Dresdens Anyone?

I officially started a new project this week but I've been collecting the fabrics for a long time. I have a retreat planned and this is going to be my project for it. Today, I finished cutting the plate fabrics out.

Yes, this is a Dresden Plate! I plan on 16 blocks, all in blues on white Kona Snow with blue borders.

There are 56 different blue fabrics. Whoops! I am NOT done cutting...I still have to cut the white fabric!  Once I get the white cut, I still need to sew the backing fabric for En Provence. 

I found this pink and purple Paris fabric at Hobby Lobby a couple months ago and dithered. When I went back to see if they still had it for sale I found it in the clearance bin, an entire bolt!

While I was busy playing with fabrics, Dash went for a ride on the motorcycle. He stopped by Pops and got me six different sodas. I don't drink soda as a rule but I do like a treat every now and again. I think I'll try the peach one first!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Iron Butt 1000

I'm pretty sure you all know how Dash and I are a wee bit on the crazy side? If you were not aware of this fact by now you will after this post! 

Last Saturday, Dash and I took our Gold Wing on an Iron Butt Association qualifying motorcycle ride. The ride we chose was the "Saddlesore." The premise...ride 1000 miles in 24 hours. The catch...you have to "prove it" to qualify. Your proof is witnesses at the start & finish, computer generated register receipts from gas/food stops and a log you keep as you go. Bear in mind, the IBA is dedicated to SAFE long-distance riding so riding at unsafe speeds is not needed to complete the rides.

Dash planned an itinerary that took us at least 1000 miles starting from home and ending at home. The "L" on the map is our start and end. Miss Molly got dropped off at the doggy hotel on Friday afternoon and we went to bed early.

At the crack of zero-dark-thirty (also called 1 AM) we dragged out of bed, drank coffee, showered and packed the bike. By 2:50 we had met our witnesses at the gas station, got a soda and gassed up the bike for that starting receipt. The official time of our start was 2:57 AM. I started a 24 hour countdown timer on my iPhone as we gassed up...1000 miles to go and 24 hours left...we were off!

Dash and I rarely ride at night so it was novelty to me, these first few hours. I quite like it but Dash, responsible for our safety, does not! This is the longest stretch between planned gas stops, from home to Wichita, Kansas. It's 75 degrees and there is a lightening show ahead in the distance, threatening rain!

After we gassed up in Wichita we donned rain suits since a check of the radar shows we'll be riding right through a good-sized thunderstorm. It was still raining in Salina, Kansas but now the sun is up, Dash can see better so he is more relaxed. I was glad we have full-faced helmets...only a few teeny drops of rain slipped through the air vents!

The rain was gone by Topeka, Kansas and we are making good time and feel elated. Our gas receipt here has to be corrected by the attendant because the time is not right on their computer. We remove our rain gear and each gobble an Atkins bar.

Our next stop on the "other" side of Kansas City was uneventful. The weather is cloudy and in the low 70's ~ perfect! When we reach Colombia, Missouri we decide to get some lunch at a Ruby Tuesday's that is across the street from our fuel stop. I write in my log that we have gone 534 miles with just under 15 hours left. Halfway!

We go through St. Louis, Rolla and Springfield in a blur. We are enjoying ourselves immensely. The weather couldn't be better and the sights-we-haven't-seen-before are entertaining us. At Afton, Oklahoma we stop and get sodas with our gas. Back on the road, Dash goes to pick his up and the lid pops off and flies away before I could catch it! Whoops! I hand him my straw and he slurps it down enough to not splash him at every bump.

By Tulsa my knee is aching and we are both feeling a little worn. The Gold Wing was made for comfort though, I could not imagine how tired we would have been on the VTX. We have already passed the 1000 mile mark, the rest is just padding. New sodas at Tulsa...we are almost home!

