becky's rambling

Baggo done & mailed

2012-01-20T09:25:00.000-05:00

Finally, about a year past due, I finnished another baggo. For those who don't know, a baggo is a challenge in which people pack a gallon sized ziplock bag with fabrics & embellishments that they like, send them to a coordinater who sends back someone else's bag. You make something with the bag that you receive & it goes back to the person who put the bag together. The yahoo group, "Fiber Pirates" has some fantastic artists & I have received some great artwork from past baggos.
This is what I received:

Here's the finished piece. I added the cream colored background. (The blue dots are magnets temporarily holding it to the steel door.)

Close up # 1. The picture frame is 3D-only sewed down on the inner edge. Check out the gold loop trim on the edge of the quilt.

Close up # 2 I love this vase. It was the first thing that I did. A little trapunto (extra stuffing) helps the 3D look.

It seems that I'm not the only one who got behind on this project. Most of the other participants are not done. I can't wait to see what I'll get back.

Finished ruby ring

2012-01-07T12:37:00.000-05:00

I just realized that I hadn't posted a picture of my finished ruby ring with its 2 little diamonds. I love it!

I've been fooling around with Listia

2011-11-28T21:57:00.000-05:00

I've listed a few things & bid on a few. Everything is "free". It's a credit system.

Ruby ring

2011-11-05T10:54:00.000-04:00

I'm excited! A couple of years ago, I went to a yard sale at the home of an antique dealer who has bragged about doing all kinds of tricks to hide flaws in his stock. (ie super glue in hairline cracks in glassware.) He had a bowl of costume jewelry for $.25. I found this ring, it fit & it didn't feel like costume to me, so I bought it. I wore it off & on, but was afraid that the worn prongs would let the ruby fall out. Last month I took it to a local jeweler to see if it was worth fixing. He quoted me a price, but said that it would have to be completely redone & suggested that I might want to consider having the ruby reset in a different style. He also told me that if this ring were in new condition, it would sell for $1200.00. I took it home & told Charlie. He said that he would like to give me a new setting for Christmas. I thought about it, made a very rough sketch of what I wanted & took it to the designer at the jewelry store. He refined my design & made a beautiful sketch of what he'll make.

Original ring.

Jeweler's sketch

Cat man do (love his kitties)

2011-07-24T18:18:00.001-04:00

Charlie &, from left, Junior, Ashley & Pepper.

kitten

2011-07-21T17:50:00.000-04:00

Our new kitten, Pepper in monster mode. Look at those big paws.

I'm ready to eat venison

2011-07-12T11:08:00.000-04:00

1 week ago this was a beautiful bushy tomato plant with half a dozen fist sized green tomatoes. I give the deer corn & tortillas & this is the thanks I get? Yesterday I mixed up eggs, dried scotch bonnet & thai peppers & water & sprinkled it all over my plants. I dare the deer to come back for a snack!

2 baby quilts same pattern

2011-07-12T11:06:00.000-04:00

These are 2 baby quilts that I made with the final version of the design that I dreamed up on our honeymoon. It's amazing how different they look with different fabrics.

Small town

2011-05-27T09:32:00.003-04:00

I got to talk to Officer Tom of the Renovo police again last night. A drunk sideswiped my jeep at the grocery store. (Just a little paint off the bumper.) I didn't see it, but a store employee was waiting for me when I came out with my groceries. The young man denied it & I really don't think that he noticed as he was too busy smashing a grocery cart against the wall with the front of his truck. I might have let it go, but he pissed me off. He denied that it happened, said that it was his father's work truck, the scrape on the back of the truck had been there for a long time, he didn't even know where the papers were & if I wanted to do something about it, I should take his lic # & call the police. Then he hopped in the truck & drove off. I said to a bystander "He looks like a Coleman" Reply-"Yes, that's Steve Coleman" I did not mention alcohol to Officer Tom, but he said "He was probably drunk" & headed off to find the truck. I love living in a small town.

The wren babies have flown

2011-05-15T10:34:00.003-04:00

On the soaker hose.

#3 ready to go.

I love his fuzzy ear tufts.

Look at that tiny tail!

Indigo buntings

2011-05-06T18:31:00.004-04:00

Last night 6 or more Indigo buntings started coming to our feeders. I've never seen them close up before-beautiful. The colors change depending on the lighting & angles from a true indigo to dark turquoise with green flashes. Forgive the poor quality of the pics, please. They were taken through the window.

dreamed quilt

2011-04-12T09:54:00.004-04:00

While on our honeymoon, I woke up at 3:00AM with a quilt design in my head & unable to go back to sleep until I had sketched it on a piece of hotel stationery. Last night, I started working with it in EQ6 This first one is close to the original. I liked it, but didn't love it, so I kept playing. My next Idea was to make 1 block instead of 2 blocks, set diagonal & use sashing. Better, but I wasn't sure that I wanted such a big center piece in the block. This is a little more like the first design. I like it.

I like this one, too. I may make both as I need to make 2 baby quilts.

I intend to use paper piecing for the triangles with the acute yellow triangles. Does anyone know a name for these blocks? or did I come up with a brand new block. (unlikely)

coincidence or cause & effect?

2011-04-12T09:34:00.003-04:00

A week ago, a gas company did a seismic survey along our road. They are mapping for fracking.* It shook our house like an earthquake from 50+yards away. Lots of rain since then. Yesterday, there was a mudslide including trees. We don't normally get mudslides in this area. Coincidence? or did the seismic shaking loosen the ground enough to make it happen? *For those who are not familiar, fracking or hydraulic fracturing, is basically giving the earth a high powered enema to release gas.

new toy-stovetop smoker

2011-04-11T19:36:00.002-04:00

I'm cooking again tonight with my new toy- a Nordic Ware stovetop kettle smoker. Last night I did a pork steak & tonight I'm doing chicken & a few Cremini mushrooms. I've wanted to buy a stove top smoker for about 6 months, but was too cheap ($60-100) On Saturday we went to Unkle Joe's Woodshed & they had one marked down from $69.99 to $35.00-my kind of price. I was afraid that it would fill the house with smoke, but it releases less smoke than a candle.

minor disaster-Bounce dryer bar

2011-01-30T12:31:00.002-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to try a Bounce dryer bar & it was working OK until today. I opened my dryer to discover that my down jacket had been partially eviserated through a 3" rip. What a mess!! The only sharp things in the dryer were the clips that hold the dryer bar onto the tub. There were no loose feathers in the washer, so I'm sure that the problem happened in the dryer.

