Mystery Time

It's that time of the year again when we get to sew along with Bonnie Hunter and her Mystery.  On Ringo Lake is being done in the colors I love so I am thrilled to be sewing along.  The first clue came out last Friday.  I could hardly wait to start, but we always celebrate our Thanksgiving here on Saturday.  Setting tables, cleaning and cooking for 50+ took precedence until Sunday.


I decided to do just a couple of 9 patch blocks on Sunday before the cleaning started.  Somehow, once I started it was like eating potato chips and I couldn't stop.   They went up quickly and I had them all done before I knew it.

After that, I still did not want to face the cleanup so I sewed up my Gridster Bee block for December.  That finishes up the bee blocks for this year, but I am so glad the bee will continue next year.  I'll be linking this up with Quilt Fabrication's 100th Midweek Makers celebration.

Yesterday was a day for cleaning.  All....day....long!!!!

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving with the kids all home from college for the long weekend.  The weather was unbelievably warm too.  It was in the mid 90s on Thanksgiving and still in the mid 80s for our celebration on Saturday.  It felt especially good to those students returning from the Midwest.

We did our annual group photo of the kids and grandchildren - missing just one grandchild this year.

Us with our five chidlren

Son #1, DIL and family

Son #2, DIL and family

Son #3, DIL and family

Son #4, DIL and family

Daughter, SIL and family

Now it is time to transform the house to a Christmas décor.

Here, There and Back Again

It has been another bit of traveling for us last week.  We flew to Omaha, rented a car, took one granddaughter out for dinner, drove to Kansas and took two more granddaughters out for another dinner before driving up to Iowa to spend some time with my relatives.

One thing I love about traveling at this time of the year is the beautiful colors of fall.

Since my roots are from the Midwest, it was fun to visit some of the old homesteads.  Both of these homes were built by my father and it was nice to see them still looking good.

We also took the time to visit Boys Town while in Omaha.  They have a fantastic museum on the grounds that was fun to visit.  If you have never seen the movie, Boys Town, you should consider watching it.  The original Oscar for the movie was displayed in the museum.

We avoid busy roads while driving so we can enjoy the countryside and this trip was no different.  One small road landed us in the middle of Hamilton, MO.  I had no idea until we had arrived in the town that it is home to Missouri Star Quilt Co.  Wow!!!  It was amazing.  They had great murals.  We only stopped for a few minutes as we were working our way to Iowa.

A nice spot for DH to bask in the sunshine as it was 29* outside.

While in Iowa we stayed with my cousin on their farm.  Again, it was quite chilly for us with highs in the mid 20s and low in the teens.

My cousin's farm in the heart of the Amish community.

Sunrise over the cornfields.

Driving back to Omaha for our flight home, we passed through Madison County - home of the covered bridges.  This poor one had seen better days before burning.  

Winterset, IA. is the birthplace of John Wayne.

John Wayne birthplace

This week has been an exciting and busy one for us as we added a new member to our family.  Needless to say, he is getting lots of love.

I haven't had much of a chance to sew this week.  I can't imagine why, but I have made a couple of pulls for the upcoming Quiltville Mystery QAL which starts next week.  I'm leaning towards pull #2 as it is a bit more green.  What do you think?

MIA

I have been MIA for so long on this old blog.  The longer you are gone, the harder it is to come back because there is too much to catch up.

October is gone like a blur and November is upon us.  It always seems like once Halloween arrives, Christmas is right behind.

October was a milestone birthday month for me.  It passed so fast that I didn't even notice a difference!  It just sounds much older.  ;-(  It also helped that I brought the new decade in on a riverboat cruise on the Rhine.  The trip was amazing with positively picture perfect temperatures for the entire two weeks we were gone.

Once I got home, it was pedal to the metal catching up while adjusting to the nine hours time difference.

One project that I have wanted to finish were two Quilts of Valor.  These two quilts are for two very special vets - my two uncles.  One is 90 and one is 92 years of age and I am looking forward to presenting the quilts to them in person for Veteran's Day.  The pictures were taken in bright sunlight so are a bit overexposed, but the colors are truer on the lower photos.

The last one was a Fons and Porter pattern, but there is a major measurement error.  The red and blue star fabrics should both be cut at 9 7/8 inch rather than cutting the red at 6 7/8".  Fortunately, I figured that out before cutting it.

Another important and fun project was a footprint quilt for the K-1 class at the grandchildren's academy.  They have their big gala auction in a few weeks at the Reagan Library.  The little ones were so much fun to work with as they made their blocks.

One last bit of October sewing was a late request for a mallard duck costume.  The head would typically be green, but the green scarf gives a suggestion of a green head.  Right?

Halloween was crazy here with a Dodger World Series game on and the kids heading out for trick or treating.  We had a total of four little ones in one group come to the door.  Now.... we have lots of leftover candy.  Oh well.  Someone has to deal with it.

Our son showed up in a great costume.  It was hysterical when he flung those two extra legs around.

These are three of the little Ghostbusters that fit into the costumes I made for them.

Tonight is the night to turn the clocks back an hour.  Check out this fabulous clock that I picked up on our trip for my sewing studio.  I love it!

Linking up with Quilt Fabrication and Freemotion by the River.