Oklahoma could take a few pointers from Kansas and Missouri on road construction. We hit a good bump going through Tulsa and I look down to make sure my straw isn't wiggling itself out and my drink is gone! Gone! I tap my intercom and tell Dash and we both have a laugh

A side note: To the people in the car behind us in Tulsa on 08-09-14...for the record, I did NOT throw my brand new, barely sipped, 32 ounce foam-cupped diet DR. Pepper at you, the road maintenance dept did.

We arrive back in Stillwater and get our last fuel receipt and I pause the timer on my phone: 

We had 4 hours and 22 minutes to spare! Our last receipt was timed at 10:35 PM. We made 1135 miles in just over 19 1/2 hours! Friends met us to officially witness for our paperwork. We got cheeseburgers, (the girl at the drive-thru told us she had never had anyone on a motorcycle come through her drive-thru, lol) we rode home, ate and went to bed.

Dash spent Sunday filling out the paperwork to send to the IBA for our certification, that might take a couple of months since they have to research the ride. If approved, we will be official Iron Butt riders! 

We averaged 17 minutes per stop and that time includes a half-hour lunch break. We both enjoyed doing this a lot. I think I expected to feel more tired and be more sore...either I am one tough cookie or I have a really comfy bike. We spent $103.85 in fuel and $4.75 in tolls.

We may have created a monster...Dash asked me which I'd rather do, a 1000 all-in-Oklahoma-Saddlesore or the 1500 Bun Burner? And I'm thinking the 48 states in 10 days actually sounds pretty feasible. But then, you already knew we were a wee bit crazy.

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Totally Useless July

Totally embarrassing too...I was SURE our Totally Useless Stitch A Long posted today but noooo...it was last Friday! Whoopsie! I have a good excuse for screwing up, Friday was the day Dash & I married 29 years ago. We celebrated with a day out shopping, saw a movie and then spent the rest of the weekend playing.

My ORTs are a bit unusual this time around. I have sewing ORTs in addition to my stitching ones!

Yup, that is a quilt square! I decided I really, really wanted to learn to quilt. Much research on the internet and lots of thinking led me to plan out a "disappearing nine patch" quilt. I bought my fabrics and started cutting out squares.

Quilt squares are so pretty! The rotary cutter makes these in a jiffy, even if it is scary as all-get-out to use. I already have quite a bit of the blocks sewn together. Soon I'll be cutting the blocks into four pieces and sewing those. I'm teaching myself as I go and having fun. There's sure to be many blunders (I've already learned you DON'T try to cut backwards with the rotary cutter if it doesn't cut through or you might cut your square WRONG!) but like stitching, practice makes you better.

I had to share the awesome food Dash smoked yesterday...chicken quarters and a beef tri-tip. Oh My Word that man can cook! The beef was medium rare and so tender and juicy and the flavor was divine. I'm such a lucky lady!

=^..^=

We want to see your ORTs! Leave a comment on this post with a link to your July TUSAL post so we can come visit! If I hold a Totally Useless giveaway your comment will earn you an extra entry.

Wondering what a TUSAL is and why all these people are posting pictures of rubbish? Click here to learn more and join the fun!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

OK-KS-OK-TX-NM-OK-CO-OK-KS-OK

Are you confused about that cryptic title? Those are all the states I visited, in order last weekend. On Saturday Dash and I participated in the 5 State Run. This is a charity event held by the Iron Thunder Motorcycle Club...a one-day poker run through five states, covering 300 miles! I don't often post photos of myself on this blog so if you were ever curious, here's your chance to see me as I share our trip.

The poker run starts in Guymon, OK which is about 300 miles from our house, so this wasn't a one-day trip for us. We planned on two nights away. Packing for motorcycle trips takes planning...everything we take has to fit in two saddlebags and the trunk. After dropping Molly off at the doggie-hotel and Dash and I were off.

It was gorgeous weather on Friday. Blue skies with bright white clouds. Just cool enough to need long sleeves by the time we reached the Kansas border...I know it says, "Welcome to Oklahoma" we were going the other way!

