Guest Bedroom Update

My guest bed before the update

My guest bedroom (the rose room) had been unchanged for many years, and it was time for an update. It has had a kind of country feel, and has always been decorated with a rose theme. It started with a comforter set that included a stripped comforter, a quilt, a blue checked skirt, and I used matching shams hung with blue checked ribbon for the headboard.

This was the original comforter striped on top, and the back was the checkered pattern.

We are using a striped chair in the room, and I use the matching pillows on the bed. After many years I replaced the comforter with a solid red comforter and used the folded quilt across the bottom half of the bed.

My bedroom chair has all the colors of the new comforter.

I decided that I wanted to go a bit bolder this time, and found a bright flowered comforter at Stein Mart. I also bought matching shams to change the headboard. I bought a solid red blanket to lay across the bed. I kept the checked bed skirt and ribbon for the shams.

This is the new comforter with the flowered top and checked backside.

The new shams that are now the headboard with the original ribbon

The new comforter has the reds, blues and gold in it so it also matches the chair perfectly.  I really love the new look and it all came for a price tag under $100. Awesome!

The newly updated guest bed!

Have a Good What?

There are three sayings or responses that I wish would be stricken from the English language. The first is "Have a Good One". A good one what? Have we become so lazy in this country that we can't even tell people what we are wishing for them? You can say "Have a good day" and it makes sense. It is not like it takes more time, or energy to be more specific, both phrases are the same number of works and letters. One is ambiguous and the other is a nice sentiment. Make the right choice!

"It is what it is", Thank you, Captain Obvious. Is that really the best we can do? An Army commander quoted on "The Military Leader" made the best comment about this phrase. His or her name was not mentioned, but the statement explained my understanding of what you mean when you say "It is what it is". The commander stated,  "It abdicates responsibility, shuts down creative problem solving and concedes defeat. The phrase is an admission that the problem is too hard and suppresses the attitude that leads to creative, unseen solutions." Personally, I think you can just replace the phrase with "I give up!"

This last one is another Captain Obvious statement, "We don't know what we don't know". This looks like a statement that would come out of the Department of Redundancy Department. Actually, this phrase came out of a quote from former Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld. The whole quote was, "There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know."  POP! That was my head exploding!

I don't know what I don't know, but it is what it is! Have a good one!

T-shirt quilt

I was cleaning out our attic and getting all the stuff out that belongs to my youngest son. I sorted, donated, tossed and repacked the items he wanted to keep. Then I packed all his belongings he wanted to use that was still at my house and drove them to Indiana. In one of the boxes there was a bunch of t-shirts and sweatshirts that he had from Elementary school, youth hockey, concerts and just some old favorites.  I brought my sewing machine with me on the trip and planned on making him a quilt while I was at my sister Lynn's house in Ohio.

The first step was to pick out the shirts I knew I wanted to use, and whether I wanted to use just the front, or  both front the back. It ended up being 20 pieces that I would use for the quilt. Then we needed to determine what size we would make our squares by using the shirt that had the longest and widest print on it. We came up with a 15 x 15 inch square and a 1/2 inch seam, so we cut the squares 16x16. The quilt will be 4 squares across and 5 squares down for a total of 20 squares. Because I had 5 shirts that were smaller than the rest, and were not big enough to cut 16x16, so we cut them 15x16 for a 14x15 square with a 1/2 inch seam. These 5 pieces have to be on the end row so they will not throw off me being able to line up the rows and match the corners of the pieces.

This is a rough cut of the shirt, up the sides and across the top just under the rib of the neck.

We went through the roll of interfacing and cut 20 squares 17 x 17.

I brought some iron on Pella interfacing with me and we bought 3 1/2 yards of 59 inch wide gray sweatshirt fabric for the back. Now I was ready to cut the shirts. I cut the shirts up the side, and up through the sleeve to give me a larger surface area. Then my sister cut 20 interfacing squares 17 x 17. Next, I ironed one of the interfacing squares onto the back of each of the cut shirt pieces making sure that the interfacing was covering the total printed surface of the shirt.

I ironed the interfacing to the back of the cut shirt.

Now that the shirt pieces are nice and stiff I can put them on the cutting mat, and using a rotary cutter I can cut them into evenly cut squares. Fifteen shirts are cut into 16 x 16 squares and five are cut into 15 (width) x 16 (long) squares.

This was one of the smaller shirts that I cut 15 x 16

This shirt was cut 16 x 16.

The next step was to lay the squares on the floor to figure out where I wanted to place each square, knowing that the smaller 5 had to be on one end. Once I had all the pieces where I wanted them I stacked them in order, starting from the left and placing that one on top then going one cross row at a time.

All the squares are laid out, and keeping the 5 smaller pieces on the left end I arranged the squares how I thought they looked the best.

