Saturday, January 30, 2010

Snowy & Cold....

Last year it was an ice storm on this weekend...this year it is a snow storm. We'll take the snow any time! Here in Paducah we had about 4.5 inches of snow. Wayne snapped this photo this morning as he headed to the grocery store - Food Giant, that is very close to our home.

And, so we had a lazy day here at home. I worked on the pattern for a bag to carry my new mini purple passion computer. It will have a central pocket for the computer so it is easy to pull it out at the airports, with pockets on the sides to carry the mouse, jump sticks, my mini external hard drive...and all of the other things I need to give my presentations. It will be quilted, of course. The pattern is drawn out now, so tomorrow I can cut fabric.

Hope you are staying warm and dry, wherever you are!

Monday, January 11, 2010

Oops...You Can't Iron an Iron...

Sometimes not paying attention to what you are doing leaves you scratching your head! Yesterday I was going to finish up some fabric thank you postcards and clicked on the switch to the surge protector where I plug in my iron....did something else until the iron heated.

When I returned, I smelled something kind of funny but didn't see anything. Then I went to iron. The last time I had used my iron, I had used my small Rowenta travel iron. It had fallen over on my big Rowenta iron.


You guessed it, the heat of the small iron melted the big iron. Yowser, what a mess. Now I had a nonfunctional big iron and half of the base of my travel iron was covered with white plastic. I unplugged the travel iron and proceeded to scrap off the plastic while it was still warm with a straight-bladed sharp knife. Then I plugged it back in and ironed it over paper to remove even more. That was followed with ironing on fabric.


Here's the hole it left in my Rowenta. Hard to believe that it would get that hot, isn't it? When Sharon Schamber tells us that the Rowenta travel iron is the only that gets hot enough...I certainly believe her now.

I finished pressing my postcards together by using a press cloth over the top so I could get that part done.

Tonight it looks like I did get all of the plastic off the base of my travel iron.

The moral of the story is: Make sure you know what is plugged in...and that the irons are not touching one another.

Anyone have suggestions for a new big iron? I'm in the market for an iron now!

Friday, January 1, 2010

Our Holiday Visit to See the Barn Quilts of Washington County, Iowa

Wayne, his sister Kathi Beverlin, my sister Karen Franzen, and I spent a day visiting the Kalona, Iowa area to see the Barn Quilts of Washington County, Iowa. The snow on the ground made the barns more picturesque. We had a fun day and made stops at the Family Restaurant in Kalona for lunch, and then had to stop at the General Store, Willow Creek Quilting & Gifts (great shop), and the Kalona Bakery (the peach pie and cinnamon rolls were yummy). Afterward, we picked up Wayne's Mom and Buster to go to Bryn Mawr Steakhouse for dinner. What a fun day we had!

Look at all of the different styles of barns in the Kalona area as you view these photos.

Click to play this Smilebox slideshow: Barn Quilts - Dec. 2009
Create your own slideshow - Powered by Smilebox
Make a Smilebox slideshow


Hope you had a Happy New Year!

Christmas in Iowa - 2009

Enjoy some photos of our visit with our family in Iowa over the holidays.

Click to play this Smilebox slideshow: Iowa Christmas 2009
Create your own slideshow - Powered by Smilebox
Make a Smilebox slideshow