We stayed Friday night in Liberal, Kansas. There are NO HOTELS anywhere near the poker run. I am not kidding. If you want to stay the night near Guymon on a Mother's Day weekend you'd better have your room booked well in advance! Other travelers at the hotel and restaurant we ate at were noticing the extreme number of motorcycles in the area and asked us what was going on. As for where we ate, if you are ever hungry in Liberal, Kansas go to Billy's Blue Duck BBQ. That was some of the best barbecue we've ever had. The brisket, especially, was out of this world.

Saturday up before dawn and on the road to get to Guymon by 7. It was a crisp 46 degrees. Chilly at 70 mph on a motorcycle! We grabbed a doughnut & coffee and our registration packets.

Busy place!

Ignore my excessive pudginess, I am wearing jeans with leather chaps, a t-shirt, a long-sleeved t-shirt, a rain-suit jacket, a hoodie and my leather vest. I felt a little like the kid from A Christmas Story, "I can't put my arms down!" But I was warm. 

Our Poker Hand at the first stop. This is a "blind" run. One doesn't know the hand until the end. At each of the five stops we draw a numbered poker chip. The attendant punches out the corresponding spot on the packet. At the last stop they open the envelope to reveal which "cards" you drew.

This is at the 2nd stop in Clayton, New Mexico. The volunteers there served us some very yummy chili. We've already been through Texas. I saw a large herd of Pronghorn Antelope on the way. No photos as they would have just looked like tan dots in a sea of tan grass. 

Now headed for Colorado. It's warming up and I've been shedding a layer of clothing at each stop, I think!

The Colorado stop involves going down a dirt road (mostly sand, scary) and over cattle guards in the road and lots of twists & turns. It was gorgeous there though.

The 4th stop was in Elkhart, Kansas. I totally forgot to take photos there as I was too busy eating brownies so I snapped this as were were headed back to Oklahoma. Every time we stop, either at a punch stop or just a stretch-your-legs stop, people ask us, "What is going on?" Every gas station we passed or stopped at looked like it was being taken over by a biker gang. Sorry folks!

Our poker hands proved a bust at the last stop, back where we started in Guymon, Oklahoma. I only thought about saving my card as we were leaving...they just automatically trash them unless they are in the top three. Poo! The top prize is $3000 so would be quite a thrill to win it. All said, there were 896 bikes with 282 passengers so that makes 1,178 people that participated! What a fun day!

We completed the poker run in about 7 1/2 hours. We didn't stay for the dinner since we still had 125 miles...or about 2 hours...to ride to get to out hotel in Woodward, Oklahoma. On the way to Woodward the temperature reached 94 degrees and I was down to a t-shirt & vest, remember we started the day at 46! At some point, a bug got up my sleeve and started stinging. He got me about 12 times before I finally decided I had enough and Dash stopped so I could strip my vest & shirt and remove it. Apologies to anyone shocked at the sight of pudgy me, half naked in the middle of the road, slapping at my back. 

In Woodward we unpacked and headed out to find somewhere to eat. Dash had looked up a place on Google but we never could find it. We ended up at Wagg's (no website) another BBQ restaurant but they had a big "catfish" sign out front. Very, very yummy fish! (I adore fried catfish.) I even splurged and had a slice of Key Lime pie - absolute heaven. In the middle of dinner, I remarked to Dash that I was suddenly, utterly, exhausted. He felt the same so we made it an early night.

Sunday found us headed for home. Windy. Windy. WINDY. I think we rode the whole way home sideways. Cold? No problem. Heat? No big deal. Rain? I'll dry out. Wind? I hate it. Wind will wear you out in no time! I unpacked as soon as I got home, started the laundry and had a nap!

With such a busy weekend and right back to work on Monday I'm still tired! My soul is refreshed but my 46 year old body is exhausted! Horrors, I've not even felt like stitching...

