Photo overload from today....

Roger had an appt over at Indianapolis...really Avon, but you cannot tell when you go from one to the other....so these are scenes along the way there and back.

Just so you know, it was misting rain in this one...that one I know for sure.  Remember to click and expand the view.

The rest of these are on the way home, and while overcast, no rain or drizzle, at least not in the photos.

Every direction I looked, there was beauty.

I have often wanted to turn  by this church and travel some of the backroads on that area

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It was so beautiful that it made my heart sing, while at the same time I could have cried at the beauty of it all.

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We just had to go to the ENT to get a prescription renewed...no big deal.  And he is going to up the dosage on one.  Roger leaned back and half slept all the way there, but did stay awake on the way home and saw all the beautiful colors. 
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This is what I am reading now...He Called Me Son by Barbara Arnold.  I am enjoying it.  When I got it, it was free.

I have so much I need to do, so I guess I should be happy it is supposed to rain the next couple of days or I would want to take off and ramble the backroads.  Hopefully I will get to before the leaves are gone.

Shhhhh--don't tell anybody

A year or two before Roger's stroke, I got a sewing machine to keep upstairs.   In the dining room.  Till I could look outside and see the sun when I sewed.  But I kept bring up stuff and adding more...I had all you see in these two photos stuffed in my dining room.  (To be honest, we seldom use it as a dining room these days.)    But still, when I get to working on stuff, it is a total mess.

So today was the day...

I had a bedroom I kept free of everything except a couple items...to have to spread my quilt sandwich out to pin baste.  But since I can no longer get down on my knees, I decided to move everything in there.  I cannot begin to tell you the chore that was.

Roger was helping me move that tall shelving unit in the top photo...it is not heavy at all.  I had taken everything off and it was easy to carry.  I walked backwards till we got in there, and had Roger take his end around...and he started falling backwards and could not stop.  I have no idea why he fell...he knocked over a chair, knocked over the ironing board and my drying rack...he was not hurt.   He did not hit his head..it was almost like he went down in slow motion. 

He sent the iron flying, along with everything I had sitting on the ironing board.  I was thankful the iron fell away from him and did not flip back and hit him on the head.  In the photo above, a couple things are still on the floor.  I was texting with my daughter and sent her pics as I was cleaning up the mess.  Let me reword that...I was picking stuff up off the floor.  A lot of stuff still needs to find a home.
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In trying to get to Roger when he was falling I did this...

My little finger does not tip up that way normally.   I am not sure what I done...it does not want to bend down when it is flipped up like that but I can bend it down and if  I keep my hand half closed it will stay better.  If I open my fingers out, it flips up right away,  It is hurting a little now, and the least bump gets a big OUCH from me.

A bit of a start....

I did cut some squares this evening...as a start...that is what the orange leaves are going on.  The squares are all shades of gray/white...some have a real warm undertone others not so much.  Not sure how they will work together but I am using them all.

I first fold the square to form diagonal lines...the one line I want to go all the way across, the other is just to give me a suggestion of where the middle is.

I first place the leaf tips on the folded line...and I use one straight pin on top on one end to hold the leaf in place as shown in the above photo.

I hold the other end in place with my hand, and continue to place pins to hold the leaf in place from the back.

And I might or might not move the original first pin to the back.  The reason for doing it like this is till my basting thread will not catch on the pins as I baste the leaf down.

After it is all basted, I remove the pins....

All that is left now to applique it.

An Autumn report....

Autumn is on its way....I am not sure how vivid it is going to be...but it is done better than what I feared.  So many leaves fell, and other trees just looked like they were just drying up, ready to fall.  Some I knew to be maple trees that usually have vivid color.


See that bright spot of color in the photo above?

This is what it looks like up close and personal!  For some reason when I take shots of trees from a distance, they appear much greener than they do in real life...even in that first photo, it does not appear near as saturated as it does in real life at that distance.  So I was very pleased to see the color of the leaves in my up close shots.

They were beside this strip pit....it is an area known as Green Valley.  I did cast a few times but did not get a single hit...did not catch one single fish. Still was so nice to be out and hear the wind in the trees...and part of the time Blue Jays were flitting about in the trees.

Roger went with me, but he did not get out and walk any.  I want to get back over there if I can before it gets cold.  It felt so good to be out and away from everything.  I could actually forget some of the other stuff going on here.

