Lollyquiltz

Farmer's Wife Friday--I Lost my Heart to a Farmer

2012-02-10T06:00:00.000-06:00

Today's Farmer's Wife story is perfect for Valentine's Day. It's a love story for sure and might even make a great Hallmark Special. See what you think. Here's the gist of it: Heroine grew up in the country. She hated it and vowed never to stay there, let alone raise a daughter to do so. After a college education and happy years in the city the unbelievable happened....She fell in love with a farmer! Oh, no!! Loving him so, she moved to the farm but despised everything about it-except Mr. Farmer.

To see if she could find a way to relieve her unhappiness, she made a list of pros and cons:
Pros:
1.Husband interested and content.
2. Independence, and so many hours together.
3. Higher moral tone than city life.
4. Abundance of room and fresh air.
5. Fresh eggs, milk and vegetables.
Cons:
1. Mud.
2. Lack of conveniences.
3. Lack of money.
4. Lack of water.
5. Lack of society.
6. Lack of beauty.
7. Monotony of diet.
8. Monotony of thought.
9. Untidiness of everything.
10. "Early to bed, early to rise."

Now, anyone can see that there are twice as many cons as pros. Instead of throwing the sugar bowl and breaking it, our heroine and her love decided to see how they could remove enough cons so that "farming would be THE life".

Broken Sugar Bowl--#12

Tackling the "cons" together, and one by one, the farmer and his wife began solving the problem of discontentment.

Farmer's Puzzle--#33

They were realistic in their plans, knowing that it would be years before all the changes would happen: "but a definite plan is a big help and each convenience we complete is a joy realized after much pleasant anticipation."

Grape Basket-- #45

The farmers added hens, cream. asparagus, and fruit as sideline money ventures and planned to grow a bigger variety of vegetables as additions to their diet.

Morning--#57

With our 21st Century conveniences, we can only imagine what a happy day it was when Mrs. Farmer got an oil stove and fireless cooker to make her mornings a bit more comfortable. There is so much common sense in this letter. I think that it might be my favorite so far. We can all learn to compromise and make something "work" if we really want to. She says, "Side by side, we planned the beautiful and the practical, and some day our home will be truly elegant."

She finishes, "We are the happiest couple I know, have more chance to enjoy each other on a farm than elsewhere and I can wish no greater blessing than for my daughter than the love of a farmer like 'Dad'." (Isn't that the sweetest thing?!)
So, what do you think? Shall we all campaign for the next Hallmark Special to be "I Lost My Heart to a Farmer"?

In conclusion, I'm going to add a couple of pros and cons of my own:
Pros: 1. Paper piecing makes for accurate stitching.
2. Paper piecing makes it is easy to combine small pieces into one larger piece. The Morning block had 5 small pieces in the middle section originally...Strange.)

Cons: 1. When paper piecing creates 4 inset seams, it cancels out the accuracy thing. (That Morning block, again.)
2. When paper piecing patterns are not reversed when drawn, the resulting block is backwards. (My Farmer's Puzzle is reversed. Oh, well.)

Be sure to visit Cindy to see what she thought of these Alabama farmers. Her blocks are always gorgeous!

Quilt Parade

2012-02-06T08:00:00.000-06:00

Vicki and I had a bunch of fun photographing the Quilts4Hope quilts in her yard before they got packed up for the plane ride to Rwanda. They will be given to 7 children and the widow "auntie" who cares for them in a small orphanage home. Not wanting all those pretty pictures to go to waste, here's one more look at the parade...

Thanks for stopping by and for your kind words about the quilts.

Its a project very dear to my heart.

First Sunday in February

2012-02-05T06:00:00.000-06:00

John 3:16 in Kinyarwanda

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son

That whosoever would believe in Him

Should not perish, but have everlasting life."

For Children By Children

2012-02-05T01:08:00.001-06:00

Fifteen grade school and middle school age students each learned how to make a quilt block that was assembled into a wonderful quilt. It will soon be in the hands of a young person about their age in Rwanda. The students are all part of a home school program called Classical Pathways in the Kansas City area. History and geography lessons about Rwanda were studied along side the sewing project.

My sweet friend, Vicki K., whose daughter was part of the class, helped the students with fabric selection and taught them the basics of making a nine-patch block. She later put the blocks all together into this fabulous African themed quilt.

One of the blocks features a Bible verse written in the native language of Rwanda.

Vicki found a fun giraffe print for the backing which coordinates so well with the blocks on the front. Because of the colors, I guess, I visualize a little boy getting this quilt for his bed.

And for a little girl, maybe, Vicki made another quilt in tropical colors and flowers. The design is one that she came up with on her own using fabric donated by her sister-in-law who wanted to do something to help. Vicki's daughter, Kayla, also did some of the sewing, so it's a real family project!

I love the brown background theme-fabric which set the tone for the color scheme.

The last quilt going to the orphanage this time is one that I made and showed you a few months ago, Vegetable Soup. As with most of the charity quilts that I make, I used scraps from other quilts as a leader/ender project.

I can't help myself and will post a few more pictures of all 8 quilts together tomorrow.

Robin's Blue Quilts

2012-02-03T12:31:00.000-06:00

Robin is one of those quilter's with an awesome eye for color. I admire her work so much. She is also a good friend and a generous person who shows her faith by her works. She has taught many young woman how to quilt in her delightful sewing room as well as at the quilt shop where she spends a lot of time. Robin is always asking me if we are sending more quilts anywhere, anytime soon. These are the three gorgeous creations that she is donating to a small Rwandan orphanage this week. All three have a blue theme and two of them feature Kaffe Fassett fabrics.

I love the fact that the quilts being sent are each special and unique, like the children who will get them. They are thoughtfully made and not just "thrown together". Robin told me that this quilt is the result of a Round Robin Swap that she participated in, so several other quilters helped create it.

The medallion style quilt is heavily quilted in Robin's fun loopy style.

You may recognize this next quilt as a Cherry House design. I've admired the pattern many times. Aren't the colors restful? It's quite a large quilt. Perhaps it will be given to the widow who cares for the seven orphans living together in Kigali, Rwanda, where the quilts are going. Our hope is that each receiver feels the care and love that is sewn into every seam.

Robin's backing is a fun city-scape design. Since I've never been to Kigali, I wonder if the fabric design will seem foreign or familiar in Rwanda.

Shrubs, trees and dry grass are what I think of when I consider Africa. Perhaps the quilts will seem quite at home there just as they do in Kansas on a dry winter day.

Tomorrow, I'll show you the last of the Rwanda quilts. And then a parade! Who doesn't love a parade!

Farmer's Wife Friday--True to Her Higher Ideas

2012-02-03T06:00:00.000-06:00

The farmer's wife who wrote today's letter, from Nodaway County, Missouri, thinks highly of country living, hoping her daughter will marry a farmer as she considers the many new interests of farm life. "The most perfect specimens of womanhood are found on the farm." and "She who is true to her higher ideals will find time for unselfish community service...by which her own life is enriched." Our world would be a much better place if more people subscribed to this way of living, whether in a city or the country, don't you agree!

Another reason I like this lady is her mention of having a well-developed sense of humor, which helps her keep a smile on her face as she reads "articles on the monotony of farm life", something she knows to be far from fact!

Pine Tree #67

Tulip #96

This farmer's wife hopes for "my daughter to marry a farmer that they may live where God speaks to them through nature and where their minds may have the ever-present uplift that glorifies toil and adds dignity to the humblest duty."

It was another unseasonably warm day here in the midwest, so I took the opportunity to spread out all sixty blocks outdoors and snap a picture. I'm more than half way there....

and that makes me happy! I"m anxious to see Cindy's blocks this week and read her comments about this wise farmer's wife.
P.S. I just noticed that the title of this chapter (and thus, my post) includes kind of a funny typo.....Instead of having "higher ideas", it probably should read "higher ideals". But, then, both are probably good things to have!

Simply Beautiful!

2012-02-02T17:26:00.000-06:00

You may recall that I've adopted "simplify" as my word for the year. Look at this quilt that my good friend, Vicki, made for the orphanage in Rwanda. It's the perfect example of simple and yet, perfect. I love it so!

The colors. The quilting. The design. It's all simply beautiful! It's hard to see in the picture, but the background is actually a tiny grey check. So wonderful!

I love how she even added a row of blocks on the backside, as well.

I love you, Vicki, and I love your quilty style, my friend! I'll be showing off the rest of the fun quilts going to Rwanda over the next few days, so stay tuned, won't you!

Peach Cobbler

2012-02-01T18:12:00.000-06:00

The last stitch of the binding went on this scrappy quilt last night. It's a leader/ender quilt that will be heading to Rwanda in a few days and, hopefully, give hope and comfort to a young orphan there.

I'm calling the design Peach Cobbler, both for the color as well as the lattice-like strippy look. My mother used to make "to die for" cobblers with her home-canned peaches. My sisters and I would sometimes even eat them right out of the pan when she wasn't looking!

