Busy, Busy, Busy

Since I haven't posted since the garage sale, I'll start by telling you that Friday was an awesome sale date! Saturday left a lot to be desired because it rained for most of the time we were open, and Sunday was slow but not terrible. I was by myself Saturday and Lynn was by herself on Sunday because I was at the Milan Antique Festival selling quilt raffle tickets. Anyway, the next garage sale will take place at my ex-in-law's house in Berlin Hts. during the Basket Festival (the first weekend in August).

I've been pretty busy with work and getting some quilt orders done. Pictured is a memory quilt made from the clothing of a man who passed away last year. The fabric came from such clothing items as pants, jeans, sweaters, T-shirts, knit polo shirts, flannel shirts and shorts and a North Face hiking jacket. I like how the log cabin blocks went together on this quilt. I think that the pattern displays a good amount of fabric, yet isn't just one big square. The border is composed of various shirts and T-shirts that had logos that couldn't be cut down enough to fit into the log cabin block The new owner was pleased with the outcome, and that makes it all worthwhile.

Quinn was here earlier this week and as usual, picture taking was involved.

Jack and I took three of the kids that we tutor to Cleveland on Wednesday. We went to the Science Museum. That was a lot of fun and I think Jack and I had just as much fun as the kids!

Jack's daughter from Pennsylvania will be visiting this week. I'm not sure what the schedule is, but I think they will be with us Wedsnesday or Thursday through Saturday. It will be good to see them. I think the last time I saw them was in March at Aunt Ruth's birthday party. I was going to try to think of something special to do, but I doubt that'll be necessary. Sam has already asked Jack if he can learn to shoot the 22 and I'm sure Ian will want to practice shooting also. I guess that I'm learning to not plan too much, so I'm not disappointed if it doesn't happen.

Garage Sale Preparations

Our big fundraising garage sale begins tomorrow (actually, later today) and we've been working on gettting ready for it. We've had LOTS of donations and that's great. Pricing everything is a pain, but we've learned that individual pricing is the way to go. Customers like it much better when they can see the asking price and not have to guess or wait until we are close by so they can ask. Anyway, it's a pain, but well worth the time and trouble.

I had to work from noon to 7:00 and I really had to go to the grocery store or I'm sure my family was going to forbid me to enter the house. It was close to 8:30 by the time I made it home, and by the time I had the groceries put away and grabbed something to drink, it was almost 9:00. I walked outside and began to work on final pricing when Jack came out and said that we had better get the tarps ready because it was going to rain. Of course, I was not happy, but I did it anyway and he was right, it rained. After the rain stopped. Lynn and I worked for a little longer then decided that we'd just have to get up early and finish. We were a little afraid to set anything else out, for fear that it would start raining again. (It had not rained again, by the way...)

Of course, Lynn, being the smart person that she is, went to bed but I decided to check my e-mail and post to my blog!! Who needs a decent amount of sleep anyway, right?!? I'll post again in the evening and let you know how the sale is progressing.

Training Walk and Quilt Order Pictures

I had a training walk this morning and it went pretty well. Three women joined Jack and myself for the walk and we left the Norwalk trailhead at 7:45. We stopped for a restroom and stretching break in Monroeville before heading to the Sand Hill trailhead outside of Bellevue, seven miles away. After a short break, Jack and two of the women returned to Norwalk by way of a car while the other woman and I made the seven mile trek back to Norwalk. It was a beautiful day for the trip and it was nice to meet other 3-Day walkers. I'm a bit tired tonight, but not bad. I'm happy that I was able to get the 14 miles in and feel pretty good. I don't remember when I reached the 14 mile mark last year, but when I think about it, I still have to add 6 miles to that for three days come August!

Unfortunately I developed my first blisters today and I will have to get in the habit of taping my feet before anymore training walks. YUCK!! I have a short walk scheduled for tomorrow morning at the Norwalk Reservoir. We will walk the Reservoir perimeter 3 times to get 6 miles. Jack will be joining us at the marina, but will fish rather than walk. My nephew Sam is hoping to join him there. They will enjoy themselves and it's nice to have them there in case we need anything.

I told you I would include pictures of the T-shirt quilt that I finished, so here it it. The pictures aren't great because I was home alone when I finished the quilt and didn't have anyone to hold it up for me. Oh well.... There were so many T-shirts of all shapes and sizes that I decided to put this together without sashing or borders. The woman who ordered the quilt really wanted to have the front be just the T-shirts anyway. To fill some of the "empty" spaces, I used leftover fabrics from the shirt backs, sleeves, etc. I made sure that every design and logo was added to this quilt because the shirts belonged to a man who passed away 2 years ago and this was ordered by his wife for their 3 year old son. Because of the layout, there are a lot of partial seams, but they really weren't too bad. Also, I did not use interfacing on this quilt. I had to be very careful to avoid stretching the fabric while cutting and sewing, but I was surprised at how little stretching I had. Te finished size is 80" x 96".

I also finished another quilt order and delivered it. The ten hand pieced blocks in this quilt were made by the great grandmother of the woman who ordered the quilt. She originally had 20 blocks, but gave half of them to a cousin. She wanted a quilt made from the remaining 10 to give to her grandmother as a birthday gift. I was able to find some vintage fabrics (print and muslin) and some close reproductions. She wanted a large quilt, at least a double so I figured that I had no choice but to put the blocks on point and add a border. I embroidered the history of the quilt blocks and quilt and placed that in the center of the quilt.

I embroidered a feathered wreath in the alternate blocks and quilted a grid over the entire quilt top. I really like the way it turned out and so did the woman who ordered it and her elderly grandmother. I'm glad!

Back from Vacation

We're back from a wet, but wonderful vacation! Even though it rained almost every day we were away, we were still able to get a lot of walking, fishing, and basic relaxing accomplished. I've included some pictures of the house we rent for the annual event that always proves to be inspiring, fun and enjoyable. This year the men and children were invited to join us from Sunday through Thursday morning. From noon on Thursday until Sunday, it is "Sister's Weekend" also known as the "Estrogen Weekend."

The screened-in porch was a common meeting place for most of us during the week. There is a table with four chairs, a swing, and four additional chairs so plenty of people can sit and talk in the gentle breeze. (Really, we stayed there most of the time because that was where the cooler was located with the drinks!) There was a nice view of the grounds from the porch as well as the lake. Speaking of view, the deck was another wonderful place to enjoy the view. It extends the entire length of the house and can be accessed from the porch, the living room and the back end of the house. Many of us spent lots of time there as well.

I was able to get some of the quilting done that I wanted to. I got all of the T-shirts cut out and ready for sewing and I got a good start on my Rail Fence and Stars quilt. I finished the T-shirt quilt after we got home and it was delivered on Wednesday evening. I'll post pictures of those later. I started on another memory quilt today and I got most of the clothing cut apart and ready to sub-cut.

Now that we are home, I'm trying to catch up on things and I can hardly believe that it is the 4th already. We've done nothing special today and that is fine with me. Actually, I did nothing special. Jack went sailing with a friend of his and he really enjoyd it. It has been over 20 years since he's sailed, but he felt right at home. I know I'll be joining them on a trip soon!

I have a 14 mile training walk scheduled tomorrow morning, so I have to get some of the paperwork ready for that. I'll post again later tonight or tomorrow after the walk.