Christmas Potholders and Mom Update

So this week I have been working on some pot holders for my Mom. She needs some new one's desperately.

She loves Delph blue decorations, so I thought these wonderful fabrics would look lovely in her kitchen.

So she is now taken care of for Christmas.

I love the red and blue in this one. I used a red thread for the quilting in this one. It looks great.

I love the blue and white fabric on the border.

I used a block pattern I found in the Quiltmaker's 100 blocks volume 7 book. I can not remember off the top of my head the name of the block but this is only one part of the original block and I added my own border. I like the design it created.

I like the quilting on this one. I thought it made it look more sophisticated of a look with the fabrics used.

I almost wish I switched the border fabrics between the two but they are already put together now. These are real fun to make and only took a couple of evenings to get complete.

I like how they turned out. She is going to love them. I sandwiched them with a layer of the Insul-Bright along with a layer of regular batting just to be sure she is not going to get burned using them. It quilted nicely with the extra layer too. They are stiff right now, I just have to wash them and they are ready to go.


For those of you interested in Mom's status here you go. We went in for a new CT scan since she has finished eight weeks of Chemotherapy. We went in on Friday and got the news yesterday. Her four satellite tumors went from 3cm to 1 cm. Good news, the large tumor in her right breast has not changed much at all. It has not gotten bigger or smaller. The doctor says it is because it has blocked her blood vessels in the area and it is not getting much of the Chemo to it. They are giving her a week off of Chemo and the doctor is meeting with the surgeon and a few experts this week and are going to discuss what the next step is. They are considering surgery to remove the large tumor but are concerned that it is so close to the edge of the breast and has erupted through the skin that they may not get it all. They are also thinking about doing spot radiation on the tumor to shrink it some first then seeing about surgery after. They are going to come up with a couple of choices for us to decide on next week. Mom has decided to go see her sister in California while she can for the week while she is on a reprieve. She is in good spirits but wants it to be done already and gone. She is still struggling with the fact that she is not going to be able to be cured and will have to have treatments for the rest of her life. We will see how it goes from here.

That is all this week. Hope everyone has a wonderful Halloween and stay safe out there.

Almost Finished

 So here it is all laid out on the floor. Jessica is bugging me to sew it together so she can have it.

It sits on the floor for the rest of the evening before I start putting it together the next day.

It is the first quilt that I have assembled that is a diagonal assembly. I have never done it before. It really was not that hard to do.

I started in the center with the longest line and then did the lower half first then the upper half.

Jessica has been hovering all over today waiting for it to be pieced together. She wants to try it on her bed and see if it fits. I keep telling her it will fit just fine and if not I will add borders to it for her.

She loves the colors too, I do to.

Here it is on the bed. See it fits. She is so excited she wants it finished now.

I just have to spend the next couple weeks sandwiching it together and quilting it.

I still do not know what quilting I am going to do on it yet. Some all over quilting though, it is a busy top that will need just enhancing with quilting and not make the quilting stand out, I think it would get lost with all the busy squares there are in it.

 She loves it very much, and it was hard to get her to pull it off the bed so I could put it up until I get the sandwich done on it.

She wants a flannel back on it so it will be warmer in the winter and if she gets bored she could flip it over for a more plain look. We are going this weekend to pick out the fabric for it.

Hopefully it will not take me another couple of months to finish this one, the holidays are coming and this needs to move off my WIP pile.

Until next week, everyone have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the weather.

Easy Street Update

     Well I have been working hard the last couple of weeks and we now have a block together.

These looks kind of neat with the colors she chose. I worked the entire last couple of weeks putting them together.

We should have the top together this weekend. Then we get to figure out how I am going to quilt it for her.

She keeps bugging me to finish it for her. Jess can not wait to get it on her bed.

Hopefully it will fit without having to add extra borders. We will see.

On other news, Mom was tired this last week and pretty sick. In case you have not been reading my Mother was diagnosed in August with triple negative stage 4 breast cancer. When we took her to treatment this week my sister and I talked with the doctor and nurses and got her medications for nausea and discomfort changed for her. Turns out that what she had was too strong for her poor stomach to handle. Now that we got it changed she is feeling better. She had Chinese food when she was done with Chemo and finished more of it later on in the evening. Yeah she is eating again. We still have the website up for donations if anyone is interested. Sue Parrack Cancer Fund is still running if you wish to help.

Hope everyone has a wonderful and productive weekend ahead. Until next week all, stay safe and happy.


