Shepherd

Ed, what brand is your apple peeler? I have 2, and they both gouge instead of peel. I think they waste way too much apple.

For Beginning Quilters... My favorite book for beginners as well as a reference for old hands is: Quilter's Complete Guide, Marianne Fons & Liz Porter, published 1993 with revised second edition 2000 You'll find good explanations, diagrams, directions, and photos. I did notice that their hand quilting shows stitching in the ditch as a row of stitching a fraction of an inch from the seam. In fact, a lot of hand quilters I've known call a row of stitching as much as 1/8" from the seam line "in the ditch." Personally, if I want the effect of "stitch in the ditch", whether hand or machine stitched, I want that quilting precisely at the seam line. But I like everything else in the book. If Quilter's Complete Guide is available at your library, check it out and see how you like it.

Ask for suggestions for really simple, easy, no fail projects from your friends and family who sew. Beginners need a good pattern (that someone else has used and knows that makes up quickly and fits well.) It's nice to have a sew buddy who can point you in the right direction, give you useful hints, and show you how to do a step if necessary. If you are near fabric shops and sewing machine dealers, drop by them often to see their displays. They will probably have quilts, wall hangings, garments, etc. made up and these are a great inspiration. Good luck and happy sewing!

quote: Originally posted by Midnightmom: My local WalMart has the 2003 edition. I would be more than happy to get it and mail it to you. (Cost is $5 + postage) Thanks MM. First I am going to check locally once more to see if they might have been waiting for the 2003 edition. Our WM just became a super WM with grand opening this week, so they may have the atlas now. I really thought they had abandoned the atlas for the web site. Thanks again for the offer. I'll let you know. C

quote: Originally posted by snapshotmiki: Hi LadyC, I didn't know that Walmart sold gas anywhere. Does Sams sell gas too? When people ask where we're going I tell them we have a direction not a destination. West. Miki Miki, I didn't know that either until a friend told me last spring. Several WMs and Sam's have gas, but not all. I checked the web sites for all the points along our itinerary. On our trip of nearly 4000 miles, all but 2 fillups were at WM and S. And the price was 1.19 every time. WM is usually located near an interstate exit and can be spotted as you are driving along. But I did need the directions for one. It was only a couple of blocks from the exit, but not visible. I have used the overnight parking occasionally, and I usually needed a few items that I was happy to purchase in appreciation for the parking convenience. Flying J is also an RV friendly business. I heard that Costco also has gas.

You are lucky to have the WalMart atlas. They don't seem to carry them anymore. I've been looking for them everywhere for over a year. However Both WalMart and Sam's have web sites where you can find information such as store locations, maps, type of store, hours, whether they have gas, pharmacy, etc. Gas is discounted. At WM, you have to go inside and purchase a card and then use it like a credit card at the pump. There are a lot of Super WMs now that are open 24 hr and have parking lot security. If you have a Sam's business membership, you can shop earlier than regular members (8 am instead of 10). It does take a little time to surf to do your research, but stores are being added and upgraded. Once you work out your itinerary, you can check the cities along the way on the net.

I talked to my friend at the quilting group today. She said they tried various products, but she has to consult her DH since he did the work and she didn't remember for sure. He will email his info to me so I can post FYI.

PS Not sure if they used transfer sheets or printed directly on fabric sheets.

If you're in a hurry, the 3rd paragraph is the important part of this reply. A friend of mine worked with her DH to get pics onto fabric for a pillow for the pres of our quilting club, who was ill with colon cancer. My friend had pushed each of the members to create a block around an elongated heart in a week, and she had then put the blocks together and finished a quilt in a few days. She was feeling a little stretched and asked me to come over to help her figure out what to do with the pillow pictures. I ended up doing the pillow - actually a case that we could slip a pillow insert into. Her DH had produced excellent results, and we had 5 pics that included all the members of our fairly large group. What I'm getting around to is that they had worked with at least 2 kinds of printer fabric sheets, and when they washed or rinsed them, one lost much of its color. So you want to be sure to find the fabric sheets that will hold the color. Even a memory quilt will be laundered some day, and it would be nice to know that your print job is colorfast. If you want me to find out which fabric sheets my friend used that gave good results, let me know. C

