Fathers Day Barbecue

Tomorrow is father's day and my son in law's birthday. Since two of  my sons are traveling tomorrow  we are getting together today.

Even though it's a father's day barbecue, the men decided they were going to do the barbecue!

My sons's specialty is beer can chicken so that's what they are making.  Three guys working on getting it ready. Did I mention that the first batch burned?  Luckily there was enough time to do a second batch.

My daughter is making a "carne asada" a big favorite!  We are also having rice and beans and salad with "tres leches" cake for desert.

I think it's going to be a great day! Hope every dad has a wonderful day with their families.

Until next time . . .
Keep on quilting!

Aveli

Grandson Has Graduated!

We are in California for our grandson's graduation!

This past Wednesday was the big day. We took the usual pictures with the graduate. It was a very nice day and very exciting to see our grandchild graduate.

It wasnt too long ago that we were at his father's high school graduation!  It seems like just a few years ago, but in reality its been thirty years ago!

My goodness how time flies!!!  And it's because the time flies that I am working, as much as possible, on getting my quilts done.

I only brought my table topper 3/4 inch hexie project with me. I have only worked on it when I am away from home so this was perfect to have on the train ride.

We will be home soon and i will be able to get back to my other quilting projects.

Also later this summet i am planning to thoroughly clean my treadle machine.

So, in the meantime... Keep on quilting.

Aveli

Leaving Again!

Well, Tuesday I did not have time to sew on the machine, but I did do some hand sewing on my hexie projects.

Notice I said projects . . . I have three hexie projects going now.

I have my one inch "Insanity" quilt, a 3/4" table topper and as a test a 1/2" coaster sets. The 1/2" coasters are almost complete but then I don't work on them very often because the manipulation of that size really hurts my hands. It is just a test to see how to work with them. Then after I made the first little coaster, I had to make enough for a set . . . 6 or 8, I haven't decided yet.

My 3/4" table topper is another experiment! I have heard so many people describe the 3/4" hexagon size as "so cute" and "easy to work with".  So I tried it both to see how it was to work with that size and because I sell that size on my website www.avelisquilts.com

Well it seems I really like the illusion of small compared to the one inch, but I think the table topper is as big as I am going to get. I will post pictures later.

As for the title of this post, yes we are leaving again! This time, it is for a joyous occasion. My oldest grandson is graduating from high school and we are going to attend.  I will try to keep in touch by mobile posts. We won't be gone long so keep on coming back.  I will have plenty of pictures to share when I get back.

Meanwhile, keep on quilting!

Aveli

Back Home Again!

For a short time!

We are "home again, home again, jiggity jig!"

I hadn't realized how much I missed my home until we came home yesterday.  Driving on the highway for three hours from Albuquerque is always a tiring chore.  But yesterday I drove with enthusiasm because I was going home from a two week absence.  And you know that old saying, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder"!  LOL!

But yes, as I was driving up our little road to the cabin, I breathed a sigh of relief ... Yes! Yes! Yes! I am home!

So today, we are doing what needs to be done after a two week absence, cleaning, washing, mowing the lawn. Unfortunately, I will not have time to do any machine sewing, but certainly tonight after chores are done, some hand sewing on my hexies!

Tomorrow would be a good day to get back to machine sewing but alas we have to "go to town" for some grocery shopping and some other errands while we are in "town".  But, again, hand sewing the hexies . . . thank God for the Hexies!!!  Since "town" is 40 miles away, we always try to do all our errands in one trip, it saves a lot on gas!  So usually a trip to "town" is always more or less a whole day affair.

So hopefully Tuesday will be my day to sew on the machine and post more pictures.

Meantime, keep on quilting!

Aveli

On Family Emergency

So we plan and plan our three year or five year plan. We go along just fine and suddenly we are slammed with a family emergency that just throws a huge monkey wrench right smack into the middle of everything we planned.

I am in the middle of just such a family emergency. It has taken longer than expected . . .doesnt it always.

There is a lot of driving back and forth and a lot of sitting and waiting in hospital rooms involved.  So I have my hexies in my bag to work on.

No pictures for now just a request for prayers and good vibes and patience from my readers. I will get back to my quilting topics as soon as I get back home.

