My Table Runner

I went digging through my material boxes and found some fall colors that would work well for a table runner.  While I was busy setting up my sewing area I left the box of material sitting open.  Five minutes later when I returned to get a few more things, I found a stowaway among my material.

I don't know why he thinks that he owns everything!  He wasn't interested in leaving that box either!

I finally got busy sewing.  I made the leaves and the pumpkins from a pattern out of an Eleanor Burns quilt book. They were made as individual blocks.  Here's a picture of the leaf block.

Next I made the pumpkin blocks.  Those stems weren't easy!

Kayla and Marissa said they should be orange because pumpkins aren't red!

After I finished making all of the leaf and pumpkin blocks I had to decide how to put the runner together as I didn't have a pattern for that part.

After adding some background strips to make all of the blocks the same size, I squared them all off and sewed them together in one long strip, added a rust color border and quilted the runner.  I didn't have enough of the rust color border (which was my first choice) to use as binding, so I found some green material that worked.  Actually, after it was finished, I thought the green binding helped to bring out the other colors.

I thought my table runner turned out fairly well.

I brought out all the rest of my fall decorations and set them out to go with the table runner.

Today it was windy, cool and rainy so now it really does feel like fall is here!

Fall Is Here!

It's hard to believe that it is already the beginning of October!  Where does time go?
Though we are still having some warm days here, the feeling of fall is in the air.  Usually it doesn't start to really cool down here until close to halloween. This year is different though, and it is already cooler than normal. I so like it!

I also noticed several days ago that there were a few leaves on our tree that were beginning to turn colors. Though we don't see much color here in the desert, we do have some, and I enjoy it.  I really love the fall colors.  It's time for me to bring out my fall decorations!

It's also time to go apple picking again.  Every year the four girls, their parents and I, all drive out to the local (sorta) apple orchards in Oak Glen, and spend the day picking apples and wandering through the town stores.  The girls really enjoy wandering through the groves and helping to find just the right apples.  The orchard also has small barn animals the girls can visit, a local bluegrass group playing music, and even a place where the girls can make their own apple cider!  The cider making takes a long time and they get really tired out!  It's always a really fun day for all of us.  We'll probably be heading there next weekend. I'll take pictures!

One fall project I have had in mind is to quilt a fall table runner. I have a pattern that I've had for awhile, so I'm going to get busy.  It has maple leaves and pumpkins on it.  I want to get started on it this week so I can enjoy it through the season.  The pattern isn't exactly the way I want it so I am gonna have to change it around a little bit.  We'll see how that goes!

I am also thinking about how quick Thanksgiving and Christmas will arrive now that fall is here.  So, I am going to get busy shopping... and sewing some of those games, purses, clothes, and other projects that I have sitting waiting for me!

Wish me luck!

Pictures

I always enjoy taking pictures.  One thing that I have always been fascinated with is black and white photography.  I haven't really spent time working on the computer, editing the pictures I take.  I usually just import them from my camera and leave them.

I thought it might be fun to change some of my pictures over to black and white so I experimented with a couple of them just to see how they would turn out.

This is a picture taken on a stretch of beach in Oregon.  I thought it turned out really well.  I love the fog.  It makes the picture mysterious, and the black and white only adds to that effect.

This picture is one of the photos that I took from our hotel in Laughlin.  You may recognize it from my last posting.  I think converting it to black and white changes it quite a bit from the original.  It looks like it should be the cover on a book set in the 1950's!

I like that it is so easy with the digital cameras today that make it really easy to take interesting pictures, decide immediately if we like them and want to keep them, then put them on a computer and change them around to suit our needs, or wants.

I am thinking that I'm going to spend a little more time playing around with my pictures and enjoying the editing I can do.  I don't know a lot about how it works, but I think it will be fun to learn.  So much easier than during the days of 35mm!

In fact, it struck me awhile back that every time I take a picture of my grandkids they all immediately want to see the picture.  It never crosses their minds that they would ever have to wait to see how it turned out.  Wonderful technology!

Laughlin

We spent last weekend in Laughlin, enjoying some time away.  Since it was Donna and Bruce's (sister and brother-in-law for those who don't know them) 40th wedding anniversary, and we had celebrated our 40th awhile back, we thought we would all go and kinda celebrate together.

