Another Quilting Update

 Hello!

Is the weather warming up in your neck of the woods? The sun has been out for days, and thankfully, we are moving into 40 degree weather for the next week. I am so looking forward to sunshine and warmer weather. A few days we could even be 50 degrees!

Quilting. This is addicting! I am still learning the ins and outs of my machine, every time I sit down I learn something new. I'm thankful for that. I sat down yesterday and just started grabbing fabric and sewing, with really no rhyme or reason. I am still having problems lining up my seams, but I am slightly improving with that. Any suggestions and tips would be helpful.

Here is one square I pieced together.

I then grabbed some larger precuts and pieced together this. I watched a reel on Pinterest for this same pattern and just went with it. Again, that top row has seams that are way off, but I am quite pleased with the rest of the seams, so I will actually quilt it and hang it on my craft room wall. After I trimmed, this block is 8x8. I can't wait to see it hanging on my wall above my bulletin board! I typically hang a 1x1 barn quilt above my board, since I have so many painted. I change them out seasonally/for different holidays. An actual quilt block will be a nice change! 

I made a quite a few mistakes on some other things I pieced together, which allowed me to break out the seam ripper and try some do-overs. This is all such a learning curve! I have realized I am not proficient enough to sew and chat over text with my friends at the same time! I sewed so much yesterday that I actually finished up all the thread on my bobbin!

Last night my husband went back out to the garage and cut and shaped a wooden "clapper" for me to use after ironing. I've seen them being used a lot in the YouTube videos I've been watching. It definitely seems 

like these will be helpful, and he offered to make me a few in different sizes. Right now its just a wooden block but I'm wondering if I should add some wax to it? I have some Dixie Belle clear wax and wonder if that would be good?

We ran into town to grab a a few things, and we stopped at Hobby Lobby and JoAnn's. I grabbed a few fat quarters to add to my stash. I am hoping that this year I can make a set of coasters, place mat, or a candle mat. I'm not sure which of those I will pick just yet, but I would love to complete a small project with some dreamy fabric and minimal mistakes!

I have decided that I am ready to purchase an Oliso iron. If you can recommend one, or another brand, please leave a comment or e-mail me. I'd prefer to not spend over $100. I'd really appreciate it!

Thanks for reading!

-Bunny

Part 2 - A Day in Hardinsburg

 If you read my last blog post about our day trip to Hardinsburg, you’ll remember I wrote about the time warp that is their local Walmart. Well, I have another time warp for you. We had the absolute pleasure to dine in at a Pizza Hut Classic. 

My husband and I are children of the 80’s, and grew up in the days of Book-It pizzas. I still have my Book-It pin too, full of star stickers for reading Sweet Valley Twins and the Babysitter’s Club. I’ll never forget the excitement of having that little pizza sat in front of me. I’m sure every generation looks back on their childhood and thinks “Man, we truly had it all.” 

I was so excited to see the vintage art on the walls, and of course, there’s my purple Book-It pin right in the center of this photo. I didn’t recognize any of the others. 

Every single table had the red and white tablecloths and the Pizza Hut Tiffany style lamp! 

They even had THE RED CUPS!!

We didn’t have our Book-It pins with us, so we actually had to pay for our food. 😁 We got a large pizza to share. Now, it was exactly the same pizza we could get at our local carry out/delivery location, but it was better, ya know? 

My husband said the only thing that was missing was a PacMan game! I’m gonna be honest with you, I’m seriously considering buying a Pizza Hut lamp, a PacMan machine, and some red cups for our family room pizza & movie nights! 

On our way out the door, I noticed this plaque at the door. 

If you’re interested, my husband found this website that lists all of the Pizza Hut Classic locations by state. I hope you’ll find one close to you, and relive some 80’s and 90’s nostalgia! 

https://www.sportskeeda.com/pop-culture/news-nostalgic-americana-best-list-pizza-hut-classic-restaurants-across-usa-explored-viral-tweet-sparks-frenzy

See you soon! 

-Bunny

#willtravelforfood

I kinda did it!

