Are you like me?
If I ever get behind on something, I always contemplate on giving up.  That’s where I am today.  In June, I started too many projects and now that the end of July is here, I am paying the price.

Here is my Crazy Mom Quilt a Long….two weeks behind.  UGH!

I keep telling myself, I could stop here and just make it a baby quilt.  Wouldn’t it be awesome just like it is….but I am NOT caving to the pressure.   I am going to finish it.  I have been having a bit of trouble getting everything to fit.  There’s definitely been a little juggling to make it work.  I normally don’t have trouble.  I’ve debated if there’s a problem with my 1/4″ seam allowance when sewing but I think it’s because the strips were not cut the width of the fabric.  I think cutting them the other way gives them a bit more give.  Others have been commenting about the same problem.

The Crazy Mom Quilt isn’t the only thing I am behind in….
I have my Mystery Quilt from Patchwork Times that need borders.

I have four quilts sitting my the quilting machine that need to be machine quilted.

I think I just need a day off OR TWO  to get caught up with sewing….unfortunately, it won’t be today, BUT  Hubby has a meeting tonight and the kids will be gone so I think I will at least plan some quality time to get this quilt caught up.

Yesterday I was the guest blogger over at Stash Manicure.  Today I thought I would answer a few of the questions I got….

Question one:  Can I post some close up photos?
Answer YES!

This is a close up of the trivet.  You can see that my stitch length is at the widest setting.  You can see that I am catching the new added coil and the main piece in each zig zag.  I am using a brownish tan thread that blends.  I have seen light colors sewn with black thread and that was neat.

Question Two:  Do you use bias pieces or what?
Answer:  No…you don’t use bias pieces…you could but it isn’t necessary.  Here’s a salvage edge that I am wrapping around the clothesline.  I would glue the end in place with a glue stick and then glue a new color down and start wrapping with the new piece of fabric.  I only glue at the start and finish and about every 12 inches in between.

Question Three:  Do you sew at an angle?
Answer:  Keep EVERYTHING as flat as possible if you are making a trivet, coaster or rug.  The only time you need to angle is if you are making a basket…like I am making in the photo below.  The book, “It’s a Wrap” will give you all the specifics and varying angles.

QuestionFour:  How long does it take?  Answer in one evening after supper I made the four coasters and two trivets…probably about two hours.

You may notice in the coaster picture that the threads are closer together in the middle.  You are right.  They aren’t perfect.  Starting is REALLY a challenge.  If you can get your piece to 2″ in size, it will be MUCH easier.  Hang in there….breath and know the hard part will be over SOON.

I hope I answered most of your questions….Now for the giveaway winners:

1.  Karla

2.  Marie

3.  Mary

4.  Nancy Sue Phillips

5.  Melissa Corry

6.  Judy D

7.  SewLindaAnn

Congrats to all the winners.  I have emailed you for your shipping address so that you can get your little treasure.  And to those who weren’t the lucky ones this time….there is another giveaway in the works.  Don’t forget to sign up to win yesterday’s trivet!

I’m not lost….Gracie and I are guest blogging over at Stash Manicure.

If you want to see how to make this rug…or some other nifty, scrap busting projects, head on over and check it out.

I am also giving away the trivet I made….

You can win it by commenting on THIS blog by answering the following question…..
What would you like to see on my blog?

Check back on Friday and the wonderful random number generator will pick a number.

A few weeks ago, I got a stack of magazines at our local “used store”.  Since then I have been VERY busy reading a putting them to good use….

Here’s a sneak peek at what I’m working on.  Check back tomorrow and I’ll show you….It’s not quilting….but it’s sewing.  It’s lots of fun and TOTALLY addicting!

If you’re looking for the giveaway, here’s the link.

Here’s how the remodeling project is coming….

I think today the guys will be pouring the cement for the garage floor.

It will be SO nice once the project is finished.  Right now my house is INFESTED with flies.  The door that leads from the kitchen to the addition doesn’t seal leaving a super highway for flies to find a new home in MY home.  The fly swatter can’t move quick enough for the little buggers so the spray can is going to have to come out.

The workers are timing things perfectly with all the rain we have been getting.  They have been able to work inside when it rains and outside when it isn’t.

So far my favorite thing about the remodeling project….the smell.  Yes, the smell.  For years the drain hasn’t worked right and we’ve had a sump pump doing some of drainage work.  There always seemed to be a musty basement smell to the house.  Well no more!  We have everything draining perfectly and the smell is gone.

Being I work at home, having all the workers around is TOTALLY distracting.  There are people walking past my window…constant talking and hammering which gets Gracie in a frenzy…sawing and the like.

Hopefully a few more weeks and I’ll be back to the peace and quiet.

A couple months ago my daughter Kelli saw an idea over at Moda Bake Shop and decided to give it a try.  It was for a Turning Corners Table Runner.  Well….somehow, a corner got turned the wrong way and ooops…UGH!…no table runner.   We tried, she tried….we all tried to get the blocks to twist into something new but no luck.  The blocks were banished to a dark corner until last night when Kelli resurrected them into this….

