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Monday, February 23, 2015

Thaw, Baby–Thaw!

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This is the view from the side of my porch through the trees.

I love seeing this ridge off to the west of me.  In the summer?  You wouldn’t even know that we are on a ridge with mountains all around – this will be completely obscured by the lush green of hardwoods in the summer.

Every season is so different up here – I love them all.

Well, okay – except for the past week of Ice and snow and continual temps below freezing that caused my fall, the pump house to freeze and pipes to break and all of that intermittent madness.

Now, I’ve heard that bad things come in threes –so guess what happened last night?

Have you ever watched an oven element catch fire, burning like a fuse, and then explode??!

Yep.  My oven is now no-longer.

We cut the power to the stove quickly while it was on fire –good thing my potatoes were already DONE for dinner.

And all I could do is laugh and laugh.  I think that is number 3 for this week.  And the upside is – I now have a choice to make.  New range?  Or just a new element to keep the old range going?  This one is electric, solid top.  I’d really like a gas range.

So more decisions to be made.  Whatever we choose, it will be a while because I leave Friday, and I won’t be back up here for a few weeks.

So  much for the cookies I had planned on baking!

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Barely any snow left!

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Sadie and I out on our morning walk.

We will do a longer walk as it warms up a bit later – that is if the rain doesn’t start pelting down.  While 39 degrees is much better than 21 degrees – it’s still not “comfort hike” weather by any means.  And it is very wet and muddy out there.

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Ice on the pond!

It will take a while for the ice to recede ---by the time I get back up here it will be nearly mid-March and perhaps, just perhaps, Spring will be well on its way!

Sadie and I are solo at the cabin until tomorrow afternoon when we will head back down the mountain.  I’m cranking on some future book projects, and I love the quiet peacefulness of my surroundings up here.  Perfect for settling in with continuous stitching.

I’ll continue to work on the Pinwheel Fancy blocks ---I think I’ve worked out what I want to do with them.  It may be a while before you see the finished result, but you are going to like it.  And even better than that – *I* am going to like it.  My goal in life is to only make quilts that I would want to make.  My own color choices, my own design choices.  My own fabric choices.  At the end of the day, I want to make what I want to make, not chase an industry that is ever changing as to what is “popular” or “new.”

But because girls MUST have variety –and I have wanted to play with this block ever since I brought my Antique H quilt home:

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I cut a few pieces as Leaders & Enders!

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I have assembled these while working on my Pinwheel Fancy blocks!

Simply because – a Quilter can NEVER have too much piecing variety going on at once!

On the agenda this morning ---finishing a binding while watching last night’s Downton Abbey that was recorded to the DVR because the Hubster was in the middle of watching something else when it was airing.  This is even better – I can indulge myself solo.  Me, Sadie, a binding, needle and thread—and Downton!

Have a fabulous Monday, everyone!


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33 comments:

  1. Thank you for sharing your work. I like your new blocks

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  2. I also like your new "H" blocks. That would be the perfect block for my 3 week old grandson Henry. Hope you show your progress on the blocks and how you plan to set the blocks together. Glad you got over the threes (in that trouble comes in threes). Now, you can relax and quilt.

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  3. Glad you got calamity #3 out of the way! Now life can return to normal. I like the "H" block. What a great leader/ender project.

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  4. You go Bonnie! Do what you want to do. Darn the torpedoes and full speed ahead. LOL! "H" blocks look good. Maybe you can have the antique and your version hanging side by side. Good luck with the oven decision!

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  5. I too am on my own today. Basted my 1st Celtic Solstice, backed by the 1st Grand Illusion yesterday.. :) Will have a photo bomb in a few weeks when I get the second set done.

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  6. I would gladly share some of the snow we have in our dooryard. We have 6 or 7 feet snow banks this year. We have set records of snow fall for the winter and for a 30 day period. It is unreal. I haven't seen snow like this since I was a kid. My kids have never seen snow like this.
    I love your blocks. Can't wait to see the pinwheels completed. I love them. So sorry you have had such bad luck lately. I hope things look up for you. Have safe travels and things return to normal for you.

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  7. Ahhhh....love your view. I have a similar one from my back deck in the north GA mountains. My view also disappears when the trees are leafed out. I've also had the on-fire oven element burnout.....and not once, but twice in my last house. We just replaced it both times. My current house has a gas range that I love! Here's hoping to no more three-peats!! C'mon spring!!!

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  8. Inasmuch as our last name also starts with an "H" I am very tempted to do an "H" quilt along with you. Can you tell me what sizes the components are cut? I think this makes a fabulous Leader and Ender project. I agree with you about trying to follow the quilting "industry". I am a pretty traditional fabric person and sometimes feel "pressure" to participate in the "fabric du jour" cult. I like what I like and I'm sticking to my guns ... LOL Enjoy your time with Sadie and let me know about those block/piece sizes if you have a moment. Thanks for ALL you do. BTW ... my vote is for a gas stove ... LOVE cooking with gas over electric. Go for it if you have gas at Quilt Villa already .... Linda

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  9. I love my electric stove. The glass top makes cleaning a breeze and electric makes for very consistent oven temps. That said, get what YOU like. Just like making quilts that YOU like. Which, by the way, is why we love you and your quilts. Unique. Not following the crowd. Comfortable in your box, which Ricky Tims assures us is a good thing (apologies to Martha Stewart).