Tomorrow I'll show you the other seven beautiful quilts, made by the Quilts4Hope quilters, destined for children in Rwanda. My friend, Vicki, and I had so much fun photographing them today in her beautiful country setting. In the meantime, if I've tempted you with the thought of the sweet dessert, here's a favorite Peach Pie recipe for you to whip up for your supper tonight!
Peaches and Cream Pie
Mix together: 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 small package regular vanilla pudding
3 Tbs. margarine
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
Pour into a pie plate.
Drain 1 large can sliced peaches, saving 3 Tbs. of juice. Place peaches on mixture in pie plate, keeping them one inch from the edge.
Mix together: 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese (softened)
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tbs. peach juice.
Put mixture on top of the peaches in the pie plate.
Mix together: 1 Tbs. sugar and 1/4 tsp. cinnamon.
Sprinkle on top of cream cheese mixture.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes at 350 degrees.

Enjoy! Mmmmm...warm and creamy!

5th Sunday in January

2012-01-29T07:20:00.000-06:00

"Two are better than one,

because they have a good [more satisfying]

reward for their labor;

For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow.

But woe to him who is alone when he falls

and has not another to lift him up!"

Ecclesiastes 4: 9, 10 Amplified

Farmer's Wife Friday-- Partners

2012-01-27T07:31:00.000-06:00

It's time again to interview another farmer's wife from the 1920's, and find out why she'd want her daughter to marry a farmer. This week's wife is from Canadian County, Oklahoma and has a little different perspective than the wives in the past weeks.

First off, she grew up on a farm but hated it. Secondly, I'm pretty sure that she and Mr. Farmer had some premarital counseling before they married because this lady wisely advises, "husband and wife need to come to an understanding, the first thing, that she needs new modern implements as well as he. Also, the 'chore' question should be settled early in the action." (Well said, my dear!)

Mrs. J.R.F. loves music and even gave up a "promising musical future" to marry her man....but that doesn't mean she does anything she doesn't want to....and that includes milking cows. Nope. She told him she wouldn't and he doesn't expect it. I love it! They are partners and respect each other's rights, she says. If every family operated this way, I bet there would be less broken dishes!

Broken Dishes-Block #11

Checkerboard-Block #19

I enjoyed making the blocks this week.; no Y seams anywhere-- just squares and triangles. They went together pretty painlessly, which made me really happy, as that hasn't been the case lately! Oh, I forgot to tell you, Mrs. Farmer's reason for wanting her daughter to marry a farmer.....it"would insure our grandchildren a splendid physical development"!

Here are the last dozen sampler blocks that I've sewn. Aren't they cheerful looking! Now, I'm heading over to Cindy's to see her pretty blocks in all solid fabrics. She always has clever comments about the letters and I'm positive that today will be no exception!

What is it?

2012-01-26T09:01:00.001-06:00

A few weeks ago I tempted you with this........ and you probably wondered,

"What in the world?"

Now does it look like anything familiar?

Go on. Keep staring at it. You'll get it.

If you said, "Oh, that looks like a ~~bunch of teeny, tiny, little squares~~ QR Code.", you would be right!

According to Wikapedia, the QR (Quick Response) Code was first created by the Toyota company, in 1994, to track vehicles during manufacture. Since then, the black and white code has become one of the most popular types of two-dimensional bar codes and allows a product to be decoded at a high rate of speed. You see them everywhere: on the back of cereal boxes, in magazine ads, promotions for tourist attractions..... I even saw one in my church bulletin last week!

I always think the codes look like little quilts, so decided I should have one of my own..In my own colors though...no black and white for me! Two colors are a bit boring, so I added an accent too....a place for your eye to land!

Wanting the code to represent Lollyquiltz, I hid some personal information among all those little squares. Maybe you can spot them....my initials, a face and a cross. I know the piecing looks daunting, with all those mosaic tile size pieces, but I figured out a slick way to get them together without losing my mind completely! It's not perfect, but then, neither am I.

A larger wall-quilt version is in the works now and I'll be leading a workshop on making this fun project at the Kansas City Modern Quilt Guild retreat in late March. What colors would you choose if you made your own QR Code?

4th Sunday in January

2012-01-22T21:23:00.000-06:00

"When I am afraid, I will trust in you.

In God, whose word I praise,

in God I trust; I will not be afraid."

Psalm 56: 3, 4

Farmer's Wife Friday--The Brightest and Happiest Place on Earth

2012-01-20T10:26:00.000-06:00

I thought I was in the brightest and happiest place on earth.....

but this week's Farmer's Wife, who hales from Oklahoma, would disagree, it seems. She claims ..... "rural life, with its independence, its beauties and its improvement, make the farmer's home the brightest and happiest place on earth." The two blocks accompanying the letter are bright and cheerful, even if they both required inset seams....

I used foundation piecing to make the Flower Pot block, something that was probably never even heard of in the home economic classes that Mrs. D. A. highly regards for the education of her daughters in "dignifying housekeeping."

A rotary cutter and rulers make precision easier (and possible, in my case) in the sewing of the Garden Path block. I'm certain that flower gardens are included in the beauties this farmer's wife enjoyed.

Having majored in home economics in college myself, (I don't think they even call it that any more!) I certainly understand the author's regard for the subject matter. Her opening sentence makes me smile though: "Home Economics have been put within the reach of every farm girl, so that even though a mother may be a poor cook and an indifferent housekeeper, her daughter needs not be." Now, that's a high recommendation!

Be sure to visit Cindy at Live A Colorful Life, to see how her blocks came out using solid fabrics and read her take on the happiest place on earth.

My Pincushions

2012-01-17T15:08:00.000-06:00

Beth is hosting a parade this week. A Pincushion Parade, no less! Since I do love a parade, I decided to join in the fun. Here's my parade....

As you can see, all of my pincushions are hand made. I love and use them all! Starting at the top and going clockwise in the photo below, may I present my parade entries:
1. Grey wool cushion made by a bff, Vicki: it holds my sewing needles and I think it is adorable!
2. Largest and oldest of the six, this flannel lovely holds my flat head pins mostly and is always close-by.I bought it at a bazaar and it used to sit atop a terracotta flower pot.
3. I made his felted wool book-style pin holder. It comes in handy when traveling. (You can see the inside in the next picture.)
4. The baby of the group, I keep this little bottle cap cushion in a tin with my binding clips.( I never wear it on my finger the way I am supposed to though.)
5. My favorite little glass-head straight pins keep company in this pin cushion that I made using a pattern from a magazine a few years ago.
6. Every parade needs a celebrity and this one is mine. Cindy, who blogs at Live a Colorful Life, gifted this gorgeous cushion to me. It is made from fabric selvages that all have special meaning to me. I especially like the crushed walnut shell filling.

My pin cushions are always laying around my sewing room, but if I were going to store them somewhere special, it would definitely be in this pink antique sewing basket. It is one of my prized possessions and belonged to my beloved grandmother, Rossie, who made all of her quilts on a treadle machine.

Peek inside the sewing basket and you can quickly see that inflation has hit the thread market, just like everything else! I'm not sure how old these wooden spools are.

Why not join the fun by linking up with Love, Laugh, Quilt and join the Pincushion Parade! I'd love to see your entries!

3rd Sunday in January

2012-01-15T06:00:00.000-06:00

"Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another,

be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.

Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult,

but with blessing, because to this you are called,

so that you may inherit a blessing."

I Peter 3: 8, 9

Farmer's Wife Friday Part Two- Live A Successful Life

2012-01-14T20:32:00.000-06:00

The sun had gone down by the time I finished making the last two blocks for this week's Farmer's Wife Sampler so my pictures are a strange color. Sorry about that....but, here they are and I'm pretty proud of the way they turned out. I don't even WANT to know how many hours I spent on them though!

First up, is block #47, called Homemaker. This block is not for the faint of heart (neither is homemaking, really) even when you use foundation piecing like I did. The reason...two words: Inset Seams. Whew! Glad to have that one out of my hair!

The second challenging block of the day weighs in with 68 pieces-- all inside a little six inch block, people!! Star Gardener, block #87, is pretty but time consuming. I doubt that many gardeners in the 1920's had time to make many of these lovelies, I'm just sayin'!

If feels good to be caught up on my Farmer's Wife blocks and like anything else, once I got started, I found my rhythm!

See you next week for two more garden-themed blocks. (That top green/red block kinda looks like it ate too many Christmas cookies, doesn't it!) Bye.

Farmer's Wife Friday Part One -Live a Successful Life

2012-01-13T22:08:00.001-06:00

True confession time here....I've had a hard time being motivated to get back at making the Farmer's Wife Sampler blocks after a short vacation from those little guys. Today was the day that Cindy and I agreed to begin our 2012 countdown...

one letter a week until we finish them all.

It's been a busy week.

I waited till the last minute.

These are the two blocks I finished....I was supposed to make four..

sigh...stay tuned for that.

Our letter this week is from right up the road from me in Shawnee County, Kansas.

Evening Star went together quick and easy, just as I was hoping.

The farmer's wife would agree with me,

as she has even more on her plate than I do!

Her jobs of homemaker, social manager, livestock breeder, gardener, financier, bookkeeper, manufacturer, canner, nurse, teacher

make her a real business woman.

Hmmm...sounds like a lot of women I know!
(Well, maybe not the livestock breeder.)

I'll add the other two blocks to next week's Farmer's Wife post.

Meanwhile, I better get busy with some home-making of my own!

Let's go see the pretty blocks that Cindy made...

I bet she got all four finished!

Hand Quilting

2012-01-10T17:39:00.000-06:00

I used to do some hand quilting.

It's not my favorite thing about making a quilt.

Obviously.....

That's why I almost exclusively machine quilt every thing I make!

