It's cold here in the midwest...
Also, I have started to edit the comments. I had one on here that was only a link to a porn sight. Another one I could not connect to, but have a feeling it was something like that. So, when you make a comment, it may not immediately show up. Why in the world someone wants to put stuff like that on a sight light this is more than I know...but just don't want it showing up here in any fashion if I can help it. So I hope you don't mind baring with me on this.

A little something for nature lovers and for quilters today...

This is one of Mama Squirrel's babies from the past summer. She and her babies can be seen Here Just scroll down to June 10th I think it is. Mama still comes to be fed and so do the babies. It has been sleeting this real fine mist a little bit today...everything is hungry and cold. If it is Mama Squirrel she will come running from across the street or down the street when I call her...this is her baby because it knows my voice, and perks up if I peck on the window. It knows to stick around for food. Mama will also come up on the back porch and hang from the storm door letting me know that she is hungry...she will sit with me at the picnic table or I can sit on the edge of the porch and she will sit beside me and eat....but she will not allow me to touch her still. Though she still feels entirely free to grab my hand and pull it to her to see if there is anything in it.

Now to quilting, this is one of the best hints I have ever heard for quilting. I thought taking pictures would be the best way to show what I mean. I am not sure where I heard it first, but it is NOT something I thought of. And I have seen others do something similiar but they don't carry it this far. I have seen people mark their rulers by sticking post it notes on the top side of their rulers, but the very best thing is to use at least a stack of three post it notes and stick on the under side of the ruler on the exact line you want to cut.

When you have your fabric layered, and after you make the first squaring up cut, you just butt these up to the fabric. You can feel them meet almost, and for sure see easier. And you don't make near as many mistakes cutting the wrong size.

I have to have a 2 1/2 inch square but for my current project, I found it easier to use my little 4 inch ruler marked this way because it is easier to hold on to than to hold the little 2 1/2 inch ruler without moving it.


If I am cutting across the width of the fabric, I will use at least three stacks of post-it notes on the under side of the 24 inch ruler. And if it is bigger squares, I use what I feel comfortable with to get the exact size I want.



And this is one of the blocks I have made...so you can kind of see what I should be doing instead of playing on here.

Sewer Problems--not fun We have had a time tonight. I had planned to sew today, but instead had to run errands to pick up animal food and a few other things at Walmart. And then by the grocery. I came home and decided to clean out the fridge...it had lots of odds and ends in it that needed to be taken care of.

So, since my sewing machines and all that is all in the basement and I never made it down there...I didn't know there was a problem till my hubby got home. He had gotten so dirty at work, that he went directly down there to take his clothes off and throw them directly in the wash.

There was a huge puddle of water...to make a long story short..in the end we found that the actual sewer drain was not draining. He had to go to the chiropractor tonight, came home and we ate a quick supper, then ran to a Harbor Freight store and just bought a rotor rooter. We decided since we have this problem every so often, instead of paying to rent a machine and have the chore of getting it up and down the basement stairs, we would just buy one and it could stay down there.

There were tree roots in the sewer...got them out. Then cleaned up the huge puddle down there. I always take bleach water after that and scrub down the whole floor...then dry it again. NOT fun.

But I am so thankful to have a husband who is capable of taking care of things like that and I don't have to live with them till we can call someone in. .

I actually know how to do it myself--just not sure I am strong enough to do some of it. When you feed the coil of the rotor rooter through you have to hang on to it or it can really whip back out and cause some damage. It is too hard for my tired brain to explain right now...and I still have dishes to do and need to finish that load of clothes.