OMG

My August OMG was to finish 80 Quarter Log Cabin Blocks.  DONE!!  I have 112 blocks made--

I'm linking back to Elm Street Quilts.  Woohoo!!  Those blocks are packed up ready for the design wall.

~LORI in Nebraska~

Bat Adventures

The Visitor Center gets bats inside every so often.  They are a protected species so we don't kill them.  A big "bat net" to catch them, and "bat gloves" to handle them.

I'm not scared of the bats.  Especially since I have a good grip on him, he's not going to crawl up my arm.  Bats cannot fly from a standstill like a bird, they need to "drop" in order to fly.  

Notice the thick leather gloves.  He can't bite me through them. 

Usually if we toss them gently into the air they will fly away.  Usually.

This bat was a bit lethargic and didn't fly, so instead we took him to a big tree which he quickly climbed.  Bats eats lots of insects and we appreciate that.  

Cecely discovered another nest of bunnies in the flower pots.  

I wonder how many we didn't see??!!  They better quit reproducing, winter is coming!  

~LORI in Nebraska~

Online Ordering and a Birthday

Ordering online is so convenient.  Except for when I have problems.  Recently I ordered a memory card for my new tablet.  Look closely--

There is nothing in the package!!  Empty!  All neatly sealed.  When I contacted Amazon about this I HAVE TO MAIL BACK THE EMPTY PACKAGE!  Yes, they provide the mailing label and postage, but I sure feel strange about mailing back "nothing".  I wondered if the human who packed this order even looked at the package.  I'll be honest, the last five times I have ordered online, I have had a problem.  Not only Amazon but other websites.  I have ordered the right item, but received the wrong (or missing) items.  

This week was also Ken's birthday.  We celebrated with Nick, Laura Beth and the boys.  The grandson's helped Grandpa blow out his candles--

Laura Beth calls them the "Four Doorknobs", they were acting silly.  Nick grilled burgers and hot dogs--Ken's favorite foods!  Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

Have a great week!

~LORI in Nebraska~

Design Wall Monday and Weekly Goals

This week was all about new starts.  There is limited stash to work with at the camper, but I did cut a tote of 2.5" strips.  They have been a LIFE SAVER!!  A new start is Stoplight--

40 blocks are made.  First I cut 4 - 6.5" strips, then I sewed the leftover parts of the strips into strip sets of four.  I cut 8.5" rail fence blocks, then cut the remainder into 2.5" strips.  Next I sewed them end to end then picked them apart every three squares to make the centers for the Stoplight blocks.  Voila!  All the bits are used!  WIN WIN WIN!!  I'm linking up with Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework and Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.

Weekly Goals--

Stoplight blocks

Rail Fence blocks

Sew some binding

Its the last week of August and I'm not ready for summer to end!

~LORI in Nebraska~

Rainbow Scrappy Saturday--Neutrals!

August is neutrals--so I used white squares in a new start--

Jelly Roll Twist!  Its a free pattern, I used 2.5" strips from my strip box and white 5" squares.  I made enough blocks for a twin size quilt (75x90") in one day.  Please see what everyone else is working on with neutrals at SoScrappy.

Friday was a long busy day volunteering.  When I got home I put my feet up and--

Moustache didn't want to be left out, he must have had a long cat day--

It was an empty bottle but he had to taste it anyway!  

Have a great weekend! 

~Lori in Nebraska~

Eclipse

Yesterday was the eclipse and we had fun.  Karla had a homemade viewing box--

Yes, it worked!  David demonstrated the proper way to wear the special glasses--

Did we see much of the eclipse?  No--just bits and pieces due to heavy clouds which turned into this--

A heavy rain with lots of wind!  This picture was taken from inside the Visitor Center.  We had 1" of rain, but parts of South Dakota, Iowa, and Minnesota had much more with high winds, hail, and flooded roads.  I'm not sure how much rain we had in our fields, but Ken said the ditches were full of water and parts of the fields had standing water.  As dry as we have been I doubt the standing water will be there yet today.  

Although I didn't see much of the eclipse, I knew there would be great pictures online and on TV and didn't feel left out.  Teresa in Kentucky sent me pictures from Paducah--

Thank you Teresa!  

This weekend was Riverboat Days in Yankton.  Laura Beth, Nick, and the grandsons camped next to us.  We had LOTS of fun!  Moustache was popular--we had to make a few rules.  If Moustache went under the door to "escape" the boys had to leave him alone--

Its important that Moustache has a "safe" place.  Another safe place was under the recliner--he often went there to nap.  You can see the boys love Moustache, and it became a fun game for them to look under the door, and Moustache to peek out at them!  Don't worry, Moustache played with them and had lots of petting.  After they left he did this--

He slept until late evening!  Its no secret I HATE spiders.  This morning I decided to unfold my wagon to let it dry--

UGH!  He (she?) was the size of a fifty center piece.  Its a variety of Wolf spider near as I can tell.  I hope he's gone by the time I get back!

I'm caught up on laundry and did some hand sewing of binding last night.  Maybe I can pull my sewing machine out and sew a little this week.

~Lori in Nebraska~

For Sale

For Sale--gently used Solar Eclipse Viewing Glasses.  Be prepared for 2024!

