!

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I measured the top the other day to see how much it had grown and have already forgotten! I think it was about 95 inches on the end and the width at the bottom was around 66 or something like that.  I know my design wall is around 72 x 72 so I think my guess is close to what it is.

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I Should Have Looked LOL

by Karen on October 31, 2011

in life in general, quilting links, quilts

Do you remember last week that my iron stopped working and I bought a new one?  Well I should have remember that I sometimes put extra items that I am not using for some reason or other out in the workshop on several shelves.  I store extra kitchen items out there that are either duplicates or too big and/or rarely used so they are out of my way – I have a small kitchen and not a lot of extra storage space.

Today I am getting the back of the car loaded with things that I am donating to Good Will.  I got done with the things in the house and thought to go out to the workshop to check and see if there was anything out there that I really and truly no longer needed or wanted.

Look what I found a perfectly good inexpensive iron!  I remember now putting it out there but had totally forgotten about it.  (I remember the big soup pot was out there and the extra laundry basket)

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I also found an extra tea kettle:

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And an extra coffee pot – a little dirty from being out in the work shop with dust flying and all  but it would clean up just fine if I need it and it still works!

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Some of the duplicates are from when we had the big 5th wheel camper – I had bought things to just keep out there – using a smaller camper meant I didn’t have as much storage space so I got smaller items for it. Extras got put in the workshop.  Sometimes I get extras if we see a small appliance that I like better and then the old one gets put away in case we need it.

Do you all do that too – forget to look and see if you stuck something away before buying a new one?

Before I forget on the subject of collecting things to donate for Goodwill — do any of you visit Victoria’s site Bumble Beans ?  Victoria and the group she works with are trying to collect up quilts that they donate to people down on their luck.  They have been homeless for various reasons and are helped to find a home to live in.  When each family moves into their home they are given a quilt – I believe that is the way it works – she explains it all here at this site Bumble Beans Basics.  Quilter Pat Sloan is helping her out with the drive to collect 700 quilts which are going to be given away close to the end of November. If you have an extra quilt that you made and doesn’t have a new home yet you might want to think of sending it her way.  I have two children’s quilts boxed up and ready to send off to her tomorrow.

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Fall, Pumpkins, and Quilting

by Karen on October 28, 2011

in life in general, quilts, weather

In between the rain yesterday I got my camera out to take some photos of our fall trees and also my re-arranged pumpkin/flowers.  We had a cold chilly rain all day – made it much more like fall weather I guess.  The leaves fell naturally around my flowers – no work there – until it is time to clean them up that is.

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My small dogwood

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My big tree in the front yard is starting to turn yellow already in the week since we got home – the one next to it always turns red and is not uncommon for that one to be completely bare by the beginning of November.  The yellow on the other hand at times is still holding onto it’s leaves the first week of December – I don’t know – I think this year it will loose them by Thanksgiving.

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Another angle of the dogwood – the orange color tree is a persimmon.

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The back of the child’s quilt that I started quilting this week.

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And the front of it.  A lot left to work on but a good start.  I will be working more on this one this morning at the quilt group.

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Although yesterday was a high of about 64 at midnight by the middle of the day it was staying steady at 48 degrees and a cold rain all day.  We did need it as the summer and early fall has been very dry.  Today though the sun is supposed to be out and nice – I might need to take a walk before I head home from quilt group.

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A Nice Fall Morning

by Karen on October 22, 2011

in life in general

Now that everything is caught up here at the house I spent the morning doing some fun stuff.

I started out by taking a nice walk at the local trails at 8:40 this morning – the fall colors are not at their best right now – give them another week and it might be better.  I will have to check the trails out again later next week and see.  I took the trail that is 2.7 miles long and had a nice almost hour walk.

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Then it was off to Lowe’s to find some sunflower seeds for the birds and some fall flowers for the porch.  Off  to Wal-Mart from there to find some reasonable priced pumpkins, some fall flowers for the living room.  With a full car it was back to home to arrange the items bought.

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Hmm too much brown on one side of that vase – I need to change that I think – I need to remember to pick up  more of a fall color jug for that table as well – black is … well too black Smile

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I thought I had a bag of soil here at home to repot these small mums that got but I don’t.  I also need to go up to the second floor of the workshop and find my small clay pots for them.  I guess I will be running back in town soon to get some soil.  I better also check and see if I have enough pots first or I will be doing too much running!  The display needs a little work – maybe after I repot these plants I can come up with something a little better.