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Saturday Fun & Games

Dash and I should have stayed home yesterday and "got stuff done" instead of spending the day playing. The lawn needs mowing, carpet vacuumed, bed linens washed and the dust must be appalling but I'm too scared to look. The next two weekends are going to be crazy busy so we really should have done our chores but a little sweetie named Kelsey has leukemia and we wanted to help her family.

Our day started early with a quick bite to eat before riding to Yale, Oklahoma to buy our entry into the Poker run. We chatted with other bikers and met up with our friend Brian before we were off to Cushing, OK to draw our first card. I only then remembered to take some photos...

Our bike in front, Brian's behind.

I drew a 6 of Clubs.

Wasn't it gorgeous? You can just get a glimpse of Brian in our side mirror, behind us. We don't know the people in front of us, just other riders on the run.

The above photo was taken right after the Stone Wolf Casino stop. We were making good time so we went into the casino for a cold beer. Dash handed me $20 to play slots while he and Brian chatted. I cashed out at $56 so I was tickled.

Lots of riders. I heard there were 133.

I had a really good chance before I drew that dratted Heart! Oh well, this was a "for a good cause" event so even if I had won something I would have donated it to the family. The fun was in the ride and the fellowship. And that yummy brisket sandwich we were given for lunch!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

A Totally Useless Birthday Post

So sorry for the late ORT report...my computer would not cooperate with me yesterday and I ran out of good humor to deal with it! The ORTs in my jar are piling up. You can see the big load of black threads from my Trilogy Sneak Peek and for those of you that guessed I was stitching the cat? You know me so well ~ lol!

Today is my birthday as you can see by my post title. I've had a great time even if it is snowing/sleeting/freezing rain on my special day. 

Yesterday, Dash took me to the jewelry store because I told him I'd like more earring post wires. He had gotten me the Pandora posts (they are wires but the site calls them posts) last year and I've had loads of fun finding pretty charms to hang on them. The ones I already had have the London Underground logo on them in the picture. The new ones are at the bottom with some silver plated ladybugs. Pretty cute, aren't they? 

I've included a couple of the charms I have for examples. The posts are inexpensive and the charms are really, really inexpensive. Most of the charms I find at craft stores for next to nothing ~ since they are so cheap, I bet I have 50 pairs! I love them.

Since we were at the jewelry store I HAD to check out the Pandora charms too. I bought the little scissors one in the middle. My bracelet is filling up! 

While we were shopping, I told told Dash I loved the comedy/tragedy charm and if he wanted to get me a present to get that one next.

When we got home, I got out my bracelet to add my new charm and take a photo of it for you. Dash asked if I was going to take a photo and when I told him I was he handed me a little box and said I'd better have my birthday present early then.

I opened the box to find the comedy/tragedy charm and burst into tears!

Dash said the saleslady "looked" at him when I told him which charm I wanted next. Because she had helped him buy it a few days ago. Awwwww! I think I blubbered for at least an hour after unwrapping my gift.

=^..^=

We want to see your ORTs! Leave a comment on this post with a link to your March 1st TUSAL post so we can come visit! If I hold a Totally Useless giveaway your comment will earn you an extra entry.

Wondering what a TUSAL is and why all these people are posting pictures of rubbish? Click here to learn more and join the fun!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Sore Stitchy Fingers

Meet Lucas, my sexy new Brazilian companion. I know...he's short and compact, but very sweet. Lucas is a Taurus .38 special, my anniversary present from Dash. You didn't know I liked guns, did ya? Full of surprises, that's me. I know most of my readers won't be very interested in this post, but I wanted to share anyway.

I had made a passing comment to Dash that I wasn't especially confident in my ability to load and shoot the semi-automatic pistols we own, that I'd feel better with a revolver that was easy to load. He totally surprised me with this gift!

We went shooting early this morning. Bear in mind I haven't shot a pistol in years, although I am familiar with guns, having lived with a Marine for nearly 30 years.

This was my group with the .38. The pistol holds five rounds (or bullets.) Not too bad...I at least put them all into the black. The .38 takes a strong pull to shoot. Easier for me to cock the trigger, then shoot. Overall very easy to load, unload and shoot. Nice!