This is the second minor disaster this week. Earlier in the week, Charlie stepped on a plastic bottle of mint green Minwax stain & finish that he had left on the floor in the middle of the living room. I managed to get some of it up, but we're going to have to put an accent rug over it.

cat quilt

2010-11-28T16:01:00.003-05:00

My cat quilt challenge has been received by the lady I made it for. The quilt on the clothes line is only tacked down at the top. When I took it to my quilt guild, everyone wanted to lift it to see what was underneath, so I added a second cat.

It takes a mighty lap to hold 2 cats

2010-11-14T21:24:00.004-05:00

Petey loves Charlie's lap & Liza loves Petey. Liza did stay on his lap after Petey left.

Turkey dinner

2010-11-13T20:16:00.003-05:00

Sometimes, when you see that someone has made a mistake, it's better to just keep quiet. Charlie was making his special mashed potatoes with garlic, scallions & sour cream. As I went to put the "sour cream" back in the fridge, I noticed that it was really ricotta cheese. I could have told him, but he would have been upset. The mashed potatoes were outstanding as was the rest of the turkey dinner.

A local store had frozen turkeys on sale for $.49/pound, so I went to buy the smallest on they had. Since there's only 2 of us, I was looking for a 12 pound max, but the smallest was 18 pounds. Oh well, it's cheaper than catfood-looks like the kitties will get some of the leftovers.

Baby quilt is done

2010-11-10T11:33:00.005-05:00

Quite early for me, the baby shower isn't until Sunday. Can you see the secondary design? I'll probably use this quilt design again some time.

Detail block 1.

Detail block 2.

Back of quilt.

Now to finish my cat challenge quilt-due Monday & about 1/2 done now.

ozzy's new digs

2010-07-25T17:14:00.003-04:00

Ozzy wants to thank Aunt Trina for all the food toys & beautiful cage.

It pays to be a compulsive reader

2010-07-18T12:14:00.002-04:00

A friend bought a swimming pool for her kids. Her husband went out & bought a sturdy looking hose to fill it. Not having an outside faucett, he hooked it up to the washer's faucett & turned it on. They didn't have much pressure coming out of the hose, but they figured that it would fill eventually. After about 30 min, she went into the house & yelled to her husband " the hose is leaking all over....Yes, he had bought a soaker hose.

When I see the written word, I read it automatically-maybe not all the small print, but most of the big stuff.I can't imagine buying a hose & removing the packaging without seeing the word "soaker"...maybe he read it & didn't understand what a soaker hose is. He sure does now!

Home made laundry soap

2010-07-01T12:14:00.002-04:00

Does this mean I have too much time on my hands, or that I'm just a cheapass. I just made my own laundry soap. I hope that it's good stuff because I made a double batch-4 gallons.

Hot water
1/2 cup Washing Soda
1/2 cup Borax
1/3 bar fels naptha (grated)

In a large pot, heat 3 pints of water. Add the grated bar soap and stir until melted. Then add the washing soda and borax. Stir until powder is dissolved, then remove from heat.

In a 2 gallon clean pail, pour 1 quart of hot water and add the heated soap mixture. Top pail with cold water and stir well.

Use 1/2 cup per load, stirring soap before each use (will gel).

My little wren

2010-06-21T11:28:00.002-04:00

Sitting in her nest. There's at least 3 eggs. This morning they were hunting bugs & came close to the window where ashley was watching. Ashley hit the window pretty hard.

digital cameras

2010-06-12T07:36:00.002-04:00

I own 2 digital cameras. A 4 year old Panasonic DMC-tz1 small 5 mp camera with 10x optical zoom that I keep in my pocketbook-fair pictures & an 7 year old sony dsc-f717 -5 Mp w/ 5x zoom (Carl Zeiss lens) that takes better pictures, but weighs 1.5 pounds.

Last week a kitty knocked my Sony off the table & It started acting funny-the flash was locked out & I couldn't turn it on, every time I pressed the shutter release, it would take 3 pictures & the battery would deplete after less than 20 pics. I figured that it was on it's way towards toast, so I started looking on ebay for another 717. I bid on a few, but didn't win. They're going for $90-150. I finally decided to go to the Sony website to look at new cameras. I fell in love with the idea of the cybershot HX1-9.1 mp, 20X!!! optical zoom, sweep panorama mode ($379.00) (just over 1 pound):
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&categoryId=16161&N=4294966339&Name=Cyber-shot+Digital+Cameras)

I was ready to order it, but decided to explore the Sony troubleshooting first. Amazing! somehow my old Sony had gotten set in the "burst mode" which I had never used. It takes 3 pictures in succession & locks out the flash. A few button pushes & it was fixed. I went on ebay & ordered a new battery for $8.00. (I am still using the original.), but it was too late... I kept thinking about the HX1 & went back & ordered it. My f717 will be a dedicated ebay camera.

Note to turkey Vultures-I'm back & I'm alive

2010-05-19T08:24:00.004-04:00

I just spent a 3 day/2night all expense paid (or most I hope) trip to the Lock Haven Hospital.

Sorry. Vultures, I'm alive-it was only diverticulitis. I thought that I had gotten food poisoning at a picnic on Saturday, but by Sunday, I decided to go to the ER. Yep, no strawberries for me this season. Look what was waiting for me at home-turkey vultures:

Charlie's tattoo

2010-05-14T16:16:00.003-04:00

Here it is-Charlie's new tattoo with his ball python, Tyke.