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  10. Old quilter10:22 AM EST

    Just a thought from one who sometimes loses power due to weather, you can still cook (but not bake) on a gas stove when the lights go out cause the ice brought down the lines.

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  11. Still looks like an "I" to me if you turn it to the left instead! Very cute!!

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  13. Bonnie, I am a, gas stove kind of girl. Mine has the gas burners set in a glass top with the racks on top. No drip pans to clean. I love it!

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  14. Bonnie, I am a, gas stove kind of girl. Mine has the gas burners set in a glass top with the racks on top. No drip pans to clean. I love it!

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  15. Bonnie, I am a gas stove kind of girl. Mine has a Glas top, and no drip pans to clean! I love it!

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  16. A few days of solo Stitching time sounds like heaven! The stove top still works? I'd go for the new element. Unless you already have a gas hook up.
    Have fun with your L/E H blocks.

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  17. Enjoy your day Bonnie! I like my gas stove, not as easy to keep clean, but the control achievable with it is worth it. Any idea when the new book release date will be?

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  18. I agree, never too much piecing! Go with gas. You can use the stove if the power goes out...love gas. Living in the far north of MN. (Where it is still too much below zero) the power goes out a couple times a year. It is nice to still be able to heat water for everything. Of course we have grills and outside gas burners if we really get desperate!

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  19. THANKFULLY you are all ok! Things can and even should be replaced ... but You Bonnie---can't be replaced - ever!

    Smiles, JulieinTN

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  20. Glad you hadn't left your oven on and left! Our heating element did that once, very scary! We just replaced ours and it worked like new. Hoping this week goes much better!

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  21. Glad you hadn't left your oven on and left! Our heating element did that once, very scary! We just replaced ours and it worked like new. Hoping this week goes much better!

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  22. Wow, those pictures don't even look like the same mountain as yesterday with all that snow gone! Glad things are warming up for you! Hopefully you are done with "adventures" for a good long while!

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  23. I for one, am certainly expecting nice warm spring weather when we leave N.E. and head south to Pigeon Forge for Mountain Quilt Fest next month. Last year a big snow storm came thru there the weekend before. Can't happen again I hope!!

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  24. I SO agree - with your quilt making philosophy and with the statement that we can never have too much variety! I find that if I try to stick to one project I get bored and wander off to do something else. So much better to have several things going at once and just switch to a new one when the one I'm working on palls. ;)

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  25. I love my gas stove and oven! Just make sure you have a good exhaust hood properly venting outside. Mine is a jenn air and really easy to clean.

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  26. Wow! Flood and fire all in one week. You are due for some dull and boring time, huh? I liked Pinwheel Fancy when I saw it in Quiltmaker last month, but I LOVE it now that I've seen those blocks up on your design wall and in the colors you are using. I have to make a quilt from these blocks! Enjoy your quiet time tonight.

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  27. Easy block and yet never come to many heads of us I am sure simply because you are creative.

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  28. You need another vacation now! Those 3 "bad things" add up to a lot of stress. Glad you have a few more days to take it easy!

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  29. I Like your "H" Blocks, too! Can't wait to see what you do with them. I hope you enjoyed Downton Abbey! It had some good surprises, Mr. Barrow may be not so bad now.

    It is as warm here in Alaska as it is there. Only it has been warm here for more than a week, and most off the snow is gone, not good for the moose, when it turns cold again.It has not even been freezing at night, but tonight it is supposed to start freezing again, but it will still be in mid to high 30's during the day. So NOT Normal for us! so do want it to snow again! It is supposed to snow in Alaska i8n the winter time!


    I can't wait to see what you do with the "H" blocks or the fancy Pinwheels!

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  30. So sorry about your oven-very glad you weren't hurt. Also glad it wasn't your sewing machine!! Really love your 'H' blocks -look like great fun. I'm so pleased to read that others work on more than one project at a time!! I get bored too, so usually have at least 2-3 going at the same time: always working on the cat beds I make for cats at the homeless shelter, but also a couple of others for fun. My husband doesn't understand that at all! Thank you, fellow quilters, for making what I do sound normal!!

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  31. Love the Granddaughter story.
    Get a new gas range!

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  32. Hi Bonnie, I don't know if you have decided re new stove or not, but here is my input: I have cooked on gas for a few years while living in Dubai. Moving back home to Norway we redid our kitchen and we installed an electric stove - induction (from Ikea, brand name: HĂ–GVĂ„RDIG).). And I am VERY satisfied with it. And I would choose induction vs gas ANY day. (Except of course if you are in an area with many power cuts... ) Good luck with your new stove - regardless of what you choose:-)

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