Aveli

Memorial Day

Yesterday I promised pictures of my progress on the baby doll quilt.

I must admit that I didn't do any sewing or quilting on that little quilt.  Instead, I got sidetracked by all the war stories that are on the History channel because today is Memorial Day.

Memorial Day, an American holiday observed on the last Monday of May, honors men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971.

I usually don't watch all these war stories that appear on individual federal holidays.  My husband watches them every year.  But this year, as I was passing the t.v. I noticed that a veteran from that time was talking about his experience as a bomber pilot in England during world war II.

He mentioned his training, a few months, how many missions they had to fly before they retire - 30, and the fact that 1 out of every 2 pilots sent out on a mission would not return.  That is what caught my attention!

At the end of the program they mentioned statistics about pilots during the war. 100,000 pilots were commissioned in England. 50,000 of them died, either by being shot down or from wounds received. 

I was in shock! I had never heard that before. My husband is a war buff and he is always giving me statistics or details about the war, some pretty gruesome. He had never mentioned this.

Pretty depressing isn't it?  But that's what Memorial Day is about isn't it? Remembering the dead? Not barbecues, not parties!

So this is my little tribute to all who have served and died.

Thank you for listening,

As always I am here

Stitching and Talking . . .

Aveli

60 Degrees With Frozen Mix

What does that mean? 60 degrees with frozen Mix? How is that possible?

Usually when it is 60 degrees, it's Spring, the sun is shining and occasionally a cool breeze. Frozen Mix is a mixture of rain, sleet, hail, snow. Is 60 degrees cold enough to create sleet, hail, snow? I don't know.

I just wish all this crazy weather would wind up and go away. I know, I know, I should be thankful compared to the weather nationwide.

Anyway, I will be working in my sewing room today on the baby doll quilt.  Hopefully the power will not go out today.

Although, I do have my trusty handcrank Singer!

I will post the pictures tomorrow or maybe tonight if I am ambitious enough to do two posting in one day.  Or is that three?  Oh well!

Until then . . .

I'll be here stitching and talking . . .

Aveli

Baby Doll Quilt Not Finished

Today it was another rainy day here so I thought I would concentrate on finishing the baby doll quilt for my little granddaughter.

Yes, I know they were coming on Friday and here it is Saturday.  But they had to postpone their trip due to unforeseen circumstances.

Since they told me that they were unable to come on Friday, I postponed finishing the baby doll quilt and did other things that were put away because of the baby doll quilt.

So today I went to my sewing room to finish machine quilting the little quilt. I was doing fine, or fine by my description.  Then . . . the power goes out!!!

At first I was upset because I couldn't sew!

Aha! Then I remembered that I had a singer hand crank machine that I bought a year ago.
YAY!

I blogged about this hand crank machine on this page if you wish to read it . . .

http://avelisquilts.blogspot.com/2014/04/another-beautiful-antique-sewing-machine.html

So I uncovered this beautiful little machine and kept on sewing.  It is a little more work to sew on this machine because you have to crank with one hand and hold your fabric with the other hand.

I stopped sewing after two hours and even though I was tired, I was very happy that I had the hand crank to help me keep sewing. Even though I sewed for two hours, the little quilt is still not finished, almost but not quite. It need two more rows of quilting and then the binding.

Our power did not come back on until 7:45!! 

I will be sewing on it again tomorrow either with or without power!!!

Until then . . . keep on quilting!

Aveli

Spring Cleaning! Repost

As the day is again so beautiful in Guadalupita, I can tell that we are on our way to warmer weather.

And, invariably warmer weather brings us to start opening doors and windows and "Spring Cleaning".  As I was thinking of starting my own Spring cleaning, I started thinking about a post I had originally done on my old website.  So I am reposting it here . . .

Originally published 3-3-06

Good Day to Everyone!

Today is Saturday in California and it has been raining all week; beautiful showers that are much needed in this area. We haven’t had rain all year.

Here we are in March again so quickly. Is it because I am getting older? Or is it because I am more busy? Speaking of busy, I was just thinking of a Spring ritual that my mother used to talk about. 

