Back In The Saddle Again!

Finally I'm back ! I remember this song from when I was a little girl and I kept humming it all week while contemplating returning to my first blog. I was big on cowboy TV shows when I was in my 'little girl' stage of life. You know...Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Sky King, etc. I even had a cowgirl outfit I dressed up in.

I admit I've been very neglectful here since my last post in July. So what have I been doing with my time since then?
   1. Somewhat tending a dismal garden... awful weather this year, not much of a harvest. However, I was successful with growing garlic and I managed to can 14 pints of carrots again this year.

  2. I took some free online art classes and made a new friend from those classes who lives about 5 miles from me. We meet for coffee every week and share our new artwork with each other. I'm working on a piece I will show you in my next posting.
  3, I'm still quilting and managing our quilt guild's blog, twilightstitchers92.blogspot.com 
Here are three of the blocks I made for this years guild project. Each member has chosen a block pattern to share with the others and when the quilt is completed members will have a treasure to remember our quilting sisters by.

 4. I blog once a week on my other blog asweetsavor.blogspot.com
 5. I did get a chance to do a little hiking on a local trail, Great Bear Springs.

 In the coming days I will be back to posting on a regular basis, hopefully every week. It's all a matter of getting my priorities in proper order. I'll be back soon!

Did You Miss Me?

Okay. I admit it. I've been neglectful of my blogging. While I've been posting on our quilt guild blog  twilightstitchers92.blogspot.com on a regular basis and I've been reading the blogs I follow, I've been doing everything else imaginable...well almost. So, you ask, what else have I been doing?

The veggie garden came first. We had drought conditions this summer so the weeds didn't get ahead of me. My DH hooked up the hose and I watered the veggies every day. Still, the tomatoes weren't very good. I didn't get many useable for the second year in a row. My beans weren't as good as last year. I didn't have enough to can at one time but I did add what I harvested to the freezer. There wasn't as much summer squash and zucchini as last year but I did get enough to make a batch each of pickles and relish. The one veggie that did well was the carrots. Most of them had the diameter of tennis balls! And tasty...oh, yes! I canned 14 pints and had some leftover. Also I canned 19 quarts total of spaghetti sauce, tomatoes and tomato soup base.

Canned tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, patchwork and sketching.

Zucchini pickles and zucchini relish.

One day I went picking tomatoes with a friend. We were charged only $12 a bushel.

Next year I'm growing mostly pear tomatoes. They make great sauce. My sauce cooked for two days in the crockpot. Yum!

There is nothing as good as soup made from the veggies you grow yourself!

This summer's quilting projects:

I made two of these hot mats for a guild project. Then I got to keep them for my own kitchen.

The pineapple block. Another guild project.

Our block exchange this year. This week was red and black.

 

 

I went walking with my youngest daughter a number of times. Sometimes we walk around the neighborhood and sometimes at the park by the local lake.

Next time I post, which won't be as long as last time, I have a wonderful treat to share. One of my fellow quilt guild members and I went to a quilt show at The Old Forge Art Center, about a 2 hour drive from where we live. Lots of wonderful quilts to share with you!

Now off I go to run errands and get the weeks groceries.  Next week is forecast to be wet and stormy so I'll have plenty of  'inside' time to blog. Ta-ta for now.

Running Around Like A Chicken With My Head Cut Off...Again!

All I did was blink and it's time for One Flower Wednesday again. Where did the week go? I want to post on my blog more often but it seems like I'm always too busy. Today is no different. This morning I had to clean up the kitchen and get my canning jars ready for my zucchini pickles. Then my DH came home from work and I got his dinner ready. More dishes to wash. Then came slicing the zucchini and adding the brine. Off I went to get the car inspected, thankful that it passed. Back home and make the liquid for the pickles. Zucchini hasn't soaked long enough so to my computer while I wait for the time to pass. Pulled up my account on facebook and started reading my friends' posts. A friend comes on chat and I chat with him for a few minutes. Still not time to start processing the pickles. Grabbed leftovers for supper. Uh oh! Husband is up and wants something to eat. More dishes, this time left in the sink. Finally, finally, finally started heating everything up for the pickles. Have I got your head spinning yet? I know mine is! Haha!

Now for my latest flower. And two more to go before I assemble them into a tablecloth. Whoopee!

Last week our daughter, son-in-law and the grandchildren went camping for a week and I had the delightful assignment of 'bunny sitting'. Bunbun, as the girls named him, is a miniature lopear. He likes to chase me around the livingroom like a puppy dog. I was over everyday to feed him and clean his cage. He loves green beans and when I didn't give him as many as he wanted, I got the 'look'. It's amazing how animals can communicate without saying a word.

Okay, I've been so busy I haven't gotten my 2nd Underground Railroad Quilt block done. But I do have it cut out. So maybe I'll have more to post on my blog this week. Stay tuned. One more thing before I go. I'll give you another peak at what I'm doing for our Stay-at-home-Robin. And next week I'll have it done to show you the first part of this project. I promise you'll love it.

Where Did The Week Go?

It seems like I wake up in the morning and find it's always Wednesday. Too funny. Well, here it is again. Wednesday that is. Bet you couldn't figure that one out, could you?  And my next flower is finished. I'm getting close to having enough to do a table cloth. I'm planning on 3 more flowers to add to the pile and go from there. Next I will be adding the pathway between the flowers and then the border. Oh, and didn't I tell you, I've made to many flowers to make a table runner. Unless of course, I wanted it to be for a very long table. So my plans have changed again, back to the tablecloth. Here's my latest flower.

Have you ever noticed how difficult it is to move your image around on the page. Sometimes it co-operates and sometimes not. This time it didn't. So I'm filling in the space with worthless chatter!

Now let's see if I can post another picture. I used my pressure canner for the first time last week and I have been admiring my work ever since. (Patting myself on the back here. pat pat) It was a bit nerve racking but I managed to get through it with a lot of reading the instructions. How do you like my canned wax beans? Now that I've shared my success, it's time to put the jars in the pantry.

And last of all, I thought I'd tease you a little bit. Sunny over at http://sunny-quiltingdreams.blogspot.com/ invited readers to join her in a Stay-home-Robin. You probably know what a round robin is but, since participants are all over the world, this is a chance to make a quilt without having to personally assemble in one location.
Our first instructions were to make a 16 inch block...any design we wanted. Each month we will be given instructions on how to make the next row of the quilt. The above picture is a tidbit of my first block. When I finish the block I'll post a picture. Until then you'll have to guess. If you want to join in there is still time. Go on over to Sunny's blog and look for her post dated August 2. Make a comment and she'll get back to you with the instructions and information on a photo sharing site set up just for participants.