Today, in my sewing room simplification, I ran across this....

If you've followed Lollyquiltz for long,

you have probably noticed that besides not being a hand-quilter,

I also seldom do any hand applique.

Here's proof that I can do both, if I'm so inclined!

All of the appliques are outlined, it just needs a little more quilting in the background.

I have no idea what year I started this quilt, but since I still like the folk art style, I think that I might make it a goal to finish it in 2012.

Maybe if I say that publicly, it will do it!!

I've also been going through my quilting books, weeding out ones

that I know I'll never use. Here's the stack that I have left!

Whew, I do like a good quilting book, I'll say that!!

Here's the stack that I weeded out...not quite as tall as the keeper stack,

but still, a bunch of books!

If you see a title in this picture that interests you and that you think

you would like, let me know.
****edited: The 3 books have been spoken for!

I'll send a book to the first three people who ask!

(I'd love to do more, but with postage so high, I really can't.

I better limit it to USA, also, for the same reason.)

It was fun reading all of your guesses for my least-favorite-color.

I love color, and really, any hue can look good in the right combination, I think,

that's why I didn't say "the color I can't stand!"

Heidi, your cowboy fabric is on it's way...and there's not a trace of magenta in it!

P.S. My daughter is having a great give-away on her blog, Homemade Ginger,
this week if anyone is interested in "saving money"! LOL
You can find it here.

2nd Sunday in January

2012-01-08T06:00:00.000-06:00

" For I know the plans I have for

you," declares the Lord, "plans to

prosper you and not to harm you,

plans to give you hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11

No Reply Bloggers

2012-01-07T23:54:00.003-06:00

A while back, Karen, from Sew Many Ways, posted this great little tutorial about No Reply Bloggers. Every blog reader and commenter should take note. I always feel so badly when someone takes the time to leave me a comment and then I have no way to reply to them because of the settings they have on their blogger profile. At the start of this new year, why not take a moment to check yours, especially if you notice that you never hear back from me (or other bloggers) when you leave a comment. In the color contest that I have going from Friday, someone correctly guessed my least favorite color, however, since they are a No Reply Blogger, sadly I can not contact them. Therefore, I hid their answer and I'm leaving the guessing open for another day. Try again if you want, everyone.
Click here to see if you are a No Reply Blogger.
That's all folks!
*someone has correctly guessed my least favorite color as magenta so the contest is now closed. Thanks*

Simplify

2012-01-06T13:02:00.000-06:00

In January, blog friend, Andie, chooses a word for the year instead of a resolution.

That seems like a good idea, so I told her that I would have to

think about it and try to come up with a word of my own.

SIMPLIFY is something my husband and I have been talking a lot about lately.

It seems like a good theme word for 2012.

There's not better place to start than here.....

Uhhh.....ya. things have gotten a little out of control in the sewing room!

It's a small room that I have to share with a bed,

so things can get cramped pretty fast, If I'm not careful.

If you have followed Lollyquitz for awhile, you know that

using my scraps is something that I love to do.

I throw scraps in a basket, and when it's full, I cut the pieces up into

usable squares and strips. The basket is full!

This method provides me with a ready source for

the Leader/Ender quilts that I am always working on.

I started a new one this week using a tutorial pattern mentioned by

Jodi, who blogs at Pleasant Home,
and is like minded in the scrap-using-department.

Check out her blog this month for loads of scrap-spiration!

Here's my first block for a Scrap Picnic Quilt.....

I started with a charm pack called "Dream On", by Urban Chicks,
that I discovered in my sewing room purging.
The charms set the color scheme for pulling more squares.

Every where I look, I see fabric that needs put away...

Here are some fabrics that I pulled ~~3 years~~ quite awhile ago to make a

cowboy themed quilt for my grand daughter.

When her bedroom was re-decorated
I realized that the quilt wasn't going to happen.

But, for some reason, I kept all of the fabrics together.

Soooooo......I was thinking, if any of you would like a jump start on such

a quilt, perhaps you would like my fabrics.

There are 19 pieces in this stack. I'll send them to the first person

who correctly identifies my least favorite color.
*contest is now closed*

(Just mention ONE color, 'kay!) Sound like fun?

Here's a hint: The color is a shade not just a basic color category,

i.e. violet, not purple. Can you guess?

Make sure that I have access to your email address

so that I can contact you, if you are the winner.

Have a great weekend.

I'm going to keep simplifying, so come back next week for more

gifts from my sewing room!

Carla
*We have a winner! Heidi from Boys, Buttons and Butterflies has correctly
guessed my least favorite color as magenta. Thanks for playing everyone!

Purple

2012-01-05T22:02:00.001-06:00

It's not that I don't like purple.

After all, when I got married (a long time ago)

my bridesmaids wore lilac.

I just don't have much in my house. At all!

I own one purple sweater. Other than that, this is about it...

When I ran across this purple cauliflower at the grocery,

I just had to try it...

Isn't it gorgeous!

Tasted yummy, too!

And after making this Puzzle Star block today

I wondered why I don't use the lavender color more often.

I added my block to a royal looking set of stars

made by several other quilters

and will soon be putting them all together for a very special quilt top.

I think it is going to be really pretty.

Come back tomorrow for a peek into

my sewing room as I do some

New Year's cleaning.

(I might even be giving away some of my stash,

you never know!!)

Seeing Spots!

2012-01-03T16:38:00.003-06:00

The truth is, I don't think I've ever met a spot that I didn't like!

When I treat myself to some new fabrics, like I did over the weekend,

it is no surprise that some dotty cloth will be among them...

My new cell phone is even dressed in dots...

and who else do you know that has a polka dot powder room?

(I'm actually painting over these red guys,

but after enjoying them for 4 years

it's a little bit sad, I think!)

I really do have a plan for some of these sweeties.

The toadstools and butterflies are just for fun...

'Cause that's what I'm planning on having in 2012!

Hope you are too!!

1st Sunday 2012--Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T06:00:00.000-06:00

Glorious Day

One day when Heaven was filled with His praises
One day when sin was as black as could be
Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin
Dwelt among men, my example is He
Word became flesh and the light shined among us
His glory revealed

(Chorus)
Living, He loved me
Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away
Rising, He justified freely forever
One day He's coming
Oh glorious day, oh glorious day

One day they led Him up Calvary's mountain
One day they nailed Him to die on a tree
Suffering anguish, despised and rejected
Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is He
Hands that healed nations, stretched out on a tree
And took the nails for me

Chorus

One day the grave could conceal Him no longer
One day the stone rolled away from the door
Then He arose over death He had conquered
Now He's ascended, my Lord evermore
Death could not hold Him, the grave could not keep Him
From rising again

Chorus

One day the trumpet will sound for His coming
One day the skies with His glories will shine
Wonderful day, my Beloved One, bringing
My Savior, Jesus, is mine

Chorus

Lyrics by Casting Crowns

(Number one song for 2011 on KLOVE)

2011 Finishes

2011-12-31T23:28:00.000-06:00

A few big quilts,

A few lap size quilts,

A few little quilts.

Some UFO finishes,

Some challenges,

Some swap quilts,

A Moda Bake Shop quilt...

It was a great Quilt Year at Lollyquiltz!

I can't thank you all enough for coming by so often

to read about my quilting adventures

and for leaving all of your encouraging comments.

It really means a lot to me.

I wish you all the best in the new year.

Happy quilting,

Carla

Sack Boys

2011-12-29T22:08:00.000-06:00

Do you know what a Sack Boy is?

Neither do I.

But, that didn't keep me from making one today.....

Actually, I made two...a tan one and a green one.

You see, my grandchildren have me wrapped tightly around their little fingers.

And that means, that when Oliver and Ezra started ~~begging~~ asking me to

go into the boy-doll making business

they pretty much knew that I would cave in and say "yes".

First, they had to get on the computer and show me what a Sack Boy looked like.

Then, they helped me find a free pattern. Oliver is 7. His brother is 4.

Good grief.

You can find the tutorial here that we decided on.

There sure were a bunch of little pieces!

I needed tweezers and cotton balls to stuff the silly things.

Truthfully, making dolls and stuffed animals has never been my favorite thing.

But, then, I'm wrapped around their little fingers. (Did I say that already?!)

I persevered. All. Day. Long. Pretty much.

In the end, these guys came out kinda cute.

(They remind me of The Gingerbread Man, but don't tell the boys that I said that.)

They both have birth defects: one a twisted belly and the other funky hands,

but, that just makes them even more special.

And, what's a doll without clothes?

Of course, they needed wardrobes.

I called Oliver to tell him the news that the Sack Boys were ready.

I'm sure if he could drive, he'd be here by now!

Smile.

Unexpected Gifts

2011-12-27T18:13:00.000-06:00

It took Rudolph and the other reindeer an extra day to arrive at our house this year....

but I don't think that it really mattered that much because the munchkins seemed pretty happy to extend the gift giving-and-getting for another day!

Then today, Santa brought a special present just for me. One that I wasn't expecting but ended up really needing at the last minute. It actually would have been nice to have gotten it on Christmas Eve as hubby and I were transferring all the perishables from our refrigerator into Coleman coolers filled with ice and sitting them out on the back deck, happy that the weather was hovering in the 30's.