Spring Cleaning! Does anyone do spring cleaning anymore? I used to every year with my mother, but now it’s more like every three years.

My mother said that when she was young everyone used to do Spring cleaning. So, when I was younger she also did the Spring cleaning ritual. Pull all the furniture out of the corners, sweep all the corners and walls. If the walls didn’t have wall paper, we would wash them. Of course, we would sweep the ceiling and walls first, to get all the cob webs. Pull the mattresses off the beds wash the head boards, foot boards and frames. Sweep the mattresses and then vacuum them; flip the mattresses over so they don’t wear out unevenly.

That was the hardest job for me . . . sweeping, vacuuming and flipping the mattresses. I hated it!! And, of course with the job and my complaining came the admonition and story.

First the admonition from my mother . . . “Stop complaining! At least you don’t have to take the mattress apart and wash the wool!”

“Wash the wool???” I would say. What do you mean?

Then the story! My mother would always jump into story telling mode at the drop of a hat! The only thing that saved my sanity as I was growing up and hearing the same stories a million times, was that I liked to hear about her; “When I was young” stories. Her history and the history of the little town she was from fascinated me; as well as the stories my father told. They were great story tellers, very animated as they relived their younger days.

Washing the wool was a spring ritual that everyone did in my mother’s time. The only people that had a “store bought” mattress were people “with money”. Most people made their own mattresses. 

They bought the “ticking canvas” to sew the cover, usually from the local general store or by mail from Sears and Roebuck or Montgomery Wards. If they were lucky they could barter with a Shepard that they knew for the wool. First, they would wash the wool, because it was always dirty when first gathered from the sheep. They would stuff the home made mattress cover with the wool to desired thickness and sew it shut.

After a year of use, every mattress in the house had to be taken apart and the wool washed. There were no plastic mattress covers in those days. In my mother’s case, there were nine children and the parents. Not everyone had their own bed. But, to be sure, there were at least 5 bed mattresses to be washed. And, of course, not every mattress was washed on the same day. The mattress washing went on for several days so that there would be some mattresses to sleep on in the mean time.

No big deal you say! Take it apart and throw the wool in the washer! No way, practically no one had an automatic washer in those days. It was aluminum round tubs and washboards with no indoor plumbing. So it was done outside over an open fire to keep the water hot!

After it was washed, it was passed through the wringer to squeeze all the water out and set out on a tarp to let it dry. Then, of course, you had to stuff it back into the ticking and sew it shut, usually by hand. My mother used to say that the very “picky” people would take the time to “comb” or “fluff” the wool so you could get a fluffy mattress. Otherwise, it was a lumpy mattress because the wool would shrink and clump when washed. She never told me if my grandmother made them “fluff” the wool.

Whew! I’m tired just telling the story!

My mother had one small “old fashioned” mattress when I was young. She kept it wrapped in a mattress cover so it wouldn’t get dirty. After a few years of use, not every year, she took it apart to “wash the wool” of grit from use. Halfway through the process, she realized she didn’t have to do this anymore. She had my father gather all the wool and ticking and toss it into the trash barrel! And so ended another “good ole days” ritual.

I was a teenager at that time and it seems just like yesterday! I can still remember the musty smell of wet wool. My how time flies!

Now I am babbling; I hope you have enjoyed our visit and my story. Won’t you post your thoughts, questions or your own memories.  We would love to hear from you!

See you next time, I’ll be here . . . Stitching and Talking,

Aveli

Beautiful Day in Guadalupita

Today is such a beautiful day!

I wish I could spend the day outside! But, my little granddaughter is coming on Friday and they are staying for three days.

So, its off to the sewing machine I must go. I am working on making a baby doll quilt for her and I need to finish it before Friday.

I already made one for my other granddaughter in California.  Here is the final product.

I posted about that baby doll quilt on this page . . .

http://avelisquilts.blogspot.com/2013/07/baby-baby-baby-doll-that-is.html

This doll quilt is also made out of crumb strips. I have been making 4 1/2 inch blocks and 2 1/2 inch strips every day, they are so easy to make. That way I would have plenty available whenever I need to make a quilt.