Hopefully 

Next Step Easy Street Quilt

Well I got a couple of steps done this week.

I love Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville blog site. I love her patterns and her wonderful adventures.

So this last week I was able to get a lot of cutting and piecing done. It was great being able to loose myself in my sewing. It was a week that I am glad I was able to loose myself in it, it was rainy and stormy outside. I am surprised I got so much done because we lost our power for 8 hours on Saturday and thought that my whole weekend was going to be shot. However, it was the perfect time to do some stitch ripping that I have been putting off because I hate ripping out stitching.

I got through several steps and was starting to put things together too. I love the colors my daughter picked out for this quilt. She was even helping me cut out the pieces. It was a great time for both of us.

She was very curious how it all went together. She was actually interested in watching me use the sewing machine. I have never had her interested in sewing before, so I was grinning from ear to ear this week. She is 16 now and has always loved getting things that I have made her, but she was never interested in actually learning how to do it herself before. So for her to actually start cutting out pieces and being curious was a shock to me, but a good one.

So I was able to breeze through a few steps this week and hope to get more done this next weekend too.

As long as the power stays on, it should we are suppose to be dry and cool this weekend. I think I will have to make some Peanut Butter Cup cookies for the kids (who am I fooling, they are for me too).

Here is the last of what I finished this week. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Until later have a sew perfect day.

Easy Street Quilt

So I decided I was going to try Bonnie Hunter's Easy Street Quilt. My daughter was needing a quilt for her and so she came with me to pick out the colors she wanted. She also helped cut out some of them. After a while though she got tired of cutting the same size so she just watched and helped iron.

 Here are the first steps done. She enjoyed learning how to press them so the seams on back rotated properly.

She thought that was neatest. She loves my seam ripper tool. It was funny watching her make it talk as it ripped two little seams.

Here is another picture with all of them done.

That took a while but she loves the gray fabric. I used Jinny Beyer fabrics except for the black on white. I can not remember who's that is but Jessie love's the small design on it.

So step one is done. On to step two.

I will have to work on that this weekend. I do not like making flying geese so much, they never turn out quite right. Maybe I am just too picky.

Cancer in our lives

As I write this, my mom is going through her second Chemo treatment.

My sister and I started a go fund me account to try and help her with this trying time. Here is our story so far.

If you would like to see the site it is:

Sue Parrack Cancer fund 

 

            One month ago our world was turned upside down. My sister and I were told that our mom has triple negative stage 4 breast cancer. The whirlwind of events that have taken place since that day in August have left us all drained and stressed. We try to hide it from Mom because she does not need the stress while fighting this horrible disease, but we can see the stress on her face too.

            I would like to start by saying my mother, Sue, is a wonderful person. She has always been there to help my sister and I through some rough times and never complained. Now when she needs us most, we are trying to be there to take of everything for her.

            In the last few weeks we have been on an emotional roller coaster. First, we found out there were three lumps, and then she went to a specialist and had a mammogram. They came back and said it was cancer. Then came the biopsy, and we found out it was malignant. The doctor said it was a very treatable kind of cancer. So then it was off to get a PET scan within 3 days. Then we all went to the oncologist and found out that it was all over. There was a large mass on her right side and in two lymph nodes under her arm and a small one on her esophagus. They said stage 4 and my heart sunk. They then said Chemotherapy just to get it under control and keep her alive longer. They would not be able to cure her. He wanted to start Chemotherapy right away. He scheduled her for surgery to insert a pick so they would not have to put in an IV every week. The surgery went well, or so we thought. By the next afternoon she was in the hospital with a collapsed lung. They were able to insert a chest tube and slowly get the lung back up and working. After three days in the hospital she came home. Things were very uneventful for three days, then we had to go in and have the chest tube removed. All went well, and the next day we started chemo. It was a long day; first she had x-rays to make sure the lungs were ok. Then, they did blood work ups to make sure her counts were ok and to check her potassium levels. They were then ready for her treatment. Now a week later we are on the second treatment. They have not said how long this will go on, but I imagine for quite a while.