7th Grade Home Ec class...I hemmed and embroidered a tea towel and made an apron. In eigth grade made a dress. Now my sewing group does projects with girls of middle school age in the summer parks and rec program. These girls have never threaded a needle, much less sewn a stitch or touched a sewing machine. My first project with them was a simple log cabin quilt block, machine pieced, sandwiched, and bound with a row of machine stitching and hand whipped on the underside. I had been told these girls had all done some machine sewing. Wrong! They all got a chance to sew the first couple of seams. The helpers had to do the rest to get the project done. I was determined the girls would do their own hand stitching to complete the binding. They just got started before it was time for them to move outdoors for their sack lunch. They wanted to know if they could keep their needles, which they could of course. I left feeling disappointed that my simple project was too ambitious, determined that the next time I would just have them glue felt! Well, guess what. The next day the Center director told me that when she had stepped out to the patio to see how the girls were doing with their lunch, she found them working away to get their block binding finished. The next week when the girls came back for another project. One of the girls told me that when her mother saw the quilt block, she immediately registered her for a quilt class. Oops, sorry, I told you more than you asked for.

My weeds are better than yours! Hehe State fair starts this Friday. Bet those weeds take a first place ribbon!

Well Ed, ya gotta test that 4-wheel drive somewhere.

Fabric Thread Patterns Books and magazines on quilts and fabric arts

I remember everyone planting a Victory Garden during WWII. I had just started to school.

Ed, how about hauling in one of these catfish and giving a little demo on dressing it out? Looks like a substantial supply for a bunch of us. C http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2155462.stm

Frightening!

PS I first saw this shawl in silk. A lady in my sewing club had one in silk print to go over a solid-color silk basic dress and another in solid silk to go over a print dress. These were outfits she wore on a cruise, but they could go almost anywhere.

Lace Cocoon Shawl LCM, it sounds like you have your outfit in mind already, so this may not be for you this time. But it's a possibility for anyone needing to look dressy for a wedding or cruise without investing in a complete outfit that may not be appropriate for another occasion for a long time. This shawl can dress up a basic dress or pant outfit from your existing wardrobe. Look for lace that overlays the color of your garment. You will need 1 1/2 yards. lace varies in style and price, and you can sometimes find a really good buy. Look for a fairly stable lace rather than one that has a lot of just net. Cotton cord can be used to finish the cut edges. The shawl is a rectangle that goes from back hem up over the shoulder and down to front hem with a cut at center front and a cutout for the neck. The lace should be long enought to go across the shoulder and arms, so measure from somewhere below your elbow across your shoulder to the same point on the other arm. If your lace is double edged with scallops, you can let the edges be the front and back hem. Then you will finish the side edges and the center front/necline. Then sew the sides together from the hem up to where you want an arm opening. Try on your shawl and gather up some loose pleats at the shoulder and neck. My sewing club made these as a project once; I made several myself. My aunt, cousin, and another cousin's daughter (big age range here) wore them for the formal night on their family reunion cruise at Thanksgiving. Now two years later, they are wearing them again on another cruise. In a fashion show of some 70 garments for 150 people, six models wore these shawls with a variety of outfits. They were a big hit, and they did make casual to evening garments look elegant. Finishing the cut edge can be a little tricky, so practice with a scrap first. I used crochet cotton cord, sometimes with a gold strand, or pearl cotton in a color that lays into the lace. I used a grooved presser foot to zigzag over the lace with the cord under the lace. I had to use a finger at the back of the foot and thumb in front to keep the lace and cord stable as it went under the foot. The lace has a tendency to stretch, expecially if it is very thin. But I found a way to manage it. You may just want to fold over a little edge of the lace and zigzag it without cord.

Um, Cat, inquiring minds want to know...Quick, what are you doing with the old Tee?

Making a new wardrobe. Gotta go fire up the sewing machine right now.