I have been trying to get Roger's Cpap supplies and it is taken forever...it is too long for anyone to really want to read it...but I started back maybe the second week of September, but might have been earlier.  And just yesterday they finally told me oh, yes he needs a new prescription.  This in addition to other things they need.  I have been calling them and the other dr. office and it has not been fun.

The one thing, the dr's office has always been so, so good...I am not criticizing them.  The Cpap place I have yet to form a real opinion....because the dr's office told me that the supply place is undergoing a big audit from someone.  So they probably have more than they can handle.  Prior to this, they have been very nice to deal with.

I hope you guys are having a nice weekend...

Making binding...

First a little video from youtube showing someone using a rotary cutter and how you use an acrylic ruler to cut the fabric.



There was no way for me to photograph myself using the rotary cutter and I did not even think to take a photo of the rotary cutter itself.  This video is only 42 seconds long so it won't take long to watch.  The rotary blade is very sharp and will cut you in a heartbeat if you do not keep your fingers out of the way.  And it is very important to "close' the rotary cutter when not in use.  Mine have a guard that I slide into place.  Some automatically close.  A self healing mat is needed because it would destroy the top of your table if you didn't use one. 
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So last night I got to thinking about the binding I had just made.  I thought about it and things did not add up....and I realized I had made enough for three sides of the quilt...not the 400+ inches that I needed, so today I cut three more strips and got them added to what I already had made.  I took the opportunity to take a few photos.

Above is just a portion the my acrylic ruler.  To being I place post-it notes on the underside at the exact desired width.  I usually use about 3 post-it notes per stack, and this is a 24 inch ruler so I have 4 stacks placed 4 or 5 inches apart.  I don't put right at the edge of either end.  I just leave my fabric folded in half like it comes off the bolt.  I use lines that also go across the width of the fabric to line up on the fold and then cut the end off enough to make sure the end is even.  From there, I can just measure so easily and cut my strips.

I am floundering here...probably trying to tell you too much, and making everything about as clear as mud.  If you ever want to make something, be sure and watch some youtube videos, because there is more to this than what I have told.

Anyway, I cut my strips...and next I get ready to sew them together.

Batiks do not really have a wrong side....they are dyed, not printed.  But if these were printed, the right sides or pretty sides as some people call them would be facing each other.  Notice that one edge of each strip is lined up on one of the mats lines. forming a 90º angle.

Next I use a ruler to draw a line across the strips. 

This is my sewing line...

I put my needle right in the very corner and sew across to the other corner...

It then looks like the above before pressing and before trimming off the ends.

Here it is trimmed and pressed open and then pressed in half...you have to look close to see the seam.

I like to connect the pieces this way rather than just sewing straight across the ends...it just means less bulk in one spot  when sewing to the quilt.

That is it for now...I am very weary and want to sit back and relax. 

Fabric

First I have to show you this Moda fabric I got the other day...it was the end of the bolt so got a bit over two yards for a pretty good price.  BTW, for those that don't know, Moda is a a brand of fabric....you know how jeans have makers such as Levi's, Wranglers, Lee Riders....you would not believe all the brands of fabric.  But Moda is one of my favorite brands...along with all the rest of them.  LOL

Giving the second view to give you scale...the cutting mat it is laying on has lines every inch....but that first photo gives the real feel of the fabric.  I had gotten some of this in a bag of scraps and hated to even use it  I like it so well....and my daughter likes it, so one of us will find a use for it.  Right now, I just like admiring it.  LOL

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I got the binding made for my daughter's Lotus Quilt...she had the top quilted by a shop with a long arm quilting machine.

I just love the fabric daughter chose.  This is over 400 inches of binding.

I wanted to show this view.  First I cut strips of fabric the width of the fabric.  In this case the strips are 2 1/4 inches wide, and sew them together--end to end.  If I had thought I would have taken pics to show how I do that.   But maybe you are not interested in that anyway.  Then I fold the fabric in half  and press, and fanfold it as I get enough pressed.  That way I can put it down by my right side and it does not become a tangled mess as I sew it to the quilt.

Hope everyone is having a good week. 

A peek at life

This is a scene from yesterday as we drove to Arthur, Illinois...

I put other, different photos of these over on my other blog...this Amish buggy is heavily cropped.

Someone I know is expecting a baby and I was hoping to get ideas for a baby quilt but had no success.   I was hoping to find a fabric to build one around.  The quilt shop I go to is for sale and though they get in  new fabrics they have a lot of empty spaces that used to be filled with fabric.  I so wish someone would buy it and keep it going strong.

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I made a few more 4-patches day before yesterday...I keep thinking I am going to get back to sewing a little bit every day but it just does not happen.