 As promised, here is my first ever update: Overall, I'd have to say I am pleased with my first attempt at a nine patch quilt block! 

I am very thankful for the suggestion of purchasing a 1/4 inch foot for my sewing machine. I did order one, and it arrived before I even started sewing! Being so new to this, I did order a Brother branded foot, because I'm just not sure that the generic stuff is compatible. These are all things that will be learned in time. Of course, I am quite wobbly with my machine still, and I will need a lot of practice keeping my fabric straight as I run it through. And I definitely need a ton of practice lining up my seams! I pinned a lot, or what I thought was a lot, but again, this will take practice.

Even with just this tiny taste, I can FOR SURE see how quilting can be addicting, and my Mama said, "It sounds like a good addiction to have!" I agree!!

In other news, all of our snow melted over the past few days from the big snowstorm of what, two weeks ago? It was lovely to see the grass again, even if it was all just a big muddy mess. Fast forward to today, and we woke up with an another inch or so of snow! And once again, everything is pretty again! I just looked out the window as I am typing this, (its just after noon EST) and it's STILL snowing.

I hope to practice with my sewing machine some this week when time allows. We have two very large furniture deliveries heading our way, one large delivery for my husband's home office furniture, and another for a couch and loveseat for our family room. The family room furniture is surprisingly due this coming week, so my time will be busy preparing for that. Funny, I just ordered the furniture this morning! To see a delivery date this week caught me by surprise, so my plans for today's snow day have altered. You know how some parts of your home just become a catch all? Well, the top of our stairs leading to our downstairs has become just that. It has a large landing, and we tend to just sit everything that needs to go downstairs at the top of the steps. You know, 5 gallon buckets of sugar for canning, our large crockpot and roaster, flats of empty mason jars, etc. We have a storage room with shelves downstairs where we store these things, but isn't it just easier to sit it on the landing? LOL! We have a lot of putting stuff away and staging we will need to do, and I'd like to list a few items on Facebook Marketplace as well.

I also need to finish up painting the trim in my husband's office and clean up any painting mistakes, in preparation for his furniture delivery, which should be coming in the next few weeks. (Fingers crossed!) I am so excited for him that he is finally getting such lovely furniture! If I haven't mentioned it before, my husband works from home.

Up next will be a MASSIVE painting project in our family room. The walls are primed, a color is picked, we just need to get started. It's a huge project, with our large family room, a landing, hallway, and the staircase that all needs painting. I will be so happy when its all done, and we can just relax and enjoy our family room. I think knowing the furniture is coming will help me get moving!

I hope you all have had a lovely weekend, wherever you are. 

Thank you so much for reading!

Stay warm out there!

-Bunny

A day in Hardinsburg, Kentucky

 Whenever we get the chance, my husband and I enjoy traveling to our surrounding counties and visiting much smaller towns than the one we live in. I’m sure as we are heading their way, the people there are heading elsewhere, towards a more populated area, with big plans for their day. Better shopping, bigger grocery stores, more variety. We tend be searching for small businesses and grocery stores, local restaurants and hidden gems. When you think about it, it’s quite funny! The grass is always greener! 

On this particular weekend, we visited Hardinsburg, Kentucky, which has a population less than 2,500 and is located in Breckenridge County. We took many back roads, and along those less traveled roads we stumbled upon so many beautiful barn quilts. 

The barn quilts didn’t slow down once we got into town, either! Hardinsburg is such a cute little town, and it seems that lots of the once empty storefronts are filling up. I love seeing downtowns being revived! 

There was a cute boutique called The Exchange on Main that I really wanted to go in, but of course it was closed. That’s always my luck! Also, there’s a restaurant called Nettie’s that’s on my list to try, but it was closed too. They have a Hot Brown Baked Potato on their menu that I’m just itching to try! 

The post office caught my eye. It reminded me of the post office in Camden, South Carolina. Whenever we travel, I’m always looking for the post office. I enjoy mailing things from small towns, but I also enjoy seeing the type of buildings they will stick a post office in. You don’t see many this beautiful anymore, especially in rural parts. There’s a town by me that just recently got a post office, and it’s in a single wide trailer. These beautiful brick post offices deserve to be photographed and admired! I mailed a card to my Mama on this day. My husband regularly cuts out his favorite funnies from our small town newspaper and mails them to her. She so looks forward to getting them, and we enjoy sending them. When we visit her, we see them all hanging on her fridge! 

