Andrew's latest toy....and my new fabric.

Oldest DS came by this afternoon to show off his latest project, a'70's Mercedes Benz "gelanden wagon", & while it isn't actually a jeep it's that type of vehicle, very cool anyway and he plans to fix it up for CO.
Glen and Khris left this morning on the next leg of their journey, heading for Oklahoma. We had a great time visiting with them and were sorry to see them go but they have many places to go and people to see the next 8 weeks or so. Khris & I have a very sympatico relationship, much in common, both antipodeans, both quilters & each of us has lost a beautiful son named Matthew.
Yesterday Khris and I did a small QS hop, three quilt shops plus Joann's. We made a reasonable contribution to the economy but nothing over the top.

I bought this fabric for my cowgirl/quilter/LA'er friend Gale in CO., the 'Udder Cowboy' very cute, plus a few pieces for my own stash as follows.
A set of 4 different quilter panels which will make nice bags, 8 of them in all-


this adorable quilter's fabric with longarm quilters on it the first time I have ever seen that and I had to have it, don't know yet what I will make from it, an apron perhaps, do quilters have time to cook....

A panel of labels for the many gift quilts I make, they will come in very handy-

and these three fabrics, the retro will be good for lap-top bags [or whatever] isn't it great,


the red poppies are for my watercolor quilts, gorgeous,

and the elegant green Asian will join the rest of my Oriental stash, of course I have some WHIMMS percolating around for that collection.



The last stop was at Joann's for a few half price notions, a new automatic retracting rotary cutter for me, all in all a successful hunt but rather tiring so today has been a little more laid back though DH has begun to put up Christmas decorations including the purchase of a new permanently lighted tree.



I guess now he expects me to decorate it, LOL.

Thanksgiving Day

It's a rainy day here in Phx.AZ. It has been a busy week, our Aus. friends arrived Monday & we have been on the go. Khris & I put her CC on the LA & "got 'er done" now she is binding it.

Last week my Quilt Diva wall hanging from the October CO. guild retreat was finished & now it hangs on the wall behind my LA.
It's great to have another WIP[Work In Progress] out of possible UFO status. I joined the UFO[Un-Finished Object] challenge for 2009, so I will be trying to get the numbers down before the end of the year!
Today should be Thursday Vintage Thingies day but it's Thanksgiving & I suspect most people are into that & also the Apron Lady has resigned from leading VTT so I'm not sure of it's status. I think it was a cute idea to recall the nostalgia of all these old odds and ends of memorabilia, so I may continue with it anyway.


In the spirit of that & the idea of feasting today, here's a pic. of my Granny's old vegetable server & gravy boat. They have to be a hundred years old but I remember them being on the dinner table daily at my Mum's parents home.

Then there is my other Grandma's old English teapot that she always used- these are treasured more for the memories they trigger of my youth than probably even their value as antiquities. I'm fortunate to have quite a lot of these things that belonged to my parent's families & also to my own parents.
Perhaps I'm thinking a bit more about it as my dear old Dad-97 plus years- has been struggling with health issues the past week. His old heart is worn out but we hope to keep him for a while longer, it's never long enough is it? He is a grand old gentleman & mentally as sharp as ever but his body is showing the ravages of time.
A friend once told me"our bodies have a 'use by' date on them" & I responded "yes, the Manufacturer placed it there!"
So to everyone today, Happy Thanksgiving, I am thankful for the blessings in my life.

Vintage Thingies Thursday

Here it is Thursday again how quickly it comes around. It's true that the time goes faster as we get older-I think it may slow down again as we get really old, like my Dad[ nearly 98] now there's a vintage picture for you, my Dad is really an antique.


Here's a charming reminder of days gone by- this stately old Philco radio I spotted in the local thrift store- the price tag said $25 & they didn't know if it worked, no one had bothered to plug it in.
My oldest DS has my Grandfather's old table top radio but he hasn't been able to find replacement parts for it yet- I remember GF sitting by it listening to the news of the world in the evening, it has the same light colored wood with fabric inserts.
We had a green "plastic" radio when I was in elementary school, it sat on top of the matching green Kelvinator refrigerator! I used to love to listen to the kid's serials after school, my favorite was "Biggles", an action story about a daring adventurer who was always getting himself into dangerous escapades. It was a great way to "zone out" while I performed my daily after school chore-peeling the potatoes for dinner! I did dislike that job, the "spuds" were always from Dad's garden & they were very dirty so my hands ended up as wrinkled as prunes!
The radio in the pic. is about the same size as the first TV I remember, my grandparents had it & it looked similar to the radio but dark wood & the screen must have been all of 8" wide!
Times sure have changed!

