Snowblowing for Seniors, and Quilt of Many Pieces, ("Bank One")



Yeahhhhhh - I can still do this job!  What IS it about a heavy snowfall, and feeling closed in?  We have enough food to last until May!

 

The day was cold, blustery, but I WAS having fun, even when I forgot to turn the chute away from my face!  DH decided I wasn't going to have all the fun!   

Below is my current project on my living room "design floor."  There are 3648 pieces, blocks are 3.75 in.  This is a SYSTEM, Strip and Slash, inspired by Jackie Robinson.  Blocks are now sewn to each other and I am getting rows together.  I opted for a less complex layout, hoping the quilting design would not present problems. 

I chose many purple and orange fabrics.  I LOVE that blue glow!  Thank you for your shirt, Sean. (Sean once worked for Bank One and had a company shirt.)  Scrappy quilts NEED one fabric that does not quite "go".   

Here is a closeup.  12 to a block, and 304 blocks, 16 across and 19 rows = 3648. 

 

The KID in the BARN

Our winter has again been mild, with little snow, but just to be prepared, we purchased "the kid", a new snowblower last October - (DH always MUST be prepared).  It's more powerful than the old junker, and I've been eager to learn how to use it.  This one doesn't take so much muscle, but has been living unused in "the barn" for months, because of no snow.  "The Barn" is our name for the traditional garage, as we both come from country background.  "The Kid" is the snowblower's name,  like the poor step-child who is relegated to doing the hard/dirty work.

Now, to explain about why I was eager to use this machine -- when I was 16, living on a farm and in charge of a number of my horses, and while some of my lucky girlfriends were getting cars at age 16, my father gave ME a manure spreader - yes, that's right, and I was a HAPPY girl!  (a wheelbarrow can only do so much)  I could hitch that International Harvester manure spreader behind the International Harvester tractor and take care of business.

Today was THE day!!!  After some guidelines and instructions, I CAN do it!   Not bad for a Senior Citizen of ... uhhhh, "old"!