Yep! My beautiful (ONLY!) four-and-a-half-year-old-French-door refrigerator decided on Christmas Eve to quit. It had been threatening to die for months and we'd been limping along, sans three visits from the repairman. Soooo.... last evening, after all the festivities, we went shopping and bought a Side-By-Side, which Santa brought this morning (I think that guy was Santa, anyway...he had on a red vest). It was funny running to the deck for ingredients every few minutes yesterday as we fixed brunch for the 15 of us. You just have to laugh! My mother had the same refrigerator for over forty years! It would seem that appliances should be getting better, not just prettier and fancier, don't you? Sigh.

Well, anyway, here's a lovely little gift that my friend, Linda, made for me...

Isn't it the cutest thing? I'm going to keep my special gift cards in it. Thank you, Linda!

I had fun whipping up a few Dumplings for some special ladies last week. Have you been seeing them around the Internet? They are so cute, fun and easy to make....

Each Dumpling takes only a bit of fabric and a fourteen inch zipper. Find the free tutorial by Keyka Lou here.

I used some of my saved selvages for covering the inside seams.

Using a few of of my new Pez prints, by American Jane, was a kick....

...and how fun to find fun companion prints for the insides...

as they were...

Made With Love!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T00:35:00.000-06:00

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son,

that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world,

but to save the world through Him."

John 3: 16,17

Festive and healthy

2011-12-21T06:00:00.000-06:00

My Pyrex bowls can get quite a work out this time of year...usually making something that contains chocolate or cream cheese (seriously)...

but yesterday I cooked up something festive that didn't contain sugar! You might even be able to call it healthy (if you don't serve it over tortilla chips like we did with the leftovers last night!)

The main ingredient in Festive Rice Salad is this yummy ingredient that I found at my new favorite grocery store, Trader Joe's. This rice product contains barley and radish seeds, (who knew there was such a thing) but any long grain rice will work.

Here's the recipe just in case you'd like to try it:

Festive Rice Salad
2/3 cup long grain rice
1 1/3 cup water
1 Tbs. vegetable oil
3/4 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 tsp. bottled crushed garlic (or equivalent)
1 1/2 cup chopped chicken
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed
2 medium plum tomatoes, chopped
1 cup salted peanuts
1 Tbs. dried cilantro
2/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/2 to 1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. cumin
Prepare rice according to directions on the package. Let stand at least 5 minutes, rinse with cold water and drain. Place in a large bowl. In a small skillet, saute' green pepper, onion, garlic, cilantro and carrot in vegetable oil till tender crisp. Add to rice. Stir in corn, beans, chicken, tomatoes, and peanuts. In a small bowl, combine olive oil, lemon juice, cayenne and cumin to make dressing. Pour over the vegetable/rice mixture and stir to coat well. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight. This is great just like this, or may be served over crushed tortilla chips or even in a soft tortilla shell. Enjoy!

I always associate good food with my mother. Cooking was her way of showing love to her family, especially during holidays. I miss her a lot. Two of the many ornaments on my Christmas tree decorated my mom's tree for many years. I enjoy hanging them on my tree and remembering her.This plastic Santa was given to Mom by one of her 5 children...maybe it was me, I don't remember....

My favorite is this little nativity, so sweet and tiny....

We lost my mother-in-law a few years ago. I helped her trim her tree for many years and always enjoyed hanging this darling angel made from pasta. Now she graces my tree.

I love her so.

Christmas Quilt Show

2011-12-19T04:34:00.000-06:00

None of these are new....some are pretty old, in fact....but, I thought it might be kind of fun to do a little holiday celebrating with a Christmas-themed quilt show today....

Over the years, I've made several red and green quilts. This one is all from scraps...

This wreath might be the oldest one. I have it hanging on my house by my front door.

This Christmas tree skirt was the first quilt that I ever machine quilted.

Here's one of my all time favorite quilts.....a fun non-traditional color scheme of white, red, pink, green and blue grey fabrics, all from my scrap tubs!

The colors were inspired by the wonderful backing fabric....

I finished this last one in 2010. It's bright and cheerful....

It hangs above my stairs during December and January...

when it's not on the fence, that is!

Sunday Something

2011-12-18T06:00:00.000-06:00

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host

appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace to men

on whom His favor rests."

Luke 2: 13, 14

Pink Birds on My Tree

2011-12-17T20:13:00.001-06:00

As I've said before, my Christmas tree is laden with ornaments of every type, some prettier than others. I love them all and have enjoyed collecting the menagerie over the last 38 years. I thought that it might be fun to share some of them with you, especially when I hear about several friends and family members that haven't put up Christmas decorations this year for one reason or another. I'm still going strong in the "decoration" department and enjoy seeing my grandchildren study the collection and look for ornaments that they remember from years past.

Before I became a member of an "empty nester club" almost 10 years ago called the Pink Flamingo Club, I had never even heard of a pink flamingo ornament, let alone owned one.

Who knew then that every year since I would add at least one pink feathered friend to my tree...and sometimes more.

I haven't counted, but would be safe in guessing that the evergreen is laden with close to twenty pink birds by now. Our annual Pink Christmas Party is next week, and I won't be surprised if I come home with another fine specimen to add to the collection!

Some are gorgeous glass ornaments and a few are silly guys dressed in Santa attire...

Kitchy, resin Florida birds are even welcome among the branches.

I would never turn a long-legged special friend away...what happy memories they represent to me. I'd love to hear about your silly dilly ornaments, too!

Lest you get the idea that I have been sitting in front of the Christmas tree every day, sipping on a hot chocolate, here's a peek at a "leader-ender" quilt that I've been assembling in between Christmas shopping and other sewing projects...

I have some special Christmasy posts for next week, so y'all come back now..ya hear!

BOM Catch Up

2011-12-13T10:39:00.000-06:00

I got a little behind on the Blogger's Block of the Month Quilt A-long, sponsored by Jackie, so played some catch up before December's block is posted in the very near future. Here's October's block, by Vicki Welch....

And November's Split Star, by Stephanie Dunphy of Loft Creations.

I'm using fabrics gifted to me by the fabulous Mary of Molly Flanders fame (with a few extras thrown in). It's going to make a sweet little quilt, I think.

I'm ready for the next installment, Jackie!

It's not too late for you to play along too! Start here.

Sunday Something

2011-12-11T07:34:00.001-06:00

But the angel said to them,

"Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy

that will be for all the people.

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you;

he is Christ the Lord."

Luke 2: 10,11

My Instant Tree Skirt

2011-12-09T13:19:00.001-06:00

I'm keeping it real today. Some of you have noticed that I've been absent a bit lately. (Thanks for checking on me.) Honestly, between my still weak hand that is now in one of those lovely black Velcro wraps after getting my cast off last week, having the crud that's been going around, and concern for a dear friend that is in a coma, my quilting mojo has been in a funk. But, after being inspired by my modern quilting friends at last night's KCMQG, I think I can feel the flames beginning to be fanned again! Whew! I was getting worried about myself!!

Anyway, during my quilting hiatus, I made a pale attempt last weekend at making, what I call, my Instant Tree Skirt. Here's what I needed to cover........

Ya. It's a huge piece of heavy plywood that my dear hubby screwed our equally huge tree stand into. You see, we sure don't want the tree to fall on top of any of our darling grandchildren when they come to visit and ~~yank on~~ look at the Christmas ornaments! Last year I just threw a table cloth over it, I think. But this year, I had one of those "Ah Ha!" moments when I spied an "oldie but goodie" Christmas quilt in the cupboard....this Thimbleberries Gameboard quilt. Being the perfect size to cover the plywood, I simply cut into the center with my scissors and then cut a hole out of the middle....

The quilt is large enough to be pulled around the tree stand and still camouflage the board. In the past, I used this quilt as a tablecloth, and one year a candle dripped a big puddle that left a stain even after I got all the wax out. Cutting the quilt actually solves that little problem too.

Because I needed it right away, I didn't even bother to bind off the cut edges. Yet. Do you think any one will notice? My tree is full-to-overflowing with ornaments. I put soft and unbreakable ones on the bottom so that the kids can ~~pull on~~ finger them without getting in trouble like they might at their own house.

I'm sure not worried about the tree falling over anymore... even if the cat climbs it.

Just keeping it real here!!

Sunday Something

2011-12-04T06:00:00.000-06:00

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

We have seen His glory,

the glory of the One and Only,

who came from the Father,

full of grace and truth."

John 1: 14

Vegetable Soup

2011-12-01T13:22:00.001-06:00

This time of year, I just love a hot bowl of veggie soup, don't you? In fact, that's what I'm working on for supper tonight. Do you cook your turkey bones like I do to make a yummy stock? When I recently finished up my latest "free quilt" using 'leaders and enders', it turned out so colorful, that I decided to name it Vegetable Soup.

Although there's not much to the simple 9-patch design, it's was a quick and easy quilt to make and a great way to use up some of my scraps. I always keep a box full of 2 in. and 2.5 in. squares on hand to use as my leaders and enders. In no time at all, I have the makings for a quilt out of leftovers....just like my turkey vegetable soup!

The colorful fabric squares were paired with some cream colored Kona that I had on hand....something a little different than the usual white or snow that I usually lean toward.
The quilting is a serpentine like wave stitch that my Bernina quickly turned out. The quilt is bound with a Moda 'Oh, My" large floral...more leftovers from another project!

