POTPOURRI

 No, the title of potpourri doesn't mean you're going to smell this post, although it may stink.....no, seriously, the number four meaning of potpourri is this:

4.  any mixture, esp. of unrelated objects, subjects, etc.

So be prepared.  This post is a bunch of unrelated stuff......

The first order of business is to wish my bloggy and IRL friend, Lisa, a happy 50th birthday!  Lisa hasn't posted very often recently, but I have talked to her, and she is okay.  She is dealing with a very ill dog, her wonderful Zoe, and that is weighing heavily on her.  Plus, she has a houseful of electricians and carpenters who are fashioning a brand new kitchen for her!  Hopefully she'll be putting her amazing photography skills to good use soon, and will post some photos of her new kitchen.  Hubby and I were privileged to stay with Scott and Lisa on our way back from Texas.  What fun to meet a blogging friend!

 I have something that probably very few of you have!  I have this box that is covered with Elvis photos!

Daughter Kari and her hubby Mike returned on Sunday from their quick trip to Alabama where Kari was the  speaker at a conference.  For fun on the return trip. they stopped at Graceland and after their tour, they purchased Elvis gifts for everyone.  Some got Elvis bobbleheads, Bean got an Elvis action figure (look out Barbies, uh?) and Latte got an Elvis and Marilyn puzzle.  What a fun, silly thing for them to do on their trip!

This is how I remember Elvis.  The young, innocent, country boy who loved his mama more than anything in the world.

I was quite the Elvis fan in my early teens, and now I have a box covered with his photos!  Kari suggested I use it for sewing stuff, scissors, seam rippers, marking pens, etc.  I think that's what I'll do.

Moving along to a totally unrelated subject, except for the sewing part, this is what I've been doing lately.

I made this table runner that I am completely embarrassed by!  Oh, the sewing is fine, but I tried my hand, with the help of my Big Brother, at machine quilting, and I discovered that I really need to practice!  The instructions say to just lower the feed dogs and position the piece to be quilted, lower the presser foot and take off, making graceful loops and jigs and jogs across the fabric.  Ya, sure.  Easier said than done!  I made only a few loops in the squares, and there is not a single decent loopy line.  I have more wiggles and bumps and mistakes than good parts.  Oh, well.  I am not ripping the quilting out.  It will remain as is and can be used as a comparison to later projects to see if I have learned anything!  Keep your fingers crossed that I do learn something!

And this is what I'm working on now.  I'm putting white borders on this quilt top, then a row of half squares, or rectangles of the quilt block fabrics, and then a row of narrow white binding on the edge.  I do love my new machine.  I'll just be glad when I can make it do what I know it can do.  It's me who can't do it!  Yet.

And, yes, Brenda.  I remember that I need to make the purse that you won in the blogiversary giveaway.  It's on the list.  And you remember that you will have to come to the park to pick it up, right?

The park.  That is my last piece of potpourri for today.  We are beginning to organize things to take along on our June job.  We are going to be campground hosts at this state park a couple of hours northwest of here.  We are really getting excited to get going.  Should be some great photo ops with the woods, trails, lakes and the rest of God's wonderful creation surrounding us.  Can't wait!