Bearclaw necklaces finally done

2010-05-10T22:36:00.003-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, a friend of ours gave me a paw that had fallen off of his bear skin rug & told me that he wanted to comission 4 necklaces. I encased the claws in beaded buckskin & added turquoise, coyote teeth, 2 jasper zuni bears, bone beads & for the last one, 2 raccoon bacula.

So, you think that you really love garlic?

2010-05-07T21:04:00.002-04:00

After cooking cream of garlic soup a few weeks ago, I decided to come up with a variation.

Creamy garlic mushroom soup

Bring to a boil:
1 qt chicken stock
1 chopped tomato
1T pesto
all the peeled cloves from 1 head of garlic (Yes you read that right-a whole HEAD of garlic
simmer 20 minutes & then process in food processor or blender with
2 T flour.
Saute:
12 oz sliced mushrooms
in 2T butter until done
Add the processed liquids & bring to a boil until thickened. Turn off heat & add:
1c milk or cream.

Singing "There ain't no bugs on me..."

Gumbo my way

2010-05-06T21:20:00.003-04:00

I made a powerfully good gumbo this week. I read a couple of recipes & then winged it. Here's an approximation:

Saute together:
1/2 pound hot sausage cut in bite sized pieces (I used Italian)
1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken breast in bite sized pieces.
Remove from pan & add:
2T flour
cook stirring until flour browns & then add:
4 minced cloves garlic
1.5c chopped onion
1c chopped celery
1 chopped red bell pepper
Chopped hot pepper to taste (I used 2 jalapenos)
2 pound can diced tomatoes & a canful of water
1t salt
1t pepper
1T Worchestershire sauce
1/4c minced fresh parsley
3/4c sliced okra
The cooked sausage & chicken
Simmer for 1-2 hours & then add:
1/2 pound shrimp
2c cooked brown rice.
cook until shrimp are done (5-10 min)

strange day

2010-04-29T21:34:00.002-04:00

First fishing-no bites-even went to 2 of our favorite spots. Went to camp to take care of camp kitty, Muskrat. Hung out at the Eagles club looking for Al (Charlie wanted to hire him to help with the lawn.) Grocery store, home. At 4:00, reading today's paper, I saw an ad-"one day only sale thursday apr. 29 at the old Dollar Bazzaar everything $.50". Threw down the paper, raced to the store (It's been closed since 2000), spent $45.00. Decided to stop at the Keystone bar-Charlie was still there. Found out that the daytime bartender had just gone off shift in tears. I had loaned her a blue fox vest. (that I had made from a coat that I had bought at a church sale for $5.00) Her dog had gotten it & chewed a hole in it. I came home, found the pieces that had been leftover when I made it & fixed it-2 hour job, but to be honest, 3/4 hour was spent looking through fabrics to find a compatable lining patch. If the skins haven't become brittle, furs are easy to work on. I plan to wear it to the bar tomorrow morning to show her that everything is OK & nothing to stress about. I lived with too much stress for too many years to get worried about anything like that.

Home made circle stitcher under $1.00

2010-04-27T15:39:00.004-04:00

This is my easy substitute for a circular stitcher. Start out by poking a thumb tack through a piece of template plastic at least 2" x 2". Place the tack the radius of your circle away from the needle (here 2.25" for a 4.5" circle)

Tape the plastic down.

Starch your fabrics very heavily or iron to freezer paper if you prefer. poke the tack through the centers of the fabric & with needle & presser foot up, rotate the fabric to make sure it stays under the needle.

VERY IMPORTANT!! cover the point of your tack with an eraser or a cork. (This helps to keep blood off your project.

Making sure your fabric doesn't creep toward the tack, do a straight stitch. The fabric will pivot on the tack & make a perfect circle.

Leaving the fabric on the tack, with needle up, lift the presser foot & trim away the excess fabric, pivoting as you trim.

Set your machine for a satin stitch & go around again covering your raw edge.

Finished circle-use as is or cut into 1/4s for drunkards path.

Quilt preview

2010-04-25T16:07:00.003-04:00

This is what I've been working on this weekend. It won't get done, but I have a good start on it.
First the pattern-that I modified with EQ6. It's not exact-just a working plan -there are more & better colors.

These are the fabrics:

weekend plans

2010-04-22T11:55:00.003-04:00

I was looking forward to this weekend. Charlie was supposed to go on a fishing trip Fri-Sun & I had planned to spend the whole weekend piecing a quilt. He decided that he wasn't going. I told him what I had planned & he said there's no need to change your plans. We'll see if he sticks to that. I've had 8 different color 1 yard pieces of fabric marbled with gold metallic. for about 9 months. I wanted to use a pattern with largish pieces to show off the marble. I finally found a pattern that I want to do. I'm adding a solid (non-metallic) gold fabric & using a very modern looking pattern from the Easy Quilts magazine that I got in the mail this week. I'm only going to use about 1/2 yard of each marble, so I'll still have some to play with. I'm off to clear the cutting table.

new cat tat

2010-04-17T17:17:00.003-04:00

Look at my new cat. We went to a Tattoo party at a local bar. I wasn't going to get another, but I decided that I liked this one. Charlie got an airborne patch on his left shoulder, so he'll be partly in uniform even when naked.

Hummer H2 vs Dodge Ram

2010-04-15T17:40:00.004-04:00

No no no. For the last time-it wasn't Charlie who played tug of war with an H2 & someone's Ram in the parking lot of the Eagle's Nest Bar. (For the record, I've been told that the Hummer dragged the Ram all over the lot.)

No, this was a much more mundane contest.
Charlie backed into my pickup truck with our Hummer. 1st the damage to the Hummer:Poor Hummer-needs a little buffing. Now look at my poor Ram:

He's promised to have it fixed. I'm not too upset. A few dents on a 14 year old truck is to be expected.

Hummer

2010-04-15T17:40:00.001-04:00

Hummer

2010-04-15T17:40:00.000-04:00

Maryland style crab soup

2009-11-30T13:13:00.003-05:00

My own recipe inspired by soups that I've eaten in various restaurants.