A quilt & a comforter

More on progress this week on the quilting front, a QS top quilted & also a comforter. The quilt goes back to the owner in N.CA. who actually sent me 4 tops to quilt but the second of the two boxes took two weeks to get from northern CA to Phx. AZ-two day priority mail, LOL, & both boxes were sent from the same place at the same time! We are just thankful they have finally arrived safely- I was so relieved but not half as thankful as the owner after all her hard work.


I used a variegated thread on this quilt & a leafy design that I think compliments the quilt nicely.



The comforter is all finished & on the guest bed & today I finished a household UFO, a shower curtain ensemble for a guest bathroom, sewing on my new set up oh what a joy!


Tomorrow after church DH will help me to cut the cornice board & cover & install it in the shower. I will then be free to get another of the waiting quilt tops onto the LA.
Friday evening oldest DS & DIL came for dinner after work-I had their two little Yorkies for a play day with Button, the dogs all have a grand time together, they love the two plus mile walk in the park & playing in the backyard. Because of the rattlesnakes, eagles, hawks & coyotes out where DS lives the little dogs cannot be allowed free rein in their yard so it's a treat for them to be in & out at will all day. Jake was bitten by a rattler a couple of years ago & that was a very dangerous situation especially for such a tiny animal. Our small yard has the high block fence & is about as secure as it could be for the little 5 pounders!

Friday update-My Quilter's Cabinet is here!

I have to brag about my new Quilter's Cabinet from Tracey's Tables that is now installed in my studio -I actually moved the bureau a foot or more to allow access to open that gate leg flap along the front of the table whenever I need it & I tried it out yesterday by seaming the fabric for a new comforter for our guest room. This project now has a time constraint as our guest room will be occupied over Thanksgiving by my SB friend Khris & DH Glen from Adelaide[Aus] who will be with us for a few days on their 12 week US tour. The guest room comforter has been a UFO for over a year so now that I have a deadline I will get it finished! The fabric is a jacquard that matches the drapes in the room & I plan to use a medium fluffy poly batting & an open feather design. I think-I hope- I can at least get it off the LA today because I should have a few more client quilts coming in that will need fairly immediate attention.
This new cabinet opens to a wonderfully large 80"x42" to accommodate large projects, piecing a whole quilt or binding. It has an 80" side that extends with gate legs, a hinged piece on the left side & very handy "bread board" pull out also on the left of the machine.



I had to struggle with the old table both the corner shape & size were very limiting so I did quite a lot of research in order to purchase this model. Tracey's Tables was highly recommended by my friend Leslie & rightfully so. It is beautifully made to order & the best value on the market I found after I researched 8 or 10 other well known companies. Love to pass on the info. for a great deal & a terrific company with super helpful people.


Here's the comforter on the LA you can see I have hardly begun so I am off upstairs to work on it.

Vintage Thingies Thursday & two finishes!

Here's a real treasure, seen at the local Humane Society thrift shop in Ridgway CO.


Now who do you suppose would have perambulated around with their baby in this wacky plaid buggy? Guess plaid was all the rage at that stage but can't imagine finding a buyer for it these days, can you? At least it would get lots of attention, it's a real show stopper!
The style though is reminiscent of the German Baby Carriage I used for our youngest DS [ now nearly 35 years old & expecting his own first son in April] but his pram was white & dark blue & quite elegant!

DS's pram was a rather fancy number- the top came off & could be used as a bassinette, & there was a way to drop the front down so that it converted to a stroller.Love that German engineering ingenuity!
It had the retractable hood too, very nice on hot or inclement days & it came [used but in immaculate condition] with some rather nice accessories, navy & red plaid pillow & coverlet.
Isn't he a sweet little baby, just about 2 weeks old in the first photo, all of 7lbs.2ozs. You'd never know it to see him now, over 6ft.4 & 218 lbs. of muscle! here he is with his Kiwi, Mems, early last summer.



Then here I am, around age 2-3 with my baby pram..........


and circa 1969, with my first brand new car [previous to that I had several"junkers"] a sizzling hot orange Holden Torana with black upholstery -how hot was that in the Aus. summer & no air conditioning either, but boy was I proud of that car -& $1 in gas kept her running for a whole week, those were the days. Do you dig the sunnies?