I used only the 2 1/2 inch strips in the quilt above. I wanted to make a different pattern for this little granddaughter so I sewed the 2 1/2 inch strips around a 4 1/2 inch square and then joined those blocks together. 

The original block is the one above. It looks great by itself.  But, I see that when I put these together with nothing in between, it's too too busy for my tastes. I tried to improve the look with the hearts appliqued.  But, as you can see that didn't work too well.

This is the baby doll quilt with hearts machine appliqued onto the 4 1/2 inch squares.

These are close ups of the hearts on the quilt. There are five of them.

I couldn't make up my mind on which way to put the strips of fabric so I  experimented.

I am not going to change it. It is a baby doll quilt after all. A quilt that will be played with all the time. I am sure the baby doll won't mind and my granddaughter will love that I made it for her.

Having made these two little baby doll quilts I have discovered that making little quilts this size is a perfect way to see how I like a block in a quilt. 

 Great experiment! I am glad that I did it! Now I know not to use this block in that way in a regular quilt. Maybe I will add sashing between the blocks or maybe bigger plain squares of fabric. I see more experimenting in my future.  For now, I will just finish this little quilt.

That's it for today. . . enjoy your quilting!

Aveli

Two Birthdays!!

My birthday was this past week. 

Unfortunately, I didn't want one!

I don't want anymore birthdays. I am getting too old! How old? Well, I don't want to publish my exact age on the internet, but I can truthfully say I am beyond 40. . . way beyond! LOL!!!

I had a great day for my day before my birthday!

My youngest son came to visit us in the mountains. He hadn't come for quite a few months. He decided we would celebrate my birthday the day before my birth date because he had to leave for home early the next day.

He made dinner . . . steaks and roasted cubed herb potatoes, also some roasted cubed herb turnips. I had never had turnips before so that was a small adventure. He has become an excellent cook. He also surprised me with baking a cake for me. What was really surprising is that he was able to work with a not too good oven. The cake came out great! No burnt edges like when I try to bake in my oven. After we ate dinner, he cleared the table and surprised me even further by bringing the cake with candles lit. He and my husband sang "Happy Birthday"!

It made me feel very special and loved! Thank you so very much for that special unexpected birthday treat!

Speaking of unexpected birthday treats .. .

A few weeks ago we were in Albuquerque for my granddaughter's birthday party. On the day of the party my youngest daughter mentioned that she had gotten a text from my oldest daughter, in California, saying the cookies for the birthday party would arrive in the morning of the party.

As we were discussing the text, my husband walked in the front door holding a little girl. I couldn't make out her face so I didn't react.  But then, my oldest daughter pokes her head to the side of my husband and I started yelling to my youngest daughter. "OMG!!!" "OMG!!" "OMG!"

She had driven overnight from California with my other granddaughter to attend the birthday party!!

We were surprised, astounded, shocked, excited!! Lots of hugs and kisses and lots of pictures taken.

But she said she had to leave the next day in order to be home by Monday.  WOW!! Short as it was it was great to have my girls together. I love when we get together, planned or unplanned! 

No quilting on this post, just a lot of love!

Until next time . . . keep on quilting!

Aveli

Scrappy Cushion, Part One

I bought a cheap rolling office chair for my sewing desk a few weeks ago. Because of the up and down nature of ironing, cutting and sewing fabric, using a regular chair is hard on the chair and the floors.

After sitting on this rolling chair for a few weeks I noticed how hard the cushion felt after a few minutes. I decided to make a cushion from my scraps to use on this chair.

I have been saving all my tiny crumbs (pieces of fabric less than one inch square), sliver trimmings from squaring up my blocks, thread ends from taking out bastings and that small piece of embroidery thread that you can't use for anything.

My neighbor gave me a large plastic bin that she had saved from her last get together, where the cheese balls had come. See picture below. I also had a small container full of these little bits. I put the tape measure in the picture so you can get an idea of how tall the bin is.

Now what was I going to use for the cover? I didn't want to use good fabric because this was only going to be the inner casing to put the tiny scraps into.  I want to be able to take the "nicely" decorated outer cover off for laundering. Kind of like a pillow case but fitting more snugly.

I decided to use an old pillow case. As you can see by the character on it, it is very old but still in useable shape.

