Farmhouse Chat

What a busy summer this is turning out to be! Kids moving, having babies, projects galore! Keeps me out of trouble, I guess.
I'm a little behind schedule on the farmhouse chat. Here are the questions for this week, and my answers. Join along if you like.

Do you enjoy grocery shopping?
    Not really. I'm the kind of gal who goes into the store with a list and seldom deviates from it. Just get the job done and get out.
  
Are you following any particular news stories?
    It's the summer, so I'm not on my computer very much. I seldom watch the news or read the news.  Totally in denial. I know, it's awful.
   
How do you feel about all of the technology we have today? Is it too much, just right, or not enough?
    I have mixed emotions. Sometimes it's a little overwhelming, especially since I didn't grow up with all this stuff. It stresses me out when I am in a public place and everyone is on some kind of gadget. There's not as much interaction any more! I like the convenience it allows though. For example, I can text back and forth with my kids at any time of the day or night, or Skype with them when we are far apart. That is pretty cool.

On a scale of 1-10(1 being the least) how much do you worry?
      Guess I would have to be somewhere in the middle on this one...maybe a 6. There are some things I don't worry much about at all, but maybe I should. And other things worry me a lot, but probably shouldn't.

Without any responsibilities or concern with how you would accomplish this, what would your three dream jobs be?
1. On-line fabric store. Not a real store-front. I think the hours would be exhausting, but one from my home. It would still give me a chance to get my hands on all that beautiful fabric that I would have in stock :)
2. Gardener at someone's palatial spread. I would rather be outside playing in the dirt during the summer months than anywhere else. It would be nice if the yard/garden were somewhere warm year-around.
3. Professional traveler. Is there such a thing? Maybe write a short column after each trip about where I've visited. 

Let's Have A Talk

Decided to title this post "Let's Have A Talk" because it's what I say to my grand-daughter Allison all the time. At first she didn't like it so much (it usually meant she was in trouble), but now she will say to me, for no particular reason, "let's have a talk, Grammy". How cute is that?
You can link up your 'chat' by clicking this link:




Questions

1. How many times a week do you have a green or veggie salad?
2. Do you pray? (You may skip this if you do not wish to answer.)
3. What season is your birthday? You do not need to give us the date.  
4. Do you have dinner guests often, every now and then or not at all?  
5. Could you describe yourself as a DIY- Do It Yourself-er?

My Answers:
      1.  As often as I can! Several times per week, even when veggies are not in season.
      2.  Yes, of course. Not as much now as I used to I guess.
      3.  Winter...January. Right after Christmas, so it gets forgotten on occasion.
      4.  We used to have dinner guests most every weekend, especially when our kids were younger and living at home. We were very social. Now, not so much. Still have family over most every weekend, but not friends as much. We tend to go out to dinner with friends more these days.
       5.  Mostly a DIY'er. I just refinished a piece of furniture (previous post) and I have done that quite a few times. Obviously I sew a lot, and I am always looking for ways to re-purpose things. I admire people who really have the talent for being a DIY'er. I think I am a work-in-progress. Constantly learning.

Hope you are having a really good week!

Latest Project

Something went terribly wrong! I was so close to cleaning and repairing this beauty when the bobbin case jammed up. Well, at least I think that is what's wrong! I will have to call in reinforcements (my spouse) to see if we can get it figured out.

My daughter, Jessica, wanted the cabinet painted this pretty aqua color. The machine is one I've had in storage, just waiting for some TLC. It is a Pfaff 130 that I picked up for next to nothing at a garage sale. Finally got around to working on it and it was running great. Some thread got caught in the casing and I can't remove it to clean it. The little screws have obviously been used a lot and they are worn out. Or maybe something else is wrong ?? Hopefully there will be a happy ending to this story because Jessica has her heart set on using this machine soon.
Anyone else out there have a obsession love for vintage sewing machines? I have a couple and have sold a couple, and given away a few. Try not to get carried away, but think that could happen if I had more room.

Thread Cabinet

A friend of ours made this cabinet for me years ago for my birthday. It is a very cool thing to have because it protects my very favorite threads (well, some of them).
This is what it looked like before:

My husband and I added drawer pulls. They are wooden spools that I painted and stained to look like spools of thread. They look like actual spools of thread! I needed knobs on them really bad, so I am totally thrilled to have this project done--about 15 years behind schedule. LOL

I can really load a lot of thread in here, especially in the drawers. Not a big fan of leaving my threads out in the open where they can collect dust, so this works well for me. Other
threads are stored in plastic containers.
 

Bedside Book Bag

I've been working on some odd projects here and there. Just so many clever ideas out there, so try to do something new now and then.  One pocket holds my Kindle, and the other my favorite magazine. I should have done this a long time ago!

Jonny's Quilt, Part 2

This is one of those quilts that I had all planned out. Really thought I knew what I wanted to do here. Then it was time to add the borders and I just got stuck. A plain white just wasn't right. The vintage blue fabric is cut, but I don't like it going different directions around the border. It is one of those one-directional fabrics. Maybe something pieced? Maybe just leave it the way it is? Trying to go for a twin size here, but not quite long enough. So, it's been sitting in my sewing room waiting for me to finish it. Any suggestions?

Why is this picture blurry?! I really need to invest in a better camera some day.

A Chat on the Farmhouse Porch

Way over due for a 'chat', sponsored by P.S. Annie. This week's questions and answers:

1. When you were a child, what age did you think was "old"?

A. My first thought would be about 50. Although sixty seemed quite ancient to me when I was a child.  Now I would have to say 80 seems old to me, but probably not in another 10 years!


2.  How often do you have dessert?

A. More often than I should. And I like to eat dessert before the main course. Because I can.


3.  What is your favorite kind of exercise?

A.  Walking, but these days I have a new pink Schwinn beach cruiser, so I like to ride my bike :)


4.  Do you watch movies on TV, movies from a rental or the library, or movies online?


A. Mostly online (Netflix). But we have a lot of our movies on an external hard drive, so we watch some oldies but goodies from there once in a while. Not too many movies being watched now that winter is over and we are outside so much.


5. Tell me something you remember about your grandmother/grandfather's house. I am thinking of something you saw all the time, like a picture, clock, statue, teapot, or something that was always there.

A. I remember the toy box in the closet. And it was just that--a cardboard box. It contained, among other things, a rubber dolly and an old stuffed Teddy bear that smelled old to me; like mothballs or just old people, I guess ;)  There was a cuckoo clock on the wall and I think it frightened me every time it made that noise.