From Josh

One of the gifts Josh gave me was an ironing table cloth. 

It fits our table exactly and makes my whole sewing surface safe to iron on!

Next Quilt

Here is the quilt top I've actually made for our king size bed. I still need to put it together, but I have the top done.

Double Wedding Ring

At last I finished the double wedding ring pattern I started months ago. I had thought about making a quilt top for our bed, but once I started, I realized it would take me about thirty years to make an entire king size quilt top. 

Now that it is complete, I get to look at my three-piece “quilt top” on my cedar chest everyday. Which is almost as nice as looking at it on my bed.

It is finished!

This little quilt has been in progress for months. 

This past week I finally finished it. 

I can't wait to show it to the ladies at quilting. 

They taught me how to really put a binding on a quilt. 

This was my first time to make my own binding-on-a-bias-tape and use it to finish a quilt. 

I'm pleased with the way it turned out. I'm sure I will do it again. 

Christmas Sewing

Josh and I are giving a corn-hole-toss game to my family for Christmas. The wooden frame part is his job and I made the bags. I got the easy job! The bags were so fat that I was having difficulty sewing them on Mom's new machine, so I got out my treadle. It has lots of clearance and worked great.

Sometimes its nice to have an old tool.

for Austin

I had intended to work on making this little blanket while I recovered from surgery. However, I underestimated my potential energy and almost didn't finish it in time. Here it is Christmas eve right before it got wrapped up.

Case blanket

I bought the fabric earlier this year, not sure who I would use it for. One of my brothers remarked in disappointment when he saw me working on it. "Its too bad to see you working it." He said, "Cause then I know its not for me." When we split up names for Christmas gifts, Austin was one of my names, so I made this one for him.

Logan's First Deer (both of them!)

This is my story of Logan's first deer.

Last night, I was ironing upstairs and heard his gun pop. I ran to the window and saw two deer come racing across the field. One of them slowed, stopped, and then toppled over. "He got one!" I yelled and ran downstairs. The rest of the household ran to the windows while I ran out the door.

Just as I was coming up to the quonset (which is the area he has been hunting from) I heard another pop. "What are you doing?" I asked. "You already got one." He looked a little disgusted at his gun and said, "The sights must be off. I know I was in the right spot."

I looked at him quizzically, "What are you talking about? There is a dead deer lying out in the field, I saw it fall."

He didn't believe me, but followed me over to the next field. Even when I pointed it out, he still didn't believe it. The white belly and brown hide just blended in with the clumpy, dirty, snowy field. As we walked up to it he still wasn't sure it was all the way dead. But once he saw the wound, I think he patted his gun. His shot was right above the shoulder. Exactly where he wanted it! The deer was absolutely dead.

So we tagged that deer and hauled it up to the house. As we were gutting it, he thought maybe he should see if he got that second deer. Apparently, while I watched the one fall, he watched another that ran the opposite direction. When it got to our east fence row, it hesitated. Logan shot, and the deer took off.

We got Logan's deer all gutted, and I was in the house rinsing the heart and liver when my cell phone rang. It was Logan, he was standing next to another dead deer.

So I went back out and helped him move deer one over to the barn rafter. Then we hung up deer two and gutted her.

It was my job to cut out the "pooper."

I had great fun. I always enjoy the gutting of animals. It is so fascinating to me. And it was so exhilarating to be a part of Logan's first deer, both of them.

Logan's first deer!

He only got two of the three deer, but then again, he only shot twice. So maybe we have a Nelson sharp shooter in the family?

Artwork

It is so much fun to be an Aunt! 

When I was out with Kaelyn, Nessa and Austin last weekend, I acquired new stories, this beautiful artwork and a cold. I'd say it was a successful visit!

HOME

She is 

HOME!

Zip Line

At our annual Lazy-T church camp I got to do something new. For the first time ever, I got to ride a zip line. Over the years Mr. Tom has told us of his dreams for huge teepees, obstacle courses, new driving horses, and most recently his dream to install a zip line down the hill and across the pond. This year he called and said it was all ready.

Mr. Tom hooking up Rebekah's pulley system.

Coming in for landing. So exhilarating!
 It sort of reminded me of jumping out of the hay mow. Just no Brian to dare me.

The people on the ground seemed to have about as much fun as the people on the line.

The two best adventurers were Abigail and Kathryn. Kathryn made one long beautiful scream the whole way down. Only possible by someone who has taken as many voice lessons as she has. Abigail cried at the top deck until we practically pushed her off. Then she was petrified into silent fear until she reached the opposite shore. After her Dad grabbed her and picked her off the line, she let out a huge wail. By the time the next set of people was preparing to go again, she wanted to go too!

Fall

It's officially fall on our porch. 

Dad's pears are all laid out, and Mom has been collecting garden/orchard goods all week. 

Naomi is doing a great job and labeling and organizing the whole thing. 

Christie (Cook) and Vernon Sweigart

Practicing prelude music Friday evening

Exchanging vows

Preparing the leaf salad

The cake...or do you call it cakes?

Libby, Naomi and I were the kitchen crew for Aunt Sandy's well prepared reception dinner. 

We served:

Yummy meatballs

Alfredo chicken

Scalloped potatoes

Fresh salad (multiple dressings)

Corn salad

Orange jello salad

and

Noodle salad

Un-grumpy

While Kaelyn was visiting she made me this balloon person. 

She said it would help me, so that when I got home from work, I wouldn't feel grumpy. 

She was right, it helps!

Grandma Reames

One super cool thing about Josh is his family. 

He has sisters who dote on him, parents who love him, 

and grandparents who spoil him. 

It has been seven years since I had grandparents. 

But now I get to share Josh's.

Josh and I with his Grandma Reames

Everybody Should Have

A Libby in their life.

Hand Quilting

Detail on the back of the quilt

I still don't quilt very straight, but the more I practice the better I become.

African Pieces

Julie and I brought home a bunch of African fabric and it has been sitting at the sewing area for months. So I thought I would put some of it to use.

stripped and chunked

divided into two "strip" stacks

iron the seams

sew the large strips together

and now a small blanket. maybe to be used for picnics?

I was trying to make it kind of like the one Julie has on her bed at Nahumba. Hers is better, but maybe the next one?

Card Trick

I'm working on making these pieces of cloth into a cool little quilt.

I arranged all the squares and took some measurements

Then I cut some strips of black cloth.

I sewed on the strips and ironed everything again.

On a Roll

Libby and I just made some rolls for tomorrow. 

You wanna come?

Peach Pie

Aaron and Dad fixed the back suspension on my car awhile back. It was a hard job and Aaron made a comment that he could use a pie. 

So, since I had a couple of days off this past week, I decided it would be a good time to make him his pie.

Naomi was so surprised to see me making pie, she ran for her camera!

I haven't made pie in awhile so I was glad to see that I still remembered how.

They didn't even bubble over into the oven.

They turned out very nicely. If I do say so myself!