Random

I've had these African violets, (one was a gift from my sister when I had surgery), for about three years, 

and this is the first time I've managed to coax them into flowering, so I just wanted to share a bit of purple beauty in November.

Have a wonderful Friday!

~ Jodi ~

Three years ago...

I lost my mom.

She was only 79 - lung cancer.  Life has not been the same, especially this past year, which has been harder than the first two.  I don't know why that is.  She actually left this world on November 28, but for me it will always be today, the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  Some day, we will meet again.

On a much lighter note, here is a quilt she made back in the late '70s/early '80s.  I think it's the only one she ever made.

"No more sorrow, no more pain..."

~ Jodi ~

Mod Bento Box

I finished, after probably two years or so.  And I love it and it's ours.  Finally, a quilt for our home for us!  Or maybe me.  My husband thinks it's too busy and crazy.  He likes order and sameness and conservatism, which to me equals boredom!  Plus, it is very pink, so I'll give him that.



The pictures wouldn't load the way I wanted them to.  I did some cross-hatch lines, and then in the white border I did FMQ.  That picture up above shows what I used for the backing, which is a sheet I purchased on sale at Target.



And these show some close-ups of all the fabulous fabrics.  I did NOT make all of these blocks, or even most of them.  It was a swap I participated in, which was so much fun.  I think I made 36 blocks, kept six of those, and then received 36 different ones from all over the country (USA), and some other countries.

So it's washed and nice and soft, and ready to be used.
Thanks for visiting my blog, and I'm sorry if sometimes I don't respond to comments, although I always try to.  Have a good Monday, everybody!
~ Jodi ~



Low volume high volume quilt

I stole this block idea from Lynne who thinks it might be a depression block but she couldn't find it on the web.  I'm going to call it low/high volume.
Here's a link if you want to check out her beautiful finished quilt:
http://pieceful-lynne.blogspot.com/2012/11/recession-quilt.html

And the above pic is an example of a lesson NOT learned.  A couple of posts ago I showed a table runner that I made and some of the fabric melted under the iron.  Well, I did it again.  I knew this bottom right fabric was not 100% cotton and used it anyway.  And, of course, it melted.  So I removed three blocks and replaced the fabric with something else.  BUT I noticed after posting the photo of the two blocks that I missed one.  You probably can't make it out, and I don't know how to use those fancy arrows that some people use to pinpoint something.  Anyway, I'll be getting Jack out again.  All in all, these are fun blocks to make and I hope to have an entire quilt soon.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!  May you bless and be blessed!

~ Jodi ~ 

November family party

Because I started this blog as a journal for my own use, I want to document the way my home was decorated for a family party we had at my house over this past weekend, so you may want to ignore this post and move on.  Otherwise, I hope you enjoy some pics of my home, or at least my living room.

 We had a sit-down dinner for 19 people.  This table is at least 80 years old, maybe more.

 My husband inherited it from his grandfather.  It comes in quite handy when you have huge families like we both do.  Eight kids on his side, five girls and three boys, same as on my side:  eight kids, five girls and three boys.  Then add significant others, and you need a lot of room!

 My daughter made this bunting for us to hang.  Isn't it pretty?  It's made out of paper and ribbon.

 She gave me enough for two doorways.  I had to hand them high because we had some six-foot plus people in the house.  I think a good time was had by all.
~ Jodi ~

* I changed the comment moderator on my blog so hopefully you don't have to jump through hoops anymore to comment.  At least, I HOPE I did!  It can be very frustrating to try to figure out the symbols. 

Blue and white stars IS coming along...

You probably don't recognize this quilt, it's been so long since I've shown it, I think.  I made it eons ago (well, over a year anyway) but it does not seem to want to be completed.  I just finished ripping out some FMQg I did on a longarm rental - ONE WHOLE ROW - it's a king-sized quilt!  The woman at the shop said she wouldn't charge me for it.  I'm pretty sure that the shop owner should be responsible for making sure the bobbin tension is correct.  This was my first stint at the longarm machine. Your first 20 hours are considered a learning curve and you pay as a beginner, thereafter you pay a different price because then you're considered experienced.  The woman helping me kept checking the bobbin stitching and saying she was going to tweak it to get it "better."  Well, I finally said to myself, "you better take a look at the back to see for yourself."  Gah!  It was horrible in places!  I never saw such a mess!  You can imagine my dismay.  I went home sick, knowing I could not live with it this way, OR give it to a friend.  What a job ripping it out was but I'm glad I did.  Now one more trip to Mansfield, then I can do the binding and give it to her.

If you have some comment or insight into this experience I had, please feel free to educate me on the niceties of longarm rentals.  But be nice, please!

~ Jodi ~