Finished quilts

On August 11, 2013 I went through my two cupboards of unquilted tops and took photos and measured all of them.  There was a whopping 53 tops, from mini to king!  About half had backings with them.  I started in machine quilting some of the smaller one and was surprised when I counted them this week and found out how many I have completed since then.  I have finished 16 of them!  I have only added one top to the collection, but it is the big one that is the background photo on my blog.  These are some of those quilts, some have already been donated without getting finished photos.

throw size using Quick Curve ruler

Full size Crazy Stars 

Foundation paper pieced flowers

Half Yard Challenge Mystery wallhanging

Kaffe Hexagons wallhanging

Mini Sampler

Oak leaves made by my friend Vicki, given to me after her death

Picket Fences throw

Scrappy Trips lap/throw

String pieced donation quilt

Table topper or wallhanging

Favorite Quilt Tops of 2013

These are my two favorite tops finished in 2013, neither of them quilted yet!  I started off 2013 by finishing a Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt called Easy Street.  I love the colors!  I started it after Thanksgiving 2012 and it was a finished top in January 2013.  I am not a green fan but I do love this quilt!  It's huge! 

 I ended the year finishing a log cabin quilt from a book by Judy Martin.  I started sewing it at a retreat at Palouse Divide Lodge in November and finished the top in December, 5,206 pieces.  It's 94 X 94.

Starting Anew in 2014

I skipped all of 2013 and half of 2012 in blogging.  I am motivated to blog again.  I will slowly be working on updating my sidebar and all that fun stuff.

I am going to start by saying that June 14, 2013 was a day that changed my life forever.  My son, Brad age 22, had come for the night of the 13th from Moscow in time for dinner.  My daughter Amy, SIL Nathan and grandson Jared were there for the week and we were all going to take off Friday, the 14th for Boise.  My nephew Brett had just graduated from the USMA at West Point and my sister was hosting a party.

Brad had just graduated from U of Idaho and was working for the U of I in plant breeding.  He was hired for canola, mustard seed, etc. but was still working in wheat breeding that he had kept going through undergraduate studies.  He was going to go out that morning and check wheat test plots on our property which was standard for the weekends he came home.  We all thought he was out and about and finally realized he wasn't around and his pickup was there and I went into his room and found him dead.  Doug was right behind me and pronounced him and called the sheriff.  I called Lisa who was on the road from Seattle to meet us in Boise so she and Kevin made a turn and came here instead.

All tests were inconclusive, tox screen showed nothing, forensic autopsy showed nothing and eventually the forensic pathologist for the state declared "probable dis-arrhythmia of unknown etiology".  Basically his heart stopped in his sleep for no known reason.  In researching this, it happens to young adult men more often than women and usually in their early 20's.

It's been an emotional struggle to understand and accept.  He was physically fit and had a brilliant future.  I guess God needed him elsewhere, that's about as religious as I am going to get.

Future posts will be related to quilting and other adventures, but I needed to start out by getting this one off my chest.

My daughter Amy is doing a photo challenge in June.  I decided to try to partake and take a photo a day but I rarely have my camera with me!  She listed what to take photos of for each day of the month.  I read it at 9:30 PM last night and the choice for June 1 was "your choice" so I took a photo of the list on my computer monitor.  Today was clouds, but I forgot until just a bit ago as it was getting late.  I got a shot of the moon in a cloud though!

First 50 mile goal completed

I did it, completed over 50 miles on my first week on my exercise bike.  The last three days have been tough time wise with lots of things going on but I took time tonight to complete my goal for the week.  I am slowly upping the levels as well.

This quilt was one I made at a quilt retreat in last fall and gave it to my friend Valerie for Christmas.  It was from the book Scrap Basket Surprises by Kim Brackett. 

45 miles in 5 days

• This is a wallhanging made from swap blocks from a small group a couple years ago.  I made the top right away but just got it quilted earlier this year.  I used lots of scrappy florals in the border.

I only got five miles in on the bike tonight.  I did ten miles yesterday, but a migraine, work, and a birthday dinner threw things off today.  Fortunately I am ahead of schedule!  I am thankful this wasn't as bad of a migraine as some and it went away at work.