Hardinsburg also has its own radio station! I used to listen to it a lot when we lived closer to Breckenridge County, but my radio antenna had to be positioned *just right*, and it was still a little fuzzy. There’s just something special about a small town with their own radio station! Clairee Belcher knew what she was doing when she bought KPPD! (That’s for you Steel Magnolias fans!) 

Now, this is something you don’t see much these days. This is an original Walmart that opened on February 5, 1985. Look how small it is! The garden center is in the parking lot, and if you’ll notice, you can still park facing the store. 

The inside was like walking into a time warp, and I loved it! There was something so comforting about this store. It felt safe, reassuring, and didn’t have the hectic atmosphere that the supercenters have. The customer service desk was still in the middle of the store, right when you walk in. It reminds me of the location my grandparents used to shop at in the early 90’s. The only thing missing was a Walmart cafe, and my Grandma and Grandpa sitting in a booth, chatting and laughing away.  Sigh. Those truly were the days, and we’ll never get them back. 

Did you notice that there is only EIGHT registers!? 

I purchased a yard of white cotton fabric for a beginners quilt pattern I will be working on. It will be my first mini quilt attempt ever, and I’ll always remember this first project, so hopefully I’ll remember that I bought some of the fabric for it at this cute little Walmart. 

Thanks so much for reading along on my small town adventure. Stay tuned for part 2 of my trip to Hardinsburg, which will be all about where we ate - ANOTHER TIME WARP!

Hope you’ll stick around!

-Bunny

#willtravelforfood

Quilting is a scrap of happiness

 Quilting. 

Oh, how I’ve dreamed of quilting over the years. I’ve spent a decade plus painting quilts, too afraid to break out that sewing machine. Believe me, I’ve so enjoyed painting barn quilts, but over the past two years, the fabric and the thread and my untouched machine sitting in its box started calling to me. Once I stumbled upon Lori Holt, Kimberly Jolly and her shop Fat Quarter Shop, it was game over, and I was done dreaming and not doing. 

I’m finally answering that call. 

In December, I got on Etsy and purchased a beginner’s quilt block pattern and instructions from a shop called StaceyLeeCreative. It was for a Nine Patch Quilt Block, came with written instructions and a YouTube video. Plus, it only cost $3.50. I have nothing to lose. 

I found some quilting fabric in my craft stash, so this has to be meant to be, right? Actually, I had been slowly buying a few things over the past few years in preparation for this quilting journey. I remember purchasing this fabric bundle from Shabby Fabrics back in 2017. Then, a few years ago I bought a rotary cutter and a ruler, but last month, I caught a sale at Joann’s, and bought some more rulers and a cutting mat at 50% off. I also purchased a Lori Holt binder, and my husband sweetly gifted me some Lori Holt notions for Christmas. As I type this out, and see the year 2017, I can’t help but think “Wow, I really plan in advance, don’t I?!” It’s so silly. Look how much time I’ve wasted simply thinking about quilting. 

I was watching a YouTube video last week from Kimberly Jolly (love her!) at Fat Quarter Shop, and she showed an item they carry - it’s simply a wooden block with grooves in it to hold your rulers. I’m not sure how recent the video was, and I’m sure I couldn’t find it again if I tried. I showed it to my husband and he went right out to the garage and made me one from some scrap wood. He’s a sweetie! Once the weather warms up I’m gonna smooth the edges on it and spray paint it a pretty color!

Don’t you love my HUGE binder with only two patterns in it? 😂

I got my sewing machine unpacked while we were snowed in, and will find a YouTube video for my exact machine to make sure I’m setting everything up correctly before I start. I have a Brother CE1100PRW. Can I even (mini) quilt on this thing? Who knows. Either way, it’s happening. The thread I ordered will be here Wednesday. I can’t wait to get started! 