 

~Lori in Nebraska~

Random Pictures

The rabbits and gophers ate most my plants this year.  But if I put them on a picnic table the critters leave them alone--

Zucchini, cucumbers, and morning glories.  I have zucchini ready to pick.  The cucumbers are blooming like crazy but none to eat yet.  Mustache slept in his bed for the first time--

 

The mailman delivered a box--

It contained three quilt tops, five backings, and a big handful of 2.5" strips!  Thank you Judy!!  I will quilt these and donate them to McCrossan Boy's Ranch.

 Family time this weekend.  We're really looking forward to it!

~LORI in Nebraska~

A Lovely Rain

We've been dry so rain is a welcome sight.  It started raining yesterday and it continues today.  Everything will be fresh and clean.  

Its usually bright blue skies here.  But rain is welcome!  

I sewed with 2Rs on Saturday, and I put the borders on Monday--

Its about 75x85" so its a good sized quilt.  Everything but the white background came from 2Rs stash--thank you 2Rs! 

We both used the same focus fabric and were wondering how different our tops would look.  Here is 2Rs quilt--

There's won't be much sewing this week.  Volunteering and Riverboat Days are this weekend and we will have family camping with us.  

Summer is winding down and I'm not ready for it to end.  

~LORI in Nebraska~

Rainbow Scrappy Saturday-Anything Goes!

This week I worked on more Ritzy Cracker blocks--

I am SURE I cut parts for 20 blocks but there are only 18 here.  I will search for more later.  Please see what everyone is making at SoScrappy.

Do you make your blocks exactly the right size when you cut them?  I do not--if I am making HST I cut them a bit bigger and trim them later--

Just slivers from each block.  I have a crooked eye/crooked rotary cutter/crooked 1/4" foot on my sewing machine.  Pick any one of these excuses for why I like to square up my pieces!  

Today I am sewing with Lorri2Rs.  We are doing the mystery quilt at QT Mystery

called Which Way.  Here are the fabrics I'm using--

Lorri2Rs is using the same focus fabric, but is using a darker gold and a lime green for background.  Mine is using the white for background.  We are wondering how different our quilts will look?   

~Lori in Nebraska~

Design Wall Monday and Weekly Goals

I finished making the Quarter Log Cabin Blocks-

I enjoyed making them so much I made a few too many, there are 112 finished blocks.  That's okay, they can be "seed" for the next one.  Its a great pattern that uses 2.5" strips and is free.  I'm linking to Quilting is More Fun than Housework and Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.  I also cut the pieces for the QT Mystery called "Which Way".  QT is a Yahoo Group.  This mystery starts the 12th of August, the pattern is written by my friend Liz.  I didn't have any focus fabric for this mystery in my camper.  Lorri2Rs drove 60 miles to bring me some!  She and her mother road tripped and I met them in town.  She drove home in the pouring rain.  What a friend!  She brought me the print and a TOT yellow that is a little lighter than the one in the picture.  I paired it with a white.  My pieces are cut and ready to go!  I plan on driving to her house on the 12th to sew.  

I love the exotic tropical print.  It has shades of green, yellow, orange, and purple in it.  

Weekly Goals--

RCS blocks

Chocolates On My Pillow

Binding

I have a busy week planned, not sure how much sewing time I will have.  I'm looking forward to sewing with 2Rs on the 12th!   Do you have friends to sew with?  Is it a set time (monthly, weekly)?  

~Lori in Nebraska~

How does my garden grow?

How does my garden grow?  It GROWS well, but the rabbits and gophers eat it all!  Well, they didn't eat my zinnias, but they ate the morning glories, moonflowers, sweet peas, and petunias I'd planted.  But, if I plant them in pots I can put them on the picnic tables and usually the critters leave them alone. 

I will move these plants to the top of a picnic table just in case the rabbits and gophers see the developing fruits.  My tomatoes are okay yet, but will put more fence around them, the kind a rabbit cannot slip through and a gopher will have to climb over or dig under.  Hopefully they think its too much work for a tomato!

How is your garden this year?  

~Lori in Nebraska~

 

Sometimes I drive myself crazy

Since Moustache came to live with me, I've learned to leave nothing I don't want on the floor put away.  I have a small zipper bag I keep my scissors, thimble, needles, and thread for binding in.  Its not very big and I remembered putting it away to keep it safe.  Too bad I forget where I put it!   For 1.5 hours yesterday I looked for it.  Finally I gave up and decided to sew.  Guess what I found!

I'd slid it underneath the bed extension on the Featherweight!

Sometimes strange things happen.  Recently the small lake below the dam had what looked like algae bloom--

See it on the top of the photo, the light parts?  Not algae, but the growth of bacteria that dissolves and creates sulfide in the water.  Magnesium in the sediment becomes bound to the sulfide. The bacteria is in the sediment of the lake too.  Its usually is caused by wind stirring it all up.  It can kill off aquatic plants, and sometimes fish can be seen "gulping" air at the surface due to low dissolved oxygen in the water.  It has a very strong odor and kayakers reported it burned their eyes.  But its usually a temporary incident.  

Yesterday I sewed--92 Quarter log Cabin blocks need the last strip sewn on them.  Woohoo--I might make my OMG this month!  

~Lori in Nebraska~

OMG

August's OMG didn't happen.  This month I'll pick a different goal--maybe that will help!  I've been making Quarter Log Cabin blocks--

My August goal is to finish 80 of these blocks.  I have 20 made.  I'm linking up with Elm Street Quilts OMG and Oh Scrap.

~LORI in Nebraska~