Trip around the stash and other goings on

Ray has been out of town and you know I get all out of sorts when he is gone. Well I did it again. I stayed up until almost daylight each night. What a moron!

But I got a lot of sewing and cutting done. The next thing you should ask is why. Why did I sew and cut so much? Well for some reason sewing little squares onto the TATW project was relaxing. I didn't have to think I just sewed. I didn't care what color went where or even if the fabric was pretty, which most wasn't.

The only problem...it is now going to finish 100 inches square! Can you believe that? Oh my goodness what am I going to do with a 100" square trip around the world?

I don't really have to worry about answering that question right now as it looks like this right now. LOL But believe me it is going to be HONKIN'!

When I am in a mood, and I have been in one lately. I think it is the change in the season, or missing my kids, or haven't found my place in the new town yet. Anyway there isn't many things a tub of this stuff can't fix, or at least make you feel better. LOL I have been visiting this tub a lot lately. Besides making your troubles melt away it leaves your breath oh so minty fresh! Well maybe not but don't tell me.

I am going exploring this afternoon and tomorrow. Ray got home last night and has to go to West Palm Beach and I am going to go with him. I hope I find a quilt shop. I need machine needles. I never break needles, but when Linda was here we started a trend and I have broke about six and then found two dull ones. So I am dire need of needles.

Off to do laundry.

Later

Diane

Brain freeze, ugly fabrics and nice quilters

Have you ever had a brain freeze? I don't mean the kind you get when you eat ice cream too fast. I mean the kind where you just can't put words together in a sentence that makes any sense.

I have been in a brain freeze lately. I load up my blog and get ready to write about all I have been up to and I freeze. No words. Nothing I write makes any sense. I sound like a goof ball. I know I know it is normal for me to sound like a goof ball, but usually I only sound like a goof ball to others, but to myself I sound like I make perfect sense.

Talk about me and my weird brain... do you see the picture above? That is a class I took last week. It was an attempt to meet people. I saw a postage stamp around the world quilt in the shop and thought I would have fun making a quilt like that and meeting quilt people so I signed up. It never entered my mind how we would actually make this quilt. I asked if my bucket-O-strips would work for the class and they said it would be perfect.

It is made with squares! Individual squares! Each square cut one at a time! Have I lost my mind? Did I reach the age of 46 and lose it completely? How in the world did I get into a class where I cut up to a 1/2 yard of fabric into 2" squares and then lay them out and sew them together? What was I thinking? I will tell you I wasn't! I wanted to meet other quilters so I signed up for a class and never thought another thought. EGAD!

I can say it isn't so bad. I am actually enjoying the process. The teacher, Lynn, was very encouraging and positive and had the cutest British accent. She showed us how to get it started and then explained how to graph it on paper for the size and shape we want. It is a simple project, just what I needed. I am enjoying that I am using all of my old fabrics I don't love anymore, or pieces of fabric I only have a bit of. I am a believer in the fact "if the fabric is still ugly you haven't cut it small enough". Some of these fabrics were UGLY, but when they finish at 1.5" they look nice.

In the class I met ladies who live near me and shop at the same shops I have visited. We chatted for five hours in the class and was surprised when 3pm arrived. We had a great time and I was invited to two different guilds. I am happy that when I finally get a chance to visit these guilds I will have faces to look for.

Off to the sewing room to play with my squares.

PS. I have not made a stash usage report for a while but would like to get back at it. I do have some additions to the stash to report and some subtractions also.

Diane

Happy Birthday to me (tomorrow)

March 17, 1963 I screamed and cried for my first breaths and to hear my father tell it I haven't shut up since. LOL
I am spending my day tomorrow with some of my favorite guys: Ray, Joseph, and Mickey!
I hope it doesn't rain. We need the rain, and I was even hoping it would rain today, but I don't want any rain on my birthday. The weather lady was not nice and predicted rain so she is on my bad list.
I'll pack my rain poncho just in case Miss Rudeness is right.

Later
Diane

Quilt Show!

I went to the Sarasota Quilt show on Friday. I thought I would share some of the pictures I took.


I love autumn leaves.

Cool giraffe! Even better than Geoffrey.

I have a thing for leaves.

You should see this up close. Each row is a new animal on his way across, with parts and pieces showing. How cute!

All of my friends who know how much I love civil war fabrics and traditional patterns may be surprised, but I really like this.

Gwen Marston taught a class and several members entered what they learned. I LOVED them!

Here is another Gwen Marston inspired quilt.

This was the first quilt I took a photo of. I have always loved music, but my children showed me a new level. They all three LOVE music.

I had a great time at the show. It was well organized and had a variety of styles. The boutique and silent auction were very nice and I did my part in supporting the guild and the vendors. LOL

Later

Diane

I'm good for 5 more years!

Today I had a a Colonoscopy. Yuck I know, not a topic we like to talk about, but necessary.
My father had his entire colon removed due to the fact he ignored blatant signs. He is alive today because his family guilted him into going to the doctor.

My thoughts are I owe it to my husband and children to take care of myself. If I don't and I end up sick then they would have to take care of me. They would do it willingly, I am sure, but why put them through it if I can help it. So I go.

The test is not painful. It is not a big deal. You owe it to yourself and those that love you. Call your doctor.

Diane

Do you own a Featherweight?

I love my Featherweight. I got it about 10 years ago when I went to a retreat. I have used it off and on all this time, with it being more off than on in the past couple of years. The reason being I was always sure there was something not quite right with the machine. I took it to a repairman, he pronounced it in perfect working order. I took it home and sewed on it for a couple of months but knew it didn't sound right.

I bought a book about the Featherweight and after reading from cover to cover I took the machine apart and found stuff the repairman should have found. I oiled and greased it and put it back together and it sounded much better. It still had a sound that just wasn't right. But I decided it was just the sound my machine made.