Now I told you all that so I could tell you that when this all started she had no insurance. She has worked all her life and was in retail when this started. There is no insurance offered to her in her line of work. So the weight of all the bills for the doctor and now treatment are on her shoulders. My sister and I have worked along with a wonderful person, Lynette Basiou of Providence, god bless her, and we have gotten her approved for Oregon Health Plan. We are still up in the air about what they will and will not cover, but it is something. She also has not been able to work hardly at all since the start of this and the bills are starting to pile up. I would love to be able to take care of all her bills and medical, but with my sister and I trying to keep our own families above water in these trying times, I just can not help financially. It is hard for me to say that, since she was always there to help me. We are trying to raise enough to help with paying off the house and having some left over to pay, if need be, any medical bills that will arise, while making sure there is still food in the house and medicine that is needed. We went to Social Security and did all that paperwork, but they are saying it could take up to 6 months before we see anything from them. I have told Mom not to worry my sister and I will deal with it. So it is with hope I ask anyone please help me make some of my Mom’s worries go away.

It is very humbling to be in this position and to have to ask for help in this way. But sometimes God has lessons for you that need to be learned at the bottom of life. I am very grateful that you have thought enough of my family to take the time to read this, and any amount you are able to contribute to our goal is tremendously appreciated. If you are unable to help financially right now, believe me, I understand. Sending prayers also helps.

If any of you know of anyone that might be willing to help in this effort in any way, please send them to this site. Thank you for your time, remember every dollar counts. God bless all of you from the bottom of my heart and all of our family.

The ugly Cancer Bug

I am sorry it has been a long while since I posted, life got in the way. I am going to start posting again. I would like to start with my Mom has cancer. We have been dealing with it for about a month now and wow can it just zap the life and hopes out of you.

She is doing ok but we are dealing with lots of things at one time and I will hopefully be able to share the good along with the bad as time progresses.

Until tomorrow have a wonderful Monday.

Finished Baby Quilt

I am sorry, it has been a very hectic Christmas this year. I know it has been a long time since I posted. I am now back in the saddle and working on getting things organized. First off I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Christmas. New Year is right around the corner. Does everyone have a resolution ready. I am going to try and post more regularly and sew more often. Hopefully my resolution will work. How about any of you?

 Now on to the finishing of the quilt. I got all of it together and then stared at it for a while trying to figure out what I wanted to do for quilting. Quilting it is always the hardest for me. I love doing it, but I always have so many different ideas going through my head and to decide which ones I want to use takes a while. I even tend to draw on some of the pictures I print out to try and come up with the best one.

I know I wanted an all over quilting in the center with the train. But what did I want to do with the pinwheels was hard to decide.

Here is a picture of the center. I decided on an all over cloud quilting for the train. It went really well and made the train pieces stick out better, and from further away it looked like it was traveling with the sky behind it. It turned out really well. 

I liked how it turned out. I used white thread so it would blend in with the background fabric I used.

I tried to get another picture so you could see the texture but that did not work so well. I am still finding new things with my camera too.

I finally decided to do a simple flower quilting in the pinwheels and I really like it. It sort of makes the pinwheels look like they are in motion. The quilt was not that hard to quilt on my home machine. What I really want is a long arm machine. Maybe if I am really good this year Santa will bring me one next Christmas.

Here it is all done. I am sorry I did not take a picture of the back. Darn, I even made a label for the back. I used a cute train flannel print for the back. It was so cute with it. I will have to remember to get a picture of the back next time.

Well I hope all have a wonderful and safe New Year and I will see you all again next year.

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year.

More on the baby quilt

  Then I took the half square triangles and joined them. I had to keep looking at my drawing to make sure I was assembling them correctly. I had the pinwheels in different positions so it looked like it was moving instead of having them all one way.

These were fun and went pretty fast.

I put them together and pressed them. I am so happy that my points all matched.

I then started laying out my rows. I then cut out my center block and applied my appliques.

These were fun. I chose different types of fabrics for these because I wanted the baby to experience different textures. I used chenille, flannel, fleece, and Egyptian cotton for the different types. I then appliqued them to the square with a blanket stitch. I used the same color thread as the appliques so they would blend in.

I then connected all the rows to complete the top.

The complete quilt tomorrow.

Little Boy's Dreams Quilt

 It was hard coming up with the right fabrics and colors. I knew it had to have blue. I also tried to go to the color wheel and find what went with blue. I did not want it just blues though. So I chose orange too. Then I decided it needed red and yellow too. When I started coloring the drawings I started with just red and blue and white, but it was just too Patriotic to be a little baby boy's quilt. That is when I added the orange and yellow too. Then I played with where to place the colors. That took a while too. I like scrappy looking so I finally had to place them in random areas but not too close together. Finally I got the right combination. Then I had to figure out how much material I needed. Turns out I needed about 1/2 yard of each color and 3 yards of background.