Time to sew! I took the first cross row that was stacked with the squares stacked with the farthest left square on top. Then using a 1/2 inch seam I sewed the squares together starting from the left to right. after the first row was sewn together I folded up the sewn row, and started on the second row sewing it in the same order. I did this for all 5 rows and all had the short squares on the left. Now all the rows are folded and stacked with the top row on the bottom of the stack. I turned the stack over and now the top row was on the top of the stack.

The first two squares were sewn together.

One of the finished rows

Next step is to sew the rows together. I pinned the top row to the second row matching all the corners of the squares. Next, I sewed the top two rows to the third row. Then I sewed the bottom two rows together, and then sewed the to sections together. My sister had me do it this way as a safe guard that the rows stay straight. I am not sure how that made a difference, but she was the expert and I followed directions, lol.

I sewed the top three rows together, then the bottom two rows were sewn together.

I now have the top squares all sewn together and I ironed all the seams open on the back. Before I sew the back on the quilt, I decided to sew some embellishments on to the front of some of the shirt squares. I had a sleeve with a patch, an abstract hockey player from a jersey, jersey numbers and patches all to be sew on the front of my quilt.

This patch was sewn on the front before I pinned the front and back together.

This was the sleeve and cuff from the t-shirt that was sew on by machine.

The abstract hockey player was sew on by tacking it with navy blue thread on the middle parts to help hold it in place and keep it from bubbling up. Then I top stitched it around the edges with white thread. All the numbers and patches were sewn on by machine.

Now that the front is done it is time to pin the front to the back sweatshirt fabric, right sides together. I laid the front of the quilt on the kitchen island right side up. Then I laid the back fabric on top of the front piece right side down, and smoothing as I go I pinned the two pieces together leaving a 20 inch opening at the bottom to turn in right side out after sewing.

I laid the t-shirt front side up on the island and then laid the backing fabric on top right sides together. I then sewed them together leaving a section open to turn the quilt right side out.

After sewing a 1/2 seam all around and turning the piece right side out I ironed the side seams to flatten the edges. Then I pinned the opening used to turn the quilt, I pinned the opening closed and top stitched the opening closed.

All the inside corners were pinned in preparation for  sewing on ties to keep the front and backing tacked together.

Next, I laid the quilt on the floor front side up. I smoothed the quilt out and taking large safety pins I pinned the front to the back at the 12 inside corners where four squares meet. Then using 6 strands of embroidery floss, and an embroidery needle, I put the needle down one edge of the corner and up the opposite corner. Pulling the needle off the floss I tied the floss in a square knot and trimmed the floss pieces short. Now the front and backing are tacked together.

Using embroidery floss and an embroidery needle I put the floss on the quilt to replace the safety pins and then tied them in a square knot.

It is picture time!

The finished product!  Thanks Lynn for all your help!

Talimena National Scenic Byway

When we were visiting the Eisenhower Birthplace Museum earlier this year the gentleman working the desk told us about the Talimena Scenic Byway. So, my husband and I made a reservation at the Mena Mountain Resort for the Saturday night of Easter weekend, and took off Saturday morning for the drive to the mountains. The name "Talimena" comes from the two cities that sit on each end of the byway, Talihina, Oklahoma and Mena, Arkansas. The byway is located in the Ouachita (Wash-i-tah) National Forest and runs along the Rich and the Winding Star Mountains.

The scenery on our drive to the Talimena Scenic By way.

The drive took several hours to get to the mountains, but the drive was so very beautiful even before we got to the Byway. A large portion of the drive was through the valleys between the Mountain ranges, and and we the forest surrounding us.

More of the beautiful scenery on the way to the Byway

The sign at the entrance to the Byway

Once we arrived at the entrance of the Byway we had about a 54 mile, 70 minute drive along the byway not counting all the stops at the vistas along the way. The road runs about halfway in Oklahoma, and then you enter Arkansas. Because we have been to Skyline Drive in Virginia many times before, I am going to make some comparisons between the Talimena National Scenic Byway and Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah Mountains. Skyline drive was in a National Park, so you had to pay to drive the 105 miles, it had a 35mph speed limit, it was patrolled by rangers all the time, the vistas were very well maintained, the scenery was spectacular, and the wildlife was plentiful. Because of our previous trips to Skyline Drive my expectations may have been set a bit too high for the Talimena Byway.

The road that weaved through the mountain in Oklahoma's section.

More of the twisty road

The Talimena Byway is a public road with a 55mph speed limit, it is not patrolled often, the vistas are not well maintained (less in Arkansas than Oklahoma), the scenes are beautiful, but we did not see much of the local wildlife.

The view from one of the Vistas

Scene from a vista

There is also a distinct difference between the way the byway is maintained between Oklahoma and Arkansas. The section in Oklahoma was beautiful and when you stopped at the vistas there were signs with maps and information telling you about the history of the Native Americans and early settlers in the valley below. Not the case in Arkansas, The vistas were not well taken care of. There were signs that were broken or missing, there was obscene graffiti on the cliffs, and in one vista there were bullet shells all over the parking area. It was a shame that such a beautiful place was just not taken care of like it would have been had it been a State or National Park.