This little lap size quilt will be given to a child living in an orphanage in Rwanda sometime soon. Hopefully, the colorful fabrics will be a fun way to cover his/her bed! If you are interested in making "free quilts" with your scraps, check out the tutorial here. (It's a quilting life changer....seriously!)

Sunday Something--Thanksgiving

2011-11-27T06:00:00.000-06:00

Thankgiving Proclaimation 1789

By the President of the United States of America, a Proclamation.
Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor-- and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.
Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be-- That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks--for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation--for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war--for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed--for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted--for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.
and also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions-- to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually--to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed--to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord--To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us--and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.
Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.
George Washington

Wordless Wednesday--My In Box

2011-11-23T06:00:00.000-06:00

Thanks, Ladies!

Sunday Something

2011-11-20T06:00:00.000-06:00

God is our refuge and strength,

an ever present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear,

though the earth give way and the mountains fall

into the heart of the sea,

though it's waters roar and foam

and the mountains quake

with their surging.

The Lord Almighty is with us,

the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Psalm 46:1-3,7

Farmer's Wife Friday--Independence and Charm

2011-11-17T22:42:00.001-06:00

The farmer's wife is back today after being on "sick leave" for a few weeks...have you missed her? This week's wife is from my home state of Missouri and she has nothing but good things to say about country living: "There is a wholesomeness about farm life, an independence and charm not found in any other industry."

Mrs. R.C.W, from Jasper County, doesn't mince words about any "drudge' wife who can't find the time for pleasures during the day and blames "a lack of management, lack of order and lack of backbone and brains" as the source. Well, we all can learn from that, probably!
She definitely hopes for a farmer son-in-law someday; someone who gives her daughter a home on a farm, perhaps just like the one where she is growing up..."with all the joys and pleasures of an American home in God's wonderful out-of-doors."

The blocks today both reflect one of my personal favorite things about county living, and that is visits from my feathered friends to the bird feeders. I love to watch the darting antics of all the different species, especially in the winter after a snowstorm.

Block 27-Darting Birds

Once in a while, a sharp eyed hawk will swoop down to try and snatch up an unsuspecting little bird perched on my feeder.

Block 52-Hovering Hawks

The first time I witnessed a successful catch, it was a little dismaying and I was more than glad that one of my grand daughters wasn't watching at the window with me as feathers fell to the ground. But, then, that's the circle of life, especially in the country.

Be sure to visit Cindy today and read her thoughts on the charming life of a farmer! I can't wait to see her blocks...always so different from mine!

Wordless Wednesday--Out Box

2011-11-16T21:20:00.001-06:00

Fence Line

2011-11-14T06:00:00.000-06:00

Here is my entry for the Habitat Challenge in the Modern Quilt Guild. I've been wanting to do a quilt using several shades of white as the background and decided this was the perfect time. Because the fabric design isn't really my usual style, I also thought that cutting it into small pieces would make it more to my liking.

Creating the blocks looks more complicated than it really is. I used Linda's instructions for swap blocks I'd made for her a few months ago. Piecing a few random Habitat bits here and there into the border helps carry the theme to the edges of the quilt. My quilting is just simple wavy lines running vertically throughout the quilt. (I had to do something easy since I'm still hampered by a cast on my hand.....Although, wait! I usually always do something easy anyway!)

The sky blue back has an inset of the gravel colored border fabric plus one strip of each of the six Habitat fabrics used to make the front. I also added a piece of selvage as testimony to the challenge. The binding is a dark grey Habitat dot with 3 sections of orange solid spliced in.

My idea for naming the quilt came from seeing fence posts around a neighboring field that all have a rock sitting on top them. The fence surrounds a field of pumpkins, so I added some pumpkin colors in two of the rows.

I like the neutral, but funky feel, my quilt ended up having. I'm glad that I participated in the "challenge" of using fabric that I would not normally choose! You can see other Habitat Challenge quilts here and here.

Sunday Something

2011-11-13T06:00:00.000-06:00

Habitat Challenge Reveal

2011-11-11T15:46:00.001-06:00

The 2nd Thursday of every month is always special for me because it's time again to jump in the car and make a 45 minute drive to meet with the Kansas City Modern Quilt Guild. I always come away with my tank filled with inspiration and excitement for quilting. Last night's meeting was especially anticipated ...the long awaited Habitat Challenge Reveal!
Here's what we all started with last August....

... Neat little packets containing six fat-eighths of Habitat fabric donated by the designer, Jay McCarroll. Our guild chose the earth color way. These are the fabrics that were in my packet. The challenge was to create a quilt (or other sewn item) using some of each fabric either on the front or back of the quilt. We were allowed to add solids and/or more Habitat only.

I may just be prejudiced, but I have to say that the quilters in the KCMQG are one creative bunch!

Fifty one stunning quilts and projects were revealed and every one of them, without exception, was fantastic.

We each could vote for our favorite quilt and, boy, was it hard to choose just one!

You can see close ups of all of the quilts on the MQG flickr site here.

Here are a few of the more "creative" entries that I was able to get a good picture of...

The quilting in Beth's 'home' quilt featured all of the addresses where she has lived as well as words that come to mind when her family thinks of home...
Robin's log cabin quilt, right above it, was one of my favorites...

This quilt is called "The Other Side" because the quilter used the back side of all of the fabrics...

Jennifer's simple birds and awesome quilting details made this quilt look more like art...

"Training the Girls" was the name and theme of this conversation starter!.....

Barbara cleverly used all of the trimmings saved from the day we put together the Habitat packets to create "Spaghetti and Meatballs".....

The fabric's colors looked like Easter eggs in this clever quilt, complete with an embroidered recipe for potato salad along the border..

I would never have thought of using olive green and orange with the pastel fabrics, but this quilt shows how well they work...

On the other hand, pastel pink was very effective in Jaime's quilt....

Therese liked the golden yellow in some of the fabrics and effectively emphasized it in her popular quilt....

Using white as the background really let the fabrics sing in this quilt....

You are probably wondering which of these wonderful creations was voted the "Viewer's Choice". Here is the fantastic winner by Tracy Lewien featuring 30 different liberated blocks combining the Habitat prints with bold solids on a burgundy background. You can see a full view of Tracy's quilt here.

Hope you enjoyed the quilt show and were as inspired as we all were. Next time I'll show you some photos of my entry in the challenge. Have a lovely weekend!

Retreat

2011-11-08T15:49:00.001-06:00

Saturday morning found me meeting up with Linda, grabbing a yummy at Starbucks, and heading to the tiny town of Bucyrus, Kansas for an all day quilt retreat with the Blue Valley Quilters Guild on the grounds of this beautiful old church, The Queen of the Holy Rosary Catholic Church.

The large facility was perfect for spreading out our sewing machines, ironing boards, ~~food~~, fabric, projects, ~~food,~~ design walls, and food! The lighting was so good I didn't even think about getting out the lamp I'd packed.

Linda came up with a project for the two of us to work on that involved using our large stashes of fabric strips.

Since we both cut our scraps into strips for convenience, it was simply a matter of hauling it all into the building and enduring the teasing that followed as everyone else wondered what we could be doing that would require 4 boxes of fabric! This is just one box of it here............(what?!)

I guess that I was making others nervous as I used my pink forearm and elbow to hold down the ruler while rotary cutting....

...because it wasn't long before Robin coaxed me into letting her do all my cutting! In the end, Linda wondered why I'd made more blocks for our project than she...there are some advantages to having a cast, I've learned!! Thanks, Robin....sorry you didn't get as much of your hand work accomplished, though.

The room was filled with lovely quilt projects of every description and color.....

If there'd been a prize for working on the most projects during the day, I'm positive that Nikki would have easily won. Here's one she was making with batik charms she's been collecting....

I really liked her spider web quilt, complete with hand embroidered spiders!

By the end of the day, Linda and I had managed to put a small dent in our scrap boxes to create this 3D design from the book, String Quilts by Elsie Campbell. After this picture was taken, we took down all the blocks and divided them up between us for twin quilts, one for each of us.

A good time was had by all!

Sunday Something

2011-11-06T06:00:00.000-06:00

For you have been my hope,

O Sovereign Lord,

my confidence since my youth.

From birth I have relied on you;

you brought me forth from my mother's womb.

I will ever praise you.

Psalm 71: 5, 6

Pause Button

2011-11-04T06:00:00.000-05:00

The pause button has been pushed on Farmer's Wife Friday for another week to give my pretty pink hand a chance to heal up a bit before I try sewing those tiny pieces again. Since maneuvering a shopping cart around the grocery store is hard with only one good arm, I've been pushing the pause button on lots of cooking as well! Ahhhh.....what a shame!!

Just in case you are collecting ideas for next year's Halloween costumes, here's an adorable sock monkey that uses a thrift store sweater as the main ingredient......

My daughter, Megan, wrote up a great tutorial about how she made Janie's costume here. You might enjoy some of her other creative ideas for "repurposing" as well.

Since there has been a hiccup in my quilt making for the last week or so, I thought I would show you a fun 'I Spy Quilt' made by my friend, Robin. She showed us the quilt during Show and Tell at quilt guild this week. Some of the charms are ones Robin received during the charm exchange with Lollyquiltz readers last spring. I love the clever way Robin arranged the squares by background color.

The shading makes a perfect border. I like the striped sashing too. What a fun quilt!

There is a lot to look at on the back too. Some little child is going be thrilled with this colorful quilt.