In large pot:
2-3 qts beef stock-preferably home made with little salt
1T Old Bay seasoning
1t thyme
3-4 strips bacon diced
1T Worchestershire sauce
2 chopped jalepenos or 1/8t cayenne or 1/2 t Tobasco sauce
1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
1.5c diced carrots
2c chopped onions
1c chopped celery
1c diced potato (no need to peel)
Simmer for 1 hour & add:
2c mixed fresh or frozen vegetables (I like corn,peas & string beans)
1 pound crabmeat
Black pepper to taste
Bring to boil & simmer 15 minutes more. Taste-if not salty enough for you, add more
Old Bay.

Thanks CWA

2009-10-22T12:11:00.003-04:00

When I see how much my prescription plan saves me, I'm very grateful that my Union got it for me. I have an UTI. Usually, when I start to have symptoms, a few days of extra water & cranberry capsules will clear it right up. this time it hit me hard & fast. My Dr has prescribed Ciprofloxacn-20 tablets cost me $.94. The uninsured price is $117.95!!! & that's a generic!
Pretty scary patient info sheets-Stay away from calcium, iron, nsaids, caffeine, sunlight....

Liza Jane-the sweetest monster

2009-08-12T10:42:00.005-04:00

Charlie calls her a monster*, but would a monster climb over your shoulder & present her belly for petting? She does it to him, too.

*hint-restless legs in bed + kitten= foot biting

Ashley was in a cuddle mood, too.

Wild mushrooms

2009-08-12T10:02:00.011-04:00

Thesre Pictures were all taken on Sunday. I'm thinking about renaming our camp-New Kennet Square. Even with Identification books, I'm too chicken toeat any of these, so I just take pictures.

mini taco party night

2009-07-28T20:19:00.002-04:00

OK, so it was just Charlie & me, but it still felt like a party. 2 days ago I made my first fresh salsa of the season. I had bought Tostitos scoops, because we like a big pile of salsa on a small chip. As we were eating them, I came up with an idea. Tonight, I made taco burger, put a bed of lettuce on 2 plates with tomato & red pepper garnish & picked out about 20 perfect scoops. I also put out a bowl of salsa, sour cream, Hellavagood jalepeno cheddar dip (was going to be shredded cheese, but I found the dip & it was perfect) & the hot taco meat with spoons in each bowl. The idea was to pile up layers on the scoops. We both like to play with our food, so we had fun.

Reverse paper applique

2009-07-25T22:06:00.004-04:00

Here are instructions for my variation of reverse paper applique:

Reverse Paper Applique
Note-This technique will produce a mirror image, so you might want to reverse your picture before you begin.
Step 1:
Pin, tape or spray baste your picture to the back of your background fabric. (Optional-insert batting between the fabric & paper.)-

Step 2:
Starting with the piece closest to the background, slap a hunk of fabric on the front of your background fabric. Tape the edges & if it’s a large piece, add a few pins from the paper side.

Step 3:
Set your machine for short straight stitches (about 20 per inch). With the paper side up, stitch on the line around your piece.

Step 4:
Remove from machine, flip over & trim applique piece close to the stitching. Repeat steps 2-4 until all pieces have been added.

Step 5:
Remove paper. Trim optional batting if you are going for a trapunto effect.
Step 6:
Here you have two options. I usually add the final batting & backing now, but you can continue without them. From the front, Satin stitch around all pieces.

Here's a quilt that I appliqued in gold lame' I wouldn't have considered doing it any other way. df

New kitty has a name

2009-07-25T11:18:00.003-04:00

Her name is Liza Jane- to be called Liza. On another note- Ozzy the cockatiel is in love with me & doesn't seem to like Charlie at all. I am so hoping that he will make friends with Charlie.

What have we done?

2009-07-23T17:51:00.004-04:00

One of Charlie's friends is moving to Lock Haven where she can't have pets, so...we took them for her. We must be crazy, but isn't this the prettiest kitty? No name yet. She is a real cuddler. Closed in the bathroom for now. She likes watching the birds.

She likes being held.

More birdwatching.

Speaking of birds, here's the other pet we took-a gray cockatiel. The cage is way too small. We'll be buying another tomorrow. His name is Ozzy & she said that he's about 4 years old.

2 more new quilts

2009-07-01T13:43:00.003-04:00

Here I am quilting "Plaid Play". I did spirals in each of the center squares. After 100 of them, I feel confident in my freehand spirals. I'm still quilting doodles. Here's plaid Play hanging for the quilt show. I have a lady interested in buying it.

Another recent quilt "Shadowed squares" Made from chintz samples, it is a very easy pattern which is designed to show off the fabrics.

Baby bears

2009-06-20T10:22:00.002-04:00

We've got baby bears again. Look at those big ears & long noses.

Deer tick

2009-06-20T10:13:00.002-04:00

Look at what I found last night. It had latched on to my arm. Picture is magnified to much larger than life. Including the legs, it was about the size of a sesame seed. Yes, it's a deer tick. There was a little redness around the bite area, so after cleaning with alcohol, I drew a circle with a ball point pen 1/8" from the edges of the redness so that I could tell if it changed size. Antibiotic & bandaid all night-this morning the redness is gone.

Purses for sale

2009-06-07T20:02:00.003-04:00

Before I start some of these on Ebay, I will offer them to friends for $15.00 each. All but the last 2 have velcro closures with a button for decoration. The last 2 have magnetic snap closure. They all have webbing handles (which are tucked inside) & 1 inside pocket. Let me know if you want one or a closeup on any or all.

I need your opinion about pocketbook design

2009-05-04T15:15:00.004-04:00

I found a good use for some of my upholstery samples. I'm in the process of making about 1.5 dozen pocketbooks. I plan to sell them-probably for $15.00. They measure about 9" X 15". I am dithering about whether to use a button & buttonhole on the tab, or velcro with a button for decoration. It's too late to just use velcro on these.-I would need the button to hide the velcro stitching. Opinions please.
-*-*-*-*-* That was Ashley putting in her 2 cents.