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I went out this afternoon and planted some bulbs I had picked up a few weeks ago...I took time to photograph a couple cottonwood leaves.

I hope the bulbs live...I could not decide where to plant them so just found some space and stuck them in the ground.  I did use a shovel some and was able to handle it fine.  I had not used one since I broke my leg...it felt completely normal.  In fact, I think it would probably be good for me to use one a lot.

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On the reading front, I just finished listening to my one book, A Land More Kind than Home this evening while fixing supper and started listening to the Wesley the Owl one...I did not get to listen very long, but have done learned one fact.  It said that Barn owls are monogomous, and sometimes when their mate dies, they sort of lose the will to live and will die of grief.

I also started reading All-American Murder:  The Rise and Fall of Aaron Hernandez, the Superstar Whose Life Ended on Murders' Row by James Patterson.  I tend to read true crime books every now and then.  I have no idea why.  I don't want a steady diet of them...just one or two here and there.

Do you ever...

Lorelei went to spend some time with her favorite aunt.  Delta loves her, but right now she is wanting her attention, wanting a skittle I believe.  What is funny, when Lorelei is around, Delta stays by her.  I don't know if it held true this time, but she usually stays by her till she gets up.  I told my daughter, Delta would go bonkers over a baby.

When we are there, she barks at people walking by....but I feel like I can tell a difference in her bark when this one woman walks by with her baby in a stroller.
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Do you ever have a day you have so much to say, but no time to say it in?  Then when you get time, you can't get in the mood to say anything...nor remember what all you wanted to talk about before.

The other day was one of those days when I was busy.  I cannot remember what all I did...the one thing was a file cabinet came that I had ordered from Amazon.  When I opened it, several pieces had bent edges...talk about disheartening.  I did contact the seller right away.  At first I was seriously thinking I would return it.  Partly because of all the 'damage' and partly because the instructions were not good... all on one page back and front.  They would have been fine if the sketches were not so small, but was so hard to see.  And it was only sketches...no words.  Which photos are what I need anyway...but they were such a struggle to see...I just had to guess at the details.

I ended up leaving a piece out....thankfully it was unimportant to me and did not bother me, but would have been bad if I was planning on locking it.  That part was all bent and kinked around...not sure how good I would have been at getting it back in shape to use anyway. 

So, the vendor had contacted me and asked if I wanted to return or replace it.  I had mulled it over in my mind, and thought I would just see if I could make it work.  So I told him we were going to work with what we had...but I did send him pics...the next day  he gave me a 20% discount on it.  Which was nice...he didn't have to.

Yesterday and today, I have been about worthless as a human being.  Other than light cooking and dishes, I did not accomplish two cents worth of anything.  Maybe a load or two of clothes.

I did get the checkbook balanced the other night, but that is not much of a job.  But it is one I do not like to let ride, and our bank is updating or redoing things and I was about two weeks late getting the statement.  I think I am one of the few people that actually go to the trouble of doing that, but I have had a bank make a fairly big mistake before so have just always set down and actually balance it since then.
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I have been reading a bit off and on.

I finished The Far Family by Wilma Dykeman...it is a stand alone book but has characters from The Tall Woman.

I also read Grass of the Earth by Aagot Raaen one more time.  It is one of those books that I have a hard copy, and also one on my kindle.  I never remove it from my kindle.

Right now I am ready Small Town by Gloria Sarasin....it was a freebie.  It has been a pretty good read so far.

I just spent time looking at the library.  Right now I am listening to A Land More Kind than Home by Wiley Cash...but I want something to look forward to once it is done.  One I got that I think will be next is Wesley the Owl: The Remarkable story of an Owl and His Girl by Stacy O'Brien.  It just sounds like a good light but heartwarming book to listen to.

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I was real surprised to wake up and look out and see a light frost this morning.  I don't know why, but I sure did not expect it.  I had finally turned the AC off last night, and this afternoon I had to kick the heat on and let the furnace run two or three times just to take the chill off.  I turned it off again for now.

I best get off here...got to do a couple little jobs before bed....I hope you are having a nice weekend...

While waiting...

Here it is after 5:00 and they are here doing the guttering...so going to be a while before they are done.  They were here yesterday and today taking care of the roof.  The one sunken down place did not have anything under it.  So they peeled it back and put wood under it.  Also replaced some shingles around the exhaust pipe of the furnace....it looks a lot better but they are not all laying down...I am hoping with heat that they will.  They at least look like that is a possibility.  After the way things have been done, I fear I will never trust anyone again with things like this.  They did come back and fix the drip edge......again, hoping the other shingles lay down good with warmth from the sun.