I then had to figure out what I wanted in the center. I played around with several different things but kept coming back to a train.

It took several drawings before I finally got the look of the train I wanted. I think I researched several different ways to draw a train but I knew it had to be very simple in order to get it to the fabric.

So here are the final drawings of the train.

These were the hardest to get to the right size I needed to be without being too big or so small you really loose them in the quilt.

Then I started cutting out the fabrics. I wanted to have my blocks be about 6" finished or a little bigger. Turns out I really liked the 8" finished size the best. That size block looked the best with the size of train I wanted.

I then started cutting and sewing. It was an interesting process, and I learned a lot about figuring the size I needed to be able to cut half square triangles. I found a wonderful website that was a tremendous help. www.patchwork-and-quilting.com is where I finally decided I would go and use their most helpful directions.

Here are my half-square triangles after I squared them up and pressed them.

Hope everyone enjoys lots of Turkey and all the sides and has a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving. I will continue with my adventure of "Little boy's Dreams Quilt" after the holiday.

New Quilt

I recently finished a quilt for a baby shower this past weekend. I found out that the baby was a boy and decided I wanted to make a quilt for the new bundle of joy. Now this quilt I wanted to design and make myself and not from a pattern I bought. So the first thing I did was make a few drawings.

I tried out a few block designs first, but decided I wanted to make blocks that looked like pinwheels. I also wanted to make sure they all were not going in the same direction. Then I had to decide on what colors I wanted. I know she wanted bright colors but did not settle on any one color scheme, this was good for me since I love scrappy looks. I then decided on what I wanted in the center. As you can tell I am not a terrific drawer but I thought I wanted a hobby horse in the center.

After a while I thought about a few other different things in the center.

I finally settled on a train. Perfect, just what every little boy loves, trains!!

Now I thought that this process was going to be easy right, wrong. I have never designed and created a pattern and directions for a quilt before. This was going to be an interesting project.

By the time all was said and done, it took several weeks to come up with all of it and to then test the directions. But eventually it was a wonderful gift.

Here it is as the top is complete. I will post the more on the quilt as the week progresses.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and stay safe.

Homecoming Dance

Well I never thought this day would come. Not to mention I was not ready yet for it to come. My daughter and her first year of High School was invited to Homecoming. She was so excited. We went to store after store to find a dress, she did not like any of them.



We happened to be in Good Will one afternoon dropping off some clothes for donation and she asked if we could go in. She found the fancy dress section right away. She found 4 dresses she absolutely loved. We went through trying them on one by one. First one was too tight, second one too loose, third one she decided she did not like it on.

 Finally we get to the last one and she loved it. We get to the counter and find out that it was half off due to Halloween. Right on!!

Here she is ready to go. We spent about an hour on her hair. We also spent about an hour on her makeup. It was the first time I spent that much time putting her makeup on and explaining to her how to apply it and why we apply it lightly, not like a hussy. hehe.


She had a blast spending the time with me and learning the fun things about starting to grow up.

I tried to get a close up but she did not want to smile.

So I kept taking the picture until finally she smiled.

She tried to get me to stop but she finally gave in.

I dropped her off and wanted to get more photo's with her friends but she said I was embarrassing her so I only took one and said my goodbye's and when I would be there to pick her up.

Oh and on the way there she said she felt like she was going to throw up because she had never gone to a formal dance before and did not really want to go now. We talked for a few minutes and once we got there she was much better. Now it is all she can talk about.

I hate that she is growing up too fast for me. But I know she is going to, I just have to deal with it. Hope you all enjoy the photo's.

First batch of Ketchup

For the last couple of years I have been getting more and more canning done. I love canning, and with my other half working on a farm, we get lots of fresh fruits and vegi's each year. I have canned strawberry jam, cherry jam, cherries, and peaches so far this year. I just started getting the tomatoes in. I spent most of last evening making ketchup.

I got 6 half pint jars of ketchup with my first batch. That is about 15 pounds tomatoes for it.  But so worth it.

My family is very big on my home made ketchup. They love it. When it starts to get close to being ready to go into jars they are all in the kitchen with a spoon wanting samples.

It is like they could drink it. I do have to admit that it is very good. The recipe is from my mother. She makes only one batch a year now since it is just her and Dad. I have to make at least three batches to keep us in ketchup for the year. I also make one batch of spicy ketchup a year also. The spicy ketchup recipe I make came about as a "whoops" a couple of years ago. I was busy making ketchup and making dinner and helping my daughter with homework at the same time and accidentally put too much cayenne in the mixture and did not even realize it until it was made and we were at the taste test part. 