Here’s the pretty fabric I found in my stash. I already had the wool ironing pad, but am waiting to see if I enjoy quilting before I buy a smaller iron. I brought our big iron upstairs to use, and it’s really heavy. If I really get into this, I’ll probably be purchasing an Oliso iron. Check out the adorable Lori Holt bonnet needle minder my husband bought me! 🥰 

I hope you’ll stick around, because I plan on documenting my progress - my HONEST progress, warts and all. And if you have any tips and advice- please please leave them in the comments! 

Wish me luck! 

I hope to have an update by 1/19/25. 

-Bunny

Here are the links to the two beginners patterns I purchased:

Nine Patch Quilt Block PDF Pattern with YouTube Video

Hourglass Quilt Block PDF Pattern with YouTube Video

Snow Day!

Well, it snowed! 

And then it snowed, iced, rained, snowed and iced some more. Today it snowed again, but it was very light. I think overall we probably got about 5 inches of snow and  1/4-1/2” of ice. What started out as a beautiful sight quickly turned into a stressful event. The fear of losing power, losing trees, etc took over. Luckily, so far, in our area things seem to be ok. We haven’t lost power yet, thankfully. I’ve been watching the power outage website and the workers are working so hard in our county. The power outages in my county have been very minimal. 

We took a few walks around the property yesterday and today. So many beautiful sights, I had to capture as it won’t last long! The icy snow crunching under out feet reminded us of our time in Alaska. After 5-6 months of winter in Fairbanks, the sounds of snow under your feet was like nails on a chalkboard. We were always so desperate for “breakup” to start so we wouldn’t have to hear it anymore! Breakup in Alaska is when the ice starts cracking and melting away. The worst was when months of ice and snow finally melted away and you saw green again, only to have it snow again. One year I was having a Kentucky Derby party (first Saturday in May!) in Alaska and it started snowing again! Those were the days!

As for the list of things I wanted to tackle while we are snowed in - I am happy to report that I actually accomplished some things! A lot of that had to do with the fact that yesterday, when the snow started, I got up and immediately got dressed. Had I stayed in cozy clothes, I just know I would have hibernated all day. I got some laundry done, baked some fresh bread for us and a neighbor, checked in on my Mama by phone, and then got to work. Thanks to my husband’s help, Christmas was packed up in the craft room and put away, and I got my tabletop cleaned up. I got my quilting stuff together, set up my sewing machine, and it seems I’m ready to go! I’d like to get my adjacent desk and craft table also cleaned up, before I dive head first into sewing. I will definitely be blogging as I start my first quilt project, which is a small and easy quilt block pattern and instructions I purchased off Etsy. 

Now that the snow has tapered off, the sun is fighting to come out. It’s a welcome sight, that’s for sure, and we have 3 days of sunshine coming our way, so things will start melting off. I’m hoping to get into town by Thursday, but we will see. 

Stay warm! 

Do you want to build a snowman?

A big part of the country is bracing for a big winter storm full of snow and ice. We are expecting 1-3 inches of snow and up to an inch of ice in my area. I’m also hearing up to 5 inches could be possible, and 8-12 inches north of us. Who knows what exactly we will get. The snow is always welcome, but the ice not so much. The weather was gorgeous and sunny today, which was a wonderful change from all the gray skies we’ve had lately.  Of course, the roads and stores were full of people today, stocking up so they can hunker down. 

We went into town today for lunch, some fun shopping and a stop at a local soda shop we enjoy. I also got a (successful) Goodwill stop in, which should hold me over for a few days! 

I have big lofty plans for this storm, and I’m also laughing as I type this! My main goal is to get my craft room cleaned up, including getting the Christmas tree up there put away. All gift wrapping takes place in my craft room and I have so much stuff to put away still. I’d also like to get my sewing machine set up and get prepped for my journey into quilting. I’m hoping I have the motivation to get moving, rather than hibernate with my husband! It would be SO EASY to just snuggle and watch movies. 

I’m hoping I’ll be sharing some beautiful snow pictures in the next few days, so make sure you come back for those! 

Stay warm, and stay safe out there! 

-Bunny