Day Three of 10 miles and a quilt top

I did it, not as energetically as I wanted, but I pedaled another 10 miles on the bike.  30 miles in 3 days and I increased the level for a bit and used hand weights for awhile also.  I do love reading on my Kindle while biking, although it covers the display.  That is actually a good thing!

The quilt top consists of 12 blocks from a BOM with a small group last year and birthday blocks from the same group the year before.  Red and white is not my usual style but I love the quilt top!

March Exercise Day 2 and a Quilt

This is a quilt started as an internet round robin in 1999.  I finished it in January 2012!  I don't knoiw why it took so long, I love it!

Red, White and Black Row Robin

Today I accomplished 10 miles on the exercise bike again.  5 miles this morning, then a trip to Orofino and Lewiston and errands with Doug, then back home and 5 more miles.  48 minutes total of pedaling.   We had an interesting lunch at Red Lobster.  We didn't get waited on for quite some time, servers were going back and forth, other people were getting waited on so I went up front and told the hostess.  Next thing I knew the manager was waiting on us and we got a free dessert!  Chocolate Wave is spectacular!  Not a diet food for sure but I had ordered broccoli instead of potato or rice! 

I did get another shot in my foot.  Not being able to take anti-inflammatories is slowing my recovery progress.

Exercise Commitment

I really don't have excuses for not blogging.  Just got out of the habit, then fell so behind.  I'm starting fresh with an exercise commitment.  I will get to quilting photos later.  I am suffering from a bad case of plantar fascitis and had to give up walking for exercise.  I recently purchased an exercise bike and I am starting a goal of riding 50 miles a week or 200 miles for the month of March.   My friend Jeanne made a walking commitment and I decided to join her in a different way.  Today I did 10 miles on the bike.  It's so quiet and nice and I can watch TV or read on my Kindle!  I hope it helps with my weight loss goals.

It just needed binding

I've had this wallhanging done and just needing binding for quite a while. We watched Casa Blanca for the first time Friday night so I was able to do the binding. We have been trying to watch some classics but in most cases we aren't impressed! Thankfully they go back in the mail to Netflix.

I stitched the blocks last year from Alex Anderson's site and added colored pencil to them. I had a bunch of 2.5" squares of 30's fabrics so that was the setting squares.
block closeup


I received the blocks for these American Hero quilts last July and August and set them together into tops and finally got the borders on. One of my yahoo groups hosted a sew-in New Years weekend to work on blocks and quilts for the project. I mailed three tops off Friday.

Finished a quilt top!

Finally, I got my act together and got my guild's fundraiser quilt together. A member had donated the center panel, but it was just fused so I did lots of threadwork. Other blocks were handed in fused but not stitched so I had to do some of them as well. I had the floral fabric in my stash and it worked wonderfully! Now to hand it off to someone else to quilt hopefully!

More Snow Pictures and Quilting Closeup

Monday I took some more snow pictures, I just didn't get them posted! Also Jeanne had asked for a closeup on my hand quilting on the old zigzag quilt so I am showing that one first.
Standing at our mailbox looking west, our driveway is to the right.

From the mailbox looking up the driveway. Our house is hidden in the center, inlaws house off to the right.
Looking into the backyard from my inlaws. My lilac bushes look pretty sad.
Grain bins, shop, and my lilac bushes again. They look better from this side.
Looking west from the back deck to the old barn.

Finished an OLD quilt!

My first finish of 2011! This is an antique top my late friend Debi purchased off eBay several years ago and started hand quilting. When her health started declining in 2005 she gave it to me to finish and keep. It has taken me this long to hand quilt it, as I don't sit and do that much anymore. Last night I decided I could do it, finish quilting that is and I did!

Over a year ago I had purchased some authentic time period fabric for binding from a dealer at a quilt show. This is a course weave quilt, but at least it was easier to quilt that way! This morning I put in a movie and got the binding done! I need to make a label.Last night I took a picture of the sunset out of my second floor west facing bedroom window. In the horizon are the Blue Mountains of Washington, a couple hour drive by road, although you can get to the plateau in about 1 1/2 hours. It's cool to see another state from my bedroom!