Thank goodness for me, the family loved it. It goes wonderfully when you are making things that you would like a little more bite in. We used it mostly with meat loaf to spice it up and my husband loves it on burgers.

I have started another batch today and should have that one canned by this evening.

Then it is a change of pace a little and I will be making some spaghetti sauce next and some dried tomatoes.

I will also be taking some of the dried tomatoes and making tomato powder for adding to soups and stews. I have not decided if I will be doing stewed tomatoes or whole tomatoes canned this year or not.

Hope everyone out there is doing well and getting ready for the wonderful season of Fall.

Happy quilting and canning all.

Fall Table Topper

Sorry I have not posted for a couple of weeks, but school started. My goodness it takes a lot of time to get a new High Schooler ready for School. Now that we are into school for the second week things have started to slow down to a manageable pace and I was finally able to get back on the sewing machine for a bit.

I was able to start piecing more of my fall table topper again. Here it is about half way together.

This is a fun topper. I love the fall fabrics for this. The magazine I saw it in had the topper as a Halloween topper with all fun Halloween fabrics, but I wanted something I could use for a couple of months instead so I chose fall and more Thanksgiving type fabrics. These fabrics have been in my stash for a few years so I am not sure who they were by.

Here it is almost completed. The top still has some edges that need to be put on yet. I am getting ready to put a backer on this portion soon. I love the colors. I am such a fall person. I love all the rich colors of fall myself.

Here is closer look at the side of the topper.

I love the smiling pumpkins. They are so cute.

I really like this print. It is so adorable. I love the birds and birdhouses on it.

Hopefully I will have time this weekend to sandwich and quilt this.

As soon as I get it completed I will post the pictures of it.

Have a wonderful day and enjoy your week.

Tabble Topper

Hello all. It has been a couple of weeks since I posted last and I am sorry. It has been hectic around here, we had some family time and went camping with the kids, got them registered for school, and did some cleaning up getting ready for another year at home. Some people do Spring cleaning, not me, I wait until it is just about school time again and we go through and clean things up, get rid of old stuff, clean out closets, and get organized again for the coming year. I like to do it just before Fall because it makes me feel like I am getting ready for when we have to close the house up again for Winter and knowing things are cleaned up before I have to it.

I also decided I was going to make some things for Fall this year to decorate the house. My first project is a table topper I saw in one of my quilting magazines. It was made with Halloween fabrics in the magazine, but I wanted to add some Thanksgiving fabrics to it, so I could use it for a couple of months instead of just one.

So I started with making the squares this last weekend. I also cut it all out, but forgot to get a picture of that first. I was so anxious to get started sewing it together that I just forgot to get pictures of the cut outs.

There are 44 of these wonderful blocks.

Once I got these done, I started putting the rows together.

These are fun to make and went pretty fast when you chain sew.

Here it is so far. I love the different fall colors in this. I still have a couple more rows to add before the outside rows go on. Those have pumpkin prints in them. I will get more pictures posted once the center is done and the outside rows go on. I think it is going to be cute on the table when it is done.  I will get all the information on the pattern as soon as I write it down.

Hope everyone had a wonderful day today. See you all later.

Kids at Lake

It was warm here this weekend. It reached over 100 degrees. For Oregon, that is hot. My sister and I took the kids to Detroit Lake for a swim for the day.


They had a blast. They were so excited to go. Andrew could not wait. He was so bouncy and every half hour I heard, "Are we almost there?"

It usually takes about an hour and a half to get there.


They did not even want to have their lunch before they jumped in. I figured if they got hungry enough they would be out eating. We found a wonderful spot under the trees so we did not die in the sun. There was a nice cool breeze coming off the lake also, which made it tolerable to be there.

It took Jessie some time to get used to the water. It was nice and cool. 

Andrew could not wait for Jess to get all the way in so while he waited he found sticks to play with.

He also found some rocks he could climb on while he waited. My sister could not believe it, he is just like all boys was my advise.

He even talked his mom into letting him jump off the boat dock. He enjoyed that for a while. I could not get him while he was jumping, he is just too fast for me.

Amy had to pull him back out each time, so she got her exercise for the day too.

There they are, finally all the way in. That only took about an hour.

Those two were tuckered out when we were finally done. They fell asleep in the car on the way home. We were there for over 5 hours swimming.

Until later, I hope everyone is staying cool in this wonderfully warm summer.