Gayle's Gallery

New couch

Gayle — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 19:49:57 +0000

We went to find a new couch and chair today.

YAY! I have a place to sit, other than at my desk. I am going to test them both for the rest of the day.

They aren’t exciting, but sure better than what we had.

Common Flicker

Gayle — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 22:50:39 +0000

Look who came to see us today:

I have been seeing this Common Flicker for several days, but today was the first time I got to photograph him.

Our American Smoke is particularly beautiful this year.

Yesterday, Steve’s brother came to help him move some farm implements and other crap. While he had help, I convinced Steve to get my 25 yr old couch out of this house.

Steve wondered if a bear might want to sleep on the burn pile! He will light it when it isn’t so windy.

I don’t have a replacement yet. Just empty space in my living room. I went to a local furniture store that is having a “going out of business sale”. The couch I saw 2 mos ago for 600.00 was marked at 1200.00 today. Half off means it is now 600. Great sale, huh? I didn’t buy anything. Have 2 more stores to check out in the coming days/week.

Lazy Sunday

Gayle — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 00:15:32 +0000

It’s been a lazy kind of Sunday. Got the work done this morning that had to be done and got to be lazy the rest the afternoon.

Took a nap.

Then I got too hot because my feet were in the sun.

and Steve was making too much noise, so I woke up.

Rubbed my itchy eye

Wiped my nose

Scratched my head

Prayed to find something interesting for supper

Stretched my back

And hopped to it!

Dresden plates

Gayle — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 03:23:02 +0000

Today I took the day off from my Gammill because I finished a really tough, big quilt yesterday. I sat at my machine and sewed together some Dresden plate blocks. I still have to turn the edges under on all the blades. Ugh… I am not fond of that part. But it will be good to have some hand work to do do in front of tv. After turning the edges under, I plan on machine stitching them to a plain block.

The cross stitch/embroidery blocks I hand stitched about 8 years ago. I would really like to get this put together and finished this year.

Who else is watching?

Gayle — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 00:44:49 +0000

Who else has been watching the Casey Anthony trial? Go ahead, admit it. You know you are. It is perfect entertainment while quilting. I can stop and watch at the good parts, follow along just by listening to all the rest.

Why do I care you ask? Mostly because I love the legal system. I have a Criminal Justice AA degree and took more law classes in college and grad school. I almost went to law school in the 80′s, but ultimately decided not to. Sometimes I regret that decision, mostly I don’t.

I think I also enjoy watching because of the cast of characters. I like the variety of human emotions, the use of science and technology, and the way the 2 sides present their arguments. Judge Perry rules the court with strict decorum, but still shows his brilliant humor from time to time. He is a smart man, for sure.

As of today, I think the prosecution is winning. But the defense hasn’t finished presenting their side, so maybe they will show or tell me something to change my mind. The first thing they need to explain is why Casey never told anyone Caylee was missing for 31 days. (hey Ricky, you got some s’plainin’ to do!) Convince me of a good reason, and THEN explain the rest to me. Then I would think there could be an acquittal. I don’t see that happening.

So go ahead, speak up. Who else is watching?? And what else are you doing while you watch? Quilting? Cooking? Knitting? Sewing? Cleaning house?

Black Beauty

Gayle — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 00:41:48 +0000

This is one of my all-time favorite quilts I have ever quilted or seen. I love the colors, the high contrast with the black background and the beautiful applique and embroidery designs.

The whole quilt:

Top half:

bottom half:

A few of my favorite blocks:

Love the way she used the fabric to do the work for her:

Can you pick a favorite? Just one? Really? I can’t.

And a close up of the variegated bias tape she used in the border. Perfect fabric choice for the inner border too.

It was so fun to get to work on this one! Hope you enjoyed the show.

A quilt for our own bed

Gayle — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 18:46:22 +0000

Like the cobbler’s children who have no shoes, we have had no decent quilt on our bed. Until now.

This quilt started as a round robin. I did the middle (the bird in the branches) and then it got shipped off to the next person for the next border around it. It went to a total of 4 other people, then came back to me. When I go it, it looked like this:

I loved it so much, I decided to make it big enough for our bed. I tried to imitate some of the borders that were done in the round robin. This quilt ended up to be 124″ long and 128″ wide. I had to put it on Steve’s machine to quilt it, because I only have a 12 foot table, he has a 14 foot table on his machine. And since it was so big, I did not do custom quilting. The pantograph on it is called Wandering Daisies.

Elizabeth is 7

Gayle — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 22:31:39 +0000

Happy Birthday to my sweet granddaughter Elizabeth, who is 7 today! She just got pretty glasses about a week ago!

Gayle — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 02:13:00 +0000

my twin brother died last night.

mri tomorrow.

another mri monday.

quilting deadlines.

too much of life is getting in the way to blog much.

didn’t forget you!

back soon.

promise.

Sexy tree

Gayle — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 23:32:24 +0000

Steve: “I wish that Blue Spruce would get some pinecones on it so I could get some seeds.”
Me: “Is it a sexy tree?”
Steve: “You mean does it need another tree to pollinate it? I think you are asking how it propagates.”
yeah. I was. I love him. He knows what I mean when I don’t know how to say it. The blue spruce, I used to call the tree of life because of the wildlife living it it. It is now the sexy tree.

This is typical of how I talk when I am sick. Can’t find the word or string of words. Steve has become a great translator.