Working on How to Post Pictures with Text Between

I have been trying to figure out how to post pictures and have text between them. I wonder if I have figured it out!! If I have, it's been a long time getting there. Maybe I do have it - only going from bottom to top?

These are kaleidoscopes of a wallhanging I posted way, way back at the beginning called Bless Your Heart. (Click to enlarge)

A Fun Website

http://www.popularfront.com/snowdays/

I found this site a couple of years ago - you can cut your own snowflakes. I cut one today and you can look it up if you want to. Just search for funoldhag, Midland, Michigan. You should be able to find it. And cut yourself some pretty ones, too.

If you want to see some incredible flakes, search for Fizz (type it in this way since if you do it in all uppercase letters it won't bring them up) - I think there are over 11,000 so have no idea how anyone could do that many. Regardless, the ones I have seen would blow your mind.

Kind of a Little Hodgepodge Today

You will see my Christmas cactus that will be in full bloom around Halloween time! This plant is probably 15 years old at least - and is actually two plants that I finally put in the same pot several years ago. Last year it started to thrive and had a lot of blooms on it, but this is year it is loaded!! My daughter's cactus is going to bloom for Halloween, also.

Have been putting together a mod Christmas table runner that was in the Quilting Arts Gift edition. Really don't know what I will do with it, but wanted to make it and maybe one of the granddaughters will want it. Have another one pieced but not appliqued. Might put some snowmen on that one. It is pretty cool. So, here it is ready for quilting.

Then, the next pictures are of some fabric I ordered from Hancock's of Paducah - all on sale half-price. Have no idea what I will do with it but just decided to go shopping one morning. Sometimes when I send for fabric online, I am a little disappointed. However, these are really neat and only three of them look a little out of place all lined up. There are so many really cute patterns out there now for quite simple quilts that have tons of fabric in them - I know I will come up with something eventually. Right now, I am thinking about that lovely toile that I got at Joann's. Have an idea for it but it would never be done for this Christmas! Isn't quilting the greatest way to spend your time - and money, too!! LOL! But it's so worth it. (Click to enlarge)

My Tablerunner is Done

Finished the batik tablerunner that was posted earlier. I like the way it turned out. Still have a long way to go on my machine quilting, but it is getting better. Two of the girls in the guild will be hosting a machine quilting class in two different sessions at the Civic Arena the first two weeks in November. They have DVD's that we will watch and then work on our quilting. Looking forward to going. Okay, so here is the runner - let's call it A Prelude to Wine.

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Chilly, Rainy Autumn Evening

Kind of like evenings like this - it's so cozy inside! Look what I found at Joann Fabrics this afternoon! Had no intention of buying fabric - went there for thread - but of course gave the fabric aisles the once over. Joann's has been stocking some pretty nice fabric in the last year or so and some of it is almost as much as the quilt shops. The other day I saw some lovely batiks in there for $10.50 per yard. Anyway, there in the Christmas fabric (on sale 50% off) was this very lovely toille (I think that's the way to spell it) and I could not resist. I also picked up some other pieces to go along with it. Have not checked my stash downstairs yet, but I am sure there will be something there, also. One of the ladies in our guild (Barbara, you know who I mean) is doing a scrumptious "redwork" in a lovely seafoam green to go with a matching color toille. It's so pretty and will be a stunner when she gets it done. I have seen some patterns for smaller wallhangings on line and will seriously look now and send for one. Have been noticing on some of the blogs I read that quite a few people are doing darling stitcheries or stitcherys - take your pick of the spelling. Don't you think the fabric is pretty? (Click to enlarge)

Cleanup Day

The leaves are flying around out there!! Today is the day Kutchey's came in to make the first fall cleaning of fallen leaves. There will be at least one more! We had a really good hard frost last night that got the pretty begonia and impatients on the front stoop and in the big pot under one of the front windows. As I (and lots of the other residents here) have done in the past, I pulled the dead plants from the pots and carried them down to the woods where they can turn into compost over the winter and next summer. Have been doing this since 1998. By the time I had pretty much finished what I was doing, the crew moved into my yard. It's only about 40 degrees out there, but I was really warming up after several trips down the street with my wilted flowers. They were all so pretty this year - got lots of compliments on them. My Dad passed on his love for flowers to me (and my sister, also) and I feel that I have passed it on to my daughter and she has done the same to two of her daughters, also. We will see how her youngest takes to gardening when she is older. She does have a plant in her room in the house she is sharing with five other Michigan State students! That's a start.

Am posting a few fallish pictures - one is the incredible berries on the mountain ash tree. It is loaded and the limbs are literally hanging down from the weight of the fruit. There will also be flowering kale - it is beautiful but did not do as well as I thought it would. I love to hang things on the fence and side of the house - so there is a cute pumpkin (from where else? Joann's) and an old scarecrow that I bought at a craft fair here in Midland probably a dozen years ago. I couldn't find him for a year or two but he showed up last year again!!! I just love him. Happy Fall!!