It’s going to be a little boy baby quilt.  She isn’t sure if she want to add more borders yet but for now, it has moved over into the success category!

My family LOVES homemade tapioca pudding.  I don’t mind making it…but…”once in while” I get distracted and it gets burned.  Today I tried a new recipe that tastes wonderful and eliminates most of chances of burning it because it is made in the crock pot!  This was one of the those recipes I just had to try because making pudding in a crock pot just sounds like it wouldn’t work…but it did!

Here’s the recipe:
Put the following ingredients into your crock pot:
2 quarts milk
1 cup small pearl tapioca
1.5 cups sugar….you can use only 1 cup if you prefer
Cook these ingredients in your crock pot for 3 hours on high.

When the 3 hours are up, in a separate bowl mix together:
4 beaten eggs
2 t vanilla and 1/2 cup of the milk mixture from the crock pot.

Now whisk the egg mixture with the crock pot mixture together in the crock pot.  Cook on high 20 more minutes.  Chill and eat.  It’s great alone, with whip cream or with fruit.  Yummy!

A bonus for me is that it uses FOUR eggs….when you have chickens, you are always looking for egg recipes.   If you are teaching kiddos, this recipe is a great for them to watch and participate in.  It’s fun to see the liquid milk turn into a creamy pudding.

P.S.  If you are here looking for the giveaway….here’s a link.

I am finally getting to my Schnibble Contest quilt.  I am REALLY far behind.  Most of the participants for Charming Chatter’s  group are quilting their quilts….me, not so much.  I just cut mine out yesterday and managed to get a block sewn together last night.

…so far I am loving it.  The fabric is Moda’s new Collection for a Cause Hope.  It’s a great mix of blues, reds, browns, and creams.  I love how the striped print looks in the Hot Cross block.  I am anxious to get it all together to see how it’s going to look.

I should have been working on it over the weekend but I had an OVERWHELMING need to clean my sewing room.  When the cleaning mood hits, I need to go with it because that doesn’t happen often.

If you didn’t see yesterday’s post, check it out….It’s a give away post.

Hopefully, I’ll carve out some sewing time tonight.

***This giveaway has CLOSED**
I’ll be doing another giveaway in September….

Hey all….I spent the weekend cleaning out my sewing room.  I decided my loss can be your gain.  Rather than put the goodies on the neighbors garage sale, I thought I would pass them on to you.  All of the items, I bought with good intentions of making them, but somehow, lost my enthusiasm for the project.

Here’s the merchandise:

Item 1:  Atkinson Design book, “Happy Hour” and apple core flag pattern

Item 2:  Two Christmas Patterns

Item 3:  Set of 12 Joined at the Hip monthly quilts along with the Rise and Shine pattern shown.

Item 4:  Mittens pattern and Mittens Tree Skirt Pattern along with a fabric kit.

Item 5:  Star of Wonder Panel and Book from Art to Heart

Item 6:  Stitching Patterns for a bag and two different pillows

Item 7:  Partially finished summer quilt along with the patterns for all four seasons.

Here’s how it will work.   For one chance to win reply to this post by telling me which item you would like to win.  I will have seven separate buckets and I’ll put your name in the bucket that you choose.  Tuesday the 27th, I will pull a name from each bucket and that will determine the winner of each item.
If you want another chance, you can sign up to join Jo’s Country Junction on Facebook, become a follower or add me to your blogroll…make sure you come back and tell which bucket you want your name in!

If you want another chance….you can blog about the giveaway….again….make sure come back and tell which bucket you want your name in!

Your chances will improve on winning if you choose to put your chance in a bucket that doesn’t have as many names in.

Thanks for helping me clean my sewing room!

Oops…I forgot to tell you that you can put ALL of your chances in the same bucket!

Yesterday when I was in town, I stopped at our “used” store.  I have been needing a new ironing board and was excited to see that they had several ranging in price from $1-$6.  I started checking them out, and the cheapskate that I am of course started with the $1 one.  Well it didn’t have a cover so I quickly moved on.

The last one…the $6 one….was EXTREMELY sturdy.  I set it up and noticed it even had a lever.  It was an adjustment lever so I could adjust the height of the ironing board without having to flip it over.  The cover was in decent shape and it was VERY heavy compared to the others.  I “broke the bank” and bought it.

When I got home, I decided that the cover from my old ironing board was in better shape so as I was changing the cover I noticed another lever underneath.  I pulled the lever and the ironing board went from having a narrow tapered end to having a wide squared end.  I was so in  awe!!  I’ve been ironing on junkie ironing boards my entire life….this was a Cadillac.

Who knew six dollar ironing board could thrill a person?!  I guess that just goes to show what a simple girl I am.  I went to the internet to see if I could find any information about the ironing board.  It is a Rid-Jid brand.  I found this ad and discovered that you can sit and iron without banging up your knees…LOVE IT!

Mine seems to be a newer version as it doesn’t have the thin metal pieces the one in the ad has.  I was oggling and awe-ing over it SO much that my daughter grabbed her video camera and captured me.

Now for my dilemma….Where can I find an ironing board cover that will expand at the end so it can convert to a square end?  Any ideas would be helpful.