Because I am not one to let much slow me down, I'm planning to attend a quilting retreat over the weekend. Where there's a will, there's a way, right! Stay tuned for the One Armed Quilter's report on that next week! Welcome to my new readers who found me by way of the Blogger's Quilt Festival. (I'm still looking through all the beautiful entries.) Enjoy your weekend!

The Tale of the One Armed Quilter

2011-10-31T15:14:00.002-05:00

ONCE UPON A TIME in the Great Pumpkin Patch, there lived a grandmother named Lolly, who thought she could fly.

One dark and spooky night, as she was descending her staircase after a visit to her mysterious sewing closet in hopes of finding just the right fabric to make a tiny baby quilt, she decided to try out her wings. After all, she reasoned, since she was already running it seemed the perfect plan to just skip that last step and fly instead. Lolly's super powers apparently were not engaged properly that night and that is how she became known as "The One Armed Quilter"!

Now, despite being on a hearty dose of pain medication, Lolly was determined to finish the little quilt because everyone knows that even a premie who lives in NICU needs the loving comfort of a cuddly quilt made by her grandmother. Using the elbow on her now incredibly pink and useless arm to hold down her acrylic ruler, she still managed to cut and sew a sweet little blanket from the Sherbet Pips charm pack she'd found buried in her mysterious closet.

Lolly even somehow managed to spell out the tiny baby girl's name on the back of the quilt so that it wouldn't get mixed up with any of the other baby quilts in the NICU. (smile!)

Baby Lois has lots of little girl cousins who are looking forward to someday playing dolls with her at her grandmother's house...

but, in the meantime she is gradually growing bigger and healthier in her special bed at the hospital.

Even though Lolly isn't allowed to hold little Lois yet, she is happy to see her snuggle with her mommy in the quilt...

and to know that it makes a cute curtain from the overhead lights.

THE END

Sunday Something

2011-10-30T06:00:00.000-05:00

"Show me your ways O Lord,

teach me your paths;

guide me in your truth and teach me,

for you are God my Savior,

and my hope is in you all day long."

Psalm 25:4,5

Happy Housekeeping:FALL BLOGGER'S QUILT FESTIVAL

2011-10-28T09:17:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the Blogger's Quilt Festival everyone! I am so excited to show you my entry, Happy Housekeeping. This simple log cabin quilt makes a big impact through the use of color blocking in each of the 12 inch blocks.

The happy-colored 30's fabrics make me smile every time I look at them. An all-over, flowery quilting pattern works great to give the quilt an antique look when washed and dried to crinkly perfection!

The backing fabric features some old-fashioned kitchen elements and, combined with vintage inspired charm squares, is a fun compliment to the log cabin front.

I have many happy memories of hours spent with my friend and soul-mate, Jan, as we sewed on the blocks over the span of about one year. We each would make two exact blocks and share one with the other, creating twin quilts. I think Jan and I have created close to a dozen different quilt patterns in this way over the last 20 years!

Making quilts with a good friend is one of my very favorite things to do. Sharing them with you is another!

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy the rest of the quilts in the festival.

And Baby Makes Seven!

2011-10-24T14:46:00.000-05:00

Sometimes babies arrive weeks before we are expecting them to....

like this wee one...weighing in at only 3 1/2 pounds!

Meet my seventh grandchild, Lois Cora, born seven weeks early. She will have to live in NICU for awhile, and I have yet to get to hold her but her nickname may be Spunky because she is doing an amazing job of surviving! You can see from the smiles on her family's faces that they are happy to have her here

despite the drama involved.

How thankful we are for wonderful hospitals and the advancements in medicine that help make pre-mature births less scary. God has blessed us with a tiny miracle!

So, Lolly has had to step it up and get busy on a little quilt for Baby Lois because she wasn't quite prepared.............more on that next time, I promise.

I think my son, Drew, might be excited about having a daughter, don't you...

Even a super tiny one!

Sunday Something

2011-10-23T06:00:00.000-05:00

"You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;

You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness.

That my soul may sing praise to You

and not be silent.

O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever."

Psalms 30:11,12 NASV

Farmer's Wife Friday--Country Home Life

2011-10-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

Our writer this week, in the Farmer's Wife Magazine writing contest, is from Cascade County, Montana. Her letter is a simple no-nonsense read, revealing the reasons she would want her little girls to grow up and marry farmers. The accompanying blocks accent her comments very nicely.

Our first block is called 'Friendship' and I love the imagery of the four different background fabric each tied to the other with the square (circle) of friendship. Mrs J.J.T. expounds that her first reason for hoping for a couple of farmers as sons-in-law someday, is that "the country home life is more nearly complete in itself, and therefore productive of real happiness." Being friends AND family ....now that's a perfect combination!

"The school or community hall is usually the place for social gatherings which are made a success through the efforts of all the members of the family." Here's 'Square Dance'.

I'm sure the family attended a few of those, don't you!

I'm excited to be nearing the half way point in the Quilt Along and like the black/white spotty fabric addition this time.

The maple tree leaves have deepened their color this week....

and many have fallen onto the ground.

We even had a frost last night I hear.

Time is marching on.

I wonder if the weather is cooling off in California, where Cindy lives.

I always look forward to seeing her blocks and reading her comments about the letters each week. I'm headed there now!

My 3X6 Mini Sampler Bee Quilt

2011-10-19T06:00:00.000-05:00

I joined the 3X6 Mini Sampler Bee in January 2010. The idea behind this fun bee is that every three months I would choose a quilt block design and create 6 blocks, one for each of the other participants, using my block choice in their chosen color selections. At the same time, the other "bees" would each be making a block for me in my colors of aqua, green and white. By staying in the 3x6 Bee for the entire year, I ended up with a total of 24 different blocks, plus the ones I made as design samples each quarter and a couple more.

One of the things I love about this particular Bee is seeing the various blocks come alive in every one's color choices. What started as a small Bee has now grown to include more than 20 "Hives" with 7 "Bees" in each Hive, all doing the same thing. You can see by the numbers, just how popular it is. New this past quarter was the addition of Hives that are doing "modern only" blocks. As the 2010 ticked by, I enjoyed going to my mailbox and finding lovely blocks. Only one time the entire year was I worried that a fellow participant would flake out and not send me a block. In the end, all 24 participants came through and I as able to put together this beautiful quilt that I've named

"Swimming Pool Sampler" because the color combination makes me think of the tiles in a pool. The quilting is an allover paisley pantograph design.

I even tried to make the backing look like a refreshing pool floor...

I took a couple of quarters off, but found that I missed creating the blocks so much that I decided to start collecting again with a new color combo of orange and aqua (I'm kinda stuck on turquoise lately, I think!). The blocks have once again been arriving in my box...I'll show you soon. Maybe you would enjoy this type of Bee.

Sign ups are going on for the next quarter, if you are interested.

I'd love to have you join me!

I'm excited to see my newest 3X6 Sampler take shape.

Stay tuned!

Quilts in the Park

2011-10-17T06:00:00.000-05:00

I belong to two quilt guilds. A few weeks ago, I showed you a beautiful outdoor quilt show put on by The Kansas City Modern Quilt Guild. That day could not have been more perfect, and I was pretty sure that it couldn't happen twice. I'm so happy to report that I was wrong.... Another gorgeous fall day for another beautiful outdoor quilt show!

The Blue Valley Quilters Guild, in conjunction with the local Parks and Rec. Dept., displayed around 200 quilts in a casual setting at the Shawnee Mission Park near Kansas City. With highs in the low 70's and lots of sunshine, the weather could not have been more perfect for our quilt display.

Everywhere you looked, there seemed to be quilts in any color, style and size...something to delight any preference!

The fence surrounding the pavilion made the perfect rack for dozens of quilts of every description....

Anything standing still had a quilt hanging on it...(I was excited to show some of my quilts, of course!)....

This beautiful Art Nuevo style quilt is an original design by Trish Price and is this year's Opportunity (raffle) Quilt for the guild.

Another popular money maker Saturday, was a display of gift baskets put together by guild members and won by random ticket draw...

The mini quilts lined up on these tables were sold during a silent auction....

Children attending the show with a parent or grandparent got the opportunity to use a sewing machine to make a pillowcase to take home. There were other fun crafts for the younger kiddos along with an I Spy game to play with prizes for finding hidden motifs in various quilts on display. (I even liked playing that game!)

I can't end this post without showing you two quilts that I was smitten with. Both happen to be antique quilts that were used to cover tables inside the pavilion....

Love. Love. Love!

Hope you enjoyed the show!

Sunday Something

2011-10-16T06:00:00.000-05:00

I rejoiced with those who said to me,

"Let us go to the house of the Lord."

Psalm 122:1

Farmer's Wife Friday--The Threads of Life

2011-10-14T07:00:00.000-05:00

Wow! How the days fly by. Friday has rolled around once more and it's time to show you this week's blocks in the Farmer's Wife Quilt A-Long. There are four again. Whew!

First up is a block named after something I'm very familiar with, especially this time of year: Spider Web. The garden spiders seem to have a knack for spinning their delicate filaments in spots where I will unknowingly walk right into it among the trees. I'm betting that this week's West Virginia farmer's wife and author experienced the same sticky sensation a time or two!