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My Round Robin Quilt for Last Spring's Show

In a recent post, I showed the start of my round robin quilt for next spring's Q2 quilt show. This is the one that was in our show this past spring. Directly above this is the cute appliqued vase of flowers done by one of the guild members in the challenge. The middle picture is the grandmother's fan and stem with leaves that was the start of my round robin and on top is the finished quilt that has parts from all five participants working on my piece. Reminds me of orange - rasberry sherbert.

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Maybe I'll Get This Done This Year

This McKenna Ryan pattern has been around for a couple of years - each time I have seen pictures of it or the others in the Gingerbread Lane Series I have been drawn to them. So on a quilt outing with the guild last year I bought this pattern. I got it started for last Christmas but started making aprons and never got back to finishing the stocking. Just got it all fused and together and brought it upstairs for stitching. With this and the tablerunner with the grapes, I have some time to put in at my dear old Bernina doing some freehand stitching.

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When I Looked Out My Window This Morning

Guess not everyone likes to scuff through the fallen leaves. (Click to enlarge)

October ATC's

Theme for this month was Fairy Tales - one of the four cards is from Debby and was her card for the You Can Drive My Car theme a few months ago. Claire did not get hers in this month but I'm sure there will be two from her in November. Debby and Julie both did the Princess and the Pea and Carol did Little Red Riding Hood. Fun stuff. Next month will be any country you want.

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My Favorite Time of Year!

I think I should raise my little angel a bit higher on the wreath - will give it a try. She came from JoAnn's this year. Love that place!

My BOO sign - bought this at JoAnn's a couple of years ago. He's so cute. (Click to enlarge)

My yard is full of leaves - and across the street at Andy's house it still looks like summer! The trees on that side of the street are still lush and green with their leaves still firmly attached to the branches. The tree in front of my house is always the first one to drop! Don't you just love to scuff through dry leaves? I kind of miss raking and burning leaves in the fall but each year I miss it less!! Our condos have so many different kind of trees and they are getting so big. It's a very nice place to live!
(Click to enlarge)

Coming along on the Tablerunner

I'm getting this one together - have fused the grapes and leaves down ready for applique. Have decided I am going to try using the same green in the vines of the center block for the grapes in the outer blocks. Will also cut leaves for the outer blocks that do not have much light color in them so that the vines will stand out more. Will post that when I get that part done. Think I really like this little deal! It will probably go on the chest in my dining room and the chamber pot above will sit on it. (Click to enlarge)

Here's the Finished Challenge Quilt Start

This will be called "Colorful Christmas" - pretty loud, huh? When it is all done, I plan to embellish it with beads, sequins, buttons, etc.

What a gorgeous day we are having here - won't be too many more like this before winter. Makes me think I should be outside doing something. Actually, though, I am pretty content doing what I am doing and looking out the window once in a while at the lovely gold tree in the front yard. Always loved raking and burning leaves in the autumn but that's not an option anymore. Just have to go with the flow and accept change. (Click to enlarge)

Some New Books

I love all types of quilts - traditional, artsy, bright, contemporary, folk art. It's all wonderful. Early in the week I ordered these books and they came yesterday. The one called Let's Do Lunch is full of tablerunners. I want to do some for Christmas gifts for the girls in my family. Do you ever go to www.connectingthreads.comto look around? They always have books at great prices, no shipping charge over $50 and you can look at quite a few pages in the books which really gives you an idea of whether or not you would like to have it. I have ordered from them for quite a few years now and they are quite prompt and good to deal with. Their batting was also on sale this time so I bought three packages of Dream Request. If you haven't already, take a peek at their website. (Click to enlarge)

Forgot I Had Done This One

I was looking for something in the basement and ran across this little wallhanging from probably six years ago - when redwork was really making a comeback. Along with it, I had put some fabric for the binding and I am going to cut some and bind this little hanging. It is kind of cute and I like the colors. Can you spot a mistake I made? I forgot to mark and then embroider the lines representing the gathers in the skirt of the little girl in the center. I don't think I will do anything about it, though. There are wrinkles in the embroidered blocks which I will try to get out - poor thing had been folded a long time. I did this before my quilting became more presentable, but I don't think I will quilt the blocks with the little girls since it seems that they might not quilt smoothly unless I quilt very closely. Will let well enough alone although I could sew a little dark red bead where each french knot is. Have to think about that. Looks fallish, doesn't it? (Click to enlarge)

What a Day Brightener!

This absolutely gorgeous basket of flowers just came from Bill and Ann. It certainly lightens this day. Thank you, my dear kids. (Click to enlarge)