I loaned my machine to my mother in law and she sewed on it for several months until it started acting up. I retrieved it and took it apart again to find a thread wrapped up in it. I still thought something was wrong but pushed it to the back of my mind.

Then the machine was stored since I was preparing to move. I have thought about it many times but knew if I got started on it I would have it in many pieces all over the floor probably never to run again.

That is until today. Today I received in the mail this...

This is a two disc DVD set by David R. McCallum. It is the complete "how to" video for maintaining your Featherweight 221 and 222. It is GREAT!

I took my machine completely apart on my dining room table. While watching him describe and show in the video what I should be doing and what it should look like I was able to find a thread way in the machine. That thread was so far back in the machine it couldn't be seen until I took the bobbin area apart.

With it all greased and oiled my machine now has the sweetest little quiet "tick tick tick" when it sews instead of the "clack clack clack" it used to have.

If you own a Featherweight 221 or 222 or even the Singer 301 I would recommend this DVD set to you.

Later,

Diane

Will you help?

The Breast Cancer site needs you. Please click the pink button above to go to their website and then click the pink button there to help them.
It is free and it helps.

Have I told you lately change is hard?

I had to get a new cell phone. Mine was a "GoPhone" that I carried after my Razr died during the move. I just never got around to getting a new one until yesterday. I got a Samsung Propel. Does it seem like I am quickly becoming a Samsung junkie? LOL New washer, dryer and phone.

I don't do change well. It has taken me all week to get used to the new washer and dryer, and now I have this phone to learn. UGH! My brain just may explode.

If it wasn't for Ray worrying about me I wouldn't even have one. I really don't like talking on the phone (home or cell). I didn't get texting, but I might, as I would rather read a text than talk on the phone.

The sweet boy at AT&T yesterday deleted my phone book on my old phone before I knew it so I have to find all of my old numbers and reload them. So I will be busy for a while.

Don't you just love the green?

Diane

It was bound to happen...

I have moved many times since I married. One thing I know from experience is something will not survive the move and it is usually an expensive appliance. One time it was the stove, once it was the dryer, this time it was the washer.

Right when we arrived here I noticed a small puddle of water under the washer, wiped it up and went on about my business thinking I had spilled something. Next day it was a LARGE puddle of water that I knew was too big to be a spill. Ray comes home and tells me it is the pump. No problem we fix it.

We have now been here 5 months (WOW! Really? 5 months already?) anyway I am pulling out 7 of my husband's brand new dress shirts, GREASE, OH man! where did that come from? Apparently my machine was tired and didn't want to continue living with us.

I went comparison shopping on the Internet and with the help of Consumer Reports and various other sites and found my new laundry help.

Meet Mr and Mrs Samsung...they will now be living with us to help us with all our laundry needs. They are such a quiet couple and they are so happy. Do you know how I know they are happy? They sing a little tune as they finish their work. How sweet is that?

They are a conservative couple, which makes me happy since we are a conservative family. She only uses about 13 gallons of water per load, as opposed to the one that just died using about35 gallons per load. Besides that I can put about 3 times the amount of clothes per load as I could in the old one. I am so excited! But I can see more towels and clothes being bought as I don't own enough of anything to fill the machine up. Oh what a bad thing...to have to go buy new towels and undies so we can make a load and still have clothes to wear while they are washing. LOL

I read on some review sites people complaining about the length of the cycles. I thought at first that a 101 -123 (that is our average) minute cycle was a bit long. But then I remembered in 123 minutes I was going get on average 3 loads of laundry done in just about the time it took me to do two loads before. Woo Hoo more sewing time!

Ok, I guess I need to try and go to sleep...but I am not sure it will happen tonight. Ray is gone for a couple of days and I don't feel the least bit sleepy.

If I don't go to sleep I will be sure and take pictures of whatever I sew on. LOL

Later

Diane

A.W.O.L but back with LOTS of pictures

I have been absent a while, but I have gotten so much accomplished!

My friend Linda came to spend a week with me so I slept little and had lots of fun. I always have fun with Linda.

We made Cinnamon rolls... and more Cinnamon rolls...

and more Cinnamon rolls, until we were sick of them. Just say the word Cinnamon and people went running.

We made bread and boy was it good! But we ate it before I got a picture of it. :(

We went to Wal-Mart every single day she was here. LOL Not by choice, but it seemed like we needed something everyday we could only get at Wal-Mart.

Linda helped me rearrange my sewing room so I have more room to move around and I can have two sewing machines set up and once. She is so smart!

I have more room to cut and iron.

Our sewing started out with making small bags to carry while travelling. Big enough to carry the essentials but too small to carry everything you own. This bag is the Runaround bag by Lazy Girl Designs. I LOVE Lazy Girl Designs! I have never really liked making anything other than quilts. I can make baby clothes but I am not big on zippers and stuff. Her ways of putting in zippers and making pockets makes it so easy even I can do it.

Linda made the Phlipphlap Bag even though I told her it was going to be hard. Did I mention she is not one to back down from difficulty? After emails to the designer and a phone call to a teacher to taught a class on this bag we finally got it finished. It turned out great but it was not nearly as much fun as the Lazy Girl patterns! LOL

Then I tried to make this backpack/shoulder bag Lazy Girl Design without Linda's help. She was busy trying to finish her Phlipphlap Bag.

I got it all cut out, no problem. Then I started sewing what I thought was the step I was suppose to be on just to have Linda tell me I wasn't suppose to have sewn the lining to the outside piece and the pocket. So I had to remove all of my stitching...and I used small stitches. :^(

Oh well She corrected me and I got it made, and it turned out cute I think!

This is a picture of all we got finished. I am so pleased!

I have more to tell but I have to go start dinner....so more later.

Diane