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I hope your fall morning is going well wherever you are Smile

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What Have I Been Doing

by Karen on October 22, 2011

in Baking/cooking, life in general, quilts

Since I got home I have been busy -

Getting laundry caught up – this stack is small compared to what it had been!  I think I have done 8 loads of laundry since we got home – this is including the bedding & towels from the camper-quilt, blanket, sheets, towels – ect. all get put back in the camper for next time.  The sheets of course had been done off and on the whole time we had been traveling but I hadn’t done laundry the last week of the trip so it all came home with us.

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Restocking the freezer.

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Six weeks of no baking meant a batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies were in order Smile

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The refrigerator is getting back to normal full.

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Now it is time to look through the two new quilting books that I bought.  I looked at them while I was gone but then they got put away and I barely even remembered what I had picked up!

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The other one.

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Do any of you have these books?  How did you like them?

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Dead Horse Point State Park

by Karen on October 1, 2011

in life in general, Travel

On our way back to the northern section of Canyonlands we decided to stop at this state park.  They had a nice visitor center/museum and we took several short walks around the park.

One of the main points of this park – the view!

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Another view

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An “arch” at the state park – I think we are seeing arches in everything now

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Another view

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Someone was having fun making some “cairn markers”

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Someone made a vase for the flower

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Someone asked how I am keeping an even skin tone – no burn – sunscreen – when we are hiking I put sunscreen on every hour, and I wear a hat.  I am careful about not burning I have been in remission from Lupus for 20 years and too much sun can cause a flare up.

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Our time here in the Moab, Utah area is finished.  We leave in the morning 9/29/11 and we are moving closer to the Grand Canyon.  Doubtful I will have internet for the next two days at least so I have been scheduling posts once again.  I will be posting as I can.  This post gets me up to date on all my photos for this area of the trip!

We have actually had tv the last couple days and I was able to watch NCIS yesterday and Criminal Minds and CSI tonight!!  I miss not watching my regular shows every week with the new shows starting.  I like Ted Danson on CSI – so much better than Lawrence Fishburn – he might be a good actor in movies – but I did not like him in CSI and barely watched the show for the period of time he was in it.

Anyone know of a quilt shop in the Grand Canyon area :) I have yet to find something for my birthday!  We will be going through New Mexico after we get done with the Grand Canyon so maybe I can find something while we are going through that state if I don’t find something sooner!

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Mountains Too

by Karen on September 26, 2011

in life in general, Travel

First a question – when you are traveling how do you decide where to get your hair cut!!  I was going to grow my hair out – I really thought I wanted to do this.  I have been letting it grow for the past six months and getting it trimmed now and then to get rid of dry edges and trying to grow it the same length all over – but I am not happy with it.  My hair is very fine and I don’t care for it long.  I go through this each time in the past 10 years that I thought I wanted it long again.   It has finally been long enough the past 3 weeks to twist it up slightly and put a clasp in it to hold it off my neck but I have been having problems with hair breaking off and it just doesn’t look really healthy if you know what I mean.  It is time for a cut – it always looks much healthier when it is short.  So the dilemma – how to choose some one to cut my hair in a town I am not familiar with.  Do I just bite the bullet and randomly choose or do any of you have a good way you do it?

Yes we are still seeing some mountains too.  So much desert and red rock.  The other day though we took a drive that started out going through more desert but ended up in the La Sal Mountain Range that is east of Moab.  Very pretty!

An indication of what part of the road is like – coming from one direction the arrow is one way the other is the opposite – hairpin curve

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Trees!! I mean ones that aren’t 4 feet tall and twisted from the wind and short because of little rain.  They looked so pretty!!

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Pine trees of regular height

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Fall color

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Looking at the color and the mountains

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Then it was back to the desert.

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Continuing to Get Ready

by Karen on September 4, 2011

in Baking/cooking, life in general

What a morning – the weather is great!  The wind is breezy, the air is lower humidity than it has been for awhile, and it is only 79 degrees right now!!  It is actually only supposed to get to the mid 80’s today I think.

That makes it a great day to finish getting the motorhome ready.  I have already been out there numerous times today.  I decided to freshen up the bath towels that have been sitting out there for the past year even though I made sure they were washed when we got home.  I just want that fresh washed smell to them I guess.  I should have done it yesterday as I have at least 2 or 3 other loads of laundry to get done with today also.

With the laundry going I decided it was time to start sorting through more clothing Sad smile the part I hate to do!!  Sitting on the bed all lined up in categories – short sleeve shirts, 3/4 length, long sleeve, jeans & light weight pants, p.j’s, undies, I need to through some sleeveless and summer weight in here too just in case of some hot days – I will leave all this sitting on the bed for a little bit and then decide for sure if I am bringing all of it Smile or if more needs to be added!  I will decide that for sure when I start putting it in the camper in my clothing areas and see how much (or how little) room I have.

