it was the best of times, it was the worst of times......

Camping was an ordeal this year. Jane and I got in some fun time at the picnic table doing our craft things. This was a coloring page I printed off before I left. I had the most fun with this.

Wish I had a picture of Jane's, it is the same but oh-so-different.

[coloring pages are here]

Saturday was a whole new ballgame.

RAIN & WIND came to visit.

These are NOT our tents. These were down along the lake, we were up on the hill.

The wind was howling and the rain came...down pour after down pour. Breakfast was sausage and PLAIN scrambled eggs. We couldn't be bothered with finding the salt and pepper or silver ware.

We ate it with our fingers.  

The boat wasn't out of the water, just pulled up on the shore. The waves were so big and crashing over the back of the boat. It just filled with water and sat there, half sunk. Sunday morning was a WHOLE lot calmer. We scooped it out with buckets until it started to float again. Once it was up on the trailer, the plug was pulled and the rest of the water came flying out.

Jane and I went to the painting studio again.

[creativespiritsokoboji.com]

It was Friday the 13th, so they had the witch painting. This one is mine. I didn't stray off from the original. Jane did.

This one is her's. She wanted ruby slippers and a full moon in hers. 

A full moon and Friday the 13th won't happen again until 2049.

There were also raccoon visitors.

This was a first. I scared them off the first time we heard them. I could see their eyes looking at me when I put the flashlight on the trees across the road. I secured everything but the garbage, did even think of it. I fell asleep and never heard my brother in law get up when they started messing in the garbage.

He ended up walking to the dumpster in his socks and underwear.

Yep, fun time at the lake this year.

sewing and painting.....

We were at an auction a while back. Sometimes things of less desire are bundled with other things that are desired. These towels were the undesired thing. Tractor joe didn't even know he had bought them. When we were at home, 

I looked at our tickets, one said, "towels" hmmm...

What towels?

Where are the towels? He didn't know. 

So we went back to see if they were still sitting there.

They were already in the dumpster! They were pulled out to take home for rags.

Then I thought a bit more.

What if I cut them up and sewed them back together?

Some were cut across, some were cut the length.

Poor birds lost their heads. Oh well.

I ended up with 9 blocks.

Which became a tablecloth out back. The machine quilting didn't go so well.

I tell myself it just adds to the charm of it.

I started putting together the April blocks I won at Block Lotto.

This is for tractor joe's brother. It seems rather bright for a guy, but we decided to stick with the plan and give it to him. 

A couple weeks ago, Karen and I got together to make wall art.

We were cutting out of magazines and and old dictionary for the flower petals.

She had a bathroom rug to coordinate with.

Mine still aren't hung up. 

fun things made over the weekend.....

Blocks for Lotto. These sewed up faster than I thought they would.

Words from one of the t-shirts that were too short and too wide to fit anywhere. I put them on a bath towel instead. I think Amanda will get a kick out of it.

I always have a bag of colored pencils on the bus so kids can draw. 

One little 5 year old boy drew this. I am not sure what it is. 

But he was intense as he worked and colored.

I asked him if I could make a pillow from it.

He wanted to know how I could make a pillow with the paper.

I told him I would use fabric. 

I had no plan at that point so the drawing hung on my fridge for a few weeks.

I had all this t-shirt fabric laying about. I was even wondering what to do with it. 

A sane person might just toss it.

Then it struck me where I could use it.......

I have seen these plush toys made from kid drawing and thought it was pretty cool.

That's what I did here. 

I feel his legs are too skinny, but I love his hair.

 I hope he likes it.

getting up to date on things.....

Last weekend I put binding on Carissa's T-shirt quilt. Her party is next weekend and she will be able to have it on display. We were going to meet her in the parking lot of Kmart, down in Algona.

A friend of hers had free kittens. My Malcolm in the middle son wanted one of them. 

We would meet up and trade one quilt for a kitten.

I wasn't able to get a decent picture of the whole thing in the parking lot....so it was decided that it will get official pictures at Carissa's party. Besides there was a kitten involved and all my son wanted was to get it back home quickly.

This is my new granddaughter-kitty. Her name is Dusk of Oolacile. 

(heavy sigh)

It is from some dark video game he plays. He says she answers to her full name and calling her Lucy for short does not work. What the heck? 

Okay, whatever.

Amanda wanted to see a "so far" picture of her T-shirt quilt. Her uncle, tractor joe wanted her to see how her quilt was taking over his space and stuck his foot in the picture. My goal is to get a finished top this weekend. She won't have a finished quilt for her party next weekend, just a top.

She is okay with that. It took her forever to gather her t-shirts! 

I won BLOCK LOTTO again. I know, it seems like I win a lot. But I play every month, there is only one month I didn't. The block involved batiks and curves. The curves said take a break.

I laid the blocks on point to see how that would look. While I like it, I am not 100% sure this is how it will end up.

My brother-in-law received one of the envelopes in HIS mailbox and promptly brought it over. This has happened before, too. I suggested that maybe he should get the quilt, tractor joe totally agreed!

"Yes! Make my brother a quilt!" 

And last but not least....

Last weekend we went down to Ames to bring home a carload of dorm room things. It was all the stuff Crispy could live without for a week. He brought the rest home with him yesterday.

Next year he has an apartment. This may be his last summer at home. 

I better get busy sewing on those T-shirt columns.

tea towel challenge.....

I am calling it finished. My Iowa tea towel became a bag. A nice big bag.

It will be my quilt show bag. Lots of stuff will fit in there. I said to Karen that if i fill it, it could get to heavy to carry. She told me that we can always walk back to the car and unload.

Of course, why didn't I think of that?

I wavy stitched over everything. Nothing fancy or new there.

I was worried that doing that would obscure the towel, but it didn't. I was relieved about that. I used things I had on hand, like the little house blocks. Nothing new there.

So what thing would be new to me in putting this bag together?

Using selvage edges. 

I have never used them. I didn't even start saving them until recently. Most of mine have come from fat quarters. They were 18 inches. I needed to make them wider, so a column of the house blocks was added.

I stamped the words, Hey! Is this heaven? No it Iowa on some of the blank sections.

Then last night....

At the quilt guild meeting, a gal from New Ulm Minnesota came down to show us the buttons she makes. I bought the Minnesota themed button package and picked out the house one to use as a closure on the Iowa bag. Then I thought the house (kind of) went with the package and grabbed a flower instead.

My niece Amanda gave me her t-shirts over the weekend. I cut yesterday and have today yet to work on it. I have my doubts about it getting quilted before her graduation. But at least the top can be put on display at her party. Then sent off to be quilted.

mostly cards.......

Attic Window Quilt Shop posted THIS PICTURE!

 I knew right away I wanted to make cards based on it.

I made a bunch of these too.

So there wasn't much sewing going on.

Except for the latest block lotto blocks. 

(pattern and guidelines here)

my sister was here....

Jane was here last weekend. She brought along a cigar box she wanted to use as a treasure chest.

First some paint was added. Her favorite color is purple.

Based on a piece of paper, she wanted the paint added to recreate the look of the paper.

"light, medium, then dark" she said.

I didn't really notice this on the paper at first, but when you looked at it, that is what it was layered like. I learned from her that day....even though she thinks I am the one who knows everything.

HA! Not true.

We used stencils and stamps for embellishments.

She wanted mossy growth on it or.....Green paint applied with a sponge.

Paper was used on the lid and the inside.

It also needed to have an aged or old world look. So the whole thing was sealed up with mod podge and a few drops of brown paint mixed together. That seemed to do the trick.

She was SO happy with how it turned out! It is for a display at work to encourage people to sign up for some race/walk thing. I was too busy following her directions for paint and cutting paper that I never did quite understand what she talking about. 

In the middle of sewing the newest BLOCK LOTTO blocks. They are so spring like in color!

For the first time in a long time there is no mention of snow in the forecasts!!!

Maybe this is it, spring is here.