Thursday, August 16, 2012

The Assembly Line

When I was in high school, I worked at the local factory on the assembly line. I did not much enjoy it, but I was thankful for the opportunity to earn some money.
Who knew I would be applying assembly line technology in my adult life?

I've been piecing the Grama Scrappy blocks in assembly line procedure. It is going much more quickly than individual block piecing, and I am enjoying it more!
I realize I have more assembly line application in life....
it works well when canning green beans and applesauce too!
When it cools down a bit, (we are under an excessive heat warning...it may get up to 92 degrees. Yikes!) I will be making jam; in September the plums will be ready for canning! I do enjoy a good harvest...

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Grama Scrappy

So I opened up the Koala Cub Cabinet on Thursday, after 10 weeks of being all closed up; the Juki sewing machine is so happy to see the light of day again!

I made a few more of the Grama Scrappy blocks. I call it Grama Scrappy because my MIL has given me all her small scraps, and I am using them to make a scrappy quilt.
Each block is 9" finished and uses 49 pieces of fabric 1.5" wide. I have 20 blocks finished, and I took the time to make sure I had enough scraps to make 35 more blocks.
 After assembling each block one at a time, I have decided to piece the rest in more workable chunks.

On another note, this morning the postman dropped off a box for me. I ordered a few more pieces of my dinnerware with birthday money. (Thanks, MOM!) The pattern is Rose-a-Day, vintage 1959-1962ish, and I always keep my eyes open for pieces I don't have. These came from Replacements.com.
 I had to laugh...
These are soup bowls. The ones on the left are the ones I have had for a while. The ones on the right are the newly-arrived ones. I expected them to be a bit different but not THAT different! (The Vernonware company was bought out by Metlox during production of this line, and they changed some of the sizes of the pieces.) The flatter ones will be great for pasta!
And the butter dish....was made for sticks (still available in the Midwest) and not cubes (like we have here on the West Coast). Oh well.

I have also been working on some rearranging and downsizing of the stuff I have in my kitchen. I finally put all my Rose-a-Day into the glass-fronted cupboard, and it looks soooo nice.
We are now using these every day. What fun!
It makes every mealtime special.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

I'm Back!!!

4,000 Miles
35 Days
3 Generations
1 Car
Historical Sites
Tours
Miles of Walking



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3 Weeks at Home

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1 Ferry Boat
5 Tents
11 Friends
17 Orca Whales
10 Mosquito Bites




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Home Again
Apples for Saucing
Beans for Canning
Berries for Jamming

Time for Quilting!