One day I need to get another complete set of clothing to keep in the camper – wouldn’t that be nice to have everything already there (and expensive!) I need a nice simple set of jeans/plain color tee’s and I would be set.  Too bad I always want a variety.

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I decided to make tomorrow’s meal in advance.  After a first day of travel I am always kind of tired and also I don’t want to have to start cooking after we get set up – I’m more accustomed to the small kitchen area after a day or two.  I know we will be at a campground that has electric hook ups tomorrow night so I am making a pot of chili today and will pack it in plastic bowls to store in the refrigerator.  That way we can just heat it up in the microwave when we get there.

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I am by no means a chili expert.  I do mine just an easy simply recipe – we like it and that is what counts.  I use Williams season mix.  You can buy it hot and spicy or mild which is what I prefer – I do not like to burn my mouth with spices so hot I can’t stand it! (I’m not good with extra spicy)

I use 1 can of chili beans, 1 can of black beans (rinsed) a pound of hamburger meat (or left over roast cuts if I have them) a chopped onion, sometimes a chopped green pepper which in this case I needed to get rid of so it is in there too.  I add a can of diced tomatoes and a 1/3 cup of season mix.  I also add a tablespoon of Hershey’s chocolate or if I have it I toss in one or two small pieces of dark chocolate. I stir it all up in the crock pot and let it cook all day.  This is just an easy easy recipe, nothing fancy and nothing for competitions for all of those chili cook off events.  When we travel I make the chili outside on the camper stove as I don’t like the smell of chili to linger inside for days on end.  I tend to cook outside most things that tend to leave an odor in the air.

Now I guess I have taken a long enough break and I need to get back to work.

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Labor Day Weekend

by Karen on September 3, 2011

in Joseph's Coat, life in general

What is supposed to be a time of last of the summer picnics and family gatherings for us this weekend is getting ready for a long trip with the motorhome to a variety of climates .  It is no picnic Smile — unless you take trips like this you might not have any idea what goes into it.  Instead of packing a suitcase or two you are packing kitchen items, bathroom items, laundry, cold weather clothes, warm weather clothes.  Tools to fix things along the way if needed – something seems to be needing fixing almost every trip – most times not major but little things here and there — don’t forget the duct tape Smile never know when that might be needed.  Outside cooking tools, inside cooking tools – food, entertainment items – the scrabble game is packed, dvd’s to watch the occasional movie, sewing items for me – need I go on?  Some things stay in the camper all the time but other things need to be brought back into the house when we get home from a trip and then brought back into the camper before you leave.

I have 3 different list’s going – I start them about a week or two before hand then type them on the computer and print them out – things get crossed off as they are done and sometimes more written in as I remember them!  How many chargers does one need! Why can’t you charge everything on a universal charger – chargers for each camera, ipods, computers,kindles, phones!!

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I don’t like to leave the bathroom/kitchen stuff in the camper all year when we are not using it – all those things in your medicine cabinet need to be kept at certain temperatures you know and the camper is sitting out in that hot sun part of the year and then in freezing temperatures part of the year too.  All of that kind of stuff needs to be brought back out.

On the home front the list is growing for what is done and what needs to be done – grass is cut! thank goodness that is out of the way – unless we get a lot of rain we won’t need to cut it again until next spring at the rate it has been this year – I think we cut the grass a total of 4 times with as little rain as we have gotten since May.

This morning I decided to start on the cold weather clothes for me  (Mike packs his own clothes)  – sweatshirts/sweatpants/sweaters – I hate to the wear the same clothes over and over again – what to pack?  Can’t bring a lot, I ended up with 3 sweatpants (I love to wear these in the evening to relax) 3 sweatshirts and I will bring 2 sweaters to layer with t-shirts and long sleeve tees.

I use a laundry basket – put it on the table and keep filling it up and bringing it out and finding places to put things – how I remember where most things are is beyond me but I do – as you can see I am taking a break and need to get this filled back up again!

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I still need to get all my sewing supplies ready and figure out where to put them!

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And I know me — as I pack I will end up bringing some things back in the house as I will have too much and keep reminding myself that it is ok to wear the same thing over and over again as I normally do laundry often.  There is not a lot of space to keep dirty clothes for long – no one will know me and not know I wore the same clothes over and over again.  We have rarely ever run into someone we know – I think the last time was about 20 years ago in Oklahoma on the way home from a trip we stopped at a rest area and actually ran into a couple we knew – weird!

And I do believe my break time is over and it is time to get back to work – I still need to run to the grocery store today to get some last minute things—next break time and this evening I will finish up the last section of the diagonal strip for Joseph’s Coat that I am working on.   In between things I will try to get this long strip sewed on – but you know somehow I am doubtful I will get that done!  Maybe tomorrow evening after everything is done I will have time?

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