On a quilty note-



Yesterday I finished the second of two quilts going to my niece in Aus. for her baby girl expected in the next few weeks. I still have to label the farm quilt, launder both then get them in the mail ASAP. I noticed in the pic. a pin in the doggy block that is to remind me to fix a minor imperfection before laundering, just so you know the quilt is not going to the baby with a quilter's pin in it! Yikes!




I made the second quilt as a "drag around cuddle quilt" from left-overs, it's a Strip Twist from Bonnie Hunter's quiltville.com. I have enough "left overs" still to make at least one or two more from these same fabrics. As there seems to be no shortage of babies coming it's a good thing I have plenty of suitable stash fabric, right?

Sunday

I wanted to show the party favors from the birthday celebration. It was held at a new restaurant called "Liberty Market " . Food was very nice, a really good red Aussie wine & the espresso coffee was excellent, strong but not bitter must be Joe's refurbished antique espresso machine.
We came home with a couple of party favors, a box of the gourmet cookies[yum yum] & a bicycle horn each! Our hosts are both serious cyclists, so it was very appropo! We may have been a wee bit disruptive to the other diners [sorry folks] all tooting our horns last night
I have put my horn in my ML & plan to use it when road rage overtakes me, lol!

Bustin' stash, but adding too!

We are off to a 50th. birthday celebration this evening & when DH asked me what I would give this friend I thought, wine, chocolate, nah she might have to share those with her DH, but wait a minute, she's a quilter & loves CW repros & do I have a stash of those due to my work with HOBQP. I pulled out 4 boxes of CW fabrics & cut 12 FQ's & folded them & tied into little starry bundles, aren't they cute? What better gift for a quilter than more fabric and I feel good because I am getting 3 whole yds. out of my stash to share with my friend. Now what I must confess is that I added about 15 yds. yesterday at the big Bernina birthday bash-it was all 75% off, how could I resist?! And I wanted some more backings..........
Oh & check out Christine's one year anniversary give away a very cute bag.......I'm already thinking about celebrating my one year blogging anniversary in January now what can I choose.............and while you are blog hopping also visit Abbie's blog & see the very sweet lap quilt she is giving away!

Susie's quilt

As soon as we returned from CO. Monday I hit the ground running- had to quick- quick get right to the LA to get Susie's sister's birthday quilt done so I can mail it to her in CO. & she can get it bound by the middle of the month. Unfortunately this KS quilt would not fit in my largest box so tomorrow I have to find a bigger box.



The only quilting guidelines from Susie, she wanted echo swirls in the border so I had to make the block design coordinate. It turned out very nicely I think. I sent Susie pics. & she is pleased.

Found out today that my new Quilter's cabinet fromTracey's Tables is on it's way, yippee! It will be here next week & I can hardly wait. The old table is being recycled to my friend Gale in CO. & it will fit perfectly in the corner of her sewing room. I will post pics as soon as the new one arrives.

Vintage Thingies Thursday

OK, you are going to love this one especially those of you who wear pearls & heels to do the housework! Ever hear of a mangle? Well, here's a type of mangle, a vintage "Glad Iron", circa I'm not sure!

It has the original instruction manual & reading through it I can see how the very best households would have needed one with all those linens to iron but it takes three strong men to move it! Now it does have wheels so you can tilt it & wheel it if you are able to lift the front off the floor! Must have been all that housework/ manual labor that made our grandmothers so strong.

The instructions amused me so that I had to photograph some of it to show here on VTT.

This is what we all want, right, iron a shirt in 4 1/2 minutes.....

and by all means press his wool trousers..........

and how about a few of the "youngsters things"......and of course those "wash dresses", special

attire for doing the laundry?!

And very important to all of us, the aprons, the perky ruffled curtains, starched of course, and let's never forget......tada, our brassiere's! Not starched! Also not shown here, his undershorts, eek.

If all that isn't enough to make you want to scour the antique shops & garage sales for one of these essential appliances, take note of the fact that it folds for compact storage[not] & is assembled with one finger,hehehe

Then see here my Glad Iron all compactly folded for disposal, gasp, yes I am giving up this little treasure, lack of space & I guess I just don't iron enough perky ruffled curtains, wool trousers & brassieres! Not to mention the undershorts-starched? LOL.