Sewing And A Solution...

Prairie Queen Block

In spite of a mandatory shopping trip and a thunder storm with lightning which requires that I shut down my sewing machine to avoid damage, I was able to make a few new blocks for my Farmer's Wife Sampler quilt yesterday.

The first new one I made is the Prairie Queen block. Half square triangle blocks and tiny four-patches combine to create this block. I really like it!

Railroad Block

Next, I tackled the Railroad block consisting of more four patches and half square triangles. Love it!

I have special memories of a train trip when I was about eleven years old.  A friend of our family worked for the Soo Line Railroad which regularly ran between Stevens Point, Wisconsin and Chicago, Illinois. I'm not quite sure how it was arranged, but my parents allowed our friend to take my younger sister (he was her godfather) and me to the Brookfield Zoo during our summer vacation.

I remember seeing all the animal exhibits and purchasing coolie hats (like the little Chinese figures that adorned my Grandmother's living room tables wore) as our souvenirs! We spent the entire day at the zoo, and at the end of the day, we boarded the train again for our return trip to Fond du Lac. (The train always made regular stops there on the way back to Stevens Point).

My father was supposed to pick us up at the train station at 10 pm, but he didn't make it in time to take us off the train before it had to leave the station. (hmmm) Our friend said he wasn't going to leave us alone at the station at such a late hour, so we ended up going all the way to Stevens Point with him (where my Grandma lived). Once we arrived, he dropped us off at my grandparent's house, where my sister and I thanked him for a great day and then fell, exhausted, into the beds in the guest room. 

The next day, my father had to drive over two hours to pick us up in Stevens Point! I never did know exactly why he wasn't waiting for us at the station in Fond du Lac, but his punishment was about five hours of driving...and I suspect a tongue-lashing from my mother for not meeting our train.

As kids, we never thought about that part of the trip. Our adventure was our first train ride and a great day spent at the zoo!

Economy Block in Progress

By the end of the day, I'd also previewed and cut the fabrics for this Economy block. I'll sew it together today, and decide which ones are next on my list.  Then, I'll be cutting into the fabrics for my wedding quilt project. (I know. Can you see me juggling from where you're sitting? Whew!)

Photo courtesy of Home Depot

The recently deceased refrigerator has a replacement on its way. We chose this GE Profile side-by-side model in stainless steel. It's the same model that we replaced when we purchased the Amana french door model that just croaked. That fridge was moved into our garage where it's been faithfully chugging away in less than a climate-controlled environment. Never a complaint or problem. Why wouldn't I decide to go back to the same manufacturer after being so disappointed by its replacement?

Photo courtesy of Home Depot

I'd actually have brought that one back into the house, but there would probably be more money involved to "clean it up" than it's worth. So, it will stay where it is, and the new one will be delivered on Saturday. Now that that problem is resolved, I can concentrate on more enjoyable pursuits. Like sewing!

I'm so glad you enjoyed the post yesterday. Many of you said that your brains were churning with new ideas. I know exactly what you mean, and I'm so glad that I could pass on the inspiration. After I go back through all my notes, I'll share some more ideas that I learned at the meeting.

Sherry at Createology posted about her Farmer's Wife blocks today, too. You might want to stop by and see her blocks. Her quilt is going to be fabulous! Click here to visit her.   

I'll be posting more blocks in a day or so and will add more links so you can see more of the other women's blocks. In the meantime, you can always click on the Farmer's Wife QAL button in my left sidebar to go to our group Flickr album to see their progress.

One last thing, if you ask me a question and you're a "no comment blogger", please add your email address to your comment so that I can respond to you. Thanks! See you tomorrow.