I draped the pillowcase over the seat of the chair and cut it down to a size that leaves enough room for the stuffing and the hem to close it.

After stuffing and sewing the pillow case closed, I had to deicde what quilt block will I use for the outer "decorated" casing?

Since I have several small "orphan" blocks, you know, those "test" blocks, blocks that came out wrong for the design or blocks that didn't quite meet my expectations; I decided to use those with some sashing around each orphan.

I will take pictures as I put the cover together and post those on another day.

Meanwhile, keep on quilting!

Aveli

Hexagon Box Pattern

I am reposting this for those of you that are working on hexagon quilts.  The Hexagon Box Pattern is still available.  If you are not familiar with this pattern that I designed, here is some information on it from a previous post . . .

http://avelisquilts.blogspot.dk/2013/07/hexagon-box-repost.html

If you would like to see what a customer did with her pattern, go to this page . . .

http://avelisquilts.blogspot.com/2013/08/customers-picture-of-hexie-box.html

The offer in the above posting still stands. If you make this pattern box and send us a picture by email and we post it on my website or on this blog, we will send you a packet of freezer paper hexagons as a thank you. 

You can always buy containers, but I like to recycle as much as I can. So, I use cereal boxes. They are a perfect thickness and easy to use. Plus it keeps trash out of the landfill.

It's a short posting today!

Meanwhile . . . keep on quilting!

Aveli

Simple Needle case

After years and years of putting my needles on my spool of thread while working on my projects (see photo) I decided to make a simple needle case (book style).

I didn't want it to be too large so I cut the "cover" fabric about 4"x 6". Of course you can make it whatever size you want. Just remember to allow at least half an inch on all four sides to turn under for the finished hem.

The "pages" where needles and pins will be placed are sized 2 3/4" x 2 1/2". One side is bigger to allow for the "binding" edge where it will be sewn all together. I used three "pages" of leftover batting in black and white. I used black in the middle so it would be easier for my aging eyes to separate the individual pages.

Position the batting inside of the cover fabric to make sure there is enough room for the hems. Also make the back cover extend beyond the pages leaving enough to hem and to bring forward to close the book. 

Fold the hem of the front cover to where it will cover the pages. 

Bring the back cover forward to make sure it overlaps the front

Sew the front hem and sew all the hems around all sides. I used straight stitch but a decorative stitch will dress this up quite a bit.

Position your pages in the middle and sew through all the layers on the left side. Notice that the back cover extends beyond the front cover and the pages.

This is almost finished! I just need to decide what fastener I want to put on the cover to keep it closed.

This is the open view with the pages sewn in.

I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial. I plan on making one of these to keep with each individual project. They are super easy to make because they are not fancy.  Although if you want to decorate it with embroidery or quilting you can. If you make one of these, send me a photo and I will post it on my website and here in the blog. 

Looking forward to hearing from you. . . keep on quilting!

Hexagon quilt update

Here is the latest on my 1" Hexie "Insanity" quilt.

It has grown a little since this last picture. I will post it as soon as I can.

Today I am taking it easy for Mother's Day!

Till next time . . . keep quilting!

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

For tomorrow that is!

It's been awhile since I have posted anything! It is amazing how quickly time passes.

There have been numerous upheavals, downward spirals, great challenges, and wonderful happenings since I last posted . . . too numerous to post now! So I will begin at the present!

This time of year there are a lot of graduations happening all over the nation. In our family I can think of two immediate family graduations, both of them female and both of them from college.

Congratulations Ladies!  We need more women to continue to get a higher education diploma!

Before I get on my soap box, I will start with my status on my quilting.

I have been continually working on my 1 inch hexie quilt.  Since this project only comes out when I travel in the car or train, it is still far from completion.

Once I started the one inch hexie quilt, I fell in love with the whole process and have started a 3/4" Hexie dresser scarf or table runner. I haven't decided which way it will go until I how see the completed project looks. I am not using a pattern just throwing them together.  Thus the wait and see attitude!  I like the one inch hexies for my bed quilt, but I like the more delicate look of the 3/4" hexie size for the table or dresser.