Having been born on a farm and later moving to the city, she experienced the positives of both life-styles, mentioning the comfortable life of the great, middle-class but missing the family life because of her husband's long hours in the city job. When circumstances changed, and they returned to the farm, "We took up the threads of the life again...but the birds sang, the flowers blossomed everywhere and the trees whispered their soothing secrets." Here is Wild Goose Chase....

This next block, Farmer's Daughter is a good representation of the delight Mrs. Farmer takes in knowing the influence farm life has had in growing her girls "until, at budding womanhood, they are as genuine and wholesome as the color of their cheeks...".

Her cup is very full as she pens, "As I look at them, I realize that motherhood is the greatest, the biggest and the holiest thing any woman may experience; and I firmly believe that should motherhood be theirs, they will be better prepared physically, mentally and spiritually because of their rural environment...". Here's my favorite block this week, Fruit Basket...

These four get me closer to the halfway point. I added a little black and white check to my fabric selections, but am not real crazy about how the block turned out. It's a bit "mushy" and low contrast. I should have used pink instead of green, perhaps. Oh, well, many more to go and I'm not going to love them all, I know!

Here are all my "babies" hanging out together.

I think I'll make them stand in lines next time!

The maple tree is pretty bright this week,

and some of the leaves are on the ground already....

Aren't the leaves just gorgeous!

I"m going to hop over to Cindy's blog and take a look at her lovely blocks.

Join me!

Seeing Red and Orange!

2011-10-13T16:22:00.000-05:00

Do you use Shout Color Catchers? If you don't you might want to pick up a box the next time you are at the grocery store. Here's a perfect example of what magic they can do for you and the next quilt you wash......

See those two pink sheets laying on the quilt with only a bit of red here and there and a red binding. Well, I pre-washed that red fabric before using it.

Those two Color Catchers picked up that much excess red dye in the wash water and held onto it so it so the dye wasn't deposited somewhere else on the white background.I love red, but I only want to see it where I put it!

I also love orange. Look what I got to drive behind today on my way to town!

You don't see that every day, now do you!!

Speaking of color, if you live near Kansas City, here's a fun way to spend the day on Saturday. Come see us, the weather man says it will be a beautiful day!

Janie Sue

2011-10-12T09:59:00.000-05:00

Today, I want to show you a very special quilt....

The fabrics used to make "Janie Sue" are all from one line of fabric by Heather Bailey called Nicey Jane. There are lots of green leaves....

and sweet pink accents....

among the yellow and blue blooms.

The fun wonky blocks were made by the members of the Nittany Block Party,

an online quilting bee that I was a part of in 2010.

I procrastinated on putting the blocks all together for some silly reason.

Each of the 12 members made two blocks using Nicey Jane fabric strips, that I mailed to them, coupled with some Kona white. There were few rules other than making liberated log cabins that would finish up at 12 inches square. I added a few more to make the collection into the thirty blocks needed to make a twin size quilt.

The backing is a favorite print from the fabric line called Church Flowers.

It reminds me of a vintage sheet. I decided that I wanted to use the tangerine print

as a binding long after most stores were sold out. I was so tickled to find it patiently

waiting for me at the Sew to Speak Shoppe when I visited in September!

Originally, I had planned to just set the blocks together with white sashing.

That seemed a little too safe though, and I ended up inserting leftover Jane strips

here and there to add a little more color and wonkiness.

The quilting is an all over pantograph design quilted by Mindy Peterson, a member of
The Blue Valley Quilter's Guild that I belong to. She did a fabulous job!

I love how the design looks like custom quilting but at a more affordable price!

This little Janie Sue will have to grow a bit before she's ready for a "Big Girl" bed.

But when that day comes, I've got a quilt with her name on it!

Disclaimer: The reason it seems that I have been making a bunch of quilts lately (as some of you have observed) is that I've had a kick in the pants to finish up some of my UFO's to use in a trunk show and presentation next week

for the Des Moines Modern Quilt Guild. Deadlines are good for me!

Pumpkin Patch Fun!

2011-10-10T18:09:00.001-05:00

You haven't really lived till you've visited a Pumpkin Patch with grandchildren!

What a bunch of fun...even though photographing the event is about as

easy as trying to herd cats!

Some Princesses cooperate fully...

while others would rather play in the dirt!

Sometimes, a little boy, who can't read, can have the best time

before his parent suddenly realizes why no other kids are doing the same thing....

And if he thinks that girls have cooties (cousins included),

offering a disguise might help in the picture taking ....

either that, or just hang on to his hand!

Watching a cannon shoot pumpkins is a big attraction....

as is the Pumpkin Chomping Dragon!

Everyone wants to watch that...even if it's a little bit scary!

The simple things in life truly are the best!

A merry heart doeth good like medicine,

even when not everyone will look at the camera and smile!

I hope that you, too, are enjoying the blessings of autumn!

P.S. Ollie, we missed you, and hope that you feel better soon!

Love,

Lolly

Sunday Something

2011-10-09T06:00:00.000-05:00

"Do not be anxious about anything,

but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,

present your requests to God.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:6, 7

Farmer's Wife Friday--Militia of Arguments

2011-10-07T13:41:00.000-05:00

Last Friday, I asked for your input on my color selections so far with the sampler blocks in the FWQAL. Several of you gave me a thumbs up on what I've got so far but thought a bit more yellow might be good, along with maybe more blue. I listened and produced Honey's Choice with that color combo in mind. I want yellow to be an accent color so will continue to use restraint, however. I like this block and can see a whole scrappy quilt of pinwheels.

Another suggestion that I've taken to heart is adding some black and white prints. I already had used a white/black dot and was surprised that I hadn't thought of this good idea on my own. Thanks, Sujata, for coming to my rescue. Someone liked my reds, but warned to be careful of letting them get too overpowering....so, no red today!! Thanks, everyone for your nice remarks and help with this project. Here's Temperance Tree without red, but using pink instead....lots of little triangles to line up in this baby!! I like the black and white.

The Wisconsin farmer's wife who authored this week's letter offered eight "shots" at why she would want her daughter to marry a farmer. I'm going to try to turn her bullets into B B's: One: Farmlands are safe investments. Two: Farms offer unparalleled enterprise. Three: Many farm families enjoy the latest conveniences, maybe even the newspaper! Four: No need to spend money on fresh produce and fresh air. Five: Daily exertion is good for the mind and body. Six: No need to be a walking fashion-plate. Seven: A farm wife can be her own money manager. And last but not least, Eight: Freedom from the entrapments of "vicious allurements" ..."the necessity of birth control is not so apparent".
And there you have it!: Eight good reasons for rural living in the 1920's.

My recent mention of autumn visiting us here in the Midwest has led to more than a few comments from readers who miss the change of seasons in their local, so I thought I might help bring a little color to you each Farmer's Wife Friday. This maple tree stands tall in my yard and is just beginning to turn orange at its top. Watch each Friday as the Creator does His magic!

My orange mums are beginning to open too!

I hope that you have been watching Cindy's blocks grow each week. Her use of solids makes them look so different and, dare I say it, contemporary, than mine. Here, take a look!

An Autumn Finish!

2011-10-05T17:12:00.001-05:00

Here in the midwest, it's beginning to look a lot like Autumn......

I'm always inspired by the colors all around me in October,

and this year is no exception!

The Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, near my home,

always has the cutest fall display,

perfect for family picture taking...

This year some creative genius made this adorable train from sticks and barrels!

I took the liberty of adding a little decor of my own to the scene....

The colors in my Hope Valley kaleidoscope quilt blend so perfectly

with the mums and pumpkins!

Hope Valley has been in the works for a year now, and I am more than excited

to have it finished. All of the fabrics are from Denyse Schmidt's Hope Valley line (thus the clever name!), except for the binding which is a Kaffe Fassett stripe. I made the blocks in a Quilt Along with Old Red Barn and Julie from Jaybird Quilts.

I found the perfect chartreuse solid at Hancock's for the backing and paired it with the leftovers from the front.

Angela Walters did the beautiful quilting. I told her to do anything that she wanted because I knew that I wouldn't be disappointed in any decision she made. She didn't let me down, quilting something different in every kaleidoscope block!

Angela's echo stitching around the little hexies on the border remind me of chrysanthemums, reinforcing the autumnal quality of the quilt.

Now I have another reason to love Fall!

KC Modern Quilt Show

2011-10-03T06:00:00.000-05:00

The weather could not have been more perfect for the Modern Quilt Guild Quilt Show on Saturday...

I may be biased, but I think it was one of the most enjoyable quilt shows I've attended....beautiful weather, wonderful and creative quilts and lovely people to spend the day with! Since I know that most of you didn't get to attend, I thought you might enjoy some snapshots of the day. Enjoy!

Held on the campus of the University of Missouri Kansas City, the sandstone buildings, pretty trees and grounds made for lovely backdrops....

It was a rough day for me.... It takes a lot of work to help watch over all that creativity..........But, someone had to do it, right!

The university was celebrating their homecoming over the weekend also, so there was a steady stream of visitors all day....

You may recognize a few of my babies flapping in the gentle breeze.....

I didn't get pictures of all of the quilts, but, hopefully, you got a taste of the creative juices that are always flowing in the BEST Modern Quilt Guild around....right here in Kansas City!

Sunday Something

2011-10-02T06:00:00.000-05:00

"In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice;

in the morning I lay my requests before you

and wait in expectation."