We didn't do anything special, just a little gambling and - of course - had a few margaritas! Donna and I went to see a Chinese acrobatic show which was quite entertaining, and sometimes, kinda nerve wracking!  It's amazing what those performers can do!  We decided that it takes lots of physical, and mental, training for sure.  I would have liked to take some pictures of them.  I wouldn't want to break their concentration, though!

We spent the rest of the time just relaxing, driving to a few other casinos, and watching the boats on the river.  Here are a few pictures from the balcony at our hotel.

I love looking out over the water and watching everything go by!

The view is really pretty at night also.  The lights on the Arizona side show up really well.

One of the casinos we went into had a really nice conservatory just inside the entrance.  It was full of trees, ponds and waterfalls.  I did get one picture of a waterfall.

So we enjoyed our couple of days away, and we didn't loose too much money either!  I guess that's all we can hope for.

When we got back home, I had a nice surprise waiting for me.

It finally arrived!

Some Interesting Info

It's official.  Unfortunately, the Thundershirt doesn't do anything for Schultz!  We have had several days of thunderstorms, and I have faithfully put the shirt on Schultz.  He still sits and shakes, shivers, pants heavily and drools everywhere!  He must be in with the 15% of dogs who don't respond...I don't know what to do for him now.  Maybe some earplugs!  I'm just glad we don't have these storms too often.

In other news, granddaughter Kayla went to her first music lesson at school.  She has decided that she wants to learn the violin!  She just had to call me and tell me all about it. She said the instructor told them about some of the music symbols and the music scales. She told me her teacher said her violin was a really nice one and then she told him that it was the same violin that her Uncle Jason and her grandma had played.  So now, of course, she wants to come over and practice with me!  I better get my other violin out and get up to speed!  She is really excited about starting lessons.  I hope she continues to enjoy it.  She is beginning to learn at about the same age as her Uncle Jason began, and on the same violin!

I have been busy doing lots of reading.  Just have been in one of my moods!  Mostly just the usual fiction, however, I did find an interesting book at the library on Lyme Disease.  I have been busy reading it, and learning a lot.  There are many different aspects of the disease and studies have shown that.  Even though there are so many studies out there, the disease is very controversial.  I did know that, however, reading this book & other research has shown me a lot more.  This has been keeping me busy and I have been learning a lot of useful information.  It helps me to know what is going on with Jennifer, so that is good.  It is a really insidious disease.

So that is what has been going on recently.  Since I haven't had any school deadlines looming over me it has been fun just reading for pleasure.  It's about time for me to get busy on some of the other projects I've had in mind, though, so that's what direction I hope to be heading towards.

A Perfect Day

Today was cool, breezy, and felt like fall was in the air.  A really beautiful day.

This morning I took Marion in for an eye doctor appointment and afterwards we went out to a late breakfast, almost lunch.

Of course Marion couldn't see because her eyes had been dilated!  We did enjoy the time, though. We spent the time talking about the day and how perfect it was.

A good day for memories.

Happy Birthday Dad!

A Finished Quilt & More Projects To Go

I just happened to have the camera on my phone handy and Schultz seemed to be posing.  I thought it turned out pretty well.  He looks like he's waiting for the answer to a question, doesn't he?  I took the picture using the closeup feature that my 9-year old granddaughter recently showed me how to use!  I didn't even know it was there until I saw her using it!

I finally finished the baby quilt I was making.  It turned out pretty well.  I made it all from left over material that I had in my stash.  I didn't realize that it would end up looking so red, white, and blue...but I do like the colors.  I went with the fields and furrows design because I thought it looked more girly than the all sevens design.  Here is the "finished" picture.

It's laying across the back of the couch, so it kinda looks like a seat cover.  It seemed to be the best way to get the whole quilt in the picture though.

Now that I have this project done Jennifer is standing in line for a tote-bag that she wants me to make for her!  I also have grandson Odin's birthday coming up and I hope I have enough time to make the checkers game for him.  The pattern doesn't look like it should be too difficult though.

Well, I did say I wanted to spend some time sewing once I was finished with school!