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I made these 4-patches yesterday....the first I had sewn in several days.  I wish I could get back to sewing some every day.

And I have made more of these 'leaves' or whatever you want to call them.  It is about time to cut squares and start to applique.  I did these several days ago over a couple or three nights....

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A blogging friend posted a photo of a maple leaf that was completely white....I don't think I have ever seen one completely white.  But my memory is not so good at times.  But when walking out one morn, I notice all kinds of leaves in my yard turned white...we were leaving at the time so I did not take time to photograph them.

About 3 days later, maybe 4, when I did think to go back and look, all I saw were these Tulip Poplar leaves ...but still you can see how white.  I think it is mold/fungus.

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That is it for now...I have more to say but too tired to type it.  Is that lazy or what?

I hope you guys are having a good week...

A little update...

First, Roger got up and felt better yesterday.  I wanted to wait and see if he still felt better today before I posted an update.  He still stumbles easily.  It is sort of hard to explain.  If we are out somewhere, walking into the store or walking around in there, he doesn't do it.  It is just funny moments here at home....funny as in odd.  Not the ha-ha kind of funny.  And he is definitely not good bending over to do anything...here or anywhere.  But he has stayed up both yesterday and today.  So that is very good. 
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The contractor sent the guy back out about the roof.  And the gutter part of the awning.  The hole in the gutter is old, and I agree with him about that.  But how it got there is more than I know.  I often sit on the porch if it rains, so I am positive that it had not been shooting back on the porch.  But he is going to try to stop it up with something.

It was one of this guy's men that had did the roofing.  Anyway, he is going to raise up the bottom part of the shingles and slide in a piece to extend it past the drip edge.  And going to redo around the exhaust from the furnace and see why that one spot is sunken.

So we shall see...but I do feel like he will try to do it right.   They are supposed to be out Monday to do it.
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I hope you guys are having a good weekend....

Life....

I have not had the heart to post, and maybe still shouldn't.  I can do okay posting photos on my other blog and pretending everything is okay.

In reality, my mood swings from one thing to another.  Part of the time, I can go on and be okay, and others I am beside myself with stress.  I cannot seem to let go the worry.

The stress is with things with the hail damage and the repairs that have been done, plus two are still not done.  We did get rain, and look below...

There is a hole in the guttering part of the awning.  When it rains pretty hard, it shoots a stream back on to the  porch.  It has never did that before.  I was so glad to be up when it rained, and could go out and check.  And there is more to this but I don't know how to explain it and could not get pics.

Then, the side of the roof that needed done has been done a while...I do not know why I have not noticed things till last week.  I don't know if it was the way the light hit it or what that drew my attention.

Just look at that roofing around the exhaust from the furnace.  I don't know what you call it when it is not a chimney...  expand the view to get a better look.

It looks like someone has almost put a knee through a space up there.  I have sent these pics to our claims adjuster and also talked to the contractor and someone is coming back out tomorrow.

Oh, I left out the part about the drip-edge.  I don't know who knows what they are and who doesn't.  But it is a metal piece the fits under the shingles at the edge of the roof, and one side fits flat against the fascia board.  Everyone I have ever known always says to extend the shingles out past the edge of the drip-edge, from a half inch to a an inch...with this, the shingles don't quite come to the edge of the drip-edge.

I have been sitting mulling all this over in my mind, and wanted to post, but could not do it and be all bright and cheerful.  It just goes round and round in my head no matter what I am doing.

I would like to get up there and look myself, at least at the edge.  I HAVE to do something with the guttering, cause during this, I noticed one side of the guttering did not have a bit of water coming down the downpout.  So it is clogged for sure.

One of the guys comes tomorrow to talk to me about the roof, and I really don't know how to handle it.  If he tries to smooth it over and leave it like this, I do not know what I will do...

Roger is having a bad day today,   He is in bed today...does not feel good.  He usually just lays in his chair and naps...but went back to bed this morn.  He just got up to get something for a headache...so he is not feeling good at all.  He has been being so shaky lately I did not dare ask him to help with out ladder.  And it is so heavy I cannot handle it by myself.  It was hard for me when I was in my 40's.  Now,  I just cannot do it.  And I would trust Roger's cousin, but he is not in the best of health either.  So it is like I am between a rock and a hard place.

Sorry for such a whiny post...hopefully next one will be better.