I am using Freezer Paper Hexies for both projects. Freezer paper is so much easier than any other method. It cuts down on basting and removing basting and as such cuts the time needed to complete the project. This project comes out whenever I am not working on the sewing machine or hand quilting other quilts.  So hopefully I will have this project done by the end of summer!

I have added a new page to my blog with some of the items that I sell on my website.  The 3/4" Freezer Paper Hexie is the first item I have listed because it is on auction on Ebay.  But, I also sell it on my website. I also sell 1" and 2" hexies on my website and other freezer paper shapes. Take a look . . . www.avelisquilts.com

If you are not sure about Freezer Paper and do not want to commit to buying a bunch of hexies that you will never use, please email me and I will send you a sampler to try out.  You will receive 3 pieces of each size that I sell on my website, 3/4", 1" and 2" and an instruction sheet to help you get acquainted with the freezer paper method -- at no cost to you!

Well I guess that's it for now .... Happy Quilting!

Taking a lunch break

I have been working on getting my stuff together for the next flea market event in Mora at the VFW Hall on August 9, 2014; which is next Saturday.

We had brought quite a few boxes from our storage unit in Las Vegas this past week.  Little by little we are emptying that unit and filling up the unit here at home.

Among the boxes we brought was a small container full of ribbons and lace that I have had since I don't remember when.  See picture below

The grey container in the picture above was tightly packed and full to the brim.  I started sorting and measuring so I can sell them at the flea market.

When I decided to take a lunch break this is how much I had measured and packaged . . . 

Just a little over a shoe box size full and the grey container is still half full!  I still have a lot of work to do on this project before Saturday.  But, first I took a lunch break!

My husband had made some wonderful New Mexico Red Chile for us. He is one of the best New Mexico Red Chile makers ever. So I made myself an enchilada, New Mexico style (stacked) without the egg, and lots of cheese for lunch.

WOW! I can't believe I ate that whole thing! Boy was I hungry!

Now for a quick dessert! YUM! YUM!

Chocolate always helps cut the spicy of the chile.

Now it's time to get back to work!

New Scrappy Purse

I needed a small purse to carry my phone this weekend. We are going to the Mora Fiestas on Saturday. There is going to be street dancing so I didn't want to take a big bulky purse. I used two of my crazy quilt squares that I always sew.  . .have tons of them. The lining is made from fabric that my daughter in law gave me.  I also used that fabric to add a small money pocket. Then I added a strap so I can carry it over my shoulder while I dance! That is if my hip is in good condition!! LOL!

The purse is in front of the vintage machine that I cleaned up and got it running. Very very nice machine and powerful.

Small Tornado Hits My Hexies!

So I am over at my daughter's house. We came to have a family barbecue. We were not able to get together for " Fourth of July" because of my hip so we are getting together now.

Anyway, I brought my plastic bin full of quilting supplies to work on my hexies while we drive here and while I have down time at my daughter's house.

I usually only work on them in the early morning hours and in the late evening before retiring. Yesterday I brought the bin out and was working on the hexies while the granddaughter was still asleep. I didn't pay attention when she came down and she saw the bin.  Of course her two year old eyes lit up with the possibility of a new toy! She was very polite and asked if she could touch the hexies. I guess she thought they were puzzle pieces. She was trying to lay them out and connecting them like puzzle pieces.

She loved all the pieces, there were so many! Then I asked her what color the pieces were and she got every one correct except the grey!

We had a great time "sewing"!

I told her mommy that I hoped this was an indication of her interest in quilting! LOL!!

The first picture is what my bin looks like normally and the second after the "little tornado" did her "sewing"!

Going to Albuquerque

We are on the way to Albuquerque to visit our daughter, son, and grandchildren.

Very beautiful scenery along the way.

We are approaching a village called Sapello (saw-pay-yo) when you're heading south from Mora toward Las Vegas, New Mexico, USA on highway 518.

As you pass Sapello and get closer to Las Vegas, you will pass Storrie Lake on the right. Because of the drought we have been experiencing, the level of the lake is pretty low.

But, even as low as the water is, it is summer and there are always campers in the Storrie Lake State Park.

I always enjoy our drive down from our mountain no matter how many times I see it.