Memory Quilt In Progress..

I have been wanting to make a "memory quilt" for years now, ever since I seen the one that my sister-in-law Lola made. Actually, it's a wall hanging because it's not as big as a quilt. So while Tool Belt Jim was off and gone on his "great journey" I trekked off to my local Walmarts and bought some material. I dug out my sewing machine that hasn't been out of the closet for about 5 years (last time I made a baby quilt) and plugged in the old iron (which hasn't been used either for about the same length of time and rummaged in the closet for the book I had bought on making a Memory Quilt forever ago!

After buying my materials I went to see a very dear lady named Laura who has made many quilts in her day and showed her what my new project was to be. She was as excited as I was and gave me many more ideas of what to add to the quilt.

I have lots of old doilies and I especially love this one because it always hung in the window of my Great-Aunts house. And I found this hand sewn flower in a box of stuff she probably made also.

I dug out my grandmothers old sewing box

and came up with some old thimbles and her sewing glasses

and some old buttons. Finding things to add was like being on a great treasure hunt.

It's a work in progress, but here is how it is looking so far. I am not very good at laying things out (that's my friend Jane or Mary's job), but since they are both gone right now, I'll have to make do.

I also had some old handkerchiefs and old hair pin

and an old perfume bottle

so the idea is growing and branching out in more than one direction. I started out thinking it would only have old sewing stuff, but I couldn't resist the old perfume bottle and hair pins.

Now, I need to figure out what my grandmothers used to make those old doilies stiff. I know it was some kind of starch that they were dipped into. I'll have to call and ask Lola tomorrow. She's the crafty one in the family.

As you can see most of the items on the quilt are beige or pale yellow except the one doily that is white with pink roses crocheted on it. Should I take it off and find another one in that same color scheme or leave it on? And what about putting the little heart shaped perfume bottle in the center of it and adding some sparkle buttons around it?

Actually, I have added more color by adding some different colored hanky's so maybe the pink doily will be O.K. after all.

"Pickin Up Walnuts"

Included in our Fall field trip today was picking up walnuts on the grand-parents farm. This was a new experience for the boys and they seemed to have a lot of fun doing it. Reminded me of when I was a kid picking up walnuts except we did it to earn money. Enjoy the pictures!

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Fall Field Trip

Since today was the first day of Fall, we thought we should take the day off and go on a field trip. Our goal was to find things that remind us of Fall. So we headed out for the country. Snapped a picture of the milk weed pods bursting open that were along the road. I always thought they looked like cotton when I was a kid.

Loved the picture of the butterfly on the sedum flowers. Grandma always told me they were called "live forevers." My sister had a plant living under her deck. Think it is impossible to kill them.


We picked up walnuts at the boy's Poppys  parents farm. Kids enjoyed that. Grandma showed them how to crack the nuts out with the old hand-made nutcracker that Grandpa had built. .












Then Grandma showed the boys a "dancin man" that Grandpa had made. They really liked that!


















We went on down the road and stopped and let the boys eat lunch at Poppy's  brother's house. Remember he's the one blowing the bull horn in an earlier blog. Likes to ride his mule and sit in the dark out in Kansas where man hasn't messed up the countryside by populating it. Someday I'll get him to do a blog and write about his experiences. If I am remembering the story right, he was sick and running a fever one time, but that didn't stop him from getting on that mule and riding across the creek to his dad's house. Trouble was, he fell off the mule and into the creek! Think he went back home and crawled into bed. But, I digress.





This is the boys with their great-grandpa. He's the one that does all that neat wood-working. They love playing with a handmade wagon when they go to visit.









We loaded up the kids and headed on down the road about a mile or so and snapped a picture of a old school house. Bet that building could tell some stories if walls could talk. Love those old buildings.



Then, we stopped at the old cemetery where my great-great grandparents were buried. Koda kept saying it was his "rock". Pretty big rock if you ask me.


Then we drove on down the road to the old "home place" so my daughter could see where the great-great-great grand-parents lived. It was further off the road than I remembered and Koda made me carry him piggy back before it was all over. Technically, we were trespassing and we were hoping someone would come to check us out, preferably on a 4 wheeler so they could give us a ride back to the road. Didn't happen.

Loved the fields of flowers.




















I noticed the farmers were out cutting corn. My daughter was embarrassed to be seen snapping a picture . I told her don't worry they don't know who we are. She is forgetting I have personalized license plates so the whole world knows our name.













Found a snake in the road and snapped a picture. Was dead, but kids didn't know it and it was the thought that counts. Then I remembered I had seen a snake skin in the yard, actually , right next to the house, so I showed it to the boys and explained the process of shedding of the skin.



God is good!! What did you trade a day of your life for today? Was it worth it?

Life's Like A Foggy Road...

Sometimes it's hard to see where you are going when you can't see very far down the road... Life is like that too....Full of uncertainties... Put your trust in God. He knows what is further down the road! Once I started moving forward, the fog would part just enough that I could see a little further. Just like real life!!

Sun's coming up

I got up early this morning and headed back out to the 80 acre wood and stopped to shoot this picture of the sun shining through the fog. God reminds us to let His "Son" shine through the "fog" in our lives!

The Night Shift Crew...

I would like to encourage anyone who has a heart to help the hurting in times of disaster to join your local Red Cross. I have recently helped assist in a shelter set up for evacuees from Louisiana with Hurricane Gustav and I am so glad I was asked to have a part!

Now, Urgent pleas have went out for Red Cross volunteers to assist in sheltering evacuees from the devastation caused by Hurricane Ike. Whether you can give three weeks or only a few hours, volunteering with the Red Cross is rewarding and you'll never be the same!


Fortunately, we did not need all the cots we set up but we were prepared and ready!




We were the "night crew" and I loved meeting new friends who think like I do and enjoyed helping those in need who may have lost it all. We welcomed evacuees with a hug, a blanket, a cot, a hot meal and a smiling face. One lady whose husband had to be admitted to the hospital and had two young boys to take care of in a town full of strangers said "if you can't trust the Red Cross, who can you trust" and we believe that really does say it all!

What's A Mud Puddle Good For ?

The boy's Poppy and a couple of the grand-kids took advantage of the latest rain and mud puddles. Remember how much fun it use to be to splash in the mud puddles?