A day of Jury Selection

What an adventure!  Up in the morning earlier than I've been in years and out into morning traffic that I haven't witnessed for a long, long time.

I joined the line of potential jurors at the Court House door waiting to be cleared through a metal detector and then escorted to a large waiting room that held at least 100 people, at which point we each traded our identity for a number.  I became #10.

After waiting a half hour for five no-shows the "game" began.  A list of 35 people were called to stand in line in the order of the call.  They were led down the hall to a nearby court room and stood waiting for the judge to begin the selection process.

The judge seemed to be having a problem which he explained as soon as he figured out what was wrong.  He needed a group of 35 to draw from and there were only 32.  So the group was dismissed and returned to the assembly room.  It seemed that 3 of the missing were "no shows."  I was included in that group and was the fourth in line.

Back in the room several clerks were busy conferring around a computer making corrections to the list.  Finally, the next two groups were called, led off to the court rooms, leaving about 27 people to wait for further instruction.  I was one of this group too.

After about 15 minutes a judge appeared before our group with the good and bad news.  The Good News:  the selection was complete, we were excused as soon as he finished talking.  The Bad News:  we were free to go shopping or whatever, and would be paid $9.50 for our time.  Unfortunately, that check won't arrive in our hands for another 6-8 weeks.

And that was my up close encounter with the wheels of justice . . .   Now I'm left with the quandary of where to spend my newly found money.  Hmm-mm, how many fat quarters can I buy with that amount?

A New Adventure

It's been a long time since I had to rise, prepare and be out of the house at an early hour.  I've been summoned to Jury duty starting Monday morning.

What will I learn ?

What will I hear ?

I'd like One-- Please

A fancy quilt includes a few patches with rhinestones.

It started as a lark--A non-quilting friend who says things like: "I bought a whack of fabric," "a ball of thread," and  doesn't know that there is a correct way to thread her sewing machine, decided to cut up old jeans to make herself a quilt.  Sometimes the best ideas come from those who think outside the box, or even those who don't think at all.  None of the blocks were the same size and for sure her seams were no where close to matching.  For Elaine it didn't matter, wasn't important, if one strip was longer than the last, "just chop it off."

And so the idea was born to use old jeans and new flannel to make a scrap, rag quilt.  Gathering the jeans was no problem at all.  I worked at an elementary school and donations from students, staff, and a contact with the local Salvation Army store brought more than one could hope for.

Jared loves his quilt.

These quilts have become so popular with my family and friends that I've made 16 as of this summer.As I cut up the jeans I also save the leather labels and some of the pockets to be added to the quilt for decoration.  Pockets are fun to add, they'll come in handy for holding keys and change if you are using your quilt on the beach or outside.  If it's a picnic occasion a pocket is a great place for keeping your napkin and if you're snuggling at home with a cold, what a handy place to tuck a tissue or two, or even a hiding place for a few bits of candy.

Word has traveled far and wide that I collect used jeans.  People are now saving their old ones for me.  I cut them up and store them for the next person who mutters they'd appreciate having one too.  it's also a great project for the young who want to learn how to sew.

My six year old grandson is making himself a flannel rag quilt.

I cut my jean and flannel blocks into 6 1/2 inch squares and the batting squares to 5 inches.  I need 120 of each to make a 10 x 12 block quilt.  After I sandwich my blocks of jeans/batting/flannel I begin sewing an "X" on each square and continue using the well know rag quilt pattern.  The jeans fray so nicely once the edges are clipped.  The finished frayed edges make a beautiful quilt that's tough as nails and heavy too.

Max and Whiskers--double duty

What a comfort it is to have a quilt to cover myself with while I watch my favorite TV shows.  My quilts always serve double duty because while they keep me cozy I'm also hand quilting them.  It's like one hand washing the other.

My package of charm squares started out as a gift from a friend.  As a thank you I made her a pin cushion from several pieces in a miniature log cabin block.  I saw the cute idea in a quilt shop in Sherwood Park, AB last summer and just had to try it out.  I'd also bought a pound of crushed walnut shells for the insides and had to make a few more from different scraps for other friends just to use it all.

With three or four pieces used from the Charm Pack I ordered another pack so I could make a quilt.  I love the adventure of shopping for fabric and it was quite fun to receive my order, but then I had to act on my plan and produce a finished product.  As all of quilters know we have enough fabric stashed away to make at least a dozen more quilts; however this was a challenge that called for a bit of seed fabric--that's rational--right?

Max and Whiskers-Moda  Lots of orange and yellows with black to make it pop.

I like the border which used up the gray,  and red plaid that's been hanging around for a few years.

The challenge was to use up some of my stash/scraps, which I certainly did.  I was so happy to see the end of the gray that was scraps left over from a Halloween costume eons ago.  It looks like lots of sewing, but honest using the Disappearing Nine block pattern it all went very quickly.