Psalm 5:3

Farmer's Wife Friday--A Wonderful Gift

2011-09-30T18:16:00.000-05:00

A couple of things stand out to me about the letter accompanying this week's four sampler blocks. First and foremost, the reasonable and respectful attitude that Mrs. I. G., from Wisconsin, portrays in her words make me think that I would enjoy sharing a cup of coffee at her breakfast table.

It's obvious that she is a very content farmer's wife when she wishes, "that my daughter, the Princess, wed the Prince of Soil, and live happily ever after in God's country, land of sunshine and flowers, health and happiness." Perhaps she would make the Princess and Prince a lovely quilt using this Single Wedding Star block.....

I really like the Wedding Star design....it looks like a flower to me. My wheels are turning with ideas for using it, maybe in a larger size!

Growing up on farm myself, I remember clearly having lots of jobs to help my mother out with her many chores and lack of some conveniences. Life in the country is not for the lazy, that's for certain. The Country Farm block went together pretty easily, but I was happy to have the modern convenience of a rotary cutter and rulers to make my block!

My thoughts on child-rearing today match this farmer's wife's reflections even though my children were not raised on a farm. She says, "In farm homes each child is taught daily to perform some tasks and be responsible for their being well done; this fits him to perform capably the serious tasks of later life. Too few city children are taught to be industrious at a time when the habit of industry ought to be formed." I couldn't have said it better myself!

The block above is named water wheel. If you really look at it, you can see the water tipping out of the little cups on the wheel, I think! The easiest block this week was Northern Lights. I wish I could see some reason to call it that, but I can't. Still, it's a nice block to represent something that the farm family may have enjoyed seeing in the sky.

I loved the wife's outlook on life summed up in this last thought, "Last but not least, of all the restless world, we, from the beauty and tranquility of the country, the knowledge of our use to the world and our independence, have in our souls the peace and content that money cannot purchase. That surely is a wonderful gift."

Happily, I can report 40 blocks done so far. Let's see, that's only 71 to go! I spread them all out together to get a good view of the overall look. I'm looking forward to seeing Cindy's solid blocks all together...so different than mine.

Do you see any colors that I need to be using more or less of? Too much red? Should I start adding any other colors? (I will probably use white sashing with the blocks.) I am open to suggestions....fire away!

Quilts on the Quad

2011-09-29T18:19:00.000-05:00

If you live within driving distance of Kansas City, and have some free time on Saturday, here is an event that you won't want to miss! A few of my quilts will be displayed along with many other modern quilts made by the creative quilters of the Kansas City Modern Quilt Guild. Hope to see you there!

One Thing Leads to Another!

2011-09-29T15:04:00.000-05:00

You know how that is....You start to clean the living room, pick up yesterday's paper to take it to the garage...while in the garage you notice the bird seed sitting out. Grabbing the birdseed container, you head to the back yard and fill the feeder. Looking over at the waning flowers, you realize that they haven't been watered for quite a few days now...and on and on it goes! Who knows if the living room will ever get cleaned!
Well, that's how it is with this block that Linda asked us to make in the One Block Over Bee...

I had fun choosing fabrics, cutting and creating three blocks for Linda. All lined up, they look like a crooked road to who knows where!

I had another block in mind to make for another Bee I belong to, the 3x6 Mini Sampler Bee. Each participant has three months to make six renditions of any block they choose, but using the various color schemes chosen by each quilter. Well.....you guessed it...I suddenly changed my mind and decided to make Linda's Crooked Road blocks for everyone, with a little tweaking of the directions. Here they are. I love them so! Now, I'm even contemplating another project using this liberated design.....One thing, leads to another!

You may have noticed this little icon on the fringes of my blog, and thought, "That crazy girl is starting something else now!" You would be right. But, really, it's only one 8"block a month, so it will be nothing compared to the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt Along!

After changing my mind at least 5 times, I decided to use the four Sophie fabrics, on the left, gifted to me by Mary when I met her this summer. It will be a happy memory to have them all hang out together in a quilt. I added the three fabrics on the right from my stash to round out the color scheme.

On the 25th of each month, a different quilter will reveal that month's design. Sherri, from A Quilting Life was the designer for the first September block. It went together quickly. Yea!

And now for the Give Away winner! It was really fun to read all of the color combos that everyone came up with to use with the Zigzagged pattern. The winner (picked randomly by my daughter, Homemade Ginger, is #42......
Karen Williamson, who picked pink, brown and cream as the three colors she would use to make Zigzagged. Congrats, Karen! Please email me your address so that I can get the pattern in the mail. And, thank you everyone, for your quilty love regarding my quilt!

Come back tomorrow for the Farmer's Wife Friday post. I'm hard at work getting four blocks finished up. I bet Cindy is too!

A School, A Quilt and a Give Away!

2011-09-26T15:17:00.000-05:00

Probably no one but me noticed that yesterday's Sunday Something was my 250th post!
That's something to celebrate, I think, and what better way to celebrate than to give something away! Keep reading to discover the prize at the end of today's post....

I have a new quilt to show you and I picked a really fun place to photograph it, I think. A few miles from my house sits a lovely, old country school. In 2003, the school was moved to this park, completely restored, and is now open to the public for viewing and special events.

The Oxford School House, located in Leawood, Kansas, first opened in 1877 and operated until 1955. It is one of the oldest school buildings in Kansas. You can read more about it here and, if you live anywhere near, might want to stop by for a visit sometime.

Now to tell you about the quilt.....

Zigzagged the latest pattern by Empty Bobbin Quilts...hot off the press! I was privileged to get to be a pattern tester for the designer, Shea Henderson, a few months ago. ( I love doing that!)

I made the lap size version, but the pattern includes yardage instructions for 4 sizes. I can personally assure you that the directions are well thought out and easy to follow, and most importantly, without error as Shea makes sure it has been tested at least 4 or 5 times before publishing.The instructions are in booklet form and the nicest format I've ever seen in a quilt pattern. (Do I seem biased at all?)

After creating the top, I was instructed to mail the top, backing and binding off to the fabulous quilter, Angela Walters. Look at the beautiful work she did to turn the top into a real quilt!

The pattern even includes directions for creating a cute pieced backing...something you don't see much on other patterns.

The pretty quilting really shows up nicely on the solid color of the backing, doesn't it?

I couldn't resist photographing the quilt hanging from the door of the little building out back of the country school. Every school had one, but this one is extra cute..(the original outhouse may or may not have been so sweet!)

Shea was nice enough to gift me a copy of Zigzagged to give away to one of my readers.
You will find my version of the quilt pictured on the back and inside of the pattern...how fun!

If you think you would like to make this pattern, suitable for beginner to advanced quilters, all you need to do is leave me a comment telling me what three colors you would use to make ZigZagged if you win the pattern.Be sure that you have an email address available to me. I'll draw a winner on Thursday morning! Let the celebration begin!

Sunday Something

2011-09-25T06:00:00.000-05:00

"But small is the gate

and narrow is the road

that leads to life,

and only a few find it."

Matthew 7:14

Farmer's Wife Friday--Well-Balanced and Happily Busy

2011-09-23T09:55:00.002-05:00

These weekly posts about letters written by farmer's wives during the 1920's have been interesting, educational and often inspiring to me. Sometimes they make me chuckle.

Today's letter, by a wife on an Indiana farm, did just that with her no-nonsense style of writing that gave me lots of clues to her personality. I kind of saw a mama bear defending her cubs against any perceived attack, real or imagined!
The first block, aptly named "Contrary Wife", was the easiest and quickest of the four to put together.

I looked up contrary in the thesaurus and saw some fun definitions that sum up our farm wife's attitude toward "folks who muss up [her] disposition"especially by extending pity or questioning her lack of the comforts of the city. Here are few of the best ones, I think-
Contrary: cranky; cross; disagreeing; in opposition to; poles apart; vise versa; worlds apart; nose to nose and my favorite of them all: eyeball to eyeball!

I wonder if Mr. Farmer brought her flowers from the meadow to keep her happy. This block, called Bouquet, is definitely one of my favorites and made me smile when I got it done!

"Good books, good music, and a wealth of flowers and growing things about us" trump the modern conveniences that she doesn't have, and, if she is to be believed, doesn't want.
"We're not very likely to have any great moral problems on our hands, as the children grow up, and we shan't depend upon a social worker or a soap-box orator to save them from sin and poverty." It all sounds as idyllic as this Flower Basket block looks!

To her, farm life is the only life that could bring her happiness, she's sure: "We know, because we have tried it, that our family life could never have been kept so intact, nor our happiness so secure, if we had lived any place other than on the farm."Here's the last block accompanying this week's biting letter, called Peaceful Hours:

Now, I might be a bit contrary myself and say that perhaps the spelling would have been more appropriate as "Pieceful Hours", because I may or may not have spent a few hours piecing it! Whew...another tough one! With it's strange-shaped pieces, I was happy to have found an Internet source for paper-piecing this sampler block and took advantage of it or I might have thrown it in the pig trough before I was finished! It wouldn't have ended peacefully, I'm sure. (sorry, couldn't help myself!)

I'm very interested to see Cindy's blocks today and read her thoughts on Mrs. Contrary Wife's letter! Meet you over there............bye, now.
P.S. Wouldn't it be grand to live peacefully in this farm house I saw in Maine? The color of the house, a light aqua, was so pretty!