Happy New Year!

Isn't January 1st the time for resolutions? I never keep mine so I just make suggestions to myself. Along with the usual losing weight, being happy, exercising more, finishing UFO's, I do want to be better at blogging. I still have tons of quilts to show, last year was a rough for me in many ways and I'm looking for a less stressful 2011! BTW I am trying to say twenty eleven instead of two thousand eleven.

This morning there was a gorgeous sunrise but I got sidetracked finding my camera and missed the better colors. I also didn't want to go outside in the near zero weather so I had to lean out the windows of the house!
So why do ducks duck? Because their pen gets too weighted down with snow! Sorry, can't see the ducks. I will have to get a picture of them another time. This view is out Amy's bedroom window with zoom on.I mailed this quilt off yesterday. I quilted it for someone on one of my yahoo groups. It was a swap we did last year of scrappy disappearing 9 patch blocks. I didn't do a closeup of the quilting unfortunately. The border is quilted with a free motion feather design.

Still Quilting!

So much has happened since my last post! I got behind and then it seems like it was easier to let the blog go than catch up. However, I decided to give it a try now.

I threw a ring ceremony and reception for my oldest daughter Amy and her finance Nate August 14th in Orofino. The next morning Lisa and I had to take off at 3:30 AM for the airport to fly to Atlanta. She is at Georgia Tech for a two year Master's program. This photo is at her apartment complex.We went to Orem, Utah, Sept. 3rd for Amy's reception and to meet all of Nate's family. We weren't allowed to participate in the wedding in Salt Lake, so I don't have much to say about that. I took this photo after everyone else left. I did get Lisa's quilt finished in time for her to take it to Georgia with her.I also made Amy and Nate a quilt this summer. I pieced it at the Leavenworth retreat in June and had been working on it off and on all summer. I did finish it before their wedding! Amy had picked the colors and the pattern.That's enough for this post!

Today is my birthday

Now normally I wouldn't make that the title of a blog post, but I just had to share this poem from friend Sue V. in Illinois wrote me, thank you Sue! I think it's fabo in your words!

Happy birthday our Julie H.!

Happy birthday to the gal who always has a smile
A cheerful note, a caring tone....
She makes the day worthwhile

Here's wishing you the best of days
From morning thru the night
A stack of fabric, spools of thread....
Whatever your delight...

May this day be warm and sunny
But never oh too hot!
May you find just what you wish for
And may it hit the spot!

For birthdays come but once a year
From them we can't steer clear
Counting numbers, OY to that!
A sneer, a guffaw, a jeer...

Happy b-day dear Julie
Happy b-day to you
I hope today is sunny
And your b-day skies are blue
I hope you enjoy the memories
Have cake and eat it to
And one more wish from this here state
(This one is just from me)
>From "corn" to "spuds" .....a birthday smile
May your day be all it can be!

Have a great day!!!

Sue V.

New Quilt Top and a Light Experiment

This was a rough day dealing with a leaking hot water tank that ruined a couch the floor below it and all the chaos that comes from working on plumbing. However during all the commotion we managed to finished Lisa's college graduation quilt top! She designed it on EQ5 (even though I have 6 & 7 both here they are not installed!) Now to get it quilted...This is the school guinea pig we are babysitting for the summer.Tonight we went to test the theory that florescent tubes would glow under high voltage power lines. It worked! We leased some farm ground recently that has power lines coming from the dam headed to Montana. One picture is with a flash and one without.

Organized Sewing Room

This was a major undertaking. I was so frustrated by all the "stuff" I have and spent over a week reorganizing and going through everything. We have a big unfinished rec room and my room is in a corner with one small window covered by a deck. I thought I was going to get to move into the rest of the basement but that didn't pan out, so I took a small portion.This is an 8' by 7' design wall, flannel covered Styrofoam. It is movable and is standing in front of my project shelves.
This is my boxes of fabric containing pieces 1/4 yard to 1 yard long along with some projects. I was standing in the doorway of my sewing room looking out.

More stuff outside my sewing room.