View from one of the Vistas on the Arkansas side of the byway

Missing map and sign

It was so sad to look out at the beautiful scenery on one side and then turn around and have to see all this graffiti.

Our stay at the Mena Mountain Resort was interesting. The "resort" was not really in the mountains and it was located on a busy highway. When we arrived on Saturday evening the doors were locked and we couldn't get in. We saw a man that was walking in the parking area and asked him if there was another way to get in and he told us to try the kitchen. We walked around to the back of the building and entered through the back door. There was a sign at the reception desk that told us to go to the Mickey Mouse phone and dial a number to get a hold of someone to check us in. So, that is what we did. The woman arrived and checked us in. She apologized for the locked doors, she though the housekeeper must have locked the door by accident.

The photo from their website

The eating space

The bed and sitting area. As you can see there was no closet, just a hanging rack.

The chairs were comfortable and they rocked!

There was this random twin bed in the room.

The room was big and clean, and we slept well before our trip back home. We got up early on Easter morning and got back home in time for me to make Easter dinner and have an egg hunt with our Grandkids.

Wildflowers along the side of the roads in Oklahoma

Although the Byway may not have been up to the Skyline Drive standard, it will be very hard to ever top us having to stop on the road on Skyline and let a mother black bear and her cub cross the road right in front of us, but it was still a beautiful drive. The drive to the byway was exceptionally beautiful, the rivers, lakes, green forests and mountains in the background were stunning. With the addition of seeing a Guinea Fowl in the road, and the beautiful wildflowers along the roadsides, it made this one of my favorite drives.

On our next trip to the Byway I think we will take a whole weekend and try to stop at some interesting sights that we didn't have time to see on this trip.

We were told that the changing of the leaves in the Fall is a great time to be on the byway because the colors are so beautiful, so who knows, our next trip may just be this Fall.

Texas Ranch Gates

On all of our drives into the country in Texas I have been fascinated with the entrance gates to the ranches and fields. To me they are so uniquely Southwest. They always remind me of the wild west and you can picture cowboys riding along with their cattle, bringing them home, and riding right up to the entrance to the ranch. Some gates are so very simple, like a metal arch, and then some are very elaborate. In Texas you don't even have to have a ranch or farm to have a great entrance gate.

What I did learn on our trips is that it is not easy to get pictures of gates that you come upon driving, in some cases, 75mph in a convertible. I did learn, as I went along, that if I brace my phone in place, push the button and hold it, I can take rapid pictures as we fly past. Then I can go back and keep the one picture of the gate that is the best.

So here are some examples of Texas Ranch Gates!

This is your classic entrance gate with the Texas Star.

This one is a little larger, but still pretty basic.

Another basic entrance gate, but opens to a beautiful tree lined drive.

This is the iconic ranch gate, with a special brick fence with inset wagon wheels. Nice! Just a side note, It must always be trash day on the ranch, because most of my pictures include trash dumpsters.

Simple gate and fence with a cute horse embellishment.

This gate has a name on it with what looks like quotation marks on each side. Not sure what that is about.  For some reason there is an old dirty paint bucket on a post in front. Really not sure what that is about. Then if you look at the end of the tall grass on the left you can see an oil rig. This is a very common sight.  Looks like to me"Casey" has some sprucing up to do.

Classic gate with all things Texas, owners name, the star, a horse and a cow!  

Someone likes where they live! Or maybe their name is Sweet.

This is pretty fancy. The tree behind the gate looks like it is in the middle of the driveway, but it is not.

A nice fence and gate. I am not sure what the blue bag or towel is for? Is it something like a tie or scarf on your dorm room door to let your roommate know that there is some funny business going on in the room?

I am not sure this is a front gate. I think it may be one of many side gates on the ranch. Is that an OK, or a CK?  

I have not idea why this gate has a dinosaur on top of it? Interesting! 

This is not a very good picture, we must have been going too fast, lol.  But, I love the scene on the top. Not sure what the 4D and 5H mean, but they get extra points for the star.

This is one of my favorites. I think those are lanterns on each side of the words. Love the wagon wheels on the sign and insets in the stone fence. Not sure why the N is backwards. I put a flower sticker to cover an old car, lol.

This is a pretty cool gate with the stars and the pecan tree. I am not sure if the animals are donkeys or some other animal with big ears. Could be a mule deer.

Another nice gate with a cool scene, but they need to get rid of the Christmas lights. I understood people not taking them down in the Midwest because of the cold and snow. There is not excuse here. Also, why S-B? Shouldn't it be B-S? 

I don't think I will ever stop looking for the ranch gates on our drives. They are all so unique and give the ranch entrances such personality. You can have the smallest rundown house on the land, but they then have the coolest gate to the property. I think some of the owners are more interested in the gate then the home they live in. Then there are the huge mansions with a simple gate like the fourth picture down in this blog. I always wonder if I had a ranch what kind of gate would I want? Maybe it would be the Busy Geemaw Ranch!