Bargello quilt

2009-05-04T15:10:00.003-04:00

Recently finished. I made this top many years ago. I'm proud to say that all fabrics came from my stash. I did not have to go out to buy any additional fabrics

I thought Spring was here

2009-04-07T21:47:00.002-04:00

We've been seeing buds on the trees & the Japanese bush honeysuckle is starting to turn green, but...

Just a little snow.

Another Baggo sCraps challenge

2009-04-04T09:51:00.003-04:00

Heres what I got-all smallish pieces & I wanted to do applique, so I added solid black & gray. Finished piece 39" X 32". I started with a background piece that I thought was big enough that I'd end up cutting it down, but I didn't need to. My first plan was to make a basket of flowers. I made the basket using all the black background stripe & decided that it wasn't big enough, so my next thought was "OK, put fruit in the basket & make a vase for the flowers. There was a white piece of velour with a bit of a shimmer. I only trimmed the selvege off & the shape looked like a vase. I then added leaves & flowers. I used 0000 Nymo (hair fine) to machine baste all applique pieces. I then quilted around the pieces with the long arm. Finally, I satin stitched around each applique piece. I used gold piping as an edge.

close up.

KFC style hot wings

2009-02-26T20:38:00.002-05:00

I decided to try to make hot wings like KFC. This is my variation:

In large bowl mix about 1/3c Lawry's Louisiana red pepper marinade with your choice of hot sauce-(taste it it should be a little hotter than you want your wings) add 2 cloves crushed garlic & salt &black pepper to taste. Add 2 pounds of wings-you should have just enough marinade to coat the wings. Refrigerate for 1/2-1 hour. Shake wings in a bag of flour 5 or 6 at a time. Fry until golden brown. I usually fry it in 2 batches, keeping the first batch hot on arack over a cookie sheet in the oven.

kitty snails trails quilt

2009-02-24T13:06:00.006-05:00

I'm going to get a new great niece/nephew in a couple of months. I made a variation of the snails trails block for the front of his/her baby quilt. I know that the quilt police say that solid fabrics make boring quilts, but to that, I say "pbbbbbbbbt" The stripe fabric has so much going on that it DEMANDS solids. The solid colors are chintz "mill rags". Of course I used my Innova long arm to quilt it. Start to finish-10 days which included 3 days when I was too sick to sew. (A bug that's been going around-I'm over it now.) Batted with Thinsulate, of course.
Detail pic. Of course it has kitties.

Back of the quilt-inspiration? I cut 4 triangles of the stripe for the front & then decided that they were too big, so.. in order not to waste them, they decided the back design.

I just finished 2 more quilts

2009-02-19T21:18:00.004-05:00

I've been busy finishing quilts. First we have a quilt that I made for Charlie from "luxury" wool suiting samples. some are part cashmere, or mink & there are a couple of camel hairs. Pieced on both sides & batted with Thinsulate. A "utility" quilt made with luxurious fabrics- I love the contradictions. first the back: Then the front:

This is a Snails trails quilt that I made for my grandson, Logan from mostly recycled denim. I enjoyed the pattern so much that I'm working on a baby quilt for a coming great niece/nephew in the same pattern. It was fun to add the pockets, but working with the recycled denim is a bit of a pain.

Our herd of deer, come & gone again

2009-01-22T08:35:00.002-05:00

Oh look. Is this a playground after recess?... No, its our backyard after the herd has been through. We've seen as many as 10 deer at a time. We put out corn, bread & an occasional apple.

Tracks in snow are difficultto photograph, but here's one.

ABM Innova longarm quilting machine & triangles quilt

2008-11-12T13:16:00.003-05:00

Here I am, working on my new machine. I decided to just make some quilted yardage for my first project, as I have never worked with a longarm before. I'm making insulated grocery bags with the yardage.

It's tons of fun. A whole new craft. I need more practice-It's a good thing that I have 8 tops waiting to be quilted.
Ashley had a few tips to give me. She's fascinated, but wants to be on top of the quilt while I'm working-not a good idea!

After the one practice piece, I decided to do a quilt. This is my cuddle up on the couch quilt -70" X 72".

Close up.

Another closeup.

Back view.

Closeup of back.

Fiber pirates baggo 2008

2008-06-01T15:45:00.003-04:00

I belong to a Yahoo group known as Fiber Pirates. We had a Baggo challenge. For those who aren't familiar with baggo's, the rules are as follows: You fill a gallon zip lock bag with an assortment of fabrics, trims, embellishments, etc that you would like in a quilt & mail it to a coordinator. The coordinator sends you back one from someone else, you make a quilt using as much as you want from the baggo, adding to it if necessary, post pictures & when the sender of the baggo claims it, you send them the finished piece. It's a great way to get someone else's artwork made with fabrics that you love. Here's what I started out with: I started out by making 3 pieced rings & then I realized that one of them didn't go with the others, so I decided to make 2 quilts. I named the first one "Red star & Planets".

Ashley helped me to quilt the second one. She loves the BSR on my Bernina. Take note of her perfect control of the quilt! Machine quilting can be exhausting!
After it was quilted, I added embellishments by hand. I love to work outside at our camp.

Here's the second quilt. Charlie came up with the name-"A Galaxy Far Far Away." Here's a closeup of one of the pieced stars:
Now I get to see who to send them to.

A deer & bears

2008-05-13T18:09:00.001-04:00

I changed the angle of the camera & got lucky. 3 very good pictures in this download

Look at what we just got

2008-05-07T17:16:00.003-04:00

A new 2007 leftover Jeep Patriot. What did we trade in? Nothing. We wanted to keep both the Hummer & the Dodge Ram. I just decided that we needed a "bring home the groceries" runaround vehicle that would use a bit less gas. The Jeep has a 2.4 liter 4 cylinder engine. It's a 4x4 of course. I've never had a Jeep before. The color is called "light khaki metallic" It seems to change from silver to gold depending on the lighting.
No, I'm not afraid to get my new Jeep dirty. We hauled a few logs. The back cargo area is not carpeted, but has a vinyl nonslip surface-a detail that I heartily approve of.