I also shot the Llama .380. This was my Grandfather's weapon, Dash owns it now. The 380 shoots seven rounds. The .380 has a HARD trigger pull but that is a nice group.

Then, I tried my hand at Dash's Colt .45. Holy cow, I smoked it! The .45 shoots seven rounds as well. You can see my first shot was wide because I was nervous about the recoil, then I was able to relax and center the shots. I like shooting the .45!

A group photo of the pistols so you can see how they compare in size. 

I only shot around fifty rounds and its obvious I need calluses. My index finger and thumb are sore from the grippy areas of the guns! Big thanks to Dash for getting me such a sweet little boyfriend.

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

The Coffee IS Safe To Drink!

"Is this coffee poison?" called Dash from the kitchen, sounding worried.

"No!" I assured, "It's safe."

"Okay," Dash said, "I just never know around you."

No, I don't usually brew pots of poison coffee, but I'd spent all morning dyeing stuff and Dash is used to warnings like, "Don't drink any stuff in a Mason jar, it's fabric dye!"

I spent lots of time today preparing for finishing. I have an exchange project I've been working on so I can't share photos of that but I can show you a few other things:

I dyed trims with tan Rit dye. Some rick rack, twill tape and chenille. These turned out nice and I am looking forward to using them. It took me forever to find chenille...bought it here. If you search for chenille, all you get is sweaters. Go figure. The rick rack and twill tape I got at Joann Fabrics.

Then I painted a small round box and waxed it. This was preparation for a project I started today. You can find these boxes at the crafts stores, they are just paper mache. The wood boxes work too! A coat of craft paint, sandpaper to antique then apply a bit of wax stain and buff it to a shine. Looks like a million bucks. Dash thinks this dark brown one looks like leather. I also did the box for the project below but didn't take a picture of it yet.

Any of the brands of craft paint will do, choose it for the color. The wax I use is Briwax, dark brown. I found this at a specialty wood finishing shop in Oklahoma City. Wear vinyl gloves when applying this! 

While I had the tan dye out I tossed in my latest little finish to give it a spot of color. This is Blackbird Designs, Birds and Berries Pinbox. This will (hopefully) be a little pinpillow inside a box like the one above. If I can swing it. I never did one before but I'm feeling adventurous! Many thanks to Barb & Alma of Blackbird Designs for the exquisite instructions in their publications. You ladies rock!

What have you been working on? Have you tried anything new lately?

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

A Meaningful Craft Project

As some of you are aware, my husband is a ride captain with the Patriot Guard. This group attends the funerals of Veterans (when asked) to show honor and if needed, they act as a shield between the mourners and any protest groups. Most of the members of the Patriot Guard are motorcycle enthusiasts. You can see another post I made on this subject here.

A while back, another Ride Captain, Cowboy, gave Dash a tassel to hang from his handlebars. The colors on one side are for the American flag and the other side has the blue and yellow of the Patriot Guard Riders. The grommet used is from a retired American flag. A sweet remembrance, isn't it?

Dash asked me if I could make him another tassel in the POW-MIA colors of black and white. Ooo fun! I stopped by Hobby Lobby for supplies after work and came up with this. 

We had a few grommets from retired flags and I was able to whip out six tassels before I ran out of leather cording. 

 "Crap," I told Dash, "I have to go back to Hobby Lobby!" 

"How horrible." He replied, dryly. He knows I never mind a visit to any craft store.

I will make more of these for Dash to give away on rides. Quick and easy to make and people love free stuff, especially with meaning behind it.

I don't think Dash was pleased I wanted to snap photos of the tassels on his bike (it's covered in bugs from a recent ride) but what do you do when you are trying to leave for work and your wife is in front of your bike with a camera? Thanks, Sweetie!

Why does Rick use the road name Dash? Click here.

POW-MIA you are not forgotten.

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox