Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Toddlerless Tuesday #17! The early bird catches the worm.....

Hi, all!

Well this has been a productive day - a little weird, though!  Without going into the whole story, but telling you that there was a squirrel involved, I didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night, and my morning started early early early today because my hubby had to leave the house at 4:30 this morning to catch a flight for Chicago.  So, being awake and not wanting to go back to bed for another, too-short hour of sleep,  I decided to start my toddlerless Tuesday early and worked on one of the quilts I'm making for the quilt ministry.......


..... and finished this quilt flimsy!  I love the colors in this - it's peaceful, but just a little big perky and cheerful too.  Can't wait to quilt it - I'm thinking of using a vine design.  Soon!

On Saturday, we had our monthly sewing meeting.  Twenty-two women showed up - a record group for us!  I had planned for us to make some free-pieced scrappy blocks to put into a quilt for a teenager at our church who is having some pretty serious medical problems right now.  I hoped to make sixteen blocks - but we made forty-six instead!!  The fabric we used was donated - a box full of what appear to be salesman's samples of men's shirting fabrics that look to be from the early 1960's.  The pieces were about 2" x 4", and I just instructed everyone to piece together a large enough piece of fabric to cut a 10" square out of the center.  Once they quit trying to make it harder than it was, they had a lot of fun and got very creative.  This morning, after I dropped Lilli off at pre-school, a friend joined me at the house and we put a 1" border on each of 32 blocks - 16 each of two colors.  After Lilli went home, I put one set of 16 blocks together with a navy blue sashing.....

The second flimsy of the day!


A closeup of one block..

...and another.

So today, while toddlerless, I managed (with very good help!) to finish two flimsies and put borders on sixteen more blocks that are ready to be made into another flimsy.  A very productive day!!

My husband is currently sitting in the airport in Chicago, waiting for his plane home to arrive - they keep pushing the time back further and further.  Originally scheduled to fly home at 7:10, they're telling him  now his flight will leave at 9:50.  Will I see my husband tonight?  No telling!  Looks like another late night!

One last thing - does anyone know of a good way to get a squirrel out of your house?

The pitter-patter of THESE little feet
is NOT a good sound to wake up to.....

So - - - what did you do today?

Later!

Sarah

PS - Be sure to check out Jewel's giveaway over at Sew Jewelry!  She's giving away TWO charm packs of Sherbet Pips!!

14 comments:

  1. great job on your quilt! We had a squirrel in the attic once and called animal control who let us borrow/rent(?/can't remember) a trap. The squirrel was caught and we let him go outside where he belonged!

    ReplyDelete
  2. The first flimsy is so soothing with the large blocks and pretty colors/patterns. The second is just great with all those shirting samples!

    Ugh, squirrels. We have had great success with a live trap and baiting it with various things, field corn being a favorite, or black walnuts (in season), etc. The bigger issue may be to find where he got in and be sure to plug the hole! Our experience with squirrels is where there's one, there's more to follow if you don't interrupt their "highway" to wherever it is they're getting into. Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Awwww...it sounds and looks like I missed out on a lot of fun. And just think of all those lovely quilting ladies I could have met!! Don't give up on me girlie! I will make it to one of them!
    Have you ever heard of Choice Fabrics in Springfield TN? If not I would love to take you there with me sometime. They buy close outs and have great prices. If ever you need any for your ministry.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Aaaww, he is so cute. We don't have squirrels over here. I couldn't imagine him being a nuisance.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love your finish quilt!! So warm and colorful! And unfortunately, I have no clue how to get squirrels out of the house!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love that quilt, you're right, it's soothing but has interesting pops of color. I'm interested in your quilting setup. What kind of frame/machine do you have? I'd like to hear from you privately about it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. LOL - I can totally relate to your squirrel story. When I was a kid we had one in between the ceiling and the roof of our cabin. Of course the kids slept upstairs and we freaked out. Needless to say my dad got rid of it - if you want to know how email me. Its not something I want to post here - ha.
    Excellent job on the getting the tops done. I love the green with the blue - it really pops. I am always surprised how much I can get done when I start early.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Never had a squirrely problem before!!

    No sleep is no fun...but turning it into productivity is good. I haven't been a very good girl about being productive lately. I need to get back to doing that!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ugh.... we have had squirels.... not fun. Most important.... do not seal up the entry point until you are sure he is out.

    Love that top done by the group. Great idea to have them free piece them then tie the block together with the sashing!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Beautiful quilt! I have heard that squirrel do not like moth balls...buy a box and toss them around on the floor of the squirrels room..lol

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love that quilt! I actually looks like one even I can't mess up. :) I also have to make this comment, I absolutely love that rug.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Too bad you don't live near my dad, because he has a squirrel trap to relocate them out of his garden. Nice quilt though. :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Love the quilt! We live in the middle of the woods and sometimes get critters in the attic. We were told to throw cotton balls soaked with peppermint extract. Cannot say it worked but I thought it is always worth a try.

    ReplyDelete
  14. It's wonderful that you share your talent with your church.

    ReplyDelete

Comments make me smile!! If you want a PDF of a pattern, PLEASE leave your email address in your comment, or email me directly at salliesue57 (at) gmail (dot) com!