Dogwood climbers

2008-05-07T15:48:00.005-04:00

This Red Dogwood tree was planted about 50 years ago. Last month, I drove to my parents' house with my niece & her 2 children. Rowan couldn't wait to climb the tree that she remembered from her last visit. Here she is-as happy as...a kid in a tree.
Later, her 2 cousins, Rebecca & Liam came over & joined her in the tree.

In the top of the tree is Rowan's big brother , Rubin. Just after this picture, a dead branch broke sending him plummeting towards the ground. His legs caught on a limb just long enough to flip him upside down & he landed on his face. Poor kid. The next day he had a black eye & a scraped & swollen cheek.

Animal self portraits-bear & deer

2008-05-07T15:33:00.005-04:00

I think that we finally found a bear who knows how to take pictures. Of course, I did need to wade through many butt pictures to get this one, but it's the best picture so far. Mona Lisa eat your heart out. It looks like we also have a Cinnamon Bear-a not too common color variation on the black bear. We think 4-5 different bears visit our camp. (That's why I have a potty chair for night use.)
Here's a deer who is beginning to get the hang of photography.

A bear with a halo?

2008-04-09T18:55:00.003-04:00

More game cam pictures:

He looks like a regular black bear, but...
Wait, is that a halo?
Or is Scotty beaming him up?
We got a lot of pictures like this. I guess the food was too close to the camera.

More game cam pics

2008-03-07T13:43:00.005-05:00

We set the camera up near our cabin. Look, I'm a turkey farmer.
This guy would like to eat my turkeys. He's either a large gray fox or a coyote.

This looks like a "deer in the headlights". Check the extra set of eyes on the left.

This picture brought tears to my eyes. It looks like our dearly departed Al. He's been gone for almost 2 years, but we still miss him. He's buried about 50 feet from where the picture was taken. We've been calling this a picture of Al's ghost. Al loved the cabin. We always called it his happy hunting grounds.

Kitty tent & snow

2008-02-24T16:58:00.001-05:00

It's very hard to get a good picture of Bill Bailey in her tent. She moves away from it when I open the door. This is a picture through the storm door which had some condensation on it. I made this tent with waxed nylon on the outside, 1" foam rubber for the middle layer & wool on the inside. For the cold weather, I added an old heated kitty bed that we had bought for Boney's arthritis. She sleeps in it at night when it's cold, but this was the first time that we saw her in the tent during the daytime. With 6+ inches of snow on the ground, she decided to skip her normal daytime routine. Snow in the back yard.

Birthday card

2008-02-21T03:41:00.002-05:00

I made this as a birthday card for my friend & teacher, Pamela Allen. She is known for carrying a fan for hot flashes. On the back, the card reads "Happy birthday from one of your fans. The front of the quilt is all Dupioni silk. It's 10" x 15".

More dinner guests

2008-02-14T11:06:00.004-05:00

Bill Bailey hasn't been around for 2 days, but we've had other visitors. We call this guy Tiger Bob. He's got great camoflage.

This is the best picture so far of Uncle Smiley. I believe that he's Bill Bailey's brother & his white markings make a smile. He's another one who usually runs if he see's us looking out the window. In the last 2 days, he's visited the food about a dozen times. It's no wonder he looks so well fed.

Game camera

2008-02-11T10:29:00.000-05:00

I got my Valentine's day gift from Charlie a little early. It's a game camera. The idea is to set it up where you are going to hunt & leave it there for a while. It has infra red detection & if it sees a warm object moving, it takes a picture. I guess the snakes can just slither past unphotographed. I decided to set it up on the porch where I feed my feral kitties (& anything that wants to eat cat food & can get up on the porch railing-sorry little doggies-you will have to go home to eat or eat bread in the back yard.) Here's the best 3 pictures from the past day & 1/2: This is Billie Jo Bailey, my feral that I try to feed. Looking out the window are Junior (named because she looks just like her mommy, Billie) & Ashley.
Oops, I didn't mean to feed him. Look at that grin! He knows that he's getting away with something.
I just named this cat, Bear. If you cover his head, he looks like a black bear. It looks like he's tailless. He runs if he see's me looking out the window.

The camera took 96 pictures in 36 hours-lots of Bill Bailey& a lot with no animals at all. I think that birds flying past are triggering it, but it's not a problem because I've got a 2 gig sd card in it.

more rugs

2008-02-07T17:38:00.000-05:00

Junior in an afgan & a rug in progress. Isn't she as cute as a bug?...Huh? bugs aren't cute!
This is the latest completed rug. I wasn't crazy about it as I was working on it, but when I put it on the floor & looked at the whole thing, I decided that I like it. It's 23" X 34"-about as big as I want to do.

sewing machine problems

2008-02-07T16:53:00.000-05:00

Kitties & wool rug

2008-01-18T22:21:00.000-05:00

Look how big Junior has gotten! I weighed kitties this week & Ashley (about 20 months old) weighs 9 pounds, while Junior (about 16 months old) weighs 10.5 & Fuzzywuzzy, her littermate is 11.5. I like this picture, it's hard to tell where Junior's heaad ends & Ashley's begins.

It's a good thing that I made a larger rug, the kitties fight over the smaller ones.
It's still not quite big enough for all 5 kitties. Petey leaves in disgust.

Paper piecing with Dupioni silk

2008-01-18T22:03:00.000-05:00

I just finished paper piecing some 3" blocks for a little quilt project. I used dupioni silk & it worked beautifully!!! my little Clover iron pressed such tight creases that the tiny pieces were no problem & the silk was thin enough that the seam allowances didn't have to be trimmed too narrowly. I can't show you the completed project yet because it's a surprise for someone who might read my blog, but here's a picture of one of the blocks in progress.

Well...maybe I can show you 1 picture of the completed quilt...

Jesus says "NO! you said it was going to be a surprise, so I'm not going to let you photograph it." Oh well, maybe he'll let me show you the completed quilt next month after it goes to the recipient.

Locker hooking rugs

2007-12-03T12:18:00.000-05:00

In October, at our quilt guild's retreat, Gwen taught us locker hooking-a rug making techniquethat uses a special hook & latch hook canvas. We made "rug mugs"-approximately 4" X 6" coaster for a coffee mug. We used quilt weight cottons. I liked the technique, but wasn't happy that so much of the canvas showed through on mine. Gwens rugs didn't have that problem. I decided to use some of the recycled wool that I've been buying at the Goodwill store.
This is the first rug that I made-It's small 16" X 25". I just wanted to make sure that I liked working with the wool & the resulting product. I love it. The kitties love it.

I decided to make another one the same size. It was a fun, design as you go pattern, but I like the looks of the first one better.

I just finished the third one this morning. It's 26" x 32" & I'm really happy with the finished rug. I feel that I succeeded in making it random, but balanced. I want to start another, but will try to discipline myself to finish the quilt guild newsletter & a few small projects first.

Ashley fitting for a prosthetic

2007-10-22T08:52:00.000-04:00

Poor little tailless kitty thought she would look nicer with a tail. No, this one's too skimpy-let's try another...
Wow! this is more like it! Don't I look sexy? (wink)

Fall leaves

2007-10-20T17:59:00.000-04:00

Fall leaves are at their peak now.

Shhh-don't tell the kitties

2007-08-02T18:53:00.001-04:00

It's not even Meow Mix. This is the container that I fill with the very cheap store brand cat food that I use to feed the feral cats & the raccoons & opossums. We give our indoor kitties a variety of the pricier cat foods-Iams, Science diet... Mostly with labels that state they are for sensitive skin (See how shiney their fur is getting?)
After I fill the outside cat bowl, the indoor kitties think that I'm giving them something special when I give them a handful of cheapie stuff. I guess that it's the same thing as giving a hot dog to someone who eats caviar & lobster every day.

Necklace

2007-07-29T19:35:00.000-04:00

I will be out of town for the Seventh Annual Kettle Creek Music Festival on the weekend of August 10-12. (http://www.kcmusicfest.com/ ) It is a benefit for the Kettle Creek Ambulance Association. Since I won't be able to be there spending money, I decided to donate a necklace that I made for their Chinese auction. It has turquoise, bone, coyote claws & fangs & a raccoon baculum. (penis bone-the reason that raccoons don't need Viagra)

cabin pics by request

2007-07-28T20:43:00.000-04:00

Deirdre requested more description of our cabin construction. Here's a couple of pictures from last winter. A short history of the project. When I met Charlie 26 years ago, he was finishing the inside of a 12' X 16' cabin-1 story with low attic. (The section with the peaked roof on the right of the unfinished portion) He was only able to work on it 1-2 weekends/month & with a 5 hour ride to get there, that really means only working Saturday & there was no electricity.
The next section to be built was a 12'X12' shed on the right side of the original cabin. After that, the electric Company decided to wire our mountain & we got electricity.
Next project was a large 8'x8' outhouse. (We do not have running water.) It's not visible in the pictures
He decided that he wanted to add a large lodge 24'x32' with a barn roof & a second floor 20'X 32' because of the roof angles. He wanted it 12' from the original cabin. I persuaded him to hire a local contractor to dig a foundation & lay blocks instead of pickaxing & building footers which would have taken much backbreaking work. We built that section & a deck between the 2 buildings.
Now we're working on the "tower" connecting the 2 buildings. It will be 2 stories with a deck on top for hunting, sunbathing (not me) & relaxing.
I'm proud to say that Charlie & I have done most of the labor ourselves with technical assistance & help from his brother & occasionally a few friends. The only other thing that he has contracted out is the roofs. He hates doing roofing.
I keep 4 sewing machines & an 8' long map table for cutting etc in the lodge so I can entertain myself when not involved in construction.

A good day for pictures

2007-07-25T18:49:00.000-04:00

We went to camp Tuesday to do a little construction. It turned out to be a good day for pictures. First-a beautiful clump of indian pipes just pushing out of the leaf litter.
Second-a beautiful Red Admiral butterfly. It seemed very friendly-flittering around us & landing to sun itself. (The temps were in the low 60s when I took the picture.
On our way into Cross Fork we saw 2 birds in the road. They were Marsh Hawks AKA Northern Harriers. This one was in the sun. I zoomed the camera as far as it would zoom, took a picture & then we attempted to inch closer to try again. The second one grabbed what it had been pecking at (A small mouse?) & they both flew away. Oh well, at least I got the one picture even if it's a little pixilated.

This is what we were working on. A little wall on the first floor of our tower addition. above, you can see the second floor wall that Matt built when he & Linda visited a few weeks ago.
When I was not chasing butterflies or helping Charlie, I worked on a bracken fern basket coiled with hemp. I love the color variation in the stripped stems-from a rich red brown to a pale green.

Buddies sharing a favorite food

2007-07-18T16:53:00.001-04:00

Charlie & Ashley-scallion buddies. Ashley has decided that she loves scallion greens & charlie has always enjoyed them.

Garden pictures

2007-07-18T16:46:00.000-04:00

A view from our front porch. The tall lillies in full bloom. The aroma is incredible!
An unusual daylily that I bought at a Mennonite multifamily yard sale. The lady didn't know what color they were, but thought they were the common orange tiger lillies.

birthday pics

2007-07-18T16:22:00.000-04:00

I finally got around to downloading the pictures we took on my birthday of Charlie & me between my tall lillies & a mullein (Weed/wildflower.)

2007-07-10T19:12:00.000-04:00

The "kittens" are growing up. First, a picture of the magnificent Fuzzy Wuzzy. I couldn't resist taking this picture of Ashley & Junior. Ashley must have fallen asleep during a bath & she forgot to put away her tongue.

2007-07-10T11:49:00.000-04:00

Lots of lillies blooming in the garden this week.

Update-project completed-a personal challenge

2007-07-05T08:56:00.000-04:00

I won a door prize at the quilt show last month- 4 fat quarters. I love the stripe, the tans are useful. but the white doesn't really talk to me. One of the quilt guild members challenged me to have something made with these fabrics by the next meeting, so I'm taking it as a personal challenge. I found this sew on embellishment on a stretch velvet evening gown at the Goodwill store($5.99) I'm wearing the dress as a lounging dress-very comfortable. I'll be using the embellishment in my project.
Another evening gown that I bought at Goodwill. I will be using some of the dark green velvet & the embroidered sequin trim.
Stay tuned for the finished project-tentative title-"The Singer" (& I don't mean sewing machine.) ....Update 7-8 follows:
It's done-just in time for my quilt guilds' annual picnic today. The name is now "Lady sings the Reds" I decided to use the green velvet (so dark that it almost looks black.), but not the sequin trim. The rosette on the hat was fun & easy to do & turned out better than I could have hoped. I'm happy with it, but I have to ask myself why I tend to make women that look like roaring '20s? I keep thinking that my sister-in-law, Lani should put some red streaks in her beautiful gray hair. Now I know that I'd better get to those cushion covers.

Happy 4th of July

2007-07-03T20:23:00.001-04:00

Junior doing the kitty version of flag waving.

finally done

2007-07-03T20:15:00.000-04:00

I finally finished the comissioned shower curtain. There are parts that I could have done better, but overall it looks OK. That's one less commitment breathing down my neck. I want to play! I guess that I'd better finish the cushion covers that I promised Charlie first. Sigh!

sewing difficulties

2007-06-28T16:57:00.000-04:00

Jesus & Junior try to be helpful. Betsy Ross never had this much help. Ashley just left before the picture was taken. She was on top of the roll of twill tape. I made 13 U. S, flags.

Flower gardens

2007-06-27T17:23:00.000-04:00

A view of part of my flower gardens. Some of my lillies are blooming. Look at the lily plants near the windows. They are over 6 feet tall & still growing!

Celtic dragon is going to Austrailia

2007-06-20T16:29:00.000-04:00

quilting the blues

2007-05-28T20:25:00.000-04:00

I've got the urge to make a quilt in all blue & white prints. It'll have many different fabrics, but I want them to all be blue/white prints. This is the 6" block that I decided to use. It's a variation of the flying geese pattern:

I was playing around with EQ4 last night & these are what I came up with. You must imagine more blocks & assorted fabrics:

This one uses all dark blocks. The rest use equal numbers of light & dark blocks.This one definately looks like geese flying.

I like the counterchange of this one.

I'll probably do this last one. I've always been a sucker for the barn raising look. I don't have to make up my mind right away as long as I choose one of the last 3, since they would all use the same blocks.

fringe tree

2007-05-03T13:47:00.000-04:00

I got a fringe tree as a gift from my parents:
http://www.carrollgardens.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=420-10-12814
I couldn't be more pleased! Thanks, Mom & Da..0

Ashley & Junior wanted to help unpack it. Ashley loves shredded paper!

The packing was superb & just look at all those trunks!
I planted it where my compost pile was 2 years ago. I'm going to put down a weed barrier & mulch, but not until after the bad sun hours.

Both Ashley & Junior love the empty box with peepholes & paw holes. I'm off to browse the online catalog from Carroll Gardens.

How to pack your suitcase

2007-04-21T18:58:00.000-04:00

Make sure that you pack a change of cats.

Rumpybump

2007-04-12T11:32:00.000-04:00

A couple of pictures to show why one of Ashley's nicknames is "Rumpybump". She's also known as "Bunnycat", "Cuddlebunny", & when she gets ornery "Ashley Jane".She's coveting the snake's mouse.

Fuzzy boy

2007-04-04T17:41:00.000-04:00

Progress is being made. Fuzzy now comes to me for pets & cuddles & he stays out of hiding longer playing with Junior & occasionally Ashley. He has exchanged a few licks with Jesus, but Petey doesn't like him at all. From living in the dirt under the woodshed to being carressed on a pile of pillows-the kitty version of the American Dream. His belly fur & under fur is very wavy. Look at the gray hair growing out of his ears like a little old man.

smooth curves in machine applique

2007-03-24T15:25:00.000-04:00

All the instructions that I've ever read for satin stitch or blanket stitch machine applique on curves instruct you to stitch a few stitches, lift pressure foot, pivot & repeat. I have found this to be too time consuming & I end up trying to cheat by doing too many stitches before pivoting-resulting in bumpy curves. I've been doing some blanket stitch applique & discovered a little trick. I use my right hand for major steering while using my index or middle finger to hold the fabric & act as a pivot-middle finger for outside curves & index finger for inside curves. The finger that is not acting as a pivot is doing minor steering. I feel like I've just taken a quantum leap in my skill level. Finished product-pretty smooth curves.

beautiful Fuzzy

2007-03-24T15:20:00.000-04:00

His temporary name is Fuzzy. He loves to be brushed. (I'm using an old natural bristle round styling brush-I never could get the hang of using it on me.) He has the softist fur! Big news!! -He used the litter box. Hurry up & claim him before it's too late. I'm starting to fall in love.

Another "feral" kitten

2007-03-24T11:50:00.000-04:00

Isn't he beautiful? 2 weeks ago, we had big old tomcats hanging around & mating with the little black 6 month old kitten from our feral litter. I also saw the largest kitten mounting this little fuzzball. I trapped the black kitten & took her to the vet to be spayed & then I trapped this one & took it to be spayed. The vet's office called me to tell me they had altered HIM. OOPS, I guess the mounting was a dominance thing. When I went to pick him up yesterday, they surprised me with a tame kitty. It seems that he was lonely & ready to tame. He's very submissive-will eat gently from your fingers & seems to like being held, although he doesn't come to be held. We have to go to him. He is currently living in our bathroom learning about litter boxes & people while we try to decide what to do with him. Does anyone need a little cuddlebug?

More wool

2007-02-26T14:34:00.000-05:00

I bought some precut wool hearts & circles on ebay & have been having fun with them.