My New Rotating Cutting Board

Didn't Sweetie do nice job on this!

The cutting mat is removable, so it can be used as a lazy susan on a table.

This is most of my current reading selection. My big print book, for on the treadmill, is in the car). I thing it's Tess Gerritsen's first novel that was written in 1993.

I just took two books back to the library and only thought of taking a picture when I was at the library (without camera), so...no picture. But I must recored them for my very short memory. They were...Ice Cold by Tess Gerritsen and Don't Look Twice by Andrew Gross.

Retired And Easily Distracted

Here I am again. Like the title states...I'm retired and easily distracted...seriously! I've been busy reading other peoples blogs, working out (5-6 time a week), reading novels, doing very little quilting although I did finally make order in The Room, and collecting rocks (more on that in another post). I was so busy doing really nothing urgent, that I'm just now getting around to doing my taxes!
This my new quarter inch foot and it seams (get it) to help.

To get the free shipping from Amazon, I HAD to buy more...so I bought this quilt book since I wasn't lucky enough to win it during the author's blog tour.

Sweetie made this turn table for when we play card. Our group is usually eight or more people and it was a drag always trying to keep the deck of cards and the discard pile in all the players reach. It's 24" and works just great...Joe Cool holds the dimes from the losers.

I also bought this pink cutting mat which is 13" and the largest square cutting mat that I found on line. It works OK on this big turn table, but Sweetie made me a square turn table just for the mat...stay tune for a picture.

A little Reading And Very Little Quilting

This book came highly recommended by a member of my guild (on loan from her) and it was indeed quiet an enjoyable read.

I bought a spool of Aurifil thread, which Linda had recommended, and made another quarter log cabin block. Pat advised me to pay close attention to the width of my seams at the end of each seam, since many tend to veer off course at the end. Guilty!! Since all my pieces were already cut out, I wasn't able to use Astrid's suggestion to cut the outside pieces just a tad larger or Linda's suggestion to size my fabric before cutting to aid in piecing accuracy.

I did order a new piecing foot for my machine and it was selling for only $3.75. Now, I did have buy a few more things to get Amazon's free shipping, but hey, I had my eye on that quilt book and pink cutting mat already.

Why Is A Quarter Inch Seam So Elusive?

Uuuhhh!

Just getting ready to do some hand work...unfortunately it's deconstructing hand work. This is the most offensive to the quarter log cabin blocks that I have finished so far.

Why am I having so much trouble with this simple looking block? I've been having a tough time maintaining a quarter inch on my machine (Brother) and once I got that under control the block is still under sized...usually in one corner. I've now moved on to a scant quarter inch. I don't understand it...accurate seam allowance and accurate sized strip and still under sized...is it my thread or pressing?

Athens TN Roadtrip

Sweetie and I took a road trip to Athens yesterday on the bike. The weather wasn't as great as they had been talking (nice and sunny today!!) but we were leathered up so it wasn't so bad. We were there to check out some ATV's.




I spotted these around the downtown area of Athens. The last two aren't the best photo's but we were rolling by. I'm sure there were more but we were looking for food.

Athens is a fair sized college town (Tennessee Wesleyan)so you wouldn't think it would be such a difficult place to find some lunch (other than fast food). One would think that there would have been a number of places around the courthouse in downtown Athens...but not so. We did find a small place that the locals frequented down the street from the ATV dealer...it was OK and cheap.

Outside The Block Fabrics Selected....Maybe

Even with all that black and white fabric, I still had to go to the LQS in Ellijay to look for some fabric with more white than black...less black than the fabric with the flower things. I bought a FQ, but when I got it home, it had just too much black.

After guild on Tuesday, I took a run up to Blue Ridge to the LQS there and found the fabric with the dot circles. In the picture, it doesn't appear to have enough black...Oh the agony of fabric selection!

Oh My!, The Generosity Of Guilters!!!

When my daughter was down for a visit in July, I had her look thru quite a few quilting magazines so we could find out what her tastes in quilts are. This is what her first choice was....in black and whites with a red center. All of which I have the least of! So, I jumped on it with my normal speedy manner. This came in the mail today (ordered last week...not in July).

Now comes the part about quilter's generosity. A couple of weeks ago, after my guilds class at the LQS, I was browsing thru the black and white FQs. Brenda (went on shop hop roadtrip with her) came up to me and said she had been meaning to bring me the left over black and white fabrics from the West Virginia quilt that she made. When she showed up at the next guild meeting with all of these fabrics...I was almost speechless!